US1532490A - Rod-grinding machine - Google Patents

Description

April 7, 1925. 1,532,490

J. A. HUNT ROD GRINDI NF: MACHINE Original Filed Aug. 1'7, 1920 2 Sheets-Sheet l Inventor Jonaihanfl. Hunt,

- v mzzz- April 7, 1925.

J. A. HUNT ROD GRINDING MACHINE www m ma

m e n .m mmmm Ori Patentedrhpr. 7, 1925.

nnrreo srArs,

JONfiTI-IAN A. HUNT, 0E" SALEM, lviASSA'CEIUfiIETTS, ASSFIGNGR TO FREDERICK L.

EM'EBY', 01 LELINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS- BOD-GRINDING MACHINE.

Application filed August 17, 192.0, Serial No. 404,112. Renewed February 9, 1 92-3 Torr whom it may concern Be it known that I, JONATHAN A. HUNT, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Salem, in the county of Essex and State or". viassac'huse-tts, ha e invented in; Improvement in Rod-Grinding Machines, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like characters on the drawings representing like parts.

lhis invention relates to machines for pointing wires or rods and an object is to provide means, for feeding said wires or rods from a mass to-the forming member in a singlelayer and inclose formation with outtwisting or tangling. A further object, of the invention is to provide means for removing the rods that have been ground or sharpened and for conveyingitjhe same to predetermined points such, for example, as to other machines such as finishing ma chines. r

The invention consists in the combination and arrangement of parts set forth in the following specification and particularly pointed, out in the claims. p

In the accompanying drawings wherein is shown merely for purposes of il-ln t-rati-on one embodiment or" the. invention;-

Fig. 1 is a front eleuationof the machine; Fig. 2 is a plan View of the work-separating and feeding means, portions of the forming member herein .a grinding wheel being shown in dotted lines while otl-ier parts such as the mechanism for snppo-nung and driving the feed rolls are removed to nore clearly illustrate the rod; separating; and feeding instruments; Fig. 3 is a vertical section ta z'ennon the line 3-3 of Fig. 2; i

Fig. 4 is a vertical section tl'rr-ough one end of the finger supporting and raising.

means, this section being taken on the line il- 1 of Fig. 3';

Fig. 5 is a transverse section of the feed wheel di'ving clutch taken on the line 5-5 of Fig; 2; and

Fig. 6 is a Vertical detail section of the "iner end of one of the guide fingers showthe detents or rod retardingrneans carried taercby.

In the drawings a frame is shown for supporting the various mechanisms ofthe machine. This frame preferably includes i'rzmt and back members 1 and 2 and side members 3 suitably secured together. Mounted with n said frame is a casing or housing 4 adapted to. contain. the workforming member heroin an abrasive grind-- ing wheel 5, the latter being secured toan arbor 6 jonrnalled in bearing blocks 7, T at opposite sides of the grinder housing 4-. The grinding wheel 5 is. provided with a concave grinding face 8 of well known form.

It: is desirable that the-grindingwheel be adjustable in; order to compensate for the wearing; down thereof and this adjustment is preferably such as to, efiect the movement of the axis of the wheel laterally or in a direction substantially at right angles to said axis. Any appropriate means may be employed for producing this result such, for example, as screws .9, herein two, pivot-ally connected at their upper ends as at 10 be tween the lugs 11 formed upon said housing.

The screws 9- are guided-in lugs 12 formed upon the side members of the frame and vertical movement is imparted. to each of said screws hereby by nuts 18 constituting bevelled pinions andadapted to rotate upon the lugs Each of the nuts-or pinions 13 is arranged to. mesh with a benelled gear 14: attached to a coimter-shaft 1'5 and journalled to rotate in suitable bearings or lugsv 16 projecting from the side frames Secured to the opposite ends of the counter- 1 shaft is a second bevel-led gear 17 in turn meshing'with the driving gear 18 attached to a common operating shaft 19., the latter ar'anged in bearings 20 in the side frames 8. An operating wheel 21 is attached to.

said shaft- 19 whereby a rotary motion may beimparted thereto by the operator.

Means such as set screws 22 are provided for, securely holding the housing or casing in its adjusted position.

Lateral movement of the housing 4 in the direction of the axis of the grinder during the raising and lowering thereof may be, and herein is regulated by suitable guide screws 25 -mounted in; the frames 1v and 2 and arranged to engage the ,faces'of ribs 26 formed upon said housing.

