US2222179A - Button blank feeding apparatus - Google Patents

Description

KNOT'M BUTTON BLANK FEEDING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 11, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Jam ATTORNEY 1 (W. 19, 1940.1, w KNQTT 2,222,179

BUTTON BLANK FEEDING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 11, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Nov. 19, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BUTTON BLANK FEEDING APPARATUS Warren E. Knott, Newark, N. J., assignor to Excelsior Pearl Works, 1110., Next York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application October 11, 1938, Serial No. 234,369

9 Claims. (01. 79-17) This invention relates to button manufacture, attempts to overcome them. It has been proand, more particularly, aims to provide a novel posed, for instance, in U. S. patent to me No. and valuable means for automatically delivering 817,122, dated April 3, 1906, to provide a rotary button blanks one by one to a succession of carrier for a plurality of the blanks so con- 51 moving holders for the blanks, which holders structed and operating that the blanks can be form parts of a machine for operating on the manually supplied thereto at a speed exceeding blanks, as a machine operable to face or drill the that at which they will be required to be supplied blanks. one by one to a means for delivering them one In a well-known such machine, that disclosed by one to the spindle seats; but the problem has In in U. S. patent to Barry No. 766,014, dated July not been solved, before the present invention, of 10 26, 1904, and known among button manufacturproviding a satisfactory such delivery means eners, and hereinafter referred to, as the Barry matirely mechanical in character, simple and rugged chine, the blank holders are present as a plurality in construction, and entirely reliable in operaof upstanding columnar units, known as spindles, tion.

guided and driven for bodily movement at a A previously proposed unsatisfactory such deconstant rate of speed along an endless path; very me a p p in the patent to said path having two straight stretches, interme aforesaid, included a blank-receptor in the vening with two arcuately curved stretches lying shape of a table overlying a line of travel of the along the fields of operation of the facing and spindles, and an ejector operated by movement on drilling instrumentalities. The spindles, each of the spindle to slide the blank fiat along the carrying at its top a depressed horizontal seat table. The aim was by thus handling the blank for a blank, such seat of a diameter nearly to causeamovement of the blank so accompanymatching that of the blank, travel continuously ing that of the spindle that the blank could be at a uniform speed past a blank feeding station depended on to drop flat into the spindle seat,

located intermediate the length of one of said solely by gravity, incidental to passage of the 25 straight stretches. A greater or less number of latter beyond the discharge edge of the table. spindles pass the feeding station, per minute, de- The defects which resulted in the abandonment pending on the speed at which the machine is of this proposal arose in part from the fact that run. An attendant is seated at said station, facthe ejecto was given its blank-advancing moveing a tray having the button blanks therein, and e as an ac omp me t of t e OC y an 30 it is the task of this attendant, by periodically v n n spin l f a fin p v n a axis picking up a plurality of the blanks, several at relative to which the spindle moved during the a time or one by one, and by manipulating them blank advance. The coaction between the spinwith her finger tips, to endeavor to keep pace dle and finger W s uc t W t p d with the successively passing spindles by propovin at a constant rate of speed, the accomerly placing a blank in each seat. The rate of nanyi s win ing f the finge caused the ejecspeed usually adopted for running the machine, 01" to move at a Continuously varyi p 80 although it could be run faster, is such that that it was impossible to slide the blank OiT the about '72 spindles pass the attendant per minute, ab in u W y s to insure that the blank 40 this to face or drill approximately 30 gross of w d d p l y y gravity, and sur ly sq ly 40 blanks per hour. The usual attendant, however, o e Se n a er at What instant y is able only to feed a blank to every other spindle blank app e by its W Weight, the as it passes her, or to only two out of each three; en o s p ject b y the b to tilt so that the average maximum production per for fall from the table.

