Year: 1886

page_text: Date of Application, 15th May, 1886.
Complete Left, 15th Feb., 1887.
Complete Accepted, 26th Apr., 1887.
We, GEORGE ALBERT SPRATT, ALFRED SIDNEY SPRATT, and HENRY JAMES SPRATT,
all of 113 Triangle, Mare Street, Hackney, in the County of Middlesex, Cabinet
Makers, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
Our invention relates to the manufacture of hair-pins and the machinery or
apparatus therefor.
Our said invention comprises an improved method of manufacturing hair-pins by
first cutting wire into pieces of suitable length and pointing the same, then spirally
winding or coiling the same upon a mandrel, and then providing the spirally coiled
pieces with suitable heads, such as knobs or pieces of metal of spherical or other shape
or metal sockets with pearls or precious stones set therein.
The machinery or apparatus which we employ in the manufacture of our hair-pins
comprises means for feeding the wire as required from a reel or drum on which it is
wound; means for gripping or holding the end of the wire to permit the coiling
thereof on the mandrel; means for cutting the samo into blanks or pieces of suitable
length and pointing the same; means for rotating the mandrel and imparting longi-
tudinal motion thereto to spirally wind or coil the said pieces thereon; and means for
withdrawing the said mandrel from the hair-pins thus formed.
Our improved machinery or apparatus is conveniently and advantageously con-
structed as hereinafter set forth, that is to say :-The main or driving shaft is carried
in suitable bearings in uprights or standards secured to the bed-plate. The said shaft
has fixed thereon a driving pulley and a pinion which gears with a toothed wheel fixed
on another shaft parallel with the driving shaft and carrying a pinion which gears
with a toothed wheel fixed upon a cam-shaft. A mandrel is fitted to slide longitudinally
to and fro within the driving shaft, and is so connected with the said shaft that it will
rotate therewith; for instance the mandrel is made with a square portion fitting into
a square hole in the said shaft. The mandrel extends through the said shaft and is
acted upon by a spring which tends to keep it in the rearmost position. This spring
is attached at one end to the bed-plate and at its other end to a forked piece whereby

page_text: it is connected with a spindle fitting into a socket formed or fixed on one end of the
mandrel. The said spindle carries an antifriction roller, and is secured in the said
socket by means of a screw which is screwed into the said socket and enters an
annular groove or channel in the said spindle. The mandrel therefore, although
connected with the said spindle, is capable of rotation independently thereof; the
rotation of the said spindle is prevented by the aforesaid spring.
A cam is fixed upon the aforesaid cam-shaft, and is formed with a helical surface,
which, in each revolution of the said shaft moves the mandrel in one direction against
the pressure of its spring and then permits the said spring to effect the return move-
ment of the mandrel, that is to say, to move it back to its original position. The
mandrel is thus moved to and fro once in each revolution of tlie cam-shaft for the
purpose hereinafter specified.
A reel of wire is fitted to rotate on a pin or bolt carried by brackets attached to
the bed-plate. This pin is so arranged that it can easily be withdrawn when it is
desired to remove an empty reel and substitute a fresh reel therefor. The wire
from this reel - is passed through a tubular shaft, upon which is fitted a sleeve.
This sleeve bears against a conical seat on the said tubular shaft, and is firmly
secured upon the said shaft by means of a nut having a conical extension which fits a
corresponding seat in the said sleeve. A driving pulley is fitted with a capability of
to-and-fro movement upon the said sleeve, but is keyed thereon, or otherwise connected
therewith, so that the said sleeve and the shaft will rotate with the said pulley. This
pulley is to be connected, by a belt, with a pulley on an overhead shaft.
Two lovers are pivotted to lugs formed on the said sleeve. Each of these levers has
a circular cutter fitted to rotate upon one arm thereof. The other arms of the said
levers extend towards the pulley on the said sleeve in which are fixed brackets or
studs provided with anti-friction rollers. These rollers bear against the said levers.
The said tubular shaft, sleeve, levers and cutters all rotate with the pulley on the said
sleeve. A ring or collar is fitted loosely upon the said tubular shaft between the said
pulley and an upright or standard secured to the bed-plate. Two pins or rods are
fixed in this ring or collar and extend through holes in the said upright or standard.
Another sleeve is fitted to slide to and fro upon a rod or shaft carried in suitable uprights
or standards below the said tubular shaft. This sleeve is coupled, by means of a con-
necting rod, with a crank formed on, or attached to, a bevel pinion. The said crank
and bevel pinion are fitted to rotate upon a stud or shaft firmly secured to the
bed-plate. The said connecting rod is made in two parts which are united by bolts
passing through slots therein, so that the said rod can be lengthened or shortened, as
required, to regulate the position of the last named sleeve relatively to the said pins or
rods. This sleeve is provided with a spring catch for holding the wire when the said
sleeve is moved forward to feed the said wire to the mandrel. A similar catch is
provided on another upright or standard to prevent backward movement of the
said wire.
Motion is imparted to the said crank by means of a bevel pinion fixed on the
aforesaid cam-shaft and gearing with the aforesaid bevel pinion carrying the crank.
A tube is carried by a bracket secured to the bed-plate and is so placed that it will
conduct the wire from the said tubular shaft to the mandrel.
A rod or spindle is fitted to slide to and fro in a hollow shaft carried in bearings in
the uprights or standards secured to the bed-plate. This rod or spindle is acted upon
by a spring attached to the bed-plate and bearing against one end of the said rod or
spindle so that it tends to force the same into contact with the mandrel, the said rod or
spindle and the mandrel being in axial alignment. Rotary motion is imparted to this
rod or spindle from the driving shaft through the medium of a shaft having fixed
thereon à pinion gearing with another pinion on the driving shaft, and a pinion gearing
with another pinion fixed upon the hollow shaft carrying tho said rod or spindle.
These pinions are so proportioned that the said rod or spindle will be rotated at the
same velocity as the mandrel.
A catch-lever is pivotted upon a stud fixed in the bed-plate and is forked at one end
so that it will enter an annular groove or recess in the said rod or spindle. This lover

page_text: is acted upon by a spring which tends to hold it in engagement with the said rod or
spindle.
The gearing whereby the driving-pulley is connected with the cam-shaft and the
crank is so arranged that, while the said driving pulley is making say twelve or
sixteen, or any other desired number of revolutions, the cam-shaft and crank will make
only one revolution. Moreover the cam is so shaped that, during one half of eacli
revolution thereof, it will move the mandrel forward or towards the said rod or spindle,
and, during the other half of each revolution, will permit the movement of the said
mandrel in the reverse direction by means of a spring.
Suitable means are provided for automatically putting the mandrel and the said rod
or spindle in and out of gear with the driving pulley as required in the operation of
the machine. The wire is conducted through the aforesaid catches and through the
tubular shaft and tube. When the crank reaches its forward "dead centre," the end
of the wire lies between the end of the mandrel and the said rod or spindle, which
rod is released by the striking of the crank against the lever which is engaged with
the said rod. The said rod is then moved towards the mandrel by its spring, so that
the end of the wire is firmly held between the said rod and mandrel, the rod being
provided with a recess or cavity in its extremity to receive the end of the wire.
Moreover the crank acts through the medium of the connecting rod and sleeve upon
the pins, and thereby forces the rollers carried by the pulley on the sleeve between the
levers carrying the cutters and brings the said cutters together, thus severing a piece
from the wire and pointing the said piece. A pin or rod at the same time disengages
the catch from the wire. The mandrel is then rotated, and, at the same time, moved
forward by the cam so that it winds or coils the said piece of wire spirally upon itself.
The cam then permits the spring to effect the return movement of the mandrel. In
this movement the hair-pin formed on the said mandrel is pushed off the same by the
end of the tube, or by the bracket supporting the same. The rod or spindle then
remains in position by reason of the engagement of the catch lever therewith. The
crank in its return movement moves back the sleeve upon the rod and causes the catch
The
to engage with another length of wire preparatory to feeding forward the same.
cutiers are moved back to their original positions by means of springs.
We provide any suitable means for adjusting the feed-mechanism relatively to the
mandrel and for regulating the length of the hair-pins.
11: 11:1
100...זו
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London,
Agents for the Applicants.

page_text: We, GEORGE ALBERT SPRATT, ALFRED SIDNEY SPRATT and HENRY JAMES SPRATT,
all of 113 Triangle, Mare Street, Hackney, in the County of Middlesex, Cabinet
Makers, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
Our invention relates to the manufacture of hair-pins and to machinery or apparatus
therefor.
Our said invention comprises an improved method of manufacturing hair-pins by
first cutting wire into pieces of suitable length and pointing the same by one operation,
then spirally winding or coiling the same upon a mandrel, and then providing the
spirally coiled pieces with suitable heads, such as knobs or pieces of metal of spherical
or other shape, or metal sockets with pearls or precious stones set therein.
Our said invention, moreover, comprises an improved machine or apparatus for the
manufacture of our hair-pins.
In the accompanying drawing,
Figure 1 is a plan, partly in horizontal section, of our improved machine or
apparatus.
Figure 2 is a section on the line a, a, Figure 1, some of the parts being removed.
Figure 3 is an elevation, partly in section on the line a¹, Figure 1, some of the
parts being removed,
Figure 4 is an end elevation of part of the said machine.
Figure 5 is a side elevation of a hair-pin made by the said machine.
Like letters indicate corresponding parts throughout the drawing.
a is the bed-plate of the machine. is a hollow shaft, which is carried in suitable
bearings in the uprights or standards a¹, a². e is a driving-pulley fitted to rotate
upon the said shaft. is a pinion, which is secured to the said pulley and is geared
with a toothed wheel d¹ fixed on a shaft carried in bearings in the uprights or
standards a¹, a³. is the mandrel, which is fitted to slide longitudinally to and fro
within the shaft b, and which is made with a square portion fitting into a square hole
in the said shaft as shown in Figure 2, or is otherwise so connected with the said shaft
that it will rotate therewith. The said mandrel extends through the said shaft and is
acted upon by a spring which tends to keep the said mandrel in the position shewn

page_text: in the drawing. This spring is attached, at one end, to the bed-plate a and, at its
other end, to a forked piece whereby it is connected with a spindle g fitting into
a socket e formed or fixed on the end of the mandrel e. The spindle carries an
antifriction roller g' for the purpose hereinafter explained. The said spindle is
secured in the socket e¹ by means of a screw g², which is screwed into the said socket
and enters an annular groove or channel 3 in the spindle g. The mandrel, therefore,
although connected with the spindle g; is capable of rotation independently thereof;
the rotation of the said spindle is prevented by the spring and forked piece f¹.
A pinion is fixed on the shaft d and gears with a toothed wheel h¹ fixed on the
shaft, which is carried in bearings in the uprights or standards a', a. A cam i is
fixed upon the shaft h and is formed with a helical surface . In each revolution of the
shaft, this cam, acting upon the mandrel e through the medium of the roller g' and
spindle g, moves the said mandrel in the direction indicated by the arrow in Figure 1,
(the roller grunning on the helical surface i¹) thereby compressing the spring. The
said cam then permits this spring, by its reaction, to effect the return movement of the
said mandrel, that is to say, to move it back to its original position. The mandrel is
thus moved to and fro once in each revolution of the shaft for the purpose hereinafter
specified.
kis a reel containing the wire from which the hair-pins are to be made. This reel
is fitted to rotate on a pin or bolt k¹ carried by brackets 2 attached to the bed-plate a.
This pin or bolt is secured in the said brackets in such a manner that it can easily
be withdrawn when it is desired to remove an empty reel and substitute a fresh reel
therefor. The wire from the reel & is passed through a hollow or tubular shaft or
stud secured in the upright or standard a'. A. sleeve m is fitted with a capability of
rotation upon the shaft or stud 7 and bears against a conical seat thereon. This
sleeve is secured upon the said stud by means of a nut n having a conical extension n'
which fits a corresponding seat in the sleeve m. A driving pulley m² is fitted with a
capability of endwise movement upon the sleeve m, but is keyed thereon or otherwise
connected therewith so that the said sleeve will rotate with the said pulley. This
pulley is to be connected, by a belt, with a pulley on an overhead shaft.
Two levers o, o are pivotted at o¹, o¹ to lugs formed or fixed on the sleeve m. Each
of these levers has a circular cutter o² fitted to rotate upon one arm thereof. The
other arms of the said levers extend towards the pulley m¹, in which are fixed the
brackets or studs m² provided with anti-friction rollers m³. These rollers bear
against the levers o as shewn. The sleeve m, levers o and cutters of all rotate upon
or about the stud with the pulley m³. A ring or collar is fitted upon the stud
between the pulley m¹ and the upright or.standard as, in such a manner that the said
ring or collar is capable of end wise movement upon the said stud. Two pins or rods 1³
are fixed in this ring or collar and extend through holes in the upright or standard a³.
