US2846972A

US2846972A - Apparatus for supporting treating devices inside moving can bodies

Info

Publication number: US2846972A
Application number: US605289A
Authority: US
Inventors: Bofinger Karl
Original assignee: American Can Co
Current assignee: Primerica Inc
Priority date: 1956-08-21
Filing date: 1956-08-21
Publication date: 1958-08-12
Anticipated expiration: 1975-08-12

Description

Aug. 12, 1958 K. BoFlNGER 2,846,972

APPARATUS PoR SUPPORTING TREATING DEVICES l INSIDE MOVING CAN BODIES Filed Aug. 2l, 1956 United States 'Patent APPARATUS FOR SUPPORTING IREATING DEVICES INSIDE MOVING CAN BODIES Karl Botinger, Cincinnati, Ohio, assignor to American 'Can Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New Jersey Application August 2'1, 1956, Serial No. 605,289 6 claims. (Cl. 11s-3117) The present invention relates to machines for treating the interior surfaces of can or container bodies or the like articles moving in end-to-end relation in spaced processional order and has particular reference to devices for supporting the treating elements inside the moving can bodies without interfering with their continuous advancement.

An object of the instant invention is to provide a` simple eicient exterior support for treating devices located at a treating station in a path of travel inside of can bodies or the like articles moving in end-to-end processional order so that the can bodies can readily pass over and around the treating devices telescopically Without interference for interior treatment at the treating station.

Another object is to provide a substantially continuous moving support for the treating devices so a's to hold the treating devices in a substantially stable position against side sway and vertical tilting or other movement.

Another object is to provide for such a support which is connected with the can body advancing mechanism to provide for an accurate holding of the treating devices in a predetermined relation to the can bodies passing over them.

Numerous other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent as it is better understood from the following description, which, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, discloses a preferred embodiment thereof.

Referring to the drawings:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary side view of a portion of a can body making machine, the view showing the body supporting horn at the entrance end of the machine, with portions broken back and shown in section;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary side view similar to Fig. l, and showing a portion of the body supporting horn at the discharge end of the machine;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view astaken substantially along the line 3 3 in Fig. 2, with parts broken away; and

Fig. 4 is an enlarged side viewy of certain of the parts shown in Fig. 2, with parts broken away and parts in section.

As a preferred or exemplary embodiment of the instant invention the drawings illustrate principal parts of a can body making and interior treating machine of the character disclosed in United States Patent 2,220,107 issued November 5, 1940, toW. M. Holloway on Apparatus for Soldering and Striping Can Scams.

In such a machine, dat sheet metal blanks, preferably made from tin plate, black iron or the like material, are formed into tubular can bodies A having side seam marginal edge portions locked together in a side seam B (Fig. 3) to permanently hold the body together. After formation of the side seam B, it is soldered to render the seam hermetic.

Near the discharge end of the machine a lm of coating material is sprayed in a stripe onto the side seam on 2,846,972 Patented Aug. 12, 1958 the inside of the body to protect this portion of the body.

The can bodies A are formed into tubular shape around a stationary horizontally disposed inside support mandrel 11 (Fig. l) and are advanced in spaced and timed endwise relation, intermittently along this mandrel 11, by conventional feed dogs 12 mounted in spaced relation on reciprocating feed bars 13 which operate in grooves formed in the mandrel 11. The feed dogs 12 advance the can bodies with their side seam marginal edge portions spread apart in spaced relation, through a plurality of working stations where operations are performed on the edge portionsl to prepare them for incorporation in the side seam B. After preparation of these seam edges, the feed dogs 12 advance the bodies A individually into a bumping station where the prepared edges of the body are interengaged and then locked together by a bumping operation eifected by a bumping hammer 1S (Fig. l) to produce the side seam B.

After the bumping of the side seam B the feed dogs 12 push the bodies A off the inside mandrel 11 and into a continuing outside horn 16 (Figs. 2 and 3). This outside horn 16 preferably comprises a pair of magnetic rails 17 which extend from the end of the inside mandrel 11 to the discharge end of the machine. Each of these magnetic rails 17 is interposed between a pair of nonmagnetic plates 18, which taken collectively with a spacer plate 19 are secured in an angular position to the bottom of an elongated carrier member 21. The rails 17 and plates 18 on each side of the member 21 converge toward the center of the path of travel of the can bodies A and thus support the can bodies as best shown in Fig. 3.

The can bodies A supported by the magnetic horn 16 are propelled continuously in spaced, endwise relation through a plurality of stations which include a soldering station for applying solder to the side seam, a `cooling station, a wiping station for removing excess solder, and a spraying station for coating or striping the side seam on the inside of the body as disclosed in the above mentioned Holloway patent.

This advancement of the can bodies A along the outside horn 16 is effected by a continuously moving endless conveyor chain 23 which operates over sprockets located at the ends of the horn member 21 as shown in the Holloway patent. The lower run of the conveyor 23 operates in a clearance groove 24 formed in the bottom of the horn member 21, the chain being supported against sagging by spaced rollers 25 attached to each side of the chain and which ride in horizontal track grooves 26 in the horn member 21. At spaced intervals along the conveyor 23, the chain carries stationary and movable cooperating gripper dogs 28, 29 (Fig. 4) which hold the can bodies rmly while propelling them along the outside horn 16. These are conventional gripper dogs as shown in the Holloway patent.

