US1425840A - Attachable plate and method of making the same - Google Patents

Description

F. a. nAvlsowi ATTACH'ABLE PLATE AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 29, 1920.

1 425 40 PatentedAugfi, 1922.

FRANK navrson, on nosrom iuassaoiausnrrs. 1.

ATTACHABQLE PLATE A vn warrior) or Maxine TIE-IE SAME. i

, T all whom it may concern:

Be it"known that I, FRANK G. DAvIsoN,

a citizen of the United States, and resident of Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of'lltlassachusetts, have invented certa'in new and useful Improvements in Attachable Plates and Methods of Making the Same, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to sheet metal plates employed for the purpose of exhiblting legible characterson one surface and which have pins or'so-called feet pro ecting from the other surface to enable the plate to be attached to another member. Such plates are employed for clock and watch dials, telephone number disks, and. elsewhere such as signs or name plates at the entrance of office buildings.

Plates of the type referred to and most commonly in use aremade of sheet metal such as copper, to the back of which the pins or feet are secured by soldering. This method of production is expensive and requires great care to ensure correct location of said feet.

The object of the present invention isto provide improved attachable plates which,

while having the same appearance as those now in'use, are comparatively lnexpensive and also stronger. With this object in view the invention consists in a platehaving pinshaped feet which are integral therewith Without causing any mutilation of the por tion of the plate which carries the usual enamel. i

In the accompanying drawings which illustrate one form of plate constructed according to my invention Figure 1 is a face view of the blank. as it is shaped when struck from sheet metal.

Figure 2 is a view of the plate fronrthe back thereof after the projecting portions shown in Figure 1' have been given their final shape.

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2 but as the plate appears after the usual enamel coating for hearing legible characters has been applied. I

Figure 4 represents a sectlon on line 4-4- of Figure 1 on a larger scale,

Figures 5, 6 and 7 are views similar to Figure 4 but illustrating successive steps in the operation of producing the article shown in Figure 3.

Figure 8 is an enlarged plan view looking Specification of Letters Patent. Pgfl gfitgd fyflg. Application filed May 29, 1920. Serial No. 3555,2428. I

in the direction of the arrow 8 in Figure 5. and I, i I

Figure 9 is a perspective: View still further enlarged. illustrating'one of the integral feet as it appears when the article is in thecondition readyto be enameled.

S m lar reference characters designate similar parts of the article in all of the Tne plate 12, which maybe of any size or configuratlon' according to the use toviews.

which it is to be put, is stamped or otherwise' cut from, suitable "material such as sheet copper, and whenso madefthe requisite number of marginal projections are 4. Each of the integral an intervening narrowed portion or neck 15, and said pro ect1ons are so spaced relaprojections com prises a web'13 terminatinginalip la with' formed, such as illustratedin igures 1 and tively to each other, and are ofsuch length I I (especially the webs 13) thatwhen they are altered in shape as presently described-the plate will have the required number of feet extending downwardly therefrom at the proper distance fromthe margin thereof.

After the plate, with its radial projections f as described, has been formed, the

next step is to roll up the lips 14; and bend them at a right angle to the. webs13 as shown in Figs. 5 and 8. l The necks 15 permit this to be donewithout causing any i distortion ,ofthe webs 13 out of their normal flat shape. That is, the rolling up of the portions 14- has no effect on the portions 13 which remain fiat, C

The next-step is to bend down the webs 13 cl ose. to'the line where'they meet the margin of the plate and continue saidbend ing until the webs'lie flat against the, back of the plate. This, as shown in Figs. '2,

6 and '9, causes the lips 1a which are now in the shape of substantially cylindrical pins, to project from the back of the plate to form feet by which the plate may be attached to another member. The final step is the usualone ofcoating the plate with enamel as indicated at 16 in Figs. 7 and 3. The enamel on the face ofthe plate, of course, will usually carry the requisite numerals or other designations not necessary to illustrate, but the enamel on the back of the plate serves to aid in holding the webs 13 in the flat positions'to which they have been bent. I may also, or alternatively,

employ other means for securing the webs i in their fiat positions, such as by soldering, but this is rarely advantageous.

It will now be understood that the plate is readily and cheaply made with its feet accurately located, and that the finished. article is strong since the feet are integral with the Dlate itself. And an important feature is that the face of the plate is unmutilated and is therefore capable of being smoothly coated with enamel without requiring any intermediate plate between the plate 12 and the enamel.

It is also to be understood that I do not limit myself to making the article either by hand or by machinery, nor to the particular order which I have described for the successive steps taken during the operation of producing the article.

Having now described my invention, I claim:

'1. A plate having marginal portions bent inwardly therefrom and rigidly secured flatwise against the rear surface of the plate, said. mar inal portions having their tips extending at a right angle to the plate to pr,ovide attaching feet.

2. A plate having a continuous unmutilated surface and having marginal portions bent inwardly and secured fiatwise against the plate, said marginal portions having them tips, extend ng at a. right angle to the plate to provlde attaching feet.

5. The method of making a sheet metal article having attaching feet, consisting in forming a blank comprising a plate having marginal extensions, then converting the outer portions of the extensions tosubstan tially cylindricala form and bending said outer portions upwardly relatively to the face of the plate, and then bending the en tire extension in thereverse direction to position to locate the cylindrical portions. at the back of theplate.

6. The method of. making a sheet metal article having attaching feet, consisting in forming a blank comprising. a. plate having marginal extensions, and then bending said extensions to convert, their: extremities into attaching feet with intermediate portions in contact with the body of the plate.

in testimony whereof I have aflixedymy signature.

FRANK. e. Dawson

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