US2915165A

US2915165A - Sorting head for cathode sleeves

Info

Publication number: US2915165A
Application number: US564190A
Authority: US
Inventors: William B Bell
Original assignee: Sylvania Electric Products Inc
Current assignee: GTE Sylvania Inc
Priority date: 1956-02-08
Filing date: 1956-02-08
Publication date: 1959-12-01
Anticipated expiration: 1976-12-01

Description

1959 w. B. BELL 2,915,165

SORTING HEAD FOR CATHODE SLEEVES Filed Feb. 8, 1956 INVENTOR v z am/ ATTORNE WILLIAM B; BELL United States Patent SORTING HEAD FOR CATHODE SLEEVES William B. Bell, Emporium, Pa., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Sylvania Electric Products Inc., Wilmington, Del., a corporation of Delaware Application February 8, 1956, Serial No. 564,190

1 Claim. (Cl. 198-33) The invention relates to means whereby articles of substantially uniform cross sectional area except for an enlarged area at a distance from the longitudinal center of gravity of the articles are arranged or orientated so that as they leave said means, the enlarged areas are always closer to the trailing ends of the articles than to the leading ends, regardless of which end of the articles was fed to the arranging means.

It is an object of the invention to provide a new and improved device for effecting the above result.

provide means for arranging cathode sleeves of rectangular cross section, with beads on only the narrower faces of the parallelepiped near ends of the sleeves so that all of these beaded ends leave the arranging device last, regardless of which end of the sleeve was presented first to the arranging device.

For a complete understanding of the invention, consideration should be given to the appended description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawing in which: i

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the arranging device with a diagrammatic view of some cathode sleeves leaving the arranging device.

Fig. 2 is a top view of the arranging head of the device with a hold down plate partially cut away to expose otherwise hidden parts.

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 33 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a section on the line 44 of Fig. 3.

Figs. 5, 6, and 7 show three examples of articles which may be arranged in the manner set forth by the device of the invention.

Fig. 8 is a diagrammatic view showing how a sleeve having a head at the trailing end will act in the device, and

Figs. 9 and 10 are similar views except that the head is .at the leading end.

Referring to the drawings in greater detail, at 10 there is shown a vibratory bowl such as disclosed in the patent to Balsiger et al. 2,609,914, the bowl having a spiral outwardly and upwardly inclined runway 12 along which elongated articles will travel upon proper vibratory movements being imparted to the bowl. At the upper end of the runway, in accordance with the present invention, is an arranging block 14 which functions to cause articles which have enlargements near one end only to leave the runway with the enlarged ends trailing, regardless of whether these enlargements were leading or trailing when they were presented to the block.

The block comprises two

cheeks

16 and 18 having flat "ice faces 20 in contact with each other and both mounted on a support plate 22 as by screws 24 passing through holes in the plate 22 and block 18 and threaded into block 16. The plate 22 is fastened to the upper end of the bowl at the runway exit by screws 26 or the like passing through holes in the plate and threaded into the flange portion of the bowl.

The blocks have a mouth in the form of registering recesses 28 with walls 30 tapering upwardly and outwardly and merging into

shelves

32 and 33. The upper faces of the shelves form parts of a grooved trackway 34. The trackway 34 is a continuation of trackway 12. Partially bridging the upper gap of the recesses 28 is a pairof ledges 36, of the same size and shape, the upper surface of the ledges lying in the lower surface of the trackway. The width of the

trackways

12 and 34 is just a little more than the overall Width, including the beads, of the cathode sleeves to be orientated and the space between the ledges 36 is a little greater than the width of the sleeves but less than the overall widths thereof. Between the ledges 36 and the

shelves

32 and 33, the space between opposing walls of the

cheeks

16 and 18 is equal to that of the width of the runways, and the gaps between the

shelves

32, 33 and the ledge plates 36 are greater than any diameter of the sleeves. The distances between the edges of the

shelves

32 and 33 is a little less than the length of a sleeve and the depth of the trackway 34 is a little more than the vertical height of a sleeve lying in the trackway. The distance between the ends of the ledges 36 and the edge of shelf 33 is slightly less than the distance from the bead to the least remote end of the sleeve.

Bridging the trackway directly over the ledges 36 is a hold down plate 38 fastened to' the upper face of one of the cheeks, as 16, by suitable means such as a screw 40. The plate extends along the runway for a distance corre sponding to the length of the ledges 36 along the runway and the spacing between the lower face of the plate and the upper faces of the ledge is just a little greater than the height of the sleeves as they move along the runway.

