US1663969A - Wire straightening and cutting machine - Google Patents

Description

March 27, 1928. 1,663,969

w. E. BOWLER WIRE STRAIGHTENING AND CUTTING MACHINE Filed June 17. 1925 7 Sheets-Sheet 1 #vvawrae WITNESSES MW .5 EMA,

7 Sheets-Sheet. 2

W E BOWLER WIRE STRAIGHTENING AND CUTTING MACHINE March 27, 1928.

March 27, 1928. 7 1,663,969

w. E. BOWLER I WIRE STRAIGHTENING AND CiJTTING MACHINE Fild June l 'l. 1925 7 sheets-sheet 5 FIE-L4- I IN II I

FIGEI.

m k W/ TNESSES March 27, 1928.

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W. E. BOWLER WIRE STRAIGHTENING AND CUTTING MACHINE 7 Sheets-Sheet. 5

Filed June 17. 1925 NN EE March 27, 1928.

W. E. BOWLER WIRE STRAIGHTENING AND CUTTING MACHINE Filed June 17, 1925 '7Sheets sheei; 6

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Patented Mar. 27, 1928.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM E. BOWLER, OF NIAGARA FALLS. NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO THE SPIRELLA COMPANY, OF MEADVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA WIRE STRAIGHTENING AND CUTTING MACHINE.

Application filed June 17, 1925. Serial No. 37,731.

The invention relates to mechanism for fabricating articles formed of wire which is bent back and forth into oppositely disposed loops which slightly overlap, and particularly for fabricating the so-called Spirella corset stays, an example of which and the method of forming it is illustrated in United States patent to Beeman N 0. 1,002,488, September 5, 1911.

The object of the invention is to provide mechanism combined and coordinated in a unitary automatic machine which not only bends the wire to the desired shape, but also takes out the bends, both flatwise and edgewise, and the twists which result from bending the highly tempered wire to shape, and which also automatically cuts the straightened and flattened fabric into the desired lengths.

The mechanisms comprising the combined machine and which perform the several individual operations are per se not broadly new, but the invention consists in the. combination, correlation and alteration of these to enable them to be combined in asingle organized machine capable of automatic operation.

Wire bending or forming machines substantially as embodied in this combined machine are well known and have been extensively used. The uncoiling, straightening, nntwisting, and cutting-off operations which in the present invention are coordinated with the bending and forming machine, have heretofore been done separately and by hand, that is, by the use of simple hand-operated mechanisms. They have not heretofore been coordinated with each other or with the wire forming machine, nor have they been adapted for automatic operation as'far as I know.

Generally stated, the new organization of mechanism comprises means for first bending the wire to form oppositely disposed overlapping loops and thereafter subjecting the fabric so formed to mechanism which in succession and automatically removes the flatwise curling. or coiling, the edgewise bends in the fabric, and the twists in the fabric, and finally severs the flattened fabric into the desired lengths; all as hereinafter described in detail.

In the accompanying drawings. Fig. 1 is an elevation of the combined machine looking at what will be termed the front of the same; Fig. 2 is a plan view of thesame; Fig. 3 is a tran'sverse vertical section on the line 33, Fig. 1, and illustrating the tension mechanism in elevation; Fig. 4 is a plan view of the same; Fig. 5 is a vertical scetional view on the line 5-5, Fig. 4; Fig. 6 1s a face view of the worm wheel shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5; Fig. 7 is a detail sectional view showing the gripping faces of the feed wheelsaFig. 8 is a vertical section on the line 88, Fig. 1, illustrating in vertical section the means for removing the flatwise bending or curling of the fabric; Fig. 9 is a plan view partly in horizontal section of the same; Fig. 10 is a vertical longitudinal section through the means for taking twists out of the fabric; Figs. 11 and 12 are detail vertical sections of the same taken respectively on. the lines 1111 and 12-12, Fig. 10; Fig. 13 is a detail plan View of the means'for taking the edgewise bends out of the fabric; Fig. 14 is a vertical transverse section through the same on the line 14-44, Fig. 13, and approximately on the line 1414, Fig. 1; Fig. 15 is a vertical transverse section on the line 15-15, Fig. 1, illustrating the cutting-off mechanism in end elevation; Fig. 16 1s a side elevation of said cutting mechanism and its controlling means, viewed from the rear ofthe machine; Fig. 17 is an elevation looking from the rear of the machine illustrating. the driving and reversing mecha-' nism for the controlling means for the cutting-off mechanism; Fig. 18 is a plan view of the same; Fig. 19 is a. vertical transverse section on the line 1919, Fig. 17 Fig. 20 is a horizontal sectional View on, the line 2020,

