US2161123A

US2161123A - Pad forming apparatus

Info

Publication number: US2161123A
Application number: US76633A
Authority: US
Inventors: Clarence W Avery; Vehko James
Original assignee: Murray Corp
Current assignee: Murray Corp; Murray Corp of America
Priority date: 1936-04-27
Filing date: 1936-04-27
Publication date: 1939-06-06
Anticipated expiration: 1956-06-06

Description

June 6, c AVERY r AL I PAD FORMING APPARATUS Fiied April 27, 1936 '3 Sheets-Sheet 1 M W W WWW \ WWW WW IIIIIIIIIIIIIIII l' vvyyv INVENTORS. CLARENCE \IV. AVERY JAMES VEHKO A TTORNE Y.

, ima l w m June 6, 1939..

c. w. AVERY :1- AL PAD ,FORMING APPARATUS Filed April 27, 1936 3*Sheets-Sheet. 2

INVENTORS' CLARENCE W AVERY JAMES VEH KO June 6, 1939 c. w. AVERY AL. 2,161,123

PAD FORMING APPARATUS Filed April 27., 1936 3 Sheets-Sheet a INVENTORS. CLARENCE w. AVERY JAMES VEHKO v @ai mw Mm,

TORNEY 5.

Patented June 6, 1939 UNITED STAT PATNT GFIE PAD FORMING APPARATUS Application April 27, 1936, Serial No. 76,633

12 Claims.

This invention relates to apparatus for serially blanking out sections of material for use in the interior of automotive vehicle bodies. More particularly, it relates to a machine which may be conveniently utilized for the purpose of blanking out sections of padding for inner trim panels or for blanking out sections of upholstery finish material, as may be desired.

In order to obtain a more complete understanding of the invention presented in this application, reference may be had to applicants prior copending application Serial No. 71,515, filed March 28, 1936, in which is illustrated and described the complete assembly line of which the unit disclosed and claimed herein forms one specific part.

The present invention contemplates the provision of continuously operated apparatus for feeding an endless web of material to a point adjacent a blanking out press. Novel and improved mechanism is provided in order to arrest move ment of the material at this point and to intermittently feed the same through a blanking press in order that the material will be maintained stationary during the stamping operation.

The broad inventive concept presented in this application will find practical utility in many and varied different applications, but it will be appreciated that the present disclosure relates specifically to two primary uses for which the apparatus shown is intended. The apparatus may be utilized in connection with a pad generating unit of such structure that a substantially continuous, loosely felted web of non-woven fibrous material is fed to the blanking press and the apparatus, when used for this purpose, will serve to blank out sections of this web which may subsequently be applied to relatively. stifi backing sheets and then covered with fabric finish material to form inner trim panels for automobiles. The apparatus disclosed will also find practical utility in combination with an upholstery forming machine which serves to generate a continuous composite strip comprising upper and lower fabric layers having padding material secured therebetween by means of longitudinally disposed lines of stitching. Sections of this strip may be blanked out to form pieces of upholstery of a configuration particularly adaptable for finishing automobile seat backs and seat cushions.-

'mittent feed is accurately and definitely controlled with respect to the rate of delivery of the constant feed mechanism.

The invention further contemplates the provision of novel means for feeding the padding material in'between the dies of the press, which mechanism serves also to aid in ejecting the sections of material after the blanking out operation has been completed.

Many other and further objects and advantages of the present invention will become clearly apparent from the following specification when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings forming a part thereof.

In the drawings:

Figure l is a fragmentary plan view of a section of loosely felted, non-woven fibrous material, illustrating the manner in which sections thereof are blanked to form;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of a section of padding material blanked to a configuration for use in an inner trim panel;

Fig. '3 is a transverse, sectional view, taken substantially on the line 3-3 of Fig. '2;

Fig, 4 is a fragmentary, perspective view, with portions broken away, illustrating one embodiment of the apparatus of the present invention utilized for the purpose of blanking out padded sections for inner trim panels;

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal, vertical, sectional view, taken substantially on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4, illustrating the interior construction of the blanking press;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary plan view of a continuous strip of upholstery material illustrating the manner in which sections may be blanked to form by the improved apparatus of the present inven tion;

Fig. 7 is a plan view of a section of upholstery material blanked out to predetermined desired configuration for use in a seat back;

Fig. 8 is a transverse; sectional View, taken substantially on the line B8 of Fig. 7, illustrating in detail the interior construction of the upholstery strip; and

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary, perspective view of an embodiment of the invention, illustrating the apparatus designed for blanking out sections of upholstery material from a continuous web.

