Abstract:
A shimless separator arbor for slitting a sheet of metal passing through a slitter has a separator adjustment device as a new separator adjustment device for allowing adjustments to the space between separators for the purpose of properly spacing strips of material formed from the sheet of metal to cut at two strips from the sheet, so the at least strips have a smooth edge.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation in part of U.S. Pat. No. 8,490,929 which issued based on U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/644,715, filed Dec. 22, 2009; which has also been filed with the Patent Cooperation Treaty bearing an International Application No. PCT/US2010/003182 and having an International filing date of Dec. 16, 2010, filed by the same inventive entity, and incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     This invention relates to a shimless separator arbor and more particularly to a shimless separator arbor for slitting a sheet of metal to have resulting quality edges on the thus formed metal strips, including a separator adjustment device as a new separator adjustment device for allowing adjustments to the space between separators for the purpose of properly spacing strips of material formed from the sheet of metal. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Slitting a sheet of metal into narrower sheets or strips of metal requires great care to achieve the desired smooth edge or quality edge for the strips. Such slitting of sheets, and more particularly sheets of steel, is an art. If the cut of the sheet into narrower sheets can be accomplished efficiently and neatly, the edges of narrower sheets will be smooth and the production of the sheets can be much more efficient and produce better quality edges. 
     Without quality edges for the strips of material cut from the sheet, waste product is increased. Also, the safety of the workers is compromised when making corrections. This shimless separator arbor allows corrections without removing the material from the machine or stopping the machine, thus making a more efficient process. So quality edges add both to worker safety and waste minimization. The subject of this invention greatly reduces the amount of waste as compared to the prior art. 
     Yet cutting a sheet at the edge thereof requires substantial skill to obtain that smooth edge for the strips. As the edge is more efficiently formed and the sheets produced more efficiently, great advantages are obtained. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Among the many objectives of the present invention is the provision of a shimless separator arbor. 
     Another objective of the present invention is the provision of a shimless separator arbor, which provides for sheets with a smooth edge, cut from a wide sheet. 
     Also, an objective of the present invention is the provision of a shimless separator arbor, which is easily adjusted to cut sheets to a desired width. 
     Moreover, an objective of the present invention is the provision of a shimless separator arbor, which is durable. 
     A further objective of the present invention is the provision of a shimless separator arbor to produce quality edges. 
     A still further objective of the present invention is the provision of a shimless separator arbor to improve worker safety. 
     These and other objectives of the invention (which other objectives become clear by consideration of the specification, claims and drawings as a whole) are met by providing a shimless separator arbor to cut sheets with a smooth edge. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein: 
         FIG. 1  depicts a side view of slitter machine  120  with a shimless separator arbor  100 . 
         FIG. 2  depicts a perspective view of a shimless separator arbor  100  of this invention. 
         FIG. 3  depicts a perspective view of an shimless separator arbor  100  above the strips  168  of steel  166 . 
         FIG. 4  depicts a perspective view of a shimless separator arbor  100  below the strips  168  of steel  166 . 
         FIG. 5  depicts a profile end view of inboard side  200  of a shimless separator arbor. 
         FIG. 6  depicts a cross section view of inboard side  200  showing second bearing  160  and third bearing  184  of a shimless separator arbor  100 . 
         FIG. 7  depicts a perspective view of inboard side  200  of a shimless separator arbor  100  of this invention. 
         FIG. 8  depicts a profile end view of outboard side  202  a shimless separator arbor. 
         FIG. 9  depicts a cross section view of outboard side  202  showing first bearing  260  of a shimless separator arbor  100 . 
         FIG. 10  depicts a perspective view of outboard side  202  showing key  282  in key way  280  of a shimless separator arbor. 
         FIG. 11  depicts a cross section view of a shimless separator arbor  100  featuring the relationship of wedges  248  and their action at their contact of each wedge taper  254 . 
     
    
    
     Throughout the figures of the drawings, where the same part appears in more than one figure of the drawings, the same number is applied thereto. 
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally providing a shimless separator arbor having a shaft or a tube with a first section and a second section. Each section has a first end, a second end and a perimeter wall extending between the first and second ends. The perimeter wall has a pair of elongated breaks therein extending through the first and second ends to partition the tube into the first section and the second section. 
     A coupler retains the first and second sections together in a tubular configuration. An actuation assembly is mechanically coupled to the first and second sections to selectively move the first and second sections toward or away from each other, such as by a slotted plate with a bolt through each slot. A plurality of separator discs is mounted on the tube so that the tube extends through the discs. The discs are movable on the tube when the first and second sections abut each other and are retained in place by friction between the discs and the tube when the first and second sections are moved apart from each other. 
     Thus if the sheet is slit into strips, such action is accomplished very efficiently with a shimless separator arbor, which can also be called an arbor mounted disc adjusting apparatus. Such efficiency by the shimless separator arbor of this invention produces the desired strips with a smooth edge, with much less waste. 
     In the prior art, the set up of the slitter required between 20 minutes to an hour. The subject of this invention greatly reduces the set up time as it takes a minute per arbor to set up the slitter system. 
     Moreover, in the prior art, if a correction needed to be made while the slitter machine was in operation, the slitter machine had to be stopped. Due to the weight of the material on the slitter machine, two people had to lift the material off the slitter machine to make the correction. Then, once the correction was made, two people had to return the material to the slitter machine. This was a time consuming process that required the help of two technicians. 
