US2732202A

US2732202A - Obedin

Info

Publication number: US2732202A
Authority: US
Publication date: 1956-01-24
Anticipated expiration: 1973-01-24

Description

Jan. 24, 1956 N. 'OBEDIN 2,732,202

AUTOMATIC CLOTH LAYING-UP MACHINE Filed Jan. 24, 1951 7 Sheets-Sheet l N NATHAN OBEDIN INVENTOR.

f 31 W M ATTORNEY Jan. 24, 1956 N. OBEDIN 2,732,202

AUTOMATIC CLOTH LAYING-UP MACHINE Filed Jan. 24, 1951 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG.2

NATHAN OBEDIN INVENTOR.

BMW

ATTORNEY Jan. 24, 1956 N. OBEDIN 2,732,202

AUTOMATIC CLOTH LAYING-UP MACHINE Filed Jan. 24, 1951 v Sheets-Sheet 5 NATHAN OBEDIN Jan. 24, 1956 N. OBEDIN 2,732,202

AUTOMATIC CLOTH LAYING-UP MACHINE Filed Jan. 24, 1951 7 Sheets-Sheet 4 NATHAN OBEDIN I. 91 F] 5 INVENTOR. fl BYW W ATTORNEY Jan. 24, 1956 N. OBEDIN AUTOMATIC CLOTH LAYING-UP MACHINE 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Jan. 24, 1951 FIG.6

NATHAN OBEDIN INVENTOR. BYWM ATTORNEY Jan. 24, 1956 N. OBEDIN AUTOMATIC CLOTH LAYING-UP MACHINE 7 SheetsSheet 6 Filed Jan. 24, 1951 NATHAN OBEDIN INVENTOR- BYW flzbm/ ATTORNEY Jan. 24, 1956 Filed Jan. 24, 1851 N. OBEDIN 2,732,202

AUTOMATIC CLOTH LAYING-UP MACHINE 7 Sheets-Sheet '7 NATHAN oazom INVENTOR.

BYWMM/ ATTORNEY United States Patent This invention. relates to a. cloth laying and folding machinewhich is automatic in its action so as to require the services of only a single operator for its operation.

Previous designs of cloth laying andv folding machines mounted the cloth folding member to be rotative on its lengthwise center line of gravity and this made it impossible to bring the two faces of the folding member successively in substantial contact with the cutting table at the beginning of operations.

This inability to swing the cloth folding member substantially into contact with the cutting table at the beginning of operations prevented the cloth from being laid smooth and the cloth was laid up unevenly and bulges appeared along the length of the laid up cloth. This bulging is a detriment to eflicient workmanship.

An object of this invention is to mount. the folding member eccentrically of its lengthwise center line of gravity to. cause the goods to lie flat against the cutting table at the beginning, of operations and prevent the formation of bulges in the laid-up material.

Another object of this invention is to provide a simplified mechanism having a considerably reduced number of operating parts.

This application is a continuation in part of my application Serial No. 775,272, filed September 20, 1947, now abandoned.

With the above and other objects. in view, the invention will be hereinafter more particularly described, and the combination and arrangement of parts will be. shown in the accompanying drawings and pointedv out in the claims which form part of this specification.

Reference will now be had to the drawings, wherein like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, in which:

Figure 1 is a top plan. view of a fragmentary portion of a cutting table, carriage, cloth folding member, and an end gripper embodying the invention, the cloth folding member being in cross-section through the central portion thereof.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the mechanism shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a front elevation. of. a, cam hanger shown resting on, a fragmentary bottom portion of thecarriage, and showing a vertically movable bearing plateand acam in lowermost position and resting on the hanger.

Figure 4 is a front view of' a fragmentary portion of raising mechanism. for the folding member.

Figure 5' is a front view, partly in cross section, of the bearings for the cloth folding member and mechanism for oscillating the folding member.

Figure 6 is a top plan View offclutchand brake mechanism used for raising the folding member.

