US2748692A - Automatic wire strapping machine - Google Patents

Description

June 5, 1956 c. F. OSGOOD, JR., ET AL 2,

AUTOMATIC WIRE STRAPPING MACHINE l6 Sheets-$heet l d g r F e I u m mm H d June 5, 1956 Filed March 24, 1953 C. F. OSGOOD, JR., ET AL AUTOMATIC WIRE STRAPPING MACHINE 16 Sheets-Sheet 2 June 5, 1956 c. F. OSGOOD, JR, ET AL AUTOMATIC WIRE STRAPPING MACHINE 16 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed March 24, 1953 J1me 1956 c. F. OSGOOD, JR, ET AL 2,748,692

AUTOMATIC WIRE STRAPPING MACHINE l6 Sheets-Sheet Filed March 24, 1953 Jun 5, 1 c. F. OSGOOD, JR, ETAL 2,748,692

AUTOMATIC WIRE STRAPPING MACHINE l6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed March 24, 1953 June 5, 1956 c. F. OSGOOD, JR. ET AL 2,748,692

AUTOMATIC WIRE STRAPPING MACHINE l6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed March 24, 1953 June 5, 1956 c. F. OSGOOD, JR, ET AL 2,

AUTOMATIC WIRE STRAPPING MACHINE Filed March 24, 1953 16 Sheets-Sheet- 7 June 5, 1956 c. F. 056000, JR., ET AL 2,743,692

AUTOMATIC WIRE STRAPPING MACHINE l6 Sheets-Sheet- 8 Filed March 24, 1953 June 5, 1956 c. F. OSGOOD, JR. ETAL 2,748,692

AUTOMATIC WIRE STRAPPING MACHINE l6 Sheets-Sheet 9 Filed March 24, 1953 June 5, 19 c. F. OSGOOD, JR., ET AL 2,748,692

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AUTOMATIC WIRE STRAPPING MACHINE Filed March 24, 1953 16 Sheets-$heet l4 5% am T T- E- 99 ic i ile ETAL 2,748,692

16 Sheets-Sheet 15 June 5, 1956 c. F. OSGOOD, JR,

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AUTOMATIC WIRE STRAPPING MACHINE Filed March 24, 1953 l6 Sheets-Sheet l6 AUTOMATIC WIRE STRAPPING MACHINE Charles F. Osgood, Jr., Ridgewood, N. J., William M. Grosvenor, Jr., Pelham, N. Y., and James I. McMartin, West Hartford, and Frank Schirmer, Newington, Conn., assignors to General Strapping Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application March 24, 1953, Serial No. 344,288

27 Claims. (Cl. 100-27) This invention relates to an automatic wire strapping machine which is designed to wrap a metallic wire drawn from a source of supply around a package, or the like, tension the wire, sever the same to form a strap with its ends overlapped, and unite the said overlapped ends by electric welding.

Generally speaking, the invention is directed to substantial modifications and developments of, and improvements in, to and upon the machines disclosed in United States Patent to John James Cheesman No. 2,614,487, dated October 21, 1952, and in Application for United States Patent Serial No. 171,522, filed by Arthur J. Brown, Charles F. Osgood, Jr., and William M. Grosvenor, Jr., on June 30, 1950, which were directed to the purpose of strapping packages or the like with a metallic ribbon-like band; the machine of the present application being sharply distinguished therefrom in its adaptability for strapping with wire.

An object of the invention is to provide a machine of the character described which embodies highly efficient mechanism for initiating and controlling the sequential operation of the wire feeding, wrapping, holding, tensioning, severing and welding devices in order to attain speedy, reliable, accurate and uniform functioning of the machine whether the packages presented seriatim thereto, as for instance, by a traveling belt, be of substantially the same or different sizes, shapes and kinds.

Another object is to provide such a machine which includes a ring with means for driving the same intermittently in a single rotary direction for wrapping wire around a package, or the like, while simultaneously establishing a reservoir or supply of the wire carried by the ring, and a cam shaft with means activated thereby to perform the functions of the machine additional to the wire wrapping step; together with operative means interconnecting the ring and the cam shaft for automatically initiating, coordinating and interrelating their functions to insure proper sequential order and time durations of the functional efiects of the machine.

