US2658296A - Machine for attaching artificial stems to blossoms - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 10, 1953 c. M. ANDERSEN MACHINE FOR ATTACHING ARTIFICIAL STEMS TO BLOSSOMS Filed Sept. 5, 1950 I5 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VE/Y 717R JrrdeA/EK AMDERJEW,

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Nov. 10, 1953 I c. M. ANDERSEN MACHINE FOR ATTACHING ARTIFICIAL STEMS TO BLOSSOMS Filed Sept. 5, 1950 I 3 Sheets-Sheet s INVENTOR.

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Patented Nov. 10, 1953 MACHINE FOR ATTACHING ARTIFICIAL STE-MS TO BLOSSOMS Charles M. Andersen, Los Angeles, Calif., assignor to Floyd R. Honn, Arcadia, Calif.

Application September 5, 1950, Serial No. 183,232

9 Claims.

My invention relates to a machine for attaching artificial stems to blossoms.

In providing certain blossoms with wires to replace their natural stems, or in addition to their stems, to aid in making up corsages or in wiring the blossoms into floral arrangement, use is made of florists wire of relatively soft metal to enable the wire to be manipulated easily without damaging the blossoms.

When it is desired to push the wire through the relatively hard calyx of the blossoms an operator has to work with care to avoid bending the tip of the wire or damaging the blossom and as a result the work is slowed down, particularly when handling flowers such as roses which have a dense hard calyx.

It is an object of my invention to provide a machine which enables an operator to push florists wire through the lower ends of flowers with ease and rapidity. I

A further object of my invention is to provide a machine of the kind described which is arranged so that the whole operative cycle of the machine is accomplished by a single turn of a crank which the operator manipulates with one hand, using the other hand to position and remove the flowers or blossoms operated on by the machine.

Another object of my invention is to provide a machine of the kind described which is simply arranged and constructed so that the soft wire used is accurately guided and is provided with means to prevent incorrect operation of the machine which might result in snarling of the wire and stoppage of the device.

Still another object of my invention is to provide a device of the kind described which is strongly constructed so that no interruption of wiring operations is experienced due to the necessity of replacing or repairing parts, this feature is important since florists are usually required to work rapidly when providing large scale floral arrangements due to the necessity of avoiding loss of freshness of the flowers which wither rapidly when deprived of their natural stems.

Another object'is to provide, in a machine of the above stated kind a means for manually causing a momentary interruption of thewire feed description read together with the accompanying drawings which illustrate an embodiment now in operation and at present considered preferable .by me.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a side elevation of the device showing the relation of parts at the completion of an operative cycle.

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the device looking at the right end of Fig.1. s

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary top plan view, parts being broken away to disclose interior construction. A released blossom is indicated in dotted lines in the view. I

Fig.v 4 isa fragmentary elevational view looking at the side of the device oppositev to that shown in Fig. l, with part of the enclosing door broken away to show aportion of the inner structure in full lines.

Fig. 5 is a cross section'on line 55 of Fig. 4, drawn on a larger scale.

Fig. 6 is. a fragmentary cross sectionv on line 66 of Fig. 4, drawn on a larger scale.

Fig. '7 is a detail perspective view showing in a detached manner one of the friction wire feeding roller per se in which a segment is cut away, and includes the mounting means for said roller. In this view the scale is enlarged.

Fig. 8 is a detail side view, drawn on a larger scale, of the wire guiding and supporting means and associated parts securable to the front of the device, parts being sectioned to show their interior arrangement.

Fig. 9 is an end view of the parts shown in Fig. 8, as indicated by the arrows 9-9 in Fig. 8.

Fig. 10 is an end view of the parts shown in Fig. 8, as indicated by the arrows Ill-l0 in. Fig.

'8, extreme operating positions of the wire shearing member being indicated in full and in lines. i

Fig. 11 is a side elevation drawn on a larger scale or a'gravity operated detent shown in Fig. 1, part of the detent being broken away and part sectioned to show its interior arrangement.

Fig. 12 is a side elevation of the crank and associated mechanism operated thereby. In this view the structures shown is portrayed in five different positions which progressively illustrate operative steps thereof.

