US2159850A - Machine for coating golf balls or the like - Google Patents

Description

C. W. .HAYNES MACHINE For: COATING GOLF BALLS 0R THE LIKE Mgy 23, 1939.

Filed June 27, 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet l May 23, 1939. v c. w. HAYNEs MACHINE FOR COATING GOLF BALLS OR THE LIKE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 CHESTER W. HAYNEs KW ,L7M

Filed June 27, 1938l ATTORNEYS May 23, v1939; c. w: HAYNES 2,159,850

I MACHINE FOR COATING GOLF BLLS OR THE LIKE I .Filed June 27, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR.

CHESTER W. HAYNEs A TTORNE YS able spring actuated detent mechanism of any suitable form, indicated at 0l, cooperating with notches 68 in a i'lXed segmental member 09 to dene the various operative positions of the carriage, as later explained.

In Fig. 3 the carriage is at the end of its rearward stroke, and the fingers :t0-3| are open, having just discharged a row of coated balls on rack I4.

As the initial operation of a cycle of operations the operator swings lever 6| to the right as viewed in the figures, to move the carriage from the position of Fig. 3 to the position shown in Fig. 4, in which the gripping fingers clear the receiving frame l5. Shaft 24 is then rotated 180 in its bearings to swing the lingers and the other parts supported by the shaft, including cam 5l, to the position shown in Fig. 5. By means of lever 6I the carriage is moved to the extreme forward end of its stroke in which position the open ingers 30-3l pass between balls 6,0 arranged in a row on a loading platform l0 of hopper H, as sho-wn in Fig. 9. In this position, as shown in the latter figure, arm 55 of the linger-operating cam is in the path of a trip member 7|.

As best shown in Fig. l, the bottom of hopper is groo-ved as at 'l2 to arrange the balls in longitudinal les, the grooves being extended onto the loading platform l0. Referring to Figs. 2, 9, and l0, the hopper l! is pivoted at 'Hi to spaced brackets 'i5 mounted on frame l0. Pivots lll are positioned slightly off the center of gravity of the hopper toward the loading platform and the main portion of the hopper normally rests on a supporting member 'l0 (Fig. 2) which is made adjustable as at l? so thatY the row of balls at the loading position on platform i0 may be adjusted vertically with respect to the gripping fingers. A shaft '18, rotatably mounted in brackets 15, carries a cam lug 79 adapted, when shaft 'I8 is rocked clockwise as viewed in Figs. 9 and l0, to engage the bottom of the hopper, and tilt the hopper as shown in Fig. 10. Shaft i8 is provided with an operating lever 80 formed with an extending portion 3| to which is connected one end of a link 92, the other end of which is connected to one member of a knuckle linkage 83 supported by a standard 8&2 and carrying a trip member 7|.

With the parts in the position shown in Fig. 9, in which as above described fingers Bil-3| are in position between the leading row of Vballs on the loading platform, lever 89 is swung to the position shown in Fig. 10. The initial portion of the movement of lever 80 causes trip member ll to engage handle 55 of the gripper operating cam 4l to rotate the latter and cause the fingers to engage the balls. Further movement of the lever 39 causes cam lug 'i9 to engage the bottom of the hopper and tilt the latter in to the position shown in Fig. 10, retracting the loading platform from ball supporting position and causing the illes of balls in grooves l2 to advance and replace the row of balls which have been seized by and are now held suspended in the gripper lingers 30-3I.

To assure proper feeding of the balls from the hopper a blade 90 is supported by depending arms 9|, pivoted at their upper ends to the hopper at 92, in position to enter a slot 93 formed across the front of the hopper. Blade 90 is constrained to enter the slot 93 by springs 9d. connecting the lower ends of arrnsl to the hopper at 95. When the 'hopper is in its normal or horizontal position, shown in Fig. 9, blade 90 is held outwardly of the slot 93 by hooks 9B engaging the adjacent end rod 2| of the carriage supporting frame. As the the gripped balls are held suspended over coating tank I3.

