US3398589A - Rack and pinion feeding apparatus - Google Patents

Description

Aug. 27, 1968 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 25, 1967 INVENTOR5.

BEPLYN E. BAPINGER BY JOHN A. HER

AT TOPNEYS Aug. 27, 1968 J. A. HUBER ET AL RACK AND PINION FEEDING APPARATUS 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 25, 1967 On E w .6 MN O nn N TONE: R B O N H HIT IE 1 A m A L N i B J Y B Aug. 27, 1968 J. A; HUBER ET AL 3,398,589

RACK AND PINIQN FEEDING APPARATUS Filed May 25, 1967 4 SheetsSheet- 5 INVENTORS.

BEPLYN E. BAPINGER BY JOHN A. HUBER WEEE ATTORNEYS Aug. 27, 1968 J. A. HUBER ET AL 3,398,589

RACK AND PINION FEEDING APPARATUS Filed'May 25, 1967 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 i i I /02 mfi'N oRs. U2 /3/ BERLYN E. BAPINGEP BY JOHN A. HUBER ATTORNEYS States 3,398,589 RACK AND PINION FEEDING APPARATUS John A. Huber, Birmingham, and Berlyn E. Baringer,

Southfield, Mich., assignors to US. Industries, Inc., Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Delaware Filed May 25, 1967, Ser. No. 641,201 8 Claims. (Cl. '74--77) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Summary of the invention This invention relates to strip stock feeding machines and more particularly, to a rack and pinion apparatus for driving the feed rolls in a step-by-step fashion.

It is desirable in many instances to feed strip stock into a processing machine such as a punch, in predetermined lengths. The feeding of the strip stock in such predetermined lengths calls for a feeding machine which operates in a step-by-step fashion. Heretofore such step-by-step feeding action has been produced by rack and pinion drive apparatuses connected to the drive gear trains of the feed rolls. However, in order to adjust the reciprocating movement of the rack to adjust the length of strip stock being fed by the machine, it is necessary in the prior art machines to stop the machines. A further disadvantage of the prior art rack and pinion apparatuses is that the means for connecting the rack to the row arm are subject to loose connections between the rack and the throw arm which permit relative sidewards and up and down movement during reciprocation of the rack. Accordingly, it is an important object of the present invention to provide an improved rack and pinion apparatus which overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art rack and pinion drive means for strip stock feeding machines.

It is another object of the invention to provide a rack and pinion apparatus for driving the feed rolls of a strip stock feeding machine which is simple and compact in construction, economical to manufacture, and eflicient in operation.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved rack and pinion drive apparatus for a strip stock feeding machine which includes a crack pin head provided with guide means for driving and guiding the throw arm of the rack and pinion apparatus during operation to guide the throw arm in two relative perpendicular planes.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a novel and improved rack and pinion apparatus for driving the feed rolls of a strip stock feeding machine which includes a means for pivotally mounting the rack to the throw arm, a means for locking the pivotally mounting means in an adjusted position on the throw arm, and means for adjusting the pivotal mounting means longitudinally on the throw arms, and further means for adjusting the throw arm longitudinally relative to the rear pivotal axis of the throw arm.

Other features and advantages of this inventionwill be atent C 3,398,589 Patented Aug. 27, 1968 apparent from the following detailed description, appended claims, and the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a partial side elevational view of a strip stock feeding machine showing the lower end of the machine and a rack and pinion drive means made in accordance with the principles of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a partial side elevational view of the upper end of the strip stock feeding machine illustrated in FIG. 1, and showing the upper end of the rack and pinion drive means; I

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary, enlarged, horizontal section view of the structure shown in FIG. 1, taken along the line 33 thereof, and looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary, enlarged, elevational section view of the rack carrier structure illustrated in FIG. 1, taken along the line 4-4 thereof, and looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary, enlarged, elevational section view of the throw block adjusting worm assembly, taken along the line 55 of FIG. 1, and looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary, enlarged, elevational section view of the throw block micro adjusting shaft assembly, taken along the line 66 of FIG. 1, and looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 7 is a broken, fragmentary, enlarged, sectional view of the throw block adjusting worm assembly, taken along the line 7-7 of FIG. 1, and looking in the direction of the arrows; and,

