US3109230A - Machine drive disabling means - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 5, 1963 D. NEWTON MACHINE DRIVE DISABLING MEANS 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 29, 1961 1m w WE? Lam mli E n i D W Nov; 5, 1963 D. L. NEWTON 3,109,230

MACHINE DRIVE DISABLING MEANS Filed May 29, 1961 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 lnven tow": David L. Newton 53 f His A tt neg Nov. 5, 1963 D, L, NEWTON 3,109,230

MACHINE DRIVE DISABLING MEANS Filed May 29, 1961 I IS SheetS-Sheet a FLQ'Z OPEIQATING CHART 102 HDWNCIE TEST os/r/o/v i PETE/JCT @\@QHCT TEsHuxWm N6 PULLS M25 M5527 [IDLE J\IDL5 PULLS M25 1 2/4/55 cur INSERT/N6 1 05mm G LOWER y if DWE L L INDEX" lnven tow: David L. New/ton United States Patent 3,109,230 MACHINE DRIVE DISABLING MEANS David L. Newton, leveland Heights, Ohio, assignor to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Filed May 29, 1961, Ser. No. 113,514 6 Claims. (Cl. 29203) This invention relates to means for disabling a machine actuating or driving assembly, and has as one of its objects the provision of means for disabling or disengaging the actuating or driving assembly smoothly at high speeds of operation without sacrificing accurate timing.

The invention will be illustrated in connection with a support wire inserting mechanism for elastic incandescent lamps wherein one or more support wires are inserted endforemost into the softened glass button portion of a lamp stem. Such a mechanism is located at one station of an indexing turret of a mount-making machine. The inserting mechanism generally comprises a plurality of inserting heads mounted on a lifting spider carried by a lifting shaft which periodically raises the heads to an operating elevation for insertion of the support wires and lowers them during indexing of the turret to avoid interference with parts carried by the turret. An operating spider, carried by an operating shaft, is arranged to move vertically with the lifting spider during movement of the lifting spider to and from its operating elevation, and is also arranged to move vertically independently of the movement of the lifting spider to operate or actuate mechanism for causing wire to be withdrawn from supply spools on the inserting heads and inserted in the buttons on the stern structure. The heads thus function only when the movement of the operating spider is independent of the movement of the lifting spider. Means are also provided to detect the presence of a faulty stem, and when such a stem, or the absence of a stem is detected, it is desirable not to insert support wires.

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, upon detection of a faulty stem the inserting operations of the inserting heads are suspended by interrupting the independent motion of the operating spider with respect to the lifting spider. The operations of raising and lowering the lifting spider, and the operating spider therewith, are not interrupted, thereby making it possible to coordinate those operations with the indexing of the turret at high speeds while providing a smooth disengagement of the drive assembly for the operating spider.

Further features and advantages of the invention will appear from the following detailed description of a species thereof and from the drawing wherein:

FIG. 1 is an elevation, partly in section, of a support wire inserting mechanism and an actuating or driving assembly therefor in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the inserting mechanism;

FIG. 3 is an elevation of the actuating or driving assembly taken at right angles to the showing in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view showing a portion of the turret of the associated mount-making machine and a stem detector or feeler mechanism located at a station ahead of that occupied by the inserting mechamsm;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary elevation showing the relationship of the lifting and operating shafts, and associated driving elements, at their lowermost positions;

FIG. 6 is an elevation similar to FIG. 5 showing the relationship of the several parts, with the operating shaft drive linkage in its disabled condition; and

FIG. 7 is an operating chart showing the timing of the various operations of the inserting mechanism and associated turret.

The inserting mechanism shown herein is essentially like that described in Patent 2,643,440 Flaws et al., to

3,109,230 Patented Nov. 5, 1963 ice which reference is directed for a more complete description than is contained herein. The inserting mechanism is located at a station A (BIG. 2) of a mount-making machine below the turret .1 which carries at its periphery a plurality of stem supporting heads 2:(F1G. 4) which comprise pairs of jaws 3 and 4 for holding stems 5 and carrying them to successive stations by indexing movements of the turret in the manner described in Patent 1,907,532, Flaws. The stems each comprise a flared glass stem tube 6 having a glass exhaust tube 7 and arbor 8 extending therefrom and gripped by the respective pairs of jaws 3 and 4, and a pair of lead-in wires 9.

