US1251852A - Feed mechanism. - Google Patents

Description

E. E. WINKLEY.

FEED MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 1. 1915.

Patented Jan; 1, 1918.

3 SHEETS-SHEET l.

E. E. WINKLEY. FEED MECHANISM.

APPLICATIG'N HLED APR-1,1915,

1,2515%. ritnted Jan. 1, 19 1s.

3 fiHEETS-SHEET 2.

nnrrnp snares GEE-ICE.

EBASTUS E. WINKLEY, OF LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOB, BY MESNE ASSIGN- MENTS, TO UNITED SHOE MACHINERY CORPORATION, OF PATERSON, NEW JERSEY,

A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

man MECHANISM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 1, 1918.

Application filed-April l, 1815. Serial No. 18,494.

To all whom it may concern:

. nism; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates feeding blanks of sheet-material singly from a stack.

The object of the invention is to produce.

feed-mechanism adapted particularly t operate upon blanks of which the material i subject to variations and irregularities as to thickness or to departures from the normal,

flat condition of the material. The invenvtion is particularly useful in connection with blanks of sole-leather, such as are employed in shoe-heels, but it is applicable generally to use in connection with sheetmaterials of suflicient thickness and firmness to permit the mode of operation hereinafter described. a

It has heretofore been proposed to feed blank-s of leather or other sheet-material by expelling them one-by-one edgewise, from the end of a stack, and'to prevent the expulsion of more than one blank at a. time by means of a fixed stop or gage so located as to clear the edge of the first blank and to engage the edge of the second blank and retain the latter while the first blank is'being expelled. The successful operation of such an arrangement, however, depends upon both an approximate uniformity in thickness and a'substantially fiat condition of the blanks, for if the blanks vary widely in thickness the operation of the machine will be interfered with by. the presence either of a' blank too thick to pass the stop,

or of two ore more blanks so thin as to be expelled simultaneously; while if the blanks are not fiat the first or endmost blank may fail to clear the stop, regardless of the thickness of the blank. 4

In accordance with the above object the present invention contemplates the provito mechanism for sion of means, for separating and removing the first blank of the stack adapted to compensate automatically for such differences in thickness, or other characteristics, as may be encountered in the blanks, the operative positions of such means being variable in accordance with such variability from the normal in the blanks. This is accomplished 'by so holding or arranging the. blanks in the stack, at or prior to the time of operanon of the blank-separating means, that the first and second blanks have an overlapping relation, each of these blanks having a marginal surface which projects beyond the other blank. By engagement with one of these exposed marginal surfaces the blank-separatmg means are enabled to distinguish, so to speak, between the said two blanks,'in such a manner as eifectually to separate them and to remove the first'blank singly from the stack. The separating means are also preferably arranged to subject the projecting marginal portion of. the first blank to sufficient pressure to flatten it in case it is distorted or curved, and to remove the blank while so flattened. 4

By determining the position of the separating-means automatically, at each operation, in accordance with the. thickness of the blank, and by insuringthat any blank.

which is-not flat shall be flattened prior to the removal of the blank, feed-mechanism has beenproduced which will operate reliably under the most adverse conditions, such as are encountered, for example, in the feeding of blanks punched from leather hides, so that such blanks may be piled in a stack without particular care as to their condition and selection, and may then be fed with the regularity and precision which is necessary where feed-mechanism is employed in connection with automatic malfzllrlery for operating upon the blanks so e To the accomplishment of the object referred to and such others asmay hereinafter appear, as will'readily be understood by hereinafter described and particularly pointedout in the appended claims p,

naansse The preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figures 1, 2 and 3 are a side-elevation, a front elevation, and a plan view of feed mechanism embodying the present invention; and 4 Figs. 4. to 9, inclusive, are fragmentary side-elevations showing particularly the instrumentalities which operate directly upon the blanks, in various successive operative positions.

The preferred form of the invention is illustrated as embodied in mechanism adapted to hold a stack of blanks or lifts of leather, leather-board or other material, of a form suitable for use in the manufacture of shoe heels, and to feed these lifts singly or successively from the bottom of the stack, so that the lifts so fed are expelled from the stack at thefront of the machine and may be transferred thence, by any suitable means, to a machine of any character for operating upon the lifts.

