US1864697A - Safety device - Google Patents

Description

SAFETY CE June 23 1932.

Filed April 23. 1930 Patented June 28, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT err-ion WILLIAM D. THOMAS, OF LYNN-FIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO UNITED SHOE MACHINERY CORPORATION, OF PATERSON,

JERSEY SAFETY Application filed April 23,

This invention relates to safety devices and is herein illustrated as embodied in a work table and a guard for ting machine.

A leather splitting machine commonly comp-rises a knife to which the pieces of leather are fed by a pair of feed rolls, and a. table over which the pieces are presented one by one by the operator to the rolls. The

pieeesof leather which are to be split vary greatly in length and in thickness; but, for the purpose of explaining the present invention, top lifts and soles will be considered as representing the extreme limits. Top lifts are commonly not more than three inches in length and a quarter of an inch in thickness, while soles are often several times that length andtwice that thickness. It should be understood that these figures are not intended to be accurate and are used merely to make clear a problem which is encountered when an attempt is made to prevent injury to the fingers of the operator and at the same time to interfere in no way with the operation of the machine.

Vhen top lifts are being operated upon, any guard should be fairly close to the feed rolls so that the short lifts may be presented to the bite of the rolls. The guard should also be as close as possible tothe' upper surface of the table so as to prevent the operator from sticking the tips of his fingers through the opening between the guard and the table through which the lifts are presented. When soles are to be opera-ted upon, the opening between the guard and the table should be increased; but this increased space will permit the operators fingers to pass through it with the danger of having them caught between the feed rolls. Consequently guards, such as that disclosed in Letters Patent No. 1,477,537, granted December 18, 1923, upon an applicaton filed in the name of Darius W. Bunker, have been provided which are capable of beingad 'usted into two positions according to whether the pieces of stock are comparatively short and thin or comparatively long and thick. When-in position for use with top lifts or similar short pieces, the guard is located nearthe' rolls cf the splituse in a leather split- I NEW JERSEY, A- COBEOR-ATION OF NEW DEVICE 1930. Serial No. 446,773.

ting mechanism and spaced above the table just enough to permit top lifts to be pushed beneath said edge. When in position for soles, it is located at a distance from the rolls greater than the length of the operators fingers, and its lower edge is spaced from the table sufliciently to permit soles to pass beneath it but insufficiently to permit the palm of the hand of the operator to pass.

A general object of the present invention is to provide an improved construction of work table and finger guard of the type referred to.

According to one feature of the invention the guard is mounted upon a pivot, the pivotbeing so located and the dimensions of the guard such that, when the guard is swung into one position, its lower edge isnear' the surface of the work table and near the oper'- ating mechanism; and, when the guard is swung into another position, its lower edge is farther from the surface of the table and farther from the ope-rating mechanism. In the illustrated construction the guard i p'ivotally mounted between two spaced uprights which are integral is provided for locking the guard 1n either of two angular positions about its pivot.

In the use of a leather splitting machine happens that chips or skivings it sometimes are carried around by the lower roll up against the under side of the work table and into the space between the roll and the inner edge of the table where they may become jammed. In orderto avoid this undesirable possibility, there is provided, according to another feature of the invention, for the work table such that the work table'- may' yield to permit the skivings to pass through the space. In the illustrated construction the table is pivoted tothe frame of the machine; and a compression" spring, located between a depending and the frame of the machine, holds the table normaily in a position determined by a suitable stop, and permits the inner end of the from the lower roll of the table to yield away splitting mechanism.

These and other features of the invention.

with the table and means a mounting,

arm of the tablewith its lower edge including certain details of construction and combinations of parts, will be described as embodied in an illustrated machine and pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawing,

Fig. 1 is a vertical longitudinal section through a machine in which the invention is embodied; and

Fig. 2 is a perspective of the work table and guard.

The leather splitting machine chosen for illustration comprises a frame 3, upper and lower rolls 5 and 7 a knife 8, and a short table 9. The rolls are driven continuously in a direction to feed the work to the knife, and the bearings of the upper roll are adjustable vertically toward and from the lower roll to determine the thickness to which the work shall be split. The machine, as thus far described, is old and well known, and has been chosen first because it represents generally a type in which presentation of the work is accompanied by some danger and second because a particular danger is involved in the presentation of work to leather splitting machines due to the differences in thickness of pieces of work which are operated upon.