machine is down around 160 or 170 gross, instead By the present invention, the ejec is ve of 240 gross, per 8-hour day. Furthermore, the its blank-advancing IDOVBmEHt y the Spindle t0 attendant must work very rapidly, while physithe seat of which such blank is to be delivered, cally and nervously tensed rather than relaxed, and by the action of d p e against 5a D and t the finger tips near their most n ioted finger, but in combination with means which tive nerves constantly punished from the wear Control the m vements o t e finger d aotu- 50 and tear of manipulating the blanks to fit them ator in such manner that the blank, during all rapidly one after another in their seats. the period from the instant when it first begins For a reat many years, these difliculties in to be projected off the table until the tail end operating the Barry machine havebeen a seriof the blank completely clears the table, is moved 5 cos handicap to the art, and subject to various at the same speed as the spindle, and along a straight-line path of travel, and with the center of the blank held precisely vertically over the center of the spindle seat. With the parts controlled in this way, a blank is surely delivered to each and every spindle seat, with absolute certainty that it fully enters said seat to fall fiat therein.

Other features of the invention have to do with an improved means for guiding a blank from the carrier for supply to the table; for guiding the blank during such supply to insure its placement in proper relation to the ejector; for positively limiting the blank to a definite path of travel during a blank-feeding movement of the ejector; for automatically modifying the means last-named to avoid jamming of the mechanism should an over-size blank be accidentally supplied; and for allowing quick and easy changes to the mechanism to adapt it for handling blanks of one size or another.

The invention will be more clearly understood, and all the various features thereof made plain, from the following description, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings which show, by way of example, an embodiment of the invention as now favored for use with a machine of the Barry type, and wherein the manually fed carrier is a rotatable disk.

In said drawings:

Fig. 1 is a view mainly in top plan showing said embodiment operatively associated with said machine, but with only enough parts of the latter illustrated as is necessary to a full understanding of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section, taken substantially on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1, showing on an enlarged scale certain of the parts of Fig. 1, with various overlying parts considerably broken away.

Fig. 4 is a vertical section, taken substantially on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a detail view, looking in the direction of the arrow 5 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is a vertical section, taken substantially on the line 66 of Fig. 5.

Fig. '7 is a horizontal section, taken substantially on the line 11 of Fig. 6.

Referring first to the parts of the Barry machine shown, the spindles are marked S, and the numeral [0 denotes a straight stretch, passing across the front of the machine, in the path of travel of an endless spindle conveyor. This conveyor is made up of spindle-carrying upper and lower sleeves II and I2; the upper sleeves ll being interlinked by means of pairs of lugs [3 carried by these sleeves and which pivotally mount bell-cranks M coupled by bolts I l, and the lower sleeves being similarly interlinked. The spindles are vertically movable in these sleeves, so as to be suitably varied in elevation on reaching different points in their path of travel, as by raising them to bring the button blanks on their tops into the fields of operation of various instrumentalities not shown for working on such blanks at locations away from the stretch I I]. A part of the means for varying the elevation of the spindle tops is illustrated, the same being a cam-rail l5 over which the bottoms of the spindles slide during movement of the spindles along the stretch lflthis rail having a descending incline i511 (Fig. 2) for permitting the spindles, by their own weight, to lower themselves as they come nto the stretch l0.

The endless path of travel for the spindle conveyor includes, at opposite ends of said stretch l0, semi-circular stretches established by the conveyor proceeding around a pair of like wheels I6 on vertical shafts I! in such manner that the shaped outer ends I 8 of arms l9 radially offset from the wheels successively embrace the upper and lower spindle-carrying sleeves H and I2.

Through suitable driving means not shown, these wheels are always in rotation in a direction to insure continuous movement of a line of spindles S along the stretch ID in the direction of the arrow 20.

Each spindle S has an upper mushroom-like enlargement 2 l, centrally above which is an upstanding adjustable chuck 22 establishing a seat 23 into which a blank is to be laid fiat during travel of the spindles along the stretch ID. A clearer understanding of the showing of the drawings will be had if, as to these usual parts of a spindle S, Figs. 1 and 4 are compared.

