US2370128A - Apparatus for edging sheet metal blanks - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 27, 1945. 1, ANEIROS v 2,370,128

APPARATUS FOR EDGING SHEET METAL BLANKS Filed Ndv. 7, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 AT TQRN EYS.

APPARATUS FOR EDGING SHEET METAL BLANKS Filed Nov. 7, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 JOSEPH AN EIROS TToRNEgs Patented Feb. 27, 1945 APPARATUS FOR EDGING SHEET METAL BLANK Joseph Aneiros, Brooklyn, N. Y., assignor to E. W. Bliss Company, Brooklyn, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Application November 7, 1941,` Serial No. 418,219

4 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in a method and apparatus for making can bodies from sheet metal blanks and is more particularly concerned with the edging operation by which hooks are prepared on two edges of the blank which are then brought into a position to face each other and are interlocked to form the side seam of the can.

In edging can body blanks the hooks prepared on the blanks depend in their shape on the type o f seam which it is intended to use in the completed can.. The type of' seam in turn depends on the subsequent use of the can. One of the most popular seams is the lock-and-lap seam used in making sanitary foodstuff cans. In forming the hooks for this type of seam one edge of the blank is bent back in a downward direction whereas the edge later to face the rst one is bentback in an upward direction, the two hooks thus formed being capable of interlocking and overlapping. Another seam ywidely used is the Mennen seam, generally applied to powder cans of different types. This seam is made from a blank having a substantially U-shaped hook on one edge, the U having converging Shanks, which are adapted to engage a hook-shaped edge formed oppositely thereto on the blank.

Can body makers heretofore used have embodied an edging station provided with tools for turning out blanks which would make one denite type of seam. If it was desired to manufacture cans with another type f seam theI edging station had to undergo a complete rebuilding which involved considerable work and stopped the operation of the machine during a substantial change over period.

These diiculties in switching from one type of production to another have proved to be a great inconvenience in modern general line can manufacture, Where machines are continuously run to capacity during certain periods.

The principal object of the present invention is to overcome the above disadvantages by providing the edging station with tools capable of being easily adapted to make the hooks of blanks in one way or another according to the type of seam chosen for a certain batch of cans, without compelling'the operator to make changes in the general set-up of the machinery involving considerable time and labor.

In carrying out my invention I provide an edging station for a can body maker with two edge forming members, one of which is capable of shaping one edge of the blank into the U-shaped hook later to form the Mennen seam, while the other member is adapted simultaneously to shape the hook engaging therewith on the other edge of the blank. By a change in the first-mentioned members-the nature of which will be explained more fully hereinafter, I am able to achieve the above-mentionedbbject of adapting the mechanism as a whole to turn out blanks with edges for a lock-and-lap seam, without changing the mechanism as a whole on either side of the station.

To the'accomplishnent of the foregoing and related ends, said invention, then, consists of the means hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in `the claims; the annexed drawings and the following description setting forth in detail certain means illustrating, how'- ever, but one of the various forms in which the principle of the invention may be used.

In said annexed drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the edging station when set for making the Mennen seam;

Fig. 2 shows an edging member, in the form of a lever, on an enlarged scale;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the same station when set for making the lock-and-lap seam; and

Fig. 4 illustrates the edging member shown in Fig. 2 in a different position.

Referring more particularly to Fig. 1, the machine comprises a frame IU supporting an operating table II to which the blank B is 4fed from a preceding operating station in a known manner. Each side of the machine carries a bracket, the so-called edger bracket, the one on the left-hand part 0f the machine being indicated by I3, the right-hand one by I4. Bracket I3 carries a pres- Sure shoe I5 having a vpressing foot IB rigidly attached thereto which serves for clampingthe blank during the edging operation and the foot I6, preferably, has a beveled surface I6X which may at the same time cooperate with the edging tool 23 in forming a hook on the blank. This shoe is pivotally mounted on a pin 2| in the edger bracket I3. The upper end of the pressure shoe I5 is slidably and pivotally connected at 8 in a horizontal slot 28 of a crosshead 29, the horizontal slidability being provided in the connection at 8 to permit the conversion of vertical reciprocatory motion of the'crosshead 29'into oscillatory motion of the pressure shoe' I5 and to permit automatic or self-readjustment of the said parts when the edger brackets I3. and I'II are shifted toward or away from each other, in a well understood manner, to enable the apparatus to accommodate blanks of diierent widths.

