U.S. patent number 3,566,724 [Application Number 04/839,424] was granted by the patent office on 1971-03-02 for apparatus for forming corner cushions.
Invention is credited to John M. Carmody, Phillip A. Templeton.
United States Patent |
3,566,724 |
Templeton , et al. |
March 2, 1971 |
APPARATUS FOR FORMING CORNER CUSHIONS
Abstract
Apparatus for cutting corner cushions from a continuous length
of material such that the cushions are not completely severed from
the material. The material is cut on three faces which are disposed
at substantially right angles to one another and are tapered so
that the faces form a point substantially along the central axis of
the material by means of three cutting blade assemblies, each of
which includes a cutting blade having a generally pointed tip and
which is disposed to cut one of said three faces in said
material.
Inventors: |
Templeton; Phillip A. (Beecher,
IL), Carmody; John M. (Palos Heights, IL) |
Family
ID: |
25279694 |
Appl.
No.: |
04/839,424 |
Filed: |
July 7, 1969 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
|
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770460 |
Feb 26, 1968 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
83/861; 83/277;
83/581; 83/247; 83/513; 83/697 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B26D
1/00 (20130101); Y10T 83/4632 (20150401); Y10T
83/8773 (20150401); Y10T 83/9454 (20150401); Y10T
83/4556 (20150401); Y10T 83/02 (20150401); Y10T
83/808 (20150401) |
Current International
Class: |
B26D
1/00 (20060101); B26d 003/24 () |
Field of
Search: |
;83/1,513,516,519,214,247,277,282,581,697,54 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Meister; James M.
Parent Case Text
This application is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. Pat.
application, Ser. No. 770,460, filed Jul. 26, 1968.
Claims
We claim:
1. Apparatus for cutting a length of material to form a corner
cushion having a body with a pointed tip on one end thereof and
pointed interior cavity in the opposite end thereof, said apparatus
comprising, in combination: a frame for supporting a length of said
material; cutting means supported by said frame; support means for
supporting said length of material therein while it is being cut;
means for operating said cutting means to cut three faces in said
material which are disposed at substantially right angles to one
another and are tapered so that said faces form a point disposed
substantially along the central axis of said material, said three
faces forming the pointed tip on one end of said corner cushion;
indexing means for advancing said length of material a
predetermined distance with respect to said cutting means; means
for synchronizing the operation of said support means, means for
synchronizing the operation of said support means, said indexing
means and said cutting means to support said length of material
with said support means, to cut said material with said cutting
means while it is being supported by said support means, and to
then advance a predetermined length of said material with said
indexing means, whereby said corner cushion is automatically cut
for said length of material.
2. Apparatus, as claimed in claim 1, wherein said support means
comprises a pair of jaws, at least one of which is adapted to be
pivotally operated to clamp said material therebetween, jaw
operating means for pivotally operating said one jaw, said jaw
operating means being controlled by said means for synchronizing
the operation of said support means, said indexing means and said
cutting means.
3. Apparatus, as claimed in claim 1, wherein said indexing means
comprises a pair of jaws, at least one of which is adapted to be
pivotally operated to clamp said material therebetween, jaw
operating means for pivotally operating said one jaw, said pair of
jaws being supported by a slide assembly which is movable to
advance an established length of material into said apparatus, and
means for operating said slide assembly to advance said established
length of material into said apparatus, said jaw operating means
and said means for operating said slide assembly being controlled
by said means for synchronizing the operation of said support
means, said indexing means and said cutting means.
4. Apparatus, as claimed in claim 3, wherein said slide assembly
further includes adjustment means for limiting the movement of said
slide assembly to thereby control the length of material fed into
said apparatus.
5. Apparatus, as claimed in claim 2, wherein said indexing means
comprises a pair of jaws, at least one of which is adapted to be
pivotally operated to clamp said material therebetween, jaw
operating means for pivotally operating said one jaw said pair of
jaws being supported by a slide assembly which is movable to
advance an established length of material into said apparatus, and
means for operating said slide assembly to advance said established
length of material into said apparatus, said jaw operating means
and said means for operating said slide assembly being controlled
by said means for synchronizing the operation of said support
means, said indexing means and said cutting means.
