US2513358A - Reforming machine - Google Patents

Description

July 4, 1950 H, B, PETERSON 2,513,358

REFoRMINd MACHINE Filed Jan. 3, 1946 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 if /Z 91 f4 2/ f7 5 EA 2/ I 77mi- Z? 23 L INVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS July 4, 1950 H. B. PETERSON REFORMING MACHINE Filed Jan.' 3, 1946 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Ill INVENTOR.

7 $1M XM 54am ATTORNEYS 1 July 4, 1950 H. B. PETERSON REFORMING MACHINE Filed Jan. 3, 1946 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 ATTORNEYS July 4, 1950 H. B. PETERSON 2,513,358 I REFORMING MACHINE Filed Jan. 5, 1946 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR.

DLM W.

ATTORNEYS July 4, 1950 H. B. PETERSON REFORMING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Jan. 3, 1946 INVENTOR. MQW te m 2.1;

ATTORNEYS Patented July 4, 1950 REFORMING MACHINE Howard B. Peterson, San Francisco, Calif., as-

signor to American Can Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New Jersey Application January 3, 1946, Serial No. 638,856

Claims.

The present invention relates to can body reforming machines and has particular reference to devices for ironing out the closely curled opposed edges or curved connecting parts, called feyes of collapsed partially opened can bodies as an incident to the completereforming of such can bodies into a desired shape.

In a pending application, Ser. No. 638,854, filed January 3, 1946 by SamuelS. Jacobs and myself as joint inventors, now Patent No. 2,460,293, granted February 1, 1949, there is shown a reforming machine in which my devicemay be used in the manner there illustratedp No claim is made herein to the machine claimed in said pending application.

Shipment and storage of empty sheet metalcan bodies for use in making containers or cans for food products sometimes is facilitated by flattening orcollapsing the bodies so that they occupy less space. When ready for use, the walls of the collapsed bodies are opened or spread apart and then the bodies are reformed by rolling or other means to restore them to their original or other desired cross sectional form.

The'opening of a-body usually leaves a pair of oppositely disposed corrugations or curved connecting parts, knownin the can making industry aseyes, in the body wall where the wall has been closely curled or bent during the collapsing operation. For best results in reforming a body these eyes must be entirely eliminated and itis to this feature that the instant invention is directed.

The invention contemplates the provision of a continuously operating ironing device in which the can'body to be reformed is maintained in anon-rotating position while it is moved through a reforming station at which the eyes or curved connecting parts of the body are ironed out to restore the body to its original shape.

An object of the invention is the provision'of an ironing device fora can body reforming machine wherein a can body to bereformed iscontinuously moved, while being held against rotation, through a reforming station at which the areas of the body which include. the eyes, are ironed outfto eliminate the eyes. or curved connecting, parts and thereby restore the body to its original shape.

Another object is the provision of such an ironing device wherein a permanent set is given the areas of the body which include the eyes, byironing outthe material of the body at theseareas tQ-an extentbeyond its elastic limit so thaaany;

set to the eyes orcurved connecting parts will be permanently eliminated.

Another object is the provisionof an ironing device of thischaracter wherein the ironing out of the eyes is effected by the passage of the body between ironing elementslocated on opposite sides of the moving non-rotating body so that both eyes or curved connecting parts of the body can be operated upon simultaneously.

:Another object is the provision of such an ironing device wherein the ironing action is brought about by rollers having .a generated contour, shaped to progressively engage and iron out the eye areas or curved connecting parts of the bodies being reformed.

Numerous other objects and advantagesof-the invention will be apparent as it is better understood from the following description, which, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, discloses a preferred embodimentthereof.

Referringtothe drawings:

:Figurel isa front elevation of a can body eye ironing device embodying the instant invention, with'partsbroken away and parts in section;

Fig. 2is atop plan view of the device illustrated in Fig. 1, with parts broken away;

. Fig. 311s 'a sectional view taken substantially along the line 3-3 in Fig. '2;

Fig. 4 .is a fragmentary rear elevation of -the deviceshownin Fig. 1, with parts broken away;

Figs-'5 and 6 are enlarged perspectiveviews' of a can body before andafter the eye ironing out operation effected by the device shown in Fig. 1; and

Figs. '7 to 12.inclusive are diagrammatic views illustrating the. action of the ironing elements of the device on the can bodies.

As a: preferred embodiment of the invention the drawings'illustrate an ironing device for ironing out corrugations or eyes or curved connecting parts A (Fig. 5) in partially reformed or'o'pened sheet metal'can bodies B as an incident to reforming or restoring: a collapsed can body to its original cross sectional form, as for exampla the fully reformed cylindrical can body'D shown in Fig. 6.

