US3343225A

US3343225A - Apparatus for treating elongated deformable articles

Info

Publication number: US3343225A
Application number: US393502A
Authority: US
Inventors: Hochstrasser Josef; Wolff Justus
Original assignee: Dr Carl Hahn KG
Current assignee: Dr Carl Hahn KG
Priority date: 1964-09-01
Filing date: 1964-09-01
Publication date: 1967-09-26
Anticipated expiration: 1984-09-26

Description

APPARATUS FOR TREATING ELONGATED DEFORMABLE ARTICLES Filed Sept. 1, 1964 p 25, 1967 J- HOCHSTRASSER ET L 4 Sheets-Sheet '1 n W Li m... w Vk um #4. 4%

Sept. 26, 1967 HQCHSTRASSER ET AL 3,343,225-

AFPARATUS FOR TREATING ELONGATED DEFORMABLE ARTICLES Filed Sept. 1, 1964 4 Sheets-shat 2 I III II x I: 1

J0 vehfars Sept. 1967 J. HOCHSTRA-SSER E AL 3,343,225

APPARATUS FOR TREATING E LONGATED'DEFORMABLE ARTICLES Filed Sept. 1, 1964 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 i a? k .52

37 INVENTORS J hwy, i mmffifinu- ATTORNEY S p 1967 J. HOCHSTRASSER ET AL 3,343,225

APPARATUS FOR TREATING ELON GAT ED DEFORMABLE ARTICLES Filed Sept. 1, 1964 I I v 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 a; -34 .6! L l I a no 759 F/gJO I 758 I 1a? 41 42 74 44 I 257 m f 151 O I50 r INVENTORS Jun lawnm- BY J MM J1 w ATTORNEY United States Patent APPARATUS FOR TREATING ELONGATED DEFORMABLE ARTICLES Josef Hochstrasser, Dusseldorf, and Justus Wolff, Wuppertal-Barmen, Germany, assignors to Dr. Carl Hahn KG, Dusseldorf, Germany Filed Sept. 1, 1964, Ser. No. 393,502 14 Claims. (Cl. 19144.5)

The present invention relates to elongated, deformable articles and to a process and apparatus for treating the elongated deformable articles.

Quite frequently there are elongated articles, such as those required for hygienic purposes, which are made of a deformable material and which for certain purposes are required to be introduced into cavities of the body. For example, tampons used for female hygiene purposes are articles of this type, and such articles are required to be introduced into the body cavity by the person who uses the articles. Of course, it is highly desirable that such articles be easily and conveniently introduced into and removable from the body cavity. For example, in the case of tampons used for female hygiene purposes it is known to provide a structure composed of a pair of telescoped tubes or to provide a special applicator for introducing the tampon which is surrounded by an outer sleeve and which with the help of a suitable pusher or the like is ejected from the sleeve into the body cavity. Such elongated articles, such as tampons, are generally made of wound and then compressed cotton fibers or the like, and they have the disadvantage of becoming loose and causing fibrous portions to become disengaged from the remainder of the article when the article upon introduction into the body cavity engages the damp wall of the body cavity. Moreover, where a tampon is ejected from a sleeve, the end of the sleeve quite frequently engages and roughens the tampon so that in this case also there is the danger of loosening of part of the article with the loosened part remaining in the body after the used tampon has been removed. i

It is accordingly a primary object of the present invention to provide articles of the above type with such a structure that the above disadvantages of the conventional articles will be avoided.

In particular, it is an object of the present invention to treat that end of an elongated article which is first introduced into a body cavity in such a way that there will be no loosening of fibers from the article and it will be capable of smoothly and conveniently moving into and out of the body cavity.

Also, it is an object of the present invention to provide a process and apparatus which will quickly and inexpensively treat a plurality of articles of the above type, each at one end thereof, in an eificient manner so as to provide each article with a smooth end to be inserted into the body and with the fibers at this end of the article compressed against and remaining securely in engagement with each other. Moreover, the objects of the invention include a process and apparatus which will treat the article in this way without applying an undesirably great compression or making the article too dense.

A further object of the invention is to provide a process and apparatus according to which the article can be heated while it is treated.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a process and apparatus according to which there can be applied to the article while it is treated a medium which will melt at body temperature and which will enhance the use of the article as by providing a lubricant which eases the movement of the article into and out of the body or as by providing the article with suitable medication which melts at body temperature when the article is in the body cavity.

In order to provide the best possible construction both from the standpoint of introduction of a tampon and from the standpoint of providing the tampon with a high capability of suction, the tampon should be rounded only at the transition region between its cylindrical side surface and its leading end which is first introduced into the body, and it is accordingly a further object of the invention to provide a process and apparatus which will round an end of an elongated deformable article only at the transition region between a cylindrical side surface of the article and an end thereof.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a process and apparatus which will not only provide an article with a rounded configuration at the transition area between an end of the article and a cylindrical side surface thereof, but which will also provide at this end of the article a depression which will increase the exposed surface area of the article and which will also make it possible for the article to have a greater suction effect capable of sucking into the article body secretions at a far greater speed than is possible without such depression at the leading end of the article.

Also, the objects of the present invention include a process and apparatus which will treat an applicator sleeve for a tampon or the like in such a way that the tampon cannot be roughened or torn by an end of the applicator sleeve.

The objects of the present invention also include the provision of an apparatus capable of accomplishing all of the above objects while at the same time operating automatically with all of its parts being cyclically synchronized with respect to each other so that a substantially continuous treatment of articles one after the other will take place with the articles treated each at one end thereof.

