US1559640A

US1559640A - Splitting machine

Info

Publication number: US1559640A
Application number: US415810A
Authority: US
Inventors: James G Norton
Original assignee: United Shoe Machinery Corp
Current assignee: United Shoe Machinery Corp
Priority date: 1920-10-09
Filing date: 1920-10-09
Publication date: 1925-11-03
Anticipated expiration: 1942-11-03

Description

5 Sheet-s-Sheet 1 J G NORTON SPLITTING MACHINE Original Filed Oct. 9 1920 m 4 JJ 1, 1u. v. a l o N w Figi.

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J. G. NORTON SPLITTING MACHINE SN NhNkWN hNN.

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Patented Nov. 3, 1925.

UNITED? STATES PVA`TENTT1 "FFIcEi JAMES G. NORTON, or ELTINervlLIai,` NEWY'ORK, AssIGNOB. To UNITED SHOE MA- CHINERY CORPORATION, or rarnasoia,` NnW-JERsEnA CORPORATION OFNEW.

i JERSEY.

srLITTING MACHINE.'`

Application filed october e, 1920, serial Ne. 415,810. i Renewed Jennery 5, 19a-1.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, JAMES G. NORTON, a citizen of theUnited States, residingat Eltingville, S. I., in the county of Richmond and State ofNew York,'have invented certain Improvements in Splitting Machines,

of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, kis a specification, likereference characters on the drawings indicating like parts in the several figures.

This invention relates to machines for operating upon pieces of stock and is herein described as embodied in a machine for operating upon heel-lift blanks to reduce each blank whichis not of a uniform thickness throughout to a uniform thickness. Leather heel lift blanks as they come from ythedieing-out machine are of dierent thicknesses, and many of the blanks considered individually are not uni-form in thickness throughout. It is desirable that each uneven blank be reduced to a uniform thickness such that the thickness of the nished` lift is the greatest which could `be produced fromV the given blank. Y t

According toone feature of the invention the amount of variation of a blank with respect to a selected characteristic is deter-` mined, and means controlled by the variation-determining means is provided for changing that characteristic. trat-ive machine the amount of :dierencein thickness between the thickest and the thin-v nest locality of each uneven blank-is determined, and then a skiving mechanism is set in accordance with this thickness-difference to reduce the blank to a uniform thickness.

Many of the heel-lift blanks, Vas they come from the dieing out machine, are of uniform thickness throughout or are so nearly o-fy uniform thickness that they may be considered to be of uniform thickness. Such blanks are suitable for use in heels without` further treatment, and should not be skived or Otherwise reduced in thickness. According then to another feature of the invention the means foi changing the selected characteristic of the blank is rendered inoperative when a given blank does not vary in that characteristic orj varies so little that the variation is immaterial so far as the use to which the blank is to be put is concerned. In the illustrative machine ifl a blank is In the` illusfound not `to vary-in thickness'i-Or. notto vary beyond a predetermined standard, the

skivingmechanism is rendered inoperative andthe blank passes through-the machineI withoutbeing Operated upon.A .These and other features ofth invention,

including certain details of construction and combinations of parts will be described as embodied in' an illustrative -machine and.

pointed outin the appended claims.

Referring now ings, l

Fig. l is a side elevation of a machine in whichthe present invention isembodied;

parts ofthe machine;

Flg. 3 is a perspective showing more ypar- Fig. 2 is a perspective of `the working anism upon the setting mechanism;

ticularly the operation of the testing "meche Fig. it 1s a perspective showing blank-iniv process of being-ski'ved.

Fig. 5 is a detail principallyinfelevationf of a portion ofthe setting mechanism;

the lower feed member 'and' their driving mechanism, f

`Figa/2' is aperspective of the'main shaft of the machine showing. more particularly the controlling cams and their associatedk levers, and

Fig. 8 is a perspective of the mechanismfor locking the lower .blank engaging member from vertical movement, the mechanism being vshow-n in its locking position.

to the Vaccomp anying draw.:

Fig. 6 is a perspective of thefrollsfofv Referring first more particularly to Fig. 1,

a briefv Outlineofthe operation' of the ma-Y chine will be given. The blanks, herein shown as heel lift blanks 100, are stacked in a magazine 11 and fed successively byy a feed slide 13 first to a testing or detecting mechanism located beneath a rigid plate 15 and thento a, skiving mechanism located at the rear of the machine. V'The testing mecha#A Just before the forward end of the blank reaches the skiving knife, that member of the skiving mechanism which engages the under side ofthe blank, hereinafter referred to as the lower member 19, is caused to rise solrthat the blank isthen engaged on both its upper and lowersides. The feed slide is then returned to its initial position, and the blank is advanced by power-driven rolls,-

thick plate having yieldingly mounted in ita series of small blocks 23 which are urged downward at all times by springs 25, the blocks being held from being pushed out of the recesses in which they are mounted by a thin plate 27 which is fastened to the under side of the thick plate. The thin plate has openings the edges of which overlie slightly the edges of the recesses in which the blocks 23 are mounted and are adapted to engage shoulders on the blocks and thereby limit the-extent of downward movement of the blocks. Each block has mounted in it an idle roll 29 the lowermost elements of the rolls forming the effective pressing face of the upper blank-engaging member. This member is normally in raised position Well above the plane of the cut of the knife, and is moved down into the proper position by the testing mechanism and certain connections in response to the thickness-difference of the lift as determined by vthe testing mechanism. lVhen the blocks 23 are pushed'up into their fully retracted positions'their upper faces contact with the flat upper walls of the sockets in the thick plate, and the'lowermost elements of the rolls 29 then lie substantially in the plane of thel lower face of the thin plate 27 and present an unyielding pressing surface.

The lower member 19 has mounted in it five power driven feed rolls 31, the axes of which are stationary with respect to the plate. This member is normally well below the plane of the cut of the knife and is brought up against the blank after the upper member 17 has been set and the blank has been fed by the feed `slide 13 into a position in which its leading edge is close to the knife. The blank-engaging surface of the lower member is thus formed bythe upper portions of the rolls 31 and is rigid during the skiving operation as will presently be described.

