US956540A - Machine for making corrugated and saw-toothed metal fastener-strips. - Google Patents

Description

E. S. NORTON. MACHINE POR MAKING GORRUGATED ANDSAW TOOTHED METAL FASTENBR STRIPS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 18. 1907.

Patented May 3, 1910.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

"ANDREW EA GM'HAM cu. PwoTo-LITNDGRAFAEHS. wAsmNcrcN, n c.

EQ s. NORTON. MAGHINE POR MAKING GORRUGATED AND SAW TOOTHED METAL FASTENER STRIPS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 18`. 1907.

Patented May 3, 1910.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

zzEg E. S. NORTON. MACHINE POR MAKING GORRUGA'IED AND SAW TOOTHED METAL FASTENER STRIPS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 18. 1907.

Patented May 3, 1910.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

FEED STATS PATENT OFFICE.

ELLIOTT S. NORTON, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO ACME FLEXIBLE CLASP COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

MACHINE FOR MAKING CORRUGATED AND SAV-TOOTHED METAL FASTENER-STRIPS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 3, 1910.

Application filed January 18, 1907. Serial No. 352,920.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ELLIOTT S. NORTON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for Making Corrugated and Saw-Toothed Metal Fastener-Strips, of which the following is a specication.

The invention relates to the production of corrugated metal fasteners with saw-tooth penetrating' and cutting edges and aims to overcome certain practical ditiiculties in the commercial production of this desirable form ,of corrugated metal fastener.

It is obvious that t-he beveling of a corrugated strip on opposite sides along the acting edge will produce the saw-tooth for mation desired, but a problem has heretofore existed as to beveling means which will turn out the product in a satisfactory condition at a non-prohibitive cost. The usual methods of sharpening, suoli as grinding and the like7 when applied to a corrugated metal strip unduly heat the same and are productive of burs in the U-shaped portions and wire edges which must be removed before the fastener is fit for use. The successful removal of these objectionable burs and wire edges requires a rather nice operation necessarily pursued by hand. This would obviously be prohibitive of successful marketing when it is considered that an article of this character used extensively in such low-grade work e. g. as the making of packing boxes, must be turned out in large quantities by automatic machinery, requiring little if any further treatment, in order to be profitable.

The present invention accomplishes the desideratum by providing a machine wherein a single operation on each side of the strip of metal serves to produce the desired contour and character of acting edge on said strip, the strip being first corrugated and then suitably clamped while cutting tools Operate on opposite sides thereof each removing at a single stroke the metal of the strip between the ridges of the corrugations and their median longitudinal line at the acting edge, and the cut being of course taken diagonally of the strip with reference to the thickness thereof.

In the accompanying drawings which form part of this speciiication Figure l represents in side elevation a complete machine embodying the present invention; Fig. 2 represents a top plan view of the coiling portion of said machine; Fig. 3 represents sawtoothing` portions of the machine in section substantially on line 3 3 of Fig. l but on larger scale; Fig. 4 represents an end view of the machine where the blank strip or ribbon enters, some parts being broken away; F ig. 5 is a section on an enlarged scale of certain parts which appear in elevation in Fig. 4; Fig. G represents a front end view on an enlarged scale of parts omitted from Fig. 4: and some associated parts which appear therein; Fig'. 7 represents a top plan view on an enlarged scale of the corrugating and saw-toothing portion of the machine, omitting knife-heads and superposed parts; Fig. 8 represents the corrugated strip in end view and a portion of one of the beveling cutters in association therewith, the oppositely acting cutter being represented in dotted lines; Fig. 9 represents in side view a portion of the corrugated and saw-toothed metal strip; Fig. `l represents in plan View on an enlarged scale portions of the corrugating rolls and the metal strip passing between the same; Fig. 1l represents a development of part of the periphery of one of said corrugating rolls; Fig. l2 is a fragmentary side elevation of a guiding disk for the corrugated coil associated with a eircular block or core on which the coil is wound; and Fig. 13 represents in perspective a complete coil or corrugated and sawtoothed metal strip with its core and holder or hanger.

