US1098152A - Tentering-machine. - Google Patents

Description

J. J. HOEY. TENTERING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED 111111: 23, 1911.

1,098, 152.. Patented May 26, 1914.

Mme-sass Ange/1e? COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH 50., WASHINGTON, [L c.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1. f

J. J. HOEY. TENTERING MAGHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 23, 1911.

m NRN W mm m nO H I NH a T d u 9 3 llill m l m M P I I l I l l I l l I I I I l II COLUMBIA PLANDURAPH C0,, WASHINGTON. DIC- J. J. HOEY. TENTERING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 23, 1911.

Patnted Ma '26, 1914.

3 SHEETS-SHEE'I 3.

Wa kW COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH cu..wAHlNaTON. D o.

JOHN J. HOEY, OF 1ROVIDEN'CE,'RHODE ISLAND.

rnivr'naine-riaoiimn.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented ma as, iaia.

Application filed June 2 3, 1911. Serial No. 634,912.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known thatI, JOHN J. HoEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Providence, in the county of Providence and State of Rhode Island, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tentering-h'lachines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to tent-ering-machines for use in finishing textile materials and consists particularly of improvements in the mechanism for reciprocating the siderails or frames on which the conveyor or cloth-clamp chains are carried.

The object of my improvement is to secure a more uniform movement of the siderails and to relieve the strain and stress on the driving mechanism due to momentum and inertia of the moving parts.

The invention is fully described in the following specification, illustrated by the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of the driving end of a tentering-machine showing my improved rail-reciprocating mechanism applied thereto; Fig. *2, a plan view of the same with the side-rails indicated by dashlines, so as not to obscure the view of the driving devices arranged underneath; Fig. 3, an end view showing one of the crossarms for the side-rails mounted on its supporting standard; Figs. 4: and 5, detail views of the clutch and brake devices for the reciprocating mechanism; Fig. 6, a detail view of one of the crank-disks for re ciprecating the side-rails.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, I have here illustrated a tentering-machine arranged with the side-rails A and B carrying sprocket-wheels b at their ends, the latter adapted to drive the endless conveyorchains made up of cloth-clamps, not here shown in detail. The rails A and B are supported on cross-arms C, D, etc. arranged at intervals along the machine and swiveled on standards E, F, etc., see Fig. 3. The cross-arms C, D are preferably pivoted on bearings c on the standards E, F and have rolls (Z adapted to run on the tracks 6, f to carry the weight of the rails. The rails A and B are mounted on pivot-blocks a and I), see Figs 3, which allow the arms C and D to oscillate about their axes to reciprocate the rails Preferably these blocks are adjustable along the cross-arms. by.

means of the screw-threaded rods 6 gen- 1 erally arrangedto be rotated through gears 6 connecting them with the longitudinal shaft b which carries a hand-wheel b at one end, see Fig. 2. By this means the rails can be adjusted toward and away from each other to adapt the chains to different widths of cloth.

Supported in bearings g, g mounted on the bed G of the machine is a main driveshaft H carrying a belt-pulley h or other driving element at one end. The shaft H also carries a pulley or chain-wheel 71. connected to a wheel y" en the horizontal shaft J by a belt or chain 2'. The shaft J carries worms 70 at both ends which mesh with worm-gears is mounted on stud-shafts K, see Fig. 1. The stud-shafts K are connected by universal joints Z to telescopic shafts L which, in turn, are connected by similar joints Z to the stud-shafts M mounted in bearings on the rails A and B and carrying the sprocket-wheels b. This arrangement of driving mechanism for the sprocket-wheels is described in detail in my Patent No. 974,271, dated November 1, 1910, and provides for transmitting rotation from a fixed shaft to the constantly shifting sprocketwheel shafts without backlash or lost motion.

