US2753593A

US2753593A - Apparatus for rolling an open edge of a thin flexible article

Info

Publication number: US2753593A
Application number: US329337A
Authority: US
Inventors: Beulah M Duff
Original assignee: BF Goodrich Corp
Current assignee: Goodrich Corp
Priority date: 1953-01-02
Filing date: 1953-01-02
Publication date: 1956-07-10
Anticipated expiration: 1973-07-10

Description

C. L. DUFF July 10, 1956 APPARATUS FOR AN OPEN EDGE OF A THIN FLEXIBLE ARTICLE 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 2, 1953 I DUFF,

finlail [155E755 L'UuFFdEc' 12y- Esulah Z77 .Edminir/ 59M July 10, 1956 c. L. DUFF 2,753,593.

APPARATUS FOR AN OPEN EDGE OF A THIN FLEXIBLE ARTICLE Filed Jan. 2, 1953 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 8 1 Wm r133 19 1/8 I 11s 12/ JzT/Eniea Cbeeiee .L'DUFF, deceased .QyzEeuZeiz ZYYflUFF; mfzzisieekzx El /AM if;

July 10, 1956 c. L. DUFF 2,753,593

APPARATUS FOR AN OPEN EDGE OF A THIN FLEXIBLE ARTICLE Filed Jan. 2, 1953 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 I .JzzzJeTfioa 5 Cheeiee L-DUFF, deceased C. L. DUFF July 10, 1956 APPARATUS FOR AN OPEN EDGE OF A THIN FLEXIBLE ARTICLE 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Jan. 2, 1953 JHLEHFUE. [b55155 LUUF'F, d5 ceased @Eeuial'z Zfiflumqfidminfsifiakix EMWM/ W2 July 10, 1956 c. L. DUFF APPARATUS FOR AN OPEN EDGE OF A THIN FLEXIBLE ARTICLE 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Jan. 2, 1953 L s u n w y mwflm 5 @khfi QV\ E \Q n) ELEM n I m m mu wmfi E Illa wax g g g United States Patent APPARATUS FOR ROLLING AN OPEN EDGE OF A THIN FLEXIBLE ARTICLE Charles L. Duff, deceased, late of Akron, Ohio, by Beulah M. Duff, administratrix, Toledo, Ohio, assignor to The B. F. Goodrich Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application January 2, 1953, Serial No. 329,337

9 Claims. (Cl. 18-2) This invention relates to the manufacture of thin, flexible articles such as rubber gloves, balloons and the like. More especially, the invention relates to the operation of rolling the marginal area or open end portion of a thin tubular rubber article into a bead or ring which reinforces the end portion of the article. The edge of a glove gauntlet or the edge of the neck of a balloon is usually rolled in this manner to prevent these articles from being torn easily.

Thin, hollow tubular rubber articles of this kind have been usually made by dipping processes in which a form shaped like the desired article is immersed in latex or other aqueous dispersion of rubbery material. The rubbery material is caused to coagulate or is otherwise deposited on the form to provide a thin skin or coating of rubbery material on the form. After the rubbery deposit has dried somewhat the marginal area of the deposit is rolled back upon itself away from the form into a tight bead thereby making a thick, continuous reinforcing ring around the open end of the article. Thereafter, the rubbery deposit is vulcanized and the finished article is stripped from its form.

The ring rolling operation has been an important but very difficult step in making these articles. Apparatus heretofore proposed for ring rolling has been best suited for use with forms having a relatively simple, uniform shape such as the cylindrical forms for making prophylactics. Also this prior art equipment has been ordinarily adapted for production systems in which the forms are moved in single file through the several processing stations. For forms having complex shapes such as glove forms of elliptical cross section, this equipment has not been satisfactory and neither can it be used conveniently in production systems in which the forms are mounted quite close to each other on pallets. Prior to the present invention reinforcing rings on the open ends of gloves made on pallet-supported forms, for example, have been rolled tediously by hand. According to this invention the rolling is accomplished automatically. The invention includes novel apparatus and methods which are suitable for rolling rings on articles made on forms of either complex or simple shapes and which are particularly advantageous for use in systems where the forms are mounted on pallets.

Objects of this invention are to provide for rolling an open end of a tubular article more rapidly and efficiently than has been possible heretofore, and to provide for roll ing a plurality of articles simultaneously. Other objects are to provide novel roll-forming means for contacting the marginal end area of the article and for etfecting relative movement between this means and the form to roll the marginal area back upon itself. Further objects are to minimize the possibility of damaging the article as it is being rolled and to provide for removing the forms from the equipment if an accident should occur during its operation.

These and other objects will be more fully apparent from the following .description and the accompanying drawings.

ICC

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of apparatus constructed according to and embodying the principles of this invention;

Fig. 2 is a View taken on the line 2--2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a view taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a view showing details of the structure of one spindle and a portion of its associated mechanism for operating it, the view being drawn on an enlarged scale;

Fig. 5 is a view taken along the line 5-5 of Fig. 4 looking upward toward the bottom side of a portion of the spindle mechanism;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of one of the front corners of a pallet used in carrying the forms through the apparatus;

Fig. 7 is a detail view drawn on an enlarged scale and taken along the line 7-7 of Fig. 4; and

