US2598858A - Driving means for detector rolls in grading machines - Google Patents

Description

C. C. THOMAS June 3, 1952 DRIVING MEANS FOR DETECTOR ROLLS IN GRADING MACHINES Filed Jul :5, 1947 2 Sl-IEETS-SI-IEET 1 J27 UeWZor June 3, 1952 c, c, THOMAS 2,598,858

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Patented June 3, 1952 DRIVING MEANS FOR DETECTOR ROLLS IN GRADING MACHINES.

Charlcs C. Thomas, Medford, Masa, assignor to Lacene Manufacturing.Corporation. Lawrence, Mass a corppration of New) Hampshire pplication July 1947, Serial N9! 58 543 .01am. (or ions My present invention relates to adin machines of the kind which grade died-out-blanksof leather such as soles, taps, heellifts, counters or other blanks, in accordance with the thickness of the thinnest spot as determined bya detector roll. More particularly my present invention relatesto improved driving means between the main drive and the detector roll being an improvement over the Letters Patent No. 1,820,010 granted to Cogs.- Well August 25, 1931.

The principal object of: my present invention is to produce an improveddrive for the gaugeor detector roll;

Another object is to provide an improved drive for the detector roll which reduces the frictionon th driving gears and between the leather sole blanks and the rolls and at the same time reduces the load on the machine thereby increasing the efliciency and accuracy of the grading operation, and

Other objects and novel features will be apparent as the description of thesame progresses.

Referring more in detail to the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary cross-sectionv and end elevation of the grading machine as viewed inthe area of the detector roll and drive. roll gears;-

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic fragmentary crosssection of the driving gears, as set forth in. the Cogswell Patent No. 1,820,010 showing the previous means of compensating for difierences in the speeds of the two gear shafts;

Fig. 3 is a similar diagrammatic fragmentary cross-section of the driving gears asset forth in the Cogswell Patent No. 1,820,010 showing the lag in the movement of th lower gear with respect to that of its shaft during the passage of a blank between the rolls;

Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic fragmentary crosssection taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 1 showing my improved means for compensating for the lag in the movement of the lower or detector roll gear with respect to that of its shaft during the passage of a blank between the rolls;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary cross-section similar to Fig. 4 but showing a different position of the gears etc. during th passage of the blank between the rolls;

Fig. 6 is another fragmentary cross-section similar to Fig. 4 but showing a still'different position of the lower gauge or detector roll gear and shaft, and also showing the shoe sole blank in dot-and-dash lines passing between the rolls,

Fig. '7 is still another fragmentary cross-section similar to Fig. 4 but showing another position of the detector roll gear and shaft, the shoe sole blank having passed completely through the roll 'Referringtoithe drawings and particularly'to Fig. 1, the upper gauge roll In .is jo'urnalled in the bearings H' and 12. These be rings are fixed to the frame of the machine a portion of which is indicated at l3. Powerto operate the gauge rolls QQ Z YQQ FP e haft '4 a d thence s" n mitte b hed'e e bbrjs b b 0 I5 bi ns of the gears l6, l1 and wand 19 at'such' times when there is no shoe sole blank'passing between the upper gauge roll I0 and the lower detector gauge. r o 1l I5. When there is a shoe sole blank pas ng, e ween t r l s mend t e s oe s blank drives the roll I5 and the gears 16, I11, and L and I3 ar i ef ective as. iving. or d iven Inenr bens. This feature will be more fully disqn eediu thera qne in the spec bat q The uppe u 911 I ls fi e t f he lr shaft l4; and the lower detector gaug roll 15 is fixedto the shaft Isa. Bearin s zu'an glare movable vertically in the frame of the machine andthe roll] 5 is maintained in a predetermined ni h .p s i n- .x p when depressed y 1 Sole blan b man e hel srs 2.2 a 23'- In fect he roll 15 andshait IB aarefreefloatinga n times andmay tilt out ofvparallelrelatiolii with roll lfl when influenced by a sole blank inpassage e ween thetwo rolls. This is well known construb bb sbb n n. cb 2 issued Sept m e 3. 192 e a B ier taeu usb a 193 se forth inv og wsl Nb libzqblil it had n the practice to mate t e e d n and de e i r0118 la d lie the same diameter, as best illustrated in enrlier patents to Nichols and well known in the art. .S qb IQ l we e usual y c necte b mea s of rdinar spur e r of a d rd rm sha w th tee h. o u cient eng h to eiraib interm s atall times, du he m v mbnibi ba si bn Qil e f eding. and-dete tin rol s where:- by h t b e o 1 tate u e l as l iiel ven bbrbush d e r n by t ubsbr rb 10, 1 w th is. dr vel-1-3mm t e main r ve shatt 1.4. By rea n ii-the const nt rel t ve mb emsn between bb eeers Q bs We se uri th t ct n -enemies of. h machine as the yieldin m lmove up. abddown t e is. a onsta t. rubbins enga em be vgen the. tee h oft e tw sets of gears w gb sults n f ic ion, and unde rable resist n e n th movem nts of the y eldi roll. du to the-me h n of. heears.-