The table 9 has depending arms 11, 13 having alined bores to receive pivot screws, one of which is shown at 15, said screws being carried by spaced bars on the frame, one of which is shown at 17. Through the lower end of the arm 13 is threaded a stop screw 19, the inner end of which is normally spaced from the frame of the machine. Encircling the stem of the screw and extending into a socket in the arm 13 is a compression spring 21 which bears at its inner end against the frame of the machine and tends to swing the table 9 about the alined axes of the pivot screws 15. A stop screw 23 (Fig. 2), threaded through a lug which is integral with the table 9, contacts with the frame of the machine and limits the extent to which the table may be swung about its pivot screwsby the spring 21. The purpose of this mounting of the table 9 is to hold it normally in the position shown while permitting it to swing in a clockwise direction a small distance, depending upon the distance of the inner end of the stop screw 19 from the frame of the machine. At times, during the operation of the machine, the skivings, which pass below the knife, may cling to the lower roll 7 and rise into a position between the roll and the inner end of the table. In such case the inner end of the table may yield upwardly to prevent such skivings from becoming jammed between the roll and the inner end of the table.

Before describing the guard mechanism in detail, a brief outline of its mode of opera tion will be given. A guard 25 in the form of a plate of a length about equal to that of the rolls and having a rounded lower edge 125 is so mounted that it may be swung into and held in either the full line or the dotted line position shown in Fig. 1. In the full line position the opening between its lower edge 125 and the surface of the table 9 is suflicient to permit a comparatively thick piece of work, such as a sole, to pass through but is not sufiicient to permit the operator to push his fingers through it far enough to reach the feed rolls. When the guard is used on a splitting machine, the height of this opening is about five-eighths of an inch, and the distance from the lower edge 125 of the guard to the rolls is about six inches. In the dotted line position the opening between the lower edge of the guard and the surface of the table 9 is of less height than in the full line position, being suflicient then to permit a comparatively thin piece of work, such as a top lift, to pass through it, but insufficient to permit even the tips of the operators fingers to pass through.

WVith regard to the table of the machine, the member 9 which has been referred to above for convenience as the table, is in the present machine really one section (herein after referred to as the main section) of the table and is comparatively short so as to be suitable for use with top lifts. In order to render the table longer for use with soles, there is provided an extension section 309 which is pivoted to the main section about the alined axes of the pins 27, 29 and is so connected with the guard 25 that, when the extension section 309 is swung up into full line horizontal position, the guard is swung back into its full-line position; and, when the extension section 309 is swung down into dotted line position, the guard is swung forward into its dotted line position. There is thus provided in effect a short table for top lifts and a longer table for soles.

Proceeding now to a description of the details of the mounting of the guard the main section 9 of the table has integral with it two uprights 31, 33 to the upper ends of which the guard is pivoted about the alined axes of pins 35, 37 which are held by set screws 39, 41 in alined bores in bosses formed on the guard and extend into bearings in the uprights. A segment 43 and a crank arm 45 are integral with one end of the guard the right-hand end as viewed in Fig. 2. Pivoted to the arm at 47 is the upper end of a link 49, the lower end of which is pivoted at 51 to the inner end of an arm 53 which is integral with the extension section 309 of the table. In order to hold the guard 25 and the extension section 309 in either of the two positions indicated respectively by full and by dotted lines in Fig. 1, the segment 43 is provided with two sockets 55, 57 into either of which a locking pin 59 may be caused to extend. This locking pin is held in a boss formed on the upright 33 and is urged at all times toward the segment 43 by a compres- Sion spring 61. The pin and the sockets are so located that the pin engages the lower socket 557 when the extension section 309 and the guard 25 are in the full line positions, and engages the upper socket 55 when the section and the guard are in their dotted line positions.

As shown in full lines in Fig. 1, the extension section 809 occupies its operative position, the guard 25 being positioned correspondingly so that comparatively thick soles may be presented to the machine. When now it is desired to present shorter, thinner pieces of work, such as top lifts, the pin 59 is pulled out of the socket 57, and the extension section 309 is swung down into the dotted line position shown in Fig. 1. This downward swinging of the section 309 acts, through the arm 53, the link 49 and the arm 45 to swing the guard 25 into the dotted line position shown in Fig. 1 and brings the socket 55 in the segment 43 into register with the springpressed pin 59 which thereupon locks the parts in position.

Although the invention has been set forth as embodied in a particular machine, it should be understood that the invention is not limited in the scope of its application to the particular machine which has been shown and described.