6. Apparatus, as claimed in claim 5, wherein said cutting means
comprises three cutting blade assemblies, each of which includes a
cutting blade having a generally pointed tip and which is disposed
to cut one of said three faces in said material, a drive shaft
means connected to each of said cutting blade assemblies for
reciprocally operating said cutting blades, means coupling said
drive shaft means together and rotatably driving said drive shaft
means in synchronism.
7. Apparatus, as claimed in claim 1, wherein said cutting means
comprises a pair of jaws, at least one of which is adapted to be
pivotally operated to clamp said material therebetween, jaw
operating means for pivotally operating said one jaw, said pair of
jaws being supported by a slide assembly which is movable to
advance as established length of material into said apparatus, and
means for operating said slide assembly to advance said established
length of material into said apparatus, said jaw operating means
and said means for operating said slide assembly being controlled
by said means for synchronizing the operation of said support
means, said indexing means and said cutting means.
8. Apparatus, as claimed in claim 7, wherein said means for
synchronizing the operation of said support means, said indexing
means and said cutting means comprises a cam having a plurality of
cam surfaces thereon affixed to and rotatably driven by one of said
drive shaft means, switch means having a contact which is engaged
and operated by said cam as said contact engages the respective
ones of said cam surfaces, said switch means being coupled to and
operating said support means and said indexing means as said
contact engages the respective ones of said cam surfaces, said cam
surfaces being correspondingly related to the rotation of said
drive shaft means to synchronize the operation of said cutting
means with the operation of said support means and said indexing
means.
9. Apparatus, as claimed in claim 1, wherein said support means and
said indexing means each comprises a pair of jaws, at least one of
which is adapted to be pivotally operated to clamp said material
therebetween, a pair of air cylinders each having a cylinder body
portion and a piston, said cylinder body portions being fixed
stationary and said piston being affixed to and pivotally operating
said pivotally operable jaw of said support means and said indexing
means, respectively, said pair of jaws of said indexing means being
supported by a slide assembly which is movable to advance an
established length of material into said apparatus, a main air
cylinder having a main cylinder body portion which is fixed
stationary and a main cylinder piston which is affixed to and
operates said slide assembly to advance said established length of
material into said apparatus, said pair of air cylinders for
pivotally operating said one jaw of said support means and said
indexing means and said main air cylinder for operating said slide
assembly being controlled by said means for synchronizing the
operation of said support means, said indexing means and said
cutting means.
10. Apparatus, as claimed in claim 9, wherein said slide assembly
further includes adjustment means for limiting the movement of said
slide assembly to thereby control the length of material fed into
said apparatus.
11. Apparatus, as claimed in claim 10, wherein each of said jaws of
both said support means and said indexing means has at least one
jaw plate adjustably affixed thereto for permitting said jaw plates
to be adjusted to receive different size material therebetween.
12. Apparatus, as claimed in claim 9, wherein said cutting means
comprises a pair of jaws, at least one of which is adapted to be
pivotally operated to clamp said material therebetween, jaw
operating means for pivotally operating said one jaw, said pair of
jaws being supported by a slide assembly which is movable to
advance an established length of material into said apparatus, and
means for operating said slide assembly to advance said established
length of material into said apparatus, said jaw operating means
and said means of operating said slide assembly being controlled by
said means for synchronizing the operation of said support means,
said indexing means and said cutting means.
13. Apparatus, as claimed in claim 12, wherein said means for
synchronizing the operation of said support means, said indexing
means and said cutting means comprises a cam having a plurality of
cam surfaces thereon affixed to and rotatably driven by one of said
drive shaft means, switch means having a contact which is engaged
and operated by said cam as said contact engages the respective
ones of said cam surfaces, air supply control means controlling the
supply of air to said pair of air cylinders and said main air
cylinders for operating them, said switch means being coupled to
and operating said air supply control means as said contact engages
the respective ones of said cam surfaces, said cam surface being
correspondingly related to the rotation of said drive shaft means
to synchronize the operation of said cutting means with the
operation of said support means and said indexing means.
Description
This invention relates, in general, to improved cutting apparatus
and, in particular, to cutting apparatus for automatically cutting
an article of manufacture having a predetermined configuration from
a substantially continuous length of material, in a continuous
fashion.
