US2796255A - Newspaper stuffing machine - Google Patents

Description

June '18 1957 J- MITCHELL .2,796,255

NEWSPAPER STUEFING MACHINE 'E w Filed July 27, 1955 4 Smets-,sheet 1 avro els/2 v5,

J. MrrcHELl.

NEWSPAPER STUFFING MACHINE June 18, 1957 4 She'ets-.Sheet 2 Filed July 27,. 1955 INVENTOR. J-hn m rf'chen J. MITCHELL NEWSPAPER STUFFING MACHINE June 18, 1957 Filed July 27, 1955 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 1a ze 14g 34360124 24Mv INVENITOR.

Ugh" m BY A 'r TOE/v5 YS June 1,8 1,957V J. MITCHELL. 4. I 2,796,255

` NEWSPAPER 'STUFFINQ MACHINE Filed July 27, 1955 4 Sheets-Sheevt 4 IN VEN TOR.

@TTORNE YS United States NEWSPAPER STUFFING MACHINE Application July Z7, 1955, Serial No., 524,786

6 Claims. (Cl. 270-57) The invention relates to a paper stuiling machine adapted to assemble the folded sections of a newspaper, and more particularly to an impaler mechanism which operates to hold open the jacket section of the newspaper so as to permit the insertion therein of the inner sections.

The present invention constitutes an improvement upon stuffing machines of the type disclosed in the patent to Schweizer 2,634,971, issued April 14, 1953. The features of the invention are however applicable to other forms of newspaper stuffing machines.

In a machine of the type described in said patent, newspaper sections to be stuffed are manually staked in the hoppers of their respective feeding stations, from which point they are automatically fed into rotary pockets below. Beneath the several feeding stations which remain stationary, there is a rotor consisting of an endless series of V-shaped pockets. The pockets are each disposed in an upright position and are double-acting to close and open alternately at top and bottom. Each pocket receives the desired number of sections from the various feeding stations, thereby assembling one complete stuffed newspaper.

The cover section or jacket is assigned to the lirst feeding station and is the rst section to be dropped into a pocket. Vacuum suction means on the pocket act to open the outside jacket so that the remaining sections may be fed therein. The inside sections are assigned to the other feeding stations in the order of their assembly and in that sequence fall into the outside jacket lying within the pockets. When the stutiing operation is completed, the pocket bottom opens and the assembled newspaper is delivered onto a conveyer.

The considerable bulk of the modern newspaper is such that suction means in some instances are neither adequate nor reliable as an expedient for holding open the jacket section during the assembly operation. This `is especially true of Sunday editions of certain metropolitan newspapers whose jacket section alone may in-some instances exceed 90 pages. In practice, when the suction fails to hold the jacket open, the inner sections cannot be inserted and a jam occurs in the pocket which necessitates shutting down the stuffing machine. Consequently, the newspapers must then be assembled by hand and the resultant expense and loss of time is a serious drawback in a competitive eld Where time is of the essence.

Accordingly, it is the principal object of the presen-t invention to provide an improved stufling machine wherein the jacket section is securely held open in the pocket to permit insertion of the inner sections of the newspapers.

More specifically it is an object of the invention to provide a mechanism adapted to cooperate with the pocket of a stuing machine so as to impale one-half of the jacket section and to hold said section open to facilitate insertion of the inner sections.

It is also an object of the invention to provide an impaler mechanism wherein a pair of needles are injected into one-half of the jacket section at intersecting angles whereby said section is prevented from closing until Said.V

" arent needles are withdrawn. The nature of the invention is such that the impaled half of the jacket section is held against one wall of the pocket and cannot be removed therefrom as long as the needles are inserted therein.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a cam actuated impaler mechanism of efficient and sturdy design which is reliable in operation.

For a better understanding of the invention, as well as other objects and further features thereof, reference is had to the following detailed description to be read in connection with the accompanying drawing, wherein like elements in the several views are identified by like reference numerals.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 shows a typical newspaper jacket section in perspective view.

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view of a stuiing machine showing the general arrangement of the mechanism of the machine.

Fig. 3 is a partial plan View of the machine showing the radial pockets and the associated cam for operating an impaler mechanism in accordance with the invention.

Fig. 4 is an elevational View of the leading wall of the pocket and the impaler mechanism mounted thereon.

Fig. 5 is a section taken along lines 5--5 in Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a section taken along lines 6-6 in Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a section taken along lines 7-7 in Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is an elevational view of diagrammatic character showing ve successive positions through which each pocket passes in traversing its orbit.

