US1931252A - Can varnishing machine - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 17, 1933. 5 CQOKE r AL 1,931,252

CAN VARNISHING MACHINE Filed Oct. 24, 1930 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG.1.

awueubow Oct. 17, 1933.

FIG.3.

G. C. COOKE ET AL 01m VARNISHING mcrmir:

Filed Oct. 24. 1930 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 CAN VARNISHING MACHINE Filed Oct. 24, 1930 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 FIG!!- G. C. COOKE ET AL CAN VARNI SHING MACHI NB Oct. 17, 1933.

Filed Oct. 24, 1930 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 illllllllll ll illl Illlii llllFllllllll M Patented Oct. 17, 1933 a g a UNITED- I I AT T-QFF dF* 1,931,252 CAN ,VARNISHING MACHINE GordonC. Cooke, 'Ridgewood, N. J and RobertF. Becht, Cincinnati, Ohio, assignors to The Robert Becht -5 Cincinnati Ohio, a corporation of Ohio ApplicationOctober 24,1930. Serial N'O.49o, s9o

9 Claims. (01. 919-27) This invention relates to a machine for apthrough the machine the cans are continuously plying a protective coating to the outer surfaces advanced in the same direction that is to say of cans so as to prevent rusting of the cans-at the introduction and withdrawal of the cans are points where moisture might otherwise accumuby way of movement of them in the same direc- :.,6 late in direct contact with the metal. It has tion rather than by movements in opposite direc- 0 been found, particularly in the shipment of tions. v I v canned goods overseas, that moisture has a ten- Another feature of the machine. is the-providency to accumulate at the joints of the cans and sion of cooperating varnish-applying rollers at various points beneath the label where it may which are operated. at the same peripheral speeds.

.10. happento be slightly loosened from the metal. Suitable provisions are made,- furthermore, for

Corrosion sets in at these points and the canlis the adjustment of the rollers to adapt the ma made unsightly. In some instances the goods chine to .the reception of cans of variable diam-- may be spoiled as. a result of the rusting of the eter and also for .the adjustment of .the speed can. of operation of the devices which control the For the foregoing reason it has been found introductio'n'and removal of cans from'thernadesirable in the shipment of canned-goods overchine. This latter mechanism enables operation seas, and even in the handling of .such goods of the .machineat the maximum speed per.- in damper climates, when they'are apt to be missible: for eachsize of can consistent with a kept on the shelf'for: a long period, to apply complete and thorough coating of the same. 220v a thin coating of varnish, or similar protective While the machine disclosed as embodying agent, to the entire surface of the cans. This the invention is particularly suited to the coatcoating may be applied either directly to the body ing of metal cans it is also adapted for the ape. of the can or may be applied over the label which plicat'ion of a. coating to 1 containers of other is ordinarily pasted to the can. The latter practypes .as for example to fibre Containers, 1 p 25 tice is deemed preferable inasmuch as it afiords a per or cardboard containers," or bottles ior jars go somewhat better protection for the can andpreofya'rious sorts. The coating may be applied sents a more attractive appearance even through primarily asajprotective; agent or it may -be a cheaper form of label" may be employed. used entirely-for "the purpose of improvingthe where the can is coated after the label has appearance of the container; 2;

1'30v been applied, it is possible to employ a dull Other featuresl and advantages will app ar 5- type of label, which is considerably less expenfrom the detailed description of oneillustrative sive than the glossy or pre-varm'shed type norform of the invention which will now begiven mally employed on unvarnished cans; A dull in conjunction with the accompanying drawlabel which has been varnished presents just ings,'in whic h: 1. i 35; as good an appearance if not a better one than Figure 1' is a vertical sectional view taken lon- 1 an ordinary pre-glossed label. The use of dull gitudinally through :the machine;

labels, furthermore, serves to overcome a difii- Figure-2 is a-detail disclosing m ans forapculty which has been encountered in the hanplying varn sh to 0 8 Of the Oafi O G SIJ' dling of glossy labels; well known they re- Figure-3 is a plan view-of the.machine; 1 i 3 quire the omission of the glazing along a small Figures 4, .5 and 6 are sectional views-taken strip at the end of the label to permit the over-'- through the can-feeding and coating mechlapping portion of the opposite end of the label aIi S Showing t -p Various 'D O to properly adhere to it. The-expense involved assigned during an'operation;

