US1853149A - Treadle mechanism - Google Patents

Description

April 19321 H. 'A. RISING TREADLE MECHANISM 2 Sheets-Sheet Filed Dec. 7, 1929 5112,1932. H. A. RISING 1,853,149

TREADLE MEGHANI SM Filed Dec. 7, 1929 '2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Pig? 2 42 Fig: 5.

Patented Apr. 12 1932 UNITED STATE Sr V HARRY A. RISING, or BEVERLY, MASSACHUSETTS, nssrelvon TO nrrrrnn snon'piun 1 'CHINEEY oon'ronerron, or PATERSGN, new JnnsnY, A conronnrion on NEW JERSEY ATENT orrrn Tanninn MECHANISM Application filed December 7, 1929, Serial No. 412,426.

This invention relates to treadle' mechanismfor machines of the type inwhich it is desired to clamp alwork piece in position to be operated upon, or toestablish an initial relation between a work piece and 'a tool by consecutive movements of different character. One important field of application of the invention is in; connection with a sole rounding machine wherein a sole is engaged 'by a movable clamping member and held in position for presentation to theaction of a rounding knife and for purposes of illus tration the invention will be disclosed in this connection.

The efficient operation of sole rounding machines depends to a considerable extent upon the firmness with which the sole is held during the operation of the rounding knife. It has been the practice to hold the work on the work table of. the machine'by clamping member and connections directly operated by a treadle,-the necessary clamping pressure being secured by the operator by the'lever action of the treadlex In order, however, to

- securesuificient pressure underthese circumstances, it has been necessaryto move the treadle through a considerable arc, imposing an awkward and tiring action-upon the operator, Various attempts have been made, accordingly, to modify the treadle movement so as to bring the parts into initial engagement at a rapid rate requiring little effort on the part of the operator, and then to effect the clamping movement under conditions of more effective leverage for the applicat on of increased pressure. My prior Patent No. 1,649,- 5253, granted November 15,1927, represents a construction of thiskind and in one aspect the present invention consists in a further development or carrying-forward of the invention disclosed in that patent.

In another aspect my invention consists'in treadle mechanismemploying a single operating lever arranged for movement first about a primary fulcrum located to'give a low ratio of power arm to work arm,alnd then about a secondary fulcrum locatedto give a high ratio of power arm to work arm. My invention includes also novel mechanism for mounting the treadlelever and for bringing about the change of fulcrum when the initial movement of the partsis terminated by a preliminary engagement of the work. As herein shown, the primary fulcrum of the treadle lever is yieldingly supported and is arranged to be displaced by continuing pressure upon the treadle when the work arm encounters increased resistance in its movement. The displacement of the primary fulcrum is utilized in a novel manner to establish the secondary fulcrum which has necessarily been free to move during the initial movement of the treadle. As herein shown, the treadle lever carries a guide roll or disk which travels freely upon a stationary track during the initial movement of the lever. Mechanism is provided including a clutch which may be I reaches the point at which the fulcrums should be interchanged so that in the further movement of. the lever the axis of the roll, in whatever position it may occupy, constitutes the secondary fulcrum of the treadle lever. a

' Preferably and as herein shown, the clutch comprises oppositely rotating pinions and the stationary track includes oppositely disposed racks with which they mesh. A "simple andveifective lock is secured by mounting the two pinions on a common journal and by clutching them together at the desired point in the movement of the treadle. The axis of the pinions thus becomes the secondary fulcrum of the lever. this manner a wide range of treadle movement may be secured and that the shifting of fulcrumsmay be effected in any position of the-lever, thus adapting it'for use in machines where a considerable variation inthe thickness of the work is encountered.

My lnvention also includes within its scope novel mechanism for engaging and disengagunloclfed without delay and without requir It willbe seen that in lOfl ' ing is prevented.

ing any attention on the part of the operator when, in the return movement of the treadle, it is desired to shift back to the primary fulcrum.

These and other features of the invention will be best understood and appreciated from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof, selected for purposes of illustration and shown in the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a view of the mechanism in side elevation with a portion of the treadle lever broken away;

Fig. 2 is a plan view, partly in section;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a detail view, partly in section, on the line 44 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 5 is a detail view, partly in section, of the pinion stud showing also the end of the shifting lever.

