US2073832A - Blade inspection method and apparatus - Google Patents

Description

March 1937.

G DALKOWITZ 2,073,832"

BLADE INSPECTION METHOD AND APPARATUS Filed Dec. 30, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet l IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIlllllllIlllllllllllIIHIIIIIIIIIIHII llllllllllllllllllllllll & lNVENTOR Q BY M6 WW ATTORNEY March 1937- G. DALKOWITZ BLADE INSPECTION METHOD AND APPARATUS Filed Dec. 30, 19.52 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 w @144 l BY ORNEY WW IHIIHH! a I1WUWHHHIHWIHI Patented Mar. 16, 1937 UlTE STATES PATENT OFFWE BLADE INSPECTION METHOD AND APPA- RATUS Application December 30, 1932, Serial No. 649,579

27 Claims.

This invention relates in general to the inspection ,of razor blades or the like, and in particular to a method and means for handling or manipulating the blades for purposes in connection with the process of inspection, so as to conveniently and readily expose portions thereof for inspection, and facilitate the handling and disposal of the same after inspection.

In inspecting such blades, it is customary to lo examine the blade surfaces adjacent the cutting edges to see whether there are any cracks or other defects in the metal or non-uniformity in grinding and hardness, and whether the edges are sufficiently sharp, straight and free from other flaws.

1 Because of the low cost of manufacture of razor blades and the fact that because of their small size they are difiicult to handle, the cost of inspection forms an appreciable percentage of the selling cost of a razor blade, and it therefore be- 20 comes important to keep this cost of inspection as W as possible. It is therefore a general object of my invention to provide for the handling of razor blades in such a manner that such handling prior to, during and subsequent to inspection may take place in the least possible time. It is therefore also an object of my invention to provide a convenient stacking arrangement which will permit ready assembly and manipulation of the blades for purposes of inspection and subse- 3O quent handling.

It is a further object of my invention to provide an arrangement for acting on the stacked blades so as to quickly and conveniently expose the parts to be inspected.

It is also an object of my invention to provide for the ready removal, from the stack of blades, of any blades found defective.

It is another object of this invention to provide suitable apparatus whereby the blades after 4-0 inspection may be conveniently removed for further treatment such as forpacking, and whereby stacking of subsequent lots of blades for inspection is facilitated.

I have herein disclosed these and other objects 5 by the construction and. use'of va'rious devices of the general type herein described and illustrated whereby these and other objects are attainable. 7

While rnyinvention, as a whole, as herein dis- 50 closed, is adapted for rapid and convenient handling of material in connection with the inspection of razor blades, it will be understood that for attaining certain particular results, some of the features thereof may be omitted in the practice :55 or in embodiments thereof, and only some of the 7 aforementioned objects attained rather than all of them. It is also to be understood that the specific practice and embodiment of my invention as herein disclosed is by way of illustration only and that many other ways of practicing the same and many other Ways of embodying the same may be devised by persons skilled in the art, without departing from the spirit thereof as defined in the claims.

For the attainment of these objects and such 10 other objects as may hereinafter appear or be pointed out, I have illustrated my invention in the drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a view in perspective of an assembled unit composed of blades, and spacer memhere and auxiliary means, whereby they are held in the desired relation;

Figure 2 is a plan view of one of the blades; Figure 3 is a plan view of one type of spacer member;

Figure 4 is a plan view of another type of spacer member;

Figure 5 is a cross sectional view on line 5-5 of Figure 1, looking in the direction of the arrows, this view embracing only a small portion of the subject of Figure 1;

Figure 6 is a view on the line 6--6 of Figure 5, looking in the direction of the arrows, and showing particularly the positioning of the blades with relation to the spacer members;

Figure 7 is a perspective View of a tilting frame;

Figure 3 is a perspective View of a tilting frame as in Figure 7 associated with a blade unit as in Figure 1;

Figure 9 is a viewin perspective of an aligning frame for use in connection with the tilting 7 of the blades for inspection;

Figure 10 is a cross sectional view transversely through an assembly as in Figure 8, used in conjunction with the aligning member of Figure 9;

Figure 11 shows the parts of Figure 8 in tilted position;

Figure 12 shows an assembly similar to that of Figure 1 after the inspection of the blades has been completed and preparatory to removal of the blades therefrom;

Figure 13 shows the same assembly supported on a rack;

Figure 14 is a View of a portion of Figure l3 showing the insertion, after the release of the spacer members as shown in Figure15, of a member for holding the blades in associated relation;

Figure 15 is a transverse section through Figure 14 showing the member which in Figure 1 holds the seating members together, in loosened position so that the seating members have dropped down; and

Figure 16 is an end view of a portion of the supporting rack of Figure 13.

