CA1102678A - Head locking means for automatic slitter - Google Patents

Abstract

HEAD LOCKING MEANS FOR AUTOMATIC SLITTER SCORER

Abstract of the Disclosure An automatic corrugated paperboard slitter scorer has slitting and scoring heads movable individually or as a group along an expandable shaft by way of a master shifter.
The expandable shaft provides a friction drag to maintain a head in position until all heads are simultaneously locked to the shaft.

Description

~ ;267 -^' ' 1 Background -~ ¦ Automatic slitter scorers which include either a computer __~ or miniprocessor have bee~ proposed heretofore. See V.S. Patents _~ 3,651,723 and 4,010,677. Other prior art directed to automated -:~ slltter scorers include U.S. Patents 3,961,547; 3,646~418; 3,831,502;
,~,, and 3,587,374. In such slitter scorers, heads are moved along a _ shaft to a predetermined position and then are secured to the shaft ...
: for rotation therewith. It is known to simultaneously couple the ~ shaft to all of the operative heads as per patents 3,951,024 and ... :
4,006,671 instead of co~pling each head individually to the shaft.
One problem wit~ the prior art is inadvertent shifting of heads predisposed along a shaft due to vibration or the like prior to the heads being fixedly secured to the shaft. The problem is not solved by simultaneously expanding a portion of the shaft into lock~
in8 engagement with the heads as taught by patent 3,951,024 and 41006,671. Thus, the last two mentioned patents do not take into consideration inadvertent shifting of a head prior to the time when all heads are purportedly in their desired position and then simul-I taneously coupled to the shaft.
! 20 The present invention solves the above-mentioned problemsof the prior art a~ well as other problems which will be made clear hereinafter.
~ ~ummary of the Invention I ~ The present in~ention includes a shaft or a pair of paral-lel shafts with a plurality of heads on the shafts. A means is pro-.. ~ . .
- vided for selectively positioning the heads at preselected locations along their shafts. A retaining means and a lock means are provided on each of the shafts. The retaining means is a selectively adjust-able friction drag surface which contacts the heads on its associated shaft to prevent inadvertent movement of the heads relative to the - 1 - ~' 7~3 shaft. A means is provided ~OX ad~ustincl the xadial distance of the oute~ peripher~ ~f the dr~g sur~ace r~l~tiYe to the longitudinal axi-s o~ the shaft~
The positio~ing means-includes a maste~ shi~tex guided for movement alon~ a path parallel to the longitudinal axis of said shaft or shafts. A drive means is provided for moving the master shi~ter along said path. The master shifter supports at least two selectively operable fingers for selectively coupling opposite sides of ~he master shifter to one of the heads. The drive means is capable of providing sufficient force to overcome the ef~ect of the drag sur~ace on said heads while said drive means mo~es the master shifter longitudinally along its path.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic slitter scorer with means for retaining heads in any predetermined position along a shaft to prevent inadvertent movement of the head prior to all heads being simultaneously locked to the shaft.
In accordance with a broad aspect, the invention relates to apparatus including a shaft~ a plurality of heads slideable along said shaft, means for selectively positioning said heads in predetermined locations along said shaft, the improve~ent comprising:
~a) an elongated expandib]e chamber means extend-ing along the central portion of said shaft for simultaneously locking all heads to said shaft when said chamber means is pressuriæed and a friction drag surface pro~ecting in a radial direction with respect to the periphery of said shaft for a predetermined distance into contact with said heads~
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(b~ ~eanS independent ~om said cham~er means to preVent inad~ertent movement o~ the hea'ds ~el'ative to the shaft whèn said cham~er ~eans is unpressurized ~ncluding means ~or adjusting t~è radial distance'o~ the outer peripher~ of said drag surface relative to the longitudinal axis of sai~ shaft so ~nat said drag sur~ace may project beyond the periphery of said shaft while'said chamber is unpressurized.
Other objects will appear hereina~ter.
For the purpose of illustrating the invention, there is shown in the drawings a form which is presently preferred; it being understood, howeverl that this invention is not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumental-ities shown.
Figure 1 is a partial perspective view of a shaft having heads thereon.
Figure 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line 2-2 in Figure 1.
Figure 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line 3-3 in Figure 1.
Figure 4 is a sectional view taken along the shaft with a portion of the master shifter being broken away or purposes of illustration.

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1 Figure 5 is a side elevation view of the structure shown in Figure 4.
Referring to the drawing in detail, wherein like numerals indicate like elements, there is shown in Figure l a portion of a ¦ filitter scorer in accordance with the present invention designated ¦ generally as lO. The slitter scorer lO is conventionally positioned between the discharge end of the rotary shear and the inlet end of the cut-off.
A web such as a web of corrugated paperboard is supported as it moves from the discharge end of the rotary shear to the ap-paratus lO by way of a we~ table.
Frame 16 supports the ends of an upper head support shaft 30 and a lower head support shaft 32 which are parallel to one another and horizontally disposed. Each of the shafts 30, 32 has a plurality oE slltting heads or scoring heads or a mixture thereof thereon.
Thus, for purposes of illustration, shaft 30 has slitting heads 34 thereon Shaft 32 has an equal number of mating heads.
The shafts 30 and 32 are constructed in a similar manner.
Hence, only shaft 30 will be described in detail. Referring to Fig-ure 2, it will be noted that shaft 30 has a longitudinally extending groove 38 which is occupied by a retaining and lock means 40. The base of the groove 38 is formed of three parallel surfaces, the center one forming a ridge portion 39 above the two adjoining sur-faces. The retaining means 40 is piloted by the sides of the ridge portion 39 for reciprocal radial movement.
Means 40 includes a metal insert body 42 disposed within the groove 38. The ou~er periphery of the body 42 i8 provided with a covering 44 of a ~uitable material such as polyurethane or some other polymeric plastic material which is an elastomer having good me~ory. A tube 46, preferably rectangular in cross section, is dis-, . , . -- ~

