Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 20th Apr., 1887.
Complete Left, 9th June, 1887.
Complete Accepted, 12th July, 1887.
I WILLIAM HENSHALL the Younger of Bollington near Macclesfield in the County
of Chester do hereby declare the nature of this Invention to be as follows :-
My said Invention relates to apparatus whereby nails used in a manufacture for
example in the manufacture of boots and shoes are made from a continuous length of
wire and driven without leaving the machine. The apparatus consists of a frame or
head supported upon a suitable stand and carrying the nail making and driving
apparatus. The wire to be transformed into nails is carried on a suitable reel and
the wire passes in the first instance between feeding rollers which feed and direct
it at suitable intervals to the pointing heading and cutting off dies beneath. The
point of the nail is formed by subjecting the wire to the pressure of suitably shaped
dies whereby the wire is pinched and reduced to the required degree. The shoulder
at the foot of the tapering pinched portion intended to form the point, serves to form
the top of the head of the portion of wire previously pointed, and the formation of
the head is accomplished by causing the pointing dies to descend and set up or
compress that portion of the wire which extends between the shoulder and another
pair of gripping dies beneath, in which the wire is firmly held while the heading is
гр.

page_text: being accomplished. The heading and gripping dies then resume their former
position while the nail thus formed is cut off or severed from the length of wire by
the sidelong movement of a carrier which carries it beneath a ram or driver which
immediately descends and drives the nail. This process of feeding, pointing, heading
severing and driving goes on continuously until the wire or the reel is exhausted.
I provide arrangements whereby the length of the nail can be varied at pleasure.
The dies receive motion from a shaft supported in bearings in the frame, and carrying
cams and tappets which are connected by levers and links with the various dies so as
to actuate the same. The driving shaft is actuated from a loose pulley and sliding
friction clutch; and a brake is also employed so as to stop the machine as soon as the
clutch is drawn out of gear. I do not however confine myself to this mode of
actuating the apparatus.
Dated this 18th day of April 1887.
JULIUS ALLMANN & Co.,
Agents.

page_text: Improvements in Machinery or Apparatus for Making and
Driving Nails.
I WILLIAM HENSHALL the Younger of Bollington near Macclesfield in the County
of Chester do hereby declare the nature of this Invention (communicated to me from
HORACE WEEKS of Boston Massachusets, United States of America) and in what
manner the sanie is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement and accompanying drawings :—
My said Invention relates to apparatus whereby nails used in a manufacture, for
example in the manufacture of boots and shoes are made from a continuous length of
wire and driven without leaving the machine.
The wire to be formed into nails is carried on a suitable reel and the wire passes in
the first instance between feeding rollers which feed and direct it to the pointing,
heading, and cutting of dies beneath. The nails thus formed are carried beneath a
driver by which they are driven into the work without leaving the machine. The
operations of feeding, pointing, heading, severing, and driving proceed until the wire
on the reel is finished.
And in order that my said Invention may be properly understood I will proceed
more particularly to describe the same with reference to the annexed three sheets of
drawings.
Fig. 1 of the said drawings is a side elevation of the apparatus for forming and
driving the nails. Fig. 2 is an enlarged horizontal section upon the line a Fig. 1.
Fig. 3 is a view of a portion of wire the end of which has been pointed and upon
which has also been formed the point for the next nail. Fig. 4 shows the same piece
of wire and represents the succeeding step in the process that is to say the formation
of the upset head upon the preeeding nail blank. Fig. 5 represents the headed and
pointed nail blank as completed and severed from the pointed end of the wire and as
fed to a position under the aforesaid driver by which the nail is forced or driven into
the work. Fig. 6, sheet 2 is an enlarged sectional Front Elevation of the machine
illustrating the relation of the carrier to the swaging, heading, and gripping dies and
to the throat and nozzle of the machine. Fig. 7 illustrates the swaging and heading
dies and carrier. Fig. 8 is a horizontal section illustrating the double feeding
mechanism or devices. Fig. 9 sheet 3 is an elevation of the machine at the side
opposite to that shown at Fig. 1. Fig. 10 is a detail view in perspective illustrating
a part of the machine for operating the feed rolls.
In the operation of the machine the swaging dies close upon the wire to form the
point of a nail and nearly sever a length which is carried forward by a movement of
the dies and is headed by being forced into the head-forming cavity of the gripping
dies so that the point of the nail is formed by swaging and the head is formed by
upsetting the wire and causing it to extend laterally. The portion of wire between
the swaging and gripping dies is sufficiently long to provide a head and may vary in

page_text: length according to the size of head desired. The action of the swaging dies in
swaging and in heading does not sever the headed nail from the wire, and for this
reason it is necessary to provide the wire with a double feed,-first the feed movement
which advances the wire sufficiently to bring the head-forming section of each nail
into proper relation to the head-forming recesses of the gripping dies, and secondly 5
an additional feeding movement of the wire to advance the nail downward sufficiently
to clear the under surface of the gripping-dies and to bring the head in line with the
upper surface of the carrier so that upon the lateral movement of the carrier the
headed nail is severed from the pointed wire above it.
The carrier then transfers the nail to the driver and after the nail has been driven
the carrier returns to its former position bringing its nail receiving hole in line with
the hole of the gripping dies, and the wire is then again fed as before.
I have also embodied in the machine mechanism for varying the length of the
shank of the nail, so that nails of any desired length may be formed.
The invention also relates to various details of construction which are hereinafter
described.
In the drawings A is the frame of the head stock of the machine. The said frame
is mounted upon the standard a and carries the main shaft B which is provided with
cams for operating the feeding mechanism the swaging and heading dies, the gripping
dies, the carrier and severing block and the nail-driver. Upon the same shaft is
mounted the driving member 6 of a clutch, the driven member 6' thereof being fixed
upon the shaft and being provided with a brake-wheel b². The driving member b
has a long boss 63 and is movable upon the shaft to and from the driven member b¹
by means of the bent lever 64 pivoted at 66, and the rod 68 attached to a treadle. The
lever also carries the friction-brake ring 67 which bears upon the surface of the
brake-wheel 62 so that the act of moving the driving member 6 of the clutch out of
contact with the driven member brings the friction-brake to bear upon the brake-
wheel, and stops the rotation of the shaft B.
>
The wire is carried by the reel c which is mounted upon a spindle or stud which
extends diagonally from the frame of the machine.
The said reel has a drum c¹ which holds the coil of wire and the separate or inde-
pendent fingers c² which are pivoted to the edge of the drum to swing outward in
relation thereto, so as to occupy two positions first a position substantially parallel
with the surface of the drum to allow a coil of wire to be put on and secondly a posi-
tion at right angles thereto as represented in Fig. 1 to hold the coil of wire upon the
drum of the reel. The fingers are held in these positions by means of the flat
springs and the flat surfaces c at the inner ends of the fingers; which are so
arranged that the springs serve to hold the fingers either up or down according to the
surfaces upon which they bear. The wire is led from the reel to the feed rolls cs ca
through the hole c and the guide c8 (See Fig. 6.)
The feed rolls. c c are rotated or moved only during the feeding of the wire, and
are maintained in constant contact therewith, thereby differing from ordinary
feeding mechanism wherein are employed two constantly rotating feed wheels or rolls
one of which is moved away from the other to stop the feed of the wire. The rolls c c
have grooves in their peripheries which grip and feed the wire downwards.
The first action of the feed rolls is to give out only a certain part of the length of
wire, necessary for a complete nail--that is, to feed the wire the length for a nail less
the length of so much thereof as is necessary to form the head and the portion which
is held in the gripping dies. As however the rolls must be again moved to feed the
length of wire requisite to allow the nail to descend clear of the gripping dies, and as
it is necessary to employ other mechanism for giving the feed-rolls this additional
feeding movement. I have represented the first feed-movement as obtained by means
of teeth formed upon a plate, c¹0 which is carried by the shaft c" of the roll c bu
which is not fast thereto. This mechanism is most clearly seen at Fig. 10. This
plate co has an arm c" which carries a pawl c¹³ arranged to engage with the ratche
wheel c which is fast to the feed-roll shaft c¹¹ so that upon the partial relation o
movement of the plate c¹0 in one direction the feed rolls are rotated while upon it

page_text: movement in an opposite direction the feed-pawl rides upon the ratchet-wheel and
communicates no movement to the rolls.
The feed roll c it will be understood is connected with the feed roll c³ by means of
the gear teeth c and c¹. The plate co has imparted to a partial to and fro rota-
tion upon the shaft c¹ by means of the sector c' at the end of the arm c" pivoted.
at c, the link c, the lever c20, pivoted at ", and operated or moved at intervals by
the cam-groove
22 in a cam-disk on the main shaft B. This lever 20 has a cam-pin
entering the cam-groove and carries an arc rack c23 which has a slot c24, which receives
and holds the end of the link cl which end is provided with a vertical movement in
the said slot to vary the length of the throw of the sector c¹ and consequently the
extent of rotation or movement of the plate c¹0 and of the feed rolls.
The nearer the end 25 of the link is to the fulcrum of the lever 20 the less the
movement of the feed rolls. To change the position of this end of the link in relation
to the fulcrum, and to lock the link in any desired position and also to provide an
indicator which shall indicate the length of the nail to which the feed is set. I have.
secured to the link c¹ a stud carrying teeth 26 which gear with the arc rack and the
stud also has a notched disk c fastened to it. The link e¹ also carries the spring
bolt or pin which is arranged to engage with the notches of the disc 27 and lock
the disc and the gear and consequently the link in any desired position, so that to move
the end of the link upon the lever 20 it is necessary to disengage the spring-pin from
the disc and then to turn the disc to move the link either up or down, as required.