     In the subject of this invention, if a correction needs to be made, locking knobs  132  and  232  can handle the correction. The slitter machine must be slowed down to make the correction but it does not have to be stopped. Thus, the slitter machine is still operational but at a slower pace, which is a great improvement over the prior art. Also, because the material does not have to be lifted off the slitter machine, it only takes one person to make the correction. Thus, the subject of this invention greatly simplifies the correction process. 
     There is outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto. 
     The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 , the structure of shimless separator arbor  100  can be clearly seen. Shimless separator arbor  100  can be installed at multiple points throughout slitter machine  120  (which is shown in a full side view in  FIG. 1 ). Shimless separator arbor  100  includes a separator adjustment  102 . Shimless separator arbor  100  further includes a first section  104  and a second section  106  which are separated by elongated break  112 . 
     The slitter machine  120  is positioned such that inboard side  200  is used for adjustment and setup of shimless separator arbor  100 . Inboard side  200  can be accessed while the slitter machine  120  is in operation. An operator stands on outboard side  202  which allows for fine tuning while the slitter machine  120  is in operation. 
     Adding  FIG. 3  and  FIG. 4  to the consideration, the flexibility of shimless separator arbor  100  can be clearly seen. The strips  168  formed from the steel  166  can be adjusted and handled while positioned beneath ( FIG. 3 ) or above ( FIG. 4 ) the shimless separator arbor  100 . More particularly slitter  164  forms divided section  166  in order to make strips  168 . O-ring  170  or  177  supports strips  168  as movement is accomplished by drive wheel  174 . Cushion ring or O ring  170  also supports the sheet  114  and separator disc  178 , as sheet  114  is cut into strips  168 . 
     Drum  180  includes multiple supports  182  as coil strips  168  are formed. Multiple supports  182  on drum  180  support the strips  168  as the divided section  166  is cut therefrom. 
     With the further discussion of  FIG. 5  and  FIG. 6 , first section  104  and second section  106  of shimless separator arbor  100  have the inboard side  200  adjusted. While adjustment is preferably from the outboard side or operator side  202 , the inboard side  200  may also provide an adjustment mechanism. Inboard side  200  has a plurality of separator lock bolt slots  108  releasably secured by separator lock bolt  110 . Elongated break  112  is positioned between first section  104  and second section  106 . Shaft  118  has first plate  128  held thereon with locking knob  132  and stop bushing  136  acting as a coupler. Stop set screw  138  secures and positions stop bushing  136  as desired. 
     Inner tube  146  includes a tube wedge  148 . Outer surface of first section  104  and second section  106  supports inner tube  146  having tube wedge  148  thereon, with section wedge  150  on first section  104  and second section  106  in a diametrically opposed fashion. More particularly, first wedge taper  154  of first section wedge  150  has the contact with first tube wedge  148 . 
     First bearing  160  supports shaft  118  at an unthreaded portion thereof at the end of inner tube  146 . Second bearing  184  is positioned at first plate  128  in general and locking knob  132  in particular. 
     Adding  FIG. 7  to the consideration, the structure becomes even more clear. Inboard side  200  of the shimless separator arbor  100  shows first section  104  with second section  106 . Each of separator lock bolt slots  108  receives a separator lock bolt  110  at a threaded aperture  116  in first section  104  with second section  106 . Lock bolt slots  108  are generally four in number. Shaft  118  at first plate  128  has locking knob  132  over threads  140  of shaft  118  in contact with wedge plug  184 . Stop set screw  138  locks wedge plug  184  in place. 
     With the addition of  FIG. 8 ,  FIG. 9  and  FIG. 10 , outboard side or operator side  202  of shimless separator arbor  100  shows first section  104  with outboard second section  206 . Each of the outboard separator lock bolt slots  208  receives an outboard separator lock bolt  210  in the manner described in  FIG. 5 . Outboard first section  204  and outboard second section  106  are separated from inboard first plate  128  and outboard second plate  228 . Shaft  118  extends through locking knob  232  at neck  234 . Second bearing  260  supports shaft  118  at key way  280 , which in turn receives key  282  to support inner tube  246  in a desired position. Outboard sleeve  284  provides optional support for shaft  118 . Safety is thus improved while waste is reduced. 
     Turning now to  FIG. 11 , inboard side  200  and outboard side or operator side  202  of shimless separator arbor  100  are shown in functional operation. First bearing  160  supports shaft  118  at an unthreaded portion thereof. Tube wedge  248  cooperates with section wedge  250  and specifically wedge taper  254 . 
     Second bearing  260  is on shaft  118 , but oppositely disposed from first bearing  160 , to support the opposing end of shaft  118 . Key  282  is closer to second bearing  260 , than it is first bearing  160 . 
     With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure. 
     Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. 
     This application—taken as a whole with the specification, claims, abstract, and drawings—provides sufficient information for a person having ordinary skill in the art to practice the invention disclosed and claimed herein. Any measures necessary to practice this invention are well within the skill of a person having ordinary skill in this art after that person has made a careful study of this disclosure. 
     Because of this disclosure and solely because of this disclosure, modification of this method and apparatus can become clear to a person having ordinary skill in this particular art. Such modifications are clearly covered by this disclosure.