Any suitable driving means may be provided for the grinder 4 and herein for this purpose I-have shown in dot-ted lines a pal ley 27 attached to the, arbor 6 which pulley receives, its power from any appropriate source not shown.

Cir

The housing 4 for the grinder surrounds the greater portion of the periphery thereof so as to catch the grinding dust discharged from said grinder and in the present example a pipe is shown having telescopic connection as at 31 with the bottom or lower portion of the housing so as to allow for raising and lowering thereof and this pipe is adapted to remove from the housing or casing all dust accumulated therein.

In machines of the? character described, the work'is fedtransversely of the face of the grinding wheel or work-forming member and preferably in substantially tangential relation thereto but at an angle to the axis of the grinder, the grinding operation being initiated at the end of the work at a point in the circumference in advance of the point of contact of the tangent with its circle, the end of the work being moved, during the feeding operation, at an angle to but toward a radial plane passing through said point of contact. As the work, herein rods or wires, is advanced transversely of the grinding face of the wheel, its ends will gradually assume the form of a point by reason of its gradual approach to said plane.

It is obviously within the scope and pur pose of the invention to form either a chisel or a round point upon the ends of the rods but in the present example means for effecting the rounding of the points are shown, said means preferably including a plurality of saddles 32 and cooperating feed wheels 33. The saddles 32 have concave and herein resilient guiding surfaces 34 which coincide with the concave face of the grinding wheel. The cooperating faces of feed wheels are likewise provided with resilient coverings 35 and these conform with the faces 34 of the saddles.

It is desirable, at times to vary the angle of approach of the rods or work with respect to the grinding surface of the member 5 so that the taper or angle of the finished point may be long or short and in the present example this adjustment is provided for by mounting the saddles 32 and their cooperating feed wheels upon a suitable work table 36 to which lateral, longitudinal or transverse movement may be imparted to vary its relation to the work member as will hereinafter be described.

The table 36 has an opening 37 through which the housing and grinding wheel are adapted to protrude in order that the Work carried by said table or saddles may be brought into contact with the grinding face of said. wheel. The work table 36 is inclined at an agle to a horizontal plane in- (lining downwardly toward the left in Fig. 1 and said table is preferably mounted so that this angle may be varied from time to time as need requires. The saddles 32 are mounted upon the table 36 within the open mg 37 (see Fig. and in such a manner that they may be adjusted longitudinally of said opening or of said table, or said saddles may be rocked slightly to cause the guiding surfaces thereof to more perfectly fit or conform to the coacting surfaces of the feed Wl168lS'33. Appropriate means are pro vided for effecting the adjustment of said saddles longitudinally of the table, said means herein consisting of a ke 38 which key is arranged to slide with said saddle and in a groove 39 extending longitudinally of the table 36 and substantially parallel with the opening 37. The key 38 may be attached in any appropriate manner to said saddle but as shown it extends through a groove 40 formed in said saddle. An adjusting screw 41 is secured at each side of the saddle in lugs 42 projecting laterally from opposite faces thereof, said screws 41 being adjacent to the key 38 and arranged to engage the upper surface of the table 36 with which they are held in contact by screws 43, the latter being mounted in said lugs 42 and having screw-threaded engagement with said table 36.

By adjusting the positions of the screws 41 in said lugs in conjunction with the screws 43, the end of the saddle or saddles containing said screws may be slightly raised or lowered and finally secured in their adjusted positions by said screws 43. The opposite ends of the saddles are also adjustably arranged with respect to the upper surface of the table 36 herein by screws 44 mounted in screw-threaded engagement with lateral lugs 45 on said saddles, said screws resting against the upper face of the table 36. If desired the screws 44 may be maintained in contact with the table by screws 46 which are arranged to extend through said lugs 45 and into screw-threaded engagement with said table. By the means described the cooperating surfaces of the saddles and their feed wheels may be adjusted so as to secure the most effectual relation.

It is desirable to provide for the adjustment of the saddles longitudinally of the table 36, the saddle nearest to the grinding wheel being adjustable to compensate for the reduction in diameter of said wheel due to wearing down thereof while the other saddle is made adjustable to accommodate rods of varying lengths. There are occasions when the adjustment particularly of the saddles nearest to the grinding wheel should be very fine and gradual. Therefore appropriate means for effecting such an adjustment are provided, the present example including an adjusting screw 46 (see Fig. 1) arranged in screw-threaded engagement with a bracket 47 and with its inner end engaging the edge of the plate 48 on which assailed rests the left orlowermost end of the table 36. The hrs 7 has ears i9 through which pay-es shat, 51, the latter being supported in suitable bearings such as on the frame 3. The shaft 51 is provided with cams; or eccentrics, 5% arranged to engage the plate l8 and an operating lever 55 is attached to one end of said shaft whereby said shaft may be rotated when it is desired to. raise the end of said work table and remove the ends of the rods that are being pointed from the grinding wheel.