Another object is to provide such a machine, which includes a feeding and tensioning gripper that seizes the free end of the wire; feeds the same through a first holding gripper and into overlapping relationship with respect to severing and electric welding elements; releases the wire after it has been gripped by the said first holding gripper, withdraws laterallyfrom the path of wire feed, moves rearwardly toward the source of wire supply, and returns to said path of feed; seizes another portion of the wire extending from the source of supply after the wire has been wrapped around the package; moves in the direction opposite to its original feeding movement for tensioning the wire around the package; releases the tensioned wire after it has been gripped by a second holding gripper, moves slightly in the direction of wire feed, again seizes the wire; and, after the overlapped wire has been severed and its ends are being welded together, and both holding grippers are about to release the wire, moves slightly in the direction opposite to its original feeding movement nited States Patent properly to position the free end of the wire for repetition of the just described movements.

Anotherobject is to provide such a machine in which the above mentioned ring and cam shaft initiate their rotations simultaneously, following which the cam shaft pauses while the ring completes a cycle, whereupon the cam shaft again starts and completes its cycle, together with means for insuring stoppage of the ring and shaft at the completion of their cycles.

Another object is to provide such a machine in which the first holding gripper is positioned intermediate the feeding and tensioning gripper and the severing and welding elements, while the second holding gripper is positioned at the side of the severing and welding elements away from the feeding and tensioning gripper.

Another object is to provide such a machine in which the tensioning movement is in direction a continuation of the package wrapping movement.

Another object is to provide such a machine which includes improved form and operation of the severing and welding elements.

Another object is to provide such a machine which includes a wire reservoir intermediate the source of supply and the Wrapping means, together with means controlled by the wire itself for maintaining a quantity of wire in the said reservoir; the said controlling means being so constructed and arranged as to insure against failure of its cooperative action with the wire in maintaining a quantity of the latter within he reservoir.

Another object is to provide such a machine which includes means for establishing and maintaining a reservoir of the wire carried by the wrapping ring in such manner as to permit the same readily to be withdrawn therefrom in the package wrapping operation.

Another object is to provide certain improvements in the form, construction and arrangement of the a parts whereby the above named and other objects inherent in the invention may be effectively attained.

A practical embodiment of the invention is represented in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 represents a partial front elevation of the machine;

Fig. 2 represents a side elevation thereof;

Fig. 3 represents a detail view partly in side elevation, partly in central elevation, and partly in section;

Fig. 4 represents an enlarged detail section of the roller and side plate arrangement of the ring wire reservoir;

Fig. 5 represents a detail vertical section, partly in elevation and partly broken away, of the main drive and clutch mechanism with the associated retractable wire guiding finger;

Fig. 6 represents a top plan view, partly broken away, of the parts shown in Fig. 5, with the drive pulley omitted;

Fig. 7 represents an end elevation of the same, looking from left to right in Figs. 5 and 6, together with the motor, drive belt, and a portion of the package supporting casing top;

Fig. 8 represents a vertical section, partly in elevation, of the foot treadle and associated parts for controlling the clutch mechanism, also showing part of the motor drive;

Fig. 9 represents a front elevation of the same, looking from right to left in Fig. 8;

Fig. 10 represents a partial horizontal section taken in the plane of the line XX of Fig. 8, looking downward;

Fig. 11 represents a top plan view of the cam shaft, cams and associated parts for accomplishing the gripping, feeding, tensioning, severing and welding of the wire strap;

Fig. 12 represents a section taken in the plane of the line XII-XII of Fig. 11, looking in the direction of the arrows, with certain parts removed;

Fig. 13 represents a detail plan view of the drum cam, lever and feeding and tensioning gripper slide bar connection;

Fig. 13a represents a layout of the said cam and its groove;

Fig. 14 represents a detail elevation, partly in section, of the said slide bar construction and its connection with the said gripper;