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary, enlarged, elevational section view of the throw block adjusting worm shaft assembly, taken along the line 88 of FIG. 1, and looking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring now to the drawings, and in particular to FIG. 2, the numeral 10 generally designates a dual roll strip stock feeding machine which is adapted to receive strip stock material indicated by the reference numeral 11 from a preceding strip stock processing machine, such as a straightening machine, and feed the strip stock 11 in a step-by-step fashion into another processing machine, such as a punch press, a power operated shears, and the like. As shown in FIG. 2, the strip stock material 11 enters the feeding machine 10 and advances through a pair of anti-back- up rolls 12 and 13, and then between a first set of drive or feed rolls 14 and 15. The strip stock material 11 next passes between a second set of feed rolls 16 and 17, and thence into the next aforementioned strip stock material processing machine.

As shown in FIG. 2, the feed rolls 14, 15, 16 and 17 are rotated intermittently by a suitable gear train which is operated by the reciprocating rack 18 which rotates the pinion 19 when the rack 18 is moved downwardly. The pinion 19 is connected through a suitable overrunning clutch (not shown) to the shaft 20 on which is fixed the drive gear 21. The drive gear 21 drives the gear 22 which is fixed on the shaft 23 that carries the feed roll 14. The gear 22 drives the idler gear 24 which drives the gear 25 that is fixed on the feed roll shaft 26 that carries the feed roll 16 The idler gear 24 drives the idler gear 27 that drives the gears 28 and 29 on the feed roll shafts 3t) and 31 that carry the feed rolls 15 and 17. The aforementioned gear drive is merely illustrative of a suitable drive means for conveying the intermittent drive power from the pinion 19 to the feed rolls. The numeral 34 indicates a run-in motor for loading a new strip of material 11 into the machine 10 with a continuous movement. The motor 3-4 drives the shaft 23 through the drive belt 35 and the pulleys 36 and 37. The invention is directed to the following described mounting and actuating structure.

As shown in FIG. 4, the lower end of the rack 18 is rotatably mounted on a throw block or arm 38 which has one end rollably mounted on a crank pin retainer 39. The crank pin retainer 39 is fixed to the crank pin 40 which is rotatably mounted to the outer end of the crank 41. As shown in FIG. 3, the inner end. of the crank 41 is fixed by the screws 42 to one end of the drive shaft 43. The drive shaft 43 is rotatably journaled at one end by the roller bearing 44 which is mounted in a machine frame wall 45. The other end of the drive shaft 43 is supported by a pair of bearing means 46 and 47 which are mounted in the machine frame walls 48 and 49, respectively.

The drive shaft 43 is driven by the gear 50 which is secured to the shaft 43 in a position between the bearlugs 46 and 47. The gear 50 is driven by the pinion gear 51 which is fixed on the shaft 52 that is journaled by the bearings 53 and 54 on the machine frame walls 48 and 49. A drive gear 55 is fixed on the shaft 52 for driving the gear 51. The drive gear 55 may be driven by any suitable power means such as the electric motor 56 in FIG. 1.

As shown in FIG. 4, the crank pin 40 is rotatably mounted by the pair of bearings 57 and 58 on the crank 41. The crank pin retainer includes a C-shaped carrier or head comprising the vertical plate 59 that is attached to the crank pin 40 and an integral upper horizontal plate 60 and an integral lower plate 61. The outer end of the throw block or arm 38 is rollably supported in the C- shaped carrier by the following described structure.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the throw block 38 is provided with an elongated wear bar 62 along the top surface thereof and with an elongated wear bar 63 along the bottom surface thereof. The top surface of the wear bar 62 is rollably engaged by the rollers 64 and 65 as shown in FIG. 1. The rollers 64 and 65 are rotatably mounted on the eccentric pins 66 and 67, respectively. As shown in FIG. 4, the eccentric pin 66 is secured in an adjusted position by any suitable means, as by the lock screw 68. The eccentricity of the pins 66 and 67 permits the rollers 64 and 65 to be adjusted relative to the bar 62 to take up any looseness or play caused by wear. As shown in FIG. 1, the bottom wear bar 63 is also guided by a similar pair of rollers 69 and 70 which are mounted on the eccentric pins 71 and 72.