'W hen a more extensive movement of the saddles than is possible with the screw 4-6 is required the screws 43 and 476 may be removed and the saddle and its: key 38 v, d along the groove 39 and the screws and as inserted in otherholes provided in the top of the work table for this purpose.

The right hand end of the table 36, as viewed in F 1, is also adjustable verti-. eally herein by means of screw-threaded rods 56 pivotally attached at 5/7 to the under side of said table, the lower ends of saidscrews engaging the plates. 58 wherein they are held in their adjusted position by check nuts 59 (see Fig 1). The plates 58. are also slotted at 63 to receive the screws (32 thus allowing a limited adjustment of the plates without necessitating the move.

ment of the screws to other holes.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that universal adjustment of thetable 36 is possible.

In machines of the type shown consid erable diliienlty has been experienced in feeding rods to the grinding wheel by reason of the fact-that rods oi considerable length become twisted about each other and clog the feeding devices for the machine but in the present machine this has. been overcome by providing a plurality ot sets of feed i'z'ieinlers each including a saddle and feeding wheeland arranged to have independent adjustment lon gitudinally ot' the work table, as previously described so that the Y may en 'a 'e the rods 7 v t) b at such points as to prevent any twisting or entangling of the rods.

The feed wheels 33 as well as the saddles are independently adjustable, they being mounted upon a shaft G l journalled to rotate in suitable bearings such as boxes 65 verticallyadjustable in slotted standards or brackets 66, the latter being carried by the table 36. 'lhe wheels 33 are keyed: to said shaft but are capable of Jmovement longitudinally thereof. The shaftfltid receives its motion from any suitable source through a counter-shaft 68, the latter having a pulley 71 secured thereto and driven by a $2 the latter being arranged so that upon the slight upward tilt oi. the

table 36 by means of the cams- 54, said belt will be sl-ael'rened so to prevent furthermovement of the shaft; 51 thus stop ping' the feed of the rods to, the grindingwheel Means are herein shown for adjustingthe feed wheels 33 toward or away from the grinding sur -faces of the saddles 32 espe-V cially when rods large or small diameter are to be ted and obviously it is desirable that the two or plurality of iced wheels be given simultaneous and equal movements so that thesaine amount oi pressure will always be brought to bear upon all portions of the rods, thus insuring equal feeding movement of the ends of the rods. For this-purpose means are "provided comprising screws 73 shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, one being rotatable in each of the standards 66. and having screw-threaded engagement with the boxes 65, The screws are provided with bevelled gears '24 to mesh with bevelled gears 75 last to a common driving shaft T6 arranged to rotate in bearings in said standards. A hand wheel Y? is attached to said shaft and serves as means for manually operating the shaft to raise and lower said boxes- It is desirable that the rods be fed by the. feed wheels in a single layer transversely of the face of the grinding wheel in order that each rod Shall receive the same amount of grinding and that the grinding be uniform all around so as to. bring the point exactly at the center of the red. It is also desirable that the machine be automatic, that is that the rods be fed orseparated from a mass and delivered to the feeding means in a single layer. Therefore in the present example, means are provided for containing a mass of rods, said means consisting of a chute-like member 78 mounted upon the table 36 and including side members wand 80 and a bottom 81. The bottom 81 is preferably pivoted between the side members 7 9 and 80 atv 82 (see Fig. 3) and-means are provided as at 83 for securing said bottom in predetermined positions. The bottom 81 is arranged substantially pzzrallel with the table 36, and the rods in the mass are placed upon said bottom and by reason of the inclination thereof clownward toward the grinding wheel,- said rods will have a tendency to slide toward the lower end of said container and even said ends preparatory to being advanced to the grinder. The bottom 81 also inclines down war-dly. from the receiving end of the container toward the grinding wheel as shown most. clear-lyin F g 3 and adjacent to th inner or lower side of the said bottom are rod separating members 8%, in the present and 88 journalled to rotate in the side members 79 and 80. These shafts are arranged substantially parallel and one above the other, the lower shaft 87 being positioned adjacent to and parallel with the axis of the pivot 82 of the bottom of said container so that teeth 89 formed upon the endless conveyors or chains, as they move upwardly will pass close to the pivoted side of said bottom and as said bottom is inclined downwardly toward said conveyor, said rods will have tendency to crowd against the chains and be picked up by the teeth thereof, said teeth herein being of a length at the most no greater than the diameter of the rods composing the mass. The upper shaft 88 is placed somewhat nearer the grinding wheel than is the shaft 87 and the uppermost points in the peripheries of the chains which pass over the sprockets mounted upon said shaft 88, are about on a level with the forward or receiving end of the saddle 32. Hence the runs of the conveyors which extend from sprocket to sprocket and particularly the upwardly moving runs will be slightly inclined from the container toward the grinding wheel so as to prevent the rods which are picked up by the teeth 89 of said chains from falling back into the container.

