US1489825A - Machine for cutting disks - Google Patents

Description

April 8 1924. 1,489,825

A. N. FLEMING MACHINE FOR CUTTING DISKS Filed Dec. 8. 1921 6 Sheets-Sheet l N $1 g3 8m0mtoz M A {2. W;

83 Clue 014%? A I wwwa Afiril 8 1924." 1,489,825

A. L. N. FLEMING MACHINE FOR. CUTTING DISKS Filed Dec. 8. 1921 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 lhl A ia! s, 1924.

-A. L. ,N. FLEMING MACHINE FOR CUTTING DISKS Filed Dec. 8. 1921 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 A. L. N. FLEMING MACHINE FOR CUTTING DISKS Aprii 8 {1924 *6 Sheeis-Sheet 4 Filed Dec. 8, 1921' April 8 1924. 1,489,825

v, A. N. FLEMING MACHINE FOR GUTTING DISKS Filed Dec. 1921 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 April 8 1924. 1,489,825 7 A. L. N. FLEMING MACHINE FOR CUTTING DISKS Filed Dec. 8. 1921 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Patented Apr. 8, 1924.

; STATES.

PATENT OFFICE.

AUGUST L. N. FLEMING, F LYNDHURST, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGN OR TO MIIIGCA MA.- CHIN ERY COMPANY, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK. A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

MACHINE FOR CUTTING DISKS.

Application filed December 8, 1921. Serial 1103520355.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, AUGUST L. N. FLEM- ING, a citizen of France, and resident of Lyndhurst, county of Bergen, and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for Cutting Disks, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to disc-cutting machines and more particularly to machines for cutting disks from units or sections of cork for use as cork seals and the like, and

has for its object to provide a machine of novel and simple construction whereby the efficiency of the cutting operation and the productive speed are increased to a maximum extent and whereby waste of material is reduced to a minimum. Other morespecific objects will appear more fully from the description hereinafter and the features of novelty will be pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Which illustrate an example of the invention without defining its limits, Figure 1 is a sec tional elevation of the machine; Fig. 1 is a detail sectional View; Fig. 2 is a crosssection, 0n an enlarged scale, on the line 22 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a horizontal section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1; Figs. 4 and 5 are detail sections taken, respectively, on the lines 4-4 and 55 of Fig. 1; Figs. 6 and 7 are vertical sections taken. respec tively, on the lines 66 and 77 of Fig. 1; Figs. 8 (and 9 are fragmentaryq sections similar to Fig. 1, and Fig. 10 isa diagrammatic illustration of the cutting process.

As shown in the drawings, the machine vomprises a base or table supported upon legs 16; a frame 17 is mounted upon said base, preferably so as to be capable of being tilted to an inoperative position with respect thereto for the purpose to be more fully described hereinafter. Thus, as illustrated. the frame 17 may be pivotally connected at 18 with the base 15 and may be rigidly locked in its operative position, for instance, by means of bolts 19 and co-operating lugs 20 formed on the base and on the frame.

