US2579814A - Hat bat shrinking machine - Google Patents

Description

3 Sheets-Sheet l TA/IARNER H GENES? HOMER A GENES? H. A. GENEST EI AL HAT BAT SHRINKING MACHINE Dec. 25, 1951 Filed June 9, 1949 ma Q Dec..25, 1951 H. A. GENEST ETAL HAT BAT SHRINKING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 9, 1949 HOMER A. GENES?? MRA/ER H GEA/EST Dec. 25, 1951 H, AL GENEsT ETAL HAT BAT SHRINKNG MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet El Filed June 9, 1949 HOMER A.. GENES? WARNER H GENES? Patented Dec. 25, 1951 2,579,814 HAT BAT SHRINKING MAC/HINE Homer A. Genest and Warner H. Genest, Danbury, Conn., assignors to United States Hat Machinery Corporatio poration of Virginia n, New York, N. Y., a cor- Applicaton June 9, 1949, Serial No. 98,106

9 Claims. (Cl. .2S-5) This invention relates to improvements in hat bat shrinking machines and especially to shrinking machines including means by which bats may be recycled in such machines as well as initially fed or loaded into such machines.

Hat bat shrinking machines now in use are of the type having a passageway through which hat bats pass from one end to the other. While moving therethrough, the bats are shrunk and felted. It is necessary to introduce the bats to the pas sageway in such a manner that they will be suitably spaced in order that the shrinking and felt ing may best be accomplished. According to present practice, the bats are manually intro duced to said passageway. Likewise, as the bats emerge from the passageway, they are now manuallv returned to the entrance of said pasn sageway.

Such manual operations are not only costly and time consuming but are the source of considerable discomfort to the operator due to the bats being continuously saturated with water or solutions approaching boiling temperatures while traversing said passageway. One operator is constantly employed to operate each shrinking machine to initially load it and also return or refeed the bats to the passageway so that they may be recycled through the machine a predeter mined number of times. At the completion of such shrinking and felting, the bats are gener ally stacked and taken to different machines for further operations in making iinished hats. The shrinking machine is then again manually loaded with another batch of bats which are recycled therethrough so as to be shrunk and felted.

It is an object of the presentinvention to provide in a shrinking' machine means to automatically and successively return the bats of one batch from the exit to the entrance of said machine so that the bats may be automatically recycled for an interval of predetermined extent, and also provide means in such machine upon which another batch of bats may be disposed while said one batch of bats is being recycled through the shrinking machine to shrink and felt them. It is a feature of this object that at the completion of such recycling of said one batch of bats, the bats thereof are automatically removed from the machine, and it is another feature of this object to then cause said second mentioned means to operate so as to automatically load the shrinking machine by feeding thereto, in spaced relationship, said another batch of bats which has been placed upon said means by the operator while the machine was automatically recycling the previous batch.

Due to the automatic recycling possible with the present invention, and the short time required to place the bats of another batch on the automatic loading means of the invention, it is possible that one operator can oversee and perform all manual operations required by a number of machines embodying the present invention. Thus the time of a single operator may be used much more advantageously with a consequent material reduction in operating costs of such shrinking machines as compared with the cost of operating currently available machines.

Among other objects and features of the invention are: the provision of adjustable means for controlling the operation of the recycling and loading means; the provision of counterbalancing means to facilitate the operation of the loading means; the provision of a superposed series of conveyors in the loading means and the resulting compactness and saving in space; and the arrangement of conveyors in the loading means so as to maintain bats in the relative positions in which they are originally placed upon the conveyors while the loading means is feeding the bats to the entrance of the passageway of the shrinking machine.

Details of the foregoing objects and of 'the invention as well asother objects thereof are set forth in the following speciiication and illustrated in the accompanying drawings forming a part thereof.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 isa sideelevation of hat bat shrinking machine embodying the principles of the present invention. In this view, part of the machine has been broken away as Well as foreshortened by breaking out the midportion of one part of the machine.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the bat loading part of the shrinking machine illustrated in Fig. 1, said part being shown in this figure on a larger scale than Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary side elevation of part of the mechanism shown in Fig. 2, this part being viewed from the opposite side of' the machine from that illustrated vin Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary side elevation of another part of the machine illustrated in Fig. 2, said part being viewed from the opposite side of the machine from that shown in Fig. `2.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary plan view of part of the machine shown in Fig. 2, this view being on a slightly larger scale than that used in Fig. 2.

