US512073A - Can-capping machine - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.) 5 Sheets-Sheet 1.

T. VAN KANNEL. (JAN GAPPING MACHINE.

No. 512,073. Patented Jan. 2, 1894.

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(No Model.) 5 sheets sheet 2,

T. VAN KANNEL. CAN GAPPING MACHINE.

N0.512,073. Patented-Jan-2,1894.

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(No Model.) 5 Sheets-Sheet 3.

- T. VAN KANNEL.

CAN GAPPING MACHINE.

Patented Jan. Z

CLU.

(No Model.) 4 5 Sheet-Sheet T. VA N-KANNEL.

GAN GAPPING MAGHINE.

' ij'Patn ted Jan. 2,1894.

flu/0x11301- i .T/maphlzw Vamlefamw 1 he's Jitter ya THEOPHILUS VAN KANNEL, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

CAN CAPPING MACHIN E.

EPECIFIOATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 512,073, dated January 2, 1894.

Application filed January 9, 1893. Serial No. 457,81 (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, THEOPHILUS VAN KAN- NEL, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have invented certain Improvements in Can -Oapping Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention comprises certain details in the construction of a can capping machine as fully described and specifically claimed hereinafter, the purpose of my invention being to provide simple mechanism for presenting the sets or groups of cans in succession to the capping irons, to insure accuracy in the action of the capping irons upon the solder, and to provide for the effective heating of the capping irons.

In the accompanying drawingsz-Figure 1, is a longitudinal section, partly in elevation, of a can capping machine constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2, is a front view of the machine, looking in the direction of the arrow, Fig. 1. Fig. 3, is a plan view of the machine. plan view on the line l-2, Fig. 1. Fig. 5, is a plan view of part of the tray supporting and feeding devices; and Figs. 6 to 11 inclusive are views on an eulargedscale and representing parts of the machine.

One of the opposite end frames 1 of themachine has bearings for a shaft 2 upon the inner end of which is secured a structure, which,

in the present instance, constitutes a combined cam and crank, said structure comprising a disk 3 with cam flange 4 projecting from one face of the same, the disk also having a crank pin 5 as shown in Fig. 1.

Upon cross bars 6 on the main frame 1 are mounted and secured tray supporting frames or bars 7, the outer ends of which are provided with slots 8, for the reception of bolts 9, which can be adjusted to and fro in the slots and can be securedin position after adjustment by suitable nuts 10 (see Fig. 3). These bolts serve as pivots for tray lifters 11 and 12, the lifter 11, in the present instance,

comprising a pair of arms, and the lifter 12 consisting of a plate or shell having on its under side a bracket 13, carrying anantifriction roller 14, which is acted upon by the Fig. 4, is a sectional outer face of the cam flange et so as to impart a rising and falling movement to the inner portion of the lifter 12, the latter being furnished at its opposite sides with lugs 15 for bearing upon the under sides of the arms constituting the lifter 11 and thereby providing for jointoperation of both lifters. These lugs 15 are adjustable vertically, as shown in Fig.

7, so that the position of the litter 11 in respect to the lifter 12 may be regulated in order that the can carrying tray, when elevated by the lifters, will be exactly level. Each of the lifters has, at its inner end, lugs 16, and the upward movement of each lifter carries said lugs above the pivotal plane of the lifters, so that they have a tendency to approach each other and thus properly center the tray. Hence no great degree of care need be observed when the tray is first pushed onto the lifters, the latter, in elevating the tray, at the same time centering the same and adjusting the cans to proper position beneath the capping irons.

The slots 8, to which the pivot bolts 9 of the lifters are adapted, provide for moving either lifter in one direction or the other, so as to properly adapt it for the performance of the centering operation before described. For instance, the pivot bolts may be permitted to slide in the slots while the lifters are being elevated, the tray being then adjusted so as to bring the cans directlyunder the capping irons and the lifters then moved so as to'bring their lugs 16 into contact with the tray, the pivot bolts being then secured in position in the slots.

To a bracket on one of the cross bars 6 of the frame is hungalever 17 which has, at the outer end, pendent weights l8, and at the inner end an antitriction roller 19, which runs in contact with the inner face of the cam I flange 4.. This weigh ted lever thus serves as a counterbalance, the weights falling when the lifters are raised, and being elevated when thelit'ters are descending, so that the lever' 3 tends to assist the cam when the latter is subjected to the strain of lifting the cans, and exercises a retarding influence on the cam while the cans are being lowered and while their weight would otherwise be exerted to move the cam forward. Uniformity of action of the cam is thus insured and the power required to rotate the shaft 2 is likewise uniform, this being of especial importance in hand operated machines where it is advisable that no materially greater power be required to run the machine at one time than at another.