Fig. 15 represents a detail front elevation of the wire feeding and tensioning gripper and associated parts;

Fig. 16 represents a side elevation thereof, partly in section;

Fig. 17 represents a top plan view thereof;

Fig. 18 represents a detail side elevation exhibiting certain parts omitted from Fig. 16;

Fig. 19 represents a view at right angles to Fig. 18, looking from right to left;

Fig. 20 represents a side elevation, partly in section, of the first wire holding gripper and its actuating mechanism;

Fig. 21 represents a top plan view thereof;

Figv 22 represents a detail end view, partly in section, looking from right to left in Fig. 20;

Fig. 23 represents a side elevation, partly in section, of the second wire holding gripper and its actuating mechanism;

Fig. 24 represents a top plan view thereof;

Fig. 25 represents a side elevation, partly in section, of the wire severing and welding means withits actuating mechanism;

Fig. 26 represents a top plan view thereof;

Fig. 27 represents a detail vertical section, partly in elevation, of the yielding device for elevating the cutter and welding electrode to operative position;

Fig. 28 represents a detail end elevation of the wire welding electrode and cutter unit out of cooperating relationship with the complementary elements on the machine top;

Fig. 29 represents a similar view with the parts at the beginning of cooperating relationship;

Fig. 30 represents a detail side elevation of the electrode and cutter unit;

Fig. 300 represents a detail plan view of adjusting means for the combined electrode and cutter, on an enlarged scale;

Fig. 31 represents a top plan of the parts shown in Fig. 30;

Fig. 31a represents a detail side view of the cutting block and associated parts, on the scale of Fig. 30a;

Fig. 32 represents diagrammatically the positions and conditions of the operative strapping elements at the commencement of binding a package, with the leading end of the wire seized by the feeding and tensioning gripper;

Fig. 33 represents a similar view at an advanced stage with the wire fed to and gripped by the first wire holding pp r;

Fig. 34 represents a similar view with the wire wrapped around the package;

Fig. 35 represents a similar view with the wire tensioned around the package by the feeding and tensioning gripper and seized by the second holding gripper;

Fig. 36 represents a similar View with the wire severed and its ends being welded, and the leading end of the succeeding strap held by the feeding and tensioning pp Fig. 37 graphically represents, with inscriptions, an illustrative sequence of operative effects as they occur during one complete 360 degree revolution of the cam shaft; and

Fig. 38 represents a wiring diagram illustrating the machine controls.

The machine embodies a ring which is provided with gear teeth and is driven in an anti-clockwise direction for wrapping the wire around each package as the same is presented to the machine by a traveling belt or in other suitable manner, and the result is such that wire also simultaneously accumulates in a trough-like reservoir carried by the ring from which wire is withdrawn as machine operation continues. As varying lengths of wire are consumed in wrapping packages of differing dimensions, there is associated with the driven ring a main reservoir to accommodate an excess of wire received from a source of supply, and the construction and arrangement are such that the amount of wire excess in the main reservoir governs the feed of wire thereinto so that a proper, but neither too small nor too great, excess is maintained to insure satisfactory operation regardless of the sequential presentation of packages which differ substantially in size. This provision of the machine of the present invention is quite similar to that of the above mentio ed application Serial No. 171,522, so that it does not require extensively detailed illustration or description herein, but may be adequately set forth by reference to Fig. l of the drawings and the following explanation.

A coil of wire is preferably mounted on a reel (not shown) which may be of any known suitable kind fitted with a brake to restrain its unreeling rotation except when the machine is withdrawing wire therefrom, a solenoid controlled magnetic brake being a desirable type. With drawal of wire for machine functioning is accomplished by a pair of driven cooperating grooved feed rolls 1, 2, which are geared together and activated by an electric motor (not shown), and are also provided with a suitable normally open clutch, a solenoid operated type being preferred, for bringing the rolls into and out of driving engagement with the motor. An electric wiring set-up, shown in Fig. 38 and to be hereinafter explained, serves to control these parts, and the arrangement is such that, when current is supplied to the reel brake solenoid and the feed roll clutch solenoid, the wire reel is released and the feed rolls are driven, whereby wire is withdrawn from the reel and fed into a cage which constitutes the main reservoir for maintaining a slack excess of wire intermediate the feed rolls 1, 2, and the machine. The said cage is preferably constituted by a metallic frame having a top 3, bottom 4, ends 5, 6, and uprights, one of which is marked 7; together with a front 8 composed of reticulated or expanded metal to permit observation of the interior; and a solid back 9. A hinged door 10 is providcd for access.