In the drawings, the mechanical elements are designated by reference numerals which are identical with those applied to the corresponding elements in the Patent 2,634,971 when such correspondence exists. For purposes of clarity and simplicity, the description and drawings in the present application have been restricted as much as is feasible to that portion of the machine constituting an improvement over the mechanism in the cited patent.

For convenience, lettering is used for the newspaper component sections. Fig. 1 herein shows separately a complete jacket section A, and this jacket section and an inner section B appear in Fig. 8 wherein the sections are acted upon. Jacket section A has a closed lower edge A', which is really the final refold, made after the section has been completed. It rests edgewise in the open V- pocket into which it is fed. The jacket has an openable upper edge A2, at which the upper portions of the deposited section meet, this edge A2 being closed during infeed but later being opened into V-form to receive the inner sections.

The two halves of each jacket as folded are referred to as the leading half A3 and the trailing half A4, since these parts advance facewise as the radially arranged pockets travel clockwise with the conveying members of the machine. The so-called backfold A5 consists of the full length of the back edge of the jacket prior to the refolding of the section about its lower closed edge A. The jacket section has to be opened in V-form in the pocket, before inner sections are deposited, and for this operation an l upper portion A6 is utilized, portion A6 being a small area near the upper edge of the leading jacket half A3. By the impaler mechanism, in accordance with the invention, portion A6 is held against the leading wall of the pocket, while the trailing half of the section swings away to create the receiving space for the inner sections.

As shown in Fig. 2, the general frame of the machine comprises an elevated central member or headfrarne 40 which is provided with an upper rim 4l formed with flat sides, in this case twelve in number, eight of these giving support to the inner ends of the radial frame rods 29. The headframe has downwardly sloping side braces 42 inter- 3 connecting the upper rim 41 with a flanged bottom member 43.

Headframe 40 is mounted atop a central stationary post 45, which also constitutes a vertical axle for the rotor hollow hub 52 consisting of connected inner and. outer concentric walls forming the central portionof the rotor 51. At its top end the post 4S has a shoulder upon which the bottom member 43 of the headframe is clamped as by a threaded nut. Below, the uprightaxle 45 is set down into a foot member or short upright socket 49fbolted down upon the general base 50, upon whichthe tall standards 30 and other fixed parts also are supported. The pockets 89 are circumferentially arranged at the periphery ofthe rotor, the pockets being of the \lv type, each having a.leading wall 90 and a trailing wall 91.

For feeding newspaper sections into the successive pockets 89 a hopper 20 is provided positioned .aboveeach infeeding-,station around the orbital-path of travel; The sections of the newspaper preferably stand edgewise in the hopper and in succession are detached, extracted and guided downwardly into the respective pockets, thejacket section being first supplied to each pocket and therein opened into lV-shape to receive the inner sections.

Each hopper 20, as shown in Fig. 8, has a bottom wall 21 and thereabove a front wall 22with a gapbetween them for the extraction ofthe sections. A.A suckery device swings frontwardly the lower edge'of each section which thereupon is engaged by a gripper 32 carried on an extracting drum 25 which, as best seen in Fig. 2, is an open structure of several disks rotatable near the hopperexit. A driven shaft 26 carries the extracting drum 25 and turns in bearings carried by hangers 20 supported by an over head pair of radial frame rods 29 each supported in turn by atall standard 30. When each section is released .by an outfeeding gripper it is directed by a chute 39 into the top-open pocket 89 beneath, traveling in time with the extraction and deposit of the sections.

At its inner end, each drum shaft 245 as shown in Fig. 2V

conveys the drive to the rotor. A pinion 79 meshes withv gear 78 and is fast on a radial drive shaft S0 turning in a bearing 81. Shaft 80 is coupled to the siow element of a speed reducer 83, the fast Vor input shaft of which is driven as through a belt 84 from a drivemotor S which may be the source of substantially all actuations and i timing of the mechanisms of the machine. These driving means and actuating connections are illustrative only, as various substitutes are mechanically availablefor transmission of motions with coordinated timing.

After each of the successive products or' assemblages has been accumulated in each pocket, it isl dumped ordischarged by the pocket to intermediate transmitting or delivery means which deposits them in overlapping relation upon a general outfeeding conveyor 121, as an endless belt'or bands, passing around guide pulleys or rollers 122.

The series of pockets are secured radially to the periphery ofrotor 51. For each pocket there is provided a pocketbase rod 815 outstanding from the rotor rim. Thus there may be sixty of these radial rods 8S, each giving support to one of the pockets 9, the rod serving as. an axle for certain pocket movements. Each pocket is comprised of leading wall 90 fixed to the base rod 88 and the trailing wall 91 swingable to and from the leading wall for the top opening and closing of the pocket. The fixedv leading wall 90 is secured as by welding in a nearly upright position on rod SS but preferably with a slight rearward slant to facilitate the falling away of the trailing. half of the jacket when the trailing wall is swung away to openl the jacket.

Fig. 8 indicates the cycle ofY pocket wallmovements from positions l to 4 in the handling of the sections for each assemblage. In its initial position 1, each pocket is closed at its bottom near the base rod 88 but is open at the top, providing the pocket space to receive irst the jacket A and later the inner sections B. Following the deposit of the jacket A, the trailing wall 91 is first swung upward to the leading wall as shown at position 2 initially to bring the jacket A to its upright position. By means of the impaler mechanism to be later described, the leading half of the jacket is held againstrthe leading wall while its trailing half is swung away with the trailing wall, leaving the jacket space open to receive the remaining sections as shown at position 3. At position 4, the trailing pocket wall is tilted for the bottom opening of the pocket, this operating at the outfeeding position and releasing the assemblage to drop or dump to the delivery and other devices below.

Each pocket has to do double acting, so that while initially open at topand closed at bottom it may then be closed at top followed by opening at top, these motions serving to open up the jacket section, while at a later stage the top-open pocket is shifted so as to open at the bottom and thereafter, close at the bottom in readiness for a new cycle. The top opening and closing are by swing an oscillating frame or wall-carrier about a low axis, upon which frame the trailing wall is pivoted about midway of its height to receive tilting movements for the bottom opening and closing about a horizontal axis, which may be parallel to the rod or axle 88. These swinging and tilting actions of the trailing wall are brought about in proper sequence by cam means operated by reason of the travel of the respective pockets around the general orbit.

The swinging frame which carries the trailing Wall 91 of each pocket, while allowing its tilting, is a built up carrier swingable about the low base rod 83 which is fixed on the rotor and acts as an axle for the swing. For rigidity there is a higher rod or frame member 205 parallel to rod 88 and connected tightly to an arm 206 whose hub can turn loosely on lower rod 88. The tiltingv mounting of the trailing wall 91 on the swinging frame top -rod 205 will be described; but first the actuating connections for swinging the framefor the top opening and closing.

Forming a rocklever with arm 206 is an extension drop arm or tail 114 having a follower or cam roller 117 cooperating with a non-traveling actuating means, such as aV fixed cam 118, andtimed to swing the carrier rod 205 as the pocket advances, rst to close and then open the pocket. As arranged, gravity may tend to open the pocket, or a spring 115 may be added for this purpose. The low cam 118 is preferably of only short length along the travel line. It affords only the single functionmof swinging the carrier frame. The tendency of the frame or carrier is to swing reversely to the travel, thus to open thepockehwhereas the cam 118 acts to overcome this tendency, at and near position 2, so as to swing the frame forwardly and close the pocket. When the follower 117 is not engaged upon the elevated contour of cam 118, means are required to stop and limit the opening swing; and for this purpose the rotor carries, for eachpocket, a short upstanding post 211, its top end having-a stopr surface to be met by a `Contact surface von the frame. TheV stop surface isv in the form of an adjustablev screw 212 preferably projecting from the rear side of the swinging arm 206 of the frame.

To effect tilting of trailing wall 91, there is provided about midway of the height of the wall 91 a rockaxle 214 affording the tilting movements, the trailing Wall 91 being mounted tightly thereon. Thus, by rocking the axle 214 the trailing wall can be tilted fromits inclined position No. 3 to its upright position No. 4, causing the dumping of the product. To rock the axle 214 and wall 91 in the desired manner, the axle is provided with an'upwardly extending rockarrn 217, which may stand at an initial slant of` about 45, as seen at position-1, but-whichmay* arcanes be swung downwardly under timed action, preferably by `a fixed cam. For this purpose at its outer or free end, the `rockarm 217 carries a cam follower 218, which normally is unengaged, but which when the tilting action is to occur becomes engaged, by the travel of the pocket, with the underside of a xed cam 220 which may be an extension of the hangers 28 at the delivery station of the machine. The cam 220 is so positioned that as each pocket travels its rockarm 217 presents its follower 218 toan inclined surface which thrusts the follower downwardly and tilts the rockarm and axle connterclockwise, v

thus tilting the pocket wall 91 from its bottom-closed position to its bottom-open position, with a return movement when the follower runs off from the cam contour.

The actions of the low and high cams 118 and 220, respectively, will now be reviewed with respect to posiv tions 1 to 4 in Fig. 8. At position l the pocket, open at top but closed at bottom, receives the jacket section deposited from hopper 20 above. Neither cam is in effect, the swinging frame and the tilting wall being positioned by their stops 211 and 205. At position 2 there is no infeed from the hopper, but the interval between positions l and 3 is used for opening the jacket section to receive the inner sections. Thus the cam 118 rises to a peak and thence drops to normal, the intermediate mechanism causing the trailing wall to swing bodily to the leading wall, closing the pocket, followed by return to open position, the impaler means to be described causing the jacket to open in the pocket and remain so up to the discharge position. Therebeyond, the cam 118 tapers `away from its peak and may be dis-continued therebeyond around to a point beyond position l for repetition of action. In each of the successive positions 3 an inner section B is fed from above into the opened jacket. The number of inner sections and the hoppers therefor are of course determined by the needs `of a particular newspaper.

Each pocket beyond the position 3 comes to position 4, which is the delivery position, wherein cam 220, and not cam 218, brings about the operations, the trailing wall 91 being first tilted from its inclined posture of position 3 to its tilted upright posture of position 4, thus dumping the complete assemblage, and the cam 220 thereupon restoring the wall from its tilted to its original inclined position. As with the low cam 118, the high cam 220 is of open structure, the follower being spring-pressed, and in each ycase the follower rides olf the reverse incline of the cam at a point beyond which the cam may be terminated, leaving the parts in their spring-pressed stopped position. Each of the several pockets goes through the above-described cycle in each complete turn of the rotor, delivering the same number of complete assemblies per rotation, all of the pocket sections being under the control of the low and high cams 118 and 220. The delivery of the stued newspapers from the successive pockets, traveling in rapid succession through the delivery position 4, may thus be caused by gravity directly downward to the receiving and transferring means therebelovv, leading eventually to the outfeeding lconveyor or band 121, traveling in this case leftward at an adjustable speed such as to cause the assemblages to be laid in yoverlapping relation. A more detailed description of this operation and of the mechanisms therefor may be found in the above-noted Schweizer patent.

Referring now to Fig. 4, the leadingwall 90 of the pocket is separately illustrated, the wall structure having installed thereon the impaler means in accordance with the invention. The reference numerals, applied to the impaler means in Fig. 4, as well as in Figs. 3, 5, 6 and 7, do not correspond to those in the Schweizer patent since equivalent structure is not found therein.

The impaler means are constituted by an iinpaler mechanism, generally designated by numeral 10 and a camoperated actuator therefor, generally designated by numeral 11. Impaler mechanism 10 comprises a solid rectangular block 12 having a bore 13 extending longitudinally therein from one end of the block to the other. Slidably received within bore 13 and projecting therefrom at either end is a rod 14 having a rack portion 14a. One end of rod 14 terminates in a dome-shaped button 15, and the other end in a circular stop element 16. Interposed between button 15 and the related end wall of the block is a helical spring 17 which urges the head end of the rod outwardly to an extent limited by stop 16.

Extending transversely through block 12 from one side of the block to the other is a relatively large circular bore 18, and mounted coaxially therein is a shaft 19 on which a pinion 23 is freely rotatable. One end of shaft 19 has a circular flange 24 formed thereon, the flange having a portion 24a of reduced diameter which nestles within one end of bore 18. Enclosing the other end of bore 18 is a circular cap 26 through which a screw 27 is centrally inserted threadably to engage the end of shaft 19. Pinion 23 intermeshes with rack 14a, whereby a sliding motion of rod 14 effects a rotary movement of the pinion.