The treadle mechanism is shown as mounted upon a circular flange constituting a portion of the base of a rounding machine of well-known commercial type. The mechanism is mounted in a cast base or bracket 12 having two supporting bosses and an adjusting screw 16 which afford a 3-point bearing upon the flange 10 to which the bracket is secured by a bolt 14. At its forward end, as seen in Fig. 1, the upper surface of the bracket 12 is milled to afford a flat surface to receive a. steel yoke having upright arms 18 and 20 and being secured to the bracket by a bolt 22 extending through its body part. The arm 18 has a segmental rack formed near its right-hand edge and the arm 20 has a similar segmental rack formed near its left-hand edge. The arms have also parallel curved oppositely disposed flanges forming guides for disks 50 and 52 rotatably mounted in the treadle lever, as will be presently described.

The bracket 12 at its rear end has two upstanding ears 24 which support the primary fulcrum of the treadle lever 32. A hardened wear piece 26 with a hub 27 is mounted in the right-hand ear 24 and has a straight lower edge which engages a shou1-' der in the inner face of the car so that turn- The wear piece has a flange at its upper edge and is held in place by a set screw 23 threaded into the car 24 and bearing against the hub 27 A hardened wear piece 28 having a hub 29 is set in the left-hand ear 24, being held in place by a set screw 30 which engages its hub.

The treadle lever 32 fits between the hardened wear pieces 26 and 28, being shaped to fit the foot of the operator at its free or power end and being connected at its forward or work end to a vertical treadle rod 34, by which the work clamps are operated.

The wear pieces 26 and 28 are provided with oppositely disposed depressions to receive the cone points of spring-pressed plugs 36 located in a transverse bore in the treadle lever 32 and disposed approximately midway between the opposite ends of the lever. Immediately above the axis of the plugs 36 the treadle lever is connected to a tension spring 38, which is adjustably suspended by a hook 42 from an overhanging arm bolted to the right-hand ear 24. The initial tension of the spring 38 is sufficient to maintain the treadle lever 32 up in contact with the overhanging flange 25 of the wear piece 26 but is not sufficient to strongly oppose a downward displacement of the treadle lever under conditions which will presently appear. The plugs 36, by their yielding engagement with the wear pieces, constitute the primary fulcrum of the treadle lever 32 and it is about their axis that the preliminary movement of the treadle takes place in bringing the work parts into initial engagement. It will be seen that in this movementthe ratio of power arm to work arm is substantially 1 to 1.

The secondary fulcrum of the treadle lever 32 is carried by the arms 18 and 20 of the yoke and will now be described. The lever is formed at its forward end with an opening of suflicient size to receive the arms 18 and 20 which are curved on a radius having the axis of the primary fulcrum as a center. A'stud 54 extends across the opening in the forward end of the lever and constitutes a journal for a pair of pinions 56 and 58. The pinion 56 is formed integral with the disk and the pinion 58 is formed integral with the disk 52, and both are mounted to rotate freely upon the stud 54. lVhen the work end of the treadle is moved upwardly, therefore, the pinion 56 meshing with the rack on the arm 18 is rotated in a clockwise direction Fig. 1, about 'the stud 54 and the pinion 58 meshing with the rack on the arm 20 is rotated in a counter clockwise direction. The guiding action of the disks 50 and 52 upon the flanges of the arms 18 and 20 insures the uniform engagement of the gear teeth of both racks and pinions throughout the movement of the treadle lever and balances their reaction upon the treadle lever without tendency to twisting or cramping. It will be apparent that throughout the movement of the treadle lever about its primary fulcrum both pinions are free to spin freely, their rotation taking place in opposite directions.

It is desired to lock together the pinions 56 and 58 in whatever position they may occupy in order to prevent any vertical movement of the stud 54 and hence to establish the secondary fulcrum point when increased resistance is encountered by the treadle rod 34 as the work clamps are brought into engagement with the work. To this end, the inner face of each pinion is formed with cooperating clutch or ratchet teeth so that when the pinions are moved together they are locked against relative rotation and become to all intents and purposes a single integral piece.

The stud 54 is arranged for axial or endpinion 58 is carried with it; On the other hand, the pinion 56 revolves freely upon the right-hand portion of the stud so that the latter may move back and forth without affecting the transverse position of the pinion.

The position of the stud 54 is controlled by a locking lever 66 having an intermediate stationary fulcrum comprising a ball 68 (Fig. 3) formed upon the outer end of a stem proj ecting outwardly from the hub 29 of the lefthand wear piece 28.. The ball 68 is received in a'socket' in the lever 66 formed partly in the body thereof and partly by a cover plate 70. 'The locking lever66, therefore, is free to oscillate in a vertical plane with the treadle lever 32 but may also move transversely.

