US2382892A

US2382892A - Cleaning apparatus

Info

Publication number: US2382892A
Application number: US482085A
Authority: US
Inventors: Edward J Mcguinness
Original assignee: Western Electric Co Inc
Current assignee: AT&T Corp
Priority date: 1943-04-07
Filing date: 1943-04-07
Publication date: 1945-08-14
Anticipated expiration: 1962-08-14

Description

Aug. 14, 1945. E. J. M GUINNESS CLEANING APPARATUS 3 Sheets-Shet 1 Filed April 7, 1943 s v, S E E N R N M AW m m T v mm N U T u .l E G A V c. m m M a J. x F It J E \l V v v Q B 2 wv 1. (\|J\\\km. QV m6 Om M R v 9 2 I we .0 m mm E. J. M GUINNESS CLEANING APPARATUS Filed April '7, 1943 3 Sheets- Sheet 2 llllz rll ma mu INVENTOR ERYW A TTORNEY Aug. 14, 1945. E. J. MCGUINNESS 2,382,892

CLEANING APPARATUS Filed April '1, 1945 s Shets-Sheet s INVENTOI? E.J- MQ GUINNESS F-RMM atented Aug. 14, 194

STATES PATENT OFFICE CLEANING APPARATUS Application April 7, 1943, Serial No. 482,085

11 Claims. This invention relates to cleaning apparatus,

' and more particularly to apparatus for cleaning machined parts of foreign particles.

During the. manufacture of machined parts, particularly those having grooves 0r depressions therein, foreign particles may be present which render it diiiicult to assemble other parts thereon. Thus it is important that such articles be free of the foreign particles so that accurate assemblage of parts thereon may be assured.

An object of the invention is to provide a cleaning apparatus particularly adapted for freeing machined parts of foreign particles.

With this and other objects in view, the invention comprises an apparatus for cleaning machined or other circular articles, including an element partially conforming to the article and mounted to engage the article during rotation thereof to remove the foreign particles therefrom.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein "Fig. l is a vertical sectional view of the apparatus;

Fig, 2 is a top plan view of the apparatus;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary detailed view of the article feeding and cleaning means, this view being taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. i is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the line l-- i of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary detailed view of a portion of the structure shown in Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of the articlefeeding and rotating mechanism, and

Fig. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary top plan view taken substantially along the line 5-7 of Fig. 3, portions thereof being broken away. I

Referring now to the drawings, attention is first directed to Fig. 2, which illustrates a. base it! upon which a motor H and a speed reducing unit M are mounted. The motor I! may be supplied with a suitable electrical energy to cause it to rotate its shaft it in a desired direction. A coupling l5 connects the shaftlt with an input shaft 96 of the unit l2. An output shaft H of the unit M has a cam l8 and an eccentric 19 mounted thereon. it is the purpose of the unit 52 to reduce the driving speed received at i6 and transmitted to the output shaft ll.

A pulley 20 is also mounted upon the shaft I4 of the motor and is connected, through a belt 2 I, to a pulley 22. The pulley 22 is fixedly mounted upon a collar 23 which in turn is secured at any desired position on a shaft 24, the latter being supported by

bearings

25 and 26 for axial movement therein. On the forward end of the shaft 24, a chuck or rotatable unit 21 is mounted, the end thereof being recessed, as illustrated in Fig. 6, to receive a resilient chuck member 28 for a purpose hereinafter described. A yoke 3|, mounted upon a bearing which in turn is mounted upon a reduced portion of collar 23, carries diametrically opposed pins or projections 32 (Figs. 1 and 2). A cam lever 33 of the contour shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 4, has spaced ends 34 forked, as at 35, to straddle their respective projections 32. The lever 33 is pivotally supported, at 36, and supports a cam roller 31 positioned to be engaged by the cam 98. A spring 38, connected to the lever 33,

applies a force to move the shaft and the rotataall) ble member to the left (Fig. 2). The cam functions against the force of the spring to move the shaft and its rotatable member in the opposite direction, that is to the right.

A T-shaped bracket 39 (Figs. 1, 2 and 4), mounted upon the base i 0, has a supporting plate it fixed thereto and provided with a central aperture 4!, as illustrated in Fig, 1. A shaft t2,

Journalled in a bearing 43 of a bracket M, and a bearing 65 of the bracket 39 has a ratchet wheel 36 mounted thereon between the brackets 39 and id. A lever $8 is rotat'ably mounted upon the shaft 42 between the ratchet wheel 86 and a collar $9, the latter being fixed to the shaft. A pivot member 53, carried by the lever 38, is fixed to the lever against rotation by the aid of a pin 5! and has a slotted head portion 52 upon which is disposed a helical spring 53. One end of the spring is fixed in a slot 54 of the head 52, as illustrated in Fig. 1, the other end thereof being connected to a pawl 56 which is pivotally mounted upon the member 50 and urged into engagement with the teeth of the ratchet wheel. 46 through the force of the spring 53. An extensible link 51 operatively connects the pivot member 50 of the lever 88 with the eccentric Hi. This link includes a portion 38 connected to the pivot member 5H and having an aperture 53 in the opposite end thereof to receive an interfitting projection 60 of a portion 8|, the latter being connected to the eccentric 19. A spring b2, disposed concentric with the portion 58 and having its ends connected respectively to the portions 58 and BI, nor mally holds the portions of the link in retracted positions but permits expansion of the link should the occasion arise that such is necessary.

