US1414820A - Thimble-decorating device - Google Patents

Description

F. J. KRISTOFEK.

THIMBLE DECORATING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC-8. 1919.

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Patented May 2, 19220 5 SHEETS-SHEET I. N m

F. J. KRISTOFEK.

THIMBLE DECORATING DEVICE.

APPLICATION, FILED DEC. 8. 1919.

Patentefl May 2, 119220 5 SHEETS-SHEET Z- xmam 4 F. J. KRISTOFEK.

THIMBLE DECORATING DEVICE. APPLICATION FILED 050.8, 919.

Patented May 2, 1922.

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fiz/rerifor F. J. KRISTOFEK.

THIMBLE DECORATING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 8, ms.

1,414,82Q0 Patented May 2, 1922.

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F. 1. KRISTOFEK.

THIMBLE DECORATING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC.8, 1919.

LA} @290 Patented May 2, 1922 5 SHEETSSHEET 5.

UNW'ED STARS PTEWE @FFEQE.

FRANK J. KRISTOFEK, OF ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA, ASSIGNOR TO BROWN & BIGELOW, OF ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA, A CORPORATION OF MINNESOTA.

THIMBLE-DECORATING DEVICE.

Application filed December 8, 1919.

T all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK J. KRIs'roFEK, a citizen of the United States, residing at St. Paul, in the county of Ramsey and State of Minnesota, have invented anew and useful Improvement in Thimble-Decorating Devices, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to means for decorating the outer portion of a surface with a band of enamel or paint and is particularly adapted to a thimble enameling or painting device. The invention is provided with means for evenly applying a coat of enamel or paint to the surface of a thimble in the form of a band to decorate the thimble with various colors and primarily to cause portions of the thimble to be more prominently displayed and made attractive to the eye than when it is not decorated.

In the manufacture of thimbles for advertising and display purposes it is desirable to print advertisements about the same and so as to make the advertisement more prominent and attractive to the eye it is most desirable to apply a coat of enamel about the advertising matter on the same to form a background for the display matter and thus cause the same to be more prominently displayed on the surface of the thimble. This invention is adapted to automatically apply a coat of enamel in the form of a band about the surface of the thimble and to automatically remove the thimble from the enameling or painting means, passing it through a drying means and automatically discharging the same dry and ready for the next operation in the finishing of the same.

An important feature of this invention is the means for applying an even coat of enamel or paint to the article to be decorated and to bake the same onto the applied sur face before it has time to run or accumulate in a thicker deposit on the surface of the article decorated by the device. Further if the enamel or paint becomes too thick on portions of the surface being enameled it is apt to peel off during'the finishing opera tion, which consists in removing the enamel on the surface of the display together with a slight portion of the surface to disclose the natural color of the article which is decorated. This is particularly true with em bossed surfaces forming the display on athimble and the enamel or paint forming a Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 2, 1922.

Serial No. 343,238.

background for the same which readily increases the attraction of the display.

In the drawings forming part of this specification: Figure 1 is a side elevation of the enamel-' mg or decorating device and drying means.

Figure 2 is a plan view of the enamel applying mechanism of the device and a portion of the carrying belt associated therewith, the remainder of the device being broken away. i

Figure 3 is a front elevation of the mechanism illustrated in Figure 2, a portion of which is broken away.

Figure 4 is a detail of a portion of the enamel applying mechanism, part of which is broken away.

Figure 5 is a detail partly illustrated in cross section, illustrating the operating head of the enamel applying mechanism.

Figure 6 is a rear view of the operating head of the enamel applying mechanism, illustrating a portion of the operating parts.

Figure 7 is a side elevation of a thimble, a portion of which is illustrated in cross section.

Figure 8 illustrates an alternative construction of enamel applying mechanism, av portion of which is broken away.

The drawing illustrate the decorating device A. which is provided with an automatic decorating mechanism B and a drying or baking mechanism C, while the decorated articles are deposited automatically into a suitable receptacle D at the rear end of the decorating device A.