The sprocket-wheels, as before explained, serve to continuously drive the eonveyerchains which carry cloth-clamps for gripping the edges of the fabric and feeding it through the machine. During the travel of the cloth from one end of the machine to the other the side-rails are operated to pull and stretch the fabric in a well known manner now generally used for giving the finish to certain kinds of material. This action is efiected by reciprocating the rails longitudinally in opposite directions during the operation of the machine. To accomplish this, I provide the novel arrangement of mechanism now described: Extending across the bed of the machine parallel with the driveshaft H is a horizontal shaft N mounted in the bearings 12., 'n-. The shaft N is rotated from the drive-shaft H by means of abelt or chain a connecting the pulley or chainwheel it with the wheel 0.- The wheel 0 is preferably arranged free to rotate on the shaft N but is connected therewith to drive the shaft by means of a clutchdevice shown in detail in Fig. 4:. This consists essentially of a clutch-member P free to slide on the shaft N, but rotatably secured thereto by suitable means, such, for instance, as the spline 77, and formed with a cone face 1) adapted to engage the corresponding interior face 0 of the wheel 0. A coiled spring 9, held between the end of the member P and a collar q secured to the shaft N, serves to normally retain the clutch in en ga 'einent with the wheel 0. The clutch P is adapted to be disengaged from the wheel 0 by means of a hand lever R pivoted at r on the bed of the machine. Secured to the lever B is a ring or hoop 1 carrying a pin 7 which, in conjunction with a pin r projecting from the lever itself, engages a groove 10 on the periphery of the clutch P. When the lever R is swung in the direction indicated by the arrow, Fig. 4, the pins 1 and 7- act on the side of the groove p to slide the clutch P out of engagement with the wheel 0 and the lever is maintained in this posi tion by means of a usual arrangement of pawl r engaging the teeth on the quadrant r and operated by the finger-lever r The lever B is also arranged to actuate a brakedevice simultaneously with the disengaging of the clutch-mechanisni to arrest the rota tion of the shaft N and lock it against further rotation. The brake-mechanism com 1 rises a member S, held. fast on the shaft N y means of splines s, s and a set-screw s, and adapted to take the end thrust of the wheel 0, the latter being held between said member and the collar 8 The member S is formed with an interior, tapered face s adapted to be engaged by the correspondingly tapered face if of the brake element T. The element T is operated by an arm U pivoted at a on the bed of the machine and having a loop a extending around the opposite side of the member T, see Fig. 2. Trunnions t, projecting from the sides of the member T connect it with the arm U and its loop a and prevent the member T from turning. The arm U is connected to the lever B by a link a and when the lever is moved to slide the clutch P out of engagement with the wheel 0 the member T is coordinately moved into engagement with the member S to provide a frictional engagement which arrests the rotation of the shaft N and locks it against further turning until the brake is released.

The shaft N carries two worms '7), '1) arranged in the openings a between the ends of the bearings n, a, see Fig. 2. The worms '0, a mesh with worm-gears o 41 mounted on the vertical shafts V and V. The hubs of the worms 0), o rotate in bearings a formed on or attached to the bed G and suitable casings o inclose both the worms and worm-gears to protect them from dirt and provide oil-tight housings. The arrangement of the shaft N, worms '2), o and gears '0 o is similar to the gearing arrangement at the end of the machine which is used to drive the flexible shafts for the sprocketwheels, and the whole gives a particularly neat and compact appearance while providing oil-flushed bearings for the operating parts. The shafts V and V extend upward through bearings a), on the side frames or standards X, X and carry crankdisks and W at their upper ends. The crank-disks W and W are provided with wrist-pins w, w which are preferably adjustable in relation to the axes of the disks to vary the throw of the cranks. As shown in Figs. 1 and G, the disks are provided with diametrically extending Tslots w to which are fitted sliding blocks e0 carrying the wrist-pins w. Each pin w is formed as a stud screwed into the block with its shoulder w set up against the top face of the latter. There is a slight clearance be tween the top of the block to and the top of the crank-disk W and a bushing w surrounding the pin w is formed with a flange 20 adapted to bear on the face of the disk. A washer e0 bears against the upper end of the bushing w with a clearance between its under side and the should-er w on the pin 20. A nut 10 is secured on to the threaded end @0 of the pin w and serves to force the bushing 10 against the face of the crankdisk to bind the block Q03 in the T-slot 10*. Through this means the block 10 is retained in position after being adjusted on the crank-disk and I have also found it desirable to provide means for setting both the blocks accurately in relation to the axes of the disks. To this end the disks and lV are provided with. holes to, etc. adapted to receive the ends of dowelpins or studs 10 screwed through the blocks w. These holes are spaced equidistantly away from the axis of both crank-disks and when the blocks are adjusted with the dowels registering with corresponding holes the wrist-pins on the two disks will be set to have exactly the same throw.