Considering more in detail the setting and of the cut of the knife to the plane of the rigid blank-engaging surface of the member equals the amount of this thickness-difference. By the expression plane of the rigid blank-engaging surface of the member `is meant substantially theplane of the under surface of the thin plate 27 since, when the small blocks 23 are moved to their upper limits, the lower elements of the rolls 29 are substantially in this plane. After the upper member has been thus set, the blank is fed forward, as has been described, until lits forward end is close to the knife. The lower member 19 'is then raised yieldingly through aheavy spring until it forces the blank firmly against the upper member, whereupon it also is held rigidly from movement either toward or away from the blank. The blank now lies flat upon the upper elements of the rolls 31, being held fiat against these rolls by the presser rolls 29 the supporting springs of which are of sufficient strength to accomplish this. The

lower -surface of the blank is thus maintained in a horizontal plane which is parallel to the plane of the cut of the knife so that the finishedV article, which eventually passes beneath the knife, will be of uniform thickness throughout. The upper surface of the f blank, assuming the blank to be of uneven thickness, does not lie in a' horizontal plane but in an inclined plane if the blank is regularly tapered from end to end or at various levels if there are thick spots separated by thin spots. Assuming for convenience of explanation that the-blank is thickest at its leading edge and tapers regularly to its rear or following edge, the block 23 nearest the knife will be pushed up to the limit in its socket so as to be no longer yielding, and the remaining blocks 23 will ext-end from` their sockets each more than the preceding one. Consequently the chip removed by the knife will be thicker at the forward than at the rearward end, the finished articles being of a uniform thickness throughout approximately equal to the distance between the plane of the cut of the knife and the planev of the upper elements of the rolls 31. With such a mechanism a series of blanks each of which has a thickness difference (that is a thickness different in one locality from that in another) and I i zine which from the blank from which it was produced, The upper member 17 is primarily a gaging vmember which is set in accordance with they thicl-:ness-diiference of a blank regardless of the actual general or average thickness of the blank; and the lower member 19 is primarily a gripping and feeding member. It should be noted that after the upper member has been set and the lower member pushed up against the blank to grip and feed it to the knife, the distance from the plane of the upper elements'of the rolls 31 to the lower element of that roll 29 which is pushed up to the limit of its upward movement and is therefore pressing rigidly against the blank is equal to the thickness of the thickest locality of the blank. f Referring once .more to Fig. 1 with occasional reference to Fig. 7, the feed slide 13 is slidably mounted upon the table 33 of the machine and is urged at all times backward (to the left in Fig. l) by a spring 35 which is fastened at one end toa pin 37 carried by the feed Slide and at the other to a pin 39 carried by the frame of the machine. F ast to the pin 37 is one end of a strap 41, the other end of which passes around a roll 43 and is fastened to a pin 45 carried by the frame. The roll 43 is carried at the upper end of an arm 47 fulcrumed at 49 upon a stationary pivot, said arm having a tail which is adapted to engage alternately adjustable stops 51, 53 which are threaded through bosses on the side of the frame Vof the machine. An extensible link 55, the parts of which are at all times urged toward each other by a spring 57, is pivoted at one end to the arm 47 and at the other to an arm 59, said arm being pivoted to the frame at 61 and carrying at its upper end a roll 6 3 which co-operates with a cam 65 fast to a rotary shaft 67.v This shaft has fastV upon it a large gear 69 with which meshes a small gear 71 on ya. short shaft 73 having fast upon itsY outer end a pulley 75 which is driven continuously by a belt 77 from any suitable source of power. The cam 65 rotates in the direction indicated by rthe arrow and is shaped to cause the feed slide 13 to move quickly to a position beneath the plate 15 and'above the testing or detecting mechanism, then to remain stationary duringy the testing operation, then to move quickly forward to present the tested blank to the splitting mechanism and finally to be returned to the initial position shown. It should'be noted that by reason of the strap connection 41', the movement of the feed slide is twice as great as the bodily movement of the roll 43. The walls of the magaholds the blanks are adjustable horizontally to provide for blanks of different sizes and vertically to provide for blanks of different thicknesses as best appears in Y Fig. 2, but the constructionof the magaziney which-the blank is will not be described in detail since it forms no part of the present invention. Ina'smuch as heel-lift blanks are commonly ksomewhat warped, a weight 79V is placedupion'the top of the stack.' x A v As has been explained above, the -blank to be operateduponis rst'brought into position beneath the plate 15 above the-testingk mechanism and causedv to pausein this position during the testing operation and the setting of the upper blank-engaging member 17 of the splitting' mechanism. Referrin now more particularly to Figs. l2 and 3, t e testing mechanism andits mode-of operation will be described. l The under face of the plate 15'serves as an abutment against pressed by detectors or testers in the-form of idle rolls 81, five being employed in the illustrative machine. Each .roll is mounted in a yoke 83 which is square lin cross-section and passes through a square hole in a plate 85. Each yoke has a stem` 87 which passes through a hole in a second plate 89, there being each stem and acting to push the yoke upwardly and a collar 93 on each stem below the Vplate 89 ito limit the extent of upward movement-of the yoke. The

plates

85, 89 are part of a frame which comprises the plates and a connecting U-shaped member the upright arms of which are vertically slidable in guideways in the frame of the machine.

l,VVhen' a blankhas been fed into position` above this testing or detecting mechanism,

a sarino` 91 encirclinff.

theframe,

comprisingthe plates

85, 89 and y the U-shaped-y supporting member 95 is raisedy to cause the'detecting rolls 81 to pressthe blank firmly against the under face of the` plate 15. In order to produce this raising movement the base of the U-shaped member 95 has depending lugs carrying a pin 97 Y which` is received in the forked end ofy a lever 99 fulcrumed near its middle about a rod V101v "and carrying at its remote end aV roll 4102,V arranged to run on a properly shaped cam 104 on the shaft 67. When the frame carrying the detecting rolls- 81 is thus raised, the rolls, becauseof their yielding supports, will stand at ditferentlevels according to the thickness of the-blank at the localities engaged bythe rolls. Of course a given Vblank may-be of uniform thickness throughout, but that case will be discussed later. For the present it will be assumed,

in order to promote clearness of explanation,

that the blank varies in thickness at different localities and is thickest at one locality and thinnest at another. In such. case one detector 81 will be higher than any of t-he others and one will be lower.

two particular detectors 81 right-hand one engaging the ity in the blank 100 and the engaging the thickest locality,

are shown, the thinnestr` local- `the difference In Fig. 3 these left-hand one v CAB *the illustrative in height between these two detectors being the thickness-difference in accordance with the amount of which the upper member 17 of the skiving mechanism is to be set. 1n machine an intermediate controlling member 103 is irstset and then the upper member 17 of the skiving -mechanism isset from this member. The controlling member `103 is T-Shaped, the head and stem, except the left-hand end of the head, being substantially square in cross-section. rlhe stem has a .socket to receive a supportsoclrct; and the right-hand end of the head of the "i" is vertically slidable in a vertical rectangular guideway 107 of the machine. the head of the T beveled stop-face 109 member 111 is adapted to contact by being swung angularly toward it in a manner which will presently be described. Normally the setting member 111 is spaced from the stop-face 109 as shown in Fig. 2. 1t is not The left-hand end is cut away to form a moved into contact with the stop-face, as'

shown in Fig. 3, until after the T-shaped controller 103 has been set by the movement of thetwo detectors 81 which engage respectively the thickest and the thinnest locality in the blank 100.