Before proceeding to describe a specific manner of practicing my invention and the details of construction of the specific apparatus herein disclosed, as exemplified in one embodiment whereby my invention may be practiced, I will premise that this practice and these details of construction take the form shown in the drawings so as to make them peculiarly adaptable for the inspection of blades of the double-edged Micromatic type such as disclosed in Patent No. 1,739,280 granted on December 10, 1929.

It will be understood, of course, that my invention can be employed in connection with types of blades other than that herein disclosed. Embodiments other than that herein disclosed may be used and such inspection and other manipulation can be effected in ways different from that specifically herein disclosed without departing from the spirit of my invention. It will therefore be understood that my invention contemplates within its purview the employment of such other embodiments and such other changes in the handling, and in this connection the object of my invention can be broadly expressed as involving such association of blades into groups of blades for inspection purposes that the blades of the entire group can have their angular position changed as a group for the purposes of permitting of the inspection of the edges of the individual blades, and of the beveled surfaces adjacent the edges, while in the group, from that angle of vision which will give the most effective results, and whereby this angle can be changed so as to permit of the inspection of the adjacent bevels opposite those first inspected, and further, an arrangement whereby the angular position of a single blade can be changed in reference to the others so as to permit of the removal of that single blade.

This I accomplish in connection with blades by an arrangement in which the blade, when placed in a contacting relationship, will lie face to face by the interposition between such adjacent blades of spacing members that are of a character, and so related and connected to the blades, as to maintain the group of blades in stacked relationship and yet permit of the above mentioned functioning.

Various arrangements and devices have been shown which make possible the carrying out of this method of inspection in a convenient and time-saving manner, and before embarking on the detailed description thereof I will enumerate them in broad outline.

In order to effect a convenient stacking of the blades my invention comprises spacing members which are constructed so as to hold the blades in stacked relation without interfering with the proper exposure of the portions thereof that are to be inspected, and without preventing ready removal of the blade when the inspection is completed. At the same time, these members are designed for alignment and assembly and are adapted to remain in assembled condition after the blades are removed so that they are available in convenient form for receiving another lot of blades.

Among such devices is the provision of an ar 7 rangement that can be associated with an assembly unit comprising stacked blades and spacing members so as to tilt and expose the blade surface portions in the different ways that are necessary for a proper inspection.

A further feature is the provision of an arrangement for keeping the blades aligned when they are tilted by the arrangement just described.

After the inspection has been completed, my invention contemplates the separation of the blades from the spacing members and to effect such separation by splitting the unit into two parts, one of which comprises a stack of blades, and the other a stack of spacing members. The stack of blades will be transferred to a wrapping machine or other machines which carry on the necessary operations preparatory to the distribution of the blades, while the stack of spacing members is held available for use in connection with another lot of blades to be tested.

For this purpose I disclose means for temporarily interlocking the blades with the spacing members so that their positions relatively to each other may be changed, without, however, destroying the stacked relation of the blades to each other, or of the spacer members to each other to permit the insertion of a blade stacking means in the blades alone, and I further disclose an arrangement by means of which the removal of the interlocking means and the interlocking of the blades by the means just described may be effected conveniently and without danger of breaking up the assembly. By making further use of the same arrangement complete separation of said blades from said spacing members may be effected, both blades and spacing members, however, being retained in individual separated relation for the purposes above mentioned.