Surrounding the bushing w on the wristpiu w is a second bushing 10 held between the washer w and the flange e0 This liuishing has a flange 10 at its upper end between which and the flange 10 is pivotally mounted the end of a connectinga'od Y. The opposite end of the rod Y, see Figs. 1 and 2, is connected by a pin to the eye-bolt 7 which extends through one end of the cross-arm D and is secured thereto by the nuts 7 By reference to Fig. 1 it will be noted that the shaft N is arranged equidistantly between the two cross-arms C and D and the worm-gears o and o with their vertical shafts V and V are set on opposite sides of the shaft N. As before stated, the crank-disk TV is connected to the crossarm D by the pitman or connecting-rod Y and a second pitman Y of equal length connects the disk W with the cross-arm C in a similar manner. The worm 'v and a) are leftand right-handed respectively and as the drive-shaft H is turned in the direction indicated by the arrow 2, Fig. 1, and the shaft N rotated thereby in the same direction, the two vertical shafts V and V will be turned both in the same direction as indicated by the arrows 8, 3, Fig. 2. The wrist-pins 'w and w are set on opposite centers and it will be seen that when the crank-disks are rotated as described the pitmen Y and Y will be operated in unison to alternately pull and push on the ends of the cross-arms C and D to oscillate the latter about their pivots on the standards E and F. This causes the two side-rails A and B which are pivotally secured to the cross-arms by the blocks a, b to be reciprocated in opposite directions and the cloth is tentered in the usual well known manner as it feeds through the machine, carried by the endless conveyer chains of clamps. In some cases the fabric is fed through the machine without pulling or stretching it through the reciprocating action of the side-rails; and when it is so clesired to allow the rails to remain at rest it is only necessary to shift the lever B and throw out the clutch P. At the same operation the brake element T is thrown into engagement with the member S to lock the shaft N and prevent movement of the siderails.

An essential feature of improvement in my invention is the arrangement of the crank-disks to operate in horizontal planes with their pitmen connected to opposite ends of the two cross-arms C and D. Through this arrangement the pitmen are adapted to operate in a plane parallel to the line of movement of the side-rails. This gives a direct, straight-line action which prevents cramping, lost motion, or back-lash and also obviates the use of knuckle joints for connecting the driving and driven elements. Heretofore where motion has been transmitted to the side-rails from vertically arranged cranks or similar devices it has been necessary to employ intermediary elements such as long arms or, in some cases, bellcrank levers to convert the rotary motion to a reciprocatory movement and the use of such connections involves numerous extra bearings and couplings which are subject to great strain and consequent wear. lVith the present arrangement I secure the most direct line of transmission from the cranks to the side-rails, and furthermore, since the pitmen operate in a plane parallel with the line of movement of the rails, there is no tendency to pull down on the ends of the crossarms and therefore cramping or binding of the arms on their bearings is prevented and extra stress avoided. Where vertical arms pivoted below the rails have been used the constant downward and upward action of the connecting rods on the side-ralls causes vibration and poundmg, re-

sulting in excessive wear on the parts and lost power in operating the machine. 7 I

The arrangement of the two crank-disks wlth their pitmen connected to opposite ends of the two separate cross-arms is a most.

important feature of the invention. By this means the variation in angular movement of the cranks is-compensated for or balanced so that their points of connection with the rails move absolutely in consonance. In other words, the areal movement of the point of connection of the pitman Y with the arm D corresponds to the areal movement of the point of connection of the pitman Y on the arm C and these points have the same ratio of movement with their respective cranks. There is, therefore, no lost motion or cramping tendency as would be the case if both cranks were connected to opposite ends of the same cross-arm. The cranks act through their pitmen with both 'pitmen' alternately pulling or pushing on both rails at the same time and a smooth even motion is secured without vibration or pounding and with a minimum of strain on the operating parts.

