US2109380A - Branding machine - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 22, 1938. w. P. BULLARD ET AL 2,109,330

BRANDING MACHINE Filed Sept. '7, 1937 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Feb, 22, 3938. w. P. BULLARD ET Al. 2,109,380

BRANDING MACHINE Filed Sept. 7, 1937 3 Sheets--Sheetl 5 Patented Feb. 22, 1938 UNITED STTES BEAN DIN G MACHINE William P. Bullard and Oswell L. Williams,

bany, Ga., assignors to National Pecan Growers Exchange, Albany, Ga., a corporation of Georgia Application September 7, 1937, Serial No. 162,786

9 Claims.

This invention relates to nut branding machines of the general type disclosed in application Serial No. 117,232 filed December 22, 1936, by William P. Bullard and Oswell L. Williams 5 now issued as Patent No. 2,101,775, dated December '7, 1937, and more particularly thefinvention aims to provide an improvement in the marking mechanism for such machines.

An important feature of the invention is to l provide in a nut branding machine a self-adjustable rocker trough designed to compensate for lack of regularity in the shapes of the nuts as they are rolled over the printing die by the feed Wheel. In its preferred form the trough is slotted upon its bottom and is yieldably sup-V ported above the printing die so that when a nut of irregular contour, such as a nut having one end larger than the other, is rolled along the trough, the trough will tilt about a longitudinal 20 axis as well as yield downwardly to allow the nut to be evenly pressed into engagement with the printing die which projects into the open slot.

'Ihe invention has as another object to provide in a nut branding machine a rotary printing member carrying a plurality of printing dies adapted to be actuated to successively bring different dies into printing position beneath the rocker trough and an inking roller operatively connected to and driven by the rotary printing member. In the preferred construction of our invention a transfer spool is interposed between the rotary printing member and the inking roller for transferring ink from the inking roller to the printing dies.

Another object of our invention is to provide in a. nut branding machine of the above character one or more cleaning cylinders positively driven from the rotary printing member to wipe vthe superuous film of ink from the printing dies between their successive printing operations.

A further object of the invention is to provide a fountain type of inking roller which is of relatively simple ancl improved construction for preventing slippage of the inking pad which is wound thereon and for insuring an elicient feed of the ink to the pad; This inking roller is adapted to be readily removed from the machine and nested within a cup to seal the same against the atmosphere or for convenience in shipping.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred form of the invention, reference being had to the annexed drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of a nut (Cl. lOl- 37) branding machine embodying the improvements of the invention;

Figure 2 is a transverse cross-sectionalview of the machine of Fig. 1 taken on the line 2 2 of that figure;

Figure 3 is an enlarged partly cross-sectional view of the marking mechanism including the rocker trough for guiding the nuts over the printing die;

Figure 4 is a plan View of the rocker trough and marking mechanism;

Figure 5 is an endwise view of the marking mechanism shown in Fig. 3 and illustrating its relation to the rocker trough, likewise shown in end view;

Figure 6 is a longitudinal cross-sectional View through the inking roller;

Figure 7 is an exaggerated detail View of one of the punched perforations upon the inkingi'oller for feeding ink to the pad wrapped upon its circumference; and

Figure 8 is a cross-sectional view of a protective cup telescoped over the inking roller after the latter has been removed from the machine.

Referring to Fig. 1, the nut branding machine, generally stated, comprises an open framework l supporting in elevated position a hopper 2 for receiving nuts in bulk, from which they are discharged into a downwardly-inclined, reciprocable conveyor chute 3. The upper end of the conveyor chute extends into the bottom of the hopper and the nuts discharge from the hopper into the conveyor through an opening controlled by a vertically slidable,.gravity-operated gatef4 mounted upon anti-friction bearings in a guideway 5. Y

