US1189681A - Machine for making pens. - Google Patents

Description

J. F. GEORGE.

MACHINE FOR MAKING PENS.

APPLICATION FILED ocr. II, I915.

Patented July 4, 1916.

4 sIIEETs-sIIEn I.

INVENTOR WITNESSES ATTORN EY J. F. GEORGE.

MACHINE FOR MAKING PENS.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. II, I915.

1,1 89,6 1 Patented July 4, 1916.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Iii

J. F. GEORGE.

MACHINE FOR MAKING PENS.

APPLICATION FILED ocr.11.1915.

Patented July 4, 1916.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

WITNESSES W gw ATTORN EY I. F. GEORGE.

MACHINE FOR MAKING PENS. APPLICATiON FILED OCT. 11. m5.

Patented July 4:, 1916.

4 SHEETSSHEET 4.

WITN ESSES A'ITORN EY JOHN F. GEORGE, 015 CAMDEN, NEW JERSEY.

MACHINE FOR MAKING IPENS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 4, 1916.

Application filed October 11, 1915. Serial No. 55,182.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JOHN F. GEORGE, a

citizen of the United States, and resident of Camden, county of Camden, and State of New Jersey, have invented an Improvement in Machines for Making Pens, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to provide an efficient machine for making writing pens from a sheet of metal in an automatic manner, whereby the sheet blank may be fed to the machine and finished pens produced therefrom except-as to the grinding, said latter operation being performed upon special machines as a separate operation and in the customary manner.

More specifically, my object is to provide means in an organized machine which will successively mark, slit and pierce and also punch and raise the pens, the successive operations being performed by suitable dies so positioned relatively to each other that successive operations take place upon the same portions of the metal which is to form the pen, the said dies being timed as to their operations so as to act alternately with feeding means which intermittently feed the sheet blank or strip through the machine.

In respect to minor objects of my invention, I provide means for relatively adjusting the dies which-perform the marking, slitting and piercing, and punching and raising, whereby accurate compensation may be provided for to suit longitudinal expansion or extension of the sheet strip from which the pens are blanked during its passage through the machine, whereby the several operations take place upon the exact portions of the sheet strip necessary to insure the properco-assemblage of the marking, slitting, piercing and punching lines in the finished pen blank, said provision being not only required by the elongation directly due to the mechanical manipulations, but also to the heating due to said manipulations.

With the above and other objects in view, the nature of which will be more fully understood from the description hereinafter, the invention consists in the novel construc tion of machines for making pens as hereinafter more fully described and defined in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of my improvedmachine; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same; Fig. 3 1s a cross section of the same on line w-w of Fig. 1, showing the feeding means; Fig. 4c is a simllar cross section taken on line y c of Fig. 1, showing the marking devices; Fig. 5 1s a similar cross section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1, showing the slitting and piercing devices; Fig. 6 is a similar cross section taken on line w w of Fig. 1, showing the punching and raising devices; Fig. 7 is a plan view of the bed and punching die; Fig. 8 is a longitudinal sectional view of the same and showing also the carriage and lower raising die, strippers and upper punching and raising dies; Fig. 9 is a plan view of one end of the bed and carriage shown in Figs. 7 and 8; Fig. 10 is a sectional view corresponding to a portion of Fig. 8, showing the carriage and raising dies at the positions for curving or raising the blank; Fig. 11 is an end view of the slitting and piercing die and Fig. 12 is an inverted plan view of the same; Fig. 13 is an end elevation and Fig. 14 an inverted plan view of the punch ing die; Fig. 15 is an end elevation and Fig. 16 an inverted plan view of the curving die; Fig. 17 is a diagram illustrating the various operations upon the sheet metal strip in forming the pen blank; and Fig. 18 is a plan view of a finished pen as it leaves the machine.

