US3474759A

US3474759A - Candle dipping machine

Info

Publication number: US3474759A
Application number: US682294A
Authority: US
Inventors: Niels Georg Barfred
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1966-11-14
Filing date: 1967-11-13
Publication date: 1969-10-28
Anticipated expiration: 1986-10-28
Also published as: GB1200894A; DE1617243A1; NL6715425A

Description

0a. 2a, 1969 N, G, BA FRED 3,414,759

CANDLE. DIPPING mcamn Filed Nov. 13. 196'? r :5 sheets-sheet 1 INVENTOR mus ssoae BARFRED BY 9/ ATTD 15 V 041.28, 1969 N. s. 'BARFRED 3,474,759

. CANDLE DIPPING MACHINE Filed Nov. 13, 1967 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VENTOR mus scone amrazo ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,474,759 CANDLE DIPPING MACHINE Niels Georg Barfred, Hojbjerghus, Holte, Denmark Filed Nov. 13, 1967, Ser. No. 682,294 Claims priority, application Great Britain, Nov. 14, 1966, 50,982/66 Int. Cl. Bc 3/10, 3/132 US. Cl. 118-426 5 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The present invention relates to a machine for use in surface treating of preformed candles.

The most common constituents of candles are stearin (stearic acid) and paraffin. The latter emits more light per unit weight than does the former, but has certain drawbacks owing to the spread between its melting point and softening point. The addition of stearin to paratiin tends to minimize these drawbacks.

In order to counteract dripping, it is further usual to provide an outer layer on the candles containing an increased proportion of stearin, or containing a higher melting paraflin to provide for more rapid melting of the inner portion than of the outer rim of the candle.

In making decorative candles, it is also usual to provide the candle with an outer coloured layer.

Further a glossy or glazed surface is obtained by immersing the candle in cold water immediately after the last dipping in melted candle composition.

It is the main object of the present invention to provide a machine, in which these and other operations can be performed mechanically in succession to one another.

With this object in view, the machine of the invention comprises a rotatable multi-arm device with a number of arms radiating from a vertical shaft, said number corresponding to the number of operations to be performed on the candles plus two, and means for raising and lowering said multi-arm device at a number of operational stations, and for advancing the arms stepwise from one of said operational stations to the next one, each of the arms being provided with a clip for gripping the wick ends of a row of candles, and means being further provided for opening the clips at the input and output stations in the latter stage of the downward movement of the multi-arm device.

The machine is advantageous in that no manual handling of the candles is needed, since once the candles have been gripped, they remain suspended from the arm in question during all of the surface finishing treatments and until finally released.

The machine of the invention is preferably operated by means of hydraulic cylinders driven by pressurized air, an embodiment comprising a ratchet wheel mechanism for the stepwise turning of the multi-arm device, a hydraulic cylinder for turning the ratchet wheel one step at a time, and means for activating said hydraulic cylinder in timed relation to the raising of the multi-arm device.

The pressurized air driving makes for smooth stepice wise movement, which is advantageous, since the candles are suspended only by the wicks, and abrupt movements causing them to swing would mean delays in some of the treatments demanding a fairly exact positioning of the candles.

In coating the candles as hereinbefore stated, a dipping process is generally used, in which the candles are totally immersed in a coating Ibath. To get an even coating layer on tapered candles, the lifting from the bath has to be delayed, when the tapering end of the candles is above the bath surface.

In an embodiment of the present machine, therefore, the raising and lowering means for the multi-arm device are fitted with an adjustable delaying mechanism adapted for delaying a part of the movement of said raising and lowering means.

In a preferred embodiment of the machine, two cooperating hydraulic cylinders are provided for raising and lowering the multi-arm device. The cylinders are activated one after the other, and it will be understood that it is easy to vary the speed with which the multiarm device is moved by each cylinder, to make the two cylinders move with different speeds, and to make one cylinder activate the movement of the other at the end of its own movement, or after a suitable delay.

A further embodiment of the present machine comprises a spring-loaded clip for gripping the Wicks of the candles, a flattened, rotatable mandrel being provided for opening said clip, in the latter stage of the downward movement of the multi-arm device, by a turn, and allowing the clip to close again in the bottom position of the multi-arm device by a further 90 turn.

This provides a very simple manner of operating the clips at the desired time, for example by fitting the mandrel with a gear wheel cooperating with a rack being fitted to the piston rod of the cylinder used in turning the multi-arm device. The number of teeth on the rack and their position should provide for a turn of the mandrel during the latter part of the lowering of the multi-arm device on the return movement of the said piston rod, the gear wheel running idle on the mandrel during the forward movement of the piston rod.

