US2047001A - Apparatus for making foraminous elements - Google Patents

Description

July 7, 1936. CAMMEN I APPARATUS FOR MAKING FORAMINOUS ELEMENTS Filed Dec. 10, 1932 ZSheetS-Shet 1 INVENTOR 'ATTORNEYS July 7, 1936. L. CAMMEN APPARATUS FOR MAKING FORAMINO US ELEMENTS Filed Dec. 10, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR ATTORNEYS Patented July 7, 1936 UNITED STATES:

APPARATUS FOR MAKING FORAMINOUS ELEMENTS Leon Gammon, New York, N'. Y., assign'or to Preston Davie, New York, N., Y. Application December 10, 1932, Serial No. 646,732 15 Claims ((1153-13) This. invention relates to apparatus for making foraminous elements and has for its particular object the provision of an improved apparatus for automatically" forming a foraminous element from a continuous thin strip of material.

The particular structure of the foraminous element and a method' of making it are'described in mycopending application, Serial No 646,733,

fi led December 10,- 1932.

As pointed out in my aforementioned copending application, the foraminous element is constructed of a continuous thin strip of metal, suchas' copper, brass, or the like, of substantially 155 greater width thanthickness. The flat surfaces of the thin metal strip are provided at equally spaced intervals with a series of fine transverse grooves or knurling; grooved and ungrooved areas on one flat surface of thestrip being staggered with respectto the corresponding areas on the other fiat surface thereof. Thus the grooved areas on. one surface of the strip are oppositely disposed to the ungrooved areas of the. other surface thereof,

etc. The ungrooved areas on each surface of the strip are also arrangedso as to overlap: hence, a short length of the strip, at regular intervals, is entirely ungrooved on either surface. 3

The alternately grooved and ungrooved strip is bent inzigzag form flatwise upon itself, the successive. bends: being. made in. opposite directions at the uniformly spaced ungrooved. area intervals, so that none of the. grooves; are deformed in the bending operation and the formation of cracks at the bends is avoided :In this Way, uniform-1y disposed and substantially identical iorarnina are formed between the contiguous grooved and ungrooved surfaces of theadjacent strips.

This construction readily lends itself te the production of a foraminous element structureessentially rectangular in shape. It may then be clamped: or otherwise mechanically secured 45 inany convenient manner so: as to permanently retain: the contiguous strip layers: in proper contact and to permanently maintain the completed elementin rectangular form,

The. completed structure may be generally de- 50 scribed as a. foraminous element. having a substantial' but uniform thickness, and wherein a myriad of' uniform and substantially identical macroscopic (in contradistinction to microscopic-l foramina provide a myriad of macroscopic con- 55 tin-nous assages of substantially greater length the alternately spaced the greatest dimension of, normal cross; section thereof.

As to dimensions, the grooved portion of the strip should. be so constructed as to provide in conjunction with the contiguous ungrooved, 5: (smooth) surfaces of the strip, foramina of the order of one-hundredth (0.01) of an inch in their greatest dimension of cross section. The length of the foramina is largely determined by the width of the strip, so-that a width should 1o be chosen of theorder of four times or more the greatest dimension of cross section.

If the greatest dimension of cross section of the foram-ina. normal to the length thereof is selected as five-thousandths (0.005) of an inch'ls or less,'the width of the strip should be selected so as to provide: a passage length of not'less than of the order of seven times the greatest dimension of cross section normalto the length thereof.

It the element structure is: to be employed for 2(} the purpose of surface tension dialysis, as generally described in my copending application, Serial No. 638,329, filed October 18, 1932, the 'dimensions of the foramina should be predetermined so that the regulated pressure to be ap- 25, plied to the commingled liquid masses bears a" definite relation" both with respect to the surface tension of the liquid or liquids to be selectively recovered to the exclusion of others commingled therewith, and the dimensions as chosen.

If, however, the element is to be used merely as a permeable septum for a filtering operation, the dimensions of the-foramina may be predetermined without regard to the surface tension of the filtrate and may, therefore, be chosen so that they are of a suitable size to restrain the solid particles.