Referring to the drawings, and particularly Fig. l, the shrinking machine is supported by a suitable frame Ill. In Fig. lof the drawings,V the 1,586,551, in the name of one of the present inventors, Homer A. Genest. Both of these machines provide a passageway through which flat hat bats are passed whilebeing worked upon to shrink and felt the'bats.

is defined by a belt, while the other side is dened by a plurality of rollers which coact with the belt. In the later patent, both sides of the passageway for the greatest portion of itsflength., is defined by a plurality'v of co-operating rows of rollers.

A suitable mechanism which. may be utilized to manipulate hat bats. to. shrink. and. felt them has been` shown'for exemplary purposes in Fig. l of the present drawings.v Therein is. shown a plurality of co-operating horizontal rowsof'rollers I4, I6 and IB. Theserollers. are. pivotally mounted with-in the housing I 2i. The rollers IE of the central row .are preferably rotatablyv mounted in fixedv bearings supported .by portions of the frame I-Il. The upper andflower rows of rollers I4 and I8 are preferably mounted. so as to be movable away from the centralrow of rollers IB'.. The rollers I4 and. I 8,. however, areV all biased toward the rollers It. of the central row. by

.suitable means suchas springs 20. which are engageable with. either the shafts `or bearings of the rollers I4 and I8.4

Insaid figure it will be seen that the rollers i4 and l5 of the upper and central rows rotate in thedirectionsindicated by arrows inthefigure to `define part of a passageway leading into the in.-

nermos-t end -of the housing. :I2v from Aan entrance 2.2 defined by the Youtermost rolls i4 and i6 of Y the upper and centralrows-` thereof.

The central row ofv rollers Il.l and thel lower row of Yrollers If.T co-operate to definev therebetween. another part of saidpassagewaywhich terminates at the: exit 24, directly below the. entrance 22, the exit being defined by the outermost rollers I6 and I8 of the central and.l lower rows. Surrounding the innermostroller Ibis a plurality of transfer rollers 26 which are rotated in thed-irection of the .arrows shownin Fig.. 1 for purposes of .moving thefbats fromv the upper portion of 'the passageway, defined` by the centra-l and upper rows of rollers, to the lower portionof the passageway, defined by the central and lower rows oirollers. Both portions-.of :the .passageway constitute 'the entire passageway which extends from the 'entrance 22 to thev exitr2.4..

The transfer rollers 26 are shown in. overlapping relationship in li'ig.. 1. isfpossible :due tothe fact that eachroller; comprises.. a.v shaft on which a series-of circular disks are mounted in spaced relationship, the disks onadjacent rol- 1ers being mounted Aso as to be disposed in between the disks lof' :the first mentioned roller.

Suitable drive means" `for actuatingthe rollers defining these' passageways may be provided but is not shown inth'e present drawings since the same is believed' to' be unnecessary. Such. means, for example, vmay comprise 'sprockets fixed to v'the shafts of" each roller, said `sprockets being driven by a 'suitable sprocket chain, Ywhich in turn, may be vdriven from ashaftZS. Said shaft In the earlier patent for example, one side of the passagewayVV may be driven by a suitable pulley or large sprocket 3G which is fixed to the shaft, and in turn, is connected by a belt or sprocket chain to the pulley or sprocket 34 of an electric motor :it or any other suitable source of power.

As has been mentionedhereinabove, in presently available machines, it is customary and necessary to have an operator manually receive the bats as they successively emerge from the exit 24 and return them or feed them back to therentrance 22. The present invention includes means for automatically returning the bats from the exit 2li to the entrance 22. Said bat returning means comprises a plurality of endless conveyors 38 and 4u which are each supported between pairs of rolls 42 and 44. These rolls are suitably' supported at their ends in appropriate bearings mounted in suitable portions adjacent the opposite sides of the frame Ill.

Said conveyors may be of a number of appropriate forms, that is, they .may be either webs which are continuous throughout their width or they may comprise a plurality'of relative narrow belts mounted side by side; Also, the webs or belts may be either imperforate or perforated. rEhe belts travel in the direction indicated by the arrows and they have theV same speed as the peripheries of the rollers defining the passageway of the shrinking machine referred to above. Therefore, the pairs of rolls which support said conveyors, may be driven by any suitable means from the shaft 28, for example, whereby hat bats are moved by the conveyors 3a and 4t relative to the frame Ii! at the same speed at which they move through said passageway defined by the rollers I4, I6 and i8.

