US2480192A - Apparatus for registering can body blanks - Google Patents

Description

Aug.. 30, H949.

`ELAJUD APPARATUS FOR REGISTERING CAN BODY BLANKS Filed April 29 1947 3 Shets-Sheet l Aug 30, H949. E. I Axo 2,480,192

APPARATUS FOR REGISTERING CAN BODY BLANKS Filed April 29, 1947 Aug. 30, l949 E. Ax0 2,480,192

APPARATUS FOR REGISTERING CAN BODY BLANKS Filed April 29, 1947 s sheets-sheet s 1: Ffa.; l6

Patented Aug. 30, 1949 UNI-TED"l STATES PTENT OFFICE APPARATUS' FOR REGISTERIG UABODY BLANKS` Ed Laxo, Oakland; Calif., assignor tovA'tlas Im'- perial Diesel Engine Co., Oakland,-Calif'., a corporation of Delaware Application April 29, 1947, Serial No. 744,682

4 Claims. 1.

The present invention Vpertains `to can body making machines, andmcre particularly to apparatus for registering :can bodyv blanks with' tools at one or'more work"stationsy in such machines.

An object of the inventib'nis to provide a mechanism for automatically andaccm'ately disposing. canbody blanks 'in 'exact registry with thc body making tools at oneor `more work stations, without nicking, bending or otherwise marring the relatively thin metalI bodyblank stock.

A further object Aof the'invention is to provide an improved mec'liianisn'iJ for positively and. ac# curately registering, can body blanks with' respect to tools at one ormore work stations along the can body making machines Another object or. ytheinvention is to provide a mechanism forautomatically and accurately disposing can body blanks in positive and eX- act registry with tools at oney or more: worksta` tions. theVmcch-anismbeing capableV oi high, sns-- tai-ned operating speeds-' Still. a further object ofthe invention-isv to provide a registering mechanism for accurately disposing can body blanks relative-to tools of a body maker, the mechanism being easily removable iroinits operating location to permit inspection;

adjustment and other" operations onA the re inainder of the body making` machine, aswel-l' asonthe registering mechanism itself.

One iormwhich the inventionAm-ay assume isf- Fig. 4: is a cross-section takenr along the line- Fig.v 5` isa longitudinal section taken. along the line` E-E-on Fig. 3.

6 is a partially exploded perspective View.; as seen generally along theline 6,-51 on Figs-3;`

Theoregistering mechanism eXempli-fying the' present invention: inthe drawings islocatedl on.`

opposite. sides off a. aanbodyf making 'machina-in whichy body blanlrsfB-.are fedisuccessivelyfrom' stau tiontostationiorthefpertormance of: certain oper'-V ations thereon. As anexample, the body .blanke wherecertain operations are performed thereon; thento a notching station, wherel the four corners of the blank, are notchedV and slit; and then to a folder.r station, where the hooks are formed, preparatory tofeedling. of the blank to the forming-station.. where the blank is formed into a cylindrical body- A'suitable mechanismmay be provided for performing' the above-noted operations. It is important, however, that the blanks be located accurately'and exactly with respect to the tools atv each work station, in order to produce proper cylindricall cans. It isto'su'ch registering mechanism that the present'inv'entionis directed.

As disclosed in the drawings, the body maker consists'essentially of. opposed portions for operating' oai-each: side of the body blank. Since these portions areA essentially duplicates of one another, particular reference to one side of the machineA throughontf most of this description will suliiiceffor both-sides. 1

The bod-y maker` includes opposed side frames lil adjustably mountedupon the base il of the machine, to allow movement of the side frames to andr fromo'ne another, for the purpose of accommodating body blanks of dierent widths designed-to form can bodies of Various diameters.