The automatic decorating mechanism B is composed of. a rotatable operating head 10, which is mounted and freely rotatable on the shaft 11. The shaft 11 is supported in the journal 12 and held in position therein by the nut- 13 while the journal 12 is formed with a downwardly depending bracket arm 14 and is adjustably connected by means of the bolts 15 to the horizontally disposed arm 16 of the support 17. The support 17 is connected by the bolts 18 to the table 19 and is adapted to hold the parts connected thereto elevated or positioned above the table 19- in a suitable manner. The table 19 is supported by suitable legs 20 to position the mechanism above the floor.

The rotatable head 10 of the decorating ating head 10 on the inwardly extending hollow shank 22, which extends through the body of the head 10 and flush with the back surface of the same, suitable oil holes 23 being provided to lubricate the shank 22 so that it will rotate freely. The inner portion of the head 10 is cut away to form a recess 24 which connects with the peripheral recess 25 to each of the mandrels 21. The drive pinion 26 is rigidly attached to the shank 22 ot the mandrel 21 by the screw 27 and holds the mandrel 21 in position in the head 10.

Each mandrel 21 is provided with an axially positioned ejecting shaft 28, which extends through the mandrel and which is heldin inner position by means of a coil spring 29 that engages the collar 30 formed on the shaft 28, the spring 29 and collar 30 being positioned in the recess 31 formed in the head of the mandrel 21. and held in position therein by the hollow cap 32, which is rigidly connected to the forward end o1 the mandrel 21 by suitable means. The ejecting shaft 28 is formed with a shoulder or head 33, which engages against the cap 32 when the ejecting shaft is in inner position in the mandrel 21.

The operating head 10 is formed with a series of notches 34 on its forward snr't'are corresponding in number to the mandrels 21 so that there is a notch 34 for each mandrel, the spring catch 35, which is positioned in the journal 12, engaging in the notches 34 to assist in holding the operating head 10 against rotation during a certain period of its operation, the purpose of which will be hereinafter described. The operating head 10 is rotated a step at a time, by an oper ating arm 36, one end of which is pivotally and adjustably connected at 37 to the lever 38 and the lever 38 is pivotally held to the inner end of the shaft 11 by means of the cap screw 39, the cap screw 39 and lever 38 assisting in holding the operating head 10 in position on the shaft 11. Ratchet teeth 40 are formed on the inner surface of a boss projecting from the back of the operating head 10 and are engaged by the operating ratchet pawl 41, which is held in engaging position by a suitable spring 42 so that when the lever 36 is operated the head 10 will be rotated in the direction of thearrow illustrated in Figure 6 a degree at a time or the distance equal to that between each of the mandrels 21 on the head 10.

The lever 36 is connected to an operating arm 43, which is operated by the shaft 44 mounted onthe table 19 in suitable bearings and rotated by the drive chain 45, which connects the shaft 44 with the parallel shaft 46. The shaft 46 is operated by the drive Chain 47, which connects the shaft 46 with the parallel shaft 48, while the shaft 48 is operated by suitable worm gears 49 from the 'the connected mandrel 21.

main drive belt 50. The drive belt 50 is connectedto any suitable source of power, such as an electric motor or other driving means and drives the entire operating mechanism of the device A.

The shaft 46 projects into the recess 24 in the operatinghead 10 and carries a driving pinion 51 on its forward end, which is formed with pointed teeth that are adapted to mesh with similar teeth on the pinions 26 to rotate the mandrels 21 when the head 10 is moved by the operating arm 36 so that the pinions 26 mesh with the pinion 51.