With more particular reference to the drawings, the specific embodiment of the invention illustrated therein is, as has been described above, primarily adapted for use in preparing inner trim materials for automotive vehicles. In the form of the invention illustrated in Figs. 4' and it will be appreciated that the apparatus is intended for use in the manufacture of preformed sections of padding material to be used in the construction of padded inner trim panels. As will be understood by reference to applicants assignees prior co-pending application referred to above, means are utilized in connection with the apparatus of Fig. 4 for delivering a substantially continuous strip of loosely felted, nonwoven fibrous padding material to a point adjacent the blanking out press. Inasmuch as this web of padding material is continuously gener ated, it is inherent that the delivery thereof to the blanking press will be at a substantially uniform and constant rate of speed. While this delivery may be accomplished in any manner such as may be desired, the apparatus of the present invention contemplates the utilization of a conveyor comprising a pair of continuous chains in interconnected by transversely extending rods I i which serve to support a continuous web of padding material 55. These chains pass over suitable sprocket wheels I2 which are journaled upon a shaft 53 mounted for rotation in a supporting framework M adjacent the blanking press hereinafter described in detail. A sprocket wheel i5 is secured to the shaft 53 and serves, by means of a sprocket chain ii, to drive a sprocket wheel 88 which is secured to the shaft of a roller l9 over which passes an endless conveyor belt 2% which serves to receive the web of padding material 55 and feed the same to the blanking press. The upper run of the endless conveyor belt 283 extends from the roller is to a roller 2i journaled for rotation in the framework 22 of the blanking press.

This roller 2! is intermittently operated as will hereinafter be described in detail in order to intermittently feed the padding material from the conveyor into the blanking press. The lower run of the conveyor belt 20 extends downwardly from the roller 2! and passes underneath an idle roll 24 journaled for rotation in suitable brackets 25 secured to the floor on which the apparatus is mounted. The conveyor belt 2'3 then passes upwardly over an idle roller 26 journaled for rotation in the framework It and downwardly around a take-up roll 27 which is mounted for vertical movement in guides 28 constituting a part of the framework l4.

From the foregoing description it will be appreciated that as the roller i9 is constantly driven by means of the feed conveyor, the upper run of the conveyor belt 28 will be uniformly fed forwardly by the roller H9 at a rate substantially the same as the rate at which the fibrous web of padding material i5 is delivered thereto. Inasmuch as the roller 25 is intermittently driven as hereinafter described, it will be appreciated that the upper run of the conveyor belt 29 will gradually sag downwardly to substantially the position shown in Fig. l, as this drive takes place. The downward movement of the central portion of the upper run of the conveyor 2b will be permitted due to the vertically movable take-up roll 21 mounted in the guides 28 and it will be seen that, as this portion of the conveyor belt sags downwardly, this roller 2'1? will be raised vertically in its guideways. A compacting and feed roll 33 may be journaled for rotation in the framework I i in a position to cooperate with the roller H3 in order to positively feed the web of fibrous material onto the conveyor 2!).

The blanking press includes the base frame 22, to each of the lateral sides of which are secured suitable upwardly extending side frame members 35. A lower die bed 36 is secured in stationary position on the base frame 22 and it will be seen that the web of fibrous material is fed over the surface of this bed by means of the conveyor 25. The roller 2! at the forward end of the conveyor 2U preferably has a feed roll 3'! cooperating therewith in order to effect a positive feed of the fibrous material over the bed 36 of the press. An upper die 33 of a configuration adapted to cooperate with the bed 35 to blank out sections of padding material of the desired configuration, is mounted in a suitable die retainer 38 permanently secured to a movable framework 35 supported by a plurality of vertically extending operating rods 45, one pair of which is located at each of the lateral sides of the conveyor. These operating rods 4! preferably extend through suitable apertures in the bed of the press and are all permanently secured at their lower ends in a movable actuating frame 42 disposed interiorly of the base frame 22.