Fig. 13 is a fragmentary cross section on line I3-l3 of Fig. 8 wherein the wire shearing memher is shown in inoperative position in full lines dotted and in the operative position in dotted lines.

in; of the device which provides a mounting means upon which nearly all of the mechanism of the device is directly secured. In the embodiment herein described and illustrated the frame is formed as a box open on one side and fitted with a hinged door 2| closing the open side. Hinges for the door are indicated at Ho and a knob for opening the ,door is indi ated at 21b.

The exterior elements of the operating mechaiiism are mounted on the closed side wall 22 of the frame and on its front end wall 23.

Within the housing the supply qty/ire to be extended is wound on a spool 24 My mounted on a shaft 25 having a threaded end screwed into a threaded hole in wall 22 o! the frame. Any suitable means may-be provided to hold the spool from wine being drawn therefrom, as for example strips of heavy felt 26 pressed between the wire-loaded spool and the adjacent end of the frame.

I'he'wlre Ills led from the spool 2! through a guide nipple 28 mounted in an inwardly moboss 20 on the side wall 22 and is pulled forward by milled feed rollers 30. 3| which :grip the wire between them.

. 'The roller 32 (Fig. 7) is mounted to rotate Ireely with a gear later to he described'on a shaft 32 xtending across an opening 22;; in a :small 23, said frame being .pivotally mounted on a pin 35 carried by a boss '3 (Fig. 6), saidboss inwardly from the side wall 22. Said frame 22 is :provided'in its forward end portion 'sslth'a tore to'neceivesald .pin 35. A rearward extension 31 of the frame is provided 'with a recess 26 in which is located the lower end of a small mil spring 69 under compression, the M end of the spring being located in a threaded bore 66 in a boss projecting inwardly from the top of thetframe, and bearing against the lower end of a set screw 4| screwing into the bore 40, the fore: exerted by the spring hing controlled by the adjustment of the set screw ll. 7

The milled roller 28 is carried concentrically w one end portion of a gear 62 which meshes with an intermediate gear '46 which similarly Barrios the roller llL-sa-id intermediate gear being mounted for rotation on a stud 44 screwed into 'antnwardly projecting boss 45 on the side wall 22.

The Knurled rollers '66 and '61 are rotated through the medium of a power transmission nimomt'edona studfl secured in a boss 68 extending inwardly from the side wall 22, said gear 66 meshing with the aforementioned gear 46 is, in turn, rotated by :a large driuing gear Ila secured :to a shaft I! mounted ina bore in inwardly extending bearing boss 56 of the all 22, a bearing sleeve being provided for the shaft.

An operating crank-52 is secured to a. projecting endportion-of the shaft 49 and is spa edfrom the outer face :ofthe side wall 22 to allow parts lat r desc ibed to be mounted n said out fac out of the pat of tra el o the crank 5 s pro id d with an operating handle 53 s c re in the c nk by. a threaded stem 64.

Wire 21 after passin between said feed rollers a, ll is threaded through-a second guide nipple 5.5 mount d leaoss pro ct ng inwardly f h f ont wa of the ase. and then through a hole drilled through a hardened steel bushing 51 mounted in a cou nterabored portion at the forward end of the bore in which the guide nipple 55 4 bores drilled through bushing 51 and guide nipples and 26 are alined on an axis which extends substantially centrally and longitudinally of the frame 20 of the machine. On the forward wall 23 of the frame an exterior wire guiding and supporting fitting generally indicated at 56 (Fig. 8) is secured. Said fitting 66 comprises a small homhg 5. attached to the upper part of the front wall of the frame by machine screws 66. A vertical slot 6| is provided through the side wall of the housing 59 on the same side as the closed side wall 22 of the housing 20. Housing 59 is formed with e, central forwardly projecting frusto-conical, outwardly tapered extension 590. in which the ended a wire guiding tube 62 is secured by set screws 63. Said extension is laterally off- M free: the center line of the frame, as clearly indicated in Fig. 3. Said tube 62 is provided with being alined with a horizontal slot 64a in fitting -5l, the latter slot being shown in Figs. G and '10.