My new arrangement for transmitting motion from the drive-shaft to the driven 9 shaft and thence to the cranks without the use of bevel or spur gears is also novel as applied to a tentering machine and possesses important features of improvement. The side-rails and conveyer chains carried thereon are of great weight, particularly in large machines which are sometimes nearly one hundred feet long. The movement of such heavy elements is obviously subject to a considerable effect'from inertia and momentum and these forces tend to cause vibration and jar. -Where bevel or spur gears are used to drive the mechanism the clearance between the teeth will allow considerable play and backlash, especially after the gears become worn. This results in uneven motion,

lost power and great wear on the parts which soon deteriorate to such an extent as to require extensive replacement. In my present arrangement by the use of link-belts or chains and worm-gearing I am enabled to eliminate this vibration due to backlash and by providing a smooth even drive I render the parts less liable to damage and wear and consequently more efficient and durable.

Various modifications might be made in the structure and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention; therefore without limiting myself to the exact form shown and described, what I claim is 1. In a tentering-machine, the combination with longitudinally reciprocating siderails, of means to reciprocate said rails comprising vertical shafts, means to rotate the shafts, crank-disks on said shafts, and pitmen extending in opposite directions from the axes of said crank-disks and connected to reciprocate the side-rails with movement in opposite directions.

2. In a tentering-machine, the combination with longitudinally reciprocating siderails, of means to reciprocate said rails comprising a pair of vertical shafts, means to rotate said shafts, horizontally arranged crank-disks on the shafts, wrist-pins carried by said crank-disks, and pitmen extending in opposite directions from the axes of said crank-disks and connecting the Wrist-pins to reciprocate the side-rails.

8. In a tentering-machine, the combination with longitudinally reciprocating siderails, of means to reciprocate said rails comprising horizontally arranged cranks, means to rotate the cranks, and pitmen extending from the cranks in opposite directions with each pitman connected to reciprocate one of the side-rails.

4. In a tentering-machine, the combination with the side-rails, of means to reciprocats the rails comprising a pair of vertical shafts, worm-gearing arranged to drive both shafts in the same direction, cranks mounted on said shafts and pitmen connecting said cranks to reciprocate the side-rails, said pit inen extending in opposite directions from the axes of the crank-shafts and arranged to operate in a horizontal plane.

5. In a tentering-machine, the combination with a plurality of oscillating crossarms, of side-rails mounted on said crossarms, two horizontally arranged cranks, means to rotate the cranks, a pitman connecting one of the cranks to the end of one of the cross-arms, and a second pitman ex tending in the opposite direction and connecting the other crank to the opposite end of the next cross-arm.

6. In a tentering-machine, the combination with a plurality of oscillating crossarms, of side-rails adapted to he reciprocated from the oscillation of said cross-arms, horizontally disposed cranks arranged between two of the cross-arms, a pitman connecting one crank to one end of one of the cross-, arms, and a second pitman extending in the opposite direction and connecting the other crank to the opposite end of the other crossarm.

7. In a tentering-machine, the combination with two horizontal cross-arms, pivot bearings for said cross-arms, side-rails mounted on the cross-arms on opposite sides of the pivots, a horizontal crank connected to one end of one of the cross-arms, a second crank connected to the opposite end of the other cross-arm, and means to rotate the cranks in the same direction to oscillate the cross-arms in unison.

S. In a tentering-machine, the combina tion with two pivoted cross-arms adapted to oscillate in a horizontal plane, side-rails supported on said arms, a pair of cranks adapted to rotate in a horizontal plane and having wrist-pins set on opposite centers, and pitinen connecting one crank with the end of one cross-arm and the other crank with the opposite end of the other cross-arm.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN J. HOEY.

lVitnesses GEORGE W. BLACKBURN, GEORGE A. WHITE, Jr.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

r Washington, D. C.

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