The cutting apparatus is particularly adapted to cut corner
cushions of the type disclosed in application, Ser. No. 770,460,
from a substantially continuous length of material, in an automatic
and continuous fashion. These corner cushions can be cut and
separated so as to be in the form of individual units, however,
preferably and advantageously the corner cushions are not
completely severed from the length of material. When cut in this
latter fashion, a number of the corner cushions can be easily
handled in the form of an elongated length of, for example, 10
corner cushions which are affixed together and which can be
separated simply by pulling them apart to separate them, as
desired.
It is an object of the present invention to provide improved
cutting apparatus.
More particularly, it is an object to provide improved cutting
apparatus for automatically cutting corner cushions of a
predetermined configuration from a substantially continuous length
of material, in a continuous fashion.
Another object is to provide improved cutting apparatus of the
above-described type which is adapted to cut a number of corner
cushions in a fashion such that they are not completely severed
from the length of material, so that the corner cushions can be
stored and shipped in lengths comprising a number of the corner
cushions, each of which is severable simply by pulling it apart
from the other ones of the corner cushions.
Still another object is to provide improved cutting apparatus of
the above-described type which is adapted to be easily and quickly
adjusted to handle different size diameter materials.
A still further object is to provide improved cutting apparatus of
the above-described type which is adapted to be easily and quickly
adjusted to form corner cushions having body portions of different
lengths.
Other objects of the invention will in part be obvious and will in
part appear hereinafter.
The invention accordingly comprises the features of construction,
combination of elements, and arrangement of parts which will be
exemplified in the construction hereinafter set forth, and the
scope of the invention will be indicated in the claims.
For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the
invention, reference should be had to the following detailed
description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in
which:
FIG. 1 is a side plan view of a cutting apparatus exemplary of the
invention;
FIG. 2 is an end plan view of the cutting apparatus, of that end
thereof into which the material is fed;
FIG. 3 is a view taken substantially along lines 3-3 of FIG. 2,
illustrating the adjustment means for adjusting and establishing
the length of the body portion of the corner cushions;
FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along lines 4-4 of FIG. 1,
illustrating the construction of the indexing or feed assembly for
advancing the material being fed to the cutting apparatus;
FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along lines 5-5 of FIG. 1,
illustrating the construction of the clamping support assembly
which supports the material while it is being cut;
FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along lines 6-6 of FIG. 1,
illustrating the cam and the cam switch for controlling the
synchronous operation of the various assemblies of the cutting
apparatus;
FIG. 7, 8 and 9 are top, side and rear plan views, respectively, of
one of the cutting blade assemblies of the cutting apparatus;
FIG. 10 is a view generally illustrating the manner in which the
cutting blades are moved relative to one another and to the
material to cut one end of one of the corner cushions;
FIG. 11 is an end plan view of one of the corner cushions,
illustrating the pointed tip formed on the one end thereof;
FIG. 12 is a view generally illustrating the manner in which the
corner cushions are preferably and advantageously cut to form a
length of a number of individually severable corner cushions;
FIG. 13 is a view generally illustrating the severable web portion
connecting the corner cushions together, in the fashion illustrated
in FIG. 11; and
FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram generally illustrating the sequence
of operation of the cutting apparatus.
Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the
several views of the drawings.
Referring now to the drawings, in FIGS. 1 and 2 there is
illustrated a cutting apparatus 10 exemplary of the invention
including a support frame base 11 which has an upright support
frame 12 securely affixed thereon. The support frame 12 supports
three cutting blade assemblies 14--16 (FIGS. 1 and 10), an indexing
or feed assembly 18 for feeding a continuous length of material to
the cutting apparatus 10, a support assembly 19 for supporting the
length of material while it is being cut, and a motor 20 for
operating the cutting apparatus 10, in the manner described below.
The cutting apparatus 10 is particularly adapted to cut cushions
22, of the type illustrated in FIGS. 10--13.
These corner cushions 22 are cut from a substantially continuous
length of extruded foamed polyethylene, which preferably has a
density within a range of 1.8 to 2.6 lbs./cubic foot so as to
provide a substantially strong, sturdy, firm but yet resilient
corner cushion. Material of this density has been found to be
satisfactory to provide a corner cushion which will firmly and
resiliently support most articles against damage, when the corner
cushions are formed in the manner described below. In cases of
extremely heavy objects, material having a greater density,
approximately 4 lbs./cubic foot, can be used.