The mounting and setting of this T- shaped controller will now be described. The spindle 105, which` supports the controller, is rotatable in a'sleeve 113 which is itself rotatable in anV upright bearing in the frame 107 of the machin-e. The sleeve has at its lower end an oblique slot 115 Vinto which extends a pin 117 carried'by the spindle 105. Fast to the spindle is a gear 119, and fast to the sleeve is a gear 121. 1t will be evident from this construction that if the

gears

119, 121 are rotated the same distance in the direction indicatedby the arrow, the vertical position of the spindle will not change; but if the gear 119 is rotated va greater distance than the gear 121, the spindle will rise and raise the T-shaped controller 103 with it. Slidably mounted in horizontal Vguideways in the frame of the machine are two racks one of which, 123, engages the gear 119 and the other ofl which, 125, engages the gear 121, both gears being engaged on the same side so that pulling the racls to the right (as viewed in Fig. will rotate the gears in the direction indicated by the arrow. integral with the forward end of the rack 123 is a bar 127, and integral with the forward end of the rack 125 is a bar 129, the bars being urged at all times toward each other by a compression spring 131 Awhich is fast at one end to a bracket carried at the rear end of the rack 123 and at the other end to the bar 129 which is integral ywith the raclr`125. Located between the bars are lugs 133formed on the rear ends ing spindle 1.05 which fits looselyv in thev formed in the frame.

with which a 'setting in Fig. the positions of the lugs 133 depend upon the positions of the detectors.

To it end each slide'135 hase. recess 137 in 'i nonntcd an idle roll 139', and le2;-

1 Aongh each recess the head of 1li-l arranged to slide vertically in 'xrings in the machine. The lower ein c caln rod is forked to receive a pin 1-13 ca ried at the rear end of a lever 1%15 which is fulcrumed near its middle upon a red 1-1-7. 'Flach lever 1115 has'at its forward end a 'Zo to receive a pin-1119 carried by an amr-151 which is fast to the lower end of stein 37 of one of the yolres 33 in which the detectors filare mounted. Theforward ends of the slides 1353 carry small guide rods 153 which pass through holes in a part of the frame A107 of the machine. Coiled springs 155 encircle therods and press the rolls 139 of the slides at all times against the inclinedV faces of the cam rods 141 and thus maintain the rr hs 123, inthe.positionsshown in Fig. 2 when no blank Vis present in the machine.

Considering now Fig. 3 in which theright-hand vdetector 31 is shown in engagement with the thinnest locality of the blank which is engaged byr any of the detectors, and the left-handdetector is shown in engagement with the thickest locality,'it will be` seen that the cam rod 141 which is con: nected with the right-hand detector 31 has moved downwardly a greater distance than has the cam rod which is connected'with the left-hand detector 31. Ets a result of this,

the gear 119- has been rota-,ted a greater distance than the gear 121, the pin 117 has ridden up in the slotm115,and the T-shaped controller 103 .has been raised. U'lhus far only two of the detectors 31 and their associated levers, cam rods and slides have been considered, these two being the ones which engage respectively the rthickest and the thinnest locality in blank. lt will now be clear, however, that it is not necessary to consider the oth-er detectors, since vthe lugs 133 on the other slides would be in contact neither with the bar 127 nor the bar .129 and would therefore have no eifect upon the rotation of the

gears

119, 121 and consequently no effect upon the height to which the controller 103 was raised. Thus in the case in whichone of the detectorsengages the thinnest locality and one the thickest locality, the controller 103 will be raised a distance proportionate to thedifference in height of these two detectors, that is a distance proportionate to the.

thickness-difercnce of the blank. It should now be clear that in every case the distance through which the controller 103 will be raised will be proportionate to the thicknessdifference of the blank which is engaged by the detectors. This is true of the case (to be considered later) of the blank which has -no thicknessedifference, since in such case the controller 103 will not be raisedat all.

After the controller 103 has been raised or set in the manner which has been de scribed, it is looked temporarily in this position by a stepped wedge 157. This wedge (see Figs.A 3 and 7) is slidable in a guideway in the frame of the machine and is carried at the upper end of a lever 159 the hub' 0f which is fulcrumed about a rock-shaft 161 and has a tail 163 arranged to'be engaged by a cam 165 mounted upon the rotary shaft 67. A spring 167 urges the wedge at all times to move .beneath the right-hand end of the head of the T-shaped controller 103', 'the cam 165 being shaped to hold the wedge away from the controller until thev controller has been raised as has been described above. At the proper time the cam 165 permits the wedge to be projected beneath the controller and to be held beneath it while the setting member 111 (Figs. 2 and 3) operates to seil the upper blank-engaging member or plate 17 of the splitting mechanism. Specifically the tail 163 of the lever 159 rides off from the raised portion of the cam 165 as soon as a blank is fed to the testing mechanism so that the wedge 157 is free to be moved progressivelybeneath the controller 103 as the controller rises.

The setting member 111 is formed upon the upper end of a lever 169 the hub of which is fulcrumed upon the rock-shaftv 161 and has a tail carrying a roll 171 arranged to run upon a cam 173 which is fast to the shaft 67. A spring 175, actingupon the tail of the lever below the roll 171, urges the sett-ing member at all times toward the oblique stop-face 109 on the controller 103. The cam 173 is so shaped as to hold the setting member 111 away from the stop-face 109 until the controller 103 has been raised into proper position and the wedge 157 has been projected beneath the head of the con-v troller so as to hold it irmly in raised position. The setting member, as has been stated, is formed on the upper end of a lever 169. Also formed upon the yupper end of this lever is a yoke 177 (see Fig. 2) the arms of which have slots in their upper ends to receive the trunnions 179 at the opposite ends of a wedge-carrier 181. This wedge carrier has integral with it two arms each of which is formed with two wedges 183, each arm having a flat upper surface which bears against a correpsonding surface formed on the under side of a bearing block are provided, as shown, which at all times urgel the cross-bar 191 and consequently the member 17 upwardly. Normally, vthe member 17 is in raised position since thecomparatively thinportions ofthe wedgesare yin engagement with the rolls 187 but when the setting member 111is permitted to be moved into contact with kthe stop-.face 109 of the controller103 by the spring 175, the wedges are pulled'forwardso as to move the member 17 downwardly and; hold itrigidly from upward movement.` As has been eX-` plained above, the parts `are constructed and proportioned so that thev member 17 is forced downwardly until the distance from the plane of the cut of the knife to a.