A flanged drum 21 is fixed upon a shaft 21 rotatably mounted upon the frame 17 and is provided with a plurality of peripheral grooves 22, the purpose of which will appear more fully hereinafter. An endless feed the material into the machine and passes in contact with the -surface of said drum and over rollers 24 and 25 carried by shafts 26 and 27 journalled upon the frame 17; the belt 23 further passes over a roller 28 which is mounted ,upon a shaft 29 journalled in arms 30 pivotally connected with the frame 17 by means of the shaft 27, as shown in Fig. 1. Springs 31 serve to draw the arms 30 toward the drum 21 whereby the one run of the belt 23 is maintained in yielding contact with said drum or with the material passing therethrough and exerts a frictional pressure thereon; bellcrank levers 32 pivoted upon the shaft 26 carry a tension roller 33 and serve to maintain saidbelt 23 under the desired tension by the action of suitable springs 34. The belt 23 is positively driven coincidentally with the periodical step-by-step movement of the drum, to be described hereinafter, b means of pinions 35 and a gear 36 Whic meshes with a gear 37 fixed upon the. drum shaft 21. 'The drum 21, in turn, is advanced in predetermined steps by means of a ratchet wheel 38 carried by the shaft 21 and a co-operating pawl 39 pivoted upon a lever 40 mounted to rock upon said shaft 21; the lever 40 is reciprocated by means of a rod 41 pivotally connected at 42 with an arm 43, the latter being preferably provided with a slot 43 in which the connection 42 is adjustable to vary the throw of the lever 40 and consequently the step-bystep feed of the drum 21. The arm 43 is carried by a shaft 44 journalled in bearing brackets 45, which depend from the base 15, as shown in Fig. 1. The shaft 44 further has fixed thereon an arm 46 provided with a slot 47 in which a block 48 is slidably movable. The block 48 is pivotally connected by means: of a pin 49 located upon a disk 50 carried by a main driving shaft 51 journalled in suitable bearings forming part of or secured to the base 15. The driving shaft receives its rotative motion in any convenient manner as, for instance, by means of a pulley 52 driven through the medium of a belt. which has been omitted for the sake of clearness.

An auxiliary, stationary frame 53 is fixed upon the frame 17 and includes a plate 53 located in juxtaposition to the drum 21 and carrying a member 54 which extends tan- 22 of the drum 21, as shown in Figs. 1, 6

and 7. The member 54: may constitute an integral extension of the plate 53 or co1nprise a separate element suitably connected therewith. As shown in Figs. 1 and 5, the stationary plate 53 is provided at its opposite edges with preferablyintegral guide flanges 53 the purpose of which will appear more fully hereinafter. A plurality of feed rollers 56 carried by shafts 57 are journalled upon the auxiliary frame 58 and have their peripheries extending into recesses 58 formed in the plate 53, the arrangement being such that the peripheries of the feed rollers 56 lie slightly beyond the outer surface of the plate 53 as shown in Fig. 1. Each of the shafts 57 carries a gear 59 operatively connected through the medium of gears 60 and positively driven by means of a gear 61 which meshes with the "previously mentioned gear 37 carried by the shaft 21. A supplemental frame 62 is pivotally connected with the arm 30 by means of the shaft 29 and depends from the latter in juxtaposition to the auxiliary frame 53, as'shown in Fig. 1. The supplemental frame is formed with a plate 63 which, asshownin- Fig. 5, projects between the guide flanges 53 into'close proximity to the plate 53 'and is also provided with recesses 641 for the accon'unoda-tion of feed rollers 65 carried byshafts 66, the peripheries of said feed rollers 65 extending slightly beyond the plate 68. The arrangement is such that the feed rollers 65 are located in registry with the feed rollers 56 and co-operate therewith to feed the material through the machine, as will be hereinafter more fully pointedout. The feed rollers 65 are positively driven by means of gears 67 located upon the shaft- 66 and operatively connected through the medium of gears 68, the actual operation of the feed rollers 65 being effected through the medium of a gear 69 which meshes with one of the pinions 35, as shown in Fig. 1. The supplemental frame 62 is constructed with exten sions 70-to each of which one end of springs 71' is connected, the other end of said springs being attached to hooks 72 located, for instance, upon the legs 16. in the preferred construction links 73 are connected at 7% with the extensions 70 and at 75 with arms 76 comprising integral extensions-of the auxiliary frame 53; with the described arrangement the supplemental frame 62 is movably mounted by means of the arms 30 and links 73 and thus is flexible and'yielding, as will be more fully set forth hereinafter. The parts are so dimensioned and located that during the operation of the machine the springs 31 and 71 will exert a tension-whereby the supplemental frame 62 is drawn toward the right in Fig. 1 to maintain the feed rollers 65 in proper co-operative relation with the feed rollers 56.