Each of the can carrying trays has recesses for receiving two transverse rows of cans, one of these recesses being offset in respect to the other to the extent of about half the diameter of a can, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, so that the centers of the cans of one row are midway between the centers of the cans of the other row, this arrangement permitting the disposal of the cans so as to lessen the width of the tray as compared with a tray in which the cans of the two rows are center to center, the arrangement also permitting a closer arrangement of the capping irons and tending to compactness in the general structure of the machine.

The trays are deposited upon the supporting frames or bars, in advance of the structure carrying the capping irons and are moved forward onto the overlapping portions of the lifters when the latter are in their lowest position, suitable curved guides 80 at the sides of the machine serving to laterally center the trays as shown in Figs. 3 and 4.

The forward movement is imparted to the trays by means of the devices best shown in Figs. 1 and 2. These devices comprise a swinging arm 21, hung to a suitable pivot rod 22 at the base of the machine, and carrying at the upper end a pivoted pawl 23 which, in the present instance, is in the form of a broad convex plate so that it can be drawn back beneath the tray without risk of catching upon any part of the same, or will permit the shoving of the tray over it without any such likelihood of catching upon the tray.

Mounted upon the arm 21 at a point below the pawl 23 is a slide 24, which is secured to the arm by means of a bolt 25 adapted to a slot 26 in the arm, and to the lower end of this slide is pivoted a block 27 through which passes the threaded end of a rod 28 the other end of which is adapted to the crank pin 5 formed upon the cam disk 3. By adjusting the slide 24, therefore, the point of action of the rod 28 can be moved nearer to or farther from the fulcrum of the arm 21 and the throw of the tray feeding pawl 23 can be accurately regulated, while the position of the pawl, at the extremities of its throw, can be varied as desired by manipulating nuts 29 which are adapted to the threaded portion of the rod 28 and bear upon the opposite sides of the block 27. The pawl 23 has, at one end, a boss 30 to which is adapted a set screw 31, contact of the head of the latter with the arm 21 limiting the upward movement of the acting end of the pawl so that by the adjustment of said screw 31 the position of the acting end of the pawl in respect to the tray can be properly determined.

As shown in Fig. 1,the arm 21 is only partially retracted and the pawl 23 is being drawn back beneath the tray 20 which rests upon the supports 7, but when the arm 21 has been fully retracted the pawl will be clear of the tray and its front end will rise so as to engage with the rear edge of the tray on the forward movement of the arm 21, and thus push said trayinto position beneath the capping irons, the preceding tray being pushed out of the way.

At the upper end of the fixed frame are two cross bars 32 each of which serves to carry one row of capping irons and its adjunctive devices, these being precisely the same for each row. Hence it will be necessary to describe but one of them.

To the bar 32 is secured by means of bolts 33 a series of tubular shells 34 enlarged at their lower ends so as to form hoods for the reception of the capping irons or steels 35 each of these tubular shells having an upper bearing 36 and a lower bearing 37 for the cappingiron spindle 38 to which the capping iron is rigidly secured in any suitable manner, preferably by means of one or more transverse bolts 39, as shown in Figs. 1 and 6.

To the lower edge of the enlarged hood on each of the tubular shells 34 is also secured a guide plate 40,having an opening in which the capping iron has a very slight play, said enlarged hood of each shell 34 also having, at the outer side, an opening closed by a bulging door or cover 41, pivoted at its lower edge, so that it can be swung outward and downward sufficiently to permitaccess to the capping iron, this door having an opening for the reception of the nozzle 42 which supplies the gas, or mixture of air and gas, for heating the capping iron, each nozzle being provided with a screw valve 44 at the'outer end, so that the gas entering the nozzle at the outer end will fill the same and issue in a broad sheet from the inner end of the nozzle, whereas if the controlling valve was located at the discharge end of the nozzle it would serve to contract the stream of gas at that point and cause it to issue in the form of a fine and forcible jet, which would not only have a tendency to blow out readily, but would not be as effective for heating purposes as a broad or thick jet issuing with less velocity.

The hood formed on each shell 34 for incasing the capping iron is provided at its inner end with an outlet 45 for the waste products of combustion, these waste products escaping into a chamber formed within an inverted U-shaped casing 46 which contains pipes 47, thegas being compelled to pass through these pipes before it can gain access to the pipes 43 for supplying the nozzles, and hence being subjected to a heating action which improves its burning quality, espe- .IIO

cially if, as is sometimes the case, the flow of gas is induced by a steam jet, the superheater having the efiect of drying or decomposing the steam so that it adds to instead of detracting from the combustibility of the gas.