When the bats have moved between conveyors 3S and 4t to the outermost rolls 42 and 44 which support said conveyors, shown at the left hand end of Fig. l, they are transferred to the: upper course of conveyor 4d by means of a 'plurality of transfer rollers 45, 48,. and 52. These rollers, with the exception of roller 52, are fixed to and driven by horizontal shafts rotatably supported at their ends in suitable bearings. provided in the left hand portion of frame It shown in Fig. l. Said shafts, for example, may be. driven by appropriate meshing spur gears, not shown, fixed to the ends of the shafts which support the transfer rollers and one end vof one of the shafts which support .the left hand rolls 42 or. 44 as viewed in Fig. 1. The transfer rolls referred to are rotated in the direction of the arrowsI shown in Fig.. l.

Transfer rollers 46, 48, 54) and 52 are shown in Fig. 1 in overlapping relationship. rIhis is possible due to the fact that these transfer rollers are formed similarly to the transfer rollers 2-6 described above. rlhat is, each roller comprises a series of disks fixed to a shaft in spaced relationship and the disks or adjacent rolls are positioned. so .that the same 'inter-fit between. each other.

Transfer roller `52 is rotatably supported by a shaft 514, the ends of which are mounted in a pair of spaced triangular shaped plates .5b. Said plates are. pivotally mounted at the ends of the shaft 58 which supports the transfer roller 50. These plates 55 are disposed .adjacent opposite side members of the frame I9. Also pivotally connected to. one corner of each of the plates 56 :is a linkse. The linksv till extend downward from the triangular plates 'Etand the lower ends thereof are connected with the outer ends of cranks G2 which are fixed to a, shaft G4 extending transversely between bearings disposed in opposite sides of the frame I0.

Also fixed to shaft 64 is a gear 6'5 which meshes with a pinion gear B8 secured to the shaft of a torque motor 18 which is supported by the frame |0. The torque motor is the reversible type. Normally it operates in a direction to rotate the gear 66 and cranks BZ so as to move the links E8 upward and thus move the transfer roller 52 into the dotted line position thereof, shown in Fig. 1. When the motor is operated in a reverse direction by means explained hereafter, the links E0 are moved downward to move the transfer roller 52 to the full line position thereof shown in Fig. 1.

The transfer roller 52 is driven in the direction of the arrow thereon by gearing the same to transfer roller 50. Suitable spur gears for this purpose, for example, which are not shown in the drawings, may be mounted on the ends of the shafts supporting the rolls 50 and 52.

When the transfer roller 52 is disposed in the dotted line position thereof, shown in Fig. 1, and the conveyors 38 and 40 are being actuated to move bats from the exit Zd to the entrance 22, the bats will be supported on the upper course of conveyor 38 and be moved to the left, as viewed in Fig. 1, until the transfer rollers 46, 48, 5!! and 52 are engaged. These rollers move in a direction to pass the bat around the left hand roll 48 while the bat is in engagement with the upper conveyor 48, and the bat will then be moved onto the upper course of conveyor 40. and, while thereon. back to the entrance 22 of the passage- Way of the shrinking machine described above.

As long as the transfer roller 52 is disposed in the dotted line position referred to, bats will be continuously re-cycled through the passageway, from the entrance 22 to the exit 24, and then along the conveyors 38 and 48 and back to the entrance for a predetermined interval to shrink and felt the bats. The bat return means comprising the conveyors 38 and Ml thus eliminates a very appreciable amount of manual work now required when using currently available shrinking and felting machines in which return of the bats from the exit to the entrance must be made manually.

Also, While the bats are traversing the passageway from the entrance 22 to the exit 24, they are maintained in a saturated condition by an appropriate sprinkling means represented in an exemplary manner by a sprinkler head 12 shown in the upper portion of the housing l2 in Fig. l..

Since the conveyors 38 and 48 automatically rei."

turn the bats from the exit 24 to the entrance 22 for re-cycling, the operator or attendant of the machine does not experience any hardship as is now experienced while using currently available machines due to handling the bats which emerge from the exit of the passageway saturated with water or a solution which is generally maintained at a temperature approaching the boiling point.

If desired, mechanism may be associated with the bat return conveyors 38 and 48 for purposes of periodically shifting the position of the bats on the conveyors so that the crease in the bats may be varied between successive passes through the passageway of the sprinkling machine. By the use of such mechanism, which is not illustrated in the drawings, the bat will not possess any hard lines known as rods in the industry, which rods result from lack of sufficient shifting of the crease in the bat.

