Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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Background of the Invention
The present invention relates to slitting
apparatus and, in particular, to apparatus for continuous
scroll slitting of sheet metal or similar material, in which
scroll knives are mounted on arbors which are adjustable
relative to each other in order to accommodate scroll knives
of different diameters.
Prior Art
In order to form a plurality of relatively
narrow strips from a single, relatively wide web of metal
such as steel, it is commonly known to utilize a slitting
line. Slitting lines basically consist of an uncoiled from
which a web of metal is unwound from a coil, a slitter which
slits the web into a plurality of strips, and a recoiling
mechanism which recoils the strips into individual strip
coils.
The slitting mechanism typically includes
upper and lower arbors which are rotatable mounted in housings.
Each arbor includes a plurality of rotary cutting members
positioned so that the cutting members on the upper arbor
intermesh or mate with the cutting members on the lower
arbor to provide a cutting or slitting operation upon a
web of metallic material.
If strips are to be formed having rectilinear
longitudinal edges, the rotary cutting members mounted on
the arbors are essentially disk-shaped, having circular
peripheries. However, if the slitter is adapted to form
strips having curvilinear longitudinal edges, cutting members
or knives provided with serpentine or sinuous cutting edges
are required. Slitters of this type are known as scroll
slitters.
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It is desirable to slit a metallic web into
strips having serpentine or curvilinear longitudinal edges
if circular or disk-shaped pieces are to be formed from
the slit strips, such as can ends, motor armatures and brake
backing plates. The serpentine edges reduce the amount
of material wasted in the forming of the disk-shaped pieces
from the strips. An example of this type of slitting process
is disclosed in US. Patent No. 3,517,532.
Since the cutting edges of knives used in
scroll slitting are serpentine or sinuous, the relative
rotational positions of mating scroll knives must be maintained
in synchronization so that their cutting edges meet properly
as the arbors are rotated. In order to effect this synchrony-
ration, usual practice is to provide inter meshing synchronization
gears mounted on the upper and lower arbors, either within
the arbor housings or inboard of the housings, so that the
arbors rotate at the proper speed relative to each other.
An example of such a slitting apparatus is disclosed in
US. Patent No. 3,373,627.
The slitting apparatus shown in this patent
is adjustable to accommodate metallic webs of different
thicknesses and to permit different diameter knives to be
mounted on the arbors. Therefore, the upper arbor is disclosed
as being vertically adjustable in its supports relative
to the lower arbor by a rotatable hand wheel which drives
a conventional motion transmitting mechanism mounted in
the housings which support the arbors.
For relatively small movements between the
arbors, synchronization gears in the form of split gears
are provided which can be modified to increase the effective
thickness of the gear teeth to compensate for and reduce
the backlash and clearance created by small relative movements
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of the arbors mounting the gears.
However, when it is desired to change the
amplitude of the scroll slitting pattern, it is necessary
to change the knives to others of larger or smaller diameter,
and this in turn requires replacing the synchronizing gears
with others of correspondingly larger or smaller diameter.
Thus, each set of cutters or knives is provided with a matching
set of gears. Obviously, set up time is increased where
synchronization gears as well as cutters must be changed
each time a different set of cutters is installed, and the
expense of multiple sets of gears as well as their storage,
creates additional disadvantages and problems.
Accordingly, there is a need for a scroll
slitting apparatus which includes means or synchronizing
the rotation of the arbors without the necessity of multiple
sets of synchronizing gears and the necessity of having
to dismantle the slitting apparatus to substitute different
synchronization gears each time a different set of knives
is required. Furthermore, there is a need for a synchrony-
ration apparatus which is relatively inexpensive in relation
to the overall cost of the slitting apparatus, and one which
does not have large height and width requirements so that
the slitting apparatus may remain a relatively compact unit.
Summary of the Invention
The present invention provides an improved
adjustable slitting apparatus in which upper and lower arbors
may be positioned closer together or farther apart, and
in which the rotational synchronization of the arbors is
maintained outboard of, prior to an independently of the
center-to center
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spacing of the arbors and without the necessity of
maintaining multiple sets of synchronization gears
of differing diameters. The slitting machine of the
present invention includes a synchronization appear-
anus which is relatively inexpensive in relation to
the cost of the entire slitting machine and which is
relatively easy to fabricate and, once installed, to
maintain!
The present invention comprises slitting
apparatus having upper and lower arbors, a plurality
of upper and lower matins rotary cutting members or
knives mounted on the arbors, a movable housing
rotatable supporting first ends of the upper and
lower arbors, a fixed housing rotatable supporting
opposite ends of the upper and lower arbors, and
mechanism for adjusting the position of at least one
of the arbors relative to the other, in which the
improvement includes a pinion stand mounted outboard
of and adjacent one of the housings, upper and lower
inter meshing synchronizing gears rotatable mounted
in the pinion stand, and upper and lower torque-
transmitting, zero backlash, constant angular veillike-
fly couplings which extend between and operatively
join the upper and lower synchronizing gears to the
upper end lower arbors, respectively, while permit-
tying adjustment ox the arbors relative to each other
to accommodate scroll knives or cutters of different
diameters, but which only one set of synchronizing
gears for all sets of knives.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention,
one of the synchronizing gears includes an axle
having an end adapted to be driven by a motor and an
opposite end joined to one of the torque-transmitting
couplings. Since the axle is limited to rotational
movement, it may be directly coupled to a gear
reducer which preferably is driven by an electric
motor.
