US3191840A - Apparatus for applying nail heads to fabrics and the like - Google Patents

Description

June 29, 1965 L. lTALlANO 3,191,340

APPARATUS FOR APPLYING NAIL HEADS TO FABRICS AND THE LIKE I Filed Oct. 24, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 43 42 INVENTOR, [Aw/W716i [mum/ SA'E'TO FENEY- June 29, 1965 1 ITALIANO 3,191,840

APPARATUS FOR APPLYING NAIL HEADS TO FABRICS AND THE LIKE Filed Oct. 24, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG.H

F|GJ|3 s8 FIG.I5

INVENTOR, [AW/P6066 [mm/0,

ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,191,349 APPARATUS FGR AFPLYENG NALL HEADS Ti) FABRICS AND TI-E LIKE Lawrence Italiano, New Hyde Park, N31, assignor to National Die and Button Mold (30., inc, New York,

N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Get. 24, 1963, Ser. No. 318,663 4 Claims. (Cl. 227114) The present invention relates to apparatus for applying nail heads onto fabrics and the like. A nail head in this instance is a metal element having a plurality of unidirectional bendable prongs which are passed through a fabric and then bent over against the fabrics back surface. A group of such nail heads are so mounted, to make a decorative arrangement on the fabrics outer surface.

This invention contemplates that a supply of nail heads dumped into a hopper will be delivered from a chute one at a time in uniform position over an anvil supporting the fabric. Then the operator actuates a plunger to drive the delivered nail head through the fabric and finally, in cooperation with the anvil, plunger movement will cause the nail heads prongs to be bent over as required.

An object of this invention is to provide novel nail head mounting apparatus having means to control the delivered nail head so that it is automatically properly held and conveyed from the time it leaves the delivery chute to the completion of the bending of its prongs, without manually touching the nail head from the time it is put into the hopper. Heretofore, some manual manipulation of the nail head was unavoidable.

Another object thereof is to provide novel apparatus of the character described, which uses elongated nail heads, and as an important example of such, I have shown nail heads which have the appearance of bugle heads when mounted onto a fabric. (A bugle bead is a tubular glass piece about of an inch in diameter and about of an inch long and is sewn onto the fabric by a thread through the bead, stitched to the fabric.)

A further object thereof is to provide a means in such apparatus which will avoid damage to the mechanism and the work, if the plunger is actuated while a nail head is only partially extending from the delivery chute. Full delivery of the nail head out of the chute may have been prevented because it is stuck in the chute, or in the event plunger actuation was prematurely eifected. In such instances, provision is made herein that nail head shall be ejected from the apparatus by plunger movement.

Still a further object of this invention is to provide nail head mounting apparatus of the character mentioned and of novel construction, having a new mode of operation, and which is simple in structure, reasonable in cost, easy to operate and efficient in carrying out the purposes for which it is designed.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent as this disclosure proceeds.

For the practice of this invention, one form it may assume, is to have an upright-normally raised driver or plunger to cooperate with a fixed a-nvil below as in a press, to push a nail head through a fabric resting on the anvil and then bend in the prongs of such nail head. Also, there is a chute or feed track delivering upright nail heads horizontally from a hopper-fed orienting device; the nail head which leaves said chute, being received in a normally horizontal niche in the upper surface of a finger which is part of a spring-biased swingably mounted member. The plunger in its downward movement, causes a sleeve it is in, to frictionally receive the nail head deposited on said finger, then as a cam, said sleeve will swing the temporary holding member so its finger is out of the way. The plunger continues downward until the nail head carried by its associated sleeve, is mounted on the work piece on the anvil; the exit end of the chute being closed by said sleeve as the plunger proceeds downwardly and of course, such exit is opened upon return of the plunger to its normal raised position and the finger returns to normal raised position and receives the next nail head out of the chute. The press may be foot-operated as herein illustrated or may be one which is power driven with known provision that upon each triggering by the operator, the ram will make one complete reciprocation.

The nail head support at the very end of the exit opening of said chute, is a spring-biased trap door. This safety means may be included to allow ejection of a nail head which is not fully out of the chute upon the downward movement of the plunger. Ejection of the incorrectly placed nail head in such instance is automatically accomplished.