A shaft 45 is journaled for rotation in the base frame it of the blanking press and has a pair of eccentrics it permanently secured thereto. Cooperating members M are mounted for rotation on the peripheral surfaces of the eccentrics 46 and have projecting portions at which serve to provide means for pivotally mounting links 49. The outer ends of the links $9 each have pivotally secured thereto a pair of links 58 which serve to interconnect the outer ends of the links 49 with the actuating framework 12, and the links 49 also have pivotally secured thereto links 5! which support the outer ends of the links 49 on suitable permanently mounted projecting brackets 52 shown as formed integrally with the base frame 22. This link assembly serves to provide a toggle construction which, upon rotation of the shaft d5, serves to effect vertical movement of the actuating framework 52 and which consequently serves to move the die 38 into engagement with the bed 36 to blank out a section of padding material to the desired configuration.

The shaft 15 which serves to actuate the movable die 38 has connected to the outer end thereof a large gear of which is adapted to be driven by an electric motor 6! operating through a suitable sprocket chain 82 and clutch mechanism 63 hereinafter described in greater detail.

It will be appreciated from the foregoing that when the clutch mechanism 63 is engaged, the electric motor will serve to drive the large gear Gil and consequently effect an engagement of the dies 36 and 38 to blank out a section of padding material to the desired configuration, and it will be further appreciated that one revolution of this shaft 15 will serve to complete one cycle of movement of the blanking press. The clutch mechanism 62 is preferably constructed by means con ventional in the art in such a manner that when it is engaged it will automatically be disengaged upon the completion of one complete cycle of operation of the die press. 7

A pair of cylindrical, substantially vertically disposed housings 65 are connected in unit relation by means of a transversely extending connecting bar 66. This connecting bar 66 is guided for vertical movement by a pair of forked depending brackets iil secured to the underside of the transversely extending frame member 68 connecting the upper ends of the side frames 35 with the blanking press. A pair of threaded rods 69 each have their lower ends secured to the transversely extending connecting bar 66 and pass upwardly through the brackets 61 and frame memmaterial over the bed of the press at considerably ber 68 and each threadably has secured thereon a bevel gear 10. The bevel gears 10 are each driven by a cooperating bevel gear 1| secured to the end of a shaft 12 mounted for rotation in the transversely extending frame member 68.. A suitable hand wheel 13 is provided for the purpose of conveniently rotating the shaft 12 and consequently it will be appreciated that rotation of the hand wheel 13 will serve to adjust the vertical position of the transversely extending connecting bar 66 and at the same time maintain this bar in fixed horizontal condition. Due to the fact that the housings 63 are permanently secured to the crossbar 66, it will be appreciated that the vertical position of these housings may be adjusted by means of rotation of the hand wheel 13. Journaled within each of the housings 65 is a lower idler pulley 15 and an upper pulley 16, which pulleys serve to mount a feed belt 11 which is driven by a horizontally extending shaft 18 to which the upper pulleys 16 are secured.

It will be appreciated that the hand wheel may be utilized for adjusting the vertical position of the housings so that the feed belt 11, as it passes over the lower pulleys 15, will serve to engage the upper surface of the padding material |5 as it passes through the press and serve to aid in feeding this material over the bed of the press. The vertical adjustment mechanism described above serves to provide convenient means for raising the housings 65 to facilitate removal of the upper die member 38.

The shaft 18 is driven by means of a pulley secured to the outer end thereof over which passes a drive belt 8| which is driven by means of a sprocket wheel 82 journaled adjacent the delivery side of the press and operated by a 83 passing over a sprocket wheel 84. The sprocket wheel 84 has secured thereto a gear which cooperates with a rack 85 pivotally secured to the base frame of the blanking press at the point 66. The rack 85 is pivotally connected to the eccentric 46 at the point 81 and it will be seen that, as rotation of the shaft 45 takes place, the rack 85 will move arcuately about its pivot 86- and effect a rotation of the gear 84 and consequently the feed belts 11 which serve to feed material over the bed of the blanking press. It will be further appreciated that no movement of this feed mechanism will take place except at such times as the blanking press is driven and the respective parts are preferably so constructed and proportioned that movement of the rack mechanism will take place only at such times as the dies are in a position separated from each other. Due to the fact that the tubular housing 65 extends through suitable apertures in the upper die and the die frame, movement of the upper die will be entirely independent of the movement of these housings and, consequently, the feed belt 1| will be engaged with the surface of the padding material |5 at all times irrespective of the movement of the upper die mechanism.

