Spinner loader equipment

Claim 2

Apparatus for continuously feeding cup-shaped metal blanks from a supply of such blanks at a pickup station to a location between the headstock and tailstock die assemblies of a spinner, and for removing finished spun V-grooved pulleys from the spinner and depositing the spun pulleys at a discharge station including, carriage support means mounted on a spinner extending transversely with respect to the longitudinal axis of the spinner; carriage means movably mounted on the support means for reciprocating movement along said support means transversely to said longitudinal spinner axis between a pickup station and a discharge station; load and unload slide assemblies movably mounted on the carriage means for relative independent reciprocating movement on the carriage means in directions parallel to said longitudinal spinner axis; gripper means mounted on each slide assembly each movable with respect to the slide assemblies and carriage means; conveyor means for delivering cupshaped metal blanks to the pickup station; the load slide assembly gripper means being operative to grip and remove a metal blank at the pickup station from said conveyor means and to place the blank between spinner headstock and tailstock die assemblies by the combined relative movement of the load gripper means, the longitudinal movement of the load slide assembly, and the transverse movement of the carriage means; and the unload slide assembly gripper means being operative to grip and remove a spun pulley from between the spinner headstock and tailstock die assemblies and to deposit said pulley at the discharge station by the combined relative movement of the unload gripper means, the longitudinal movement of the unload slide assembly, and the transverse movement of the carriage means; the unload gripper means and unload slide assembly movements being simultaneous and coordinated with the movements with the load gripper means and load slide assembly.

Claim 3

The construction defined in claim 1 in which the carriage support means includes a pair of spaced, parallel slide rods; in which the carriage means has a base; and in which a plurality of bearing blocks are mounted on the carriage means base and are telescopically engaged with the slide rods for slidably supporting the carriage means on the support means.

Claim 4

The construction defined in claim 2 in which piston means is mounted on one end of the carriage support means and extends longitudinally with respect to said support means; in which the piston means has a piston rod; and in which the extended end of the piston rod is attached to the carriage means base whereby actuation of the piston means moves said carriage means along the carriage support means.

Claim 5

The construction defined in claim 2 in which stop means are mounted on each end of the carriage support means; and in which said stop means engage the carriage means upon said carriage means arriving adjacent an end of the support means.

Claim 6

The construction defined in claim 4 in which the stop means are pneumatic, piston actuated shock absorbers.

Claim 7

The construction defined in claim 1 in which the carriage support means includes a generally U-shaped frame member mounted on the spinner; in which channel members extend upwardly from the ends of the frame member; and in which a crossmember extends between the channel members.

Claim 8

The construction defined in claim 1 in which each of the load and unload slide assemblies includes a base; in which rib means is formed on the carriage means; and in which the slide assembly bases are formed with slot means cooperating with said rib means for slidably mounting the slide assemblies on the carriage means.

Claim 9

The construction defined in claim 7 in which the slide assemblies each have a channel-like member with a web and a pair of spaced upwardly extending sides; in which the web is mounted on the slide assembly base; in which control piston means is mounted on the channel-like member between the spaced sides and operatively connected to the carriage means; and in which said piston means moves the slide assembly between extended and retracted positions.

Claim 10

The construction defined in claim 1 in which each of the slide assemblies includes piston means; in which the piston means is connected between the slide assembly and the carriage means, whereby actuation of the piston means moves the slide assembly transversely with respect to the carriage means and parallel to the longitudinal axis of the spinner.

Claim 11

The construction defined in claim 1 in which stop means is mounted on the carriage means; and in which said stop means engages the slide assemblies upon said assemblies reaching extended and retracted positions.

Claim 12

The construction defined in claim 1 in which plate means is mounted on the forward end of each slide assembly; in which guide tube means is mounted on said plate means; in which the gripper means includes guide rod means; and in which said guide rod means extend through the guide tube means for slidably mounting the gripper means on the slide assemblies.

Claim 13

The construction defined in claim 11 in which piston means is operatively connected between the guide rod means and the plate means to move the gripper means relatively with respect to the slide assemblies when said piston means is actuated.

Claim 14

The construction defined in claim 11 in which shock absorbing stop means is mounted on the plate means operative to engage the gripper means to limit the extent of travel of the gripper means.