Referring rst to Figs. l and et the numeral 2 designates a standard supporting a bed plate 3, below a power-press head 2a. At one end of this bed plate there is secured by suitable flanges and adjustment slots and bolts, a frame 5, within which a pair of corrugating rolls 6 are journaled (Fig. 6). These rolls lie horizontally and are secured to spindles 7 supported in bearing blocks 8 which occupy slideways in the top and bottom of the frame and are adjustable therein through the medium of screws 9 and locknuts 10. Spur gears 11 secured to said spindles and meshing with each other serve to transmitmotion between the two corrugating rolls and one of the spindles carries at its extended lower end a bevel gear 12 meshing with a similar gear 13 on a short shaft 14 journaled in a bearing depending from the frame 5, as shown in Figs. 4 and 6. A ratchet wheel 15 secured on the outer end of this shaft and a pawl 16 on an arm 17 turning loosely on the shaft serve to intermittently turn the shaft and the gears for the purpose of feeding and corrugating the metal strip a which passes between the iolls G. The pawl may be swung back and forth at regular intervals through any suitable driving connections applied to the arm 17, the operation being of course timed so that the strip will be fed between cuts. In the present instance said arm is shown connected with a linl 17a cranked to a disk 17b on the power-press shaft 1.

The corrugating rolls are best shown in Figs. l() and 11. They are of course mated so that their corrugations will register. rlhe corrugated periphery of each comprises a plurality of sets or series of ridges and ac companying depressions angularly disposed with reference to the aXis of the roll but longitudinally plane parallel therewith, the sets or series extending alternately on opposite angles or divergently. On the one roll there intervene between the sets of ridges 6 with accompanying depressions 6b extending on one angle and the sets of ridges 6C with accompanying depressions 6d extending on the opposite angle, tapering ridges 6e and of (Fig. 11), alternating in direction of taper'. On the other roll correspondingly alternating tapered depressions 6g and 6h lie between the divergent sets of corrugat-ions. In operation the ridges 6a, GC, 6e and 6f of the one roll enter the depressions 6i, 6j, 6h and 6g respectively of the other roll whose ridges 6k and 6m of course enter the depressions 6b and 6d respectively of the first roll.

It will be seen that a plain strip or ribbon of metal run straight into the bite of the above-described rolls will be divergently corrugated thereby and will issue without being diverted from the straight line of travel as fed to the rolls, for the strip is not shortened by corrugation any more toward one edge than the other, since the divergence alternates. Hence the corrugated strip is delivered indefinitely in shape to be wound upon itself and form a compact coil of true cylindrical contour as shown in Fig. 13,-a result attainable where divergence is sought by simple radiation of corrugations. Thus a product may be produced specially adapted for handling in bulk ready for use with the nailing or fastener driving machine into which the corrugated strip can be directly fed as uncoiled, the Jfastener being automatically severed from the strip in suitable' lengths by such machine as required.

The means here shown for ceiling the corrugated strip will be described after first describing the means for saw-toothing its edge, the latter work being done prior to the coiling. After issuing from the corrugating roll the strip passes between guides 18 (Fig. 7 secured to the bed plate 3 by suitable base flanges and conducting the corrugated strip to the cutting tools. At about the middle of the bed plate a block 2O is secured across its top and this block is channeled in the line of the strip feed to accommodate abar 21 which is itself channeled longitudinally from end to end in the line of the guideway leading from the corrugating rolls, which guideway delivers the corrugated strip into the channel of the bar, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 7. To one side of the said channel there is detachably secured an elongated plate 22 of hardened metal shouldered longitudinally to provide a horizontal ledge or shelf 23, preferably b-eveled on its under side as shown in Fig. 8. The corrugated strip is conducted over this ledge of shelf which forms a back-stop for the same during the cutting operations. The said plate of hardened metal is held in place by screws 24 -and may be removed and replaced by a similar plate whenever necessary in order to accommodate a different width of corrugated strip, the ledge or shelf of the substituted plate being at a diderent elevation from that of the removed plate. That portion of the bar 21 at the side of this channel opposite that to which the said hardened plate is secured does not rise to the height of the latter but terminates on a plane below the ledge or shelf and over this part of said bar a horizontally disposed clamp 25 slides. Said clamp is in the form of a rectangular plate occupying a guideway in the block 2O and is designed to be forced against the corrugated strip a, where the latter rests upon the shelf or ledge 23, said corrugated strip being thereby held securely in position during the cutting operation, with its upper portion project-ing above the clamp and the shouldered plate as clearly shown in Fig. 3.