In accordance with the present invention, I provide an apparatus for automatically carrying outnot'only the staggered grooving or knurling 0 of the flat metal strip, but also for bendingit in the manner already described. Like the disclosure of my aforementioned application, Serial No. 646,733, filed December 10, 1932, I provide a pair of suitable spaced and driven cylindrical knurling rolls for grooving the surfaces of the strip in the-described manner, as hereinabove set forth. 7

The mechanism for automatically folding the grooved strip includes feedand' tensioning rolls between which the grooved strip is intermittently advanced so as to be fed in timed relation to the folding mechanism per se. The folding mechanism includes guides which support and hold the strip during the time that oscillating-camactuated dies engage the strip at the points where the folds are to be made therein. The cam-actuated mechanism bends the strip flatwise at right angles in alternately opposite directions. The feed of the strip by the feed rolls is arrested during this period. Each right-angle folded portion of the strip is then swung laterally over a stationary anvil by an oscillating finger and is engaged by a trigger hammer, the impact of which crimps or flattens the right-angle fold against the aforementioned stationary anvil so that the strip is folded upon itself. Two sets of trigger hammers, oscillating fingers and stationaryanvils are provided to obtain the necessary right and left or zigzag folding of the strip. The trigger hammers are released and retracted at the appropriately timed intervals by cams. The strip, folded in this fashion, feeds through a guide chute and may be stacked to the proper length to provide a foraminous element of the required dimensions. The number of folds or layers of the folded strip determine the length of the finished element and are indicated continuously on a dial.

For a more complete understanding of the apparatus of this invention, reference may be made to the following description thereof, considered with the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 illustrates in enlarged perspective the toothed rolls for grooving spaced areas of each flat surface of the metal strip stock;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the strip-folding apparatus, a portion of which is shown in horizontal section as seen along the line 22 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section though the apparatus as seen along the line 33 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 illustrates the construction of the cam for controlling the intermittent feed of the strip;

Fig. 5 illustrates the shape of the cam for actuating the strip-folding dies; and

Fig. 6 is an enlarged edge view of the completed foraminous element made by the apparatus of this invention.

Referring to Fig. 1 of these drawings, numeral l0 designates the strip stock from which the foraminous element is to be made. The stock preferably consists of a flat strip of soft metal, such as copper, brass or other suitable material, of a width sufficient to provide the desired length of passages, and of a thickness consistent with the required cross-sectional dimensions of the foramina of the finished element.

The strip stock I B may be drawn from a supply reel by or fed to a pair of grooving rolls l and l 2 fixed on respective shafts l3 and l4 journaled in rotatable supports, not shown, and connected together and maintained in proper angular relation by meshing spur gears l5 and I6 fixed on shafts l3 and I4, respectively, one of which may be driven from a suitable source of power, not shown. The rolls l l and I 2 are appropriately spaced apart to frictionally accommodate'the strip stock In, which feeds fiatwise between them as shown in Fig. 1.

The surfaces of the rolls I l and I2 are provided with a series of radially projecting teeth I! of the proper size and shape to produce the foraminaforming groove ill of required dimensions in the opposite surfaces of the strip stock 10. These teeth I! extend parallel to the axes of the corresponding rolls and transversely to the strip stock l8, and occupy slightly less than one-half the periphery of each roll, leaving an ungrooved surface I9 on each roll which, accordingly, occupies slightly more than one-half of the periphery thereof. Also, the grooved areas of the rolls are displaced angularly about with respect to each other, as shown in Fig. 1, and are maintained in this relationship by gears l5 and Hi.

When the strip stock l0 feeds between the rolls constructed and arranged in this way, the teeth ll of the rolls impress the grooves I8 in the opposite surfaces of the strip stock ID to form the opposite toothed areas 20. Because of the aforementioned angular displacement of the toothed. areas of rolls II and I2, the grooved areas 20 on opposite sides of the strip are staggered with respect to each other lengthwise of the strip, so that the area 2| of the surface of the finished strip opposite each grooved area 28 remains flat and smooth, having been engaged by the ungrooved surface IQ of the corresponding roll. Because the toothed areas of each roll I! and I2 occupy less than one-half of the periphery thereof, a short length 22 of the strip remains ungrooved upon either surface. It is at the centers of these spaced ungrooved areas 22 that the strip I0 is folded, in order that none of the grooves l8 will be distorted during the folding operation to produce foramina of non-uniform dimensions. Furthermore, the ungrooved folding areas 22 are stronger than the grooved portions of the strip, both because they are thicker and because they are not subject to the hardening which results from the deformation of the metal during the grooving process and which makes the metal brittle and likely to crack when folded.

