US2373582A

US2373582A - Ammunition making machinery

Info

Publication number: US2373582A
Application number: US509814A
Authority: US
Inventors: Douglas S Kuehl
Original assignee: Remington Arms Co LLC
Current assignee: Remington Arms Co LLC
Priority date: 1943-11-10
Filing date: 1943-11-10
Publication date: 1945-04-10
Anticipated expiration: 1962-04-10

Description

April 10, 1945. s, KUEHL 2,373,582

AMMUNITION MAKING MACHINERY Filed Nov. 10, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 /7 l6 /9 202/ 2223 24 2526 27 28 /l'll/Illllll /2--////////// WWJWHW 1 42 34 45 WI 'j: 5- M /4 ,5

INVENTOR. fiaaauzs d. K 05/14 Ap 10, 1945. D. S. KUEHL 2,373,582

AMMUNITION MAKiNG MACHINERY Filed NOV. -l0, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 DRIVE INVENTOR. 5 v DOUGLAS J. K05

ATTORN R Patented Apr. 10, 1945 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE- AMMUN YITIQ NG MA HINER Douglas S. Kuehl, Reading, Mass 'assignor to Remington Arms Company,

no, Bridgeport,

Conn, a corporation of Delaware Application November 10, 1943, Serial No. 509,814

7- Claims.

component at a station maybe caused by the component being grasped by the forming toolQr die at a station so. that the component is not. carried to the next station by the transfer means. When this occurs, another piece may be carried. to said station and the tool, upon its next reciprocation, will carry a second componentintov the die with a resultant destruction or damage of the oo s 1' mach As a specific example, the present device can be applied to a bullet assembly machine. The. other objects of the invention will appear from. the following description and drawin s which are to be considered as merel illustrative and not limited.

Fig. 1 shows a front diagrammatic view of; a, bullet assembly machine.

2 is a p rspe i f a m ary View as a, component is being transferred to the next station by 3 6 transfer means.

Fig. 3. is a fragmentary perspective viewof the. stop. means in its operative position when a component is. absent from the transfer means and; after the forming tool has been reciprocated upwardly.

Fig 4 is a fragmentary perspective view after; a, component has been removed from the transfer means and the stop arm is held by the transfer bar, the reciprocating forming tools being in their upper position.

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic view of a wiring sys-' tem whiQh may be used.

In Fig. l, the main frame of the machine s indicated at ill, with the various operating tools shown generally at H for performing a sequence of operations upon the component. For example, in the assembly of small arms armor piercing projectiles, the components are fed at the vars. ious stations and the tools perform the assembling; operations thereon. An armor piercing projectile, such as the caliber .50, may comprise a jacket. which is shaped from a cup fed to the machine, a core, and a lead point for the core. These various elements are introduced into the ma ne in ei p oper l ons nd, the too s. as emb e a d f t e urcie i c- T e tools l may be carried by the reciprocating means or gate l2 which is driven by the motor IS. The nsf ba M ha des: Th tr ns a serves; to, move thebullet elements from left to right and under the various. tool or; operating stations, said bar being reciprocated bysuitable driving connections (not shown)- operated by the main dr v t n. srnchrcei m it the te 52..- D e for the m ng o th omeme s be located underneath the transfer means in the.

various holding blocks IE. Some of} these dies; may have ejectorstherein to. raise the omponent, 1 v to. the level of the transfer bar. lhe punches. may also. have. ejection means therein which are automatically operated to; eject the. articles from the; punch. The. precise details of the tools are immaterial and not a part of the. present inven tion. It is to be understood that various combinations and sequences may be used and that the bullet canv be assembled completely in one machine or the operation may be performed in two. machines. an example, the tools and stations from i! to 22 of Fig. i may serve to deliver the various componentsv of the projectile and as.-. semble the same, and tools at stations 23 to 26 may be used for. shaping or tapering the DIOJBC-r til an well-known manner. Station- 21 may be known as the correction station" where the heel closure and the projectile are brought. to correct length. .It is not desirable to have an ejector in the bottom die at this station and there is. also a danger that the ejector in the top punch ma break, thereby a low n p oiectile to become lodged in. the die or punch. When this occurs, another projectile will be carried into. place under the correction punch and when the correction punch descends in the next recipro-. cation, a jam or breakage will occur due to the. presence of the previous projectile at this station. At the correction punch station, the tapered heel forming portion of the reciprocating punch 27 will serve to draw the projectile upwardly out of the bottom fo-rming die.