Claim 15

The construction defined in claim 11 in which the plate means includes a pair of spaced mounting plates; in whIch the guide tube means consists of a pair of tubes extending between the spaced plates; in which the guide rod means consists of a pair of guide rods having a pair of end plates attached to and extending between the ends of the guide rods; and in which piston means is mounted on one of the slide assembly mounting plates and is connected with one of the guide rod end plates to move said guide rods relatively with respect to the slide assembly when said piston means is actuated.

Claim 16

The construction defined in claim 14 in which shock absorbing stop means is mounted on each of the spaced slide assembly mounting plates; and in which the stop means engage a guide rod end plates to limit the travel of the gripper means with respect to the slide assemblies.

Claim 17

The construction defined in claim 14 in which finger means is mounted on one guide rod end plate; and in which second piston means is mounted on said one guide rod end plate and operatively connected to the finger means for pivotally moving said finger means between gripping and release positions.

Claim 18

The construction defined in claim 16 in which the finger means each includes yoke means and a pair of finger members pivotally mounted on the ends of the yoke means; and in which links operatively connect the second piston means to the finger members for pivoting said finger members between gripping and release positions.

Claim 19

The construction defined in claim 17 in which roller means is mounted on the finger members of the unload gripper means; in which pad means is mounted on the finger members of the load gripper means; and in which said roller means and pad means are adapted to grip a spun pulley and pulley blank, respectively, when the finger members are in gripping position.

Claim 20

The construction defined in claim 1 in which the gripper means each include finger means mounted on an end of the gripper means and pivotally movable between gripping and release positions.

Claim 21

The construction defined in claim 19 in which each slide assembly includes guide tube means mounted on the forward end of the slide assembly; in which each gripper means includes guide rod means telescopically engaged with the guide tube means for movably mounting said gripper means on said slide assembly; in which first piston means is operatively connected between each of the gripper means and the respective slide assembly for moving said gripper means between first and second positions; in which the finger means are mounted on the guide rod means for relative movement with said guide rod means; in which said finger means includes second piston means and a pair of spaced, pivotally mounted finger members; and in which said second piston means when actuated, moves the finger members between gripping and release positions.

Claim 22

The construction defined in claim 1 in which the blank delivery conveyor means includes a chute located adjacent the spinner and pickup station; in which the chute extends transversely with respect to the longitudinal axis of the spinner and parallel with the carriage support means; and in which the chute is inclined downwardly toward the pickup station whereby blanks roll by gravity toward said pickup station.

Claim 23

The construction defined in claim 21 in which the chute includes means for releasing a single blank for discharge to the pickup station.

Claim 24

The construction defined in claim 22 in which the chute includes at least one side wall and a plurality of rods forming with said side wall a track along which the blanks roll; in which the release means is a plunger mounted on the side wall and adapted to project into the path of the moving blanks; and in which the plunger includes control means for retracting said plunger from the blank path to release a blank for delivery to the pickup station.

Claim 25

The construction defined in claim 21 in which the blank delivery conveyor means further includes rod means spaced from and extending parallel to the longitudinal axis of the spinner; in which the chute is moUnted on the rod means; and in which there are means slidably mounting said rod means on the spinner, whereby the chute is movably mounted with respect to the spinner.

Claim 26

The construction defined in claim 24 in which said rod means includes a pair of spaced parallel slide rods; and in which said rods are slidably mounted on bearing blocks mounted on the spinner.