The pinion engaged by the rack 85 meshes with a pinion 90 which is permanently secured to the shaft of the roller 2| and cooperates through a suitable gear train with a pinion 92 secured to the shaft of the roller 31. It will therefore be apparent that movement of the rack 85 serves to effect a simultaneous feeding rotation of the cooperating rollers 2| and 31 and the respective partsare so proportioned'that this movement serves to feed a-predetermined length of padding above, at the greater speed than the rate at which the padding material is delivered to the conveyor belt Zil by means of the conveyor Ill. The respective gears, racks,.sprockets and belts are also so proportioned that the rate of feeding movement effected by the cooperating rollers 2| and 31 is substantially the same as the rate of feeding movement accomplished by the feed belt 1|. Inasmuch as both of these feeding means are driven by the rack 85, it will be seen that the feeding action of both means will be synchronous and simultaneous and that neither one will operate except when both are driven.

It will be further appreciated that, as this relatively rapid feeding movement takes place, the central portion of the upper run of the belt 20 will be raised to a position where it will extend nearly directly between the rollers l9 and 30 and the rollers 2| and 31. The belt will be tensioned to this position due to the weight of the vertically movable roller 21 mounted in the guides 28.

A suitable source of light (not shown) is 'directed from one side of the apparatus and focused upon a photoelectric cell 95 located adjacent the central portion of the upper run of the conveyor belt when this belt is sagging to its lowermost position. The photoelectric cell is connected by means of a suitable circuit with an electric switch mechanism 96 which serves to effect engagement of the clutch mechanism 63 when the light beam on the photoelectric cell 95 is interrupted.

The operation of the apparatus described above is substantially as follows: The continuous web of loosely felted, non-woven, fibrous padding material is continuously fed by means of the conveyor l6 onto the conveyor belt 28. It is assumed that the upper run of the belt is in a position above that shown in Fig. 4 and consequently the light beam focused upon the photoelectric cell 95 is not interrupted. Consequently, the blanking press and the mechanism for feeding the material therethrough are not in operation. As the feed of material from the conveyor H! to the conveyor belt 20 takes place, it will be seen that the roller l9 at the rear end of the conveyor belt 20 is being constantly driven by the sprocket chain l1 and consequently the central portion of the upper run of the conveyor belt 20 will gradually sag downwardly until it reaches substantially the position shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings. When the central portion of the upper run of the conveyor belt 20 has sagged downwardly to this position, the light beam focused upon the photoelectric cell 95 will be interrupted and the switch mechanism 96 will consequently be actuated to engage the clutch 53. The engagement of the clutch 63 transmits drive of the motor 6| to the large gear 60, which serves to drive the blanking press through one complete cycle of operation. It will be appreciated that, due to the construction and arrangement of parts described beginning of the cycle of operation the upper die will be moved upwardly by the eccentric 46 and that rotation of this eccentric will serve to actuate the feed belts 11 and at the same time serve to rotate the rollers 2| and 31, rapidly feeding a predetermined length of padding material across the bed of the press. Due to the fact that the feed of the belts 11 and rollers 2| and 31 is considerably more rapid than therate at which the belt is fed by means of the cooperating rollers 30 and I9, it will be appreciated that theup'per run of the conveyor belt Mlwill be substantially raised, thus permitting the light beam to again impinge upon the photoelectric cell 95. After the feeding operation has been accomplished, the upper die of the blanking press will move downwardly and blank out a section of padding material it of a configuration in accordance with the particular dies used, after which blanking operation the clutch mechanism 63 will be automatically disengaged until the upper run of the conveyor belt has sagged downwardly sufiiciently to cause a repetition of the cycle of movements above described.

The pinion which meshes with the rack is preferably connected to its shaft by means of a one-way clutch in order that the mechanism for feeding the material through the press including the rollers 2! and 3? and the feed belts ll will not be operated except upon the upstroke of the press and consequently this feeding movement will only take place during the time that the dies are engaged and therefore will take place in one direction only.

