AN IMPROVED METHOD OF AND MACHINERY FOR STITCHING Books
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Haseltine, of the "International Patent
8
Office," Southampton Buildings, London, Doctor of Laws, for the
Invention of "AN IMPROVED METHOD OF AND MACHINERY FOR STITCHING
Books." A communication from abroad by Ellicott D. Averell, of
the City and State of New York United States of America.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said George Haseltine at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition and
Declaration, on the 6th December 1873, pursuant to the 9th Section
of the Patent Law Amendment Act, 1852.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
HASELTINE, of the "International Patent Office," Southampton Build-
ings, London, Doctor of Laws, send greeting.
WHEREAS I am in possession of an Invention for "AN IMPROVED
METHOD OF AND MACHINERY FOR STITCHING BOOKS," and have petitioned Her
Majesty to grant unto me, my executors, administrators, and assigns,

page_text: Her Royal Letters Patent for the same, and have made solemn
Declaration that it has been communicated to me from abroad by
Ellicott D. Averell, of the City and State of New York, United States
of America.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said George Haseltine, do hereby 5
declare that the following Complete Specification, under my hand and
seal, fully describes and ascertains the nature of the said Invention, and
in what manner the same is to be performed, in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the accompanying Drawing forming
a part of this Specification :-
This Invention relates to improvements in machinery for stitching
books, especially that class of books which are stitched in the fold of
the back, and which are, by means of this Invention, stitched or secured
by wire staples inserted in perforations in the fold of the back, and
clinched either upon the outside or inside of the book, in contradistinction
to those stitched with thread in the ordinary way. The said Invention
also relates to the stitch itself.
The said Invention consists in providing perforating mechanism by
which the holes are made in the desired place in the back of the book;
staple making mechanism, by which staples are made from the continuous
wire; staple inserting mechanism, by which the staples are automatically
presented and inserted in the perforations in the back of the book; and
clinching mechanism, by which the staples are securely fastened in their
places; also in a metallic stitch, by means of which sheets of paper are
secured together, each of such stitches not being connected with or
dependent on the adjoining ones, as is the case with ordinary thread
1

page_text: A represents the platform of a table supported by legs a. To the said
platform an arm B is secured which carries at its extreme forward end a
spool of wire C. The wire from the said spool passes through a hole b,
at the solid end of the arm B, across a slot B¹, thence through another
hole 6¹, across a slot B², and finally into a hole 62, which has a depth
equal to the thickness of the metal between the slots B¹ and B². Two
arms C¹ extending from the arm B serve as fulcrums of a lever 0³, the
square shaped end 6s of which fits the slot B³, in which it bends and
shapes the pieces of wire separated at the off side of the slot B¹ by a
knife C³ attached to the said lever C³. The fulcrum spindle D of the
lever C bears with one end in the arm C¹, and with the other in the end
of a set screw D', which serves the purpose of adjusting the working parts
in the slots B¹, B³. A. spring D² bears against the lower side of the lever
C², and thereby keeps the working parts 63 and c³ below the holes b, b¹, b².
The slot B³ is provided on its three sides with a central groove 6%, which
receives the wire when it is shaped into a staple by the pressure of the
upward moving head b³.
The finished staple follows the descending head 6º in consequence of
the pressure exerted upon it by the spring e and the head pin E, and
allows it to drop upon an inclined slide E³, which is fastened to the arm
B by an adjustable plate e¹. The staple is made to extend over the
slide E¹ and slide down until it arrives at the plate F on the sliding head
F. The head F is fastened to the forward end of the bar F³, which by
means of the slot f and the set screws f¹, and the stands G, G³, is
enabled to move back and forward in a horizontal direction. The head
F' is provided with two dovetailed plates H and H¹ fitted into dove-
tailed vertical grooves adjusted by the plates I, I, I, and the slots h, h³,
with the stationary pins i, ¹, by which the said plates are kept from
rising or descending too far. Two springs J, J', which are fastened to
the head F¹, and bear on the pins j, j, on the plates H, H³, thereby
keep the same raised so that the perforating points h³ and h³ on the plate
H' are within the head F, and the foot of the plate H will permit the
entrance of a staple into the groove below it, for which latter purpose
the plate F is provided with a gate f³.
The stroke of the sliding head F¹ must equal the central distance of
the plates H, H¹, so that the legs of the staple can enter the holes made
by the points h² on the plate H³. The forward strokes of the said sliding
head are effected by a number of pins ¹ on a ratchet wheel K, which is