Figure 7 is a front elevation of the mechanism shown in Figure 6.

Figure 8 is an enlarged view of aportion of the mechanism shown in Figure 2- together with an end gripper mechanism, the parts being inthtaPGSifiBIIS-"SHOWII in Figure 3'.

lengthwise dimensions.

2,732,202 Patented Jan. 24, 1956 ice Figure 9 is a view of the lost motion device, similar to that shown in Figures 2 and 5.

Figure 10 is an end view of the device shown in Figure 8, in the right-hand position, and in the opposite direction to that shown in Figure 2.

In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, the niuneral 10 indicates an automatic cloth laying-up machine comprising a reciprocating cloth laying carriage or frame 11 and a cutting table 12. The frame 11 has

end walls

13, 13.

The end walls are secured by tubes 14 having their ends fixed in brackets 14'. Bolts 15 secure the brackets 14' on opposite end walls. The tubes 14 maintain the end walls in spaced-apart relation.

Grooved wheels 17 are mounted on studs 18 in legs 19 at the lower portion of the end wall 13 and are rollable upon a track 20 mounted on one side of the cutting table 12. The end Wall 13' is supported by non-grooved or plain rubber wheels 21 rotatably mounted similar to the mounting of the groove wheels 17 and which are rollable on the cutting table 12. The end walls extend upwardly and terminate in bifurcated upper ends 25 adapted to receive a shaft 26 for supporting a roll of cloth indicated by dot-and-dash lines 27.

The

end walls

13, 13 have horizontal extensions (not shown) forming continuations of brackets 28. The bracket extensions support horizontal rotatable tension bars over which the fabric is passed. The horizontal surfaces 29 in the end frames 13, 13' have a flat plate thereon forming a table upon which a bolt of cloth may be supported in the form of flat superposed layers.

The carriage 11 comprises means for automatically raising and oscillating a clothfolding mechanism and for automatically manipulating two cloth engaging end grippers. The end grippers form the subject matter of a separate patent application, Serial No. 716,453, filed December 16, 1946,, PatnNo. 2,539,722.

The cloth folding mechanism comprises a cloth folding member 30, having end members in the form of cranks 31 which are secured to rock-shafts 32 mounted in bearings 33.

The folding member 30 also comprises spaced-apart top and bottom plate members 35 which are angular in cross-section and which are secured to the cranks 31 by screws (not shown). The plate members 35 define the length. of the folding member 30 and. when rotated on the rock-shafts 32 permit the cloth to freely pass thereover during the laying up of. the cloth.

As shown in Figure 3, the end members or cranks 31 are rotatably mounted on the shaft 32 with the shaft very close to one edge of the said members. This causes the weight of the end members to produce a moment about the. shaft 32' since the lengthwise center of gravity of. end members and the center of shaft 32 are not in alinement.

In other words, this causes an eccentric mounting of said members. This causes the cloth to lie close to the cutting table at the beginning of operations to prevent the formation of bulges in the laid-up material. The eccentric mounting, of the plate members 35 and of the folding, edges 36, in relation to the shaft 32, causes the folding edges 36 to rise from the table immediately the folding member is turned.

The

bearings

33, 33" are slidably mounted vertically on. guide rods 41 and when the bearings are raised above the table 10, the folding member 30 is also raised vertically.

The top and bottom members 35 of the folding member'30 are positioned in parallel planes and have elongated superposed openings '43 spaced apart equally along their Each opening extends through a side edge of a plate member;

The cloth folding member comprises two elongated guide rollers 44. The rollers 44 are rotatably mounted on reduced end portions 45 in apertures in the cranks 31.

Automatic means is provided for raising the folding member 30 a predetermined distance each time the carriage reaches an end of the table. The folding member is raised sufficiently to accommodate the increasing thickness of the pile of cloth being laid and folded upon the table.