Fig. 8 is a schematic view of control equipment for operating the apparatus. I

The apparatus shown in the drawings is advantageously employed as the ring rolling station of a continuous production system for making rubber gloves. In addition to this ring rolling apparatus, the system will include various dipping stations, drying units, vulcanizing ovens and the like which are not illustrated. The gloves are made on glove forms 10, a number of which are mounted on each of the rectangular-shaped pallets 11. The pallets are moved through the various processing stations on' The conveyor mechanism The conveyor 12 is formed with a structural steel supporting frame 14 and is a roller-type conveyor. Along each side of the top of the conveyor there is a row of short, horizontal, parallel rolls 15 (see Fig. 2) which support the sides of the pallets 11 and which rotate as the pallets are moved over them along the conveyor. Each roll 15 is mounted on a shaft 16 and the end of each shaft 16 toward the inside of the conveyor is journaled in a horizontal member 17 which extends the full length of the conveyor. The outside end of each shaft 16 is journaled in a horizontal side member 18 which also extends the full length of the conveyor. These members 18 each have along their upper edges, portions 19 which project above the rows of rolls 15 and which mutually cooperate to form a guideway for confining'the pallets the pallets are moved along the conveyor.

The pallets are delivered to the left end of the con veyor 12 as is shown in Fig. l and the group of rolls 1511 close to the left or pallet-receiving end of the conveyor are driven to pull the pallets onto the conveyor and start them moving along it. To drive the rolls 15a, the shaft 16 of each of these rolls 15a has a portion which projects beyond its journal in its side member 18 and which is fitted with two sprockets 20, 20 (Fig. 2). The

sprockets

20, 20 of each roll 15a are connected by one chain 21 to one of the sprockets 20 of the roll 15a in front of it and by another chain 21 to one of the sprockets of the roll 15a behind it so that all the rolls 15a are connected together in a train and may be rotated positively and simul to a transmission unit 24 operated by a motor 25 mounted on the frame 14 at the lower left corner of the conveyor.

At the extreme left end of the conveyor (Fig. 1) there Patented July 10, 1956 is a group of rolls b which are also provided with sprockets 20.. 2.0 on their respective roll shafts. and. which are connected together with chains in the same manner as the group of rolls 15a. For reasons which will appear in connection with the operation of the apparatus these rolls lSb are separately" driven by a chain 28 from another sprocket on the transmission unit 24.

The rolls 15c toward the right end of the conveyor are not positively driven but are just idler rolls over the tops of which the pallets are moved as the pallets are leaving the conveyor.

After a pallet 11 has been received on the left end of the conveyor by the driven rolls 15a and 15b, its further movement along the conveyor is controlled by a chain 30, the upper reach of which extends along the longitudi-nal; center of the conveyor between the two rows of rolls 15- as shown in Fig. 2. The chain Stiis supported at the left end of the conveyor by a sprocket 31 and at the right end of the conveyor by' a sprocket 32. Chain is driven around these sprockets so that the upper reach of the chain moves toward the right end of the conveyor by a chain 33 engaged with a sprocket 34 (see Fig. 3). mounted on a shaft 35 which also supports sprocket 32. Chain 33 is driven by a transmission unit 37 operated by amotor 38 mounted in the lower right hand corneror the frame 14.

The chain 30 is provided with a number of sets of pushers 40 spaced apart a distance equal to the length of the pallet. Adjacent sets of pushers 40 are adapted to engage the front and rear ends of apallet in the manner indicated in Fig, 1 to haul the pallets along the conveyor over the rolls 15 as the chain 30- is driven around its sprockets 31 and 32. The pushers 40 engage a pallet after it has been moved by the rolls 15a to a position a short distance beyond the sprocket 31 and the pushers are automatically disengaged from the pallets when the pallet is moved over the sprocket 32 in leaving the conveyor. Each set of pushers is a pair of short lengths of angle iron 40a and 40b. One leg ofeach angle is fastened to the chain pointing. towardthe other angle of its pair. The other leg of each angle extends vertically upward from the chain. The vertical leg of angle 40a in each set of pushers is adapted to engage the front of a pallet as, shown in Fig. 1 and the vertical leg of angle 4% in the next adjoining set of pushers is adapted to embrace the rear of the pallet. Because of the pushers there cannot be any slippage or appreciable relative movement between the chain 30 and the pallets and. therefore the position of the pallets on the conveyor can be controlled precisely and accurately by the chain 30.

Fig, 6 shows a perspective view of one corner of a pallet 11 which may be advantageously used in this apparatus. The pallet has a rectangular shape and includes a pair of spaced side rails. 42 which are connected to gether by cross braces (not shown). Each rail 42 has an outwardly projecting flange 43 (see also Fig. 2) near the top of the rail which is adapted to ride against the inside surface. of the. adjacent member 18 as the pallet isl'moyedf along the guid'eway formed by the members 18 The bottom edge 44 of each rail 42 rides on the rolls L5. The side rails 42 are also each provided: with an inwardly directed ledge 45 extending along the side surface of each rail to support the ends of flanged members 46 on which the forms 10 are mounted. The front and rear of the pallet are provided with removable cross members 47 which may be locked into the side rails 42. by a latch 48. at each end of the cross members 41' to hold the form-supporting members. 46 in a position on the ledges 45.. The front and rear cross members 47 and the form-supporting members 46 are removable. from the side rails to facilitate disassembling the pallet; in case the apparatus should become jammed durng a in o ling, p r i Each of" the, flanged supporting members 46' supports a single-row of forms 10 spaced laterally from each. other and arranged parallel to the front and rear of the pallet. The spacing between. the forms isv the same. on. each of the members 46 so that when a number of members 46 are assembled within the side rails 42 each form 10 will e in a group of forms aligned parallel to the sides of the pallet as well as beingaligned with the other forms on its respective supporting member 46. Hereinafter the term row with reference to a pallet will designate a group of forms aligned parallel to the front of the pallet,

and the term. line will designate a group of forms. alignedparallcl to the sides of the pallet.

