US1796143A - Stitching machine - Google Patents

Description

Mach 10,1931.

B. J. DAVIDSON STITGH'ING MACHINE Filed March 3l, 1926 6 Shets-Sheet l RNE Ys.

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TORNEI/'51 B. J. DAVIDSON STITCHING-MACHINE March l0, 1931.`

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m m.. W m F Y E w 4 \m.\ o O ...o 0 O www,... Lm m 7 M m IIIIII q m F Patented Mar. 10, 1931 Y ihiTED STATES PATENT OFFICE] BRUCE J'. DAVIDSON, 0F MARSEILLES, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR T0 NATIONAL BISCUIT COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEEV JERSEY STITCHING :MACHINE Application filed March 31, 1926. Serial No. 98,734.

rPhis inventiony relates to an improved boxstapling or -stitching machine.

It is an object of the invention to provide a device -of this character which will operate at high speeds and with a minimum of noise and vibration.

A further object of the invention is that of furnishing a machine of this type the parts of which will he relatively few in numoer and simple in construction so that the machine may be operated over relatively long periods of time with freedom from mechanical diiliculty.

Another object is that of constructing a 35 stapling or stitching machine which will be entirely automatic in operation and in which, inthe event that a cessation in the feeding of the work occurs, the operative functions of the machine will cease; and, further, in

which7 if through some unforeseen contingency a jamming of the work would be likely to occur; the machine will automatically allow for this condition so that no breakage of the parts will result.

Still another object is that of providing a stapling or stitching machine in which certain of the parts heretofore regarded as necessary will be eliminated, and in which such mechanism is provided will be susceptible of adjustment to such an extent that widely varying conditions of work may be accommodated in a single machine.

@ther objects of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part appear herein- 353 after.

rlhe invention accordingly comprises the features of construction7 combination of elements and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter set forth. and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the claims.

For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention reference should 5.V be had to the following detailed description i taken in connection with the accompanying drawings; in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of one form of machine embodying the construction of 59;. the presentinvention, certain of the parts being broken away to disclose the underlying mechanism;

Fig. 2 is an end view thereof;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged side elevation of the stapling or stitching head;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary partly sectional side elevation of a safety stop-bar;

Fig. 5 is a similar View showing the mechanism which controls `the feeding of the wire;

F ig. 6 is a plan View of the feeding mechamsm;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary side elevation thereof;

Fig. 8 is a transverse sectional view taken along the lines 8 8 and in the direction of the arrows of Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is an end View of the head shown in Fig. 3;

Fig. 10 is a sectional view of the parts as shown in Fig. 9 and illustrating the same.

in a different position;

Figs. 1l and l2 are partly sectional plan views of the head, the parts in the former figure being shown separated; these views being taken along the lines 11-11 and 12-12 of Fig. o;

Figs. 13 and 14 are enlarged fragmentary sectional views of the staple-forming and -driving mechanisms and illustrating the same in different positions;

Fig. 15 is a sectional view taken along the lines 15-15 and in the direction of the arrows of Fig. l2;

Fig. 16 is a partly fragmentary plan view of the stitching bar with the clinching blocks in position therein; and

Fig. 17 is a transverse sectional view taken along the lines 17-17 and in the direction of the arrows of Fig. 16.

`With primary reference to Figs. 1 and 2, the numeral 2O indicates the base of the machine, which supports a deck 21, as well as U-shaped brackets 22 which have their npper arms overhanging this deck and supporting a bar 23. Carried upon standards 24 and above the bar 23 is a shaft 25, with which various operating mechanisms, hereinafter described, are connected. Mounted below the deck 21 are pairs of transverselyextending shafts 26 and 27, a shaft 28 being provided between the innermost shafts of the pairs 26 and 27, and preferably in line withl the uppermost shafts thereof., The deck of the machine is formed with'pairs of grooves 29,' the first of which extends parallel to the other and longitudinally of the machine and terminates at a point slightly beyond the shaft 28; the second pair of these grooves being slightly offset; with respect to theV first-named pair and extending from a point in advance of the shaft 28 to the rear of the deck 21. Mounted one within each of these grooves is a conveyor, preferably of the nature of a sprocket chain 30, one pair of these conveyors passing around sprockets 3l associated with the shafts 26 and 28, andasecond pair of these chains passes around sprockets associated with the shafts 27 and 28. Q

