US1792856A - Method and means for filling boards - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 17, 1931. A. D. MEISELBACH METHOD AND MEANS FOR FILLING BOARDS Filed July 13, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Feb. 17, 1931. A. D. MEISELBACH 1,792,855

METHOD AND MEANS FOR FILLING BOARDS Filed July 13. 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Feb. 17, 1931 UNITED TATE,

PATENT OFFICE AUGUST D. MEISELBACH, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO WILLIAM J. SANDBERG, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS METHOD AND MEANS FOR FILLING- BOARDS Application filed .Tuly 13, 1929. Serial No. 378,047.

These improvements relate to machines for filling boards having a plurality of holes therein, usually arranged in rows, with short sections, herein called fillers, severed from elongated strips.

The prime object of the invention is to provide a simple and highly advantageous method and also means for filling such boards whereby the mechanisms employed may be simplified, cheapened, rendered more positive and direct in operation, and more reliable, with fewer complications and refinements in the mechanisms employed, and generally with more satisfactory results, than according to means or methods heretofore suggested.

Many of the foregoing general objects are attained through the provision of means and a method whereby the ends of the elongated slender filler strips are first advanced into the holes of the board and are then severed free from the remainder of the strips respectively, whereby the severed end portions become fillers, without further operation upon them, and occupy holes in the board as desired.

Heretofore, in all instances of which I have been able to learn, the practice has been to produce such fillers by severing end portions of the strips first and'then forcing the severed ends or fillers, as small pieces, into holes of the board. In this connection I may refer to Letters Patent to Bates, No. 1,118,098 of Nov. 24, 1914, to Brewer No. 1,339,595 of May 11, 1920, and to Strickland No. 1,504,794 of August 12, 1924. The machines of the patents mentioned are in the same general class as the one illustrated herein.

Specific objects and advantages are attained through various constructional features, and as will further appear from the description and the appended claims.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a perspective of a simple and advantageous embodiment of the present improvements;

Fig. 2 is a substantially medial vertical section through the device of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary section similar to the lower central part of Fig. 2 showing the operative relation of certain mechanisms to the board;

4 is an enlarged fragmentary front elevation of the right hand vertical guide of Fig. 1 and associated parts, some of those parts being in medial vertical section; and

Fig. 5 is a fragment of a multiply folded elongated'piece of paper and constituting a filler strip as herein defined, in partiallyspread-apart condition.

The filler strip 10 of Fig. 5 is of a wellknown form and it will be understood that the accordion-pleat structure shown may be compressed into a narrow strip which, on account of the folds thereof, is a fairly stiff structure and has such compression strength in its longitudinal directions that it may be held at one end and advanced longitudinally against the slight frictional or other resistance encountered in operation whereby the free end portion maybe advanced into a hole in the board. The present invention is not primarily concerned with the particular form or construction of the filler strips. One in rolled form, or of cardboard stock, for example, would answer equally to theterm, and, in general, the filler strip maybe of any appropriate form, composition and construction. 7

It is to be understood here, as is well understood in'the art, that such'filler strips as 10 have numbers or other indications printed or marked on them in units extending'spaced apart substantially from'one end of the strip to the other, although what I shall herein call the rear end portion of the strip (being the upper end as illustrated) will ordinarily be left free of such numbers or indications since there is a small amount of the strip at that end used for holding purposes and which does not become cut up into fillers.

The arrangement ofthe numbers or indications on the filler strip is such that each filler cut off successively from what I shall herein call the front end portion of the strip (being the lower end as illustrated) contains one of the numbers or indications. In other words, the severing of the strip is done between two adjacent numbers or indications on the strip, such numbers or'indications being adjacent to each other in the longitudinal direction of the strip. 1

Turning to Fig. 1, the main base 12 may be considered a casting. It may have legs or supports as 13. There are longitudinallyextending side flanges 14 in the fore-and-aft directions of the base, and the bottom 15 is a flat surface on which rests a board 16, the distance between the flanges 14- being such as to accommodate boards of various widths.

The board 16 may be of any approved or well-known form. It is illustrated as formed of strip material defining holes square in top or bottom view. Its essential characteristies are that it is a flat body. usually approximately half an inch in thickness, usually rectangular in contour, and containing a large number of holes as 17 therein, winch in some boards are of cylindrical shape, opening into what may herein be described as the top surface of the board. These holes as 17 would not have to extend entirely through the board at the time the filler material is inserted therein, as at that time the lower surface of the board may already have been covered with the thin sheet of paper used in practice on both sides of the board, when filled. to maintain the fillers within the holes as 17 and to prevent their being extracted BX- cept in the approved way, namely by using a small punch to break the paper film or covering on one side and to force the filler through and out of the board with a ruptur ing of the paper surfacing on the opposite side. All these details of the board and its method of operation are well understood practically everywhere.