To conclude this preliminary brief description of the ordinary Barry machine, a steadying means for holding the spindles in line during their travel along the stretch I0 is provided in part by a guide rail 24, hearing against the lower sleeves 12 around substantially all the spindles in said stretch, and by a shorter guide rail oppositely bearing against the upper sleeves II around a plurality of the spindles near the center of such stretch. This shorter guide rail is provided by the front face of a shelf 25 secured to the top of a standard 26 (Fig. 4) suitably fixed in place in the machine.

Now referring to the button blank feeding means of the present invention, as exemplified in the embodiment thereof illustrated, the same as shown includes a rotatable disk 28 having a series of uniformly spaced apertures 29 therethrough arranged in a circle concentric with the axis of rotation of the disk. Almost all of these apertures, or cups, as they will from now on be called, are always closed at their bottoms during rotation of the disk, due to the fact that an underlying ring-form fixed structure 30 has a plane horizontal top surface 30a, in the form of a substantially closed annulus, always below all but a few of the cups. The structure 30 is supported, by means of a pair of oppositely offset brackets 31 and 32, on uprights 33 attached to the main frame F; these brackets including clampingblocks 3 la and 32a for anchoring the structure 30 at the desired height above the level of travel of the spindle seats as the spindles move along the stretch Ill.

At its front the structure 30 carries a tray 34 for holding a large supply of button blanks 35 to be manually inserted in the cups 29, by an attendant seated in front of the tray, during rotation of the disk 28 in the direction indicated by the arrow thereon.

On top of and secured to the disk is a capplate 36 having an upstanding hub 36a secured by a. set-screw 36 to a shaft 31 journalled in bearings 38 and 39; said shaft having a removable cap-member 31a secured thereon by a screw as shown. The bearing 38 forms part of a spider portion formed in the structure 30 and one of the leg members of which is shown in part at 40 in Fig. 3. The bearing 39 is carried by a bracket 4| bolted to the structure 30 as indicated at Ma in Fig. 2. Fast on the shaft 37 is a spur gear 42, meshing with a pinion 43 fixed on a shaft 43a journalled in the structure 30 (Figs. 2 and 3) and in a bearing 44 (Fig. 2) carried by the bracket 4 I. Also fast on the shaft 43a is a sprocket-wheel 45,

so placed relative to the stretch I that as the spindles move continuously at a uniform speed along said stretch and successively enterthe successive slots of the wheel 45, each spindle rotates the wheel through 30 degrees for each advance of the spindles a distance measured by the spacing between spindles. Due to the ratio between the gear 42 and the pinion 43, the disk 28 is at the same time given a fractional rotation, in the direction of the arrow marked thereon in Fig. 2, to an extent measured by the spacing between cups 29.

By virtue of these arrangements, an attendant seated in front of the tray 34, by placing a plurality of blanks on and variously shifting them over the smooth upper surface of the relatively slowly moving disk 28, in the zone thereover within convenient manual reach, can easily keep pace with the machine when it is being operated at such speed that 12 or more spindles pass along the stretch l 0 per minute, to insure that the disk is always advancing a full line of blanks, each in a cup 29 immediately ahead of which is a blankfilled such cup, toward a predetermined location above and adjacent to the stretch Hi.

This location is the top of a chute 46 extended down as indicated in Fig. 3 and as shown more clearly in Fig. 4, from the upper surface 30a of the structure at to a table 41 placed to closely overlie a part of the path of travel of the spindle seats during travel of the spindles along the stretch Ill. The structure 30 is cut away where it would otherwise extend over the table; and consequently there is an interruption of said surface Sta, in so far as it acts as a bottoming agent for the cups 29, from the upper end of the chute to just beyond a straight-line boundary 48 of such cut-out. Thus as each cup 29, carrying a blank 35, arrives over the upper end of the chute, that blank is discharged down the chute.