A rod 65 is rockahiy mounted in the tube 62 and has a close fit therein. The outer end of this red terminates even with the end of the tube. but the inner end of the rod projects into the housing 59 and abuts against the forward face of the hardened steel bushing 51. The inner cndof the rod 65 is held in position in the housing I! by a plate 66 (Fig. 8) having a hole into which the end of said rod 65 is fitted, said rod being secured in any suitable manner to the plate 66. This rod is provided with a longitudinally extending groove 61 in its periphery which, before and during operation of the device'to project a length of wire, is alined with the interior of the hardened steel bushing 51, and bout of alinement with the slots and 66a in the tube 62 and fitting '66 respectively. 'ance the axis of the rod is offset from the axis of the hole through the bushing rotation of the rod, which is effected at the end of the wire feeding operation of the device, will cause the wire to be sheared oil at the face of the bushing II, the slot 61in the rod 65 being'rotat'ed into line with the slot 64 in the tube 62 to enable the sheared off length of wire to move'out sideways from the slot 61 in the rod and an actuetmg arm 12 is secured in the groove by a screw 13, the ended the arm extending outwardly through slot '64 in the housing orfltting 'fl. tension spring 6! acts to normally hold the edge of arm 12 against the lower end or the slot 6| with the groovel'l in the rod 66 hraline- 'ment with the hole-through the hardened steel bushing 51 in which position the open side of the groove" is closed by the wall-of the tube 62.

The arm 12 is moved upward at the termination of each-operational the device to rotate the rod about its axis to shear of! the length of "wire resting in groove 1 from the length of wire drawn from the wire spool and passed into the hardened steel bushing 11., and to bring groove 61 intoalinement with the slot '64 in tube 62, by operating means mounted on the exterior of the frame 26 and tube-l2 and which will now be described.

Referr ng to Figs. land 2 crank 52 is provided with an inwardly proiecting pin 15 mounted in e h le-drilled throu h the crank, so that the aid of the pinis closely adjacent the side well 22 of the rame 26.

A cranked lever 16 is pivoted on a screw 11 is mounted. It is to be noted that the holes or is screwed into a threaded hol d l through the wall of the case and into an inwardly projecting boss on the inside of the frame. The free end 160. of lever I6 is adapted to engage against the underside of the portion of arm 12. projecting through slot 6| of housing 59. Lever I6 is swun upwardly by the engagement of pin I5 against the lower side of the lever, pin being positioned so that it may pass beyond the outer angle of the cranked lever when the latter has moved arm I2 to its uppermost position. When not resting on pin 15, the downward movement of the lever is arrested by a stop I8 projecting from the face of the frame and provided by the end of a screw screwed into the side wall 22 of frame 20. I

Rotation of the crank 52 is effected in a clockwise direction and reverse rotation of the crank is prevented by means later described.

The tension spring 68 is secured at its lower end by the head of a machine screw 80 screwed into the side wall 22 and the upper end of said spring is engaged in a hole 80a drilled in the end of the arm I2 projecting from the housing 59, the spring normally holds arm 12 in lowered position and lever I6, which engages under the projecting end of arm 12, is held in position so that the pin I5 on the crank will strike the lever adjacent its angled portion as the crank nears the end of its rotation in each operative movement.

In order to prevent inadvertent reverse rotation of the crank 52 either when about to shear the wire or after termination of an operation and thus to prevent the wire from being drawn back through the drilled bushing 51 and forward guide nipple 55, a detent 89 is provided pivotally mounted on a pin 8I secured in side wall 22 of the frame. The detent is provided on its lower edge with a sloped shoulder having a holding face 82, and the end of the detent acts as a second holding face 83. The detent is held by a pin 83a projecting from the frame in position to be engaged by a pin 84 projecting inwardly from the crank 52.

Holding face 82, as shown in Fig. 12D engages behind pin 84, which has ridden over the sloped shoulder leading to face 82, at the time of, or immediately before, severing of the wire is effected, while end face 83 engages behind pin 84 when the crank has completed a revolution.

