US1565278A - Fastener-feeding device - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 15, 1925 1.565.278

J. c. JORGENSEN FASTENER FEEDING DEVICE Filed March 19, 1923 Patented l5, i925,

MACHINERY COBPORATIDH, OF NEW JERSEY.

a an i l t. i

nests-non r Unrrnn snon annsnv, a CORPORATION or FASTENER-FEEDING DEVZCE.

Application filed March 19, 1923.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Join: C. a citizen of the United States, residing at Beverly, in the county of itssex and titate of Massachusetts, have invented certain lmprox ements in l astener-Feeding Devices, of which the following description, in connec tion with the accon'ipanying drawings, is a specification, like reference characters on the drawings indicating like parts in the several figures. This invention relates to fastener feeding devices such as are utilized in, or in connection with, machines for driving nails, tacks or other fasteners, and more particularly to those conductors or tubes which are of such small diameter that the fasteners cannot turn over in them and which are used for directing the fasteners from one location to another, for example from a source of sup ply to the driving means or to mechanism for transferring the fasteners to the driving means. l'Vhere the source of supply and the points of delivery of the fasteners are always in fixed relation to each other, in'iiex ble metal tubes may be used for the feeding of the fasteners. In many kinds of ma chines, however, the fastener conductors are connected at their delivery ends to a movable member or members, for example to fastener holders that move toward and from the work with the driving means or to a member that is adjustable to vary the location of the fasteners in the work. In inachines of this character it is often inconvenient or impractical to use inflexible conductor tubes, and it has been the usual practice, therefore, to use conductors that are "formed of spirally wound wire, in the nature of coil springs.

lVhile conductors of this character satisfy the requirement of flexibility and are also inexpensive to make, they are not entirely satisfactory in other respects, due principally to the fact that between adjacent convolutions of the wire there are slight depressions in which the point of a nail or tack may catch, particularly if the point is sharp and if there is a considerable bend in the conductor. The coiled wire conductors, moreover, sometimes become distorted, for example by being elongated too far or otherwise roughly handled in the attempt to find and dislodge a fastener that has been Joncsnsnn,

caught, and any such distortion greatly in Serial No. 628,11.

creases the liability of an interruption in the regular delivery of the fasteners.

is an object of this invention to provide a conductor for fasteners that will meet all requirements in respect to flexity and inexpensiveness, without the disadvantages that have attended the use of the coiled wire conductors. To avoid any danger that fasteners may catch on the wall of the conductor, the invention provides a construction in which portions of the material of the conductor overlap other portions interioriy in the direction of the feed of the fasteners, the *dge of the material Within the conductor thus being directed toward its delivery end without any tendency to obstruct or interrupt the feed. A conductor having the desired characteristics in respect to flexibility and resiliency may be conveniently and economically manufactured in the form of a coil, and for the purposes of this invention the construction here in shown comprises a coil which is formed of a continuous strip or ribbon of resilient material, for example spring steel, the coil being wound in such manner that each of its turns or convolutions projects within the convolution which is next adjacent to it in the direction of the delivery end of the conductor. To avoid undesirable enlargement of the diameter of the conductor by reason of the overlapping relation of the different turns of the coil, and to assist in forming a conductor having a smooth and regular interior surface, the strip of material will preferably be so shaped that the upper edge portion of each turn or convolution will he slightly oifset outwardly or flared so that it will be diametrically enlarged to receive the lower edge portion of the adjacent convolution which may be slightly offset inwardly or contracted to assist in the overlapping of the adjacent portions, as herein illustrated. This brings the overlapping edge portions of the strip, of which the conductor is formed, substantially parallel to each other on any central longitudinal section of the completed conductor and, to maintain as small a diameter as possible in the completed conductor, these overlapping portions are in contact with each other substantially throughout the width of the overlap.

The invention will now be described more in detail by reference to the accompanying drawings, after which the novel features will be set forth in the claims.

In the drawings.

Fig. 1 shows in elevation a conductor which embodies the present invention, and illustrates by broken lines how the conductor may be bent and elongated in use;

Fig. 2 is a view of a portion of the conductor on an enlarged scale, with a portion of the material broken away to show the construction more clearly, and

Fig. 3 shows, for the purpose of illustrating one of the various uses of conductors made in accordance with the invention, a portion of the nail feeding means of a machine for attaching molded counters to turn shoes.

lVit-h reference, first. to the construction shown in Fig. 3, it will be observed that a plurality of nail feeding tubes or conductors 2 are provided, the upper or nail receiving ends of these tubes being fastin a plate 4. and the lower ends of the tubes connected to a plate (3 through which the nails are delivered to the usual nail transferring or loading device. For more detailed information with respect to the construction of machines of which the mechanism shown in Fig. 3 is adapted to form a part, reference may be made to Jnited States Letters Patent No. 1,474,378 granted on Nov. 20, 1923, upon an application of Joseph H. Pope. For an understanding of the uses of the present invention it is suflicient to state that the plate 6 is movably mounted and is adjustable by means of a lever 8 for the purpose of changing the delivery points of the plate with reference to nail receiving openings in the transferring mechanism and of thereby varying the ultimate location of the nails in the work. By reason of sum adjustability of the plate 6 it is desirable that the nail tubes 2 be flexible in order to accommodate themselves to the different positions of the plate, and it has accordingly been the practice heretofore in machines of this character to use nail tubes each formed of a coil of wire.

