US2157676A - Apparatus for feeding plastic material in bar form. such as toffee in wrapping machines - Google Patents

Description

A. GROSE 2,157,676 DING PLASTIC MATERIAL IN BAR FORM. S FEE IN WRAPPING MACHINES Fi d March 24, 1938 May 9, 1939 APPARATUS FOR SUCH A Patented May 9, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Alfred German Rose, Gainsborough, England, as-

signor to Rose Brothers Gainsborough) -Limited, Gainsborough, England, a British 0 ompany Application March 24,

1938, Serial No. 197,965

In Great Britain January 19, 1937 3 Claims.

This invention relates to feeding apparatus for plastic material, such as toiTee stock, in bar form. The invention is concerned with feeding apparatus of the type comprising two or more feed rollers arranged to form between adjacent portions of their peripheries, a nip to engage the plastic material and feed it forward as a bar of constant cross-section. Apparatus of this type is customarily employed in conjunction with wrapping machinery, the feed rolls being arranged to advance the plastic bar up to a cutting station at which successive portions in the length of the bar are severed to form individual caramels or the like, and from which the separate caramels are fed to the wrapping machine.

With apparatus of the above type the feed rolls require frequent cleaning, which necessitates the removal of one or more of them from the assembly. To facilitate such removal, it has already been proposed, in an assembly comprising two rolls arranged one vertically above the other, to carry the upper feed roll and its bearings on a bracket pivotally mounted on the framework of the apparatus so that the bracket may be swung about its pivot to move the upper roll clear of the lower one.

An object of this invention is to provide a feed roll assembly in which one or more of the rolls may be easily and rapidly removed without displacing the associated parts of the apparatus.

The invention provides in bar feeding apparatus of the type described, the combination of a feed roll, a supporting spindle on or in which the feed roll (or a boss or other part integral with or attached to the roll) is mountable for rotation coaxially with the spindle, a key-and-keyway or equivalent connection between the feed roll and spindle arranged to prevent relative angular movement between them while permitting rela tive endwise movement, and a spring. catch adapted to prevent accidental endwise displacement between the roll and spindle and comprising a spring-actuated detent movable transversely in the spindle (or roll) into and out of engagement with a registering socket in the roll (or spindle).

In one construction according to the invention the spring-actuated detent is a bolt which is movable in a transverse slot in the spindle, is formed at one end with a rounded or bevelled head, and at the other end is attached to or engaged by a cantilever spring blade extending in the lengthwise direction of the spindle and accommodated in a recess therein. In an alternative construction the spring-actuated detent comprises a stud formed on an arm which is pivotally mounted in a recess in the spindle and extends in the lengthwise direction of it, combined with a spring in compression between the arm and the spindle.

According to a feature of the invention the supporting spindle for the feed roll is nested in a driving sleeve permanently mounted for rotation (e. g. by means of a pinion carried by the sleeve) in bearings supported by a fixed framework, and a key-and-keyway or equivalent connection is provided between the spindle and sleeve to prevent relative angular movement between them while permitting of endwise movement of the spindle in the sleeve. Conveniently the supporting spindle comprises a main body portion of constant diameter and of substantially the same length as the driving sleeve, an end portion of reduced diameter to take the hub of the feed roll (said hub being of greater outside diameter than that of the spindle) and an opposite end portion to which an enlarged head or knob is attached.

Some examples embodying the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly in section showing a feed roll assembly;

Figure 2 is a vertical section, corresponding to Figure 1, but on a larger scale, showing the upper feed roll and its mounting;

Figure 3 is a cross-section at the line 33 in Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a cross-section similar to Figure 3, but showing a modification in the arrangement of the spring catch; and

Figure 5 is a section, similar to Figure 2 illustrating a different type of spring catch.

Like reference numerals indicate like parts throughout the figures.

In this example the invention is applied to a feed roll assembly comprising two feed rolls II), II mounted one vertically above the other, and providing between them a nip at which a bar l2 of plastic material may be engaged. The plastic bar I2 is guided up to the nip of the rolls by a channel-shaped guide member l3 which, at the nip, has its sides embracing the lower portion of the upper roll.

Each of the feed rolls III, II is mounted for rotation in the following manner. A driving sleeve I4 is permanently supported for rotation about a horizontal axis in end bearings l5, l6 carried by the machine framework H. The sleeves l4 appropriated to the two rolls are driven by intermeshing pinions l8, IS on the upper and lower sleeves respectively. Within each driving sleeve there is nested a supporting spindle 20 for the feed roll. Each of the supporting spindles 20 comprises a main body portion of constant diameter and of substantially the same length as the driving sleeve !4, an end-portion 2! of reduced diameter to receive the feed roll, and an opposite end portion to which is attached an enlarged head formed with a flange 22 and a knurled knob 23. A key-and-keyway connection 24 between the body portion of the spindle 20 and the sleeve !4 prevents relative angular movement between the spindle and sleeve while permitting relative endwise movement between them.