As indicated' above. a blanking or impression stationa mayy beprovided in the device, and alsol a matching stationvC and folding station D. The mechanism'for performing the notching. oi the corners ofeach. bod-y blank is' specifically disclosed in the'drawings, while the registering mechanism is shownas disposed along thc folding stationv D, as well as` along the notching station C. Itis toA be understood; however, that the elements of the registeringlnechanism could be duplicated to include a mechanism for accurately locating thebody blanks at a blanking or impression station (inot shown). it desired. For purposes of clarity, the registering mechanism hasI been shortened inextent to show the registering of the-body blanks at two stations C and D only.

The bodyblanksA B are. movable from station to station byfeed bars l2 slidably mounted on the bed' portion'iS of: eachV side'frame lil. Each' of such-bars isguidedrinf itsmovement by a side member I'll sccurred'to` thefframe by cap screws I 5g or the like; and having' a'- vlongitudinal tongue i6 'received Within a companion groove Il in the feed bari The. side'membe'r is also provded'with' an; inwardly'extending shoulder' i8' on whichv a plate.` I 9" ist secnredi by7 meansV of? countersunk` screws 2n; Thisfplateextends across the machine, resting upon the shoulder I8 of the other side member I4 with its upper surface lying in the same plane as the upper surface of the feed bar i2. It is to be noted that there is a longitudinal groove or space 2| provided between the feed bar i2, plate I8 and side member i4 for the reception of part of the registering mechanism, as later described.

Fitting within a longitudinal channel 22 in each side frame at the notching and slitting station C is a die block 23 having appropriate die cavities 24 for receiving punches 25 suitably secured to punch holders 25 clamped to the rocker lever 21 of the punch actuating mechanism. This lever is mounted upon a shaft 28 extending between and secured to the upper bearing portions 29 of side frame uprights 38. The lever is oscillated by mounting the upper end of a connecting rod 3|' on a stud or pin 32 secured to the lever, with the lower strap end 33 of the rod encompassing an eccentric 34 fixed to a drive shaft 35 rotatable by a suitable electric motor and gearing (not shown) at the proper speed. It is to be understood that the notching mechanism on the right side of the machine (as seen in Fig. 1) is a substantial duplicate of the notching mechanism just described, and that it is also operated through a drive shaft, eccentric and connecting rod train of mechanisms in synchronism with the rocker lever oscillating mechanism 3l, 35 specilically described. Specic details of the notching and slitting apparatus may be found in my application executed on April 22, 1947, for Apparatus for notching can body blanks, Serial No. 744,681, led April 29, 1947.

The feed bars l2 are reciprocated along the body maker in timed relation to the operation of the impression, punch and folder mechanisms. A spring pressed feeding finger 36, of known construction, is mounted at longitudinally spaced intervals on each feed bar I2 (see Fig. 2), being designed to engage the rear edge R of a body blank B and feed it from station to station at the proper time. Because of the character of the registering mechanism to be described herein, the feed bars l2 move each body blank a distance slightly greater than the actual movement required to shift each blank from the desired registered location on one station to the desired registered location on the other station. It is to be understood that various other known manners of feeding the blanks from station to station may be employed, since the precise feeding mechanism forms no part of the present invention.

The registering mechanism is disclosed as extending across two work stations, such as the notching and slitting station C and the folder station D. This mechanism includes, on each side of the machine, a pair of spaced arms 31 pivotally mounted upon studs 38 secured to lugs 39 extending upwardly from the side frame I0 of the machine. As is best seen in Fig. 1, a lower surface 48 on the outer end of each arm 31 engages a plunger 4| received within a bore 42 in a frame upright containing a spring 43 engaging the end of the plunger for urging it in an upward direction for the purpose of maintaining the arm 31 generally horizontally in proper position over the notching and folder stations C, D and in position for registering blanks thereat. This position is determined by engagement of a depending lug 44 on each arm with a ledge 45 on the upright 38. The arms, however, may be swung upwardly to elevate the entire registering mechanism about the axis of the studs 38 against the action of the 4 plungers 4l', which will merely be depressed in their bores or sockets 42 against the force of the springs 43.