With reference now more particularly to Figs. 1 and 2, it will be seen that the nail tube or conductor illustrated as embodying the present invention comprises a con tinuous strip or r'bbon of resilient steel wound helically to form a coil in such manner that the edge portion of the strip which is directed toward the delivery end of the conductor is inclosed by the opposite edge portion of the strip, so that each convolution of the coil projects within the next adjacent convolution in the direction of the lower or delivery end of the conductor. The interior surface of the conductor is thus formed by portions of the strip that overlap other portions interiorly in the direction of the feed of the fasteners. There is accordmgly no danger that a fastener will catch on the wall of the conductor, since the edge of the material that is exposed within the conductor is directed toward the delivery end and not the receiving end. By reference more particularly to Fig. 2 it will be seen that the strip of material is so shaped that each convolution of the coil is of slightly g'eater diameter at its upper end than at its lower end. the upper edge the strip may be offset outwardly or flared slightly, and the loweredge may also posite direction, one of the objects in view being to avoid progressive enlargement of the conductor as the strip is wound. It

may be preferable, for convenience in attaching the conductor at its delivery end, or for other reasons, to wind the material in such manner that the conductor will be somewhat contracted in diameter toward its delivery end, as illustrated in Fig. 1.

Advantage. in the use of a conductor constructed as above described are illustrated in 2 where a nail a is shown at a point where there is rather an abrupt bend in the conductor. It will be observed that there are within the conductor no edges opposed to the direction of the feed of the nail upon which the nail might catch, and it will also be evident that by reason of the overlapping relation of the adjacent convolutions of the conductor material the continuity of the in terior wall is maintained even if the conductor is considerably bent or elongated. This is an advantage in marked distinction from conductors of the coiled spring type where bending or stretching results in separating more or less the adjacent convolutions of the wire and thus increases the danger that a nail may catch on the wire. It will also be observed that with a conductor constructed as herein shown there is no danger of distortion through relative lateral displacement of adjacent turns of the coil. because of the overlapping relation of the adjacent portions of material.

It will be understood that conductors embodying the present invention may be made of different kinds of material, as may be most suitable for various uses, and it is also contemplated that, consistently with the objects and advantages hereinbefore set forth, the invention may be embodied in constructions differing more or less in detail from the particular construction shown in the drawings.

Having described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In fastener feeding mechanism, a flexible conductor for fasteners having a diameter that will prevent fasteners from turning over therein, said conductor comprising a ribbon or strip of resilient material wound be offset slightly in the op' To accomplish this in a helical coil, each convolution of which includes a portion which is offset toward the center of the conductor and projects within the convolution next adjacent to it in the direction of the delivery end of the conductor in substantially parallel relation, longitudinally of the conductor, to that portion within which it projects.

2. In fastener feeding mechanism, a flexible conductor for fasteners having a maximum diameter small enough to prevent fasteners from turning over therein, said conductor comprising a strip of sheet material wound in a helical coil, each convolution of which is offset toward its center for a portion of its width so that it will project within the convolution next adjacent to it in the direction of the delivery end of the conductor, thereby forming an interior wall the different parts of which are substantially in alinement with one another, the strip being wound in such a manner that the conductor decreases in diameter toward its delivery end.

In fastener feeding mechanism, a flexible conductor for fasteners comprising a ribbon of spring steel wound in a helical coil,

each convolution of which has inwardly and outwardly offset portions across its width and aranged so that the inwardly offset portion of each convolution is enclosed b and is substantially parallel, longitudinally of the conductor, to the outwardly offset portion of the convolution next adjacent to it in the direction of the delivery end of the conductor.

-12. In fastener feeding mechanism, a flexible conductor for fasteners comprising a continuous strip of resilient sheet material wound helically with oppositely offset por tions across its width in such manner that the edge portion of the strip that is directed toward the delivery end of the conductor is enclosed by the opposite edge portion of the strip in overlapping relation, each convolution of the strip of material having a smaller diameter at its enclosed end than at its opposite end and with the overlapping edge portions in contact substantially throughout their width.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

JOHN C. JORGENSEN.

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