Improvements in and connected with Machines for Forming Tubes, such as Used for Pneumatic Tyres, and other Hollow Articles which can be Formed upon a Mandrel.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 28th Jun., 1896-Accepted, 7th Mar., 1896
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and connected with Machines for Forming Tubes,
such as Used for Pneumatic Tyres, and other Hollow Articles
which can be Formed upon a Mandrel.
A communication from abroad by AUSTIN BRAINARD, of 218 Main Street,
Hartford, in the State of Connecticut, United States of America, Lawyer.
I PHILIP MIDDLETON JUSTICE of 55 and 56 Chancery Lane in the County
of Middlesex Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Patent Agents do hereby
declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
The object of this invention is to produce a mechanism which shall be capable
of bringing forward into a working position a blank or body or other object to be
operated upon, holding it from further movement forward and properly supporting
it while it is formed or treated or subjected to the required operation, and then
carrying it forward and delivering it. The mechanism is intended to facilitate the
manufacture or forming or finishing of articles which usually have been presented
by the operator or attendant, one by one, to the devices for treating them and
have therefore required a considerable expenditure of time. As the explanation
of the invention proceeds it will be apparent that it is applicable to a great variety
of uses, but for the sake of enabling the principle of the invention to be clearly
understood without cumbering this Specification with additional illustrations, I have
chosen as an embodiment of the invention for detailed description herein a
mechanism which is particularly adapted for the formation of short tubes upon
mandrels. It will be observed that in the case of this particular mechanism the
mandrel is the body or object to be operated upon and it will be understood, there-
fore, that the mandrel, whenever referred to hereinafter, is to be taken as
representing a general class of objects which may be operated upon.
Heretofore the manufacture of such tubes, formed by rolling or winding a sheet
or sheets of material upon itself, has been conducted mainly by hand; that is to
say, the workman, using a mandrel or a die and other hand tools or appliances, has
himself performed the various operations necessary to complete the tube. The
manufacture thus conducted has necessarily been slow and correspondingly
expensive and it is therefore the object of this invention to produce a machine
which should be capable of performing the various operations heretofore performed
by hand and of turning out a tube or tubes having the same perfection of structure
as those heretofore made by hand. The mechanism which has been devised is
particularly adapted for the manufacture of what are known as "hose-pipe" tires
for bicycles and other vehicles and are usually composed of successive layers or
plies of sheet rubber and canvas, the ends of such tubes being subsequently united
to form the completed tire. It will be understood, however, that the use of the
mechanisin herein described is not limited to the manufacture of articles of this or
of any particular class and it will be further understood that the several features
which are herein shown and described as composing a complete mechanism need
not of necessity be employed together, although in the machine shown they
e-operate in the production of a unitary result. It will also be evident that other
devices, particularly such as night be concerned with the feeding of the material

page_text: or with the further treatment of the tubes when formed, might be combined in
a single machine with those shown.
In the machine which has been chosen for illustration of the principles of the
invention, provision is made for receiving and feeding forward the mandrels upon
which the tubes are formed, for insuring the proper attachment of the edge of each
new sheet of material to the mandrel upon which it is wound, for the proper
winding of the sheet upon the mandrel, for the longitudinal rolling of the soft
tube upon the mandrel for the purpose of smoothing and compacting it and of
forcing out any bubbles of air that might be enclosed between the plies or layers,
and for releasing each mandrel from the carrier. Certain preferrel forms of
mechanical devices for enabling these several operations to be performed are
hereinafter shown and described in detail, but it is not intended thereby in anywise
to limit the invention to any particular form of construction.