Referring to the drawings in detail, it will be observed that in Figure 1 I show a stack of blades, in conjunction with suitable mounting means for the same, by which they are held in place, ready for inspection. The blades are indicated at A and are shown in detail in Figure 2, in which a Micromatic type double edged blade is shown, which is of substantially rectangular form and provided with two opposed cutting edges 2|, these cutting edges being produced by bevelling both sides of the blade. A transverse elongated opening 23 is shown at the middle of the blade and an inwardly extending slot 25 is shown at either end of the blade.

The assembly of Figure 1 also includes spacers or spacing members, which are illustrated in detail in Figures 3 and 4. These members are of two types, one of which denoted by B, is shown in Figure 3. It is made of a piece of flat material and comprises a substantially rectangular portion 3! and an extension 33. The part 3| is cut away at both sides as shown at 35 for a purpose that will presently appear, and the part 33 is provided with a longitudinal opening 31. At 39 are shown portions struck up out of the fiat material of which the spacer members are made so as to form on one side a raised portion adapted to pass into the opening 23 of the blade A and on the other side a hollow so as to receive within it the corresponding raised portion on the next succeeding spacer member, which would be a member of the type C illustrated in Figure 4, and all the portions of which correspond to those of members B, except for certain differences which will be pointed out presently.

This interfitting relation of adjacent spacer members has been indicated in cross section in Figure 5. At 4| in Figure 5 are shown raised portions which are adapted to space the members B and C from each other as shown in Figure 5. The spacing is' sufficient to permit the accommodation between each pair of members B and C of one of the blades. The projections 4| are conveniently formed by raising or striking up portions of the material of which the spacing member 13 is made, so that, corresponding to a projection on one side, there will be a hollow portion on the other side. With such a construction the members C must have their spacing projections 6| out of alignment with projections 4| on B, as otherwise these projections would nest one within the other and fail to fulfill their function of spacing the members B and C from each other. Spacing members of the C type comprise portions 53 corresponding to portions 3| and 33 of members B and have cut away portions 55 and openings 51 and also raised portions 59 adapted to engage the openings 23 in the blades, all these parts corresponding to similar portions in members B. Members B and C are further provided with openings 43 and 63 respectively applied to parts 3| and 5|, which are adapted to receive a connecting member or rod D which is shown in Figures 1, 5, and 8 and comprises a stop portion 13, a body portion 1|,,and a spiral spring 15 seated on H and held in place between the stacked assembly and a releasable cap 11, by manipulation of which the compression of the spring may be varied.

An aligning bar or rod E, having a body BI and an angularly related stop portion 83 is adapted to pass through openings 31 and 51 of spacers B and C and to engage the inwardly positioned slots 25 of the blade so as to prevent appreciable lateral displacement on these ends from their seats between the spacer members. This construction is clearly shown in Figures 5 and 6.

The assembly so far described, and shown in Figure 1, constitutes a convenient unit for handling the blades and may be effected in any suitable way, such asby stacking machinery especially designed for that purpose. In the latter case particularly, the assembling may be very readily effected, the blades being fed into the machines in convenient stacks just as they come from the blade manufacturing department. The spacer members are fed into'another portion of the machine after having been first assembled in stacks in which members B alternate with members C. As will be explained later, once stacking of such spacers has been effected, they will remain in such assembled relation, so that, once this work is done, it need not be repeated. Amachine designed for stacking the blades will alternately stack a spacer B, a blade A, a spacer C, a blade A, and then again a spacer B, blade A, spacer C, blade A and so on. .When the stack has reached a sufficient height, the stacking operation is discontinued and members D and E are applied to retain-the stack in assembled relation, and the stack is then removed from the machine and placed in a tilting frame, G of Figure '7, and which will now be described.

The tilting frame G comprises allel edged members 9i and 93 which are held in parallel relation by links 95 and 91. One of said set of links, such as 95, may be provided with a locking arrangement 96 by which the angle of inclination of the link to 9| may be fixed, if desired. Links 91 are fastened to member 9| by a removable pin 99 passing through a hole l|l| in the member 99, and when this pin is in place, memtwo flat, parbers 9| and 93 are held in adjustable parallel relation.

