US1831061A - Mica splitting machine - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 10, 1931. L. T. FREDERICK 1,831,061

MICA SPLITTING MACHINE Filed Dec. 29, 1926 2 sneets sneem 1 HH' 7 ill Hlh Nov. 10, 1931. L. T. FREIQERICK MICA SPLITTING MACHINE Filed Dec. 29, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheer. 2

k I A m 1 d N M g), ww 1.1% 1:} 1, HD 1 Laws 7. fkEDER/CK Patented Nov. 10, 1931 UNITED 'STATES PATENT OFFICE LOUIS '1. FREDERICK, F VALPAKAISO, INDIANA, ASSIGNOB, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS,

TO CONTINENTAL DIAMOND FIBRE COMPANY, OF NEWARK, DELAWARE, A COR- j PORATION OF DELAWARE MICA SPLITTING MACHINE Application filed. December 29, 1926; serial no. 157,804.

. splitting and separating it, and the general object is to divide the blocks into flakes of unusual size and thinness. In carrying out all this object I subject the mica blocks to a succession of bends which are at first arcuate but which gradually become more abrupt or angular.

One of the contributory objects is to provide a machine and process in which the bend ing is done while the mica is confined between belts, and thebelts are backed up in such manner as to hold them firmly to their work. Still another object is to provide efficient tractive means for causing the belts to travel smoothly and uniformly through the machine. A further object is to provide an alternate arrangement of belt driving and mica bending rolls and stationary bending formers for effectively flexing the blocks.

These and other objects will be apparent from a perusal of the following specification when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein,

1 showing the arrangement of the belt feed rolls and stationary bending formers; and

Figure 5 is a section taken on line 5-5 of v Figure 4.

Referring now to the drawings, my "rmproved apparatus comprises a base 2 on which is bolted as at 4 a standard consisting of spaced uprights 6, each having upper and lower pairs of arms 8 and 10 respectively. These arms in turn carry cross supports upon which the cooperative mica bending devices and belt driving rolls are mounted. The lower arms 10 carry the cross supports 12 which are arranged in spaced apart relation as shown in Figure 3 of the drawings. These supports 12 have upper faces upon which is bolted a secondary standard 14 formed along its front with upstanding bearing boxes 16 and along its rear with a longitudinally extending horizontal platform 18 for receiving the gear boxes 20. The bearing boxes 16 and the platform for the gear boxes are spaced apart for the reception of the stationary bending formers hereinafter described. The mica blocks to be split into laminations are preferably passed around the bending formera by means of traveling belts. Other means for feeding the mica blocks is within the contemplation of my invention.

.The main rolls 22 which drive the belts are mounted on shafts 24 which have ball bearings; the bearings 26 at the front are mounted within the bearing boxes 16 while the opposite ends of the shafts are provided with ball bearings 28 mounted within the gear boxes 20. Each shaft is provided with a mitre gear 30 meshins; with a cooperating gear 32 on a cross shaft 34 carried by a bracket 36 on the main frame." The end of this shaft 34 is in turn provided with a pulley 38 driven by a belt 40 from a suitable source of power. By means of this bearing construction for the shafts 24 of the belt driving rolls, the latter are held in fixed position with respect to each other.

The upper arms 8 carry on their under sur- I faces the spaced upper cross supports 42 which latter in turn carry a tubular frame 44 for a centrally disposed depending tubular arm 46. This arm carries at its'bottom a cross-head 48 provided with a series of bending formers. The tubular arm 46 is made vertically adiustable throu h the frame 44 by means of thescrew.50.' By using a single crosshead the stationary bending formers may be adjusted simultaneously toward and from the s aced belt driving and mica bendim! rolls '22 as will be hereinafter described.

\Vhile these mica bending formers are prefbearin bores 16 and the rear gear boxes 20,

and the sides of these bars are cut away at appropriate places as indicated at 54 to reary bending formers alternate.