The lower end of vthe chutey is slidably supported in a box-like housing 6, and also mounted f within. this housing adjacent the lower end of the chute is an adjustable throat 'l (Fig. 3) for receiving the nuts individually from the chute. A stop plate 8 supported upon a yieldable rubber pad Sa closes an end of the throat 'l and serves as a stop for the nuts moving down the conveyor into the throat. The stop plate is slidably disposed between the two interned flanges 9a of a pair of angle irons 9 supported by and extending upwardly from a cross plate IB arranged crosswise of the machine frame. The rubber pad which is adhesively secured to the bottom of the u I2 fastened to the outer faces of these flanges, the arrangement being such that the stop plate projects a short distance above the plates Il and I2. y

Vertically slidable within the throat is an elevating bar I3 having its upper end formed with a concaved bevel I3a approximating the rounded outer surface of a nut and having its lower end engaging the periphery of a spiral cam disk I4. The cam disk is keyed upon a shaft 28 rotatable in the machine frame. This elevating bar is gradually raised by the rotating cam disk with a slight jarring action by reason of the notches I4a upon the periphery of the cam disk so as to properly position the nut in the adjustablethroat, after which the elevating bar is quickly lowered as the drop portion I4b of the cam rides under its lower end.

When a nut is projected upwardly by the elevating bar, a continuously rotated feed wheel I5 having a tread Ia of sponge rubber resiliently engages the nut (several of which are indicated Y in dotted lines in Fig. 3) and rolls it across the printing die Ilia, of a rotary printing member IS.

The mechanism for actuating the marking mechanism, as best indicated in Figs. 4 and 5, comprises a continuous shaft I1 supported in suitable bearings I1a in a direction transversely of the machine frame. Mounted upon this shaft adjacent its midportion are two opposed bevel gears I8 and I9, the bevel gear I8 being keyed to the shaft while bevel gear i9 is loosely rotatable thereon. The bevel gear I8 is interrupted by untoothed blank spaces I8a at quarter intervals while the bevel gear I9 is full toothed. The rotary printing member I is of cylindrical form and is circumferentially provided with four equidistantly spaced printing dies Ilia each composed of a block of resilient rubber bearing upon its outer printing face the indicia to be applied to the nuts. The rotary member revolves upon a shaft 20 extending horizontally outward from the plate I2 which is fastened to the pair of upright angle irons 9.

Upon the outwardly disposed end face of the rotary member I6 is affixed a bevel gear 2l meshing with both of the bevel gears I8 and I9 on shaft I1. Bevel gear 2I has its teeth filed down at intervals as indicated at 2| a corresponding to the blanks Illa on bevel gear I8 so that when a blank upon the latter gear rides into a complementary stripped area 2Ia upon bevel gear 2l, the gears will be momentarily locked. During thismomentary period of dwell, a nut will be rolled by the feed wheel I5 over the printing die Y IBa which at the time happens to be located in printing position. Freely rotatable bevel gear I9 serves simply as an inertia member to hold gear 2| against play.

Located upon opposite sides of the rotary printing member are brackets 22 and 23. These brackets are secured by screws 22a and 23a to the cross plate I0 so that by unloosening the screws the brackets may be swung downwardly and away from theY rotary printing Ymember. Extending horizontally outward adjacent the upper end cf the bracket 22 is a pin 24 upon which is rotatably mounted a preliminary cleaning cylinder 25 having a circumferential pad 25a of absorbent material, such asV felt, wrapped thereon. This preliminary cleaning cylinder bears upon and is adapted to wipe the adhering coating of ink from theprinting dies just after they have moved from printing position.V Y Similarly a pin 26 is fastened to and projects from the upper end of bracket 23 and upon this pin is rotatably supported a final cleaning cylinder 21 provided with a circumferential pad 21a of absorbent material which bears upon the printing dies just before they are advanced to printing position. The function of this final cleaning cylinder is to distribute the ink which has previously been applied to the dies in a thin film upon the dies. By thus removing the residual ink from the dies just after the printing step and in wiping away any excess of newly supplied ink from the surfaces of the dies just prior to printing, uniform and distinct impressions upon the individual nuts are obtained free from the blurring and smearing effect which results from accumulations of ink upon the printthe inking roller and the rotary printing memberis a transfer spool 33 having a circumference of v polished metal adapted to bear against the inking roller and against the dies Iia as the latter are periodically advanced toward printing position. The transfer spool is similarly supported for rotation upon a pin 34 extending outwardly from an arm 35 which latter is fastened at one end to the cross plate IB by the same screw 22m which fastens the bracket 22 to the cross plate. By loosening the screws 32o. and 22a, the arms may be swung down to permit convenient removal of the inking roller and transfer spool lengthwise from their pins 3| and 34 upon which they are retained respectively by nuts 3 la and 34a.