A flanged sleeve p is fitted to slide to and fro upon a rod secured in the uprights
or standards a, a, below the shaft 1. This sleeve is coupled, by means of a connecting
rod, with a cranky formed on, or attached to, the bevel pinion q'. The said crank
and bevel pinion are fitted to rotate upon a stud 2 firmly secured to the bed-plate a.
The connecting rod p² is made in two parts, which are united by bolts passing through
slots therein, as more clearly shewn in Figure 3, so that the said rod can be lengthened
or shortened, as required, to regulate the position of the sleeve p relatively to the pins
or rods ³. This sleeve is provided with a spring catch p³ for holding the wire when
the said sleeve is moved forward to feed the said wire to the mandrel e as hereinafter
described. One of the pins or rods 13 is made with an extension which passes
through the flange 7 of the sleeve p, so that, at the moment when the said pins are
acted upon by the said sleeve, the extension will disengage the catch from the
wire and thus prevent any forward movement of the wire while the same is being cut
as hereinafter described. A similar catch p is provided on the upright or standard a
to prevent backward movement of the sail wire. A spring mis placed upon the
sleeve m to effect the return movement of the pulley m' and to permit the cutters o²
to be moved back to their normal position, which movement is effected either by

page_text: centrifugal force or by means of a spring or springs suitably arranged in combination
with the levers o.
Motion is imparted to the crank 7 by means of a bevel pinion » fixed on the shaft h
and gearing with the pinion q..
.
A tubes is carried by a bracket s¹ secured to the bed-plate a. This tube is so
placed that it will conduct the wire from the tubular stud to the mandrel e.
t is a rod or spindle which is fitted to slide to and fro in a hollow shaft t¹ and is so
connected with the said shaft that it will rotate therewith. The shaft t¹ is carried in
bearings in the uprights or standards a², a. The rod or spindle t is acted upon by a
spring, which is attached to the bed-plate a and bears against one end of the said
rod or spindle, so that it tends to force the same into contact with the mandrel, the
said rod or spindle and the mandrel being in axial alignment. Rotary motion is
imparted to the hollow shaft ¹, and consequently to the rod or spindlet, from the
shaft through the medium of the shaft carried in bearings in the uprights or
standards a, a, and having fixed thereon the pinion gearing with the pinion b² on
the shaft, and the pinion gearing with the pinion t² fixed upon the hollow shaft t'.
These pinions are so proportioned that the rod i will be rotated at the same velocity as
the mandrel e.
o is a catch-lever, which is pivotted at upon a stud w² fixed in the bed-plate a.
This lever is so shaped at one end that it will enter an annular groove or recess (³ in
the rod ; and it is acted upon by a spring w³ which tends to hold it in engagement
with the said rod.
The gearing whereby the driving pulley e is connected with the shaft and crank 7
is so proportioned that, while the said driving pulley is making say twelve or sixteen
or any other desired number of revolutions, the shaft and crank will make only
one revolution.
Moreover the cam is so shaped that, during one half of each
revolution thereof, it will move the mandrel forward or towards the rod t, and, during
the other half of each revolution, will permit the movement of the said mandrel in the
reverse direction by the spring f
To provide for automatically putting the shaft and mandrel e in and out of gear
with the driving pulley e a pin or stud 63 is fixed in the pinion , and a sleeve or
clutch y is fitted to slide to and fro upon the shaft b and is provided with a pin or
study. This sleeve or clutch is keyed upon the shaft so that the said shaft will
rotate therewith, but the said sleeve or clutch is capable of endwise movement upon
the said shaft. A ring is fitted upon the sleeve or clutch y in such a manner that
the said sleeve or clutch is free to rotate therein, but will move end wise therewith.
A forked lever is pivotted upon a pin or stud fixed in the bed-plate a. The forked
end of this lever is connected with the ring y² by means of the pins or bolts y³. The
said lever is provided with a bracket or lug which carries an anti-friction roller =³.
The said lever is acted upon by a spring which is attached, at one end, to the lever
and, at its other end, to a pin or stud 5 fixed in the bed-plate a. This spring tends
to keep the roller against a cam 2 fixed upon the shaft h. In the operation of the
machine, the shaft is continuously rotated through the medium of the pinions b², d²,
and toothed wheels d', '. In the rotation of the shaft h, the cam h², acting upon the
lever z, moves the sleeve or clutch y towards the pinion so that the stud 63 engages
with the study, thereby putting the shaft bin gear with the driving pulley c. The
said shaft is thus kept in gear while the shaft h is making one half of a revolution and
while the cam is moving the mandrel forward. The cam 2 then releases the lever z
at the same time that the spring commences to draw the mandrel backward, so that
the said lever is drawn, by its spring, back to its original position, thereby
disconnecting the shaft & from the driving pulley. The shaft is, therefore, stationary
while the mandrel is being moved backward and while the wire is being fed towards
the mandrel.