A longitudinal bar 46 extends between the inner portions of the arms 31, and is secured thereto by suitable cap screws 41 extending through the ends of the bar for threaded reception within the arms. Each end of the bar 46 is formed to provide a tongue 48 received within a companion i groove 49 in each arm for the purpose of preventing relative vertical movement therebetween.

The lower end of the bar is also provided with a longitudinally extending shoulder 5l] forming a longitudinal groove or channel 5I for the reception of other parts of the mechanism, to be referred to hereinafter. At this point it is also to be noted that the longitudinal bar 46 has an intermediate inwardly disposed longitudinal groove or channel 52 having upper and lower anges 53 directed toward each other, in effect providing a modified dove-tailed or T-shaped cross-section.

The longitudinal bar carries one or more stop fingers 54 adapted to engage the rear edges R of body blanks B as they are shifted backwardly to a slight extent during the registering operation. These stop fingers extend between the depending legs 55 of a holder 58, which is secured to the lower portion of the bar 46 by engagement of its intermediate tongue 51 within a companion groove on the outer, lower portion of the bar (see Figs. 1 and 6). A bracket 58 has an upper tongue 59 received within the longitudinal bar groove 5I and serves to clamp the holder 56 to the bar by means of a screw 68 extending through the bracket and threaded into the holder.

The stop nger 54 is mounted upon a screw or pin 6l extending between the holder legs 55 and supported thereby. This ringer has its forward portion urged in a downward direction by a spring 62 engaging its upper side forwardly of its pivotal axis on the screw or stud 6l, which spring is received within a socket 63 in the holder 55 (see Fig. 3). The stop finger 54 is so arranged as to be forced by the spring 62 down against the surface of the machine over which the body blanks B travel. As illustrated in Fig. l, one opposed pair of stop fingers 54 normally engages the die blocks 23 inwardly of the punches 25, with the forward stop or working face 64 of each finger substantially at right angles to the surface of the machine or die block when its forward corner engages the same. The under surface 65 of each nger is inclined forwardly and downwardly to provide a heel against which the body blanks B may bear for the purpose of elevating the stop fingers above the machine surface from the path of movement of the body blanks and allow the latter to be fed by the feed bars l2 and feed fingers 36 therebeyond. Immediately upon the body blanks B passing the stop fingers 54, their springs 62 will re-engage them with the machine surfaces.

The stop fingers 54 may be located accurately at the rear of each work station simply by loosening the cap screws 59 and sliding the bracket 58 and holder 56 along the bar 46, whereupon the screw 68 may again be tightened to clamp the parts in position. Accurate movement to an exceedingly small or ne extent may be obtained by means of an adjusting screw 66 threaded into the holder 56 and having its head bearing against one face of a stationary head 61 having a U-shaped slot 68 through which the screw shank extends, there being a lock nut 69 on the other side of the head 61 (see Fig. 6). A pin 1l) extends from the head and is received within a f'miianion hole.y 1| in .thebar. 46 above itsslongb tudinal groove in order to prevent longitudinal movementofthehead. The screw |56` is threaded into the holder 55;. and upon being turned it willxaiter the 4distance between :its head i the holder, whereupon the :lock nut 69 may be tightened against the head 67| to shift the screw andholder, andalso to clamp the screw 6.6 l to .the head f' preventing subsequent inadvertent movement of `the--l'iolder alongthe bar.

The stopnngersts. are located atvthe rear of each work station .and determine the position of the` body blank B when itis moved backward thereagainst. The longitudinal movement. of the body blank may be resisted ibya pressure bar 7 2 located on each side. of the machine at each work station .and consisting of a. longitudinalmember whose ends 73. are recessed in order thatl the member may be received .between .the holder legs 55:.(seeFigs, 3 and 6:). A spring AItengages each endowthey pressure bar and is located within a socket 'I5 in the holder 55 in order to urge the bar 72: downwardly against the body blankA B anovingthlereunder. Downward movement ofthe pressure baris limited vby engagement of the upper ends otite recessed portions 13 with the holder'legs 55.