In order to obtain a positive drive of the cleaning cylinders, the inking roller and the transfer spool so that they will better perform their functions, the rotary printing member I5 is provided with a p'mion 36 secured to its end face which is disposed adjacent the plate l2. This pinion meshes with a pinion 31 fixed upon the end face of preliminary cleaning roller 25 and also with'a pinion 38 secured to the end face of final cleaning roller 21. Similarly the transfer spool 33 is provided upon its inwardly disposed end face with a pinion 39 meshing with the pinion 36 on the rotary printing member and also with apinion 46 fastened upon the end face of the printing roller 3Q. member the two cleaning rollers, the transfer spool and the printing roller are all stepped simultaneously a fraction of a revolution to bring different portions of their circumferences into operative position. Y

The machine is driven by an electric motor M` located upon the machine frame below the pinion 4l meshing with a large spur gear 42. The large spur gear 42 is keyed to a shaft 43 disposed crosswise of and suitably journaled within the frame and upon one end of this shaft is mounted a sprocket 44 having a driving chain 45 which leads around a larger companion sprocket 46 fixed upon shaft'28. Shaft 28 is rotatably mounted in the machine frame parallel to shaft 43 and is provided upon its ends with sprockets 41 and 4B. A transmission chain 49 extends between sprocket 41 and a companion sprocket 59 mounted upon the end of the shaft I1 for driving `the latter shaft carrying the bevel gears I8 and I9. A shaft 5I is supported for The arm 32 is fastened at its end to Thus during rotation of the rotary printingv rotation in a pair of. standards 52 extending upwardly from opposite sides of the frame, and a chain 53 extends between sprocket 48 on shaft 28 and a companion sprocket 54 fixed to an end of shaft 5I for driving the latter shaft. Feed wheel I5 is keyed to a stub shaft 55 rotatably supported upon the end of an arm 56, the opposite end of which arm loosely embraces the shaft 5I. The feed wheel is thus oatingly supported so as to press the nuts ejected from the throat 'I' into engagement with the printing dies Ia of. the rotary printing member I 6. The feed wheel is positively driven in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. l by a transmission chain 5l extending between sprockets 58 and 59 on shafts 5I and 55 respectively. A roller 6G carried upon the end of a, pivotally adjustable bracket 6I fastened to arm 56 bears upon the chain and takes up slack.

Reciprocating motion is imparted to the conveyor chute 3 by means of the linkage (see Fig. l) comprising a lever 63 pivotally connected at one end to the bottom of the chute and at its other end to one arm of a bell crank 64, and a second link 55 extending from the other arm of the bell crank to a box-shaped frame 66. The box frame has a lip 6'! designed to ride upon the periphery of the spiral cam disk I4. This box frame is fastened to one end of. a rocker arm 68 which at its other end 68a loosely encircles the shaft 43 without partaking of the motion of that shaft.

As will be apparent, the box frame 66 will be gradually raised by the spiral cam disk I4 to move the feed chute 3 downwardly with a vibratory motion, because of the notches I4a upon the periphery of the cam, but when the cut-away drop portion I4b of the cam arrives below the lip 61 the box frame will drop, quickly shifting the feed chute upwardly. Thus the nuts will be fed from the hopper 2 to the marking mechanism with a combined vibratory and reciprocatory motion. In a similar manner the elevating bar I3, the lower end of which rides upon the periphery of the cam I4, will gradually raise a nut from the throat 'I with a jarring motion into engagement with the resilient tread I5a of the feed wheel l5. The feed wheel will then roll the nut across the face of a printing die la so as to cause the nut to receive a printed impression from the die. When the drop prtion I4b of the cam disk I4 rotates into a position below the lower end of the elevating bar, the latter will fall, retracting its upper end into the bottom of the throat l ready to receive another nut from the feed chute.