The lifts at the bottom of the stack are designated by the letters a, b, c, in Figs. 4 to 9 inclusive, the lowermost lift a, which is about to be fed,being hereinafter referred to as the first blank of the stack. Since the invention is not necessarily embodied in an arrangement in which the stack is held vertical, or in which the lifts are fed from the lower end, the various directions of move ments of the parts are, for convenience, here inafter described as follows; A movement in the direction in which the lifts are expelled from the stack, which, in the present instance, is a movement from left to right as shown in Figs. 1, 3, e, etc, is described as an outward movement, and a movement in the opposite direction as an inward movement, while a movement in the direction in which the stack of lifts is advanced is referred to as a forward or advancing movement, while a movement in the opposite direction is referred to as a backward or retreating movement, these last movements being downward and upward. in the present machine.

In the illustrated embodiment of the invention the means for separating and removing the heel-lifts from the stack comprise a feed-dog 11, which engages the inner edge of the first lift of the stack and expels this lift by an outward or right-hand movement, (viewing Fig. 1). The simultaneous feeding of more than one lift is prevented by a stop, which comprises two fingers l2 and 13, hereinafter referred to as the first and second stop-fingers, respectively. The lifts descend by gravity, between guides by which they are retained in the form of a stack, and the lowermost or first rests upon a horizontal table 14;, along which it is fed when expelled from the stack.

Since'the particular construction of the mechanism by whlch the operative instruinentahties of the machine are actuated 1s not essential to the invention, the nature of V the invention may be readily gathered from a description of the movements performed by the parts already referred to, as shown particularly in Fig. l and Figs. 4 to 9.

An important feature of the operation resides in the fact that the movements of the lifts while in the stack areso controlled that at least the lowermost two lifts, i- 6., the first and second lifts, are in an overlapping relation, so that each has a margin projecting beyond the edge of the other. This relation of the lifts is most simply and conveniently secured by arranging the guides for the stack portions which are adjacent to the table 14, but it will be apparent that this relation may be secured in other ways. As shown in Fig. l, the stack is held in guides of which the upper parts are vertical, but the lower extremities are curved. These uides comprise a member 68, having a longitudinal channel of V-shape in cross-section, which provides two flat walls 69 adapted to coiipe'rate with the curved rear edges of the heel-lifts. The

, breast-edge of each lift rests against a-guide in the form of a metal plate 71, which issupported on rods 70 held parallel with the member 68 by cross-bars 7 2. This construction is such that access may be had readily to any I part of the stack of lifts held in the guides, through the open sides of the guideway. The lifts descend through this guideway by the effect of gravity, but it may be desirable, in some cases, to assist the movement by the addition of a weight 7 3 placed upon the top 'of the stack.

Considering Figs. 4 to. 9, the parts are shown in Fig. i in the position in which the first stop-linger 12 has moved into the angular space above the outer margin of the first lift a and in front of the outer edge of the second lift 5, the first finger being held yieldingly in engagement with the margin of the first lift. The second finger then rises to the position of Fig; 5, and there upon the feed-dog 11 moves from left to right, thus forcing the first lift outwardly beneath the stop-fingers, and as soon as the first lift has been thus expelled the first stopfinger descends to the level of the table. The stack of lifts at once settles, so that the second lift now rests upon the table ready to be fed in its turn. To insure the comple so that they are inclined in at least those under the lift 6; and with the stop in the position shown in Fig. 8 the dog makes a slight forward movement, so as to engage the inner edge of the lift 5' as in Fig. 8, and thus prevent inward movement of the lift. The stop-fingers are at this time pressed yieldingly against the edge of the ift b, and the second-finger next advances, as in Fig. 9; and the first finger retreats and brings the parts to the position shown in Fig. 1. This retreating movement of the first finger is sufliciently extensive to insure that the finger'shall be moved clear of the margin of the lift,'no matter how thick the lift may be or how irregular in form. As soon as the first finger has so cleared the lift 6 both fingers are swung yieldingly in an inward (left-hand) direction, so as to bring the second finger into engagement with the edge of the lift 6 and bring-the first finger into position above the margin of the lift 6.. At this time the feed-dog 11 prevents movement of the lift 6, but the lift 0 is free to ield inwardly, so that if its edge is not su ciently retracted at this time beyond the edge of the first lift 5 it will be engaged and pressed inwardly by the first finger, during the combined retracting and inward movement of the finger. Accordingly, when the first finger next advances it infallibly en agesthe margin of the lift, and continues to advance until it has flattened the lift against the table, thus insuring both the proper feeding of the first lift and the retention of the second lift in the stack. V

It will be apparent that the function of the second stop-finger is to determine the position of the first finger while the latter is held clear of the lifts, as in Fig. 1. This the second finger does by its engagement 4 with 'the edge of the first lift, thus auto.-

matically holding the first finger in a position in which its advancing movement will cause it to engage the margin of the first lift but to clear the margin of the second lift.

The mechanisms by which the several mov ements above described are given to the parts will now be brieflydescribed. The

two stop- fingers 12 and 13 have shanks 33 and 34, respectively, which slide longitudinally in a carrier 35, the sliding movements corresponding to the advancing and retreating movements of the'iingers. The in and out movements of the fingers are produced by swinging the carrier, and for this purose it is supported, at its upper end, by a hub 36 (Figs. 1 and 2) which turns freely on a stud 37 mounted in an upright 38 constituting part of the frame of the machine. The swinging movements of the carrier are produced by a cam-mechanism,comprising a *cam 43 mounted on .a camshaft 29 'ournaled on the frame of the machine.

his shaft is rotated constantly byconnecgear 30 being shown on the shaft for this purpose. The cam 43 is engaged by a roller 42 on one arm 41 of a bell-crank1ever,which is pivoted on a fixed rod 25, and the other 'arm 40 of the lever is connected, by a link 39, with a stud 67 at the lower end of the carrier 35. The cam-mechanism imparts positive outward movements to the carrier and the fingers, while the inward movements are produced by the operation of a s ring 44, connected to the arm 41 and to the rame of the machine.

To produce the sliding movements of the shank ,33 and the finger 12 this shank is provided with a lug 55, to which the lower end of 'a slide-rod 56 is secured. The upper part of the rod slides freely in an arm 57 projecting upwardly from thehub 36.- A spring 58, compressed between the arm 57 and a collar 59 fixed on the rod 56, tends to move the parts downwardly, while movement in the opposite direction is produced by a rocking member .45, pivoted on the end of the stud 37. Thismember has an arm 60, which is bifurcated to clear the rod 56 and which engages the lower surface of the collar 59. The rocking member 45 is actuated by a link 47, connecting it with one arm 48 of a second bell-crank lever pivoted on the rod 25. The other arm 49 of the lever carries a cam-roller 50 which engages a cam 51 fixed on and actuatedby the camshaft 29. The cam-mechanism rocks the member 45 positively in a counter-clockwise direction, while movement in the opposite direction is produced by a spring 52 which is connected, at one end, with the pin 53 which pivots together the link 47 and the arm 48, the other end of the spring being fixed to a-pin 54 on the guideway 68.

,The rocking member 45 actuates the shank 34 of the stop-finger 13 through connections comprisinga lug 61 on the shank, a link 62 pivoted to the lug and provided, at its upper end, with a slot 63, and a pin 64 carried by an arm 65 on the rocking member, this pin engaging the slot 63. By these connections the shank 34 is raised positively during the last part of the counter-clockwise movement of the rocking member, when the pin 64, after traversing the slot 63, reaches the 'end of the slot and engages the link 62 positively. The movement of the shank 34 and the finger 13 in the opposite direction is produced by a spring 66, of which the upthis dog is mounted upon a lever '15 which is pivoted on a lug rising from a sleeve 16. .This sleeve slides horizontally on a rod fixed on the frame of the machine. A spring 18 normally presses the righthand arm of the lever -15-up-wardly, so as to bring the dog into operative position, this movement being limited by engagement ,of the left-hand arm of-the leverjwith the slee've,

as shown in Pig. 1, T he ob ect of this'arrangement is to permit the feed-dog, during its return. movement from right to liaft, to be depressed beneath the lowermost heellift in the stack, which is accomplished by a rocking movement of the lever 15, the lever being returned to operative position by the spring 18 as soon as the dog has passed its other arm 26 carries a cam-roller 27 which rests upon the periphery of a cam 28 mounted on the camshaft 29. The cammechanisrn moves the sleeve 16 positively from right to left, while movement in the opposite direction is produced by a spring 22 connected between the lever 19 and the'trame of the machine.

