Patent GB-326604-A (GB)
Title: Improvements relating to mechanism for feeding parts for machining
IPC: B23Q7/05
Filed: 1929-01-19
Abstract: 326,604. Renold, Ltd., H., Herford, R. O., and Renshaw, A. Jan. 19, 1929. Feeding articles from shoots ; feeding articles by lifting from loose assemblage in bins. - In means for supplying blanks to grinding, turning, punching, &c. machines the blanks are supplied to an inclined trough and thence to a tubular shoot, the shoot being slightly spaced' from the end of the trough to allow blanks which are not in line to drop into a hopper. The blanks proceed along the shoot by gravity and may be assisted by power-driven means to be fed through a machine. As applied to a centreless grinding machine for operating on cylindrical work-pieces such as jointing studs for sprocket chains, a large supply of blanks is contained in a hopper 42, Figs. 1 and 2, and is allowed to proceed by small quantities to a rotating drum 10 under control of a shutter, hand operated at 44. The drum is rotatable on a fixed axle 20 by means of a chain 18 and a worm drive from an electric motor 14 so as to cause buckets 12 extending completely across the inner periphery of the drum to pick up the blanks and allow them to drop on a twisted guide 30. Longitudinal ribs 32 on the guide arrange the blanks in approximately aligned positions and direct them to the trough 28 which is of V-shaped crosssection and is supported by a bracket 26 which is angularly adjustable about the shaft 20 to allow variation of the speed at which blanks are fed. The tubular shoot 38, which is preferably flexible and may consist of a coiled wire tube, is attached by a bayonet, joint 40 to a nozzle 36 on the bracket 26, the nozzle being spaced from the lower end of the trough 28 by slightly more than the diameter of the blanks to allow mis-aligned blanks to drop into the hopper 42. The end of the nozzle 36 is tapered to assist in rejecting misplaced blanks. The front of the drum 10 is closed by a loose fitting plate 48 supported by the shaft 20 and pillars 50 which also support the hopper 42. The lower end of the tubular shoot 38 is attached by a nipple 90, Fig. 5, to a bayonet connection 92 leading to a pair of aligned bushes 84, 86, Fig. 6, which are cut away at their adjacent ends to allow a pair of feed rolls 54 to engage the blanks. The rolls are carried by spindles 56 eccentrically mounted in bushes 60 rotatable in a casing 62 and are rotated by a pinion on one spindle engaging a gear 78 on a belt-driven shaft 80. The bushes 60 carry arms 64 freely supported on screwed rods 66 pivoted to the casing at 68 and are normally urged by adjustable springs 74 in a direction to cause the rolls to engage the blanks this movement being limited by adjustable nuts 72. The bushes 84, 86 are provided with slots 87 to allow clearing if the blanks become jammed. The shaft 80 carries a pulley 82, Fig. 5, which is connected by a belt passing over two sets of guide pulleys to a pulley on the grinding- wheel shaft. According to the Provisional Specification the drum 10 may be replaced by a flexible band conveyer carrying buckets, the blanks may consist of spherical, rectangular or hollow bodies and may be made of metal or composition, such as insulating bushes. The blanks may also be fed to the chuck of a lathe, punching or other metal-working machine or to a finishing or paint, lacquer, &c. spraying machine.