The inserting mechanism comprism three inserting heads 10 (FIG. 2) which are mounted on a lifting spider 11 (FIG. 1) which is attached to a vertical hollow lifting shaft 12 which is slidable in hearings in a bracket 13 fastened to the table 14 under the turret 1. The operating elements of the inserting heads 10 are actuated by an operating or actuating spider 15 which is attached to an operating shaft 16 which extends through the interior of the hollow lifting shaft 12. The vertical movements of shafts 12 and 16 are derived through grooved collars 17 and 18 which are clamped to the lower ends of the respective shafts and which carry shoes 19 and 20 in their grooves. ing by a guide bar 21 which is fixed to bracket 13 and extends through a slot in each shoe. This arrangement makes it possible to rotate the entire assembly of spiders 1'1 and 15, and parts carried thereby, out from under the turret 1 for maintenance and material supply purposes while the drive remains stationary. As explained more fully in the aforesaid Flaws Patent 2,643,440, the rotation of the assembly is performed Without disturbing the angular relationship of the spiders -11 and 15 which are locked in fixed angular relationship by engagement of a lug 22 on spider 15 with a vertically slotted rib 23 on a bracket 24 attached to spider 11.

The lifting shaft 12 is driven by a face cam 25 through a linkage consisting of a lever 26 which pivots on pin 27 in bracket 28, and connecting links 29 (FIGS. 1 and 3) which are connected between the forked end of the horizontal arm of lever 26 and the shoe 19 on collar 17.-

The operating shaft 16 is driven by cam 30 through ,a linkage consisting of a lever 31 which is pivoted on pin 32 in bracket 33, horizontal link 34 and vertical links 35 which are connected to shoe 20 on collar 18. The ,pin 36 which connects links 34 and 35 carries rollers 37 which ride in an inclined track or slot 38 in a normally fixed cam segment 39 which will be further referred to hereinafter.

The function of the inserting heads 10 is to insert the ends of respective wires 40 into a heat softened button 41 (FIG. 1) onthe end of the glass arbor portion 8 of stem 5. In the normal operation of the apparatus, upon indexing of a stem-supponting head 2 to station A the inserting heads 10 are raised to their operating or inserting elevation as shown in FIG. 1, by upward movement of the lifting spider 11, the operating spider 15 also being raised at that time along with spider 11. The upward movement of spider 11 causes -a pointed mandrel 42 on the bracket 24 to engage and upset the previously heated and softened lower end of the stem arbor 8 to form the button 41 thereon. The upward motion of spiders 11 and 15 is effected by corresponding groove or track portions in respective earns 25 and 30 acting through their respective linkages on respective lifting and operating shafts 12 and 16.

For particularly high speed operation, the timing of the upward movement of the inserting mechanism is such that it is begun approximately midway of the indexing movement of a stem-supporting head 2 to station A, so that the head 2 and stem 5 reach station A just prior to The shoes 19 and 20 are prevented from rotatthe time the inserting heads reach their operating elevation without interference between parts of the inserting mechanism and the stem supporting heads 2 and stems 5.

The next step is insertion of the support wires 40 into the button 41 by a rectilinear translation of the wires radially of the button 41. The wires 49 are each an end section which has been severed from a supply of wire 443a on a spool 43 on each insenting head 10. The in sorting operation is effected by an independent downward movement of the operating shaft 16 which carries the head portions 44 of studs 45 (FIG. 1) on spider 15 downward against the ends of levers 46 on respective heads to thereby pivot each of the levers 46 and move forward a ram section including a slide 47 (FIG. 1) and jaws 48 having offset ends. The jaws 48 are at that time in an advanced position from that shown in FIG. 1 and are closed upon the wire 40 near its end, so that they plunge the end of the wire into the button 41, all as more fully described in the aforesaid Flaws et al. Patent 2,643,440. The downward movement of operating shaft 16 and spider is effected by a proper con-touring of the groovp I in the face of cam which causes the lever 31 to pivot clockwise in FIG. 1 which carries link 34 to the left to pull roller 37 down in cam slot 38 which pulls downward on link 34, collar 18 and shaft 16.