Pressure. barslat Yonly onestation are indicatedgin'the drawings for purposes of clarity, whereas, it is to be understood that a pressure barmay lbe located-.at other stations, if desired. As disclosed in Fig.v 3, the. bar 16 at the left station is merely secured; to the longitudinal bar liti with its lower endelevatedabove the machine surface in order to serve as a guide for the body blanks as they pass thereunder.

Alftera body Ablank B has been moved forwardly to a position slightly beyond. its desired position in registrywitl'i the toolsat a particular station, it is. thenl pushed backr against the stop lingers 54'by a .pushfback device locatedat each station on` opposite sides of the machine. As illustrated inv the drawings (see Figs. l,v Zand 3), suchv pushT back device consists of a lever 'I1A pivotally mounted upon a stud 'I8 extending into abracket 719,011 onev side of the longitudinal bar and i threaded into a clamp 85 -on `the other side of the longitudinal bar 45, the bracket and clamp being essentiallyvthe same as the bracket -58 and holder.55.for each stop` finger 54. Tghtening of D the screw I8 serves .to clamp the bracket 19 and.

the4 clamp 8|) on. the other side of the bar rmly tov the supporting bar 4Q `of the mechanism, but does not clamp the lever 'l1 thereto, which is `free toswing about the stud axis.

Each push-.back lever 'H has a forwardly and downwardly extending arm 8| terminating in a linger 82 adapted to engage the forward edge .F of the body blank lil/.swinging into the longitudinal groove 2l. The lever also has an arm 83 extending upwardly from its pivot 18 and engaged within a slot 84 in a slidable lever operate ing device 85, which is secured to a longitudinal slidev 8E. complementary to and slidable within the groove 52 in the longitudinal bar 4B. Each device 85 includes a spring holder portion 8'! adapted to receive a compression spring 83 in its bore, one end of which engages a stud 8'9 serving to secure the device to the slide 86 and acting as a stop-or abutment for the spring 88. The other end of the spring engages a plunger 9i! having a rounded forward nose portion contacting the rear face of the'upper lever arm 83. The plunger is guided for slidable movement without rotationv in the holder 8T by an upwardly extending 6 key 9| thereon receivedr within a-slot :92; in the holder.

The forwardface 4of the: upper. leverA arm.- 8.3 engages a cam 93 mounted on anotherfstud: 94 securingthe operating device. to the slide B6. This cam 93is rotatable ,to determine the. position of Vthe lever. 'I7 fwith respect to .the machine frame. and body blank, andr may be moved to properly adjust the lever on itspivotland then clamped `in .such adjusted: position vby tightening the screwl 94%, which prevents its Vfurther rotation.

It is to be notedfthatfthereis a push-back lever lli on each sideof the machine. at eachstation meuntedfiorwardiy'ofzthe stop finger ffor that sta-tion.V Reciprocation of the; slide iili-.willcorrespondingly rock the levers l?. simultaneously on. theirfpivot pinsfrlL andmove. the .depending fingers 82 through aniarcuate path in a downwardiand rearwardzdirection when the slide is moved forwardiy, and in the reverse direction whenwtlie slidey is movedzrearwardiy. Such rear.- ward 1 movement is-.produced by a return .spring 95 engaging. the forwardwend 96 ofitherslide85 Withinthe longitudinal bar groove Stand received .within a. retainer 91 4which is clampedfto theflongitudinal bar it bya clamp piece 98 which engages the bar and retainer, being forced against they latter by ar screw: Il?. extending through the clamp 98.;and:longitudinal'bar 46 into the vforward main supporting. arm 31 of the mechanism.. As afmatter of ffact, thislast men tioned'screw lli serves. the double purpose of. clamping the retainer to the bar andsecuring the end of the bar to the arm. The eXtentlof movement .of the slide eunder the4 inuence of the return spring V95th-limited 'bx/.engagement of its rearwardendtszwith ai stop lllfmountedwithin the lslot `:mgroove 52 v:in the bar and held iny any position of longitudinal adjustment therein byaset screw 10| threaded through the stop and adapted toengage the base of thegroove 52. Tighteningof this screw Esi willforce the stop againstthe oppositely directed iianges 53 of the bar, thus holding. the stop |00 in the position in which .it .may have' been placed.