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~ 1 posed between the ridge portion 39 in the groove 38 and a recess ._.
~ in the body 42. Tube 46 is closed at one end and has an inlet port _ ~
; ~ ~ 48 at its other end.
..
~ - The inlet port 48 of the tube 46 communicates with a flow ... .
_ passage 52 in shaft 30. A header 50 containing an air bleed valve . .
: 53 is secured to an end face of a reduced cliameter portion of the -- . .
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' shaft 30. Passage 52 is connected to a supply and exhaust conduit 54. Tube 46 is made from an elastomeric material such as rubber . ,~
. . . ..
- ~_ whereby it will expand when inflated by a pressurized motive fluid _,, ~ ,~ 10 such as air or an oil.
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The body 42 is ~pring biased radially inward by spring 56.
- ¦ Spring 56 extends between a cap screw 58 and a shoulder 60 on the body 42. The spring 56 surrounds a shank on the screw 58. Screw 58 is threaded into a tapped hole in the shaft 30. The minimum radial position of the means 40 is adjustably determined by a set screw 62 carried by the body 42. Set screw 62 can be threaded in-wardly so as to bottom against a surface on the bottom of groove 38.
It will be appreciated that the screw 48 and set scre~ 62 are dis-posed within drilled holes in the insert body 42 adjacent opposite 1 20 ends thereof.
¦ A master shifter 64 is guided for ~ovement along the path parallel to the longitudinal axis of shafts 30, 32 by way of rods 66, 68 which extend between the frames 16. The master shifter 64 i i8 propelled along the rods 66, 68 in opposite directions in any suitable manner such as by way of a threaded rod 70 threadedly - I coupled to the master shifter 64 and driven by one of motors 73, ~ '~. , A
75 havi~g clutch 79 therebetween. Motor 73 is a lsrge high speed motor such as 1 ~p for moving master shifter 64 at a high spPed sucb as 10 cm/sec which motor 75 is a small motor such a~ 1/4 Hp for moving shifter 64 at a slow rate such as .6 cm/sec. Encoder 6~
~ 1 1 81 on rod 70 is coupled to the computer which in turn iB coupled toclutch 79. Per se, sùch cl~ltch, computer and motors are well known . in the art.
The master shifter 64 has legs 72, 74 depending therefrom so that each of the shafts 30, 32 is disposed between said legs 72, 74. Fingers 76 and 78 are supported by the legs 72, 74, respective-ly on opposite sides of the shaft 30 for shifting heads aloag the shaft 30. Likewise, fingers 80, 82 are supported by the legs 72, 74, respectively on oppo~ite sides of the shaf~ 32 for shifting heads therealong. As the master shifter 64 moves along its guide rods 66, 1 68, it may cause the head~ on shafts 30 andtor the heads on shaft 32 to be shifted along their respective shaft~ depending upon the position of the fingers 76-82.
The fingers 76-82 are shown in Figure 4 în ~heir operative position. Since all of the fingers are identical, only finger 78 will be described in detail. The inoperative position of finger 78 is shown in phantom in ~igure 4. A motor such as a pneumatic cylin-der i~ supported by the legs 74 to move the finger 78 between its operative and inoperative position~.
! 20 A pneumatic cylinder 84 is supported by a cyLinder support ¦ 86 which in turn is secured within a portion of a transverse bore in I the leg 74. The remainder of the bore is occupied by sleeve bearing 88. A piston rod interconnects a piston within cylinder 84 and the finger 78. The finger 78 has a cylindrical skirt whirh is guided by the bearing 88 and partially surrounds the cylinder 84 in the inop-_ erative position of the finger 78. In this manner, the finger 78 can have 8 stroXe of 1 to 1-1~2 inches when moved between it~ opera-tive and inoperative positions. The fingers 76-82 engage a side face of the heads when they move the heads along their respective shafts.
While the motor for the fingers is preferably a pneumatic cylinder, ~ 1 other equivalent devices such as a solenoid may be utilized.
.: --_.-; 1 Conduit 54 disposed along the axi~3 of shaft 30 is connected ;.., - to a pressure intensifier 90 having a first piston g2 ànd a coaxial second piston 94O Piston 94 is substantial'Ly larger in diameter than . --piston 92. I prefer to make piston 94 about four times as large as ,,..
- piston 92 so as to cause piston 92 to trans~it a force 16 times as great as the force applied to piston 94. Pistons 92, 94 are biased =~ -; away from passage 52 by spring 95. Passage 96 communicates with _ - chamber 98 for selectively supplying motive fluid of sufficient .-_ .1 .
Ar 1 10 pressure to overcome the bias of spring 95 and cause piston 92 to - . i I intensify the pressure o~ ~he hydraulic fluid used to expand tube '1 46.
The general sequence of events for changing the position of the heads 34 is as follows. Tube 46 is exhausted. The master j shifter 64 moves from one end of the shaft 30 to the other so that all of the heads are moved to one end of the shaft 30.
The fingers 76-82 on the master shifter 64 are then re-trarted. Thereafter, the master shifter 64 moves and distributes the heads 34 to the new position for the next production order.
As the master shifter 64 moves, it pushes all of the heads in front of it until the last head reaches its predetermined posi-tion. At that point, the master shifter stops and the fingers 76-82 are retracted. Then the master shifter moves forward through a dis-.
1 tance corresponding to the thickness of the last head at which point the fingers are then extended. Thereafter, the master shifter 64 -~ ; continues to push the remainder of the heads until the then existing ........ .
last head reaches its predetermined positio~. The sequence is then repeated until all of the operative heads have been disposed along their predeter~ined position. The remaining heads in front of the master shifter 64 are then pushed to one side and will remain oper-. ~