It is furthermore an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus which will be incapable of injuring an article if it should happen that the apparatus is turned off while a treating tool is in engagement with an article on the apparatus.

It is furthermore an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus of the above type which will reliably hold an article in a proper position to be treated by a treating tool without, however, in any way undesirably affecting the articleas by compressing it to too great a degree or by rendering the density thereof greater than is desirable.

With the above objects in view the invention includes, in a process for treating, each at one end thereof, a plurality of elongated deformable articles, the steps of transporting the articles one after the other to a given treating station and applying to each article at the treating station the working surface of a rotary working tool which engages 'an end of each article at the treating station to give the end of the article a configuration which will improve the construction of the article as by guaranteeing that the article will not fall apart when inserted into a body cavity.

Also, the objects of the present invention include the provision of an apparatus which will treat articles in accordance with the invention while operating in synchronism with the transportation of the articles one after the other to a given treating station, so that in this way the apparatus can operate continuously to treat a large number of articles in a relatively short period of time.

The novel features which are considered as characteristie for the invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of an apparatus according to the invention adapted to treat articles in accordance with the process of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary transverse view of the article feeding structure of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary elevation showing a detail of the structure for reciprocating a rotary treating tool;

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional elevation of another embodiment of an apparatus according to the invention;

FIG. 5 is a transverse sectional view of the article feed ing and holding structure of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional elevation of a structure similar to FIG. 4 but used for treating a sleeve rather than an elongated cylindrical body;

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional elevation of a rotary treating tool which is provided with structures enabling an end of an article to be made with a depression and enabling a suitable medium, which melts at body temperature, to be applied to the article;

FIG. 8 shows in side elevation one possible embodiment of a tampon according to the invention;

FIG. 9 shows in a partly sectional side elevation another embodiment of tampon according to the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a schematic side view of a driving structure adapted to be used with the embodiment of FIG. 4; and

FIG. 11 is a top plan view of the driving structure of FIG. 10.

In the drawings there are shown various embodiments of structures for at least partially shaping at least one end of an elongated bar or sleeve type of hygienic article made of a deformable material. As a specific example of the use of the process and apparatus of the invention, the process and apparatus of the invention may treat the leading end of a tampon used for female hygiene purposes, or, in the case of FIGS. 6 and 7, the process and apparatus of the invention is applicable to an applicator sleeve for such a tampon. With the structures of the invention the articles to be treated are transported one after the other at given intervals to a treating station and in synchronism with the cyclical transporting of the articles to and from a treating station the rotary treating tool of the invention is shifted into and out of engagement with the end of the article so as to treat the latter.

Referring particularly to FIGS. 1-3, the structure shown therein is adapted to provide a rounded configuration for that end of a tampon, used for female hygiene purposes, which is first introduced into the vagina, and the structure shown includes a tramsporting means for transporting the articles one after another to a treating station where they are treated. This transporting means includes a rotary disc 1 which is turned in a stepwise manner through a given angle at given intervals, and the disc 1 carries a plurality of tubular carriers 2 which respectively have the tampons which are to be treated located therein. In the particular example there may be twelve carriers 2, and within each carrier there is a tampon composed of a round and cylindrically pressed fibrous material such as a suitable cotton material or the like. After the disc 1 of the transporting means is turned through an angle which will situate the next carrier 2 at the treating station, a plunger 3 is introduced into the left open end of the carrier 2, as viewed in FIG. 1, which happens to be at the treating station, and in this way the tampon 4 is shifted axially with respect to the guiding and carrier tube 2. The articles when located at the treating station have their axes given a predetermined orientation and in the example of FIG. 1 each article at the treating station has its axis coinciding with the axis of the pusher or plunger 3 which is reciprocated back and forth through a structure which forms no part of the present invention and which is therefore not illustrated. The carriers 2 are fit) of an elongated tubular configuration having opposite open ends and they are uniformly distributed about the axis of the rotary disc 1, arranged along a circle whose center is in the axis of the disc 1.

On the side of the disc 1 opposite from the plunger 3 there is a rotary treating tool 5 which is capable of being heated and which is axially shiftable so that an end 12, in the form of a hollow recess of the rotary tool 5, can be brought into engagement with an end of the article, and in adition the rotary tool 5 is hollow so that it can accomplish the result of accommodating in its interior a resistance heater 6 which heats the rotary treating tool 5 when the electrical resistor 6 is located in a suitable electric circuit. The hollow recess 12 formed at the treating end of the rotary tool 5 may, for example, have the configuration of part of a sphere and it is concave so that when it engages the free end of a tampon it will treat the latter in a manner set forth in greater detail below.

The rotary treating tool 5 carries at its right end a disc 5a which is capable of being coupled to a disc 7 which is fixed to an end of a rotary drive shaft 8, so that the discs 5a and 7 when coupled to each other form a releasable connection between the rotary tool 5 and the drive shaft 8 so that these elements will rotate together, and of course they are coaxial. The rotary drive shaft 8 extends freely through a supporting sleeve 21 which is carried by stationary member 9 and supports the shaft 8 for rotary and reciprocatory movement, and the shaft 8 is supported for rotary movement by a pair of roller bearings 10 and 11. Moreover, the shaft 8 fixedly carries a pulley 13 which through a suitable V-belt 14 is connected to a suitable unillustrated drive, and in this way through this belt-and-pulley means the shaft 8 is driven. A pin or set screw 23 or the like carried by stationary member 9, extends into a depression 22 of the sleeve 21 so as to prevent the sleeve 21 from rotating.

