US2565655A

US2565655A - Apparatus for spraying hides and skins

Info

Publication number: US2565655A
Application number: US74597A
Authority: US
Inventors: Giraudo Ettore
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1948-04-02
Filing date: 1949-02-04
Publication date: 1951-08-28
Anticipated expiration: 1968-08-28
Also published as: GB664059A; FR981165A

Description

1951 E. GIRAUDO 2,565,655

APPARATUS FOR SPRAYING HIDES AND SKINS Filed Feb. 4, 1949 8 Sheets-Sheet 1 Aug. 1951 E. GIRAUDO 2,565,655

APPARATUS FOR SPRAYING HIDES AND SKINS Aug. 28, 1951 Filed Feb. 4, 1949 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 AFTOR VEY Aug. 28, 1951 E. GIRAUDO APPARATUS FOR SPRAYING HIDES AND SKINS 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Feb. 4, 1949 ETTOKE 65/344600 ATTOR/VEV Aug. 28, 1951 E. GIRAUDO APPARATUS FOR SPRAYING HIDE-S AND SKINS 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Feb. 4 1949 //V VENTO)? ETTORE Q/RAVLDO 1951 E. GIRAUDO 2,565,655

APPARATUS FOR SPRAYING HIDES AND SKINS Filed Feb. 4, 1949 5 Sheets-Sheet 6 l/V VE/VTOR ETTORE Gf/RAZLDO By WM ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 28, 1951 APPARATUS FOR SPRAYING HIDES AND SKINS Ettore Giraudo, Turin, Italy Application February 4, 1949, Serial No. 74,597 In Italy April 2, 1948 11 Claims.

This invention relates to the dyeing of hides and skins and concerns a process by which this operation may be effected in a continuous automatic manner limiting manual operation merely to attachment of the hides and skins to the machine at the start of the operation and to detachment of the hides and skins at the end of same, since all dyeing and drying steps are effected in a fully automatic manner.

Normally, in tanneries hides and skins are placed on wire mesh or perforated sheet metal frames, and the worker supplies a coating of coloured pigment by means of a spraying gun on the hide or skin which, after dyeing is removed and brought to a drying apparatus. In order to ensure an even dyeing a plurality of coatings are necessary which are successively applied by the workers on the above-mentioned frames. Between application of each coating the hide or skin should be placed during a few minutes in the drying apparatus in order to make it suitable for efficiently receiving the successive coating.

In order to avoid the above-mentioned drawbacks a continuous dyeing method has already been suggested, in which hides and skins are fixed to an endless vertical wire mesh web which runs over two end drums, and is supported by a chain which moves by means of suitable sprockets within guides placed on top.

A number of dyeing stages are arranged along the web which, starting from the point of attachment, are served by workers having gun sprayers, these stages alternating with drying tunnels. The end drying tunnel is arranged past the last dyeing stage, and on issue thereof the dyed hides or skins are detached.

This plant is a considerable improvement over the one previously referred to, but still suflers from the drawback that dyeing of hides and skins is entrusted to the skill of the worker handling the gun sprayer, so that the distribution of the dye on the hide or skin is often unsatisfactory.

The process further entails a considerable waste in dye stuff as in the operation of the gun sprayer the worker when treating the outer edges of the skins often sprays the dye on the web instead of on the hide or skin.

By the process according to this invention the latter drawback may be obviated, and a perfectly even dyeing is ensured, waste of dye as occurred in previous processes is avoided, and a far better end product is obtained.

Evenness or distribution of the dye makes it possible to employ extremely thin layers of coloured pigments thus obtaining an improved final product.

According to this invention, the sprayers instead of being held in the hand, are carried by carriages which perform a reciprocating movement on guides along vertical axes perpendicular to the direction of movement of the wire mesh web supporting the hides and skins which, as in one of the constructions referred to above, is in the form of a vertically arranged endless belt.

The valve for supplying compressed air to the sprayers is not manually operated but is driven by an electric magnet carried by each sprayer and energized in such manner as to open the valve solely when the sprayer on its reciprocating motion along the vertical axis faces the hide or skin, while when the sprayer faces the web the valve is automatically closed stopping the operation of the sprayer and avoiding waste of dye.