The. slide 8S is.- shiftable forwardly, for the purpose ofswinging the ngerss. to positions pushingbackthebody blanks B against the stop fingers 54, bya cam device which includesa bracket |02-extending through an outer longitudinal slot |53 through thev base of the longitudinal bardxinto its groove52. This bracket is substantially shorter in length than the'length of the longitudinal slot |83 yand is attached to the slide by.v cap screws |84 extending through thebracket andthreaded into the Slide B6. This bracket has `an upward and outwardly directed inclined support ||l5 to which is aixed a bolt Iliion .which a cam follower roller |01 is rotatably-mounted. This roller is engaged by a cam Q8 which is suitably secured -to the rocker lever 2? ofthe punch operating mechanism. As specilically disclosed, the` cam |08 has a pair of oppositely directed ears |09 receiving the threaded endsA of cap screws l() extending through a holder I|| clamped to the rocking lever 21.

As the lever '21 moves downwardly to perform the notching operation on the corners of a body blank B, the cam'. surface ||l8a on the cam engages the follower roller |01 and shifts it longitudinallyv to move the slide 86 longitudinally against the action of the return spring 95, thus moving .the upper arms. 83 of the push-.back lever. forwardly andthe lower arms 8| and ngers 82 Vrearwardly to cause their engagement with the forward edge F of the body blank B and push the latter backward to a position limited by engagement of the rear blank edges R with the stop fingers 54.

It is to be noted that the fingers 82 of the pushback levers occupy a position disposed substantially above the surface of the machine and above the plane in which the upper surface of the body blank lies when the cam H18 is not rocked inwardly to shift the slide 86 forwardly. That is, the return spring 95 shifts the slide rearwardly to cause the fingers 82 to occupy the positions disclosed in dotted lines on Fig. 3, with their lower ends elevated above the surface of the machine so as not to interfere with the movement of the body blanks.

The body blanks B are fed by the spring pressed fingers 36 pivotally mounted on the feed bars l2 to a position in which the rear edges R of the body blanks are slightly in advance of the stop fingers 54, the stop fingers moving upwardly against their springs 62 to permit such feeding action to occur. Thereafter, the inner ends of the rocking levers 2l move downwardly so that the cams |08 shift the slides 86 forwardly, in order to rock the push-back levers 'l1 in a counter-clockwise direction (as seen in Fig. 3), causing the fingers 82 to engage the forward edges F of the blanks and shift them back until their rear edges R engage the stop fingers 54, in which position the blanks are accurately registered with respect to the tools at the different work stations.

In the event that there is any tendency for the fingers 82 to continue moving on their pivots 18 to a slight extent after the rear edges R of the blanks have engaged the stop fingers 54, such movement will be resisted by the blanks and will not occur, since the plungers 90 will merely yield backwardly against the springs 88, allowing the slide 86 to move in a forward direction without correspondingly moving the fingers 82.

The various mechanisms of the body making machine are so timed with respect to each other as to feed the body blanks forwardly while the tools are in their ineffective positions. For example, the punches 25 will be in their upward position, with the push-back levers 1T in their upward positions, whereupon the commencement of a working stroke on the tools first causes the fingers 82 on the push-back levers to move the blanks B back against the stop fingers 54 into accurate registry with the tools, holding the blanks in such position until the work has been performed at the particular stations, as, for example, the notching and slitting of the corners by the punches 25, and the folding of the side margins at the folder station D.