The ejecting shafts 28 project a short distance out of the back of the operating head 10 and are engaged by the book 52, which is pivotally held on the bracket 53 and held in position by the coil spring 54 to assist in holding the head 10 against rotation while the driving pinion 51 is in mesh with one of the pinions 26 to cause the mandrel 21 connected to the meshing pinion to be rotated while the head 10 is held stationary against rotation for a short period. The arm 43, together with the adjustment of the pivot point 37, is regulated so as to move or rotate the head 10 the distance equal to the space between each of the mandrels 21 once in every revolution of the shaft 44,' 95

allowing the head 10 to remain stationary during a portion of the revolution of the shaft 44. At the time in which the head 16 remains stationary, the pinion 51 is mesh ing with one of the pinions 26 and rotating The hook 52 assists the spring catch 35 to hold the head 10 stationary for a short period during the operation of the device A but both of the catches 35 and 52 are free to be automatically released from the notches 34 and the rear end of the shaft 28, respectively, when the ratchet lever 38 is operated to rotate the head 10.

- An enamel or paint applying Wheel 56 is secured to the shaft 57, which is journaled in the bracket 58. The bracket 58 extends downwardly and is secured to the arm 59, which holds the bracket 58 in position above the table 19. The bracket 58 is connected by the arm 59 to the member 60 so as to rigidly support the shaft 57 with the wheel 56 at an angle to the mandrels 21. The mandels 21 are formed trustuma'l' conical in shape and are adapted to support articles such as the ordinary thimble E used in sewing, which is also frustumal conical shaped. It is important that the wheel 56 engage against, the surface of the thimble or article held on the mandrels 21 squarely and at a tangent to the surface of the same and it is for this reason'that the shaft 57 is positioned at a slight angle in relation to the axis of the mandrels 21. The shaft 57 is connected by a suitable universal joint 61 to a drive shaft 62, which is journaled in a suitable bearing 63, the bearing 63 being supported by the U shaped bracket 64, which is secured to the bracket 58 in a suitable manner. The shaft 62 extends parallel with the shaft 48 and is driven by a suitable belt 65 which connects the shafts 48 and 62 so as to drive the shaft 57 in unison with the mandrel 21, whose pinion 26 is meshing with the drive pinion 51 and at the same speed of rotation. In this manner the enamel applying wheel 56 is rotated in unison with the rotation of the mandrels 21 when they are-operated by the pinions 51 so that when a thimble E or other article, is supported by the mandrel and brought into position to be enameled or painted by the wheel 56, the enamel or paint is applied to the article, with an even coat of enamel or paint and is then moved on so that the next mandrel will bring a new article into contact with the applying wheel 56.

A guide 66 is pivoted at 67 to the arm 68, the arm 68 being held by'the nut 13 to the shaft 11 and the guide 66 being engaged and held in position by the spring 69 to resiliently engage the articles held on the mandrels 21, such as the thimbles E. In this manner the guide 66 will tend to force the articles onto the mandrels 21 and to hold them in position so as to insure against the articles becoming disengaged from the mandrels 21 while they are in engagement with the applying wheel 56.

The applying wheel 56 is formed with a central annular groove in its face, while the side projecting flanges engage against the article to which enamel or paint is being applied, the central annular groove being for the purpose of not engaging with any embossed surface formed on the thimbles E, such as printed matter or other advertising display. The surface of. the applying wheel 56 dips into a trough 70 which is connected with the enamel or paint supply container 71. By struction the trough 70 is kept partially filled by the supply tank 71 to cover a surface of the applying wheel the applying wheel is rotated the enamel or paint is carried about its surface and caused to be applied in an even coat on any articles carried by the mandrels 21 and brought into position to contact with the applying wheel.