-plane which would pass through the lower elements of the rolls 29 if said yrolls were occupying their uppermost positions with the blocks 23 resting firmly against the top walls of the sockets in which they aremounted, is equal to the amount of difference in thickness between the thickesty and the thinnest localities of the blank.

The lower blank-engaging member 19 comprises a thick plate having depending from its under side two upright barsl one of which is shown at 197, said bars being vertically slidable in guideways formed in the frame of the machine. A cross-bar199 connects these upright bars; and a socketed cylindrical member 201 is integral lwith the plate and with the cross-bar 199. Inserted in the socket in this member 201 is a heavy spring 203, and extending into the base vkof the socket and into contact with the lowerV endof the spring is a plunger 205 having driven into it a pin 207 which extends through a vertical slot in one wall ofthe socket, the plunger having a'slot in its lower end to receive the outer end of a supporting 4arm 209 which is fast to a rock-shaftf211.

This rock-shaft has fast to its outer end a ratchet 213 having a single tooth which is adapted to v`be engaged by a spring-pressed pawl 215. In Fig. 2, this pawl is shown as being held out of operative positionby a member thev operation of .which wil1v be described later since it functions only 1n special cases. The pawl is mounted in a pawl carrier 217 loose on the rock-shaft 211 and pivoted to one end of alink 219, the other end of which is pivoted to an arm 221 the hub of which is fast to a sleeve`223, the sleeve being loosely mounted on a rod 225 and having integral with it an upright arm engaging members, the cam rod 229 is Vthe blank reaches the knife.

pulled to the right, thereby causing the link 219 to move to the right and the pawl 215 to lrotate the 'one-toothed .ratchet 213 a short distance in the direction indicated by the arr-ow. This rocks the shaft 211 and causes the outer end of the arm 209 torise thereby raising the lower blank-engaging member 19 Vyieldingly through the heavy spring 203,

this movement being so timed that the member 19 reaches its uppermost position,which in every case is determined by the thickness of the blank, just before the v front end of The power driven rolls 31 then feed the yblank to the knife. 1

In order to hold the lower member 19 with its rolls 31 rigidly fromv vertical movement during the splitting or evening operation, there are formed on the back sides of each of the upright slides 197 teeth which are engaged at the proper time by locking pawls. In Fig. 8 the teeth formed on the back side of one of the slides 197, together with the pawls which co-operate with those teeth, are shown, it being understood that similar teeth are formed on the back side of the other slide 197 y with which similar pawls co-operate. Inasmuch as these 'two locking mechanisms are, or may be, duplicates of each other, only one has been shown. Referring now to the details of construction of the locking mechanism shown in Fig. 8, formed on the back side of the arm 197 are a series of downwardly pointing teeth 235 and a series of upwardly pointing teeth 236. Adapted to co-operate with the downwardly pointing teeth 235 are a plurality of pawls 239, three being shown, each having upwardlypointing teeth; and adapted to cooperate rwith the upwardly pointing lteeth 236 are three pawls 238 having downwardly pointing teeth. By providing three pawls in each case the rows of teeth of which are out of alinementwith one another, a finer locking Aadjustment can be secured with teeth of a given size than would be practicable' were there but two'pawls in all, one for the teeth 235 and one for the teeth 2136. The pawl's'of both sets are slotted horizontally to receive a pin241 which is rigidly mounted in 'the pawl carrier 243 and serves as an abutment for springs 244 one for each pawl. The pawl carrier 243has.depending from'each end an integral arm, one of which is shown at 245, the hubs of which are loose on the rod 225.

Pivoted to an arm 227 andv extending "througha hole in an ear on the arm 245 is right to cause the lowerl blank-engaging member 19 to be raised. When this occurs, the pawl carrier 243 is pushed yieldingly tothe right to bring the teeth of its pawls into co-operation with the

teeth

235, 236 formed on the 'slides 197, the pawl carrier being held in this position during the skiving operation and released at the end of that operation by the action of the cam 233 on the roll 230. f

The parts of the locking mechanism which has just been described, as well as those of the mechanism for raising the lower blankengaging member 19 and for permitting it to fall are so-constructed and arranged that they operate as follows. When the rod 229 is pulled to the right thereby swinging the

arms

227 and 221 to the right, 'the pawls 238, 239 are not at first engaged with the

teeth

235, 236. The lirst part of this roel:- ing` movement of the arm acts through the rod 219 and pawl 215 to turn the shaft 211 in a clockwise direction thereby causing the arm 209 to` raise the plunger 205 and thereby the heavy spring 203 and the lower blank-engaging member 19 until the blank is pressed firmly up against the upper blankengaging member and the spring 203 somewhat compressed. Up to this point, the locking pawls 238, 239 have not engaged the teeth 236, 235.- However, as the arm 209 continues its upward swinging movement and compresses the spring 203 a little more, the pawl carrying arm 227 is swung far enough to cause the looking pawl to engage their respective teeth on the slide 197 and thereby lock the lower blank-engaging member from movement either up or down. The cam 233 is shaped to hold the locking paw-ls 237, 238 inrenga'gement' with the

teeth

236, 235 during thel splitting or evening of the blank and then to movev the rod 229 to 'the left. rlhe first part of this movement releases the pawls and relieves the compressionof theheavy spring`203, and the latter part of "this movement permits the lower blank-engaging member to fall into lowered position ready to receive the next blank. By manipulating the thumb nut 251, the locking and unlocking ac'tionof the pawls 237, 238 may be properly timed.

y rl"hus far it has been assumed that the blanks which pass through the machine are all uneven, that is that each blank is not of uniform thickness throughout. y ln practice, however, many of the blanks are of uniform Ulti lili

llt;

ieu

lil

or substantially uniform thickness throughout; andit is desirable that no stock should be removed vfrom such blanks. Accordingly provision is made whereby, whenka blank of uniform thickness is encountered, the lower member 19 of the skiving mechanism is not raised at all, so that'the blank is fed freely over it and beneath the knife Without being skived.l plished yby holding the pawl 215 out of operative position, as shown in Fig. 2, yso that it cannot engage the one-tooth ratchet 213, andthe supporting arm 209 will not be raised. To this end (se-e Fig. 2) a lshield 253 slotted to receive the end of the rockshaft 211 is carried at lone end of a link 255 the other en'd of which is pivoted to the lower end ofan arm 257 the upper end of which is fast to the rock-shaft 161 so that, when the rock-shaft is rocked in the direction indicatedby the arrow, the shield 253 occupies the position shown and holds the pawl 215m inoperative position. The rocking of the shaft in 'this manner is governed by a finger 259 which is carried by a block 261 adjustably held by a screw bolt 263 at the slotted upper end of avlever 265 the hub of which is pinned to the rock-shaft 161 and has a tail adapted to co-opera'te with. a cam 267 fast to the rotary 'shaft 67. A spring 269 acts at all times topull the upper part of the lever 265 toward the front of the machine and thereby to move the finger 259 toward or over the controller 103 according to the position of the controller.V