2 is the table or main frame and may be made of any suitable construction and supported upon lugs or any satisfactory, framing, as desired. Arranged upon the under side of the table are three shafts, of which 8 is arranged centrally and the shafts 9 and 10 at opposite sides thereto, and all of the shafts arranged longitudinally of the table and supported in suitable bearings. These several shafts 8, 9 and 10 are geared together at one end by gearing 11. whereby they rotate at the same speeds. Secured in suitable bearings and at right angles to the alinement of shaft 8 is the driving shaft 12, said shaft being connected to the shaft 8 by bevel gears 13. Loosely supported upon the shaft 12 is a fly wheel 14 which also acts as a band wheel by which power may be applied to the machine as a whole.

15 is a clutch preferably of the friction type for connecting the shaft 12 with the driven fly wheel 14, whereby the fly wheel may be driven continuously and the power thereof be thrown on or off the machine as a whole.

16 is a bell-cranked lever for shifting the clutch 15, said lever at its free end having a roller 17 which is operated by an eccentric 18 rotated by a hand lever 19. By means of the lever and eccentric, the clutch may be thrown into or permitted to be thrown out of operation at will. Any other suitable means for driving the operating shafts may be employed by way of example and not as restriction.

Arranged above the table and supported upon it are the several devices for feeding, marking, slitting and piercing, and punching and raising the pens, said parts being operated by the shafts 8, 9 and 10 through suitable connecting power transmitting devices.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, 3 designates feeding devices at each end of the table for feeding a strip .of metal longitudinally through the machine, said feeding being done in an' intermittent manner; 4 represents .dies for marking the sheet metal with the name of the maker, etc., which will ultimately appear on the pen; 5 represents the dies for slitting and piercing the sheet, and which will ultimately appear at one end of the pen; and 6 represents the dies for punching the pen blank and raising it in finished shape. The feeding devices 3 at each end of the machine are identical. in construction, and a description of one of them will suflice for the description of both. The reason for using two feeding devices is that when the sheet strip is being fed forward through the machine from right to left in Pg. 2, the sheet will only be under the control of the feeding device 3 at the right or entrance end of the machine; whereas, in

completing the punching of the strip the sheet will only be under the control of the feeding device 3 at the left or delivery end of the machine after the end of the sheet has passed beyond the first mentioned feeding device atthe feeding end of the machine. At other times, the sheet will be in the custody of both feeding devices, but the feeding device 3 at the delivery end of the machine may be adjusted to give a slightly greater feeding length with each operation than the feeding device 3 at the feeding end of the machine to compensate for the extension of the metal due to the die operations upon it as it passes through the machine, there being a slightly increased speed of movement at the delivery end than at the entrance or feeding end. The details of this feeding mechanism are best shown in' Figs. 1, 2 and 3. 20 is a carriage bed secured to the top of the table and is provided with longitudinal guideways upon which the reciprocating feeding carriage 21 slides, said carriage being held in operative position upon the bed by the guide strips 23 screwed to the bed. Extending down from the carriage 21 is a lug upon which is journaled a roller 36, said roller being operated by means of a cam 35 secured to the shaft 8. This cam 35 pushes the roller 36 and the carriage in one direction, namely the feeding direction, and said carriage and roller are pushed in the opposite direction by means of a coil spring 36. By means of these instrumentalities, the rotation of the shaft 8 reciprocates the carriage, and the extent of this reciprocation may be regulated by means of the abutment screw 37 which limits the backward motion of the carriage, and in this way causes the proper amount of feeding of the sheet to provide the necessary metal from which to make two pens at an operation, though it is manifest that the duplication of the parts may be omitted and the machine only employed to make one pen at a time, in which case the extent of feeding may be regulated to suit the metal required for one pen at a time. Secured to the carriage 21 at its upper part is a clamping plate 2-1, which is guided upon vertical guide studs 26 whose lower ends are screwed into the carriage; and moreover, springs surrounding these studs operate to press the clamping plate 24 away from the carriage 21 to release the pressure upon the plate 22 which is guided in. the longitudinal guide groove formed between the carriage 21 and clamp 24. Arranged above the clamping plate 24 is a vertical plunger 28 carrying at its lower part a roller 28 which presses upon the clamping plate 24 to oppose the action of the springs 25 when clamping the plate. This plunger 28 has a shank 30 surrounded by a spring 29 which operates to force the plunger and its roller downwardly upon the clamping plate 24, said parts being suitably guided in a housing 3 secured to the table and bridging over the operative parts. Hinged to the upper end of the shank 30 is a cross bar 31, the ends of which are respectively jointed to the upper ends of two rods 32, the lower ends of which rods are provided with rollers 33. Secured upon the longitudinal shafts 9 and 10 are cams 31 which are adapted to operate the rollers 33 and rods 32 to raise the plunger 28 and its roller 28 at stated intervals and permit the same to be lowered under the action of the spring 29 alternately. lVhen the spring action 29 is in force, the plate 2-1 is pressed down to clamp the strip 22 upon the carriage 21, and at this time the cam 35 on the longitudinal shaft 8 operates to move the roller 36 and the carriage 21 against the action of the spring 36 and in that way feed the sheet forward a given distance. The parts are so timed that when the feeding operation has taken place, the cams 34 come into play and raise the plunger and its roller from the clamping plate 24, which are then raised by the springs 25 and release the grip upon the sheet strip 22. -When this is done, the cam 335 permits the spring 36 to come into play to push the carriage 21 backward against the stop 37 without moving the sheet strip 22. In this way, the sheet is fed intermittently and remains at rest during the marking, slitting and perforating, and punching and raising operations, these taking place between each intermittent feeding of the sheet.

