US2610350A - Pneumatic hammering machine for cleaning rollers - Google Patents

Description

p 16, 1952 w. E. SMITH 2,610,350

PNEUMATIC HAMMERING MACHINE FOR CLEANING ROLLERS Filed April 20, 1948 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Invnior Will-is E. Smvl'h i Zamiey Sept. 16, 1952 w. E. $MlTH PNEUMATIC HAMMERING MACHINE- FOR CLEANING ROLLERS F led April 20 1948 5 She ets-Sneet 2 mill 'VV'ill-Ls {S 2 at a ee s-Sne Willis E. 5m

w. E. SMITH ATIC HAMMERING MACHINE FOR CLEANING ROLLERS 5 Sh t Sept. 16, 1952 PNEUM Filed April 20, 1948 Sept. 16, 1952 W. SMITH CLEANING ROLLERS Filed April 20, 1948- i Jriuenior 321%;5mi if orny hardened mass from the rolls. time consuming and thereforeexpensive, both-1n vidc roller :cleaning weight, .of simple construction and contains but Patented Sept. 16, 1952 PNEUMATIC HAMMERING MAonmEron j CLEANING aoLLEns Willis. E. Smith, Springfield, Greg. Applicationzlipril 2o; mia-seriainc. 22,040 j This invention pertains to devices for cleaning surfaces of rollers, and, relates particularly to a pneumatic hammering machine for removing adhering particlesfromthe surfaces of rollers such as are used in a kiln or dryer section for the drying of strips of wood veneers.

In the veneer industry,thin sheets of wood cut from green peeler logs are generallysubjected to a. preliminary drying treatment by passing them over, or between, rolls in a heated chamber in order to reduce the moisture content of the Wood.

'Thepressure of therolls and the elevated temperature "or the atmosphere cause the resinous content of the wood to flow, and-thus to exude from .thesurtaces and-bedeposited upon the rollers. The material decomposes and sets, forming ahard cake which not only increases the diameter iof therolls, but also produces undesirable marks in the surface of the veneers. Heretofore. it 'was necessary to shut down the drying apparatus periodically and to scrape and chip the This procedure is addedlabor costs and in time lost in production while the machine shut down.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a device for'cleaning a multiplicity of such rollers in one operation with a minimum of attendance and with rapidity and thoroughness.

;-Another object of the invention is to provide a device for cleaning rollers by means of a tapping and jarring action imparted to the latter by means of pneumaticallyoperated hammers.

A further object is to provide a roller cleaning device wherein a series of pneumatic hammers are actuated by a valve system operated by the same supply of compressed air.

of the invention is to prodevice which is light A still :further object minimum-number .of moving-parts, thus insuringlong life with minimumrepair.

J'Ihese and other objects and advantages of the present'in 7ention will appear from the following detailed :descriptiontaken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which: 7

Fig. ,1 ;is arperspectiveview of the swivel attachment'by' which the device of the present invention-is suspended upon, and inovedzover, the roll erslto 'be cleaned; a

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of the means for releasably securing the swivel attachment to the cleaning device;

. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the assembled lcleanerlcemprising the present invention;

illustrating the;

Fig; 4' is a perspective view 6 Claims. (GR; 382) duced between adjacent and confined rollers;

Fig. 5 is aperspective view, ipartly'ingsection, showing the .clsaningdevice in operation upon a multiplicityof j spacedrollers Fig. 6 is a vertical'sec'tional view illustrating the structural features 'o'fthe device of the :present invention; and

Fig '7 is ,a perspective view in broken section showing the features of thevalve system of the present invention.

The operating mechanism otthe-cleaning device is housed in a cast "body I in which four transverse cylinders 2 'are formed. Referring particularly to Fig. 6 of the drawing, two ofjthe four cylinders are disposed above "the remaining two at adist-anceapproximately the space between theaxes of'adjacentrollers-to be cleaned.

a valve shaft '5 ,extending longitudinally through said valve bore, and the onset valves-mounted in spaced relation -upOn T the shaft. Referring particularlyto Fig; l of the drawings, the valves comprise circular sleeves which fit closely about the circumference of the valve bore 5. Oppositepor tions of the sleeves are cut away,.forming valve heads '8, 9, "land I l extending slightly more than about the valve shaft "l. "in this manner, thejports controlled by said heads-are opened'to alternate inlet and exhaust portsduring slightly less than one-halfof a revolution. of the valve shaft and are closed to alternate. inlet and exhaust ports during slightly greater .thanone-half of a revolutionoi said shaft, as is more Iully described, hereinafter. The ends .of the valve shaft are of reduced diameter, the .forward end thereof being journaled in bearingl 2 held in place at the forward steppedend of the valvev bore by means ofa screw'cap I3 threaded to theend of said-bore. The rearward endof said valve shaft is mounted ina similar bearing Hi secured: in the rear end of the valve bore by means of the screw cap 1 5 similarly threaded to. the end of the valve is to be used on single spaced rollers.

bore. The rear end of the valve shaft, however, is extended through the screw cap and is keyed to the rotor N5 of a conventional air motor confined within the housing I! secured to the rear end of the body i. It is readily apparent that, by simply removing the screw cap l3 and bearing l2, the entire valve assembly may be withdrawn from the valve bore, as for purposes of repair.

