United States Patent Office. --- HENRY B. MORRIS, OF ITHACA, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO THE AUTOPHONE COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE. MACHINE FOR INSERTING PINS IN MUSIC-BARRELS. --- SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 315,052, dated April 7, 1885. Application filed May 1, 1884. (No model.) --- To all whom it may concern: Be it known that I, Henry B. Morris, a citizen of the United States, residing at Ithaca, in the county of Tompkins and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for Inserting Pins in Barrels for Mechanical Musical Instruments; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same. This invention consists of a machine for automatically inserting pins at predetermined points in rollers intended for use in mechanical musical instruments, such as hand-organs, for instance. The leading characteristic of the machine is a stepwise movable pattern which governs the insertion of the pins. In order that my invention may be clearly understood, I have illustrated in the annexed drawings and will proceed to describe a practical form of a machine adapted to insert pins in a wooden roller along a spiral line. Figure 1 is a plan view of the machine. Figure 2 is a vertical longitudinal section in the plane indicated by broken line X X of Fig. 1. Figs. 3 to 7 illustrate details of the machine, some being drawn on a larger scale than Figs. 1 and 2 and others on the same scale. The same letters of reference indicate identical parts in all the figures. The various parts of the machine are mounted on a suitable bed-plate or table, A, provided with shears a a across one end for the support and guidance of a carriage consisting of the upright cheek-plates B B1 and the parallel connecting-bars B2 B3, the latter being fitted to the shears a a. A horizontal roller, C, provided at one end with a spur-wheel, D, is arranged between the cheek-plates of the carriage, the entire length of the roller and its spur-wheel being just equal to the distance between the said cheek-plates. The roller C is supported in part upon a hollow shaft, E, and in part upon a screw, F. The hollow shaft, E, journaled in the fixed bearing A1 on the bed-plate, and also supported in a bearing on cheek-plate B, extends through the spur-wheel D into roller C, suitably bored nearly twice its whole length to fit the shaft. The spur-wheel D is provided with a spline, d, which engages a longitudinal groove, e, in shaft E, so that while they are turned by the shaft E the spur-wheel D and roller C may also move longitudinally thereon. At the end opposite that entered by shaft E the roller is tapped or provided with a fixed nut to screw on the the screw-threaded portion of screw F, the inner smooth end of which extends into hollow shaft E for support. The screw-threaded portion of screw F projects through the cheek-plate B1 of the carriage, and its outer end is rigidly secured to a standard, A2, on the bed-plate A. The surface of roller C is filled with equidistant holes c, distributed along the convolutions of a spiral line. A live center, G, is journaled in the upper portion of cheek-plate B. This live-center carries a fixed spur-wheel, H, of the same diameter and having the same number of teeth as spur-wheel D, which drives it through the medium of an intermediate spur-wheel, D1. Spur-wheel H is provided with a drive-pin, h. Cheek-plate B1 carries in its upper portion a dead-center, H1, screwed in the cheek-plate, so that it may be adjusted. The wooden roller I, in which the pins are to be inserted, and which I term the "music-roller," is centered on the centers of the carriage, one end of the roller being provided with an eccentric hole to receive the drive-pin h. It will be readily percieved that the turning shaft E has the twofold effect of feeding the carriage together with the rollers C and I and of rotating said rollers syncronously--i.e., in such a manner that they complete a rotation in the same period of time. A given piece of music to be played by pins on the music-roller is set up on the surface of roller C by inserting projecting pins c1 in properly selected holes, c, thereof. The roller C thus prepared constitutes the pattern which governs the insertion of pins in the music-roller. In order to prevent the pins c1 from falling out of the pattern-roller at the lower side, I provide the feed-carriage with a segmental trough or concave, B4, concentric with and surrounding the lower side of the pattern-roller at a distance about equal to the projection of pins c1. The devices for cutting the pins and inserting them in the music-roller are mounted on the table M of a stand erected on the bed-plate. The pins are successively cut by shears from a spool of wire, J, the end of which is fed to the shears in about the horizontal plane of the axis of the music-roller by feed-rollers K K1. The shears consist of a stationary blade L, and a pivoted blade, L1, the lever-arm of which is pivoted on a pin, M1, supported on standards of table M. The side of the blades facing toward the music-roller is flat; but at the opposite side the blades are beveled from the cutting edges, as clearly shown in Fig. 2. In consequence of this construction the shears cut the pin severed from the