The inserting mechanism then goes through an idle period during which the glass button 41 cools and solidifies sufiiciently to firmly grip the ends of the support wires embedded therein.

In the next operation the support wire gripping jaws 48 are opened and retracted to bring their offset ends to a position behind the open cutters 49 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. This operation is effected by a return upward movement of the operating shaft 16 under the influence of cam 30, whereby the lever 46 on each inserting head 10 is pivoted counter-clockwise (FIG. 1) by a bar 50 on the operating spider 15. At the end of this operation, the collar 18 on the lower end of shaft 16 is in engagement with the lower end of the lifting shaft 12, the upper annular surface of collar 18 and the lower end of shaft 12 serving as lateral abutting surfaces. The engagement may be direct, as shown in FIG. 1, or through adjustable studs (not shown) depending from the lower annular surface of collar 17 and engaged by the upper annular surface of collar 18. v

'l he inserting cycle is completed by a lowering movement of the inserting heads 10 to a position clear of the lamp stem 5, and by an accompanying advancing movement of the wire-feeding jaws 48 to draw out a length of wire from the supply of wire 40a on the spool 43 preparatory to the next inserting operation. The lowering of the heads 10 occurs under the influence of cam 25. The advancing movement of the jaws 48 is effected by a slightly faster and greater downward travel of the operating spider 15 and shaft 16 under the control of cam 30.

The indexing movement of the stem-supporting head 2 away from the insenting station A begins when a little more than /3 of the lowering movement of the inserting heads 10 has been completed. The lowering movement is completed, and then the immediately following upward movement of the inserting heads in the next cycle of operation begins midway of the indexing movement of turret 1.

During the raising of the lifting and operating spiders 11 and 15 into inserting position, the drawn out end portions 40 of the supply of support wires 40a are severed by the cutters 49 on the respective inserting heads 10, as disclosed in the aforesaid Flaws et al. Patent 2,643,440.

In accordance with the present invention, the presence of a defective item 5 in the head 2 at station B (preceding station A) brings into effect a disabling of the drive for the operating shaft 16 such that shaft 16 has no motion of its own independent of the lifting shaft 12 but is constrained to move with the lifting shaft whereby the inserting heads 10 are rendered inoperative.

To that end, the cam segment 39 (FIG. 1) is pivotally mounted on pin 51 in a bracket 52 which is attached to the machine base 53. The bracket 52 carries a locking pin 54 which normally extends into a hole 55 (FIG. 3)

' in segment 39 and fixes the segment securely in position with the track 38 inclined 45 to the horizontal. The pin 54 is withdrawn and returned by energizing and deenergizing a solenoid 56 which is attached to bracket 52 and which has its armature 57 connected by a link 58 to one end of a lever 59 which is pivoted at 60 and is connected at its other end to the pin 54. The pin 54 is normally held in locked position in the hole 55 in segment 39 by a spring 60. j

The operating and lifting portions of the inserting mechanism are tied together by springs 61 which are connected between the pivot pins 62 and 63 on the lever 26 and shoe 2! respectively, and said springs have sufficient force to overcome the weight of the operating shaft 16 and the parts connected thereto including the spider 15, drive linkage 35-34 etc. 7

During normal operation, both the lifting and operating drives are rigid and each imparts motion prescribed by its respective operating cam 25 and 30. However, when a defective stem is detected, the solenoid 56 is energized and the pin 54 is Withdrawn from the hole 55' in segment 39. Since the segment 39 is then free to rotate about its pivot pin 51 the operating drive is no longer rigid. The operating shaft 16 continues to travel up and down with the lifting shaft 12 because of the springs 61 but it has no movement independent of .the lifting shaft because its drive linkage 34-35 is floating. The inserting heads 10 are therefore inoperative. The floating condition of linkage 3435 is illustrated in FIG. 6 as compared to the rigid condition in FIG. 5. At the end of a complete :cycle, if no more defective stems are detected the solenoid 56 is ale-energized and the locking pin 54 is returned to its position by spring 60 and normal operation resumed. There is no shock during engagement and disengagement because the timing is such that the pin 54 is withdrawn and returned to position during periods of dwell on both drive cams 25 and 30.

