US2835290A - Presses for drilling flooring strips - Google Patents

Description

May 20, 1958 w. A. BOETTCHER 2,835,290

PRESSES FOR DRILLING FLOORING STRIPS 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 10, 1953 1Q 5302725 gs.

May 20, 1958 w. A. BOETTCHER PRESSES FOR DRILLING FLOORING STRIPS Filed Aug. 10, 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 y 5 w. A. BOETTCHER 2,835,290

PRES-SE3 FOR DRILLING FLOORING STRIPS Filed Aug. 10, 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet a 1 V5 T. 3C 2 /IZZ A. 60682372 6? PRESSES FOR DRILLING FLOORING STRIPS William A. Boettcher, Chicago, Ill.

Application August 10, 1953, Serial No. 373,157

7 Claims. (Cl. 144-107 My invention relates to machines for drilling the beads of flooring strips at an angle in longitudinal sequence in order to facilitate the driving of nails to secure the floor ing without splitting the latter. Machines for this purpose have been devised in the past, but they are specially constructed and rather complicated, so that their cost is necessarily high. Thu-s, advantages secured by drilling the flooring strips are so greatly offset by the expense entailed in the purchase of such a machine that the facility thereof is dispensed with as a matter of economy. However, the desirability of drilling the flooring strips has prompted me to look into the facility of existing machinery for conversion to the special function, and one'object of the present invention is to utilize the structure of the standard, floor-type drill press as a basis or foundation adaptable to the desired use.

A further object is to utilize certain units now forming part of a drill press for supporting and securin-g'apparatus designed to receive and feed flooring strips.

Another object is to provide an apparatus for drilling flooring strips which employs the basic drilling mechanism of the drill press with a controlling adjunct.

An additional object is to provide an apparatus into which flooring strips may be fed from one end and automatically advanced and drilled without any furthermanual assistance.

A still further object is to provide a power feed for the strips which is positive and applied to the groove of the strip, so that the surfaces thereof may not be marred or otherwise injured by the feed.

Another object is to provide an apparatus which is adjustable to receive flooring strips of different cross-sec'- tional sizes.

With the above objects in view, a better understanding of the invention may be had by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which-- Fig. lis a front elevation of the machine;

Fig. 2-is a rear elevation;

Fig. 3 is a section taken on the line 33 of Fig. 1;

Figs. 4 and 5 are, respectively, enlarged sectionstaken on the lines 4--4 and 5-5 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged duplication of a portion in the upper part of Fig. 1, showing the automatic strip feed in greater detail;

Fig. 7 is an end view of the showing in Fig. 6 from the left hand side;

Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. 7, showing the position of certain parts changed;

Fig. 9 is a' section'taken on the line 9--9 of Fig. 8; and

Fig. 10 is a perspective view of a cam-controlled mecha- 1115111.

In accordance with the foregoing, specific reference to the drawings indicates the post of a standard, floor-type drill press at 15, and the base thereof at 16'. The type of drill press under consideration receives a bed plate for the deposit of the work, but for the purpose of the present' invention this facility is provided in three instances.

2,835,29ii Patented May 2t), 195i Thus, Fig. 1 shows that a bed plate 20 is carried by the post of the drill press in a low position, a bed plate 21 being carried in a higher position, and a bed plate 22 being carried in a still higher position. Each of these bed plates is extended from a bracket 23 carried by a clamp 24 which is slidable on the post to any desired height and made fast by a lever 25.

The bed plate is designed to carry the power unit for the strip feeding mechanism, while the bed plate 21' supports means transmitting the drive to such mechanism. The bed plate 22, however, is tilted at an angle, as seen inFig. 4, and is designed to support the guide in which the floor strip is movable at intervals between the drilling operations.

The drilling mechanism employs the conventional m0- t-or 25a and transmission gearing 26, in order to drive the chuck 27 and bit 28, the chuck and bit being movable downwardly from the position shown in Fig. 1 in order to drill a hole obliquely in the bead of a flooring strip 30 positioned horizontally below the bit.

The hearing strip is fed into the machine bybeing inserted into one end of a guide, which isa horizontal tube 32 of rectangular cross-section, such end being the one at the left as seen in Fig. 1. Fig. 4 indicates that the tube 32 follows the contour of the flooring strip 30 closely, whereby to form a proper guide for the longitudinal feed thereof through the tube. The latter is formed with lugs 33 projecting from its upper side near the remote end, such lugs being bolted at 34 to the bed plate 22 in order to support the tube 32 on the same. Itis seen that the tube is made with a cutout 35 on the upper side at a "point between the lugs 33 in order to expose the upper edge of the flooring strip 30, suchedge containing the bead 36; as seen in Fig. 4. Thus, with the strip disposed in the tilted position shown in this figure, the bit 28 may he made to descend during rotation and drill a hole in the base of the bead, as indicated in Fig. 4.

