US2030484A - Shaping machine - Google Patents

Description

Feb, 11, 1936, F. G. WALLER 2,030,484

SHAPING MACHINE Filed March 21, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 A 7' TOE/YEY F. G. WALL-ER SHAPING MACHINE Febrl 1, 1936.

Filed March 21, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Feb. 11, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT- OFFICE 2,030,484 SHAPING MACHINE I i Fred G. Waller, East St. Louis, 111. v

' Application March 21, 1934, Serial No. 716,604

Claims. (Cl. 113-38) This invention relates generally to shaping ma.- chines, and more specifically to an improved shaping machine adapted for use in producing description mentioned may be produced during a single continuous operation of the machine.

Prior to this invention cans, cups, containers, and various other articles of this general nature were each produced by subjecting the blank of material being shaped to produce the article to successive, independent die operations; that is to say, the blank was subjected to the operation of one set of dies by which it was partially shaped, after which the blank was successively subjected in turn to a plurality of additional independent die operations, each of which carried the shaping of the blank a step forward. This method of procedure is cumbersome and time-consuming, inasmuch as it calls for a transfer of the blank being operated upon from one to another set of dies as the shaping operations progress. Also, it is expensive because of the necessity that considerable equipment be produced and maintained on hand for carrying out the various independent shaping operations.

In view of the foregoing I have devised a single machine which functions in such manner that the article being formed is completely produced by the improved machine during one continuous operation. Thus the expense of producing and maintaining a plurality of sets of independent dies is eliminated, and the time required for producing articles in accordance with this invention is very much less than was the case when the articles were produced in accordance withflthe 40 independent die method formerly followed.

Fig. 1 is a vertical section of the improved machine, a part thereof being broken away to conserve space.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary, vertical section of the machine shown in Fig. 1 but with parts thereof shown in changed positions.

Fig. 3 is an inverted plan view of the machine as shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a horizontal section taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary detail illustrating the cam for actuating the ejecting mechanism of the machine.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentaryview of one of the cams of the machine which actuates shaping elements of the machine.

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 2, but showing the forming elements 01' the machine as they appear when the forming operation has been completed.

In the drawings, wherein is shown for the purpose of illustration, merely, one embodiment of the invention, A designates the improved shaping machine generally. The machine A includes a main body portion I which may be of any desired shape and dimensions, said body portion being shown in the drawings as more or less cylindrical and the hollow interior thereof providing a circular cavity 2 in which certain important parts of the machine are disposed. Also the main body'portion for the machine is provided with a slot 3formed transversely through the wall portion thereof, through which material from which the articles being produced with the aid of the machines is passed into, through, and out of the machine. The slot 3 is formed continuously through the body portion l of the machine, and 'said' slot is open at opposite sides of the main body portion of the machine, the intake end of the slot being indicated by the reference character I and the discharge end of the slot being designated by the reference character l As will presently appear herein, the sheet of material M being operated on by the machine is fed into the machine through the intake 'end of the slot 3, and said sheet is discharged from the machine through the discharge end of the slot I said sheet in the meantime having blanks stamped therefrom which are formed by the machine into the articles being formed.

Arranged within the lower portion of the cavity 2 of the body portion I of the machine A is a plurality of V annular forming elements 4. These annular forming elements 4 are nested one within the other, as shown clearly in the drawings, the outer face of the largest annular forming element being in contact with the face of the cavity 2, and the faces of adjacent forming elements being in contact with each other. The innermost or smallest forming element 4 differs from the other forming elements 4 in that the opening formed therethrough is of irregular shape, this opening having a tapering portion at its upper end designated by the reference character 5, which communicates with a portion 6 located immediately below said tapering portion, and this portion 6 is of less'diameter than a portion 1 disposed beneath and in communication with said portion 6. The largest forming element 4 has a cutting edge 8 located at the junction of its outer face and its top edge, and this cutting edge co-operates with an annular cutting edge 9 at the junction of the upper edge of the slot 3 and the inner face of the cavity 2, so as to cut blanks B from the sheet of material M as it passes through the machine. The annular forming elements 4 are movable vertically with respect to each other, and the largest outer forming element is movable vertically with respect to the face of the cavity 2.

Disposed immediately above the group of annular forming elements 4 is a similar group of annular forming elements In. The forming elements Ii] correspond in number to the forming elements 4, and said two groups of forming ele'- ments are arranged in such relation that'each forming element 4 has a forming element l arranged above it in precise, vertical alinement with respect thereto. As is the case with the forming elements 4, the forming elements H] are capable of moving vertically with respect toeach other. Also, the outer or largest element of the group of forming elements I0 is movable vertically with respect to the face of the cavity 2.