The energization of solenoid 56, for performing the disabling function, is under the control of a detector or feeler device 64 (FIG. 4) located at station B (FIG. 2) preceding the inserting station A. The detector 64 illustrated herein detects the absence of a stem 5 or a stem defective by virtue of absence or distortion of one or both cad-in wires 9. To that end, the detector comprises a pair of spring fingers 65 which are brought into position to engage the respective lead wires 9. The fingers 65 have contacts thereon which normally engage respective contacts 66 on a metallic bar 67 which is attached to an insulating bracket 68. However, the contacts on fingers 65 are separated from contacts '66 upon engagement of the fingers 65 with the lead wires 9 and continued movement of bracket 68.

The detector 67 is actuated by a linkage system including an upwardly extending lever 69 (FIG. 2) which is pivoted at "70 and is connected by a downwardly extending link (not shown) to a horizontal follower lever 71 which is pivoted 'at 72 and is actuated by a cam 73 on the main cam shaft 74 which also carries the inserting drive cam 25 and 30. The actuation of the detector is, of course, timed by cam 73 to occur during the dwell period of the indexing cycle of the turret 1.

The absence of a stem- 5, or the presence of a defective ste at station B fails to displace one or both ofwthe fingers 65 of the detector 64 so that the portion of the electrical circuit there/through remains complete. complete circuit is from one terminal 75 of a current source (FIG. 4) through conductor 76, screw 77, bar 67, contacts 66, fingers 65, screws '78, conductor 79, timer switch conductor 81, coil 82 of solenoid 56, and con- The ductor 83 to the other terminal 84. However, the circuit is not completed until a time nearly through the rest period of the indexing cycle of the turret 1. At that time, the timer switch 80 (FIGS. 1 and 4) is closed by a cam 85 on shaft 74 to complete the circuit to the solenoid 56 and thereby cause the locking pin 54 (FIG. 3) to be withdrawn from the hole 55 in the cam segment 39. The drive to the operating shaft 16 is thereby disabled so that the inserting heads .10 are inoperative to feed support wires to the defective stem.

Also at the time the detecting circuit is completed, both the lifting shaft 12 and operating shaft 16 are at their uppermost elevations as in FIG. 1 at the beginning of an idle period of drive cam 30- (drive cam 25- at that time being in an idle period) so that there is no shock during disengagement of the pin 54 from the segment 39. Thereafter, whereas the drive shaft 16 would normally be pulled down by its drive cam 30 at a faster rate than the lifting shaft 12 is pulled down by its drive cam 25 in order to effect advancement of the ram jaws 4-8 to draw out wire from the spool 43, clockwise pivoting of the drive lever 31 (FIG. 1) instead causes the link '34 to swing the cam segment 39 counter-clockwise about pin 51, as shown in FIG. 6, the operating shaft 16 being retained in fixed relation to the lifting shaft 12 by springs 61. When the cam segment 39 thus swings about pin 51, an car 86 thereon releases the control pin 87 of a holding switch 88 (FIGS. 1 and 4) to close a holding circuit through the coil 82 of the solenoid 56 and thereby maintain the pin 54 in its retracted position until the segment 39 is ultimately returned to its operative position at the same point in the next operating cycle of the inserting mechanism. The segment 39 is maintained inoperative throughout that time because the drive cam 30 is holding its associated lever 31 and link 34 in a position such that normally, acting through segment 39 and link 35, they would be holding the collar 18 on shaft 16 at an elevation below the end of lifting shaft 12 as shown in FIG. 5. Instead of that condition, the springs 61 hold the collar 18 up against the end of the shaft 12, and the segment 39 is held in its inoperative position by link 34 and lever 31, as shown in FIG. 6.

During the next cycle, if a satisfactory stem 5 should be present at station E, the engagement of contacts 66 with fingers 65 of the detecting mechanism (FIG. 4) 64 will be interrupted at'a time when the drive lever 31 is being pivoted counter-clockwise (FIG. 1) in an attempt to raise the operating shaft 16 to perform the operation of inserting the support wires 40 in the button 41. Instead of performing that function, the lever 31 causes the resulting movement of link 34 to the right in FIG. 2 to pivot the segment 39 back to its normal operating position shown in FIG. -1. Thereby the ear 86 on segment 39 engages the control button 87 of the hold switch 88 to open that switch and interrupt the holding circuit through the coil 82 of solenoid 56, thus permitting the locking pin 54 to re-en-gage the segment 39.