The chute 46 is part of a unitary element including a rectangular positioning plate 46a fitted in a recess 49 in the top of structure 30 and of the same size and shape as said plate, so that the upper surface of the plate forms a smooth flush continuation or rather a part of the surface 30a annularly on the top of the structure 30 for bottoming the cups 29 until one by one at intervals they pass beyond said plate thereupon to drop their blanks into the top of the chute.

At its side away from the front of the machine the table 41 has a dependent leaf 411a removably attached by screws 50a to a slidecarrier 50. This carrier is fixed in the position shown in Figs. 3 and 4 on the shelf 25 after being adjusted to the proper position by means including two adjusting screws 50 and 52. On the shelf is a dovetail 53, along which is horizontally slidable the bottom horizontal limb of an L-shaped bracket 54, and along the vertical limb of said bracket is a dovetail .55, along which is vertically slidable the slide-carrier 5|]. The adjusting screw 5!, engaged adjacent its head em in a bearing 56 carried by the shelf 25, is at its opposite end threaded in the bracket 54 as indicated at 5! in Fig. 4. The adjusting screw engaged adjacent its head 52a in a bearing til carried at the top of the bracket 54, is at the opposite end threaded in the slide-carrier 50 as indicated at 52 in Fig. 4.

The slide-carrier 50 is shown as a block hollowed out from top to bottom to provide a slot till attended by two long sides of the carrier having vertical and parallel inner surfaces, and with the tops of said sides flat in the same horizontal plane.

The slide for this carrier, which slide is generally indicated at 59, is made up of a horizontally extending plate-like portion including a U-shaped subdivision 59a, one of the legs of which terminates in a blank-ejector in the form of a plunger 59!); the other leg of this subdivision merging into a lateral extension 590 somewhat shorter in length than the slot 58 and of a width substantially as great as that of the slide-carrier 50. The table 4'! is mounted on the slide-carrier so that its upper surface is flush with the top of the slide-carrier. The slide 59 all over has a flat bottom, except where such bottom is interrupted by a slide-block 6!] dependent from and secured to the slide 59 by bolts El. This slideblock, extending centrally along the bottom of the lateral extension 590 of the slide, and as long as said extension, has its parallel sides perpendicular to the flat bottom of the slide, and is of a thickness to have a nice sliding fit in the slot 58. The structure comprised by the slide 59 and the slide-block 6U rests by gravity on an extensive horizontal surface in part made up of the top of table 41 and in part made up of the top of slide-carrier 50, and so the functioning of the slide-block is merely to hold the plunger 59!) to straight-line travel as prevised when said plunger is to be advanced with its bottom resting directl on the table.

An end portion of said slide-block (ill is seen in side elevation in full lines in Fig. 4; and the opposite end thereof then lies directly behind the line 4'! marking a vertical edge of the leaf 4M by which the table 41 is secured as above to the slide-carrier 5U.

Stops for limiting forward and retrograde movements of the plunger 5% are provided on the slide-carrier as shown in Fig. 3, one being a plate 62, and the other being a screw 63; the parts being normally held as shown by a light, quickacting retractile spring 64 connected at one end to the slide 59 and at its other end to the slidecarrier 60.

The parts are always thus arranged when, following an advance of the disk 28 to discharge one of the blanks 35 by moving the cup 29 containing that blank over the top of the chute 46, said blank slides down the chute to come to rest ahead of the plunger 59?) as indicated at 35, in that part of a channel or guideway 66 which is fiaringly enlarged toward the plunger. Such flare, in a direction away from the plunger, opens into a section of the guideway of uniform width all the way to the discharge edge 41?] of the table.

The table is apertured at 61', so that should a blank at any time, as by being transported with the disk 28 but not in a cup 29, drop within the U-shaped subdivision 59d of the slide 59, the blank will drop through said aperture to avoid possible jamming of the mechanism.