The invention further relates to a method of surface treating candles by means of the machine described hereinbefore, said method comprising lowering the multiarm device and gripping a number of candles by a first arm over a loading position, raising the multi-arm device, and turning it through an angle corresponding to the angle between adjacent arms, lowering the device for treatment of the candles, and lifting it again to bring them out of the treatment zone, a furher number of candles having been gripped by a second arm at the loading position, repeating the process, until the first arm is over a discharge position, adjacent to the loading position, and releasing the treated candles from that arm lowering of the multi-arm device.

In the following, the invention will be more fully explained with reference to the accompanying drawings in which FIG. 1 is a schematical side view of an embodiment of the present machine with a part of the casing broken away,

FIG. 2 shows the machine of FIG. 1 from above,

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view of a spring-loaded wick gripping clip with a mandrel for opening the clip,

FIG. 4 is a side view of the clip and mandrel of FIG. 3,

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a ratchet wheel arrangement for stepwise turning of the multi-arm device of FIG. 1, and

FIG. 6 is a diagram of a pressurized air drive of the machine.

The machine has six arms 5 in a sort of turnstile arrangement being displaceable up and down on rods 6 carried through bushings 7, which are mounted on a plate 8, to which the arms 5 are attached. The rods 6 are mounted between plates 9 and 10.

The plate 10 is rotatably mounted on top of a house 11 enclosing a ratchet wheel 36, which is fixed on the plate 10, and is activated by the piston rod of a hydraulic cylinder 12 fixed on the housing 11, and adapted to give the plate 10 a 60 turn at each stroke.

The piston rod 13 of a hydraulic cylinder 14, enclosed in the machine casing 15, serves to move the plate 8 up and down on the rods 6 in timed relation to the turning of the arms 5. The cylinder 14 may be replaced by two cooperating cylinders to effect a delay in the movement as described hereinafter.

The sides of the hexagonal casing 15 carry supports for the attachment of various devices for loading, discharging, and surface treating the candles, as illustrated by a candle holder or support 16, and a vessel 17 to hold a surface coating bath. Other devices, which may be attached to the sides of the casing 15 include a blower or a cooling bath, a device for forming the candle stick end of the candles, and a tray or slide for receiving the candles after the treatments in the machine.

Under each of the arms 5 a clip 18 is mounted. The clip 18 consists of two

flat bars

19 and 20 arranged in V-form, the free edges forming the tip 21 of the V. The free edges of the V are kept pressed against one another by means of springs.

Lugs

23 and 24 are attached to the

flat irons

19 and 20 respectively, said

lugs

23 and 24 also being arranged in V-form, but with a small opening at the tip of the V.

On the casing 15 a mandrel 25 is mounted in radial alignment with the candle holder 16 and in vertical alignment with the tip of the

lugs

23 and 24 in the resting position of the corresponding arm 5.

The mandrel 25 is rotatable with a fiat top part 26 of substantially triangular form. The top part 26 can be made to turn 90 at a time from a position where its flat dimension is lying radially to the center of the casing 15, and to a tangential position.

A mandrel 27 equal to the mandrel 25 is similarly mounted under a neighbouring arm at the delivery station of the machine.

The slip arrangement is shown in further detail in FIGS. 3 and 4. The

flat bars

19 and 20 are hinged on a shaft 22 in a scissor-like arrangement as seen in cross section. Springs 29 keep the free ends of the

bars

19 and 20 pressed against one another. The shaft 22 is journalled in supports 30, secured to the arm 5. The

lugs

23 and 24 are also hinged to the shaft 22.

The mandrel 25 is activated by means of a rack 31 engaging a gear wheel 32, which is fitted to the mam drel in such a manner as to turn it in one direction only,

the gear wheel idling in the opposite direction.

The gear wheel 32 is activated by a rack 33 with a number of teeth 34 corresponding to a 180 turn of the mandrel 25.

As seen in FIG. 5, the rack 33 is driven by the piston rod 35 of the cylinder 12 which also activates the ratchet Wheel 36 by means of a pawl mechanism 37, driven by adjustable stops 38 on the piston rod 35.

FIG. 6 illustrates in a diagrammatic manner the pressurized air driving of the machine, including activating the mandrel 25 by means of a separate hydraulic cylinder 40.

Instead of the cylinder 14 for raising and lowering of the multi-arm device, two cooperating cylinders 41 and 42 are used.

The pressurized air is supplied through a pipe 43 and distributed to the cylinders 40, 41, and 42 through magnet valves 44, 45, and 46, respectively.