The operations of the apparatus will be recapitulated with reference to the chart in FIG. 7 and beginning at the point in the opera-ting cycle indicated by the broken line at I, at which time the parts of the inserting mechanism are arranged in the positions shown in FIG. 1. At this time the mount machine turret 1 is in the dwell period of its indexing cycle; the lifting spider '11 is up at its operating or inserting position or elevation, theopcrating spider 1 5 is at idle or rest holding the wire feeding ram jaws 48 in a retracted position behind the cutters 49; and the detector 64 is in its operative or test position with the fingers 65 bearing against the lead wires 9 of a 1 satisfactory stem 5 at station B so that contacts'66 are the timer switch 80 is closed by cam 85 but the circuit to coil 82 of solenoid 56 remains broken by separation 6 of contacts 66 from fingers 65 so that the locking pin 54 holds the cam segment 39 in fixed position.

At point 11 of the cycle, the lifting spider 11 begins its lowering movement, and the operating spider 15 begins its lowering movement at a faster rate than spider 1-1 to thereby pivot the lever 46, close the ram jaws 48 on the wire 46a and move forwardly to pull a length of wire from the spool 43-.

At point III, the turret 1 begins its indexing movement while the lifting spider 11 and operating spider 15 continue their downward movement to point IV midway of the indexing movement when both spiders 11 and 15 are again raised to the inserting or operating elevation of spider 11 at point V which is shortly after the indexing movement of turret 1 has been completed. Between points IV and V, during raising of spiders 11 and 15, and with the ram jaws 48 in an advanced position, the cutters 49 are actuated to sever the wire length 41 Then, with turret 1 at dwell, and lifting spider 11 at idle at its inserting position, the operating spider is actuated in a sequence wherein it first moves down to point VI to pivot the lever 46 and advance the jaws 48 to insert the wire end 40 into the button 41, remains stationary for an idle period to permit the softened button 41 to cool down, then moves up to point I during which time the ram jaws 48 are opened and retracted.

If a defective or missing stem 5 should be detected at station B by the detector 64 (FIG. 4) so that the contacts 66 remain in engagement with fingers 65 then, with the parts of the mechanism in the position shown in FIG. 1 and corresponding to point I on the FIG. 7 chart (the operating spider 15 and lifting spider 11 both being at rest or idle between positions I and II in the chart) the timer switch (FIG. 1) completesthe circuit to solenoid 56 (FIG. 4) to thereby withdraw the locking pin 54 (FIG. 3) and disable the drive links 34 and 35 (FIG. 1) by permitting the cam segment 39 to pivot about pin 51 when link 34 is pulled to the left in FIG. l by lever 31 and cam 30. When the segment 39 is thus pivoted, it releases the control button of the holding switch 8 3 to close the holding circuit through coil 82 of solenoid 56 (FIG. 4) to retain the locking pin 54 in retracted position. During this disablement of the drive to the operating shaft 16 of operating spider 15, the said shaft 16 is tied to the lifting shaft 12 by the springs 61 which hold the collar 18 on shaft 16 against the end of shaft 12. The inserting mechanism is thereby rendered inoperative during the immediately following cycle during which the defective stem 5 is located at the inserting station A. At the same point (point I, FIG. 7) in the said following cycle and with the parts of the mechanism again arranged as in FIG. 1 and holding switch 8 6 opened by engagement of ear 86 on cam segment 39 with the switch control button 87 to thus release the lock-ing pin 54 to its locking position, if a satisfactory stem 5 should then be present at station B, the circuit to solenoid 56 will be broken by separaion of fingers 65 from contacts 66 so that the locking pin 54 will remain locked to the cam segment 39. The operating drive links 3 4 and 35 are thereby restored to a rigid condition through cam segment 39, thereby restoring the inserting mechanism to an operative condition.