The grooved strip IB is then fed to the folding apparatus, shown in plan in Fig. 2, at the proper timing to secure the required cooperation between the folding areas 22 of the strip Ill and the folding devices to be described, which are adjusted to secure this cooperation.

The strip folding apparatus illustrated in plan in Figure 2, includes a base 23 upon which is mounted the horizontal shaft 24 journaled in bearings 25 and fitted with the driving pulley 26 connected by a belt to a suitable source of power, not shown. A bevel gear 21 fixed on shaft 24 meshes with and drives bevel gear 28 mounted on .a horizontal cross shaft 29 journaled in bearings 30 mounted on the base 23. A bevel gear 3! is secured to cross shaft 29 and drives bevel gear 32 secured to a feed roll 33 journaled on a short vertical shaft 34 suitably secured upon the base 23. An undriven second feedroll 35 cooperates with feed roll 33 and is journaled upon an arm 36 pivoted at one end on pivot pin 31 secured to the base 23.

A link 38 is pivoted in the free end of the arm 36 and is slidable transversely of shaft 24, which projects through a guide slot 39 therein, as illustrated in Figure 3. The free end of link 38 carries a roller 40 which engages the edge of disc cam 4| secured on shaft 24. This cam is illustrated in detail in Figure 4 and comprises two superimposed discs 42 and 43, the latter being keyed on shaft 24 and the former being secured thereto independently of the shaft 24. The disc 42 is secured to disc 43 by screws A l which extend through arcuate slots 45 in disc 42, whereby the latter may be adjusted angularly with respect to disc 42.

The profiles of the cam discs 42 and 43 cooperate to produce a movement of the link 30 to the left as seen in Figures 2 and 3, and the length of time that the link 38 is held in this position is determined by the angular relation of discs 42 and 43. For example, by adjusting them so that their profiles are moved toward each other, the resultant decrease in the length of their combined profiles causes a retraction of shorter duration," and vice versa. Accordingly, the adjustment of cam 4| determines the lengths of the periods of engagement and disengagement of feed rolls 33 and 35 with the strip stock which is accordingly fed intermittently.

A coil spring 46 is interposed between arm 36 and an adjusting screw 41 threaded through an abutment 48 on base 23, and normally urges feed roll 35 toward feed roll 33 during the dwell period of cam 4|, so that the strip It! is driven by the feed rolls. The pressure of the feed rolls on strip ID may be varied by adjusting the tension of spring 46 by means of the adjusting screw 41.

When cam 4| retracts arm 36 and disengages roll 35 from roll 33, against the pressure of spring 7 46, the feed of the strip I0 is arrested. The adjustment of the cam 4| is made according to the lengths of the grooved areas 20 on the strip If! so that the strip is advanced a step substantially equal in length to the grooved area 23 plus the length of the folding area 22, and the feed of the strip is timed so that the areas 22 are properly positioned for folding during the dwell period of cam 4|. In this way, the machine may accommodate strip stock which is variously grooved for making elements of different dimensions.

In order to prevent overrunning of the strip Ill and consequent buckling and bending thereof during its intermittent feed and to tension it so that it will feed evenly, a pair of tensioning rolls 49 and 5|] are placed ahead of the feed rolls 33 and 35. Roll 49 is journaled on a vertical pin 5| mounted in the base 23, while roll 51! is self-adjusting and is journaled upon an arm 52, which is pivoted at one end on a pin 53 mounted on base 23 and which is urged toward roll 49 by a coil spring 54 interposed between its free end and a screw 55 adjustably threaded in an abutment 56 mounted on base 23. The degree of tension which the rolls 49 and 5!) apply to the strip I0 may be varied by adjusting the screw 55.