Air is supplied to the valve bore between the spaced valves from a compressed air supply (not shown) through the external conduit I8 secured to the front of the body I in communication with the main internal duct I9. Branch lines 20 from the main duct lead to the outer walls of the body I, and terminate in external air ports 2| adjacent the ends of the forward hammers. Other branch lines 22 extend from the central portion of the valve bore and terminate in air ports 23 adjacent the ends of the rearward hammers. These air ports 2| and 23 are employed to direct jets of compressed air upon the areas of the rollers being subjected to the hammering action,

to aid in removing the matter adhering to the rollers. The air line 24 extends rearwardly from the valve bore to the space between the rotor l6 and the housing I! of the air motor to supply the air required to operate the motor.

Projecting outwardly from the valve bore adjacent the valve heads are air intake ducts 25 and 26 communicating through upper ducts 21 with the ends of the upper forward cylinder, and through lower ducts 28 with the ends of the lower forward cylinder, as best shown in Figs. 6 and 7 of the drawings. Cut-off valves 29 are provided in the lower ducts 28 to permit the inactivation of the lower hammers when the device Intake ducts 30 and 3| similarly conduct air to upper and lower ducts and cut-off valves in the upper and lower cylinders are disposed at the rear of the body Extending transversely through the end portions of the valve bore and communicating with the outer walls of the body are exhaust ports 32 and 33 for permitting escape of air released from one side of the pistons 4 during the operation of the device, as is mor fully explained hereinafter.

A mounting member 34 is secured to or formed in, the top of the body A slot 35 is formed in said mounting member extending longitudinally of said body, and a portion of the exposed face of said member is cut away to form a recess 36 as is best shown in Fig. 2. A swivel head 3'! is detachably mounted upon said mounting member by means of a shouldered lug 38 depending from said head and extending through the cut away portion of the mounting member. A retractible key 39 mounted on the swivel head engages one of the holes 4|) formed in the mounting member positively to lock the head thereto in the position desired. Extending outwardly from the swivel head are arms 4| by means of which the device is suspended between the rollers to be cleaned. Rollers 42 are rotatably secured to the free ends of said arms to rest upon the rollers to be cleaned, and thereby provide for easy movement of the cleaning device. Bumper bars 43 extend laterally from the body between the upper hammers and are made adjustable in order to accommodate various distances between rollers. These bumpers are adjusted, as shown in Fig. 6, to prevent excessive lateral movement of the cleaning device between the rollers to be cleaned.

Figs. 4 and 5 of the drawings show the cleaning device of the present invention mounted for operation between two pairs of cooperating rollers 44 forming a section of a conventional veneer dryer. Such rollers are usually mounted at their ends in spaced upright brackets 45 secured to the dryer frame 46. In installing the cleaning device upon the rollers, the operator first releases the key 39 and rotates the swivel head to position the arms 4| along the longitudinal axis of the body l, as is shown in Fig. 4. The device is then lifted into position between the rollers 44 and the arms 4| are swung about to rest upon the rollers, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6. The device, thus suspended, is in readiness to be manipulated along the rollers during the cleaning operation.

In operation, compressed air is admitted through the conduit l8 by means of which the cleaning devices are manipulated as they move along the rollers. High pressure air is introduced in the valve bore 6 between the spaced valves and thence to the air motor, the rotor of which is caused to rotate as the air impinges upon the rotor vanes, thus imparting rotation to the valve shaft 1. As is illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7 of the drawings, valve heads 8 and II are in position to admit compressed air from the central portion of the valve bore to intake ports 25 and 3|, respectively. At the same time, valve heads 9 and H3 seal ofi intake ports 26 and 30, respectively, from the high pressure air and place these ports in communication with the exhaust ports 32 and 33, respectively. Thus, the forward pistons are caused to move toward the right, in Fig. '7, and the rearward pistons are caused to move to the left. As the front pistons move toward the right, air entrapped on the sides of the pistons flows through ducts 21 and 28 on the right side, through duct 26 into the front end portion of the valve bore, and is exhausted to the atmosphere through port 32. Similarly, air entrapped on the left side of the rear pistons flows through duct 39 into the rear end portion of the valve bore and is exhausted through duct 33.

With the valve shaft rotated to a position from that shown in Figs. 6 and '7, compressed air is admitted to the right side of the forward cylinders through intake port 26, and to the left side of the rearward cylinders through intake port 36. As the forward pistons move to the left, air entrapped on the left side from the previous half-cycle is exhausted through ports 25 and 32. Likewise, as the rearward pistons move toward the right, air entrapped on that side is exhausted through ports 3| and 33.