The left-hand edging member (Fig. 2) comprises a bell crank edging lever 22 carrying the' edging tool 23 rigidly attached thereto by means of bolts 24a. The front edge of the tool 23, preferably, is shaped to cooperate with beveled surface Iiix of the pressing foot I6 in bending the plain hook for the Mennen seam. The edging lever is pivotally mounted on pin 2I and the end of the arm remote from the edging tool ispivotally confctdfasiat'25 to a turnbuckle comprising a threaded tube 26 and two endportions 24 and 21, threadingly fitted thereto so that the length of the turnbuckle may be adjusted as required. The lower adjustableportion r21 of the turnbuckle has an extension 30 pivoted at 3I,.to one side of a bell crank 40 whose other armmMla is pivotally connected at 4 I Vtoan eccnt'ric142.

The edger bracket I4 pivotally supports a pressure shoe I2, at point I2a at the right-hand side of Figs. 1 and 2, said shoe having a pressing foot I1 rigidly fastened thereto. serves on the one hand to hold down th'e'bl'ank during ,the edging operation, ,andpn `the other handit has a Vdie formed therein for shaping the Ufformed `hook .of the -Mennen seam which cooperates withthe edge formed von the left hand side of the blank, as shownin Fig. 1. For .this purpose agroove with.si des.l8, I 8' is provided in said foot I1 which .cooperates ,wtntwoedging toolsI 9,and.20. -The latter are mounted on slides 32 and `33 respectively, ,which are connected Ato .dog levers l34 and 35 capable of operating-the slides in ,timed relation. rAs Slide 32 is moved inwardly, the U-shaped hook is formed on the right-hand ,edge ofthe blank and whilethe slide 32' is retracted, slide 33 is advanced, bending the right-hand shankof the hook `inwardly toinsure the locking 4 engagement .with thehook ,on the opposite edge at the time `when theseaming operation takes place. Since the .formation of the hooks-for, the Menncn seam is known ,in the art it is unnecessary 4to vdescribe it Jin .further detail.

Pressure shoe I2 is slidably and pivotally con` nected at 9 with one -of its ends .in a slot 36 of .the crosshead 29, in much the same -manner and formuch the samereasonsas hereinbefore recited in connectionwth pressure shoe I5 on the left-hand side of the machine.

. .-,Forl carrying .out the edging operation in the timed Amovements ,fof parts Ymentioned above .the machine is provided .with a main .shaft 43 continuously rotated by suitable means'. Upon said shaft four eccentrics are mounted adapted ito actuate the edging members on both sides of the machine. Fig. 1 shows eccentric 42 for| actuatr ing the ledging lever 22 at the left-hand sideand eccentric 44 from which a connection leads Ato,an

.arm 149 adapted to .actuate pressureshoe I2for clamping down. the blank B. .Fig Bshows `these two and a third eccentric 45 vwhich actuates slide 32 and the edging tool I9 thereon. `The fourth eccentric is not visible inthe drawings, since it lies behind the others in close proximity theleto; it serves for actuating slide 33 and the edging toolv20 thereon. Finally a cam A6 lis mounted onshaft 43 and seryesrfor operatingcrosshead 29.

The manner in which these members drivethe forming elements and .clamping means on both sides in timed relation will be described below.

As already mentioned the slides A=32 and 33 .are actuated .by .two pairs of Adog levers 34 and 35 respectively, one of each pairbeing seen .in ,the drawings. For accommodating said levers the slides are .each provided withtwo. elongated` openingsfor .receiving the knobs of said dog levers.