In order to hold a flower against the end of the tube 62 and rod 65, an'axially slidable rod 85 is mounted in guides 86, 81 brazed or otherwise secured to tube 62, and a guide 89 attached to side wall 22 of the frame. A head 89- is mounted on the forward end of the rod 85 by a set screw 99, and a pair of fingers 9| are secured in the head 89 in any suitable manner. The fingers 9I are bent as shown in Fig. 3 so as to firmly grip the calyx 9Ia of a flower 9Ib when the fingers are drawn toward the end of the tube and rod which function is performed by a coil spring 92 mounted on the rod 85 with its forward end bearing against a threaded sleeve 93 screwed into guide 86 and an abutment collar 94 secured to the rod by a set screw 95. Spring 92 is under compression and therefore normally holds collar 94 against guide 81.

Rod 85 is moved forwardly by a small detent block 96 secured to the rearward end of the rod 85 by set screws 9-1. The rearward end of the block is vertically slotted and a combined thumb piece and detent 98 (Fig. 11) is pivoted in the slot on a pin 99 extending across the slot. The thumb piece 98 is provided with an upward extension IIIII for engagement by the operator's thumb, and with a downwardly and rearwardly' extending pawl part I (II. The piece is freely swingable on said pin 99 within a limited range of movement determined by the engagement of the rear face I02 of the piece with the end of the slot and is pivoted off center on pin 99 so that it is normally held by gravity with pawl part III] in position to be engaged by a pin I03 projecting inwardly from the crank 52, but when the upward extension I00 is rotated slightly forward by the thumb of the operator, pawl part MI ismoved out of the path of pin I03.

The operator pushes on the upward extension I69 to push the rod forward to move fingers- 9| outwardly to position a flower and also to en-- able crank 52 to be swung clockwise to operate the device, while at the termination of an operative revolution by the crank, the pin I93 will again move rod 85 forward to release the flower.

The operation of the device is as follows, and the position of the crank and parts mounted on the outer face of the frame and operated by the crank and cooperating therewith are shown in. the successive diagrams of Fig. 12 and indicated-1 A through E.

In the starting position with all parts at rest,'.. the spring 92 is holding pawl piece IIJI against:

pin I03 projecting from the crank 52, and is there-- fore holding pin 84 projecting from the crank: against stop face 89. Crank 52 is therefore resiliently held against clockwise rotation by spring: 92 and is positively held against any counterclockwise movement. This position is shown in I2A. At this time shearing arm 12 is still raised. since pin I5 projecting from the crank arm is. engaged under the lowest point of cranked lever I6, and blossom holding fingers 9| are drawn close toward the outer end of tube 65.

In the first operating movement, the operator takes hold of the handle with his right hand and with his thumb pushes thumb piece I09 of the detent block forwardly until stopped by guide 88. lihe movement of the rod 85 on which the detent block is mounted moves the blossom holding fingers 9I away from the end of tube 62 and the operator inserts a'flower, for example, the partly open rose 91b, with its calyx am located between the fingers and the end of the tube. This position of the parts is shown in Fig. 123. l

The operator next relaxes pressure against spring 92 with thumb piece I 60 still elevated,

causing detent block 99 to move from position shown in I2B to IZC as indicated by the directional arrow in the latter view,-whereupon spring 92 will hold the calyx against the end of the tube 62 and pawl piece I9I will be permitted to fall by gravity to be in positionfto engage with pin I03 when the crank has been turned nearly a full circle.

,The next stage of theoperation i shown in Fig. 12D wherein the crank has been turned slightly further,. releasing pin 15 from lever I6, the end 16a of which is pulled downwardly by spring 68, thus bringing channel 61 and hole in hardened steel bushing 51 again into registry. The slight movement forward of the crank necessary to release arm I6 doe not cause any advancement of the wire, since wheel 30 is permitted to non-grippingly roll over Wire 21 due to slight pressure against it caused by the regulated pressure by spring 39, at the time.