In: order to operate these conveyors, as well as theisliaft'25, a motor 32 may be suitably mounted uponthe framev ofthe machine and provided with a pinion 33 which meshes with a pinion 34, in turn driving a gear 35 by means of a pinion 36, `the whole providing a reduction train. The gear or pinion 35 is mountedupon a shaft 37, to one end of which a sprocket 38 is secured, the latter 'being connected with a sprocket associated with the rearmost of the shafts 27 by means of a chain 40.` Mounted upon the outer end of the Vshaft 37 is a bevel gear 4l which meshes with the teeth of a corresponding gear 42 associatedwith the Ashaft 25. v

Thus, when the motor is operated it will be obvious that thecliains 30 will be driven to run. within the grooves 29 and towards the rear end of the machineand, likewise the shaft l25 will be rotated.

Each of the chains 30 is provided with lugs 43, which extend beyond the outer edges thereof and, consequently, above the upper face of the deck 2l, so thaty an object resting upon this deck will be moved longitudinally of the machine. The lugs upon the different pairs of Yconveyors are so arranged or timed that an object placed upon the forward end of the deck will be moved rearwardly to a point slightly beyond the vertical plane occupied by the shaft 28. Thereupon, and during the continued operation of the machine, it will come to rest and will not continue its movement towards the rear end of the ma? chine until the lugs of the rear conveyor contact with its rear edge.

The article (in the present instance, a box' blank) is stitched or stapled immediately after its disengagement by the lugs vof the first conveyor. ln order to insure against the momentum of the article carrying it past this benoted that a bar 44 is provided which has an extension 45 rockingly secured to its lower end, this extension carrying a contactlinger 46 and being maintained normally in alignment with the bar body by means of a spring 47 associated with its body and bearing against the forward edge ofthe extension 45 to a point beyond that at which it ispivotally associated with the bar proper. This membermay be mounted for sliding move# Vment in a guideway 48, and a cam 49 mounted upon the shaft 25 may cooperate with the upper bar end in order to produce a reciprocation of this element to such an extent that its lower end will be projected to a point intersecting the path of travel of an Vobj ect moving over the deck 21. rIhe timing of the parts is such that this projection occurs when the box which is being moved by the forward conveyor reaches a point at which -this conveyor is just moving out of operative contact with the article, and the retraction of he finger 45 and associated parts is effected prior to the time at which the lugs associated with the rearmost conveyor engage the rear edge of the article to bemoved. Y