Thus slide 32 has a pair of openings 5I formed therein to receive knobs 62 of the two levers 34 carried by a common hub 69 which turns on a shaft 10. Hub 69 is furthermore provided with a forked arm 1I to which a longitudinally adjustable connecting rod 12 is pivoted at 13. The other uend of `said connecting rod is attached to the strap of eccentric 45 (,Fi`gj3).

` During each rotationof shaft 43 slide 32 is once reciprocated whereby the tool I9 is actuated to bend the U-formed hook in the groove of pressing foot I1 and is thereafter retracted.

This pressing `foot 4 The construction for advancing and retracting edging tool 20 is quite similar. Slide 33 is provided with two A,openings 61 for receiving'the knobs y68 ofV the pair of levers 35. A common hub B3 of these levers turns on a shaft 64 and is .provided with an arm 65 to which is journalled at 66 one end of an adjustable rod 15, the'other end of which is attached to the strap of theeccentric which is not visible in the drawings.V It is obvious that the slides 32 and 33 alternately perform reciprocating' movements with ,eachrotation of the shaft n43, assuming, of course,

4second arm.-,84 of the bell crank lever is pivotally `lnected at 485 to a connecting rod `81 whoseother .end is pivoted at 90 to one end of alever-f88 journaled on a pin 89 which is secured to the machine frame. The other endof lever188 is pivoted by `pin 3|!n to the crosshead 4The driving mechanism operates as follows:

-Qwing to the action of cam 46, roller 80 is reciprocated in vertical direction. By the upward movement armf82 is lifted and arm V84 depressed, kthis movement being transmitted to rod 81, thence to lever 88. As -lever 88 is pulled down at the left-hand side, crosshead `29 is raised and the pressure .shoes are lifted from table `I I, thus allowing the blank to be brought into position for the edging operation. Meanwhile cam 46 has been turned for half of a rrotation and roller 80 moves downwardly, causing the transmission members to travel in opposite directions and making crosshead `29 and` therewith both pressure shoes I5 and I2 and the feet fastened thereto to descend and hold down blank B in clamping engagement. This clamping effect is reinforced on 4the right-hand side vby the action of arm `49,

of pressure shoe I2, whicharm is pivotally con- 444,driven in unison with vcam 46.

, As soon as blank B is held down against dis placement the edging tools become operative, .the left-hand tool 23 being actuated from eccentric '42 over bell crank 40a, 40, extension 30, turnbuckle 26 and edging lever 422, and the right-hand edging tools I9 and `2l! being operated alternately by their associated dog levers 34 and 35 and the driving mechanisms connected thereto as described above. Thustool1|9 is actuated from eccentric Y,45, andtool 20 from the eccentric lying behind the others. The edging tools` on the lefthand and rightfhand sides are so ltimedthat while @611.23 makes me s tfek. .#091549 and 2 `Each the machine.

make one stroke, that is to say, the edging mechanism at the right-hand side of the machine accomplishes two forming operations to form and partially close the U-shaped hook, while the left hand side edging mechanism accomplishes the formation of the plain hook in a single forming operation.

I have so far described the machine as shown in Figs. l and 2 when it is set for forming hooks of the shape which will form the Mennen seam. Referring now to Figs. 3 and 4 I shall describe how the machine is made ready to turn out blanks for making plain lock-and-lap seam. For this purpose two resettings of the machine are made which will only take the operator a short time. On the left-hand side of the machine the edging lever 22 is disconnected at 2| and attached at 48, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. This will bring the edging tool 23 to the position there shown and into cooperating relation with a beveled surface of a forming tool llia provided at the under side of operating table l I. Instead of a hook bent upwardly, one being bent downwardly will thus be produced by the cooperation of ltools 23 and I6". Since by the change of attachment of edging lever 22 just described, the fulcrum of said lever has been lowered, the bell crank 4l) is disconnected from the lower end of extension 30 and pivotally reconnected to the lower end of the threaded part 21 of the turnbuckle 2B, thereby shortening the linkage between the bell-crank 40 and the edging lever 22. The transmission of movement remains ghe ame as described above in connection with On the right-hand side of the machine the pressing foot Il is exchanged for a foot I'Ia having a beveled face Vix which cooperates with the edging tool I9 on slide 32 to form on a blank a plain hook bent upwardly as required for interlocking with the hook bent downwardly which is shaped simultaneously at the left-hand side of When the machine is intended to produce the hooks for the lock-and-lap seam the slide 33 is made inactive and only slide 32 is maintained in operation. The two edging tools 23 and I9 are in this case operating simultaneously.