-Fig. 17; Fig. 21 is a Vertical longitudinal section on the line 21-21, Fig. 18; and Fig. 22 is a detail view of the brake mechanism associated with the cutting-oil mechanism.

In the drawings the reference letter A indicates the mechanism for bending the wire to form oppositely disposed overlapping loops. Machines of this character are well known. an early type being that shown in United States patent to Mallet, No. 820,510, May 15, 1906. an improved type being shown in. Beeman Patent No. 1,009,823, November 28. 1911, while the specific machine used for illustration in the present drawings is a still later improvement, being that of patent to Beeman and Kitchen, No. 1,042,756, October 29, 1912. Inasmuch as machines of this type are well known, this part of the mechanlsm has not been illustrated in detail, but only its general outline and so much of its parts have been illustrated as are necessary to show the connection of the other parts of the mechanism thereto. As shown in said Bceman and Kitchen patent, this machine is provided with belt pulleys, from which all of the parts of said machine are operated, including the oppositely oscillating bending fingers particularly shown in Fig. 11 of the Beeman and Kitchen patent, but which are not shown in the instant drawings. In the instant drawings these power pulleys are designated by the numeral 25. From them all of the mechanisms which are associated with this wire bending machine are driven. The said machine is provided with feeding-out rollers, marked 26 on the instant drawing, for the fabric, which rollers are driven by a vertical shaft marked 27 on the instant drawings. This last named shaft has secured to its lower end a beveled pinion 28 which meshes with a like pinion 29 on a longitudinal shaft 30 which extends to the outer end of the machine and from which all of the other associated mechanism are driven. The fabric formed by machine A, and its course through the machine is designated by the numeral 31.

On leaving the bending or forming machine A the fabric passes to the feeding and tension mechanism illustrated generally at B, Figs. 1 and 2, and shown in detail in Figs.-

3 to 7. This mechanism comprises a base 32 in which is mounted a pair of feed rolls 33 and 34, which are formed with meeting faces conforming to the cross sectional contour of the stay, as shown particularly in Fig. 7, the upper one of which, 34, has a nurled gripping face 35 in the form of an annulus projecting into a groove in the lower roll 33, in which is seated a cooperating yielding annulus 36, preferably formed of leather. The

lower roll 33 is driven from the longitudinal drive shaft 30 by means of a worm 37 on the latter meshin with a worm-wheel 38 on the roll shaft, an the shafts of the two rolls are connected to rotate in unison by intermeshing gears 39 and 40. In order to enable any slack to be taken up, the shaft of roll 33 is provided with a nurled head 42 by which it can be turned and is loose in driven worm wheel 38, to which it is yieldingly locked by means of a spring-pressed ball 43 longitudinally movable in a collar 44- secured to the roller shaft and adapted to enter any one of a number of recesses 45 in the worm wheel 38. This spring-pressed ball and the cooperating recesses 45 form in effect a ratchet mechanismwhich enables the roller 33 to be moved to any degree forward or backwardlv with reference to the driven wheel 38.

The fabric 31 coming from the forming machine first passes over an idleror guide roll 46 which is in the same horizontal plane I as the roll 34 and in advance of the latter,