The lateral integral projections 20 of the main base 12 are supports for a pair of guides 21 and 22 vertically upstanding therefrom and being at right angles to the plane of the boa rd 16 These guides 21 and 22 define the relations of three elements or members A, B and C, each of which has a plurality of openings therethrough, corresponding ones of each being in a common vertical line, and being spaced apart in the members respectively to correspond with the spacing between the holes 17 in any one of the trans versely-extending rows of such holes in the board. Each of these three members A, B and C may be considered a bar-like element or member extending at right angles to the guides 21 and 22 and pass respectively through holes in end portions of the members A, B and C respectively. That theguides actually pass through member C is merely a mechanical expedient and is not of functional importance.

The upper member A includes the main body part 2% having set screws 25 adapted to bear against the rods 21 and 22 respectively to hold member A in any given position of vertical adjustment on the guides. It consists also of a part 26 (Fig. 2) held by two bolts 27 (Fig. 2) with. wing nuts 28 (Figs. 1 and 2) for drawing the member 26 toward the member 24. The member 24 has a plurality of recesses 29 2) which are to be understood to be of the same character and arrangement as are the recesses 30 of member B and the holes or recesses 31 of member C. There is a top plate 33 secured by screws 34- serving as a cover or stop tor the ends of the filler strips 10. Fig. 1 shows that the transverse bar 24 is recessed downwardly at 35 providing an open space through which the operator may see the upper ends as 10!: (Fig. 1) of the strips 10 and thus recognize when theend of the strip is properly positioned in member A. lVhen the strips are properly inserted in the recesses 29 the wing nuts 28 are tightened so as to clamp the upper ends of the strips sufficiently tightly.

The member B consists of the main body part 3. having a pair of rear extensions 38 provided with a downwardly-directed notch or recess 39 in which respectively rest loosely for rocking movement the ends of the shaft 10 having a pair of eccentric cams 1-1 and a lever handle 42, the cams bearing against a plate 43 held for movement toward and away from the body 37 by a pair of pins. 44; carried by the body 37. hen the lever 42 is moved the cams move the plate or part 43 toward the part 37 clamping the strips as 10 between these two parts. Only a slight indentation or deformation of the strips is necessary for holding them.

Members A and B are connected by a pair of vertical rods 46 carried by member B adjacent to the guides 21 and 22 respectively, these rods 46 passing loosely through holes in the end portions of member A and extending considerably above the guides 21 and 22. Finger-operated set screws 47 hold members A and B together as a unit in any given position of relative adjustment.

The guides 21 and 22 are provided with a plurality of notches 5O spaced apart vertically the length of a filler, when the filler is severed from the remainder of the strip. The fillers are not usually the full depth or thickness of the board, but occupy most of that depth. or thickness in the holes. The vertically adjacent ones of these notches 50 define the relative elevations of the means for feeding or advancing the strips before and after each severing operation. Latch or catch means are provided comprising the bolt 51 (Fig. 4E) pressed toward the associated guide by a spring 52 with a handle 53 moveable in the slot 54 for retracting the bolt.

A convenient way for applying the filler strips to the holding members would be first to remove the member A as by loosening the set screws 25 and 17 and lifting it up and away. Filler strips as 10 could then readily be inserted the recesses 30 of member B and 31 of member C and pushed downward until their ends touch the surface of a thin spacing piece of cardboard on the surface 15 of lie the base 12. Member A could then be reapplied and held by the set screws 47 at a position closely adjacent to the upper ends 10a of the filler strips and then these ends could be moved frictionally into the recesses of member A, the entire row of the strips being then made fast by tightening the wing nuts 28.

Turning to cross member C, it comprises a main plate 60, held by screws 61 upon the lugs or extensions 20, and the auxiliary plate 62 held edge to edge with plate 60 by screws 62a (Fi 2). The holes marked 31 are formed by recessing the edge of plate 60, plate 62'serving as a wall converting these recesses into vertically-extending holes. .Both plates 60 and 62 are slanted downward at 63 and 64: at these holes 31 respectively to facilitate the entrance of the filler strips.

This member C constitutes guide means for the lower end portions of the filler strips. When the strips are held by members A and B side by side and the lower ends of the strips extend into the holes 31 of the guide member C the strips as 10 (Fig. 1) are all parallel with each other.

It has been observed that the holes 31 of member C are normally in alignment with the holes as 17 in a given row of holes in the board; The advancing movement of the fillerstrip-holding means therefore advances the lower end portions of the strips respectively into the holes of that given row in the board, and one row of holes in theboard is thus simultaneously filled.

