US2818006A - Disk inserting machine - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 31, 1957 P. K. LITTLE I DISK INSERTING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet-l Filed May 18. 1954 IN V EN TOR.

A T TORNEY-S.

Dec. 31, 1957 P. K. LITTLE 2,318,006

DISK INSERTING MACHINE I I I I Filed May 18. 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 II If INVENTOR;

Pe/er/f. Lil/16 I BY ATTORNEYS 2,818,005 Ratented Dec. 31, 1957 DISK JNSERTING IMAGHINE Peter K. Little, Pawtucket, R. 1,, ass'ignor to John W. Little Company, aicorporationof Rhode Island Application Mayltl, 115954 Serial No. 43.0,607

'5Claims. '(Cl."93--'55.1)

This "invention relates to *a machine for insertin g disks into the ends of tubular containers, the containers normally being provided 'with {a rolled end or other stop means sothatthe disk ma-y not be pulled out.

I-n the textile industry it has been =the customary practice to label the bobbin 'upon which yarn-is wound. This labeling has generally taken the -form of gummed strips of paper which have "been :afiixed --'to the inner side of the tubular bobbin and which, as can ltereadilyappreciated, are difficult to see without tilting the bobbin to an angle and viewing into the interior -of'the cylindrical enclosure. It is considered preferable that there be some means at the end of the bobbin, and preferably the top end, that can serve as a ready identification means of the yarn that is wound thereupon.

It is therefore one of the objects :of this invention to provide an :apparatus in which :an identifying disk may be inserted into the interior of aftubular bobbin.

It :isa further=object of the intlentiontto provideanautomatic apparatus in whichxthe complete :operation \will be performed by the machine by :merely :furnishing the .blank disks to a carrier :and by :feeding atubular bobbins to :an inclined .plane.

A more specific .object of the :invention isto provide a machine with a slide which'willzpicktup ra=disk to :be inserted .at onestation :and :move the LdlSk and :the :tubular bobbin to a .secondzstation'whereithedisk willzbemammed home.

With these and other objects :in "view, ithe invention consists of certain novel features of construction .as will be more fully described and particularly tpflilltfid out in ;the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings;

Figure 1 "is a front elevational wiew of .my machine;

Figure 2 is a detailed ESCQfiQHaIVlBW tof the tube .carrier and slide mechanism;

Figure 3 is an end sectional view taken 2013 lines .35 of Figure 1 showing the manner in which the tubular containers are advanced to the :mbecarrier andthe ejecting mechanism associated therewith;

Figure 4 a detailed secticnalwiewofrthe diskma-gazine taken on .-line.s-4-4.-of.:Ei'gure 1- Figure .5 ,is a detailed sectional wiew oftherslide :mechanism;,and

Figure 6 is an .electricalpschematic.diagram showing the manner in which the various-control'circuits'are associated one with theothento-efiect .the automatic operation .of-the machine.

In pr ceedingwithmy inuentiounl gprouidetanincliued guide for cylindrical tubesssotthat tthey -.will;roll on sea ube carrier-that is mounted integral with .a vertical slide member. on the other side of the slide member it provide a channeleshaped magazinein which cardboard disks may be placed-on edge, thetmagazinecommunicating with an pening in he slide support, the slide being provided with .an opening having a recess to .selectittels' sgrasp one disk .ata time. After .a disk has iheen placed within (th recess in the slide, the slide and tube scanrier which are physically associated withea'ch other are movedupwardly until they are positioned opposite a ram which operates to force the disk into the far end of thetube. After the ram has receded from the tube, the slide moves downwardly, and the cylinder with the disk inserted in the end thereof is automatically ejected from the machine.