Claim 27

Spinner loader construction for supplying metal blanks to a spinner and for removing spun V-grooved pulleys after spinning including, a carriage platform mounted on and extending transversely to the longitudinal axis of the spinner; a carriage slidably mounted on the platform and movable between first and second positions located on opposite sides of said longitudinal axis; load and unload slide assemblies movably mounted in spaced relationship on the carriage and movable between extended and retracted positions; the load slide assembly being aligned with the longitudinal axis of the spinner when the carriage means is in its second position, and said unload slide assembly being aligned with said longitudinal axis when the carriage means is in its first position; gripper mechanism mounted on each slide assembly each movable between inner and outer positions; each gripper mechanism having finger means mounted thereon pivotally movable between release and gripping positions; conveyor means for delivering cupshaped metal blanks to a pickup station adjacent the spinner and said first position; the load slide assembly finger means when the carriage is at its first position being operatively mounted on its assembly to move to gripping position and to grip a metal blank at the pickup station from said conveyor means and upon movement of the load gripper mechanism from inner to outer position to remove the gripped blank from the pickup station; the carriage being operatively mounted to move from its first position to its second position in coordination with movement of the load gripper mechanism from inner to outer and back to inner position; the load slide assembly upon arrival of the carriage at the second position being operative to move from retracted to extended position and to deposit the gripped blank on the spinner headstock dies; the unload slide assembly finger means when the carriage is at its first position being operatively mounted on its assembly to move to gripping position and to grip a spun V-grooved pulley at the spinner headstock dies and upon movement of the unload slide assembly from extended to retracted position to remove the gripped spun pulley from said dies; the unload gripper mechanism moving from inner to outer position as the carriage moves from first to second position; the unload gripper mechanism finger means upon arrival of the carriage at second position being operative to move to release position to release the spun pulley and thereby to deposit the spun pulley in a collection container; and said load slide assembly and gripper mechanism movements being substantially simultaneous with corresponding movements of said unload slide assembly and unload gripper mechanism movements.

Claim 28

Spinner loader construction for supplying metal blanks to a spinner and for removing spun V-grooved pulleys after spinning including, a carriage platform mounted on and extending transversely to the longitudinal axis of the spinner; a carriage slidably mounted on the platform and movable between first and second positions located on opposite sides of said longitudinal axis; load and unload slide assemblies movably mounted in spaced relationship on the carriage and movable between extended and retracted positions; the load slide assembly being aligned with the longitudinal axis of the spinner when the carriage means is in its second position, and said unload slide assembly being aligned with said longitudinal axis when the carriage means is in its first position; gripper mechanism mounted on each slide assembly each movable between inner and outer positions; each gripper mechanism having finger means mounted thereon pivotally movable between release and gripping positions; conveyor means for delivering cupshaped metal blanks to a pickup station adjacent the spinner and said first position; the load slide assembly finger means when the carriage is at its first position being operatively mounted on its assembly to move to gripping position and to grip a metal blank at the pickup station from said conveyor means and upon movement of the load gripper mechanism from inner to outer position to remove the gripped blank from the pickup station; the carriage being operatively mounted to move from its first position to its second position in coordination with movement of the load gripper mechanism from inner to outer and back to inner position; the load slide assembly upon arrival of the carriage at the second position being operative to move from retracted to extended position and to deposit the gripped blank on the spinner headstock dies; the unload slide assembly finger means when the carriage is at its first position being operatively mounted on its assembly to move to gripping position and to grip a spun V-grooved pulley at the spinner headstock dies and upon movement of the unload slide assembly from extended to retracted position to remove the gripped spun pulley from said dies; the unload gripper mechanism moving from inner to outer position as the carriage moves from first to second position; the unload gripper mechanism finger means upon arrival of the carriage at second position being operative to move to release position to release the spun pulley and thereby to deposit the spun pulley in a collection container; and said load slide assembly and gripper mechanism movements being substantially simultaneous with corresponding movements of said unload slide assembly and unload gripper mechanism movements.

Claim 29

The construction defined in claim 26 in which the carriage platform includes rod means; in which the carriage has a base plate and bearing blocks mounted on the bottom thereof, in which the bearing blocks are journaled on the slide rod means for movement of the carriage along the platform; and in which piston means is operatively connected between the platform and carriage operative to move said carriage along the platform.

Claim 30

The construction defined in claim 26 in which the slide assemblies each have a base formed with slideway means for slidably mounting said assemblies on the platform; and in which piston means is operatively connected between each of the slide assemblies and the carriage platform operative to move the slide assemblies along the slideway means transversely with respect to the platform and parallel to the longitudinal axis of the spinner.

Claim 31

The construction defined in claim 26 in which the gripper mechanisms each include first piston means operative connected between the gripper mechanism and slide assembly whereby actuation of said first piston means moves said gripper mechanism relatively with respect to the slide assembly; and in which second piston means are operatively connected between the finger means and gripper mechanism whereby actuation of said second piston means operates said finger means.

Claim 32

The construction defined in claim 29 in which the finger means includes a yoke and a pair of finger members pivotally mounted on the yoke; and in which said finger members are operated by the second piston means.