After the bats have been recycled through the Til passageway of the shrinking machine a predetermined number of times or for a predetermined time, whichever is the most desirable, they are ejected from the shrinking machine by the torque motor moving transfer roller 52 to the full line position thereof shown in Fig. l. When said roller is in such position, the bats will not be transferred to the upper course of conveyor 40. Movement of the roller 52 to the full line position referred to is controlled by either appropriate timing means, not shown, connected in the circuit of the motor 10, or control means such as an electric-eye 14, connected in the circuit of the motor 18, and positioned so as to' be adjacent the path of movement of the bats between conveyors 38 and 48. The control means is preferably adjustable so as to function following the passage of any desired predetermined number of bats, to energize the torque motor 1|] in a direction to move the transfer roller 52 to the full line position referred to above.

Another feature of the invention comprises means shown in the various figures for automatically loading the shrinking machine after a batch of bats has been recycled for a predetermined interval and nally ejected from the machine in the manner described above. The loading mechanism is illustrated in the upper portion of Fig. 1 and details thereof are shown in the other figures of the drawings. Said mechanism comprises a frame 16 and auxiliary frame 18, both of which may be attached to frame I0. The frame 18 comprises a plurality of spaced side members 88 and 82. Extending between the side members and 82 and rotatably supported Within suitable bearings therein are a plurality of transverse shafts 84. The shafts 84 are disposed in substantially vertical alignment and have a plurality of functions. One function is to support on each shaft a roll 86, said rolls being disposed between the side members 80 and. 82. There is a space between the ends of each of the rolls 86 and the inner surfaces of the side members 88 and 82.

Rotatably mounted on each of said shafts 84 and disposed within the aforementioned space adjacent the side members 88 and 82 is a bearing 88. Fixed to each bearing 88 is a longitudinal frame member 9|). Another bearing 92 is xed to the opposite end of each frame member 90, said bearings 82 being spaced apart similarly to bearings 88. The pair of bearings 92 rotatably support a transverse shaft 94 which rotatably supports another roll 96 extending between the bearings 92. Roll 88 is similar to roll 86 and said rolls are preferably provided with a plurality of annular grooves 98. Longitudinally opposed grooves in the rolls and 88 receive part of an endless conveyor comprising, for example, a ladder chain |08.

The shafts 84 and 9d, in conjunction with the frame members 88 and bearings 88 and 92, comprise frames |82. Since the shafts 84 of the 'various frames |82 are pivotally supported in vertical alignment in the side members 80 and 82 of the Iframe 16, it will be seen that the loading mechanism primarily comprises a plurality of superposed frames |82 each of which movably 'support an endless convey-or which passes around the rolls 86 and 96 of each frame.

.It has been found that a suitable form of conveyor is that illustrated as a specific example in the drawings and comprising a plurality of ladder chains |80 which are transversely spaced evenly across the full width of the frames |82.

It .is to be understood', however, that this type fof' conveyor :is not restrictive in the present invention :since other types of conveyors may :be used. lThis .speciiic type .of ladder chain conveyor is well suited to the purposes of the presfent mechanism in that, as the chains wear and become stretched, for example, during use, the length of each conveyor may be adjusted by either adding orfremoving links to a chain. The spaced grooves 08 in each o-f the rolls 86 and v96 serve to maintain the chainsin suitably spaced relationship. Such grooves, however, could be `adaptableto receive any other suitable form of narrow belt-like means which may be used in lieu vof the chains |00.

.Each -of vtheframes. |02 andthe endless conveyors supported lthereby are closely superposed so .that the adjacent courses of the c-onveyors ofyadjacent frames will be juxtaposed to provideY .between said adjacent conveyors a passage orv pass through or 4along which bats may be moved on said conveyors by means to be described. Thus, the loading means comprises a series :ci -stacked passes resulting in a compa-ct arrangement 'for accommodating a relatively large number of bats in a confined space. For `convenience of reference, the passes are numbered 2, 3 and 4.

Fixed to the outer end ofthe second and fourth Ashafts 84, as shown in Fig. 3 is a relatively wide gear |05. Fixed to the opposite ends -of these shafts as well as the corresponding ends of the 'other-shaftsjis a gear |08. All of the gears |08 on theY various shafts 84 are meshed in driving relationship. One of the shafts Sli projects at one end 04' slightly beyond the corresponding ends of theV other shafts 84 so as to additionally support thereon a Asprocket gear H which is xed to said shaft.