As illustrated in Figs. 1 and 6, a bearing mounted in the supporting plate '48 serves as a mounting for a rotatable member 66, disposed in axial alignment with tlie rotatable unit 21 on the shaft 24, and has anarticle engaging surface 61 positioned against axial movement.

Means is provided to feed articles to be cleaned intermittently between the rotatable members 21 and 66. This means includes a supporting wheel 68 fixedly mounted upon the shaft 42 and having outwardly projecting pins 69 disposed at spaced positions adjacent its periphery. An article supporting wheel or element 10, recessed as at II to receive the disk-like portion of the wheel 68 and apertured at 12 to receive'the pins 69, is also centrally apertured for mounting upon the shaft 42, as illustrated in Fig. 1, and to be secured in place thereon through the aid of a nut I4.

In the present embodiment the articles to be cleaned, indicated at 15, are machined with a. plurality of grooves vl6 therein. These articles may be condenser shafts, the grooves to receive the movable condenser plates. To assure the possibility of assembling the condenser plates in the grooves, it is necessary that metal chips and' other foreign particles, which may be present thereon during or after the machining of these articles, be removed. The article supporting element 16 is therefore provided with a pluralityof recesses or pockets 18 to receive the articles- 15. These pockets are shaped so as to permit rotation of the articles therein when moved to the cleaning position in axial alignment'wlth the rotatable members 21 and 66. Furthermore, they are spaced so as to successively position their articles at the cleaning positions during the movement of the ratchet wheel 46 the distance of one tooth.

Although the articles are disposed loosely in the pockets at the feeding position, means is provided to accurately locate the articles in their pockets for movement into cleaning position. This means includes a resilient member or spring 80 carried by an arm 8| supported by the plate 40, the spring being positioned to engage the outer ends of the articles and force them inwardly to cause their inner ends to ride upon the adjacent surface of the plate 40. Another resilient element 82, supported by the arm 8|, is positioned to ride upon the periphery of the article supporting element 10, to retain the articles in their pockets. This structure is shown clearly in Figs. 3 and '7. While viewing these figures, attention is directed to a fluid nozzle 83, which is in the form of a cylinder with a closed end ha'ving an elongate aperture 84 therein to direct a fluid toward the article at the cleaning position. A supply line 85 is connected to the nozzle 83 to supply the cleaning fluid thereto.

A cleaning element 81, mounted upon acradle 88 which is pivotally supported at 69, extends forwardly to what has been termed the cleaning position, where its forward end lies in interen- I gagement with the article I5 at this position. By viewing the article 15 shown in Fig. 6, it will also be observed that a plurality of notches 96 is cut back a given distance, as illustrated in Fig. 6, these notches being adapted to receive the high or outer portions of the article and causing the formation of teeth of projections 9| which extend into the groove 16- of the article to engage not only the inner cylindrical surfaces but the adJacent walls of the side walls of the notches. Thus the cleaning element 81 is formed to partially conform .to the article to engage all surfaces thereof during rotation of the article, to forcibly remove all foreign particles from. the articles. The contour of the cleaning element 81 therefore depends upon the contour of the article, and if articles of different contours from that shown are to be cleaned, such variations will be present in the contour of the clean-' ing element employed. By viewing Fig. 3, it will be observed that the rearmost end of the cradle 88 has connected thereto a spring 92 normally urging a forward end of the cleaning element toward the article at the cleaning position, this movement being limited and under the control of an adjustable stop 98.

Considering now the operation of the apparatus, let it be understood that the motor II is energized, causing rotation of the shaft 24 and with it the rotatable member or unit 21. At the same time the unit l2 receives a rotating power at its input shaft l6, transmitting a given rotary motion to the shaft or output [1, including the cam l8 and the eccentric l9. Thus the axial movement of the rotatable unit 21 through the cam I8 and the lever 88, will be in timed relation with the intermittent movement of the article support 10 through the actuation of the pawl and ratchet 54.-46.