For the purpose of leading the wire out of the said main reservoir on its way to the package wrapping means a grooved idler guide roll 11 is mounted by suitable bearings denoted generally by 12 on an uprising bracket 13 that is fastened to the back 9 of the reservoir. A guide tube 14 secured within the reservoir is associated with the roll 11, and a shoe 15 with a curved face 16 is adjustably mounted on the top 3 of the reservoir to retain the wire in the groove of the roll.

Near the end of the main reservoir opposite to the guide roll 11 is mounted a normally closed micro switch 17 which is fitted with a downwardly curved operating finger 18 that normally rests against the edges of a pair of check plates (the front one of which is shown and marked 19) as indicated in full lines in Fig. l, but is adapted to swing upwardly to the left to the dotted line position for opening the switch. As the finger 18 is wider than the spacing of the cheek plates 19, the finger cannot swing down between the plates, but it can swing up between a pair of guard plates (the front one of which is shown and denoted by 20) that are suitably aflixed to the reservoir to protect the finger in its movements. As the micro switch 17 is a well known device available in the open market there is deemed to be no need to illustrate or describe it in detail, but it should be observed that the switch is connected with the electric control in such manner that, when in its normal closed position, the solenoid controlling the brake on the wire supply reel and the solenoid controlling the clutch on the feed rolls 1, 2, will be activated to release the reel, drive the rolls, and cause wire to be fed into the main reservoir; and when the switch is opened by the lifting of finger 18, the said solenoids are deactivated, the feed rolls stop and the reel is held by its brake.

To prepare the machine for operation, the wire, denoted by W, is manually threaded between rolls 1 and 2, which may be temporarily separated by any well known and conventional means, if desired, and is fed into loop form in the main reservoir to such an extent that the loop end is at a point intermediate the feed roll end of the reservoir and the micro switch 17, as indicated in dotted lines and by the letter A. The free end of the wire is then passed through the guide tube 14, between idler roll 11 and shoe 1516, and thence to the wrapping elements of the machine as will hereinafter be explained. When electric current is supplied by operating the machine starting switch, the feed roll and reel solenoids will be activated as above explained and wire will be fed into the main reservoir until its loop contacts micro switch finger 18 as indicated at B, moves it to the dotted position and opens the switch, thereby deactivating the feed rolls solenoid to unclutch them from their drive motor, and deactivating the supply reel solenoid to cause it to be held by its spring actuated brake; thus ending the feeding of the wire and preventing overthrow by the reel.

The operation of the machine in wrapping packages will draw wire from the main reservoir around guide roll 11, and as soon as this action releases the pressure of the wire loop on micro switch finger 18 the latter will move downwardly to close the switch and restart the feeding of the wire from the supply reel by rolls 1, 2, which continues as the wire is withdrawn from the reservoir by the machine. The parts are so timed that wire is Withdrawn at the same rate or a little faster than it is fed into the reservoir, but the excess of wire in reservoir is adequate to prevent complete elimination of the loop during the strapping of any package and there is rarely, if ever, a smaller loop than that indicated by the letter A. From the foregoing it will be clear that, following each package binding, the feed rolls 1, 2, continue to supply wire to the reservoir until the loop operates the micro switch finger 18 and opens the switch. A strong stud 21 is fixed within the reservoir adjacent the guide tube 14 to prevent injury in the event of a snarl in the wire.

