US2487932A - Means for repeatedly cutting off a predetermined length of glass from a moving ribbon of glass - Google Patents

Description

NOV. 15, 1949 A, H, LE M 2,487,932

MEANS FOR REPEATEDLY CUTTING OFF A PREDETERMINED LENGTH OF GLASS FROM A MOVING RIBBON OF GLASS Filed Sept. 24, 1946 Min /am 4 W Af/orneyS v /nvenfor Patented Nov. 15, 1949 MEANS FOR REPEATEDLY CUTTING OFF A PREDETERMINED LENGTH OF GLASS FROM A MOVING RIBBON OF GLASS Alfred Henry Le Mare, St. Helens, England, assignor to Pilkington Brothers Limited, Liver- .pcol, England, a British company Application September 24, 1946, Serial No. 698,905 In Great Britain July 2, '1945 Section'l, Public Law 690, August 8, 1946 Patent expires July 2, 1965 3 Claims. 1

This invention relates :to means for repeatedly cutting ofi a predetermined length of glass from :a moving ribbon of glass.

A main object of the present invention is to devise improved means r-for cutting lengths from a ,TibbOl'l of glass, of such little mass that it can attain such rapid acceleration that in achieving the velocity of the moving ribbon it does not ofifer forces which might lead to chippingor shelling of the leading edge or fracture of the ribbon particularly as may occur with a thin ribbon (e. g. thick) travelling at a high speed, e. g. 250" a minute.

Apparatus for cutting across a moving ribbon of glass as it comes from the lehr in accordance with the present invention comprises a straight edge, a pulley and cable system including a balance weight tending to return the straight .edge over the glass to datum position after travelling with the glass during a cutting 'opera- 131011.,311 endless Wire cable system and pulleys, including a pair of runs (one run moving, during the cutting operation in the general direction of the moving glass and the other one simultaneously .moving in the opposite direction thereto) to each side of the path of travel of the glass, a slide connected to each run of the pair which moves in the same direction as the glass and a fixed guide .for each slide, means for mounting the respective ends of the straight edge on each slide, the two pairs of runs being interconnected and the slides being disposed to determine the lie of the straight edge across the ribbon of glass, a light frame slidable on fixed guides arranged above the path of the ribbon and tie rods connecting said .frame to the endless cable system or to the slides whereby the light frame moves with the slides, and rockable measuring fingers adjustably mounted on the frame and disposed to be engaged by the leading edge of the glass at a predetermined spaced relationship with straight edge, locking means adapted to secure said measuring fingers in each position of adjustment along the frame, and trip gear adapted to disengage the measuring fingers after a predetermined distance of travel of the measuring fingers with the leading edge of the glass.

Each run of the endless system to which the straight edge is attached may be provided with a stretching screw to incorporate in the' run a 2 micrometer adjustment to achieve squareness of the straight edge to the path of the ribbon, whereby regulation of the tension on the wire cables may be effected.

The wire ropes in the endless system constitute stifi tension springs which with the friction of the pulleys in the system damp out any vibration on the apparatus when the measuring fingers are picked up by the leading edge of the glass, and an operator can readily score the ribbon in the time available to him, less than ten seconds, and in the usual manner, when the ribbon is travelling at 250" per minute.

In order that the invention may be more clearly understood, one preferred embodiment thereof will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawing in which:

Figure 1 shows a diagrammatic view of the machine, the embodiment being a form of apparatus Which is suitable for cutting across a ribbon moving at 250" per minute.

Figure Zshows a detail of the slide and Figure 3 shows a detail of the trip gear for the measuring fingers.

Figures 1, 2 and 3 show the parts in the relative positions they attain just after the commencement of the cutting operation.

To each side of and at the leading portion of the ribbon l as it advances on rolls from the lehr in known manner, and in a plane just above the 7 plane of the ribbon are mounted on a support 2a single pulleys 2 and spaced therefrornlengthwise of the ribbon on a support 311 is a pair of pulleys 3, 4 arranged so that to each side of the ribbon an endless wire cable 5 may be looped round each single pulley 2 and extend doubled on itself to form two parallel runs alongside the ribbon, the inner run passing over the inner pulleys ii of each pair and the outer run passing over the outer pulley 3 of each pair. The endless pulley and cable system viewed in plan resembles the letter U disposed with the open end towards the lehr, the two pairs of runs at each side of the glass ribbon 1 being interconnected.

In the outer run on one side of the ribbon and in the inner run on the other side, are fixed, near to the single pulleys 2 and equidistant therefrom, slides 6 on each of which is mounted one end of astraight edge 3 by means such as a screw la so that if the slides 6 are pullsdiin the direction of movement of the ribbon, i. e. in the direction of the arrow la (Figure 1) the straight edge 1 continuously moves with the glass whilst retaining its square relation therewith. n the other side of each slide to the respective single pulleys is arranged an adjusting means 8 which permits micrometer adjustment of the ends of the straight edge and adjustment of the tension in the whole system. The adjusting means 8 may comprise a wire strainer of the kind having a co-axial pair of threaded members 8a, 8b with right and left hand threads respectively, connected by means of a sleeve 8c suitably internally threaded in known manner. Thrust guides 9 mounted on each side of the ribbon' co-operate with the slides 6 to prevent deviation of the cable from its intended path.

Erected on cross bearers ll), Illa over the path of the ribbon are two horizontal rails ll, Ha, running parallel with the ribbon and on these rails run a pair of wheels [2, l3 connected by an axle 12a which axle is secured to two tie rods M, the other ends of which are secured to the slides at Ma.

