US1564096A - Spacing mechanism - Google Patents

Description

6 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTDRs flaw J. A. MOORE Er AL SPACING MECHANISM Filed July 29, 1924 I Q I INV NTORS ,2?

6 Sheets-Sheet 3 SPACING MECHANISM Filed July 29; 1924 Dec. .1925- 1.564.096

J. A. MOORE ET AL SPACING MECHANISM Filed July 29, 1924 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 Dec. 1,1925- J. A. MOORE ET AL SPACING MECHANI SI Filed July 29, 1924 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 J. A. MOORE ET AL SPACING MECHANI SM Filed July 29, 1924 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 vs? 3 II Patented Dec. 1, 1925.

UNITED STATES JAMES A. MOORE, OF ROCHESTER, AND JAMES S. OONLEY, OF BEAVER, PENNSYLVANIA.

. 1,564,096 PATENT oFFlCE;

vSIAGINGr MECHANISM.

Application filed. July 29, 1924. Serial No. 728,894.

To aZZ whom it may concern: 7

Be it known that we, JAMES A. Moose and JAMES S. CONLEY, citizens of the United States, residing at Rochester and Beaver, county of Beaver, and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Spacing Mechanism, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact descrlption.

The present invention relates to .punchlng and stamping machines, such as are employed for punching and stamping structural iron and steel, and more particularly tospacing mechanism therefor.

An object of the invention is to provide a mechanism embodying positive and r gid automatically operated stop means enabling duplicate pieces with accurate spacing to be punched or stampedand having provis on for a quiclpadjustment from one character ofspacing to another for different pieces of work.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a plan view, partly broken away, of, a punch press and a spacing mechanismembodying a preferred form ofour invention;

:Figure2 is a plan View of the spacing mechanism;

Figure 3 a side elevation. Of-the spacing mechanism; I

Figured is a rear end elevation, partly in section, of the spacing mechanism;

Figure his, a plan view, on a elargersoale, of thegripper jaws and associated parts;

Figure ,6 is a side elevation of aconnecting slide forming an element of the means for operating the gripper jaws;

Figure 7is a perspective,view,v on a larger scale, of a portion ofthe rack bar,.showing one of thestops carried thereby;

Figure 8 isa plan view showing -thegripper-jaw lockingslide and co -operating dogs;

Figure 9 is a section on the l1ne"IX-'IX of Figure 8; I I

Figures 10 11, 11 and Bare detail views of the "switch and switch operating means associated with the punch press v Figures 13, 14c and '15 are detail views of contact meansin the circuit ofthe electromagnetffor operating the gripper jaw looking means, and

Figure 16 is a wiring diagram.

In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, the reference numeral 2 designates a horizontal bed plate upon which the work carriage 3 is mounted, the latter being supported for movement longitudinally of the bed plate by flanged wheels .4 engaging tracks on the upper surface of the bed plate adjacent the longitudinal edges thereof and having their flanges 5 in engagement with said longitudinal edges. The wheels are journaled upon axles 6 with suitable antifriction bearings 7 interposed between the wheels and axles. The bed plate has depending flanges 8 at its longitudinal edges and depending from the sides of the carriage are brackets 9 which carry rollers 10 engaging the lower edges of the flanges, whereby the carriage is held to the bed plate and prevented from tilting thereon during its reciproca-tory movements. Also depend ing from the sides of the carriage are other brackets 11 which carry anti-friction rollers 12 at their lower ends for engagement with theflanges 8 of the bed plate. These latter rollers guide the carriage in a truly rectilinear path on the bed plate.

Secured by bolts 13 tothe forward end of the carriage are the sides 14 of a housing for the gripper jaws and associated operating means. Mounted in the sides 14 and extending between the same is a horizontal pin 15 forming a pivot for a vertically extending gripper jaw operating lever 16. This lever is adapted to be operated either by hand or by a solenoid plunger 17 adjustably connected to the lever by link 18, screw clevis 19 and screw 20, the latter being screwed into the clevis 19 and end of the plunger and held in adjusted position by a lock nut 21.