When the operator moves the carriage 11 to either end of the table 12, the position of the upper and lower cloth laying plates 35 is automatically reversed by a pinion gear and a rack gear, to be described, thereby causing a fold to be formed in the cloth.

The mechanism comprises an angularly-shaped frame having a rack gear 51 which is mounted for horizontal slidable motion relative to the wall 13 jointly with a shaft 42 to which the rack 51 is fixed. The shaft 42 is slidable in bearings 52 and 53 in the end wall 13.

The teeth of the rack gear 51 are in meshed engagement with a pinion gear 54 secured to a shaft 13 which forms the axle in the forward grooved wheel 17. It is to be noted that the wheel 17 and gear 54 are drivingly connected by the shaft 18.

When the carriage 11 is moved on the table 12, the wheel 17 and the pinion gear 54 are caused to rotate and this causes the rack gear 51 and the frame 50 to slide horizontally relative to the wall 13 of the carriage 11. It is to be noted that the pinion gear 54 is integral with the shaft 18 and that the wheel 17 is forced on the shaft 18.

The frame 50 comprises an upright rod 55 on which is a slidable member 56. A lever 57 is rotatably mounted on the rock-shaft 32 and has its free end rotatably connected to the slidable member 56 by means of a pin 66.

When the frame 50 is moved horizontally, this motion causes the slidable member 56 to move up and down on the rod 55 and this causes the lever 57 to swing through an angle substantially greater than ninety degrees. lever 57 swings a dog 58 which is fixed to the shaft 32. The dog 58 is positioned rearwards of the lever 57. The dog 58 has two radially extending arms 59 positioned to form a substantially ninety degree are between them. The lever 57 has an aperture in which the shaft 32 is freely rotatably mounted. The lever 57 has a pin 60 extending between the arms 59 of the dog 58 for oscillating the dog 58 and the shaft 32 on which the dog is fixed.

It is to be noted that after the shaft 32 rotates through an angle substantially greater than 90 degrees by means of the dog 58, that the momentum caused by this motion causes the shaft 32 to move through the remainder angle up to the required 180 degrees.

Figures 9 and 10 show the lever 57 rotated to the righthand position and in the opposite direction to that shown in Figure 2. The lever 57 is rotated in an are substantially greater than ninety degrees. At this point, the momentum of the heavy plate members 35 is sufficient to continue the rotation of the folding member 30, the balance of the required one hundred and eighty degrees. This remainder motion, I call lost motion.

Actuation of the lever 57 oscillates the dog 58 and the folding member 30 whereby the opposite faces or plate members 35 of the folding member 30 successively assume a lower horizontal position.

It is to be noted that the cloth folding member 30 is channel shaped. The eccentric mounting of the folding member 30 causes one of the folding edges 36 of the folding member to rise from the table 12 immediately when the folding member is turned.

The position of the

bearings

33, 33 determines the lowest position of the folding member. This permits the folding member to be lowered so as to almost contact with the top of the table 12 and to fold the very The t lowest layer of cloth without thereafter disturbing the laid-up material.

It is to be noted that upon completion of a reciprocation of the frame 50, there is a tendency for the rack actuating wheel 17 to be locked against further rotation. This would cause excessive friction due to the wheel 17 sliding along the track 20 instead of rolling on the track.

To avoid this excessive friction, I provide an adjustable disk-type friction clutch 40 functioning between the rack actuating wheel 17 and the rack actuating pinion gear 54 on the axle 18 of the front wheel 17.

The friction clutch 40 comprises a fiber washer 47 held by a steel disk 48. The inner end of the axle 18 is threaded. An adjusting collar 49 is threadably mounted on the threaded axle 18. An open coil spring 46 is mounted between the collar 49 and the disk 48 and serves for maintaining the fiber washer 47 in pressure contacting relation with the wheel 17.

The end gripper mechanism is partly shown in Figures 1 and 8 and comprises a base member 61 from which extend vertically two pedestals 62, one at each end of the base 61. Each pedestal 62 has three apertures 63 63 and 63 in vertically alined and uniformly spaced-apart relation.

