Apparatus and method for manufacturing offset head nails

Abstract

A method and apparatus for forming a circular offset head nail including first and second die-rings having a plurality of grooves for holding nail blanks. A pre-bender adjacent the head forming roller bends an end of the nail blanks so that a head forming roller adjacent the pre-bender rolls the circular offset heads in a free-flow form. The pre-bender and the head forming roller include an angled surface for forming the circular offset head.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A nail making apparatus for forming a circular offset head nail comprising: 
 a first die-ring having a plurality of grooves for holding a first side of a nail blank;    a second die-ring having a plurality of grooves for holding a second side of the nail blank;    a head forming roller adjacent the first and second die-rings; and    a pre-bender adjacent the head forming roller,    wherein the pre-bender and head forming roller are shaped to form the circular offset head in a free-flow form.    
     
     
         2 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the pre-bender and the head forming roller are shaped to include an angled surface.  
     
     
         3 . The apparatus of  claim 1  further comprising: 
 first feed rollers for drawing nail wire through straightening rollers and into cutting wheels to form the nail blanks; and  
 second feed rollers for moving the nail blanks to the first and second die-rings.  
 
     
     
         4 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the cutting wheels include a plurality of cutters.  
     
     
         5 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the first die-ring has a carrier for positioning the nail blanks in the grooves of the first die-ring.  
     
     
         6 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the first die-ring and the second die-ring are positioned at an angle to each other.  
     
     
         7 . The apparatus of  claim 1  further comprising a positioning roller for positioning the nail blanks in the grooves in the first and second die-rings at the proper location for the pre-bender.  
     
     
         8 . A method for forming a circular offset head for a nail blank comprising the steps of: 
 positioning the nail blank to expose an end of the nail blank;    bending the exposed end of the nail blank by a pre-bender; and    rolling the exposed end of the nail blank into an offset circular head by a head forming roller in a free-flow form.    
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8  further comprising: 
 gripping the nail blank between two rotating die-rings; and  
 rotating the die-rings from the pre-bender to the head forming roller.  
 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 8  wherein the step of bending the exposed end of the nail blank includes moving the nail blank across an angled surface of the pre-bender.  
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 8  wherein the step of rolling the exposed end of the nail blank wire includes moving the end across an angled surface to a flat surface of the head forming roller.  
     
     
         12 . A method of manufacturing a circular offset head nail comprising the steps of: 
 feeding nail wire into a nail making apparatus;    cutting the nail wire into nail blanks;    feeding the nail blanks into grooves in a first die-ring and a second die-ring;    positioning the nail blanks in the first and second die-rings to expose an end of the nail blanks;    bending the end of the nail blanks by rotating the die-rings past a pre-bender; and    forming the head in the bent end of the nail blank by rotating the nail blanks past a head forming roller to form the head in a free-flow form.    
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12  wherein bending the end of the nail blank includes moving the nail blank across an angled surface of the pre-bender.  
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 12  wherein forming the head includes moving the bent end of the nail blank across an angled surface and a flat surface of the head forming roller.