wire with a square end, but bevel or point the end of the wire, so that the point of the pins will be beveled or pointed, to facilitate driving them into the music-roller, while the butt end will be square. The pivoted blade is held open by a spring, l, which throws the arm L2 thereof down onto the slide N, mounted in guides on the table M. The pivoted blade is closed by the action of a cam, L3, on slide N during the forward stroke of said slide. In feeding the wire the end passes through between the shears into a guide-hole, o, in the bar or transfer-block O, which is mounted to slide on the end of table M, transversely with respect to the wire from which the pins are cut. The transfer-block is normally held by a spring, O', in such a position that its guide-hole o is directly in line with the end of the wire. Each time and immediately after a pin has been cut from the wire the transfer-block is moved to bring the pin in line with a driver, N1, on the slide N. This sliding of the transfer-block is effected by a lever, O2, pivoted on pin M1, and constructed with a cam-head, o2 adapted to operate on a cam-face, o1, of transfer-block 0. The tail of lever O2 rests on slide N (it may be held down by a spring, like lever-arm L2) and is operated by a cam, O3, on said slide N during the forward stroke thereof--namely, immediately after a pin has been severed from the wire and before the driver N1 reaches the transfer-block. Cam O3 has a flat extension, o3, by which the tail of lever O2 is kept elevated, so that its cam-head will prevent the return of the transfer-block, but hold it stationary long enough to enable the driver to drive the pin onto the music-roller and withdraw from out of the guide-hole of the transfer-block. The feed-rollers K K1 are turned to feed the wire during the return-stroke of slide N by a pawl, K2, thereon, through the intervention of a ratchet-wheel, K, on a counter-shaft, K4, which carries a spur-wheel, K5, for driving a spur-wheel, K6, on roller K. Spur-wheel K6 transmits motion to roller K1 by a spur-wheel, K7, having a like number of teeth. The cams L3 and O3 and pawl K2 are suitably disposed on the slide N to act at the proper times. The slide N is reciprocated, through the medium of an eccentric-rod, P2, by the eccentric on the main shaft Q of the machine. The eccentric P acts on the eccentric-rod P2 through a ring, P1, which is constructed with a dog, p, and is loose on the eccentric. The eccentric-rod is provided with an elongated yoke surrounding the eccentric-ring P1, and so constructed that said ring may be locked therein or unlocked therefrom, according as said ring is turned, so as to engage a shoulder, p1, of said yoke, or so as to be disengaged from said shoulder. The eccentric will only reciprocate the eccentric-rod, and through it slide N when the ring P1 is locked in the yoke of said rod. The position of eccentric-ring P1 is determined by the pattern-roller through the following means: A lever, R, is fulcrumed on the stand of table M, reaching with one arm, the end of which is provided with a downwardly-projecting pin, r, over the pattern-roller. The other arm of the lever engages the lower end of, a pitman, R1, between a couple of nuts; r1 r2, thereon. The upper end of pitman R1 is pivoted to the eccentric-ring P1. A stiff spring, r3, is arranged between the lever R and the nut r2 tending to hold the lever tip against the nut r1. A little in advance of shoulder p1 a pin, r4, projects up through the yoke of the eccentric-rod, being normally projected by a spring, r5, which is lighter than spring r3, but still strong enough to ordinarily prevent the, engagement of shoulder p1 by the dog p of the eccentric-ring. The lever R is so arranged and proportioned that in its oscillations, imparted to it by the eccentric, its pin r will strike down close to the surface of the pattern-roller. So long as pin r strikes no pin c1 of the pattern-roller the eccentric-ring will merely oscillate the eccentric-rod but not move it endwise. But whenever the pin r of lever R strikes upon a pin, c', of the pattern-roller, whereby the motion of the lever is arrested, in that case the pitman R1 turns the ring P1 on the eccentric, so as to cause its dog p to depress the pin r4 and engage the shoulder p1 of the eccentric-rod. The feed of the pattern-roller is so timed with reference to the eccentric P that it takes place while the arm of the lever R, provided with the feeler-pin r, is elevated. The feed-carriage, together with the pattern-roller and music-roller, is fed step by step by turning shaft E intermittingly. This may be effected by a simple ratchet-and-pawl gearing; but in order to adapt the machine to operate with different sizes and styles of pattern-rollers and upon different styles and sizes of music-rollers, I prefer to use a variable gearing, substantially such as is employed on gear-cutting engines, the so-called "index-plate" S thereof being keyed to shaft E and operated by a variable pin on radius-bar, S1, which is oscillated by the eccentric T on shaft Q through the medium of eccentric-rod T1, rocking arm T2, and adjustable connecting-rod T3. The return motion of the index-plate is prevented by a pin on adjustable arm S2. This mechanism admits of great variations in the feed of the