The guideway 66 is established at one side by a member 68 which is riveted to the table 41 at 69. At the other side of the guideway is an assemblage of parts including a member 1!] like the member 68 and likewise fixed in place on the table 41, and having pivoted thereon at H a plate 12 having a depending skirt 12a resting at its lower edge on the topof the table and shaped vertically where it faces the guideway $6 to establish a side of said guideway which all along the length thereof is symmetrical with the side of the guideway established by the member 68, relative to the line of forward travel of the center point across the nose of the plunger 59b, which line is midway between the opposite sides of the guideway section of uniform width and precisely vertically above the line of travel of the center of a spindle seat below the table. The skirt 12a is spaced somewhat from the member 10, but yieldingly so, so that when a blank larger than the ones being handled accidentally is delivered into the guideway 66, the forward stroke of the plunger cannot possibly jam said blank in the driveway. To this end, a threaded stud 13 is secured at one end to the skirt 12a, and passes through an opening extended transversely through the member III as shown, which opening is enlarged at 7011 to house an expansile spring 14 and horizontally widened at 10b to allow slight rocking of the stud when the plate 12 is rocked on its pivot "H. Yield of the plate 12 to allow emergency widening of the guideway 66 is limited by the member 10; while the stud I3 is provided with a nut and lock-nut couple, as indicated at 13a, for precise and secure setting of the parts to cause the spring 14 normally to hold the skirt 12a in such position that the outer section of the guideway of uniform width will be maintained as above-described during handling of blanks of the size intended to be handled.

Transversely extended over a part of the guideway 66 is a roofing member 15 one end of which rests on the plate 12 and the other end of which is secured at 15' to the top of member 68; this member having a lip a. upwardly extended therefrom toward the top of the chute 46 and so placed relative to the bottom of the chute that a blank coming down the latter so as bouncingly to strike the guideway engages the underside of said lip and is guided by the same to fall fiat into the space between the nose of the plunger and the flaring sides of the guideway.

At the bottom of the slide block 60 is pivotally mounted a finger 16, held by a heavy retractile spring 1! to an angular set as shown in broken lines in Fig. 3 and so as to have its free end in the path of movement of a spindle during passage of the spindle below the table 41. As the parts are shown in Fig. 3, a spindle under the table has advanced just far enough to abut against the finger. A lug 1601. on the finger, and shown in full lines at the upper part of Fig. 3, is forced by the spring 11 against a screw 18 carried by the slide-block 60; so that by adjustment of this screw, which is threaded in an extension 60a shown in Fig. 4 as dependent from one end of the slide-block, said angular set of the finger 16 can be provided for exactly as desired. The spring 11 is connected at one end to the lug (Fig. 3) and at its other end to the slide-block extension 60a (Fig. 4). This spring is stiff enough, as compared with the relative ease of travel of the slide 59 toward the right in Fig. 3, to prevent rocking of the finger on its pivot 19; thereby to cause the latter to move with said spindle, and consequently to cause the plunger The speed of advance of the plunger is the same as that of the spindle, because the spring 71 prevents a movement of the spindle relative to the finger-pivot I9, and hence there is relative immovability between the finger 16 and the spindle. Also, the finger is so angularl set on its pivot 19 by proper adjustment of the screw 18 that at the instant the plunger starts its forward movement to begin to advance the blank with the spindle, the center of the spindle seat is vertically below a horizontal line across the guideway 66 perpendicular to the line of travel of the plunger and containing the center of the blank. Furthermore, the blank, following its entrance into the outer guideway section of uniform width, is kept to a straight-line advance along a path directly overlying the similar path of advance of the spindle seat, and the blank is held to this advance until it has been projected so far off the table as to drop by its own weight therefrom. In this last connection, it will be noted that the member 68 and the skirt 12a are prolonged sufficiently beyond the discharge edge 41b of the table to have these elements 68 and 1241 act guidingly on the opposite sides of the blank even after the front end of the blank has been given a considerable degree of projection beyond said edge.

