1586
THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE.
[No. 57

No. 15380.—11th September, 1902.—THOMAS WILLIAM NORTH, of Christchurch, New Zealand, Orchardist. An improved horse-collar.*

Claim.—The improvement in horse-collars which consists in the employment upon a horse-collar of a metal rack attachment having a link to which the draft hook or shackle of the harness is connected, said link being adapted to be placed in any compartment of the rack according as it is desired to alter the bearing of the load upon the animal’s shoulder, as specified.
(Specification, 1s. 9d.; drawing, 1s.)

No. 15413.—18th September, 1902.—UNITED SHOE MACHINERY COMPANY, of Paterson, State of New Jersey, United States of America, a corporation duly organized under the laws of the said State of New Jersey, and having their principal place of business at 205, Lincoln Street, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America (assignees of Benjamin Franklin Mayo, of Salem, Essex, Massachusetts aforesaid, Inventor). Improvements in or relating to mechanism for assorting nails.*

Extract from Specification.—This invention relates to mechanism for assorting nails. Many different forms of mechanism have heretofore been devised for automatically assorting nails head first or point first as they are delivered from raceways, on which said nails are placed indiscriminately as to the direction of their heads and points. We have devised a novel mechanism for this purpose, which is based on a novel principle not heretofore observed, so far as we are aware, in connection with this class of work. The nails used are commonly of the same length and weight, and their head ends preponderate in weight. We have therefore provided a raceway the grooved parts of which are arranged in different levels, and at the discharge-end of the uppermost level a transverse shoulder is provided, beyond which is a space in which all the nails which are arranged head first in the grooves of the raceway drop by gravity, the said nails thereafter continuing to slide down the lower part of the raceway with their heads leading; but all the nails which are deposited in the grooves of the raceway above said shoulder point first, on arriving at said shoulder, cross the space and enter grooves of a nail-point receiver, and said point-first nails continue to travel until their heads pass the shoulder referred to, when the heavier head ends of the nails preponderating immediately turn the said nails end-for-end, letting them drop into the grooves of the lower part of the raceway head first, after which they continue to travel in the lower part of the raceway head first. In this way it will be noticed that the raceway itself has provision whereby it acts automatically to assort, as to heads and points, the nails which come down its grooves. We believe we are the first to provide a raceway which will itself automatically assort the nails passing over it. The nails with their heads all arranged in one direction on the lower part of the raceway pass therefrom with their heads so arranged on to a transferring device, which in the first construction of mechanism according to this invention may be moved at the proper times, and in either direction, to discharge said assorted nails head first or point first into pockets, which lead to the position from which the nails are to be driven. In devices of this class as heretofore constructed it has been customary to reciprocate the raceway constantly in order to work the nails gradually down to the delivery point, and in order to insure the separation of a series of nails at each operation of the device which transfers the nails from the raceway it has been customary, as described in the second and third constructions of mechanisms according to this invention, hereinafter explained, to divide the raceway near its lower end, placing its terminal portion higher than the part adjacent to it, and to employ a lifter to elevate a series of nails from one portion of the raceway to the other, thus separating at each operation a series of nails to be acted upon by the transferring device. In the first construction of nail assorting mechanism according to this invention, shown in Figs. 1 to 7 inclusive and fully described, we have dispensed with this division of the raceway and with the lifter, and have provided mechanism for stopping the reciprocations of the raceway at each operation of the transferring device, so that while the transferer is operating there is no reciprocation of the raceway, and consequently there is no movement of the nails toward the transferer, and no confusion of each series of nails, as they are being handled, with the preceding nails on the raceway. We believe that we are the first to arrange, in a nail-assorting mechanism, means for intermittently stopping the reciprocations of the raceway and so stopping the movement of the nails thereon when desired. The device employed in the first construction of mechanism according to this invention to receive and deliver the nails is herein referred to as a table which may be oscillated, preferably in one or the other