As will appear from the discussion. of the apparatus following, the forms 10 need not be equally spaced on their respective members 46 so long as the unequal spacing is uniform in each row. Different sized forms may be used in the same pallet if desired. Usually the forms will be of uniform size and equally spaced in each pallet, however. The forms are preferably made of a molded ceramic material with a hard, glazed, non-porous surface.

T he ring-forming mechanism By the time a pallet is delivered to the conveyor 12 its glove forms will have bee-n dipped and the rubbery depositonthe forms will be dried sufiicien-tly that a mar ginal area 50 (Fig. 1) of the rubber on each form. close to the base of the form is capable of being rolled into a ring 51. The rolling operation is effected by the bridge mechanism 1 3- located substantially intermediate the ends of the conveyor.

A pallet is moved under the bridge mechanism 13 by the chain 30' to bring the first row of forms on the pallet into position to be rolled. The bridge mechanism then operates to roll every form in the first rowsimultaneously; Then the chain 30 indexes the pallet to bring the second row of forms into position under the bridge and then these forms are rolled simultaneously, etc, the chain 30 operating; intermittently to advance the pallet tothe nextsucceeding row of forms as soon as the next precedingrow is rolled. Ordinarily there will be eight forms in each row and eight or ten rows of forms on each pallet although the pallets may be provided with any number of forms. The pallet 11 shown in Fig. lis under the bridge mechanism 13 in position for having its fourthrow of forms rolled. The mechanism is shown in its position at the beginning of a rolling operation.

The bridge mechanism 13 includes a plurality of spindles 54 which extend downwardly from the lower surface ofa supporting table 55. The spindles 54 are aligned with each other perpendicularly tothe conveyor 12. As shown in Fig. 2 there is one spindle 54 for each form in a row. Details of the structure of the spindles are shown in Fig. 4.

Each spindle has a tubular exterior casing 56- which extends upwardly through the table 55 and which is journaled in the table by a bearing 57. The top of the casing 56 projects slightly above the top of the table 55' and is fastened in the bearing 57 by a collar 58. The casing 56 houses a vertical spindle shaft 59 which extends through the whole length of the casing. The lower end of the. vertical shaft 59 is supported in a bearing 60 at the bottom of the casing and has affixed to it a small bevel gear 61 which is meshed with another bevel gear 62 on a short horizontalshaft 64 which protrudes from the bottom of the casing 56 to support a horizontal roller )5. This roller is adapted to be rotated about its horizontal' axis and it is driventhrough the bevel gears 61 and 62 by the vertical spindle shaft 59. The roller 65' is rotated in: contact with the marginal area 54) of the rubber deposit on the form to roll the marginal area.

To drive the spindle shaft 59 its upper end above the top of the casing has affixed to it a bevel gear 66 which is rotatable ona bushing 67 at theupper end of the casing and which is in mesh with a corresponding bevel gear 69 mounted on a horizontal drive shaft 70 extending along the top of the table 55. Fig. 2 best shows the relative position of the drive shaft "70 and the several bevel gears 69 thereon, each engaged with its mating bevel gear 66 on the shaft 59 of the respective spindles 54. The drive shaft 70 is journaled in bearings 71 adjacent each gear 69 and is rotated by a motor 73 (Fig. 2) mounted 011 the top of the table 55. Through the drive shaft 70 each of the spindle shafts 59 is rotated simultaneously and at the same speed thereby rotating the rollers 65 against their respective forms at a uniform speed.

The table 55 is suspended above the conveyor by two cranks 75 and 76, each having a crank pin 77 (see Fig. 4) journaled in one end of the table on a bearing 78. Each of the cranks is of equal length and they are rotated at equal speeds so that they are always parallel to each other except for the two positions (180 apart) where they are aligned with each other. The driving

end

75a and 76a of each crank is rigidly fastened to a vertical drive shaft 80 (Fig. 2) which extends upwardly through a horizontal beam 81 into the bottom of a gear transmission unit 83 mounted on top of the beam 81. The cranks are rotated by their respective shafts 80 through the gear transmissions 83 by a main drive shaft 84 which is mounted in bearings 85 on the top of the beam 81 and driven by a motor 86 mounted on the beam 81. The rotation of the cranks 75 and 76 imparts a rotary motion of translation to the table 55 in a horizontal plane above the conveyor, the spindles 54 as well as every other point on the table being translated in a circular path having a radius equal to the eifective length Y of the cranks.

At the beginning of a ring rolling operation the cranks 75 and '76 will be pointing toward the left side of the conveyor as shown in Fig. 2 in axial alignment with each other and supporting the table in its extreme leftward position. The particular row of forms to be rolled will be positioned under the bridge so that the vertical axis of each form intersects the center line of the table 55. Each form will also be located so that its vertical axis is spaced from its respective spindle a distance equal to the length of the cranks. (In Fig. 4, dimension X is equal to dimension Y.) Therefore as the cranks are rotated, the rotary motion of the table is such that each spindle moves orbitally around its respective form in a circular path. At every position of the cranks during the rolling operation, each spindle and the axis of its respective form will define a vertical plane which is parallel to the cranks. The intermittent movement of the chain 30 brings each row of forms on a pallet successively into this position relative to the spindles before the ring rolling operation is commenced for each row.