In advancing the strips the operator grasps the free ends of the cross bar B and with his thumbs moves outwardly the handles 53, retracting the bolts 51 (Fig. 1) and then manually lowers the unitary strip-holding device a short distance when the pressure upon the thumb pieces 53 may be released, whereupon the upwardly slanting surface of the next notch below is encountered by the bolt which follows that slanting surface downwardly. The whole downwardly advancing movement takes place largelygravitationally, and with assurance that it will be to the desired extent only. I

A row of the holes having thus been filled by end portions of the strips those end portions are severed free of the strip, and, in the embodiment shown, by a thin flat knife or blade 66 having a sharp cutting edge normally close to the filler strip, the blade being mounted to move on the undersurface of the flat plate 60 and therefore being between the top surface of the board and the guide means, namely plate 60 with its holes 31.

As to be observed from Fig. 3 the knife 66 is immediately above and closely adjacent to the top surface of the board 16. Fig. 3 shows a filler strip 10 as it appears immediately after the severing operation, at whichtime the filler F immediately below strip 10 is in one of the holes 17 of the board.

The cutting edge of the blade 66 is formed by slanting that edge portion upwardly, as shown in Fig. 3, so that the strip is severed immediately on the plane of the lower surface of the guide member The cutting movement of the blade forces the filler F downward slightly further, to the extent of the thickness of the blade so that, where the parts are formed as illustrated the filler F may, when out free, have its upper end flush or substantially flush with the top surface of the board. It would not make for any in convenience in practice, however, if the top end of the filler F projected slightly above the top surface of the board after the severing operation, for, when the board has been completely filled, the fillers could be moved inward the rest of the distance by merely ,assing the hand over them or by laying a flat piece of cardboard upon them and pressing them down.

Fig. 3 shows that all of the holes 17 to the right of the filler strip as 10 illustrated have been filled, indicating that a plurality of operations have been already performed on the board. It is to be understood that in Fig. 3 the filler 10 indicates a line or row of such fillers and that similarly the fillers F indicate a line or row of them, since a complete transverse row of the holes in the board is filled at one strip-advancing and cutting operation.

The knife is illustrated as being operated by hand, namely by the handle 68 upstanding from a bar 69 to which the knife or blade 66 is secured as by screws 7 O. The plate 60 is provided with several slots 71 directed both forwardly and laterally'to the left, and the knife 66 has upstanding pins 72 adapted to travel in these slots. The knife is operated by moving the handle 68 to the left. When the blade is moved to the left the slots 71 and pins 72 carry it also forward. The strip material is therefore sheared and, since the strip material is held by retaining means both above and below the blade the cutting action is positive, accurate and without dislocating the strip from its position. Having severed the strips the handle 68 is moved back to initial position. Thereupon the board is moved to bring another row of holes in alignment with the guide holes 31, and then the finger pieces 53 are again operated to lower the row of strips another step, and then the cutting operation is repeated, and so on.

' Means for holding the board in a desired relative position are shown as a plunger 7 5 (Fig. 3) in a casing 76 having a spring 77 forcing the plunger upward and with a rod 7 8 connecting the plunger to a lever 79, the inner end of the lever being pivoted at 80 while the free end thereof extends to the front end of the main base 12 where there is a finger board 81. It is to be understood that there are two such levers 79, pivots 80,

line with each other in Figs. 2 and 3 and spaced apart a material distance in these transverse lines. Each of the plungers has atits upper end a pintle 82 projecting above the surface 15 of the base. The pintles 82 enter holes in a given row in the board, as shown by Fig. 3. The pintle and its associated parts does not have to be in vertical line with the strips 10, but since the fillers F are not long enough completely to occupy the holes as 17 the arrangement may be as illustrated in this respect. Such pintles 82 being spaced apart laterally a material distance the board is held against turning or twisting movements. When it is desired to advance the board to another position the finger bar 81 is pressed upon with one hand while the board is moved forward or rearward so as to bring the next row of holes in line with the tiller strips.

When the unitary strip-advancing means have lowered to such an extent that member B rests upon or is closely adjacent to member C there still remains a considerable quantity of the strip material between members A and B which contains numbers or other indications. In order to use up that material between members A an d B the cam rod lever 42 is thrown so as to release the pressure upon the strips in member B. Thereupon the set screws 25 are tightened upon the guides 21 and 22. Next the set screws 47 are released, and thereupon member B may be moved upward until it comes in contact with or substantially close to member A, and thereupon the set screws 4:? are tightened. The unitary device with members A and B close together may then be lowered by loosening the set screws 25, and when the lower ends of the strips are again inserted in the holes 31 of the guide member C the filling operations may continue until all of the strip material having numbers or indications is used up.

I have shown these improvements as applied to a manually operated machine, partly for simplicity of illustration of the important features and partly with view to showing a peculiarly advantageous construction according to which boards may be filled quite rapidly and in an unusually satisfactory way and with comparatively little labor. I avoid through these improvements a vast amount of complicated mechanisms and show how to construct a device free of many objections yet capable of peculiarly satisfactory results.