Coating tank I3 is periodically raised, to immerse the balls as shown in Fig. 1, and then lowered, by continuously operating means best shown in Figs. 2 and 1l.

Tank v|3 is provided adjacent its ends with downwardly extending posts |00, reciprocating in suitable guides not shown, and provided on their lower ends with rolls I0| resting on cams H02, secured to a shaft |03 journaled in depending brackets |05. Shaft |03 is constantly driven from a motor |05, the shaft of which is connected to a conventional gear reduction unit |06 to drive a shaft 50i carrying a sprocket |03. Sprocket |08 is connected by chain |09 to a sprocket H0 mounted on a countershaft which carries a sprocket l2 connected by a chain I3 to a sprocket l5 secured to shaft |03 intermediate the cams |02.

The cams |02 are so contoured that the rising movement of the tank to immerse the balls as shown in Fig. ll is relatively more rapid than the downward movement. The latter movement is so timed that as the balls slowly emerge, any 'I surplus coating material ilows from the emerging ball, leaving a uniform coating on the ball and preventing the accumulation of any substantial amount of coating material at the lower side of the ball as the latter finally leaves the coating liquid, gravity and the surface tension of the liquid in the tank both acting to draw the maximum of surplus material to the tank and from the ball at the break. As soon as the tank has cleared the balls, the operator rotates shaft 2@ f through an are of by means of handle 56 to bring the fingers 30-3I with their engaged balls to an upright position, thus reversing the position of the balls so that any excess of material on what had previously been the lower half of the gf ball spreads itself under the action of gravity.

During the dipping operation the operator restores the hopper operating lever to the position shown in Fig. 9 in readiness for the next cycle of operation, and also places a rack M, see Fig. 1,

on the free ends of rack frame l5 at A, Fig. 2. As best shown in Fig. l, the racks are cut away or notched along their forward edges to form a plurality of projections |20 positioned to pass between the gripper lingers and beneath the engaged balls. Portions |20 are provided with a plurality of sho-rt spikes |2| upon which the balls are deposited, as will be now described.

As soon as the lingers have been swung to an upright position, lever 6| is operated to move the carriage to the position shown in Fig. 3, and the gripper lingers are separated by swinging cam operating handle 55 to the position shown in the latter figure. Upon their release by the gripper fingers the balls drop onto the spikes 22| of the rack and the parts are in position for the next cycle of operation.

The racks or trays I4 are preferably automatically moved rearwardly on frame 5 by means of pawls |23 pvoted to the free ends of arms |24 adjustably secured at to rod 66 of the carriage. The length of arms |24 is made such that .when the carriage is at the extreme right-hand end of its travel, as viewed in theA figures, that is, at the loading position of the grippers, the pavvls |23 clear the end of the rack supporting frame l5. When the carriage moves from loading position to the coating position shown in Fig. 2 the pawls engage the previously loaded tray on the end of the frame at positionA andy moves it rearwardly on the frame to position B, thus leaving room for the operator to place' an unloaded tray at the end of the frame in position A While the dipping operation is in progress as previously described. Movement of the carriage to dis.- charge position as shown in lig. 3, moves the pre.- viously loaded tray to position C. On the next advance of the carriage to loading position, pawl |23 is drawn beneath the newly filled rack at A in the manner shown in `lig. 13.

As Will be clear from the drawings, the fingers til- 3i are pointed so that no discernible marks are left at their point of contact. `It is'desirable that the fingers be kept relatively free of paint and it is, therefore, desirable after a number of dippings to Wash the fingers. For this purpose a Washing tank 230 is provided. Tank 230 is supported on a pair of spaced posts 23| vertically slidable in the frame lo and supported at their lower end on curved cam arms 232 secured to a rock shaft 23? rotatably mounted in hangers 23d secured to frame iii. The curved tank -supporting arms 232 are normally maintained in Vlowered position by a spring 235 connecting an oppositely extending arm 238 secured to shaft 233, to frame iB. Arms 232 are adapted to. be rocked to raise tank 23B into position to immerse and Wash the gripper fingers by means of a foot treadle 23T pivoted tov frame I0 at 238 and connected by a link 239 to the arm 23.5. A spring actuated catch mechanism 211D is provided to releasably engage the treadle 23! to hold the tank 23E! temporarily in Washing position.