Three fulcrum shafts 64 64 and 64 are rotatably mounted in the respective apertures in the pedestals. Fixed to the upper fulcrum shaft 64 is a lever 65, which is suitably connected to the free end of a lever 67 fixed to the bottom fulcrum shaft 64 A slotted and slidable link bar 68 has a pivot 69. The slot (not shown) constrains the link bar 68 near the pedestal 62 to sliding motion while the pivot 69 moves upwardly in a curved path.

Thebearing blocks 33, 33' are raised and lowered while guided vertically by the guide rods 41. The raising means for the folding member comprises steel cables 70. One end of each cable is respectively secured to an upright extension 71 or 71' on the bearing blocks 33, 33'. The other ends of the cables 70 are fixed to drums 75 on a horizontal shaft 72 rotatably mounted in brackets 73 at an upper elevation of the end walls 13, 13'.

An actuating lever 76 is pivotally mounted on a stud 77 which is secured in an anchor arm 78. The anchor arm is pivotally mounted to freely rotate on the shaft 72. The actuating lever 76 carries a pin 79 which engages one end of a circularly formed friction band 80. The other end of the friction band is secured to the stud 77. The friction band 80 extends around a drum 81 fixed to the shaft 72 to frictionally grip and rotate the drum 81 and the shaft 72 in one direction during onehalf of each cycle of operation of the lever 76. During the opposite half of oscillation of the lever 76 it releases the friction band 80. The drum 81 is frictionally held against rotation in the opposite direction by a second friction band to be described. The shaft 72 actuates the cables 70 that lift the bearing blocks 33 and the folding member 30 rotatably mounted thereon. This raising mechanism is positioned solely at the side 13 of the carriage 11. At the opposite side 13', a cable 70 is secured to a drum 75 fixed on the opposite end of the shaft 72 and has its outer end secured to a bearing block 33'. It is to be noted that the automatic means for raising the folding member 30 acts only during the leftward directional travel of the carriage. This rising of the folding member at one end is sufficient because there is no necessity for raising the folding member at both ends because of the very minute thickness of the fabric.

Assuming the folder 36 to face in the direction in which the carriage happens to be moving at a particular time, then at the end of travel of the carriage, the folder must be raised from the position on the table shown in Figures 2 and 8. This is done by the cables 70.

I also provide a friction brake band which extends around the drum 81. One end of the band 110 is secured to a stud 111 fixed in the frame 13. The other end of 5 the band 110 is secured to spin 112 which is'fiired in an oscillatable weight 113 pivoted on the stud 111. j

The weight '113 urges the band 110 to wrap itself around the drum in a direction opposite to the direc'tion of the actuation of the friction clutch band 80. This tensions the band 80 against slipping. I

It is to be understood that when the friction clutch band releasesits grip on the drum 81, thatthe friction brake band 110 immediatelygr'ips the drum 81 and prevents reverse motion of the drum and also prevents unwinding of the cables 70 from the Winding drums 75 due to the suspended weight of the folding member 30.

A handle 115 is fixed to the anchor lever 78. The operator may grip the handle 115 and rai e the anchor lever 78 and thereby raise "the stud 77 into lifting engagement with the pin 112 which in turn oscillates the weight 113 in a direction tending to release the brake. The folding member 30 is then allowed to descend by its own weight to any desired height above the cutting table 12. This release mechanism serves for quickly lowering the folding member when it has reached its highest point of upward travel, to permit laying of another series of plies of fabric.

As shown in Figure 2, a threaded 'nutmember 138 is suitably secured to the bracket 73 at the upper elevation of the end wall 13.

A bolt member 139 having a knob140 at its upper end, is threaded into the nut member 138. At the lower end of the bolt member 139 is an integral disk-shaped head 141 upon which a right-angular extension 142 of the free outer end of the anchor arm 78 rests.