A shifting or moving means is operatively connected to the rotary tool 5 for reciprocating the latter along its axis, and in the illustrated example this shifting means includes a sleeve 15 located at the right end of the shaft 8 and with respect to which the shaft 8 is freely turnable, this sleeve 15 being maintained by suitable collars on the shaft 8 so that the latter cannot shift axially with respect to the sleeve 15. As is shown most clearly in FIG. 3 the sleeve 15 is situated between a pair of legs of a substantially U-shaped lever 17, the legs of the lever 17 carrying suitable roller bearings 16 or the like for the coaxial projections of the sleeve 15 which are received in the bearings 16. The lever means 17, which brings about the shifting of the rotary tool means 5 back and forth along its axis, is fixed to a shaft 18 which is turned back and forth through a relatively small angle by a rotary cam engaging roller 109 on lever 17 so that in this way the sleeve 15 will shift the heated tool 5 back and forth. A spring 108 maintains roller 109 in engagement with rotary cam 110. A support 19 is provided with a bearing which supports the shaft 18 for rotary movement, and this support 19 is fixedly carried by a stationary part 20 of the machine, this part 20 also carrying the stationary sleeve 9.

The stationary sleeve 21 projects at its right end beyond the stationary sleeve member 9, as viewed in FIG. 1, and at its right end the stationary sleeve 21 fixedly carries a support 24 for a pair of unillustrated contact springs adapted to be connected into an electrical circuit and adapted to engage a pair of

slip rings

25 and 26, respectively, which are fixed to the shaft 8 for rotation therewith, so that in this way a source of current will communicate with the slip rings 25 and 26. Both of these slip rings are electrically connected, respectively with a pair of elongated electrical conductors 27 and 28 which pass along the interior of the hollow drive shaft 8 and which are electrically connected with a pair of

sleeves

29 and 30 which are situated in the carrier plate 7 at the left end of the shaft 8. The coupling disc 5a of the rotary tool 5 carries corresponding contact pins 31 and 32 which cooperate with the

sleeves

29 and 30 by entering into the latter, so that in this way the pair of coupling discs 5a and 7 have a plugand-socket electrical connection for connecting the conductors from the slip rings electrically to the resistor 6.

The rotary transporting disc 1 will have during each revolution twelve positions where the carriers 2 will be respectively situated at the treating station, and at each of these positions the rotary tool 5 will be shifted to a location closely adjacent to the right end of each carrier 2 which is situated at the treating station. At the same time the plunger or pusher 3 enters into the tube 2 at the treating station and presses the right end of the tampon 4 into the rotating recess 12 which is heated and which is rotated with the rotary tool 5. When the rotary treating tool 5 is retracted the transporting means 1 is again moved through the predetermined increment which will locate the next carrier 2 at the treating station, and the finished tampon is displaced out of the carrier tube 2 and is delivered, for example, to a packing machine.

The disc 1 is fixedly carried by a rotary shaft 100 which extends centrally through the disc 1 and is supported for rotation by any suitable bearings, as schematically illustrated in FIG. 1. This shaft 100 tlixedly carries a Maltese cross 101 adapted to be engaged by a rotary pin 102 which enters successively into the radial notches of the Maltese cross to turn the latter through a given angular increment at each rotation of the pin 102. This pin 102 is carried by a lever 103 which is fixed to and extends radially from a rotary shaft 105 supported in any suitable bearings, and the shaft 105 also carries a holding member 104 which is diametrically opposed to the pin 102 and which enters successively into arcuate recesses distributed about the periphery of the Maltese cross 110 for holding the latter in the positions to which it has been turned by the pin 102. The shaft 105 carries a pulley driven by a belt 106 which is in turn driven from a pulley which is operatively connected to a motor 107 to be rotated thereby. In the example illustrated in FIG. 2, in particular, the shaft 100 and the disc 1 therewith will be turned through 90 at each revolution of the pin 102, so that in the illustrated example of FIG. 2 there are but four carriers 2 for the tampons of the invention angularly displaced from each other by 90, but it is to be understood that this is a simplified illustration provided for the purpose of showing a suitable driving structure for the transporting means 1, whereas in actual practice the disc 1 will carry twelve carriers 2, for example, as pointed out above.

In the embodiment of the invention which is illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5 there is a rotary treating tool 34 which has at its treating end a concave work-engaging surface 33 which forms part of a sphere, for example, and this rotary tool 34 is removably connected with an elongated hollow shaft 35 so as to turn with the latter in the housing 36 which supports the shaft 35 and at its wall 40 the tool 34 for rotary movement, as shown diagrammatically in FIG. 4. A drive means is operatively connected to the shaft 35 for rotating the latter, and only the pulley 37 of this drive means is illustnated, the pulley 37 being fixed to the hollow shaft 35.

The housing 36 also supports for pivotal movement an elongated lever 41 which forms a means for shifting the tool to and from the article to be treated, and this lever 41 is controlled by a control means which is formed by a rotary cam 42 so that in this way the lever 41 will be swung back and forth about its axis so as to shift the tool 34 to and from a working position engaging the article which is to be treated. For example, the upper end of the lever 41 is bifurcated so as to be received in an annular groove 43 formed at the exterior of the hollow shaft 35, so that in this way the shaft 35 together with the tool 34 can be axially shifted during swinging of the lever 41. The lever 41 has an extension 44 engaging the periphery of the rotary cam 42 and connected to a spring 45 which is in turn connected to a stationary member 46 so that 6 the spring urges the lever 41 at all times in a clockwise direction, as viewed in FIG. 4, thus maintaining the lever 41 in engagement with the control cam 42.

