Feeding device for high speed nut formers

A blank transferring device for a high speed nut forming machine having a machine body on which a plurality of dies having central cavities for receiving blanks are mounted along a straight line defined by the respective center points of said dies comprising:

• a manipulating mechanism provided on said machine body and adapted to provide advancing motion along a straight line and returning motion along an arched path;
• a guide plate provided on said machine body along a line defined by the respective lowest points of said cavities of the dies;
• a resilient pressure plate provided on said guide plate and extending a suitable distance beyond the line defined by the respective lowest points of said cavities of the dies, said pressure plate cooperating with the face of the machine body on which the plurality of dies are mounted to define a feed path;
• a transfer mechanism having a sliding plate suitably supported by at least one guide rail and a plurality of juxtapositioned spring mounted tabs disposed on said sliding plate, each tab having an indentation of a suitable shape to hold and convey blanks positioned along the feeding path between the pressure plate and said face of the machine body, the distance between the centers of the indentations of adjacent tabs being a suitable fraction of the distance between two successive dies, the transfer mechanism being operatively connected to the manipulating mechanism and adapted to have the tabs thereof movably and removably positioned in the feed path;
• thereby to successively hold, convey, and release blanks in said feed path due to alternating advancing straight line and returning arched path motions provided by the manipulating mechanism so that blanks are moved along said feed path in a plurality of discrete steps from one die to the next successive die.