and then passes downwardly around a pin The lever 48 is fulcrumed at 49, and is frictionally clamped between the bracket 50 on which it is mounted and the head 51 of its fulcrum bolt so that it will remain in any position to which moved. By oscillating lever 48 the pin 47 will manifestly be moved toward and away from the bite of the rolls 33 and 34 and consequently the length and inclination ofthe loop of the wire between guide roll 46, pin 47 and the bite of rolls 33 and 34 will be varied, thus varying the tension on the wire fabric passing to the subsequent mechanisms. Thus, by simply changing the position of lever 48 the tension can be varied to secure the most efficient operation of the subsequent mechanisms. The next mechanism to which the wire is subjected, in the order illustrated in the drawings, is the flatwise straightening or uncoiling mechanism, illustrated gen rally at 0, Figs. 1 and 2, and shown in detail in Figs. 8 and 9. This straightener or uncoiler comprises a base 54, on the front face of which are two pairs of forwardly projecting spaced apart guide pins 55 and 55, between each pair of which pins the fabric passes, each pin being provided with a head, as shown in Figs. 1, 8 and 9, in order to prevent the fabric from slipping out horizontally. -Between these two pairs of pins the base is provided with a vertical groove 56 in which is the vertically movable slide 57 providedwith a pair of spaced apart forwardly projecting pins 58 between which the fabric also passes. This slide has connected to its upper end a lever 59 fulcrumed at 60, and which also is frictionally clamped between the bracket on which it is mounted and the head 61 of the fulcrum bolt so that said lever will stay in any position to which it is moved. Hence by moving this lever the position of the horizontal pins 58 on the slide 57 relative to the stationary pins 55 and 55 can be varied, so as to impart any desired degree of deflection to the fabric, either upwardly or downwardly between the pins 55 and 55. this kinking or bending having the effect of taking out the flatwise bends of the fabric, and the amount of this kink or bend manifestly can be made anything that is necessary in order to take out the curl or bend. The wire fabric is pulled through this straightening device by means of a pair of ment as illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6, in order that said rolls may be turned either forwardly or backwardly as may be necessary. The fabric then passes to a device for removing twists therefrom. This device as a whole is indicated at D. It comprises a base 67 bolted to the frame of the machine and having two upwardly projecting portions at its upper end. One of these, as shown in Figs. 10 to 12, is provided with a longitudinal slot 68 of a width and depth such as to fairly closely confine the fabric passing through the same, said slot lying in a horizontal plane. In advance of this slot, and rotatably mounted in the other upwardly projecting member of the base 67 is a member 69 provided with a longitudinal slot' 70 corresponding in contour to the slot 68, which member 69 is capable of rotation on a longitudinal axis to various positions and being set in adjusted position by means of the set screw 71. Manifestly the slots 68 and 70 will cause the fabric passing through said slots to assume different planes flatwise, with the result that any twist that exists in the fabric is removed. The member 69 manifestly can be turned in either direction from the horizontal position of its slot, depending upon the direction in which the twist in the fabric exists, and also manifestly can be turned to a greater or less degree in either direction, depending upon the degree or amount of twist in the fabric.

The fabric is pulled through this twistremoving device by means of a pair of geared-together rolls 72' and 73, similar to the rolls 63 and 64, driven from a worm 74 on the longitudinal shaft 30, and like the former being yieldingly connected to the driving gear.

The fabric next passes to a device for removing any edgewise bends therein. This device as a whole is designated by the reference letter E in Figs. 1 and 2 and is shown in detail in Figs. 13 and 14. It comprises a base 76 secured to and projecting from a standard 77 secured to the frame of the machine; The base 76 is provided with a pair of horizontal guideways 78 and 79, in which are similar slides 80 and 81, respectively, each of which is provided with a pair of spaced apart upwardly projecting headed studs or bolts 82 and 83, respectively,

between which the fabric passes and b v which it is guided with its flat in a horizontal plane. These slides are moved by the levers marked 84 and 85, respectively, each having a pin and slot connection with its slide and fulcrumed on a horizontal longitudinal axis 86 on a bracket 87 projecting from the base 76. These levers are adapted to be frictionally clamped, by means of nuts on their fulcrum bolts, so that they will remain in whatever position to which they are moved. The fabric, as stated, passes between the vertical studs on the two slides, and as these two slides are capable of being moved to various positionshorizontally, the fabric can be deflected edgewise to a greater or lesser degree, and in either edgewise direction. By setting these slides in the proper position to give the necessary edgewise bending to the stays, edgewise bends in the fabric can be effectively removed. To