When auge rol s of the same diameter are us d as old r machines it s quite apparen that when. a shoe sole blank is passed through the rolls, the driving. or uppergauge roll has. autoroll 25.

3 matically been increased in diameter because of the thickness of the blank which is in direct pressure contact with the lower roll l5, therefore the gear ratio changes and the angular speed of the lower roll is greater than the upper driving roll. Because of this condition the gear teeth having a one to one ratio begin to jam. The only relief under such conditions is slippage of the blank on the lower roll which increases the load on the machine and effects the quality of the grading.

In Cogswell No. 1,820,010, dated August 25, 1931, an attempt was made to correct this difficulty and to provide a' construction in which the lower yielding roll was driven by the upper roll through gearing in the usual way when no blank was between the rolls, but in which the instant a blank entered between the rolls the gears were automatically disengaged one from the other and remained disengaged to rotate out of contact with one another during the passage of the blank between the rolls, the lower yielding roll being rotated'as an idler roll by direct frictional contact with the passing blank. Due to the fact that it is impossible to establish dimensions so that a machine will'operate equally 'well on all of the various "lengths and thicknesses of blanks which must be graded, the difierence in fixed diameters of the gauge rolls taken alone does not work out satisfactorily,

Figs. 2 and 3 illustrate the means used in the Cogswell Patent No. 1,820,010 designed to correct the difiiculty. Rolls 25 and 26 are fixed to respectiveshafts 25a and 26a. It will be noted that roll 26 is smaller in diameter than roll 25. Gears '21 and 28- are fixed to the shafts 25a. and 26a.

When the sole blank B is passing between the rolls 25 and 26,-the lower roll 26 is caused to rotate at' an angular speed slightly faster than roll 25. The spur gears 21 and 28 instead of being of ordinary conventional form of gears are specially shaped, as illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3. The front or active faces 29 of the upper or driving gear teeth, considered with reference to the direction of rotation of the gears as indicated by the arrows, are of conventional form and engage the rear or active faces 30 of the lower gear 28 which are also of conventional form, to drive the lower roll 26 in the usual way when no blank is between the rolls 25 and 26. The rear or inactive faces 3! and 32 of the respective gears 2'1 and Rare cut away or mutilated in order to provide spaces or clearances between the teeth at that side. I