The movements of the pistons in the cylinders are 4 limited by terminal stops 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, and 52, cooperating with the magnet valves44, 45, and 46.

The machine operates in the following manner: A number of candles 2-8 are delivered to the candle holder 16 in substantially upright position with the burning ends upwards, while the turnstile is in top position with one of the arms 5 just over the holder 16.

The cylinders 41 and 42 are then activated successively to draw down the turnstile. By the downward movement, the triangular top part 26 of the mandrel 25 is forced in between the

lugs

23 and 24, opening the clip 18 just before it arrives at a level with the wick ends of the candles 28.

The downward movement of the turnstile is adjusted so that it stops at a position, in which the tip 21 of the clip 18 is slightly below the top of the wicks of the candles 28, and when stopping, the cylinder 40 activates the top part 26 of the mandrel 25 to turn thereby allowing the clip 18 to close around the wick ends.

After turning of the mandrel part 26 the cylinder 40 activates the hydraulic cylinders 41 and 42 so that the piston rod of the former carries the turnstile to its topmost position, whereby the candles 28 are lifted free of the holder 16.

On the turnstile arriving at the top position, the hydraulic cylinder 12 is activated to turn the arms 5 60 in counterclockwise direction, at the end of which movement the cylinders 41 and 42 are again activated, and this time to pull the turnstile downwards.

Thereby the candles picked up from the candle holder 16 are brought into a treatment zone, for example a bath containing melted candle composition for giving the candles an anti-dripping coating.

At the same time a new set of candles are picked up from the candle holder 16 by the clip 18 of the following arm 5.

It will readily be understood that on repeating the described cycle, each time turning the arms for 60, a number of treatments can be performed, for example a repeated coating or a fluting of the candle stick ends, a colour dip, and a dip in cold water to solidify the coatings and to provide a surface finish, before at the last station, the candles are released and collected for packing. 7

It will also be understood that the number of arms 5 in the turnstile should correspond to the maximum number of operations to be performed, including picking up and delivery of the candles.

I claim:

1. Machine for use in surface treating preformed candles, comprising a rotatable multi-arm device with a number of arms radiating from a vertical shaft, said number corresponding to the number of operations to be performed on the candles plus two, means for raising and lowering said multi-arm device at a number of operational stations, a ratchet-wheel mechanism for the stepwise turning of the .multi-arm device, a hydraulic cylinder for turning the ratchet-wheel one step at a time, and means for activating said hydraulic cylinder in timed relation to the raising of the multi-arm device, each of the arms being provided with a clip for gripping the wick ends of a row of candles, and means being further provided for opening the clips at the input and output stations in the latter stage of the downward movement of the multiarm device.

2. Machine as set forth in claim 1, in which the raising and lowering means for the multi-arm device are fitted with an adjustable delaying mechanism adapted for delaying a part of the movement of said raising and lowerrng means.

3. Machine as set forth in claim 2, in which two cooperating hydraulic cylinders are provided for raising and lowering the multi-arm device.

4. Machine as set forth in claim 1, comprising a springloaded clip for gripping the wicks of the candles, a flattened, rotatable mandrel being provided for opening said clip, in the latter stage of the downward movement of the multi-arm device, by a 90 turn, and allowing the clip to close again in the bottom position of the multiarm device by a further 90 turn.

5. Machine for surface treating candles which comprises a rotatable multi-arm device with a number of arms radiating from a vertical shaft, means for raising and lowering said multi-arm device when in each of a plurality of rotational positions corresponding to the angle between adjacent arms, means for rotating said multiarm device successively stepwise when in elevated position through an angle corresponding to the angle between adjacent arms, a holder disposed at one of said rotational positions adapted to hold a plurality of candles underneath and in alignment with one of said arms with the wicks of the candles held thereby extending upwardly therefrom, wick gripping means extending longitudinally underneath each of said arms, means for opening the wick gripping means underneath the arm in alignment with candles disposed on said holder as said arm approaches the candles wicks during downward movement of the multi-arm device, means for closing said wick gripping means when said wicks of candles disposed on said holder are received in said wick gripping means, means for reopening said wick gripping means during downward movement of said multi-arm devices to release candles held thereby at a discharge position spaced angularly from the position of said candle holder, and at least one candle treating means for treating the surface of candles held by said candle gripping means at a treating position angularly disposed between the position of said candle holder and said discharge position when candles held by said wick gripping means are lowered at said treating position upon lowering said multi-arm device.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,739,482 12/1929 Griswold 11874 XR 3,256,567 6/1966 Bjorck 18-27 XR WALTER A. SCHEEL, Primary Examiner R. I. SMITH, Assistant Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R.