Moreover, with this embodiment in the event that the machine is turned off the rotary treating tool is automatically returned to its rest position. For this purpose the structure includes a core 47 of an electromagnet 48, this core or armature 47 being pivotally connected to a lever 49 which is turnable about a stationary pivot 50 and which has an upper notch which receives a rotary disc 51 which is fixed to the hollow shaft 35 for rotation therewith, so that in response to movement of the armature 47 the shaft 35 and the tool 34 therewith will be axially shifted, and the arrangement is such that when the machine is turned off the electromagnet 48 is unenergized and the armature 47 is automatically shifted to the right, as viewed in FIG. 4, so as to displace the shaft 35 and the tool 34 to the left for guaranteeing that when the machine is turned off the tool 34 is shifted away from an article which may happen to be at the treating station when the machine is turned off.

In order to render at least the work-engaging surface of the rotary tool heatable, a pair of

slip rings

52 and 53 are fixedly carried by the shaft 35 for rotation therewith and are connected by way of

conductors

54 and 55 to the terminals of the electrical resistance heater 56 which is situated in a hollow space of the rotary tool 34, so that in this way the tool 34 can be heated, the left end of the tool 34 being open and communicating with the hollow interior of the shaft 35. A pair of electrical conductors have brushes or the like bearing against the exterior of each

slip ring

52 and 53, as shown in FIG. 4, so that in this way these slip rings are placed in the electrical circuit for delivering electrical current to the resistance heater 56. This resistance heater 56 is situated in the axial bore 57 which is formed in tools 34.

In the example of FIGS. 4 and 5 the articles 59, which can be tampons for female hygiene purposes, are respectively carried by a plurality of elongated carriers 58 in the form of troughs, and these troughs 58 are carried by an endless chain 38 which is periodically moved in the direction of arrow Z (FIG. 5) along a path across which the several troughs 58 extend, so that in this way the carriers 58 and the articles carried thereby can be located one after the other at the treating station where the articles are coaxial with the rotary tool 34. Of course, the shifting of the carriers 58 by the transporting means, of which the carriers 58 form a part, to and from the treating station takes place in synchronism with the reciprocation of the rotary tool 34 so that when the rotary tool 34 reaches the end of its stroke to the right, as viewed in FIG. 4, there will be an end of an article 59 to be engaged by the surface of the recess 36, while when the tool 34 is retracted to the left the transporting means shifts the next article into position at the treating station.

The chain 38 is endless, as pointed out above, and is supported at its ends for movement around any suitable pair of sprocket wheels which are supported in any suitable way for rotary movement. The chain 38 is advanced in a stepwise manner by a rotary toothed member 111 carried by a rotary shaft 112 which is driven in a manner described below. As may be seen from FIG. 5 at each revolution of the member 111 in a clockwise direction, as indicated by the arrow in FIG. 5, the chain 38 will be advanced by a predetermined increment, the teeth of the member 111 entering into the chain to engage and advance the latter during each revolution of member 111,

' and this increment is such that the next carrier 58 will be situated in coaxial alignment with the rotary tool 34. The members 111 and 112 are shown in FIG. 5, at the location illustrated therein, only for the purpose of illustrating how the chain 38 is advanced. Actually elements 111 and 112 are situated beyond the housing 36 to engage a part of the chain 38 which is situated beyond the housing 36.

As may be seen from FIG. 4 the tampons 59 project at both their ends beyond the carrier 58, these carriers being moved with the chain in a direction perpendicular to the direction x indicated by the arrow at the left of FIG. 4. Thus, the tampons 59 will be arranged coaxially with the rotary tool 34.

At the end of a stepwise movement of the transporting means which locates an article at the treating station, a holding means comes into play for releasably holding the article at the treating station, and in the illustrated example this holding means includes a pair of jaw members 60 which have article engaging ends situated beyond the carrier 58 and having concave work-engaging surfaces of the configuration of part of a cylinder, for example, so that the configuration of the engaging surfaces of the jaws 60 conforms to the configuration of the articles, and the arrangement is such that the articles will be held by the jaws 60 without being unduly pressed or compacted.

In order to control the movement of the jaws 60 a rotary cam 61 is provided, this cam having an annular configuration and being supported for coaxial rotary movement with the rotary tool 34. The cam has a pair of diametrically opposed camming portions 62 of the same configuration, and a pair of springs 63 are connected through arms 64 to the jaws 60 for urging the latter toward each other into engagement with the cam 61. Thus, as the rotary cam 61 is turned the springs 63 will first move the jaws 60 from the positions of FIGS. 4 and toward each other to engage the article 59 at its portion located beyond the carrier 58, and the continued rotation of the cam 61 will again displace the jaws 60 apart from each other to release the treated article for movement with the transporting means, the jaws 60 holding the article during its treatment by the rotary tool 34.

The elongated tampon of the invention has the configuration of a substantially cylindrical bar or the like and is composed of fibrous material. The tampon can be heated by heating of the guide or carrying elements 58 themselves, and for this purpose it is sufficient to provide for each element 58 a resistance heater similar to that used for the rotary working tool and which in a suitable way is connected by conductors to a source of current so that during movement of the transporting means current is supplied to the heaters for heating the carriers which support the several articles 59.

FIG. 4 further illustrates a stop means which limits movement of the article away from the treating tool, and in the illustrated example the stop means takes the form of a piston 65 guided for movement directly through the center of the rotary cam 61 and located at the end of the tampon which is directed away from the rotary treating tool 34, this stop piston 65 being acted upon by spring 66 which resists movement of the piston 65 to the right, as viewed in FIG. 4, so that it will be yieldably maintained closely adjacent to the end of the article which is distant from the tool to prevent undesired axial displacement of the article.

The sequence of operations is such that at the end of a step of movement of the transporting means which locates a new article 59 at the treating station the holding jaws 60 engage the exterior surface of the article adjacent the front and rear ends thereof and hold the article in this position. Immediately thereafter the rotary tool 34 engages with its working surface 33 the leading end of the tampon which is to be initially introduced into the body cavity and rounds this leading end of the tampon by the action of a certain relatively low axial pressure as well as by an ironing action similar to the application of an iron used for pressing clothes. As a result of this action of the rotary surface on the leading end of the tampon the fibers at the exterior thereof are directed in such a way that they engage each other forcefully in a rotary direction provided by the rotating working tool and thus will reliably remain together presenting any falling apart of the tampon of the present invention during use thereof. Any limited axial shifting of the tampon between the holding jaws 60 is limited by the piston 65. After such treatment of the leading end of the tampon, which is to say the end thereof which will be initially introduced into the body cavity, the jaws 60 and the tool 34 are retracted to their starting positions, simultaneously, for example, while the transporting means carries out its next step so as to bring the next article which is to be treated up to the treating station, and then the above operations are repeated. The action of the treating tool, similar to the action of a hot iron on clothing, depends not only upon the axial pressure of the tool against the end of the article but also upon the speed of rotation of the tool and its temperature as well as, of course, the length of time that the tool remains in engagement with the article, and this latter factor can of course be determined by the shape of the cam 42 and will depend upon the time allotted for each cycle.

If the machine is turned off then the exciting current of the electromagnet 48 is turned off, and its armature 47 will be pulled back to its initial position turning the lever 49 in the manner described above in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed in FIG. 4, so that the tool is immediately returned to its rest position. As a result any damage to an article or overheating thereof because the article is at the treating station when the machine is turned off is reliably avoided.

In FIG. 6 there is shown a structure which is very similar to that of FIGS. 4 and 5. The structure of FIG. 6 however, serves to treat another type of article, namely the applicator sleeve in which the tampon is located so as to be ejected therefrom when introduced into the vagina. The structure of FIG. 6 will enlarge the inner surface of the applicator sleeve at its end through which the tampon is ejected so as to avoid any possible roughening or loosening of the material of the tampon during ejection of the tampon from the sleeve. For this purpose the structure of FIG. 6 includes a rotary work tool 70 which has a frustoconicail treating surface 71 which is directed toward the sleeve 72 and which tapers toward the latter. Because of the simplified illustration of the structure the stop piston 65 and the magnetic return device for returning the parts to their rest position when the machine is turned off are omitted from FIG. 6-. Thus, when the rotary tool 70 is advanced into the left open end of the sleeve 72, as viewed in FIG. 6, this left open end will be flared outwardly as a result of the frustoconical configuration of the end 71 of the tool 70, with the result that when the tampon is ejected through this flared end of the sleeve 72 the tampon itself will be in no way injured by the sleeve 72, particularly at the end thereof through which the tampon is ejected.

Except for the above-noted differences the structure of FIG. 6 is identical with that of FIGS. 4 and 5.

FIG. 7 schematically illustrates a further embodiment of a rotary treating tool This embodiment is provided with the elongated axially extending passages 81 which terminate in nozzles 82 situated at the work-engaging surface 83 of the tool which determines the configuration of the end of the articles which is treated. With all of the embodiments it is important to round only the transition region between the cylindrical side surface of the tampon and the treated end thereof, so as to provide the tampon of the invention.

The nozzles 82 serves as a means for applying known lubricants to the tampon in order to facilitate the introduction of the tampon into the body cavity or in order to apply to the tampon medicinal preparations, and in any event these mediums are of such a type that they melt at body temperature and thus become effective upon introduction of the tampon into the body.

The circular working surface of the treating tool again forms part of a sphere and is concave, but in this embodiment it is also provided with a pointed projection 84 which tapers toward its free end, as indicated in FIG.

7. With this construction the tool will provide a depression substantially centrally of the end of the tampon which is first introduced into the body, and as a result the surface area of the tampon and thus the speed with which the latter is capable of sucking'fluids is considerably increased. If desired the depression can also serve to receive medicinal preparations or the like. Of course, it is possible to provide the work-engaging surface of the rotary treating tool with any other desired configuration, and the passages for the fluids which melt at body temperature can be provided in all embodiments of the treating tool.

It is only important that the leading end of the tampon of the invention be rounded at the transition region between its cylindrical outer surface and the treated end thereof, so that the shaping of the end of the tampon so that it has a depression or the like surrounded by the rounded transition region does not undesirably affect the tampon. It is also possible to improve the effect of the ironing action on the leading end of the tampon by spraying a small amount of a liquid such as water on the leading end so that this liquid will be converted into a steam during the application of the hot rotary surface thereto.

As may be seen from FIG. 7, the rotary tool 80 has in its interior a heating element 56 in the form of an electrical resistor supplied with current through conductors whichare electrically connected with the slip rings 52 and 53 which turn with the tool 80' and which slidably engage suitable brushes through which these slip rings and thus the heating resistor 56 are included in a suitable electrical circuit. The rotary tool 80 is supported for rotation in a housing 85, and a pair of sealing rings 86 surround and engage the tool shaft 80 and the inner surface of the housing 85 to define in the latter a chamber 87 surrounding the shaft 80 and fluid-tightly sealed off from remainder of the housing 85 as well as from the exterior thereof. The lubricating or medicinal medium is supplied to the chamber 87 through a flexible conduit means 89 at a pressure great enough to force this medium through the radial openings 88 of the shaft 80, these openings communicating with the chamber 87 and the passages 81, into these passages 81 to discharge through the nozzles 82 onto the ends of the tampons which are treated with the tool 80 in the manner described above. The tool 80 is rotated by the pulley 37 in the same way as the shaft 35 and the housing 85 is supported for reciprocation with the shaft 80 which is reciprocated by a lever 41 and cam 42 also in the manner described above in connection with FIG. 4.

FIG. 8 shows one possible embodiment of a tampon according to the invention. In this embodiment only the transition edge portion 200 between the end face 201 and the outer cylindrical surface of the tampon is rounded, the end face 201, of course, being the leading end of the tampon which is to be initially introduced into the vagina. Although the tampon of the invention can have any known basic structure which is treated in accordance with the invention to provide the tampon with the structure of the invention, it is preferred to form the tampon of the invention from one or more layers of a material such as a suitable fabric which has the property of sucking liquids into the body of the material. The layer or layers of fabric have their fibers extending longitudinally of the elongated fabric strips which initially have a width equal to the length of the final tampon of the invention. First the string 202 is placed around the central portion of the strip or strips of fabric and suitably knotted so that the string 202 projects to one side beyond the fabric. Then an elongated rotary member, which is formed with an axial slot extending into the member from one thereof, this member having the configuration of a shaft of relatively small diameter, is placed at the central portion of the strip or strips of fabric with the latter situated in the slot of the rotary member, whereupon the latter is rotated so that the fabric is wound onto the rotary member. Thereafter the material wound on the rotary member is removed therefrom and the fabric winding is placed in a suitable press where it is radially compressed until it has the configuration of the cylindrical body which is treated according to the invention so as to have the structure shown in FIG. 8. The string 202 serves to withdraw the tampon from the vagina. Because it is only the edge region 200 which is rounded, according to the invention, the end face 201 and the cylindrical side surface of the tampon still have the relatively irregular surface of large area of the original fabric, so that the suction capability of the tampon of the invention at its ends and side surface is diminished only to a very small and hardly significant extent by the rounded edge 200 which is smoothed in accordance with the invention to facilitate the insertion of the tampon into the body cavity. When the tampon is circumferentially compressed after the fabric windings are removed from the slotted shaft, it may also be axially compressed at its ends of the tampon. Thereafter the tampon is treated according to the process and apparatus of the invention to provide the tampon structure of the invention.

The tampon 204 which is shown in FIG. 9 is manufactured from the tool shown in FIG. 7, whereas the tampon of FIG. 8 is manufactured by the other embodiments of the invention. This tampon 204 of FIG. 9 has the depression 203 at its leading end, formed by the projection 84 of the tool 80, and, of course, here again the intersection between the leading end and side surface of the tampon is rounded in accordance with the invention. The depression 203 may simply be left empty so as to enhance the suction of body fluids by the tampon, or this depression 203 may be filled with a medication which melts at body temperature. The fluid which is applied to the leading end of the tampon'from the nozzles 82 hardens on the leading end of the tampon to form thereon the relatively rigid cap 205 which acts as a lubricant and which also is made of a material which melts at body temperature. This cap 205 instead of being rigid can take the form of a film deposited on the leading end of the tampon from the nozzles 82. This material does not enter into the depression 203. If desired, a tool similar to the tool 80 but without passages 81 can be used to form a tampon, according to the invention, similar to that of FIG. 8 but having simply an empty depression 203 at its front end. Also, instead of using the passages 81 and nozzle 82 it is possible to have relatively rigid caps 205 on hand to be placed manually on the leading ends of the tampons, and these caps are made of a lubricating material which melts at body temperature. In any event, the cap of film 205 does not extend across the depression 203 which may be empty or filled with medication, as pointed out above.

FIGS. 10 and 11 schematically illustrate a drive and transmission which is suitable for the embodiment of FIGS. 4-6. The motor drives, through a belt and pulley drive 151, a rotary shaft 152 supported in suitable bearings, as indicated in FIG. 1, and fixedly carrying at one end a bevel gear 153 meshing with a second bevel gear 154 fixedly carried by a rotary shaft 155 which fixedly carried out the pulley 156. This pulley 156 drives the endless flexible belt 157 which in turn extends around and drives the pulley 158 which is fixedly carried by the shaft 112 whch carries the chain-advancing toothed member 111, as pointed out above in connection with FIG. 5. This shaft 112 also carries a pulley 159 which drives the belt which extends around and drives a pulley 160 which is fixed to a shaft which is in turn coaxially fixed to the rotary cam 61 which actuates the holding jaws, as described above. The shaft 152 also fixedly carries a pulley which drives a belt 161 which in turn drives a pulley carried by the rotary shaft 162 which fixedly carries the cam 42. In this way the transmission drives the rotary member 111 which advances the chain 38, so that through this transmission the desired synchronism between the reciprocation of the tool 34 (or the tool 70) and the stepwise advance of the chain 38 as well as the actuation of the jaws 60 is achieved. It is believed to be apparent that the transmission of FIGS. and 11 can also be used with very little modification for the embodiment of FIG. 1 where a very similar transmission can be used for driving the shaft 100 as well as rotating the cam 110 and reciprocating the plunger 3.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together, may also find a useful application in other types of process and apparatus for treating elongated deformable articles differing from the types described above.