Sprocket gear sprocket chai-n I! 2 to a driving sprocket gear M which is controlled by a clutch H5. In the exemplary disclosure shown in Fig; 1, said clutch is the type actuated bya pivoted bar H0, movement of which is controlled by aV solenoid |20. Other suitable types of clutch vmay be used. Also connected to said clutch is a driven .gear |22 which meshes with adriving gear |24, the latter being connected by either a belt or a chain |26 to a pulley or pinion gear |28. The latter is driven by a larger gearv or pulley |30.. which, in turn, is driven by a chain Vor belt |32 actuated 'by power shaft 23 `and a suitable sprocket gear or pulley 3d `mounted thereon.

It will thus be seen that the power shaft 2B which operates anotherportion of the shrinking machine is also 4used to drive sprocket chain ||2 which, in turn, drives the meshed ygears |08 of the loading mechanism. Since the latter gears are meshed, all vof the conveyors on the frames 5.2 will be simultaneously d-riven and the ar- ||0 Vis connected by suitable rangement. of gears. .|538 will cause adjacent 8 illustrate, 'the `uppermost frame |02 is shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1 in raised position to facilitate such movement of the frames, suitable counterweights |35 are provided as shown in Fig. l, there'preferably being one weight for each frame.

The weights are supported by lappropriate chains or ropes E38 which pass around pulleys |40 supported by auxiliaryV frame 78. One end of one chain or rope |38 is attached to the right hand end oi each frame |02, as viewed in Figs. 1 land 2, and the opposite end of the chain or rope is attached to a counterweight. IThe `counterweights V|36 are such that, by their own weight, they will normally not be heavy enough to raise the free end of each Vof the `frames |02 but slight llifting force applied bythe operator to the free ends of each frame wil suiiice to raise the frame so as to separate it from the adjacent next lower frame.

jacent conveyors so that bats may be readilyV placed upon the upper surface of the lower eX- posed conveyor. Preferably, the loading mechanism :is charged with bats by first elevating all out the -lowerniost frame, then placingV in predetermined spaced positions a certain number of bats upon the upper course of the conveyor of saidV icwermost frame, lowering the next uppermost frame against the lowermost frame and similarly placing bats upon the conveyor thereof, and so on, until the next to the uppermost conveyor has been loaded with bats. During such operations, the conveyors arestationary. The frames and conveyors are preferably suiiciently wide -to accommodate a `plurality of parallel rows of bats. The plan View of said frames |02 and the conveyors in Fig-5 has shown them with the midportions broken `out `to more concisely illustrate the same.

The uppermost course of the conveyor of the uppermost frame is preferably not loaded with bats as far asA the inechanism'illustrated herein is concerned. jiowever, it is possible that, in :some installations, the loading of said `uppermost courses of said conveyor may be desired and. such is possible by merely installing additional `means for-transferring the bats from the upper course of said uppermost-conveyor to pass No. i.. Such transfer means will presently be described. When theloading mechanism is fully loaded with a batch Yof bats, the frames, including the uppermost one, .are in the positions illustratedl in full Vline in Figs. 1 and 2. It will thus be seen that the adjacent courses of `adjacent conveyors on the frames engage opposite sides of the bats to hold them in the position in which they are placed upon the conveyors by the operator, whereby `they will -be delivered to the entrance 22 of vthe passageway `in the same relative position and spacing from the other bats as that oocupied when initially placed upon the conveyors of the frames i t2.

The free ends of the frames 1&2 are maintained in properly spaced relationship by a plurality of stop members |552, there being at least onestop member at each side of the -iree end of each frame |622. A convenient vmanner or" mounting said stop members comprises fixing each step member to the lcwermost surface of each bear- .ing 92. The lower end. of each stop would .engage the upper surface ef the next lower bearing 0.2 .and thus maintain, the tree .ends-of the frames |02 in the same spaced relationship as the shafts 84 maintain the pivoted ends of the frames. No stop members need be xed to the bearings 92 of the lowermost frame |02. In lieu thereof, a transverse positioning or stop bar |44 is provided on auxiliary frame 18 for engagement by the bearings 92 of the lowermost frame as is clearly shown in Figs.. 1 and 2.

After a batch of bats has been recycled through the shrinking machine for a predetermined interval, in the manner explained above, transfer roller 52 is moved to the full line position thereof 'shown in Fig. 1. 4'This causes the bats to be ejected as explained above. The operation of this roller, as also explained above, is controlled by suitable mechanism such as electric eye '|4. At the completion of the ejection of the entire batch of bats, roller 52 is returned to the dotted line position thereof shown in Fig. 1.

