US1291949A - Method and apparatus for shellacking timing-rings of shrapnel-fuses. - Google Patents

Description

E. B. LONG.

METHOD AND APPARATUS Foa SHELL/mmm; HMING RINGS or SHRAPNEL FusEs. APPLICATION FILED SE11'.19| 1916.

. Patented Jan. 21, 1919.

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METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SHELLACKING TIMING RINGS 0F SHRAPNEL FUSES.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. I9, I9I6.

1,291,949. Patented 131121, 1919.

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E. B. LONG.

METHOD AND APPARATUS FUR. SHELLACKING TIIVIING RINGS 0F SHRAPNEL FUSES,

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. I9. 15H6.

1,991,949. Patented 1111.211919.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3- E. B. LONG.

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SHELLACKING TIMING RINGS 0F SHHAPNEL FUSES.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. I9. 1916- 1,291,949. Patented Jan. 21,1919.

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A @Of/2% ELLIS B. LONG, OF MOUNT WASHINGTON, MARYLAND.

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SHELLACKING TIMING-RINGS 0F SHRAPNEL-FUSES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 21, 1919.

Application filed September 19, 1916. Serial No. 121,076.

To all 'whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, ELLIS B. LONG, a citizen of the United States of America, residing in Mount Washington, Baltimore county, Maryland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Methods and Apparatus for Shellacking Timing- Rings of Shrapnel-Fuses, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a method of and apparatus for shellacking timing rings for shrapnel fuses. The rings, as is, well known, have each a circular groove concentric with the axis of the ring. This groove is filled with powder which is Apressed hard and the metal and powder turned up to a flat surface. The powder surface of each ring is opposed to the metal surface of the .other with felt Washer interposed. A `hole is bored through the felt and the metal from the surface of the ring to the groove and this hole is filled with a powder pellet. The powder at the end of one groove is ignited by a primer which is exploded when the shell reaches a certain speed, usually at the muzzle of gun. .The powder in the ring burns at a predetermined rate until it reaches the hole in the next ring when the spark passes through to that ring. The powder in this ring burns until combustion is communicated to the explosive charge.

The rings are so mounted on the fuse body that they may be rotated relatively to each other and are marked with a graduation of units in either time or distance to indicate their relative position. The period between the time the shrapnel passes the muzzle of the gun and the instant it explodes is determined more or less accurately by the angular position of the rings which is indicated by the graduation.

To prevent absorption of water by the powder which has a hydroscopic tendency, the exposed flat surface of the powder is shellacked before the rings are taken out of the room wherey they are filled and turned,

the atmosphere within the room being kept very dry for this purpose. Then the rings are removed to another room of any convenient temperature and humidity, etc., and finished, the holes bored, etc., and another coat of shellac and a thin paper cover applied to the shellacked surface. Vhen the timing apparatus operates, particularly when the point of combustion passes from the groove of one ring to the groove of the next, it must pass through the coating of shellac at the registering points, and the thickness of the coating thus adects the timing of the shell. In order that this may be accurately predetermined, the coating must be as nearly as possible uniform; in fact, the shrapnel cannot be timed with any considerable degree of accuracy unless the shellac coating is uniform to a minute degree in all instances. The specifications allow from one to two thousandths of an inch variation in the thickness of the finished ring, but still greater accuracy than this is necessary in the shellac coating in order that the shrapnel may be accurately timed.

It is extremely difficult and costly to attempt to accomplish the laying of shellac with a suflicient degree of accuracy by hand or by any previously known apparatus but this application discloses a method and a machine for this purpose by which these rings are coated in large numbers with great rapidity and absolute accuracy as to the thickness of the coating.

The machine inthe embodiment to be described herein consists of a rotary table with a plurality of seats or apertures arranged in a circle concentric with the axis. Beneath the table isa pot or other receptacle for shellac and a belt on suitable pulleys, one of which is immediately beneath the path of the seats and the other of which is in the receptacle near the bottom of the shellac so that the belt is submerged in the shellac for two-thirds or three-fourths of its length, keeping the shellac on the belt dissolved and of uniform consistency.

As the belt emerges from the shellac, it passes between two parallel knife edges one of which scrapes the shellac from the side of the belt in contact with the rollers and the other of which is'spaced slightly from the outer surface of the belt leaving a thin but uniform coating. One of the rollers, preferably the upper one, is driven giving the belt a speed equal to that of the adjacent portion of the table and the parts are so spaced that the belt in passing over the upper roller comes in contact with each ring as it passes the roller and, the surface speed of the belt being equal to the speed at which the ring is traveling, there is no brushing or rubbing of one part over the other but the two parts meet in rolling contact and a uniform coating of shellac is deposited on each ring. Y

For convenience in handling vthe rings, there is an automatic device for feeding and afliXing them one at a time to the holders or clutches, and a device for disengaging them after they have been treated and carrying them out of the machine.