The bed plate 22 has an extension 38 on the opposite side of the post 15, such extension forming a backing for the receiving portion of the tube 32. It is intended that an automatic feed engage the strip after it has been inserted into the tube, in order to advance the strip'a' given distance, such as a foot, and fix the intervals at which the-holes are drilled in the strip. The element mainly inv'olved in the feed is a wheel 40 made with ratchet-type teeth 41 over a portion of its periphery. The wheel is journaled in the companion plates 43 and 44 of a fram straddling the tube 32; and the same is made with 'a slot 45 in its bottom for the entry of the upper portion of the wheel. The latter is located in registration with the groove 46 of the flooring strip 30 and enters the same into biting engagement with the floor of the groove. The upper edge of the strip is backed by an initial top roller 48 carried by the frame 43-44; and a similar remote roller 49 is carried by the bed plate 22 over the upper edge of the strip. The rollers 48 and 49 are made of rubber and designed to impose pressure on the strip in order to keep its initial portion in engagement with the feed wheel- 40 and its advancing portion fast in the guiding tube '32 when the drill bit 28 descends. Fig. 6 shows that aportion 50 of the feed Wheel is plain, and it is apparent that a partial turn of the feed wheel from the position shown in Fig. 6 in the direction indicated by the arcuate arrows will cause the Wheel to bite into the strip 30 and advance it the prescribed distance in the tube 32. As the toothed part of the wheel departs from the strip, the latter remains fixed, and it is obvious that at this time the drill bit is caused to descend an'ddrill the holein the strip.

The operation of the feed wheel 40 originateswith a suitably geared motor supported by the bed plate 20. A belt drive-56 leads upwardly from the motor to a cross-shaft 57 journaled in bearings 53 on the bed plate 21, as seen inFig. 3. The shaft 57 is followed by a shaft 58 in the direction of the spindle 69 of the feed wheel, universal joints 61 and 62 being interposed in the line of shafts in order to accommodate the drive to the position of the feed wheel. The latter is thus operated continuously when the machine is used.

The periodical descent of the drill bit is procured by a branch drive from the cross-shaft 57. Thus, Fig. 3 shows that such shaft and a branch shaft 65 are connected by meshing bevel gears 66 and 67. As seen in Figs. 2 and it), the shaft 65 leads through a slot 7 ii in a vertical loop bar '71 to terminate with a cam '72 on the remote side of the bar. The bottom portion thereof has a freely journaled roller 73 which is subject to the action of the cam 72 when the shaft 65 is in rotation in a manner to periodically depress the bar '71. The same extends upwardly with a rod 75 which is linked at 76 to a cross-arm 77. The latter is pivoted with one end to a drill post bracket 77a, as indicated at 78, while the other end is formed with a horizontal slot '79 to receive a side pin S'Il from the chuck 27 of the drill. Thus, each turn of the shaft 65 creates a down pull on the cross-arm 77 and a drilling operation by the bit 28, and it is understood that the ratio of the gearing is designed to procure this operation in synchronism with the forward feed of the flooring strip 30 at the desired intervals.

It is proper that a point be located in the strip feed which fixes the distance of the first hole from the leading end of the strip, and such point is represented by a pin which projects into the side of the tube 32 as a stop for the leading end of the strip. The spindle 6i also carries a cam wheel 91 which has a peripheral side wing 92 at one point. The face of the cam wheel 91 isnorrnally in engagement with a collar 93 carried by the pin 90 and has no motive effect on the 'pin. However, when the side wing 92 of the cam wheel meets the collar 93, the latter is urged away from the tube 32, as shown in Fig. 8, withdrawing the pin 90 from the latter; and the collar 93 is made to bear against the cam wheel 91 by a pair of draw springs 94 connected to a cross-pin 95 passing through the pin 90. The action just mentioned permits the flooring strip to be inserted into the tube to a given point before the wheel feed takes hold, so that the intervals at which the strip is drilled are spaced equally from the leading end of the strip. The continued feed of the latter is of course a bar to the advance of the pin 90 into the tube 32 as long as the strip is lodged therein, so that the pin cannot become a bar or obstruction while a strip is contained in the tube.