The elctro-magnets of each sprayer are operated by means of an electric cell device carried by a support, performing like the sprayers a reciprocating motion transversal of the direc tion of movement of the web carrying the skin.

The said device comprises a projector emitting a luminous bundle of light on the web, a mirror situated behind the web and reflecting the said bundle of light on a photo-electric cell situated on the carriage on the side of the projector, in such manner that when the bundle of light strikes the web on a region which is not covered by the hide or skin, it may pass through and be reflected by the mirror on the photo-electric cell, while when it strikes the skin it is intercepted and is not reflected on the photo-electric cell.

The latter is provided with a relay which is operated in the closed position in such a manner that when the return beam fails, the relay closes an electric circuit actuating a recording device. The recording device drives the electromagnet operating the sprayers, the delay between the registration on the recording device and the actuation of each sprayer being equal to the time necessary for the movement of the scanned part of the hide or skin from the position facing the scanning unit to the position facing the sprayer. In this manner, the supply of the dye is automatically stopped within those places where the scanning beam did not hit the hide or skin.

In order to operate the individual sprayers only when a hide or skin moves in front of them. this invention provides a repeating device by 3 which the sprayers are conveniently time operated.

This device consists preferably of a paper strip unrolling from a supply spool to a receiving spool. The paper strip is acted upon its path, from the supply to the receiving spool, by a punching device actuated by means of a relay by the scanninglight cell, which, when no beam returns to the light cell, punches the paper strip in accordance with the scanned length of hide or skin.

Electric contacts are arranged on the paper strip past the punching device suitably placed and rest on the said strip. The said contacts co-operate with corresponding contacts oppositely situated on the opposite side of the paper stri The spacing between the contact pairs which correspond in number with the sprayers, is proportioned in a suitable scale to the spacing between the sprayers, and the rate of speed of the paper is similarly proportioned to the rate of speed of the web.

Supposing the spacing of the contacts is of the sprayer spacing, the rate of speed of the paper strips is Ta of the rate of speed of the web.

It will be obvious that when the punched paper strip travels between the two electric contacts of each contactor, it acts as insulator on its nonpunched sections, While on the punched sections the resilient point of one of the contacts may cooperate with a corresponding contact on the other side, thereby closing the feed circuit for the electric-magnet of the associated sprayer which sprays dye on the hide or skin in the regions scanned by the light cell. The hide or skin receives as many layers of dye as there are sprayers, and the dye spray is directed exclusively on the hide or skin, avoiding any jet on the web outside of the contour of the hide or skin, as operation of the sprayers is automatically intercepted in said regions.

Drying tunnels are conveniently inserted between the various sprayers, in order to promptly dry the coating applied, and a long tunnel is arran ed past the last sprayer for final drying of the hide or skin.

The invention shall now be described with reference to the enclosed diagrammatical drawin s which show a construction by way of example.

Fig. 1 is a part front elevation of the dyeing apparatus according to this invention.

Fig. 2 shows a detail of Fig. l on an enlarged scale.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken along line III1II of Fig- 1.

Fig. 4 is a part sectional detail view of the carria e carrying the light cell and projector.

Fig. 5 is a section taken along line V-V of Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is a detail of Fig. l on an enlarged scale and shows the mechanism driving the carriages and repeating device.

Fig. 7 is a detail view of the drive for the repeating mechanism.

Fig. 8 is a diagram of the operation of the repeating device.

Fig. 9 is a detail plan view of the perforated paper strip constituting the repeating member.

Fig. 10 is an axial vertical section of the punching device.

Fig. 11 is a partial section on line XI-XI of Fig. 10.

Fig. 12 is a detail on an enlarged scale of the 4 portion of the punching device carrying the electric contacts.

Fig. 13 is a general electric diagram of the I plant.

Fig. 14 shows the general electric diagram of the apparatus.

I denotes an endless vertical wire mesh web travelling over end rollers 2, one of which only is shown on the drawing.