While the inclined position of the lower part of the stack of blanks tends, as has been stated, to secure the overlapping relation of the first and second blank which is essential to the operation of the stop-fingers, it will be apparent that thisiinclined position is not indispensable to successful operation, for the cotlperative action of the feed-dog and the stop-fingers upon the first and second blanks will, by itself, secure the necessary overlapping relation, even though these two blanks are, before such action, exactly alined. It should be understood, accordingly, that in the following claims the elipression means for holding a stack of blanks with the first and second blank in overlapping relation is not intended to designate a stack-holder in which the said blanks necessarily assume the overlapping position prior to the operation of the stop-fingers and feed-dog tl11' m,ll)llt is intended to designate any stack-holder in which the first and second blanks may as some, and be held and supported in, such position prior to the expulsion of the first blank from the stack.

The operation of the machine, as a whole, will be obvious from the foregoing description and need not be further described, but it may be pointed out that those movements of the stop-fingers which occur while the fingers engage the heel-lifts are produced by spring action and, while sufiicientlypositive to insure inormal operation, they are not menses powerful enough to cause injury to the machine in case any unusual obstruction is en countered, through defective operation or otherwise. In case, therefore, of any chok- I 119; of the blanks in the machine its operation is simply interrupted, and the trouble may be readily cured owing to the convenient access to all of the working parts.

While the feed mechanism above described is complete and operative as such, it

will be understood that its function is to a other forms within the nature of the inven- I tion as it is defined 1n the following claims.

What is claimed as new, is 5-: v

1. Feed-mechanism, having, in combination, means for holding a stack of blanks with the first and second blank in overlapping relation, and means for separating the first blank from the second and removing the first blank from the stack, the separating means operating automatically on the blanks by movement into and out of the angular space between the edge of one of the blanks and the adjacent marginal sur-' face of one of them which isexposed by reason of said overlapping.

2. Feed-mechanism, having, in combination, means for holding a stack of blanks with the first and second blank in overlapping relation; means for applying pressure to the projecting margin of the first blank,

to t -ttcn the material of the blank; mecha nism for moving said means into and out of operative position; and means for expelling the first blank from the stack While so flattened;

Feed-mechanism, having, in combination, means for holding a stack of blanks with the first blank in a position in which its margin projects beyond the second blank; a stop for engaging and retaining the second blank; means for moving the stop automatically into and out of a variable operative position determined by the thickness of the first blank; and means for expelling the first blank, in the direction of its projecting margin, while the second, blank is retained by the-stop.

4:. Feedmechanism, having, in combination, means for holding a stack of blanks with the first blank in a position in which its margin projects beyond the second blank; a stop normally sustained above and out of contact with the blanks; means foimovin I the stop into the angular space between sai margin of the first blank and the edge ofthe second blank; and means for expelling the first blank, in the direction of its projecting margin, while the second blank is retained by the stop.

5'. Feed-mechanism, having, in combination, means for holding a stack of blanks with the first blank in a position in which its margin projects beyond the second blank;'

astop; means for moving the stop into the angular space between said margin of the first blank and the edge of the second blank,

such movement being terminated by the engagement of the stop with the margin of one of said blanks; and means for expelling the first blank, in the direction of its projecting margin, while the second blank is retained positively by engagement of its edge with the stop.

6. Feedmechanism, having, in combination, means for holding a stack of blanks with the first blank in a position in which its margin projects beyond the second b'lankya stop for engaging and retaining the second blank; means for moving the stop first away from the blanks, then into engagement with I while the first blank is expelled; and means for moving the stop first away'from the blanks, then into engagement with the edge of the first blank, then into engagement with 'the projecting margin of the first-blank prior to the operation of the expelling means, and finally into the space previously occupied by the projecting margin of the first blank after the operation of the expelling means.

8. I*"eed-mechanism, having, in combination, means for holding a stack of blanks with the first 'blank in a position in which its margin projects beyond the second blank; a stop; means for moving the stop into engagement with the projecting edge of the first blank, and then inwardly, to move said blank to a predetermined position, and for then retracting the stop and moving it farther inward to bring it into the angnlar space between the margin of the first blank and theedge of the second blank, and then advancing it into yielding engagement with the margin of the first blank; and means for 65,

expelling the first blank, in the direction of its projecting edge, while the second blank is retained by the stop.