The direction of rotation of the cranks 75 and 76 is indicated by the arrows A in Figs. 2 and and is such that the spindle casing 56 leads the roller 65 around the form. Therefore the spindle casing 56 will be rotated through 360 in its bearing 57 in the table 55 by the action of the roller 65 each time the spindle is revolved once around its form.

In order to urge the roller 65 against the form while the spindle is revolved, a spring mechanism 90 is provided for each spindle. Details of this mechanism are shown in Figs. 4 and 5. Fig. 5 shows in full lines a bottom view of the left end of the table 55 and the relative positions of the portions of the spring mechanism for one of the spindles 54 when the table is in its starting or extreme leftward position of the cranks. The broken lines indicate the relative positions of these parts when the cranks have revolved the table through one quarter of a revolution.

The spring mechanism 90 of each spindle includes a coil spring 93 which is stretched between the separated ends of two diverging

bars

94 and 95. The bar 94 is securely fastened to the spindle casing and projects horizontally outwardly from the spindle away from the form. The bar 95 projects over the form and the end of the spring 93 is engaged with the bar 95 at a point 96 which is directly over and is intersected by the Vertical axis of the form. To hold the bar in a rigid position relative to the bar 94 the inner end of bar 95 is fastened to a gear 98 which is rotatably mounted on the spindle casing so that it may be rotated independently of the spindle. The gears 98 of the several spindles are spaced by and meshed with a series of idler gears 99 which are rotatably supported on pins 100 on the bottom of the table. The outside idler gears 99a and 99b (Fig. 2), respectively at the ends of the table are each meshed with a pinion 101 which is fixed securely to the crank pin 77 of each crank 75 and 76. Thus when the table is at rest, the gears 98 are immovable and the bar 95 is held rigidly over the form and restrained against any pivotal movement relative to the spindle. Since each spindle casing is pivotally mounted in the table on the bearing 57, the bar 94 may be swung away from the bar 95 to turn the spindle casing in its bearing 57 thereby stretching the spring 93. Normally the tension in the spring 93 will pull on bar 95 to exert a turning move ment on the spindle casing 56 so that the roller 65 of the spindle is urged against the form.

When the cranks are rotated by their drive shafts 80 to revolve the table through one revolution, the crank pins 77 and the pinions 101 will make one revolution relative to the table. pinions 101, hence the gears 98 will also each make one revolution around their respective spindle casings so that each bar 95 will be swiveled around the axis of the form by the rotation of its gear 98. During the orbital translational movement of the spindle, the spindle casing will be rotating in the table and the size of the pinions 101 and the gears 98 is such that the bar 95 will be swiveled around the spindle at the same angular velocity at which the spindle casing is rotated in the table. Thus the point 96 of each bar '95 will remain exactly over the axis of the form at every position of the spindle in its orbital path around the form. Therefore the tension in the spring 93 will be substantially uniform at every position of the spindle during a revolution and the spring 93 will pull the bar 94 toward the bar 95 thereby urging the roller 65 against the form.

The idler gears 99 may be of any diameter to provide the desired spacing between adjacent spindles.

As has been pointed out in the foregoing, each spindle casing is free to rotate in the table on its bearing 57 independently of the gears 98 and the spring 93 always tends to urge the roller 65 against the form. If the roller 65 encounters an irregularity in the surface of the form such as a protrusion, the protrusion will force the roller away from the axis of the form; the spring 93 stretching and the casing 56 rotating in its table hearing 57 to effect this movement of the roller. Similarly, if the irregularity is a depression in the surface of the form, the spring 93 contracts to swing the roller 65 inwardly toward the axis of the form. This movement makes this apparatus particularly useful for forms having elliptical-shaped cross sections such as the glove forms shown, although the apparatus works equally well for forms which are particularly cylindrical about a central vertical axis.

Bar 94 is adjustably fastened around the spindle casing 56 by the screw 103 so that the tension in the spring 93 may be varied to suit operating conditions by locating the bar 94 at different angles relative to the spindle casing. The bar 94 and the bar 95 are also connected together by a cross bar 104 (see Fig. 5), one end of which is engaged with a small knob 105 on arm 94. The other end of the cross bar 104 is slotted and is connected to the bar 95 by bolt 106 so that when the arm 94 is adjusted to different angular positions on the spindle the cross bar 104 is correspondingly adjustable lengthwise by fastening the bolt 106 at diiferent positions in the slot. The cross bar 104 prevents the arm 94 from swinging more than a fixed amount toward the form.

The gears 98 are the same size as the In addition to the rotation of the rollers 65 against their respective forms and the orbital revolution of the spindles about their respective forms, mechanism is provided to move the. spindles vertically relative to the forms to effect the ring rolling of the rubber article on the form. This latter movement combined with the circular orbital movement of the spindles imparts a gyrating motion to the rollers 65 relative to the forms so that each roller 65 is moved in a helical path around its form along the edge of the article to be rolled.

To obtain vertical movement of the spindles, the beam 81 across the top of the bridge from which the table 515 is suspended is provided at its ends with verticalguide pins 112, 1:12 which fit sl'idably into the upper ends of a pair of

vertical columns

113, 113 between which the conveyor extends. The beam 81 is positioned between apair of horizontal structural members 115, 115 (Fig. i)

which are fastened securely tothe tops of the

columns

113, 113, by

brackets

116, 116. The members 115, 1115 support the beam 81 by a pair of

cams

118, 118 at each. end of the beam. These cams are fixed to the ends of a horizontal cam shaft 119 which extends laterally between the members 118 through a gear transmission unit 120 mounted on each end of the beam and each cam is supported on a roller unit 121 on the horizontal members 118. Each transmission unit 120 is driven from the adjacent transmission unit 83 by a short shaft 122'. When the cams 113 are rotated. in their respective roll-er units 121' the beam is movable vertically between the

members

115, 115 and the

pins

112, 112 are slidabl'e into and out of the ends of the

columns

113, 113 to guide the movement of the beam. The vertical distance through which the beam. is moved is regulated by the contour of the, cams I213. The operation of the cams 118 thereby raises and lowers the table 55 at the same time the cranks '75v and T6 are rotating the table horizontally to move the spindles orbitally around the forms and while the rollers 65 are rotating against each form.