The stop means of' the present invention serves. to inspect and determine whether or not the projectile has been carried upwardly with the plunger out of the transfer means or remains in the forming dies, and if this occurs, to stop th machine. The transfer mechanism reciprocates a sub.- stantially horizontal plane and comprises the channel shaped bar id'with legs 29 and 30'. The bar is guided in bearing-s I 5 having upstanding portions 3|, 32, and as. The specific form of the bearings or guides may be changed as desired. The transfer bars carry suitable fingers 34 which are pivotally mounted in apertures 35 in the transfer bar 4. Springs 35 may be located behind each of the transfer fingers to allow pivotal action of the fingers as the transfer bar moves to the left to engage the component at the preceding station. When the tools have been reciprocated downwardly so that each engages one of the components being operated upon, the transfer bar may move to the left so that each pair of fingers will grasp or be in a position to grasp the next succeeding component after the tool at the preceding station has completed its operation and has reciprocated to its upper position. The springs behind the transfer fingers allow the fingers to pivot as they slide past the components or the tools, the components at the moment being held as they" are being operated upon by their tools. After the reciprocating tools have been raised, the transfer bar moves to the right and thereby carries the components from each of the stations to the next succeeding station.

In Fig. 2, the transfer bar is shown as it is moving and carrying a projectile 31 from under the correction punch 21 to the ejection punch station 28,

In Fig. 4 the component 38 is shown located under the correction punch 21 as the punch is descending. A 'stop switch such as a Microswitch or any other type switch, is located at 39. This switch has an operating button which may be contacted by the pivoted lever 4|, said lever being pivoted at 42. A spring 43 tends to rotate the stop lever 4| in a clockwise direction (Fig. 2) thus tending to move it against or toward the button 40. When a projectile is in the transfer mechanism, said projectile will contact the pivoted arm 4| and hold the same away from the switch operator. As the transfer bar moves further to the right and toward the ejection punch 23, the stud 45 will contact the pivoted arm 4| (see Fig. 4), or contact will be made therewith after the end 46 of the operator 4| slides by projectile 38. As the transfer bar moves to the left while the punches are moving downwardly to operate on the components or eject the same, the pivoted arm 4| will move in a clockwise direction until it strikes the correction punch 21 or a projectile 38 in the transfer means; Under normal operation, the correction punch will be contacted by the lever 4| and the transfer bar will continue to move to the left until the fingers are positioned under the preceding station. The stud 45 will then be withdrawn from contact with 4| so that when the punch 27 moves upwardly again, the absence ofa projectile in the fingers will allow lever 4| to move in clockwise direction and operate switch 39, such as shown in Fig. 3. The absence of a projectile in the transfer bar may be the result of the projectile being carried upwardly by the punch 31 or remaining in the die under the transfer bar. In either event, the absence of a projectile in the transfer means will cause the switch 39 to be operated and thus stop the machine to prevent a second projectile being brought under the punch.

Referring to Fig. 5, the pivoted arm is shown at 4|, and plunger 40 with switch diagrammatically indicated at 39. The switch 39 is normally closed and the circuit to the motor or control therefore energized. It is to be understood, of

course, that other types of switching circuits may be used.

The present invention provides a stop means for stopping an ammunition assembly machine when an ammunition component is absent from the transfer bar and may be applied to various types of machines for assembling ammunition components.

