US1376798A

US1376798A - Can emptying and flattening machine

Info

Publication number: US1376798A
Authority: US
Publication date: 1921-05-03
Anticipated expiration: 1938-05-03

Description

F. 1. COURTNEY.

CAN EMPTYINGAND FLATTENING MACHINE.

APPLICATI ON FILED NOV. 4, I919.

Patented May 3, 1921.

5 SHEETS-SHEET I.

ATTORNEY F. J. COURTNEY.-

CAN EMPTYING AND FLATTENING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 4, 1919.

Patented May 3, 1921.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 2 INVENTOR from/f d. ourfney ATTORNEY F. J. COURTNEY.

CAN EMPTYING. AND FLATTENING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 4. I919.

Patented May 3, 1921.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

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n n m vn fl l l n A A I D D A wlllll A R on $0 INVENTOR flan/f J. Loaf/0 a ATTORNEY F J COURTNEY CAN EMPTYING AND FLATTENING MACHINE.

APPLICATLON FILED NOV. 4, 1919 INVENTOR flan/f d. oar/06y W ATTORN EY F. J. COURTNEY.

CAN EMPTYING AND FLATTENING MACHINE.

APPLICATION F ILED NOV. 4, 1919.

Patented May 1921.

' 5 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

INVENTOR (iv/2K J. buff/2g ATTORNEY UNITED STATES FRANK J. COURTNEY, OF SEATTLE, WASHINGTON.

CAN EMPTYING AND FLATTENING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 3, 1921.

Application filed November 4, 1919. Serial No. 335,582

To all whomit may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK J. COURTNEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Seattle, in the county of King and State of lV-ashington, have invented a certain new and useful Can Emptying and Flattening Machine, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to the art of can emptying and can flattening machinery, and more particularly to machinery designed to cut a rectangular metallic can on its end or ends so as to empty the said can and to fold said can into a flat form.

The can flattening and emptying devices as heretofore designed have not made efficient and suitable provision either for the smooth cutting of the edges of the can' so as to avoid distorting said edges or for the prompt or quick emptying of said cans after said edges are cut, said emptying not being subject to control so as to prevent objectionable splashing about of the liquid contents. Moreover if the edges, of the end of a can are jammed or distorted, such devices as heretofore designed have not been adapted to operate upon said cans.

The objectof my invention is to provide a device which will cut the end of a rectangular can on three sides in a smooth or clean cut manner, control the emptying of said can by subjecting the contents to a suction force while said contents are being removed from the can so that the contents are not splashed about, and which will fold, flatten, trim, and count said cans. Furthermore, another pri mary object of my invention is to provide an improved cutter, having a continuous cutting edge and also an improved cutter having a continuous cutting edge and trimming means designed to operate on cans whose edges are distorted or jammed.

The above general objects of my invention, together with others inherent in the same are obtained by the mechanism illustrated in the following drawings, the same being merely a preferred exemplary form of embodiment of my invention throughout which drawings like reference numerals indicate like parts:

Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of a device embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a View of one end in elevation of said device;

Fig.3 is a View of the opposite end in elevation of said device;

Fig. 4 is a plan view on broken line 4, 4 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view on

broken line

5, 5 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is a View of a modified form of the upper portion of my device having trimmer knives disposed above the flattening rollers;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view of the box-cutter;

Fig. 8 is a top view of the box cutter;

Fig. 9 is an end view of a rectangular can with the three edges cut and ready to have said end folded inwardly:

Fig. 10 is a perspective view of a can with the two ends cut and partly folded in toward one side;

Fig. 11 is a perspective view of a can with the ends folded back against one side as placed by the roller pushers;

Fig. 12 is a view of a can after being completely folded, and

Fig. 13 is a view of a modified form of a cutter embodying my invention.

Two

members

14 and 15 form a guideway in which each box-cutter l6 and 17, consisting of the knife 18 and the box part 19, may move back and forth, said

members

14 and 15 having midway of their length an opening 20 and 21 in which are pivotally mounted crushing

members

22 and 23. (Figs. 1 and 5.) These members do not meet along thelr lower edges-so that an opening 24 is provided through which the liquid contents of the can to be emptied may escape, and they also have perforations 25 for the same purpose. The

members

14 and 15 are supported by the frame part 26 at each end of the machine. The said frame part 26 supports under said box-cutters 16 and 17 a wheel 27 having cams 28and 29 which serve to actuate rods 30 and 31 which have roller bearings pivotally connected to the rods 46 and 47 which are in turn pivotally connected to the box-cutters. 16 and 17 so that said cutters may be caused to move forward and back ward.