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

1. In a machine having mechanism to which pieces of work are presented by an operator, a table over which the pieces are presented, a pivot, a guard hung on the pivot for swinging movement, the location of the pivot being such that the guard may be swung toward the mechanism into a position in which its lower edge is near the table and away from the mechanism into a position in which its lower edge is farther from the table, and means for locking the guard in either position.

2. In a machine having mechanism to which pieces of work are presented by an operator, a table over which the pieces are presented, a pivot located above the table, a guard mounted on the pivot, said guard having an arm by manipulation of which it may be swung into two positions in one of which its lower edge is near the mechanism and near the table and in the other of which its lower edge is farther from both the mechanism and the table, and means for holding the guard in either position.

3. In a machine having mechanism to which pieces of work are presented by an operator, a table over which the pieces are presented, a pivot located above the table, a guard hung on the pivot for swinging movement, the location of the pivot being such that the guard may be swung toward the mechanism intoa position in which its lower edge is near the table and away from the mechanism into a second position in which its lower edge is farther from the table,said guard having a portion provided with two sockets, and a spring-pressed pin for engaging either'socket to hold the guard in the desired position.

4. In a machine having mechanism to which pieces of work are presented by an operator, a table having a main section adjacent to the mechanism, and an adjustable section movable into and out of operative position in which it forms anextension of the main section, and a pivoted guard adapted to be swung about its pivot into two positions in one of which its lower edge is near themechanism and near the main table and in the other of which said lower edge is farther from the mechanism and farther from the main table.

5. In a machine having mechanism to which pieces of work are presented by an operator, a table having a main section adjacent to the mechanism, section movable into and out of operative position in which the main section, a pivoted guard adapted to be swung about its pivot into two positions in one of which its lower edge is near the mechanism and near the main table and in the other of which said lower edge is fari ther from the mechanism and farther from the main table, and means adapted to engage difierent localities on the guard to hold it in a selected position.

6. In a machine which pieces of work are presented by an operator, a table having a main section adjacent to the mechanism and an adjustable section movable into and out of operative position in which it forms an extension of the main section, apivoted guard, and connections betweenthe adjustable section and the guard such that adjusting the adjustable section swings the guard into different positions.

7. In a machine having mechanism to which pieces of work are presented by an operator, a table having a main section adjacent to the mechanism and an adjustable section movable into and out of operative position in which it forms an extension of the main section, a pivoted guard, connections between the adjustable section and the guard such that adjusting the adjustable section swings the guard into diiferent positions, and means for locking the guard in a selected position.

8. In a machine having mechanism to which pieces of work are presented by an operator, a table having a main section and a pivoted adjustable section, a pivoted adjustable guard, connections between the adjustable section and the guard such that adjusting the section adjusts the guard, and

and an adjustable it forms an extension of having mechanism to means for locking the section and the guard in adjusted position.

9. In a machine having mechanism to which pieces of work are presented by an operator, a table having a main section and a pivoted adjustable section, a pivoted adjustable guard, connections between the ad justable section and the guard such that adjusting the section adjusts the guard, and a spring-pressed pin for locking the section and the guard in adjusted position.

10. 111 a machine to which pieces of work are presented by an operator, a table over which the work is presented, .apivot, and a guard hung on the pivot, the location of the pivot being such that the guard may be swung into two operative positions in one of which its lower edge is near the table at a locality in front of and near the mechanism and in the other of which said edge is farther from the table at a locality in front of the mechanism and farther from the mechanism whereby short thin pieces of work and longer thicker pieces of work may be presented to the mechanism without danger to the fingers of the operator.

11. In a splitting machine having a knife and a roll for advancing the work to the knife, a table upon which the work is placed and over which it is said table being normally so located that there is a small opening between its ii'ner edge and the periphery of the roll, and means including a spring for holding the table normally in this position while permitting it to yield to permit a skiving which is too large to pass through the opening to move the table and thereby increases the size of said opening sufficiently to permit the skiving to pass through.

12. In a splitting machine having a knife and a feed rolh a pivoted work table having a portion over which the operator may present a piece of work to the roll, the inner edge of said table being at all times spaced from and held from movement toward the periphery of said roll, and yielding means for permit-ting the table to rock on its pivot so as to increase the space between its inner edge and the roll.

In testimony whereof I name to this specification.

WILLIAM D. THOMAS.

have signed my presented to the rolls,

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