An Improved Machine for Sorting Steel Balls and like Articles Automatically.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 6th Jan., 1898-Accepted, 19th Mar., 1898
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Machine for Sorting Steel Balls and like Articles
Automatically.
We, CARL ROBERT KAPPLER, Architect, of 130, Kauptstrasse, Gochsheim, near
Schweinfurt, and FRIEDRICH SCHUNK, Engineer, of 91, Schamzen, Schweinfurt,
both in the Empire of Germany, 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:—
This invention relates more particularly to a machine for the sorting of the
already ground and hardened steel balls according to quality, and it also prevents
cracked balls from being passed as perfect.
At present to sort out the cracked balls, which cannot be avoided even by using
best quality steel, skilful workmen examine each ball by help of a magnifying
glass. This entails a great amount of work and time and is after all not reliable,
as the cracks are often very fine and not easy to detect even by a magnifying glass,
so that in spite of the great care used many faulty balls are sold and cause great
inconvenience especially when used for ball bearings. Again the nature of the
steel must necessarily cause unevenness in the hardening of quantities of balls, and
make the equal wear of all balls impossible.
The method of carrying the invention into effect is illustrated on the accom-
panying drawing in vertical section.
On a horizontal planed table A, a strong circular case of cast iron a is placed,
and it has attached to its top an accurately turned conical ring b made of best
steel, ending at the top in a sharp edge. Into the bottom of the case a is screwed
a hollow tube c in which an elevating rod h works. On the fixed tube or axle c
a stationery bottom is attached by means of the steel ring 8. Between the
bottom and the outer cylinder a is placed a trunk piston e which can be moved
to and fro in the cylinder a in the manner now to be described. The bottom e¹
of the trunk piston e has attached to it the steel ring §¹ embracing the connecting
rod h in such a manner, that a pin j connects the steel ring s¹ with the connecting
rod h. This pin is movable to and fro in a slit c¹ of the hollow axle c.
The top
portion of the cylinder c is turned on its upper edge sloping a little outwards.
The connecting rod h is moved up and down by any suitable contrivance such
as an eccentric or crank and the stroke of the said eccentric or crank is such that
the upper sloping rim of the trunk piston e, moves from the position shown in the
drawing to just a little above the sharp edge of the cone b at each stroke.
Another important feature of the machine is an accurately finished steel
ring g made of first quality steel and hardened, and arranged of a suitable size
concentric with the cylinder a as shown in the drawing. On this ring g and also
made of the best material and accurately finished is a ring k, which is adjustable
vertically by thumb-screws i. The upper edge of the ring k rises to a certain
height above the ring g.
The operation of the machine is based on purely physical laws especially the law
relating to the repelling of elastic bodies and is as follows,-The trunk piston e
moving up and down takes at each stroke by means of its upper edge a row of the

page_text: balls in the hollow space between that edge and the cylinder a. This row of balls
slide on the piston e reaching the top, off its edge, and roll down the slope of the
cone b acquiring thereby a certain speed, from which, together with the weight of
the balls, results the falling gradient of the balls n n¹ n² and so on.
The tangent
of this gradient forms with the upper part of the ring 9 a certain angle, and from
this angle and the united energy of the balls results the form of the gradients of
the balls n n n when rebounding from the surface of the ring g. By adjusting
the ring ka height can be determined that the faultless balls jump over the upper
edge of k, while the faulty balls roll back into the inner space gl as the upper part
of the ring g is sloping towards the interior a little. The faultless balls can be
caught in suitably placed contrivances outside the ring g.
The sorting of the cracked balls follows naturally, as they have not nearly the
elasticity of the faultless balls, and lose their energy in the rebound to such an
extent, that they strike the ring and fall back on to g. The faultless balls on the
other hand, jump over the ring k.
For the same reason, i.e. want of elasticity, the unhardened or not sufficiently
hardened balls also sort themselves automatically, and not having the required
elasticity fail to leap the ring or barrier k and roll back into g'.
The invention may be modified in many ways, such as by arranging receptacles
at different heights, and barriers or rings at different heights so as to grade the
balls according to their elasticity, or again straight flat slopes instead of circular
cylinders may be used, and all without departing from the subject of the present
invention. It is also evident that other materials than steel could be used to
construct the machine details.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is :-
1, A machine for sorting steel or other metal balls according to quality consist-
ing of a lift which raises successive rows of balls and causes them to roll down a
slope and then drop upon a ring or block from which they rebound at a certain
angle and to a certain height according to their respective elasticities, the cracked
or imperfectly hardened balls rebounding to a lesser degree and striking an adjust-
able ring or barrier, while the perfect balls clear the said ring or barrier, and fall
into suitable receptacles all substantially as hereinbefore described.
2, The machine for sorting steel or other metal balls substantially as herein before
described with reference to the accompanying drawing.
3, The improvements in and relating to mechanism for sorting steel or other
metal balls substantially as hereinbefore described.
Dated this 6th day of January 1898
MARKS & CLERK,
18, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., and
13, Temple Street, Birmingham, Agents.