While a particular organization and structure of the various elements has been described, it will be evident that substantial modifications may be made within the spirit and scope of the invention defined in the appended claims.

What I claim as new and desire to secure byLe-tters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a machine drive mechanism, the combination of vertically disposed lifting and operating shafts, means mounting said shafts for vertical movement, a lifting drive cam and linkage means connected to said lifting shaft, said cam being contoured to periodically raise and lower said shaft to and from an operating elevation, an operating drive cam and linkage connected to said operating shaft, said operating drive cam being contoured to raise said operating shaft in unison with said lifting shaft during its movement to said operating elevation and being further contoured to move said operating shaft vertically with respect to said lifting shaft at the operating elevation of said lifting shaft, means operable to disable the linkage connecting said operating drive cam and operating shaft, and means tieing together said lifting and operating shafts during the disablement of the linkage to said operating shaft so said operating shaft is constrained to move only in unison with said lifting shaft durng such dis'ablement.

2. In a machine drive mechanism, the combination of vertically disposed lifting and operating shafts, means mounting said shafts for vertical movement, a lifting drive cam and linkage means connected to said lifting shaft, said cam being contoured to periodically raise and lower said shaft to and from an operating elevation, an operating drive cam and linkage connected to said operating shaft, said operating drive cam being contoured to raise said operating shaft in unison with said lifting shaft during its movement to said operating elevation and being further contoured to move said operating shaft vertically with respect to said lifting shaft at the operating elevation of said lifting shaft, the linkage to said operating shaft comprising a generally vertical link pivotally connected at its upper end to said operating shaft, a generally horizontal link pivotally connected at one end to the lower end of said vertical link, and a follower lever pivotally connected to the other end of said horizontal link and arranged to impart a generally horizontal rectilinear movement to said horizontal link under the influence of said operating drive cam, a cam segment having therein an inclined slot, a roller member engaging the slot in said cam segment and supported by said vertical and horizontal links at the axis of their common pivotal connection to rigidify the connection between said links, means mounting said cam segment for pivotal movement, means normally locking said cam segment in fixed position, means operable to disable said loclsing means to permit pivotal movement of said cam segment and thereby disable the rigid connection of said vertical and horizontal links, and means tieingttoge ther said lifting and operating shafts during the disablement of the linkage to said operating shaft so said operating shaft is constrained to move only in unison with said lifting shaft during such disablement.

'3. In a machine drive mechanism, the combination of a vertically disposed hollow lifting shaft and an operating shaft within said lifting shaft, means mounting said shafts for vertical movement, a lifting drive cam and linkage means connected to said lifting shaft, said cam being contoured to periodically raise and lower said shaft to and from an operating position with an idle period at said operating elevation, an operating drive cam and linkage connected to said operating shaft, said operating drive cam being contoured to raise said operating shaft in unison with said lifting shaft during its movement to said operating elevationand being further contoured to move said operating shaft vertically with respect to said lifting shaft as well as to idle momentarily during the idle period of said lifting shaft at its operating elevation, means operable to disable the linkage connecting said operat ing drive cam and operating shaft during the common idle periods of both the lifting and operating shafts, and spring means normally urging said operating shaft upward to hold it with a lateral abutting surface thereon in engagement with a cooperating lateral abutting surface on said lifting shaft to tie said operating shaft to said lifting shaft during the disablement of the operating drive linkage connected to said operating shaft. 7

4. In a machine drive mechanism, the combination of a vertically disposed hollow lifting shaft and an operating shaft within said lifting shaft, means mounting said lifting shaft as well as to idle momentarily during the idle period of said lifting shaft at its operating elevation, the linkage to said operating shaft comprising a generally vertical link pivotally connected at its upper end to said operating shaft, a generally horizontal link pivotally connected at one end to the lower end of said vertical link, and a follower lever pivotally connected to the other end of said horizontal link and arranged to impart a generally horizontal rectilinear movement to said horizontal link under the influence of said operating drive cam, a cam segment having therein an inclined slot, a roller member engaging the slot in said cam segment and supported by said vertical and horizontal links at the axis of their common pivotal connection to rigidify the connection between said links, means mounting said cam segment for pivotal movement about an axis below the said slot in said cam segment, means normally locking said cam segment in fixed position, means operable to disable said locking means during the common idle periods of both the operating and lifting shafts to permit pivotal movement of said cam segment and thereby disable the rigid connection of said vertical and horizontal links, and spring means normally urging said operating shaft upward to hold it with a lateral abutting surface thereon in engagement with a cooperating lateral abutting surface on said lifting shaft to tie said operating shaft to said lifting shaft during the disablernent of the operating drive linkage connected to said operating shaft.