further assist in giving the necessary edgewise deflection, the base 76 is pivotally mounted to the standard 77' and is adapted to be clamped thereto in an angular position, by means of the winge bolt 88 in Fig. 2. At the exit side of this straightening device, are a pair of guide arms, 90 and 91, which are pivotally mounted to the base 76 and capable of being clamped thereto in any angular position, such as by the winged screws 92, and one of these arms, such as arm 90, has a slotted connection, as shown at 93, with the screw 92, so that these arms-can be adjust ed to bring their curved ends into clos'econiact with the edges of the fabric, as shown .-n Fig. 13, and thus guide the same in a straight path after leaving the guiding studs on the last of the two slides' Ono of the arms, .such as arm 90, is provided on its lower face with a projecting ledge 94 which extends underneath the end of the arm 91 and thus prevents the fabric from escaping from between the ends of arms 90 and 91.

The fabric is fed through the edgewise straightening device E, and onwardly to the cutting-off device next to be described, by means (f a pair of geared-together rolls 97 and 98, which like the previously described feed rolls are yieldingly driven from a worm 99, on the longitudinal shaft 30.

The cutting-off device is designated as a whole by the reference letter F on Figs. 1 and 2 and is shown in enlarged'view in Figs. 15 and 16. It comprises a base or anvil 100 to which is secured a channeled guide memher 101 providing a longitudinal passage 102 for the fabric. This guide member, and also the anvil 100, is provided in its top with a transverse slot to receive a knife 103 clamped in 'the outer end of a strong rocking lever 104 fulcrumed on the longitudinal axis 105 and having its other end pivotally connected to a pitman 106 having a strap portion surrounding an eccentric 108 on a short longitudinal shaft 109 mounted directly in the rear of the longitudinal drive shaft 30, and geared to the latter to be intermittently rotated. This connection comprises a gear 111 on the shaft 30 which meshes with a gear 112 loose on the shaft 109 and provided with one member of a jaw clutch 113. The other member of this jaw clutch is splined to the shaft 109 and is normally urged into locking engagement with the member on gear 112 by a compression spring 114 interposed between said member and a collar 115 on the end of the shaft 109. This slidablc clutch member is provided with 'a groove 116, which is engaged by the forked arm 117 of an angle lever fulcrumed at 118 and having its other arm 119 controlled by means hereinafter described. The mechanism is so designed that when the shaft 109 is actuated to operate the cutter, it makes one complete revolution and then stops. To assist it in stopping in the proper position two devices are employed. One comprises the yielding brake plate 120 secured to a portion of the stationary frameand frictionally engaged by an eccentrically faced disc 121 on the end of shaft 109. The plate 120 is adjustable toward and from the disc 121 by means of an adjusting screw 122 tapped through an arm 123 on the frame. The arrangement is such that when the shaft 109 has completed a full revolution the high partof the eccentric disc 121 engages the plate 120, thus producing a friction which will tend to bring the shaft 109 to rest. The other device comprises a pitman rod 125 mounted on a crank pin 126 on the disc 115 on shaft 109, and which pitman rod is thereby reeiprocated through an opening in a stationary guide member 127. In-

terposed between this guide member 127 and' a fixed collar 128 on the rod 125 is a compression spring 129, the whole being so arranged that when the spring 129 is expanded to the fullest extent the pitman rod will be elevated, thus tending to bring the shaft 109 to a stand-still at a time when the crank pin 126 is in its most elevated position, which is just the time when the high part of the eccentric disc 121 is in frictional engagement with the brake plate 120. These special means for bringing the shaft 109 to a state of rest in a given position are necessary because of the very rapid rotary movement of said shaft. giving a full up and down movement to knife 103 in a very short interval of time.

The mechanism for bringing about the intermittent action of the cutter is shown in general plan view in Fig. 2, and in detail in Figs. 17 to 21. It comprises reciprocating means for controlling the movement of the lever 119 which actuates the clutch 113, and adjustable reversing mechanism for actuat ing' said reciprocating means.