Any suitable form of chain may be employed for serving as the endless conveyors or separating means and the number of teeth and spacing of said teeth may be varied to suit the particular needs of the machine. In the present example the type of chain known as the silent chain is employed and upon each of the links of this chain there are two teeth, said teeth being spaced far enough apart to take in approximately three rods. All of the links of the c0nveyor chain are duplicates and are secured together so as to form a substantially continuous moving wall at the back of the rod container, the teeth of said links forming substantially continuous ledges extending nearly the entire length of the container except at points where gaps in the series are provided for purposes hereinafter explained. The working runs of the chain travel upwardly as indicated by the arrow (4, Fig. 3 and as they pick up the rods from the mass shown at Z), said rods will be elevated to a point substantially on the level of the forward or receiving end of the saddles 82. tween the highest point of delivery of the conveyor and the receiving end of the saddles, which gap is herein spanned by a guide plate 90 which, at its inner end, extends to a point 90 flush with the receiving end of the guide surface of the saddle 32 and at its forward end said plate is recessed at 91 to receive the conveyor chain. The recessing of said plate forms stripping There is, however, a gap belingers 92 which extend over the shaft 88 and into gaps 93 (see Fig. 1) formed at intervals in the conveyor members 84. The upper surface of the plate 90 forms a tan gent with the supporting surface of the conveyor members. Hence the rods that are carried upwardly by said conveyor members will be carried over the ends of the lingers 92 and be guided thereby onto the upper surface of said plate 90, said lingers stripping the said rods from the teeth of the conveyor chains and preventing them from being carried down upon the back side of the conveyors and back to the mass by the teeth 89.

To prevent more than one layer of rods from being carried by the teeth of said conveyor members to the plate 90, a wiper 94 is provided herein consisting of a strip of felt mounted upon a bar 95, said felt strip and said bar extending substantially the length of said rod mass container. The bar 95 is suspended by hangers 90 from a shaft 97 arranged to rock in bearings 98 in the sides 79 and 80 and a weighted arm 99 maintains said felt in yielding contact with the face of the conveyor members and thus wipes off superfluous rods as said rods approaeh the upper end of the conveyor members. It is equally desirable to prevent piling of the rods as they are forced by the conveyor members along the top of the plate 90 to the feeding means including the wheel 33 and saddle 32, for which purpose I provide a row of fingers 100 preferably placed directly above the'fingers 92, and means are provided to space said fingers 100 from the fingers 92 a distance substantially equal to the diameter of the rods that are being fed upon the upper face of said plate 90, said means being such as to provide adjustment for the rods of various diameters and also to permit said fingers to be raised when said rods become stuck for one reason or another in their passage from the conveyor members to the feed members. Obviously the same means employed for raising the shaft 04 may be employed in this connection but the means shown for accomplishing this purpose preferably include bars 101, 102 arranged between the sides 7 9 and 80 and supported at their opposite ends by brackets 108, 104 (see Figs. 4, 5 and 6). The brackets 103, 104 have portions 105 which lie against the inner faces of the members 79 and 80 to which the ends of the rods 101 and102 are attached by screws 106 (see Fig. 6). Said brackets also have flanges 107 which extend over the side members 79 and 80 and contain adjusting screws 108 adjacent their opposite ends to engage the edges of the members 79 and 80 and limit the downward movement of said brackets and .the parts carried thereby. A shaft 109 is journalled in said brackets and'carrics at its opposite ends eccentric cams engaging suitable eccentric straps 111 attached to opposite sides of said rod mass container. An operating lever 112 isattached toone end of'said shaft and serves as means whereby said shaft inay be rotated and through said eccentric and strap to effect the raising and lowering ofthefingers 100;