Referring to the machine proper and directing attention to Figs. 1-4, a substantially rectangular casing of sturdy construction, denoted generally by 22, is supported by front feet 23, 23, and by a pair of rear feet of which one is shown and marked 24. To the lower part of the front of this casing the back 9 of the main wire reservoir is secured by four studs 25, 26, 27, 28; and thereabove is firmly fixed an annular frame 29 which is formed with an integral web 36 that extends downwardly from the bottom and sides thereof and rests upon supporting shoulders 31, 31, at the top of front feet 23, 23.

The annular frame 29 is of L-shape in cross section (see Fig. 4) with the foot 32 of the L projecting toward the front of the machine and being rabbeted to support a flat ring 33 that is suitably fastened thereto. Positioned intermediate the frame 29 and ring 33 is a set of bearing rollers 34 consisting of a suitable number arranged in a circular path, each of said rollers being mounted by ball bearings 35 on a bolt 36 that traverses frame 29. If desired some of the bolts may be fitted with eccentric sleeves 37, or the like, to permit adjustment. The said rollers 34 are of H-shape in cross section to receive the peripheral toothed rim 38 of a ring gear 39 which is formed with lateral flanges 40, 40, that ride on the outer circumferences of rollers 34, whereby the ring gear may be rotatively driven with the said rollers serving at its bearing support.

The ring gear 39 carries a series of closely spaced wire receiving rolls 41, each of which is mounted by ball bearings 42 on a bolt 43 set in the ring gear, a collar 44 serving to space the roll from the ring gear, and an integral band 43a on the bolt and split snap ring 41a in the roll serving to hold the bearing and roll on the bolt. The periphery of each roll 41 is doubly grooved as indicated at 45, 45, to receive the inner circumferences of a pair of side plates 46, 46, which, together with the rolls 41, constitute a troughlike reservoir carried by the ring gear for receiving and retaining the wire which accumulates therein during the wrapping operations of the machine. it will be clear that this manner of supporting the side plates 46, 46, permits them as well as the rolls 41 to move rotatively with respect to the ring gear and facilitate the withdrawal of wire therefrom for the wrapping of packages as will be hereinafter described. The plates 46, 46, are steadied and their parallelism maintained by a plurality of guide rolls 47, six of which are shown in Fig. l; the said guide rolls being doubly grooved to receive the outer peripheries of the side plates 46, 46, and being mounted on bolts 48, or the like, set in the annular frame 29.

The ring gear 39 also carries a pair of grooved Wire tension rollers 49, 50, which may, if desired, be fastened in any well known and conventional manner for adjustment toward and away from each other in a block 51 that is fixed to the ring gear. Roller 49 is fitted with a band brake 52, see also Figs. 2 and 3, of any appropriate form to control its tensioning effect, and the said eifect may also be regulated by varying the spacing between the rollers through their adjustability.

Power drive for the ring gear is supplied by a pinion 53 which meshes therewith and also meshes with a brake pinion 54 that normally resists rotation of the ring gear. Pinion 53 is keyed or otherwise fixed to a shaft 55 (see Figs. 5-7), which is mounted by ball and roller bearings 56, 57, in a gear box denoted generally by 58 that is supported within the machine casing 22 and serves as a bearing for one end of the main cam shaft $9 which carries cams for activating various functions of the machine as will be explained later on. The pinion 53 may be connected to and disconnected from a spur gear of) which is loose on shaft 55 by a friction clutch 61 mounted on the same shaft; the gear 60 being in mesh with another spur gear 62 suitably fixed to a worm shaft 63 that is mounted by ball bearings 64, 6S, and thrust bearing 66 in the gear box 58. The end of shaft 63 supported by bearing 65 projects through the wall of the gear box and has fixed thereto a double belt pulley 67 which is connected by a belt 68 with the drive pulley 69 of an electric motor 70 that is fixed by appropriate means (not shown) to the bottomof machine casing 22. Thus, when motor 70 is started and clutch 61 is closed ring gear 39 will be rotated by pinion 53 when the braking effect of pinion 54 is released.