' The main element of the reciprocating mechanism comprises a screw 130 extending longitudinally of the machine and mounted in bearings 131 on the backside thereof. This screw is driven from the shaft 30 through beveled pinions 132 and transverse horizontal shaft 133, the latter being connected through a pair of spiral gears 135 to a short longitudinal shaft 136 which is connected to the screw 130 through the reversing mechanism now to be described and shown in detail in Figs. 17 to 20. Shaft 136 carries a gear 137 which meshes directly with a gcar138 loose on the end of screw 130 and another gear 139 which connects through an intermediate idler 140 with a gear 141 also loose on the end of screw 130. Splined to the screw 130 between the gears 138 and 141 is a double jaw clutch member 142 arranged to engage, when moved to its opposite positions, jaws on the gears 138 and 141 respectively, but only one at a time. Clutch member 142 is provided with an annular groove which is engaged by a fork 143 on lever 144 which is fulcrmned at 145 on the stationary frame member 146. The lower end of lever 144 is bifurcated as shown in Fig. 19, and each of. its arms is provided with a segmental runway 147 for a roller 148. The two rollers 148 are connected by a neck 149 on which is swiveled the upper end of a rod 150. The lower end hand end as shown in Fig. 17, the lever 143 is held in the position where the clutch member 142 is engaged with the gear 138. If, however, said rollers be forcibly moved toward the right, viewing Fig. 17, it will cause spring 154 to be compressed so that as soon as the rollers pass the lowest point in the curved segmental runways 147, that is to say, pass beyond the dead center, the expansion of spring 154 will quickly force said rollers to the extreme right hand end of said runways 147 thus causing a quick snapping rotation of the lever 144 to disengage the clutch member 142 from gear 138 and bring it into engagement with gear 141, thus reversing the rotation of screw 130.

The means for moving the rollers 148 and thus oscillating the lever 144 as described, consists of the following mechanism: 156 is a block provided with aithreaded hole engaging screw 130. and hence will be moved either to the right or the left. depending upon the direction of rotation of said screw. This block is guided on a stationary longitudinal bar 157, and is provided with an posite side of block 156 is a similar stop 162, which is readily adjustable lon 'tudmally of the rod 158 by means of t e win ed clampin screw 163. The rod 158 is further provided with projectin arms 164 and 165, respectively, one of whic l carries apush rod 166 and the other a push rod 167. The ends of these push rods lie on opposite sides of the upper end of the toggle rod 150. When the screw 130 is rotating in one direction, say in a direction to move the block 156' toward the right, in Fig. 17, the right hand sleeve 160 will eventually contact stop 161 on rod 158, thus move said rod toward the right and cause push rod 166 to push the upper end of the toggle rod 150 toward the right, until, as already stated, the rollers 148 pass the dead center in the curved runways in the lower end of lever 144 and cause said lever to snap quickly into the reverse position, thereby disengaging clutch 142 from gear 138 and bringing it into engagement with gear 141 and thus reversing the direction of rotation of screw 130. This causes the block 156 to move in the opposite direction, that is, toward the left, Fig. 17, and this movement will continue until the left hand sleeve 160 contacts the stop 162, which will cause the rod 158 to he moved to the left, and thus cause the push rod 167 to come into engagement with the upper end of toggle rod 158, moving said upper end now toward the left, until again the rollers 148 pass the dead center of the curved runways 147, which will again cause the lever 144 to quickly reverse its position and thus reverse the clutch 142 and again reverse the rotation of screw 130.

By having the sleeves 160 threaded into the block 156 their positions can be nicely adjusted in order to bring about the move ment of the rod 158, and thus the actuation of the clutch 142, at precisely the right moment. The stop 161, as stated, is fixed to the rod 158, but the other stop 162 is adjustable on the rod so that thereby the time of reversal of the screw 130 can be regulated in order that the cutter be actuated to sever the fabric into pieces of different lengths. That is to say, the closer the stop 162 is to the stop 161 the shorter will be the lengths of fabric which are produced, whereas the farther the stop 162 is from stop 161 the longer will be the lengths of fabric produced.