A suitable guard 72, having a forward recessed end which fits over the outer surface and sides of the applying wheel 56, is adjustably held in the bracket 73 and is adapted tobe operated by the screw 74, which is swivelly connected to the rear end of the guard to cause the guard to be moved toward or away from the surface and sides of the applying wheel 56. The guard 72 regulates the amount of enamel or paint to be carried by adjusting this guard the coat or amount apa suitable ordinary con-- 56 and thus when,

the applying wheel 56. By-

In the operation of the device A the head 10 is rotated a step at a time and thimbles, such as E, or other articles are slipped onto the mandrels 21 so that they are carried to-.

ward the applying or enameling wheel 56. After the articles or thimbles have been enameled they are carried downward by the operating head 10 to the other side of the same and are removed automatically by'the removing mechanism F. The mechanism F is composed of the engaging fingers 75, which are pivotally connected together at 76 at which point they are also connected to the operating arm 77. The engaging ends of the fingers are formed with a recess 78 in which the thimble E or other article being removed from the mandrel is adapted to fit so as to be held by the fingers. The fingers 75 are formed to cross each other at their pivot point 76 and are formed with rear ends 79 which when operated tend to open or close the fingers 75 as the pivot point 76 acts as the fulcrum lever action of the fingers.- he ends 79 are formed with a transversely.extending opening through which a coil spring 80 extends and the ends of which are engaged by the pins 81 to cause the coil spring 80 to draw the ends 79 normally together. The fingers 75 are secured to a member 82 at their pivot point 76 onthe opposite side of the fingers to the connection of the lever 77 and the member 82 carries a guide roller 83, which operates in the cam slot 84 in the vertically disposed cam plate 85.

The operating lever-7 7 is connected to the shaft 86 which is held in suitable bearings to the table 19 and the shaft 86 is connected by the levers 87, 88 and 89 to the shaft 90, while the shaft 90 is connected by suitable beveled gears 91 with the operating shaft 44. The operating arm 88 extends below the operating head 10 and when the device A is in operation and the shaft 44 is being operated, the connecting levers will operate the shaft 88 to reciprocate the same and cause theguide roller 83 to move back and forth inthe cam slot 84 to cause the fingers 75 to be moved into position to engage the mandrel 21' at a time whenthe operating head 10 is at rest and when the applying wheel 56 is applying a coat of enamel or paint to an article on the mandrel adjacent the wheel. The spring 80 allows the fingers 75 to expand sufiiciently to keep the thimble. on the mandrel 21 while the end 55 of the ejection shaft 28 in the mandrel 21' has been engaged by the cam arm 92 to force the head 33 of the -ejecting shaft 28 against the inner surface of the thimble point in the on the mandrel 21 to loosen the same from the mandrel at the same time that the fin gers 75 engage the thimble and thus allow the fingers 75 to easily remove the thimble on the mandrel 21 and carry it away from the operating head 10 leaving the mandrel 21 ready to receive a new thimble or article for enamel. As the head 10 rotates into the next position the end 55 of the shaft 28 is disengaged from the cam guard 92 and is again brought into normal position by the spring 29.

Figure. 4 illustrates the ejecting position of the shaft 28 and also illustrates in dotted outline the engaging position of the fingers 75.

As the fingers 75 arecarried away from the operating head 10 they are turned into a downward extending position by the cam slot 84, and the arms 93 which are secured to the ends 79 of the fingers and project from the same are brought into engagement with the ll-shaped releasing cam 94, causing the ends 79 to be spread apart to release the thimble E and deposit it automatically upon the endless carrier 95.

The carrier 95 is formed with longitudinally extending guards 96 on either side of the same to prevent the thimbles E from becoming easily disengaged from the carrier. and the carrier belt 95 is operated by the belt 97, which connects with a shaft 98 that extends below the table 19 and which is connected by the chain belt 99 to the shaft 44: so that during the operation of the device A the carrying belt 95 is operated at the desired speed to carry the thimbles or other articles deposited thereon through the baking compartment C. The baking compartment C is heated by suitable stoves G which are heated by electricityor other suitable means.

