US2684615A - Apparatus for pressing or blanking articles from strip material - Google Patents

Description

July 27, 1954, H. c TAYLOR APPARATUS FOR PRESSING OR BLANKING ARTICLES FROM STRIP MATERIAL 3 Sheets-Shee 1 Filed Nov. 7, 1950 IuveMraR July 27, 1954 H. c. TAYLOR APPARATUS FOR PRESSING OR BLANKING ARTICLES FROM STRIP MATERIAL 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed NOV. 7, 1950 NIIIUOKTCQTG R I July 27, 1954 H. c. TAYLOR APPARATUS FOR PRESSING OR BLANKING ARTICLES FROM STRIP MATERIAL 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Nov. '7, 1950 IN QNTaR M fwdnhu Patented July 27, 1954 APPARATUS FOR PRESSING OR BLANKING ARTICLES FROM STRIP MATERIAL Herbert Cyril Taylor, London, England Application November 7, 1950, Serial No. 194,408

3 Claims.

This invention relates to apparatus for pressing or blanking articles from strip material, and particularly for forming bottle caps from strip metal foil.

Heretofore, it has been usual to provide such apparatus with driven feed rollers, which feed the strip past a press tool, which is operated by suitable driving mechanism. Such machines are liable to be both costly and complex.

The object of the present invention is to provide a sunple and less costly apparatus, which may be readily applicable, to machines which require to be supplied with the caps such as bottie-capping machines.

According to this invention, an apparatus for pressing articles from strip material is characterised in that the means which drive the press tool are arranged to eifect relative unidirectional step-by-step movement between the press tool as a whole and the strip in the direction of the length of the strip in such manner that the strip is stationary with respect to the tool during the pressing operation.

Preferably, the press tool is arranged to reciprocate bodily in the direction of the length of the strip, and means are provided for clamping the strip to the tool during that stroke of the reciprocation when the pressing operation is taking place, and for releasing the strip during the other stroke, whereby a unidirectional step-bystep feeding movement is imparted to the strip.

Means may be provided for restraining the strip against movement after the strip has been released by the clamping means.

Preferably, the press tool is adjustably mounted on the apparatus so that the finished caps may be delivered to a required location on the machine with which the apparatus is to be used. Other features are set out in the following description and claims.

The following is a description of one embodiment of the invention, reference being made to the accompanying drawingin which:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of the outside of the apparatus, and

Figure 2 is a front elevation of the part of the press tool,

Figure 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Figure' 1, assuming the press tool has been swung into an upright position and,

Figure 4 is a side elevation of the apparatus.

Referring to Figure 1, the reel of metal foil I is rotatably mounted on a spindle ll fixed to a bracket l2 extending up from the main casing I3. The foil is arranged to pass from the reel over a roller I! mounted at the end of a lever arm 18 pivoted at E9 on a member 20 detachably secured to the bracket. The lever arm [8 is supported by a coil spring 2| which is secured at one end to the arm and at the other to the spindle H. The foil passes between the two lubricating wicks 22, one end of each of which wicks extends into a reservoir 23 for lubricant. The rate of delivery of the lubricant to the foil may be controlled in known manner by pressure plates 24 which clamp the wicks between them and the top of the reservoir, the pressure being regulated by screws 25. The foil then extends around a flanged guide roller 26, and through a gap 2'! in the side .wall of a casing 28, which surrounds the press tool. The casing may be provided with a transparent cover plate.

The bracket I2 is secured to the main casing I3. Arranged within the main casing I3 (see Fig- 20. .ure 3) is an electric motor 29 which drives a cross shaft 30 by means of a belt 3| and pulley wheels 32, 33. A crank shaft 34 is driven from the cross shaft 30 through an automatically operated one-revolution type clutch 35 and gearing 25 36. The crank shaft is carried in a bearing 31 formed in a slide-casting 38 which carries the press tool and which may be turned about the crank shaft axis and attached to the wall of the casing 13 in any of a number of alternative 3 positions by clamping screws (not shown). By these means, the apparatus is readily adaptable to different machines which require to make use of the caps as they are formed. The web 39 of the crank shaft is arranged in a recess on the outside 35 of the slide casting 38 and the pin 40 of the crank shaft projects from this recess into a bearing 4| which is adjustably mounted within a gap in a slide 42, which adjustment is effected by set screws 83, 84. The slide 42 is provided with an 40 outwardly extending arm 43 on which is mounted one part (indicated generally at 44) of the press tool. The slide 42 is mounted in a vertically disposed slideway 45 which slide and slideway are provided with interengaging dovetailed'bearing faces in known manner. The slideway 45 is itself provided with a transversely-extendmg slide 46 which is mounted in a slideway 47 fixed to the slide casting 38. with a support 48 which carries the other part 50 of the press tool. The support 48 also carries a plate 5| across which the foil extends. With this arrangement, the two partsof the press tool both move in the direction of the slideway 41, while the part 44 in addition, moves towards and The slide 46 is formed away from the other part 56 in the direction of the slideway Q5.