Extending between the top and bottom surfaces of block 12 and passing through bore 18 are two bores 33 and 34. Bores 33 and 34 are inclined relative to said surfaces and have equal and opposite angular positions, whereby said bores lie in intersecting planes. Slidably disposed in bores 33 and 34 are pistons 35 and 36, respectively, having rack portions 35a and 36a which are engageable with pinion 23. Rack 35a engages the upper surface of the pinion while rack 36a engages the under surface thereof. Secured to the lower ends of the pistons and projecting therefrom are needles 37 and 38. As best seen in Figs. 5 and 7, the arrangement of the needles in the impaler is such that when the rod 14 is unactuated, the needles project slightly from the wall of the block but to an extent insucient to pass through the leading wall of the pocket. When, however, the rod is depressed by the actuator 11, the two needles pass through the leading wall and pierce the adjacent half of the newspaper jacket section A at opposing angles, whereby the jacket half is impaled against the wall until such time as the needles are retracted.

The actuator 11 for the impaler is constituted by a plunger 39 lslidably supported in two spaced bearing brackets 44 and 46 attached to leading Wall 90. The plunger is in axial alignment with rod 14 of the impaler and is provided at one end with an adjustable projection 41 which is engageable with the button 15 on the rod 14. Secured to the other end of plunger 39 is a follower 48 which is adapted to ride on an arcuate cam 52 which, as shown in Fig. 3, is mounted on a xed bracket 53 adjacent the periphery of the rotor of the stufling machine. Thus when the follower 48 engages the cam 52 and rides thereon, the plunger 39 is shifted axially to depress rod 14 of the impaler thereby ejecting the needles from the block to impale the leading half of the newspaper section against the pocket wall. When the follower is disengaged from the cam, the spring 17 on the rod urges the rod outwardly and pushes the plunger in the same direction, thereby retracting the needles and releasing the jacket.

As shown in Fig. 3, the leading wall of the pocket is provided with a rubber pad 53EL which, in the absence of a jacket section, serves as a cushion for the needles to prevent breakage thereof.

The pockets are also provided with a holding device or damper adapted to reach over the top of the leading wall @il and to press upon the jacket half to hold it to the wall. The device comprises a rockshaft 229 on which a clamping finger 230 is mounted. As shown in Eig. 8, in position l, the clamper is retracted upwardly. At position 2, after the half jacket has been impaled, the clamper 230 comes into play, being rocked downwardly to over-reach the pocket wall and press the half jacket against it. This condition continues to and beyond position 3 at which the pocket has ybeen widely opened and the inner sections are being deposited therein. Before reaching the discharge position 4, the clamper 230 has been re-v tracted inpreparation for the release anddescent of the assembled newspaper` from the pocket.

While there has been shown what are considered to bepreferredfembodiments of a newspaper stufng machine, it will be appreciated that many changes and-'modifications may be made therein without departing from the essential spirit of the invention. It is intended therefore in the appended claims to coverall such changes and rnodicationsY as fall within the true scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

l. In a newspaper stufng machine including a series of V-shaped pockets having two opposing walls and arrangedv to travel throughv successive stations and at a jacket stationto receiveA and carry along a jacket section, apparatus to secure one-half of said jacket section to the adjacent walliof said pocket to hold open said jacket for the insertion of inner sections, said apparatus comprising an impaler mechanism mounted on the outer surface of said related wall and provided with a pair of retractable needles adapted to pass throughsaid wall and to pierce said half section and thereby impale same against said wall, said needles having opposing inclinations relative to said wall, and cam means to actuate said impaler mechanism inthe course of the travel of said pocket alternately to impale said half and to release same.

2. A newspaper stuiiing machine having an orbitally advancing carriage supporting an endless series of normally top-open V-shaped radial stulng pockets arranged to travel through successive stations and at the jacket station to receive and carry along a jacket section and therebeyond inner sections within the jacket; means to open into V-shape each received jacket section in advance of receiving inner sections stuffed thereinto and to retain thus the jacket until the stufng is completed; the leading7 and trailingopposite walls of each pocket being relatively shiftable normally to maintain the pocket topopen and bottom-shut during reception of sections and therebeyond at the delivery station to open the pocket bottom for dumping the stuffed assemblage; said means to open each received jacket section and to hold the jacket open including an impaling mechanism mounted on one of said pocket walls and provided with a pair of needles adapted to pierce the related half of said jacket, said needles being inclined at opposing angles relative to said wall, and means simultaneously to eject or retract said needles.