Considering now the marking mechanism (shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 4), which would perform the marking as indicated at 4 in Fig. 17, I provide marking dies 38 and 39 between which the sheet strip is fed and upon which the words or names desired are suitably stamped into the metal in such positions as will subsequently be properly positioned in the pen blank which is stamped from the sheet. The lower die 38 is sta tionary, whereas the upper die 39 is suitably constructed for vertical reciprocation in a housing 4*. A spring 41 is employed to forcibly drive down the die 39 to give the stamping impression when released. The shank of the die 39 extends upward and is provided with a lateral pin which extends over the top of a lever 42, the other end of which lever is jointed to an operating rod 43 extending through the table and having at its lower end aroller 44 which is arranged to be depressed by a cam 45 secured to the longitudinal shaft 10. It will be understood that as the shaft 10 rotates, the die 39 will be raised against the action of the spring 41, and that when the roller 44 is suddenly released by the cam 45, the strong spring 41. will drive down the die 39 with a hammer blow. Any other suitable mechanism for operating this die may be employed, and as a matter of fact, it is immaterial whether the upper or lower die were made to give the blow. as such variation of the improvements is not material to the principles employed. The rod 43 may be formed in two parts connected by an adjusting nut 43 so that its length can be increased or decreasesd to provide proper adjustment whereby the die 39 may move to its extreme lowest position without any binding of the roller 44 upon the cam, which might otherwise interfere with the proper action of the dies. One set of these marking dies will mark the sheet adjacent to one of the side edges thereof, and the duplicate set of these dies will similarly mark the same sheet adjacent to the opposite edge, as will be clearly understood by reference to Fig. 17. The second set of marking dies is operated from the longitudinal shaft 9, though it is manifest that this is not essential as all of the cam movements may be operated from the single shaft 10 if so desired, the employment of two shafts being for the purpose of not congesting the various cams and mechanisms by arranging them all upon the same side of the machine.