The strip I3 is fed by feed rolls 33 and 35 between a pair of guides 51 and 58, the lower ends of which are squared to serve as anvils over which the strip Ill is bent at a right angle. Positioned to engage that portion of the strip which projects beyond the ends of guides 51 and 58 are two dies 59 and 59 which project from a die plate 3| slidably mounted in a guide 62 on base 23.

Connected to the die plate 6| is a link 63 which is slotted so as to be guided longitudinally on the shaft 64 which is journaled in bearings 65 mounted on base 23 and which is driven by a bevel gear 66 mounted on the end of a horizontal cross shaft 29 and meshing with a bevel gear 61 secured on shaft 64. Link 63 is provided with a pin 38 which projects into the groove 69 of cam 19 keyed on shaft 64 so as to rotate therewith.

The groove 690i cam 19 is shaped as illustrated in Figure 5 and serves to oscillate die plate 6| so that dies 59 and 63 alternately engage the strip to bend it at right angles in alternately opposite directions over the anvil surfaces of guides 51 and 55. Accordingly, as cam 16 moves die plate 6| to the right, as seen in Figures 2 and 3, die 59 engages strip I0 and bends it at right angles over the anvil surface of guide 51 with which die 59 cooperates. As the cam 10 moves die plate 6| to the left, as seen in Figures 2 and 3, die 66) engages strip l0 and bends it at right angles to the left over the anvil surface of guide 53. The feed of the strip by rolls 33 and 35 is so timed by cam 4| that the right angle bends are made therein at the folding areas 22, while the movementsof cams 4| and 15 are so timed with respect to each other that the former disengages feed roll 35 from strip II] to stop the feed of the latter at the time that cam 13 advances die plate 6| to bend the strip II] at right angles in the manner described.

The bent strip I3 is swung laterally in opposite directions by the action of dies 59 and 60 so that the bent portions thereof approach the surfaces of stationary anvils 1! and 12, which are located adjacent the dies 59 and 69 respectively when the latter are in their retracted positions as is indicated in Figures 2 and 3. Anvils 1| and 12 are rigidly secured to the base 23.

As illustrated in Figure 3 a frame 13' extends vertically from the base 23 and on this frame is 1 journaled a spur gear 14 which is driven by spur gear 15 secured on shaft 64. Spur gear 14 meshes with and drives spur gear 16 journaled on frame 13 and in turn drives a spur gear 11 of like dimensions also journaled on frame 13. An idler gear 18 journaled on frame 13 is driven by gear 15 and in turn drives gear 19 which drives like gear 86, all journaled on frame 13. Pivoted eccentrically on gears 15 and 19 is a link til, the lower end of which terminates in a finger 82, which is located in proximity to the strip H), as is indicated in Figures: 2 and 3. Since gears 16 and 19 are of the same size and rotate in the same direction the finger 82 thereof describes an arc. A similar link 83 having the finger B4 is' pivoted eccentrically on like gears 11 and and describes an arc in proximity to folded strip Ill but in a direction opposite to the are described by finger 82.

The timing of the mechanism just described is such that finger 82 enages the projecting folded portion of strip H) which lies adjacent the anvil 12 and places it upon the latter, while finger 84 places the folded portion of strip 10 on anvil 1|, the fingers 82 and 84 acting alternately so as to move in right and left directions in accordance with the right and left bends formed in the strip N] by the dies 59 and 59 in the manner described.

As finger 82 lays the bent portion of strip ||l upon anvil 12 a trigg r hammer 85, slidably mounted on a guide 86, is released by cam 81 so that its spring 88 advances it abruptly into. engagement with the strip overlying anvil 12. The impact of the trigger hammer 85 accordingly fiattens or crimps the right angle bend of the strip, as is illustrated in Figure 2. The cam 31 is keyed on shaft 64 and is a crown cam which cooperates with hook 89 on trigger hammer 85 so as to normally hold the latter in retracted position against the pressure of spring 88. Cam 61 is provided with a notch 99 which, as the cam 81 rotates, disengages hook 89 of trigger hammer 35 so that spring 88'advances the trigger hammer 35 against anvil 12 in the manner described.