A more detailed description will now be given of a preferred embodiment of this invention, for which reference will be had to the accompanying drawings in which similar characters of notation indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

FIG. 1 is an enlarged perspective view showing a nail head of elongated form, which when applied to a fabric or other sheeting, simulates a bugle bead.

FIG. 2 shows the face of a fabric piece on which a number of such nail heads have been attached in a decorative formation.

FIG. 3 is a front view of a preferred form of an apparatus embodying the teachings of thisinvention, for applying nail heads onto a fabric or the like. Here, the apparatus is shown in normal rest condition.

FIG. 4 is a side View of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the discharge end portion of the feed track or chute from which the nail heads leave.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the member which initially receives the nail head from the chute and holds it until the sleeve on the plunger gets hold of it upon downward movement of the plunger.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the plunger and its associated spring-biased sleeve.

FIG. 8 is a side view of FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a section taken at line 99 in FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 is a bottom view of FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 is a fragmentary diagrammatic front view of the apparatus of FIG. 2 at normal rest position, showing a nail head discharged from the chute in proper position onto the finger of the temporary holding member.

' FIG. 12 is a view similar to FIG. 11, showing that the sleeve in the downward movement of the plunger, has taken the nail head from the temporary holder and has shifted said holder out of the way, so that upon further downward movement, said plunger will bring the nail head to the work on the anvil.

FIG. 13 is a view like FIG. 11, but here the nail head instead of being fully discharged onto the temporary holding member, remains partly within the chute.

FIG. 14 is a view like'FIG. 13, but here the plunger has moved down some and the improperly-placed nail head has become dislodged from both the sleeve and the chute.

FIG. 15 is a similar view, but here the plunger has moved further downwardly and the nail head has been further shifted so that upon the return stroke of the plunger, such nail head will be automatically discarded from the apparatus.

In the drawing, the numeral 15 indicates generally a press which may be a foot press operated by the foot pedal lever 16. The ram 17 carries a plunger 18 which is a shank adapted to cooperate with an 'anvil 19 fixed below it on the press bed 20. In normal rest position, the ram is raised as shown in FIG. 3. There is a chute or feed track 21 which is fixed to the press frame, adapted to discharge nail heads 22 horizontally from a powerdriven, hopper-fed orienting device designated generally by the numeral 23; the nail head leaving such chute, being received in a horizontal niche 24 in the top face of a normally horizontally positioned finger 25 of a number 26 which is swingably mounted to frame on the fixed axis 27; said member 26 being biased by the blade spring 28. The finger 25 is between the plunger 18 and the anvil 19, so that upon downward movement of the ram 17, the lower end of a sleeve on the plunger will frictionally receive therein the nail head 22 resting on the finger 25, move the temporary carrying member 26 out 7 of the way and finally the plunger will force the prongs 29 of the nail head through the work 30 on the anvil i9 and then cooperate with a die cavity 31 in said anvil, to bend the prongs 29 against the back surface of the work 30 which is a fabric piece or other pierceable sheeting. Said sleve which is generally indicated by the numeral 32 is the means to transport a nail head to the anvil 19, and in the embodiment illustrated, it also serves as the means to shift the temporary holder 25 out of the way of the plunger 18 when the latter is to get to the anvil. device 23, into whose hopper 33, nail heads like 22 are dumped,'includes an electrically-operated, load-agitating means 34, regulated by turning the control knob 35 of a rheostat. This device orients the nail heads and delivers them in succession down the feed track or chute 21 so that in the horizontal end portion 21 of said chute, the prongs 29 of the nail heads therein, are downward, that is, the nail heads are there, upright. Such parts feeders are well known and are commercial products of such firms as Vibratory Feeder Co., of Erie, Pa., and Syntron Company, of Homer City, Pa.

The chute 21 is a tubular structure having inside dimensions suitable to guide the oriented nail heads properly positioned, one after the other. The chutes end por- The tion 21' is horizontal and its discharge end is against the tip end of the finger 25, so that a nail head discharged therefrom, shall enter the niche 24 in the top surface of said finger. The member 26 at its finger tip end, has a tooth or lug 36 which acts as a stop against the underside of the chute body at 37. The numeral 38 denotes a trap door in the floor wall of the horizontal chute portion 21", which extends to the very mouth of the chute wherefrom discharge of the nail head occurs. This trap door is biased by the blade spring 39 and its axis of swing is the pin 38'; the free end of said trap door being at the mouth of the chute. In normal position, said trap door element 38, supports the nail head which is leaving the chute, to enter the niche in the finger 25.