Referring now to the slitting and piercing devices indicated at 5 in Figs. 1, 2 and 5, the same comprises two sets as in the case of the marking dies of the mechanism 4, and the slitting and piem'zing of the mechanism 5 take place upon the sheet 22 inter mediate of the marking, as will be clearly understood from that portion marked 5 of Fig. 17. The slitting and piercing mechanism consists of two housings 49 secured to the table with provision for longitudinal adjustment in guides 54, said adjustment being under the control of adjusting screws 55. These housings and beds 46 for the dies are provided with vertically reciprocating heads 48 which carry one part of the piercing and slitting dies, preferably the part indicated in Figs. 11 and 12. The vertically reciprocating heads 48 are moved up and down by hinged arms 50, which arms are operated by suitable connecting rods 51, the lower ends of which are hinged to bellcranked levers 52 adapted to be operated by cams 53 .on the longitudinal shaft 8. The cams 53 are adapted to force the head 48 and its die 47 downward to perform the piercing and slitting operation, and these parts may be returned to their normal position (Fig. 5) by the action of a suitable spring 52 -or any. other means adapted for raising the head and die. The rods 51 are preferably made in two parts connected by the adjustable nuts 51 by which the movement of the die 47 can be adjusted with accuracy, so that it will exactly pierce and slit without excessive piercing of the sheet. The particular construction of the die 47 which is preferred, is illustrated in Figs. 11 and 12 in which the knife edge parts 47 and 47 perform the slitting, and the punch part 47 performs the piercing, said pierced portion being in line with the slit produced by the cutting portion 47 and being intermediate of the slits formed by the part 47'' of the die, all of which is clearly understood by reference to Figs. 17 and 18. The particular forms of the dies are immaterial to the general invention, as they would be made to suit the requirements, and if de sired, the piercing may be omitted though ordinarily such piercing would be employed.

.1 will now refer to the mechanism 6 for punching or blanking the pen and raising the same, and which is more particularly illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 6 to 10 inclusive. \Vhile the mechanism for accomplishing this purpose is duplicated, it will sutiice to tie scribe one of the units since the other is a mere duplication in respect to the details and operation. The housing 76 is supported upon the table 2 in suitable guides 81 upon which it may be adjusted longitudinally or in the direction of feeding of the sheet, by means of the adjusting screw 82 extending through a lug from the housing and screwed into one of the guide portions 81. By means of this adjustin screw 82, the position of the punching an raising tools relative to the slitting and piercing mechanism 5 may be definitely determined so that the punching will take place exactly in the proper osition with respect to the slitting and per orating so that the latter will be suitably formed upon the finished pen, this adjustment compensating for ordinary mechanical positioning to suit the extent of the feeding operation and also for compensating for the longitudinal extension of the metal due to the previous operations thereon by the marking and slitting and piercing devices. The housing is provided with two horizontally adjustable brackets and 75 the same being adjustable in longitudinal guides 7 7 and 77 in the housing, and may be clamped in adjusted position by suitable clamping screws shown more fully-in Figs. 1 and 2. The brackets 75 and 75" are respectively provided with vertically reciprocating .heads 74 and 74, the former of which carries the punching die 60' and the latter the raising die 61 (these dies being also shown on a relatively large scale in Figs. 13 to 16 inclusive). 7 8 is a lever and is hinged at 7 9 to an extension from bracket 7 5 so that it is adjustable with it, and this lever is linked, at and 80 upon opposite sides of its fulcrum, respectively with the heads 7 1 and 74 so that when the lever is rocked the head 74 will be forced down and the head 7& moved upward, and vice versa, the object being to cause the punching and raising operations to take place alternately. The long end of the lever 78, is connected to one end of the eccentric rod 83 which is vertically reciprocated by the eccentric on the longitudinal shaft 9. The eccentric rod 88 is preferably made extensible by the adjustable sleeve 84 as in the case of the adjustments provided for the rod 43 of the markingdevices. By means of this adjustment, the dies 60 and 61 may be accurately adjusted relatively to each other in a vertical direction. so that their operations will be be accurately timed. The housing 7 6 is provided at its lower part with a bed 56 having a longitudinal guideway in which a carriage 58 is guided with provision for reciprocating movements. The lower part of this bed and the table immediately below it are slotted as at 63 and 63*. At one end of the bed 56 and above the carriage guide is secured a suitable die structure 57 which cooperates with the die 60 for blanking or punching the pen from the sheet 22 (Fig. 8). A stripper plate 56 is arranged above the blanking die for stripping the sheet from the die 60 in the usual manner. The carriage 58 is brought immediately below the punching dies during the blanking operation so that when the pen blank is punched downward, it is received upon the carriage 58 and held in position by the small clips 71 so that it will not be displaced when the carriage is reciprocated laterally to a position under the raising die 61. The car'- riage is provided with a raising die 59 upon which the pen rests as shown in Figs. 8 and 9, and when the carriage moves to a position under the raising die 61, as indicated in Fig. 10, the pen is brought immediately below the die 61 so that when it descends it will curve the pen downward into a longitudinal groove in the die 59, and in that manner give curvature to the pen blank. 72 is a stripper and consists of a pivoted finger adapted to be operated upon by the head 74. carrying the die 60 so as to be held out of stripping position when the carriage 58 is moving to the left in Fig. 8 orinto position under the raising die 61. When, however, the die 60 has been fully raised and the raising die 61 depressed for curving the pen, the end of the stripper finger 72 will rest in position in the groove of the die 59, as shown in Fig. 10; and when the die 61 has been raised sufliciently to permit the carriage to be moved 'to its original position shown in Fig. 8, the pen will be moved against the stripper finger 72 and will push off the carriage. When the pen leaves the carriage, it drops through the aperture 63 and may be received in a suitable receptacle in any convenient manner. It will now be seen that the carriage 58 carrying the raising die reciprocates transversely to the length of the sheet metal strip and the feeding operation of the machine as a whole, and is adapted to receive the pen blank and transfer it into a position to be operated upon for the raising.