Flooring strips come in several cross-sectional sizes, and the novel machine is adapted for the changes so occasioned. Each strip size obviously requires a tube 32 to fit the same, and the frame 44-43 therefore carries upper and lower cross-bars ltltl and 101 for engaging the tube between them. Thus, the upper part of the tube carries an arch-shaped shield 102 as a base for a pair of screws 103 which are threaded into the cross-bar 100 according to the position of the tube; and the latter rests on lower screws 104 which are threaded through the lower bar 101 and made fast by nuts 165. The adjustments of the screws 103 and 104 also deal with the setting of the wheel 40 in relation to the new flooring strip, such adjustments operating to lift or lower the frame 44-43 for this purpose. The frame is made rigid by the interposition of spacers 106 between the plates 44 and 43, such spacers being secured by bolts 107. While the position of the flooring strip may be considered fairly rigid during travel and at the stopping point, such position is made more accurate by the provision of side rollers 1% and 109, these being of rubber and designed to take up any slack in the lateral position of the strip. The latter thus assumes the same position at every drilling point, eliminating vibration and tendencies to break the drill bit.

When the machine is to be used. the motors 25a and 55 are turned on and a strip of flooring inserted into the guide tube 32 to the extent of the stop pin 90. The feed wheel 49 now takes hold of the strip to advance it periodically the proper distance. The drill 27 will operate automatically to make the holes in the strip at intervals corresponding to the feed of the same.

It will now be apparent that the novel machine employs a conventional support for its operating units in the form of the well known floor-type drill press, eliminating the necessity of designing a special machine for this purpose. The post of a floor-type drill press is designed as a sturdy and fixed support for all the instrumentalities forming part of the press, and the main units involved comprise the several bed plates which are not only rigidly attached to the post, but also are rotatable to any lateral position and even tiltable by means forming a part of the drill press. Thus, the supports required for the strip drilling apparatus are provided for attachment in any desired number to the post of the drill press. As arranged, the supports provide for the mounting of the strip guiding tube in a position designed to receive the automatic feed and the drilling operation'in the most convenient manner. Further, one of the bed plates is employed as a support for the gear leading to the auto matic strip feed, and a simple connection is made from this gearing for the timing of the drill action in accordance with the stopping points of the strip. Further, the guiding tube for the strip carries its own frame, the latter including the support for the automatic feed and adjusting means for different sized tubes. T116 units of the mechanism are therefore grouped compactly in relation to the supporting post of the drill press and employ factors which are either found as standard or attachable to the post by simple application, or which may be fabricated by conventional machine methods. A drill press is thus had which employs basic supports to create an odd arrangement of instrumentalities for the particular type of work, using existing parts in most instances and saving the design and expense of a special machine for the purpose.

While I have described the invention along specific lines, various minor changes or refinements may be made therein without departing from its principle, and I reserve the right to employ all such changes and refinements as may come within the scope and spirit of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An attachment for upright drill presses for drilling flooring strips, wherein the drill press has a supporting post surmounted by a drilling unit, comprising a bed plate clamped to the supporting post in a tilted position, a guide for a flooring strip carried by said bed plate, a second bed plate clamped to said supporting post in a horizontal position below the first bed plate, means mounted on the second bed plate for feeding the flooring strip periodically through said guide, said drilling unit including a drill operable in respect to the flooring strip, said guide being a tube of a cross-section similar to that of the flooring strip, said means including a feed wheel for the flooring strip, a journal'for the feed wheel, a frame extended from the journal to clamp on both sides of said tube for the support of the feed wheel from the same, and means for adjusting the frame crosswise of the tube for varying the spacing between the feed wheel and the strip.

2. An attachment for upright drill presses for drilling flooring strips, wherein the drill press has a supporting post surmounted by a drilling unit, comprising a bed plate clamped to the supporting post in a tilted position, a guide for a flooring strip carried by said bed plate, a second bed plate clamped to said supporting post in a horizontal position below the first bed plate, means mounted on the second bed plate for feeding the flooring strip periodically through said guide, said drilling unit including a drill operable in respect to the flooring strip, said guide being a tube of a cross-section similar to that of the flooring strip, said means including a feed wheel engageable with as the floor of the groove in said flooring strip, a journal for the feed wheel, a frame extended from the journal to clamp on both sides of said tube for the support of the feed wheel from the same, and rubber rollers carried by the frame to back the edge of the flooring strip opposite from the grooved one and facilitate the engagement of the strip with the feed wheel.