The roller 65 has several important features, both, from the standpoint of its shape and the material from which it is made. Fig. 4 shows that the peripheral surface of the rollers is slightly crowned toward its center so that the surface of the roller makes a point contact with the form as distinguished from a line contact. The crowned roller has been found to be particularly suitable for elliptical or oval shaped forms as shown because of the relatively slight curvature on some of the sides of the form. It is also effectively used if the surface of ,the form, is curved" in a longitudinal direction toward or away from the central axis of the form. If the form is cylindri'cal' shaped a cylindrical shaped roller is generally satisfactory.

Heretofore in ring-rolling equipment the rotatable member used to contact the rubbery deposit tomake the roll has been made of felt, rubber, or other material having a soft, yielding surface. According to this invention, however; the rotatable form contacting element (roller 65) is made of a material having a hard, nonyielding' surface as distinguished from materials suchas soft rubber; felt, or" brush bristles which present a yieldable surface to the article on the form. Rollers madeof hardmaple wood which have been cooked in oil togive them an oil-impregnated surface have beenused with outstanding success as compared withrollers made from soft surfaced rubber or with brushbristles. which have been used quite successfully have been plastics; having a hard surface such as nylon, tetl'on, lucite, and the like. Metallic rollers may be used but these tend to wear the forms too rapidly, and they become-very=h-otdue to; the high frictional heat" generated by them; It has been found that rollers having yieldingsurfaces such as rubber, brushes, etc. have a tendency to adhere to themarginaledge of the rubbery deposit, on the form. Whenthis typev roller is. rotated" against the form the marginal edge of the rubber deposit frequently wraps. up on the Other materials c roller and either the Whole depositis torn off the form or the apparatus becomes jammed. This wrapping effect is substantially eliminated with the use of a roller having a hard, non-yielding surface.

In order to permit the rollers to be changed quickly and easily should they become worn, each roller is rotatably mounted on an axial bushing 123 which may be threaded onto the outer end of the shaft 64 as shown in Fig. 4'. The thread 124 at the point where the roller is connected to the shaft 64 is formed so that if the marginal edge should start to wrap around the roller, the continued rotation of the roller will cause the thread to unwind from the shaft 64. This prevents the apparatus from becoming jammed.

Operation The operation of this machine and a preferred system for controlling it may be more clearly understood by referring to Fig. 8 which shows in schematic form the location of the various elements of the control equipment. The motors, etc. which drive the several mech anismsare hydraulically operated from a hydraulic power unit indicated at the upper right corner of Fig. 8.

Each pallet 11 carrying forms to be rolled is delivered to the left end of the conveyor from other processing stations and the incoming pal-let is first received on therol-ls- 15-11. As long as there is another pallet on the conveyor 12, the incoming pallet is prevented from proceeding beyond the rolls 15b by a stop pin- 1 25 which projects upwardly to engage the front of the pallet. The stoppin is an extension of the piston rod 126' of a fluid pressure cylinder 123 mounted below the rolls 15-11 on the frame of the conveyor 12 and whichv is operated by a solenoidvalve 139.

After all of the forms on a pallet on the conveyor ahead of the stoppin have been rolled, that pallet will be carried oifeonveyor 12 by the chain 3t). As the rear of the departing pallet leaves the right end of the conveyor it trips a switch 132 which operates solenoid 13% to retract step pin 1:25. The incoming pallet is thereby rcleased and permitted to move onto the rolls 15a.

The switch 132, in addition to operating solenoid valve also starts the motor 25 which drives the rolls 15a and'15b which move the incoming pallet toward the bridge mechanism 1-3. As the incoming pallet moves forward over the pin 125 the front of it trips a switch 136 to energize a solenoid valve 137 for starting motor 38 which drives the chain 30. The motor 38 drives the upper reach of chain 30 at aslower lineal speed than the speed at which the pallet is moved forwardly by the rolls 151i and 15b. Alsothe pushers 40 on the chain 30 are spaced at predeterminedintervals along the chain and are so located that one set of pushers on the upper reach of the chain- 39' will be about six or seven inches in front of theaxis of the sprocket 31 to receive the front of the pall'etas it is moved forward by the rolls 15a and 15b. The faster speed of the rolls 15a urges the pallet against the slower moving pushers dtlunt-il the next succeedingset of pus-hers moves upwardly around sprocket 331 and engages the rear of the pallet. Thereafter the pallet is held between the two adjoining sets of pushers pallet moves away from it to reactivate solenoid valve 1 36' to raise the stop pin 125' to its original. position so that no other pallet can enter onto the conveyor until the present incoming pallet has been removed. As soon as stop pin 125* israised another-pallet may move againstit onthe' rolls 15b. The Weight of this pallet might interf'ere with. the speed of, the rolls 15a carrying the incoming pallet, so therefore the two separate drive chains 22 and 28 are provided for the rolls a and 15b respectively. Motors and 38 continue to run, however, after pin 125 is raised. When the incoming pallet has been advanced sufficiently that the rear of the pallet leaves switch 138, a solenoid valve 140 is operated by switch 138 to stop motor 25, thereby stopping the rolls 15a and 15b.