The means for reciprocating the carriage 58 may consist of the following instrumentalities:()n the lower part of the carriage and extending downward through the slots 68 and 63 is a stud 62. The upper or long arm of the lever 65 is connected to the stud 62 by a link 64, and the short arm of this lever 65 is provided with a roller 66 which rests against an operating cam 67. A spring 73 connected with the stud 62 returns the carriage to its original position and keeps the roller 66 constantly against the cam 67. The cam 67 is so shaped that it gives a relatively quick reciprocation to the carriage and then permits it to return for a relatively long period of duration under the punching die. The cam 67 is secured upon ashaft 68 which is provided with a pinion 69, said pinion being operated by a larger gear 70 secured to the longitudinal shaft 10.

In this manner, the reciprocations of the 1st carriage are given and imparted under the action of shaft 10 in definitely timed relation to the operation of the dies 60 and 61 which receive their motion from the shaft 9, said shafts 9 and 10 being geared together and rotating at the same speeds, as before explained.

The second set of punching and raising devices shown at 6 is arranged back of the set just described, and is slightly out of alinement, as will be understood by reference to Figs. 1 and part 6 of Fig. 17, the latter showing the blanking of two parallel rows of pens out of the same strip, and hence the blanking dies for one row are displaced laterally with'respect to the blanking dies for the other row. It will also be noted that the punching dies in this latter set are directed oppositely to the punching dies in the first mentioned set so that the points of the pens are oppositely directed. It will also be noted that the distance apart of the punching dies of the two sets is such that the pens will be punched in staggered relation as indicated at G in Fig. 17, and the relative positions may be accurately adjusted by the adjusting screws 82 for the housings. In the case of the second set of punching and raising dies, the operative parts are likewise operated from the two shafts 9 and 10, but in this. case the eccentric 85 is secured upon the shaft 10 and the cam 67 is operated from the shaft 9, but this does not change or modify any of the operations or timing thereof, since both shaftsare rotated at the sam speeds.

At the delivery end of the machine there is provided a feeding mechanism 7 for the sheet which is in all material respects identical with the feeding mechanism 3 for the sheet at its entrance end to the machine, the said feeding mechanism 7 insuring the continuing of the intermittent feeding of the sheet after the rear end of it has left the feeding devices 3. \Vithout this duplication of the feeding devices, it would not be possible to properly feed the sheet to the extent of the length of the machine after the end of the sheet had left the feeding devices 3, so that it is apparent that the duplication of these parts is a very important feature to the commercial operation of the machine and the economical utilization of the entire strip for the purpose of pen manufacture.