The machine further includes a plurality of cutting devices which, in the illustrated example, are shown in the form of tubular knives 77, 77 and 77 The l-:nives are each carried by a tubular member 78, preferablyin such a manner as to be readily detachable therefrom, for instance, by being screwed into the same, as shown in Fig. 1. The members 78, in turn, are each fixed in a sleeve 7 9 rotatably mounted in bearings 80, which form part of a traveling head 81. The latter is slidably mounted in guideways 82 forming part of the base 15 and isreciprocated toward and away from the drum 21 by means of an arm 88 fixed upon the shaft is and preferably having a circular head 8st seated in a socket or recess 8 1 of the traveling head 81. The knives 77, 77 and 77 are rotated about their axes, for instance, through the medium of a power-driven belt 85, which passes over pulleys 86, each secured upon one of the sleeves 79 and over idler pulleys 87 rotatably mounted upon extensions 88 of the traveling head 81. Ejecting rods 89 project axially through the members 78 and knives 77, 77 and 77 and are carried by a stationary bracket 90 suitably secured upon the base 15. For the purpose of securing, the greatest economy of operation and to prevent waste of material, the knives 77, 77 and 7 7 are located above each other along an inclined line, as shown in Fig. 2,

the relation being such that the cuts made by the knives will be in staggered relation to each other and with a n'iinimum of space therebetween, as clearly shown in the diagrammatic illustration of Fig. 10. In addition to the parts so far described, the machine niayinclude a shield 91 located between the cutting knivcs and the feeding mechanisn'i and provided with apertures 92 through which the knives 77, 77 and 77 are arranged to project in the operation of the machine. In the preferred form the shield may be continued to include a receptacle 93 for the disks of material which are cut by the knives previously mentioned. It will be understood that the feed rollers 65 are formed at the proper points with peripheral recesses 65, as shown in Fig. 6, to permit the passage of the cutting knives to the material. in the operation of the machine.

In describing the operation of the machine, it will be assumed that it is being used for the purpose of cutting disks of cork of the type which are customarily used as closures in' combination with bottle caps for this purpose, it will be understood that it may also be used for cutting disks from other materials with equal efficiency. With the parts in the position shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings and assuming that the pulley 52 is being driven in the direction indicated by the arrow, the block 48, through the medium of the pin 49 and disk 50, will be caused to describe a circular path in the indicated direction and thereby will swing the arm 46 to the right in Fig. 1 and will correspondingly rock the shaft 44. This movement of the shaft 44 will be communicated to the arm 43 and will exert a pull upon the rod 41 whereby the lever 40 and pawl 39 will be operated toward the left in Fig. 1 in a movement of recovery. At the same time the arm 83 will be swung toward the right in Fig. 1 and will correspondingly shift the traveling head 81 in the guides 82 and thus will cause the knives 77, 77 and 77 to be similarly moved through the apertures 92 and the recesses of the rollers 65 into engagement with the sheet of cork a, which is clamped between the plates 53 and 63 by the action of the springs 31 and 71 and thus firmly held in position. As the machine continues to operate the knives 77, 7 7 and 7 7 will penetrate the material a and will cut therefrom a series of disks, one of which will remain seated in the end of each knife. As the operation of the pulley 52 continues, the block 48 will finally swing the arm 46 toward the left in Fig. l and through the medium of the shaft 44 will similarly operate the lever 83 whereby the traveling head 81 and the knives 7 7 7 7 and 77 will be correspondingly moved to the left or back to their normal position. This return movement of the knives being relative to the ejecting rods 89 will cause these rods to finally exert a pressure upon each of the disks of material seated in the ends of said knives whereby said disks will be ejected from the knives and deposited in the receptacle 93. It will be understood that during the reciprocating movements of the parts, the knives 77, 77 and 77 are continuously rotated by means of the belt 85 so that the action thereof is a true cutting action and not a punching operation whereby the disks are cut cleanly from the sheet a and are not punched therefrom. As a matter of fact, the rotation of the knives is continuous during the operation of the machine.