I claim:

1. A device for coating golf balls or the like which comprises a ball feeding means, av ball coating means and a ball receiving means, a reciprocable gripping mechanism adapted to transport balls successively from said feeding means to the coating means and finally to the ball receiving means, means to reciprocate said gripping mechanism and means for rotating the gripping mechanism` through an arc of substantially 180 from the coating position to deliver the balls in reversed position to the receiving means.

2. A device for coating golf balls or the like Which comprises, a reciprocating carriage, grippers on said carriage for releasably engaging the balls to be coated, means to reciprocate the carriage, means at one end of the carriage travel for feeding balls to the grip-pers, means at the opposite end of the carriage travel to receive the balls from the grippers, and means in the path of travel of the carriage intermediate said ball feeding and ball receiving means for immersing the gripper held balls in a coating liquid.

3. A device for coating golf balls or the like which comprises, a reciprocating carriage, a gripper sup-port rotatably mounted on the carriage, grippers mounted on said support for releasably engaging the balls to be coated, means at one end of the carriage travel for feeding balls to the grippers, means at the opposite end of the carriage travel to receive the balls from the grippers, means in the path of travel of the carriage intermediate said ball feeding and ball receiving means for immersing the gripper-held balls in a coating liquid and means. to rotate the gripper support through an arc of substantially 180 from r the immersing position to deliver the balls in reversed position to the receiving means.

4L A device for coating golf balls or the like which comprises a gripper support mounted for rotation about a horizontal posed gripper fingers carried by said support and extending radially therefrom, said fingers being mounted on the support for movement to- Ward and from each other, means for feeding balls int-o position to be engaged by the gripper i mounted on said rails, a shaft rotatably mounted at its ends in said bearing members and forming with the latter a reciprocable carriage, a plurality of sets of opposed pivotally mounted gripper iingers supported on said shaft, cam actuated means for simultaneously swinging the opposed fingers of each set of gripper fingers toward each other to engage a plurality of balls, means to rotate said shaft in the bearing members to swing the grippers bodily from a depending position to an upright position, and cam means for sepa- :u

rating the grippers to discharge the balls therefrom while the grippers are in an upright position.

6. In a device for coating golf balls or the like, a reciprocable carriage, opposed gripper fingers mounted on the carriage for movement toward and from each other, cam means for moving the gripper fingers, ball feeding means positioned in the path of carriage travel and including a loading platform adapted to support the balls in position to be embraced by the open gripper lingers as the carriage moves to loading position, means to retract the loading platform from ball supporting position and means operable to actuate said cam means to cause the grippers to engage l the balls prior to the retraction of the loading platform.

'2. In a device for coating golf balls or the like, a reciprocable carriage including a gripper supiport, opposed gripper fingers mounted on the sapport, said support being rotatably mounted on the carriage to permit bodily movement of the gripipers through an` arc of 180 from an upright to a depending position, means for opening and closing the gripper fingers, ball feeding means positioned in the path of the gripper fingers when the latter are in a depending position, said feeding means including a loading platform for supporting balls in a position to be gripped by the ngers and means operable to actuate the gripper lingers and thereafter retract said loading platform to leave the balls suspended in th-e gripper fingers.