in the coating of the cans when efiiciently car- ZFigure 7 isla detail view showing in elevation .45 ried out is less than thesaving permitted in 'the the supportingfand driving means for certain cost of the labels that may be employed. I of the 'coatingrollers; and. I I q It has been an object of the present inven- 'Figure 8 is.afperspectiveiview oftheisupporta tion to produce a can-varnishing machine which ing and driving meansfor one .of the coating may be operated continuously and rapidly to rollers with-certain Ofthepartsspreadapart.a L 9 feed an endless seriesofcans pastsuitable var- .Referring nowto the; drawings, the -frame- 105, nishing devices capable of completely coating work of ithe' machine consists .of 'a pair of side each can in a minimum of time. In the attainmembers 10 and 11 (Figures: 1 and 3) which ment' of this object the cans are fedf'at a more rise substantially vertically from the floor on rapid rate than has heretofore been possible which. the. machine standson feet/.12; formed as in machines of this character and in passing extensions'ofthe frame members. These side 11b 7 frames are held spaced relation by suitable cross rods, shafts and bars, some of which serve further to support various portions of the operating mechanism of themachine, as will appear hereinafter.

A worm 18, carried by the shaft 17, cooperates.

with a worm-wheel 19 secured to a shaft 29 which is journalled between the side frames 10 and 11. On the shaft 20 there is secured a pulley cone 21 which converges gradually from a larger to a smaller diameter and is adapted to cooperate with a belt 22 which at its opposite end surrounds a corresponding, conical pulley 23, having a slight taper. inthe opposite direction from that of'the pulley 21. The pulley ,23 is secured to a shaft 230 which .is journalled in the side frames 10 and 11. It will be apparent that the speed of rotation of the pulley-23 and its shaft 230 maybe varied by'shifting the belt 22 along the conical surfaces of the pulleys 21 and23. Movement of the belt toward the bottom of Figure 3 will cause a reduction in the speed of rotation of the shaft 230 in a manner well known. For the purpose. of shifting the belt to vary theangular speed of the shaft 230,

a belt guiding structure 240, having mounted thereon a spring-tensioned roller 241 for apply ing a desired .tension to the belt, may be shifted ina direction parallel to the axes of the pulleys by rotation-of a feed-screw 25. A hand-wheel 26 is provided for turning the feed screw.

At aboutthejmidpoint of the shaft 17 there is, secured a bevel gear 27 adjacent a. supporting bracket 28 for the shaft. This bevelgear meshes witha bevel pinion 29 secured to a shaft 30 which extendsthrough'a bearing provided in the frame 11. At its inner end the shaft 30 carries a pinion 31 adapted to mesh with a pinion 32'secured to a shaft 33 directly above and parallel to the shaft 3 0. Uponthe shaft 33 there is mounted a'soft, flexible roller 34 formed of rubber or gum, or any other suitable material such as commonly employed in the production of inking rollers for printing presses and the like. In a similar way the pinion 31 may cooperate with, another. pinion 35 secured to a shaft 36 which serves to support a roller 37 similar. to the roller 34. The shafts'33 and 36 may be .formedas single continuous elements, if desired, carried at their opposite endsby a pair of intermediate frame elements 38 and 39 which are pivotally supported respectively by the shaft 30 and by a stud 301 extending from the opposite side frame 10 in line with the shaft 30. Preferably, however. the . shafts 33 and 36 are formed in several sections so as to facilitate the removal of the flexible rollers for,:cleaning and whenever the machineisidle. Due to the necessity of providing a substantial amount of pressure between the flexible rollers and another roller, as will presently appear,it is desirable to remove the flexible rollers from the machine whenever the latter is left out of operation for any length of time since otherwise permanent indentations may be left in the surfaces of the soft rollers. That part of .shaft 33 which car- The shaft 17 shaft within the pinion. In this way the rotation of the pinion 32 is transmitted to the roller 34. At'its opposite end the shaft 330 may be journaled within a sleeve 333 which extends through the rockable frame 39 and has a threaded engagement with the same. At its inner end the sleeve may be provided with a knurled wheel 334 by means of which the sleeve may be turned to feed it toward or away from the roller 34 by the action of the screw threads 335 on the sleeve. When the machine is placed in condition for operation the sleeve 333 will be shifted toward'the roller 34 as far as possible to lend proper support to the shaft 330. However,- when it is desired to. remove the flexible roller 34 from themachinethe-sleeve is shifted in the. opposite direction until it clears the end of the shaft 330 at which time the roller may be removed. In a similar way the roller37 is preferably car:- ried by a separate shaft section 360 which is adapted to be inserted into the pinion 35 and engaged with the short stub shaft 36 to be turned by the latter. At its opposite end the shaft 360 may bev supportedby a sleeve similar to the sleeve 333'and adapted to be shifted, by a screw motion, relative to the frame 39. Each ofthe frame. elements 38 and 39 isjprovided-with-an upward extension 40' having pivotally connected thereto a link or pitman 41 having an eccentric strap 42 bolted or otherwise secured to its opposite end adapted to cooperate with an eccentric 43 secured to the shaft 230. It will be apparent that upon rotation ofithe shaft 230 in the manner previously explained the eccentrics will produce a longitudinal movement of the pitmen 41 and will rock the frame elements 38 and 39- to rock the rollers 34 and 37, through a suitable arc'about-the axis of the shaft 30 and stud 301.