Upon such return of the roller 52, the solenoid |20 is caused to actuate the clutch ||6 for purposes of starting movement of the sprocket chain ||2 which drives the conveyors of all of the frames |02 by means of the meshed gears |08. When the conveyors are thus actuated, the bats in the passes through 4 will move in the directions of the arrows shown in Fig. 2. Thus, the bats in pass 4 will be moved toward the lower right hand end of the mechanism as viewed in Figs. 1 and 2 and be deposited upon the upper surface of conveyor 40 adjacent the entrance 22 of the passageway in the shrinking machine. The bats will be delivered from pass 4 in spaced relationship to the entrance 22. Meanwhile, the bats in the other passesl will be moving in alternately opposite directions and it is necessary to transfer the bats in each pass to the next lower pass until they reach pass 4 from which they move to the entrance 22.

Means for transferring the bats from one pass to the next lower pass comprise sets of transfer rollers |46. These rollers generally resemble in construction the transfer rollers 46, 48, 50 and 52. Four such rollers are mounted in vertical spaced alignment in the frame 16, the shafts |46 of such rollers extended between the side members 80 and 82 and are supported in suitable bearings provided in said members.

The disks comprising part of each of the rollers |46 interfit in the same manner as the previously described transfer rollers 46, 48, 50 and 52.

One end of each of the shafts |48 has fixed thereto a gear |54. Adjacent gears are staggered laterally in vertical plan view as shown in Fig. 5. The uppermost pair of gears |54, as viewed in Figs. 2 and 3, mesh with the uppermost wide gear |06 and the lowermost pair of gears |54 mesh with the lowermost wide gear |06. All of the transfer rollers`|46 will thus be driven in the same direction as indicated by the arrows thereon in Figs. 2 and 3. It will thus be seen that the uppermost pair of transfer rollers |46 move the bats from pass to pass 2, and the lowermost pair of rollers |46 move the bats from pass 3 to pass 4. l

Another pair of transfer rollers |46 are supported at the right hand end of the loading mechanism as shown in Fig. 2, the shafts |48 thereof being rotatably supported in a pair of spaced frame plates |50 which are xed to and supported by suitable means such as the bearings 92 of the free end of the intermediate frame |02. The shaft 94 mounted in said end of said l0 intermediate frame hasxed to one end thereof a Wide gear |52 corresponding to gear |06. Fixed to the adjacent ends of the shafts |48 supported by frame plates |50 are a pair of overlapping gears |54 which mesh with Wide gear |52. Movement of the conveyor on the intermediate frarne |02 drives roll 96 at the free end thereof and also the gear |52 which is xed so as to move with said roll. Movement of the gear |52 will thus drive gears |54 and the transfer rollers |46 xed thereto which transfer the bats from pass 2 to pass 3.

Suitable control means such as a timer |56 is connected in the circuit of the solenoid |20 of the clutch ||6. The timer |56 is preferably adjustable so as to maintain the clutch in driving position for any predetermined amount of time within reasonable limits. Such time will be sufficient to insure the discharge of all bats from the loading mechanism. After the complete discharge of the bats from the loading mechanism to conveyor 40 and entrance 22, the timer |56 will operate to cause the clutch ||6 to operate so as to discontinue driving the sprocket chain ||2.

Following this, movement of the conveyors of the loading mechanism will cease and the frame of said loading mechanism may then be moved to separated positions to permit the introduction of another batch of bats within said loading mechanism while the bats previously discharged therefrom are being recycled through the passageway of the shrinking mechanism so as to be shrunk and felted thereby. Since much less time is required to load the loading mechanism with bats than is required to lrecycle the bats through the passageway sufficiently to shrink and felt the bats to a desirable extent, a single operator may completely attend a number of machines comprising the present invention.

When the frames |02 and their conveyors are loaded with bats |58 the weight of the bats on the upper course of the conveyor will cause a certain amount of sagging of said course.

control switch |60 connected in the circuit of the timer |56. Said switch is preferably of the type which is very sensitive so as to operate by the application of light pressure and/or a small amount of movement to the actuating member of the switch. Thus, the actuating member of the switch is positioned so that the movement of the upper course of the conveyor to sagged pcsition on the frame carrying switch |60 will engage and operate the actuating member to close the switch.