The corner cushions 22 have a body 23 which is illustrated to be of
generally cylindrical shape, with three flat faces 24--26 on one
end thereof which are tapered to a point 30, and with an interior
cavity 31 (FIGS. 10 and 13) in the opposite end thereof which
likewise has three flat faces 27--29, which taper inwardly to a
point 32. The body portion 23 also can be polygonal shaped, for
example, triangular or hexagonal, as explained more fully below.
The three faces 24--26 are radially spaced approximately
120.degree. apart on the periphery of the body portion 23 and taper
inwardly from the sidewall of the cylinder to form the point 30, at
the central axis of the body portion 23. The faces 24--26 each also
can be in a plane so as to form right angles at their respective
intersecting edges, indicated by the reference numerals 34--36. The
three faces 27--29 of the interior cavity 31 likewise taper
inwardly to form the point 32, at the central axis of the body
portion 23, and are in planes so that their respective intersecting
edges, indicated by the reference numerals 38--40, form right
angles. The faces 24--26 on one corner cushion 22 and the faces
27--29 on another corner cushion can be advantageously
simultaneously formed, as explained below.
The recessed interior cavity 31, that is, the faces 27--29 forming
it, therefore substantially correspond to and form an inside corner
which can be easily fitted about a corner on any rectangular or
square-shaped article, such as, for example, a cabinet. The faces
24--26 on the opposite end of the corner cushions likewise
substantially correspond to and form an outside corner, and
therefore will seat within a corner of a carton. Accordingly, an
article such as a cabinet is easily packaged within a carton for
shipping and/or storage by, for example, affixing a corner cushion
22 to each of its corners at one end thereof, placing the open end
of a carton over the cabinet until the corner cushions 22 seat
within the corners of the carton, inverting the carton and the
cabinet, affixing a corner cushion 22 to the remaining corners of
the cabinet, and then closing and sealing the carton. As indicated
above, the corner 22 will firmly and resiliently support the
cabinet in a substantially suspended position within the carton, so
that it is completely protected from damage.
A number of the corner cushions 22 can be formed in a long length,
for ease in shipping and/or storing them, as illustrated in FIGS.
12 and 13. Each of the individual corner cushions 22 are affixed to
one another by a severable member which can be, for example, a tip
sprue 41, at the points 30 and 32, as illustrated in FIG. 13, or by
a web sprue (not illustrated). The tip sprue and the web sprue are
formed by not completely cutting or severing the individual corner
cushions during the cutting operations, as explained below, and are
of sufficient strength to hold the corner cushions together. The
sprues can thereafter be easily broken, however, by pulling and/or
twisting the corner cushions, to remove individual ones of the
corner cushions for use, as desired.
In cutting these corner cushions 22, the end of the substantially
continuous length of extruded foamed polyethylene is fed into the
cutting apparatus 10, between the jaw plates 44 and 45 supported by
jaws 46 and 47, respectively, of the indexing or feed assembly 18.
The jaw 46 is fixedly secured to a top plate 49 of a slide assembly
50, while the jaw 47 is pivotally affixed to the top plate 49, by
means of a pivot pin 48. Preferably and advantageously, the jaw
plates 44 and 45 are affixed to the ends of a pair of adjustment
shafts 56 and 57, respectively, which are slidably and adjustably
securable within adjustment assemblies 58 and 59, so that the
spacing between the jaw plates 44 and 45 can be easily varied to
receive different diameter material.
A single action air cylinder 60 is pivotally affixed atop the jaw
46, and its piston 61 is adjustably and fixedly secured to a lever
arm 62 affixed to the top of the jaw 47. The air cylinder 60 is
operated in the manner described below to pivotally close the jaw
47, against the action of a compression spring (not shown) included
within its cylinder, to fixedly clamp the material fed to the
cutting apparatus 10 between the jaw plates 44 and 45. A tension
spring 64 is affixed to the jaws 46 and 47 to keep the jaw plate 45
next to the material, and to prevent jaw 47 from excessive travel
in opening and closing. Thereafter, the indexing or feed assembly
18 is longitudinally and slidably moved to feed an established
length of material into the cutting apparatus 10. The lever arm 62
has a number (four as illustrated) of adjustment apertures 63
provided in it, so that the degree of pivotal throw or movement of
the jaw 47 can be adjusted as desired or necessary to receive the
material between the jaw plates 44 and 45. Also, when the air
cylinder 60 is deactivated, the spring 64 functions to forcibly
urge the jaws 46 and 47 open.