The operation of the mechanism which has just been described is as follows. With the. parts of the machine in the positions shown in Fig. 2 in which no blank is being tested or operated upon, the finger 259 eX- tends over the controller 103 and the' shield 253 holds the pawl 215V in inoperativel position. During the time that the feed slide 13 is advancing a blank to the testing mechanism, thecam 267V operates :upon the tail of the lever 265 and rocks the lever, and with it the rock-shaft 161, in a direction to move the finger 259 toward the rear of the machine until it no longer extends over the controller 103; and the same rocking kof the shaft 161 moves the shield 2,53 toward the front of the machine and thereby disengages the pawl and permits it to move into operative position. The cam 267 is shaped to hold the finger `and shield'in these positions during the testing of the blank and the effect of the testing upon-the controller 103. If the blank is not ofv uniform. thickness throughout, that is if it has a thickness-difference, the controller 103 `will be raised into thek path of the finger 259 so that, when presently the cam 267 has rotated far enough to permit the tail of the lever 265 to fall and the spring 269 is free, sok far as the cam is concerned, to pull the lever back into the This result is accomf Assuming that with the position shown inlFig. 2, the end of the finger 259 willl encounter oneV face of the T-shaped controller 103, as shown in Fig. 3.

This will arrest the Vrotation of the rock-` shaft 161 before the shield 253 has been moved far enough `to raise the pawl 215 to inoperative positio Consequently, if the blank which is being tested lhas a thicknessdifference, the finger 259 and its associated pawl-throi -outmechanism will'not affect the operation of the skiving mechanism, and the bla-nk will be skived, as vhas been described so as to produce a finished article of the maximum uniform thickness possible.

On the other hanf, if the blank which is being tested is of uniform thickness-' in which case it is desirable not to skive itat all-the controller 103 will not be raised at all since the

gears

119, 121, whose differential rotation causes the raisingv of the controller, will both be rot-ated equally in the same direction. When,` therefore, thehcam 267'reaches the 269 will be permitted to pull the lever 265 toward the vfront of the machine so as to rockthe shaft 161 far enough to push the shield 253 beneath Vthe pawl 215 and holdfit in inoperative position. With the pawl thus held, the movement `of the link 219 toward the rear of the-machine will not rock t'he shaft 211gand consequently the lower member 19 of the skiving mechanismwill not be raised at all. The blank will thus be delivered upon the power driven rolls 31 and fed under the knife without being skived.' y

In order to promote clearness of explanation the operation of the pawl-controlling mechanism, including the nger 259 has just been described vin connection with a blank which is of uniform thickness throughout. Of course few blanks form thickness, as of uniform thickness blanks whose thick-` ness-difference is small. For example, a heel-lift blank the thickness-difference of w'hich is only one iron (1/48of `an inch) would in many factories be suitable for use without -,being skived to an absolutely uniform thickness. fIt is therefore desirable thatv the machine thatrblanks having either a certain amount Vof thickness-difference or an amount greater than that .certain amount will be skived, but

that blanks whichhave thickness-differences less than the certain amount will not be skived.' 'This is the reason that the finger 259is adjustablymountedon the lever 265.

finger in the adjusted position shown all blanks having any thickness-difference f at while all blanks of uniform thickness will not be skived, it is only necessary to adjust the finger slightly higher to cause all blanks having a' thickness-difference less than a certain amount to pass through the machinev proper position, theA spring are of absolutely'unt. but it is desirableto treat be capable of being'setso L all will be lskivedV should be understood, however, as has been -one side with the gear wit-hout being operated upon by the skiving mechanism. lt is thuspossible to prevent the skiving of all blanks which, for example,

have a thiclmess-di'lference of one iron orA less by adjusting the block 261 which carries the linger 259; and to facilitate such adjustment the block has upon it a scale which may represent irons and half-irons, and the lever has a mark to eo-'operate with the scale.

Referring now more particularly to Fig. i, with occasional reference to Fig. 1, the nanner in which the rolls 31 of the lower blank-engaging member 19 are driven will be described. Mounted loosely on the shaft 67 is an arm 279 having pivoted to its upper end one end of a gear-carrying link 281, the other end of the link being pivoted on the shaft of the first roll 31, there being five of these rolls. The link carries two

gears

283, 285, the'gear 283 meshing with the driven gear 69, andthe gear 285 meshing on 283 and on they other with a gear 287 which is fast to one end of the shaft of the rst rollv 31. Referring now entirely to Fig. 6, the vfirst roll 31 has keyed on its left-hand end a gear 289 which rmeshes with an idle gear 291 loose onthe shaft of the second roll. On the left-hand end of the third roll is keyed a gear 293 which meshes with an idle gear 295 loose on the shaft of the fourth roll, the latter gear meshing with a gear 297 keyed to the shaft of the fifth roll. With the construction thus far described. the first, thirdv and fifth rolls will be driven all in the same direction. 1n order to drive the second and fourthrolls in the same direction, the shaft of the third roll has fast to its right-hand end an internal gear 299 with which mesh gears 301. 303 fast re- -spectively to the right-hand ends of the shafts of the second and fourth rolls. "N ith this construction the rolls l31 are all driven at the same speed in the same direction, and the mesh of the various gears is not disturbed` by the vert-ical movement of the member 19. Y

The operations ofthe various mechanisms which make up the machine have been described above one by one. The general operation of the machine will no-w be described briefly, first with reference to a blank which is not of uniform thickness throughout and second with reference to a blank which is of uniform thickness throughout since the description will thus be much simplified. It

explained'above, that a more accurate division of the blanks into classes would place in one class the vblanks which have thicknessdifferences great enough to cause them to be operated upon and in another class those which do not, since whether or not a blank which has a thickness-difference vwill be operated upon depends upon the height at which the finger 259 is set, and this may be set to Vany predetermined standard.