Downward movement of the forming elements it] relative to each other and with respect tothe main body portion of the machine A is limited by a pair of pins The outer end portions of these'pins are disposed in openings |2 formed in the main body portion and said pins pass through alined, vertically extended slots |3 formed through the forming elements Hi. The pins H are supported at their inner ends by a hollow post |4 provided with apertures l5 which receive the inner end portions of said pins, said hollow post being suitablysupported in a fixed position by a stationary element l6 forming a fixed part of the machine. The lower portion of the hollow post I4 is disposed within the opening formed through the smallest annular forming element ill, the outer face of said post contacting closely with the face of said opening, and at thelower end of the post an opening portion H is provided which is .of greater diameter than the opening l8 formed through the remainder of the post and is of tapered formation.

The pins prevent the annular forming elements H! from moving downwardly beyond the point where the lower edges thereof are alined horizontally with the upper edge of the slot 3, as when the annular forming elements are so positioned the top faces of the slots 3 contact with the pins and thereby prevent further downward movement of the forming elements. Also, because the slots I3 are disposed vertically and are elongated the forming elements I!) may move upwardly considerable distances without hindrance from the pins I I.

At the lower end of the machine A a plurality of shafts I3 is arranged radially with respect to the main body portion of the machine, as shown most clearly in Fig. 3. The shafts l9 are supported for rotation in suitable bearings 20 which are supported by, or form parts of, the main body of the machine. At the inner end of each of the shafts IS a cam 2| is located which is provided with a plurality of cam faces 22 22 22 ference of the associated shaft 9, as shown clearly in Fig. 6, this spacing of the cam faces 22 being such that the said cam faces move the annular forming elements 4 upwardly in successive relation. In other words, if Fig. 6 be considered, the cam 2| is rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow, and the first movement resulting from the rotation of the cam is that cam face 22 moves the outermost or largest annular forming element upwardly. As the cam face 22 is moving the outermost forming element upwardly, the cam face 22 of the rotating cam 2| starts to move the second largest forming element upwardly. Then in turn the cam faces 22, 22 22 22 22 and 22 impart upward movement to the forming elements in successive order from the larger elements to the smallest, innermost element, as shown in Figs. 2 and 7. When the cams 2| have moved the forming elements 4 upwardly as described, and the high points of the cam faces thereof have passed beyond the lower faces of the forming elements, said forming elements move downwardly by gravity in contact with the cam faces of the various cams 2| to the positions in which the forming elements are shown in Fig. '1, whereupon the continuously rotating cams 2| again move the forming elements upwardly as explained.

At the top of the body portion of the machine A a plurality of radially disposed shafts 23 are arranged, which are similar in arrangement to the shafts H! at the lower end of the body portion I, said shafts being rotatably supported in suit able bearings 23'. At the inner end of each of the radially arranged shafts 23 is located a cam 24, these cams being similar to the cams 2| at the lower end of the body portion of the machine. The cams 23 are each provided with cam faces 24*, 24 24, 24 24 24 24 and 24 which are adapted to contact with the top faces of the annular forming elements l0, these cam faces being arranged in spaced relation in the direction of the circumference of the associated shaft 23 in the manner already explained in connection with the cam faces of the cams 2|. The operation of the cams 24 is so correlated with the operation of the cams 2| that the cam faces of the cams 24 move intocontact with the top faces of the various annular forming elements immediately as the cam faces of the cams 2| contact with and start to move the annular forming elements 4 upwardly, and as the high points of the cam faces of the cams 2| move toward the lower faces of the forming'elements 4, the high points of the cam faces of the cams 24 move away from the top faces of the annular forming elements IQ. Thus each pair of vertically alined, annular forming elements during vertical movement thereof is interposed between cam faces which contact with the bottom face of the lower forming ele- .ment and top faceof the upper forming element.

One of the shafts at the lower end of the body portion includes an extended portion 25 to which a bevel gear 26 is fixed. Also, said extended shaft portion has fixed to it inwardly of the bevel gear 26 a gear '21 which meshes at its opposite sides with gear idlers 28, said gear idlers 28 in turn meshing with gears 29 that are fixed to shafts 30 mounted in suitable bearings 3|. The shafts 30 have fixedly mounted thereon bevel gears 32 which mesh with bevel gears 33 fixed to the two radially arranged shafts |9 other than the shaft IS with which the extended shaft portion 25 is associated. The bevel gear 26 is arranged in mesh witha similar bevel bent is interposed.

gear 34 which is fixed to a vertically disposed shaft 35 that is arranged in suitable bearings 36.