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It is also preferred to utilize svnchroni-
ration gears which are adjustable split gears in
which the effective circular thickness of the gear
teeth may be varied to reduce backlash and play
between the inter meshing teeth of the synchronization
gears for rotation in either direction. However,
since the synchronization gears are mounted within a
fixed pinion stand located outboard of the housings
and are not moved relative to each other, the gears
may be manufactured to relatively closely tolerances
and thus not have a sufficient amount of backlash to
present a problem in synchronizing the rotation of
the arbors and the rotary gutting members carried by
them. If split gears are used, adjustment would be
required on an inEreqllent basis since the gears are
not moved relative to each other.
Although any type ox torque-transmittins
coupling may be utilized which meets the requisite
strength and displacement requirements, a preferred
coupling is the type shown in patent Jo. 3,2~2,694.
These couplings are desirable in that there is a
minimum of play or backlash in the ~ouplinc3, and
there is no change in performance of the coupling at
differing input and output shaft displacements.
Furthermore, the couplings are h~sira~le in that
they provide an output havirlcl an angular loyalist
which is equal to the angular velocity of tile input.
Thus, the synchronization ox rotational velocities
achieved by the synchronizing gears is maintained in
on the transmission from the synchronizing clears to the
upper and lower arbors.
accordingly, it is an object of the present
invention to provide scroll slitting apparatus which
includes synchronization gears mounted outboard of
the arbor housings so that the arbors may be adjusted
relative to each other without the necessity of
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substituting synchronization gears; to provide
scroll slitting apparatus having synchronization
gears located outboard of the arbor housings which
transmit rotary motion to the arbors with a minimum
of slippage and backlash to provide accurate synch-
ionization of the scroll knives; and to provide
scroll slitting apparatus having synchronization
gears mounted outboard of the arbor housings in a
pinion stand which is relatively inexpensive to
manufacture and relatively easy to maintain.
Other objects and advantages of the invent
lion will be apparent from the following description
the accompanying drawings and the appended claims.
Brief Description of the Drawings
Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the preferred
embodiment of the adjustable slitting apparatus of
the present invention;
Fig. 2 is a plan view of the slitting
apparatus of Fig. 1 taken at line 2-2 of Fig. l;
Fig. 3 is a detail of the slitting apparatus
of Fig. 1 showing the pinion stand and synchronizing
gears in section;
Fig. 4 i_ a detail of the slitting apparatus
of Fig 1 showing the arbors rotated away prom each
other; and
Fig. 5 is an end view of the f it Ed housillg
of the slitting apparatus taken at line S-5 of Fig.
Description of the Preferred Embodiment
As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the adjustable
slitting apparatus of the present invention includes
a scroll slitter, generally designated 10, a synch-
ionizing mechanism 12, and a base 14 for supporting the synchronizing mechanism and scroll slitter. The
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scroll slitter 10 includes a movable housing 16
which is slid ably position able along the base 14, a
fixed housing 18 which is rigidly mounted to the
base, and upper and lower arbors 20,22, respectively.
The upper arbor 20 is rotatable mounted
within upper journal bearings 24,26 mounted within
the movable and fixed housings 16,18, respectively.
' Similarly, the lower arbor 22 is rotatable mounted
within lower journal bearings 28,30 rotatable mounted
within the movable and fixed housings 16,18. The
upper journal bearings 24,26 include upper pinions
32,34, all the lower journal bearings 28,30 include
lower pinions 36,38 which intermesh with upper
pinions 32,34, respectively.
Drive pinions 40,42 are mounted on a shaft
44 which extends the length of the scroll slitter 10
and is rotatable supported in the movable and fixed
housings 16,18. The drive pinions 40,42 mesh with
the lower pinions 36,38, respectively. The shaft 44
is operatively connected to a hand-operated crank 46
by a gearing mechanism 48 of conventional design.
The upper and lower arbors 20,22 are each
eccentrically mounted within their respective journal
bearings 24,26,28,30. This is best shown in Fig. 5
in which the upper and lower arbors 20,22 are shown
positioned to the right of the centers of the upper
and lower journal bearings 26, on. '['he location and
positioning of the upper and lower arbors 20,22
within the upper and lower journal bearings 24,28,
mounted within the movable housing 16, not silowrl in
'Fig. 5, would be identical in position.
Rotation of the shaft 44 by turning the
crank 46 causes the drive pinions 40,42 to rotate
the lower pinions 36,38 which in turn rotate upper
pinions 32,34 in an opposite direction. Thus, the
centers of the upper and lower arbors 20,22, design
noted by points AHAB, respectively, will always lie
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upon a common vertical line, represented by line C in Fig.