Assuming that the lower-most blank in the magazine is uneven in thickness, the general operation of the machine is as follows. The blank is fed into position beneath the plate 15 and above the detecting rolls 81 and permitted to remain stationary during the testing operation. During this feeding of the blank, or at least before the detecting rolls have moved upwardly, the cam 267 has moved into position to withdraw the finger 259 from above the controller 103. l/Vhile the blank remains stationary beneath the plate 15, the detecting rolls 81 are forced up against the under side of the blank, the two rolls 81 which engage respectively the thickest and the thinnest localities standing then respectively at levels lower and higher than any of the others. rllhesel two rolls by their positions and the resulting positions of their associated levers 145, cam rods 1111 and slides 135 pull the

racks

123 and 125 different distances toward the front of the machine. the levers, cam rods, etc., associated with the other three detecting rolls 81 being without effect. Pulling the

racks

123, 125 different distances produces differential rotation of the

gears

119, 121, and through the pin and

slot connection

117, 115 raises the T-shaped controller 103 a distance proportional to the difference in extent of the rotation of the

gears

119, 121. Meanwhile the wedge 157 has been released by the cam 165 and is now forced beneath the righthand end of the head of the controller 103 so as to hold it in raised position. The cam 267 now releases the lever 265 on which the finger 259 ismounted', but the finger and lever are prevented from moving a distance effective to bring the shield 253 into operation by reason of the end of the finger coming into contact with the controller as shown in Figs. 3 and 5. r[he cam 173 now releases the leverl 169 which permits the face of the setting member 111 to move toward the front of the machine until it is stopped by contact with the stop-face 109 of the controller 103. This movement of the setting member pulls the'wedges 183 toward the front of the machine and lowers the upper blank-engaging member 17 into proper position. The blank lis fed forward until its leading edge is close to the knife, whereupon the camf233, through the links. 229, 219 and pawl 215 rocks the shaft 211. rIhe first part of this rocking movement raises the lower blank-engaging member 19 to press the blank against the upper blank-engaging member 17; and the last part of this move-- ment causes the pawls 238. 239 to lock the lower blank-engaging member rigidly from vertical movement. The power-drivenrolls 31 which are then in engagement with the under side of the blank feed it totheknife Cil fia

I' claim as new and desire to secure which skivesrit to a uniform thickness. .In

the further rotation of the shaft 67 the various parts are brought back to the posi` tions shown in Fig. 2 ready to start another cvcle.

Assuming now that'the next blank which is fed is even in thickness, that is of anniform thickness throughout, the detecting rolls 81, when brought up against its under side, will all stand at the same level. Consequently the

gears

119, 121 of the controlling mechanism will' both bero-fated through the same distance andthe controller 103 will not be raised. Therefore when, presently. the cam`267 releases the lever 265, the finger 259 will not contact with the head of the controller but will permit the lever'to be rocked, and with it the rock-shaft 161, until the shield 253 raises the pawl 215 into inoperative position and holds it there. The blank is now fed forward as before until its leading edge is close to the knife; but, owing to the fact that the pawl 215 .is being held inoperative, the lower blank-engaging member is not raised bv the operation of the cam 233, and consequently the blank is fed beneath the knife without being skived.

Although the invention-has been set forth as embodied in a. particular machine, it should be understood that the. invention is not limited in the scope of itsapplication to the particular machine which has been shown and described. The method of testing blanks for variation in a selected characteristic and of first testing them and then operating with respect to this characteristic forms the subject-matter of vUnited States Letters Patent No. 1,448,045, granted March 13, 1923, on an application filed in my name; and a machine for testing the blanks for `variation and then grading them in accordancewith the variation forms the subject-matter of UnitedStates Letters Patent No. 1,442,233, granted Aug'. 16, 1922, on anY application filed in my name.

Havingthus described my invention, what n by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A machine of the class describe-d, having in combination, means for determining the amount of variation of an ,article with respect to a selected characteristic, and means controlled bythe variation-determining means for changingthat characteristic.

2. A machine ofthe class described, having in combination, means for determining the amount of variation of an article with respect to a selected characteristic, and means controlled by the variation-determining means for rendering it uniform in that characteristic.

3. A machine of the class described, having in combination, means for determining the amount of' variation of an article with respect te Selected characteristic, and

means .controlled by the variation-determining means for removing stock from the article to render it uniform in that characteristic. l

4. A 'machine of the class described, havfor detecting a selected characteristic of an article at spaced localities, and meansV responsive to the dierence-in the'amount of the findings of the detecting devices for changing that characteristic. i

5. A machine of the class described, having in combination, a plurality. of devices for detecting a selected characteristicofr'an article at spaced localities, and means responsive to the'difference in 'the amount of the findings of the detecting devices for 6. A machine of the class described,`fhav ing in combination, a plurality of vdevices for detecting a selected characteristic of'an article at spaced localities, and means fresponsive to the difference in the amount of ing in combinatioma plurality of devices soA lrendering it uniformin that characteristic.

the findings of the detecting devices for" removing stock from the article torender it uniform in that characteristic. j

.7 A machine of the class described, having in combination, means for determining the amount of difference in thickness between a plurality of localities of a blank, and means controlled by the amount of difference as found by the determining means for skiving the blank to a uniform thickness. y, l

V8. A machine of the class described, having in combination, mechanism for determining the amount of difference in thickness between a plurality of localities of a blank, skiving mechanism, and connections between the determining mechanism and the `skivinglmechanismV for setting the skiving mechanism-in accordance with t-he amount of the thickness-difference. y

' 9. A machine of the class'described, having in combination, a*Y plurality of detectors adapted to engage a bla-nk, means for [caus- -ing the detectors-to be pressed against the blank,'a nd means for y'reducing the thickness of the blankV in, accordance with the amount of difference between the findings of the detectors`- y 10`. VA machine of the class described, hai i ing in combination, a plurality of detectors adapted to engage a blank, means forcausing the detectorsto be pressed againstl 'the accordance with the amount fof difference between the findings of the detectors. A machine of the class described, having in combination, a numbery of` detectors greater than two adapted to engage a blank at spaced localities/tok determine a characteristicof the blankatthoselocalities, vand means for Vskiv'inglthe blank in accordance with the -agrnoiunt 'of ldifference between the blank, and mea-nsV forskiving the blank in y and means operatedby the testing means l adjustin 'theiilj rboth members'ri'gidly from movement away I Y l Y fi'ifigifn combination, Y .D

,iinefmbers 'for advancing the .blank to the fio ing. in combination, mechanism for testing a blank todeternune. the amount o varia.-

tion in a lselected characteristic of the blank,

mechanismfor changing the selected characteristic, a controller the position of which governs the e'ftent'of thechange produced,

i mechanisinjfor adjusting the controller in accordancewith the amount ot variation found by the determining means.