The method consists in maintaining a coating of shellac of uniform thickness and consistency on acoating member and applying this coating member by rolling contact and Without brushing or rubbing to the surface of the timing ring.

In the accompanying drawings, l have illustrated thev machine embodying my intention in s far as it relates to the apparatus. This machine also serves to illustrate the method of my invention.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a top plan ofthe machine;

Fig. 2 is an elevation;

Fig. 3 is another elevation taken at right angles to Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a plan and Fig. a vertical section on the line', 5 of Fig. 4, showing the feeding apparatus;

Figs. 6 and 7 are elevations of the take-oftl apparatus, one looking outward in the direction of the radius and the other taken parallel to the radius of the table;

Fig. S shows a carrier plug; and

Fig. 9 is a section on the line 9, 9 of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings by numerals, each of which is used to indicate the same or similar parts in the different figures, the machine shown consists of a rotary table 1, pro vided with a plurality of carriers 2 for the rings,la pot or container 3 for shellac, a belt 4 dipping1 in the shellac for approximately two-thirds, three-fourths or more of its length, and mounted on pulleys 5 in the shellac pot near the bottom and 6 beneath the path of the carriers and in contactwith the carrier ring 2, with means for drivingl the table and the belt so that the surface speed at the adjacent points is equal or means for adjusting the speed of each, andV means for scraping the shellac from the inside ofthe belt and equalizing the coating deposited on the outside of the belt.

ln the form of the invention shown, the driving means consists of a motor 7 on the shaft of which is a pulley 3 driving a belt 9 which in turn drives a pulley 10 on the main shaft 11 to which-are keyed a pair of disks 12 and 13 mounted to slide along the shaft and thrust yapart by a spring 14. rlhese disks are flatV as to their outer faces, e., the faces which are remote from each other and Vengaged as to these faces by friction rollers or pulleys 15 and 16, each mounted on a shaft 17, 18 parallel Vte the flat surfaces ofthe disks 12 and 13 and transverse to the shaft shafts 19 and 2O` mounted in suitable bear- 70 Vingsl beneath the table, each carrying a disk 21, 22 having a flat surface engaged by the adjacent friction roller or pulley 15, 16. The two disks 12 and 13 being on the same shaft rotate in the same direction; the friction pulley and the rollers 15 and 16 being on opposite sides of the disks 12 and 13 rotate oppositely and as they in turn engage respectively the opposed faces of the disks 21 and 22, these disks are rotated in the same direction. The disk 21 drives a pulley 23 and the disk 22 drives a pulley 24y carried on a shaft 20. rhe pulley 23 in turn drives by means of a belt 23', a pulley 25 carrying the pulley 6 which drivesv the belt 4. The pulley 24 drives a pulley 27 by means of a belt 28, the shaft 29 of the pulley 27 being vertical, while v the shaft is horizontal, these pulleys being grooved to provide for the guidance of the belt. The shaft 29 carries a pulley 30 over which passes a belt 31 which, as shown, engages a peripheral groove in the table so that motion is imparted simultaneously to the table 1 and the belt 4, the y speed cf each being approximately equaland Q5 adjustable by sliding the friction rollers 15 and 16 toward and from the centers. of the pulleys 12, 21 and 13, 22, to'bring the speed of the belt and the rings carried by the table as hereinafter described to absolute equality.

The carriers 2 as shown in detail inFig. 8, are formed with a view tothe poss1b1hty Vof resort-ing to hand feed and take 0H in case the automatic'feed or take olf is not I available. To this end, the table contains a plurality of circular apertures 32 arranged in a circle concentric with the axis and equally spaced. The plugs or carriers 2 are made of corresponding diameter to fitthe aperture with a tapered or conical portion 33 to provide for convenience in inserting the plug in the aperture. At the upper end is a shoulder 34 to position the plug and prevent it from dropping throughV and at the Vtop is a knob 35 as a handle. The rings are 115 held by means vof a pluralityV of, in the present instance three, depending arms 36 arranged to swing in a radial plane of the plug about pivots 37 at their upper ends, each arm being provided with a suitable spring 38 which tends to swing the lower end outward and the swinging arms are shouldered at their lower ends at 39 forming fingers 40 having an upwardly and inwardly inclined surface 41 terminating at the bottom' in a 125 curve 42. The outer or normal position of the arms is determined by a stop surface or shoulder 43 in the radial slots 44 in the plug in which they are pivoted. In this position of the arms, the surfaces 41 are located in 130 `concentrically with the plug,

a circle concentric with the plug and slightly greater in diameter than the openings in the rings so that when a ring is located and is forced upward, the arms are pressed inward permitting the rings to pass over them when they again spring slightly outward owing to the inclined surfaces 41 and the rings are gripped by the action of the springs. The rings are Valways handled flat side, z'. e. powder side down, when being shellacked.