page_text: supported by a hanger arm K' below the platform of the table. A
vertical arm L on the bar F' is pushed forward by the pins / through
the revolution of the wheel K. A spring L', fastened to the head F" and
the stand G¹ moves the bar F2 back as soon as the arm L is disengaged
'from one of the said pins. The wheel K is revolved by the up-strokes of
a pawl m¹, which is attached, by the aid of an adjustable block m, to the
rod M, and which is so situated that it operates both the short and the
long pins and ¹ in succession. The rod M is held in a vertical
position by the platform A, through which it passes, and by an arm N
below the said platform. Its up-stroke is limited by an adjustable collar
m², and is effected by a spring N¹ fastened to a hook n on the arm N,
and to a hook n¹ on the treadle M¹ at the lower end of the rod M.
The rod M is connected at its upper end through an arm M² with a
and
lever O, whose head o is made to alternately strike the plates H, H³,
whose fulcrum is formed by the head screw o¹ in the plate G¹. The tail
O¹ of the said lever is provided with a hook p for a tension spring P,
which is at its other end attached to the hook p¹ on the platform A, and
thereby keeps the lever arm O elevated: To prevent the wheel K from
moving backwards its rim is provided with notches ³, into which a
spring pawl R slides after each stroke of the rod M. The pawl R is
fastened to an arm R¹ below the platform A, and to the same arm a lever
S is pivoted, which lever operates the clinching piece U. The rear arm
of the lever S is provided with a hinged extended arm S¹, which is
operated by a springs on the lever S, and by the long pins on the
wheel K, for which purpose the said arm S¹ is arranged far enough from
the face of the wheel K to allow the short pins / to pass it freely. The
'front arm is provided with a pivoted wedge block S3 and a tension spring
T, the other end of which is fastened to a hook t on the platform A.
The pliers U are pivoted to a plate V on the lower side of the platform
A, and their jaws u move in a slot in the said platform, which limits
their opening to the size of the staple.
The arms of the said pliers are connected by a tension spring W, by
which the opening of the pliers is effected. When the stroke of the
lever S is finished the arm S¹ is disengaged from the pin ¹ by the cam x,
which is fastened to the rod M by the adjustable block X, and by its
descent pushes the pawl s¹ off, as shown in Figure 2, thereby allowing
the spring T to pull the lever S and the wedge S upward to close the
jaws of the pliers U. The supplying or feeding of the wire into the

page_text: holes 6, 6, 6, may be done by hand or by any suitable feeding mechanism
not illustrated in the Drawing, but operated by the machine.
In using this machine the paper sheets of which the books are to be
composed either cut to size or in the whole sheet to be cut after being
stitched, are placed between the head F¹ and the platform A in such a
manner that the staples will be inserted where the back of the book is
intended to be folded; the treadle M is then operated; when in
proper position the first stroke brings the lever O down with its head o
on the plate H, whereby the paper is perforated for the reception of the
staples; the lever O is by the same movement forced down, and the
knife C³ is made to cut the wire, while the head 6ª carries the separated
wire end up into the groove 6' and presses it to its right shape; the
lever being now relieved rises, and so do the levers O and O' and
the plate H¹; the finished staple is pushed out of the groove 6' by the
pin E, and drops from the head of the lever C³ on the guide bar E', along
which it slides until it is stopped by the plate F; the rear arm of the
lever S is raised to its highest position and the jaws of the. pliers .U.are
opened to their full capacity; the pawl R has slipped into the next
notch of the wheel K, and the bar F³ is moved forward by one of the
pins the treadle is operated again; the lever O strikes the plate
H, which drives one of the staples presented by the slide E¹ into the
perforations made in the paper; the cam 2 pushes the pawl S' over
the pin k³, and it falls, forcing the wedge S³ between the plier arms U,
thereby closing their jaws, which catch the projecting legs of the staple
beneath the paper and closely clinch them; the treadle is left in
position to be operated as before and the above operations are repeated.
;
Having thus fully described the said Invention as communicated to
me by my foreign correspondent, and the manner of performing the
same, I wish it understood that I claim,-
1st. In combination with mechanism as described for inserting
metallic staples in the backs of books mechanism for clinching the said
staples, substantially as herein set forth and for the purpose specified.
2nd. In combination with mechanism for inserting and clinching
staples in the backs of books the mechanism herein described for per-
forating the paper for the reception of the said staples.
3rd. In combination with mechanism for perforating the paper and
inserting and clinching staples in the backs of books the mechanism

page_text: herein described for forming the staple from the continuous wire and
presenting it to be inserted.
4th. The reciprocating bar F carrying the plates H, H', in combina-
tion with the hammer O, substantially as set forth.
. 5th. The plate H for driving the staples in combination with the jaws
u, u, operating as herein described and for the purpose specified.
6th. The plate H for inserting the staples in combination with the
staple making and presenting mechanism, substantially as described.
7th. The moving head 6 operating in the grooved recess or slot B³ in
combination with the knife C³, as herein described.
8th. The jaws u, u, operated by the inclined arms U, U, and the
reciprocating wedge $*, as herein described.
9th. Stitching books with wire or other equivalent material inde-
pendently attached to the sheets of paper held together by the stitches,
as herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Haseltine, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Sixth day of December, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
three.
Witness,
W. ROBT. LAKE.
GEORGE HASELTINE. (L.S.)