It is thus apparent that a registering mechanism has been provided which assures the positive and accurate location of the body blanks at leach station, since the blanks are accurately positioned between the ngers 82 on the pushback levers and the stop fingers 54. Moreover, the body blanks are not bent or dented since they are fed forwardly to a maximum extent without their forward edges F engaging any element. It is after such forward motion has been arrested and the feed bars I2 have started on their return movement that the push-back levers 'l1 move the blanks B backward against the stop fingers 54 in a comparatively gentle fashion. The force exerted by the push-back fingers against the blanks, being limited by the springs 88 bearing against the plungers 90, in effect operate as over- 8 load release devices, assuring against damage to the body blanks.

The mechanism is capable of operation at a high sustained speed in excess of 350 canbody blanks per minute, producing accurate registering of each can body blank at each station along the body making machine. When it is desired to move the registering mechanism, in order to perform inspection or adjustment operations on other parts of the machine, it may be swung bodily out of the way on each side of the machine, simply by swinging the longitudinal bar 46 and its arms 3l on the studs 38 against the force of the spring pressed plungers 4l, which then hold the mechanism in the inoperative position to which it has been moved.

While I have shown the preferred form of my invention, it is to be understood that various changes may be made in its construction by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A machine of the character described comprising a feed table, a plurality of tools disposed therealong, each defining a work station, means for feeding can body blanks or the like in succession along said table to a position beyond each station, a stop member disposed rearwardly of each station adapted to abut the trailing edge of a can body blank and thereby register the same with a work station, and rearwardly shifting means comprising a single reciprocable member, means operable in timed relation to operation of said tools to reciprocate said member, and a separate adjustable lever mounted on said frame for each work station actuated by reciprocation of said reciprocable member and pivotable into engagement with the leading edge of a can body blank to shift the same rearwardly against the corresponding stop member, said levers being relatively adjustable with respect to each other and to said reciprocable member.

2. A machine of the character described comprising a feed table, a plurality of tools disposed therealong, each defining a work station, means for feeding can body blanks or the like in succession along said table to a position beyond each station, a stop member disposed rearwardly of each station adapted to abut the trailing edge of a can body blank and thereby register the same with a work station, and rearwardly shifting means comprising a single reciprocable member, means operable in timed relation to operation of said tools to reciprocate said member, and a separate adjustable lever mounted on said frame for each work station yieldably connected to and actuated by reciprocation of said reciprocable member, each such lever being pivotable into engagement with the leading edge of a can body blank to shift the same rearwardly against the corresponding stop member, said levers being relatively adjustable with respect to each other and to said reciprocable member.

3. A machine of the character described comprising a feed table, a plurality of tools disposed therealong, each defining a work station, means for feeding can body blanks or the like in succession along said table to a position beyond each station, a stop member disposed rearwardly of each station adapted to abut the trailing edge of a can body blank and thereby register the same with a work station, and rearwardly shifting means comprising a single reciprocable member, positive means operable in timed relation to operation of said tools to impart the forward stroke to said member, resilient means for eiecting the return stroke thereof, and a separate adjustable lever mounted on said frame for each work station actuated by reciprocation of said reciprocable member and pivotable into engagement with the leading edge of a can body blank to shift the same rearwardly against the corresponding stop member, said levers being relatively adjustable with respect to each other and to said reciprocable member.

4. A machine of the character described comprising a feed table, a plurality of tools disposed therealong, each defining a work station, means for feeding can body blanks or the like in succession along said table to a position beyond each station, a stop member disposed rearwardly of each station adapted to abut the trailing edge of a can body blank and thereby register the same with a work station, and rearwardly shifting means comprising a single reciprocable mem- ED LAXO.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,110,810 McDonald 1 Sept. 15, 1914 1,917,359 Cameron July 11, 1933 2,015,987 Bayer Oct. 1, 1935 2,387,766 Moore Oct. 30, 1945

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