By adjusting the bolt member 139, the distance between the top of the disk-shaped head 1'41 and the lower face of the threaded nut member 1-38 is varied to control the swing of the anchor arm 78 and the distance the clutch is actuated for each reciprocation of the carriage. Adjustment is varied in accordance with the thickness of the fabric laid up.

A straight line cam 88 having an inclined upper surface 89 is pivotally mounted on a pivot pin 90. The pin 90 is secured in a hanger 91 having integral guide bushings 92. The hanger is mounted for upright motion on the guide rods 41 carried by the carriage 11. The hanger 91 is supported upon a cable 123, to be described later.

As shown in Figure 4, I have provided a roller 120 mounted on ball bearings 121 on the shaft 72. The ball bearings supported roller 120 serves as a freely rolling cloth guide.

Mounted on the shaft 72 is a winding drum 122 of smaller diameter than the drums 75. A cable 123 has one of its ends secured to the drum 122 and extends downwardly. The cable 123 passes through an aperture 124 in the bearing block 33. The lower end of the cable 123 is secured to and supports the hanger 91, best shown in Figure 3, by means of a screw 125.

It is to be noted that when the shaft 72 rotates, the drum 122 actuates the cable 123 and lifts the hanger 91 at a lower rate than the lifting speed of the folding member 30.

The reduced diameter of the drum 122 compensates for the slower rate of motion of the pivot 69 on the arm 68 as compared with the rate of motion of the pin bar 131, shown in Figure 1. This compensation is necessary because the pin bar 131 is positioned at a greater radius than the radius of the ball bearing 96. The unequal diameters of the

drums

75 and 122 allows the cam 89 and the hanger 91 to rise at a slower rate than the folding member 35.

The cam 88 has a transversely projecting stop pin 93 which is positioned to engage the bottom surface of a slot 94 in the hanger 91 when in its lowest angular position. 7

When the carriage 11 approaches the end gripper, the toe 95 of the cam 88 passes below the lower periphery of a ball bearing 96 rotatably mounted on the link bar 68. The continued motion of the cam 88 causes the cam to raise the ball bearing 96 and the link bars 68. This causes the gripper element 131 to be raised to permit 'the folding member 30 "to come under the gripper element and lay'a fold of cloth on the table 12.

Further continued motion of the carriage 11 and the cam 88 causes the ball bearing 96 to drop 01f the heel portion 97 of the cam 88 permitting the gripper element 131 to resume its normally engaged relationship with the end of the laid up pile of cloth. When the motion of the carriage is reversed the ball bearing engages the lower surface 101 of the cam 88. The cam is thereby caused to oscillate about the pivot pin to avoid obstruction of'the ball bearing by the cam and'to permit free reverse motion of the carriage.

It is to be noted that the cam 88 is positioned on the carriage 11 to coact with a slidable end gripper and that another cam 88' on the carriage 11 faces in the opposite direction and coacts with a fixed end gripper at the opposite end of the table.

It is to be noted that the upright rod 55 passes through 'a guide block 132 which is slidably mounted on a horizontal rod 133 fixed to the-end wall 13 by a bolt 134.

Secured to the block 132 is an arm 135 having at its lower end a transverse extension 136 which contacts a ball bearing 137 at the lower end of the lever 76.

Movement of the frame 50 to the right, causes movement of the arm 135, the lower end of which causes oscillation of the lever 76 in a counterclockwise direction around the pivot 77 and actuation in a counterclockwise direction of the drum 81 and the shaft 72 and thus raising the clothfolding member 30.

As shown in Figure 8, thereis provided a rubber block 98 carried by a braeket99 which is suitably secured to the base member 61.

The rubber block 98 is positioned to face the front end surface of the carriage 11 so as to engage the carriage just prior to completion of its travel. The rubber block 98 is deformed and functions as a cushion bumper to absorb the inertia of the carriage and bring it to a gradual stop. 1

It is to be noted that while I have shown means for causing reciprocating motion of the frame 50 as centered in a clutch controlled pinion gear in coacting relation with a rack gear and the pinion gear mounted on one of the carriage wheels, that I may provide other actuating means for the frame.