5. Rotation of the pinions 32, 34, 36, 38 thus causes the
upper and lower arbors 20, 22 to be moved toward or away
from each other.
As shown in Fig. 1, the upper arbor 20 includes
a plurality of upper rotary cutting members 50, and the
lower arbor 22 includes a plurality of lower rotary cutting
members 52 which intermesh with the upper cutting members.
The upper and lower cutting members 50, 52 include curvilinear
cutting edges 51, 53, which intermesh during the scroll
slitting operation.
Scroll slitting is known from prior art patents,
as noted above. The improvement here consists of the manner
in which synchronization is maintained between sets of cutters
or knives of different diameters. The synchronization mechanism
12, as best seen in Figs. 1-4, includes a pinion stand 54
which supports an upper synchronizing gear 56 and a lower
synchronizing gear 58. The upper synchronizing gear 56
is rotatable mounted within upper bearings 60, 62 and the
lower synchronizing gear 58 is mounted within bearings 64,
66. The synchronizing gear 56 is preferably a split or
adjustable gear which can be adjusted after mounting within
bearings 60, 62 in order to eliminate any play or backlash
in the meshing with the lower synchronizing gear 58.
The upper synchronizing gear 56 is mounted
to an axle 67 which includes a s-tub 68 that extend outwardly
from the pinion stand 54 -toward the fixed housing 18 and
is mounted to an end 70 of upper, torque transmitting coupling
72. An opposite end 74 of the upper torque-transmitting
coupling 72 is mounted to a stub 76 which extends outwardly
from the end of the upper arbor 20.
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Similarly, the lower synchronizing gear 58
is mounted to an axle 78 which includes a stub 80
that extends outwardly from the pinion stand 54 and
is mounted to an end 82 of a lower coupling 84.
slower coupling 84 includes an opposite end 86 which
is attached to a stub 88 extending outwardly from
the lower arbor 22. Upper and lower couplings 72,84
may be by any conventional type but a preferred
coupling is type NSS~ coupling manufactured by
l0Schmidt Couplings, Inc., Cincinnati, Ohio. Such
couplings permit a substantial displacement of input
and output shafts without variance in angular veillike-
fly and with substantially zero backlash.
The axle 78 supporting the lower synchrony
15ization gear 58 includes an end 90 opposite stub 80
which is adapted to mount a coupling 92 of convent
tonal design which is joined to the drive shaft 34
of a gear reducer 96 driven by an electric motor 98
(shown in Figs. l and 2).
assay shown in Fig. 4, displacement of the
upper and lower arbors 20,22 as a result of rotation
of the upper and lower pinions 34,38 ho drive pinion
42 causes the stubs 76,88 projecting from the upper
and lower arbors to be displaced apart from each
other. The ends 7~1,86 of the upper and lower coup
plinks 72,84 ore displace along with the stubs.
Thus, the upper and lower couplings 72,84 permit
rotary motion to be transmitted from the synchrony-
ration gears within the pinion stand I to the upper
and lower arbors 20,22 even though the axis of
rotation of the stub I projecting from the upper
synchronizing gear is not colinear with the stub 76
projecting from the upper arbor 20, and the end stub
80 projecting from the lower synchronizing gear is
not colinear with the end stub 88 projecting from
the lower arbor 22. In this fashion, rotary power
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may be transmitted from the motor 98 (Figs. 1 and 2)
through the synchronizing mechanism 12 and to the
upper and lower arbors 20,22, regardless ox their
relative positions within the movable and fixed
housings 16,18 and without the necessity of subset-
tuning different sized synchronizing gears.
The operation of the adjustable slitting
apparatus of the present invention is as follows.
Prior to the slitting operation, the upper and lower
arbors 0,22 are adjusted relative to each other to
provide the proper degree of clearance between the
upper and lower mating rotary cutting members 50,52.
This spacing is a function of the thickness of the
metallic web (not shown) which is to be slit by the
apparatus. The motor 98 is activate which drives
the gear reducer 96, which in turn rotates the
output shaft 94 an the lower synchronizing gear
58. Rotation of the lower synchronizing gear 58
rotates the Tneshing upper synchronizing gear 56 and
the lower coupling 84. Rotation of the upper synch-
ionizing gear 56 rotates the lopper coupling 72, and
the upper and lower couplings together rotate the
upper and lower arbors 20,22. Since the upper and
lower synchronizing gears 56,58 provide proper
I rotational speeds for the upper and lower rotary
cutting members 50,52, the cutting melnbers engacle
each other in proper synchronization regardless of
the relative position of the upper and lower arbors
20,22.
While the form of apparatus herein described
constitutes a preferred embodiment of this invention,
it is to be understood that the invention is not
limited to this precise form of apparatus and that
changes may be made therein without departing from
the scope of the invention.
What is claimed is:
