US1181685A - Apron-guiding device. - Google Patents

Description

F. e. SARGENT. APRON GUIDING DEVICE. APPLICATION FILED SEPT- 3' 1915.

1,181,685. Patented Ma 2,1916.

ITED STATES PA FREDERICK G. SARGENT, OF WESTFORD, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO U. G. SARGENTS SONS CORPORATION, OF GRANITEVILIJ'E MASSACHUSETTS, A

CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS.

APRON-G'UIDING DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 2 1916.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERICK G. SAR- GENT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Westford, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Apron-Guiding Device, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an apron guiding device particularly designed for use upon a wool drying machine. The invention, however, is capable of general application, and may be applied to produce similar results upon other more or less similar machines.

In this class of machines a broad slowmoving belt or apron is carried over a pair of drums, and it-frequently happens that this apron develops a tendency to deviate from a straight path, running over the edge of the drum at one side or the other. The correction of this lateral deviation is a matter of some difficulty, particularly in a wooldrying machine in which the apron is made -of wire screen, the nature of which material renders it impossible to correct the lateral deviation by the provision of any form of guiding device which engages the edge of p the apron.

thereof or placing any undue strain thereon.

With this general object in view, one feature of my invention relates to the provision of a guiding roller engaging one surface of the apron at a point more or less removed from the drum, together with the provision of mechanism for changing the angular position of said roller relatively to the path of travel of the apron, the roller when thus shifted being effective to correct the deviation of the apron.

A further feature of my invention relates to the provision of a pair of pulleys adjacent the two ends of the drum and so connected to the guiding roller that partial rotation of one or the other of said .pul-

leys will result in a change in the angular position of the guiding roller. Provision modification thereof is shown in the drawings in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a wool-drying machine with my invention applied thereto; Fig. 2 is a right-hand side elevation of the mechanism shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a left-hand side elevation of the same mechanism; Fig. 4: is a detail elevation showing a slight modification; Fig. 5 is a detail of a modified roller shaft bearing, and Fig. 6 is a detail view of a slight additional modification.

Referring to Fig. l I have shown a drum 10 mounted upon a shaft 11 rotatable in bearings 12 which are adjustably mounted upon brackets 18 carried by a supporting frame 14. The apron is indicated at 15 and is of substantially the same width as the drum 10, suitable provision, not shown, being made for slowly advancing the apron in the direction of the arrow a.

At each end of the drum 10, pulleys 16 and 17 are loosely mounted upon the shaft 11, said pulleys being provided with counter-weighted portions which retain the pulleys normally in the positions shown in Figs. 2 and 3. v

A guide roller 18 is mounted upon a roller shaft 19 which is rotatable in bearing blocks 20 and 21 carried by the frame 14, the roller being so positioned as to engage the under surface of the apron 15 as it leaves the drum 10.

Each bearing block 20 and 21 is provided with a longitudinal slot 22 which permits horizontal movement of the shaft 19 therein, while at the same time vertical displacement is prevented.

The right-hand end of the roller shaft 19 extends through an open slot in the upper end of a lever 23 pivoted at 24 to the frame 14. The lever 23 is weighted at its lower end and is connected by a link 25 to an arm 26 fixed to a shaft 27 rotatable in bearings in the frame 14. A pulley 28 is fixed to the shaft 27 and is connected by a cord or other flexible member 29 to a stud 30 carried by the pulley 16. A stop pin 31 carried by the frame 14 projects between two of the arms of the pulley 16 and limits angular displacement thereof in either direction.

Assuming that the apron 15, while traveling in the direction of the arrow at (Figs. 1 and 2), deviates toward the right, as

viewed in Fig. 1, the edge of the apron will I engage the loose pulley l6, turning the pulley in the direction of the arrow a until further movement is. prevented by the stop 31. Such displacement of the pulley 16 is communicated through the cord 29 to the pulley 28, turning the shaft 27 in the direction of the arrow 6 in Fig. 2. movement of the shaft 27 is communicated through the arm 26 andlink 25 to the lever 23, the lower end of the lever being moved to the right, as indicated by the arrow 0.

Such movement of the lever angularly displaces the right-hand end of the roller shaft 19 toward the left and such displacement tends to correct the lateral deviation of the apron.

Similar mechanism is provided upon the left-hand side of the machine for correcting a lateral deviation in the opposite direction, this mechanism being shown in Fig. 3, in

. which appears a lever 230 pivoted at 2 10 and slotted at its upper end to engage the left-hand end of the shaft 19. At its lower end the lever is connected by a link 250 to an arm 260 secured to the left-hand end of ,the shaft 27, while a pulley 280 fixed to the 'shaft is connected a cord 290 to a stud 300 carried by the pulley 17. A stop 310 upon the frame work 14: limits the angular displacement of the pulley 17. The cord .290, link 250, and the arm 260 are so (lisposed that movement of the pulley 17 by a deviation of the apron to the left (Fig. 1) will cause the left-hand end of the roller 18 to be moved toward the drum 10.