In order to maintain the nuts against lateral displacement and to allow nuts of different shapes to be uniformly pressed into engagement with the printing die as they are rolled thereover by the feed wheel I5, a rocker trough 'Hl is provided as more clearly shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5.

This rocker trough comprises a cradle 'II of concave trough form fastened at its forward or nutreceiving end by means of a pivot pin 'I2 threaded into the upper end of the depressible stop plate 3 and extending loosely through an opening in an ear 'i3 bent down from the end of the cradle. The rear or nut-discharging end of the cradle is yieldably supported upon a coil spring 'i4 surrounding a pin 'I5 extending vertically downward from the cradle into a slightly oversize socket 'I6 formed in a post TI supported upon the shaft il. The bottom of the cradle intermediate its length is provided with a slot 'i8 extending lengthwise thereof and this slot is disposed in registry with and slightly above a printing die I6a located in printing position. The cradle is thus resiliently supported at one end by the coil spring 'I4 and at its other end by the stop plate 8 which is supported upon the yieldable rubber pad 8a. Likewise the cradle is free to rock a limited distance about a, longitudinal axis by reason of the pivotal mounting of the forward end of the cradle upon the pivot pin 'l2 and because of the loose reception of the pin l within its socket 16.

In the operation of the machine just described, when a nut, such for example as a pecan, is rolled along the rocker trough by the feed wheel i5 the cradle is adapted to yield vertically so as to allow the nut to be forced into engagement with the printing die I6a which is exposed through the slightly oversize slot 'I8 in the cradle. If the nut is misshapen, as for example if one of its ends is larger than the other, then the cradle will tilt about a longitudinal axis to compensate for the lack of uniformity of the nut and the face of the printing die Ita will bear quite evenly upon the circumference of the nut. f

It will be appreciated that only in rare cases will a nut correspond in shape to the cross-sectional contour of the cradle and that ordinarily the ends only of the nut will bear against the concave sides of the cradle. In any event the pressure exerted by the feed wheel I5 upon the nuts will be resisted by the cradle and, especially in the case of the larger sizes of nuts, the rubber printing dies will not be subjected to excessive pressures which tend to shorten the useful life of the dies as well as to c-ause blurredimpressions to be imparted to the nuts. At the same time the printing dies being composed of rubber are capab-le of flexing to conform to differences and irregularities in the shapes of the nuts as such nuts are pressed into engagement with their printing surfaces. It will also be apparent that since the nuts are rolled across the printing dies, the latter may, if desired, be elongated in the direction of travel of the nuts so as to apply an impression throughout a very large part of the circumference of the shell. 'Ihis is a distinct advantage over those types of nut branding machines in which the nut must be momentarily brought to rest while receiving the impression, under which conditions the impression can be applied only to a circumscribed area ofthe shell.

As has previously been explained, shaft I'I is rotated by means of chain 49 which winds over the sprocket 50 upon an end of this shaft. Bevel gear I8 located upon this shaft adjacent its midportion engages the interrupted bevel gear 2| of the rotary printing memberA I 6 and imp-arts intermittent motion thereto. During the period that the blanks' 18a upon the gear I8 engage the complementary stripped areas 2m upon the gear 2|, there will be a period of dwell during which time the rotary printing member Iii will be held stationary by the interlocked gears. The elevating bar i3 will then rise to press a nut into engagement with the feed wheel I 5 which rolls the nut over the appropriately positioned printing die Ia. The other' three printing dies |6121,` of the rotary printing member will at such time be disposed, as illustrated in Fig. 5, with their printing faces in Contact with the two cleaning cylinders 25 and 2l and the transfer spool 33, it being understood that the direction of rotation of the rotary printing member will be as indicated fibrous material, may, if desired, be composed of superimposed layers of sponge rubber, felt and blotting paper. By reason of the geared correction of the cleaning cylinders, transfer spool and inking roller to the rotary printing member, during each quarter of a turn of the rotary printing member the preliminary cleaning cylinder 25 will Wipe the adhering coating of ink from the printing die which is moved away from printing position, the transfer spool 33 will apply a fresh coating of ink to another of the printing dies While a new supply of ink is being added tothe polished metal face of the spool by the inking roller 3U,