In the accompanying drawings, wherein is shown the mechanism referred to as
illustrating a practical embodiment of the invention and hereinafter more
particularly referred to,
Figure 1 is a front elevation of the machine referred to;
Figure 2 is a partial front elevation thereof on a larger scale than that of
Figure 1, parts being broken out to save space on the drawing;
Figure 3 is a rear elevation of the same also on a larger scale and with parts
broken out to save space;
Figure 4 is a plan view, parts being broken out to save space and with some of
the mandrels being removed from the carrier in order to show parts beneath;
Figure 5 is a sectional elevation of the right hand end of the machine, as seen in
Figure 1, the plane of section being indicated by the line 5-5 of Figure 2;
Figure 6 is a sectional elevation of the left hand end of the machine, the plane
of section being indicated by the line 6-6 of Figure 2;
Figures 7 and 8 are detail views in longitudinal section showing a portion of
a mandrel and of the devices for rotating and supporting the same and for exhausting
the air therefrom;
Figure 9 is a detail view of a cam employed for a purpose to be hereinafter
referred to;
Figure 10 is a detail view in longitudinal section and partly broken out, showing
the drum hereinafter referred to aud means for rotating the same and for permitting
vertical movement thereof;
Figure 11 is a detail view, partly in elevation and partly in longitudinal section,
illustrating the construction of the clutch for coupling or uncoupling the driving
mechanism;
Figure 12 is an edge view of the key employed in the clutch shown in
Figure 11;
Figure 13 is a detail view partly in elevation and partly in longitudinal section,
with parts broken away to save space, illustrating the connection of each mandrel
with the means for rotating and supporting it;
Figure 14 is a side elevation of a portion of one of the carrier chains;
Figure 15 is an end view thereof;
Figure 16 is a detail view, partly in transverse section, illustrating the means for
permitting vertical movement of the winding drum, the plane of section being
indicated by the line 16-16 of Figure 10;
Figure 17 is a detail view illustrating the relation of the longitudinal rolling and
smoothing devices to a mandrel and to the drum ;
Figures 18 and 19 are detail views, respectively in plan and in longitudinal
vertical section, showing a portion of the devices for rotating each mandrel and
for effecting a release of the mandrel from the rotating devices.
For the manufacture of tubes of the character referred to, namely, tubes for
pneumatic tires, mandrels are employed for the formation of the tubes and are
preferably of the construction indicated at A in Figures 7, 8 and 13, the mandrels
being shown in position in the machine in other figures of the drawings. As

page_text: represented, each mandrel is made of a shell or tube a, preferably of steel of
considerable thickness, and having one end hermetically closed by a plug a', while
the other end is closed by a plug a having an axial bore a³, small perforations a
being formed through the shell or wall of the mandrel for a purpose to be referred
to hereinafter. Near each end of the mandrel may be formed an arnalar groove a³
for engagement with the carrier hereinafter described, and one end is also formed
for engagement with means for rotating the mandrel, having as shown, teeth a to
form one member of a clutch, the other member of which is carried by the driving
spindle, while each end is counterbored to receive a centering pin.
Various means might he employed for carrying the mandrels through the
machine and for supporting them while the several operations of forming the
tube are performed. The means shown comprise two endless chains B B, (see
particularly Figures 5, 6, 14 and 15), carried by sprocket wheels and having
forks which are adapted to engage the mandrels A A in the grooves a a³.
The sprocket wheels are securel in pairs to shafts which are mounted in
suitable bearings supported by arms ec from the bed plate C of the machine. Th
bearing blocks of one of these shafts are made movable in their supports (see
Figures 5 and 6) and are engaged by adjusting screws for the purpose of
tightening the carrying chains B B when necessary. The mandrels are a Iditionally
supported during the formation of the tubes thereon by rails which exten
from front to rear of the machine and are preferably turned up at their front ends,
as shown in Figures 5 and 6, to prevent the accidental displacement of the mandrels
from the forks bb of the chains 1 B as they pass around the front sprocket, the
mandrels being preferably fel to the chain at the rear side of the machine.
It is desirable that a step-by-step movement should be given to the mandrel
carrier and for this purpose one shaft 62, as shown in Figures 3, 4 and 5, may be
provided with a ratchet wheel to which motion is imparted by a pawl b, the
latter being carried by a lever 68, which is mounted upon the frame of the machine
and is actuated by a rod 6 from a cam 10 on the intermediate shaft D'.
To effect the wrapping or winding of the sheet of material upon the mandrels,
means are provided for rotating each mandrel in turn upon its own axis. As
represented in Figures 2, and 13, two spindles E E' are supported in alignment on
opposite sides of the carrier at the point where the working mandrel is to receive
the sheet of material. Each spindle has a centering pin e to enter the counterbore
in the corresponding end of the inandrel brought in alignment therewith and one
spindle, as E, is preferably provided with teeth el to engage the teeth a on the
corresponding end of the working mandrel and thereby to effect a positive
engagement therewith. The spindle E is fixed in a short shaft which is
permitted to move longitudinally in a sleeve e but is compelled to rotate with said
sleeve by a key carried by the sleeve and entering a longitudinal groove e in the
shaft. The sleeve e³ is mounted in fixed bearings and is driven by a piaion e and
gear e' from the intermediate shaft D. The other spindle E' may rotate freely in
a short shaft which is permitted to have longitudinal movement in its bearing e³,
but is held from rotation therein by a key carried by the bearing and entering a
longitudinal groove e in the shaft e. The spindle E' has an axial bore e to
communicate with the axial bore a in the plug a2 and with the axial bore e¹³ of the
shaft. The bore e¹ has a lateral port e which is adapted to communicate, when
the parts are in the position represented in Figure S, with a pipe e which is
connected to any suitable means for producing a partial vacuum, such as an exhaust
fan; the object being to effect a firm attachment of the leading edge of the sheet
of material to the working mandrel while the sheet is being wound thereou and to
permit such attachment to be broken as soon as the tube has been formed and the
mandrel disengaged from the means for rotating it, whereby the mandrel may be
readily withdrawn from the tube when discharged from the machine. In order to
insure a tight joint between the end of the mandrel and the head of the spindle E¹
the latter may be faced with a suitable packing e as indicated in Figures 7, 8
and 13.

page_text: To effect the engagement of the spindles EE with the mandrel, the
shafts are given longitudinal movement at the proper times by cams F F (see
Figures 1, 2, 3 and 4), which are mounted respectively on the shafts D and D' at
opposite sides of the machine. The cam F is engaged by a pin on the shaft 8.
The shaft, as clearly shown in Figures 18 and 19, is coupled by a collar el to a
cross-head, sliding in ways and having a pin to enter the groove of the
cam F. Synchronous movement of the shaft D and D' is assured by a counter-
shaft D, having gears ad meshing with like gears da on the respective
shaft D and D, the gear having the cam groove formed therein for
convenience.
It is highly desirable that the sheet of material from which the tube is to be
formed, should be kept smooth and free from wrinkles while being applied to the
mandrel and it is obvious that various means might be adapted for the purpose.
In the machine shown in the drawings, it is preferred to use for this purpose a
drum G which presents a sheet to the mandrel, supports it and holds it smooth
while it is being wound and also presses it firmly against the mandrel. The drum
is preferably driven positively at the same peripheral speed as that of the mandrel
and it may be covered with a sheet of felt or similar soft and yielding material, and,
outside of that, with some smooth and non-adhesive material, particularly when, as
in the machine represented, the material to be used is soft rubber in sheets, or fabric
treated with rubber.
are
The thickness of the tube being formed varies as the successive layers of material
are added and it may also vary with different thicknesses of the material itself, and
it therefore becomes desirable to support the drum so that it may yield bodily in a
vertical line. To this end the bearing blocks g, (see particularly Figure 16) in
which it is mounted to rotate freely (preferably in ball-bearings, as shown), are
supported to move vertically in guides g g and are normally pressed upward by
levers and counterweights 3 g³. The drum G, as stated above, is driven
positively, being coupled to the intermediate shafts D D' between which it is
placed. These shafts should rotate in fixed bearings and to allow of the vertical
displacement of the drum, some form of universal coupling should be adopted as
that shown in Figures 2, 3, 10 and 16, in which the ends of the drum shaft
squared, as indicated at in Figure 16 and enter openings 96, oblong in cross-
section, in the hubs of yokes 7, being held therein by pins upon which the ends
ot the shaft are free to slide, to a limited extent, the ends of the shaft also having
a sufficiently loose fit in the yokes and on the pins to permit the yokes to swing to
a limited extent with respect to the shaft. The yokes g are pivotally connected
with the intermediate shafts D D' by pins g, and as the yokes embrace the
squared ends of the respective shafts loosely and fit loosely on the pins
the yokes and therefore the drum, are permitted to move with respect to the
shafts D D' in the line of the pins y, the line of direction of the pius and
therefore of the movement of the yokes thereon, being at right angles to the
direction of movement of the drum shaft with respect to the yokes. It will be
readily understood that one of these devices will allow vertical movement of the
drum when the latter is in the position shown in the drawings and that the other
device will allow vertical movement when the drum is in the position assumed after
it has rotated 90° from the position shown. For any intermediate position in any
quadrant the required vertical movement is a resultant of the combination and
co-operation of the two devices, the freedom of the yokes to swing permitting the
required adjustment without binding.
The mechanism thus far described provides for the proper feeding and support
of the mandrels and for the winding smoothly upon each mandrel, in succession, of
the sheet or sheets of material of which the tube is composed. The mandrels
might be removed from the machine after the winding of the material thereon and
the tubes be treated elsewhere for the purpose of smoothing and compacting them
and expelling the air therefrom, but the further treatment of the tubes is preferably
conducted in the same machine whereby the tubes are delivered in readiness to

page_text: receive an additional layer of material or for the completion of the tire by uniting
the ends of each tube and finishing them in a well known manner. The devices
which are shown as adapted for this purpose will now be described. A frame H
(Figures 3, 4, 5 and 6) provided with carrying wheels hh, is arranged to be
reciprocated above the mandrels as they travel through the machine on the ways
or rails 6 6, the frame being conveniently supported by horizontal rods or
rails, which are preferably disposed between the upper and lower members of
the carrying chain and are preferably double or otherwise formed to secure the
necessary stiffness. The rail is supported in a fixed position above the bed-plate
of the machine by brackets cle¹ (Figures 5 and 6), but the rail 2 is so supported
as to have capacity for vertical movement, as more fully described hereinafter.
From the forward part of frame H projects a supplementary frame or a series of
bracket arms 3 (Figure 17), supporting a series of housings h, in each of which
is mounted with its axis transverse to the axis of the mandrel below it a smoothing
and pressing roller , which has a concave working face to conform substantially
to the curvature of the mandrels. Each roller h³ is preferably mounted in vertically
moving blocks h (Figure 3), which are pressed downward by springs not shown,
so that the rollers may accommodate themselves somewhat to the varying thickness
and inequalities of the material used.
The rollers, should be raised bodily to per.nit movement of each mandrel in
succession to and from position beneath them, and, at the proper moment, should
be lowered upon the mandrel which is in position beneath them. As before stated,
the rail is fixed and constitutes a fulerum upon which the roller frame may tilt.
The preponderance of the frame is to the rear of the rail and consequently, in
the normal position of the frame, the rollers are raise'l clear of the path of the
mandrels and they are moved downward upon each mandrel in succession when
the rear of the frame is raised. The rail, is therefore made vertically movable,
being carried by two rods, which are vertically movable in guides h, erected on
the bed plate, as shown in Figures 3, 5 and 6. These rods are bevelled at their
lower ends and are arranged to he lifted by cams 10 on a bar " (see Figure 3)
which is mounted to slide longitudinally on suitable guides on the bed-plate and is
arranged to be moved, at the proper moment, by any suitable device, such as the
bell crank, and rod 13, which has a pin , engaging the cam groove h¹³, on the
face of the cam dise on the intermediate shaft D₁ (see Figure 9).
The roller-carrying frame may be reciprocated by any suitable means, such as
the rod, crank and helt-pulley 18, the latter being represented as adapted to
be driven independently of the rest of the machine.
Motion is imparted to the entire machine, except as just stated, by means of a
short driving shaft K, having a belt pulley or other driving wheel and a worm k³,
adapted to engage and drive a worm wheel . The latter (see Figures 2, 4, 6.
and 11) is fixed on a sleeve k³, which is mounted loosely on the intermediate
shaft D and has in its end one or more recesses adapted to be engaged by a
key, which slides in a key-way " formed in a sleeve fixed upon the shaft D.
The key is pressed forward normally for engagement with the sleeve by a
spring and has in the exposed portion of its outer edge an obliquely disposed
slot A. A bar having its edge tapered to form a wedge or cam is pivoted at a
suitable point below the shaft D, and is held normally upward by a spring, so
that its edge may enter the slot k, as it is presented in the revolution of the key
with the shaft and thereby effect the withdrawal of the key from the recess k
and the consequent disengagement of the worm wheel from the shaft D. The
bar is adapted to be drawn down and held out of the path of the key by a
treadle and a connecting wire 13, and so long as the treadle is held down the
engagement of the driving mechanism will be maintained.
In the operation of the machine described herein, the mandrels are supplied by
an attendant to the carrier at the rear of the machine, being placed one by one in
the forks of the chains at about the point indicated by the first mandrel at the
right in Figure 5. Motion being imparted to the carrier in the manner described,

page_text: the mandrels are carried forward and around the sprocket wheels at the front of
the machine, being held in the forks, as they pass below the sprocket wheel, by the
rails, which furnish a rigid and unyielding support for the mandrels during
the operation of winding the sheet of material thereon and the subsequent smoothing
and compacting of the newly formed tubes on the mandrels. The mandrels are
finally released, with the tubes thereon, at the rear of the machine, whence they
may be removed and taken away to have the tubes drawn off and finished, or may
be returned again to the machine to have other layers of material, either of rubber
or of the prepared fabric wrapped over the layer or layers already on the mandrel.
As each mandrel is brought to a position in the same vertical plane with the axis
of the drum (, it is then in readiness to receive upon it the sheet of material which
has been previously laid by an attendant upon the surface of the drum. At this
moment, the spindles E and E are moved longitudinally by their actuating cams
into engagement with the mandrel, which is then in alignment therewith. The
spindle E being positively rotated and being adapted to engage positively with the
corresponding end of the mandrel, immediately causes the mandrel to rotate and
to wind thereon the aforesaid sheet of material. The spindle El also engages the
corresponding end of the mandrel to support it and hold it in true position with
respect to the surface of the drum. By its movement in its bearing the short
shaft which supports the spindle E also establishes connection between the
interior of the hollow mandrel and the exhaust-fan or other means employed for
producing a partial vacuum within the mandrel. As the perforations through the
wall of the mandrel are small and are distributed over the surface, the forward or
leading edge of the sheet of material will be picked up by the mandrel and held
thereon by atmospheric pressure with sufficient firmness to prevent slipping and to
prevent the sheet from enrling or stripping off as the mandrel rotates. In winding
subsequent layers upon the first, the nature of the material will cause it to cling
with sufficient closeness to the first layer, the possibility of rotation of the mandrel
within the first layer being prevented by the suction exerted upon such first layer
through the holes in the mandrel. As already described, the drum G is held
firmly against the rotating mandrel by the counter-weights and is permitted to
yield to accommodate itself to the increasing thickness of the material upon the
mandrel. It will be understood that the driving mechanism for the maudrel
carrier is so arranged that the carrier remains stationary doring the rotation of
each mandrel in succession, and that the advance movement of the carrier takes
place when the rotation has been completed. After the mandrel has received its
wrapping, or while the wrapping is being wound on the mandrel it is subjected to
the action of the smoothing and compacting devices. As has been described
already, the smoothing rollers are raised to release the mandrel which has already
been in position and to permit the next mandrel to be brought into position,
without bringing it or its wrapping into contact with the edges of the smoothing
rollers. When the advancing mandrel has been brought to rest and has been
rotated far enough to bring the front edge of the first layer of material thereon
beneath the smoothing rollers, the frame carrying the smoothing rollers is tilted to
move the rollers toward the mandrel and to cause them to bear upon the newly
formed tube thereon. As the tilting of the frame is effected by shifting one of the
tracks upon which it moves, it is possible to provide without difficulty and without
complication of parts for the continuous reciprocation of the frame and roller-.
Before the carrier makes another movement the frame will be shifted to lift the
smoothing rollers from the mandrel just subjected to their action and permit it to
be moved forward without interference. The further movements of the carrier
bring the mandrels to the point where the rails are inclined downwardly, at
which point the mandrels will be released one by one from the forks of the
carrier.
It will be obvious that the details of construction and the general arrangement
of the machine may be varied without departing from the spirit of the invention
disclosed herein. So far as is known to me, (the manufacture of tubes of the

page_text: character referred to has been conducted heretofore mainly by hand, and it has
not been possible to manufacture such tubes rapidly and economically by mechanisin
which requires, as does that described herein, only to have the mandrels and the
sheets of material of which tubes are to be formed supplied to it, either by hand or
by any other mechanism adapted for the purpose. Therefore, it is not intended
by anything shown and described herein to limit the invention to any particular
construction or arrangement.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, (as communicated to me
by my foreign correspondent) I declare that what I claim is :-
1. The combination with a rotating shaft and devices to feed and rotatably
support a mandrel, of means to couple the mandrel and the shaft as the man Irel is
brought into position with relation to the shaft.
2. The combination with a carrier adapted to receive and rotatably support a
mandrel, of a rotating and longitudinally movable shaft, and a cam and inter-
mediate connections whereby said shaft is moved into engagement with the mandrel
as the latter is brought into line therewith.
3. The combination with a support for a mandrel, of a drum mounted in
proximity to said support, movable bearings in which said drum is mounted and
which permit it to move toward or from the support, shafts mounted in fixed
bearings, one at each end of said drum, and a universal coupling between each end
of the drum and the corresponding shaft, whereby the drum may be driven
positively and be permitted to move toward or from the support for the mandrel.
4. The combination with a carrier adapted to receive and support a mandrel and
means for imparting a step-by-step movement to said carrier, of rollers adapted to
press upon said mandrel as it is brought into proximity thereto, and means to
reciprocate said rollers longitudinally with respect to the mandrel.
5. The combination with a carrier adapted to receive and support a mandrel, of
an overbalanced frame adapted to reciprocate longitudinally with respect to the
mandrel and having rollers to bear upon the mandrel, and means to tilt said frame
to cause the rollers to press upon the mandrel.
6. The combination with a carrier composed of endless chains adapted to receive
and transport mandrels, of rails mounted in proximity to said carrier and transverse
with respect to the direction of movement thereof, a frame mounted to reciprocate
on said rails and having rollers to bear on the mandrel in proximity thereto, and
means to reciprocate said frame.
7. The combination with a carrier adapted to receive and transport mandrels, of
a fixed rail mounted in proximity to said carrier, a second rail parallel with the
first and mounted to be movable toward or from said carrier, a frame mounted to
reciprocate on said rails and having rollers to bear upon the mandrel in proximity
thereto, and means to shift said movable rail to cause said rollers to bear upon the
mandrel or to be moved therefrom.
8. The combination with a tubular mandrel, a driving spindle therefor at one
end, and a centering spindle having a longitudinal bore, and connections from said
bore whereby a partial vacuum may be produced iu said mandrel.
Dated the 28th day of January 1896.
PHILIP M. JUSTICE.