In the drawings I have shown the arms 26 and 260 and the pulleys 28 and 280 as all fixed to a single shaft 27. lVith this construction it will be evident that a correction at either end of the roller 18 will cause a corresponding correction in an op- 3), and moving the left-hand end of the shaft 19 toward the left or away from the drum 10. A double angular correction is thus obtained and the lateral deviation of the apron is quickly'corrected. It will be evident, however, that the device will also operate in a similar manner but somewhat less rapidly if the shaft 27 is made in two separate pieces so that the correcting devices at each end of the drum works entirely independently. \Vith this construction the entire correction will be applied upon the end of the roller toward which the deviation has occurred. Similar results will be obtained The if the lever 23 or 230 and its connection is omitted upon one side of the machine, while both pulleys 16 and 17 are connected'zt'o a one-piece shaft 27. The correction'due to deviation in either direction will then be obtained by movement of one end of the shaft 19 either toward or away from the drum 10, a plain swivel bearing 40 (Fig. 5) being substituted for the slotted bearing block at the opposite end of the shaft.

In Fig. 4 I have shown a modified form of my invention in which I raise or lower the ends of the roller 18 instead of displacing them horizontally. For this purpose I mount the roller 18 in a hearing at the end of one arm &0 of a three-armed lever pivoted at 4:1 to the frame 1 1. Upon the arm 42 of the lever I provide a counter weight 43 which may be adjusted to balance the weight of the roller 18. To the third or depending arm 44 of the lever I connect a link 45 corresponding in function to the link 250 in Fig. 3. The arm 14: is counter weighted to maintain the roller 18 normally in neutral position. The operation of this modified form of my invention is substantially simi lar to that already described displacement of the pulleys 16 and 17 resulting in raising or lowering the ends of the roller 18 and thereby correcting the deviation. The correction, as shown in these drawings, takes place in the long run of the apron upon the roller to the drum at the far end of the machine (not shown), this arrangement being found most satisfactory.

lVhile I have shown a guiding roller engaging the apron, a non-rotatable apronengaging device will to some extent accomplish the same results.

In Fig. 6 I have shown a plain guiding bar 42 provided with a square shaft 43 adapted to project through the slots 22 and engage the lever 23. 1

Having thus described my invention it will be evident that other changes and modifications can be made therein by those skilled in the art without departing from'the spirit and scope thereof as set forth in the claims, and I do not wish to be otherwise limited to the details herein disclosed, but

What I claim is a a 1. In an apron guiding device, in combination, a frame, a shaft mounted inbearings on said frame, a drum on said shaft, a pulley adjacent each end of said drum and loose on saidshaft, a guiding roller engaging said apron, a roller shaft, bearings for said roller shaft permitting displacement thereof, a pair of levers engaging the ends of said shaft, connections from said levers to said pulleys whereby partial rotation of said pulleys by the apron will swing said levers and displace said roller shaft. rela tively to said drum shaft to change the angle of said roller relatively to the path of travel of said apron, and a weight on each lever, said weights being efiective to restore said levers and roller to normal position as soon as the apron is restored to central position.

2. In an apron guiding device, in oombination, a frame, a shaft mounted in bearings on said frame, a drum on said shaft, a

pair of pulleys adjacent the two ends of said drum and loose on said shaft, a guide roller engaging the apron, a roller shaft normally positioned parallel to said drum shaft, connections from said pulleysto the opposite ends of said roller shaft whereby partial rotation of one of said pulleys by the apron will cause positive angular displacement of said roller shaft relative to said drum shaft in one direction and partial rotation of the other pulley by the apron will cause angular displacement in the opposite direction, and means to restore said roller shaft to normal position parallel to said drum shaft as soon as the apron is re-' turned to mid-position on said drum.

3. In an apron guiding device, in combination, a frame, a shaft mounted in bearings on said frame, a drum on said shaft, a pair of pulleys adjacent the two ends of said drum and loose on said shaft, a guiding roller engaging said apron, a roller shaft, bearings for said shaft permitting displacement thereof relative to said drum shaft, and connections from said pulleys to said roller shaft, said connections including devices engaging the ends of said roller shaft, a cross shaft, two crank pins carried thereby, links connecting said pins to said devices, two pulleys tight on said cross shaft, and flexible members connecting each loose pulley to one of said tight pulleys.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

FREDERICK Gr. SARGENT.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0.

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