The accompanying cuts represent two new machines for binding together
books and pamphlets. They are the invention of Messrs. Brehmer & Co.,
and are now much used in England and Germany. The material used for
binding is galvanized iron wire.
_Machine Operated by Hand_ (Fig. 1).--This machine serves for fastening
together the pages of pamphlets through the middle of the fold, or for
binding together several sheets to form books up to a thickness of about
half an inch.
It consists of a small cast-iron frame, with which is articulated a
lever, _i_, maneuvered by a handle, _h_. This lever is provided at its
extremity with a curved slat, in which engages a stud, fixed to the
lower part of a movable arm, _c_, whose extremity, _d_, rises and
descends when the lever handle, _h_, is acted upon. This maneuver can be
likewise performed by the foot, if the handle, _h_, be connected with a
pedal, X, placed at the foot of the table that supports the machine,
as shown in Fig. 2. The lever, _i_, is always drawn back to its first
position, when left to itself, by means of the spring, _z_.
[Illustration: IMPROVED BINDING MACHINE.]
The staples for binding have nearly the form of the letter U, and are
placed, to the number of 250 or 300, on small blocks of wood, _m_. To
prepare the machine for work, the catch, _a_, is shoved back, and the
whole upper part of the piece, _b_, is removed. The rod, _e_, with its
spring, is then drawn back until a small hole in _e_ is perceived,
and into this there is introduced the hook, _f_, which then holds the
spring. The block of wood, _m_, filled with staples, is then rested
against a rectangular horizontal rod, and into this latter the staples
are slipped by hand. The upper part of the piece, _b_, is next put in
place and fastened with the catch, _a_. Finally, the spring is freed
from the hook, _f_. When it is desired to bind the pages of a pamphlet,
the latter is placed open on the support, _g_, which, as will be
noticed, is angular above, so that the staple may enter exactly on the
line of the fold. Then the handle, _h_, is shoved down so as to act on
the arm, _c_, and cause the descent of the extremity, _d_, as well as
the vertical piece, _b_, with which it engages. This latter, in its
downward travel, takes up one of the staples, which are continually
thrust forward by the rod and spring, and causes it to penetrate the
paper. At this moment, the handle, _h_, makes the lever, _n_, oscillate,
and this raises, through its other extremity, a vertical slide whose
head bends the two points of the staple toward each other. The handle,
_h_, is afterward lifted, the position of the pamphlet is changed, and
the same operation is repeated. When it is desired to form a book from
a number of sheets, the table, _l_, is mounted on the support, _g_, its
two movable registers are regulated, and the sheets are spread out flat
on it. The machine, in operating, drives the staples in along the edge
of the sheets, and the points are bent over, as above indicated.
The axis on which the lever, _i_, is articulated is eccentric, and is
provided on the side opposite the lever with a needle, _k_, revolving
on a dial. The object of this arrangement is to regulate the machine
according to the thickness of the book.
[Illustration: FIG. 1.]
_Machine to be Operated by a Motor_ (Fig. 3).--This machine, although
working on the same principle, is of an entirely different construction.
It is designed for binding books of all dimensions. It consists of a
frame, _a_, in two pieces, connected by cross-pieces, and carries a
table, _u_, designed to receive the sheets before being bound together.
Motion is transmitted by means of a cone, _c_, mounted loose on the
shaft, _b_. To start the machine, the foot is pressed on the pedal, _m_,
which, through the intermedium of links and arms, brings together the
friction plates, _d_, one of which is connected with the shaft, _b_, and
the other with the cone, _c_. When it is desired to stop the machine,
the pedal is left free to itself, while the counterpoise, _s_, ungears
the friction plates. The machine fastens the paper with galvanized iron
wire wound round bobbins placed at the side of the apparatus. This wire
it cuts, and forms into staples.
[Illustration: FIG. 2.]
The book to be bound is placed on the support, _h_, and the arms, _k_,
that carry the fasteners cause it to move backward and forward. It also
undergoes a second motion--that is, it moves downward according to the
number and thickness of its pages. This motion, which takes place
every time the operator adds a new sheet, is regulated by a cog-wheel
register, _l_, which is divided, and provided with a needle.
The iron wires pass from the bobbins on a support to the left of the
machine by means of feed rollers, which thrust them through the eight
clips. In the interior of these latter there is a double knife, which,
actuated by one of the cams of the wheel, _e_, cuts the wire and bends
it thus [Inline Illustration]. The extremities of the staples are thrust
through the back of the half opened leaves, and then bent toward each
other thus [Inline Illustration], by the front fastener. This motion is
effected by means of two levers, _p_ (moved by the cams, _e_), whose
extremities at every revolution of the machine seize by the two ends a
link that maneuvers the fasteners. The binding of one sheet finished,
the lower arms of the machine again take their position, the wires move
forward the length necessary to form new staples, a new sheet is laid,
and the same operation is proceeded with. The number of staples and
their distance are changed, according to the size of the book, by
introducing into the machine as much wire as will be necessary for the
staples. To prevent their number from increasing the thickness of the
back of the book (as would happen were they superposed), the support,
_h_, moves laterally at every blow, so as to cause the third staple to
be driven over the first, the second over the fourth, etc.
* * * * *