Upon further rotation of cam 81 the latter re-engages hook 89 of trigger hammer S5 to slowly retract it along guide 36 and recompress spring 83. This retracted condition of the trigger hammer is illustrated on the left-hand side of 6 Figure 2 where a similar hammer mechanism includes trigger hammer 9|, crown cam 92 and spring 93. Cams 31 and 92 are displaced angularly with respect to each other so that they operate alternately in synchronism with fingers 82 and 34. Accordingly, as finger 84 lays the right angle fold of strip 15 upon anvil 1| cam 92 releases trigger hammer 91 so that the latter flattens or crimps the strip H) against anvil 1|. 7 7

As the strip is crimped in the manner described it is advanced through a chute 95 formed between the guides 86, and the number of crimps, which correspond to the number of layers of the completed element, are indicated on a stationary dial 96 by a pointer 9'17 rotated by the shaft 64. In this way the length of the finished element can be determined since it depends upon the number of superimposed layers indicated in the dail 96.

The finished element is shown in enlarged form in Figure 6. It will be noted that the folds thereof, having been made in the ungrooved areas 22, do not cause any distortion of the foramina 98 which are formed between the contiguous grooved and ungrooved surfaces of the successive layers of the element. Also, since the folds are made in the thicker areas 22 of the strip they are stronger and serve to hold the adjacent layers of the element in contiguity. Furthermore, the areas 22 where the folds are made remain malleable as they are not affected by the hardening resulting from the deformation of the metal by the rolling process and therefore do not crack during the crimping process as would likely be the case if the bends were made in the thinner and hardened grooved portions of the strip.

The operation of the machine of this invention will be readily understood from the foregoing and it may be synchronized with the grooving apparatus illustrated in Figure 1 so that both machines may be operated together as a unit, but either machine may be operated independently and the strip prepared by the grooving machine may be fed in properly timed relation to the folding devices of the crimping machine illustrated in Figure 2.

While a preferred embodiment of the apparatus of this invention is illustrated and described herein, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited thereby but is susceptible to vari ous changes in form and detail within its scope as defined by the claims.

I claim:

1. In apparatus for folding strip material, the combination of means for feeding the strip material intermittently, means for partially folding the strip material at spaced points in alternately opposite directions during the dwell periods of the feeding means, and means operative during successive dwell periods of the feeding means for folding the strip material upon itself at the partially folded portions thereof and adapted to engage only that portion of the material near the said folds.

2. In apparatus for folding strip material, the combination of means for feeding the strip material intermittently, folding devices in the path of movement of the strip material timed with the feeding means for partially folding the strip material at spaced points in alternately opposite directions during the dwell periods in the movement thereof, and second folding devices in the path of movement of the strip material for folding it fiatwise upon itself at the partially folded portions during successive dwell periods in the movement thereof, said second folding devices being adapted to engage only that portion of the material near the said folds.

3. In apparatus for folding strip material, the combination of oscillating die means, an anvil with which the means cooperates, means for feeding the strip material to the anvil for partial folding at spaced points in alternately opposite directions by the die means, and means adapted to engage only that portion of the material near the folds for folding the strip material upon itself at the intially folded portions thereof.

4. In apparatus for folding strip material, the combination of means for feeding the strip material, oscillating folding devices in the path of movement of the material for partially folding the material at spaced points in alternately opposite directions, and second oscillating folding devices timed with the first folding devices for folding the strip material fiatwise upon itself at the successive partially folded portions thereof and adapted to engage only that portion of the material near the said folds.

5. In apparatus for folding strip material, the combination of a means for feeding the strip material intermittently, folding devices timed with the feeding means for folding the strip material at an angle at spaced points in alternately opposite directions during the dwell periods in the movement thereof, and second folding devices timed with the feeding means and the first folding devices for engaging only that portion of the material near the angle folds thereof and folding it in alternately opposite directions flatwise upon itself to form an element of substantially zig-zag shape.