When the feed has been set the pin again engages the disc and locks the link to the
lever in its new position. The plate 2 may have numbers set against the various
notches to indicate the various sizes of the nails obtained.
It will be seen from the foregoing that upon the movement of the lever.c20 by the
cam the sector c¹ causes the feed-rolls to be positively moved in a direction to feed
the wire, while upon the reverse movement the pawl c¹³ rides on the ratchet wheel c¹.
the shaft c" and the feed rolls remain stationary. This feeding movement of the rolls:
advances the wire and presents it to the swaging dies or jaws D. D¹.
The dies D & D shown at Fig. 7 have the swaging surfaces or recesses d & d² and
the heading surface d' & d³. The two dies are pivoted to or connected with each other,
and with the slide plate d by means of a stud d³. The die or jaw D has the long
horizontally-extending arm de and the die or jaw D' an arm d' of similar shape and
extent.
The dies are pivoted or connected so that they may be moved toward each other to
swage a point and from each other to release the wire and permit it to be fed. They
are thus moved by means of a toggle d³ do, connected respectively, with the ends of
the arms d d and with the adjustable block d¹0 carried by the slide-plate d". This
block d¹ is made adjustable upon its operating plate, so as to set or adjust the working
or swaging surfaces of the dies, and this adjustment is obtained by means of a slot di
in the block and a locking-screw, d¹³ and an adjusting and holding screw d¹.
The swaging and heading device or dies have not only movements to swage the
point of the nail, but also movements whereby they are caused to act as a heading
tool. It is therefore necessary that they may be operated first to close on the wire to
swage or shape the point, and while thus held closed upon the wire to be moved
vertically downward to the gripping dies E E', and thereby upset or form the head of
the preceding pointed section of the wire by shortening the wire or causing the
section of the wire between the lower end of the head-forming cavity or recess e of
each gripper and the surfaces d¹ d³ of the jaws 1 D' to be extended laterally into
the said cavity or recess, to fill it and thereby form an upset head.
The closing and opening movements and the movement by which the dies are held
closed as they move vertically are provided by the cam groove d¹ in a cam-disc upon
the shaft B, the lever d¹ mounted upon a fulcrum at d" and connected with the end
of the slide d¹¹ seen in Fig. 1. The vertical movement is given to the swaging dies
and header by means of the cam-groove d¹8 in the cam-disc d upon the shaft B and
the slide-plate d to which the jaws or dies D. D' are pivoted. The said slide plate is
suitably guided and has a cam-pin which enters the cam-groove.d¹ so that at the

page_text: proper times the swaging and heading dies are moved downwards and after acting to
form a head in connection with the gripping dies, are returned to their original
position..
The gripping-dies E E¹ are shown in Fig. 2 and are similar in construction to the
swaging-dies. Each die has one half of the head-forming cavity or recess e and one
half of the feed-way through which the wire or nail is fed when the gripping dies are
open. The gripping die E' has the arm e². The two dies are connected by the
stud e. As they are moved toward and from each other simultaneously with the
closing and opening movements of the swaging dies they are operated by the slide d¹¹
and are connected therewith in the same manner that the arms d' d' of the swaging
dies are connected together-namely by means of a toggle et es which is connected
with the ends of the levers or arms e¹ e² and with the adjustable block e which is
moved upon the slide by means of the slot e the locking and guiding bolt es, and the
adjusting and holding screw e. The block is provided with this adjustment for the
purpose of regulating the time of the movements of the jaws E E. From this it
will be seen that the gripping dies are closed upon the wire simultaneously with the
closing of the swaging dies and that the said gripping dies remain closed upon
the wire to hold it during the downward movement of the swaging dies in forming the
head. The gripping dies are also opened at the same time that the swaging dies are
opened to permit the headed blank or nail to descend clear of the gripping dies. The
swaging dies as we have before indicated, do not act to sever the blank from the wire
before it is headed or during the heading operation.