Consequently, all the while the blank and the spindle seat to receive the blank are simultaneously moving toward and beyond the discharge edge 41b of the table, up until the instant'the blank clears the table top to drop fiat into the spindle seat, the center of the spindle seat is precisely vertically below the center of the blankso that the front end of the blank is directly vertically above the front end of the spindle seat not only when the latter starts to emerge from under the table but also all during the continuation of this emergence prior to the time of drop of the blank off the table and into the seat; with the result that the blank in every instance is certainly properly received in the spindle seat.

The described actionof the spring TI is not interfered with until the plunger has performed such a Working stroke as will deposit the blank in the spindle seat as just described. At the end of this stroke, the slide structure carrying the plunger 5% is halted by the stop-screw 63, and

thereby the finger is rocked despite the spring '11 to allow passing of the spindle beyond the finger. Thereupon the spring 17 restores the finger to the position shown in Fig. 3, while the spring 64, tensioned by the just concluded forward stroke of the plunger, causes the latter to perform its retraction stroke to bring it again to the position shown in Fig 3 and in readiness to have supplied to it the next blank on the disk 28. Just before the next succeeding spindle arrives under the plunger, said blank is thus supplied, its carrying cup 29 having arrived in time for this over the top of the chute 46.

The spindle last-mentioned, and each following spindle, when each of these spindles arrives under the table 4'! below the plunger 5%, similarly coacts with the finger l6, and in such timed relation with the movement of the disk 28 that a blank 35 is delivered to the table in front of the plunger as in Fig. 3 just before each such coaction. Thus as each spindle moves along under the table 4'! the blank intended for the seat of that spindle moves with the spindle in such manner that incidental to passing of said seat beyond the edge 47b of the table said blank drops fiat intosaid seat.

It should be explained that the Barry machine is so constructed that the upper portions of the spindles carrying the chucks 22 within which are the spindle seats 23 are readily removable, so that chucks for receiving one size of blank can be readily replaced by chucks for handling another size of blank; and also that these chucks, hereabove described as adjustable, are adjustable in the sense that by the operation of the Barry machine they are automatically opened up during approach of the spindles to the stretch Hi, toiacilitate the previous direct manual insertion of the blanks in the seats, and they are antomatically contracted after leaving the stretch it to hold the blanks concentric with the spindle centers while the blanks are worked on by the machine. In other words, when by the mechanism of the present invention a blank is discharged frcm the table 41 to drop flat into a spindle seat, this seat is then of a diameter somewhat exceeding that of the blank; which is perhaps one reason why in practice the present invention operates so unerringly.

The embodiment of the invention herein described can be easily and quickly adapted, after completion of a run of blanks of one size, for handling av run of blanks of another size. By 30 way of the screws 50a, the table 41 can be removed, and another table substituted therefor having elements corresponding to the elements t8 and 12a so placed on the substituted table to establish a guideway like the guideway 66 but laterally dimensioned to agree with the size of blank now to be handled. To facilitate this change of tables, the disk 28 is removed; in preparation for which it is merely necessary to take out the screw holding the cap-member 37a on the top of shaft 31, and loosen the set-screw 36'. By removal of the disk 28, also, the chute All is made quickly replaceable by another similar chute but one laterally dimensioned to agree with the new size blank.

While there has been illustrated and described in great detail a now preferred embodiment of the invention, the latter may be otherwise embodied as well as variations made in the illustrated embodiment, Without departing from the spirit of 50 the invention, and parts of the improvements may be used without others; and so the invention is not to be limited to the constructions and arrangements herein set forth, but the scope of protection contemplated is to be taken from the 55 claims following, interpreted as broadly as is consistent with the prior art.