The clutch 113 for clutching the knife actuating shaft 109 to and for unclutching it from the drive shaft 30 is controlled from the reciprocating mechanism by the following means: As shown in Fig. 16 the horizontal arm 119 of the clutch actuating fork is provided with a downwardly projecting nib 170, and a horizontally projecting finger 171. The nib 170 is arranged to be engaged by the wedge-shape member 172 mounted to reciprocate horizontally so that inafter described for engaging the liori-- zontally projecting fin er 171. The wedge member 172 is projecte 170 to open the clutch by means of a compression spring173 surrounding the lon itudinal rod 174 which carries the wedge 1 2 underneath the nib and interposed between said wedge .172 and a stationary member 175 surrounding said rod 174, said wedge member 172 is withdrawn from underneath the nib 170, and at the same time spring 173 is compressed, by the following means: Block 156 is provided with a vertical bore in which is mounted a slidable dog 176 which is normally pressed downwardly by spring 177 to engage a lug 178 on rod 174. Hence when the block 156 is moved in a direction away from the outer end of the machine, the dog 17 6, by its engagement with the lug 178, forcibly moves the rod 174 in the direction to withdraw wedge 172 from underneath the nib 170 on the clutch lever, and at the sametime compresses spring 173. This engagement of dog 176 wit-h projection 178 occurs only when the block 156 approaches the limit of its movement in that direction, and results, as stated, in withdrawing the wedge 172 from underneath the clutch lever nib 170 and leaves the clutch lever under the control of the means which engages the projecting finger 171. It is during this period, that is, when the wedge 172 is withdrawn, that the clutch is allowed to close under the control of the means hereinafter described. The clutch, however, remains closed only a short time, because a slightly further movement of the block 156 in the direction in which it has been moving, effects the unlocking of the dog 176 from the lug 178, thus permitting the compression spring 173 to quickly project the wedge 172 underneath the nib 170 and thus again open the clutch. This unlocking of dog 176 is due to the fact that when the block 156 moves slightly further in the direction in which it has been moving, it brings into engagement with a stationary roller 180 the outer inclined end of a lever 181 which is fnlcrumed at 182 in the block 156 and is provided with a projection 183 engaging a shoulder 184 on the dog 17 6. The incline on the end of lever 181 is such that when the free end of said lever is forced down by its engagement with roller 180 (as it will be by further movement of block 156) the dog 17 6 is lifted out of engagement with the projection 17 8, and this allows the compression spring 173 to move the wedge 172 underneath the nib 170 and forcibly open the clutch 113.

Thus the wedge 172 constitutes positive means for opening-the clutch 113, but to permit the clutch to clge, the action of the wedge 172 is supplemented by an additional control means which must be actuated before the clutch can close. This additional contoward the forward end of the machine, par-;

allel to the rod 174 and extends loosely through an opening in the fixed bearing 131. It is normally biased in a direction to hold its end underneath the finger 171, by means of compression spring 190 between the bearing 131 and collar 191 fixed to the rod'- 188. Adjustably secured to said rod is a stop collar 192 arranged to be engaged by bloc 156 ,so as to push the rod 188 in a direction to compress the spring 190, and thus withdraw the trigger 185 from underneath the finger 171.

The several parts are so positioned that in the movement of the block 156 toward the right, viewing Fig. 18, the dog 176 engages projection 178 an forces rod 174 in the direction of movement of the block 156, thus withdrawing the wedge member 172 from underneath the nib 170, and at the same time compressing spring 173. This would enable the clutch sprin 114 to close the clutch 113 were it not or the trigger 185 which is still in engagement with finger 171..

The movement of block 156 continues and said block shortly comes in contact with the collar 192 on the rod 188, thus moving said rod in the same direction and withdrawing the trigger 185 from underneath finger 171. This then releases the clutch actuating lever and permits the spring 114 to close clutch 113. Immediately shaft 109 is put into rotation and the cutter is actuated. Almost by the time, or a little before, that shaft 109 has completed one rotation, the end of lever 181 (Fig. 21) will have been crowded under roller 180 to such extent that dog 176 will be disengaged from stop 17 8. This releases rod 174 and the compression spring 173 shoots the wedge member 172 outwardly underneath nib 170, thus raising lever arm 119 and opening the clutch, whereupon the shaft. 109 will come to rest and will be brought to a state of rest at just one complete revolution from its original idle position by the means herebefore described. The trigger 185 moves outwardly underneath finger 171 somewhat later, that is to say, when the screw 130 has been reversed by the mechanism heretofore described and the block 156 is moving in the opposite direction, which permits the spring 190 to gradually expand and move rod 188 outwardly.