The position of the detent block 96 and of the I5 again engages with the cranked lever and imam raise: it toward'its upper position until it engages under shearing arm 12 at which time pin it on crank 52 passes over the shoulder on detent M and will engage face 82 if rotated counterclockwise. The face 82 is merely provided to insure that the operator cannot accidentally rotate the crank slightly further and then allow it to reverse, such a movement would cause the shearing arm to shear through the wire while the reverse movement of the crank, however small, would pull the slightly mutilated wire at the face of the cut into the hardened steel insort in which it would jam and prevent the next forward feeding movement of the wire to take place.

The completion of the operative cycle is shown in Pig. 12E in which it will be noted that the crank arm pin I03 has engaged the detent block pawl IM and pushed the block and rod 85 longitudinally to release the blossom or flower. During the first portion of this movement the shearing arm has been moved upwardly a slight distanoe which causes shearing of the wire and registration of the groove 61 in rod 66 with the alined slots in tube 62 and tubular extension 590: of housing 59, so that the flower or blossom may be removed with a length of wire which has been thrust through the calyx of the blossom and extends to about the same distance on each side. This process may be and is usually repeated on the flower which is turned through an angle of ninety degrees to furnish it with a second wire, the wires then being bent downward and twisted together to furnish a strong wire stem in the looped portion of which the flower or blossom is securely held.

If for any reason a short length of wire is required, as for instance to wire the stems of several flowers together, the operator merely stops the action of the feeding roller 30 by raising frame 31 after sufficient wire has been drawn from the supply spool, but the crank arm is kept on turning to cut of! the length of wire chosen andlet it drop from the machine.

While I have particularly described a preferred embodiment of my invention as now reduced to practice, nevertheless it is to be understood that changes and modification of the described embodiment may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A machine for forcing lengths of wire through objects such as flowers, comprising: a frame, an object holding member carried by said frame, means connected with said object holding member to move said member with respect to said frame, a wire supply spool carried by said frame, a pair of wire feeding rollers mounted in the frame to draw wire from the supply spool and force it forwardly, a fixed pivot carried by said frame on which one of said feed rollers is mounted, a pivotally mounted support mounted on said frame on which the other feed roller is mounted, resilient means effective to urge said pivotally mounted feed roller support and the feed roller mounted thereon toward the other feed roller of the pair, a member carried bysaid frame and positioned to guide the wire from the feeding rollers outwardly of the frame, an elongated member extending outwardly from said frame and having a lmgitudinal channel therein open at each end and adapted to receive wire from said member which guides the wire out of the frame and then support said wire while it 75 is forced by said feeding rollers through its outer end into and through one of the aforesaid objects that is held by said object holding member, and said object holding member moving means operable to move said holding member toward one end of said longitudinal channel, means effective to sever the wire between the frame and said longitudinally extending member after a predetermined length of wire has been drawn from said supply spool, and operative means carried by said frame effective to positively rotate said feed rollers and to automatically operate said wire severing means.

2. A machine for forcing lengths of wire through objects such as flowers, comprising: a frame, an object holding member carried by said frame, a wire supply spool carried by said frame, a pair of wire feeding rollers mounted in the frame to draw wire from said supply spool and force it forwardly, a hardened member having a hole drilled therethrough closely fitting the wire and effective to guide the wire from the feeding rollers outwardly of the frame, a wire support mounted on said frame, a longitudinally extending member mounted for rotation relatively to said wire support, and having a longitudinal groove therein open at each end and adapted to receive wire from the member guiding the wire out of the frame, said groove being covered by the wire support while the wire is being forced through its forward end into the object by the feed rollers, and supporting the wire, means effective to sever the wire between the frame and the longitudinally extending member after a predetermined length of wire has been drawn from the supply spool, and operating means effective to rotate said feed rollers and to automatically operate the means effective to sever the wire, and to rotate said longitudinally extending member to free the groove therein from coverage by the wire support immediately after the wire has been severed.

3. A machine as set forth in claim 2 and in which said wire support mounted on said frame comprises a tube having a longitudinally extending slot therein and said longitudinally extending member comprises a rod mounted for oscillatory motion about its axis in said tube with the longitudinally extending groove therein normally held out of registration with said slot.