The web is supported from above by a chain (not shown) which moves by means of suitable sprockets within top guides. The shaft 3 of the roller 2 is driven by a worm gear 4, of which the worm screw is carried on a horizontal shaft 5 provided with a coupling G for connection with the output shaft of an electric motor (not shown).

The shaft 5 carries at its opposite end a bevel pinion 6 meshing with a bevel wheel I of which the shaft is supported by a longitudinal frame 3.

The wheel I has articulated thereto at I0, near its periphery, a link I l, which is articulated at its other end at 12 to a slide l3 movable in a C-shaped guide l4 provided with a lower flange having a hole l5 for attachment to the frame 9. The slide I3 is held in front by plates l6 secured by means of screws I! (Fig. 5).

The slide I2 has articulated thereto at 54 a link 55 having articulated at its other end at 56 a rod 57 mounted for oscillation about a horizontal pivot 18 supported by an upright I9 of the frame 9. The rod 51 has fixedly attached thereto a beam 20 arranged at about 90 to the rod.

The ends of said beam have articulated thereto two links 2 I, the other ends of which are pivoted, to carriages 22 movable on vertical rods 23 secured to the frame 9.

In order to reduce friction between the carriages 22 and cylindrical rods 23, the carriages are provided at their point of contact with the rods with bushes 24, as shown in Fig. 4.

The first carriage (on the right in Fig. 4) carries on a cross member 22a a projector 26 and light cell 25. A mirror 21 is arranged on the supporting frame of the apparatus over the full height of the web i behind the latter in front of the carriage 22, and the axes of the projector and light cell are inclined in such manner that the light rays emitted by the projector, upon reflection by the mirror 21, strike the light cell 25.

It will be obvious that rotation of the motor shaft 5 causes through the worm screw 1, acting as a crank, and link II, the slide l2, to perform a reciprocating motion, the stroke D of which corresponds to the diameter of the wheel I.

The various members are proportioned in size in such manner that the stroke D corresponds to a full displacement of the two carriages 22 from the position shown in full lines in Fig. 2 to the opposed position shown in dotted lines, in which the right-hand carriage is in its upper position and the left-hand carriage is in its lower posiion.

The transmission ratios are calculated in such manner that the rate of speed of the hide or skin and the rate of displacement of the carriage result in a full scanning of the hide or skin P by the light cell. The first sprayer S is mounted on the left-hand carriage 22 of the above described apparatus. The following sprayers S are carried by carriages 22, similar to the one described above, and driven by slides l3 through links l5, rods l'l', beams 20' and links 2| identical with those described above.

The dissance between the carriage 22 carrying the first sprayer and carriage 22' carrying the second sprayer denoted by L in the drawing is equal to the distance L between the two first carriages 22, the following carriages being equally spaced.

The slide i8 operating the device carrying the second and third sprayers is driven by the slide l8 through the rod 58 and operates in turn, by means of a rod 58, the third slide (not shown on the drawing) which drives in turn the next slide, and so on.

The number of slides and their associated devices depends upon the number of sprayers. In the following description it has been assumed that the slides are in the number of five, so that the sprayers are nine in all.

The shaft carries directly ahead the bevel pinion 8 driving the wheel I, a worm gear 28 driving a vertical shaft 29 operating in turn through two bevel wheels 90, 9 l, a horizontal shaft 82 carrying a roller 83 and a sprocket wheel 84, the latter driving by means of an endless chain 85 the sprocket wheels 35 and 81 of which the shafts carry two

rollers

38, 89.

A pressure roller 38, 39', 38' is loosely mounted on its shaft in front of each driving roller 88, 89,

. 88, and the paper strip 48 travels between the roller pairs unrolling from a supply spool 4|, and passing on a guide roller 42 through a punching device 48. On issuing from the last pair of rollers, the paper strip passes over stretching rollers 44. 45 and is wound on a receiving spool 48. The latter is driven by a shaft 92 through a flexible coupling 41, for instance. an endless coiled wire. The punching device "comprises a punch 49 movable perpendicularly to the paper strip 48 and driven by an electric magnet which is fed through a pair of

wires

48a, 48b by the light cell 25 through a relay, which operates in such manner that when the light cell is not struck by the bundle of light emitted by the projector 25 and reflected by the mirror 21, the relay of the punching device 48 is energized and the punch 49 is lowered on the paper which it perforates at 500, the length of the holes being proportioned to the height of the hide or skin scanned by the light cell on -.s vertical movement imparted by the carriage 22 on which it is mounted.