It will be understood that as the width of a pen is very small, it is not possible to con veniently arrange the successive dies to act upon the sheet to perform their operations upon portions thereof which would correspond to successive pens, but these parts are so positioned relatively to each other that they operate on relative portions of the sheet which will superimpose the various operations necessary to make a pen as the final result, and in this connection it is noted that the two sets of dies for stamping and raising are much farther apart than are the marking dies or slitting and piercing dies, this being due to the more complicated and bulky nature of the apparatus for operating them, but their positions of separation are relatively proportioned to bring their operations upon the proper parts of the sheet so that rately position them for superimposed operations, and also to compensate for .the elongation of the sheet, the adjusting means 55 and 82 are provided, and while I have indicated a simple means for adjustment, it will be manifest that any suitable means that will accomplish the purpose may be employed in lieu of that shown. It will also be understood that in respect to the feeding devices 3 and 7, these are provided respectively with the adjusting screws or stops 37 and 37 so that the feeding at the entrance end maybe relatively less than the feeding at the discharge end of the machine, and such feeding accurately adjusted to suit the width of the pens and waste material between successive punchings, and also to compensate for the elongation of the sheets due to the various operations to which it is subjected in passing through the machine.

It might be proper to say that Fig. 17 is only intended to diagrammatically illustrate the nature of the successive operations upon the strip or sheet of steel, and for convenience these are indicated as if formed upon successive pens in the series, whereas in actual practice the successive operations of the marking, piercing and slitting, and punching might occur at very considerable distances apart. It will also be understood that in this diagram Fig. 17, the name John Doe is shown as if looking at the under side of the sheet, as the under surface becomes the top of the pen under ordinary conditions of manipulation ofv the machine.

While I have described my invention with particular reference to the manufacture of pens, it is manifest that the mechanism employed might be used for making other articles than pens wherein the successive marking, slitting and piercing, and punching and raising might be required to be performed upon a strip of sheet metal, and I therefore do not restrict myself to the details of the dies which necessitate the limitation of a pen form, as such dies may be of other forms.

It will now be apparent that I have devised a novel and useful construction which embodies the features of advantage enumerated as. desirable, and while I have in the present instance shown and described the preferred embodiment thereof which has been found in practice to give satisfactory and reliable results, it is to be understood that I do not restrict myself to the details, as the same are susceptible of modification in various particulars without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Let ters Patent, is

1.'In a machine of the character stated, the combination of two feeding devices for intermittently feeding a strip of metal separated at a distance apart, with means intermediate of the feeding devices and in alinement therewith for operating upon the sheet during the intermissions of the feeding, a longitudinal shaft, means actuated from the power shaft for operating the last mentioned means in an intermittent manner, and separate means actuated by the power shaft for operating the feeding devices simultaneously at times alternate with the operation of the devices intermediate of the feeding devices.

2. In a machine of the character stated, the combination of two feeding devices for intermittently feeding a strip of metal separated at a distance apart, with means intermediate of the feeding devices and in alinement therewith for operating upon the sheet during the intermissions of the feeding, means for operating the last mentioned means in an intermittent manner, means for operating the feeding devices simultaneously at times alternate with the operation of the devicesintermediate of the feeding devices, and means to adjust the relative degree of feeding of the two feeding devices.

3. In -a machine of the character stated, the combination of two feeding devices for intermittently feeding a strip of metal separated at a distance apart, with means intermediate of the feeding devices and in alinement therewith for operating upon the sheet during the intermissions of the feeding, means for operating the last mentioned means in an intermittent manner, means for operating the feeding devices simultaneously at times alternate with the operation of the devices intermediate of the feeding devices, and devices for independently adjustingthe extent of feeding of each of'the feeding devices and for imparting a greater feeding action at the delivery end of the machine than at the feeding end.

.4. In a machine of the character stated, the combination of piercingand slitting dies and means for operating them, with punching and raising dies and means for operating them, feeding devices for feeding a sheet of metal successively between the piercing and slitting dies and the punching and raising dies, said dies and feeding devices arranged in substantial alinement, and power means for operating the feeding devices to feed intermittently and alternately with the dies.