The arm 43 has resiliently mounted upon it a gripping member 52 with a gripping face 53 formed, for example, from rubber. The gripping member is provided with two pins (one of which is shown in Fig. 2) which project through guide holes in a part 85 attached to the arm 43. It has also secured to it an adjustable retaining rod 55 which passes through a hole in the part 85, and is provided with an adjusting nut 56 and lock-nut 5?. This rod is encircled by a spring 58 which at one end abuts a shoulder formed within a bore in the part 85. The other end of the spring abuts the upper face of the gripping member 52. The arrangement is such that when the arm 43 and the press tool part 34 are moved downwardly and to the left (as viewed in Figure l), the clamping member reaches the plate 5! when or after the left-hand motion changes to right-hand motion. The press tool parts M and 59 effect the cap-forming operation during their right-hand motion. During the upward movement of the part 44, the strip is released as soon as the gripping member leaves the plate 5! and thereafter the strip remains stationary. The press tool part 45 then again descends and engages a fresh part of the foil strip. In this manner, a step-by-step movement is imparted to the foil strip relative to a fixed part of the apparatus, and the punched strip together with the formed cap passes out through a gap 59 in the side wail of the press tool casing. It will be appreciated that the spring-supported roller I? will damp out any snatch imparted to the foil between the reel and the step-by-step feeding mechanism. The length of the web of the crank is selected in accordance with the maximum step-by-step feed required for the largest cap. The strip passes over a guide rod 60, while the formed caps pass into a chute 8| formed to one side of a plate 87 which carries the rod Eli and the caps roll from that chute to the outside of the apparatus. The timing of and the extent of step-by-step movement of the strip are adjusted by means of the aforesaid nut 55 on the adjusting rod 56. The rod 6!] and the roller 25 are so disposed that the foil strip before and after the pressing operation is spaced away from the plate 5|.

The upper press tool comprises an embossing member 6!, an annular cutter 62, an annular ejecting member 63 within the cutter and a stripping ring 64. A compression spring 65 is arranged between the arm 43 and the stripping ring. The stripping ring and annular ejecting member are located by pins 66 which pass through slots in the annular cutter 52. The cutter is held, against the arm 43 by means of a hollow plug 61 which passes through a hole in the arm and is provided with a threaded portion which engages a threaded bore in the cutter. The hollow plug is internally threaded and is engaged by the externally threaded sleeve 63 through which passes a bolt 69 which engages the embossing member 6|, whereby the position of the embossing member may be adjusted. The lower press member comprises a cap forming element having a recess in its upper face for receiving a resilient pad H which cooperates with the embossing member 6|. The cap forming element is encircled by a resiliently mounted pressure ring [2 which rests on a number of pegs 13 extending upwardly from a plate 74, the underside of which rests on the upper end of a spring 75. The lower end of the spring engages a keep '56 adjustably mounted on a hollow post 11. The hollow post 11 is secured to the support 48. A 5 bolt 18 extends upwardly through the hollow post and engages the cap forming element 10. The pressure ring 12 is encircled by a cutting ring 19 rigidly fixed to the bolster 85 by set screws 80. When the two parts of the press tool engage one it another the annular cutter 62 passes into the cutting ring 19 thus severing the strip to form a disc. The bottom of the annular cutter 62 engages the pressure ring 12, which parts hold the disc between them, while it is drawn downwardly over the cap forming element 10. Eventually, the flange of the cap thus formed, will rest on the pressure ring so that when the upper tool element is released the pressure ring will eject it from the cap forming element Ill and should E0 the cap tend to adhere to the upper press member 44, it will be ejected by the spring action of the ejecting member 63, while the waste strip will be stripped from the cutter 62 by the stripping member 6 5. The cap then slides under the action of gravity over the plate 5i into the aforementioned chute.

I claim: l. An apparatus for pressing articles from strip material comprising a part of a crank shaft having a crank pin, a fixed slideway, a slide therein, another slideway on said slide extending transversely thereof, a second slide in said slideway, a press tool part mounted on said second slide and engaged by said crank pin, a second 36 press tool part mounted on the first slide, whereby the two press tool parts have imparted to them both a movement towards and away from one another and a simultaneous transverse reciprocatory movement to cooperating clamping means mounted respectively on the two slides one of them being resiliently and adjustable in a direction towards the second slide, which two clamping means are adapted to clamp a strip during one stroke of the transverse reciprocation before ithe pressing operation is effected and to release the strip on the return stroke of the reciprocation.

2. An apparatus for pressing articles from strip material comprising a power driven crank in shaft having a crank pin, an upright slideway having fixed thereto a transverse slide, another slide reciprocably 1n the upright slideway, a bearing mounted in said latter slide and engaged by said crank pin, a press tool part mounted on said .55 latter slide, a second press tool part mounted on the first slide, a fixed transverse slideway in which said transverse slide is reciprocably mounted, a resilient gripping member adjustably mounted, on a part attached to the first said 5 press stool part so as to be adjustable towards and away from another gripping member on a part moving with the other press tool part, which gripping member is adapted to grip the strip during one stroke of the transverse reciprocation 3 before the pressing operation is effected and to release the strip on the return stroke of the reciprocation.

3. An apparatus for pressing articles from strip material comprising a power driven crank 7 shaft having a crank pin, an upright slideway having fixed thereto a transverse slide, another slide reciprocably mounted in the upright slideway, a bearing mounted in said latter slide and engaged by the crank pin, a press tool part mounted on the first said slide, a transverse slide- 5 way adjustably mounted on a fixed part of the apparatus so as to be rotatable thereon about the axis of the crank shaft in which said transverse slide is reciprocably mounted, clamping means comprising a resilient gripping member adjustably mounted on a part attached to the first said press tool part so as to be towards and away from and to engage a part moving with the other press tool part which clamping means are adapted to grip the strip during one stroke of the trans- 10 verse reciprocation before the pressing operation is effected and to release the strip on the return stroke of the reciprocation.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,417,609 Koerner May 30, 1922 1,880,662 Barbieri Oct. 4, 1932 2,076,906 McCordy Apr. 13, 1937 2,186,061 Berg et a1. Jan. 9, 1940

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