Electric contacts 59 are arranged on the paper strip 48 between the punching device 43 and pairs of rollers 39, 33' and resiliently bear on the paper which is supplied from below by contacts 52 connected together by a common feed lead 58. The contacts 50 are connected by leads 5| to the electromagnets operating the valves of each sprayer. The spacing between the first pair of

contacts

58, 52 and the axis of the punch 49, denoted by "l" in the drawing is in such a ratio to the distance L (Fig. 1) between the individual carriages 22, 22' carrying the light cell and sprayers as exactly corresponds with the ratio between the rate of feed of the paper and rate of feed of the web. For instance, supposing the paper is fed at a rate which is 1 of the rate of feed of the web, lwill be 1 of L. The

contacts

50 and 52 are electrically insulated from each other by the paper strip in the regions in which it is not punched. As a punched hole passes between the first pair of

contacts

58 and 52, the insulating action of the paper ceases and the contacts are closed. This energizes the electromagnet operating the associated sprayer that operates on the regions of the hide light cell, supply of dye being cut on on the skin or skin scanned by the .8 edge. The same takes place as the paper reaches the second pair of contacts, and so on, at all nine pairs of existing contacts, so that nine successive coatings will be applied to the hide or skin and the colour will be uniformly distributed thereon without any waste of material due to spraying on the web.

Referring to Figs. 10, 11, 12 which show a construction of the punching device denoted as a whole by 48 in Fig. 8, 54 denotes a bed plate to which a profile rod 84 is secured and connected by screws 55 to the casing 55 enclosing the winding 51 of an electro-magnet of which the movable core 58 is connected with a lower rod 59. The latter moves in a bushing 58 which guides the rod and extends within a tube 5| secured by screws 52 to the casing 55. -A coil spring 63 is wound about the lower portion 59a, reduced in diameter, of the rod 59, the said spring cooperating at one end with the upper portion of the rod 59, and at its other end with a case 84 screwed in the tube 5|. A rod 65 is secured to the upper end of the core 58 and is guided in a bushing secured by means of screws 61 to a profile rod 88. A lever 10 is pivoted at 59 to the rod 55 and oscillates about a pivot H carried by the plate 58. The

lever 18 is articulated at 12 to a pivot I4 m'ovable in a casing carried by the plate 58, and carries at its lower end the punch 49 adapted to perforate the paper strip 40 travelling over the profile rod 54.

A plate 15 is secured to the rod 54 at the punch and is formed with a hole 16 engaging the punch on its downward stroke effected under the action of the core 58 through the connecting rod 10.

ll denotes the terminals for connection of the apparatus with the light cell 25 through the

leads

48a, 48b (Fig. 8). 80, 8| denote the platinum contacts of the switch carried by the apparatus, and 18 is the driving beam oscillating about a pivot 19.

Fig. 13 shows a detail of the electromagnet device operatingthe sprayers S, details of the sprayers not being shown on the drawing as they do not diifer from those of manually operated sprayers. 82 is a conduit supplying the colour or dye. 83 is the supply conduit for compressed air. 84 is the sprayer nozzle, 85 is the operating trigger pivoted at 8B. The trigger has an incline 81 cooperating with a corresponding incline 88 secured to the rod 89 fixedly connected with the core 98 of an electromagnet of which the winding is denoted by 9|.

'92 is the spring which tends to maintain the apparatus in the position illustrated corresponding to the inoperative position of the sprayer. The rod 89 is guided on top in a guide 93. Closure of the circuit of the winding 9|, due to closure of the circuit between the

corresponding contacts

58 and 52 of the sprayer produced by the perforations 808 in the strip 40 travelling between the contacts, lowers the core 90. Cooperation of the inclines 81, 88 displaces the trigger 85 to bring the sprayer to its operative position.

