US2554405A

US2554405A - Machine for internally threading collapsible tube necks

Info

Publication number: US2554405A
Application number: US685758A
Authority: US
Inventors: Grosshans George
Original assignee: Peerless Tube Co
Current assignee: Peerless Tube Co
Priority date: 1946-07-23
Filing date: 1946-07-23
Publication date: 1951-05-22
Anticipated expiration: 1968-05-22

Description

May 22, 1951 G. GROSVSHANS MACHINE FOR INTERNALLY THREADING COLLAPSIBLE TUBE NECKS Filed July 23, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

May 22 1951 G. GRossHANs 2,554,405

MACHINE FOR INTERNALLY THREADING COLLAPSIBLE TUBE NECKS I Filed July 23, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

Patented May 22, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MACHINE FOR INTERNALLY THREADING COLLAPSIBLE TUBE NECKS Application July 23, 1946, Serial No. 685,758

s claims. 1

This invention relates in general to a machine for forming internal threads on the necks of collapsible tubes, and more particularly the inven- `.tion contemplates the forming of these threads .with a burnishing or pressing operation asdistinguished from a metal-cutting operation.

One object of the invention is to provide such .a machine which shall embody novel and improved features of construction whereby a tthread-forming tool may be inserted into the neck of a collapsible tube, pressed into contact with theiinterior walls of said neck and moved longitudinally of the neck to form the desired screw thread and then withdrawn from the neck, all automatically and with a minimum of attention from the operator o1 the machine.

Another object is to provide a machine of this character which shall include novel and improved means for supporting the neck of the tube against pressure imposed on the interior of the neck by the thread-forming tool so as to prevent distortion of the neck during the thread-forming operation and to insure the formation of a perfect thread.

A further object is to provide in a machine oi this character a novel and improved combination of mechanism for operating the threadforming tool as above described and for manipulating said means for supporting the neck during the thread-forming operation in timed relation, whereby a tube to be threaded may be manually placed upon a mandrel in predetermined relation to the thread-forming mecha nism, and thereafter a thread shall be automatically formed in the neck of the tube.

Other objects, advantages and results of the invention will be brought out by the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which Figure l is a top plan view of a thread-forming machine embodying my invention, with the parts in thread-forming position and showing, in horizontal section, a collapsible tube in the machine.

Figure 2 is a front elevational View of the machine showing the collapsible tube in vertical section.

Figure 3 is an end elevational view of the machine.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary enlarged View similar to Figure 1 but showing the parts in normal position.

Specically describing the illustrated embodiment of the invention, the reference character 'I designates the base or frame of the machine 2 upon which is journaled a horizontal shaft 2, at one end of which is a mandrel 3 for supporting a collapsible tube i to be threaded. y

As shown, this collapsible tube is formed of ductile metal and comprises a hollow cylindrical body portion 5 and a neck 6 at one end thereof, the inner end of which is slightly tapered outwardly from thebody of the tube as indicated at l', while the outer end 8 is intended to be threaded to receive a plug closure. During operation of the machine, the shaft 2 and mandrel 3 are rotated by any suitablemeans such as a belt-and-pulley connection S with a suitable source of power, and to insure rotation of the collapsible tube with the mandrel, the outer end of the mandrel has an extension II) on which is a thread which will cut itself into the tapered walls 'I of the neck when the tube is manually held against rotation during rotation of the shaft in one direction. l

In accordance with the invention, a threadforming tool is normally disposed in an out-otthe-way relation vto the mandrel 3 so that a collapsible tube 4 may be manually slipped endwise onto the mandrel, and after the tube has been mounted on the mandrel, said tool is moved into alignment with the neck of the tube, then advanced into said neck in contact with the inner wall thereof so as to form a thread, and then withdrawn to its normal position. While the thread-forming tool is in contact with the neck, a presser roller is forced against the outer ,surface of the neck opposite the thread-forming tool so as to reenforce the neck against the pressure exerted thereon by said tool.

More specically, the thread-forming tool comprises a disc I I havingbeveled circumferential faces I2 and I3 that are disposed at such an angle to each other as to form a groove in the interior surface of the neck when the tool is pressed thereagainst while the neck is being ro'- tated. This disc is shown as mounted coaxially on a stem or rod I4 that projects from one end of a shaft I5 which is slidably mounted in a bearing block I6 that is adjustably mounted in Vertical plane as by a dovetail connection I'I witha bracket I8 which is adjustably mounted by a bolt-and-slot connection I9 on an actuating block 2B that is slidably mounted as by a dovetail connection 2l upon the top ofthe base I so as to move toward and from the mandrel 3. With this construction, the block I6 may. be adjusted vertically so that the axis of the shaft I5 and the thread-forming tool II will be located in approximately a horizontal axial plane withthe mandrel, and by movement of the actuating block 20 the tool may be moved toward and from the mandrel, perpendicularly thereto.

For sliding the shaft l to move the threadforming tool into and out of the neck of the tube, a lever 22 is pivotally mounted, intermediate its ends at 23, on the actuating block 29 and has one end pivotally connected at 24 to a sleeve 25 through which the shaft l5 extends and to which said shaft is connected by nuts 26, one on the shaft at each end of the sleeve. The other end of the lever 22 carries a follower roller 21 which follows, under the influence of a spring 21a, a cammed surface 28 on a face cam 29 that is mounted on a shaft 3U journaled on the top of the base l. With this construction, the tool Il Will be moved into and out of the neck E of the collapsible tube upon rotation of the cam 28 and consequent oscillation of the lever 22, the cam surface 28 being so shaped that the movement of the tool into the neck will provide the proper lead or pitch of thread to be formed, when the tool is in contact with the inner walls of the neck.