I claim: 1. In a mechanism for feeding button blanks to seats in the tops of a succession of vertical 60 spindles during travel of the latter at a uniform speed along a straight-line path, the combination, with a table overlying said path and having an edge transverse to said path toward and beyond which edge said spindles travel, of a 65 slide; a plunger carried by the slide and having its head resting on said table, said head for engaging a blank lying flat on the table and thrusting said blank to and over said edge for gravity drop into a spindle seat as said seat passes 70 said edge; guiding means for holding the slide to forward and retraction straight-line strokes parallel to said path; means for halting said retraction stroke when the plunger head is in rear of said edge by a distance greater than the diameter 75 of a blank; a spring for normally holding the slide retracted against said halting means; blank guiding means relative to which the slide is reciprocable, said blank guiding means extended over the table from near said edge to near the plunger head when the slide is in retracted position; a stop on the slide; an arm pivotally mounted on the slide and having a part engageable with said stop, said arm being shaped and pivotally mounted on the slide so that when engaged with said stop an end of the arm is positioned for engagement by a spindle moving toward said edge at the instant the tail end of the spindle seat is substantially vertically below the plunger head and so that the spindle thrust against the arm is in a direction to swing it away from said stop, said arm being thus swingable to clear the spindle; means for insuring that the arm and slide will move as one unit and hence the plunger will move at precisely the same speed as the spindle in response to its thrust against the arm, said means including a spring connecting the arm and the slide and acting to force the arm against the stop, said spring being stronger than the spring first-mentioned to maintain the arm against the stop by virtue of yield of the spring first-mentioned during a forward stroke of the slide to advance the plunger head sufficiently to thrust a blank to gravity-drop projection over said edge; and means for predeterminedly causing thrust of the spindle against said arm to overcome said stronger spring and swing the arm away from said stop, the means lastmentioned including a stop positioned to engage and halt forward movement of the slide, thereby to permit movement of the spindle beyond the halted slide, and thereby in turn to free said arm from the spindle and so permit the spring first-mentioned to retract the slide, to which end this spring is strong enough to overcome the friction between the slide and its guiding means.

2. In a mechanism for feeding button blanks to seats in the tops of a succession of vertical spindles during travel of the latte-r at a uniform speed along astraight-line path, the combination of a table for supporting fiat thereon a blank for deposit in a spindle seat by gravity drop over an edge of the table overlying and transverse to said path as said seat passes beyond said edge; a slide; a plunger fixed on the slide and having its head resting on the table; a guiding means for the slide to hold the plunger head to a straight-line travel in the direction of travel of the spindle; a second guiding means relative to which the plunger moves and coacting with the table for guiding said blank to straight-line travel in said direction under thrust of the plunger head toward said edge; a spindleengaging means carried by the slide for causing the plunger head to be moved by the spindle in said direction and precisely at the same speed as the spindle until the spindle seat passes beyond said edge, said means including an arm, means pivotally mounting the arm on the slide, a stop on the slide, said arm swingable toward and away from said stop, said arm when swung against said stop being extended into the path of travel of said spindle for engagement by the latter to urge said arm away from said stop at the instant when the tail end of the spindle seat is substantially vertically below the plunger head, said arm being swingable away from the stop to clear the spindle, and a spring strong enough to hold the arm against the stop despite said thrust of the spindle against said arm; and means for causing a retraction stroke of the slide, said means including a spring weaker than the spring first-mentioned for returning the slide to retracted position when the arm is swung away from the stop to clear the spindle, and a second stop, fixed relative to the table, for overcoming the spring first-mentioned to allow thrust of the spindle against the arm to swing the latter to clear the spindle when the forward stroke of the 10 slide has advanced the plunger head sufliciently to thrust the blank to gravity-drop projection over said edge.