In order to feed the blanked-out sections Hit from the press, a pair of rollers I02 and I03 are mounted near the delivery end of the press and are adapted to engage the material as it passes from the bed of the press. These rollers are geared for simultaneous rotation and are driven by the sprocket wheel 32 so that the feeding accomplished by these rollers will be synchronous with the feeding accomplished by the rollers 2| and 37 and the feed belts 1?. Spaced slightly from the roller E 63 is a roller ltd over which passes an endless conveyor belt H15 which may preferably be continuously operated to carry the blanked-out sections lilil away from the press. The marginal edges of the web i5 around the blanked-out sections will not have sufiicient body to breach the gap between the roller 33 and the roller I9 and will consequently bend downwardly where they will be engaged by a pair of rollers it? which feed this waste material against a rotary dis-integrating element I08 which may be driven by any suitable source of power and which serves to break up this waste fibrous material and discharge the same into a housing HE]. A large conduit 5 H is connected to the housing and conveys fibrous material therefrom.

It will be appreciated that the above described apparatus makes possible the substantially continuous delivery of a continuous web of loosely felted, fibrous material to the blanking press, and intermittent feeding of said material through the blanking press in order that no movement of the material will take place during the actual time that a section of the material is blanked out, means for separating the waste material from around the marginal edges of the blanked-out sections and substantially continuously operated means for conveying the blanked-out sections away from the blanking press.

The modified form of apparatus disclosed in Figs. 6 to 9, inclusive, has many features in common with the apparatus described above, but is primarily designed for blanking out sections of upholstery material from a continuous composite strip. The material adapted to be operated upon by the apparatus shown in Fig. 9 comprises a strip of composite upholstery material H5 which is formed, as is seen in Fig. 8, of a fabric backing layer H6, a fabric finish layer Ill and a layer of fibrous padding material H8 secured in position between the fabric layers. This padding material I8 is preferably secured in position by means of longitudinal lines of stitching H9 which provide a plurality of tufts disposed side by side and extending longitudinally of the strip. The manner in which this composite strip of upholstery material is formed is described and claimed in applicants assignees prior co-pending application, Serial No. 67,362, filed Mar. 9, 1936.

The apparatus for blanking out sections of this material of suitable configuration to form includes a conveyor belt I29 which passes over a roller journaled on a shaft 12f to deliver the strip of upholstery material at a substantially continuous, uniform speed to a point adjacent the blanking press. The shaft 52! is journaled for rotation in a frame 522 which also has journaled therein a roller serving to support the rear end of a conveyor belt 123 serving to convey the material to the blanking press. As was described above, this roller at the rear end of the The front end of the conveyor E23 passes over a suitrolier 428 journaled for rotation in the base frame lid of the blanking press. As was the case in apparatus described above, the belt H3 is substantially longer than is necessary to reach between the pulleys at the ends of this conveyor and intermediate its ends the belt passes over a roller I35 which is mounted for vertical movement in a pair of guide posts l3l, one located at each of the lateral sides of the conveyor belt I23.

the vertically extending The upper run of the conveyor belt 523 passes over the roller i551! and the roller I3!) is preferably formed of sufficient weight to exert passes upwardly over a stationary idle roller I34 vertically movable idle roller H35 which is mounted for vertical movement in suitable guideways E36 formed as a part of the frame H2.

The intermittent feed mechanism utilized in connection with the blanking press is substantially identical with that described in connection with the embodiment of the invention shown in the preceding figures and like reference numerals have therefore been used in designating the parts thereof. A switch box I46 is secured to one of the vertical guides l3! and this switch box has a switch arm M2 which projects into the path the roller l3ii at a predetermined point at the downward limit of movement of this roller. The switch Ml serves to close a circuit to the switch box which effects engagement of the clutch 63 to effect, first, feeding of mate- The dies utilized in this embodiment of the invention preferably serve to cut off only three sides of the upholstery section. The dies are preferably so formed that they trim the lateral sides of each section to the predetermined desired form, such as is shown in Fig. 7, and trim the forward or top edge of the upholstery panel transversely across the entire width of the strip to separate next adjacent panels. The line of severance between adjacent panels is, in practically all instances, a straight transverse line and consequently it is not necessary to use dies which blank out all sides of the panel, but is merely necessary to utilize dies for trimming the sides and transversely cutting across the strip. It will be appreciated that the ratio of the various parts comprising the feed mechanism may be carefully proportioned in order that the longitudinal length of the panels formed by the machine will closely approximate the size desired.