- Theynopened partially reformed can bodies B are positioned, manuallyor in any other suitable manner, onto non-rotatable cylindrical mandrels or supports'z i -(Figs. land 3)- which extend horizontally from a verticallydisposed rotatable carrier disc'22'. The disc is mounted" on a horizontal drive shaft 23 journaled in bear-ings 24 formedin a'frame' 25 which constitutes the main formed with a pair of oppositely disposed recessed I surfaces such as flats 3| which are perpendicular to a radial line :c-:c (Fig. 1) extending through the center of the mandrel and through the center of the drive shaft 23.

Thus when a partially formed can body B is placed on a mandrel 2| it is in a horizontal position with its side walls spread apart and frictionally engaging the mandrel, as best shown in Fig. l. The mandrel is slightly smaller in diameter than the inside diameter of the finished reformed body and the eyes A of the body extend outwardly. The body is placed on the mandrel with these eyes or curved connecting parts at the flats 3| of the mandrels.

. With a partially reformed body B on its mandrel 2|, the continuously rotating carrier disc 22 carries the body along a curved path of travel through an ironing station F where the eyes A of the body are ironed out flat, as hereinbefore mentioned. This ironing out operation is effected by a pair of spaced and parallel, rotatable ironing elements or rollers 34, 35 (Figs. 1, 2 and 3) between which the mandrels 2| and the bodies B carried thereon, pass.

The ironing elements 34, 35 are horizontal and are disposed below and above the circular path of travel of the mandrels. These elements are formed on the inner ends of a pair of spaced and parallel actuating shafts 36, 31. The shaft 36 is journaled in a bearing 38 formed in a lower slide block 39 disposed in the lower portion of a vertical slideway 4| in a slide housing 42 bolted to the main frame 25. The outer end of the shaft extends through clearance slots 43 formed in the back of the slide housing and in the main frame.

. The ironing roller shaft 31 is journaled in a bearing 45 formed in an upper slide block 46 disposed in the upper portion of the slideway 4|. The outer end of this shaft 31 extends through clearance slots 4! formed in the back of the slide housing and in the main frame 25. Stop lugs 48 (Fig. 3) formed on the slide housing 42 and projecting inwardly from the slideway 4| keep the lower and upper slide blocks 39, 46 separated and confined in their respective portions of the slideway. These stop lugs align with the curved path of travel of the mandrels 2| through the ironing station F and thereby centralize the ironing rollers relative to the path of travel of the mandrels.

. The two slide blocks 39, 46 are maintained under spring pressure against movement relative to each other, by a plurality of compression of these springs and they surround the upper,

of the bolts are fitted with washers 54 and nuts 4 55 to adjust the spring pressure and to hold the springs in place.

The ironing rollers 34, 35 are rotated in unison and in time with the carrier disc 22 by a pair of meshing spur gears 58, 59 which are mounted on the respective actuating shafts 36, 31. Stop collars 6| are formed on the shafts intermediate their lengths. Spacer sleeves 62 surrounding the outer ends of the shafts adjacent the gears 58, 59 in cooperation with the stop collars, confine the shafts against endwise movement in their bearings during this rotation.

The gears 58, 59 are rotated by a pinion 65 Which is mounted on the upper actuating shaft 31. This pinion meshes with and is driven by a large driving gear 66 which is carried on the main drive shaft 23. The relation between the pinion and the driving gear is such that the pinion makes one complete revolution each time the driving gear rotates through a distance equal to the distance between the mandrels 2| on the carrier disc 22. This relation brings about a full turn of the ironing rollers 34, 35 for each mandrel 2| as the latter passes between the rollers at the ironing station. The rollers rotate in opposite directions with their adjacent faces moving in the same direction as the mandrels moving along their path of travel, as shown by the indicating arrows in Fig. 1.

Hence as a mandrel 2| carries its non-rotating can body B between the rotating ironing rollers 34, 35 at the ironing station F, the rollers come into pressing engagement with the body at the areas which include the eyes or curved connecting parts A. This rolls out these eyes with a combined ironing and wiping action effective against the outside of the curved connecting parts. The two eyes engage the two rollers almost simultaneously and thereby prevent any turning of the body on its mandrel. This ironing out action is progressive as the ironing rollers engage and roll against the non-rotating but moving body as it passes between them.