As shown in FIG. 1, the wear bars 62 and 63 are guided laterally in the C-shaped retainer pin head 39 by three spaced apart cam rollers 73, 74 and 75, on each side of each wear bar. It will be seen that the aforedescribed rollers in the C-shaped head provide guiding action in two perpendicular directions to the throw block 38 while it is driven by the C-shaped head.

The rack 18 is rotatably mounted on the throw block 38 by the following described structure. As shown in FIG. 4, the throw block 38 is provided with a longitudinally extended T-shaped slot 76 in which is slidably mounted the head 77 of a T-bolt 78. The shaft 79 of the T-bolt 78 is slidably mounted in the sleeve bushing 80 which has a shoulder 81 that abuts the throw block 38. The sleeve 80 extends into the stepped bore 82 formed in the lower end of the rack 18. The sleeve 80 is rotatably journaled in the bore 82 by a roller bearing having an inner race 83 and an outer race 84. The inner end of the inner race 83- abuts a shoulder on the sleeve 80. The outer end of the inner race 83 abuts an annular, inner piston 85 which is slidably mounted around the shaft 79 of the T-bolt 78. The outer race 84 is retained in place by a circular bearing retainer 86 which is secured to the rack 18 by a plurality of screws 87.

As shown in FIG. 4, the bearing retainer 86 forms a cylinder 88 in which is slidably mounted the inner piston 85 and the outer, annular slidable piston 89. The outer piston 89 is retained on the T-bolt shaft 79 by the washer 90 and the lock nut 91. The T-bolt shaft. 79 is provided with the transverse air passage 92 and the axial passage 93 for conveying air under pressure, or some other pressurized fluid, from the union 94, which would be connected to a suitable source of pressurized air or other fluid, into the cylinder 88 between the pistons 85 and 89. It will be seen that the pressurized fluid in the space between the pistons 85 and 89 will spread these pistons apart so as to pull the T-bolt 78 outwardly, or to the left as viewed in FIG. 4, and lock the T-bolt in a desired adjusted position in the throw block 38.

The position of the T-bolt in the throw block 38 may be adjusted by the adjusting screw 95 which is longitudinally disposed in the throw block 38 and threadably mounted through the bore 96 (FIG. 4) in the T bolt head 77. The length of the strip stock segment fed by each stroke of the rack 18 may be adjusted.

The structure for rotating the adjusting screw 95 is shown in FIGS. 5 and 7. As shown in FIG. 7, the front end of the adjusting screw 95 is rotatably mounted in the bearing means 97 carried in the annular bearing retainer 98. A lock nut 99 is threaded on the front end of the adjusting screw 95 and forces the retainer 98 against the front end of the throw block 38. The rear part of the adjusting screw 95 is rotatably supported by the bearing means 100 which is carried in the gear box 101 that is secured to the rear end of the throw block 38 by the screws 102.

As shown in FIG. 7, a worm wheel 103 is secured to the rear end of the shaft 95 and is locked in an axial position by a lock nut and washer generally indicated by the numeral 104. The rear end of the shaft 95 is supported by the sleeve bushing 105 which is carried in the gear housing cover 106 that is secured in place by the screws 107.

As shown in FIG. 5, the worm wheel 103 is driven clockwise or counter-clockwise by the worm gear 108 carried on the shaft 109 that is journaled in the spaced bearings 110 and 111 in the base 112 of the gear housing 101. The shaft 109 is coupled to the output or drive shaft 113 of a suitable reversing fluid motor 114, as a reversing air motor. The motor 114 is secured to the base 112 by a suitable adapter 115.

The rear end of the throw block 38 is hingedly mounted on an eccentric micro adjusting shaft for fine adjustments of the length of stock to be fed by the rack and pinion feeding apparatus of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 6, the throw block 38 is provided with a cylindrical recess 116 on one side, at the rear end thereof, in which is seated a bearing 117 that is held in place by the bearing retainer 118. A first shaft portion 119 is rotatably mounted in the bearing 117 and it is eccentrically secured to the front end of a second shaft 120. The shaft 120 is journaled in the sleeve bushings 121 and 122 carried in the machine frame housing 123.

The rear end of the shaft is rotatably supported by a bearing 124 held in place by the retainer 125 in the gearing housing 126. A worm wheel 127 is secured to the shaft 120 and is rotated by the worm gear 128 which is shown in FIG. 8. The worm gear 128 is carried on the shaft 129 which is rotatably journaled by the bearings 130 and 131 in the base 132 of the gear housing 126. The shaft 129 is connected by the coupling 133 to the output shaft 134 of a suitable gear reducer means 135 which is driven by a suitable electric motor 136. It will be seen that when the motor 136 is actuated, the eccentric shaft 119 will be rotated to make a micro adjustment of the arm or throw block 38 relative to the rack 18.