The mica blocks are preferably fed between the bending formers by means of the two flexible belts 56 and 58. These belts are arranged one over the other. The lower belt 56passes over two belt wheels 60 mounted on shafts 62 in bearings 64 on the lower supports 12, and theupper belt 58 is likewise mounted on two belt wheels 66 on shafts 68 in hearings on the under side of upper supports 42. The opposed runs of the two belts are broughttogether at one end of the series of forming dies and separate at the opposite end. The contiguous. runs of these belts are curves or ends'of lesser radius, until such.

that this sharp bending action be preceded byv the more gradual arcuate bends in the mica block. Otherwise cracking and breakage of the laminations are likely to result. The number and arrangement of the stationary bending formers and their cooperative rela /tion with the main rolls 22 and the belts are disposed in substantiallyserpentine f0rma-/S11bje(3t to various modifications within the tion between the belt driving rolls 22 and thestationary bending formers. At the front end or in feeding end of the belts, a mica feed chute 7 O is arranged so that a constant stream of mica blocks mat be fed between the upper and lower runs of the two belts. At the opposite or parting end the beltruns are disposed so that the flakes split from the mica blocks, by the action of the stationary formers and the driving rolls, will discharge the flakes to a desired station.

One of the main features of my invention resides in the construction and arrangement of the stationary formers and in their coopform as a round rod erative relation with each other, withth'e belt .griving and mica bending rolls, and with the elts. v

By my new method and by the use of my improved construction. the mica blocks can be split into lamin'ations or flakes of extreme thinness and the flakes will not be broken off or cracked in the splitting process. As is well known in the art. the desideratum is to obtain flakes of mica which are of practically irreducible thinness and which are of the same superficial area as the block from wh ch thev are split. In my process I graduallv work the mica blocks and impart the necessary rubbing and bending action to them in a manner which e'fl'ects the maximum separation. of the flakes with minimum injury or breakage.

For accomplishing this 'I provide a succession of spaced apart mica bending. formers around which the mica blocks are bent. And I provide the successive formers with curved or arcuate'hending surfaces which. in cooperation with the action of the belt driv ing rolls. impart a succession of bends or turns to the mica blocksas they are fed along between the belts. One of the particular ob jects of my invention resides in gradually changing'the extent of the arcuate bend imparted to the mica block by the successive formers: the bends changing from relatively extended, substantially arcuate curves to scope of this invention. It is also within the contemplation of my invention to omit the belt feed for the mica blocks and tofeed the blocks through the bending formers in other desired ways provided the arrangement of the gradually changing conformation of the bending surfaces as hereinbefore described is retained.

In the illustrated apparatus, I have shown the first former 72 of the series provided with a circular bending surface. Preferably this former comprises a round rod. The second former 74 which I also preferably has a smaller diameter so that the curve or bend imparted to the mica block while slightly sharper will yet be smooth and arcuate. The third former 76 is. still less in curvature and this is accomplished by forming it as an integral part of the crosshead 48. In specific outline it is somewhat tapered and provided with a curved bottom of less arcuate dimensions than the preceding former 74.. The next succeeding fofiner 78 is provided with an even sharper bending surface which is slightly rounded. This former comprises a substantially rectangular block thecorners of which are made smooth' and rounded providing a relatively sharp but bend. This block forms two such turns with an intervening flat surface. The final former 80 imparts a sharp bend or turn to the mica block. This is accomplished by the use of a. rectangular-shaped block like the preceding former 78 but without the smoothed corner edges. In other words the corners of the final former 80 are relatively sharp and impart a decided angular bend to the mica. This block also provides two such bending surfaces.

When the mica block is fed by chute 70 be-' tween the two belts 56 and 58 and over the first belt driving roll 22 it is relatively rigid and is bent with some difficulty. As the thereby smooth sharp to pass around the first former 72 the belts are subjected to considerable strains in bending the leading edge of the mica block around the relatively small circular former 72. In order to protect the belts from this severe strain and positively to guide the belts and the enclosed mica block about former 72 I provide the backing block or guide 82. This guide is preferably bolted as at 84 onto the face of the gear box and front bearings or other adjacent part of the frame so as to be rigidly held in position opposite and central ofthe space between the first and second belt driving rolls 22. Guide 82 is formed with a concave face or guiding groove which is the complement of the arcuate face of former 72.