p and the nal cleaning cylinder 21 will remove the superfluous coating of ink from the freshly inked printing die which is about to move into printing position.

The inking roller 30, as best illustrated in the cross-sectional View of Fig. 6, comprises a pair of spaced disks and 8| integrally connected by a tubular sleeve 82 adapted to slidingly receive the pin 3! upon which this roller rotates. The disks 80 and 8l upon their opposed faces are marginally reduced to provide annular hubs 89a and 81a and telescoping over and extending between these hubs is a sheet metal drum 83 having its ends soldered or welded to the hubs and g .of the drum which serves as an ink reservoir.

The perforations 83a are initially punched in a flat metal sheet which is afterwards rolled into tubular shape around the hubs. These punchings are so produced as to form burrs upon the circumference of the drum. As best shown in the exaggerated detail view of Fig. 7, the punchings define outwardly constricted tapered openings 83b extending from the interior of the drum to its exterior which promote the ow of the ink from the interior to the exterior of the drum. As will also be observed, these perforations are punched at an angle in order to dispose the burrs upon the drum in the direction of rotation of the inking roller. Upon the circumference of the drum 83 is Wrapped an inking pad 30a for applying a lm of ink to the surface of the transfer spool. This pad comprises a layer, or a plurality of layers, of felt which absorbs the ink passing out of the drum through the perforations. The burrs surrounding the perforation, when thepfelt is wrapped upon the drum, will penetrate the material and retain it from slipping. Furthermore, due to the forward inclination of the burrs, rubbing of the pad against the transfer spool will tend to cause the burrs to biteV deeper into the pad and prevent slipping of the felt upon the drum.

In order to protect the felt pad from exposure to the atmosphere and also to afford a convenient shipping container for the inking roller, a cup 86 (Fig. 8) is provided. The disk 8i of the printing roller is of slightly larger diameter than the disk 80 and is circumferentially screw-threaded as indicated at 86a. The cup 86 is interiorly screw-threaded as at 81 adjacent its open end and is provided upon its interior with cushion 88 at its closed end, the arrangement being such that the cup is adapd to telescope over the inking roller and to screw onto the threaded circumference of the disk 8l in the manner shown in this gure. Thus the inking roller may be effectively sealed against dust and dirt and the ink retarded from drying out or from hardening or caking.

While the nut branding machine just described is especially suitable for the marking of pecans or similar types of nuts of generally oval contour, it is also capable of employment with nuts of generally spherical shape, such as walnuts, or with fruit, such as oranges, which is adapted to be rolled upon its circumference. It will be apparent that various other changes in construction, arrangement and design in the nut branding mechanism described above, representing a preferred embodiment of the invention, m-ay be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

l. In a nut branding machine, a printing die, a resilient feed wheel located above the printing die and in spaced relation thereto, means for introducing nuts into the space between the feed Wheel and the printing die, and a rocker trough disposed intermediate the feed wheel and the printing die for guiding the nuts as they are rolled across the printing die by the feed wheel,

said rocker trough comprising a trough-shaped cradle having an opening in its bottom immediately above the printing die and means yieldingly supporting the cradle above the printing die but permitting depression of the cradle to allow the nuts to be pressed into engagement with the printing die.

