Patent GB-661439-A (GB)
IPC: C06F1/26
Abstract: 661,439. Match-making machines. ARLAND. R. C. VON. Aug. 12.. 1949 [Aug. 19, 1948], No 21043/49. Class 50. An automatic matchmaking machine in which the match splint is pushed into perforated carrier bars, conveyed therein through the various treatments, the finished matches being ejected and the bars returned for refilling, includes a device for turning over the bars, after they have been charged, so that they can pass directly to the first treating station. As shown in Fig. 1, the carrier bars 5 are filled at 3 and pass to a turning device 4 consisting of a pair of discs spaced apart on a common shaft and provided with slots 6 into which the ends of each bar drop. The disc shaft is given a quarter turn at a time by an intermittent drive device such as a Maltese cross, a cam 7 ejecting each bar after it has been turned over through 180 degrees. A conveyer 1 carries the ejected bars past a heater 14 to the paraffining and dipping stations 10 and 12 (see below) and then in several superposed laps, through the drying stage, heaters 16 and 17 being provided and hot air being drawn over the bars whilst in the upper laps by a fan 22. Paraffin vapour from station 10 is sucked away through a condenser-separator 18 by a fan 21. The finished matches are ejected at 8 from the carrier bars and collected in filling cases (see below), the empty bars being again turned over by a device 9 and delivered to station 3 for refilling. Dipping and heading with igniting- material (Fig. 5).-These operations are controlled hydraulically. A pump 60 supplies oil under pressure to cylinders 64 and 65 containing control pistons 66 and 67 which regulate the supply of oil to movable cylinders 68 and 69 carrying respectively the paraffining trough 72 and the dipping plate 73. Pistons 66 and 67 are moved at the correct moment bv cams 75 and 76 mounted on a shaft 74 rotated hy the main machine drive so that as a group of carrier bars is slid into position, the trough 72 and plate 73 are raised to paraffin and head the match splint. Transverse movement of the plate 73 under a dipping mass reservoir 100 is also effected hydraulically by a cylinder 80. the piston 81 of which drives a pulley 83. The carrier bars are brought to the paraffining and dipping position in groups of four by spring- urged drivers 106 and 107 carried by a working cylinder 105 which is traversed to and fro at the correct intervals by admission of oil under pressure, as controlled by a rotary slide valve 77 also driven by the shaft 74. Ejecting and collecting matches from carriers (Fig. 12).-Finished matches are ejected from the carrier bars by a needle bar which is linked by levers to the pushing-in beam (Fig. 3, not shown) so that filling and ejection occur together, the matches being collected in cases 160 which are moved continuously by a conveyer 161 past the ejecting station. The filled cases are passed to a turning device 164 where the matches are transferred to separate cases 165 for the box-filling machines. Empty cases 160 are lowered to an inclined runway 180 and slide to a position 160a whence they are raised to position 160b to be refilled. The cases pass the ejecting station in an inclined position, each case being provided with a false bottom from a hopper 200, the bottom resting on pins protruding from an inclined chain 192 so that the bottom is gradually lowered as the case travels forward and fills up with matches. Protection against fire.-Between the main drive and the machine is a magnetic coupling which can be disengaged by short-circuiting switches placed at the filling and ejecting stations and the paraffining and dipping stations. Solenoids 94 and 95 ensure that the trough 72 and plate 73 are lowered if the coupling is disengaged and, when the machine stops, a solenoid 98 causes flaps 99 of the dipping mass reservoir to close. Fig. 8 shows a fuse device for protecting the paraffining trough 72. Two overlapping perforated sheets 127 and 128 are provided on top of the trough, the perforations in each sheet being normally coincident. If a fire occurs, a fuse 131 melts and a weight 132 falls on a lever 130, this disengaging a latch and allowing a spring 129 to move plate 128 laterally, so that its perforations are not coincident with those in plate 127. The trough is thereby covered. Also, in moving laterally, plate 129 strikes a lever 133 causing valves 134 and 136 to open and drain off the paraffin.