In the operation of the device A the thimbles E are placed onto the mandrels 21 and as the operating head 10 rotates they are carried over to the other side of the operating head in position to be enameled or by the applying wheel 56. After they have been enameled the head 10 rotates to carry them over to a position in line with the engaging fingers 75 where the fingers operate automatically to remove the thimbles when the parts of the mandrel are in the position illustrated by the mandrel 21? in F igure 4. The removing fingers 7 5 are moved from the dotted outline position ilustrated in Figure 4 to the releasing position illustrated in this same figure where they drop the thimble right side up onto the carrier 95. The head 10 continues to operate and the thimbles or other articles are manually positioned on the mandrels so as to be carried around into position to be enameled or painted. The guard 66 insures them being held in the proper position.

painted When the thimbles are dropped onto the carrier 95 they are carried automatically through the bake oven and discharged into the receptacle 1).

Figure 8 illustrates an alternative con struction of the operating head 10, on which a series of cam surfaces 102 are formed which engage against the wheel on the end of the lever 103 to operate the releasing or valve opening lever 104: of the air brush 105. The air brush 105 is of ordinary construction, having an air inlet 106 and a fiuid inlet 107. The inlet 107 is adapted to admit enamel or paint coloring pigment to spray the same through the opening 108 of the guard 109 so as to spray the paint or enamel in the desired manner onto the thimbles E or other articles carried by the mandrels 21. The coil spring 110 closes the valve lever 10 1: auto matically when the cam surfaces 102 are out of engagement with the wheel on the operating lever 103 so as to shut ed the air brush 105, thus cutting off the flow of decorating fiuid when the operating head 10 is moving one of the mandrels 21 away from the decorating position and moving another mandrel with an undecorated article in front of the guard 109 ready to be enameled or decorated. In this construction the decoration is-applied by the air brush 105. A suitable container 111 is positioned below the nozzle 112 of the air brush 105 to gather any surplus or drops of coloring matter which may remain on the nozzle. Spring scraping members 113 are secured to the face of the head 10 and are adapted to rub over the guard 108 to clean the same of any decorating material which may adhere to the surface during each operation of the air brush 105 and thus keep the opening of the same size without any of the decorating material adhering to the same so as to clog it in the guard 108.

The carrier 95 carries the thimbles through the compartment C and deposits the same automatically in the receptacle D so that after the articles are placed upon the operating head 10 they are automatically enameled or painted and after being automatically removed are carried through the bake oven and automaticallydeposited in the receptacle D dry and ready for the next finishing operation. The device is simple in operation, accurately enameling or painting each article with an even coat of enamel or paint so that each article is enameled in a most desirable way. By changing the con tainer or supply tank 71, which is removably held by the thumb screw 100 to the bracket 101, a container similar to 71 with a trough can be placed on the mechanism B with any color it is desired to enamel the articles with. The device enamels or paints the articles in such a manner as to make them more attractive for advertising and other purposes and its automatic operations gives a labor saving mechanism which is very desirable.

In accordance with the patent statutes 1 have described the principles of operation of my invention, together with the apparatus which I now consider to represent the best embodiment thereof, but I desire to have it understood that the construction shown is only illustrative and that the invention can be carried out by other means and applied to uses other than those above set forth with in the scope of the following claims:

1. A device for enameling an article, means for applying the enamel evenly in a band to the surface of the article, means for automatically grasping the article and removing it from the applying means said grasping means being adapted to automatically deposit the article on an endless carrier.

2. A decorating device for thimbles, ineluding means for receiving the same and to individually bring them into contact with a decorating means to evenly coat each thimble with a decoration, means to automatically remove each thimble from the re ceiving means and to automatically deposit eachthimble on a carrier in an upright posit10n and means for carrying the thimbles through a heated compartment while they are held in an upright position to bake the decoration on the same and to automatically discharge them into a receptacle.

3. A decorating device for thimbles, including means for automatically applying a -decorating band on each thimble, finger means for automatically removing the thimbles from the decorating means, an endless carrier adapted to receive the thimbles from said removing means and means for operating said means in unison.

4. An enamel and paint applying device for thimbles, including a rotatable receiving member, rotatable mandrels carried by said receiving member, pinions carried by said mandrels, means formoving said receiving member a step at a time, means for holding said receiving member with its mandrels stationary, means for engaging the pinions of said mandrels individually when said receiving member is at rest to rotate the mandrel whose pinion is being engaged and to rotate a. thimble carried on the rotating mandrel, means for applying a decoration to the thimble carried by the rotating mandrel when the receiving member is at rest and means for removing the thimbles from said mandrels when the receiving member has been rotated to coincide with the removing means to automatically remove the thimbles from the mandrels and to discharge them right side up.

5. A device of the class described, including a rotatable operating member adapted to carry a-series of thimble holding mandrels,

means for rotating the mandrels individually when said operating member is at rest. means for moving said operating member a step at a time, means for evenly applying a coat of enamel or paint to the surface of the thimbles when their holding mandrel is being rotated, means for loosening the thim- 6. A decorating device,including an operating member, means for rotating said member a degree at a time, means for holding said member stationary against rotation between each movement, a series of thimble holding mandrels rotatably held by said member, spring guard means adapted to guide the thimbles onto said mandrels to hold them firmly in place, decorating means, means for operatoing said decorating means and rotating one of said mandrels when said mandrel comes adjacent said operating means to cause said decorating means and mandrel operating means to operate in unison to decorate the thimbles on said mandrels, means for automatically removing the thimbles from said mandrels and means for carrying said thimbles away from said operating means and discharge them into a suit able receptacle after they are dried.

7 A decorating device, including a rotatable. receiving head having a series of holding mandrels, an enamel or paint decorating means for applying a band of coloring pigment about the surface of an article supported on said mandrels, means for operating said mandrels in unison with the operation of the pigment'applying means, an arm adapted to engage an axially positioned releasing member in said mandrels to loosen the articles held on said mandrels, fingers adapted to resiliently engage the loosened article on the mandrel to remove the same and means for releasing the grip of said fingers from said article to drop the article automatically onto a carrying means when said fingers are moved into position to hold the article right side up and away from the operating head and mandrels.

8. A decorating device having an enamel or paint applying means, comprising a rotatable member, a series of rotatable mandrels held by said member, means for rotating said member with its mandrels the distance equal to that between each of its mandrels at each movement of rotation, means for engaging and rotating the mandrels individually one at a time when said rotatable member is at rest, means for holding said rotatable member against rotation While one of the mandrels is being rotated, means for applying a coat of paint or en amel to decorate an article held on the rotating mandrel and means for automatically removing the articles from the mandrels and depositing them at a point away from the mandre'ls and rotating member so that they can be carried away to a receptacle after they are dried.

9. A decorating device having means for receiving a series of thimbles, means for automatically applying a decorating band to each thirnble, means for automatically depositing-each thimble after it is decorated, and means for baking the decoration on the thimbles. I

10. A decorating device, including means for receiving a series of thimbles manually, means for operating said receiving means a step at a time, mandrels on said receiving means, a decorating means positioned to one side of said receiving means past which all of said mandrels are adapted to pass, means for holding said receiving means stationary when each of said mandre-ls come adjacent said decorating means, means for operating said decoratin means and adjacent mandrel with its thimlo e in unison with said decorating means to apply an even coat of decoration to the thimble, means for releasing the thimble from a tight hold on the mandrel after it passes said decorating means, spring engaging fingers adapted to engage the thimbles when they are loosened from the mandrels, a cam guide plate adapted to guide said fingers into engagement to remove the thimble when loosened from the mandrel and to draw the thimble away from the mandrel and cam means adapted to engage said fingers to loosen the thimble car, ried by the same to deposit it onto an endless carrier which is operated continuously during the operation of said device to carry the enameled thimbles away from said receiving means for the purposes specified.

FRANK J. KRISTQFEK.

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