The present machine is particularly adapted for use in the stapling or stitching of cardboard boxes. These members are initially blanked out of suitable material and are pro'- vided with score lines, subsequently to which they are bent so that they remain in collapsed l condition and occupy a minimum of space until they are rea-dy for use. Thus, in the present machine to which these collapsed blanks are fed, a stitching bar 5() of usual construction is provided which extends longitudinally of the deck 2l from a point adjacent the forward end of the saine to a point preferably to the rear of the stop provided by the mechanism described in the preceding paragraph. rThis stitching bar serves as a guide for the blanks placed upon the deck of the machine at the forward end as fed to the conveyor and carries an opener 51, which, as the blank is moved rearward by the first conveyer, serves to Vpartially open or extend the upper wings or flaps of the folded blank. A presser foot 52 may be associated with vthe bar 23 and arranged in the path of travel of the blanks, in which position it serves to press the upper portions thereof into proper contact with respect to each other and with the upper face of the stitching bar. immediately to the rear of this foot is the working head of the machine, by means of which, in a manner lhereinafter described, the adjacent flaps are secured to each other, and at this time it will be noted that a roller 53 is arranged in ad# Vancel of this foot and is elevated and rotated by friotional contact with the blank in its Y passage along the stitcher bar; the purpose of this element being hereinafter brought out. The stitching operation in a mechanism of this character is preferably accomplished by theuse of staples,.which are caused topenetratevthe` upper parts of the blank being operatedl upon in order to retain the same against movement with respect to each other. rlhese staples are preferably formed within the machine, and tothis end suitable. reels of wire (not shown) are mounted uponthe machine frame and the `free ends 54 of the wiresare each threaded within a groove 55 formed in the periphery of a pulley 56, the wire being retained inthis position by the use of a disk 57 rotating in synchronism with the pulley and having itsedge knurled and extending into the groove thereof. In order to effect a. sin'iultaneous movement between the pulley and disk, the former may form an integral part of a .gear 58, and the latter may likewise form a part'offa gear 59, these two gears being rotatably mounted upon a common support and with` their teeth in mesh.A At this time it will be observed that the shafts supporting the pulleys are each preferablyprovided with an eccentrically 'disposed outer .end portion 60, and arms 6l are associated with the inner ends thereof. Springs 6l are attached to these arms and serve to shift the eccentric portions 60 of the'pulley-supporting shafts to a point at Y which the periphery of the disks 57 extends toa maximum depth into the grooves 55. As a result the wire will at all times be firmly engaged between these members so that a positive feeding will be assured, and this will be true even though the wire might vary in diameter. lVire-feeding units ofthis nature are provided in a number corresponding to the number of stitching or stapling members associated with the machine head, and all of these units are driven by a shaft 62, the ends of which are suitably supported by brackets 63, the body thereof extending longitudinally of the Amachine and through openings in plates V64, which latter are disposed at right angles tothe bar 23 and have their inner ends extending at an angle of preferably 45 to their bodies, these ends providing the mounting for the .wire-feeding units aforedescribed. The shaft 62 carries gears 65, the teeth of which engage the teeth of the gears 59. As a consequence, when the shaft is rotated each 0f the units will be operated to feed wire to the staple-forming and -driving apparatus, the amountof feed being equal to the length of wire required for the forming of one staple. While the gears 69 and 65 may be of any suitable form, for example, bevel gears, thin, fiat spur gears as here shown are preferred, since the spaces in which these gears may be disposedare rela-v tively small and the fiat spur gear of the character illustrated require less space in an axial direction than bevel gears.

V It is also to be seen that the angle of 45 degrees by which the-inner ends of plates Gel meet Vtheir bodies,k may be. varied at will so long as the angular disposition is less than a right angle, the angular disposition determining the direction at which the staplesrare inserted in the blanks being stitched as hereinafter' described; the angular disposition permitting a greater amount of stitching to be done within a given space on the blank withoutweakening the same than if a horizontal or ertical stitching had been placed in the blank. Y

ln order to rotate the shaft 62 the shaft 25 carries a cam 66, which cooperates with the roller 67 of a pusher rod GS, the lower end of which is carried by a rocker arm 69 loosely encircling the shaft 62. Adjacent the point of connection of the arm and rod a springpressed pawl 70 is mounted, and this pawl engages the teeth of a ratchet 7l keyed to the shaft 62. It will be obvious that as the shaft 25 rotates the rod 68 will be reciprocated, due to the contact between the roller G7 and the cam G6, which contact is maintained by a spring 72. As a consequence, the pawl and ratchet yill have lost motion as well as simultaneous movement, and this latter movement will occur once to each revolution of the shaft, thus driving the wire-feeding apparatus in the manner aforedescribed.

In order to prevent a feeding ofl wire in the event of a cessation of feed 0f the blanks, without, however, rendering it necessary to stop the machine, the roller 53 is mounted upon an arm 7 3, which is rockingly supported as at 74 and is connected by means of a lin 75 with a rocker arm 76 mounted upon the shaft 62. This rocker arm has its body extending materially beyond the axis of this shaft and terminates in a shoulder' 77, which is movable to a. point at which it will engage the pawl 70 to prevent the same from coming into contact with the teeth of the ratchet 71. Thus, while normally the shaft 62 is rotated, as aforedescribed, it will be understood that if a blank is not riding over the upper face of the stitcher bar at the moment when the wire is about to be fed, the roller 53 will remain in contact with the stitcher bar, and, accordingly, the arm 7 3 will not rise, so that the shoulder portion 77 of the rocker arm 7G will engage the iawl 70, and the latter will not be capable of operatively engaging the ratchet, and no feeding of the wire can occur. If, however, as has been shown in Fig. 5, a blank is moving along the stitcner bar no interference with the feeding operation will occur.