Clutch 61 is operated by a bell crank lever that is fast to a shaft '71 which is supported in the Walls of the gear box and has one of its arms 72 connected with the clutch and the other arm '73 fastened to a pull chain '74 which engages the teeth of a sprocket 7S, rotatably mounted at the upper rear edge of the gear box, and extends downwardly to a lug 75 (see Fig. 8) pinned to a rod '77 that is slidably mounted in the bore of a sleeve 7'3 formed integral with a plate 79 which is fixed by bolts or the like to the Wall of machine casing .22 in position to span an opening Si in the casing wall. The rod 7'7 passes through a treadle 31 that has its inner end pivoted to a lug 82 fast on the base plate 33 of motor 76, and an expansion coil spring 84 surrounds the lower portion of the rod and is confined between a nut 35 on the end of the rod and the underside of the treadle to yieldingly sustain the latter in a substantially horizontal position. A lock nut, not shown, should be added to hold nut 85 against loosening, and an oil duct 86 provides lubrication for sleeve 78. The connection of chain 74 to lug 76 is by means of a sliding pin 87 which is threaded at its free end to receive a pair of nuts 86, whereby downward motion of rod 77 will bring lug 76 into contact with said nuts and cause pin 87 to pull down on chain 74. Upward motion of the rod 77 is limited by a collar 89 which is pinned thereto, and depression of the treadle 81 is ad justably limited by a threaded stop 90 carried by plate 79.

The foregoing makes it clear that depression of treadle 81 will cause chain 74 to lift bell crank arm 73 and thereby impart rotary motion to shaft 71 which swings arm 72 so as to close clutch 61 and fix gear 60 to shaft 55 for driving ring gear 39 through pinion 53; while rclease of the treadle will permit but not cause reverse motion of the said chain. Brake pinion 54 which meshes with and controls the rotation of ring gear drive pinion 53 is normally held against rotation by a clutch brake 91 (see Figs. 1 and 2) that has an operating slide mounted in the web 30 of the annular machine frame 29 and is connected by linkage 92, supported by a bracket 93 fixed to the machine frame, with a lever 94 which is fast to and depends from an end of shaft 71 that protrudes from machine casing 22. Thus, the rotary motion imparted to shaft 71 by the lifting of arm 73 will cause it also to swing lever 94 and release the clutch brake on pinion 54 simultaneously with closing the ring gear drive pinion clutch 61, whereby the ring gear is freed to be driven.

A second pull chain 95 is connected to the upper end of rod 77 so as to be drawn down when treadle 81 is depressed. The said chain passes upwardly from rod 77, meshes with a second sprocket 96 which is rotatably mounted on the gear box 58 at the side of sprocket 75, and is fastened at 97 to a proieetable and retractable rod 98 which is fitted at its forward end with a wire guiding finger 99. The said rod is set in bearings 100, 101, on the top of the gear box and bearing 101 is formed with a slot to receive a laterally extending pin 102 on the rod 98 to prevent the latter from turning. An expansion coil spring 103 is compressed between bearing 101 and a collar 104 pinned to rod 93 for normally urging the proiection of the rod to the left in Figs. and 6 to bring its finger 99 into the path of the wire to be wrapped around a package as will be later described. The result of the structure and arrangement just explained is that depression of treadle 81 will cause chain 95 to retract rod 98 and pull its finger 99 out of the path of the wire for a purpose to be set forth.

The cam shaft 59 is started rotating simultaneously with the ring gear 39 and performs a partial rotation therewith, after which the ring gear continues for a complete rotation or cycle, whereupon the cam shaft again starts and completes its rotation or cycle. The mechanism for accomplishing this comprises a worm 105 that is fast on shaft 63 and drives a worm gear 106 which is free on the cam shaft 59 but is arranged to be connected thereto by a single revolution clutch 107 that is mounted on and for driving engagement with the cam shaft. As the single revolution clutch is an unit well known to mechanics in both structure and function and is obtainable in the open market, it is deemed to call for no further showing or description. The lifting of bell crank arm 73 by chain 74 when trcadle 81 is depressed and the imparting thereby of rotary motion to shaft 71, as hereinabove described, swings the pointed cam lever 108 to the left in Fig. 5, and its sliding contact with roller 109, that is carried by a trip finger 110 pivoted on a stud 111 fixed in the wall of gear box 58, rotates said finger about its pivot until the hook 112 at its inner end releases the shoulder 113 on cam 114 which is rigidly fixed to the single revolution clutch 107. This permits the clutch to establish driving connection between the cam shaft 59 and worm gear 106, and the cam shaft then rotates in a counter-clockwise direction until the second shoulder 115 on cam 114 is caught by hook 112 which inactivates the one revolution clutch to disconnect worm gear 106 from cam shaft 59 and permit the latter to cease its rotary motion. The cam lever 108 and roller 109 should be hardened to resist wear; and, if preferred, an electric solenoid operated trip connected to the finger could be substituted therefor.

