Apparatus for the manufacture of disc records

Claim 2

Apparatus for the manufacture of a disc record including a source of material mouldable for processing to a disc record operable to supply said material to a first work station at which to form a shot of said material, a second work station at which to press from said shot a disc with surplus material attached as flash, a third work station at which to trim said flash material from said disc, a receiver for trimmed disc records and a reciprocal transfer assembly having first second and third transfer elements simultaneously operable forwardly to pick-up material in process from a respective work station and transfer it to a set-down position and return empty to the pick-up work station, the transfer assembly also having a flash clearing element simultaneously operable with said transfer elements to sweep trimmed flash from the third work station to a discharge point.

Claim 3

Apparatus according to claim 1 including means to transfer the disc with flash attached and release it to a support no larger than the disc when trimmed, means to hold the disc with flash on said support, means to provide relative motion of the disc with flash and a trimming member thereby to cut the flash at the edge of the supported disc to separate a ring of flash from the disc, and means to transfer the trimmed disc off the support and away from the trimmed flash to a receiving point.

Claim 4

Apparatus as claimed in claim 2 including a turntable support and a freely rotatable collar sized to fit on a disc centre, the turntable and collar being housed in the apparatus to be urgable toward one another to clamp the transferred disc with flash attached at the centre to release it from the transfer means and hold it on the support, means to rotate the turntable and clamped disc to permit the separation of the flash by the trimming means, the separated flash ring falling around the turntable and means to hold up the trimmed disc on withdrawing the turntable to release the flash ring from around it.

Claim 5

Apparatus according to claim 3 including a fluid-pressure operated thrust member operable to urge the collar toward the turntable and then withdraw to permit a further fluid-pressure operated thrust member to urge the turntable to lift the disc to engage with a suction holder on the transfer means.

Claim 6

Apparatus according to claim 2 including means to sweep trimmed flash from beneath the trimmed disc.

Claim 7

Apparatus according to claim 2 in which said flash clearing element is supported for movement in one direction at a first level to sweep said trimmed flash to a discharge point and in the other direction at a second level to avoid the clamped disc and attached flash.

Claim 8

Apparatus according to claim 2 including a heated knife trimming member and means selectively operable to cause the knife to pierce a web of the flash at the supported edge of the disc.

Claim 9

Apparatus according to claim 1 for the automatic manufacture of disc records in which said transfer means is a transfer sled assembly of an automatice disc record press and the third transfer element is a suction element against which a trimmed disc is urged for transfer to said receiver.

Claim 10

Apparatus according to claim 1 in which the flash clearing element is movable forwardly at a first level in the apparatus to clear trimmed flash and in return at a second level to avoid contact with a disc and attached flash transferred by the second transfer element to the third, trimming, work station.

Claim 11

Apparatus for the automatic manufacture of a disc record according to claim 1 including at the third, trimming, station a reciprocable turntable as large as the trimmed disc record, means to release a record transferred with flash attached thereto by a thin web from the transfer assembly at one extreme of movement and hold the record on the projected turntable on the reciprocation of the transfer assembly means to engage, a heatable knife blade with the flash at the periphery of the turntable to pierce said thin web and revolve the turntable and record to cut the web around the record with the hot knife severing a ring of flash to fall around the projected turntable, means on the transfer assembly effective at said one extreme to pick up the trimmed record from the projected turntable and transfer the record to said receiver, the projected turntable retracting before the movement of the transfer assembly and picked up record to permit the flash clearing element to sweep away the ring of flash now disengaged by the retraction of the turntable.