In this manner the belts and enclosed mica blocks are passed about the former 72. I also prefer to provide a second similar block; 86 similarly positioned between the second and third belt driving rolls. This block has a. guiding groove or concave face, the com plclnent of the arcuate face of former 74.

By "the time a mica block has traveled around the main rolls 22 and bending formers 72 and 74 it will have been flexed sufficiently so that additional guide blocks are not necessary for the remaining formers. It must be evident that the main rolls 22 are relatively large in diameter so as to provide substantial tractive surfaces for driving the belts 56 and 58 around the formers 72 to 80 and that these rolls 22 also serve to bend the-mica blocks and are arranged to impart relatively large arcuate bends in the blocks alternating with relatively small arcuate bends arcuate bends impart a preliminary separat ing or splitting action WhLch gradually produced by the formers 7 2 to which get smaller and smaller and finally merge into relatively sharp and angular bends at the last former 80. By means of the adjustment of the crosshead 48 the amount of this bending may be controlled at will.

By the use of the above described method and apparatus I produce laminations of extreme thinness and maximum size. By subjecting the blocks to alternately large and small arcuate bends with the small bends becoming more and more abrupt as the block passes between the formers and by imparting final sharp bends over the relatively sharp edges of the last formers I provide the ideal rubbing action for separating the minutely thin flakes or laminations of the block. The

grows more and more effective as the bends increase in abruptions thereby loosening those laminations which have been preliminarily worked. The final sharp bends over the sharp edge serve to loosen the remaining flakes. By this method and apparatus very little breakage or cracking of the laminations is encountered. In the apparatus the belt driving rolls are mounted on ball bearings at each end and are rigidly supported at front and rear by the bearing boxes and gear boxes. The rolls arethus maintained in set pos1t1on and need no adj ustment. The adjustment lowering the crosshead 48 carrying the bending formers. By using stationary is most simply provided for'by raising and formers I eliminate the necessityof moving parts while at the same time provide a conto carry the mica blocks around the bending formers to impart the desired arcuate bending action culminating in the angular or sharp, bending action. 7 Bythe use of my improved guide blockssfor the first bending formers I protect the belts from unusual struction which allows the mica feeding beltsstrains and impart a positive directional movement to the belts. It is evident that many changes may be made in the details of the apparatus herein illustrated since the mechanism shown and described is but one form of means for carrying out my invention.

Having'thus descr bed my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. An apparatus of the class describedhaving a sequence of stationary bending formers about which a mica block is bent as it travels along, and a stationary guide block spaced from the first former of said sequence to provide a guiding channel and means for passing a block of mica along said channel.

l:grcuate surface and means for passing a mica lock former.

4. In combination two relatively large rolls fixedly mounted in spaced apart relation, a stationary bending former having an arouate surface and mounted between said rolls, and a guide block fixedly mounted in spaced edgewise between said block and relation from said former and having a complemental arcnate surface and means for passing a block of mica successively through said rolls and across said bending former.

5. Incombinationtworelatively large rolls fixedly mounted in spaced apart relation a stationary bending former having an arcuate surface and mounted between said rolls, and a guide block fixedly mounted in spaced relation from said former and having a complemental arcuate surface and a plurality of flexible guide belts driven by said rolls, said belts passing around said rolls and between said former and guide block and carrying mica blocks between the turns of said belts.

6. An apparatus of the character described having spaced bending rolls of relatively large diameter and intervening relatively small s'tationar bending formers forming a tortuous path, or the purposespecified and means for passing a'block ofmicaalong said path.

7. In combination, relatively large rolls mounted in spaced relationship,a stationary bending former having an arcuate surface arranged adjacent said rolls, a stationary 'llide block spaced from said former and liaving a complementary arcuate surface, and a flexible guide belt carried by said rolls and passing between said guide block and former and adapted to convey mica blocks past said former.

8. In combination, a series of stationary bending formers including a circular rod, a former having a rounded bending surface and a former having an angular bending surface and means for conveying'a mica block across said sequence of formers.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name.

LOUIS T. FREDERICK.

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