US2137173A - Base feeder - Google Patents

Description

J. J. MALLOY BASE FEEDER Filed July 28,v 1937 Nov. 15, 1938.

Inventor: John J. Mallog,

His Att ovh e g.

Patented Nov. 15, 1938 PATENT OFFICE BASE FEEDER.

John J. Malloy, Cleveland Heights, Ohio, assignor to General Electric New York Company, `a. corporation of Application July 28, 1937, Serial No. 156,149

4 Claims.

My invention relates to apparatus for feeding y articles and more particularly to apparatus for feeding lamp bases and the like. Prior to my invention, lamp bases and the like were usually fed manually because devices for this purpose operated very irregularly being often rendered inoperative by foreign matter and small pieces of glass jarred loose by the movements of the devices and by slight imperfections in the bases. To eliminate these objections, my device provides a relatively simple and inexpensive apparatus for the feeding operation which is not easily rendered inoperative by foreign matter, and satisfactory means for discharging the greater portion of the foreign matter introduced into the device with the bases and separating it therefrom prior to the actual feeding of the bases. My device also provides a particularly novel apparatus for inverting such bases as are advanced to the discharge position in the incorrect position. Other features and advantages of my device will be apparent from the detailed description which follows and from the accompanying drawing of one species thereof.

In the drawing, Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a base feeding device comprising my invention with the hopper shown in section; Fig. 2 is a section along line 2-2 of Fig. 1 looking downward; Fig. 3 is an angular side elevation of a portion of my device; and Figs. 4 and 5 are side elevations, partially in section, of the feeding and inverting portions of my device in two stages of operation.

Referring to the drawing, the device is shown mounted on the table of a lamp making machine adjacent to the periphery of a turret Ill which is indexed at regular intervals to present succee'ding heads II thereon to my device. Each head II receives a single base I2 which, in this instance, is the screw type used for miniature lamps and consists of a cylindrical threaded metal shell I2' lopen at one end and closed at the other end by a plug of insulating material I1, except for a small hole through which a lead wire is subsequently threaded. The bases I2 that are fed are carried in the hopper I3 which is mounted on the standard Il which in turn is mounted on the table I5 of the lamp machine. During operation of the device the bases I2 gradually (Cl. 193-43) l other foreign matter capable of injuring the device or interrupting the operation thereof to fall therefrom. Operation of the device carries the `tube I6. and the plunger I8 up into the hopper I3 to agitato the bases I2 therein so that generally said bases I2 pass quite regularly into the end of the tube I6 and keep it completely lled. The plunger I8 dislodges the bases I2 that tend to form a bridge over the opening in the hopper Il and the tube I6. To permit the bases I2, and especially those agitated by the plunger I8, to pass into the tube I6 more easily, a section I9 is cut from the upper end of said tube. Both the tube I6 and plunger I8 are attached to the block 20, the former by means of the bracket 2l and the thumb screws 22, and the latter by screws not shown, and are moved vertically by movement of said block on the rectangular colurrm 23. The column 23 is a stationary member atttached to the standard I4 and passes through ways in the block 20 in which it is held by the plate 24 attached thereto. The desired movement of block 20 is produced by mechanism (not shown) actuating the rod 25 and operated by the usual cam on a driven shaft of the lamp machine. The rod 25- engages the block 20 through block 26 and the plate 24.

A base I2 is presented to the lamp machin each time the tube I6 moves down into registration with the heads II of said machine although two bases I2 are constantly being advanced in order through the feeding portion thereof, 'as shown in Figs. 4 and 5. The particular up and down movement used in feeding the base I2 into the head I I is also usedto separate the following base I2 from the others above it so that two up and down movements of the tube I6 are required to advance a base I2 through the feeding portion of my device. All the bases I2 move down in the passage in the tube I6 as the lower ones are fed and finally one comes into position before the end of thev finger or slide 21 which is brought into engagement therewith, as shown in Fig. 4, to prevent further movement. These operations take place during the latter portion of the up stroke of the tube I6 and block 20 during which the roller 28 which is attached to the nger 21 passes into the wider portion of the opening 29 in the stationary cam 30. The following return downward movement of the block 20 causes the end of the nger or slide 3| which is located nearer the discharge end of the tube I6 to move into the passage therein and causes the linger 21 to withdraw therefrom so that the base I2 drops down into engagement with said finger 3|` as 65 shown in Fig. 5. The nger 3l is movedby the advancement of the roller 32 thereon into the wider portion of the opening 33 in the cam 38. The succeeding upward movement of the tube Il and block 28 causes the nger 21 to move in against the base I2 following the former base I2 and then causes the nger y3l to retract, thereby releasing the lowermost base I2so that it falls down by its own weight onto the hooked ilnger or slide 34 to the position shown in Fig. 4. If the lowermost base I2 has caught on the base I2 ,held by the ilnger 21, it is released by the finger 35 (Figs. 2 and 3), which is pivotally mounted on the stationary standard I4 and extends through a slot in the tube I 6, during a latter portion of the upward movement of said tube and catches .on the threads of the said lowermost base I2 thereby preventing it from following said upward movement. At the end of the upward movement, the nger 35 is withdrawn from the slot so that the base I2 falls down onto iinger 34. The withdrawal of said nger 35 is caused by the striking of screw 36 against the outer end of said finger 35 which turns it about the pin 31 in the standard I4 on which it is mounted and compresses the spring 38. 'I'he screw 36 is mounted on the arm 39 extending from the bracket 2I and is brought against the ilnger 35 by the upward movement'thereo'f.