The additional feeding movement of the wire now takes place, and this is provided
by the feed-rolls which are now actuated by a different mechanism which
comprises the ratchet-wheel fast to the shaft c¹¹ and pawl f¹ arranged to engage the
ratchet wheel and carried by a lever fulcrumed on the end of the shaft and
provided with the necessary oscillating movement for causing the pawl to engage the
ratchet wheel to turn the shaft c¹¹ by means of the cam-groove f³ in a cam disc F upon
the shaft B, the lever f* fulcrumed at f, and the link f (see Fig. 9). While this
additional movement of the feed wheels takes place, the ratchet-wheel which the feed
pawl engages simply rides by the end of the pawl which remains stationary. The
shaft is prevented from being turned backwards by the ratchet-wheel and the
detent-pawl. This additional movement or feed of the wire is of course timed to
take place after the head has been formed and the wire is then moved sufficiently to
bring the entire blank into the carrier H and with the upper surface of the head flush
with the upper surface of the cutting block of the carrier. The carrier is then
moved in suitable guideway or passage h¹ of the machine by means of the cam h³
upon the main shaft B and rock-lever h which is fulcrumed at h* and which is
connected with the outer end of the carrier or slide. The movement of the carrier
or slide which then takes place severs the nail from the pointed end of the wire close
to the top of the head and advances the complete nail to a position which brings it in
line with the throat or driveway m as shown in Fig. 6. The driver M is then released
and drives the nail from the passage in the carrier through the driveway in the
nozzle m¹ into the stock or piece to be nailed. The carrier is then immediately
returned to its original position and the operations above described are repeated.
The driver M is supported or carried by the driver-bar or ram m², which has
suitable bearings in the frame of the machine and is lifted by the lifting cam m³
upon the cam-disk m* at the end of the main shaft B which is adapted to engage a
projection thereon and lift it in opposition to the actuating spring, the upper part of
which is indicated at m' in Fig. 1 and to hold and sustain the said driver bar until
the cam is moved sufficiently far to clear the projection, when the spring operates to
force the bar downwards. The spring is a long coiled spring connected at its lower
end to the frame of the machine and at its upper end to the lever, m6 which is
fulcrumed at m' to the frame of the machine (see Fig. 1.) and is formed with a
rounded end m³, which bears upon the rounded head m' of the driver bar. The
cam m³ is shaped to move the driver-rod from the carrier promptly and to hold
the driver-bar until the time for permitting the spring to act to drive the nail.

page_text: The operation of the machine is as follows. The wire is advanced by the first feed
to the swaging and heading dies, it being understood that the end of the wire has
been already pointed by a previous action of the swaging dies and has been fed
between the gripping dies, with its shank extending into the carrier. The swaging-
dies then form the second point, without, however severing the portion of wire
previously pointed, the gripping-dies having been closed the same instant the feed is
released, so that the swaging-dies move downward, drawing the wire and forming the
head by shortening the wire-that is the portion of wire between the gripping and
swaging dies is upset to form the head. The swaging and gripping dies then return
to their original positions and the second feed takes place. The carrier now operates
so as to sever the nail from the wire and advance it to the driver which drives it and
returns. The carrier is then moved back to receive the shank of the next blank or
nail as the wire is fed.
In the act of heading a nail-blank the swaging dies draw from the reel through
the feed-rolls a length of wire equivalent to the length of that portion of the wire
which is upset in forming the head so that in making each nail there are in fact three
movements of the wire from the reel.
If desired there may be employed in addition to the detent-pawl and ratchet above
described, a second detent-pawl and ratchet ' ; but two ratchets and detent-pawls
are used only when it is desired to obtain a very fine adjustment or movement of
the feeding devices, and when used the teeth of the holding ratchets are half the
length of the teeth of the driving ratche.s used for operating the feed-rolls, and the
holding ratchets are so placed in relation to each other as that the teeth of one ratchet
shall be slightly in advance of the teeth of the other say one half the length of
the tooth.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I claim is :-
(1.) The combination of mechanism for feeding, pointing, heading, severing and
driving nails made from a length or coil of wire, substantially as herein before
described and as illustrated in the accompanying sheets of drawings.
(2.) In a machine for pointing heading, severing and driving nails the combination
of the vertically moving point swaging and heading dies, the horizontally moving
nail blank gripping dies having a head-forming cavity a horizontally movable
transferring and severing device and a reciprocating driver, together with wire
feeding mechanism adapted to grasp the wire continuously and to move it twice in
feeding the length of one nail whereby the wire is fed to the swaging dies is headed
and then moved through the swaging and gripping dies, so as to bring the headed
nail into the carrier for conveyance to the driver, all substantially as hereinbefore
described and shown.
(3.) The swaging dies D. D' adapted to have imparted to them horizontal closing
and opening movements and also vertical movements, in combination with the
opening and closing gripping dies E. E' arranged below the said swaging dies and
having a head forming cavity together with the severing die block h and nail carrier H
for transferring the nail into position beneath the driver substantially as described
and shown.
(4.) The positively driven feed-rolls for feeding the wire to the machine in
combination with the hereinbefore described apparatus for imparting an intermittent
feed motion thereto.
(5.) The arrangements for imparting a varying feed to the wire substantially as
described and shown.