If the pushers 48 fail to engage the pallet properly, then at least one of the sets of pushers will be under the pallet and will raise the pallet away from the chain 30. To stop the apparatus automatically if this condition occurs, safety switches 142 are provided on the side members 18 adjacent sprocket 31. These switches will be operated only if the pallet is tilted upwardly in its guideway. Jamming of the apparatus is therefore prevented.

When the pallet is properly engaged with the pushers it is carried by the chain 30 toward the bridge mechanism 13. It may be seen in Fig. 6 that one side rail 42 of the pallet is provided with a series of studs 144 which project outwardly from the outside surface of the roll just below the flange 43. Each stud 144 is located exactly on the centerline of its row of forms so that the distance be twen each stud corresponds accurately to the distance between the rows of forms in the pallet. These studs are provided to operate switches 148 and 149 which are located on the side members 18, under the bridge mechanism, in the path of the studs 144 and which control the indexing of the pallet to bring each row of forms successively into position relative to the spindles 54.

As the front of the pallet is moved under the bridge mechanism 13 the first stud 144 trips the switch 148 thereby closing a solenoid 151 in the hydraulic return line 152 of motor 38. The operation of solenoid 151 chokes off the hydraulic return line 152 and therefore stops the motor 38 very promptly. It may be noted from Fig. 8 that the return line 152 to solenoid valve 151 has another branch 154 ahead of the solenoid 151 which leads through a valve 155 mounted on the frame of the conveyor under sprocket 32. This valve is operated by a rotatable plate cam 158 which is driven by the motor 38 through a series of sprockets and chains from the shaft which supports sprocket 32 (see Fig. 3). The contour of cam 158 operates the valve stem 159 of valve 155 to open and close this valve at desired intervals. The cam 158 is so located relative to the pushers 40 that at the time the pushers 48 at the front of the pallet pass under the spindles 54, the cam 158 will close valve 155. Thus when solenoid 151 is actuated to choke line 152, the line 154 is also blocked by valve 155 so that motor 38 stops very promptly after switch 148 is engaged by the first stud 144. There is a short time lag however between the instant switch 148 is engaged and the pallet is stopped and in this interval the first row of forms on the pallet are brought into proper alignment with the spindles 54 of the bridge mechanism. The chain will pull the pallet to urge the forms against their respective rollers 65 to swing the rollers into their proper starting position. The spring 93 is stretched somewhat and the spindle casings 56 are rotated in their respective bearings 57 by the presence of the forms against the rollers.

When the pallet is moved into alignment with the spindles, the stud 144 strikes switch 148 and by the time the motor 38 is stopped, the stud 144 is slightly beyond the switch 148 in position to operate a switch 149. This switch 149 operates a solenoid valve 161 in line 162 to the hydraulic motor 86 on the beam 81 of the bridge mechanism, which motor 86 drives the cranks 75 and 76 to rotate the table 55 and drive the cams 118 which raise and lower the table 55. Therefore the distance between switches 148 and 149 should be any distance less than the distance between the studs 144 on the pallet. The motor 73 on the table 55 which drives the rollers 65 of the spindles is supplied by a line 164 and preferably operates steadily so that the rollers 65 are continually 10 rotating at all times. If desired this roller-driving motor 73 may be started and stopped through the switch 149 also.

The motor 86 drives the cam shafts 119 to rotate the cams 118 which move the beam 81 and table 55 vertically. As soon as the cam shaft 119 starts to turn over it operates a switch 165 on the beam which sets up the proper circuit to the solenoid 161 to stop motor 86 at the end of the operating cycle required for the spindles to roll one row of forms. in addition, switch 165 closes the solenoid valve 137 in the supply line to motor 38. Immediately the cranks 75 and 76 start to rotate to move the spindles orbitally around the forms, the rollers 65 each moving between the forms adjacent it and bearing against its respective form. The forms in each row may be spaced relatively close together since the spindles will take up very little space in moving between adjacent forms. Usually the spindles will be equally spaced on the table and the forms will be correspondingly spaced. but as long as the spindle spacing mates with the form spacing, the spacing between the spindles need not be. uniform. The forms may also be of dilferent sizes and shapes even in the same row, because the action of the spring mechanism 93 of each spindle will automatically compensate for the particular size and shape of each form. The pressure exerted on the forms by the spindles will also tend to correct any slight misalignments of the forms during the first revolution of the spindles around the forms.

Each hard-surfaced roller 65 rotates upwardly away rom its form as shown in Fig. 7. The horizontal rotary movement of the table 55 moves each spindle so that the roller 65 advances along the edge of the marginal area and the vertical movement of the beam causes the roller 65 to move upwardly along the form.

During the ring rolling cycle of the apparatus for each row of forms, the table 55 preferably moves the spindles orbitally around their respective forms for eight complete revolutions. During the first five of the revolutions of the table, the cams 118 will be raising the beam 81 so that the spindles and the rollers 65 are moved progressively upward on their respective forms to roll the rubber deposit. On the sixth revolution of the table the cams 118 dwell so that each roller 65 rotates against the rolled edge it has made to press out any wrinkles or creases in the roll. Then during the seventh and eighth revolutions of the table, the cams 118 lower the beam 81 so that the spindles and the rollers 65 are returned to their original position close to the bottom of the forms. Each roller 65 is preferably driven at about from 250 R. P. M. to about 500 R. P. M. throughout the ring rolling cycle for each row. Preferably the cranks 75 and 76 will be rotated at not more than about 60 R. P. M.

