US3496598A - Tube cutoff and forming machine - Google Patents

Description

Fb. 24, 1970 GIA. YOUNG ETAL 3,496,593 TUBE CUTOFF AND FORMING MACHINE A Filed April 19, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fl 1 I u I W INVENTORS: GEORGE A. YOUNG MICHAEL YUHAS, JR. MATHEW F. PATTON EDWIN J. BURKHART ATT'YS Feb. 24, 1970 I AEY N -i' 3,496,598

TUBE-CUTOFF AND FORMING MACHINE Filed April 19, 1 968 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 2

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ln|m VEJ JJHL INVENTORS'. GEORGE A. YOUNG MICHAEL YUHAS, JR. MATHEW F. PATTON EDWIN J. BURKHART BY: ,Qalfa d gmgi ATT'YS United States Patent 3,496,598 TUBE CUTOFF AND FORMING MACHINE George A. Young, Bay Village, Matthew F. Patton, Cleveland, Michael Yuhas, Jr'., Brooklyn, and Edwin J. Burkhart, North Olmsted, Ohio, assignors to Precision Paper Tube Company, Wheeling, 11]., a corporation of Illinois Filed Apr. 19, 1968, Ser. No. 722,760

Int. Cl. B26d 3/16 U.S. Cl. 18-5 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A tube cutoff and forming machine for tubes useful as capacitor jackets, having one end constricted generally as seen in U.S. Patent 3,040,385. The machine has on its frame a rotatable wheel having replaceable pegs projecting radially outward. The tubing is fed onto the pegs, transversely severed to provide a discrete overlap, advanced through a heat tunnel, automatically flattened in the overlapped portion and then ejected to provide a high degree of quality control.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION As mentioned above, capacitor jacekts are provided with one end constricted. These capacitors are insulated by the jackets (conventionally constructed of Mylar), both thermally and electrically. The insulation is improved by having the jacket carefully controlled as to dimension. Heretofore, this has not been possible with the precision demanded. In large measure, the shaping of the capacitor jacket has been essentially manual, notwithstanding the fact that literally millions of these are employed each year in various electrical and electronic devices.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION The difficulty with quality control has been overcome through the use of the invention which not only produces jackets of higher quality than those previously available but also in greater quantity per unit of time. This is achieved through a machine which performs a sequence of steps in timed synchronism and in a manner wherein any deviation from top quality can be immediately discerned.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION The invention is explained in conjunction with an illustrative embodiment in the accompanying drawing, in which FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a machine constructed according to the teachings of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the machine of FIG. 1 and FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the machine seen in the preceding views.

In the illustration given and with reference to FIGS. 1 and 3, the symbol T designates generally a tube of considerable length which is employed to develop the capacitor jacket. Advantageously, this is constructed of spirally wound ethylene terephthalate (Mylar). As mentioned hereinabove, the object of the machine operation is to provide a constriction at one end of the tube, much as is seen in the co owned Patent 3,040,385. For this purpose, we provide a frame which, in the illustration given, is a supporting platform generally designated Mounted on the platform 10 is a pedestal 11 which is equipped with a removable part 12. The part 12 is equipped with an orifice 13 through which the tube T projects and which is sized to closely conform to the outer diameter of the tube T.

Reciprocably mounted on the frame 10 for coaction 3,496,598 Patented Feb. 24, 1970 tals 15 and 16 which provide a support for a rotatable wheel generally designated 17. The wheel is rotated in stepwise fashion by means of a Geneva drive 18 which derives power from a motor 19. Connecting the motor 19 with the Geneva drive 18 is a belt and pulley drive 20, a gear-reducer 21 and a chain and sprocket drive 22. The output of the gear-reducer 21 is also delivered to an eccentric 23 which reciprocates the knife 14.

Mounted in the periphery of the wheel 17 are a plurality of pegs 24 which extend radially outward of the wheel 17. The orifice 13 is seen to be aligned with the horizontal radius of the wheel 17, i.e., in axial alignment with the peg or pegs 24. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, we provide a pair of pegs at each circumferentially-spaced position aligned with side-by-side orifices. It will be appreciated that as the orifice size is changed to accommodate a different tube T, so also will the pegs 24 and for that purpose the wheel 17 is transversely apertured and equipped with set screws 25.

In operation, the tube T is advanced so that a portion thereof is ensleeved over an aligned peg 24. This occurs during the stoppage portion of the Geneva cycle and during that time the knife 14 is actuated so as to transversely sever the tube, leaving a segment ensleeved on the peg 24 with a discrete portion overlapping the peg 24. Thereafter, the Geneva drive is actuated to advance the ensleeved peg 24 through a heat tunnel 26. The tunnel 26 is pivotally mounted on a pedestal 27 provided as part of the frame 10 and can be moved to non covering relation relative to the wheel 17 by pivoting to the dotted line position designated 26' in FIG. 3. It will be noted that the tunnel occupies somewhat less than of are relative to the wheel 17 but this is sufficient to soften the end of the tubular segment ensleeved on the peg 24. At the end of the tunnel 26, the peg comes into alignment with a plunger-equipped solenoid 28. The solenoid plunger extends into engagement With the end of the peg, thereby flattening the overlapped portion of the tube. As the tube segment (now flattened at one end) proceeds further in its, arcuate travel on the wheel 17, it comes into alignment with an air blast emanating from a jet pipe 29 activated by a solenoid air ejector generally designated 30. Alternatively, mechanical ejector means may be employed in certain arrangements to advantage. The ejected workpiece is then conventionally collected in a receptacle (not shown).

Also provided on the frame is a current controller 31 which is operably associated with the heat tunnel 26, more particularly, the current-carrying wiring 32 (see FIG. 1). Also provided on the frame 10 is a power control box 33 which governs the operation of the various drives.

While in the foregoing specification a detailed description of an embodiment of the invention has been set down for the purpose of illustration, many variations of the details hereingiven may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

We claim:

1. A tube cutoff and forming machine comprising a frame, pedestal means and said frame equipped with orifice means for supporting an elongated tube, peg equipped means rotatably mounted on said frame for sequentially positioning a peg in axial alignment with said tube and orifice, knife means on said frame for severing said tube to provide a segment thereof ensleeved on said peg with a discrete portion overlapping the peg end, heat tunnel means and said frame in the path of peg movement for softening said tube portion, means operably as- V 3 sociated with said tunnel means for flattening said overlapped tube portion.

2. The machine of claim 1 in which said peg equipped means includes a wheel, Geneva drive coupled to said wheel to rotate the same, said knife means being operatively coupled to said Geneva drive for severing said tube between steps of said drive.

3. The-machine of claim 1 in which said orifice means and the pegs of said peg equipped means are each removable to accommodate said machines to tubes of different size.

4. The machine of claim 1 in which said frame is equipped with segment ejector means positioned in the path of peg movement subsequent to said flattening means.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Clark. Collins. Gosnell et a1. Hardgrove. Wooley. Sander et a1. Gernandt. Fyfe et 211. Strong.

WILLIAM J. STEPHENSON Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R.

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