Coincidentally with the return of the traveling head 81 and-the knives to their normal positions, a push will be exerted upon the rod 41 through the medium of the arm 43 whereby the pawl 39 will be caused to rotate the ratchet 38 and thereby rotatably advance the drum 21; this operation of the drum 21 carries with it the gear 37 and consequently, operates the belt 23 and also the feed rollers 56 and 65 whereby the sheet of material a is advanced relatively to the plates 53 and 63 to a corresponding extent. During this movement the material is guided between the guide flanges 53 and the plates 53 and 63 and is prevented there-1 a and eventually deposited in the recep table 93.

The member 54 with its fingers 55 serves to properly guide the material a between the plates 53 and 63 and prevents the same from leaving its intended path. During the cutting operation the material a is firmly and securely clamped in position between the plates 53 and 63 by the action of the springs 31 and 71; the auxiliary frame and supplemental frame or, specifically, the plate 53*, flanges 53 and plate 63 thereof serve to guide the material in a manner to hold it against buckling and lateral shifting and to clamp it in its position of rest for cutting. In some cases, instead of passing a continuous sheet of material a through the machine, as indicated in Fig. 1, a plurality of relatively thin sheets a may be passed therethrough, as indicated in Fig. 9, or a plurality of sheets a of different dimensions maybe fed through, as indicated in Fig. 8. In either case, the supplemental frame 62, because of its flexible mounting, and its feed rollers 65 will adapt themselves to the conditions imposed by the type of material being fed and existing at the time to properly feed said material and to firmly fix it in position during the cutting operation; it will be understood that if the material fed through the machine is as indicated by a and 07, a plurality of disks will be simultaneously cut by each of the knives 77, 77* and 77 and will be coincidentally ejected into the receptacle 93, as previously described.

The action of the driving mechanism, that is, the block 48, connection 49 and disk-50. is such that the arm 46 and consequently the traveling head 81 with the cutting knives will be advanced in the operative direction toward the right in Fig. 1 with a comparatively slow movement, including an infinitesimal period of restv when the cutting position is reached whereby the most effective cutting action of the knives is secured; during this movement the pawl 39 describes a movement of recovery. At the same time the movement of the arm 46 in the Opposite direction is accomplished at a higher speed so that the return movement of the traveling head 81 and the knives 77, 77 and 77 toward their normal position is quickly accomplished and at the same time the feeding movement of the material is brought about at relatively high speed. The operation of the machine and its capacity is thus maintained at the highest point.

The machine is simple in construction and efficient in operation and provides a mechanism whereby disks of material. and more particularly of cork, may readily be cut in large quantities with a minimum of waste and in a completely automatic manner. In order to prevent the cutting edges of the knives from becoming dulled or inoperative too quickly, the plate 53, as shown in Fig. 1, may he provided with grooves or recesses 94: arranged to provide clearance for thecutting edges of the knives while in their cutting positions; in some cases, packings 94 of lead or other suitable material may be located in said recesses, as shown in Fig. 1, it being understood that, in such case, these packings are positioned in registry with the knives and are always of such a nature as to exert practically no injurious action upon the cutting edges thereof.

Various modifications in the specific form shown and described may be made within the scope of the claims without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim:

1. A disc-cutting machine comprising a drum provided with a plurality of annular grooves, means co-operating therewith to feed the material, combined feeding and clamping mechanism located adjacent to said drum, a member or 'ried by said combined feeding and clamping means and having fingers arranged to project into said grooves of the drum, a plurality of cutting devices, and means for coincidentally moving said cutting devices toward and away from the material in said combined clamping and feeding means.

2. A disc-cutting machine comprising a drum provided with a plurality of annular grooves, means co-operating therewith to feed the material, combined feeding and clamping mechanismlocated adjacent to said drum. a member carried by said combined feeding and clamping means and having fingers arranged to project into said grooves of the drum, a carriage movable toward and away from said combined feeding and clamping means, a plurality of rotatable cutting devices located upon said carriage, and mechanism for reciprocating said carriage and for operating said drum and feeding means in predetermined steps.