Switch 165 times the period of the ring rolling cycle for each row of forms. After eight revolutions of the cam shaft 119, switch 165 is again operated to actuate solenoid 161. This stops motor 86 on the. beam with the table in its lowest position and with the cranks 75 and 76 in their original position pointing toward the left as shown in Fig. 2 so that the spindle casings 56 are clear of the front of the forms. Switch 165 also energizes solenoid valve 137 which starts motor 38 so that the chain 30 again moves the pallet forward on the conveyor. Cam 158 is then in position to maintain the valve open so that fluid from the motor may circulate through the valve 155 from line 154.

The pallet will be advanced by the chain 30 until the stud 144 of the next succeeding row of forms strikes switch 148 which thereupon initiates the neXt operating cycle again. Cam 158 of valve 159 is shaped to make one revolution each time the pallet is advanced a distance equal to the spacing between two adjacent rows of forms on the pallet. Therefore when switch 148 is operated by the next stud 144, cam 158 will have completed one revolution and will therefore close valve 155 substantially simultaneously with the operation of switch 148 to again stop motor 38. In the time lag before the motor 38 is stopped a second stud 144- proceeds on to strike switch 149 to start motor 86, etc., and the events described in the foregoing when the first row of forms was brought into contact with the spindles will again recur in the same sequence.

This ring rolling cycle is repeated for each row of forms on the pallet as fast as the next preceding row of forms has been rolled. When the pallet is indexed or moved forward by the chain 30 at the end of each cycle, the forms are pulled against the rollers 65 and the spindles will swing aside against the resistance of the springs 93 to permit the forms to be moved between the spindles. As soon as the forms are clear of the rollers 65, the tension in the springs 93 causes the rollers 65' to snap back to their normal position in contact with the forms in the next succeeding row. Each spindle successively rolls each form in its respective line of forms. The forms are spaced to permit this movement of the rollers.

After the last row of forms on the pallet has been rolled there will be no further studs 144 to operate switch 148, so that the chain 30 will thereafter run steadily and move the pallet on to the right end of the conveyor. As the chain 30 passes downwardly around sprocket 32 the pushers 4'0 will be automatically disengaged from the pallet and the pallet will be passed on to the adjoining conveyor equipment.

As the pallet leaves the conveyor it engages a switch 169 and switch 132. These switches re-orient the circuits which include stop pin 125, etc. As the rear of the pallet releases switches 132, the stop pin 125 is lowered to admit the next incoming pallet to the conveyor 12 as explained in the foregoing. When the rear of the pallet releases switch 169, appropriate circuits are completed to the

solenoid valves

130, 137' and 151 so that the apparatus is ready to accept the incoming pallet. Switch 169 acts as a safety and will prevent the apparatus from accepting the next incoming. pallet if the departing pallet can not move onto the next adjoining apparatus.

Thercquired electrical and hydraulic circuits to operate the various valves and switches will be evident from the foregoing and consequently are not shown in more detail. Other types of control and operating mechanisms may be used.

Variations of the invention may be made within the scope of the appended claims.

I'claim:

1. In a ring-rolling apparatus for an article of'thin unvulcanized rubber-like material disposed about the form, a roller having a peripheral portion formed of wood, the roller having a longitudinal axis of" rotation and a periph eral surface contour in the shape of a surface of revolution and being disposed with its axis transversely disposed to the axis of'the form and said surface in contact with the form and withthe edge of the article to be rolled.

2. Apparatus for forming a rolled edge on a thin flexible article disposed about a form, the apparatus comprising a spindle, a rigid member for supporting the spindle parallel to the axis of the form and at a fixed distance from said axis, the spindle being connected to said memher for rotation relative thereto about the longitudinal axis of the spindle, the spindle including a roller projecting from the spindle and tangentially contacting the form and being rotatable in contact with the form about an axis disposed transversely to the axis of the form, a crank having a fixed pivot eccentric to the axis of the form and a crank pin rotatably engaged with said rigid member and a crank arm between said. pivot and said crank pin equal in length to the distance between said spindle and the axis of the form, means for rotatingthe crank around said pivot to move said rigid. member in a circular path normal to said axis or" the form whereby the spindle is revolved orbitally around the form andmeans for maintaining said roller in continuous contact with said form duringsaid orbi'tal movement of saidspindle.

1,2 3. Apparatus in accordance with claim 2 in combination with means for moving said rigid member translationally in a direction perpendicular to said circular path simultaneously with said translational movement in a circnlar path.

4. Apparatus for forming a rolled edge on a thin flexible article disposed about a form, the apparatus comprising a spindle disposed in laterally spaced relation to the axis of the form, the spindle including a roller rotatably contacting the form adjacent the edge of the article thereon, a spindle-supporting member to which the spindle is connected for rotation about its longitudinal axis, meansfor moving the rigid member in a circular path to revolve the spindle orbitally around the axis of the form, and a spring mechanism for maintaining said roller in engagement with the form during said orbital movement of the spindle, the mechanism including a pair of bars diverging from each other and projecting outward from said spindle, one of said bars being secured rigidly to said spindle and rotatable with the spindle relative to said rigid memher, the second of said bars being rotatably mounted about said spindle and rotatably connected to said rigidmem-ber, a point on said second bar being perpendicularly intersected by said axis of the form, and a spring stretched between said point of the second bar and a portion of the first saidbar remote from the spindle, and means operable when the spindle is revolved orbitally to rotate the second bar relative tothe rigid member at the same angular velocity atwhich the spindle is rotated relative to said rigid member whereby said point on the second bar is maintained at all times in fixed intersecting relation with said axis of the'form.