The top late 49 to which the jaws 46 and 47 are affixed forms part
of a slide assembly 50 which also includes a pair of spaced-apart
slide blocks 51 and 52 fixedly secured between the top plate 49 and
a bottom plate 53. These slide blocks 51 and 52 each have an
aperture therein in which slide rods 65 and 66 are slidably
received, respectively. The ends of these slide rods 65 and 66 are
fixedly secured to and supported by a pair of spacedapart vertical
frame arms 68 and 69 which are, in turn, supported upon a
horizontal frame member 70.
A double action air cylinder 72 is affixed to the frame member 70
in a horizontally disposed position, and its piston 73 is affixed
to an arm 74 integrally formed with the bottom plate 53 of the
slide assembly 50. The air cylinder 72 is adapted to slidably move
the slide assembly 50 and hence the jaws 46 and 47 back and forth
on the slide bars 65 and 66, to feed the material through the
cutting apparatus 10. A pair of springs 82 (only one of which is
visible in FIG. 3) is provided to assist the operation of the slide
assembly 50. The length of material advanced during each operation
of the slide assembly 50 is controlled by means of the position of
an adjustment nut 77 which is threadedly affixed to threaded shaft
76. This threaded shaft 76 is affixed at its one end to an arm 75
integrally affixed to the bottom plate 53 of the slide assembly 50,
and its opposite end is extended through an aperture in the frame
arm 68 and has a stop nut 80 secured to it. The adjustment nut 77
and the stop nut 80 have resilient pads 78 and 81 affixed to them,
respectively, for absorbing or cushioning them when they engage the
frame arm 68.
To vary the length of material advanced during each operation of
the slide assembly 50, the adjustment nut 77 is threadedly
positioned on the threaded shaft 76 until the slide assembly 50 is
permitted to move backward (to the right, as illustrated in FIG. 3)
a distance corresponding to the desired length of material to be
advanced. When so adjusted, the adjustment nut 77 will strike the
frame arm 68 to limit the backward movement of the slide assembly
50, as the latter is operated by the air cylinder 72. The jaws 46
and 47 then are operated, in a manner described more fully below,
and the air cylinder 72 is operated to draw its piston 73 back into
its cylinder to move the slide assembly 50 forward, or to the left,
to advance the material. This forward movement is limited by the
stop nut 80 now engaging the frame arm 68.
The end of the length of material which is advanced is fed between
a pair of jaws 85 and 86 of the support assembly 19 which is best
seen in FIG. 5. In this case, each of the jaws 85 and 86 preferably
have a pair of jaw plates 94, 95 and 96, 97 adjustably affixed to
them, respectively, so that the end of the length of material can
be more securely held and positioned during cutting. These jaw
plates 94--97 also are adjustable for various diameter materials.
Each of these jaw plates 94--97 is affixed to one end of a threaded
adjustment shaft 98 which has its opposite end received within a
lock assembly 99.
The jaw 85 is fixedly secured to a top plate 87, while the jaw 86
is pivotally affixed to the top plate 87 by means of a pivot pin
92. A pair of spaced-apart slide blocks 88 and 89 are affixed to
the underside of the top plate 87, and the slide rods 65 and 66 are
slidably extended through apertures formed in them. The support
assembly 19 is fixedly secured in position on the slide rods 65 and
66, by means of set screws 90 and 91 extended through them and
lockingly engaged with the slide rods.
A single action air cylinder 100 is pivotally affixed atop the jaw
85, and its piston 101 is affixed to a lever arm 102 secured to the
top of the jaw 96. In this case also, the air cylinder 100 is
operated to close the jaws 85 and 86, by pivotally moving the jaw
86 with the action of a tension spring 104, to clamp the end of the
material between the jaw plates 94--97 to support the material
during cutting. When the air cylinder 100 is deactivated, a
compression spring (not shown) within its cylinder, forcibly urges
the jaws 85 and 86 open.