The lower ends of the cheeks have two stepped mating semi-circular recesses 42 in the larger diametered portion of which is frictionally held the end of a duct 44 leading to a suitable receptacle for stacking the orientated sleeves. This receptacle may be a jar or slowly movable tray, as is well known in the art.

In operation, a collection of articles of the same size and shape but with the enlargements facing in any which way is dumped into the bottom of the bowl. These articles may be bolts or headed screws, or finishing nails or any of the forms of cathode sleeves illustrated in Figures 5, 6, and 7. Assuming that a number of cylindrical sleeves of the type shown in Fig. 5 and which have circumferential beads 48 are dumped into the bowl, the vibrations of the bowl will cause them to climb, in a single file, up and along the inside wall of the bowl until they reach the block 14. With cathode sleeves of the cylindrical type the services of the hold down plate 38 are unnecessary and the same, if desired, may be displaced either by loosening the screws 40 and swinging the plate out of the way of the track or by complete removal thereof. If a cylindrical cathode sleeve arrives at the block with the beaded periphery trailing, the sleeve will ride in the track until the center of gravity passes beyond the edge of shelf 32 and then the shelf overhanging end of the sleeve will drop between the opposing faces of the ledges 36, into the mouth of the block, the beaded end passing through the widened gap between the ends of the ledges 36 and the edge of shelf 32. When a cathode sleeve with beaded edge leading reaches the block, the mass of the sleeve in back of the edge of shelf 32 will maintain the sleeve horizontal until the bead rests on the upper faces of ledges 36. Continued vibration of the bowl will bring the sleeve to the position shown in Fig. 9 where it is just ready to fall. When the trailing end of the sleeve clears the edge of shelf 32, said end falls between the opposing faces of ledge plates 36, as illustrated in Fig. 10, and the beaded end of the sleeve will then pass down through the gap between the shelf '33 and the ends of ledge plates 36, Thus the cathode sleeves will drop down into the duct, all with the beaded ends uppermost.

Cathode sleeves and like articles which are rectangular in cross section, as shown in Fig. 6 at 50 and provided with beads 52 on the minor diameter of the sleeves will be orientated in similar fashion. However, where articles are narrower in one cross sectional dimension than in another as shown at 54 in Fig. 7, and have the enlargements, such as 56, on the 'major diameter, there is an additional problem because the articles may rotate about their longitudinal axis in the track and present the narrow dimension to the opposing plates 36, thereby slipping down into the mouth of the block irrespective of which end of the article the enlargement may be on.

To prevent such rotation of the sleeves, there is provided the hold down plate 38. Throughout the motion of the sleeves 54 along the trackway 12 there has been a tendency for them to lie with their broad faces on that trackway. If due to the ziggling to which the sleeves are subjected by reason of vibratory movements of the bowl, the sleeves should inadvertently turn on their narrower faces, they may either roll off the trackway or again right themselves. However, if such action should occur at the mouth of the block, due to the absence of beads on the ends of the minor diameter of the sleeve, the sleeves would slip into the mouth of the block regardless of whether the head 56 is at the leading or trailing edge of the sleeve. It is to prevent this that the block 38 is provided. The distance between the lower face of block 38 and the upper faces of ledges 36 is just a little more than the narrow dimension or minor diameter of the sleeve. The width of the trackway 34 is just a little more than the wide dimension or major diameter of the sleeve. Therefore, the sleeve cannot turn in the trackway once it has entered beneath the plate 38 and proper orientation of articles is assured.

It should be understood that a number of exchangeable blocks 14 are provided, to accommodate articles of different diameters and lengths.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

In an orientating device, a block having a grooved trackway along its upper face, the bottom of the groove, for a portion of its length, having a flat surface and apertured to provide a narrow slot with a wider slot at each end of the narrow slot, a recess in the block below the apertured portion, means for conducting orientated articles away from the recess, and a hold down plate having a fiat under surface parallel to the flat surface of the trackway, coextensive with the narrow slot, and spaced vertically .thereabove a distance less than the width of the trackway.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,533,523 Thoma Apr. 14, 1925 2,658,428 Charles Feb. 7, 1928 2,609,914- Balsiger Sept. 9, 1952 2,752,028 Moskowitz June 26, 1956