Patent GB-769535-A (GB)
Title: A machine for the production of continuous fasteners
IPC: B21D53/50
Filed: 1954-10-19
Abstract: 769,535. Making sliding clasp fasteners. SELF-PRIMING PUMP & ENGINEERING CO., Ltd., and DOELTER, G. Oct. 19, 1954, No. 30046/54. Class 83 (2). Sliding clasp fasteners in which inner elements 30 are clamped within a fold of a tape 89 by outer elements 32 are made by a machine comprising a rotatable turret 65, means for feeding inner elements to a working station associated with the turret, means for rotating the turret to carry the elements to a second working station where they are inserted into a folded tape and clamped therein by outer elements fed to the second station. The machine includes four selfcontained units for the production of fasteners, one of which units is described in detail. The rotatable turret 65, Fig. 12, has two oppositely disposed radial plungers 66, 67 with sockets for the reception of the heads 34 of the inner elements which are fedto the upper socket in a connected string 73 which is held in position by a transversely reciprocating fork 76 while a punch 80 severs the first element from the string, one prong of the fork serving as an abutment for the punch. After being severed, the element is returned in the socket by suction. A string 85 of outer elements is fed by a reciprocating pusher 87 to beneath the lower socket, a tape 89 being pushed down into the string by an oscillating presser finger 90. When a socket carrying an inner element reaches its lowermost position, the plunger descends to engage the root of the element within the tape and an outer element 32 is closed on to the tape by a pair of tongs 94, 95. At the same time a holding tong 96 clamps the preceding already closed outer element against a backing member 97 while a cutter 98 removes the tongue 99 connecting these two outer elements. The severed tongues are removed by an air blast. Each production unit is driven by mechanism comprising three parallel shafts 110, 111 and 112, Fig. 10, driven by a chain so that shafts 111 and 112 rotate in the opposite direction to shaft 110 which carries the driving member 118 of a Maltese cross 119 carrying a gear 120 driving a sleeve 123 rotatable on the shaft 111. Turret 65 is intermittently driven 180 degrees at a time by the sleeve 123 which is accurately located in its positions of rest by a collar 127 with two notches engaged alternately by detent levers 125 released by a cam 128 on shaft 110. Shaft 111 carries a cam 130, Fig. 12, by which the turret plungers 66 and 67 are operated. Shaft 112 carries a gear 135 which drives means for feeding the string of inner elements, for operating the punch 80 and for driving through a gear 136 a cam-shaft 138, Fig. 11, carrying cams 139, 140, 141, 143 which operate plungers 146 through adjustable levers 145. These plungers operate the tongs 94, 95 and 96, cutter blade 98 and the presser finger 90. The inner elements are fed by a pawl operated from an arm 171 oscillated by a crank 170 on a shaft 167 driven from the gear 135. This shaft also carries side cams 168, 169 which operate cross-shafts 178, 179 which are coupled to the fork 76 and punch 80. Shaft 112 also carries cams 161 and 183, Fig. 17, which actuate the presser 90 for the tape and the pusher 87 for the string of outer elements through bell-crank arms 159 and 184. The main drive of the machine is shown diagrammatically in Fig. 21 and comprises a shaft driven from a pulley 201 through a clutch 202 and carrying a sun-wheel 205 meshing with planet-wheels 206 secured to a carrier 207 which is secured to a gear 208 rotatably mounted on the shaft 200 and driving two shafts 242, 243. Planet-wheels 206 mesh with an annular gear 210 attached to a housing 211 also rotatable on the shaft 200 which carries an external annular gear 214 driving two shafts 222, 223 and a helical gear 215 which drives a transverse shaft 340. On shafts 222 and 223 are locking plates 280, 281 Which co-operate with detent levers to ensure that the shafts stop in the correct positions. Thus by a selective operation of brakes 216, 217 acting on the housing 211 and planet-carrier 207, there may be driven either the shafts 222 and 223 through manually operable clutches 232 and 233 or the shafts 242 and 243 through one-revolution clutches 244 and 245 of the kind described in Specification 769,534, [Group XXIV]. Shafts 222 and 223 drive gears 228, 229 which mesh with the main drive gears 230, Fig. 11, of the two production units at each side of the machine. Intermittent helical gears 274, 275 secured to the shafts 222, 223 rotate through slipping clutches, rolls 101 which co-operate with rolls 102 to take up the finished fastener lengths. The rolls 101 may also be rotated from shafts 242, 243 through Geneva mechanism 248, 249 by amounts sufficient to draw the desired lengths of tape between successive fastener lengths. When a length of fastener is completed a cutter is actuated to sever the last outer element from its string and as no feed of the element strings is required, the normal means for opening the tongs 94, 95 to release the element cannot be used and instead drives from the one-revolution shafts 242 and 243 are employed. Cams 300 on these shafts actuate rocking levers 301 to rotate a shaft 302 carrying arms 304, 305 (not shown) and 306 which rotate cam plates such as 312, Fig. 18, to operate the plungers 146 through levers 145. During the operation of a cutter 152 (not shown), the presser finger 90 is held in contact with the tape by an arm 315 on the shaft 302 engaging a stop 317 on the bellcrank operating arm 159 for the finger. While the machine is operating to produce fastener lengths, the shaft 340 rotates a wiper arm 342 over a number of electric contacts such as 347, 346, Fig. 25, and when it reaches a selected contact corresponding to the desired length of fastener as determined by a series of manuallyoperated selection switches 248, a solenoid 358 is energized to engage a one-revolution clutch 360 to couple a shaft 362, Fig. 21, to the main driving shaft 200. Shaft 362 carries five adjustable cams 370-374 arranged to operate microswitches 380-384 controlling the energization of five relays 386-390. Energization of relay 386 operates through a solenoid 395 to rock a lever 396 which disconnects the drive between shaft 340 and wiper arm 342 and also to rock a lever 398 to introduce a reverse drive to return the wiper arm to its home position, where it opens the relay circuit. Relay 387 operates to de-energize a solenoid 331 and so release a brake 217 immediately after engagement of the onerevolution clutch 360. The solenoid is reenergized immediately before the end of the revolution of the clutch. Relay 388 causes a brake 216 to be applied or released respectively when the brake 217 is released or applied. Relay 389 controls solenoids 410, 412 which operate the one-revolution clutches 244, 245. Relay 390 controls a solenoid 414 which effects the release of the detent levers. The clutches 232 and 233 are operated through solenoids under the control of manual levers 430, 432 with which are also associated micro-switches 434, 436 to complete the isolation of one side of the machine. After leaving the rolls 101, 102, the fasteners are wound on four take-up reels driven from small independent electric motors. Specifications 769,536 and 769,537 also are referred to.