These tie rods which run upwardly from the slides to the axle IZa rigidly connect the axle to the slides and carry towards their lower ends a cross member I6 so that in plan View the construction of the axle, ties and cross member resemble the letter A. This light frame so constructed carries horizontally disposed parallel bars l1, [8 running at right angles from the axle in a horizontal direction towards the cross member l6 and are cranked downwardly at the other ends to connect with the cross member.

These bars I1, 18 support measuring fingers l9 which depend into the path of the glass to be engaged by the leading edge of the ribbon and are adjustably locked by the levers I9a and cams I91) to the bars I1, [8 in predetermined spaced relation from the straight edge.

From the foregoing it will be observed that the leading edge on engaging the fingers, through the agency of a, latch locking means hereafter described which render the fingers integral with bars on the frame, pushes the frame and thus the slides, which impart movement in the whole cable system causing the straight edge to move with the glass whilst retaining its square relation therewith. During this movement of the straight edge, the glass may be scored in known manner by an automatic or by a manually operated glass cutter of suitable known form, and when this has been done the leading portion of the glass is deflected in known manner to separate the cu leading portion from the ribbon of glass. The separated leading portion is thereafter received in known manner on rolls which feed the separated portion forwardly at a rate greater than that at which the glass ribbon is moving so that a space is formed between the rear edge of the separated portion and the leading edge of the glass ribbon.

The return movement of the whole of the apparatus to datum position is produced by balance weights 2!! connected by cables 20a to the runs in which the slides 6 are incorporated and which are raised as the apparatus is advanced, the weights taking control as soon as the measuring fingers are disengaged from the leading edge of the separated portion to bring the apparatus up 7 to a stop 26b mounted on cross bearer Illa.

The measuring device comprises the latch looking means which is rockable and includes a vertical arm 2| pivoted at 250. to a bracket 25, the

arm 2| including at the bottom the fingers [9 which engage the glass edge and at the top a shoulder 22 which, in the vertical position of the arm abuts against a shoulder 23 on a latch arm 24 pivoted at 24c on the bracket 25. The bracket 25 rises from a base plate 26 carrying a pair of clamping plates 26a by which the bracket is adjusted on and clamped to the parallel bars l1, l8 comprised in the light frame. On the base plate 26 are mounted the cam means I91) which are rotated by the levers l9a for clamping the plates 26 and 26a onto the bars. To the free end of the latch arm 24 is attached one end of a cable 21 which is looped over a pulley 28 and the other end of the cable is anchored at 21a to the cross bearer Illa. As the fingers I9 are engaged by the glass edge, the top of the vertical 'arm 2| is forced against the shoulder 23 on the latch arm 24 making a rigid structure through which a force is transmitted from the glass to the light frame and cable system causing the required displacement of the straight edge. The cable 21 on the latch bar 24 is long enough to be slack until the light frame is nearly at the end of its travel, and as itapproaches the end of the travel the cable becomes taut and then rocks the latch arm 24 free of the vertical arm 2| carrying the measuring fingers, so that the latter (the vertical arm 2|) is tilted by the continued movement of the glass until the fingers l9 ride up on to the glass and, when due to the forward movement of the severed glass and the return movement of the light frame under effort from weight 20 the fingers are enabled to ride oil the severed glass, and assume vertical position, the cable 21 connected with the latch arm 2 having slackened, the latch automatically falls back under gravity into abutting engagement with the vertical arm 21 so that the fingers are rigidly connected to the plate 26 when again engaged by the advancing edge of the ribbon of glass.

Immediately re-engagement occurs the straight edge is disposed in position for cutting and owing to the absence of vibration an automatic cutter can be immediately operated, or a person cutting can at once use his cutter on the glass, whilst the cut is made with the straight edge moving as steadily as the glass throughout the operation.

By using the light construction of the nature described in which the wire cables are employed to cause the movement of the straight edge vibration of the latter is avoided.

By the present invention the mass of the cutting apparatus which is engaged and moved by the glass is reduced to a minimum and the total mass is small enough for the force needed to accelerate it to the high speed of the glass to be smaller than that required to engender buckling and ultimately break the ribbon of the glass between the straight edge and the lehr. AccOrdingly apparatus according to the invention is eminently suitable for severing lengths of glass from a ribbon having a thickness of K3" and travelling at a speed of 250" per minute or more.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for cutting across a moving ribbon of glass as it comes from a lehr, comprising a pulley and cable system, including pulleys disposed to each side of the path of travel of the glass and providing a pair of double runs of cable one at each side of said path, the runs of each double run of cable being interconnected and movable simultaneously'in opposite directi'ons, a slide connected to a similarly movable run of each pair, a straight edge mounted at opposite ends on said slides to be movable therewith and lie across said ribbon of glass, balance weights incorporated in said cable system and tending to return the straight edge to datum position, fixed guides disposed above the path of said ribbon and extending lengthwise thereof, a light frame slidable on said fixed guides and extending lengthwise thereof, tie rods connecting said light frame with the pulley and cable system, rockable measuring fingers mounted on said light frame to be adjustable lengthwise thereof and to be engaged by the leading edge of said ribbon at a predetermined spaced relationship with the straight edge, locking means to secure the measuring fingers in adjusted position, a latch to retain the measuring fingers in position to be engaged by the leading edge of the ribbon, and a latch releasing element operative to unlatch said fingers when the fingers have completed a predetermined distance of travel in engagement with the leading edge of the glass.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each double run has incorporated therein a stretching screw to regulate tension in the cables and by micrometer adjustment to achieve squareness of the straight edge with the path of the ribbon.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the tie rods connect the light frame to the slides.

ALFRED HENRY LE MARE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

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