- 1 ative. Thereafter, tube 46 i8 expanded to lock the head~.
¦ The slitter heads 34 are maintained in their predetermined position due to the frictional drag between the covering 44 and the ¦ inner diameter of the heads. Thus, the set screws 62 will be ad-¦ justed so as to cause the covering 44 to project beyo~d the periphery of the shaft 30 for a sufficient distance such as .002 to .01 inches so as to maintain any s~itter head in a predetermined position as deposited by the master shifter 64. A liquid such as oil is pressur ized by piston 92 and is introduced into tube 46 at a high pressure ¦ 10 such as 1,000 psi to cause~ the tube 46 to expand against the pressure of springs 56 and simuitaneously lock all of the heads to their re-spective shafts. In its collapsed and in its expanded position, the tube 46 is completely encased and confined by mutually perpen-dicular walls of body 42 and groove 38. My preferred locking pres-sure lS 625 lbs/linear inch of-body 42. Means 40, by ~ay of cover-ing 44, maintains any slitter head or cutter head in a predetermined position so as to prevent inadvertent movement of the same prior to all of the heads being slmultaneously locked to their shaft.
¦ The present invention may be embodied in other specific i 20 forms without departing from the spirit or essential attributes ¦ thereof and, accordingly, refe~ence should be made to the appended claims, rather than to the foregoing specification as indicating the scope of the invention.

Claims (8)

It is claimed:

1. In a slitter scorer having a shaft, a plurality of heads slideable along said shaft, means for selectively positioning said heads in predetermined locations along said shaft, the improve-ment comprising:
(a) retaining means on said shaft to prevent inad-vertent movement of the heads relative to the shaft, said retaining means including a friction drag surface projecting in a radial direc-tion with respect to the periphery of said shaft for a predetermined distance into contact with said heads, means for adjusting the radial distance of the outer periphery of said drag surface relative to the longitudinal axis of said shaft, (b) locking means including an expandable chamber means extending along said shaft for simultaneously locking all heads to said shaft when said chamber is in an expanded position.

2. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein said chamber means is a tube having conduit means to facilitate introduc-tion of a pressurized motive fluid

3. Apparatus in accordance with claim 2 wherein said tube is disposed between a portion of said shaft and said retaining means and spring means biasing said surface radially inwardly of said shaft.

4. Apparatus in accordance with claim l wherein said adjusting means includes a set screw threaded to a body supporting said surface, one end of said set screw being in contact with a sur-face of said shaft.

5. Apparatus in accordance with claim 2 wherein said tube is rectangular in cross section and encased by mutually perpendicular surfaces in its expanded and contracted positions.

6. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 including a master shifter supported for movement parallel to said shaft and having means thereon for contacting said heads so that the heads may be moved along said shaft with sufficient force to overcome the drag effect of said drag surface.

7. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein said lock-ing means includes a fluid pressure intensifier comprising a first piston for generating fluid pressure in said chamber means, and a second piston coaxial with and joined to said first piston, said second piston having substantially greater area than said first pis-ton so that a unit fluid pressure exerted by said second piston produces a proportionally higher unit pressure output by said first piston.

8. In a slitter scorer having a shaft, a plurality of heads slideable along said shaft, means for selectively positioning said heads in predetermined locations along said shaft, the improve-ment comprising:
(a) a friction drag surface projecting in a radial direction with respect to the periphery of said shaft for a prede-termined distance into contact with said heads, means for adjusting the radial distance of the outer periphery of said drag surface relative to the longitudinal axis of said shaft, spring means bias-ing said drag surface radially inwardly, b) locking means including an expandable chamber extending along said shaft radially inwardly of said drag surface for simultaneously locking all heads to said shaft by expanding said chamber to move said drag surface radially outwardly in opposition to said spring biasing means.