COINING MACHINERY. 



725 



Coining latitude in the opening made in the other ring for its re- 

 achinery. ce ption, and this allows the screw to raise the die quite 

 ""V~" ' clear of the coin before it partakes of the twist of the 



screw. 



The steel All the coins in this press are inclosed in a steel ring 

 Tm S- whilst they are struck, which method we believe was 



introduced by Mr Lawson, an agent of Mr Boulton, and 

 now an officer in the mint. It is very ingeniously con- 

 trived to force out the money from it, which becomes 

 PLATE jambed very fast into it by the expansion of the metal. 

 The lower die /, as shewn in Fig. 2. is at top reduced to 

 a neck only the size of the money it is to coin, and up. 

 Fig. 3. on it is fitted the steel ring K, Fig. 3. ; this slides free- 

 ly up and down upon the neck of the die, but has al- 

 ways a tendency to rise up upon it by the action of a 

 triple spring M surrounding the die beneath the ring. 

 Fig. 4. It is occasionally depressed by two levers f i, Fig. 4. af- 

 fixed by centre pins to a ringN, which is fixed on the out- 

 side of the box I, Fig. 2. holding the lower die /. The 

 inside ends of these levers /', act upon the outside of the 

 steel ring K, and the other ends are forked to admit 

 chocks TO, attached to the lower ends of the rods h h, 

 and guided by the anterior edges of the frame, as shewn 

 in Fig. 1. : these, by elevating the tails of the levers i 

 whenever the screw rises, depress the opposite ends, 

 and the ring with them. Then, suppose the screw at 

 the highest point of its movement, the ring will be at 

 the bottom, and its upper surface level with the surface 

 of the lower die ; now place a blank thereon, and when 

 the screw of the press comes down, the rods descend 

 with it, and the levers permit the springs M, beneath 

 the ring K, to raise it up, and completely inclose the 

 coin before the upper die comes upon it to strike the 

 impression, which being done, and the screw beginning 

 to return with the rods h, they elevate the tails of the 

 levers, and thrust the ring down, leaving the coin loose 

 upon the die, which being removed, and another blank 

 placed upon it, the same operation is repeated. 

 Feeding; The blanks are in this machine fed, or placed succes- 



echa- sively on the lower die by very ingenious mechanism, 

 which is represented on an enlarged scale in Figs. 6, 7, 

 and 8. Its connection with the press can be seen in Fig. 

 1. where o np is a levor, moveable on a center n, and ac- 

 tuated at the upper end by a curved sector o, attached to 

 the upper extremity of the screw li. This is so curved, 

 Fig*, 6, 7, that, in the reciprocating motion of the screw, the end 

 i. of the lever moves alternately to and from the centre of the 



press. It is guided to move with steadiness, by fitting 

 in a groove r. At the lower end it gives motion to a 

 slider P, which carries the blanks singly from a tube, in 

 which they are deposited, and lays them upon the lower 

 die, then returns to fetch others. This slider is fitted in 

 brass frame or socket R, attached to the frame of the 

 press. Thus, a piece of iron r, Fig. 1, is screwed to the 

 check K of the press, with latitude for adjustment. To 

 thit the socket R is attached, by means shewn in Fig. 

 6. The projecting part * enters a notch in the upright 

 side of r, Fig. 1, and by a centre pin is attached, like a 

 joint, that it can swing round horizontally. The pro- 

 jecting leaf t, Fig. 6, embraces the opposite side of r, 

 Fig. 1, and having a screw through it, fixes it fast, but 

 admits of adjustment to make the slider carry the blank 

 exactly to the right place. The socket R, Fig. 6, con- 

 sists of two plates R and S. The projections t and * 

 being part of the lower one S, and the upper one R is 

 attached to it by screws and a leaf v, so that they are 

 parallel to each other, but leave sufficient space between 

 to receive the steel slider P, called the tongs. Q is a 

 tube, into which the blaeks are put, ten or a dozen at 



once, and are taken away one at a time by the tongs : Coining 

 These are shewn detached in Fig. 7. The principal Machinery- 

 piece is a ruler of steel re, to which the other piece x is " 



