Improvements in Feed Mechanism for Punching Machines.
Year: 1892

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
[Communicated from abroad by WILLIAM JULIUS SCHLOSS, HENRY WILLIAM
SCHLOSS, and MYER WILLIAM SCHLOSS, all of the Times Building, in
the City, County, and State of New York, United States of America,
Manufacturers.]
Improvements in Feed Mechanism for Punching Machines.
I, WILLIAM EDWIN HEYS of 70 Market Street Manchester in the County of
Lancaster, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement :-
This invention relates to feeding mechanism for delivering material in the form
of a strip to a cutting die or punch. The object of the invention is to produce an
apparatus which shall be entirely automatic in its operation and which will deliver
the strip to the die or punch in the best condition for cutting. The invention
consists in the construction and arrangement of the apparatus and in the com-
bination of parts hereinafter described and claimed.
The details of the invention will now he described as communicated to me, with
reference to the accompanying drawing, in which the figure is a perspective view
of the feed mechanism and the die.
A is a base upon which is fixed an anvil a, having the lower half a¹ of the die
or punch formed upon it. Arranged directly above this half is an upper half, a*,
mounted on the lower end of a vertically reciprocating shaft a³. The invention as
at present described, is combined with a punch or die which cuts circular pieces
from a strip of braid, which are used for covering buttons, but it is evidently
equally adapted for other purposes. The width of the braid is about equal to the
diameter of the discs which are cut from it. The discs, as they are cut, are forced
upward through a chamber a' in the upper punch and are finally ejected therefrom
through an opening in the side of the punch into a trough a which conducts them.
into a receptacle properly located. This trough is securely connected with the
punch a' and moves up and down with it. The dotted lines a indicate a pipe,
through which a blast of air may be driven and directed across the face of the
punch, to remove the waste cuttings and prevent clogging. This air-blast, together
with the chambered upper part and trough a performs the work of an operator,
who would in their absence, have to remove the discs and their cuttings.
B and B represent a pair of rolls, the former of which is several inches in
diameter and the other as small as it is possible to make it to be operative. C and
C¹ are another pair of rolls of exactly the same sizes respectively. Rolls B and C
are mounted in a frame D, occupy the same vertical plane, and have their shafts.
parallel with each other. They are geared together so as to run at the same speed,
by the two spur-wheels c b. These rolls are mounted some distance from the punch
while the small rolls B¹ C¹, are placed as close thereto as possible, without inter-
fering with it. The small rolls are mounted in the outer ends of the two
extensions d d from the main frame D. Over each pair of rolls B B¹ and C C'
an endless belt b' and c' respectively is carried. These belts while passing from
the point of contact between the large rolls to the point of contact between the
small rolls are face to face and in contact with each other. The extensions d d of
the frame act in a measure as guides, as they stand close to the edges of the belts.
The roller C has its bearings in a slot d¹ in the frame D, so that its weight may
carry it down on to the roller B and exert a pressure upon the belts and anything
else that may be between them. E represents a trough or guide through which

page_text: the strip of material to be fed is conducted. Two transverse rollers ee are mounted
loosely in the sides of this trough to rest upon the strip and flatten it out.
Motion is imparted to the rollers and belts by means of the ratchet wheel G
mounted on the shaft of the roller B. A lever g pivoted between its extremities
on the shaft, carries at one end a pawl g' which engages with the teeth of the
ratchet. The other end of the lever is slotted and connected by a set screw
with a vertical rod g³. The latter is attached to the outer end of an arm H rigidly
connected with the shaft carrying the upper part of the punch. By adjusting the
point of connection between the rod g³ and the lever g, along the slotted end of the
latter, the amount of feed can be regulated according to the size of the punch used.
By means of these connections, the movement of the punch causes the rolls to
rotate as will be explained in reference to the operation, which as follows-
The strip of braid F is first introduced between the rolls B and C by passing it
under the rollers ee in the guide E. The punch is then set in motion by any
suitable means. While it is travelling upward, the pawl g' is forced into the teeth
of the ratchet wheel, causing it to turn in the direction of the arrow. The rolls
are accordingly moved and the braid is gripped and carried with a step by step
movement towards the punch. While passing from the large rolls to the small
ones, the braid is held under gentle pressure and perfectly flat, so that when it
leaves the small rolls, it is in substantially the same condition as it was in before it
entered the feeding mechanism, instead of being stretched out of shape and altered
in size, as is the case when some kinds of feeding mechanism are used. The strip
is pushed across the lower die and remains stationary while the upper die comes
down and cuts it.
- A gentle pressure- applied over a large surface of the braid will act in this
instance to better advantage than a heavy pressuré upon a comparatively small
surface and it is in this feature that one of the advantages of this invention lies.
Another advantage is that by using the small rollers B' C¹ the point of delivery of
the braid can be arranged very near to the punch, which enables very flexible and
delicate material to be fed thereto.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is,
: 1. A feeding mechanism consisting of two sets of rolls and an endless belt
running around each set, the rolls being arranged opposite to each other in pairs
and the belts running parallel and in contact with each other throughout the entire
distance from one pair of rolls to the other, and guides arranged upon each side of.
the portions of the belts that are in contact, constructed and operated substantially
as and for the purpose herein described and as illustrated by the accompanying
drawing.
2. The combination with a punch of a feeding mechanism consisting of two sets
of rolls an endless belt running around each set and guides upon each side of
the contiguous parts of the belts constructed and arranged substantially as and
for the purpose hereinbefore described and as illustrated by the accompanying
drawing.
3. The combination of the pair of large and small rolls B B' with the pair of:
large and small rolls C C, an endless belt carried by each pair, gearing connecting
the rolls B and C, a ratchet wheel connected with one of the large rolls, a pawl
engaging with the ratchet wheel, a punch and connections between the punch and
the pawl whereby motion of the punch causes the pawl to intermittently move the
rátchet and belts, substantially as hereinbefore described and as illustrated by the
accompanying drawing.
4. The combination of the pair of large and small rolls B B' with the pair of.
large and small rolls C C₁, an endless belt carried by each pair, gearing connecting
the rolls B and C a ratchet wheel connected with one of the large rolls, a slotted-
lever having a pawl engaging the ratchet wheel, a movable punch, a rigid projec--

page_text: tion from the punch, and a rod or bar connected at one end to the said projection.
and having at its other end a screw adapted to enter the slot of the pawl lever and
secure it adjustably thereto, substantially as hereinbefore described and as illustrated
by the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 4th dove of JulT AD 1892
WILLIAM E. HEYS.