For the purpose of bringing about this progressive ironing action the outer peripheries of the rollers are formed with a generated contour 68 which is'proportioned to properly roll on the moving body as the body and the rollers come into andmove out of engagement with each other. This movement of the body and the rollers is graphically illustrated in Figs. 7 to 12, inclusive.

By close examination of these views a clear con-' body on its mandrel forces the rollers apart slight- 1y against the resistance of the springs 5| acting on the slide blocks 39, 46, the effect of the springs completely equalizing pressure on the two sides of the mandrel. This prevents any offsetting strain on the mandrel during the ironing operation and thereby the parallelism of the rollers and the mandrel is not disturbed. This separat-' ing action increases the pressure of the rollers against the curved connecting parts A'at just the proper time and place to facilitate nullification thereof. The total separation of the rollers, however, is small and is not suflicient to unmesh the roller actuating gears 58, 59 or cause any interference in operation between the pinion 65 and the main driving gear 66.

' With such a generated rolling action between the can body, backed up by its mandrel, and the ironing rollers 34, 35 the curved connecting parts A of the body are rolled out .fiat against the flats 3! on the vmandrel and this flattening of, the curved connecting parts sets the material beyond its elastic limit and thus=effects a'complete elimination of the curved connectingparts. The setting thus impressed on the eyes, springs the-side walls of the body outwardly into their original rounded condition and completes the reforming of the body into the cross sectional shape-shown in Fig. 6.

In this fully reformed condition the body D is slightly large in diameter than the mandrel 21 on which it is supported. Hence the finished body may be readily stripped off the mandrel,

manually or in anyother suitablemanner following which it may be removed to a'suitable place of-deposit.

It is thought that the-invention and many of its attendant advantages Willbe understood from the foregoing description, and it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention or sacrificing all of its material/advantages, the form hereinbefore described being merely a preferred embodiment thereof.

I claim:

1. In an ironing device for a machine for reforming collapsed partially opened can bodies having spaced apart side walls joined by opposed sharply curved connecting parts, the combination of a pair of oppositely disposed rotatable ironing elements, 'yiel'dable mountings for said elements to allow movement of the elements in a direction away from each other, a non-rotatable support movable along a path of travel between said ironing elements for supporting a can body with its curved parts in predetermined position, and means for moving said support in a continuous sweep along said path of travel to'bring said body curved parts into passing momentary engagement with said elements, said yieldable element mounting insuring equal pressure on said opposed curved body parts to iron out said parts and thereby reform the can body to a desired shape.

2. In an ironing device for a machine for reforming collapsed partially opened can bodies having spaced apart side walls joined by opposed sharply curved connecting parts, the combination of a non-rotatable support movable along a predetermined path of travel for carrying a can body along said path of travel, means for moving said support and its can body along said path of travel, a pair of oppositely disposed rotatable ironing elements located one on each side of the path of travel of the can body carried by said moving support and between which said support passes, said ironing elements having generated contours, and means for rotating said ironing elements to progressively engage their contours with the areas of the can body adjacent said curved parts in a combined wiping and ironing action as the support passes between said elements for progressively ironing out said parts to reform the can body to a desired shape.

3. In an ironing device for a machine for reforming collapsed partially opened can bodies having spaced apart side walls joined by opposed sharply curved connecting parts, the combination of a non-rotatable support movable along a, predetermined path of travel for carrying a can body along said path of travel, means for moving said support and its can body along said path of travel, a pair of oppositely disposed rotating ironing rollers ilocatedone on each side of the path of travelof the can body carried :onsaidsupport and between which said support passes for'the engagement :of the curved parts of the body with said elements to iron out said curved parts :and thereby reform the can body toa desired shape, a ,pair of oppositely disposed slides in whichsaid ironing elements are rotatably mounted, tie :bolts extending through said slides for tying them together, compression springs on said tieboltsand acting against said slides equally for allowing equalizedseparatio-n ofsaidironing elements during engagement of the elements'with the curved parts of the body to exert pressure against the said parts equally during the ironing out operation and for maintaining parallelism between said elements and said support, and stop lugs disposed between said slides for centralizing the ironing elements relative to the support as .it moves between said elements.

4..In an ironing device for a machine for are-- forming collapsed partially opened can bodies having spaced apart side walls joined by sharply curved connecting parts, the combinationofaa rotatable carrier disc, a non-rotatable support carried by said disc for transporting a can :body along'a circular path of travel withits two curved connecting parts in radial alignment, 8. pair .of oppositely disposed rota-table ironing elements one located inside and one outside of said .circular path, each ironing element having a generated contour, and means for rotating said ironing elements to progressively engage against said curved body parts during passage of the body between said ironing elements to keep the ironing-elements in constant engagement with 'the body wall and to iron out said curved-parts toreformithe can-body to a desired shape.

