US1110401A - Wire-feed device. - Google Patents

Description

G. W. PERKINS.

WIRE FEED DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED 0e17, 1913.

Patented Sept. 15,1914.

w 7 5 n a ,0 m y M J THE NORRIS PETERS C0.. PHOTO-LITHO.. WASHINGTON. D. C

I "UNTTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE WVPERKINS, OE BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO HEATON PENIN- SULAB BUTTON FASTENER COMPANY, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORA- TION 0F MAINE.

WIRE-FEED DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Iatent.

Patented Sept. 15, 1914.

To all 1071 0m it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE W. PERKINS, citizen of the United States, residing at Bos ton, county of Suffolk, State of Massachusetts, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Tire-Feed Device, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings. I

The invention relates to an improvement in a safety device for wire feed to prevent buckling of the wire if the wire meets with an obstruction during the progress of the feed mechanism. p

The invention is especially intended for application to a machine for forming metallic fasteners for attaching a button to 'a shoe or other article but it is not limited to that use. For convenience of description the invention is shown as embodied in a machine for attaching buttons to boots and shoes. In machines of this character the wire is fed through suitable guides in a step by step movement, the wire being advanced at each period a distance equal to the length required for a blank to form a single fastener. After the wire has been threaded through a button it is cut off and the fastener is formed and carried with the button to the shoe to which it is to be attached. If the button is not properly positioned for the wire to pass through the eye, the wire in feeding is liable to strike against some obstruction and be bent. A safety device whereby if there is any obstruction in the path of the moving wire during its feeding movement the feed of the wire will cease before it bends and the several parts will be self adjusted before the next feed movement is shown and described in Patent No. 1,056,444, dated March 18, 1913, granted on my application.

The present invention, is an improvement on the invention shown in said former patent. In the device shown in said former patent the feed dog has a chisel-shaped engaging edge which has a tendency to nick the wire, especially when the movement of the wire is suddenly stopped by meeting an obstruction, as above described. If the wire is thus nicked it is an injury to the fastener which is formed from that portion of the wire.

The special object of the present inventionis to provide an improved form of feed in connection with the safety device.

The invention will be fully understood from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, and the novel features thereof will be pointed out and clearly defined in the claims at the close of the specification.

In the drawings,Figure 1 is a front elevation of a portion of a button raceway, wire feed mechanism, and connected parts embodying the invention. Fig. 2 is a plan of the wire feed mechanism shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a section on line 3-3 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 2 but with the parts in the position that they will assume after the feed block has begun its forward movement. Fig. 5 is a section on line 5-5 of Fig. 3. Fig. 6 is a detail view enlarged of the feed dog.

Referring now to the drawings,1 represents a cover of a raceway beneath which the buttons travel down to the position where the eye of the button 2 lies in position to receive a wire 4 from which the fastener blank is cut. The mechanism for cutting the wire and forming a fastener is not shown in the drawings, as that forms no part of the present invention.

Mounted fast on a rod 5 is a block 6 which i termed the wire end block, and passing loosely through said block 6 is a rod 7 which serves as a guide. The wire 4 passes through'a guideway in the wire end block 6. Fulcrumed at 10 to said block 6 is a dog 11 whose lower end engages the upper side of the wire 4. A spring 13 seated atits rear end in a recess in a projection 14 on the block 6 presses against the rear' side of the upper arm of the dog 11 and normally holds said dog in a position so that the point of the dog will engage the wire '4 as shown in Fig. 1. The dog yields sutliciently to allow the wire to be fed forward but prevents the wire from being drawn backward.

Loosely mounted on the rods 5 and 7 is a block 9 which is termed the feed block. Said block 9 has a guide-way for the wire 4. This guide-way may be formed in any suitable way. As shown, it consists of a grooved block 15 mounted on the side of the feed block9 and cooperating with a suitable tion on the feed block 9 by a button 8 held in place by a screw 17. Said block 9 is slidable on the rod 7.

The feed block 9 is held and carried a reciprocable lever 18 which is actuated in any suitable manner so as to give a reciproeating movement in a straight line to the feed block 9. A. dog 20 is fulcrunied on a pin 19 which is secured in the block 9, said dog 20 having a face 12 parallel with the wire 4 formed with a plurality of transverse serrations which engage the wire 4 to feed the wire. Said fulcrum pin 19 is mounted in any suitable way in the block but as shown it is held in position by a screw which is screwed into a hole in the feed block and impinges on the pin 19 to hold it in place. A lever 47 fulcrumed on pin 48 has arounded lower end 49 which engages with the sloping upper side of the dog 20, said lower end being normally held in engagement with the said dog 20 by a spring 21 mounted in a recess in a lug 22 on the block 9 which projects out of said recess and engages with the upper arm of the lever 47 to hold the lower end of the sa d lever in engagement with said dog 20. The pin 48 is held in position by a screw 51 which is screwed into the-block 9. The tension of the spring 21 issufliciently strong so that the lever 47 will cause the dog 20 to hold the wire clamped to the feed block so that the wire will be fed'by the forward movement of the feed block if there is no unusual obstruction to the travel of the wire.