3. A disc-cutting machine comprising a 1 greases.

drum, .an endless belt co-operating therewith to feed the material in a curved path, a stationary auxiliary frame, feed rollers rotatably mounted thereon, a movable supplemental frame, feed rollers thereon co-operating with the first-named feed rollers to feed the material in a linear direction and to clamp it against movement, gearing operatively. connecting all of said feed rollers and said endless belt with said drum, a plurality of cutting devices movable toward and away from said material, and mechanism for reeiprocating said cutting devices and for operatingsaid drum, endless belt and feed rollers in predetermined steps.

i. A disc-tinting machine comprising a drum, an endless belt co-operating therewith to feed the material in a curved path, a stationary, auxiliary frame, feed rollers rotatably mounted thereon, a movable supplemental frame, feed rollers thereon co-operating with the first-named feed rollers to feed the material in a linear direction and to clamp it against movement, gearing operatively connecting all of said feed rollers and said endless belt with said drum, a traveling head slidable toward and away from the material, tubular cutting members located upon said traveling head at spaced intervals along an inclined line, means whereby cutting knives are rotated about their axes and mechanism for reciprocating said traveling head and for operating said drum, belt and feeding rollers in predetermined steps.

5. A disc-cutting machine comprising a support, a frame pivotally mounted upon said support, a drum rotatably mounted upon said frame, an endless belt mounted upon. said frame and co-operating with said drum to feed the material, an auxiliary frame connected with said first-named frame, a supplemental frame connected with said first-named frame, a plurality of feed rollers on said auxiliary and supplemental frames co-ope-rating to feed the material and to clamp the same against movement, a

spring for drawing the supplemental frame toward the auxiliary frame, gearing connecting said feed rollers and said endless belt with said drum, a pawl and ratchet mechanism connected with said drum, a rock shaft connected with said pawl and ratchet mechanism for actuating the latter in predetermined steps, a traveling head slidable toward and away from the supplemental frame, a plurality of tubular cutting members rotatably mounted upon said traveling head in spaced relation along an inclined line, means for rotating said cutting mem bers about their axes, an arm mounted upon said rock shaft and connected with said traveling head, a slotted arm on said rock shaft, mechanism for oscillating said arm whereby said traveling head is reciprocated and said pawl and ratchet mechanism is actuated, and stationary ejecting rods for ejecting the cutdisks from said cylindrical cutting devices.

6. A disc cutting machine comprising a feed drum, an endless belt co-operating with said drum to feed the material in a curved path, a fixed support, feed rollers thereon, a movable support, co-operating feed rollers thereon for feeding the material in a straight path and for automatically yielding and adjusting themselves in accordance with the material being fed and means for cutting disks from said material.

7. A disc cutting machine comprising a feed drum, an endless belt co-operating with said drum to feed the material in a curved path, a fixed guide member, feed rollers thereon, an adjustable guide member, feed rollers thereon for feeding the material in a straight path and for automatically adjusting themselves in conformity with the material being fed, means for intermittently driving said feed rollers, belt and drum, and springs whereby said rollers are caused to grip said material.

8. In a disc cutting machine, a stationary plate, a plurality of feed rollers mounted thereon, a supplemental plate pivotably movable and provided with openings, a plurality of feed rollers on said supplemental plate provided with grooves in registry with said openings and co-operating with said first-named feed rollers to feed the material, a plurality of rotary cutters, means for adjusting said cutters through the spaces between the grooves of adjacent feed rollers and through said openings to cut disks from said material and means whereby said plates are caused to clamp said material during the cut-ting operation.

9. In adisc cutting machine, a stationary plate, a plurality of feed rollers mounted thereon, a supplemental plate pivotally movable, a plurality of feed rollers on said supplemental plate co-operating with said first-named feed rollers to feed the material, means i'or cutting disks from said material and springs whereby said supplemental plate is permitted to automatically adjust its feed rollers to the material and to clamp the latter during the cutting operation.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

AUGUST L. N. FLEMING.

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