A chute 48 serves to conduct the full cans 96, which are to be operated upon, to the crushing

members

22 and 23, and the tripper 49, Fig. 5' with its finger 50 disposed to engage a cam hereinafter described and its retracting spring 51 serves to feed the cans to the machine periodicall one by one. A counting mechanism 52 with its trigger 53 serves to register the number of cans fed to the machine. A conveyer 54, Fig. 2 carries the cans 96 to chute 48. Flattening rollers 55, preferably armed with sharp gripping teeth at their ends, are positioned above the crushing

members

22 and 23 and serve to complete the collapsing operation so that the walls of the can 96 are pressed tight against each other. The said rollers 55 also serve to remove the can 96 from the said crushing-members. The deflector 56 directs the folded can 96 away from the machine. On the outside of each of the crushing

members

22 and 23 is formed a

curved wing

57 and 58 against which is caused to bear periodically cams 59 and 60 respectively, said cams being mounted upon shafts 61 and 62, on the opposite extremity of which are fixed suitable gears 63 and 64 to actuate said cams whereby the crushing members may be moved forward after the ends of the can 96 are properly cut to partially flatten the can and push it upward so as to cause it to be gripped by the flattening rollers 55. Springs 65 and 66 retract the

crush ing members

22 and 23.

he box-cutters 16 and 17 (Figs. 6 and 7) are each provided with a three sided cutting edge, two of which sides are disposed at right angles to the other with a foremost point at 67 from which foremost point the cutting edge slopes evenly from said point to the

edges

68 and 69 and then evenly on each side 70 and 71 so that a continuous cutting edge is provided from the said point to the lateral edges of the side oppositely disposed to said point. Roller 72 disposed at the end of rod 73 provided with a spring 74 is preferably. caused to bear against that portion of the can nearest the uncut side 75. Where the cans to be flattened have but'one end to be cut obviously, one cutter only would be necessary.

Suitable power connection is afforded through pulley 76 secured to shaft 77 on the opposite end of which is the bevel gear 78 intermeshing with bevel gear 79 on shaft 80. Upon said shaft 80 there is mounted the wheel 27 with

itscams

28 and 29. Also, on shaft 77 is the sprocket wheel 81 over which a chain 82 passes to make connection with the small sprocket wheel 83, mounted on the end of one of the flattening rollers 55. Furthermore, on shaft 77 is mounted the gear 84 which meshes with gear 85 mounted upon shaft 61 'which in turn carries cam 59. Moreover, on shaft 61 is the gear 86 meshing with gear 87 which bears the sprocket wheel 88 over which a chain 89 passes to operate the conveyer 54.

In Fig. 6 is shown two rotary knives 90 and 91 mounted above the flattening rollers 55 disposed to trim the edges of the flattened can. These edges are usually irregular, having a large amount of solder adhering to them so that they must be removed, before the tin of, the can 96 can be reused. At the same time the said solder can be recovered and reused.

In the modified form of box cutter Fig. 13, I provide on the side which is to leave one side of the can uncut, two short cutting points 92 and 93 the outside edges 94 and 95 of which points lie in the same plane as do the sides 70 and 71. These cutting points 92 and 93 serve to true up the can 96 and partially cut the fourth side on its margins.

The mode of operation of my device is as follows: The

cams

28 and 29 are caused to bear against the bearings 32 and 33, thereby gradually forcing back the rods 30 and 31 so that the bottom part of the levers 36 and 37 is pushed outwardly, and the top part of said levers is forced inwardly, thereby actuating the boX-cutters 16 and 17 in the operation of cutting against the ends of a can in the trough. The form of the

cams

28 and 29, it will be observed, is such that they will cause the said box-cutters to move slowly while actually cutting the ends of the can, but while doing this the cams are working against the

springs

34 and 35. By thus causing the force utilized in actuating the cutters to be opposed I produce a steady, even force which co6perates with my new form of cutter to produce a smooth clean cut edge at the end of the can. When the bearings 32 and 33 have reached the end' of the curved surface of the cams, obviously the rods 30 and 31 will be urged by the

springs

34 and 35 with great force toward the center of the wheel 27 and, then as the wheel 27 turns, the said cams will slowly force them outward again as a new can is to be operated upon. When the springs force the rods 30 and 31 inwardly they jerk the box-cutters 16 and 17 away from the end of the can'and thereby create a suction v on the liquid contents of the can which removes the contents with force and yet does not cause or allow the said contents to be unduly splashed about. A small hole 97 in the end 'of the box-cutter is of suflicient size to allow the air withinthebox-like part of the cutter to escape as the cutter slowly enters the end of the can (slowly as compared. to the backward movement of the said cutter) but said hole is not so large as to prevent the creation of a suitable vacuum to induce the suction influence upon the rapid backward movement of the cutter. The liquid contents are thus quickly and promptly removed upon the completionof the cutting of the ends of the can, and allowed to pass down through the opening 24 to suitable collecting pans not shown. Vents 25 assist in letting the oil escape from the guideway and crushing members. So soon as the three sides of the can are entirely out, the spring operated rollers 72 push in the ends thereby assisting in emptying the liquid contents into the box portion 19 of the cutter and so soon as this phase of the operation is well under way, the box cutter is withdrawn inducing the suction above described. The operation of the knives is timed by the positioning of the

cams

28 and 29 so as to cause one end to be out just a little in advance of the other end so as to prevent the can ends meeting and being jammed against one another as they are folded inwardly. 'lhereupon, the

cams

59 and 60 press upwardly the crushing

members

22 and 23 which partially flatten the can and cotiperate with the suction force above described in emptying the can. Moreover, these said crushing members, in crushing the can cause it to extend upwardly so that the can comes into engagement with the flattening rollers 55. These rollers complete the flattening of the can and also serve to remove the can from the crushing

members

22 and 23. When the edge trimming knives 90 and 91 are provided, Fig. 13, the said rollers 55 further serve to force the can through said knives whereby the irregular edges are removed leaving a smooth edged plate of tin ready for baling. The speed of the rollers 55 is such that the flattened can is ejected withforce striking deflector 56 so as to fall away from the machine on a conveyer.

After the crushing

members

22 and 23 have delivered the can to the flattening rollers 55, the springs 65 and 66 cause the said members to resume their inactive position in the

openings

20 and 21. As the cam 59 turns it engages the finger 50 of the tripper l9, which allows another full can to slide down upon the crushing

members

22 and 23 to be in turn out and emptied. The spring 51 causes the tripper 4:9 to catch the next can and hold it until the cam 59 reengages the finger 50. The counting mechanism 52 is positioned where it registers the cans in the last position before being operated upon.

By providing the box-part 19 of the cutter with the continuous cutting edge sloping evenly from the point 67 to the sideopposite, I further provide an improved cutter that makes a smooth, clean cut edge and is particularly efficient conjunction with the suction control of the contents provided during the act of emptying the cans by the boxpart of the cutter. In the modified and preferred form of cutter, Fig. 13 the cutting Joints 92 and 93 function in conjunction with the other portions of the cutting edge as a truing die, so that the edges of the ends of the .can are caused to be straightened.

Obviously, changes may be made in the form, dimensions, and arrangements of the parts of my invention without departing from the principles thereof, the above setting forth only a preferred form of embodiment.

I claim:

1. A machine for flattening rectangular cans embodying a three sided cutter disposed to move to and from a can to out said can on three sides, two crushing members normally assuming a V-shaped position to hold a rectangular can on edge while said cutter is operating, and means to cause said crushing members to close together whereby the can is flattened.

2. A machine for flattening rectangular cans embodying a three sided cutter disposed to move to and from a can to out said can on three sides, two crushing members normally assuming a V-shaped position to move to and from a can to out said can on' three sides, two crushing members normally assuming a V-shaped position to hold a rectangular canon edge while said cutter is operating, and means to cause said crushing members to close together whereby the can is flattened.

4. A machine for flattening rectangular cans embodying a box-cutter disposed to move to and from a can to out said can on three sides, two crushing members normally assuming a V-sha-ped position to hold a rectangular can on edge while said cutter is operating, means to cause said crushing members to close together whereby the can is partly flattened, and two flattening rollers disposed to receive the partially flattened can, draw said can up and complete the flattening operation.

5. A machine for flattening rectangular cans embodying a box-cutter disposed to move slowly toward a can to out said can on three sides and to withdraw quickly to create a suction on the contents of the can whereby said contents are quickly removed, two crushing members normally assuming a V- shaped position to hold a rectangular can on edge while said cutter in operating, and

means to cause said crushing members to close together whereby the can is flattened.

6. A machine for flattening rectangular cans embodying a box-cutter disposed to move slowly toward a can to out said can on three sides and to withdraw quickly to create a suction on the contents of the can whereby said contents are quickly removed, two crushing members normally assuming a V-shaped position to hold a rectangular can on edge while said cutter is operating, means to cause said crushing members. to close together whereby the can is partly flattened, and two flattening rollers disposed to receive the partially flattened can, drawsaid can up and complete the flattening operation.

7-. A machine for flattening rectangular cans embodying a three sided cutter which cutter has two continuous cutting edges, said cutter being disposed to move to and from a can to out said can on three sides, two crushing members normally'assuming a V-shaped position to hold a rectangular can on edge while said cutter is operating, and means to causesaid crushing members to close together whereby the can is flattened.

8. A machine for flattening rectangular cans embodying a three sided cutter which cutter has two continuous cutting edges, said cutter being disposed to move to and from a can to out said can on three sides, two

. crushing members normally assuming a V- shaped position to hold a rectangular can on edge while said cutter is operating, means to cause said crushing members to close together whereby the. can is partly flattened, and two flattening rollers disposedto receive the partially flattened can, draw said can up and com lete the flattening operation.

9. A mac ine for flattening rectangular cans, two box cutters each of which cutters has two continuous cuttingedges, said outters being disposed to move slowly while cutting said can on three'sides of each end and to withdraw quickly whereby is created a suction on the" contents of the can and whereby said contents are quickly removed,

two crushing members normally assuming a- V-shaped position to hold a rectangular can on edge while said cutter is operating, and

means to cause said crushing-members to close together whereby the can is flattened. 10. A machine for flattening rectangular cans, two box cutters each of which cutters has two continuous cutting edges, said outters being disposed to move slowly while cutting said can onthree sides of each end and to withdraw quickly whereby is created a suction on the contents of the can and whereby said contents are quickly removed,

t'wo crushing members normally assuming a- V-shaped osition to hold a rectangular can on edge w ile said cutter is operating, means to cause said crushing members to close together whereby the can is partly flattened, and two flattening rollers disposed to receive the partially flattened can, draw said can up and complete the flattening operation.

11. A machine for flattening rectangular cans embodying two three sided cutters each of which cutters has two continuous cutting edges, said cutters being disposed to move to' and from a can to out eachend of said can completely on three sides, a roller bearing against each of said can ends whereby said ends are forced inwardly, two crushing members normally assuming a V-shaped position to hold a rectangular can on edge while said cutter is operating, and means to cause said crushing members to close together whereby the can is flattened.

12. A machine for flattening rectangular cans embodying two three sided cutters each of which cutters has two continuous cutting edges, said cutters being disposed to move to and from a can to cut each end of said can completely on three sides, a roller bearing against each of said can endswhereby saidends are forced inwardly, twolcrushing members normally assuming a V-shaped position .to hold a rectangular can on edge while said cutter is operating, means to cause said crushing members to close to gether whereby the can is partly flattened, and two flattening rollers disposed to receive the partially flattened can, draw said can up and complete the flattening operation.

13. A machine for flattening rectangular cans embodying two three sided cutters each of which cutters has two continuous cutting edges, said cutters'being disposed to move to and from a can to out each end of said can completely on three sides, said cutter having two truing cutter points on the fourth side, a roller bearing against each of said can ends whereby said ends are forced inwardly, two crushing members normally assuming a V-shaped position to hold a rectangular can on edge while said cutter is operating, and means to cause said crushing members to close together whereby the can is flattened.

' 14. A machine for flattening rectangular cans embodying two three sided cutters each of which cutters has two continuous cutting edges, said cutters being disposed to move to and from a can to out each end of said can completely on three sides, said cutter having two truing cutter points on the fourth side, a roller bearing against each of said can ends whereby said ends are forced inwardly, two crushing members normally assuming a V-shaped position to hold a rectangular can on edge while said cutter is disposed to receive the partially flattened can, draw said can up and complete the flattening operation.

15. In combination with a can flattening machine, a box-cutter having a three sided cutting edge but said edge is formed sloping from a single point whereby is provided a cutter having in final effect two continuous cutting edges.

16. In combination with a can flattening machine, a box-cutter having a three sided cutting edge but said edge is formed sloping from a single point whereby is provided a cutter having in final effect two continuous cutting edges, and said cutter having two truing cutter points on the fourth side.

In Witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 30th day of October, A. D.

FRANK J. COURTNEY.