Referring to the general electric diagram of the plant shown in Fig. 14, 94 denotes the leads of a three-phase alternating current line, for instance, at 500 volts. The leads abut to a remote control switch 95 which cuts in and off the electric motor 95 driving the web I, and the carriages carrying the light cell, projector and sprayers.

91a, 91b and 98 denote the three terminals of the remote control switch. 98a is a thermostatic over-load protection. Three leads 99, I88

I and IOI extend from the three above-mentioned terminals to the operating switch i? provided with the push-button I03 and stop push-button I04.

I05 denotes the leads extending from the source of low voltage alternating current, for instance at 125 volts, which feed through a switch I06 the repeating device operating the sprayers through the electromagnets 9|. I01 denotes the transformer for supplying current at a lower voltage, for instance at 12 volts, to the projector 25 which illuminates the light cell 26 through the mirror 21. I08 denotes fuses arranged in the supply circuit of the electromagnets 8|. I09 denotes auxiliary contacts placed beside the

main contacts

50, 52 and acting as safety contacts in cooperation with oppositely arranged contacts 52 over which the paper strip 40 is conveyed.

RI, R2, R3, R4, R5 denote five relays and CI, CI C2, C3, C4, C5 denote the corresponding contacts. When energized, the relays RI, R4 and R5 close the corresponding contacts, while the relays R2 and R3 on energizing open their associated contacts.

The said relays are arranged in such manner as to act as safety in the case of tear of paper, failure of current at the switchboard or motor. The relay BI is connected with an operating push-button III! and acts, by means of a cam I II carried by its movable core, in contacts C1, C1 connected in the supply circuit of the switchboard. Consequently, starting of the apparatus necessitates a pressure both on the push-button I03 and push-button H0.

Tear of the paper. closes the circuit between the safety contact I 09 and opposite contact 52, energizing the relay R2 which opens the energizing circuit for the relay RI. The disenergized relay RI opens the supply circuit through the contacts C1, C1 cutting off the whole switchboard.

Failure of current at the switch-board disenergizes the relay R4 that opens the circuit at the lead I00 of the remote control switch 95 which is released and stops the motor 95.

Failure of current at the motor 96 releases the relay of the remote control switch 95 opening the contact between the terminals II2, I I3 of the leads Ill, II5 connecting the said switch with the switchboard, thereby cutting ofi current from the latter. 6, II! denote two switches for cutting oif motor and switchboard respectively.

It will be understood that constructional details may vary from the construction described above and illustrated in the drawing by way of example, without departing from the scope of this invention.

What I claim is:

1. In an apparatus for applying a plurality of superposed dye coatings to skins and hides, a vertical light permeable belt conveyor to carry said articles in a successive relationship, a vertical frame adjacently located to said belt conveyor, means to pass said belt conveyor alongside said frame, vertical rods supported by said frame in a uniformly spaced succession, carriages vertically slidably supported on said vertical rods, means to vertically reciprocate said carriages on said rods, a scanning unit located on the carriage first met by said conveyor belt to scan the outline of said articles, said unit being composed of a light projector and a photo-cell and positioned on the one side of said belt conveyor, a mirror facing the scanning unit located on the opposite side of the belt conveyor, the optical axes of the light projector and of the photo-cell being inclined whereby the light rays projected onto the mirror through said light permeable belt conveyor will be reflected onto the photo-cell, dye sprayers carried by the other carriages with the exception of said first carriage, a record strip and a device to punch the same carried by said frame, means to synchronously move said record strip with said belt conveyor, a relay operated by said photo-cell during the by-passage of said articles to operate said punch and to thereby produce successive recesses in said record strip in conformity with the outline of said scanned articles, and separate electromagnetic means carried by said frame and operative through the contact creating recesses in the moved record strip to operate said dye sprpayers.