5. In a machine of the character stated, the COII'lblIHltlOIl of feeding devices for intermittently feeding a metal strip with a step by step motion, with a plurality of sets of dies arranged in substantial alinement with themselves and with the feeding devices, said dies comprising means to mark the sheet with the name, means to pierce and slit the sheet, and means to punch blanks from the sheet containing the marking and piercing and slittin and to raise the same, and power devices for simultaneously operating the various dies alternately with the intermittent feeding action of the feeding devices.

6. In a machine of the character stated, the combination of piercing and slitting dies and means for operating them, with punching and raising dies and means for operating them, feeding devices for feeding a sheet of metal successively between the piercing and slitting dies and the punchingand raising dies, said dies and feeding devices arranged in substantial alinement, power means for operating the feeding devices to feed intermittently and alternately with the dies, and means for adjusting the said piercingland slitting dies and also the punching and raising dies relatively to each other and to and from the feeding devices to vary their relative positions of action upon the length of the sheet.

-7. In a machine of the character stated, the combination of feeding devices for feeding a strip of metal in an intermittent manner, a plurality ofsets of dies for operating upon the metal substantially at the same time and each set positioned at different distances from the feeding devices along the length of the path of said metal, means for operating the feeding devices to feed the sheet alternately with the action of the dies which operate upon the sheet whereby the sheet is stationary during the latter operation, and separate adjusting devices for adjusting the position of each set of the dies relatively to the feeding devices to insure the operation of the dies of each set upon the sheet at a greater or less distance from the feeding devices and relatively to each other.

8. In a machine of the character stated, feeding devices for intermittently feeding a strip of metal, a punching die arranged in the path of the metal, a raising die arranged transversely to the punching die, power devices for depressing the punching die and the raising die alternately with each other and alternately with the feeding action of the feeding devices, a transversely movable carriage below the punching die and carrying a curving die, and means for reciprocating the carriage from under the punching die to a position under the raising die and vice versa, at times when said dies are descending whereby the article punched from the sheet is received on the carriage and transferred under the raising die.

9. In a machine of the character stated, feeding devices for intermittently feeding a strip of metal, a punchin die arranged in the path of the metal, a raising die arranged transversely to the punching die, power devices for depressing the punching die and the raising die alternately with each other and alternately with the feeding action of the feeding devices, a transversely movable carriage below the punching die and carrying a raising die, means for reciprocating the carriage from under the punching die to a position under the raising die and vice versa, at times when said dies are descending whereby the article punched from the sheet is received on the carriage and transferred under the raising die, and means for discharging the finished article from the carriage after being subjected to the action of the raising dies. I

10. In a machine of the character stated, a table, two sets of feeding devices arranged on the table for feeding a sheet of metal intermittently, a plurality of dies arranged in substantial alinement and between the two feeding devices, a plurality of longitudinal shafts journaled on the table and geared to gether, power transmitting devices from the respective shafts for operating the feeding devices and dies at timed periods, a trans verse shaft geared to one of the longitudinal shafts for imparting rotation thereto, a driving wheel for imparting rotation to the transverse shaft, a clutch between the driving wheel and the transverse shaft for putting the latter into and out of operation, and hand devices for operating the clutch.

11. In a machine of the character stated, the combination of a plurality of dies arranged in alinement for operating simultaneously upon different portions of a sheet, power devices for operating the dies, feeding devices for intermittently feeding the sheet to the dies comprising a reciprocating carriage having a guide thereon for the sheet, a clamp upon the carriage for clamping the sheet, springs for moving the clamp away from the carriage to release the sheet, power devices for reciprocating the carriage, pressure devices for applying pressure to the clamp to press it into clamping position while permitting it and the carriage to reciprocate together, cam devices for intermittently bringing the pressure devices into operation, and means whereby the pressure devices come into action alternately with the operation of the dies so that the latter operate'upon the sheet at times intermediate of the feeding action thereof.

In testimony-of which invention, I hereunto set my hand.

JOHN F. GEORGE.

Witnesses:

R. M. THORNTON, ,FLORENCE DEACON.

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