carriage and the rollers supported thereon. In summarizing the operation of the machine let it be assumed that the end of the wire has been fed into the guide-hole of the transfer-block, and that there is no pin c' of the pattern-roller under the feeler-pin of lever R. The machine will run without operating slide N until the pattern-roller has been fed to a point where one of its pins c1 stands under the feeler-pin of lever R. On the downstroke of the feeler-pin, the dog of the eccentric-ring is caused to engage the yoke of the eccentric-rod so as to move the rod and slide N toward the music-roller. During this forward stroke of the slide its cam L3 first closes shear-blade L1, cutting a pin from the wire, next its cam O3 slides the transfer-block so as to carry the pin to a point in line with the pin-driver N1, and finally the pin-driver drives the pin into the music-roller. On the return-stroke of the slide N, after the pin-driver has withdrawn from the transfer-block, the latter is returned to its position of rest, shear-blade L1 is opened, and the pointed end of the wire fed into the transfer-block. The pattern-roller is also fed forward a step during the return-stroke of the slide N, and the dog of the eccentric-ring is disengaged from the shoulder p1 of the yoke of the eccentric-rod by the action of spring r5 and pin r4. Each feed-step both turns and advances the pattern-roller to such an extent as to carry its holes c successively under the feeler-pin r, and the diameter of the music roller bears such relation to that of the pattern-roller that whenever there are pins c1 in successive holes of the pattern-roller successive pins will be driven into the music-roller in such close contiguity as to constitute in effect a continuous ridge adapted to sound a prolonged note. This feature of the roller constitutes the subject-matter of an application for United States Letters Patent filed of even date with the application for this patent. In order to give additional support to the music-roller under the bows of the pin-driver, I provide a back-rest, U, constructed with a rib of proper height to bear against the back of the music-roller. It is obvious that the pin cutting and driving mechanism may be multiplied, each separate mechanism being governed by a separate feeler-lever, so that the music-roller may be prepared along different sections at one and the same time. Again, music-rollers are usually designed to play a number of pieces. Music-rollers of this description may be prepared by the machine described by first inserting all the pins for one piece, then after properly adjusting the music roller endwise inserting all the pins for the next piece, and so on; or the machine may be adapted by a suitable multiplication of the pin cutting and driving mechanism to prepare the roller for all the pieces at the same time. All these modifications I regard as mere variations of my invention, and many other variations may be made without departing from the principle of my invention. I believe that I am the first to provide a machine for automatically inserting pins in music-rollers in accordance with a previously prepared and stepwise-moved pattern, and therefore claim such machine, broadly. As regards the pattern, its form may be much varied. Thus, instead of using a variable pattern, a separate unchangeable pattern may be provided for each kind of music-roller, either in the shape of a roller or in the form of a perforated belt of the nature of Jacquard's cards, suitable changes being made in the feeler-lever and connections. Instead of cutting the pins from a spool of wire by the machine, they may be cut by a separate machine and taken, one at a time, by the pin driver from the bottom of a suitable hopper. To adapt the machine for preparing rollers having circular rows of pins, the screw-feed may be so modified as to advance the carriage a distance equal to that between two adjacent rows at the completion of each full turn of the pattern-roller. I claim as my invention- 1. A machine for inserting pins in music-rollers, organized with a stepwise-movable pattern which governs the insertion of the pins, substantially as set forth. 2. A machine for inserting pins in music-rollers, organized with a stepwise-movable pattern which governs the insertion of the pins and with a variable feed-motion, substantially as before set forth. 3. The combination, substantially as before set forth, of the stepwise-movable pattern-roller, the provided with centers for the support of the music-roller, and a driver for turning the music-roller synchronously with the pattern-roller. 4. The combination, substantially as before set forth, of the stepwise-movable pattern, the feeler-lever, the pin-driver, and means controlled by the feeler-lever for reciprocating the pile-driver. 5. The combination, substantially as before set forth, of the reciprocating slide carrying the pin-driver and provided with cams L3 and O3 and pawl K3, the wire-feed rollers, the shears, the pin-transfer block, and lever 02. 6. The combination, substantially as before set forth, of the feed-carriage for supporting the music-roller and the back-rest. In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses. HENRY B. MORRIS. Witnesses: Frank M. Leary, Edwin H. Woodruff.