5. Support wire insert-ing apparatus of the class described cornpn'sing vertically disposed lifting and operating shafts, means mounting said shafts for vertical movement, support means carried by said lifting shaft at its upper end, inserting heads mounted on said support means and adapted to insert support wires end-foremost into a stem, actuating means carried by said operating shaft at its upper end and connected to effect operation of said inserting heads upon vertical movement of said operating shaft relative to said lifting shaft, a lifting drive cam and linkage means connected to said lifting shaft at its lower end, said cam being contoured to periodically raise and lower said lifting shaft to carry said inserting heads to and from an operating elevation, an operating drive cam and linkage connected to said operating shaft at its lower end, said operating drive cam being contoured to raise said operating shaft in unison with said lifting shaft during its movement to said operating elevation and being further contoured to move said operating shaft vertically with respect to said lifting shaft at the operating elevation of said lifting shaft, means operable to disable the linkage connecting said operating drive cam and operating shaft, and means tying together said lifting and operating shafts during the disablement of the posed lifting and operating shafts, means mounting said,

shafts for vertical movement, support means carried by said lifting shaft at its upper end, inserting heads mounted on said support means and adapted to insert support wires end-foremost into a stem at said support wire inserting station, actuating means carried by said operating shaft at its upper end and connected to effect operation of said inserting heads upon vertical movement of said operating shaft relative to said lifting shaft, a lifting drive cam and linkage means connected to said lifting shaft at its lower end, said cam being contoured to periodically raise and lower said lifting shaft to carry said inserting heads to and from an operating elevation, an operating drive cam and linkage connected to said operating shaft at its lower end, said operating drive cam being contoured to raise said operating shaft in unison with said lifting shaft during its movement to said operating elevation and being further contoured to move said operating shaft vertically with respect to said lifting shaft at the operating elevation of said lifting shaft, disabling means operable to disable the linkage connecting said operating drive cam and operating shaft, and means tying together said lifting and operating shafts during the disablement of the linkage to said operating shaft so said operating shaft is constrained to move only in unison with said lifting shaft during such disablement, detection means located at another work station ahead of said support Wire inserting station and including means for detecting the presence of a faulty stem or absence of a stem in the head at said other work station and also including means to effect operation of said disabling means upon detecting the absence of a stem or presence of a faulty stem.

Flaws May 9, 1933 Flaws June 30, 1953

Claims (1)

1. 5. SUPPORT WIRE INSERTING APPARATUS OF THE CLASS DESCRIBED COMPRISING VERTICALLY DISPOSED LIFTING AND OPERATING SHAFTS, MEANS MOUNTING SAID SHAFTS FOR VERTICAL MOVEMENT, SUPPORT MEANS CARRIED BY SAID LIFTING SHAFT AT ITS UPPER END, INSERTING HEADS MOUNTED ON SAID SUPPORT MEANS AND ADAPTED TO INSERT SUPPORT WIRES END-FOREMOST INTO A STEM, ACTUATING MEANS CARRIED BY SAID OPERATING SHAFT AT ITS UPPER END AND CONNECTED TO EFFECT OPERATION OF SAID INSERTING HEADS UPON VERTICAL MOVEMENT OF SAID OPERATING SHAFT RELATIVE TO SAID LIFTING SHAFT, A LIFTING DRIVE CAM AND LINKAGE MEANS CONNECTED TO SAID LIFTING SHAFT AT ITS LOWER END, SAID CAM BEING CONTOURED TO PERIODICALLY RAISE AND LOWER SAID LIFTING SHAFT TO CARRY SAID INSERTING HEADS TO AND FROM AN OPERATING ELEVATION, AN OPERATING DRIVE CAM AND LINKAGE CONNECTED TO SAID OPERATING SHAFT

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