Arranged adjacent the wire-feeding units is the working or stitching head of the machine, which in the present instance includes a cross-bar 78 carrying a plurality of downwardly-extending bars 79, upon which springpressed trip members or latches 80 are rockingly mounted. Slidably mounted in advance of the forward faces of these bars are a corresponding number of staple-forming 'f' bars 81, which have their lower ends terminating in a pair of arms 82, the inner faces of Vwhich are grooved as at 83. The upper ends of the bars 81 are notched as at 84, and bothsets of bars 7 9 and 81 are mounted vin a block 85 providing guideways therefor. Each of the guideways is formed with an opening for the passage of the wire, and anvil blocks 86 are mounted upon spring arms 87 to extend into these guideways and to occupy positions between the arms 82 of the staple formers when the latter are in elevated position. These blocks are notched as at 88, and when in the position previously specied the notches lie in line with the wire openings formed in the walls of the guide block. The bars 79 extend to a point beyond the base of the arms 82, and each of these bars at these points carries a staple-driving portion 89 which extends into the space between these arms. The upper edge of the block 86 is in each instance beveled as at 90, and when engaged by the member 89 it will be obvious that the block will be'swung to the position shown in Fig. 15.

- bars 79 and 81 are moved downwardly the arms 82 will have their outer ends engaged by those portions of the wire which extend beyond the side faces of the anvil, causing a shearing of the wire and a bending of the ends of the same downwardly until7 finally, these ends assume a position at right angles to that portion of the wire whichfremains in the notch 88, and these ends consequently come to lie within the grooves 83,#the preceding operations having been shown in Figs. 13 and 14. Thereupon the driving member 89 will contact with the beveled upper surface 90 of the anvil, forcing the same into the position shown in Fig. 15, and,as a consequence, the formed staple will-move out of engagement with the notch y88l and be supported wholly within the grooves of the arms n 82, as has been shown in the ligure last Amentioned.

Tn order `to effect the aforedescribed'movement of the bars it will be noted that operating cams or strips 91 are associated with the member providing the guideways. vInitially, as the bars 79 move downwardly, the

Y ends of the latches 80 engage with the outerbe free to continue its downward movement and move downwardly with respect to the bar 81, the lower end of which is resting adjacent the upper face of the stitcher bar and in contact with the flaps of the blank which it serves to hold in position. The staple driver 89 will movedownwardly with the bar 79,

the staples penetrate the flaps of the box blank they come into Contact with the clincher blocks and are diverted by these elements toy extend at rightV angles to the path of travel given them by the driving members 89, itV

being understood that one clincher block is provided for each unit of the operating Or stitching head and that they areaccurately' aligned. Y f n i At this time it will be noted that the groups of bars 79 are so arranged that the staples will have their upper portions parallel tothe faces of the angular end portions'of the plates 6e and the lines of feed of the wires which are v being moved by the feeding units. As a consequence, it will never be necessary for the wire to traverse an obtuse or acute bend, and thus the likelihood of deformed staples being produced will be prevented. Furthermore, by this arrangement it is possible to group a maximum number of staple-forming and -driving units in a minimum amount of space. The ope-rating head is actuated in any desired manner; for example, cams 94;' may be associated with the shaft 25 and present track portions, within which rollers 95 carried by the upper ends of arms 96 move, the lower ends of these arms being attached to the bar 78. Obviously, as the cams rotate the bar 78 will move downwardly inorder to move the bars 7 9 and 81 in the manner aforedescribed. In the upward movement'of the parts a bar 79 will be retracted until the upper edge of the driving member 89 engages the base' of the vbar 81 between the arms 82, at which point both bars will move in unison, it being understood that the initial movement of these elements with respect to each other allows the lower ends of the latch-members to swing clear of the notch portions 84 of the bars so that theparts will be reset. In order to cushion the upward movement of these elements, and particularly the bars 81, the latter may carry rods 97, with which springs 98 are-associated, these springs extending through openings in a guide bar 99 supported by the machine frame. Thus itis unnecessay to employ a ion iany

multiplicity of clutches or other mechanism for individually operating the staple-forming and -driving units, but, rather, the entire head embracing these elements is reciprocated to operate them in unison.