1.3. A machine of the class described, having in combination, a support against which yaVy blank may bey pressed, ,a plurality ot individually 'movable yielding detectors', a carrier in which the detectors are mounted, i lfor,moving the carrier toward the support to' cause the detectors to press against 'thejfblfank and thereby determine the diderece between the' ma'xiinum and mini- -mum Athickness of y the blank at the localities engaged, a controller, means including a plurality oflev'ers, diie for each detector, for

tliey Vc(` rtroller in accordance with vtheamount, of the difference, skiving mechanism including a cutter andv two blank-ening members, and means tor adjusting onefot rthe vmembers 1n accordance with the adj gsted 'position ofthe controller.

14'. A'mach'in'e or" the class described,.havlng in, combination, a cutter and two mem- 'Yb'efrls' fory adv' n nga blank toi the cutter,

said niembe sfb ng-located Aoneon one side inge-'ans of of the-piane oit the' cui: and one on the other,

:arr n 'fged tofperniit adjustment first i' member and then the' other toward ane ofthecut,and"means for holding from Vsaid plane during"-tlievcuttingfoperation, 1 the finally a j usted positions ot f the members,determining the thickness to which A'the blank 'will besplit.

15. maclimeof the class described, haring in`co-n'ibi`nation, a cutter andtwo' mem- Vment first ot' one member..

y speci:` to the' cette@ ,bers Aio'r a'di'fan'cing a .blankl toy the cutter,

yielding pr'e's'sersy carried vby one ,of the members, means arranged to ypermit adjustn i and then otv the other tcward the'- plane of the' cut, and

l, 's for' hldii'igV both menbers i rigidly from lmovement away tro-m'said plane durthe cutting operationv Aimachi'ne of the class described, hav- 1f..... f uil-,H Y, 1. lng 1n combination, a` cutter, biank-engaging members" lfor engagingV a blank during between them,

members for advancing a blank and the other with respect to fromI the cutter,

i member toward andi; means for moving Athe other member toward the adjusted member until the blank is"firinly`r engaged by both members, the inally adjusted positions of the members determining ,the thickness to which the blank will be split.

17. A machine of the class described, haf- Y a' cutter, blank-engagbla'nk. to the cutter, means fo'r adjusting Oneof said members intor the desired relation withV respect to the cutter, 4the members" being V at this time spaced apart a distance greater than the thickness of the blanky to` be roperated `upon so that the blank may be placed between ing in combination,

them, means for yieldin'gly .moving the other member toward the adjusted member until the blank is firmly engaged by both members, and meansA for locking the yieldingly moved member from m'bvement away from the blank during' the cutting operation.

18. A machine of theclass described, having in combination, a cutter, and a pair lot blank-engaging members for advancing a blank to the cutter, one ot said members con'iprising yindividually vyielding pressers spaced widthwise and lengthwise ot thc 1 comprising spaced vfeed rolls, the blank-engaging elements ot which are located in a common plane.

.159. machine ot the class described, having in combination, a cutter, a. pair ot blank-engaging members for advancing a blank tothe cutter, one ot said members comprising vindividually yielding pressers .roll's,-the blank-engaging' elen'ients off which areloca'tedlin a common plane, and' means. for adjusting the members in succession.y

, 20. machine of the class described, hava'cutter, blank-e aging cutter, the finally adjusted positions oit said members determining' the thickness to which the blank will boxsplit, moans tor yadjusting one otth'e'mcmbers into the desiredposition Y the vedge ot the cutter 'and for holding it rigidly from movcmcntaway and-means capable ci being operated thereafter-tor moving the other the first named member and ior-lioldii'ig it also rigidly from movement away Vfrom' the cutter.

21. `fr machine for skivinga blank ot uneven vtli'ickness to an `even thickness, having in combination, a knile`v a gage member the blank-engaging face or which is no malljspaced from the plane o' the cut of the knit'e a distance greater than thetamouut o the difference in thickness between the thickest and the thinnest localities ot tl e blank, a feed member adapted to' co-opewte with theA gage member in advancing the blank to the knife, means for adjusting the lll) gage inember toward the plane of the cut of the knife, and means for thereafter moving the feed member toward the gage member to cause the two members to grip and feed the blank.

22. A machine for operating upon a blank of uneven thickness, having in combination, a cutter, and members located in front of the cutter for engaging the blank on both sides, means for adjusting one of' the members into a position inwhich its blank-engaging face is spaced from the plane of the cut of the cutter a distance substantially equal to the amount of difference in thickness between two localities of the blank, and

means for'causing the blank to be gripped vof the cutter and having its face spaced from the plane of the cut a distance substantially equal to the amount of difference in thickness between two localities of the blank, and means `for pressing the blank against the gaging member and feeding the blank while so pressed to the cutter.

24. A machine for operating upon a blank of uneven thickness, having in combination, a cutter, a gaging member located in front of the cutter and having its face spaced from the plane of the cut a distance equal to the amount of n ness between the thickest and thinnest substantially localities of the blank, andineans for presing the blank against the gaging member and feeding the blank while so pressed to the cutter.

of uneven thickness, having in combination,

f :i cutter, a gaging member and a feed meinand the feed membercomprising a plurality of rigidly mounted pressers, the members being adjusted into such position that vthe distance between'a plane passed through the Vblank-engaging elements of the rigidly mounted pressers and a plane 4passed through the blank-engaging elements of theyieldingly mounted pressers when in' their iretracted positions is substantially `equal to the thickness of thethickest locality'of the blank, and means for maintaining the members in such relative positions during the cutting operation.

26.A machine for skiving an unevenV blank, having in combination, a skiving knife, two opposed blank-engaging members for advancing the blank tothe knife, yielding pressers mounted in one member yin such difference in thick-v A vtwo localities of the blank. bei' for presenting the blank to the cutter,

the gaging membercomprising a pluralityy of yieldingly mounted pressers the blank-"engaging elements of which lie in a lcommon plane when the pressers arefully retracted,`

- its blank-engaging manner that initheiiefully retracted positions they present a rigid blank-engagingV surface, means for adjusting the memberl vhaving the pressers into a position relative to the knife such that the blank-engaging surface formed by thev pressers when fully retracted-is spaced from the plane ofthe cut of the knife ay givenfdistance, and means Vfor moving the other member toward the tions they present a rigid, blank-engaging surface, means for, adjusting the member having the pressers into a position relative to the knife such that the blank-engaging surface-formed by the Vpressers when fully retracted is spaced from the plane of thev cut of the knife a distance proportional to the difference in thickness; between two localities of the blank, and means for moving the other member toward. the member in which the pressers are mounted.l

28; A machine for skiving a blank of non-uniform thickness, having in combination, a skiving knife, meansffor forcing ,the

`blank Vagainst the edge of the knife, said means consisting of a member arranged to engage that side of .the .blank from which the skiving is to be removed and a member for engaging that sidev of the'blank which is to be `part of the-finished article, and meansffor adjusting the first-named member into a position in which its blank-eni Y j gagin'g face is spaced from'the planeof the 25. A machine for o eratin u on a blank Y g cut of the knife adistance substantially equal to the difference in thickness between l29. Afmachine .for lskivingfa blank of 'nonuniform tliickness,.having in combination, a.

lside of the blankwhich is to be part ofA the nished article,

'means for adjusting the first-named member into a position inv which Y face'iis spaced from the plane of thecut of the knife av distance substantially equal to the difference in thickness between two localities of the blank, and means for thereafter moving the other member toward the first-named member.