The waste products of combustion may escape from the chamber within the casing 46 through outlets suitably disposed as for instance through end outlets 48, as shown-in Fig. 3.

The expanded lower portion orhood of each shell 34 has secured to it a series of depending fingers 50, three of these being shown on each hood in the present instance, and the inner faces of these fingers are slightly beveled, as shown in Fig. 6, so that when a can is lifted beneath the capping iron the fingers will, by contact with the upper edge of the can, serve to accurately center the same andinsure the bringing of the groove with its solder strip directly beneath the capping iron and hence prevent any defect in the soldering caused by improper registry of the capping iron and can.

The bars 32 are secured to the side frames of the machine by means of bolts 51 adapted to slots 52 at the ends of said bars so that the latter may be adjusted toward and from each other to suit the diameter of the cans to be acted upon, the securing bolt 33 for each of the shells 34 being likewise adapted to a slot 53 in the bar 32 in order to provide for a change in the distance from center to center of the capping irons in each row for a like purpose.

Minor adjustments of the individual capping irons are effected by means of a pin 54 adapted to an opening in the top of the expanded lower portion or hood of the shell 34 this pin being secured by means of a nut 55 to a transverse bar 56 forming part of the fixed frame, the opening formed in said bar for the reception ofthe pin, however, being somewhat larger in diameter than said pin, so as to provide for movement of the latter in any direction, while free expansion and contraction of the shell 34 in a vertical direction is permitted owing to the fact that the pin 54 exercises no vertical control over said shell.

The spindle 38 of each of the capping irons is hollow so as to provide for the passage of the usual cap holding rod 57, which is provided at its upper end with a weight 58 secured thereto by a set screw 59, and, secured by a like set screw 60 to the upper end of each of the capping iron spindles, is a sprocket wheel 61, which is adapted to engage with a link belt or chain 62 passing at one end of the machine round asprocket wheel 63 on a vertical shaft 64, and at the opposite end of the machine round an idler pulley 65 turning on a stud 66 which projects from a bracket 67 on the fixed frame.

Vertical adjustment of either of the capping irons is readily provided for by slackening the set screw which secures it to the sprocket wheel, the latter having its bearing upon the upper end of the shell 34.

It will be observed that each of the capping irons and its shellis adjustable independently of either of the others and yet all of the bearings for each row of capping irons and their spindles are in one structure adjustable as a unit so that no adjustment of either capping iron can interfere with the proper alignment of the various bearings.

The independent adjustment of each of the capping irons and its shell or casing provides for the proper adjustment of the capping irons to the cans after the machine has been heated up to the required degree and the parts are fully expanded, thus overcoming the objection to machines in which the capping iron casings are not independent of each other. 4

Upon each of the bars 32 is formed a chain guide 68 which serves to keep the drive chain in proper engagement with the sprocket wheels 61.

The vertical shaft 64 is provided at the lower end with a bevel wheel 70 (Figs. 2 and 4) which meshes with a like bevel wheel 71 loosely mounted upon the horizontal shaft 2 of the machine, and secured to said shaft,

some distance beyond the bevel wheel 71, is a disk 72, and between the wheel and disk is located a crank handle 73, which is adapted to turn loosely on the shaft 2 and carries two pawls 74 and 75 projected by means of an interposed spring 76, as shown in Fig. 8.

On the outer face of the bevel wheel 71 is formed a beveled projection 77 having an abrupt shoulder facing in one direction, and on the inner face of the disk 72 is formed a beveled rojection 78 having an abrupt shoulder facing in the opposite direction. Hence, when the handle 73 is turned in one direction, the pawl 74 will engage with the abrupt end of the shoulder on the bevel wheel 71 and the movement of the handle will be imparted to said wheel, the other pawl 75 slipping over the beveled projection of the disk 72 when the handle is moved in this direction, so that no movement is imparted to said disk or to the shaft 2. When the handle is turned in the opposite direction, however, the conditions are reversed and the shaft 2 will berotated, the bevelwheels 70 and 71 and shaft 64 remaining stationary. In operating the machine, therefore, one turn of the handle will cause the feeding forward, centering, and lifting of a tray of cans so as to present the latter properly to the capping irons, and a reverse movement of the handle will then cause rotation of the capping irons, which may be continued as long as desired, the cans remaining in the elevated position as long as the handle is turned in this direction. On then again turning the handle in the opposite direction the tray with its capped cans is lowered and pushed forward from the lifters by means of the next advancing tray, which is lifted in turn.

In order to prevent the lifters from catching upon the'tray of capped cans as well as to provide for a slight farther forward movement of the same, the inner ends of the arms constituting the lifter 11 are beveled as shown in Fig. 1, so that, as said lifter is raised, the action of these beveled ends upon the tray of capped cans will serve to move said tray forward on the supporting frames or bars 7 and will prevent any tripping or catching of said tray by the lifters.

It will be observed on reference to Figs. 6 and 11 that each of the capping irons instead of having a continuous V-shaped lower edge or flange, as usual, has this flange flattened or removed throughout about one-third of the circle.

The short segments of solder which are placed in the grooves of the cans are so disposed that when the cans are brought under the action of the capping irons, these segments Will be beneath the flattened portions of the irons. Hence there will not only be no tendency of the iron to displace the segment from the groove, but there will also be a larger surface of the iron for bearing upon the segment, and consequently a more rapid melting of the same than if it was subjected to the action of the usual V-shaped edge of the iron.

Owing to the clutching mechanism which I have just described the capping irons do not begin to rotate for a short time after the cans have been lifted into position, even if the 0peratin g handle is immediately reversed, when the cans have reached this position. Hence sufficient time is afforded for the melting of the solder by the capping irons before the latter commence to rotate so as to distribute the melted solder throughout the groove in the top of the can. It may be advisable in some cases, however, to permit a slight dwell in the movement of the handle before changing the direction of rotation of the same in order to positively insure the melting of the solder before the rotation of the capping irons.

Having thus described my invention, I claim and desire to secure by Letters Pa ent--.

1. The combination, in a can capping machine, of a pair of lifters overlapping each other so as to act upon opposite portions of a can tray, and means for operating said lifters, substantially as specified.

2. The combination, in a can capping machine, of a pair of lifters overlapping each other so as to act upon opposite portions of a can tray, and each provided with lugs for engaging the tray, with means for hanging and operating said lifters so that their tray-engaging ends will approach each other as they are raised, substantially as specified.

3. The combination, in a can capping machine, of a pair of lifters overlapping each other and having lugs so as to engage with the opposite edges of a can tray, means for operating said lifters, and adjustable fulcrum pins for the lifters, substantially as specified.

4. The combination, in a can capping machine, of a pair of' lifters overlapping each other so as to act upon opposite portions of a can tray, a cam for imparting movement to one of said lifters, and projections on said lifter engaging with the overlapping portions of the other lifter so as to transmit movement thereto, substantially as specified.

5. The combination, in a can capping machine, of a pair of lifters overlapping each other so as to act upon opposite portions of a can tray, means for raising and lowering one of said lifters, projections on said positively actuated lifter for engaging with the overlapping portions of the other lifter and means for adjusting said projections, substantially as specified.

6. The combination, in a can capping machine, of tray lifting devices, a counterbalance lever, and a duplex cam, one portion of which acts upon the tray lifting devices, and another portion upon the counterbalance 1ever, whereby the strains upon the cam are equalized, substantially as specified.

7. The combination, in a can capping machine, of a pair of tray lifters overlapping each other so as' to act upon opposite portions of the tray, a tray feeder, and means for operating said feeder and lifters from the same driving shaft, substantially as specified.

8. The combination in a can capping machine, of tray lifters, a tray feeder, a cam for actuating said tray lifters, and a crank pin for actuating the tray feeder, said cam and crank pin constituting one structure, substantially as specified.

9. The combination, in a can capping machine, of a fixed support for the can trays, a pair of lifters overlapping each other and adapted to act upon opposite portions of the trays, and means for operating said lifters, substantially as specified.

10. The combination, in a can capping machine, of a fixed support for the can trays, a pair of lifters overlapping each other and adapted to act upon opposite portions of the can trays, a feeder for moving the can trays forward on the fixed support and over the lifters, and means for operating said tray feeder and lifters, substantially as specified.

11. The combination of the can tray support, consisting of the opposite supporting bars having a space between them, with a tray feeder, consisting of a swinging arm, means for vibrating the same, and a pawl pivoted to said arm and consisting of abroad plate with a convex upper surface, said pawl occupying the space between the tray supporting bars, and acting directly upon the rear sides of the successive trays, substantially as specified.

12. The combination, in a can tray feeder for can capping machines, ofthe swinging arm, and means for vibrating the same, with a pawl hung to the upper end of said arm, and a set screw serving to limit the movement of the pawl, substantially as specified.

13. The combination of a can capping machine having two parallel rows of capping irons, those of one row being laterally ofiset in respect to those of the other row, with devices for feeding a can tray in a direction at right angles to said rows of capping irons, and a can tray having recesses for two rows of cans, the recess for one row being offset in respect to that for the other row whereby the rows of cans are parallel with each other and are at right angles to the direction of feed of the tray, the cans of each row being offset in respect to each other to the same extent as the capping irons, substantially as specified.

14. The combination, in a can capping machine, of a series of capping irons and their spindles, with an independent shell or casing for each capping iron, said shell having all of the bearings for the iron and its spindle, substantially as specified.

15. The combination, in a can capping machine, of a capping iron and its spindle, with a shell or casing having all of the bearings for said iron and spindle, said shell being expanded in its lower portion so as to inolose the iron, substantially as specified.

16. The combination in a can capping machine, of a series of capping irons, a series of shells or casings, one for each iron, each shell having bearings for the spindle of its iron, and a shell-carrying bar adjustable longitudinally on the frame of the machine so as to accord with the position of the cans irrespective of the size ofthe latter, substantially as specified.

17. The combination,in a can capping machine, of a series of capping irons,a series of shells or casings, one for each iron, each shell having bearings for the spindle of its iron, two bars carrying said shells, and means for adjusting said bars from and toward each other on the frame of the machine, substantially as specified.

18. The combination, in a can capping machine, of a series of capping irons, a-series of shells or'casings,one for each iron, each shell having bearings for the spindle of its iron, a bar adjustable longitudinally on the frame of the machine, and means for securing the shells to said bar so that each is adjustable laterally thereon independently of the others, substantially as specified.

19. The combination,in a can capping machine, of a series of capping irons, with shells or casings one for each iron, each shell having bearings for the spindle of its iron, and a bar having adjustable pins engaging with said shells or casings to move the same laterally or longitudinally, but exercising no vertical control over the same, substantially as specified.

20. The combination, in a can capping machine, of a series of capping irons, a series of shells or casings, one for each iron, a bulged door or cover closing an opening in the front of each of said casings, and a gas supply pipe having a nozzle projecting through said bulged door or cover, substantially as specified.

21. The combination, in acan capping machine, of a capping iron and a casing inclosing the same, a gas supply pipe,a nozzleleading from said pipe into the casing and a valve located at the outer end of the nozzle and controlling the flow from the pipe into said nozzle, whereby the stream of gas passing into the nozzle will fill the same before issuing from the discharge end, substantially as specified.

2. The combination, in a can capping machine, of a series of incased capping irons, gas burners for heating said irons, a chamber receiving the waste products of combustion from the casings, and gas supply pipes carried through said chamber so as to be heated by the waste products, substantially as speci- 23. The combination, in a can capping machine, of the capping iron with a series of rigid, outwardly flaring and downwardly projecting fingers, disposed around the iron, so as to engage with the upper edge of a can and center the same, before the iron commences to act, substantially as specified.

24;. The combination,in a can capping machine, of a capping iron having an inclosing shell or casing and rigid outwardly flaring fingers projecting downward from said casing and serving to act upon the upper edge of a can so as to center the same prior to the action of the capping iron, substantially as specified.

25. The combination, in a can capping machine, of a series of capping irons, mechanism for presenting the cans to the irons, a shaft having means for operating said mechanism, a second shaft combined with means for r0- tating the capping irons, and a duplex clutch whereby one shaft is operated on the movement of the handle in one direction, and the other shaft on the movement of the handle in the opposite direction, substantially as specified. v

26. The combination,in a can tray feeding device for can capping machines, of aswinging arm having an adjustable slide, and a pawl for engaging with a can tray, a shaft having a crank pin, and a rod connected at one end to said crank pin and at the other end to the adjustable slide of the feed arm, substantially as specified.

27. The combination, in can tray feeding devices for can capping machines,.of a pivoted arm having a pawl for engaging with the can tray, a pivoted block carried by said'arm, a shaft having a crank pin, and a rod connected to said crank pin and having a threaded portion passing through the pivoted block on the feed arm and having nuts on opposite sides of said block, substantially as specified.

28. The combination, in a can capping machine, of a series of capping irons, mechanism I go for presenting the cans to the irons, a shaft having means for operating said mechanism, a second shaft combined with means forrotating the capping irons, and a duplex clutch comprising wheels or disks with oppositely facing inclines, and an intermediate handle having pawls, one for engaging with the shoulder presented by the incline of one wheel or disk, and the other for engaging with the shoulder presented by the incline of the other 10 Wheel or disk, substantially as specified.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

THEOPHILUS VAN KANNEL.

Witnesses:

FRANK E. BECHTOLD, JOSEPH H. KLEIN.

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