Occasionally there is a tendency for one end of a rod to jump ahead of the other while passing from the conveyor member to the feed wheel 3;) thus causing said rods to enter between said feed wheel and the-saddle improperly aligned. happening means are herein provided consisting of detents 113, one of which. is pivoted as at 11% toeach of the-upper -fin gers 100: The inner ends, that is the ends of said det-ents nearest thefeedwheel 33 are heavier than the opposite ends and cause said detent to drop down against the rods that are being fed therebeneatlr and thus retard the movements of said rods. Stop pins 115 are provided to prevent said detents from swinging downwardly too far when said fingers 100 are raised by the eccentric 110- away from the rods.

The present machine is adapted to-handie either long or short rods but when short rods 1 are being'separated from the mass (and by short rods I mean exceptionally short rods which are of approximately the length of a small number, perhaps thrce'talking machine needles) it is desirable that the fingers J2 and 100' be placed nearer together in order to prevent the short ends from dropping down and getting; caught duringthe feeding operation. For this reason the fingers near the left-hand end of the conveyor members, that is, the end containing the portions of the rods that are to-be pointed, are placed quite close together. but beyond this toward the right of said conveyor members the lingers may beand herein are more widely spaced. Furthermore during the s parating' and feeding of extra long rods, very often such rods are bent or sprung but during the separating and rolling process such bent portions are often straightened and the rods thereby lengthened and to facilitate this action, certain of the fingers at the right-hand end of theconveyor memhcrs e. g. the last form are inclined slightly tov-"ard the right-hand side 50 of the container a will be seen-by referringto- Fig.-

Conserpiently as said rods are moved along said lingers this arrangement tends to stretch said rods toward the right totheir full extent.

Very oftenthe mass of rods that are-placed within the rod container do not align one with the other at the left-hand endthereof although the inclined bottom- 81 has a tendto force said rods against the lower id so even up said ends but to insure the conveyor members.

To prevent this from the proper aligning or evening of said rods at said leftend', guide member 116 is provided within said container against the side 76) thereof and this guide member has a portion 117 which inclines slightly toward the right (see Fig. 4 and joins with astrai 'ht portion 118 which latter serves as a guide for the ends of the rods to properly position them as they. approach and are picked up by which tend to project beyond the required 'tance when first placed within the container will be pushed bacli to'properly align with the mass. The member 116 is also inclined downwardly towardthe left as will be seen by referring to Fig. 1, and this inclinationhas a tendency to hold the ends of the rods of the mass downwardly as they areforced into the container and against the conveyor members.

Various methods may be employed for operating the conveyor members but herein 1 preferably provide means operable from the shaft ea whereby saidconveyor means will operate only when said shaft 6 1 operates, thereby preventing the piling up of work in front of the feed wheels 38 should said feed wheels be stopped for any reason. in thepresent example I provide means for driving said conveyor mechanism including a friction clutch 119 attached to one end of the shaft (34' and having manually operable means 120 for throwing said clutch out of operation if, for any reason, it is desired to stop feeding the rods to the feed wheels 33 without discontinuing the movements of said feed wheels. The clutch herein shown is of well known form and needs no further description. This clutch is arranged to cooperate with a sprocket 121 normally loose upon the shaft 6-1, said sprocket being operatively connected by means of a chain 122 with an idler sprocket shown in dotted lines in Fig.

In passing to said idler sprocket one run of said chain, preferably the lower run thereof, is arranged to engage the teeth of a sprocket gear 123 attacl'ied to the end of the shaft 64, thus causing said shaft 6 1 to be rotated in reverse direction to that of said feed wheels ltfiis often desirable to convey the rods which have been pointed from the present machine to other machines or to certain points of distribution and in the present example It have provided means for taking care of the rods as they are delivered by the rod feeding means 32" anl 33, said means herein comprising a series of endless chains arranged upon the back or delivery side of thef'eeding means and extending over a sprocket 126-secured to a shaft 127' which is also arranged to rotate in suitablebearings uponthe table 36; The chains are provided withteeth 128 similar to the teeth Thus any rods 89 of the separating conveyor members and these chains are spaced similarly to the fingers 92 and 100. A guide plate 129 is interposed between the receiving ends of the conveyors 125 and the delivery end of the saddles 32 to convey the completed rods to the teeth of said chains and said rods are maintained in single formation against the surface of said guide plate by fingers 130 supported in substantially the same manner as are the fingers 100 hereinbefore described. The lingers 130, however, are superimposed over the conveyors 125 which latter are arranged to travel over suitable guide plates 131 (see Figs. t and 5). a

As a convenient method of disposing of the dust and dirt which is collected in the rod container from the rods that are handled thereby, said container is herein shown as having a dust-pan 135 arranged beneath the lower shaft 87 of the conveyor means and this pan is connected by means of a pipe 136 with the main blower pipe 30 so that a suction will be created in the dust pan 135 and thus remove all dust or dirt which may collect therein.