I contemplate as being included in the present invention all such changes, variations and departures from what is thus specifically illustrated and described as fall within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. The combination of means for holding board of the character described having a plurality of holes therein for fillers means for holding a plurality of elongated filler strips with ends thereof directed respectively toward holes in the board. means for substantially simultaneously advancing the tiller strips whereby end portions thereof enter and occupy respective holes of the board, and means for severing such end portions while so occupying holes of the board, from the strips respectively.

2. The method of filling a board of the character described having a plurality of holes therein for fillers which comprises sub stantially simultaneously inserting end portions of a plurality of elongated filler pieces into respective holes of the board, and then severing such end portions from the filler pieces respectively.

3. The combination of means for holding a. boa "d of the character described having a plurality of holes therein for fillers, means for inserting the end portion of a filler strip of the character described into one of said holes, and means for severing such end portion, while so occupying such hole, from the strip.

4. In combination, means for holding a board of the character described having a plurality of holes extending from a face surface thereof for fillers, means for holding a plurality of long and slender filler strips for movement in the direction of the board, means closely adjacent to the surface of the board having said holes for guiding end portions of the filler strips into respective holes of the board, and means intermediate said strip-guiding means and said surface of the board for severing from the filler strips the end portions thereof respectively which were moved into holes of the board.

5. The combination of claim 4 hereof in which said severing means include a thin and sharp blade, with means for guiding the blade simultaneously forward into the filler strips and transversely thereof.

6. The combination of claim 4 hereof in which said guide means comprise a bar eX- tending across the face of the board with openings through the bar adapted to receive the strips respectively for sliding movement thereinysaid openings being respectively in register with holes in the board.

7. The combination of claim 4 hereof in which the means for holding the strips for movement include a bar-like member having openings adapted to receive the filler strips with means for clamping the filler strips in said openings respectively. said openings being arranged substantially in alignment with respective holes in the board, with means for releasably holding said bar-like members at various step-by-step stages of movement in the direction of the board.

8. The combination of claim 4 hereof adapted to fill simultaneously a straight row of holes in the board and in which combination said means for guiding the strips is a bar-like member closely adjacent to the board normally held, and the means for severing the strips is a knife operatively arranged to sever the strips closely adjacent to the board and between the board and said bar-like member.

9. The combination of claim 4 hereof in which the means for holding the board in clude provisions for readily adjusting the board relative to said strip-guiding means to bring other holes of the board into position to receive end portions of the strips.

10. In a machine of the class described, means for holding a plurality of filler strips for simultaneous advancing movementthereof and comprising a pair of strip-holding members extending substantially parallel with each other, with means connecting them so as to move as a unit, said connecting means including means for adjustably moving one of said members closer to and farther from the other thereof.

11. In a machine of the class described, means for holding a board having holes therein to be filled, said means including a support on which the board rests with the holes to be filled directed toward said support, a reciprocating pintle carried by the support and being mounted to move into one of the holes of the board, and lever means for moving the pintle in one direction.

12. In a machine of the class described, means for holding substantially horizontal a board having vertically arranged holes therein to be filled, means operatively holding a cutting blade closely adjacent to the upper surface of the board, means above the blade for guiding end portions of filler strips into holes in the board, and means for holding filler strips for advancement through the guide means and into holes in the board.

13. In a machine of the class described, means for holding a board having holes therein to be filled, a pair of guides adjacent to the sides of the board respectively when normally held, said guides extending substantially at 7 right angles to the plane of the board, guide means for filler strips extending substantially parallel with the plane of the board, stripholding means extending substantially par allel with said filler strip guide means and being mounted for sliding movement on said guides, said guides having means for releasably holding said strip-holding means at various distances away from the board, with means for manually releasing said releasable holding means whereby said strip-holding means may be moved manually on the guides, with means for severing end portions of the strips closely adjacent to said means for guiding the filler strips.

14:. In a machine of the class described,

means for holding filler strips releasably comprising a bar-like member having recesses for the strips in a longitudinally extending edge portion thereof, a coacting bar-like member extending alongside said other barlike member and adapted to press upon filler strip in said recesses, and means for moving one of said members toward the other thereof to clamp strips in said recesses.

15. In a machine of the class described, the combination Of a pair of parallel guides spaced apart, a pair of filler strip holding members parallel with each other, extending at right angles to the guides, and mounted for sliding movement on the guides, a pair of rods extending parallel with the guides, said rods being adjacent to the guides respectively and both of the rods being carried by one of said iolding members, the other holding member having means for securing both of said rods releasably thereto, and means for securing the holding members respectively upon the guides, the arrangement providing that both of said holding members may be moved on the guides as a unit or either one of the holding members may be moved on the guides independently of movement or" the other thereof.

AUGUST D. MEISELBACH.

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