The cutting blade assemblies 14--16 for cutting the material to
provide the flat faces 24--26 and 27--29 on the corner cushions 22,
as can be best seen in FIGS. 1 and 7--9 wherein one of the cutting
blade assemblies 14 is illustrated, includes a cutting blade 108
having a generally triangular-shaped cutting end 109. This cutting
end 109 advantageously is formed to receive therein, as between two
clamping plates, a cutting blade insert 110 which can be replaced,
as necessary. The cutting blade 108 is slidably supported within
and guided by means of a pair of spaced-apart, parallel guide arms
112 and 113 which are affixed to a pair of guide arm supports 114
and 115. These guide arm supports are affixed to and supported by a
cutting blade support arm 126 which is affixed to the upright
support arm 12 of the cutting apparatus 10, as can be best seen in
FIG. 1.
A pair of spaced-apart, parallel guide bars 117 and 118 are affixed
to the rear surface of the cutting blade 108, and form a guide slot
119 between them. A cam roller 122 rotatably affixed to one end of
a cam arm 121 is slidably disposed and retained within the guide
slot 119. The opposite end of the cam arm 121 is fixedly secured by
means of a clamping assembly 124 to a drive shaft 123 which is
rotatably driven by the motor 20, in a manner described more fully
below. As the drive shaft 123 and the cam arm 121 affixed to it are
rotated, the cam roller 122 moves back and forth in the guide slot
119 in a fashion such as to cause the cutting blade 108 to be
operated in a sliding reciprocal manner, as illustrated in FIG.
9.
The cutting blades 108 of each of the cutting blade assemblies
14--16 are operated in synchronism, and during the downward stroke
thereof, as illustrated in FIG. 9, the three flat faces 24--26 are
cut on one corner cushion 22 and simultaneously the three flat
faces 27--29 forming the interior cavity 31 in a corner cushion 22
are formed on the next successive one of the corner cushions being
cut. The material is advance and, during the next downward stroke
of the cutting blades 108, the flat faces 24--26 forming the
pointed tip are formed on the corner cushion which, during the
previous downstroke, has the flat faces 27--29 forming the interior
cavity 31 cut in it. During this same downward stroke, the interior
cavity 31 is cut in another corner cushion. Accordingly, during
each downward stroke of the cutting blades 108, the pointed tip 32
is formed on one corner cushion and the interior cavity 31 is
formed on another one of the corner cushions.
The cutting blade support arms 126 are affixed to the vertical
support frame 12 of the cutting apparatus 10, and are positioned so
that the cutting blades 108 cut three flat faces on the corner
cushions which are radially spaced approximately 120.degree. apart
and taper inwardly to form a point at the central axis of the body
portion 23 thereof. These three flat faces, of course, form the
flat faces 24--26 and the flat faces 27--29 on the corner
cushions.
The drive shafts 123 which reciprocally operate the cutting blades
108 in the above-described fashion are each extended through a
number of bearing assemblies 129 (four as illustrated), and have
drive gears 131--133 affixed to the opposite ends of them,
respectively. A universal joint 128 also is included in each of the
drive shafts 123, to permit them to be angularly bent and rotatably
driven. A single drive chain 134 is passed around each of the drive
gears 131--133 so that they as well as the drive shaft 123 are
rotatably driven in synchronism.
The drive gear 133 is a double gear, and a second drive chain 135
is passed about the other one of its two gears and about a drive
gear 136 which is affixed to and rotatably driven by an output
shaft 137 of a gear box 21. The input to the gear box 21 is from
the motor 20 which may be an electric motor of a suitable
horsepower. With this arrangement, it can be seen that the drive
gear 133 is driven by the drive chain 135, and in turn, it drives
the other two drive gears 131 and 132 by means of the drive chain
134 so that all of the drive shafts 123 are rotatably driven in
synchronism.