8. In a device for coating golf balls or the like, a reciprocable carriage including a gripper support, rotatably mounted on the carriage, a plurality of sets of opposed gripper fingers mounted on said support for movement toward and from each other, a pair of rods slidably mounted in the support and respectively connected to the oppositely moving grippers of each set, a rotatable axis, op- ,f

fili) cam member for simultaneously sliding said rods in opposite directions for opening and closing the gripper fingers, ball feeding means adjacent one end of the path of carriage travel including a loading platform adapted to support a series of balls in position to lie between the open iingers of the grippers in one position of rotation of the support, means operable to rotate the cam to close the gripper fingers and to thereafter retract the loading platform to leave the balls suspended in the gripper fingers, and a ball receiving means positioned at the opposite end of the carriage travel to underlie the balls in the gripper ngers when said support is rotated substantially from its loading position.

9. In a 4device for coating golf balls or the like, a reciprocable carriage including a gripper support, rotatably mounted on the carriage, a plurality of sets of opposed gripper fingers mounted on said support for movement toward and from each other, a pair of rods slidably mounted in the support and respectively connected to the oppositely moving grippers of each set, a rotatable cam for simultaneously sliding said rods in opposite directions for opening and closing the gripper ng'ers, ball feeding means adjacent one end of the path of carriage travel including a loading platform adapted to support a series of balls in position to lie between the open iingers of the grippers in one position of rotation of the support, means operable to rotate the cam to close the gripper lingers and to thereafter retract the loading platform to leave the balls suspended in the gripper fingers, and a ball receiving means positioned at the opposite end of the carriage travel, said receiving means including a frame and a plurality of racks slidably supported thereon, said racks being provided with projecting portions extending' between the gripper iingers and beneath the balls when the gripper support is rotated substantially 180 from its loading position, and pawl means connected to the carriage for advancing the racks along the frame as the carriage moves from loading to discharge position.

l0. A device for coating golf balls or the like which comprises a reciprocating' carriage, grippers on said carriage for releasabiy engaging the balls to be coated, means to reciprocate the carriage, ball feeding means adjacent one end of the carriage travel for supplying balls to the grippers, means adjacent the other end of carriage travel to receive the balls from the gripper, a dipping tank for coating liquid positioned intermediate the ball feeding and ball receiving means, and

means to raise and lower the tank to immerse the gripper-held balls in the coating liquid.

11. A device for coating golf balls or the like which comprises a reciprocating carriage, grippers on said carriage for releasably engaging the balls to be coated, means to reciprocate the carriage, ball feeding means adjacent one end of the carriage travel for supplying balls to the grippers, means adjacent the other end of carriage travel to receive the balls from the gripper, a dipping tank for coating liquid positioned intermediate the ball feeding and ball receiving means, and means to raise and lower the tank to immerse the gripperheld balls in the coating liquid, said last-named means being operable to lower the tank at a relatively slower rate than its upward immersing movement so as to minimize any excess of coating material left on the low side of the emerging balls.

12. A device for coating golf balls or the like which comprises a reciprocating carriage, grippers on said carriage for releasably engaging the balls to be coated, means to reciprocate the carriage, ball feeding means adjacent on-e end of the carriage travel for supplying balls to the grippers, means adjacent the other end of carriage travel to receive the balls from the gripper, a. dipping tank for coating liquid positioned intermediate the ball feeding and ball receiving means,

and means to raise and lower the tank to img,

merse the gripper-held balls in the coating liquid, said last-named means including a cam adapted to time the upward and downward movement of the tank, so as to minimize any excess of coating material left on the lower side oi' the emerging balls, and power means for driving the cam.

13. A device for coating golf balls or the like which comprises, a reciprocab-le carriage including a gripper support, opposed gripper fingers mounted on the support, said support being rotatably mounted on the carriage to permit bodily movement of the grippers through anarc of 180 from a depending position to an upright position, means for supplying balls to the grippers, a dipping tank for coating liquid, means for raising the tank to immerse the balls in the coating liquid while the grippers are in a depending position and operable to thereafter lower the tank, and ball receiving means positioned to receive the balls from the grippers when the gripper support has been rotated 180 to bring the grippers to upright position.

CHESTER' W. HAYNES.

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