The plunger and sleeve assembly designated generally by the numeral 40, comprises the plunger 18 which is a shank slidably fitted in the sleeve made up of the channel 41 which is closed by a lengthwise, rather thin blade spring 42 secured at its upper end to said channel body by the screws 43. A pin 44 extends laterally from the plunger and fits slidably in a lengthwise slot 45 in a channel wall. A compression coil spring 46 about said plunger, acts against a collar 47 fixed on said plunger and against the upper end of said channel 41, so that normally, the plunger 18 is withdrawn a bit upwardly into said sleeve structure, sufiicient to allow the nail head resting in the niche 24 of the temporary carrying member 26 to enter into said sleeve upon downward movement of the plunger. The inner dimensions of said sleeve are such that the nail head when entered therein, fits therein and is frictionally held thereby.. The plunger extends upwardly out of the sleeve structure, where it terminates in a suitable shank part 48 to be securely mounted on the ram 17. The blade spring 42 has a bit of clearance towards the mouth end of the chute 21 towards which it can swing and its lower end is thinned but not sharpened.

With the parts feeder device 23 loaded and working, the chute 21 is supplied thereby with a succession of nail heads 22 which are visible through the slot and the niche 24 has received a nail head as shown in FIG. 11. Now the operator sets the work-piece 3% in proper position atop the anvil 19 and actuates the press to bring its ram 17 downward. The plunger assembly 40, in its downward movement with the ram, soon has its blade spring 42 in sliding contact with the end face of the chute 21 and the bottom edge of such blade spring coming in contact with left side end of the nail head, acts cam-wise and shifts said nail head to the right in FIG. 11 a distance equal to the thickness of said blade and as the plunger it; continues downward, said nail head which is in the niche will be forced into the channel 41; the spring 28 being strong enough to allow such entry. Now, upon further downward movement of the plunger 18, the blade 42 will close the mouth of the chute 21 and the bottom end of the channel 41 will swing the member 26 out of the way as shown in FIG. 12, so that now the nail head 22 being transported by the plunger assembly 40 will reach the work Til the prongs of such nail head will pierce the work and finally enter the die cavity 31 in the anvil, where such prongs 29 will be bent against the back surface of the work-piece. It is to be noted that the bottom end of the channel 41 and the bottom end of the blade 42 clamp the work to the anvil 19, and it is the plunger 13, in its continued downward movement after the sleeve has stopped, that actually pushes the nail head 22 to accomplish mounting the said nail head. It is during such interval that the spring 46 is stressed.

Now the ram 17 is raised. The Work is released and the operator can set it on-the anvil to the next place where a. nail head is to be applied. The stressed coil spring 46 will cause the sleeve to return to its normal rest position on the plunger 18 as shown in FIG. 8. The mouth of the chute 21 has been opened and the temporary carrying member 26 has been returned to its normal rest position by action of the stressed spring 28. As soon as the chute end has been cleared, a nail head passes therefrom into the niche 24 and the machine is ready for its next cycle of operation.

It is to be noted that the end edges of the nail heads are curved to facilitate the camming action by the blade spring 42 to shift them for entry into the sleeve on the plunger 18, and that the length of the niche 24 is suflicient to allow such shift.

It is preferred to include the trap door 38 so that any nail head which remains part way into the chute, shall be automatically ejected from the machine upon downward movement of the ram 17. Such improper placement of the nail head is shown at 22 in FIG. 13. Whenever this occurs, then upon downward movement of the ram, said nail head 22 will be tilted by the sleeve structure on the plunger 18, in the manner shown in FIG. 14, and upon further downward movement of the ram, said nail head will be forced to turn the trap door 38 against action of the blade spring 39, and assume the position as shown in FIG. 15 Upon upward movement of the ram to normal rest position, said nail head 22 will be ejected when it becomes freed from contact with the sleeve structure on the plunger and subsequent return of the trap door 38 to its normal rest position by action of the blade spring 39.

The length of the trap door element 38 does not exceed the length of a nail head measured along the chute 21. if. the axis pin 58 is sutficiently inward along the length of the trap door, then when such door is open, its rearward portion 38 will enter the chute and halt the nail heads therein which are behind the one at chutes mouth.