While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in process and apparatus for treating tampons, it is not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can by applying current knowledge readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention and, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of the following claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. In an apparatus for treating elongated deformable articles, each at one end thereof, in combination, transporting means for transporting the articles successively to a given treating station; rotary tool means for engaging an end of an article at said station to treat said end thereof; moving means operatively connected to said tool means for displacing the latter first into and then out of engagement with an end of an article at said station; and nozzle means carried by said tool means at a surface thereof which engages the article for distributing onto the treated end of the article a medium which will melt at body temperature and which enhances the utility of the article.

2. In an apparatus for treating elongated deformable articles, each at one end thereof, in combination, transporting means for transporting the article one after the other to a given treating station; rotary tool means having a work-engaging end having a smooth, continuous work engaging surface adapted to engage an end of each article at said station and to give the article a configuration determined by the configuration of said end of said rotary tool means; means operatively connected to said rotary tool means for shifting the latter first into and then out of engagement with an end of an article at said station; and heating mean operatively connected to said tool means for heating at least said work-engaging end thereof so that each article is treated at one end with a heated rotary surface.

3. In an apparatus for treating elongated deformable articles, each at one end thereof, in combination, transporting means for transporting the articles one after the other to a given treating station; a rotary drive shaft having a coupling disc at one end thereof; a rotary tool having a coupling disc at one end thereof, said coupling discs being connected to each other for coupling said tool to said shaft for rotation therewith, said tool having an end adapted to be placed in engagement with an end of an article at said station; means operatively connected to said shaft for axially moving the latter and said tool therewith to and from a position where an end of said tool engages an end of an article at said station; electrical resistor means carried by said tool for heating the latter when said resistor means is in an electrical circuit; a pair of slip rings carried by said shaft for rotation therewith and adapted to be connected into an electrical circuit; and plug-andsocket means carried by said coupling discs for providing an electrical connection through said discs when they are coupled to each other, said electrical connection provided through the coupled discs being electrically connected with said resistor and with said slip rings for energizing said resistor.

4. In an apparatus as recited in claim 3, said shaft being hollow and accommodating in its interior electrical conductors which extend between and connect said slip rings and said resistor.

5. In an apparatus as recited in claim 4, said tool being hollow, having an open end directed toward and communicating with the interior of said shaft, and carrying said resistor in the hollow interior of said tool.

6. In an apparatus for treating, each at one end thereof, a plurality of elongated deformable articles, in combination, transporting means for transporting the articles one after the other to a given treating station; rotary tool means located at said station; shifting means connected tosaid tools means for shifting the latter into and out of engagement with an end of an article at said station; and means operatively connected to said tool means for automatically retracting the latter away from an article when said apparatus is turned off.

7. In an apparatus as recited in claim 6, said means for retracting said tool means away from an article when the machine is turned off comprising an electromagnet operatively connected to said tool means and when unenergized retracting said tool means away from an article, said electromagnet being unenergized when the machine is turned 011?.

8. In an apparatus for treating, each at one end thereof, a plurality of elongated deformable articles, in combination, a plurality of elongated trough-shaped article carriers respectively carrying and guiding a plurality of articles to be treated; transporting means comprising an elongated chain operatively connected to said carriers and adapted to move past a treating station for transporting said carriers and articles carried thereby one after the other to and from said treating station where the axis of each carrier and article at said station ha a predetermined orientation; rotary tool means located at said station for treating an article at one end thereof, said tool means having an axis coinciding with the axis of the article at said station, said tool means having a smooth working surface adapted to engage the articles; and shifting means operatively connected to said tool means for shifting the latter along its axis first into and then out of engagement with an end of an article at said station, said transporting means transporting said carriers, and the articles carried thereby, in synchronism with the shifting of said tool means to transport a new article to said station when said tool means is retracted away from a previously treated article so as to locate a new article at said station in time to be engaged by said tool means when the latter again moves toward its working position.

9. In an apparatus for treating elongated deformable articles, each at one end thereof, in combination, transporting means for transporting the article one after the other to and from a given treating station; rotary tool means having a work-engaging end adapted to engage an end of each article at said station and give the article a configuration determined by the configuration of said end of said rotary tool means, means operatively connected to said rotary tool means for shifting the latter first into and then out of engagement with an end of each article at said station; and heating means operatively connected to said tool means for heating at least said work engaging end thereof so that each article is treated at one end with a heated rotary surface, said heating means including an electrical resistor carried by said rotary tool means, a pair of slip rings respectively connected to said tool means for rotation therewith and adapted to be connected into an electrical circuit, and a pair of conductors respectively connecting said resistor to said slip rings to 13 place said resistor in connection with said slip rings, so that said tool can be heated during rotation thereof.

10. In an apparatus for treating, each at one end thereof, a plurality of elongated deformable articles, in combination, a plurality of article carriers in the form of elongated tubes respectively carrying and guiding a plurality of articles to be treated; transporting means operatively connected to said carriers for transporting the latter and articles carried thereby one after the other to and from a treating station where the axis of each carrier and article at said station has a predetermined orientation, said transporting means including a rotary disc carrying said tubes, said tubes being parallel to the axis of said disc and uniformly distributed around said disc along a given circle whose center is in the axis of said disc; rotary tool means located at said station for-treating each article at one end thereof, said tool means having an axis coinciding with the axis of the article at said station; and shifting means operatively connected to said tool means for shifting the latter along its axis first into and then out of engagement with an end of each article at said station,

said transporting means transporting said carriers and the articles carried thereby in synchronism with the shifting of said tool means to transport a new article to said station when said tool means is retracted away from a previously treated article so as to locate a new article at said station in time to be engaged by said tool means when the latter again moves toward its working position.