6. In apparatus for folding strip material having spaced transversely grooved areas on opposite flat surfaces staggered longitudinally with respect to each other, the combination of means for feeding the strip material, folding devices in the path of the material timed to partially fold the strip transversely in alternately opposite directions at spaced points between the grooved and ungrooved areas thereof, and second folding devices timed with the first folding devices for folding the material fiatwise upon itself at the successive partially folded portions thereof to form a zig-zag element in which the contiguous grooved and ungrooved areas form a plurality of foramina extending through the element.

7. In apparatus for folding strip material, the combination of means for feeding the strip material, folding devices in the path of the material timed to partially fold the strip transversely in alternately opposite directions at spaced points along the length thereof, and second folding devices for folding the material flatwise upon itself at the successive partially folded portions thereof, said second folding devices engaging only that portion of the material near the said folds.

8. In apparatus for folding strip material, the combination of oscillating die means, an anvil with which the means cooperates, means for feed ing the strip material to the anvil for partial folding at spaced points in alternately opposite directions by the die means, a second anvil cooperating with the partially folded portions of the strip, and second die means cooperating with the second anvil for folding the strip material upon itself at the initially folded portions thereof and adapted to engage only that portion of the material near the said folds.

9. In apparatus for folding strip material, the combination of a means for feeding the strip material intermittently, an anvil and cooperating die means timed with the feeding means for folding the strip material at an angle at spaced points in alternately opposite directions during the dwell periods in the movement thereof, and a second anvil and second cooperating die means timed with the feeding means and first die means for engaging the material at the angle folds thereof and folding it in alternately opposite directions flatwise upon itself to form an element of substantially zigzag shape.

10. In apparatus for folding strip material at spaced points along its length, the combination of means for feeding the strip material, folding devices in the path of the strip material for engaging only that portion of the material near the said spaced points and partially folding the strip material upon itself, and second folding devices for folding the material flatwise upon itself at the successive partially folded portions thereof and engaging only that portion of the material near the said folds.

11. In apparatus for folding strip material, the combination of means for feeding the strip material, folding devices in the path of the material for partially folding the strip transversely in alternately opposite directions at spaced points. along the length thereof, and an anvil and cooperating die means for completely folding the material upon itself at the partially folded portions thereof, said die means being adapted to deliver hammer-like blows to the folds placed upon the anvil.

12. In apparatus for folding strip material, the combination of oscillating die means, an anvil with which the means cooperates, a second anvil, a second die means cooperating therewith, and means for feeding the strip material across the first anvil for partial folding by the first die means and across the second anvil for complete folding upon itself by the second die means at the partially folded portions thereof, said second die means adapted to engage only that portion of the material near the said folds.

13. In apparatus for folding strip material, the combination of means for feeding the strip material, folding devices in the path of the material for partially folding the strip transversely in alternately opposite directions at spaced points along the length thereof, and an anvil and cooperating die means for folding the material flatwise upon itself at the successive partially folded portions thereof, said anvil and die means engaging each partially folded portion separately and forcibly folding the material on each side of the fold together.

14. In apparatus for folding strip material, the combination of means for feeding the strip material, folding devices in the path of the material for partially folding the strip transversely in alternately opposite directions at spaced points along the length thereof, and an anvil and cooperating die means for folding the material flatwise upon itself at the successive partially folded portions thereof, said die means being adapted to deliver hammer-like blows to the folds placed upon the anvil, said folds being engaged separately by the anvil and die means which forcibly foldthe material on each side of the fold together.

15. In apparatus for folding strip material, the combination of means for feeding the strip material intermittently, an anvil and oscillating die means cooperating therewith positioned in the path of movement of the stripmaterial for partially folding the strip transversely in alternately opposite directions at spaced points along the length thereof, said oscillating die means being timed to fold the strip material during the dwell periods in the movement thereof, and a second anvil and second die means cooperating therewith for folding the material flatwise upon itself at the successive partially folded portions thereof, said second die means being adapted to deliver hammer-like blows tothe folds placed upon said sec- 0nd anvil and engaging each fold separately and only that portion of the strip material near the said fold.

LEON CAMlVIEN.

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