The radially arranged shafts 23 located at the top of the body portion of the machine A are driven by gearing arranged precisely as is the gearing just described for driving the radially arranged shafts I9, and therefore such gearing need not be described in detail. In other words, the shaft 35 is provided at its upper end with a bevel gear 31 which meshes with a bevel gear 38 mounted on an extension 39 of one of the radial shafts 23. Also, this shaft extension 39 has fixed to it a gear 40 which through the operation of suitable gearing and shafts similar to those described in connection with the radial shafts |9 drives the shafts 23.

Fixedly mounted on the shaft extension 39 is a cam 4| which imparts vertical movement to a rod 42 that is supported in a suitable bearing 43. The rod 42 is connected by a slot and pin connection to an end of an arm 44 which is pivoted to a fixed support 45, the opposite end of said arm being connected by a slot and pin connection to the upper end of an ejector rod 46 which is arranged for vertical movement within the hollow post I4. The ejector rod 46 at its lower end is provided with an enlarged head 46', and also a coil spring 41 is associated with the arm 44, said coil spring being connected at its opposite ends to the arm and a fixed part of the machine, whereby upward movement of the end of the arm to which the rod 42 is attached is resisted.

In the operation of the machine A a blank of material M is fed into said machine through the inlet end of the slot 3, and the upward movement of the outer annular forming element 4 will cause the cutting edge 8 thereof and the cutting edge 9 within the cavity 2 to out a circular blank B from said sheet of material. The annular forming elements 4 moving upwardly in response to rotation of the cams 2|, as already explained herein, bend the portion of the blank beyond the central portion B thereof upwardly, as shown in Figs. 2 and '7, this upward movement of the blank portion being performed by the upwardly moving, annular forming elements 4 and 10 between which the portion of the blank being When the portion of the blank B beyond the central portion B thereof has been bent upwardly until said portion embraces the lower end of the post I4, as shown in Fig. '7, the forming of the article has been accomplished, and at this time the high point of the cam 4| will contact with the lower end of the rod 42. This causes the arm 44 to be moved about its pivot, whereby the ejector rod 46 is moved downwardly so as to force the forward article downwardly from the machine through the opening within the innermost or smallest annular forming element 4. It is plain that one of the articles being produced is formed at each complete revolution of the cams 2| and 23, and it is likewise plain that the sheet of material M from which the blanks B have been cut is discharged from the discharge end of the slot 3.

I claim:

1. A shaping machine comprising a body portion provided with an opening through which a sheet of material is fed into the machine, cutting means within said body portion for cutting blanks from said sheet of material, a pair of groups of nested forming elements arranged within said body portion above and below said sheet of material for forming said blanks into articles of the desired shapes, and means for imparting independent movement to the forming elements of said groups in such manner that the forming elements of each group are moved varying distances, and said forming elements of said pair of groups being moved in the same direction.

2. A shaping machine comprising a body portion provided with an opening through which a sheet of material is fed into the machine, cutting means within said body portion for cutting blanks from said sheet of material, a pair of groups of nested annular forming elements arranged within said body portion above and below said sheet of material for forming said blanks into articles of the desired shapes, and means for imparting independent movement to the forming elements of said groups in such manner that the forming elements of each group are moved varying distances, and said forming elements of said pair of groups being moved in the same direction.

3. A shaping machine comprising a body portion provided with an opening through which a sheet of material is fed into the machine, cutting means within said body portion for cutting blanks from said sheet of material, a pair of groups of nested annular forming elements arranged with in said body portion above and below said sheet of material for forming said blanks into articles of the desired shapes, said annular forming elements being arranged one within the other, and means for imparting independent movement to the forming elements of said groups in such manner that the forming elements of each group are moved varying distances, and said forming elements of said pair of groups being moved in the same direction.

4. A shaping machine comprising a body portion provided with an opening through which a sheet of material is fed into the machine, cutting means within said body portion for cutting blanks from said sheet of material, a pair of groups of nested annular forming elements arranged within said body portion above and below said sheet of material for forming said blanks into articles of the desired shapes, said annular forming elements being arranged one within the other, and cam means for imparting independent movement to the forming elements of said groups in such manner that the forming elements of each group are moved varying distances, and said forming elements of said pair of groups being moved in the same direction.

5. A shaping machine comprising a body portion provided with an opening through which a sheet of material is fed into the machine, cutting means within said body portion for cutting blanks from said sheet of material, a pair of groups of nested annular forming elements arranged Within said body portion above and below said sheet of material for forming said blanks into articles of the desired shapes, said annular forming elements being arranged one within the other, means for imparting independent movement to the forming elements of said groups in such manner that the forming elements of each group are moved varying distances, and said forming elements of said pair of groups being moved in the same direction, and ejecting means for discharging articles from the machine after they have been produced from said blanks.

FRED G. WALLER.

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