In a machine of this character, with the conveyors properlytimed, and with a suitable number of staple-forming and ,-driving units embodied in the stitching head, the clincher blocks are adjusted to exactly the position which will assure. a perfect clinching operation. Thereafter the motor is set in operation, which results in a driving ci the conveyors and the shaft 25. Ihile the working head is now reciprocating no operative result is reached, for the reason that no wire is being fed tothe staple-forming units. As previouslystated, this will occur due to the fact that the-roller 53 occupies its lowermost position, as no cartons are passing along the stitching bar. As aL consequence, the pawl associatedvwith the pusher rod 68 will not operatively engage the ratchet 7l secured to the shaft 62, and, accordingly,`the wire-feeding units will not operate.

Upon boX blanks being properly fed to the deck of the machine, thev first conveyor will movel the same so that they are operatively engaged by the opener and their upper portions come to ride over the stitching bar 50 against which they are firmly pressed. Obviously, the wire-feeding units will now operate, and it will be appreciated, as previously brought out, that, due to the angular disposition of these units and the manner in which the staple-forming and -driving units are disposed in relationship thereto, the wire will not have-'to traverse any bends, and, consequently, any diiiiculties in this connection are avoided. yThe boX'blank will come to rest in proper position below the operating head, and any tendency of vthe blank to pass this station 'incident to its momentum will be avoided by means of the stop provided by the inger 46 associated Vwith the lbar da. Ii' forsome unforeseen reason the work-being operated-upon should become jammed atthis point, yno breakage of the machine parts will occur even thoughthey continue to operate, for the reason that undersuch conditions the pressure against thel finger 46 will become sufficiently acute-to-cause the extension l5 of thebary to be rocked around its point oi pivotal mounting, allowing a clear passage for the work regardless ofthe position of the `working parts of the machine; it being obvious that under these conditions the proper cycle of operation will automatically reestablish itselfit being only necessary that an operator again return the finger 45 to afposition in line with the bar body 44. In any event, during that instant when the blank is at rest the stitching or stapling head will operatefto secure the upper iiaps thereof to one another. SubsequentlyD the lsecond lconveyor will engage the work and move ittoward the rear end of the machine where it may be automatically or manually removed from the deck 2l.

It will be understood that in a machine of this character the mechanism may be oper-4 ing from the scope thereof, it is intended that-I all matter contained in they above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. l

It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described and all statements ofy the scope of the invention which as apmatter ot l( nguage might be said to i'all therebetween.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A stapling machine, including a deck, a pair of conveyors for moving-.articles over said deck, means whereby an article is operatively disengaged from one of said conveyors prior toits operative association with Vthe second of the same, and a stapli'ng head positioned over the second and adjacent the first of said conveyors and acting upon said articles during such interval.

2. A stapling machine, including a deck, a pair of conveyors associated with said deck, elements associated withsaid conveyors and engaging articles to move the same along ksaid deck, means for continuously moving said conveyors, said conveyors being so timed that the engaging elements of one of the same move out of contact with an article prior to the engagement of said article by the elements of the second conveyor, and a stapling head positioned over the second and adjacent the first ot' said conveyors and operating upon said articlefduring the interval of non-engagement.

3. A stapling machine, including a. deck formed with grooves, conveyors movable within said grooves, elements associated with said conveyors for engaging and moving articles along said deck, means for continuously moving said conveyors, the elements 'of oneof said conveyors disengaging from said. article prior to the engagement of the latter bythe elements of they second `conisI ' `4. A stapling machine, including, in combination, a stitching bar, means for feeding work thereover, a single head, and means for reciprocating said head, said head comprising Va plurality of staple-forming andv -driving units arranged' immediately adj acent each other, certain of said units forming.

a fixed part of said head and moving in unison therewith and in synchronism with each other whereby upon'said head being operated a plurality of staples will be formed and driven. l f