While we have illustrated but two embodiments of the invention presented in this application,'

many other and further modifications may be made, falling within the scope of the invention as defined in the subjoined claims.

We claim as our invention:

1. Apparatus of the class described comprising a continuously operated conveyor for feeding a continuous web of material toward a blanking press, a conveyor for feeding said web from said first mentioned conveyor into said blanking press, continuous means for driving one end of said second conveyor synchronously with said first conveyor, and intermittent means for driving the opposite end of said second conveyor in synchronism with the operation of said blanking press.

2. In a blanking press for blanking sections from a continuous web of material, feed belts extending through the movable die of said press to engage the material stamped and to feed the same across the bed of the press.

3. In a blanking press, a stationary bed, a vertically movable die adapted to engage said bed and blankout sections of material from a web passed over said bed, means extending through said movable die adapted to engage material on said bed to feed said material across said bed.

4. Apparatus of the class described comprising continuously operated means for feeding a web of material toward a blanking press, and a conveyor for feeding said web of material from said first mentioned means into the bed of said blanking press, one end of said conveyor being operated continuously and the other end being operated intermittently.

5. Apparatus of the class described comprising continuously operated means for feeding a continuous web of material toward a blanking press, a conveyor for feeding said web from said means into the bed of said blanking press, means for driving one end of said conveyor synchronously with said feeding means, and means for driving the opposite end of said conveyor intermittently to periodically feed a predetermined length of said web onto the bed of said press.

6. Apparatus of the class described comprising a blanking press having a vertically movable die, a stationary die adapted to cooperate with said movable die, feed means extending through apertures in said movable die adapted to engage a section of material disposedupon said stationary die to feed the same transversely through said press, and means supporting said feed means independently of said movable die member.

'7. Apparatus of the class described comprising continuously operated means for feeding a continuous web of material toward a blanking press, a conveyor belt for transferring said web from said means to said blanking press, a roller adjacent said blanking press serving to support and drive one end of said conveyor belt, intermittently actuated means for driving said roller, a second roller adjacent said feeding means and continuously operated means for actuating said second roller.

8. Apparatus of the class described comprising a continuously operated conveyor for feeding a strip of material toward a blanking press, a conveyor belt for transferring said strip from said continuously operated conveyor. to said blanking press, means for driving the end of said conveyor belt adjacent said conveyor continuously and in synchronism therewith, and means for driving the end of said conve or belt adjacent said blanking press intermittently.

9. Feeding mechanism for a blanking press comprising a pair of rollers, one adjacent said blanking press and one spaced therefrom, a conveyor belt carried on and driven by said rollers, means for driving the roller adjacent said blanking press relatively rapidly at predetermined intervals and means for driving the other roller relatively slowly but continuously.

10. Feeding mechanism for a blanking press comprising a pair of rollers one adjacent said blanking press and the other spaced therefrom, a conveyor belt carried on and driven by said rollers, means for intermittently driving said roller adjacent said blanking press, means for continuously driving the other of said rollers whereby to cause the upper run of said conveyor to sag downward intermittently and a vertically movable idle roller adapted to engage said conveyor belt to maintain the material fed in engagement therewith.

l1. Feeding mechanism for a cutting means comprising a pair of rollers, one adjacent said cutting means and one spaced therefrom, a conveyor belt carried on and driven by said rollers, means for driving the roller adjacent said cutting means relatively rapidly at predetermined intervals and means for driving the other roller relatively slowly but continuously.

12. Apparatus of the class described comprising means for continuously feeding a continuous 4 web of material toward a blanking press, means forv intermittently operating said blanking press at predetermined intervals, and means for rapidly and periodically advancing said web into said blanking press in timed relation with the operation of said blanking press.

CLARENCE W. AVERY. JAMES VEHKO.