Referring to the drawings, the machine has a suitable bed 10 with supporting legs 11 at the ends and intermediate portions, as necessary, thereof. Upon this bed 10 there is mounted a disk magazine 12 which is provided with two openends and two upstanding side walls 13 and 14 (Figure 4). Adjacent one end of the disk ma'gazine'lz is a vertical slide mechanism generally designated 15 which consists of a slide 16 mounted for reciprocation within a guideway 17. The guideway 17 is suitably fixed to the bed 10 and is providedwith a circularopening 18 to receive the disks D from the disk magazine 12. A second opening 19 is also provided in the guide member 17 to allow the passage of 'a ram therethrough which will presently be described. The slide 16 is held within channel guide 17 by providing beveled edges 29 (Figure 3-) :thereon whichcommunicate with beveled edges in the guide 17. As will be seen by referring to Figure 5, the slide 16 is provided with a singleopening 21 therethrough which has an enlarged recess at one end thereof forming a lip .22. The depth of this recess is the same as the thickness of the disks :D so that one :disk at a time is selectively engaged by the slide and removed thereby. A tube carrier 25 is afiixed to the slide :16 .by bolts 26 so that it may move therewith and has supports 27 extending therefrom with semicircular ends which are adapted .to receive the .cylindrical :tube,.-an1opening 23 being provided in the bed 10so-that tthe tube carrier and slide mechanism 15 may .pass 'therethrough. -A vertical air motor 29 is connected to the slide 16 as at 30, providing motion to the slide .16 andthe tubezcarrier 25.

To :provide a .feed means for :the tubes T to the tube carrier 25, an inclined guide generally designated is mounted adjacent the tube carrier .25 allowing the cylindrical tubes to roll on to the tube carrier. This inclined guide includes a support arm 36 mounted :on the bed It) and comprises two pairs of .tracks 37, .38, respectively. As shown in Figure 3, these tracks are so arranged that tubes T may be placed on the tracks :37 where/they will roll to the ends 35? thereof and thence drop=on .to the tracks 38. A retainer track such as may he provided parallel .to and spaced from the tracks 38 to prevent the tubes from jumping therefrom due to vibration. vlt will thus be apparent that the tubes T drop one by one on to the tube carrier arms 27 where their .interior diameter is positioned for registration in line with the openings 13 and 21 in the channel guide 17 and slide 16, respectively.

The disks D are urged to the lip 22.of'the slide 16 by means of a ramStl which istconnectcd to a shaft 51 that is supported in a bearing block .52. At the end of the shaft 51 thereis afixed a chain 53 which runs parallel to the shaft 51 and over a rollerSd and thenceover a second roller 55 at the end of the bed 10 toa weight 56. This arrangement thereforeexerts an axial force along the shaft 51 which is transmitted to the .ram 50, thus forcing the disks through the opening 18 and ;to .the lip 22. It will also be noted that, through the provision of this arrange ment, an equal axial force is exerted at all ,times throughout the travel of the shaft 51, which is important, inasmuch as the pressure exerted upon these disks must be uniform at all times to secure the properoperation of the machine. It might be noted that such a result could not be secured by the use of a spring loadedsha'ft and ram, although other mechanisms could be substituted so long as they produce a constant pressure at all extended positions of :the ram.

When .the vertical air .rn'o'tor 1259 is actuated, it will be noted that the slide 16 in conjunction with the tube carrier 25 will move upwardly, a disk D having been grasped by the lip 22 of the slide 16. As the tube T moves upwardly, the end thereof remote from the slide 16 will engage a cam surface 60 and be moved horizontally to the right as viewed in Figure 2 so that the end adjacent the slide will abut the slide 16, as shown by the broken lines in Figure 2. At the topmost position of the stroke, the tube T additionally engages stop fingers 62 to limit the upward movement thereof and to positively align tube T with the opening 19. At this position a horizontal air motor 6 1-, which carries a ram 65, may be actuated to force the disk D away from the lip engaging portion 22 of the slide 16, the end of the stroke of the ram 65 bottoming the disk D on lip 1 of the tube T. After the ram 65 has rccec d the vertical air motor 29 reverses, lowering the tube. During this downward motion of the tube T it will engage the ejector arm 67 which is pivotally mounted as at 63 by means of a bracket 69 that is secured to the bed i The motion of these ejector arms 67 is limited by a stop pin 70 so that the ejector arms extend just beyond the center line of the tubes during their vertical travel.