2. In a nut branding maclnne, a printing die, a resilient feed wheel located above the printing die and in spaced relation thereto, means for introducing nuts into the space between the feed wheel and the printing die, and a rocker trough disposed intermediate the feed wheel and the printing die for guiding the nuts as they are rolled across the printing die by the feed wheel,Y

Said rocker trough comprising al concave troughshaped cradle having an opening in its bottom immediately above the printing die and means yieldingly supporting the cradle above the printing die but permitting the depression and tilting of the cradle upon a longitudinal axis to allow nuts of various shapes to be evenly pressed into engagement with the printing die.

3. In a nut branding machine, a printing die, a resilient feed wheel located above the printing die and in spaced relation thereto, means for introducing nuts into the space between the feed wheel and the printing die, and a rocker trough disposed intermediate the feed wheel and the printing die for guiding the nuts as they are rolled across the printing die by the feed wheel, said rocker trough comprising a trough-shaped cradle having an opening in its bottom located immediately above the printing die, a yieldable plate supporting the forward end of the cradle and a spring yieldingly supporting the rear end of the cradle to permit depression of the cradle to allow the nuts to be pressed into engagement with the printing die.

4. In a nut branding machine, a printing die, a resilient feed wheel located above the printing die and in spaced relation thereto, means for introducing nuts into the space between the feed wheel and the printing die, and a rocker trough disposed intermediate the feed Wheel and the printing die for guiding the nuts as they are pivoting said cradle to the yieldable plate to permit tilting of the cradle about a longitudinal aXis, an upright post located at the rear end of the cradle, a pin upon the cradle extending into rear end of the cradle but permitting the depression and tilting of the cradle about a longitudinal axis.

5. In a nut branding machine, a rotary printing member, a plurality of printing dies arranged in angularly spaced relation about the rotary printing member, a resilient feed wheel-located above the rotary printing member, an elevating bar for periodically introducing nuts into the space between the feed wheel and one of the printing dies, and a rocker trough disposed intermediate the feed Wheel and the printing die for they are rolled across the printing die by the feed wheel, said rocker trough comprising a trough-shaped cradle having an opening in its bottom located immediately above the printing die, means resliently supporting the cradle but permitting the cradle to be depressed and tilted about a longitudinal axis to allow nuts of various shapes to be evenly pressed into engagement with the printing die, and means for operating the elevating bar and the rotary printing member in timed relationship.

6. In a nut branding machine, an inking roller comprising a rotary cylindrical drum having upstanding projections upon its circumference and provided with perforations communicating with the interior of the drum, an opening for introducing ink into the interior of the drum and a pad of absorbent material wound upon the drum and held against slipping by the projections.

7. In a nut branding machine, an inkingroller comprising a rotary cylindrical drum having upstanding projections upon its circumference provided with perforations communicating with the Vjacent interior of the drum, an opening for introducing ink into the interior of the drum and a pad of absorbent material wound upon the drum and held against slipping by the projections, said projections being inclined with reference to the radius of the drum.

8. In a nut branding machine, an inking roller comprising a pair of spaced disks providing hub sections upon their opposed faces, a sheet metal drum fastened to and extending between the hub sections, said drum having perforations punched therein so as to form upstanding burrs upon the circumference of the drum surrounding the perforations, an opening in one of said disks for the introduction of ink into the interior of the drum and an absorbent pad encircling the drum so as to frictionally engage the face of the transfer spool and held against slipping by the burrs.

9. In a nut branding machine, a rotary printing member, a plurality of printing dies arranged in angularly spaced relation about the rotary printing member, means for intermittently rotating the rotary printing member, means for"- rolling nuts across one of the printing dies, a preliminary cleaning cylinder and a final cleaning cylinder arranged upon opposite sides of the rotary printing member and adapted respectively to engage the printing dies immediately after and immediately before said dies have moved from and to printing position, an inking roller located between the cleaning cylinders and adthe rotary printing member, a transfer spool arranged intermediate the inking roller and the rotary printing member adapted to transfer ink from the inking roller to WILLIAMy P. BULLARD. osWELL L. WILLIAMS.

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