The block 20 is flanged at opposite sides and between the flanges are mounted a pair of tool heads 26 side by side, (Fig. 4), suitably secured in place and each formed with an inclined tool guideway 29 (Fig. 3) extending through it from top to bottom, that in one tool head extending reversely to that in the other so that they occupy intersecting planes as illustrated in Fig. 3. Both tool heads are recessed in the lower side to accommodate the portion of the bar 21 projecting above the block 20 and also the portion of the corrugating strip projecting above said bar and the disposition of the tool guideways 29 is such that the intersecting line of the planes in which their inner sides lie runs directly over a median line of the upper edge of the corrugated strip when the latter is resting on the shelf or ledge 23. Tool holders 30 occupy the guideways 29 respectively and are adapted to reciprocate therein, each holder carrying a tool in the form of a cutting blade 31 whose edge is normally coincident with the before-mentioned line of intersection of planes of the guideways. Thus the cutting tools stand ready to enter the edge of the corrugated strip practically at the median line thereof and out angularly through the strip to the ridges of the corrugations thereof, thereby removing from each corrugation a slug Z) such as illustrated in Fig. 8. The cutting tools are preferably arranged in tandem as above explained, so that they do not act upon the same length of strip While the latter is clamped in one position but one tool4 acts upon such length of strip while the other tool is acting upon the following length of strip, of course at the opposite side thereof from that upon which the front tool is acting. Upon the next advance of the strip the length of the saine already acted upon by the rear tool is presented for the action of the front tool and thereafter the strip will of course be acted upon on both sides so that the product turned out will be a corrugated metal fastener strip double-beveled, as illustrated in Fig. S and saw-toothed as illustrated in Fig. 9.

The above-described inode of beveling the strip entirely obviates the difficulty encountered in grinding operations, viz., that. of heating and turning the strip and producing burs and wire edges, for it will be seen that each cutting tool makes a clean slice through the edge and sides of the corrugated strip, removing' from each corrugation thereof simply a single slug as distinguished from grinding away of the metal with the waste product in comminuted condition. Thus the desired form of metal fastener can be produced by a single cutting operation on each side and a product turned out requiring no further operations upon it t0 make it t for use, so far as the penetrating edge is concerned.

The means here shown for reciprocating the cutting tools and advancing the clamp in proper time comprise a plunger 33 cranked to the shaft l and carrying a holder 34 (Fig. 5) for a pair of adjustable bearing blocks 35, with inclined lower faces for contact with rollers 36 in the upper ends of the tool holders 30. The latter are normally elevated by spiral springs 37 (Fig. 3) occupying recesses in the heads 26 and bearing against lateral lugs or flanges 39 of said holders. The bearing blocks 35 are adjustable cross-wise the holder 34 and arranged with their inclined lower sides reversibly disposed for proper coperation with the rollers 36. It will be seen that the adjustment of these blocks may be availed of to compensate for any wear. The downward pressure of their inclined under faces against the rollers 36 of course operates to force the holders 30 and their cutting blades 3l downward through the guideways 39 and thus effect the beveling of the corrugated strip in the manner already described.

The plunger 33 carries a bracket 41 in which is pivoted the upper end of a bar 42 extending at its lower end between rollers 43 and 44, one in a projecting bracket of the block 2O and the other in the outer end of the clamp plate 25. The inner side of this depending bar 42 is formed with a cam-rise 45, so that when the bar moves downwardly with the plunger the clamp plate will be thrust inwardly by the action of the camrise against the roller 44. A spiral spring 46 occupying a recess in the block 20 and bearing against the depending portion of the clamp plate tends to thrust the latter outwardly, (Fig.

The block 20 and the clamp plate are formed with suitable openings 47, 48, (Fig. 3), for the escape of the slugs from the corrugated strips and the inner side of the opening in the clamp plate is preferably beveled as sho-wn in Fig. 3 to facilitate the escape of the slugs and prevent their lodging between the clamp and .the strip. The bevel on the underside of the shoulder of the plate 22, heretofore mentioned, prevents such slugs remaining so lodged upon this plate as to obstruct the clamp in its movement toward the corrugated strip. It

the ledge H3 does not extend the full thickness of the corrugated strip. Slugs which may lodge between the clamp and the uncut portion of the strip will pass under the latter and into the channel of the bar 2l, said channel being wide enough to provide considerable space between one side and the shouldered plate 22, as clearly shown in Fig. 3.