Referring now to Figure 6, there is shown the control circuit diagram to provide the automatic operation in the disk inserting machine. A source of alternating current 75 is provided, one side of which as represented by lead 76 is connected via lead 76a to one terminal of microswitch 90, the other terminal of which is connected by lead 761; to a contact 102 of time delay relay 100 and also to one side of the actuating coil 101 of the time delay relay, a circuit across coil 101 being completed to the A. C. source by lead 77. A low voltage control circuit is provided by step-down transformer 110 whose primary 119p is connected across the source of alternating current 75. The secondary of this step-down transformer has one side thereof connected to a common return as indicated by ground 112, the other side of which as repre sented by lead 78 is connected by lead 7 8a to one terminal of pressure switch 92 and by lead 78b through toggle switch s to one terminal of microswitch 93. A second low voltage source control potential is supplied by stepdown transformer 111, the primary 111 of which is connected to one side of the source of alternating current as represented by lead 77, the other side of the primary being connected through lead 79 to contact 133 of the time delay relay 100. The secondary of transformer 111 has one side thereof connected to a common return as represented by the ground symbol 112, the other side of the secondary being connected via lead 8! to one side of advance solenoid 95a in Electroaire valve 95, the other side of which is returned via a common return connection as represented by ground symbol 112 to the other side of the secondary of transformer 111. For a fuller description of the operation of the Electroaire valves, the disclosure in Patent No. 2,641,229 to L. F. R. Bellows is incorporated herein.

In describing the operation of the disk inserting machine, let us assume that the parts are in their position as shown in Figure 1 of the drawing and that the switches as shown in Figure 6 are in the position shown therein. It should also be assumed that the mechanism is in the position as shown in Figure 1. In this condition it will be noted that switch 93 is being engaged by the tube carrier 25, and since it is of the normally open type, will thereby be closed, as shown in Figure 6. Likewise the switch 91, which is also of the normally open type, is engaged by ram 65 and is also closed. Closing the switch s to start the device, it will therefore be seen that the secondary of transformer 110 will be connected across the solenoid coil 94a, thus energizing it. Coil 94a is the advance coil of the Electroaire valve associated with the pneumatic motor 29 and operates a valve to supply air from a source 125 to advance the piston of the air motor 29, the operation of which is more fully described in Patent No. 2,641,229. The tube carrier 25 and the slide 16 therefore rise in a vertical direction as viewed in the drawing, and switch 93 opens. At the top of the stroke of the tube carrier 25, the bracket 89 afiixed to the tube carrier will engage switch 90, closing this switch, which will thereby energize coil 101 of the time delay relay 100 by virtue of the connection from the alternating current supply source 75 as represented by leads 76, 7 6a, 76b, and 77 and move the contactor arm 106 away from the contacts 104 and 105. When the contactor 106 engages the contacts 102 and 103, this will complete a circuit across the primary 111p of transformer 111 to the source of A. C. voltage 75 by leads 77, 79, 76b, 76a and 76. The secondary of transformer 111 is now energized and supplies a voltage as represented by lead and the common ground connection 112 to the advanced solenoid coil a of the Electroaire valve 95, which operates as the Electroaire valve 94 just described and advances the ram 65 of the air motor 64. As the cylinder ram 65 is advancing, the time delay relay coil 101 moves the contactor 106 back to position as shown in Figure 6 to complete a circuit across contacts 104 and 105. To reverse the operation of the air motor 64, there is affixed to the cylinder at pressure switch 92, which will be actuated upon a certain positive pressure being exerted thereupon. Thus, when the ram 65 reaches the end of its stroke, pressure will continue to build up by virtue of continuous supply from line 125 to a point where the switch 92 will be actuated. With switch 92 closed, this will complete a circuit across the retract solenoid 95R of the Electroaire valve 95 from the secondary of transformer as represented by leads 78a and 78d and the common ground connection 112. This will retract the ram 65 until it engages the actuator arm 91a of switch 91, reclosing switch 91, and completing a circuit from the secondary of transformer 110 across the retract solenoid 94R of the Electroaire valve 94 as represented by leads 78, 78a, contactor 106, and lead 782 in conjunction with the common ground return 112. It should be noted at this point that the switch 93 has been open during all of the preceding operations so that voltage has been removed from across the advance solenoid coil 94A of the Electroaire" valve 94. With the retract solenoid 94R energized, the supply of air pressure to the piston of air motor 29 is reversed and the slide 16 of the tube carrier 25 is retracted or lowered. As soon as the tube T releases its contact with switch 96, coil 101 is de-energized and the time delay relay 101 is automatically reset. As the slide 16 and tube carrier 25 are lowered, the tube T will be ejected by the ejector arm 67, and as soon as the tube carrier 25 reaches its lowermost position, it will re-engage the switch 93, closing it, and repeating the complete cycle, an additional tube T having fallen into the tube carrier arms 27 as soon as the tube carrier has reached a low enough position.

