Metal deforming – By plural tool-couples – With means to feed work between plural tool stations
Reexamination Certificate
2000-04-28
2002-11-19
Hong, William (Department: 3725)
Metal deforming
By plural tool-couples
With means to feed work between plural tool stations
C072S405100, C072S405130, C072S405160, C413S003000, C413S070000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06481261
ABSTRACT:
This invention relates to a feed mechanism, and more specifically to a feed mechanism specifically adapted for user in machinery for the automated manufacture of tin boxes.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Automated tin box manufacture is accomplished by juxtaposing several different pieces of machinery said providing transfer means therebetween tin boxes can be manufactured is a vast number of different shapes and sizes and accordingly a single piece of machinery is required to be sufficiently versatile to enable manufacture of tin boxes in a large number of said shapes and sizes. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the machinery need has a number of different components which can be exchanged to facilitate the manufacture of different boxes and currently the length of time taken to exchange all these various components to enable a particular set of machines to manufacture a different box shape can be up to an entire day. The invention hereinafter set forth, and slap set forth is our co-pending applications have as their object the reduction of this time. Any reduction achievable is the “changeover” time is especially desirable when it is considered that tin box production rates using the machinery described hereinafter may reach 40 per minute.
Tin boxes can contain a wide variety of different goods, such as bottles, chocolates, biscuits, tea, coffee and the like. Manufacturers of such products commonly consider the containment of their product in tins because of the rigidity and durability which the sheet steel, from which such tins are commonly made, provides. Additionally, the containment of a product in a tin box may also suggest that the product therein is of a certain quality, especially as ornate and detailed print effects can be obtained on the surface of the metal plates from which the tin boxes are manufactured. Such effects cannot be achieved, or are achieved snip to a much lesser degree by the containment of products in cardboard cartons or receptacles of plastics materials. A tin box in which such a product as contained has the further advantage of being reusable to contain other household items such as screws, nuts bolts, pencils and pens, etc. after the product originally contained therein has been consumed or otherwise utilised.
The various separate machines required in the manufacture of tin boxes are an “Automatic Curling Notching and Beading” machine, a “bodymaker”, a “round and irregular seamer”, and an “end feeder”, each of which has a specific task to perform during the process of tin box manufacture. Each of these is now described.
The first stage in the process of automated tin box manufacture is the profiling of a simple sheet steel, and generally rectangular blank from which the walls of the tin box are ultimately constituted. The blank is fed through an “Automatic Notching, Curling and Beading” machine, referred to hereinafter as an ANCB machine. This machine consists of a plurality of consecutively drives rollers disposed both above and below the blank as it passes therebetween each of said rollers performing a forming step on the blank. The particular profile of each blank as it exits the ANCB machine depends on the ultimate shape of the tin, but in general the blank is substantially flat with the exception of a hem provided parallel with one of the longer edges of the blank and proximate thereto, a bead is provided on one of said longer edges, a partial curl is provided around the alternate longer edge, and a pair of hooks oppositely disposed with respect to one another on the shorter edges. Additionally the ANCB machine has cutting means which catch the corners of the blank to preclude any interference effects which may be caused by said corners either when the blank is profiled and provided with the hooks along its shorter edges, when it is formed into the cross-sectional shape of the tin box, or when wrapped around and attached to the base of said tin box.
The hem provides a surface behind which the beaded lip of a tin lid can engage to inhibit the removal of a lid separately formed and applied around the uppermost edge of the tin box, the bead is provided to hide the sharp longer edge of the blank which ultimately forms said uppermost edge of the tin box, the partial curl on the alternate longer edge of the blank is provided to facilitate the attachment of the blank, after same has been formed into the desired cross-sectional shape, to the base of the tin box, and the hooks provided along the shorter edges of the blank facilitate the connection of said edges to one another after the forming operation. In practice, the bodymaker may be responsible for the formation of the hooks on the shorter edges of the blank to facilitate connection of said edges to one another.
The profiled blank is then fed from the ANCB machine into a bodymaker by a feed mechanism forming an integral part of the bodymaker which generally comprises a pair of reciprocating feed bars whose motion is best described is being that of a “walking beam” is conjunction with “disappearing guides” which simultaneously urge the profiled blank towards and over a forming mandrel and precisely align said blank thereon. The disappearing guides are rotated away from the blank when it is held in contact with the uppermost portion of the mandrel, which is generally of similar shape to the desired cross-sectional shape of the tin box to be manufactured, by a mandrel clamping arrangement. The removal of the disappearing guides (so-called because they are retracted and seem to “disappear” within the machine during the forming of the blank ground the mandrel) allows a pair of forming wings pivotally connected together and disposed above the mandrel to rotate about their pivot and form said blank, which is at this stage still substantially planar, around the said mandrel. The forming operation performed by the wings also constrains the oppositely disposed hooks on the shorter edges of the blank to interlock on the underside of the mandrel whereupon a second forming tool compresses the metal of the blank in the interlocked region to form the vertical team within the wall of the tin box. During all forming operations the blank is clamped against the upper surface of said mandrel by said mandrel clamping arrangement.
This invention is specifically concerned with the provision of a novel feed mechanism.
The feed mechanism currently used to transfer the pressed blanks from the ANCB machine through the bodymaker is now described. The profiled but substantially planar blanks exit the ANCB machine onto a pair of pivotable drop rails which both guide and support the blank as a travels until it contacts a stopping member. The pivotable guide rails are actuated with a predetermined frequency which corresponds to the rate at which the profiled blanks are fed into and exit the ANCB machine and also to the rate at which the said blanks can be fed through the bodymaker. On acruation, which is typically effected by a cam arrangement, both a drop rails swing outwardly and away from each other such that the bank supported thereby falls onto a pair of parallel feed bars disposed with a feed table, said feed bars reciprocally traveling in a “walking beam” type manner in a direction perpendicular to the direction of travel of the blanks exiting the ANCB machine.
Each of said feed bars is provided with a plurality of spring loaded pawls which engage behind one of the edges of the blank as it tests thereon of on the feed table, and these pawls urge the blank through the bodymaking machine.
The feed table on which the blank travel in generally symmetrical about an axis parallel to the direction of travel of the blanks thereon and is substantially hollow to allow the feed bars and driving machinery to operate unhindered therein. The feed bars are rigidly secured with bolts or the like to a feed bar transport supported end freely slidable on horizontal guide rails whose length is marginally less than the length of the feed mechanism. Although the feed bars are sufficiently separated to provide a certain de
Bell Boyd & Lloyd LLC
Hong William
Meltog Limited
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