3. In mechanism for advancing a button blank for gravity-drop delivery to a seat in the top of a vertical spindle during travel of the latter, the combination of a receiving table for a blank to support the same fiat; a reciprocable plunger movable toward an edge of the table for thrust against the blank to project it beyond said edge for gravity-drop into said seat as said seat passes beyond said edge, the table so overlying the line of travel of the spindle that its seat passes under the table toward and beyond said edge; a blank guiding means including the table for maintaining the blank in line with the plunger during said thrust; yielding means for retracting the plunger and tending to hold it in retracted position; an advancing means for the plunger operated by travel of the spindle, said means including a spindle interceptor, means mounting said interceptor on the plunger and including an operative connection to permit movement of the interceptor relative to the plunger for clearing the interceptor from the spindle under thrust of the latter, and means including yielding means more resistant to yield than the yielding means firstmentioned for preventing relative movement between the interceptor and the spindle thereby to permit thrust of the spindle against the interceptor to advance the plunger at precisely the same speed as the spindle; and means fixed relative to the table for overcoming the secondnamed yielding means when the forward stroke of the plunger has proceeded sufficiently to thrust the blank to gravity-drop projection over said edge.

4. A mechanism as in claim 3, in which said blank guiding means includes a pair of elongate members above and spaced over the table to establish between them a guideway having oppositely facing side walls one carried by each of said members, said members being so shaped that said walls provide an outer length of uniform width for said guideway and an inner length for said guideway which gradually increases in width toward the location of the plunger in its retracted position.

5. A mechanism as in claim 3, in which said guiding means includes a pair of elongate members shaped and spaced over said table to form between them and with the table top a guideway for a blank during its travel under thrust of the plunger toward said table edge, said guideway being of uniform width over a length thereof ad jacent to and at said edge and along this length thereof having a bottom wall provided by the table top as well as side walls provided by said members, said members being prolonged beyond said edge to open the bottom of said guideway between the length thereof measured by said prolongations.

6. A mechanism as in claim 3, in which said guiding means includes a pair of elongate parallel structures coacting with the table top to form a straight channel of uniform width adjacent to said table edge, one of said structures being fixed to the table, and the other including an elongate support fixed to the table, an elongate plate, means mounting said plate on the side of said support facing the other of said structures, and yielding means for normally maintaining said plate at a predetermined spacing from the structure first-mentioned to allow said plate to be forced in toward said support during movement of an over-size blank through said channel.

7. A mechanism as in claim 3, in which said blank guiding means includes a pair of elongate members above and spaced over the table to establish between them a guideway having oppositely facing side walls one carried by each of said members, said members being so shaped that said walls provide an outer length of uniform width for said guideway and an inner length for said guideway which gradually increases in width toward the location of the plunger in its retracted position, and in which there is a chute overlying said outer length and downwardly inclined in a direction opposite to that of forward travel of the plunger and having its lower end transverse to said inner length and adjacent to the joining of the latter with the outer length.

8. A mechanism as in claim 3, in which said blank guiding means includes a pair of elongate members above and spaced over the table to establish between them a guideway having oppositely facing side walls one carried by each of said members, said members being so shaped that said walls provide an outer length of uniform width for said guideway and an inner length for said guideway which gradually increases in width toward the location of the plunger in its retracted position; in which there is a chute overlying said outer length and downwardly inclined in a direction opposite to that offorward travel of the plunger and having its lower end transverse to said inner length and adjacent to the joining of the latter with the outer length; and in which there is a roofing plate over said inner length, high enough to clear said plunger, and there is a lip upwardly extended away from said plate in the direction of forward stroke of the plunger and overlying a part of the length of the chute near its lower end and high enough above the chute to clear a blank sliding down the chute.

9. A mechanism as in claim 1, in which said slide includes a substantially horizontally lying U-shaped plate-like subdivision resting on the table, one of the legs of the U forms said plunger, the interior of the U at the bowl thereof facing in the direction of forward stroke of the plunger, and there is an opening through the table between the legs of the U and spaced ahead of the bowl of the U a distance substantially equal to the length of forward stroke of the plunger when the latter is in retracted position, whereby the U provides a sweep for engaging a blank on the table out of line with the plunger and advancing said blank to said opening for discharge therethrou h by forward stroke of the slide.

WARREN E KNOTT.

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