In hand feeding, each plug is withdrawn, a ring is placed on the gripper armsnthe plug is reseated, the table rotates and brings it in contact with the shellac belt, the plug is then again withdrawn, the ring unseated, a new one supplied, and the operation repeated.

To economize labor and attain greater speed of operation, an automatic feed 46 and take-oil: 47 have been provided. The former is illustrated in Figs. 2, 4 and 5 and the latter in Figs. 3, 6 and 7. The feed 46 consists of an inclined chute 48 to which the rings are fed flat side down by any suitable means as a conveyer belt or the like. The timingrings 49 preferably slide down the chute in a continuous line, being released one at a time by the detent 50 pivoted on a transverse pivot 51 beneath the chute and having four fingers 52 swinging about the pivot on a lever 53, the fingers being in pairs equally spaced on each side of the pivot and sufliciently spaced to admit a ring between them. These ngers register with apertures V54 in the chute and are controlled by an arm 55 projecting inward over the tab-le into the path of cams 56 carried on the circumference of the table. The lever is raised by each cam and drops by gravity between the cams. When the lever drops,

the lower fingers 52 are withdrawn from the i chute and the upper ones inserted so that the bottom -ring of the line having been arrested by the lower fingers 52 is released and the line is held by the upper fingers inserted in front of the next ring. When the lever 55 encounters the next cam and is raised, the detent is rocked and the upper fingers are withdrawn releasing the line which slides downward until the bottom ring is arrested by the lower fingers which are advanced, the parts being then as shown in Fig. 5. In this way, the rings are released one at a time and permitted to slide down to the lower end of the chute where they are positioned by the end stop 57 and the V stop 58. The former extending directly across the path of the rings, arrests each one as it advances and the ring then slides to the left in Fig. 2 into contact with the V, due to the lateral inclination of this portion 59 of the chute in the corresponding direction as indicated in the same figure. This brings the ring into the position illustrated in Figs. 2, 4 and 5. 1n Fig. 2, it is apparent that the ring lying on the inclined portion of the chute is tipped so that its upper edge projects into the path of the fingers 40 of the carrying mechanism which is advancing to the right as seen in Fig. 2. The ring is thus engaged and carried on to the high part of the chute at 60, forcing the ring over the gripper fingers `and causing it to become engaged thereby in the same manner as if pressed against them by hand.

.After each ring has passed the coating mechanism it comes in contact with the take-off hook 47 in the form of a plate having its upper portion so curved that it enters between the conical incline 61 of the ring and the bottom surface 62 of the carrier and the advanceof the table causes the bend of the hook to act upon the ring in the manner of a wedge, releasing it from the grip of the fingers. Directly in the rear of each hook in the direction of motion of the carriers, is an upright plate 63 shown as having a shallow V 64 cut in its surface and directly in alinement with the centers of the rings and carriers. This plate is so placed and so formed that the circumferential edges of each ring in turn as it drops are engaged by the V, the incline of the plate forming the V serving to prevent contact with the shellacked surface. The two points engaged are at the rear side, still considered from the direction of traverse of the carriage, of the center of the ring so that it is tipped forward and inverted as illustrated in Fig. 3 and in inverted position lands on the incline 65 leading downward and backward from the bend of the hook, the incline being sufficient to cause the rings to slide downward into a suitable receptacle.

1 have thus described my invention specifcally and indetail in order that its nature and operation may be fully understood; however the specific terms herein are used descriptively rather than in their limiting sense and the scope of the invention is defined in the claims.

I claim- 1. A method of applying a uniform coating of shellac to a timing ring for shrapnel fuses which consists in moving the rings at a predetermined. speed on a fixed path, dipping shellac from a supply at a uniform rate and bringing it into rolling contact with the surface of each timing ring-in succession without brushing or rubbing of the material relatively to the ring, the material being carried during the contact at a rate equal to that at which the timing rings are moving, and reimmersing the unused portion of shellac dipped from the supply with suilicient frequency to maintain it in liquid condition.

2. 1n a machine for coating timing rings for shrapnel fuses, means for positively engaging the rings and moving them on a fixed predetermined path at a predetermined speed', a receptacle for liquid shellac, a belt dipping in the coating' material with a pulley over whichr the belt is passed immediately adjacent the path of the timing rings so that the belt is brought intocontact with the timing rings as they pass, means for moving the belt at a speed equal to the speed of the timing rings and in the same direction, and means for equalizing the coating of shellac on the belt.

, 3. In a machine for coating timing rings for shrapnel fuses, means for positively engaging the ringsfrom above and moving them in a xed path at a predetermined speed, arre'ceptacle for liquid shellac, a belt dipping in the shellac for the greater portion of its length with a pulley over which the belt is passed immediately adjacent the path vof the timing rings so that the belt is brought intocontact with the faces of the timing rings as they pass, means for moving the belt at a speed equal to the speed of the timing rings and in the same direction, and means for equalizing the coating of shellac on the belt.

4. In a machine for coating timing rings lfor shrapnel fuses, means for positively engaging the rings and moving them on a -fiXed path at a predetermined speed, the surface to be coated being parallel to the plane of motion, a receptacle for shellac, a belt 'dipping in the shellac for the greater portion of its length with a pulley over which the vbelt is passed `immediately adJacent the ypath of the timing rings so that the belt is brought into contact with the timing rings as they pass, means for moving the belt at a speed equal to the speed of the timing rings and in the same direction, and means for equalizing the coating of shellac on the belt.

' 5*. In a machine for coating timing rings for shrapnel fuses, means for positively en-V gaging the rings and moving` them on a fixed path at a predetermined speed, a receptacle for shellac, a belt dipping in the shellac for the greater portion of its length with a pulley over which the belt is passed immedilately beneath 'the path of the timingrings so that the belt is brought into contact with the timing` rings as 'they pass, means for moving the belt at a speed equal to the speed of the vtiming rings and in the same direction, means for equalizing the coating of shellac on the outside of the belt, and means for cleaning the shellac from the inside of thebelt where it comes in contact withl the pulleys.

6. `In a machine for shellacking timing rings for shrapnel fuses, a rotary table with a. series of apertures arranged in a circle concentric with the aXis of the table, carrier plugs for the rings fitting the apertures,

yeach having a plurality of arm's'moun'ted to swing toward and from each other, means tending to swing4 each arm away r,from the others, the ends of the arms being fori'ned to receive and grip Athe rings, a reservoir Y of shellac and means in thepath offthe rings for carrying themshella'c fromV the reservoir and applying it to the` exposedv surface of each ring.

7. In a machine for shellacking timing rings for shrapnel fuses, means for presenting shellac, a plurality of means for engaging the rings and moving them in a fixed path past the presenting means, each consisting of a plurality of gripper arms, means tending to spread the arms,^a feeding mechanism consisting of a chute the upper portion of which is inclined in the direction of a its length and the lower portion of which is directly beneath the path' of the "engaging means, and inclined upward in the direction of the motion of the rings so that one side 'of each ring fed is brought into the path of the arms causing-they` ring to be carried forward by the gripper arms going up the lateral incline, forcing the ring lover the gripper arms, and a detent engaging the rings as they are fed whereby they are presentedone at a time.

8. In a machine for shella'cking timing ringsfor shrapnel fuses, means for presenting shellac, a plurality of means for engaging the rings and moving them lin a fixed path past the presenting means, each consisting of' a plurality of gripperarms, means tending to` spread the arms, a feeding mecha* msm consisting of a chute the upper` portion of which is inclinedv in the'direction of its length and the lower portion of which is directly beneath the path of the engaging means and inclined upward in the direction of motion of the rings so that one side of each ring fed is brought Vinto the path of the arms causing the ring to be carried forward by the gripper arms going up Vthe lateral incline, forcing the ring over the gripper arms, and a detent engaging the rings as they are fed whereby they are presented one at a time, the moving member carrying the rings also carrying means for operating the detent. Y

9. In a machine for shellacking timing rings, depending means for gripping the rings and carrying them forward with the faces downward, shellacking means for engaging them from below as they advance, and means for removing the timing rings from the gripping .means consisting of a hook beneath the gripping means which serves to disengage the rings as they pass 'and an upright member transverse to the path of the rings having a depressed central portion to engage the edges of the rings in the rear of the Vcenter as they drop 'and turningv them over so that they fall on the dry as distinguished from the shellacked side.

10. In a machine for coating timing rings of shiapnel fuses, means for positively engag-ing the rings and moving them on a fixed predetermined path at a predetermined speed, a receptacle for liquid coating material, a carrier dipping into the coating material and moving on a fixed path immediately adjacent the path of the timing rings so that the carrier is brought into contact with the timing rings as they pass, the carrier moving at a surface speed equal to the speed of the timing` rings and in the same direction, and means for equalizing the coatingmaterial on the carrier.

Signed by me at Mount Washington, Baltimore oounty, Maryland, this 16th day of September 1916.

ELLIS B. LONG.

Witnesses CHAS. B. ENsoR, N. EDWARD KIRK.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, 1D. C.

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