Patent GB-534211-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in or relating to the manufacture of golf balls or the like
IPC: B29D99/00
Filed: 1939-07-11
Abstract: 534,211. Winding golf balls &c. STEVENS, A. H. (Sibley-Pym Corporation). July 11, 1939, No. 20169. [Class 120 (ii)] A golf ball or the like is made by a continuous winding cycle in which an elastic thread is fed to a core which is rotated continuously, first with a gradual shifting of its axis whereby the thread is wound in a great circle manner, and then with abrupt periodic shifting of its axis of rotation so that the thread is wound in basket weave fashion ; the core is rotated at a uniform high rate of speed for laying the inner turns in great circle winding and then at a reduced speed for laying the outer turns in basket-weave fashion. The machine illustrated is similar in some details to that described in Specification 376,779, the core 28 being wound being supported on a flexible apron 16, Figs. 2 and 7, passing over a driven concave roll 15 and a roll 13 freely rotatable on a shaft 12 which can be reciprocated in the frame 11; the core is held against the apron and the rolls 13, 15 by a detector disc 17 freely rotatable on an arm 19 secured to a shaft 20 journalled in the frame 11 and carrying an arm 21 with an adjustable weight 22 and an extension 85 disposed beneath an adjustable stop 83 in the arm 82 of a yoke rockable on a shaft 81, Fig. 4, and connected by a link 79 to a latch lever 76 forming part of the speed-changing and stop mechanism. The roll 15 is carried by a shaft 39 connected by a clutch 106 to a shaft 36 carrying a clutch member 44 co-operating with one side of a double clutch member 42 splined on a sleeve on the main shaft 33 driven from a motor shaft 31, the other side of the clutch member 42 co-operating with a clutch member 41 on a sleeve rotatable on the shaft 33 and geared through reducing gearing with a pinion 58 on a clutch member 60 carried by a sleeve 59 rotatable on the shaft 36 and adapted to co-operate with a clutch member 61 splined to the shaft 36. The clutch members 42, 61 are shifted simultaneously by a yoke 64 carrying forks engaging grooves in the clutch members and supported by a forked lever 65 pivoted on a pin 66 and connected by an adjustable link 68 to an arm 69 loose on a shaft 70 which carries a handle 71, a spring 72 connected to the lever 65 acting to shift the clutch members 42, 61 into the positions shown where the shaft 39 is driven through the reducing gearing from the shaft 33. The arm 69 carries a spring blade 73 having a wear piece 74 co-operating with a block 75 on the latch lever 76 connected by a spring 78 to the link 68 and by a slotted link 91 with a T-shaped arm 90 secured on the shaft 70, and having its forward end disposed adjacent the piece 74 so that when the operator depresses the handle 71 to start the machine the arm 69 is moved to rock the lever 65 and move the clutch members so that the shaft 39 is driven at the high speed of the shaft 33, the wear piece 74 being carried beyond the block 75, and the latch lever 76 being moved by the spring 78 so that the block 75 engages behind the piece 74 and latches the parts in the high speed position for the great circle winding ; when the ball has attained a predetermined diameter the lever 76 may be tripped manually or the movement of the detector arm 19 causes the extension 85 of the arm 21 to engage the stop member 83 and rock the yoke so that the link 79 is lifted and the latch lever 76 rocked to disengage the parts 74, 75 and permit the spring 72 to shift the clutch members so that the shaft 39 is driven at the low speed for the basket-weave winding. When the shaft 39 is changed from the high to the low speed, the shaft 12 carrying the idle roll 13 is reciprocated by an oscillating arm 92 connected by an adjustable link 95 to a cam lever 96 carrying a roller 97 engaging a cam 98 loosely mounted on the shaft 55 of the speed-reducing mechanism and adapted to be clutched to a clutch member 101 splined to the shaft 55 and engaged and disengaged when the clutch 106 is engaged and disengaged by the movement of an arm 103 pivoted on the shaft 81 and activated from starting and stopping buttons. Automatic mechanism may be provided to stop the machine by the movement of the detector arm 19 when the ball has reached a predetermined size. The roll 13 may have self-contained reciprocating means, the supporting shaft having bearing pieces fixed longitudinally thereon with a sleeve fixed to an apronsupporting shell of the roll and having inclined end surfaces disposed between the bearing pieces.