At this point in the operation of my device, the turret I0 of the machine is indexed so that a succeeding head I I comes into position below the tube I6, and the tube I6 and the block 20 move down until the end of said tube I6 registers with the machine head Il as shown in Fig. 1. During this movement the finger 34 is withdrawn from the tube I6 since the roller 4I) thereon passes into the narrowest part 4II' (Fig. 4) of the opening 28 in the stationary cam 38, and the base I2 resting Yon saidnger 34 is; permitted to pass down through the tube I B and into the head' I I. If the particular base I2 resting on the linger 34 lies in an upright position with its insulating plug I'I lowermost, said finger 34 moves back without altering the position of said base I2 and the said base moves down while stllin thisposition, but should the base I2 lie in an inverted position with the plug I'I uppermost, as shown in Fig. 4, the open edge of the base shell I2' is caught by the hooked end 42 of the nger 34 and pulled into the chamber or opening 4I in the side of the tube I 6 so that it is caused to turn over, as shown in Fig. 5. This operation causes all bases I2 to be fed into the machine with'the open end of the shell I2 uppermost as required. The fingers 21, 3l and 34 are held in slide ways in the block 28 by the plate 43 attached thereto andare pushed inward toward the tube I6 so that the rollers' 28,.

32 and 48 follow the various surfaces of the cam 30 in each case by a spring 44 like that shown adjacent nger 34 located in a hole 45 (Figs. 2 and 5) in the block 2li.y 'I'he finger 34 engages the spring 44 through a pin 48 extending through a slot-in the block 20 and into the groove in the piston 41 which is located in the hole 45 behind one end of the spring 44. Since my device feeds a base `I2 each time it moves down and is connected to the machine so that this movement occurs regularly with the operation thereof, the screw 48 is provided for' engaging one of the bases I2 and thereby stopping the movement of bases through my device when desired. The slots 49 in the bracket 2i and the tube I6 permit the movements of the bases I2 to be observed and permit easy removal of foreign material and bases I2 wedged in said tube I8. If bases having laterally projecting bayonet pins are being fed by my device, suitable longitudinally extending grooves are provided in the tube therefor and the proper positioningv thereof is accomplished by funnellike upper end portions of said grooves.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a device of the class described for feeding bases comprising a cylindrical shell having one end substantially closed, a feeder tube for passage of said bases therethrough having a chamber in the wall thereof, and means located adjacent to said chamber for inverting such bases as approach said chamber with their open ends foremost, said means comprising a finger having a hook portion extending into said tube and adapted to engage the open end of a base, and means for withdrawing said nnger into said chamber to cause said base to be inverted.

2. In a device of the class described for feeding bases comprising a cylindrical shell having one end substantially closed, the combination of a hopper having an opening at the bottom thereof, an upright feeder tube having its upper end located in alignment with said opening and having an opening in the wall thereof, and means located adjacent to the opening in said tube for inverting such bases as approach said opening with their open ends lowermost, said means comprising a finger having a hook portion extending into said tube through the opening therein and adapted to engage the open edge of a base, and means for retracting said ilnger through said opening to cause said base to -be inverted.

3. In a device of the class described for feeding bases comprising a cylindrical shell having one end substantially closed, the combination of a hopper having an opening at the bottom thereof, an upright feeder tube having its upper end located in alignment with said opening and having an opening in the wall thereof, means for moving said tube upward into said hopper to agitate the bases therein and cause some of them to enter the tube, and means located adjacent to the opening in said tube for inverting such bases as approach said opening with their open ends lowermost, said means comprising a ilnger having a hook portion extending into said tube through the opening therein and adapted to engage the open edge of a base, and means for retracting said nger through said opening to cause Said base to be inverted. Y Y

4. In a device of the class described for feeding bases comprising a cylindrical shell having one end substantially closed, the combination of a hopper having an opening at the bottom thereof, an upright feeder tube having its upper end 1ocated in alignment with said opening, and feed control means located adjacent to said tube and comprising fingers located in alignment with openings in said tube, means for reciprocating said fingers to cause them to engage and release one of the bases in said tube to cause said bases to be fed one ata time, another linger having a l1ook portion extending into said tube through an opening therein and adapted to engage the open edge of such bases as approach it with their open ends lowermost, and means for retracting said last-mentioned finger to pull the said open edge of such base toward the said cause said base to be inverted.

JOHN J. MALLOY.

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