5. In an ironing device for a machine forreforming collapsed partially opened can bodies having spaced apart side walls joined by sharply curved connecting parts, the combination of :a rotable-carrier disc, a plurality of non-rotatable supports carriedby said disc for transporting .ican bodies along :a circular path of travel with the two curved connecting parts of each body :in radial alignment, a pair of oppositely disposed radially spaced slides located at one side of said disc, a rotatable ironing roller carried by each of said slides one roller being inside and one outside of said circular path, each of such rollers having a generated contour, pressure means acting against said slides to provide for yieldable separation of said ironing rollers, and means for rotating said ironing rollers during movement of said disc to bring the generated contours of the rollers against a passing can body to progressively press against said curved body parts during such passage, the yielding of said rollers equalizing the pressure against both of said curved body parts to iron them out and to reform the can body to a desired shape.

6. In an ironing device for a machine for reforming collapsed partially opened can bodies having spaced apart side walls joined by opposed sharply curved connecting parts, the combination of a pair of oppositely disposed spaced ironing elements yieldably mounted for movement toward and from each other, a support for a can body, oppositely disposed recessed surfaces in said support, and means for effecting continuous relative movement between said elements and said support to pass a can body on said support between said elements as the latter press said curved body parts against said recessed surfaces to iron 7 out the sharply curved connecting parts of the can body and thereby reform the can body to a desired shape.

7. In an ironing device for a machine for re:- iorming collapsed partially opened can bodies having spaced apart side walls joined by opposed sharply curved connecting parts, the combination of a pair of oppositely disposed spaced ironing elements yieldably mounted for movement toward and from each other, a cylindrical can body support having oppositely disposed flats thereon for receiving the can body with the curved parts of the body adjacent said flats, and means for efiecting continuous relative movement between said elements and said support to pass a can body on said support between said elements as the latter ironout the sharply curved connecting parts of the can body beyond their elastic limit against said flats and thereby reform the can body to a desired shape.

8. In an ironing device for a machine for reforming collapsed partially opened can bodies having spaced apart side walls joined by opposed sharply curved connecting parts, the combination of a pair of oppositely disposed spaced ironing elements, yieldable mountings for saidelements to allow movement one from the other, a support movable in one direction along a, path of travel between said ironing elements for supporting a ean body, recesses in said support adjacent the sharply curved parts of a supported body, and means for moving said support in a continuous sweep along said path of travel for pressing engagement of the curved parts of the body against the walls of said recesses by said elements, said yieldable mountings insuring equalization of pressures upon said-opposed curved body parts to iron out the parts and thereby reform the can body to a desired shape.

9. In an ironing device for a machine for reforming collapsed partially opened can bodies having spaced apart side walls joined by opposed sharply curved connecting parts, the combination of a pair of oppositely disposed rotatable ironing elements yieldably mounted formovement toward and from each other, a support havingopposed recessed surfaces, said supports being movable along a path of travel between said ironing elements for supporting a can body with its curved parts adjacent said recessed surfaces, and means for moving said support in a continuous sweep along said path of travel for pressing engagement of the curved parts of the body between said elements and recessed support surfaces to iron out the parts and thereby reform the can body to a desired shape.

' 10. In an ironing device for a machine for reforming collapsed partially opened can bodies having spaced apart side walls joined by opposed sharply curved connecting parts, the combination of a pair of oppositely disposedrotatable ironing elements yieldably mounted for movement toward and from each other, a continuously rotatable carrier disc disposed adjacent said ironing elements, and a plurality of spaced and parallel, support mandrels secured in said disc, each of said mandrels having oppositely disposed axially elongated recessed surfaces, each mandrel being movable with the disc through a curved path of travel extending between said ironing elements for carrying a said can body with its sharply curved parts adjacent said recessed surfaces in a continuous sweep along said path of travel for momentary engagement of the curved parts of the body with said elements and recessed surfaces of the mandrel to iron out said [curved parts and thereby reform the can body to a desired shape.

HOWARD B. PETERSON.

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

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 331,571 Tasker Dec. 1, 1885 1,076,545 Blaxter Oct. 21, 1913 1,605,828 Fram Nov. 2, 1926 2,091,749 Christman Aug. 31, 1937 2,145,125 Moore Jan. 24, 1939 2,254,250 Taylor, Jr. Sept. 2, 1941

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