The blade and spacer assembly unit is first placed in this frame with the blades and spacers in upright position. The pin 99, which is removed to enable introduction of the unit into tilting frame G, is replaced in the hole Hll to hold links 91 in assembled relation with the frame G, which the blades, both above and below. If desired, the

frame Gr may be locked in this position by means of the member 96, although a skilled operator may work without looking the frame. The operator will glance along the upper edges of the blades as shown in Figure 11, making use of suitable aids to inspection, such as a magnifying glass.

When any blades are found defective, they are readily removed by inserting a suitable tool between the defective blade and the spacer with the projection of which its slot 23 is engaged. This may be readily done because as will be remembered, the blades and spacers are only held together by the compressive action'of spring 15. The introduction of the tool causes separation of the blade from its seat on the spacer, and ,by providing a suitable hook on the tool just mentioned, which may be inserted either into open ing 23 or the lower slot 25, the blade may be removedfrom the stack and discarded, without in any way destroying theassembly of the remain ing elements of the stack.

The member G is then inverted and inspection of the exposed surface adjacent the lower edges of the blade is then made. When this inspection is complete, the member G, which asshown in Figure 11 is tilted to the right, is tilted to the left, so that other uninspected blade portions are exposed. These two tilting operations will result in exposure of the four bevelled surfaces which are adjacent the two cutting edges and constitute all the portions which it is ordinarily necessary to inspect.

The frame G is now brought into its position of Figure 8, with the spacer members and blades standing upright, and the cap ll is adjusted to compress the spring 15 and bring the parts of the blade spacer assembly'into close contact so as to keep them assembled when the unit'is moved. The frame G is then opened and the spacer-blade assembly unit removed, a

The next problem that presents itself is the separation of the blades from the spacer members and yet leave the spacers and the blades in such assembled relation that all the blades will be associated to form a unit convenient for bandling and transferring them into the Wrapping or other machines, while the spacer members will be similarly associated for use in connection with the stacking of the next lot of blades for inspection.

For this purpose, after the blades and spacers have again been brought into upright position in the frame G they are removed from the frame, the member E is withdrawn and replaced by double rod K which comprises a parallel pair of the base portion |2|.

spaced rods I3l united at one end by cross pieces I33. The upper rod l3! runs through the upper slots 25 of all the blades and the lower one runs through the lower slots 25 of the blades and also through the openings 31 and 51 of the spacers. The whole is then set into a rack shown at L in Figure 13. The rack L comprises a base Ml from which spring upward the end pieces M3 which are forked at the top as shown in Figure 16, this forked portion comprising a narrow part I41 and a widening M5, the narrow slot I41 being intended for the reception of the lower rod l3| of part K. Where the part I41 merges into the wide por tion I45 a pair of abutment shoulders are formed, for a purpose that will appear.

Once the assembly of Figure 12 is set into rack L, the assembling rod D may be loosened, without, however, withdrawing it completely by releasing cap ll, so that the spacers may become separated laterally from each other, which will cause them to drop down because of the disengagement of their parts 39 and 59 from the slots 23 of the blades A.

The stacking rod M, comprising a body |5I and a stop I53 at one end, may now be threaded through the openings 23 of all the blades. This is possible because of the widening I45 of the slot provided on rack L. Furthermore, it will be understood that the rod M will rest on the shoul- 0 der formed by said slot when part K is withdrawn and the spacers are completely separated from the blades and dropped down, but they are still held together by the rod D and are therefore held in assembled relation ready for use with the next lot of blades.

The blades on the other hand are held in together on rod M and may be removed as a unit to transfer them to the packing machines.

Having thus described my invention and illustrated its use, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. The method of inspecting safety razor blades which comprises the steps of stacking and spacing said blades in assembled units so as to re siliently and yieldably hold said blades and members in such stacked relation, tilting said sets of blades while in stacked relation at an angle so as to simultaneously expose on all the blades the portion to be inspected and inspecting the same, interlocking said blades with portions of the assembled unit, uniting said blades only and releasing said blades from said assembled unitwhereby said blades may be removed as a unit.