Each of the feed rolls is formed with a hub 25 and a central bore 2% of a diameter to mate with the reduced end portion 2! of the supporting spindle. The roll is keyed to the end portion 2| by a key-and-keyway connection 2'! which prevents relative rotational movement between the end portion and the roll, while permitting relative endwise movement between them. Ac cidental endwise displacement between the feed roll and the supporting spindle is prevented by means of a spring catch. In. the construction illustrated in Figures 2 and 3 the spring catch comprises a bolt 28 movable in a transverse slot in the end portion 2! of the spindle and formed with a rounded or bevelled head 29 adapted to co-operate with a registering hole 39 in the hub of the feed roll. The bolt 28 is constrained towards its position of engagement with the hole 30 by means of a cantilever blade spring 3! accommodated in a recess 32 in the end portion 2! and secured to the latter by a screw 33. When the bolt 28 is in its position of engagement (as shown in Figures 2 and 3) the feed roll is resiliently locked against endwise displacement in relation to the supporting spindle. If, however, it is desired to remove a feed roll, for example for cleaning purposes, this can easily and quickly be efiected by exerting a pull on the knob 23 which will result in the rounded head of the bolt 28 riding past the registering hole in the feed roll, i. e. against the action of the control spring 3!, and on further withdrawal movement of the supporting spindle the reduced end 2! will be taken clear of the feed roll and the latter may then be lifted away from the assembly in a direction transverse to the axis of rotation of the roll.

In the modification illustrated in Figure 4 an annular socket 3 is employed in place of the circular hole 3!] in the hub portion of the feed roll, to co-operate with the rounded head of the bolt. This arrangement necessitates less accurate registration in assembly.

In the arrangement shown in Figure 5 the spring-actuated bolt is replaced by an arm 35 located in a recess 36 in the end portion 2! of the supporting spindle, and extending in the lengthwise direction of the spindle. The arm 35 is at one end 31 pivotally articulated to the reduced portion 2!, and near its opposite end the arm is formed with an outwardly projecting stud 38 adapted to co-operate with a registering socket 39 (either in the form of a circular hole or an annular groove.) in the hub of the feed roll. The arm 35 is constrained towards its position of engagement by means of a spring 43 in compression between the arm and the spindle portion 2!. As before removal of the feed roll is effected by first freeing the spring catch by a pull on the knob 28 and then by withdrawing the spindle to an extent sufiicient to clear the roll.

It will be appreciated that in the constructions described above each of the feed rolls may be completely removed from the assembly without in any way displacing the driving sleeves I 4, their bearings l5, l6 and the driving pinions l8, !9. In the examples just described it has been indicated that each feed roll is similarly mounted. It is, however, within the invention to employ a substantially permanent mounting for one of the feed rolls, say the lower one, and a detachable mounting for the other.

In the illustrated construction it will be seen that the guide channel I3 is so located in proximity to the nip between the feed rolls that it would prevent removal, at least of the upper roll, by endwise movement of the roll itself with respect to the supporting spindle.

While the invention has been illustrated in connection with an apparatus comprising two feed rolls located one above the other, it is to be understood that the features of the invention are also applicable to feed roll assemblies comprising more than two rolls mounted for rotation in planes radially disposed with respect to a common axis to form, at adjacent portions of their peripheries, a nip to engage the plastic material and feed it forward as a bar of constant cross-section. The assembly may for example comprise four rolls spaced apart at intervals and arranged to form a nip at which the plastic bar will be embraced round substantially the whole of its circumference by the peripheral surfaces of the feed rolls. Again where the feeding apparatus is designed to operate on a bar of triangular crosssection, the feed roll assembly may comprise three rolls spaced apart at intervals to form a triangular nip corresponding to the cross-section of the bar.

I claim:

1. Bar feeding apparatus of the type described having, carried on a frame, a feed roll assembly comprising at least two rolls carried on driving spindles and arranged to form between them a nip to engage the bar to be fed, gear wheels in driving engagement with the spindles for transmitting rotary motion to the rolls respectively and a guide channel for the bar partly embracing at least one of the rolls in such manner as to prevent substantial movement thereof in the axial direction, characterized by means for the ready release from its driving spindle of the roll so engaged consisting of a sleeve which is supported in bearings in the frame, which surrounds the driving spindle and to which the driving gear is fixed, means for transmitting rotary motion of the sleeve to the spindle which allow of endwise sliding movement of the spindle within the sleeve, means for transmitting rotary movement of the spindle to the roll and releasable detent means tending to prevent endwise movement of the spindle within the roll, the arrangement being such that by an endwise pull applied to the spindle it may be withdrawn through the sleeve to an extent sufficient to disengage it from the roll and to release the roll for movement in a direction parallel to its plane free of the embrace of the guide channel.

2. Bar feeding apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which the guide channel prevents substantial axial movement of more than one of the rolls and in which each of the rolls whose axial movement is so prevented is provided with means as aforesaid for the ready release thereof.

3. Bar feeding apparatus of the type described having, carried on a frame, a feed roll assembly comprising at least two rolls carried on driving spindles and arranged to form between them a nip to engage the bar to be fed, gear wheels in driving engagement with the spindles for transmitting rotary motion to the rolls respectively and a guide channel for the bar partly embracing at least one of the rolls in such manner as to prevent substantial movement thereof in the axial direction characterized by means for the ready release of the roll engaged by the guide channel from its driving spindle consisting of a sleeve which is supported in bearings in the frame, which surrounds the driving spindle and to which the driving gear wheel is fixed, a key and keyway connection between the sleeve and spindle which allows endwise movement of the spindle in the sleeve but prevents relative rotational movement between the spindle and sleeve, a key and keyway connection between the sleeve and roll which allows endwise movement of the spindle out of the roll but prevents relative rotational movement between the spindle and the roll, and a spring actuated detent movable transversely on one part of the spindle-and-roll combination into and out of engagement with a registering socket on the other part, the arrangement being such that by an endwise pull applied to the spindle it may be withdrawn through the sleeve to an extent sufficient to disengage it from the roll and to release the roll for movement in a direction parallel to its plane free of the embrace of the guide channel.

ALFRED GERMAN ROSE.

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