The operation of the said machine is as follows, that is to say :-The wire from the
reel is conducted through the catches p, p, and through the shaft and tubes. The
parts of the machine are shewn in the drawing in the positions which they occupy

page_text: when the wire has been fed forward until its end is in proximity to the mandrel e.
which
Assuming the machine to be started from this position, when the crank Y,
moves in the direction indicated by the arrow in Figure 1, reaches its forward "dead
centre," the end of the wire lies between the end of the mandrel e and the rod t. The
said rod is released by the striking of the crank y against the lever w, and is then
moved towards the mandrel e by the spring u so that the end of the wire is seized
and firmly held between the mandrel e and rod t ; the extremity of the said rod is
grooved or recessed to receive the end of the wire. Moreover the crank acts,
through the medium of the connecting rod p² and sleeve p, upon the pins 1³, thereby
forcing the rollers m³ between the levers o and bringing together the cutters o² so
that they sever a piece from the wire and point the said piece, the catch p³ being
simultaneously disengaged from the wire by the extension 1. The cam h² then acts
upon the lever z and puts the shaft bin gear with the driving pulley, so that the
mandrel e is rotated. The said mandrel is, at the same time, moved forward by the
cami; it, therefore, winds or coils the said piece of wire spirally upon itself and thus
forms a spiral hair-pin. The cam then permits the spring to effect the return
movement of the mandrel, and the cam 2, at the same time, permits the spring 2 to
throw the mandrel out of gear. In the return movement of the mandrel, the hair-pin
formed thereon is pushed off the same by the end of the tubes or by the bracket
supporting the same. The rod t, which has been pushed by the mandrel back to its
original position, as shewn, remains in this position by reason of the engagement of
the lever wo therewith. The crank 7, in its return movement, moves back the sleeve p
upon the rod p₁ and causes the catch p³ to engage with another length of wire
preparatory to feeding forward the same.
The upright or standard a is secured to the bed-plate a by means of bolts a passing
through slots a in the said bed-plate, so that the feed-mechanism can be readily
adjusted to, and secured in, any desired position relatively to the mandrel. Moreover
the sleeve is adjustable on the rod p by lengthening or shortening the connecting
rod ; and the throw of the crank can be increased or diminished by adjusting the
crank-pin in the slot q³ in the said crank. The length of the pieces cut from the
wire can, therefore, be regulated with great facility.
P
The construction of our improved machine may be considerably varied without
departing from the nature of our invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said Invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we claim is :-
:-
First A machine for the manufacture of hair-pins, wherein the operations of
feeding the wire from a reel, cutting and pointing the same to form blanks or pieces
of suitable length, and spirally winding or coiling the said blanks or pieces upon a
mandrel, are automatically and continuously performed, as above specified.
Second-The combination of. parts comprising the cam i, the spring, and the
spindle g, whereby we provide for imparting end wise motion to the mandrel
substantially as, and for the purpose, set forth.
Third The improved means, substantially as set forth, whereby the mandrel is
automatically put into and out of gear with the driving pulley, for the purposes above
specified.
Fourth-The combination of parts comprising the crank 7, the connecting rod p²,
the sliding sleeve p provided with the catch p³, the ring or collar provided with the
pins 3, the sliding pulley m² provided with the rollers m³, the levers o carrying the
cutters o², and the spring m, all substantially as, and for the purposes, set forth.
Fifth The combination, with the feed-mechanism, of the tubes and bracket s¹,
substantially as, and for the purposes, set forth.
Sixth The combination, with the mandrel, of a rod or spindle in axial alignment
therewith and means for operating the said rod and mandrel, substantially as, and for
the purpose, set forth.

page_text: :
Seventh The conbination, with the rod or spindle t, of the spring u, the lever w
acted upon by the spring and operated by the crank q, all substantially as, and for
the purposes, set forth.
Eighth The improved machine consisting of the parts constructed and combined
substantially as described with reference to the accompanying drawing and operating
as, and for the purpose, set forth.
Ninth The improved hair-pin manufactured substantially as above described.