2. In the inspection of razor blades, the method of manipulating said blades which comprises the steps of superposing said blades in units of convenient size, alternately with spacing members, and applying means to hold them in such superposed relation, introducing said units into a device for tilting said units so as to angle all the blades and simultaneously expose on all said blades the portion to be inspected and inspecting the same, tilting said units at other angles so as to expose other portions for inspection and inspecting the same, removing said unit from the tilting device, interlocking said blades and spacing members by additional means, releasing said means for holding the blades and spacing members in superposed relation and effecting a partial separation of said blades and spacing members, threading said blades on a blade stacking means, and removing the interlock between said blades and spacing members so as to effect complete separation of the blades, whereby said blades may be removed in the form of an assembled unit.

3. The method of manipulating safety razor blades, for purposes of inspection, which comprises the steps of stacking said blades in units of convenient size, alternately with spacing members, successively tilting said sets of blades at various angles so as to simultaneously expose on all the blades portions to be inspected and inspecting the same, interlocking said blades and spacing members, threading said blades on a stacking means, and removing the interlock between said blades and spacing members, whereby said blades may be removed in the form of an assembled unit.

4. The method of separating safety razor blades from a stack of alternately arranged blades and spacers therefor, which comprises the insertion of a member through the stack whereby separation of the blades from the spacers will be prevented, loosening the bond between the elements of the stack so as to release said spacers from said blades without allowing them to separate, inserting means through the razor blades whereby the blades only will be interconnected, and then removing said member so as to free said blades from said spacers.

5. In apparatus for inspecting double-edged razor blades comprising spacing members adapted to receive and retain blades therebetween, means for resiliently and yieldably holding said members and blades in assembled contact, an element holding said blades against rotational movement in their seats between said members, means for holding said spacer-blade assembly in aligned relation, and adapted to tilt said members and blades so as to expose the surfaces of each blade adjacent the edges thereof, and means adapted to prevent displacement of the free ends of said blades while said members and blades are tilted.

6. In apparatus for inspecting double-edged razor blades comprising spacing members adapted to receive and retain blades therebetween, means for resiliently and yieldably holding said members and blades in assembled contact, an element holding said blades against rotational movement in their seats between said members, and means for holding said spacer-blade assembly 1n aligned relation, and adapted to tilt said members and blades so as to expose the surface of each blade adjacent the edges thereof.

'7. For use with the inspection of razor blades, apparatus cooperating with portions of said blades and said spacing members to prevent separation thereof as long as said means is in operative relation thereto, means adapted for supporting said holding means so as to suspend said razor blade and spacer member unit, means adapted for being threaded through said razor blades and not through said spacer members while said unit is suspended within said supporting means and for holding said blades suspended in said supporting means when said first means is withdrawn, whereby when said first-named holding means is Withdrawn the blades only Will be retained on said third-mentioned means and held suspended thereby on said supporting means.

8. In apparatus for inspecting double-edged razor blades comprising spacing members adapted to be stacked in superposed relation and to receive and retain blades between each pair of adjacent members in the stack, a member for holding said spacing members in assembled contact and passing through said members and not through the blades, and means adapted for insertion through said blades and spacing members, whereby separation of said blades from said spacing members will be prevented and said stacked formation retained when said holding member is released or removed.

9. For purposes of inspecting razor blades, means for holding said blades, comprising spacing members in stacked relation and spaced from each other approximately the thickness 'of a blade and means on said members adapted to engage portions of said blades to retain them in the spaces between said members, but permitting disengagement of the blades when said members are separated a predetermined amount, and resilient means for holding said spacing members in juxtaposition whereby said blades may be disengaged from said members without destroying the stacked relation.

10. Means to be used for separating a plurality of razor blades as a unit, from, a stack of blades and spacer members, comprising two similar upstanding members slotted at their free ends so as to receive therewithin an elongated means passing through the stack for preventing separation of said blades and spacer members when they are in stacked relation, and said slots being provided with abutments intermediate the depth thereof to receive thereon a second elongated means. passing through the stack to interconnect the blades only, whereby when said first means r is withdrawn the second means will hold said blades as a unit on said abutment.

11. In a method of inspecting safety razor blades the steps of stacking blades in substantially superposed-adjacency, resiliently bonding said stack, so that the stack may be biased without disrupting the stack, and biasing said stack so that portions of the blade surfaces adjacent two opposed edges thereof are simultaneously exposed for inspection.