Passing now to the coiling mechanism the numeral 49 designates a column located at some distance from the above-described corrugating and beveling mechanism, said column having a guide-way 50 for the corrugated strip. The latter is allowed considerable slack between the column and beveling mechanism, one purpose of which is to permit of a continuous advance of the strip for coiling purposes notwithstanding the intermittent advance for corrugating and beveling purposes. The slack also provides for ready inspection of the corrugated and beveled strip without interrupting the operation of the machine. Furthermore, this slack permits of the strip being given a quarterturn so as to run through the column 49 lying horizontally whereas when being corrugated and beveled it stands upright. Beyond the column 49 a pair of toothed disks 5l and 52 receive the corrugated strip bewill be remembered in this connection that tween them and advance it continuously.r points of the saw-tooth edge.

The lower toothed disk 52 is an idler deriving motion from the upper disk 51 through the medium of the` corrugated strip itself when the latter is between the two disks. These disks are comparatively thin and designed to engage the corrugated strip along a median line thereof so as to feed it uniformly notwithstanding the divergence in the corrugations. The upper disk 51 is secured to a shaft 53 which carries a bevel gear 5-1 (F ig. in mesh with a similar gear 55 on a shaft 56 which extends behind the press-head and carries a sprocket-wheel 57 (Figs. l and t) operatively connected through a sprocket-chain 58 with a sprocketwheel 59 on the shaft l. The shaft 56 is journaled in suitable bearings on the presshead and the column 49 and it will be seen that through the described gearing continuous rotation will be imparted to the said disks 51 and 52. Journal bearings for said disks are provided by an upright 6() on an arm 61 of a standard 62 which also has a journal bearing for the ceiling shaft 63. The latter carries a pulley 64 operatively connected through a belt 65 with a pulley 66 secured to the shaft 53.

The coiling shaft 63 has secured to it a plain metal disk 67 of a diameter somewhat exceeding that which the coil is permitted to attain. The plain or unbeveled edge of the corrugated strip lies against the front face of the disk 67 during the coiling operation, said disk serving to aline the edges of the convolutions. The shaft 63 projects forwardly beyond the disk to receive a circular block or core 68 preferably of wood adapted to lie against the outer face of the disk and perforated eccentrically as shown at 69 (Fig. 12) to receive a stud 7 0 projecting from the face of the disk. Thus the disk and core are rotatively connected and both will be turned with the coiler shaft through the described connection with the continuously running shaft 53. The block or core 68 is formed with a radial slit in its periphery as shown at 71 in Fig. 12. lVhen the coiling operation is to commence the advance end of the corrugated strip is bent and engaged with said slit. rl`hen as the core rotates, properly timed with r-eference to the feed disks, the corrugated strip will be wound upon the core in spiral convolutions. Slippage of the belt 65 on the pulleys will compensate for increased surface speed of the coil as it cnlarges. The shaft 63 projects sufficiently beyond the core to receive a plain disk of wood 72 and a nut 73 to hold the latter in place. Said wood disk is of the same diameter as the metal disk 67 and performs a similar function alining the sawtoothed edges of the convolutions of corrugated strip. lVood is employed as a material in order to prevent dulling of the lVhen the strip has been coiled to the desired size the nut 73 is screwed off, the wood disk 72 removed and the coil and its core slipped olf of the shaft, the corrugated strip being of course severed at an appropriate point beyond the feed disks 5l and 52. The free end of the coil is generally tied down and the coil put in a suitable holder or hanger such for example as shown at 75 in Fig. 13, and in the patent to James E. MacMurray, No. 708,378, dated September 2, 1902.

It will be observed that in the product produced by the above-described apparatus the sets or series of parallel corrugations extending angularly across the strip alternating with sets or series of similar corrugations extending on an opposite angle and that tapering corrugations intervene alternating in the direction of taper. By severing such a strip along a median line of every other one of said tapering corrugations commencing with one whose narrow end is at the saw-toothed edge of the strip, (see dotted lines @-0, Fig. 9), the latter can be cut up into fasteners, each comprising angular corrugations which diverge as they extend from the back or impact edge of the fastener to the front or penetrating edge. Thus there is produced a fastener which when driven into abutted pieces of material will act to draw the same together, the sawtoothed edge effecting a clean cut even though the material may be of a corky character and hence preserving a continued close engagement between the material and the corrugations of the fastener such as to insure the above-described action of the divergent corrugations. It will be understood that the points of the saw-toothed edge are suliicicntly ne to readily penetrate and the V- formation between these points eifects a draw-cut, so that there is no danger of breaking down the fibers of the material operated upon and a consequent impairment of the close engagement between the corrugations and the material.

lVhile the above-described mechanism is well adapted to produce the described product it is to be understood as susceptible of modication wit-hin the scope of the invention.

That is claimed is:

1. In a machine of the character described, the combination of means for clamping a cross-corrugated metal strip in position to be operated upon, and a cutting tool movable crosswise of the strip diagonally with relation thereto for severing therefrom at a single operation the metal between a median longitudinal line of the corrugations and the ridges of the latter.

2. In a machine of the character described, the combination of means for clamping a cross-corrugated metal strip in position to be operated upon, and cutting tools mounted diagonally with relation to each other and movable diagonally of the strip to sever therefrom at a single operation on opposite sides the metal between a median longitudinal line of the corrugations and the ridges of the same.

3. In a machine of the character described, the combination of means for clamping a cross-corrugated metal strip in position to be operated upon, and cutting tools mounted diagonally with relation to each other and movable diagonally of the strip to sever therefrom at a single operation on opposite sides the metal between a median longitudinal line of the corrugations and the ridges of the same, said tools being off-set with relation to each other for simultaneous operation on the strip.

4. In a machine of the character described, the combination of means for clamping a cross-corrugated metal strip in position to be operated upon, a cutting tool movable cross-wise of the strip diagonally with relation thereto for severing therefrom at a single operation the metal between a median longitudinal line of the corrugations and the ridges of the same, and means for reciprocating said tool comprising a press head and an adjustable bearing block oarried thereby and having an inclined side to actuate the tool.

5. In a machine of the character described, the combination of means for clamping a cross-corrugated metal strip in position to be operated upon, cutting tools mounted diagonally with relation to each other and movable diagonally of the strip to sever therefrom at a single operation the metal between a median longitudinal line of the corrugations and the ridges of the same, and means for actuating said tools comprising a press head and a pair of adjustable bearing blocks with reversely inclined sides to actuate the tools.

6. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a clamp for holding a cross-corrugated metal strip in position to be operated upon, a cutting tool movable cross-wise of the strip diagonally with relation thereto for severing therefrom at a single operation the metal between a median longitudinal line of the corrugations and the ridges of the same, a press head for reciprocating said tool and a cam carried by said head for actuating the clamp, substantially as described.

7. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a horizontal guideway having a ledge for the strip standing on edge, means for clamping the strip in said guideway above said ledge, and a cutting tool movable cross-wise of the strip diagonally with relation thereto for severing therefrom at a single operation the metal between a median longitudinal line of the corrugations and the ridges of the same.

8. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a horizontal guide-way having a ledge for the strip standing on edge, means for clamping the strip in said guideway above said ledge, and cutting tools mounted diagonally with relation to each other and movable diagonally of the strip to sever therefrom at a single operation on opposite sides the metal between a median longitudinal line of the corrugations and the ridges of the same.

9. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a horizontal guideway having a ledge for the strip standing on edge, a clamp horizontally movable across said guideway opposite its ledge, and a cutting tool movable cross-wise of the strip diagonally with relation thereto for severing therefrom at a single operation the metal between a median longitudinal line of the corrugations and the ridges of the same.

10. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a horizontal guideway having a ledge for the strip and an inclined surface under the ledge with a space adjacent thereto, a clamp plate horizontally movable transverse said guideway opposite the ledge and a cutting tool movable cross-wise of the strip diagonally with relation thereto for severing therefrom at a single' operation the metal between a median longitudinal line of the corrugations and the ridges of the same.

ELLIOTT S. NORTON.

Witnesses:

F. P. DAVIS, Louis B. ERWIN.

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