This invention is capable of numerous forms and various applications without departing from the essential features herein disclosed. It is therefore intended and desired that the embodiment shown herein shall be deemed merely illustrative and not restrictive and that the patent shall cover all patentable novelty herein set forth; reference being had to the following claims rather than to the specific description herein to indicate the scope of this invention.

I claim:

1. The combination with a press apparatus including a frame and an upright ram mounted on the frame for movement towards and away from a bed fixed on said frame below said ram, of an upright plunger and sleeve assembly extending downwardly from said ram, a horironically-discharging chute adapted to discharge upright nail heads in succession; said chute being fixed on said frame and having its discharge mouth in an uprig t plane to one side of said plunger and sleeve assembly so that on downward movement of the ram, a portion of said plunger and sleeve assembly will cover said mouth, a member movably mounted on the frame and biased to a normal rest position where it extends in the path of said plunger and sleeve assembly and is substantially in abutment with the discharge mouth of said chute; said member having a niche in its upper surface into which a nail head discharged from the chute will enter and be in position to be met by said plunger and sleeve assembly; and plunger and sleeve assembly comprising a sleeve slidably mounted on a plunger therein; said sleeve comprising a channel closed by a lengthwise :blade spring fixed at its upper end to said channel and bendable away from said channel; said blade spring being the portion of the sleeve which covers the mouth of the chute when the ram is moved downward; said plunger being an upright shank fmed to said ram; in normal rest position, the lower end of said plunger being upward in said sleeve whereby the lower end of said sleeve is vacant and adapted to receive a nail head from said niche for frictional fit therein upon downward movement of said ram; said sleeve being springbiased to its normal rest position on said plunger; means on said plunger and sleeve assembly to cause said moveable member to be shifted out of the way of said assembly when the ram moves downwardly after said sleeve has received a nail head from out of said niche, an anvil fixed on said bed to cooperate with said plunger when the ram is lowered suficiently, so that the prongs of a nail head carried by the sleeve will pierce a fabric resting on said anvil and be bent over against the underside of fabric and means to move the nail heads in said chute towards the mouth of said chute.

2. The combination with a press apparatus including a frame and an upright ram mounted on the frame for movement towards and away from a bed fixed on said frame below said ram, of an upright plunger and sleeve assembly extending downwardly from said ram, a horizontally-discharging chute adapted to discharge upright nail heads in succession; said chute being fixed on said frame and having its discharge mouth in an upright plane to one side of said plunger and sleeve assembly so that on downward movement of the ram, a portion of said 6 plunger and sleeve assembly will cover said mouth, a member movably mounted on the frame and biased to a normal rest position where it extends in the path of said plunger and sleeve assembly and is substantially in abut ment with the discharge mouth of said chute; said member having a niche in its upper surface into which a nail head discharged from the chute will enter and be in position to be met by said plunger and sleeve assembly; the wall ofthe chute for supporting the nail head at the mouth of said chute, being a spring-biased trap door which is swingably mounted on a horizontal axis away from the plane of the chutes mouth for a downward movement in the direction away from said movable member having the niche; said plunger and sleeve assembly comprising a sleeve slidably mounted on a plunger therein; said plunger being an upright shank fixed on said ram; in normal rest position, the lower end of said plunger being upward in said sleeve whereby the lower end of said sleeve is vacant and adapted to receive a nail head from said niche for frictional fit therein upon downward movement of said ram; said sleeve being spring biased to its normal rest position on said plunger; means on said plunger and sleeve assembly to cause said movable member to be shifted out of the way of said assembly when the ram moves downwardly after said sleeve has received a nail head from out of said niche, an anvil fixed on said bed to cooperate with said plunger when the ram is lowered sufliciently, so that the prongs of the nail head carried by the sleeve will pierce a fabric resting on said anvil and be bent over against the underside of the fabric and means to move the nail heads in said chute towards the mouth of said chute.

3. The combination as defined in claim 2, wherein the mentioned niche is adapted to receive an elongated nail head and the length of the trap door along the chute is substantially equal to the length of a nail head.