2. In an apparatus according to claim 1, a wire mesh forming the light permeable belt conveyor.

3. An apparatus according to claim 1, and vertical rods located in the center between the carriages supporting rods, a beam swingably supported on said center rods, said beam being pivotally connected at its ends with said carriages and means to swing said beam in opposite directions.

4, In an apparatus according to claim 1, successive magnetic contacts oppositely located above and below the record strip and electromagnetic means actuated by said contacts upon their closure through the recesses in the record strip to operate the dye sprayers.

5. In an apparatus according to claim 4, the relation between the distance of the punching device and the first pair of contacts as well as the equal distances between the consecutive pairs of contacts and the distance between the photo-cell and the first sprayer as well as the equal distances between the following sprayers being controlled at the same ratio as the relation between the speed of the belt conveyor and the speed of the paper strip.

6. In an apparatus according to claim 1, a record strip carried by said frame structure, means to move said strip synchronously with said belt conveyor, a device operable by the photocell of said scanning unit during the passage of said articles along said photo-cell to mark said record strip in conformity with the contours of said articles and electromagnetic means controlled by said record strip and positioned to receive the reflected rays of said photo-cell to operate said dye sprayers.

7. In an apparatus according to claim 1, a punching device, a relay influenced by the photocell of said scanning unit during the by-passage of said articles to operate said punch and to produce successive recesses in said record strip in conformity with the outline of the scanned articles, successive opposite pairs of contacts adapted to be closed through the recesses of said record strip, electromagnets controlled by the closure of said pairs of contacts to operate said dye sprayers, the relation between the distance of the punching device and the first pair of contacts as well as the equal distances of the other pairs of contacts and the distance between the photo-cell and the first sprayer as well as the equal distances of the other sprayers being controlled at the same ratio as the speed of the belt conveyor and the speed of the paper strip.

8. In an apparatus according to claim 1, a recording device including a record strip, means to operate said record strip for a synchronous movement with said belt conveyor and a speed 9 reducer gear interposed between said belt conveyor and said strip to correlate the speed of the paper strip and the speed of said conveyor at a predetermined ratio.

9. In an apparatus according to claim 1, an electric power supply, first pairs of successive magnetic contacts oppositely located above and below the record strip and electromagnetic means actuated by said contacts upon their closure through the recesses in the record strip to operate the dye sprayers, pairs of auxiliary contacts adjacently located to said first pairs of contacts and normally held in an open circuit position by the record strip, a relay, said auxiliary contacts adapted to close upon breakage of said record strip the circuit of said relay, whereby the power supply is interrupted.

10. In an apparatus according to claim 1, an electric drive motor, one electric circuit connected with said motor to move said conveyor along said frame to vertically reciprocate said carriages and to move said record strip, a second circuit to operate the projector and photo-cell units, the punching device and the dye sprayers and means to automatically cut-ofi' the current to either of said circuits upon failure of the current supply to the other circuit.

11. In an apparatus for applying a plurality of superposed dye coatings to skins and hides, a light permeable belt conveyor to carry said articles in a successive relationship, a frame adjacently located to said belt conveyor, means to pass said belt conveyor alongside said frame, rods supported by said frame in a uniformly spaced succession, carriages slidably supported 10 on said rods, means to reciprocate said carriages on said rods, a scanning unit located on the carriage first met by said conveyor belt to scan the outline of said articles, said unit being composed of a light projector and a photo-cell and positioned on the one side of said belt conveyor, a mirror facing the scanning unit located on the opposite side of the belt conveyor, the optical axes of the light projector and of the photo-cell being inclined whereby the light rays projected onto the mirror through said light permeable belt conveyor will be reflected onto the photo-cell, dye sprayers carried by the other carriages with the exception of said first carriage, a record strip and a device to punch the same carried by said frame, means to synchronously move said record strip with said belt conveyor, a relay operated by said photo-cell during the by-passage of said articles to operate said punch and to thereby produce successive recesses in said record strip in conformity with the outline of said scanned articles, and separate electromagnetic means carried by said frame and operative through the contact creating recesses in the moved record strip to operate said dye sprayers.

ETTORE GIRAUDO.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the Pollard Oct. 29. 1934