The lever 16 carries a laterally extending pin 22 at its lower end, which passes through a slot 23 in a connecting slide 24. The slide 2 1 is pivotally connected at its forward end at 25 to a sliding wedge 26. The wedge slides in contact with the inclined edge of an upwardprojection 27 onjaw adjustment plate 28 and bears on a-fulcrum 29 of rocker insert 30 which moves with the wedge. The rocker insert carries two anti-friction rollers 31 which bear on the movable jaw 82. The jaw 32 is pivoted at-its rear end to the aw adjustment plate 28. This wedging action between the wedge 26 and jaw adjustment plate causes the movable jaw 32 to close in toward the fixed jaw 83 when the slid e 2l-iis advanced by rocking the lever 16 forwardly.

The jaw adjustment plate28 is mounted for sliding movement transversely of the gripperjaw housing and has adovetail projection 34 at its lower side engaging in a dovetail groove 1n the bottom of the housing. An ad ustment screw 35 is screwed into the adjustment plate and extends through to determine the space between the jaws 32 and 33 when the latter are open.

' The lever 16 is normally maintained rocked into the forward position shown in Figure 3 by a spring 40. This spring surrounds a stem 41 which is pivoted at its rear end to a stud 42 projecting forwardly from the carriage 3. The stem at its forward end slides in a block 43 pivoted in a slot in the lever 16. The spring bears at one end against the block 43 and at the other end against a clevis portion 44 at the end of the stem.

hen the lever 16 is released of solenoid action on the plunger 17, the spring 40 rocks it forwardly, thereby causing it to withdraw the wedge 26 through the connecting slide 24. This allows the movable jaw 32 to slide open under the action of the coil spring 45 which surrounds a spring rod 46. The spring rod has one end screwed into an eye 47 swiveled upon the projection 27 of the adjustment plate 28, and said rod slides in a guide eye 48 swiveled upon the movable jaw. The outer end portion of the rod is screw threaded and has nuts 49 mounted thereon. The spring 45 bears atone end against these nuts and at the other end against the eye 48.

The lever 16 is also subject to the action of a coil spring 50 when released from solenoid action on plunger 17. This spring surrounds a spring rod 51 slidably mounted in a guide sleeve 52 carried by a bracket 53. The rear end portion of the rod 51 is flattened and has a slot 54 therein through which extends the upper end portion of a bell-crank lever 55. The other end of the bell-crank lever is screwed into a kick-out cam 56. The kick-out cam extends across the jaw housing and is journaled in the a lever 16 is rocked rearwardly to close the jaws on the work. The locking slide is connected to the lever 16 by a connecting rod 59 and has closely spaced teeth 60 in its side.

Mounted for sliding movement transversely of the magnet housing are dogs 61. These dogs, three in number in the construction shown, have teeth 62 so spaced that at least one of them is adapted to mesh with the teeth on the locking slide in any position of the latter. By providing a plurality of dogs and spacing the teeth 62 thereof so that the space between two teeth is not exactly equal to the space between a plurality of the teeth on the locking slide, a very fine adjustment of the locking slide can be obtained. The dogs have stems 63 extending through a flange 64 of the housing 57, and surrounding these stems between the flange and dogs are coil springs 65 which urge the dogs toward the locking slide.

An unlocking lever 66 is pivoted near its lower end upon'a pin 67 projecting from a side of the housing 57. This lever is normally held in contact with a stop 68, carried by a pin 69 projecting from the mag net housing, by a coil spring 7 O. This spring surrounds a stem 71 pivotally connected at one end to the lever 66 and sliding in a bracket 72. The lever is connected by a link 73 to one end of a double crank 74. The crank 74 is journaled in a bearing 75 on the housing 57 and has its other end connected by a link 76 with a grip release latch 77. This latch is in the form of a plate slidably mounted on the magnet housing 57 and adapted to contact'with shoulders 78 on the dogs 61 and move said dogs out of engagement with the locking slide when the unlocking lever 66 is rocked away from the stop 68. The unlocking lever is adapted to be attracted by an electromagnet 79 and thereby rocked out of contact with the stop.

The electromagnet is momentarily energized,

in the manner to be hereinafter described,

and when its circuit is broken the spring 70 immediately comes into action and forces the lever away from the magnet, thereby permitting the dogs 61 to move into engagement with the locking slide 58. 1 v

The bed plate 2 issupported on a suitable base 80 which maybe made up of angles and plates riveted and-bolted together to form a firm and rigid support for the spacing mechanism. Mounted on the base 80 and extending parallel to but spaced from the rear side of the bed plate is a rack bar 81, supported at approximately the same elevation as the carriage 3. The rack bar has a steel strip 82 positioned in a groove in its upper face, said strip being graduated to any suitable scale. Adjustably mounted on the rack bar are stops. I have deemed it necessary to show only the two end stops 83 and 84 which will always be employed, and one intermediate stop 85, it being understood that any required number of stops may be employed, depending upon the number of holes to be punched in a piece. The

nuances rack bar has a "dovetail cross-section and the'stops have channels or notches in their under sides to receive said bar.

Referring to Figure it will be seenthat the forward end wall of the channel in each stop is inclined for cooperation with the inclined forward edge-face of the rack bar. A 'wedge'86 is inserted in an inclined opening in 'the rear end portion of the stop, and by engagement with the rear edge face of the rack bar, forces the stop rearwardly to interlock the same with the rack bar. By tapping with a hammer on the lower end of the wedge, the latter can be readily loosened or removed to permit the stop to be adjusted to any desired position on the rack bar. To avoid *any possibility of a stop shifting on the rack barwh'en held in adjusted positionthere'on by its wedge, the forward edge face of the rack bar istoothed or serrated and the forward end wall of the channel in each stop is similarlytoothed or serrated.

The carriage 3 carries a gag 87, for cooperation with the stops on the rack bar to position the carriage for the operation "of the punch press. This gag is 'in the form of a flat bar which slides between rollers 88 in a channel 89 in a guide plate 90. A

spring pressed plunger '91 bears against a side of the gag and normally maintains it in the inclined position shown, in which its sides engage inclined edges 92of the channel. The gag is connected to a solenoid plunger 93 by a link 94, whereby when the solenoid coil is energized, the gag will'be retracted so that its nos-e 95 will clearthe stops on the rack bar.

Projecting upwardly from the rear end of the gag 87 is apost 96 having a collar '97 mounted thereon adjacent its upper end.

ward movement of the gag under the in- *fiuence of the spring.

'Slidingin a channel in a slide box 104 secured to the top of th'eflguide plate 90 is 'aggag locking slide 105 carrying a roller 106 at its forward end. A. plunger 107, acted upon by a'spring 108 housed in a cover plate for the slidebo'xgbea'rs 'on the upper side of the locking slide and presses it against the bottom of the channel in which it slides,

whereby thelocl'zing slide 1 is fri'ctionally held in any particular position to which it removed. A gagio cking pawl 109 is 1 pivoted in'the SlidebOX 104 and is adapted -to*c'ooperate with a pin .110 proje'ctingupwardly fr'o'm' the gag for holding the latter the upper end of the pawl and rocks said pawl upwardly to disengage itslowe'r end from the pin 110. This permits the spring 101 to project the-gag forwardly, so that its nosewill strike the stop '83, as the carriage is moved -'along the bed plate. The last stop -8t-carries-a cam 113 adapted to be engaged by the roller 106, whereby the locking slide is pulled outwardly to disengage the inclined surface 111 from the upper end of the pawl and permit the latter to drop in front of the pin for holding the gag retracted.

Referring to Figure 1, 114: represents the horizontal bed of a punch press and 115 the punchplunger which slides between guides a punch 118 for cooperation with a die block 119. The punch is adapted to punch holes in a strip S moved along'on the die block by the spacing mechanism.

Referringto Figures 1,-1'0, 1111116112, at-

ta'chedto the plunger 115 is a sw'itchbracket 120, and lined on the stationary bed of the machine is a switch bracket 121. A-lever 122 is mounted on the end ofapin 123 journal'ed in a bearing 124 on thebracket 120. Fixed on the other end of the pin is a dog 125. Acam 126 is pivoted on the end of apin 127 carried by the bracket and has an operating handle 128. The cam "cooperates with the lever 122, and when the handle 128 is thrown to vertical position,

thedo'g is thrown out "of contact with a pin 129 which is carried by a slide 130.

This slide reciprocates in .a channel in-the bracket 1'21 and hasqa'stem 131 which extends through "a bracket 132 and is surrounded betweenthe bracket and slide by a coil spring 133. The pin 129 extends through slots 134 in flanges 135 of a part 121? secured to the bracket 121 between which flanges theslide 130 reciprocates. A

'crank136 .is pivoted upon "one end of the pin 129, whereby reciprocating movements of the slide 130 actuatethe crank and impart rocking movements to the cam disk :137. The dog 125 has a slotte'drearwardextension 138 through the slot of which extends a vertical post 1 39 surrounded "by a coil spring 140 which "bears upon the under side of the extension and tends to maintain the 'dog in engagement with the pin 129. The

dog 125 is fiangedandbears'on the bracket 121 as-the punch'plunger'reciprocates.

A switch lever 141 is ivoted upon a pin M2 on the bracket 121 and carries a roller 116 on the bed. The plunger carries at one end a punch carrier 117 in which 1s mounted 143 contacting with the periphery of the cam disk 137. The lever is balanced by a spring 144 surrounding a pin 145 carried by the lever and projecting through an angle 146 attached to the bracket 121. The lever has an electrical contact 147 at one end adapted to make contactwith an electrical contact 148 mounted on an insulating block 149 on the bracket 121 and urged toward the contact 147 by a coil spring 150. The cam disk 137 has a cam portion 151 in its periphery for cooperation with the roller 143 to move the contact 147 into engagement with the contact 148 when the cam disk is rotated in a clockwise direction (Figure 11). The dog 125 has a beveled forward edge 152 for cooperation with the inclined upper edge of a stationary'member 152 adjustably secured to one of the flanges 135. 'VVhen the punch plunger moves toward the die block, a shoulder 125 on the dog 125 engages the pin 129 and rocks the cam disk 137 in a clockwise direction, thereby effecting contact between the contacts 147 and 148. This contact is only momentary, however, as the forward movement of the slide 130 which carries the pin 129 puts the spring 133 under compression. After a slight forward movement of the slide the beveled edge 152 of the dog 125 engages the inclined edge of member 152 whereby the shoulder 125 is moved out of engagement with pin 129 whereupon the spring 133 immediately moves the slide 130 rearwardly. This causes the cam disk 137 to be rocked in a counterclockwise direction to break the contact between the contacts 147 and 148.

' Referring to Figures 2, 3,, 13, 14 and 15, adjustably mounted on the forward end portion of the part of the base 80 that supports the rack bar 81 is a post 153. This post has a pin 154 projecting from its upper end on which is pivoted a bracket 155. The bracket has an inclined portion 156 to the upper face of which is secured a fiber block 157. This block has one end portion of an inclined plate 158 embedded and secured therein. The inclined portion 156 has a projection 159 for engagement with one edge 7 of the post 153 to limit movement of the bracket 155 and inclined plate 158 in a counter-clockwise direction on the pin 154. Secured to the upper end of the post 153 is another bracket 160. Sliding through an opening in this bracket is a pin 161 having a depending plate 162 at one end which engages a flat side of the bracket 155. A coil spring 163 surrounds the stem between the bracket 159 and plate 162. The plate 158 is normally maintained in the position shown by the spring 163 and by the weight of the plate and bracket 155.