The operation of the cutting apparatus 10 is controlled by means of
a cam 138 which is affixed to and rotated by one of the drive
shafts 123 which, in the illustrated embodiment, is the drive shaft
having the drive gear 133 affixed to it. The cam 138 has two cam
surfaces 139 and 140, and these cam surfaces are engaged by a cam
wheel 141 affixed to a contact 142 of a microswitch 143. When the
cam wheel 141 is on the cam surfaces 139 and 140, the contact 142
of the microswitch 143 is closed and opened, respectively. The
microswitch 143 controls a main solenoid 145 which, in turn,
controls the cylinder supply control 146 for the double acting air
cylinder 72. The main solenoid 145 also controls the operation of
the solenoids 147 and 149 which, in turn, control the cylinder
supply controls 148 and 150 for the single action air cylinders 100
and 60, and is adapted to function in a fashion such that only one
of the solenoids 147 and 149 can be activated at one time. During
the time that the cam wheel 141 is riding on the cam surface 139,
the operation is synchronized so that the cutting blades 108 are
cutting the material, and during the time it is riding on the cam
surface 140, the cutting blades are or are being retracted and the
material is being advanced.
More specifically, assume that the cam wheel 141 is riding on the
cam surface 139 and is about to engage the cam surface 140. At his
point of time, the cutting blades 108 have cut the flat faces on
the material and have been substantially retracted. When the cam
wheel 141 engages the cam surface 140, the contact 142 of the
microswitch 143 is opened, and the main solenoid 145 operates the
solenoid 149 which, in turn, activates the cylinder supply control
150 such that the piston 61 of the air cylinder 60 is retracted to
pivotally move the jaw 47, to thereby clamp the material between
the jaws 46 and 47. Also, at this time the solenoid 145 functions
to deenergize the solenoid 147, and the latter causes the cylinder
supply control 148 to cut off the supply of air to the air cylinder
100. When this occurs, the jaw 86 is forcibly urged by the
compression spring within the air cylinder 100 to pivot to an open
position. The main solenoid 145 furthermore is operated so as to
cause the cylinder supply control 146 to deliver air to the air
cylinder 72 to operate its piston 73 to index the feed assembly 18
to the left (as illustrated) to feed the material into the cutting
apparatus 10. The air cylinder 72 operates after the air cylinders
60 and 100 operate so that the jaws 46 and 47 of the feed assembly
18 are closed and the jaws 85 and 86 of the support assembly 19 are
opened, before the indexing assembly is physically shifted to the
position shown in FIG. 3, to advance the material.
When the cam 138 has rotated so that the cam wheel 141 now engages
the cam surface 139, the contact 142 of the microswitch 143 is
closed. When contact 142 closes, the main solenoid 145 is now
operated to, in turn, energize the solenoid 147 and the latter
operates the cylinder control feed 148 to operate the air cylinder
100 so that its piston 101 is drawn into the air cylinder. This
movement of the piston 101 causes the jaw 86 to pivot against the
action of the spring therein, to therein close the jaws 85 and 86
to tightly clamp the material between them. At the same time, the
main solenoid 145 deenergizes the solenoid 149, and the latter
operates the cylinder control feed 150 to cut off the supply of air
to the air cylinder 60. When this occurs, the spring within the air
cylinder 60 forcibly urges the jaw 47 to pivot to open the jaws 46
and 47. Next, the cylinder supply control 146 is operated by the
main solenoid 145 to inject air into air cylinder 72 to expel its
piston 73. This action shifts the feed apparatus 18 to its initial
position, in readiness to advance another preestablished length of
material into the cutting apparatus 10, between the jaws 85 and 86
of the support assembly 19. As indicated above, the length of
material advanced by the feed assembly 18 is determined or
established by the position of the adjustment nut 77 on the
threaded shaft 76.
During the time that the cam roller 141 is traversing the cam
surface 139 on the cam 138, the cutting blades 108 are advanced to
cut the three faces on the material, and then retract at about the
same time that the cam wheel again engages the cam surface 140.
This operation continues automatically, and during each cycle of
operation, the preestablished length of material is advanced into
the cutting apparatus 10, by the feed assembly 18. As indicated
above, preferably and advantageously the cutting blades 108 are
adapted to cut the material in a fashion such that a small tip
sprue 41 remains between each of the corner cushions 22, so that a
number of them can be stored and/or shipped in an elongated length,
as illustrated in FIG. 12. Thereafter, individual ones of the
corner cushions can be removed, simply by severing this tip
sprue.
It will thus be seen that the objects set forth above, among those
made apparent from the preceding description, are efficiently
attained and certain changes may be made in the above construction.
Accordingly, it is intended that all matter contained in the above
description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be
interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.
* * * * *