Before and at the time when the blank B is presented to the feeding and detecting rolls, the

teeth of each pair of gears are in intermeshed engagement and the gear 28 is being driven by the gear 2! in the usual way, but as soon as the forward end of the blank B has entered between the two 1'O11S,'1Jh8 blank is carried forward by the upper roll 25 alone, the slightly smaller roll 26 turning over with the movement of the blank B but at a slightly greater angular speed than the Fig. 2 shows the position of the gears before the blank B enters between the rolls or at the instant when the blank enters the nip of the roll. Fig. 3 shows the approximate position of r the gears when the blank B is partially through the rolls. From the instant the blank B enters between the rolls the teeth of gear 28 will be moved ahead of the teeth of the gear 21 by reason of the slightly greater speed of the smaller roll 26, so that there will be no engagement between the teeth of. the gears 21 and 28 during'the passage of the blank between the feeding roll 25 and the detecting roll 26. This leaves the lower detecting roll 26 free to follow the irregularities of the blank B without any resistance from the meshing of the gears immediately after the blank enters the rolls. 7

This earlier improvement works successfully for certain size and type blanks. Unfortunately it is impossible to establish standard dimensions of the parts so that the mechanism described will operate equally well on all the various lengths and thicknesses of blanks which must be graded. If the ratio of the roll diameters is too nearly unity, the advantage of the device will be lost, because on short blanks the gears may never get a chance to move out of contact. On the other hand, if the ratio is much greater than unity, the lower roll will turn so much faster than the upper roll that the mutilated side of the succeeding tooth may overtake the tooth of the upper gear before the blank is graded. This is most apt to occur on the longer or thinner blanks. If this takes place when the blank still has some distance to travel in the rolls, jamming is bound to occur. The gear teeth are then forced together with extreme pressure. This situation can only be relieved by the occurrence of slippage between the roll and the leather blank. The adverse effect of this occurrence upon accurate grading is apparent not to mention the greatly increased load on the machine at this stage and frictional wear on the gear-teeth as evidenced by an inspection of machines which have been in service for sometime. The mutilated faces of the gear teeth which supposedly never come into contact actually show much wear.

In my present invention I have obviated this condition. In the CogswellPatent 1,820,010, the differenc in angular rotation of the two rolls is limited to approximately six degrees by the dimension of the gears. In my improved device using the same size gears the difierence in angular rotation is thirty times or more as great Because of this result it is permissible to increase the dinerence in the diameters of the two gauge rolls materially. This result makes the action more positive, and insures the freedom of movement of the lower roll without any interference whatsoever between the gears. In the present invention as shown in Figs. 4 to '7 inclusive, as in the said Cogswell patent, the upper guage roll 10 is made with a diameter greater than the lower detector roll I5 but the difference in diameter of these two rolls is very much more pronounced. In my improved device the gear teeth are of the wringer type and are not mutilated. The lower gauge roll gear I9, instead of being attached rigidly to the shaft 15a, is rotatable on the shaft fora limited angular rotation of over one hundred and eighty degrees. The roll in is fixed to the shaft M which is a positive drive shaft. The teeth of gear I8 are always in mesh with the teeth of thegear I 9; j