5. Apparatus for forming a rolled open end on a thin, flexible tubular article supported on a form, the apparatus comprising a spindle which includes a roller for contacting an end portion of the article on the form to be rolled; a member for supporting the spindle in spaced relation to the axis of the form, the spindle being connected to said member for rotation relative thereto about the longitudinal axis of the spindle; a crank for moving saidmember in a plane circular path to revolve the spindle orbitally around the axis of the form with said roller in contact with the form; and spring mechanism for maintaining said roller in contact with the formas the spindie is revolved, the spring mechanism including a first bar afiixed to the spindle and extending outwardly therefrom away from the form, a gear rotatably mounted on said spindle, a second bar afiixed to the gear and extending outwardly therefrom and having a point remote from the gear intersected perpendicularly by the longitudinal axis of said form, a' spring engaged with the first bar and connected to the second bar at the point where the axis of the form intersects the bar, a pinion affixed to said crank and rotatable relative to said spindle-supporting member when the crank is operated, gearing meshing said pinion with said gear to restrain the second bar against fi'ee pivotal movement on the spindle and to swing the second bar p'ivotally about the spindle at the same an-' gular velocity at which the spindle is rotated relative tothe spindle supporting member as the spindle is revolved, whereby the pointat which the spring is connected to'the second bar remains fixed over the axis of the form at every position of'the spindle in its orbital path around the form.

6. Apparatus for rolling the open end of a thin, flexibie tubular article, the apparatus comprising a formfor supporting. the portion of the end of the article to be rolled, a spindle which includes a roller having a peripheral surface contacting the form and the end of the article to be rolled on. the form, means for rotating said roller, a table for supporting the spindle and to \t hi'ch table the spindle isconnected for rotation on an axis longitudinally through the spindle, a crank for supporting the table and for moving. the table to revolve the spindle orbitally aroundv the form with the roller thereof in contact with the form, spring means for urging the roller of the spindle against the form, a beam for supporting the crank, a frame in which the beam is slidably mounted, and means engaging the beam and operable synchronously with the movement of the crank to move the beam relative to the frame toward and away from the form.

7. Apparatus for forming a rolled edge on a thin generally tubular article of rubber-like material, comprising a generally tubular article form supported at one end by the apparatus, a spindle having its axis parallel to but laterally displaced from the axis of said form, a roller rotatably supported by said spindle and projecting therefrom tangentially across the form axis tangent to the form, means for moving said spindle in a circular path about said form axis, means for maintaining said roller in tangential contact with said form and with the edge of the article being rolled during motion of said spindle around the form axis, and means for rotating said roller while the roller engages the form and article during the motion of said spindle about the form, the peripheral form-engaging portion of said roller being formed of a hard, non-yielding material appreciably harder than the article and having a surface formed as a surface of revolution about the roller axis for engaging the edge of the article being rolled.

8. Apparatus for forming a rolled edge on a thin flexible generally tubular article, comprising a generally tubular article form supported at one end by the apparatus, a spindle having its axis parallel to but laterally displaced from the axis of said form, a roller rotatably supported by said spindle and projecting therefrom across the form axis tangent to the form, a spindle support spaced from the free end of said form with said spindle being rotatably mounted in the support, means for circularly translating all points of said spindle support and spindle in circular paths the radii of which equal the displacement of axes of said spindle and form, means for resiliently maintaining said roller in tangential contact with said form and with the edge of the article being rolled during translation of said spindle around the form axis, and means for rotating said roller while the roller engages the form and article during the circular translation of said spindle about the form.

9. Apparatus for forming a rolled edge on a thin flexible generally tubular article, comprising a plurality of article forms supported by the apparatus, a plurality of spindles having axes parallel to but laterally displaced from the axes of said forms, a roller rotatably supported by each spindle and projecting therefrom across the axes of an adjacent form and tangent to the form, a spindle support table spaced from the free end of said forms with said spindles being rotatably mounted in the table, means for circularly translating all points of said table and spindles in circular paths the radii of which equal the displacement of the axes of said spindle and adjacent form, means for resiliently maintaining each roller in tangential contact with its form and with the edge of the article being rolled during translation of said spindle around the form axis, and means for rotating said rollers while the rollers engage the forms and articles during the circular translation of said spindle about the form, and means for producing relative axial motion between said table and form in a direction perpendicular to the plane of circular translation of said table.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,192,383 Brubaker July 25, 1916 2,067,641 Millen Jan. 12, 1937 2,220,938 Maywald Nov. 12, 1940 2,233,543 Maywald Mar. 4, 1941 2,297,663 Strassman Sept. 29, 1942

Claims

1. IN A RING-ROLLING APPARATUS FOR AN ARTICLE OF THIN UNVULCANIZED RUBBER-LIKE MATERIAL DISPOSED ABOUT THE FORM, A ROLLER HAVING A PERIPHERAL PORTION FORMED OF WOOD, THE ROLLER HAVING A LONGITUDINAL AXIS OF ROTATION AND A PERIPHERAL SURFACE CONTOUR IN THE SHAPE OF A SURFACE OF REVOLUTION AND BEING DISPOSED WITH ITS AXIS TRANVERSELY DISPOSED TO THE AXIS OF THE FORM AND SAID SURFACE IN CONTACT WITH THE FORM AND WITH THE EDGE OF THE ARTICLE TO BE ROLLED.