Another pin 164 projects from the upper end of the post 153 and has an electrical contact member 165 pivoted thereon. The

contact member carries a weight 166 which normally maintains it in the position shown in contact with the fiber block 157.

Referringto Figures 2 and 3, the carriage 3 carries a block 167 of insulating material adjacent its rear longitudinal edge. Pivoted upon a pin 168 carried by this block is a switch lever 169. The lever carries a contact roller 170 at one end adapted to travel on the inclined plate 158 and engage the contact member 165 when the carriage is moved to the right. The opposite end of the lever is acted upon by a spring 171 surrounding a pin 172, whereby the lever is normally maintained in contact with an adjustable stop 173.

Referring to the wiring diagram shown in Figure 16, 174 and 175 are the feed lines, controlled by a switch 176, and 177 and 178 are the trolley wires. These trolley wires are engaged by trolleys 179 and 180 carried by the carriage 3 (Figure 4). The feed line 174 connects with the trolley wire 17 7, througha blowout coil 181 and'switch lever 141, while feed line 17 5 is directly connected to the trolley wire 178. Feed line 174 is also connected to contact member 165. When the carriage 3 is moved to the right and the contact roller 170 on the switch lever 169 makes contact with the contact member'165,

a circuit is closed through the coil of the spring 40 immediately rocks the gripper aw operating lever 16 into the position shown in Figure 3 to open the gripper jaws. As already mentioned, the energizing of the magnet 79 is only momentary as the contact roller 107 drops out of contact with the contact member 165 as soon as said roller reaches the top edge'of the inclined plate 158.

Every time that the punch plunger is operated, there is a momentary contact between the electrical contacts 147 and 148, as alreadyexplained. The coils of the solenoid plungers 17 and 93 are connected in parallel with the trolley wires 177 and 178 through the trolleys 179 and 180. When the contacts 147 and 148 are closed, these coils are mementarily energized.

Having described in detail the construction of the mechanism embodying our invention, we will now briefly set forth its operation. hen it is desired to punch a piece of material, with the carriage 3 at the extreme right of the bed plate, the piece to be punched is placed in contact with the die block 119 and moved along the bed 114 until the end of the piece is positioned between the open jaws 32 and 33 of the spacing mechanism. The end of the piece engages a shoulder 183 on the fixed jaw 33, whereby the operator, by pushing on the piece, moves,

the carriage to. the left until the gag 87 en gages; the 'iirst stop 83. This arrests themovement of; the carriage and workpiece and the gag is swung from its inclined position against the edges 18,4: and 185 of the channel 89. The rocking of the gag into this new position forces the plunger- 91 inwardly and puts its spring 186 under compression. Just before the gag engages; the stopv 83, the roller 106 on the end of the gag locking slide 105 engages the cam 112, whereby the locking slide is forced rearwardly and the pawl 109= is moved outv of; engage. ment with the pin 110, permitting the spring 101 to project the gag forwardly. The gag having come in contact with the first stop. 83'. and the movement of the carriage having thereby been arrested, the workpiece is nowin position for punching the first hole, and the operator throws. the punch press into action by operating a suitable clutch. As the punch plunger moves forwardly to. punch the first hole, the circuits through the coils of the solenoid plunger- s 17 and 93 are momentarily energized by the closing of the contacts 147 and 148 and the, plungers are drawn into, their coils. The drawingin ofthe plunger 17 closes the jaws 32 and 33 on the workpiece and the jaws, are locked in closed position by reason of the coactio n of the dogs 61 with the lockingslide 58, The; drawing in of the plunger 93 withdraws the gag 87 against the action of the spring 101 until its. nose clears the ends of the stop. 83. Then the spring 186, through its. plun-. ger 91, immediately rocks the gag into its normal inclined position in which its line clined end face 187 is substantially parallel with the correspondingly inclined; end f ce of the stop. The energizing of the solenoid coil is only momentary, and as soon as the contacts 147 and 14:8 open, the gag 87 is forced outwardly by the spring 101. IIIOW'.