Referring more specifically to the improvement as set forth in Figs. 4 7 inclusive, Fig. 4 shows the upper gauge roll gear I8 meshed with the lower detector roll gear l9 rotating in the direction of the arrows. A sole blank A- is travelling across the table T from right to left and about to enter between the rolls |0;and' I5. In this position attention is directedto thegear- [9 upon the side of. which'is fixed a stop member 35. While no blank is being passed between the rolls l0 and I5 the shaft I5a is driven only by the gear I9 from gear.1l8, but only when the stop member 35 which is attached to the gear rlsis'in engagement with the key member. 36"fixedto"the shaft 15a by means ofv the machine screw 31. This is the position shown in Fig." 4. Inthis position the shaft I5a isan idling shaft and being driven by the gear I9. When the'blank Aenters the bite area of the .roll Hithe drive of'the shaft I50 automatically shifts from theJgear 19 'to' the roll It the radius being the lower side of the sole blank A'.- As pointed out previously there is a marked difference in the diameters of rolllO and roll l5, roll !5 being somewhat smallerin' diameter than roll I consequently theangular'speed of roll is materially increased'with respect to roll it. The speed of gears l8 and'laremain constant but the speed of thedetector roll gear shaft l5a has been increased 'over the roll I6 therefore the shaft l0 and the key member 36 immediately pull away from the stop member 35 fixed on the gear 19. This effect which is slightly magnified for the sake of clarity is illustrated in Fig. 5 in which the blank A has progressedto a certain point through the rolls I6 and 15. In this figure it will be noted that the bottom of thescleblank A which is now the driver of roll [5 has pulled the key 35 away from the gear stop 3'6iandiis independently driving the roll [5 and shaft 50, and at this point the gear IB is merely idling on the shaft Hi, there bein no loadon the gear I8. Then the gear I3, together with the shaft l5'a,.is free to rise and fall with respect to the gear 18 without any appreciable friction or back-lash being present in the machine. Fig. 6 illustrates another more advanced position of the passage of the blank A through the rolls l6 and I5 in which the gears l8 and [9 are in-mesh but not carrying any load, and in which the detector roll shaft I5a has drawn farther away from the engagement with the gear 18 as shown in Fig. 4. In Fig. '7 the sole blank A has passed through the rolls l6 and I5 and the detector roll I5 is no longer being driven by the upper gauge roll I0. At this particular point the detector roll I5 is at rest and not rotating; however, this is for a very short interval of time. As previously stated the upper roll I6 is continuously driven by means of the main drive shaft M, and as the gear I8 is fixed to the shaft I4 it also is in continuous rotation. The gear l9 being in direct mesh with the gear l8 continues to rotate on the detector roll shaft 15a until interrupted. This occurs when the gear stop member 35 catches up with the key member 36 fixed in the shaft 15a of the detector roll l5. In Fig. '7 I have illustrated the position of the driving and driven elements during the interval between the exit of one blank and the time of presentation of the next blank to the rolls, as shown in Fig, 4. Referring back to Fig. 7 the the shaft I5a is not now rotating but the gear I 9 is rotating continuously and the stop member 35 is approaching the key 36 of shaft [5a, as indicated by the arrows. When the stop member 35 engages the key 36 of shaft I5a the shaft l5a will rotate to approximately that position shown in Fig. i. The exact position of the key 36 on the shaft |5a and the stop member 35 on the gear 19 as shown in the drawing may vary in actual practice, the positions shown being illustrative only. Also any type of gear tooth may be substituted for the wringer type shown in the drawings. I prefer the wringer type tooth for certain reasons but the device is not limited to any one type.

My present invention differs considerably over the said Cogswell improvement in that the lower detector roll gear I 9 operates: at all. times ,at-the same angular speed as the 'uppergauge'roll gear I8 there being no lost motion between" the two gears whilethe lower detector roll shaft l5a operates only when a sole. blank .is between. the rolls or when'the stop member,35"i s in'engagement with the key 36 on the. shaft "itaasshown in Fig. 1.

Other means may be substitutedfor the specific key in'the shaft [5a or the specific stop .35.on the gear I9, or the key 36 on the shaft l5a may vary in angular dimension or the stop member 35 on the gear lflmay bemu'ch widerin angular dimension. In fact, the device may be modif ed inactujal practice and proportions altered'withiniwide limits while still'rernaining within'th'espirit of the app nded l ims the dra ngs b in illustrative onlyrandnot limiting.

Having thusdescribed 1 my invention" what I claim as new is:

1. Ina machinefor. grading shoe sole blanks, a gauge roll driving shaft, a gauge roll fast on the driving shaft, a vdrivin'ggear fixed "tothe driving shaft at one side of the gauge roll, a second shaft yieldably supported in spaced relationto the driving shaft, a detectorroll of smaller diameter than the gauge roll'fixed to the second shaft, a driven gear rotatably mounted on the second shaft in position to mesh with the driving gear, a pair of cooperating stop elements located between the detector roll and'the driven gear for operatively connecting these members together, oneof the stop elements being free to move ahead of the remaining stop element in response to anincrease in speed of rotation of the detector roll over that of the gauge roll.