On the return movement of the feed block the dog 20 is allowed to trail back over the wire, the wire being held from backward movement by the dog 11.

Means are provided whereby if on the forward stroke of the lever 18 the end of the wire which is supposed to thread through the button meets with any obstruction before the end of its stroke the feed block will be restrained from advancing although the lever 18 continues its stroke. The means shown are substantially the same as the means for that purpose shown in said Patent 1,056,444, and are as follows: The feed block 9 is mounted upon the carrier lever 18 by ayielding tension connection which will be sufiiciently strong so thatthe feed block will be carried by the lever 18 under normal conditions, but when resistance is offered, such as occasioned by the wire being ob-, structed, the tension connection will yield and the fe'edblock will stand still temporarily while the lever 18 continues its forward movement until the said dog 5 is tripped from its engagement with the wire,

and then the said'feed block can be-carried to the end of its stroke free from gripping engagement with the wire. "The outer end; of the lever 18 isformed with' 'a 'fiatted por-. tio fieand the 'b1 ck9 is f rmed witha recess 23 in its under side which receives said fiatted end portion of the lever 18. Said flatted portion 24 of the lever is formed with a vertical'recess 43 of somewhat less width than the width of the block 9 so that the block 9 bridges the recess 43 and is supported on the said flatted portion of the lever. The block 9 is provided with a tongue 25 which lies in the horizontal recess 23 in said block. Said tongue 25 is of less width than the width of the recess 43 so as to allow a possible relative movement of the lever and the block 9 in a direction parallel with the wire so that if the block is restrained from movement the lever may still continue to move to the end of its stroke. Projecting laterally from the flatted portion of the lever 18 is an extension 26 formed with holes which extend transversely through said extension from the outer edge thereof and opening into the recess 43 in the said lever 18. Inserted loosely in each of the holes in said extension 26 is a pin 27 whose inner end impinges against the tongue 25. Each of said pins 27 is formed with a reduced portion on which is mounted a spring 28. An adjusting screw 44 screws into the threaded outer portion of the hole in the extension26 and may be adjusted to regulate the tension of the spring 28, the reduced portion of the pin 27 passing loosely through an aperture in the stem of the screw 44. The tension of the spring 28 is sufficient so that the pins 27 will hold the tongue 25 against the wall of the recess 43 in the lever 18 on the forward side thereof so that the feed block and the wire engaged by the dog 20 will be carried along with the movement of the lever under normal conditions, but when the wire meets with an obstruction the grip of the dog 20 on the wire will be sufficient so that while the lever continues to move, the resistance to the onward movement of the feed block will overcome the tension f the spring 28 and hold the feed block 9 temporarily against movement. Means are provided, however, so that when the lever 18 is moved a short distance after the feed block has become restrained from movevment the dog 20 will be tripped from engagement with the wire and thus leave the feed block free to move. The tension of the springs 28 will then thrust the feed block forward without moving the wire, and then the feed block will continue to the'end of its forward stroke with the lever 18. The tripping means shown are as follows: Pivoted at 31 to the feed block 9 is a lever 32 whose upper portion 83 is bifurcated and straddles the upper arm of the lever 47 so that by oscillating said lever 47 on its pivot the lower arm 49 thereof will be released from engagement with the-dog 20 so that the said dog 20 will not be positively held in Lengagement with thewi-re but will allow the dog to slide over the wire. The lower arm of said lever 32 extends down through the recess 43 in the extension of the lever 18. A pin 34 projects from the lower portion of said lever 32 and is adapted to be engaged by a pin 35, which projects from the under side of the flatted portion 24 of the lever 18 but said pins are normally a short distance apart from each other. When the lever 18 continues its movement after the feed block 9 is restrained by the stopping of the wire under the obstruction, said pin 35 will engage the pin 34 on the lever 32 and thereby turn the lever 32 on its pivot and thus rock the lever 47 in a direction to lift the lower end of the said lever 47 out of engagement with the dog 20.