ever, as the is forced outwardly by its sp ing, h e of he e smoves back.- o the end of the stop 83 so that the carriage with the workpiece held in its jaws is now free to be moved to the left after the punch plunger has receded. The operator now moves the workpiece and carriage until the gag engages the front face of the interme diate stop 85, when the movement of the cars riage and workpiece is again arrested and the workpiece is in position for punching the second hole. The operator again sets the punch press in motion to punch the second hole and during the punching thereof the gag is released from the intermediate stop in the manner already described. This operation is repeated for punching all of the holes except the last one, it being understood that the number of stops on the rack bar will correspond to the number of holes to be punched. Just prior to the engage- Iii ment of the gag with the last stop 84:, the roller 106 on the gag locking slide engages the cam 113 and the gag locking slide is drawn outwardly, thereby permitting the pawl 109 to drop. When the solenoid plunger 93 is withdrawn during the punching of the last hole, the gag is held in retracted position by reason of the engagement of the pawl 109. with the pin 110. The punching of the piece is now completed and the opera ato'r will nowmove the piece and the carriage to the right, this movement being per-. mitted by reason of the gag being held in its retracted position so as to clear the stops on the rack bar. As the carriage ap-. proaches its extreme position at the right, the contact roller 17. 0 rides up on the inclined plate 158. and engages the contact member 1365. The magnet 7.9 is thereupon momentarily energized and the unlocking 1e. ver 6 6 operated to unlock the locking slide 58. The spring 40 immediately rocks the lever- 16 forwardly to open the jaws. The punched piece can now be. removed and an-. other piece to be punched inserted in the open jaws.

As the carriage 3 is moved to the left during the punching of the piece, the piece held in the gripper jaws is moved overthe bed plate. In orderto facilitate this movement of the piece and to reduce wear on the bed plate, anti-friction rollers 188 may be associated with the bed plate 2. These rollers are journaled on shafts 189 supported in the flanges 8 of the bed plate.

lVhile we have shown and described a pre ferred embodiment of our invention, it will; be understood that changes may be made in the details of construction without departing from the spirit of the invention or scope of; the appended claims. Furthermore, while the invention has been illustrated in connec-. tion with a horizontal punch press, it will be apparentthat the invent-ion is not limited to use with this character of press but may be used with a vertical press. It will also be nd od that e invention is not limit to use wi h machi es for Punch ng hol s but may be employed with other types of achin s h r rate spacing s deir h l 1 P nch ng ma hine s employed in certain of the claims is therefore to. be interpreted; as meaning any metal working machine for performing a series of operations on a work-piece requiring acorn rate spacing.

We claim 1 Spacing mechanism, comprising a movable carriage, gripper means carried thereby for gripping the workto be operated upon, electromagnetic means for operating said gripper means, and automatic means acting independently of the work beinggripped t'or locking said gripper means in closed poshtion, substantially as described.

2. Spacing mechanism, comprising a movable carriage, gripper jaws carried thereby for gripping the work to be operated upon, electromagnetic means forclosing said aws, and automatic means acting independently of the work being gripped for locking said jaws in closed position, substantially as described.

3. Spacing mechanism, comprising a movable carriage, gripper jaws carried thereby for gripping the work to be operated upon, spring means for opening said jaws, electromagnetic means for closing said jaws, and automatic means acting independently of the work being gripped for locking said jaws in'closed position, substantially as described.

4. Spacing mechanism, comprising a movable carriage, gripper jaws carried thereby for gripping the work to be operated upon, electromagnetic means for closing said jaws, automatic means for locking said jaws in closed position, and electromagnetic means for moving said locking means to released position, substantially as described.