direction, at will to deliver the nails either point first or head first as may be required. We have also discovered that if an arresting-device be located at a distance from the end of an inclined raceway section by which the nails are sustained, and on the surface of which said nails are free to slide, the distance of said arresting-device from said raceway section being however suitably less than the length of the nails, the ends of the nails will meet said arresting-device, and that all the nails leaving said raceway section head first will, because of the preponderance of their heads in weight, drop head first, but the nails which leave it point first will rest with their points against said arresting-device and will not drop by gravity. Observing these facts we have devised a second construction, shown in Figs. 8 to 12 inclusive, and more fully described, comprising an arresting-device which also constitutes a nail-reverser, and which is composed of two parts, one part movable on or with relation to the other, whereby, by the movement of that part of the device which arrests the point-first nails, said nails having given to them, after having been arrested, an additional longitudinal movement, which enables their heads to leave the raceway section which had sustained them. The movable plates comprising the arresting and reversing device are superimposed one on or in relation to the other, and said plates at times present their edges next to the said raceway section in substantially the same vertical plane, and at other times in different vertical planes, said plates being moved one on or with relation to the other for each series of nails to be discharged from a plurality of grooves in the raceway section, the upper plate having first imparted to it a movement away from the raceway terminal section to enable the point-first nails to slide from the terminal, the points of the point-first nails passing over the edge of the lower plate, which thereafter acts as a reversing device, so that all the point-first nails may, by the movement of the upper plate, slide far enough to enable their heads to leave the raceway. Heretofore the raceways used in this class of machines have been reciprocated, and in practice it has been found that the strain required to move said raceways and the strain exerted in reversing their movements have so jarred the machine as to cause an objectionable amount of vibration. We have discovered that by dividing the raceway or forming the nail-conducting device in parts, and imparting to the different parts of the raceway independent movements, preferably in opposite directions and substantially simultaneously, we are enabled to do away with the jarring strains and the other objections hitherto existing in machines provided with reciprocating raceways. We believe that we are the first to divide a raceway into a plurality of parts, and move said parts independently to impart thereby to the raceway movements which will cause the nails to travel on said parts of the raceway. In the third construction of nail-assorting mechanisms according to this invention, as shown in Figs. 13, 14, 15, and 16, we therefore have divided the raceway transversely into a plurality of parts and provided mechanism for reciprocating the parts of the raceway simultaneously in opposite directions, said reciprocations causing the nails to travel in the direction of the grooves in the raceway. In this third construction of mechanism we have also provided a nail-returning table, located beneath the upper raceway, to receive the nails which are rejected by the said upper raceway and return them to the nail-supplying mechanism, and the table is inclined in a direction opposite to that in which the upper raceway is inclined. The nail-returning table is so connected to the actuating mechanism that it is reciprocated simultaneously with the upper raceway to cause the nails to travel on it, said reciprocation being, however, in an opposite direction to the reciprocating movement of one part of the upper raceway. In this construction of nail-assorting mechanism a novel feeding-mechanism has been provided to supply the raceway-plate and its grooves with nails.
[NOTE.—The above extract from the specification is inserted in place of the claims.]
Specification, £1 15s.; drawings, 5s.

No. 15429.—22nd September, 1902.—JOHN WHITEHOUSE, of Waihi, Auckland, New Zealand. Improved spark-arrester.*

Claims.—(1.) In apparatus for the purpose indicated, in combination, an exhaust steam-pipe fixed within a chimney vertically above the ordinary exhaust-plates of an engine, and fitted with a telescopic end, baffle-plates between said exhaust-pipe and the chimney, a casing or jacket surrounding the chimney, and ports in the chimney below said baffle-plates communicating with the annular space between the chimney and the casing, substantially as specified, and illustrated in the drawings. (2.) For the purpose indicated, in combination, an exhaust steam-pipe fixed within a chimney and having a telescopic end receiving the upper end of the main exhaust-pipe, baffle-plates between the exhaust steam-pipe