In use, the crank pin carrier or head 39 would be adjusted to the desired position on the crank arm to provide the desired length of strip stock for each feeding movement of the rack 18. The drive means for the crank would then be actuated and as the crank rotates the front end of the throw arm 38 is oscillated upwardly and downwardly about its pivotal axis at the rear end of the throw arm. The crank pin carrier slides backwardly and forwardly by means of the guide rollers. The last described action actuates or reciprocates the rack 18 upwardly and downwardly to provide power rotation to the drive pinion 19. It will be seen that the position of the T-bolt which secures the rack to the throw arm may be automatically adjusted while the rack and pinion apparatus is operating by the aforedescribed adjusting screw apparatus and piston means for locking the T-bolt in place. This position of the T-bolt in the throw arm provides means for adjusting the length of the strip stock being fed by the feeding machine. A micro adjustment of the relative distance between the axis of the T-bolt and the pivotal axis of the rear end of the throw arm may be made to adjust the length of the strip stock being fed by rotating the eccentric mounting shaft which pivotally mounts the rear end of the throw arm.

While it will be apparent that the preferred embodiment of the invention herein disclosed is well calculated to fulfill the objects above stated, it will be appreciated that the invention is susceptible to modification, variation and change without departing from the proper scope or fair meaning of the subjo-ined claims.

What we claim is:

1. A rack and pinion apparatus for operating the drive means of the feed rolls of a strip stock feeding machine in an intermittent fashion to feed predetermined lengths of the strip stock, comprising:

(a) a pinion connected to the feed roll drive means;

(b) a rack having the upper end meshed with said pinion for rotating the pinion when the rack is reciprocated upwardly and downwardly;

(c) a crank pin head having a crank pin fixed to one side thereof;

(d) a power driven rotatable crank having one end rotatably connected to said crank pin for rotating the crank pin head;

(e) a throw arm having the front end movably mounted in the crank pin head;

(f) means for pivotally mounting the rear end of the throw arm; and,

(g) means for pivotally mounting the lower end of the rack on the throw arm, whereby when the crank is rotated the throw arm will be pivoted to reciprocate the rack upwardly and downwardly, and the crank pin head will drive and guide the throw arm.

2. A rack and pinion apparatus as defined in claim 1,

wherein:

(a) said crank pin head is provided with a plurality of guide rollers for rollably supporting the front end of said throw arm.

3. A rack and pinion apparatus as defined in claim 2,

wherein:

(a) some of said guide rollers are mounted on an eccentric shaft for adjusting the guide rollers toward and away from the throw arm.

4. A rack and pinion apparatus as defined in claim 2,

wherein:

(a) said throw arm is provided with a pair of wear bars for engagement by said guide rollers for guiding said throw arm when it is oscillated in two relative perpendicular planes.

5. A rack and pinion apparatus as defined in claim 1,

wherein:

(a) said means for pivotally mounting the rack on the throw arm includes a T-bolt; and,

(b) means for releasably locking said T-bolt to the throw arm.

6. A rack and pinion apparatus as defined in claim 5,

wherein:

(a) said means for locking the T-bolt to the throw arm includes a fluid operated piston means.

7. A rack and pinion apparatus as defined in claim 5,

wherein:

(a) said throw arm is provided with means for adjusting the position of the T-bolt longitudinally of the throw arm.

8. A rack and pinion apparatus as defined in claim 1,

wherein:

(a) said means for pivotally mounting the rear end of the throw arm includes an eccentric shaft for adjusting the distance between the axis of rotation of the rear end of the throw arm and the axis of rotation of the means for rotatably connecting the rack to the throw arm for changing the length of the strip stock being fed by the feeding machine.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,270,080 1/ 1942 Oakley 7477 2,461,688 2/1949 Illsche 7477 X 2,601,920 7/1952 Salfisberg 74--77 X 2,971,388 2/1961 Koppel 7477 FRED C. MATTERN, 111., Primary Examiner.

LEONARD H. GERIN, Assistant Examiner.

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