2. In a machine for grading shoe sole blanks a gauge roll driving shaft having a driving gear fixed thereon, a gauge roll fast on the shaft at one side of the driving gear, a second shaft yieldably supported in spaced relation to the driving shaft, a driven gear mounted on the second shaft in a position to mesh with the driving gear, said driven gear being rotatable on its shaft, a stop member on said shaft, a second stop member located on the driven gear in a position to engage with the stop member on the shaft and limit rotative movement of the driven gear thereon, a detector roll mounted on the second shaft in close proximity to the gauge roll, the detector roll being relatively smaller in diameter than the gauge roll and adapted to move relative to the driven gear at speeds which vary in accordance with the speed of the gauge roll thereby to relieve stress between the driving gear and the driven gear when the detector roll engages a shoe sole blank.

3. In a machine for grading shoe sole blanks,

a drive shaft having a gauge roll and a driven gear fixed thereon, a second driven shaft yieldably supported in spaced relation to the drive shaft, a detector roll of smaller diameter than the gauge roll, mounted on the second shaft, in close proximity to gauge roll and arranged to rotate at speeds which vary in accordance with the speeds of the gauge roll, a driven gear rotatably mounted on the second shaft, stop means for operatively connecting the detector roll with the driven gear, said stop means including an abutment on the driven gear and a stop element movable with the detector roll from a position of contact with one side of the abutment member to a position of contact with an opposite side thereof, said driven gear operating to intermittently transfer power from the driving shaft to the driven shaft in response to change in position of the detector roll and shaft relative to the driven gear.

4. In a machine for grading shoe sole blanks, an upper gauge roll fixed on a drive shaft member, a relatively smaller detector roll mounted on a secondshaft which is yieldably supported in spaced relation to the first drive shaft member, a fixed gear on the drive shaft in mesh with a rotatable gear on the second shaft, stop means for operatively connecting the rotatable gear to its respective shaft, said stop means including an abutment on the rotatable gear and a second stop element'movable with the detector roll away from the abutment said gear means operating to intermittently transfer power from the driving shaft to the driven shaft in response to change in position of the detector roll on its respective shaft.

5. In a machine for grading shoe sole blanks a gauge roll driving shaft, a gauge roll fast on the driving shaft, a driving gear fixed to the driving shaft at one side of the gauge roll, a second shaft yieldably supported in spaced relation to the driving shaft, a driven gear rotatably mounted on the second shaft in position to mesh with the driving gear, a detector roll, of smaller diameter than the gauge roll, located on the second shaft and normally adapted to lie in close proximity to the gauge roll, and cooperating stop means located between the detector roll and the driven gear and so constructedand arranged as c to permit limited relative movement between the driven roll and the driven gear for the purpose of relieving friction between the driving gear and driven gear when a blank is passed between the rolls.

6. In a machine for grading shoe sole blanks, a gauge roll driving shaft, a gauge roll fast on the driving shaft, a driving gear fixed to the driving shaft at one side of the gauge roll, a second shaft yieldably supported in spaced relation to the driving shaft, a detector roll, of smaller diameter than the gauge roll, fixed to the second shaft, a driven gear rotatably mounted on the second shaft in position to mesh with the driving gear, stop means for limiting rotation of the driven gear on the second shaft, the stop means including an abutment projecting radially outward from said second shaft, and a second abutment projecting axially outward from a side of the driven gear into the path of movement of the first abutment.

CHARLES C'. THOMAS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 993,570 Webster May 30, 1911 1,432,954 Berthold Oct. 24, 1922 1,606,964 Sexauer Nov, 16, 1926 1,738,818 Cogswell Dec. 10, 1929 1,790,559 Swift Jan. 27, 1931 1,820,010 Cogswell Aug. 25, 1931 2,099,359 Woodeson et a1 Nov. 16, 1937 2,281,771 Johnston May 5, 1942 2,366,205 Metcalf Jan. 2, 1945

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