From the foregoing description it will be easily understood that according to the invention the improved machine is very well suited for modern can production allowing of almost instantaneous adaption of the device without any delay.

Other modes of applying the principle of my invention may be employed instead of the one explained, change being made as regards the means and the steps herein disclosed, provided i those stated by any of the following claims or their equivalent be employed.

I therefore particularly point out and distinctly claim as my invention:

1. In apparatus for edging sheet metal blanks or the like, including a movable member adapted, when mounted in one operative position, to form, on a marginal portion of a blank, a hook extending toward one side of the latter, and adapted, when mounted in another operative position, to form, on the same marginal portion of such a blank, a hook extending toward the other side thereof; the combination of holding means having portions to coaot with said movable member to form such hooks and for holding said blank while leaving, free, a marginal portion thereof, and means for selectively carrying said movable member in either of said mounting positions whereby to adapt the apparatus, when in one mounting position, to cause formation of a hook, on the said marginal portion, extendingr only toward one side of the blank, and when in another mounting position, to cause formation of a hook on the same marginal portion extending only toward the other side of the blank.

2. In apparatus for edging sheet metal blanks or the like, including a movable member adapted, in one operative position, to form, on a marginal portion of a blank, a hook extending toward one side of the latter, and adapted, in an opposite operative position, to form, on the same marginal portion of such a blank, a hook extending toward the other side thereof; the combination of holding means for ho-lding said blank while leaving, free, a marginal, portion thereof, and plural means, arranged toward opposite sides of a blank, so held, for selectively carrying said movable member in either of said opposite operative positions whereby to adapt the apparatus selectively to cause formation of a hook, on the same marginal portion, extending toward one or the other side of the blank.

3. In apparatus for edging sheet metal blanks or the like, including a rockable member having a tool portion thereon adapted to engage a marginal portion of a blank and form a marginal hook thereon; the combination of means for gripping said blank including two oppositely arranged blank-forming portions at opposite sides of a gripped blank, and dual mounting means, disposed toward opposite sides of a gripped blank, for selectively carrying said rockable member, pivotally, in either of two operative positions in one of which the rockable member is adapted to coaot with one of said blank-forming portions to form, on a marginal portion of a blank, a hook extending toward one side of the blank and in the other of which positions the rockable member is adapted to coact with the other of said blankforming portions to form, on the same marginal portion of such a blank, a hook extending toward the other side thereof.

4. In apparatus for edging sheet metal blanks or the like, including a. rockable member adapted to engage a marginal portion of a blank and form a hook thereon; the combination of means for gripping said blank, which means include beveled blank-forming portions converging, on opposite sides of a gripped blank, toward a marginal portion thereof left free by said gripping means, and dual pivotal mounting means for selectively carrying said rockable member at its fulcrum at either of two fixed pivot po-ints one of which is adapted to -pivot the rockable member to coaot with the beveled face of a first of said blankforming portions to form a hook on said free marginal portion of the blank, extending toward one side of the latter, and the other of which is adapted to pivot the rockable member to coaot with the ybeveled face of a second of said blank-forming portions to form a hook on said free marginal portion of the blank extending toward the other Side'of the latter. JOSEPH ANEIROS.

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