Such locking movement of the lever is eifected by connection with a verticallydisposed cam member 71 secured to the treadle lever 32 at a point between its primary fulcrum and its power end. The .cam member 71 has a transverse stem 72 adapted to be received in a boss 74 on the treadle lever and to be locked in place by a set screw 76. It is provided with a cam track'extending substantially vertically and having. a transverse offset therein. At its rear .end the locking lever 66 is provided with a cam roller 80 of somewhat rounded periphery, which is arranged to run in the vertical cam trackand to shift the end of the locking lever in or out when it encounters the ofi'setportion of the cam track.

'At its forward end the locking-lever 66 is forked to embrace the sleeve 62 onthe stud 54 and is provided with a pair of oppositely extending screws 82 which engage the flanged end of the sleeve 62 and serve to move the stud 54 positively in an axial direction for engaging or disengaging the pinions 56 and p 58. The lever 66 also carries a leaf spring 84 which bears upon the head of the screw 64 in'the outer end of the stud 54, so that when the end of the locking lever is moved inwardly the'stud 54 is moved toward-the right in a yielding manner, permitting lost motion in the lever 66 if the clutch teeth of the pinions happen to make initial contact. The pinions 56 and 68 are thereupon locked together, and

inasmuch as they must rotate in opposite directions, if they rotate at all, to permit any further movement-of the treadle lever'relatively to the racks of the stationary yoke, they are held rigidly-in whatever position theyhave reached and further movement of the treadle lever as he ePe atQ mn inu t depress it now takes :placeabout the second aryfulcrum constituted by the stud 54, which is now journaled in the stationary pinions 56 and58. The final upward movement of the treadle rod 32 is, therefore, effected by a lever action at a ratio of power arm to work arm of approximately 7 tol.

The movement of the locking lever 66 relatively to the treadle lever 32 which causes the cam roller 80 to traverse the cam track in, the cam member is effected whenever the c axis of the primary fulcrum coinciding with the plugs 36 is shifted with reference to the fixed fulcrum of the locking-lever. or, in other words, when this occurs the power end of the treadle lever 32 is moved downwardly with reference to therear end of the locking lever which is held stationary upon its stationary fulcrum and the stud 54 which is then at rest. When the operator releases the treadle lever, the spring 38 acts at once to pull it upwardly between the wear pieces 26 and 28 until arrest-ed bythe action of the flange 25 in initial position, with the plugs 36 again seated in the depressions in the axis of the primary. fulcrum. The upward movement of the lever 32 in the location of its primary fulcrum under the actuation of the spring 38 causes a relative movement of the locking lever 66 and-the cam member 7 0 in a reverse direction, throwing the inner end of the locking lever out wardly and positively separating the pinions I 56 and 58. y i I j Where the treadle mechanism of my invention is used in connection with a rounding machine, it will be understood that a clampingmember is connected to the .ltreadle rod 34 and that duringthe initial movement of the treadle this is moved rapidly toward and clamping member encounters the sole, the increased resistance temporarily arrests the upward movement of the treadle lever 32 and the displacement of its primary fulcrum takes place. 7. Continued depression of the treadle thereafter about its secondary fulcrum forces the clamping member against the sole with great pressure and holds it firm- 1y inplace. c

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is: a

l; Treadle' mechanism comprising a lever having a yieldingly supported fulcrum, means adjacent to the work end of the lever for guiding it in a fixed path, means including a clutch for causing said lever to be sup ported by said guiding means, and means for operating the clutch when said fulcrum yields whereby a secondary fulcrum for the lever is established.

of the lever in the guides when the lever encounters increased resistance.

3. Treadle mechanism comprising a lever having a yielding intermediate fulcrum,

guides adjacent to the work end of the lever concentric with the axis of said intermediate fulcrum, a journal pin carried by said lever and freely movable with respect to said guides, and means for locking said journal pin in position with respect to said guides to form a secondary fulcrum for the lever when said intermediate fulcrum is displaced.

4. Treadle mechanism comprising a lever, a yieldingly supported intermediate fulcrum, oppositely disposed racks adjacent to the work end of the lever, pinions in meshing engagement with said racks, means for rotatably supporting said pinions on said lever, and means for locking said pinions together, thereby to cause the pinion supporting means to become a secondary fulcrum when the lever encounters suflicient resistance to displace its intermediate fulcrum.

5; Treadle mechanism comprising a lever having a stud adjacent to its work end with oppositely rotating pinions thereon, a yieldingly supported intermediate fulcrum, oppositely disposed stationary racks meshing with said pinions, and means for locking said pinions together when said intermediate fulcrum is displaced, whereby the lever may swing upon said stud as a. secondary fulcrum.