In the foregoing description the words wires and rods have been used indiscriminately in describing the work and it is distinctly to be understood that neither word is used in a limiting sense and that the ma chine is capable of operating upon work which may reasonably fall within the scope of the word wires 01' that which might be more accurately described as rods, there being a wide variation in the diameter of the work 'which may be operated upon by the machine embodying this invention. Furthermore either round, hexagonal, square, or numerous other polygonal shapes of rods may be handled by said machine, as well as short, medium or long rods.

Vhile I have herein shown and described merely for illustrative purposes, a specific embodiment of my invention and have disclosed and discussed in detail the construction and arrangement incidental to such disclosure, it is distinctly to be understood that the invention is limited neither to the more details or relativearrangement or parts nor to the specific application herein shown but extensive variations from the illustrations may be made without departing from the n-inciples thereof.

Claims:

1. A rod grinding machine comprising, in combination, a grinder, means including independently adjustable saddles and cooperating feed wheels to roll the ends of said rods transversely of the face of said grinder, means to contain a mass of rods, and means to feed said rods from the mass simultaneously to said saddles.

2. A rod grinding machine comprising, in combination, a grinder, means to roll said rods transversely of the face of said grinder, a rod container, means in said container to even the ends of the rods that are to be ground, and means to convey said rods from said container to said grinder.

3. In combination, a grinder, means to feed rods transversely of the face of said grinder, a rod mass container, and means to separate rods from the mass and present them to said rod-feeding means, said separating means including a series of endless toothed conveyors.

4:. In combination, a grinder, means to feed rods transversely of the face of said grinder, a rod mass container, means to separate rods from the mass and present them to said rod-feeding means, said separating means including a series of endless toothed conveyors, and guide fingers interspaced with said conveyors.

5. In combination, a grinder, means to feed the work into contact with said grinder including upwardly inclined toothed conveyors, means to separate the work from a mass, and means including an upwardly and inwardly inclined guide adapted to cooperate with said toothed conveyors in depressing and aligning the ends of the work that are to be ground.

6. In combination, a grinder, means to feed the work into contact with said grinder, a series of spaced toothed conveyors to convey the work from a mass to the work-feeding member, guide fingers arranged between said conveyors to maintain the work in a single layer as it approaches the feeding means, and means on said fingers to retard the advancement of said work.

7. In combination, .a grinding wheel, means to roll rods along a predetermined angular path to said grinding wheel, means to separate the rods from a mass and advance them in single layer formation to said rod rolling means, including toothed conveyor means, and a wiper mounted in yielding relation to said conveyor to remove superfluous rods from said conveyor.

8. In combination. a grinding wheel, means to roll rods along a predetermined angular path to said grinding wheel, con-- veyor means for separating rods from a mass and advancing them to the rod rolling means, and a resilient wiper to cooperate with said conveyor means to remove superfluous rods therefrom.

f). In combination, a grinder, means to roll rods transversely of and at a predetermined angle to said grinder, means to sepa rate the rods of a mass into a single layer formation for rolling, said means including conveyors having teeth to support the rods substantially throughout their length and advance them to the rolling means, and a plurality of sets of guide fingers between said conveyors and the rod rolling means to guide said rods from one to the other, one linger 0 1 each set being removable to provide access to the rods therebe twen.

10. in a Wire or rod point ng machine, the combination with means feeding the wires or rods to the Work nreinher, means to separate said Wires or rods ii-em a inass, means te acvance said Wires or rods to the feed :rg 'i'n'e'ans, and means to remove sl'a ck from said wins or rods. 7

11. The combination W h a 'l or n her at inc-ans to advance W" i n si-ngle layer formation )111 a ]1l2i-S$l O' said forming inen-iher ina direction transverse to the median a a; to maintain said Wires in parallel re-ration and in said single layer formation, said latter niean's inchrd i ng tr g, iide in'eni b'er along which s'ai l Wires are advanced and a series of spaced fingers to engage the upper face of tl e layer, a plurality of the fingers at one end of said series being inclinedwvith respet to the remaining fingers of the series to remove the slal; from said Wire's dn ri the -adi=an' :e ino v'einen t thereof.