At another point along the shaft 1'7 there is secured a bevel pinion 44 which is adapted to mesh with a gear 45 secured to a shaft 46. This shaft may extend from one side frame to the other .but preferably is formed in sections similar to the shaft ,33. A short stub sectionattached to the bevel gear 45 extends partly through a bearing 461 and has a recess in its end adapted .toyreceive a rectangular projection, or the like at the end of another section 460 of the shaft. The opposite end of the shaft 460 is journaled in a bushing 462 which has screw threaded engagement with a'supporting block and may be fed axially of the shaft by turning of a thumb wheel 463. On the shaft 460 there is mounted a soft,-flexible roller 47 formed preferably of the same material as the rollers 34 and 37; it may be of substantially largerdiamee ter but by'properselection of gearing the roller 47 is preferably driven at the same peripheral speed as the smaller rollers. This is not absolutely necessary anda difference of peripheral regarded as preferable since the label is then less likely'to be torn. The shaft sections, 46 and 460 are supported by bearings carried by blocks '48 slidably mounted on guides 49 formed on the feed-screw 50 is adapted to cooperate with each of the blocks 48 so that turning of the feedscrews will shift J the blocks toward or away from the rollers 34 and 37. A bevel pinion 51- mount ed atthe ends of' each of the feed-screws 50 is adapted to mesh with a corresponding bevel pinion 52 carried by a cross shaft-53 supported by brackets extending from the side frames lO and 11." Rotation of the'shaft' 53 by means of ahand-wheel 54 will serve to move'theblocks ,48 and hence the roller. 47 toward or away from the rollers 34 and 37 to accommodate the ma chine to the reception of cans of different diameters. 1 Y m i Means are provided for supplying the various varnishing rollers 34, 37" and '47 with a suitable quantity of varnish to be applied to the'cylindrical surfaces of the cans fed through the. machine;v The. varnish supplying means, furthermore,.is so constructed as to provide-the rollers 57 which extends substantially across the width of the roller and is suitably. supported above it, as shown in Figure 1, by means of a pair of arms 58 swung from a pair of studs 59 carried by the extensions 40 of the intermediate frames.

A flexible tube 60 will serve to connect the inlet of the nozzle with the upper end of a vertically extending pipe161 which, at its lower end, is

connected to the discharge outlet of a suitable,

small gear pump 62. The latter is mounted within a large vat or vessel 63 adapted to contain a supply of varnish, from which it maybe pumped through. the lines indicated and discharged along the surface of the roller 55. For driving the pump, a rod or shaft. 64 carrying at 'its upper end a bevel pinion 65 adaptedflto mesh-with a bevel pinion 66 secured to; the shaft 20, may be provided; A vertically movable coupling member 67 may be provided on the. shaft 64 for connecting 'or disconnecting the same with relation to the pumpx, a No separate means is provided for; rotating the roller 55. The latter is merely maintained in contact with the rollers 34 and Y37 'so that it will be, frictionally driven by these rollers whenever required. It has been found that so long as both of the rollers 34 and 37 are provided with, suflicient varnish to properly coat the cans with which they come in contact, these rollerswill merely slip idly-over the surfaceof the roller 55 and the latter will not be rotated to transfer any additional varnish; ,However, as soon as onev or theother of the rollers 34 and 37 should become too dry to properly apply'varnish to the surface Ofcans, the friction between such roller and the surface of the roller 55 will become suflicientlygreat to rotate the latter so that more varnish will be transferred to the soft rollers. This automatic control of the distributionofvarnish is extremely ,useful since it effects a saving in the-amountof varnish consumed by the machine forcoating a given number ofcans and it reduces the amount of time required for: drying the varnish, ,If the coating rollers 'were permitted to receive an excess quantityfof varnish merely slip on the surface of the roller '73 and way the shafts .75 will be rotated continuously thiswould'be transferred :to the :cans andif in.

adequatetime for drying were allowed the. cans or the labels thereon would stick together wh en packed. While a single'roller55maybe satisfactorily employed to supply varnish to both of the rollers 34 and 37 a. separate supply roller might be provided for each softroller if desired. 1