When the timer |56 is operated to commence actuation of the loading mechanism, the circuit which actuates the solenoid of clutch Il will be completed if switch |60 is closed. Such operation of the timer occurs when the transfer roller 52 is returned to dotted line position in Fig. 1, as explained above, after a batch of bats has been recycled a required amount by the shrinking machine, ejected therefrom, and another batch is to be fed thereto from the loading means. However, if no further batch is to be loaded into the shrinking machine, the loading mechanism will have no bats on its conveyors and thus the conveyors will not be sagged,.where by the switch |60 will remain open and clutch ||6 will not function to operate the conveyors of the feeding mechanism.

summarizing the operation of the bat shrinking machine comprising the present invention,

The l effect is used advantageously to operate a further amsn and@ particularly thei batloading part-"thereof,vr

assume abatchn of bats is being cycled" throughthepassageways Abetween the-rows of rollers within' the housing i2V of they shrinking machine and the bats are being sequentially transferred fromY one'passageway to=the other therein. While this Vis occurring, an operatorie charging the variousV conveyors of the bat Vloading mechanism, whichareA then idle, with bats of-v the batch next to beY cycled throughI theV bat'shrinking machine:

-Either suitable timing means or counting and control mechanism, such asv electric eye' means M, determines the extent a batch is to be cycled through the shrinkingfmachine. When the cy-V cling has proceeded a predetermined extent, the circuit of the torque motor 'is is energized to cause transfer roller 52 to move to the full line position thereof shown in Fig. -1 and thus causesy the cycled batch' oibats to be discharged from the shrinking machine and bat returning conveyors 38 and-d6. At the completion of such-discharge, the roller 52 is returned to the dotted line position thereof in Fig. l which thereby causes solenoidme' to actuate the clutch H6 to eifect driving of the gear mechanism and the other gears which drive the various conveyors forming the passes of the Vbat loading mechanism. w

The bats in the lowermostpass are nrst deposited upon the upper coursev of bat return p conveyor llt. The bats in the upper courses are meanwhile being progressively fed downward to the lower courses and nally onto conveyor til.- A timer H56 `in the circuit offsolenoid i2@ limits the period of operation of the clutch lSA and the conveyors of the loading mechanism. From conveyor 4U, all of the bats are fed seriatim to the entrance 22 of the bat shrinking machine. rhe entire batch is Vthen'cycled through the shrinking machine while still another succeeding batch of bats isbeing charged onto the conveyors of the bat loading mechanism.

To insure that the clutch IIS-will not be ac' tuated when no bats are inthe passes of the loading mechanism a safety control switch |68, operated by sag introduced in the lowermost con- Y veyor by the weight of bats thereon, is mounted in the circuit of the solenoid 20 which actuates the clutch H6. If no ba-ts are on said conveyor to cause it to sag, switch i6!! will be open and solenoid |29 cannotv operate in response `to thek return of roller 52. l

While the invention has been illustrated and Y describedv in its several'preferred embodiments and has included certain details, it should be understood that the invention is notlimited to the precise details herein illustrated and described, since the same may be carried out in other ways, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

We claimas our invention:

lli) of the loading f V2. Arat par shrinking machine comprising ini combination, means defining a passagewayv through which bats"v are passed in at condition from the entrance tothe exit thereof, said means being operable to` manipulate said bats to shrink and felt them while traversingsaid passageway",- means operable to transfer automatically hat bats from the exit to the/entrance of said passageway, whereby a batch of hat bats may be recycled automatically a number of times through said passageway, and'V bat loading means'k associated" with the lentrance 'of said passageway and 'come prising conveyor means operable' to feed a-bat'ch of bats to said entrance in spaced relati'onship toA each other. 'Y y 3. A hat bat shrinking machine comprising in. Y defining la passageway combination, means through which bats are passed inflat condition from: the'entrance to the eXi't thereof, said means being operable to manipulate said bats to shrink and felt them whiletraversing said passageway,

conveyor means operable to return automatically o hat bats from the exit to the entrance' of said? passageway, whereby' a batch of hat batsrmay be recycled automatically a number of times through said passageway, and bat loading means operable to feedto said return conveyor means a batch of batsfin spaced'relationship to each other.

4, A hat bat shrinking machine comprisingin combination, means defining al passageway through which bats are passed in fiat condition from the entrance to the exitthereof, saidmeans being operable tomanipulate said bats. to shrink and felt themA while traversing` said passageway, conveyor means operable Yto return automatically hatbatsfrom the exit to the entrancev of said` passageway whereby av batch of hat bats may beV recycled automatically aV number of times through said passageway, and:` bat loading mea-ns associ-V ated with saidreturn conveyor meam,k to automatically feed abath offba'ts thereto land comprising a series of superposed endlessv conveyors movablyrmou'ntedA toprog-ressively feedi said batchofV bats along theser-ies ofoonveyors, and means operable to transfer? bats successivelyrto` lower Y conveyors of the series, thel l'ovvermost` conveyor 1. A hat kbat shrinking machine comprising in p v spacedrelationship toeach other.