- The combination with a forming in'einher or n i'ea is to advance Wires in single layer format-ion to said forrn' ineinher, and means to maintain said Wires in parallel relation and in said sin'rge layer for ti'on, said latter means including a guide niein'her along which said wires are adced and a series oi spacedfingers to engage the upper ace of the layer, a plurality of" the hinge "s e'i'igagi n-g the portions-oi the wires a fa: to the ends that are to he 'groninl being disposed arallel with the direction o'l movement of said \vii'es, the

r ng inemreinain i iii is of the so -'-heing inclined t'h li to iemove the slack the z'rd'vaiicin-g move- =r of a plurality oi? saddles to guide wires across the cc of said "writ-torn my to roll the wires along the g r ie surfaces of said saddles, a1 means automatically to separate the wires from a nrass and cause them sinn'il't'anernisly to egage the receiving ends est said saddles.

ii. The coin] nation with a woi'h-iornr incniher o l lea a to feed wires tra nso'l their length across the face oi d \rorx n ember, moans automatic-ally to ling separate will-cs iron-1 a inass andfadvance ll1(;"-l in sing laf-ter icorinatron 'a-i n'l 111 a ll direction transverse to their length to the said separating and ad means including" parallel upper lovfer gnide ineinbers, and means to "also and low or said ripper lnei'nb'ers with respect to said lower members.

15. The combination with a Work-forniing neinher oiin'eans to feed Wires transli-nes of said wires, means nienih'er, le'cd wheels r'es pecverse'ly of their length ao'oss the face of.

said WO-ll member, ineans automatically to "direction transverse to their length to the wire feeding means, said separating and advancing means including parallel upper-and lower spa-Iced guide inenihers, means to vary the Width of the "spaces between said nide inelnloer s to accommodate wires of difl e'rent sizes and means ho'dily to remove said ripper guide niei'i ihers r 'n th' guiding positions.

16. The; coin in ation with a WOI'ii-fOlhling ineinber, o l means to engage Wire's at a 9-1-111 y of spaced points and to roll said wires transversely of the face of said work- 'forniing" ineinher, and ineal-is to separate Wires from a mass and advance them in single layer formation simultaneously to said roiling mean 1 y 17. The combination with a work-fornii' 8 member, of means to engage WllES at a plurality of spaced points and to roll said Wires transversely of the face 01" said Workforining member, and rneans to separate Wires from mass and advance them in single layer formation siinidtaneonsly to sa ic to =ei'igage the upper and lower faces of sa-i d layer "of wires and detents arranged at spaced points lengthwise of said wires to retard the advance movement of said Wires.

18. The coinl-rination with a .s'Olli-fOiiili'nem-her, of means to feed ivi s in a direction transverse to their length, into en- 'einent with said worl'c fo-rnnng ineniher, toothed conveyors to separate wires from a iii-ass and strimaing lingers to strip said wires from said conveyors and to guide them to the 'ivir'e-reedi'ng means.

19. The coin'hination with a rod grinding member, 01. means to feed rods in a direction transverse to their length across the taco of said rod *ind'i member, a rod mass container having guiding means for the rods inclined downwardly toward the ends to he ground of the rods to c'ii ect the evening of said ends, and means antoinaticall separate rods from the mass and to advance them to said rod-feeding means.

20. The c(', inl inali n with a rod grinding ineinher, (if means to feed rods in a direction trz'u'is'vers'e to their length across the "face of said rod grinding member, a rod mass container having guiding means for the rods inclined don'n.\"al'dsly toi'vard 'lhe ends to he 'oun'd ofthe rods to 'oiie -t the evening of id ends, said container also having an inci-i ned Wall adjacent the lower end thereof to even th'ecnds of said rods, and means to se p' rate rods froni'the mass in said'c'ontainer and to advance them in single layer ti'on to said rod feeding means;

A red grinding machine con in combination, grind- Wheel, to

feed rods'in a direction transverse to their length across the face of said grinding wheel, means automatically to separate rods from a mass and to advance them in single layer formation to said rod feeding means, and means to remove ground rods from said machine.