6. Treadle mechanism comprising a lever having a transverse stud with oppositely rotating pinions disposed side by side thereon, a yieldingly supported intermediate fulcrum, stationary racks meshing with said pinions on opposite sides thereof, and means for locking said pinions against reverse rotation when said intermediate fulcrum is displaced, thereby forming stationary bearings for said stud 011 which said lever may turn as a secondary fulcrum.

7. Treadle mechanism comprising a lever, a yieldingly supported intermediate fulcrum, a rack adjacent to the work end of the lever, a stud carried by the lever, a pinion freely rotatable upon the stud and meshing with the rack, and means for arresting relative movement between the pinion and the rack, whereby the lever may swing upon said stud as a secondary fulcrum when said intermediate.

fulcrum is displaced.

8. Treadle mechanism comprising a lever, a yieldingly supported intermediate fulcrum, a stationary rack adjacent to the work end of the lever, a pinion carried by the lever and arranged to rotate in mesh with the rack during the movement of the lever about said intermediate fulcrum, and means for arrestsitely rotated thereby in the movement of the lever about its intermediate fulcrum, and means for relatively moving said pinions to engage their clutch faces thereby to fix said journal pin in position to serve as a secondary fulcrum for said lever.

10. Treadle mechanism comprising a lever having a yielding intermediate fulcrum and an opening near its Work end, a pair of stationary guide members projecting through said opening and being concentric with the axis of said fulcrum, a journal member supported by said lever and carrying elements having rolling engagement with said guide members, and means for preventing movement of said rolls with respect to said guides when said intermediate fulcrum is displaced, whereby said journal member may serve as a secondary fulcrum for the lever.

11. Treadle mechanism comprising a lever having an intermediate fulcrum, means for yieldingly positioning said lever in the axis of said fulcrum including oppositely disposed cone-pointed studs and cooperating sockets, a spring acting on the lever, and a stop cooperating therewith to arrest the lever with said studs and sockets in alignment.

12. Treadle mechanism comprising a treadle lever having a yielding intermediate fulcrum and a journal member adjacent to the work end, stationary guides disposed adjacent to the work end of said lever, connections between said journal and said guides for fixing the axis of the journal with respect to said guides, and means actuated by the displacement of said intermediate fulcrum for causing engagement of said clutch, thereby to establish a secondary fulcrum for said lever.

13. Treadle mechanism comprising an integral treadle' lever carrying fulcrum ele ments at different points in its length, a stationary support for said fulcrum elements, means for yieldingly maintaining one set of fulcrum elements in operative position while the other set is freely moved by the lever, and means for positively anchoring said other set when the first is moved.

14. Treadle mechanism comprising a onepiece treadle lever carrying journal members at two separate points in its length, a stationary support associated with each member, means for yieldingly holding one ournal member in place while the other is free to move with the lever, and means for anchoring 7 said other journal member to its support when the first is moved.

15; Treadle mechanism comprising a treadle lever, a stationary support having a yielding intermediate fulcrum for the lever, a stationary guide near the work end of the lever concentric with the axis of said ful- I crum, a transversely engageable clutch carried by said lever and cooperating with said guide, and a locking lever for the clutch having a fixed fulcrum disposed in substantial alignment with the axis of said intermediate fulcrum, said treadle lever having means con. structed and arranged to operate said locking lever.

16. Treadle mechanism comprising a treadle lever, a stationary support having a yielding intermediate fulcrum for the lever, a stationary guide associated with the work end of the lever, a member carried by the lever and arranged to travel upon the stationary guide, a clutch mechanism for looking said member in position upon the guide, a lever for operating said clutch mechanism, and connections between said clutch operating and treadle levers remote from the clutch mechanism and constructed and arranged .to transform relative parallel movement of said levers about the intermediate fulcrum to relative transverse movement to operate the clutch.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

' HARRY A. RISING.

CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTIQN.

Patent No. 1,853,149. April 12, 1932.

HARRY A. RiSING.

it is hereby certified that error appears in this printed specification of the above numbered patent requiring correction as tsiisws: Page 4, line 116, claim i2, strike out the werds "causing engagement of said; clutch" and insert instead "operating said connections"; and that the said Letters Patent should he read with this correctien therein that the same may csrst'srm t0 the record of the case in the Patent Offitse.

Signed and sealed this 16th day of May, A. D. 1933.

t M. Moore (heal) Acting (lommlss loner of Patents.

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