For moving the tool horizontally, a second cam 3| is mounted on the shaft 39 and has a cam surface 32 on its edge engaging the follower roller 33 ,journaled on the actuating block 20. The shape of this cam surface is such that normally the actuating block and the thread-forming tool will be located in an out-of-the-way position with respect to the mandrel 3 as shown in Figure 4, so that a collapsible tube may be slipped onto `or oif the mandrel 3; and when the actuating block 20 is in this position, the lever 22 will be in a position to locate the thread-forming tool outwardly beyond the end of the neck of a collapsible tube on the mandrel.

When the machine is started in operation, the cam surface 32 will rst move the block `20 toward the mandrel to bring the shaft I5 into alignment with the neck of the collapsible tube so .as to locate the edge of the thread-forming tool in proper position to engage the inner surface of the neck of the collapsible tube for forming a thread upon advancement of the tool l I into the neck.

Thereupon, the cam surface 28 will actuate the lever 22 so as to move the tool Il into theneck to form the thread, and this operation will continue for a predetermined time until the desired length of thread has been produced. Then a shoulder 34 on the cam surface 32 will move the tool l! out of contact with the neck of the tube, whereupon the cam surface 28 will actuate the lever 22 more rapidly to withdraw the tool from the neck. Then upon continued rotation of the cam a spring 35 will move the block 20 to its normal position as shown in Figure 4 for the removal of the threaded tube and the insertion of a new tube to be threaded. The operation above described may then be repeated..

While the threading tool Il is in thread-forming contact with the inner wall of the neck 6 of the collapsible tube, a presser roller 31 is pressed against the outer surface of the neck opposite .the threading too-l, and as shown this roller is journaled in a bracket 38 which is adjustably mounted at 39 on an actuating block vl0 vthat may be identical in construction and mounted in the vsame way on the base l as the actuating block 20. This block 40 is actuated toward and from the collapsible tube on the mandrel by a cam 4l on the shaft 3l] which engages a follower roller 42 on the actuating block 40, the cam having a cammed surface of the proper shape to move and hold the roller 31 in the neck, and as shown this mechanism includes a cutting roller 44 journaled on a bracket 45 adjustably mounted at 46 on an actuating block 41 corresponding to the blocks 20 and di) which is actuated to move the cutter` 44 against the collapsible tube by a cam 48 engaging a follower roller 49 on the block which is held in contact with the cam by a spring 5l).

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the cam shaft 3@ may be rotated in any suitable manner, but one desirable means comprises a chain-and-sprocket connection 5I be tween the main shaft 2 and the shaft 30.

It will be understood that after the threading of one tube has been completed, the tube must be removed from the mandrel manually, and another functi-on of the roller 31 is to loosen the threaded connection betweenthe tapered portion l of the neck and the projection I0 on the mandrel, so that the operator may remove the tube by simply pulling the latter longitudinally from the mandrel with or without a slight twist in the direction to unscrew the tube from the projection I0.

While I have shown and described the invention as embodying certain details -of construction, it should be understood that the structure of the machine may be widely modied and changed 'by those skilled in the art within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim is:

1. A machine for internally threading collapsible tube necks comprising a frame, a mandrel journaled on said frame to support and rotate a collapsible tube on a horizontal axis with the neck of the tube projecting from one end of the mandrel, means for rotating the mandrel about its axis, a threading tool, mounting means for saidtool including a block movable toward and from the axis of rotation of said mandrel, a guide on said block in which said tool is supported for longitudinal movement in directions parallel to said axis, means including a rotatable cam shaft and a cam thereon for actuating said block to move said tool from a normal position at one side of said axis and outwardly of said end of the mandrel to a certain point at a predetermined distance from said axis and outwardly of the end of said mandrel and to momentarily hold said tool at said predetermined distance to contact with the inner wall of said tube neck upon longitudinal movement -of the tool, means including a lever on said block pivotally ccnnected to said tool, and a cam on said cam shaft engaging said lever to actuate said to-ol longitudinally from said certain point into engagement with 'the wall cf said tube neck and to continue said movement for a predetermined time at a speed to produce the desired thread lead while the tool is in contact with said walls of said tube neck. Y

2. A machine as dened in claim 1, with the addition of a roller movable toward and from UNITED STATES PATENTS said mandrel and means for moving the roller Number Name Date toward Said mandrel t0 0011123101', With the GXET'OI' 267,215 Johnson :Nov- 7 1882 of said tube neck opposite said tool while the 501,547 Thomson July 18, 1893 latter is in Contact with the inner Wa11s of said 5 513,334 Mettler Jam 23, 1994 neck to support the neck walls against the Out- 872,728 Hartness Dea 3, 1907 Ward Pressure 0f Sad '0001- 1,076,985 Knupfer oct. 28, 1913 3. A machine as defined in claim 1, wherein 1,254,926 Carvalho Jan 22, 1913 the first-mentioned cam is formed to actuate said 1,457,179 McGinnis May 29, 1923 block to move said tool further in the frst-men- 10 2,257,253 Wemhoner Sem-, 30, 1941 OIled direction 0111) Of Contact With the tube neck 21361612 Reed Jan" 16) 1945 at the end of said longitudinal movement of the 2,372,911 Remington et a1 Mal.. 29 1945 tool, and the second-mentioned cam is formed to 2,421,655 Seyforth June 3J 1947 actuate said lever in the direction to move said 100110 said given point after the mst-mentioned 15 FOREIGN PATENTS movement of said tool. Number Country Date GEORGE GROSSI-LANS. 64,045 Switzerland Apr. 15, 1913 488,841 Germany Jan. 8, 193D REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the 20 Ille of this patent: