Improvements in Machines for Finishing Tubes.
Year: 1890

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Machines for Finishing Tubes.
I, JOHN CHRISTOPHER Coram, of 16 Gates Street, in the City of Lowell, in the
County of Middlesex and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, one of the United States
of America, Manufacturer of Paper Tubes, do hereby declare the nature of my inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement :-
My invention relates to machines for finishing tubes and consists in means for
placing the tubes upon the mandrels; means of presenting the tubes carried on said
inandrels to the action of cutters; means of carrying the mandrels away from the
cutters after the tubes are trimmel; means of burnishing the tubes and means of
removing the tubes from the mandrels.
In the accompanying drawings on three sheets.
Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a machine embodying my improvement, some of the
concealed parts being shown in dotted lines, the lower parts of the frame, slide-
operating lever and connecting rod being broken away;
Fig. 2, a right end elevation of said machine, the lower parts of the supporting-
frame of said machine being broken away;
Fig. 3, a front elevation of the lower part of the slide-operating lever and a part of
the frame;
Fig. 4, a section on the line 44 in Fig. 1 ;
Fig. 5, a rear elevation of the slide-operating cam ;
Fig. 6, a front elevation of the cam which moves the cutter-shaft and cutters into
position for operating on the tubes ;
Fig. 7, a front elevation of the dog-plate.
A is the bed of the machine supported upon suitable legs, and supporting the
operative parts of the machine. From any suitable over-head shaft (not shown) are
driven by open belts the cutter-shaft C, and the mandrel-rotating sleeve D, the belts
running on the grooved pulleys d fast on said cutter-shaft and mandrel-rotating
sleeve, respectively. From the same over-head shaft is driven the cam-shaft E by a
quarter turn helt running on the fast pulley e on said cam-shaft, e' being a loose
pulley on suid cam-shaft.
The cam E' fast on the cam-shaft is provided with a cam-groove e² which receives
a stud projecting forward from the connecting-rod et, said rod having a longitudinal
slot which receives the cam-shaft and guides said rod. The rod e is jointed at e
at its lower end to the free end of the lower arm e' of the bell-crank e, said bell-
crank being pivoted at e' on the frame of the machine, and the other end of said
bell-crank is pivoted at one end to the nearly horizontal connecting-rod e¹0, the
other end of said last-named rod being adjustably pivoted to the slide E' by well-
known means.
The main body of the slide E' moves in V-shaped ways a a² on
the frame or bed A, the upper ways a consisting of two blocks vertically adjustable
by means of the screws a turning in ears a on said bed, and held in place by cap-
screws a which pass through vertical slots a' in said movable blocks a³ into said frame.
The rotation of the cam-shaft E and cam E' gives the slide E' a reciprocating motion
in its ways. Secured to the upwardly-projecting parte" of the slide E is a feed-block e¹²,
the same being adjustable end wise on said slide by means of slots e" in the slide and
bolts which pass through said slots into said block, as shown in Fig. 1, and sup-
ported on said feed-block is a feeder e, the same being a trough ein which the
tubes are laid, said trough being provided with a reduced shank e" which passes
through an ear el on said feed-block, and is surrounded by a spiral spring e¹ com-
pressed between the ear e and said trough, the trough proper being supported by a
stud or bolt el inserted in the side thereof, and projecting through a horizontal slot e

page_text: in another ear on said block. The amount of compression of the spring is
varied by turning the nut and check-nut on the end of the shank outside of
the rare The tube, if tapering. is laid in the trough with its large end towards
the mandrels, and the movement of the slide to the left in Fig. 1 forces the tube
on to that one of said mandrels which at the time is the front upper mandrel, there
being four mandrels arranged parallel with the horizontal shaft D and journaled at
equal intervals on the disk d seenred to said shaft. The mandrels are given a
constant rotation by pinions d³, securel to said mandrels concentrically therewith,
engaging a gear fast on the sleeve D, said sleuve being rotated as above described.
To the shaft concentrically therewith, is secured a plate d', having as many radial
slots as there are mandrels and between said slots having straight faces d. On
the camshaft is socured a dog-plate 1ª (see Fig. 4), the side of which rests,
during the greater part of the revolution of snid dog-plate against one of the straight
faces of the plate d', and prevents the rotation of said last-named plate, one of
the mandrels at this time being in position to receive a tube from the trough
A projection 7. secured to the side of the dog-plate and offset therefrom, as
shown in Fig. 4, once in every revolution of the dog-plate, enters one of the slots of
the plate, and rotates the last-named plate one-fourth of a rovolution, the face of
the dog-plate leing cut away in advance and in the rear of the projection d², at d³,
for a sufficient distance to allow the parts of the plate d to pass said dog-plate.
and
A quarter revotion of the plate d brings the mandrel which receives the first
tube into a position near to the trimming cutters ("C, the same being sharp-edged
steel disks, inst on the cutter-shaft C above-named. The cutter-shaft is parallel with
the shaft and is journailed in arms radially secured to the shaft (, the latter
being journaled in the frame of the machine, or in brackets secured to said frame.
Another arm is secured to the shaft (, and it rear free ond or an anti-friction
roller carried thereon is held by a spring (secured to one of said brackets
pressing upon said arm ) in contact with the periphery of a cam ("fast upon the
Cam-shift È (sea Figs. 4 and 6) so that, at every revolution of the shaft E, the cutters
are thrown down by raising the rear end of the arm and the rocking of the
shaft (, against the tube on the (for the time being) rear upper mandreld, and
trim of the ends of said tule and reduce the tube to a definite length equal to the
distance between the cutters ("%. After the tubes are trimmed, the pressure of the
spring rocks the shaft in the other direction and raises the cutters, the radius
of the cam being suddenly reduced at to allow the arm to drop just before the
projection on the dog-plate turns the plate d' another quarter of a revolution. In
the meantime another tube has been placed on the then front upper mandrel. The
Second quarter revolution of the plate d' carries the trimmed tube to the burnishing
devices.
The burnishing devices (see Fig. 1) consist of a horizontal shaft. F journalled in
the frame of the machine and having a longitudinal motion therein, and driven from
the same over-head shaft from which the mandrel-rotating sleeve and cutter-shaft are
driven by a bolt or band connecting said over-head shaft and a pulley fast on said
shaft F, said shaft having a tapering hole in its inner end adapted to receive the
free end of a mandrel and tube, and having also a collar provided with an anunlar
groove which receives the forked upper end of a bell-erank lever, pivoted at /
on the frame of the machine, the lower end of said lever boing provided with an anti-
friction roller which rests upon an incline 7 secured to the slide E, and is held
in contact therewith by the contractile force of a spring connected to the lower
arm of said lover and to the bed of the machine, so that when the slide E moves in
the direction necessary to push a tube upon the mandrol, the incline / moves out
from under the lower arm of said lever, and allows the lever to be turned by the
spring in a direction to throw the shaft to the left in Fig. 1, and force its hollow
end over the lower rear mandrel and against the end of the tube thus burnishing the
end of said tube by friction, said shaft F and mandrel revolving in opposite directions
at considerable speeds. When the slido E returns to position, the incline 7 runs