- All the foregoing mechanisms are scorganized and correlated that the several operations are automatically effected and in the desired sequence, and with no hand manipulation or operation, other than the. presence of an attendant to see that the parts are properly working and that the proper adjustments are made to effect the various operations efliciently. That is. to say, the

operator must see that the proper adjustments are given to. the tension device B,

'the fiatwise straightener C, the edgewise straightener E, and to the rotatable member of the untwisting device 1). YHe will have to see that the adjustable stop 162 is so set as to produce reversal of the screw 130 at such intervalsas to produce cut-off pieces of fabric of the desired lengths. While it is preferred to have the several devices 0, D and E arranged in the sequence in which shown, this is not absolutely necessary, as they might be arran ed in some other order. The tension device ,-however, must come first and the cutting-01f device F must come.

last. While also there is no novelty claimed per se in the fabric formin machine A, or any broad novelty in the atwise straightener C, the untwisting device D and the edgewise straightener E, nevertheless these devices in their details are different from devices heretofore used, and for the first time have been adapted to be used in an organized mechanism and to operate automatically. Asa result of the complete organized machine much tedious .hand labor in the manufacture of wire corset stays is dispensedwith, and an organized mechanism has been produced which delivers pieces of the desired length which are both straight and flat, and which need no further hand manipulation, and indeed no further handling at all except the application thereto of the usual tips at the ends and the usual electro-plating thereof to render the same rustproof.

I claim:

1. Wire fabricating mechanism, compris ing in combination mechanism for bending wire into successive o positely disposed overlapping loops, straig tening mechanism for uncoiling, flattening, untwisting, and removing edgewise bends from the fabric so formed, mechanism for severing the fabric into lengths, and driving mechanism organized to actuate all of said mechanisms simultaneously, synchronously and automatically.

shaft for operating said straightening mechanism and actuating said severing mechanism.

3. lVire fabricating mechanism comprising in combination mechanism for forming wire into successive oppositely disposed overlapping loops, straightening mechanism for uncoiling, flattening, untwisting, and removing edgewise bends from the fabric so formed, mechanism for severing the fabric into lengths, a shaft driven from the wire forming machine, means actuated by said shaft for feeding the fabric through the straightening mechanisms, and means actuated by said shaft for operating the severing mechanism. I

4. Wire fabricating mechanism comprising in combination mechanism for forming wire into successive oppositely disposed overlapping loops, straightening mechanism including a tension mechanism, uncoiling and flattening, untwisting mechanisms, a severing mechanism, a shaft driven from the wire forming machine, mechanism actuated by said shaft for feeding the fabric from the forming machine through the straightening mechanism and to the severing mechanism, and connections from said shaft for actuating said severing mechanism.

5. Wire fabricating mechanism comprising in combination a machine for forming wire into successive oppositely disposed overlapping loops, feed rolls driven from said wire forming machine, adjustable means for varying the tension of the fabric between said machine and said feed rolls, and straightening and flattening mechanism to which the fabric is delivered from said tension rolls.

6. Wire fabricating mechanism comprising in combination a machine for formingand for removing edgewise bends from the fabric so'formed, adjustable tension means between the fabric forming mechanism and the straightening mechanisms, and means driven from the wire forming machine for drawing the fabric through said tension and straightening mechanisms.

7. ire fabricating mechanism comprising in combination mechanism for forming wire into successive oppositely disposed overlapping loops, a device subjecting said fabric to opposite flatwise bends, a device for subjecting said fabric to opposite edge wise bends, a device for subjecting said fabric to opposite twisting bends, drawing rolls arranged to draw the fabric through said devices successively, and a shaft driven from the wire forming machine and actuating said pairs of drawing rolls.

8. lVire fabricating mechanism comprising in combination mechanism for forming wire into successive oppositely disposed overlapping loops, a shaft driven from said wire forming mechanism, a number of pairs of successive feeding rolls geared to said shaft, an adjustable tension device in advance of the first pair of said driven rolls, a device for subjecting the fabric to opposite flatwise bends, a device for subjecting the fabric to opposite twisting bends, and a device for subjecting the fabric to opposite edgewise bends, said last three mentioned devices being respectively followed each by a pair of driven rolls.

In testimony whereof, I sign my name. lVILLIAM E. BOVVLER.

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