In that event the excess varnish supplied to? the upper 'steelroller could trickle .over a, shield and flow onto the lower supply:roller..-.-

Any excess quantity. of .varnish forced through. the nozzle 57 againstthe roller55 will becarried around with the roller or bepermitted to trickle downwardly along the rear side'of thefiroller and will be discharged into a collecting pan 69. From this collection'pan the excess varnish-is discharged through a pipe70 into a second pan 71,'from which a portion of. it is'subsequently discharged .by a pipe 72 and returned to the original storage vessel 63. The inlet of the pipe 72 is maintained at sucha 'heightiwithin the pan 71 as to provide for the retention of a quantity of I varnish in'the panat a suitablelevel. 1 If desired varnish could .be fed directly from the pipe .61 to the. pan 71:and the overflow from both of the pans 69 and 7'1 couldbereturned directly'to the vessel 63. This would insure. a slightly greater consistency of the varnish applied by the several rollers since the evaporation. of.v the, solvent would be approximately the same for/each.

Normally, however the aextent .of evaporation during the course ofcirculation is so slight that 'it may be ignored. Additional alcohol or othersolvent may be introduced intoFtheJvarnishat any suitable point, preferably in the vessel 63.

A roller 73, similar to the roller 55, is suitably journalled by means of a shaft 74 beneaththe roller 47. z The shaft-74 is carried by downward projections formed integrally with: theshiftable blocks 48 so that the roller 73: willbeumoved fed through the machine, and at other times whenthe roller 47 provided with an ample coating of varnish, the surface of this roller will will .not rotate .the latter to Suitable means are also provided for supply- I ing varnishto the ends'of the cans as they are passed through the machine. =For. this "purpose a pair of stub shafts 75 are-mounted, each in an extension of one. of the rocking frames 38 and 39. These stub shafts are provided with pinion-s 76 adapted to mesh with pinions77 carriedby the shaft 30 which, as will be recalled;

receives power from the shaft 17 and-bythe .stud 301 which is driven from the shaft 360 by means of pinions 351 and 311 (Fig. 7). In this so long as the'machine isin operation. A rotary brush '78 is carried-at the inner-endof each of the stub-shafts and is adapted to come in con-, tact with the. periphery of one, orboth gof the rollers 34 and. 37. Through this contact the brushes arecontinuously provided with varnish,

whichis then. transferred by the brushes to the ends ofthe cans. t

Arunway or track; 8 0, carriedby suitable m m er 8; aid. in e a with o fetlierwise secured to arms or extensions 83 of the slidable blocks 48, is adapted to feed cans continuously into' varnishing position. As the roller 47 is shifted to accommodate cans of different diameters, the runway will also be shifted so that anopening 84 therein will serve to drop the cans at the appropriate point between the rollers 37 and 44. V e A rsum of the operation of the machine may now be briefly given? The hand-wheel 54 is first rotated to. adjust the blocks 48 to proper position for the coating of cans of the desired diameter. The handwheel 26. is also turned to shift the belt 22 into proper position along the cones 21 and 23 to insure operation of the feeding devices of the machine at thespeed at which the cans are properly. and completely coated. The machine is then set into operation and thecans are fed either. by hand or by an automatic conveyor system to the runway 80. They are permitted to descend by gravity until the first can is dropped into the space between the rollers 34 .andy47. At the initial stage of a coating operation, these rollers will be too close together to permit the can to drop through. The frames 38 will at-this time assume the position shown in Figure 6. 'Subsequently upon rotation of the shaft 230 inxthe direction indicated. by the arrow the rollers will assume the position shown in Figure 4, at which time the can'will be permitted to drop between the rollers to a further extent and as the frames continue to rock into the position shown in Figure 5,1.the can'will be dropped into contact with the roller 3'7 in the manner shown. Throughout thisrocking of the pair of rollers 34 and 37 and the dropping of the can, the latter will have been rotated by the action of the soft rollers in 0011-. tact with it and. a coating will have been applied to its outer surface after the manner 0f.a printing transfer; Incidentally it shouldbe observed thatthe action is not a rubbing one which might result in the tearing of the labels. As the cans are'permitted to drop between the rollers 34, 37 .and 47- in the manner indicated, the brushes. 78 will, be rotated. as previously ex-- plained to pick up varnish from the ends of the smaller rollers and apply it to the end portions of the cans so that the latter, priorto discharge from the machine, will be completely coated.