* . . rni , r f i PLATE 



connected by the joint y. L he end forms a circular yen. 

 opening I for the reception of the blank, but will leave Figs.6, 7,8. 

 it when x is opened ; 2 is a hook, which, when the tongs 

 advance, enters a socket fixed behind the press ; and this 

 being adjustable by screws, ensures its leaving the blank 

 in the exact position. The motion is given to the tongs 

 by a frame of steel 3, Fig. 6. It slides in front of the 

 socket RS, having a pin 4, which enters a fork in the 

 lower end of the lever o H p, Fig. 1 : It also extends be- 

 neath the lower brass plate S, and has three studs, or 

 pins, which rise up from it, and passing through 3 

 grooves in the bottom plate S, reach the tongs to, and 

 give them motion. This is shewn in Fig. 8, which is a 

 plan of the sliding frame 3, 4; and 5, 6, 7 are 3 studs. 

 The latter of these enters an opening y, Fig. 7, in the 

 blade in of the tonga, where it has a small latitude of 

 motion. The other two studs 5, 6 include the moving 

 half x of the tongs between them, near the joint y, and 

 act upon surfaces or edges thereof, which are inclined 

 to the direction of motion for the tongs and slider. Its 

 operation is thus : Suppose the tongs drawn back as far 

 as they can be in this situation, the circular opening 1 

 in the tongs comes exactly beneath the tube Q, Fig. 6, 

 and a blank falls down into the opening. Now, sup- 

 pose the frame 3, 4 moved forward by the lever o, n, p 

 acting upon the pin 4, its two studs 5, 6, which include 

 the moving blade x, tend to shut the tongs up. This 

 gripes upon the edge of the blank, and holds it fast be- 

 tween them whilst it advances, till it comes exactly 

 over the lower die, to which position it is determined, 

 and stopped by the hook 2 entering the socket be- 

 fore mentioned. In returning, the studs 5, 6 will evi- 

 dently open the tongs before they communicate any mo- 

 tion to them, and will therefore leave the blank exactly 

 where it was placed, and return empty to fetch another. 

 It stops when it comes beneath the tube Q, and another 

 blank falls into the opening 1 ; but the instant the ad- 

 vancing motion commences, the tongs close up, and hold 

 it tight, as before mentioned. The lever o, n, p, Fig. 1, 

 is made with a joint in it near the lower end, and is fur- 

 nished with two springs, which act in the same manner 

 as the springs in the back of a knife, to keep it straight, 

 and carry the tongs forward ; but if any obstruction 

 arises, the lever bends, without forcing the tongs or 

 slider forwards to break them. The centre n of the 

 lever is adjustible to regulate the length of its motion 

 by a sliding centre, which is fitted upon a vertical bar 9 

 attached to the frame. 



We have now described all the parts of this very inge-. Operation, 

 nious machine ; but it will be proper to say a few words on 

 the manner of their action. The only attention the ma- 

 chine requires, is that of a little boy, who stands in a 

 sunk place before the press, and always keeps the tube Q 

 full of blanks. He has two strings, one of which will, 

 when pulled, put the press in motion by the concealed 

 mechanism in the room above, and by snatching the other 

 string the press stops. Now, suppose the screw and upper 

 die at the highest of their movement ; the ball B of the 

 fly, close to the end of the pole G ; the lever o, n, p, and 

 tongs P, in a contrary position to that of Fig. 1. viz. 

 holding a blank exactly over the lower die j the ring forced 

 down upon the neck of the die ; in this state, by pulling one 

 of the strings, the press starts the screw b, and the upper 

 die begins to descend, the tongs open and then withdraw, 

 leaving the blank upon the die. As the motion con- 

 tinues, the small levers i, i suffer thejteel ring K to rise 