5. Spacing mechanism, comprising a movable carriage, gripper jaws carried thereby for gripping the work to be operated upon, spring means for opening said jaws, electromagnetic means for closing said jaws, automatic means for locking said jaws in closed position, and electromagnetic means for moving said locking means to released position, substantially as described.

6. Spacing mechanism, comprising a bed, a carriage movable thereon, a plurality of stationary stops, a gag on said carriage normally positioned to engage said stops when said carriage is moved in one direction on said bed, electromagnetic means for retracting said gag out of stop engaging position, means for projecting said gag into stop engaging position, means for locking said gag in retracted position, and means associated with one of said stops for moving said looking means to released position, substantially as described.

7. Spacing mechanism, comprising a bed,

a carriage movable thereon, a plurality of stationary stops, a gag on said carriage normally positioned to engage said stops when said carriage is moved in one direction on said bed, electromagnetic means for retracting said gag out of stop engaging position, means for projecting said gag into stop engaging position, means for locking said gag in retracted position, and means associated with one of said stops for moving said looking means to locking position, substantially as described.

8. Spacing mechanism, comprising a bed, a carriage movable thereon, a plurality of stationary stops, a gag on said carriage normally positioned to engage said stops when said carriage is moved in one direction on said bed, electromagnetic means for retracting said gag out of stop engaging position, means for projecting said gag into stop engaging posltion, means for locking said gag in retracted position, means associated with one of said stops for moving said locking means to released position, and means associated with another of said stops for moving said locking means to locking position, substantially as described.

9. Spacing mechanism, comprising a bed,

a carriage movable thereon, a stop support adjacent said bed, a plurality of stops adjustably mounted on said support, a removable wedge member co-operating with each stop and said support for holding the stops in adjusted position, and a gag carried by said carriage for co-operating with said stops, substantially as described. I

10. Spacing mechanism, comprising a bed, a carriage movable thereon, a stop support adjacent said bed, a plurality of stops adjustably mounted on said support, a gag carried by said carriage and movable thereon into and out of stop engaging position, electromagnetic means for actuating said gag, means for locking said gag in retracted position, and means associated with one of said stops for operating said locking means, substantially as described.

11. The combination wit-h a punching machine, of spacing mechanism therefor, comprising a bed, a carriage movable on said bed, gripper means carried thereby for gripping the work to be operated upon, and automatic means effective upon operation of said machine for operating said gripper means, substantially as described.

12. The combination with a punching machine, of spacing mechanism therefor, comprising a bed, a carriage movable on said bed, gripper means carried thereby for gripping the work to be operated upon, and

electromagnetic means effective upon operation of said machine for operating said gripper means, substantially as described.

13. The combination with a punching machine, of spacing mechanism therefor, comprising a bed, a carriage movable on said bed, stationary stops, a gag carried by said carriage for co-operation with said stops, automatic means effective upon operation of said machine for operating said gag, means for locking said gag in retracted position, and means associated with one of said stops for operating said locking means, substan tially as described.

14. The combination with a punching machine, of spacing mechanism, comprising a bed, a carriagemovable on said bed, grlpper means carried thereby for gripping the work to be operated upon, a plurality of stationary stops, a gag carried by said carriage for co-operation with said stops, and electromagnetic means efiective upon operation of said machine for operating said gripper means and gag, substantially as described.

15. The combination with a punching machine, of spacing mechanism therefor, comprising a bed, a carriage movable on said bed, gripper jaws carried thereby for gripping the Work to be operated upon, e1ectromagnetic means effective upon operation of 1 said machine for closing said jaws, automatic means for locking said jaws in closed position, and electromagnetic means effective upon movement of said carriage in one direction to a predetermined position to move said locking means to released position, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto set our hands.

JAMES A. MOORE. JAMES S. GONLEY.

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