30. A machine for removing a skiving from'a vblank of sheet material to reduce the blank to a uniform thickness throughout,

`in combination, ak skiving knife, a Y

having, pair of members forpresenting an edge of the blank to the knife and for feeding the blank in a path parallel to the plane ofthe Y ment away blank-engaging members een cut of the knife' during' the skiving operation, each member being provided with means for-engaging the blank during the cutting operation throughout an area sufficient to maintain the uncut portion of the blank substantially f flat, and means' for rigidly supporting the members from movefrom the knife during the skiving, operation.

31. A machine for operating upon a blank of uneven thickness, having in combination, testing mechanism Y for; determir'iingthe thickness-diiference of the blank, skiving mechanism including a cutterv and two for advancing tlie blank tothe cutter, and means including the testing mechanism for moving rst one .member and then the other into proper position with respect tothe cutter.

. 32. A machine for operating upon a blank of uneven thickness,- having in lcombination, testing mechanism lfor determining the thickness-'difference of the. blank, skiving mechanism including a cutter and two blankengaging members for advancing the blank to the cutter, means includingV the testing mechanism for moving first one member Iand then the other into proper position with respect to the cutter, vand means for holding both members fro-m movement away from the blank during the cutting operation.

33. A machine for operating upon a blank .of uneven thickness, having in combination, testing mechanism for determining the Athickness-difference of the blank, skiving mechanism including a cutter, a blank-engaging member comprising a plurality of andV a blaiik-eiigaging member having a rigid blank-engaging face, and means Vfor adjusting the first-named member in` accordance with the determination of the testing mechanism.

84:.' A machine for operating upon a blank of uneven thickness, having in combination, testingV mechanism 'forY determining the thickness-difference 'of the blank, skiving mechanism including a cutter, a blank-engaging member comprising a plurality of yielding pressers and a blank-engaging member having a rigidr blank-engaging face, means for adjusting theYrst-namedmeinyielding pressers .ber in accordance with the determination of the testing mechanism, and means fortherfeafter ymoving the other member toward the adjusted member.

A machine of uneven thickness, having in combination, testing mechanism for determining the thickness-difference of the blank, skiving mechanism, means for adjustingy the skiving mechanism in accordance with the determination of the testing mechanism, and means for feeding the blank first to the testingmechanism and then' tol the skiving mechamechanism,

^ means for operating upon a blankA 36.l A machine for operating upon a blank of uneven tliickness,.liaviiig in combination, testing mechanism. for determining the thickness-difference of the blank, skiving means for adjusting the` skiving. mechanism in accordance with the determination of the testing mechanism, a magazine for holding-a stack ofv blanks, and for feeding the blanks one by one first to the testing mechanism and then tov .the skiving mechanism.

37. rA machine for operating upon a series of blanks, having in, combination, means for testing each blank to determine whether itis uniformor non-uniforin in a selected;

characteristic, mechanism capable of changving thecharacteristic, means for causing the mechanism to operate upon they blanks which are non-uniform andv other means for pre-V venting the mechanism froinoperating upon `the blanks which are uniform.

38. A machine forr operating upon a series of blanks, having in combination, means for testing each blank to determine whether it is uniform or non-uniform in thickness, mechanism capable -of changing the characteristic, means for causing the mechanism to operate upon the blanks which are non-uniform and other meansfor preventing the mechanism from operating upon-the blanks which are uniform. j f

39. vA machine for operating uponv a series of blanks having, in combination, means for testing each vblanktoA determine whether it, is uniform or non-uniform in thickness, a skiving knife, a gage member located above the plane of the knife, a co-operating feed member located below the plane of the knife and normally spaced below the gage member a distance sufficient to permit a blank to pass freely beneath the knife, and means responsive to the operation vof the testing mechanism upon a blank of non-uniform thickness for'raising the'feed member andA responsive to the operation of 'the testing mechanism upona blank of uniform thickness for preventing the feed member from being raised.

40. A vmachine ofthe class described having, in combination, detecting n mechanism, skiving mechanism, said Vskivingr mechanism including a gage memberV which is set in accordance with the determinations of the detecting mechanism and a co-operating feed member which' may thereafter Abe raised to press the 'blank against the gage Amember, andmeans responsive to non-uniformity in thickness of a blank for raising said feed member and responsive to uniformity in thickness of a blank for preventing the feed member from being raised.

41. A machine for operating upon a series of blanks, having' in combination, means including a plurality of independently moveable feelers for testing each blank to deterf minel whether it isuniform orv non-uniform in thickness, skiving mechanism, means for advancing each blank from the testing mechanism to the skiving mechanism, and connections between the two mechanisms responsive to the positions of the feelers constructed and arranged to cause the skiving mecha.- nism to operate upon the non-uniform blanks and to prevent it from operating upon the uniform blanks. l

42. A machine for operating upon a. series of blanks, having in combination, means for testing each blank to determine whether it is uniform or non-uniform in a selected characteristic Within apredetermined standard, mechanism capable of changing the characteristic and governing means for causing the mechanism to operate upon the blanks which are non-uniform and for preventing the mechanism from operating upon the blanks which are uniform. saidgoverning means including va'ry the limit of the standard.

43. A machine for operating upon a series a member adjustable to ence is present, said last-named mechanism. including a member capable of adiustment to render the skiving mechanisminoperative when a thickness-difference is present inl a' blank but is less than a predetermined amount. y

44. A machine of the class described, having in combination, means for'determining the amount of variation of an articlewith Vrespect to a dimension. thereof, and means controlled by the variation-determining means for'effecting a change in the article with respect to that dimension. f

In testimony whereof I have` signedl my name to this specification.

JAMES G. NORTON.