3. An attachment for upright drill presses for drilling flooring strips, wherein the drill press has a supporting post surmounted by a drilling unit, comprising a bed plate clamped to the supporting post in a tilted position, a guide for a flooring strip carried by said bed plate, a second bed plate clamped to said supporting posts in a horizontal position below the first bed plate, means mounted on the second bed plate for feeding the flooring strip periodically through said guide, said drilling unit including a drll operable in respect to the flooring strip, said means including a feed wheel engageable with the strip and effective to advance the same a given distance during each revolution of the wheel, said guide being a tube of a crosssection similar to that of the strip, a stop element present in said tube to limit the insertion of a flooring strip to a desired point when the feed wheel is inactive in respect to the flooring strip, means for withdrawing said stop element, and a connection from the feed wheel to said withdrawing means effective to operate the same when the feed wheel assumes engagement with the flooring strip.

4. An attachment for upright drill presses for drilling flooring strips, wherein the drill press has a supporting post surmounted by a drilling unit, comprising a bed plate clamped to the supporting post in a tilted position, a guide for a flooring strip carried by said bed plate, a second bed plate clamped to said supporting post in a horizontal position below the first bed plate, means mounted on the second bed plate for feeding the flooring strip periodically through said guide, said drilling unit including a drill operable in respect to the flooring strip, said means including a feed wheel engageable with the strip and effective to advance the same a given distance during each revolution of the Wheel, said guide being a tube of a cross-section similar to that of the strip, a stop element present in said tube to limit the insertion of a flooring strip to a desired point when the feed Wheel is inactive in respect to the flooring strip, means for withdrawing said stop element, and a connection from the feed wheel to said withdrawing means effective to operate the same when the feed wheel assumes engagement with the flooring strip, said stop element being a spring-operated side pin, and said connection comprising a cam carried by the shaft of the feed wheel and efiective to back the side pin out of the tube during said engagement.

5. An attachment for upright drill presses for drilling flooring strips, wherein the drill press has a supporting post surmounted by a drilling unit, comprising a bed plate clamped to the supporting post in a tilted position, a guide for a flooring strip carried by said bed plate, a second bed plate clamped to said supporting post in a horizontal position below the first bed plate, means mounted on the second bed plate for feeding the flooring strip periodically through said guide, said drilling unit including a drill operable in respect to the flooring strip, said guide being one of an assortment of tubes corresponding in crosssection to flooring strips of difierent cross-sectional sizes, said means including a feed wheel for the flooring strip, a journal for the feed wheel mountable on the selected tube, and means for adjusting the transverse spacing of the journal relative to the tube to procure the Working engagement of the feed wheel with the chosen flooring strip.

6. An attachment for upright drill presses for drilling fiooring strips, wherein the drill press has a supporting post surmounted by a drilling unit, comprising a bed plate clamped to the supporting post in a tilted position, a guide for a flooring strip carried by said bed plate, a second bed plate clamped to said supporting post in a horizontal position below the first bed plate, means mounted on the second bed plate for feeding the flooring strip periodically through said guide, said drilling unit including a drill operable in respect to the flooring strip, said guide being of an assortment of tubes corresponding in crosssection to flooring strips of different cross-sectional sizes, said means including a feed wheel for the flooring strip, a journal for the feed wheel mountable on the selected tube, means for adjusting the transverse spacing of the journal relative to the tube to procure the working engagement of the feed wheel with the chosen flooring strip, said adjusting means comprising side projections from the journal, and screws from the same directed to the edge portions of the guide.

7. An attachment for upright drill presses for drilling flooring strips, wherein the drill presshas a supporting post surmounted by a drilling unit, comprising a bed plate clamped to the supporting post in a tilted position, a guide for a flooring strip carried by said bed plate, a second bed plate clamped to said supporting post in a horizontal position below the first b ed plate, means mounted on the second bed plate for feeding the flooring strip periodically through said guide, said drilling unit including a drill operable in respect to the flooring strip, said guide being one of an assortment of tubes corresponding in cross-section to flooring strips of difierent cross-sectional sizes, said means including a feed wheel for the flooring strip, a journal for the feed wheel, a frame extended from the journal to clamp on both sides of the selected tube for the support of the feed wheel from the same, and means for adjusting the transverse spacing of the journal relative to the tube to procure the working engagement of the feed wheel with the chosen flooring strip.

References @ited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 443,666 Bryant Dec. 30, 1890 454,654 iopacelr June 23, 1891 498,555 Kelchner May 30, 1893 745,260 Stuart Nov. 24, 1903 986,782 Trogdon Mar. 14, 1911 1,041,343 Pinltett Oct. 15, 1912 1,667,022 Wood Apr. 24, 1928 2,333,025 Mayer Oct. 26, 1943

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