thereof beingV positioned and operable to discharge bats-fromy said loading. meansto said return con veyor. g k

Y5. A hat bat shrinking machinev comprising in combination, means defining a"Y passageway through which bats arepassed'in fiat condition from the entrance to the exit thereof, said means being operable toA manipulate said bats to shrink and felt theml while traversing saidpassageway,

conveyor means operablel to returnautomatically hat bats: from the exit to the entrance oi said passageway, whereby a batchof hatbatsmay be recycled automatically-a number of times through said passageway, and bat loading means' asso'- ciatedwith said'- return conveyor means to auto-v matically feedl a batch* of bats thereto and com-- prising'a series o1 superposed endless conveyors' movably'mounte'd', disposedin close proximity of VeachV other to' provide between the adjacent courses of each'adj acent' pair of conveyors a pass which bats traverse lwhile engaged on opposite surfacesby said courses of said conveyors, the bats travelling-,inopposite directions in adjacent' passes, means tov drive said conveyors so that said adjacent coursesofsaid adj acentconveyors travel in thesame` directiom and means operable to transfer bats' successively to lower conveyors of the; series theflo-wermost conveyor thereof being positioned and operable to discharge bats from said loading means to said return conveyor.

6. A hat bat shrinking machine comprising in combination, means dening a passageway through which bats are passed in flat condition from the entrance to the exit thereof, said means being operable to manipulate said bats to shrink and felt them While traversing said passageway, conveyor means operable to return automatically hat bats from the exit to the entrance of said passageway, whereby a batch of hat bats may be recycled automatically a number of times through said passageway, and bat loading means associated with said return conveyor means to automatically feed a batch of bats thereto and comprising a series of superposed frames mounted for movement toward and away from each other, an endless conveyor movably supported by each frame and extending between the ends thereof, and means operable to transfer bats successively to lower conveyors of the series, the lowermost conveyor thereof being positioned and operable to discharge bats from said loading means to said return conveyor.

7. A hat bat shrinking machine comprising in combination, means dening a passageway through which bats are passed in fiat condition from the entrance to the exit thereof, said means being operable to manipulate said bats to shrink and felt them while traversing said passageway, conveyor means operable to return automatically hat bats from the exit to the entrance of said passageway, whereby a batch of hat bats may be recycled automatically a number of times through said passageway, and bat loading means associated with said return conveyor means to automatically feed a batch of bats thereto and comprising a series of superposed frames each pivotally mounted at one end to permit movement of the frames toward and away from each other, an endless conveyor movably supported by each frame and extending between the ends thereof, and means operable to transfer bats successively to lower conveyors of the series, the lowermost conveyor thereof being positioned and operable to discharge bats from said loading means to said return conveyor.

8. A hat bat shrinking machine comprising in combination, means defining a passageway through which bats are passed in at condition from the entrance to the exit thereof, said means being operable to manipulate said bats to shrink and felt them while traversing said passageway, means operable to return automatically hat bats from the exit to the entrance of said passageway, whereby a batch of hat bats may be recycled automatically to a predetermined extent by successive traversings of said passageway, means operable at the end of the recycling period to cause said return means to discontinue said recycling and eject the bats therefrom, bat loading means associated with the entrance of said passageway and operable to feed thereto a batch of bats, and drive means for said bat loading means operable at predetermined intervals to cause said bat loading means to operate.

9. A hat bat shrinking machine comprising in combination, means defining a passageway` through which bats are passed in flat condition from the entrance to the exit thereon, said means being operable to manipulate said bats to shrink and felt them while traversing said passageway, means operable to return automatically hat bats from the exit to the entrance of said passageway, whereby a batch of hat bats may be recycled automatically to a predetermined extent by successive traversings of said passageway, means operable at the end of the recycling period to cause said return means to discontinue said recyling and eject the bats therefrom, bat loading means associated with the entrance of said passageway and operable to feed thereto a batch of bats, drive means for said bat loading means, and a clutch between said drive means and said bat loading means automatically operable upon ejection of said bats from said return means to cause said batloading means to operate.

HOMER A. GEN EST. WARNER H. GEN EST.

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

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,760,517 Rehfus-Oberlander May 27, 1930 1,803,689 Bernadt May 5, 1931 1,919,275 Dunham July 25, 1933 2,169,372 Pecker Aug. 15, 1939

Images