5. A stapling machine, including, in combination, a stitching bar, means for feeding work thereover, a working head, means for operating the same, said working head comprising a plurality of staple-forming and `-driving units, said units being disposed at` an anO'le of less than 90o to the direction ofy feed of the work. l v A f j 6. A stapling machine, including, in combination, a stitching bar, means for moving articles to be stitched over said'bar, a head, means for operating the* same, said head comprising a plurality of units each including staple-forming and -driving elements arranged at an angle o'f'rless than 90 tothe direction of movement of the articles being stitched, and feeding mechanism for supplying wire to said units, said mechanism being arranged parallel to said units whereby Vsaid wire is fed in a'substantially straight line thereto. A V v v 7. A stapling machine, including a stitching bar, a workinghead cooperating therewith, feeding means for supplying wire to said head and comprising a pair of cooperating rotatable members engaging the wire, means for driving said members, said meml Y bers'being disposed adjacent said head and at an angle of less than to the longitudik nal axis of the machine.

' V8. A staplingmachine, including, in combination, a deck, a plurality of article-moving conveyors associated with said deck, a stapleforming and -driving head, means for actuating said mechanism to cause one of said conveyors to move an article to a point adjacent said head, means to temporarily prevent a further movement of said article, means for actuating said headupon said article ceasing to move, means whereby said article is subsequently engaged by a second of said conveyors to move the same towards the rear end of the machine, and means for continuously driving said conveyors.

' 9. A stitching machine, including a pair of conveyors having their inner ends overlapping, means for constantly driving said conveyors, means for moving an article by means of one of said conveyors to a position. adjacent the inner ends of both conveyors .andl disconnecting said article from said first conveyor, said'article thereupon assuming.` ai position offrest, a stitching head operatingl upon said article, and said second conveyor subsequently engaging said article to move the' same away from said stitching head.

10. A stitching machine, including a pair of conveyors having their inner ends overlapping, la shaft supporting and common to both of the inner ends of said conveyors,

lmeans for constantly driving said conveyors,

a stitching head arranged adjacent the overlapping portions of said conveyors, one of the latter engaging-an article and bringing it to a position adjacent theinner end thereof, and thereupon disconnecting from said articleto cause the latter to assume a condition of rest, means for operating said head to stitch said article, and means for operatively connecting said article thereupon to the second conveyor to move said article from a position. adj acent" said stitching head. d 'f l1. A stitching` machine, including a pair of conveyors` article-engaging elements forming a part of the same, means for constantly driving both of said conveyors in substantial synchronism, the inner ends of said conveyors overlapping, a stitching head arranged adj acent the point of overlapping of'said conveyors, an article beingmoved by thej engaging elements of one of said conveyors to a position adjacent said head and being thereupon automatically disconnected therefrom, means for operating said stitching head, the articleengaging elements of said secondv conveyor being timed thereafter to engage said article to shift the same away from said head.

12.` A stitching machine, including, in combination, a head, means for operatingl the same, means for feeding articles to bel stitched to said head, a stop arranged beyond said head for arresting the travel of an article,and

means for reciprocating said stop, the' said stop comprising a pair of sections swingingly connected to each other, andY a spring member rigidly secured to one of said sections and bearing against the other of the same to normally maintain both in aligned Vposition with respect to each other. n j Y 13. A stitching machine, including articlefeeding means, a staple-forming and -driving head comprising, in combination, a slidablymounted staple-forming bar having a notched lower end forming arms, an anvil lblock having a horizontally-disposed notch and extending between said arms, a spring arm mounting said anvil, means for feeding` wire to notch of the latter, a second bar slidably mounted with respect tothe first bar, a pivoted catch connecting said bars, a cam-portion forming a part of said catch, a-fixed stop cooperating with said cam-portion during the movement of said bars to disconnect one from Athe other, means for projecting and retracting said second har, and means for cushioning the upward movement of said second bar.

14. A stitching machine, including, in combination, a driving shaft extending longitudi- 5 nally of the machine, a stitching head connected to be reciprocally driven by said shaft, means for rotating said shaft, a pair of conveyors also connected with said shaft to he driven thereby and in synchronism With each lo other, a Wire-feeding mechanism also connected with said shaft and with said head, and means connected with said mechanism for automatically interrupting the feeding of Wire in the absence of an article to be stitched 15 by said head.

' In testimony whereof I aiiiX my signature;

BRUCE J. DAVIDSON.

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