I claim:

1. A machine for inserting discs in tubes comprising a mounting plate, a disc magazine mounted on said plate and adapted to support substantially fiat discs on their edges, a slide mounted for reciprocation on a plane perpendicular to said plate and parallel to the stored discs, said slide having a through bore surrounded by a recess of identical shape to the outline of said discs, means urging said discs into said recess, a tube carrier afiixed to said slide adjacent said bore, means feeding tubes to said carrier, a ram operable on an axis perpendicular to the reciprocating plane of said slide and intersecting the center of said bore, and means to reciprocate said slide and said ram so as to first move the bore in said slide into alignment with said ram and then reciprocate the ram and force a disc into a tube held in said carrier.

2. A machine as in claim 1 wherein the slide and the ram are reciprocated by air motors, said motors having solenoid actuated reversing valves affixed thereto, and a control circuit associated with said reversing valves to provide sequential operation of said motors.

3. A machine for inserting discs in tubes, comprising a magazine for storing discs in parallel relationship, a slide moving on an axis perpendicular to said magazine, said slide having means afiixed thereto for grasping the end disc in said magazine, a tube carrier affixed to said slide in alignment with said disc grasping means, means feeding tubes one at a time to said carrier, means positioned on an axis parallel to said slide and adapted to engage the end of the tube in said carrier to move it into abutting relationship with said slide as said slide moves, a ram operable on an axis parallel to said magazine, and means for moving the ram against the disc gripped by said slide to force the disc into the tube.

4. A machine for inserting discs in tubes, comprising a horizontally disposed magazine for storing discs edgewise in parallel relationship, a slide mounted for vertical reciprocating movement on an axis perpendicular to said magazine, said slide having means affixed thereto for grasping the end disc in said magazine, a tube carrier secured to said slide for reciprocating movement therewith and extending in alignment with said disc grasping means, means including an incline for feeding tubes one at a time to said carrier and a ram spaced from said magazine and operable on an axis parallel to said magazine and means for moving said slide and carrier into alignment with said ram, and means for moving the ram against the disc gripped by said slide to force the disc into the tube,

means for moving the tube longitudinally into abutting relation with the slide as the tube is moved into alignment with the ram.

5. A machine for inserting discs in tubes comprising a movable tube carrier, a fixed disc magazine adapted to support substantially fiat discs on their edges, means affixed to said movable carrier to grasp one disc at a time and hold it in alignment With a tube on said carrier, means exerting a constant pressure on said discs throughout their travel in said magazine, a ram operable on an axis parallel to a tube held by said carrier, said ram being spaced from said magazine, means to move said tube carrier to align said tube with said ram, means including an incline for feeding tubes one at a time to said carrier, cam means positioned on an axis parallel to the reciprocating axis of said carrier to engage the end of the tube and move it into abutting relationship with the disc grasping means, and means for moving the ram against the gripped disc to force the disc into the tube.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,053,702 Bond Feb. 18, 1913 2,180,954 Harrison Nov. 21, 1939 2,580,846 Sayre et a1 Jan. 1, 1952 2,678,591 Fleming et al. May 18, 1954

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