The invention is not limited'to the details described and illustrated but is to be construed to cover all equivalent devices falling within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In an ammunition component assembly machine having an operating station: a tool at said operating station; driving means for the machine; reciprocating transfer means having component positioning means thereon for transferring components to and from said station; a control switch for said driving means; an operator for said control switch; means on said transfer means to positively hold said operator from contacting said switch until said transfer means has returned from a reciprocatory transfer movement and said tool is operating on the component at the operating station; and means on said operator to urge the same toward switch operating position to operate said switch to stop the machine in the absence of a component for transfer away from said operating station.

2. In an ammunition component assembly machine having an operating station: means to operate on a component at said station; reciproeating transfer means having component positioning means thereon for transferring components to and from said station; driving means for said machine; a control switch for said driving means; an operator for said control switch; means on said transfer means adapted to positively hold said operator from contacting said switch until after said means to operate on a component has startedan operation thereon; and means to urge said operator to switch operating position to stop the machine in the absence of a component in position in the transfer means after an operation has been performed on said component.

3. In an ammunition component assembly machine having an operating station: a tool to operate on a component at said station; a reciprocating transfer bar having component positioning means thereon for transferring components to and from said station; driving means for said machine; a control switch for said driving means; an oscillatable pivoted operating arm for said control switch; means on said transfer means adapted to positively holdsaid arm away from said switch until after said tool has started an operation on a component and is in a position to hold said arm away from the switch; and yieldable means to oscillate said arm to switch operating position for stopping said machine in the absence of a component in the transfer bar after the tool has operated on said component.

4. In an ammunition component assembly machine having an operating station: a reciprocating tool for operating on a component at said station; a reciprocating transfer bar having component holding means for transferring components to and from said station; driving means for the machine; a control switch for said driving means; an oscillatable pivoted lever having one portion overlying the path of travel of a component in said transfer bar and one portion adapted to operate said switch; holding means on said transfer bar adapted to oscillate said lever as the bar reciprocates to transfer a component away from said station, said holding means being located to allow operation of said switch by said lever in the absence of a component in the transfer bar after a reciprocation of said tool.

5. I11 an ammunition component assembly machine having a plurality of operating stations; a

reciprocating tool for operating on an component at one station thereof; a reciprocating. transfer bar having component positioning mean for transferring components step by step from station to station; driving means for said machine; a control switch for said driving means; an oscillatable pivoted lever having one portion overlying the path of travel of components in said transfer bar away from said tool; holding means mounted on said transfer bar adapted to hold said lever until said tool has started a reciprocation and stands in the way of further movement of the lever; and means to urge said lever toward switch operating position to stop said machine in the absence of a component in the transfer means after a reciprocation of said tool.

6. In a bullet assembly machine having a plurality of stations; a reciprocating transfer bar for moving components step by step from station to station, said bar having component positioning and grasping means thereon; a die at one of said stations; a reciprocating forming tool at said last mentioned station for carrying a component from the transfer bar into said die; driving means for said machine; a control switch for said driving means; an oscillatable pivoted lever having one portion overlying the path of travel of a component insaid transfer bar and oscillatable by a component being transferred from said station; a stud mounted on and reciprocable with said transfer bar, said stud being located to hold said lever from switch operating position until said tool has reciprocated into a position blocking the lever; and means to urge said lever toward switch operating position to stop the machine in the absence of a component in the transfer means after a reciprocation of said tool away from said die.

'7. In a bullet assembly machine having a frame and a plurality of operating stations; a reciprocating transfer bar for moving components step by step from station to station, said bar having component positioning and grasping means thereon; a die at one of said stations; a reciprocating forming tool at said last mentioned station for carrying a component from the transfer bar into said die; driving means for said machine; a control switch for said driving means; an oscillatable lever pivoted on the frame adjacent said last mentioned station, one end of said lever being located in the path of travel of a component in said transfer bar away from said station and the other end of said lever being adapted to operate said switch; a stud on said transfer bar for holding said lever from operating said switch until the forming tool has reciprocated downwardly;

and a spring tending to rotate said lever to switch operating position and operable in the absence of a component in the transfer bar after said forming tool has moved upwardly.

DOUGLAS S. KUEHL.