When the rotatable member 21 is in its inoperative position, the article support 16 will be advanced one position to locate an article in the cleaning position in axial alignment with the rotatable member 66, and in engagement with the surface 61 thereof. As soon as this movement has been completed, the rotatable member 21 will 'be moved into engagement with the article, the resilient chuck member 28 affording sufllcient connection between the rotatable member and the article to cause rotation of the article in its pocket 18 and relative to the cleaning element 81. During rotation of the article, the engagement of every surface thereof with the cleaning element will bring about the removal of all foreign particles from the article. At this same time a sheet of cleaning fluid, which may be air or any other suitable fluid, will be directed toward the article through the aperture 84 in the nozzle 83, to wash the foreign particles from the article. This operation may continue auto- 4 matically, requiring only the feeding of the articles into the pockets of the article support 16. The continued rotation of the member 21 will cause at least one complete revolution of the article, if not a plurality of revolutions thereof, to assure a complete removal of all foreign particles.

Although specific improvements of the invention have been shown and described, it will be understood that they are but illustrative and that various modifications may be made therein without departing from the scope and spirit of this invention as defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for cleaning machined ar- .icles comprising an article feeding element adapted to successively move articles, having grooves in their peripheries, relative to a cleaning position, a cleaning member, conforming to the general contours of the peripheries of the articles, mounted to interengage the articles successively at the cleaning position, and means to rotate the articles at the cleaning position to render the member effective to remove foreign particles from the articles.

2. An apparatus for cleaning machined articles comprising an article feeding element adapted foreign particles therefrom.

3. An apparatus for cleaning machined articles comprising an article feeding element adapted to successively move articles, having concentrically machined contours, relative to a cleaning position, a cleaning member, conforming to the general contours of the articles, mounted to interengage the articles successively at the cleaning position, means to rotate the articles at the cleaning position to render the member effective to remove foreign particles from the articles, and means to intermittently move the element to advance the article.

4. An apparatus for cleaning machined articls comprising an element, having spaced recesses therein to receive articles having concentrically machined contours, mounted for movement to successively advance the articles to a cleaning position, a cleaning member, conformmg to the general contours of the articles, mounted to interengage the articles successively at the cleaning position, and means to rotate the articles at the cleaning position to render the member effective to remove foreign particles from the articles.

5. An apparatus for cleaning machined articles comprising an element, having spaced recesses therein to receive articles having concentrically machined contours, mounted for movement to successively advance the articles to a cleaning position, a cleaning member, conform Eng to the general contours of the articles, mounted to interengage the articles successively at the cleaning position, means to rotate the articles at the cleaning position to render the member effective to remove foreign particles from the articles, and means to retain the articles in their recesses during their movement relative to the cleaning position.

6. An apparatus for cleaning machined-articles comprising an article feeding element adapted to successively move articles, having concentrically machined contours, relative to a cleaning position, a cleaning member, conforming to the general contours of the articles, mounted to interengage the articles successively atthe cleaning position, means to rotate the articles at the cleaning position mounted for movement into and out of engagement with the. articles at the said position, and separate means tocause movement of the element and rotating means in timed relation' with respect to each other.

7. An apparatus for cleaning circular articles comprising rotatable members mounted for relative axial movement, means to position a circular article between the members in axial alignment with the members for rotation therewith, means held against rotation with the article and in engagement therewith to clean the article of foreign particles, a power means, and separate means'driven by the power means to cause rotation of the members, cause positioning of the article and cause axial movement of'the rotatable members.

8 An apparatus for cleaning circular articles comprising a driven member rotatable about its axis, a drive member axially aligned with the driven member, a member having a recess therein to support an article and adapted to position the article between the drive and driven members, power means driving the drive member to rotate the article and the driven member, and afixed cleaning element engaging the article during rotation thereof to clean the article.

9. An apparatus for cleaning circular articles comprising a driven member rotatable about its axis, a drive member axially aligned with the driven member, a member having a recess therein to support an article and adapted to position the article between the driveand driven members, power means drivingthe clrive member to rotate the article and the driven member, and a fixed cleaning element engaging the article during rotation thereof to 'clean the article, the recessed member being further adapted to receive the article from the drive and driven members and move the article away from the members.

10. An apparatus for cleaning articles comprising spaced rotatable members-having aligned axes, a feeding wheel having spaced pockets in the periphery thereof to receive articles, means .to cause intermittent rotation of the wheel to successively present the articles-in the pockets between the members, means to cause the members to grip and rotate the. articles singly, and means positioned to engage the articles while rotating to clean the articles.

11. An apparatus for cleaning articles comprising spaced rotatable members having aligned axes, a feeding wheel having spaced pockets in the periphery thereof to receive articles, means to cause intermittent rotation of the wheel to successively present the articles in the pockets between the members, means to cause the members to grip and rotate the articles singly, means positioned to engage. the articles while rotating to clean the articles", and means to cause the members to successively release the-articles into their respective pockets.

EDWARD J. 'McGUINNESS.