Pivoted on a pin 36 in a slotted post 371 v which projects from the block 9 is a latch lever 37 which is formed with a hook 38 on one end which is adapted to be snapped down, into engagement with the lever 32 when the said lever 32 has been turned back to release the lever 47 from the dog 20. Normally the said hook 38 will rest against the back face of the lever 32, leaving the lever 32 unlocked, but when the lever 32 is turned on its pivot in the manner previously described it will turn said lever far enough to carry its back face out of engagement with the hook 38, and a spring 39 will imme diately throw the lever 37 so as to snap the hook down against the outer edge of the lever 32 to latch the said lever 32 in its backward position. In order that the said latch shall be released so that the lever 47 will be again in position to engage the back of the dog 20 to cause it to grip the wire for a feed movement after the feed movement has been moved back for another stroke, the

rear end of said lever 37 is formed with a cam portion 40 which before the feed block 9 reaches the end of its backward stroke will engage with the face 41 of a projection 42 on the end block 6, thereby turning the said latch lever 37 in a direction to release the hook 38 from the lever 32 and allow the spring 21 to turn the lever 47 back so as to bring the lower end 49 into engagement with the dog 20 and hold it in gripping engagement with the wire.

In the ordinary use of the machine if there is no obstruction to the proper feed of the wire the feed block 9 will continue to the full end of its forward stroke with the lever 18 without any checking of the movement of the feed block with relation to the lever and without any tripping of the lever 47, and on the backward stroke of the lever 18 the feed block will also move with the lever 18 and the dog 20 will trail back over the wire 4 and at the end of its backward stroke the dog 20will be in gripping engagement with the wire ready for the forward feed.

What I claim is:

1. In a wire feed device, a reciprocable feed block having a rest on which the wire is supported, a dog pivoted to said feed block, said dog having a serrated face which normally engages the wire, and clamps it to the feed block, and means for holding said dog in engagement with the wire during the forward movement of the feed block.

2. In a wire feed device, a reciprocable feed block having a rest on which the wire is supported, a dog pivoted to said feed block, said dog having a face which normally lies parallel with the wire and is formed with a plurality of teeth transversely of said face which engage with said wire, and means for normally holding said dog with its teeth in engagement with the wire.

3. In a wire feed device, a reciprocable feed block having a rest on which the wire is supported, a dog pivoted to said feed block, said dog having a serrated face which normally engages the wire, a pivoted lever having one arm which engages theback of said dog to hold it in gripping engagement with the wire, a spring which holds said lever in yielding engagement with said dog, a reciprocable actuating member which moves said feed block, a yielding tension connection between said actuating mechanism and said feed block which yields to resistance to the onward movement of the feed block and permits the continued movement of said actuating mechanism, and tripping mechanism which is actuated by the said continued'movement of the actuating mechanism to release from said dog said lever which holds the dog in engagement with the wire.

4. In a wire feed device, a reciprocable feed block having a rest on which the wire is supported, a dog pivoted to said feed block, said dog having a serrated face which normally engages the wire and having an inclined back, a pivoted lever having one arm formed with a rounded end which engages the inclined back of said dog to hold it in gripping engagement with the wire, a spring which holds said lever in yielding engagement with said dog, a reciprocable actuating member which moves said feed block, a yielding tension connection between said actuating mechanism and said feed block which yields to resistance to the onward movement of the feed block and permits the continued movement of said actuating mechof the wire and formed with a plurality of serrations transverse of the path of movement of the wire which engage with the wire and clamp it to the feed block, and means for reciprocating said feed block.

6. In a wire feed device, a reciprocable block on which the wire is supported, a dog pivoted to said feed block and having a serrated face which normally engages the wire to clamp it to the feed block, a pivoted lever having one arm which engages the back of said dog to hold it in gripping engagement with the wire, and a spring which holds said lever in yielding engagement with said dog.

7. In a wire feed device, a reciprocable feed block on which the wire is supported, a dog pivoted to said feed block having a serrated face which normally engages the wire and clamps it to the feed block so that the wire will travel with the feed block, said dog having an inclined back, a pivoted lever having one arm which engages the said inclined back of the dog to hold it in gripping engagement with the wire, a spring which holds said lever in yielding engagement with said dog, and means controlled bythe stopping of the wire before the end of the feed movement of the feed block to trip said lever from said dog.

8. In a wire feed device, a reciprocable feed block on which the wire is supported, a dog pivoted to said feed block having a serrated face" which engages with the wire and clamps it to the feed block so that the wire will be fed by the movement of the feed block in one direction, and a pivoted lever having one arm formed with a rounded end which engages the back of said dog to hold it in gripping engagement with the wire.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

' GEORGE XV. PERKINS.

Witnesses:

WILLIAM A. COPELAND, Anion H. MORRISON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

' Washington, D. C.

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