22. A rod grinding machine comprising, in combination, a grinding wheel, means to feed rods in a direction transverse to their length across the face of said grinding wheel, means automatically to separate rods layer formation to said rod feeding means,

and means to remove rods that have been ground from said machine in single layer formation and to maintaln said rods in 1 parallel relation during the removal'thereof,

said rod removing means including a plurality of spaced endless conveyors having lugs upon the rod engaging faces thereof to engage and advance said rods, and means to engage the upper sides of said rods'to maintain them in'contact with said lugs;

24. In combination, a work member, means to feed work to said work member including a series of separated toothed conveyors, a work mass container having an adjustable bottom arranged to incline downwardly toward said conveyors, and a series of fingers secured'to the lower edge of said adjustable bottom within the spaces between said conveyors, said fingers being movable with said bottom and adapted to determine the projection of the teeth of said conveyors into the work mass.

25. In combination, a work member, means to feed work to said work member including a series of separated toothed conveyors, a work mass container having an adjustable bottom arran ed to incline down- .vardlytoward said conveyors, and a series of lingers secured to the IOWOIPCtlgB of said ad ustable bottom within the spaces between I said conveyors, said lingers being movable with and relatively to said bottom and adapted to determine the projection of the teeth of said conveyors into the work mass; 26. In combination, a work member,

*liiGLllSlO feed work to said'work'inember iincluding a series of separated tootned conveyors, a work mass container having a pivotal work guiding member inclined downwardly toward said conveyors, means to secure said guide member in predetermined angular positions, and a series of fingers secured to said guide member to move with and relatively thereto, said fingers constituting stops for the work mass.

27. A rod grinding machine comprising,

in combination, a grinder, means to feed work to said grinder, means including a series of 'toothecl'conveyors to remove work from said grinder, and means to guide the work from the grinder to said conveyors including sets offcooperating relativelymovable guide members.

' 28. A rod grinding machine comprising, in combination, a grinder, means to feed Work to said grinder, and means including a series of spaced toothed conveyors to remove the work from said grinder, said conveyors being arranged relatively nearer together adjacent to the ground ends of the work.

29. In combination, a work member, means to feed work in single layer formation to said work member, a guide member along which the work may be fed, guide fingers arranged above said guide member, and means pivoted upon said guide fingers with their free ends ext-ending forwardly into engagement with the work toretard the advance of said work.

30. A rod grinding machine comprising, in combination, a grinder, means to feed rods past and in contact with said grinder, a guide arranged at the delivery end of said feeding means, toothed conveyors to remove rods from said guide, and guide fingers arranged to guide rods from said feeding means upon and along said guide into engagement with the teeth of said conveyors.

31. A red grinding machine comprising, in combination, a grinder, means to feed rods past and in contact with said grinder, a"guidc arranged at the delivery end of said feeding means, toothed conveyors to remove rods frem said guide, guide fingers arranged to guide rods from said feeding means upon and along said guide into engagement with the teeth of said conveyors, and means to raise said guide fingers to provide access to the work.

32. In combination, a work member, means to feed the work to said work member including a toothed conveyor, an adjustable work inass support inclining toward said conveyor and guides adjustably arranged with respect to said work mass support to determine the projection of the teeth of said conveyor into the work mass.

33. In combination, a work member, a work mass container, means to feed the work in substantially parallel relation from said work mass container to said work member including an endless toothed conveyor for engaging and advancing the ends of the work that are to be operated upon a Work mass support to guide said work to said conveyor with the work ends thereof in proper alignment and spaced members at the rear of said work mass support to vary the extent of projection of theteeth of said conveyor into said mass.

34. A rod pointing machine comprising, in combination, a grinder, means to engage rods at a plurality of spaced points in their length and advance them in parallel relation to said grinder and means including a rearwardly and laterally inclined support to guide said rods to said rod advancing means with the work ends in alignment.

A rod grinding machine comprising, in combination, a grinder, means to roll the rods transversely of and in contact with the face of said grinder, means to present said rods to said rolling means in single layer formation and separate means to remove ground rods from said machine without changing their formation.

36. In a grinding machine, rod feeding means including at least one upwardly inclined toothed conveyor, a rod support arranged to incline downwardly from its receiving end toward said feeding means in increasing degrees as it approaches said feeding means, and means to vary the projection of the teeth of said conveyor into the mass of rods on said support.

3?. In a grinding machine, rod feeding means including at least one upwardly inclined toothed conveyor, a rod support arranged to incline downwardly toward said toothed conveyor and laterally toward the end of the work to be ground and an inclined guide at the lower side of said support to even the ends to be ground of said rods as they approach said feeding means.

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

JONATHAN A. HUNT.

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