4. The combination as defined in claim 2, wherein the axis of swing of said trap door is inward of the length of said door along the chute whereby on downward swing of the doors portion which extends from said axis to the mouth of the chute, the remaining portion of said door will come into the chute.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 371,659 10/87 Arnold 13 709,002 9/02 Draper 1-3 1,632,374 6/27 Havener 13 FOREIGN PATENTS 519,494 2/ 31 Germany. 531,568 8/31 Germany.

GRANVILLE Y. CUSTER, 1a., Primary Examiner.

Claims (1)

1. THE COMBINATION WITH A PRESS APPARATUS INCLUDING A FRAME AND AN UPRIGHT RAM MOUNTED ON THE FRAME FOR MOVEMENT TOWARDS AND AWAY FROM A BEAD FIXED ON SAID FRAME BELOW SAID RAM, OF AN UPRIGHT PLUNGER AND SLEEVE ASSEMBLY EXTENDING DOWNWARDLY FROM SAID RAM, A HORIZONTALLY-DISCHARGING CHUTE ADAPTED TO DISCHARGE UPRIGHT NAIL HEADS IN SUCCESSION; SAID CHUTE BEING FIXED ON SAID FRAME AND HAVING ITS DISCHARGE MOUTH IN AN UPRIGHT PLANE TO ONE SIDE OF SAID PLUNGER AND SLEEVE ASSEMBLY SO THAT ON DOWNWARD MOVEMENT OF THE RAM, A PORTION OF SAID PLUNGER AND SLEEVE ASSEMBLY WILL COVER SAID MOUTH, A MEMBER MOVABLY MOUNTED ON THE FRAME AND BIASED TO A NORMAL REST POSITION WHERE IT EXTENDS IN THE PATH OF SAID PLUNGER AND SLEEVE ASSEMBLY AND IS SUBSTANTIALLY IN ABUTMENT WITH THE DISCHARGE MOUTH OF SAID CHUTE; SAID MEMBER HAVING A NICHE IN ITS UPPER SURFACE INTO WHICH A NAIL HEAD DISCHARGED FROM THE CHUTE WILL ENTER AND BE IN POSITION TO BE MET BY SAID PLUNGER AND SLEEVE ASSEMBLY; AND PLUNGER AND SLEEVE ASSEMBLY COMPRISING A SLEEVE SLIDABLY MOUNTED ON A PLUNGER THEREIN; SAID SLEEVE COMPRISING A CHANNEL CLOSED BY A LENGTHWISE BLADE SPRING FIXED AT ITS UPPER END TO SAID CHANNEL AND BENDABLE AWAY FROM SAID CHANNEL; SAID BLADE BEING UPWARD IN SAID SLEEVE WHEREBY THE WHICH COVERS THE MOUTH OF THE CHUTE WHEN THE RAM IS MOVED DOWNWARD; SAID PLUNGER BEING AN UPRIGHT SHANK FIXED TO SAID RAM; IN NORMAL REST POSITION, THE LOWER END OF SAID PLUNGER BEING UPWARD IN SAID SLEEVE WHEREBY THE LOWER END OF SAID SLEEVE IS VACANT AND ADAPTED TO RECEIVE A NAIL HEAD FROM SAID NICHE FOR FRITIONAL FIT THEREIN UPON DOWNWARD MOVEMENT OF SAID RAM; SAID SLEEVE BEING SPRINGBIASED TO ITS NORMAL REST POSITION ON SAID PLUNGER; MEANS ON SAID PLUNGER AND SLEEVE ASSEMBLY TO CAUSE SAID MOVEABLE MEMBER TO BE SHIFTED OUT OF THE WAY OF SAID ASSEMBLY WHEN THE RAM MOVES DOWNWARDLY AFTER SAID SLEEVE HAS RECEIVED A NAIL HEAD FROM OUT OF SAID NICHE, AN ANVIL FIXED ON SAID BED TO COOPERATE WITH SAID PLUNGER WHEN THE RAM IS LOWERED SUFFICIENTLY, SO THAT THE PRONGS OF A NAIL HEAD CARRIED BY THE SLEEVE WILL PIERCE A FABRIC RESTING ON SAID ANVIL AND BE BENT OVER AGAINST THE UNDERSIDE OF FABRIC AND MEANS TO MOVE THE NAIL HEADS IN SAID CHUTE TOWARDS THE MOUTH OF SAID CHUTE.

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