page_text: under the lever and draws the shaft F away from the mandrel at the same time
that the cutters C₁ ( are thrown upward and backward by the action of the
spring c*.
The next quarter revolution of the plate carries the tube first placed upon a
mandrel forward, the mandrel which carries said tube being the front lower mandrel.
Another movement of the slide now places a tube upon the fourth mandrel, and at the
same movement of the slide, the strippers G G secured to the slide are carried over
the lower front mandrel. The strippers G G are nearly vertical springs, secured to
the slide E and provided at their upper ends with jaws g the inner faces of which
are provided with rounded grooves gl g' adapted to surround the mandrol back of the
tube, said jaws being held apart in passing over the mandrel by the head g of the
spring-bolt G arranged to slide in a bracket on said slide D, said head g bring
held between said jaws by a spiral spring , and a nut g carried on said bolt near its
free end until by the movement of said slide, said bolt is carried against a bracket gⓇ
supported on said bed which pushes said head out from between said jaws and
allows them to close upon the mandrel, so that the said slide in returning to position
strips the tube from the mandrel. The jaws in their return motion are opened for
another operation by running on opposite sides of a wedge-shaped piece g', supported
on a bracket y, secured to the frame of the machine until the head g² is forced by
the spring betweon said jaws.
Obviously the number of mandrels may be increased or diminished as desired, thus
the tubes may be trimmed without burnishing which would require but three mandrels
or the number of mandrols may be doubled and the feeding, trimming, burnishing
and stripping devices may be duplicated.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is:-
1. The combination of a mandrel, means substantially as described for rotating the
same, cutters and means substantially as described for rotating the same against
said mandrel to trim the ends of a tube placed upon said mandrel, as and for the
purpose specified.
2. The combination of the sliding feed-trough to carry a tube placed therein, a
mandrel to receive said tube, and a rotary cutter to trim said tube on said mandrel,
as and for the purpose specified.
3. The combination of the sliding feed-trough to carry a tube placed therein, a
mandrel to receive said tube, and rotary cutters to trim said tube on said mandrel, as
and for the purpose specified.
4. The combination of an intermittently rotating disk, a series of rotary mandrels
arranged parallel with each other upon said disk, against which said mandrels are
successively brought by the rotation of said disk, as and for the purpose specified.
5. The combination of an intermittently rotating disk, a series of rotary mandrels
arranged parallel with each other upon said disk, a pair of cutters, against which
said mandrels are successively brought by the rotation of said disk, as and for the
purpose specified.
6. The combination of an intermittently rotating disk, a series of rotary mandrels
arranged parallel with each other upon said disk, a rotary cutter, to which said
mandrels are successively presented by the rotation of said disk, as and for the
purpose specified.
7. The combination of an intermittently rotating disk, a series of rotary mandrels
arranged parallel with each other upon said disk, a pair of rotary cutters, to which
said mandrels are successively presented by the rotation of said disk, as and for the
purpose specified.
8. The combination of an intermittently rotating lisk, rotary mandrels journalled
therein, and a stripper arranged to strip said mandrels, as and for the purpose
specified.

page_text: 9. The combination of an intermittently rotating disk, a series of rotary mandrels
journaled therein, a trimming device, a burnishing device and a stripper, to which
trimming and burnishing devices and stripper said mandrels are sneerssively
presented by the rotation of said disk, as and for the purpose specified.
10. The combination of the slide, the feed-trough supported thereby, a rotary
eniter, the stripper supported on said slide, an intermittently rotating di-k, mandrels
journaled in said disk, said disk being arranged when at rest to present one of said
mandrels to the action of said fred-tronghi, another to the action of said cutter, and
third to the action of said stripper, as and for the purpose specified.
11. The combination of the rotating mandrel, n rot iry cutter, and a stripper, as and
for the purpose specified.
12. The combination of the fred-trough, rotating mandrel, a rotary cutter, and a
stripper, as and for the purpose specified.
and thin veh la of 1907.
JOIN
CHRISTOPHER CORAM.
Herbert & Co.,
18, Buckingham Street, Strand, W.C., Agents to Applicant.