9. Feed-mechanism, having, in combination} means for-holding a stack of blanks with the first blankin a position in which its margin projects beyond the second "blank; means for expelling the first blank in the direction of its projecting margin; a stop for retaining the second blank while the first blank is expelled, said stop comprising two fingers; and means for moving the fingers alternatively to advanced and retracted positions, and for moving the fingers simultaneously in inward and outward directions.

10. Feed-mechanism, having, in combination, means for holding a stack of blanks with the first blank in a position in which its margin projects beyond the second blank; means for expelling the first blank in the direction of its projecting margin; a stop for retaining the second blank while the first blank is expelled, said stop comprising a first finger and a second finger; and means for moving the fingers both simultaneously and relatively, whereby the first finger is moved into the angular space between the margin of the first blank and the edge of the second blank While the second finger is held in engagement with the edge ofthe first blank to limit the inward movement of the first finger, andthe second finger is then retracted out of engagement with'the first blank to permit the blank to be expelled.

11. Feed-mechanism, having, in combination, a guideway for holding an upright stack of blanks, with the lowermost part of the stack inclined so that the margin of the first blank projects beyond the edge of the second blank; a pair of stopfingers'; a laterally movable carrier for supporting the fingers, the fingers being longitudinally movable in the carrier; and means for automatieally moving the fingers in the carrier, and moving the carrier laterally, to actuate the fingers in a predetermined cycle of operations. I

12. Feed-mechanism having, in combina-. tion, means for holding a stack of blanks with the first blank in a position in which its margin projects beyond the second blank; and means, for separating the first blank from the second blank and expelling it from the stack, including a' finger, and means for movin the finger inward into the angular space 'etween said margin of the first blank andthe edge ,of the second blank and then downward into engagement with said marginwithin said space.

13. Feed-mechanism having, in combination, means for holding a stack of blanks with the first blank in a position in which its 'from the second blank and expelling it from the stack, including a finger, and means for 'moving the finger first away from the blanks, then into engagement with the edge of the first blank, and then into engagement with the projecting margin of the first blank.

1,74. Feed-mechanism having, in combination, means for holding a stack of blanks; and means, for separating the first blank from the second blank and expelling it from the stack, including means for engaging the first blank only and arresting inward movement thereof a finger, and means for first pressing the nnger against the edge of the first blank to move it inwardly, then disengaging the finger from the first blank and moving it into engagement with and pressing it against the edge of the second blank, to move the latter inwardly beyond the first blank, and then pressing the finger against the overlapping margin of the first blank.

15. Feed-mechanism having, in combination, means for holding a stack of blanks;

means for arresting'inward movement of the first blank only 01 the stack; and means for pushing the second blank inwardly beyond the first blank and then entering the angular space between the edge of the second blank and the adjacent margin of the first blank and preventing outward movement of the second blank by engagement I with its edge.

.16. Feed-mechanism having, in combination, means for holding a stack of blanks; means for arresting inward movement of the first blank only of the stack; a finger; means for moving the finger yieldingly in an inward direction and first into the angular space between the edge of the second blank and the adjacent margin of the first blank, and then into engagement with said margin; and means, connected with the finger and adapted to engage the edge of the first blank, for limiting the inward movement of the finger and determiningthe point of its engagement with said margin of the first blank.

17. eed-mechanism having, in combination, means for holding a stack of blanks; means for arresting inward movement of the first blank only of the stack; and means for pushing the second blank inwardly beyond the first blank and for entering into and remaining in the angular space so produced, between the margin of the first blank and the edge of the second blank, during the expulsion of the first blank.

18. Feed-mechanism for separating superposed blanks and feeding them separately, having, in combination, means for support-' ing two superposed blanks, and means for relatively displacing the blanks to secure an overlapping relation and for entering the angular space, so produced, between the margin of one blank and the edge of the other to assist in separating the blanks, said means being guided into said space by yielding engagement with, and an inward movement over the edge of, one of the blanks.

19. Feed-mechanism having, in combination, a support on which a blank of sheet-.

material may rest; a holder for holding a stack of blanks on the support, the holder being inclined to the support so that the blanks therein tend to assume an overlapping relation; means for expelling the blank which engages the support by movement in the direction oi its projecting edge; a stop,

for preventing. the simultaneous expulsion of the second blank, having a square extremity; and means for moving said extremity l nto the angular space between the overlapping margin of the first blank and the adjacent edge of the second blank and for retaining it in said space during the expulsion of the first blank.

ERASTUS E. VVINKLEY.

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