In addition to the movements of parts previously mentioned as occasioned when chain 74 lifts arm 73, another arm 116 that is fixed to shaft 71 swings upwardly until the roller 117 at its extremity contacts the low or short radial surface 118 of a cam 119, which is fast on cam shaft 59 and the contour of which is shown in dotted lines in Fig. 5. The said roller rides on this low surface of the cam while shaft 59 is making the partial rotation already described and reaches the end of said low surface toward the upper left in Fig. 5, substantially coincidentally with the engagement of book 112 with shoulder that stops the rotation of cam shaft 59 and, hence, of cam 119.

The ring gear 39 which started its rotary motion simultaneously with cam shaft 59 continues its rotation unaffected by the stoppage of shaft 59 until the ring gear has completed one full cycle of 360", at which instant a cam 120 (see Fig. l) adjustably secured to the ring gear contacts one end of a slide 121 fitted in a holder 122 fastened to the annular frame 29. The other end of the slide is connected by a bell crank 123 (see also Fig. 2) pivoted on frame 29 to a pull chain 124 which passes downwardly around a sprocket 125 that is carried by a stud 126 on the back of frame 29; the chain then entering gear box 58 through a hole 127 and being fastened at 128 to the free end of trip finger 110, the hook end of which is normally held in contact with cam 114 by retractile coil spring 129 that is secured to the said free end of the finger and to the wall of the gear box.

This pull-up on the free end of trip finger 110 has two effects, one of which follows the other in immediate sequence; the first being to swing the hook 112 out of holding engagement with shoulder 115 on the single revolution clutch cam 114 which re-starts the rotation of cam shaft 59; and the second being the riding of roller 117 up onto the high or long radius surface of cam 119 which rotates with shaft 59. This riding up of roller 117 swings arm 116 downwardly, which imparts rotary motion to shaft 71 and swings arm 72 to the left in Fig. 5, thereby opening clutch 61 in the drive of ring gear 39 and simultaneously closing clutch 91 on brake piston 54 to hold the ring gear motionless. Adjusting screws 130, 131, serve for slightly changing the relative angularity of arm 116 and shaft 71 in order nicely to control the operation of clutch 61. For the purpose of checking any tendency of the cam shaft 59 to pursue its rotary motion beyond the designed stopping points, it is fitted with a brake band composed of two halves 132, 133, (see Figs. 11 and 12) hinged together at 134 and carried by a bracket 135 that is fastened by bolts 136, 136, to the rear wall of a cam housing 137 which is suitably supported within the machine casing 22. The hand cmbraces a cam (which will be hereafter described and numbered) that is fixed on the shaft 59, and the free extremities of its halves are adjustably and yieldingly secured together by a bolt and spring combination 138, 139, whereby the amount of drag upon shaft 59 can be predetermined. It may here be mentioned that the cam shaft is formed in two sections, one within the cam housing 137 and the other within the gear box 58, which sections are secured together by a coupling 140 to insure correct functioning even if there should be a slight misalignment, as well as to aid in the assembly of the machine.

From the foregoing it will be seen that depression of treadle 81 starts the ring gear 39 and cam shaft 59 in simultaneous rotation which continues until the cam shaft has turned through about ninety degrees, whereupon the latter ceases rotation while the ring gear continues for its full three hundred and sixty degrees, at which point it stops and the cam shaft immediately re-starts to complete one full rotation.

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