' The rspraying ofthe inner surface of the side seam B at the spraying station is effected by a spray head 31 located near the discharge end of the machine and is supplied with the coating material and a propellant by way of a pair of supply pipes 32, 33 encased in a protective tube 34 connected to the spray head. Since the can bodies A to be sprayed on the inside by this spray head 31 are closed at the side seam and must pass over the spray head while completely surrounding it and further must ride off the end of the outside horn 16 at the discharge end of the machine, the pipes 32, 33 which supply the spray head must extend all the way back through the outside horn 16, and the inside mandrel 11 to a point ahead of the bumping hammer 15 where the side seam edge portions of the body are still in separated relation, so that the pipes 32, 33 can lead away from the mandrel to a suitable source of supply of the coating material and the propellant. This leaves the spray head 31 in an un- 3 supported relation in the outside horn 16 at the discharge end of the machine.

The instant invention relates to the supporting of the spray head 31 in a novel manner which is simple and efficient. For this purpose the spray head tube 34 is surrounded by a bracket 37 (Figs. 2, 3 and 4) which is clamped to the tube and which above the tube is formed with a pair of horizontal tracks 38 which extend the length of the bracket and which are disposed on opposite sides of a. longitudinal clearance slot or opening 39 in the top of the bracket. The clearance slot 39 is disposed in vertical alignment with the path of travel of the stationary gripper dogs 2S on the conveyor 23, for the passage therethrough of a depending lug or extension 41 formed on each of the gripper dogs 28. These lugs 41 carry opposed support rollers 42 which ride in the tracks 38 in the bracket 37. The tracks 3? are of a length greater than the space between two successive gripper dogs 28 on the conveyor 23 so that the support rollers 42 on at least one gripper dog 28 are always located within the track.

Thus as the continuously moving conveyor 23 propels the can bodies A along the outside horn 16, each pair of support rollers 42 of a gripper dog 28 enter and ride along the tracks 38 of the bracket 37 before a preceding pair of rollers leave the tracks, and thus there is always at least one pair of rollers 42 in the tracks 38 to hold up and support the bracket 37 and the spray head 31 connected thereto. The spray head 31 is thus continuously suspended in a predetermined relation to the path of travel of the gripper dogs 23, 29 and is thus maintained in a predetermined relation to the interior surfaces of the can bodies A for the spraying operation as the bodies pass over and around the spray head without interference. The tracks 38 in the bracket 37 provide for holding the spray head 31 in a uniform stable position against side sway or vertical movement or tilting and thus provide for accurate spraying of the side seam or other desired interior surfaces of the bodies.

As shown in the drawings, the conveyor support rollers 25 which operate in the horn member track grooves 26, preferably are disposed adjacent the body gripper dogs 28, 29 so that these rollers 25, the dogs 28, 29, the lugs 41 and their rollers 42 are suitably included in a compact unit which provides for vertical alignment of all of the conveyor and spray head supporting elements while propelling the can bodies A along their horizontal path of travel.

It is thought that the invention and many of its attendant advantages will be understood from the foregoing description, and it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention or sacrificing all of its material advantages, the form hereinbefore described being merely a preferred embodiment thereof.

I claim:

1. In a machine for treating can bodies on the interior thereof, the combination of a horn for supporting a plurality of can bodies in spaced end-to-end relation, conveyor means disposed adjacent said horn for propelling said spaced can bodies along said horn in processional order, treating means disposed adiacent said horn in the path of travel of said moving can bodies so that the bodies pass over and around said treating means in telescopic relation thereto for the interior treatment of said bodies, support means connected to said treating means, and auxiliary support means mounted on and moving with said conveyor and engageable with the support means on said treating means for supporting said treating means in a predetermined suspended position relative to the interior surfaces of the moving can bodies passing over and around said treating means.

2. In a machine of the character defined in claim 1 the combination wherein said treating means is provided with a support bracket having a track extending along the path of travel of said conveyor and wherein said auxiliary support means is a plurality of spaced apart support elements carried on said conveyor and engageable in succession in said track in said support bracket, said support elements being spaced apart on said conveyor a distance less than the length of said track to insure the engagement of at least one support element in said track at all times for the continuous support of said treating means.

3. In a machine of the character dened in claim 2 the combination wherein said support elements are rollers.

4. In a machine of the character defined in claim l the combination wherein said conveyor means is an endless chain carrying spaced can body gripper dogs and wherein said auxiliary support means is a pair of oppositely disposed rollers mounted on lug extensions of each of said gripper dogs, and wherein said treating means is provided with a bracket having oppositely disposed tracks parallel with and extending along the path of travel of said conveyor chain for the reception of said rollers to support said treating means, said tracks having a length greater than the distance between said gripper dogs to insure that the rollers of at least one gripper dog are always disposed in said tracks to provide for continuous support of said treating means.

5. In a machine of the character defined in claim 4 the combination wherein said conveyor chain is provided with conveyor supporting elements to support said chain against sagging, and wherein said conveyor supporting elements, said gripper dogs, and said treating means supporting rollers on said dogs are all combined in a unit for each can body being propelled by said conveyor.

6. In a machine of the character defined in claim l the combination wherein said treating means includes a spray head for directing treating material toward interior surfaces of said moving can bodies.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,760,465 Hawkins Aug. 28,