- As rotation of the shaft 230 continues, the frames 38 and 39 will be restored to the position shown in Figure 6 and as they reach this position the'coated can will be dropped into a chute or runway beneath the coating .rollers and will be. discharged from the machine. The

cans may besubsequently removed by.hand 'or .by a suitable conveyor system to any suitable drying chamber or apparatus, after which they may be packed. in cases for shipment. If desired the drying maybe permitted to take place on the table onto which the cans are discharged Figure ,6. If' desired, special detentsmight be provided for retaining and releasing the 1 cans on'the runway, either under control of the shaft 230 or under the control of the movement of the cans. Thus the discharge of a coated can might be caused to release the detent for the introduction ofv a subsequent can. However, this type of mechanism not considered to be necessary and would, in fact, .tend to slowup the opera-. tion of the machine.

In the course of its travel between the rollers,

each can will be rotatedsomewhat more than a complete revolution .and preferably will be rotated several 'revolutions in. order to insure adequate coating. The adjustment of the belt 22 by means of the hand-Wheel 26 may be varied at the beginning of a" run for the coating of .abatch of cans .until the frames 38 and 39 are rocked at sufiicientfrequency to. insure complete coating of the cans without reducing the speed of operation too far. Variation of the speed .of rotation of the shaft 230 and..hence the fre+ quency of the rocking movements of the rollers 34 and37 will not affect the 'speedof rotation of the coating rollers'since they are driven di*' rectly from the shaft 17. It has" been found that the .machine is readily capable of coating 120 cans per minute Where the latter are .of the usual 3". diameter. I 7

While one admirable form of the invention has been set forth in detail in the foregoing, itis to be understood that many variations and modificationsmay be made in the construction and arrangement of the various features ofthe machine without departing from the general. spirit and scope of theinvention. Furthermore while the invention has been explained in connection 1. In a machine of. theclass described. a.

flexible coating applying .roller. for applying a coating. to the outer surfaces of containers, a plurality of flexible rollers spaced from said first mentioned roller, a rockable frame adapted tosupport said plurality of rollers, means. for

supplying a coating substance to saidjrollers, means for continuously rotating said rollers, and

means for rocking said frame to permit con tainers to be fed between andwithdraw from said rollersbygravity. 4 1

2. In a machine .of the class describeda flexible. coating applying roller, a plurality of flex ible rollers spaced from said-first mentioned roller, means for varying the distancebetween said rollers to accommodate containers of dif ferent diameter, a rockable frame adapted to support said plurality'of rollers, means for supplying a coating substance tosaid rollers, means for continuously rotating said rollers, andmeans be fed between and withdraw from said rollers. 3.. In a machine of the class described a flexible coating applying roller, a plurality of flexible rollers spaced from said first mentioned roller, a rockable frame adapted to support said plurality of rollers, means for supplying a coating substance to said rollers, means for continuously rotating said rollers, means for rocking said frame to permit containers to be fed between and withdrawn 'from' said rollers, and means for varying the frequency of the rocking movements of said frame.

. for rocking said frame to permitcontainersto withdrawal of containers from between said' rollers by gravity.

5. In a machine of the class described a plurality of coating rollers, certain of said rollers being spaced from another of said rollers, operating means for rotating all of said rollers, connections from said operating means for periodically shifting said certain rollers to permit introduction and withdrawal of containers from between said rollers, and means for varying the relation between the speed of rotation of said rollers and the frequency of said shifting movements.

6. In a machine of theclass described a plurality of flexible coating rollers, means for roe tating said rollers, a rockable frame adapted to support certain of said rollers in spaced relation from one roller, and, means for rocking said frame to carry a roller thereon towardjsaid.

one roller and another roller thereon away from said one roller to permit feeding of containers between said one roller and those on the frame.

7. In a machine of the class described a flexible coating roller for applying a'coating to the outer surfaces of containers, a rockable frame, a plurality of smaller flexible rollers mounted on said frame adjacent said first mentioned roller, means for rotating said rollers, and means for rocking said frameto control the feeding of containers by gravity between said first mentioned roller and said smaller rollers.

8. In a machine of the class described a fiexi- I ble coating roller, a rockable frame, a plurality of smaller flexible rollers mounted on said frame adjacent said first mentioned roller, common means for rotating said rollers and for rocking said frame to control the feeding of containers between said first mentioned roller and said smaller rollers and means for varying the rela: tive speeds of said rotating and rocking movements. a a

9. In a machine of the class described a flexible coating roller for applying a coating to the outer surfaces of containers, a rockabl'e frame,

a plurality of smaller fiexible rollers mounted Q on said frame adjacent said first mentioned roller, means for varying the normal distance between said first mentioned roller and the smaller rollers, means for rotating said rollers,

and means for rocking said frame to control the feeding of containers by gravity between said first mentioned roller and said smaller rollers.

GORDON C. COOKE. ROBERT F. BECHT.

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