It is also to be noted that when movement of the frame 50 takes place, there are simultaneous movements of raising and reversing of the cloth folding member 30.

In accordance with the patent statutes I have described and illustrated the preferred embodiment of my invention, but it will be understood that various changes and modifications can be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In combination with a fabric laying-up machine having a carriage comprising two wheel supported end walls movable on a table, said table having a track at one side thereof and on which said wheels are rollable, and a fabric folding member supported by rock-shafts in said carriage and rotatable on said rock-shafts, bearings and said rock-shafts for said folding member vertically movably mounted on guide rods in said carriage to and from said table, said rock-shafts being mounted in said bearings, said folding member being channel-shaped and having upper and lower parallel faces, said folding member being mounted on said rock-shafts eccentrically of its lengthwise center line of gravity to permit either of said faces to be swung substantially into contact with said table when said folding member is in lowermost position on said carriage, a frame reciprocably mounted in bearings on said carriage adjacent an outer face thereof, said frame comprising a rack-gear and a vertical rod, one of said rock-shafts having an extension facing said frame, a dog fixed to said extension and having two radially extending arms positioned to form a substantially ninety degree angle between them, a lever having one end rotatably mounted on said extension, said lever having a pin extending between said arms for oscillating said dog and said rock-shaft, said lever having its opposite end in slidable engagement with said rod, a pinion gear carried by one of said wheels and in meshed relation with said rack gear, reciprocating motion of said frame by said pinion gear causing partial rotation of said lever which carries said folding member upwardly through an angle substantially greater than ninety degrees to bring its lengthwise center line of gravity beyond the vertical plane through the center line of said rock-shafts, whereby the momentum of said folding member in motion will cause said folding member to rotate through a further angle to complete a partial rotation of one hundred and eighty degrees and reverse the position of said parallel faces.

2. In combination with a fabric laying-up machine having a carriage comprising two wheel supported end walls movable on a table, said table having a track at one side thereof and on which said wheels are rollable, and a fabric folding member supported by rock-shafts in said carriage and rotatable on said rock-shafts, bearings and said rock-shafts for said folding member vertically movably mounted on guide rods in the end walls of said carriage to and from said table, said rock-shafts being mounted in said bearings, said folding member being channel-shaped and having upper and lower parallel faces, said folding member being mounted on said rck-shafts eccentrically of its lengthwise center line of gravity to permit either of said faces to be swung substantially into contact with said table when said folding member is in lowermost position on said carriage, a frame reciprocably mounted in bearings on one of the end walls of said carriage adjacent an outer face thereof, said frame comprising a rack-gear and a vertical rod, one of said rock-shafts having an extension facing said frame, a dog fixed to said extension and having two radially extending arms positioned to form a substantially ninety degree angle between them, a lever having one end rotatably mounted on said extension, said lever having a pin extending between said arms for oscillating said dog and said rock-shaft, said lever having its opposite end in slidable engagement with said rod, a pinion gear carried by one of said wheels and in meshed relation with said rack gear, reciprocating motion of said frame by said pinion gear causing partial rotation of said lever which carries said folding member upwardly through an angle substantially greater than ninety degrees to bring its lengthwise centerline of gravity beyond the vertical plane through the center line of said rock-shafts, whereby the momentum of said folding member in motion will cause said folding member to rotate through a further angle to complete a rotation of one hundred and eighty degrees and reverse the position of said parallel faces.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 843,451 Grove Feb. 5, 1907 877,090 Koch Jan. 21, 1908 1,257,421 Sussman Feb. 26, 1918 1,338,570 Isaacs Apr. 27, 1920 2,272,049 Hagenbrook Feb. 3, 1942 2,442,352 Gilbert June 1, 1948 2,464,245 Lonngren Mar. 15, 1949