As the pistons move from one side of the cylinders to the other, the ends of the piston rods strike the rollers upon which the hardened encrusting matter 41 adheres. The sudden jarring effect induced by the hammering of the piston rods upon the rollers loosens the encrusting matter therefrom and, with the aid of the strong jets of air issuing from the ports 2| and 23, is completely removed. The operator merely moves the device longitudinally through the space between the rotating rollers until the latter are thoroughly cleaned. As stated hereinbefore, if the device is to be used upon single spaced rollers, the lower hammers may be inactivated by closing the lower intake posts by means of the cut-oif valves 29.

I claim:

l. A device for cleaning rollers comprising, an elongated body having transversely arranged cylinders therein, said elongated body being positionable so that each transverse cylinder lies between two opposed rollers which are to be cleaned, a reciprocable piston operatively carried in each transverse cylinder, piston rods on said pistons extending through the sides of said body for intermittently contacting the rollers to be cleaned, valve means connecting said cylinders and a source of fluid pressure for reciprocating said pistons, swivel means detachably mounted on said body, and arms extending from said swivel means for movably suspending said cleaning device upon the rollers to be cleaned.

2. A pneumatic device for cleaning rollers comprising, a body, a cylinder in said body, a reciproating piston in said cylinder, piston rod means on said piston extending through the sides of said body intermittently for contacting the rollers to be cleaned, valve means connecting said cylinder and a supply port to reciprocate said piston, and duct means continuously open to said supply port for directing a stream of compressed air adjacent the free ends of said piston rod to aid the cleaning action of said piston rod and roller contact.

3. A device for cleaning rollers comprising, a body, cylinders in said body, a reciprocating piston in each cylinder, piston rods on said pistons for intermittently contacting the rollers to be cleaned, a valve bore in said body, a duct connecting said valve bore with a source of fluid pressure, ducts connecting said valve bore with said cylinders on opposite sides of said pistons, exhaust ducts connecting said valve bore and the ends of said cylinders with the outside atmosphere, a valve shaft in said bore, a motor for driving said shaft, valves on said shaft cooperating with said cylinder-connecting ducts for alternately admitting and releasing fluid pressure in said cylinders for reciprocating said pistons, swivel means detachably mounted on said body, and arms extending from said swivel means for movably suspending said cleaning device upon the rollers to be cleaned.

4. A pneumatic device for cleaning rollers comprising, a body, cylinders in said body, a reciprocating piston in each cylinder, piston rod means on said pistons extending transversely through the sides of said body for intermittently contacting the rollers to be cleaned, a valve bore in said body, ducts connecting said valve bore with a compressed air supply. port and with said cylinders on opposite sides of said pistons and with an exhaust port, a valve shaft in said bore, mounted for rotation, motor means connected to said supply portfor rotating said shaft, valve means on said shaft cooperating with said ducts for alternately admitting and releasing compressed air in said cylinders for reciprocating said pistons, and ducts in said body directing compressed air adjacent the free ends of said piston rods for aiding in the cleaning of said rollers.

5. A device for cleaning rollers comprising, a body, cylinders in said body, a reciprocating piston in each cylinder, piston rod means on said pistons for intermittently contacting the rollers to be cleaned, valve means connecting said cylinders and a compressed air supply port for reciprocating said pistons, means directing compressed air adjacent the free ends of said piston rods for aiding in the cleaning of said rollers, bumper means on said body adjustably positioning the device between spaced rollers to be cleaned, swivel means detachably mounted on said body, and arms extending from said swivel means for movably suspending said cleaning device upon the rollers to be cleaned.

.6. A pneumatic device for cleaning rollers comprising, a body, cylinders in said body, a reciprocating piston in each cylinder, piston rod means on said pistons extending through the sides of said body for intermittently contacting the rollers to be cleaned, a valve bore in said body extending longitudinally thereof, means connecting said valve bore with a compressed air supply port, ducts connecting said valve bore with said cylinders on opposite sides of said pistons, cut-ofi valves in said ducts for selectively inactivating said pistons, exhaust means connecting said valve bore with an exhaust port, valve means mounted in said bore and cooperating with said cylinderconnecting ducts for alternately admitting and releasing compressed air in said cylinders for reciprocating said pistons, ducts in said body directing compressed air adjacent the free ends of said piston rods for aiding in the cleaning of said rollers, bumper means on said body adjustably positioning the device between spaced rollers to be cleaned, swivel means detachably mounted on said body, and arms extending from said swivel means for movably suspending said cleaning device upon the rollers to be cleaned.

WILLIS E. SMITH.

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

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 834,306 Krause Oct. 30, 1906 1,577,309 Sorensen Mar. 16, 1926 1,594,518 Hathaway Aug. 3, 1926 2,044,561 Bidle June 16, 1936 2,165,120 Ammendola July 4, 1939 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 210,773 Great Britain Sept. 25, 1924

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