12. The method of inspecting and sorting safety razor blades which comprises'the steps of stacking said blades alternately with resiliently connected spacing elements, biasing the stack so as to simultaneously expose similar portions of all the blades in the stack, inspecting said portions, and removing defective blades by separating portions of the stack so as to permit removal of a defective blade, and withdrawing said defective blade from its seat on the adjacent element.

13. The method of inspecting a stack of razor blades which comprises the steps of assembling said blades in spaced superposed relation, bonding the stack so as to hold the blades in such spaced assembled relation and so that they are adapted to move laterally in relation to the adjacent blades without disrupting the stack, whereby the stack may be biased without dis rupting the stack, and biasing the stack so as to simultaneously expose for inspection similar portions of all the blades, and inspecting such portions of all the blades.

' 14. The method of inspecting a stack of double-edged razor blades which comprises the steps of assembling said blades in spaced superposed relation, bonding the stack so as to hold the blades in such spaced assembled relation and so that they are adapted to move laterally in relation to the adjacent blades without disrupting the stack, whereby the stack may be biased without disrupting the stack, and biasing the stack so as to simultaneously expose for inspection similar portions of all the blades, and inspecting such portions of all the blades, biasing the stack in the opposite direction so as to simultaneously expose portions of all the blades opposed to the portions first inspected, inspecting the same, inverting the stack, and successively biasing the same in opposed directions, so as to expose the opposite sides of portions of the blades diametrically opposed to the portions inspected after the first two biasing operations, and inspecting said portions last exposed.

15. For use in the inspection of safety razor blades, a stack comprising spacing elements adapted to receive safety razor blades between adjacent elements, the material of each of said elements being. substantially uniform in thickness and each element beingsubstantially in the form of a sheet of small relative thickness, portions of each of said elements being deformed so that a projection is formed on one side thereof and a corresponding hollow on the other, and adjacent elements having their projections so positioned that they do not register, whereby nesting of the projection of one element within the hollow of the next element will be prevented, and whereby said projections will serve to space said elements from each other, and said projections being of such extent that said elements will be spaced from each other thereby to substantially the thickness of a blade.

16. For use in inspecting razor blades, means for holding said blades in assembled relation, said means comprising elements interposed between each pair of blades and cooperating portions on said blades and elements adapted to prevent substantial lateral displacement ofsaid blades with respect to said assembly but to permit removal of blades from said assembly when the adjacent elements are separated at least the thickness of a blade, and an element yieldably opposing separation of said assembly, whereby said elements may have relative movement within variable limits without destroying the stacked relation.

17. In combination with a stack of spacing and aligning elements adapted to receive razor blades between pairs of adjacent elements, and having resilient means for holding said elements in stacked formation while permitting their separation, means for tilting said stack for purposes of inspection, said means comprising parallel spaced members adapted to engage therebetween cooperating portions of said spacing and aligning elements, and pivoted links connecting said members, whereby they are adapted to move relatively to each other so as to tilt said spacing and aligning elements and thereby the blades of the stack and thereby expose the portions to be inspected.

18. In combination with a stack of spacing elements having an. elongated opening therein, and adapted to receive therebetween razor blades having recesses in opposite sides thereof, interengaging means for relatively positioning said blades and spacing elements when they are in stacked relation, a bonding element passing through said spacing elements and blades, a member provided with two elongations adapted to engage the recesses in all the blades in the stack, and said member being also adapted to pass through said opening in the spacing elements, whereby, when said bonding element is released and the blades and spacing elements are slightly separated, said spacing element and blades will be freed from the action of said interengaging means, and whereby said blades and member may be separated from said spacing elements as a unit.

19. Apparatus for inspecting razor blades comprising spacing members adapted to be assembled with razor blades in stack formation by interposing portions of the same between each pair of said blades, cooperating means on said blades and said members for retaining said blades in the stack assembly as long as adjacent spacer members are not separated beyond a predetermined distance, aligned openings in the non-interposed portions of said spacing members, 7 aligned openings in the interposed portions of said spacing members and said blades, a bonding element passing through said first mentioned openings, and an aligning element passing through said second mentioned openings, both of said elements being of lesser diameter than their respective openings, whereby said spacing members and said blades may move laterally in relation to each other, and whereby, when said bonding element is released a predetermined amount so as to permit of longitudinal movement of said blades and spacing members, the said stack may be biased by the lateral sliding of said blades and spacing members in relation to each other.

20. Apparatus for inspecting razor blades comprising spacing members, adapted to be assembled with razor blades in stack formation by interposing portions of the same between each pair of said blades, cooperating means on said blades and said members for retaining said blades in the stack assembly as long as adjacent spacer members are not separated beyond a predetermined distance, aligned openings in the non-interposed portions of said spacing members, a bonding element passing through said openings, said element being of lesser diameter than said opening, whereby said spacing members and said blades may move laterally in relation to each other, and whereby, when said bonding element is released a predetermined amount so as to permit of lon- 'gitudinal movement of said blades and spacing members, the said stack may be biased by the lateral sliding of said blades and spacing members in relation to each other.

21. The method of inspecting a stack of doubleedged razor blades which comprises the steps of assembling said blades in spaced superposed relation, yieldingly bonding the stack so as to hold the blades in such spaced assembled relation, whereby the stack may be biased without disrupting the stack, and biasing the stack so as to simultaneously expose for inspection similar portions of all the blades, and inspecting such portions of all the blades, biasing the stack in the opposite direction so as to simultaneously expose portions of all the blades opposed to the portions first inspected, inspecting the same, inverting the stack, and successively biasing the same in opposed directions, so as to expose the opposite sides of portions of the blades diametrically opposed to the portions inspected after the first two biasing operations, and inspecting said portions last exposed.

22. Means for tilting razor blades for purposes of inspection, which comprises a stack of aligning elements adapted to receive razor blades therebetween, yieldable bonding means for holding said elements in stack formation, members adapted to engage similar portions on each of said aligning elements and to move relatively to each other so as to bias said stack of aligning elements and thereby to tilt the blades so as to expose the portions to be inspected.

23. Means for tilting razor blades for purposes of inspection, which comprises a stack of aligning elements adapted to receive razor blades therebetween, yieldable bonding means for holding said elements in stack formation, members adapted to engage similar portions on each of said aligning elements and to move relatively to each other so as to bias said stack of aligning elements and thereby to tilt the blades so as to expose the portions to be inspected, said members being connected by pivoted links.

24. Apparatus for use with the inspection of safety razor blades in stacked relation, spacing elements interposed between each pair of adjacent blades, bonding means connecting said spacing means so as to permit tilting of said stack, of blades, tilting means for tilting said stack, aligning recesses in the inner ends of said stacked blades and spacing elements, aligning means pass ing through said aligning recesses, aligning recesses in the outer ends of said stacked blades, a member in which said tilting means may be positioned, said member also having a horizontal projecting portion thereon adapted to engage said recesses in the free outer ends of said blades so as to align the outer ends of said blades, whereby said blades will be kept in alignment during the tilting operation.

25. In combination with a stack comprising spacing and aligning elements adapted to hold razor blades therebetween, means for tilting said stack for purposes of inspection, said means comprising members adapted to engage cooperating portions on similar portions of said spacing and adapted to move relatively to each other so as to tilt said spacing and aligning elements and thereby the blades of the stack and thereby to expose the portions to be inspected,

26. In combination with a stack comprising spacing and aligning elements adapted to hold razor blades therebetween, means for tilting said stack for purposes of inspection, said means comprising parallel spaced members adapted to engage therebetween cooperating portions of said spacing and aligning elements and adapted to move relatively to each other so as to tilt said spacing and aligning elements and thereby the blades of the stack and thereby expose the portions to be inspected.

2'7. In combination with a stack of spacing and aligning elements adapted to hold razor blades therebetween, means for tilting said stack for purposes of inspection, said means comprising parallel spaced members adapted to engage therebetween cooperating portions of said spacing and aligning elements, and pivoted links connecting said members, whereby they are adapted to move relatively to each other so as to tilt said spacing and aligning elements and thereby the blades of the stack and thereby expose the portions to be inspected.

GODFREY DALKOWITZ.

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