3. A newspaper stufling machine having a rotatively advancing carriage supporting an endless series of upstanding, normally top-open, radially disposed V-shaped `stuiing pockets arranged to travel through successive stations and at the jacket sta-tion each to receive a jacket section and therebeyond inner sections at other stations; means to open into V-shape the received jacket section in each pocket in advance of receiving inner sections thereinto and to retain thus the jacket until the stufng is completed; the leading and trailing walls of each pocket being relatively swingable normally to maintain the pocket top-open `and lbottom-shut during reception of sections, and therebeyond at the delivery station to open the pocket bottom for dumping the stulfed product; and an Linderneath outfeeding conveyor operable to receive and carry away the successive stuffed products; said machine being characterized in that each V-pockct has a leading wall and Va trailing Wall which latter is mounted on an upstanding frame fitted to swing bodily with the trailing walllabout a low radial axis located at or near the V-point of the pocket, and the trailing wall being litted also to the frame to tilt bodily about a mid-axis on the frame, alovvrxed cam with a cam connection to cause the timed swing'of the frame and trailing wall, and a separate high fixed `cam with :a cam connection to cause the tilt of the trailing wall, these lever-swing and wall-tilt movements bpmgzcaused respectively. by said low and high cams -by reason. of the travel of eachpocketgsaid camsbeing arranged andY timed for, the low. cam tocause the topclosing and then. opening of each pocket .after receiving.

means -of a rocking axle, which latter has a rockarm with.

follower cooperating withthe high cam for the tilting action with a stop member on the frame determining the normally retracted bottom-closing position of the tilting wall, and a spring means holding such rockarm and wall` in such stop-determining normal position, said means to open into V-shape the received jacket section in each pocket in advance of receiving inner jackets comprising an impaling mechanism mountedon the leading wall of said pocket and including a pair of needles adapted to pierce the leading half of said jacket section, said needles being simultaneously retractable or extensible in oppositely inclined paths, and cam-actuated means to alternately effect injection and retraction of said needles in the course of jacket advance.

4. An impaler mechanism comprising a rectangular block having alongitudinalbore extending from one end thereof to t-he other, a transverse bore passing through said longitudinal bore, anda pair of inclined bores extending from-the top-surface to the bottom surface of said block .and lying in intersecting planes, said inclined bores passing through said transverse bore, a pinion freely rotatable in said transverse bore, al rod slidable within said longitudinal bore and having a rack portion intermeshing with said pinion, and a pair of reciprocable pistons slidable within said inclined bores-and having rack portions intermeshing with said pinion, said pistons being provided with needles projecting axially from corresponding ends thereof.

5. An impaler mechanism comprising a rectangular block having a longitudinal bore extending from one end thereof to the other, ya transverse bore passing through said longitudinal bore, and a pair of inclined bores ex tending from the top surface to the bottom surface of said block and lying in intersecting planes, said inclined bores passing through said transverse bore, a pinion freely rotatable in said transverse bore, a rod slidable within said longitudinal bore and having a rack portion intermeshing with said pinion, and a pair of reciprocable pistons slidable within said inclined bores and having rack portions inter-meshing with sai-d pinion, said .pistons being provided with needles projecting axially from corresponding ends thereof, said rod having a length exceedingv the length of said block and having a button at one end 'and a stop at the other, and `a helical spring about said rod interposed between said button and the wall of said block whereby said rod is depressible to rotate said pinion.

6. In a stuing machine including a pocket having a wall, impaling means mounted on said wall comprising an impaling mechanism comprising a rectangular block having a longitudinal bore extending from one end thereof to the other, a transverse bore passing through said longitudinal bore, and a pair of inclined bores extending from the top surface to the bottom surface of said block and lying in intersecting planes, said inclined bores passing through said transverse bore, a pinion freely rotatable in said transverse bore, a rod slidable within said longitudinal ybore and having a rack portion intermeshing with said pinion, and a pair of reciprocable pistons slidable within said inclined bores and having rack portions intermes'hing with said pinion, said pistons being provided with needles projecting axially from corresponding ends thereof, said rod having a length exceeding the length of said block and having a'button at one end and a stop at4 the other, and a helical spring 'about said rod interposed.1between saidl buttonand the wall of said- References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS yblock whereby said rod is depressible to rotate said pinion, and an vactuator for said mechanism including a slidable plunger in axial alignment with said rod Ito engage said button at one end thereof, and a cam follower secured 1,202,270 `Curry et al. Oct. 24, 1916 to the other end, whereby said rod is depressed when 5 1,462,559 Leschhorn July 24, 1923 said follower engages a cam. 2,634,971 Schweizer Apr.` 14, 1953

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