4; A machine for forcing lengths of wire through objects such as flowers, comprising: a

frame, a wire supply spool carried by said frame.

a pair of wire feed rollers mounted in the frame to draw wire from said supply spool and force it forwardly, a member carried by said frame and positioned to guide the wire from the feeding rollers outwardly of the frame, an elongated member extending outwardly from said frame and having alongitudinal channel therein open at each end and adapted to receive wire from said member which guides the wire out of the frame and then support said wire while it is forced by said feeding rollers through its outer end into and through one of the aforesaid objects, means effective to sever the wire between the frame and said longitudinally extending member after a predetermined length of wire has been drawn from said supply spool, an object holding member carried movably by said frame and effective to hold an object through which wire is to be forced while such object is pressed against the outer end of said longitudinally extending member, and operating means eflectlve to positively rotate said feed rollers one revolution in each operative cycle of the machine, and to automatically operate said means effective to sever the wire, and to move the object holding member to release the object after operation of the means severing the wire has been effected.

5. A machine as set forth in claim 4 and in which said operating means include: a crank rotatably mounted on the frame, and detent means effective to prevent reverse rotation of said rotatable crank.

6. A machine as set forth in claim 4 and in which said operating means comprises: a crank rotatably mounted on the frame, detent means effective to prevent reverse rotation of said rotatable crank, an arm effective to operate the means severing the wire, a lever to actuate said arm, and pins projecting from said crank and engaging the arm effective to operate the wire severing means, and the object holding means to move the latter to release position at the end of each operative revolution of said crank.

7. A machine for forcing wire through the base portion of flowers comprising: a frame having one side closed, a wire supply spool rotatably mounted upon said frame, a pair of wire feed rollers mounted on said frame, a hardened member drilled with a hole for the passage and guidance of wire fed by the feed rollers, a tubular support mounted upon said frame to project longitudinally therefrom, a rod mounted within said tubular support, said rod being rockable about its axis and having a longitudinal groove open at each end and normally axially alined with the hole in said hardened member to receive wire projected through said hardened member by the feed rollers for passage through the groove in the rod, said wire being enclosed between the walls of the groove and the inner surface of said tubular support for projection beyond the outer end of the tubular support and rod into and through the flower, an arm secured to said rod effective when operated to rotate said rod partially about its longitudinal axis to sever the wire passing from the hardened member into the groove in said rod, a shaft rotatably mounted on the closed side of the frame, co-operating gears mounted on said shaft and on said feed rollers, a crank mounted on said shaft externally of said frame whereby said shaft may be rotated to drive said feed rollers, a pin projecting from said crank, a lever pivotally mounted at one end on the aforesaid closed side of the frame and having its free end positioned to operate said arm secured to said grooved rod, a part on said lever being arranged to be engaged by the pin projecting from the crank toward the end of each operative revolution of the crank, and a spring operative to normally hold said arm and lever in inoperative position.

8. A machine as set forth in claim 7 and in addition comprising a rod mounted for longitudinal movement on said closed side of the frame and on the tubular support, flower holding fingers mounted at the end of the rod beyond and adjacent the end of the rod mounted within the tubular support, a detent block mounted at the opposite end of the longitudinally mounted rod, a pawl pivotally mounted in the detent block and a pin projecting from the crank in position to engage the detent, and a spring effective to urge the flower holding fingers toward the end of the tubular support whereby the flower holding fingers may be moved outwardly by the engagement of the pin projecting from the crank with the pawl carried by the detent block, and the crank may be released for rotation by moving the pawl out of the path of the pin projecting from the crank.

9. The machine of claim 2 and; means operatively connected with said object holding member for moving said object holding member toward one of said open ends of said longitudinal groove in order to position the object therein with respect to said groove.

CHARLES M. ANDERSEN.

References Cited in the flle of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Re. 9,294 Adt July 13, 1880 348,660 Collins Sept. '7, 1886 1,894,379 Link Jan. 17, 1933 2,281,756 Fisher May 5, 1942 2,343,190 Kinkel Feb. 29,1944 2,467,565 Owens Apr. 19, 1949 2,467,572 Weisselberg Apr. 19, 1949

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