11. In an apparatus for treating, each at one end thereof, a plurality of elongated deformable articles, in combination, a plurality of article carriers in the form of elongated troughs respectively carrying and guiding a plurality of articles to be treated, said carriers respectively having lengths shorter than said articles and said articles projecting at both ends beyond said carriers, respectively; transporting means operatively connected to said carriers for transporting the latter and articles carried thereby one after the other to and from a treating station where the axis of each carrier and article at said station has a predetermined orientation; holding means engaging and holding each article at its ends which project beyond said carrier when each article is at said station, said holding means being in the form of a pair of opposed jaws each having ends curved in the same manner as the exterior surface of said articles, said jaws being movable toward and away from each other for respectively engaging and disengaging an article at its ends which project beyond said carrier when each article is at said treating station; rotary tool means located at said station for treating each article at one end thereof, said tool means having an axis coinciding with the axis of the article at said station; and shifting means operatively connected to said tool means for shifting the latter along its axis first into and then out of engagement with an end of each article at said station, said transporting means transporting said carriers, and the articles carried thereby, in synchronism with the shifting of said tool means to transport a new article to said station when said tool means is retracted away from a previously treated article so as to locate the new article at said station in time to be engaged by said tool means when the latter again moves toward its working position.

12. In an apparatus as recited in claim 11, spring means operatively connected to said jaws for urging the latter toward each other, and rotary cam means cooperating with said jaws for displacing the latter away from each other in opposition to said spring means and for releasing said jaws for movement toward each other by said spring means in synchronism with the movement 'of the articles one after the other to said station.

13. In an apparatus for treating an article one after another at a treating station, in combination, transporting means for transporting elongated articles successively to and from said treating station; rotary tool means coaxial with each article at said station; shifting means operatively connected to said tool means for axially shifting the latter into and out of engagement with an end of each article at said station; stop means coaxial with each article at said station and located at the side thereof opposite from said tool means to resist substantial axial shifting of each article by said tool means; reciprocating jaw means for engaging and holding each article at said station; and rotary cam means cooperating with said jaw means for reciprocating the latter, said cam means being of annular configuration and said stop means being situated centrally with respect to and extending through said cam means.

14. In an apparatus for treating, each at one end thereof, a plurality of elongated deformable articles, in combination, a plurality of article carriers respectively carrying and guiding a plurality of articles to be treated, said carriers respectively having a length less than said articles and the latter projecting at both ends beyond said carriers, respectively; transporting means operatively connected to said carriers for transporting the latter and articles carried thereby one after the other to and from a treating station where the axis of each carrier and article at said station has a predetermined orientation; holding means engaging and holding each article at its ends which project beyond said carrier when each article is at said treating station; rotary tool means located at said station for treating an article at one end thereof, said tool means having an axis coinciding with the axis of the article at said station, said tool means having a smooth working surface adapted to engage the articles; shifting means operatively connected to said tool means for shifting the latter along its axis first into and then out of engagement with an end of an article at said station, said transporting means transporting said carriers, and the articles carried thereby, in synchronism with the shifting of said tool means to transport a new article to said station when said tool means is retracted away from a previously treated article so as to locate a new article at said station in time to be engaged by said tool means when the latter again moves toward its working position.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 812,768 2/1906 Pond 19-1445 X 2,076,389 4/1937 Voss 19-144.5 2,416,706 3/1947 McLaughlin 19-1445 2,425,004 8/1947 Rabell 19-1445 2,455,925 12/1948 Ganz 19-1445 2,584,913 2/ 1952 Parish.

2,620,799 12/ 1952 Ganz 128-285 2,667,666 2/1954 Graef et a1. 19-1445 2,808,832 10/1957 Myers et a1. 128-285 2,854,978 10/ 1958 Millman et a1. 128-285 2,931,075 4/1960 Hobbins 19-1445 2,976,579 3/ 1961 Rabell 19-1445 3,071,820 1/ 1963 Bettoni et al 19-98 3,131,436 5/1964 Greiner et al. 19-1445 MERVIN STEIN, Primary Examiner.

D. NEWTON, Assistant Examiner.

Claims

2. IN AN APPARATUS FOR TREATING ELONGATED DEFORMABLE ARTICLES, EACH ONE END THEREOF, IN COMBINATION, TRANSPORTING MEANS FOR TRANSPORTING THE ARTICLES ONE AFTER THE OTHER TO A GIVEN TREATING STATION; ; ROTARY TOOL MEANS HAVING A WORK-ENGAGING END HAVING A SMOOTH, CONTINOUS WORK ENGAGING SURFACE ADAPTED TO ENGAGE AN END OF EACH ARTICLE AT SAID STATION AND TO GIVE THE ARTICLE A CONFIGURATION DETERMINED BY THE CONFIGURATION OF SAID END OF SAID ROTARY TOOL MEANS; MEANS OPERATIVELY CONNECTED TO SAID ROTARY TOOL MEANS FOR SHIFTING THE LATTER FIRST INTO AND THEN OUT OF ENGAGEMENT WITH AN END OF AN ARTICLE AT SAID STATION; AND HEATING MEANS OPERATIVELY CONNECTED TO SAID TOOL MEANS FOR HEATING AT LEAST SAID WORK-ENGAGING END THEREOF SO THAT EACH ARTICLE IS TREATED AT ONE END WITH A HEATED ROTARY SURFACE.