Continuous Ironing And Pressing Machine For Flat Materials

Abstract

An ironing cylinder having a replaceable outer jacket is supported at both ends in hangers suspended in an upper frame assembly. The ironing cylinder cooperates with a pressing cylinder disposed in a separable lower frame assembly to apply pressure to flat material conveyed between the cylinders on an endless belt. The belt is routed via tensioning rollers through a chamber in the lower frame assembly to which external access is provided. The pressing cylinder is journalled in bearings attached by levers between the upper and lower frame assemblies. External access to the portion of the belt between the cylinders is facilitated by disconnecting the levers from the upper frame assembly.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In recent years there have been developed machines for continuously ironing and pressing flat material advanced on an endless belt between a cylindrical ironing roller and at least one cylindrical pressing roller. Hydraulically driven facilities vary the pressure between the rollers and, in some cases, apply a variable tension to the endless belt.

In general, such machines are difficult to service because the normally heavy ironing roller and the endless belt are not conveniently accessible. Moreover, such machines have been large and bulky in part because the ironing roller, when conventionally supported for rotation on a fixed large-diameter hollow shaft in the top frame of the machine, must likewise be of large diameter. Also, the conduit through which heat is introduced into the ironing cylinder is of the same large diameter as the hollow shaft. The use of such gross structure makes rotation of the ironing cylinder difficult.

Moreover, since in such designs the pressing cylinder is often supported from the fixed hollow shaft of the ironing cylinder, a relatively large hydraulic force applied to the machine is necessary for a given pressure between the roller.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An improved construction of a continuous pressing machine of the type employing cylindrical ironing and pressing cylinders is provided in accordance with the invention for overcoming the above disadvantages.

In an illustrative embodiment, the machine is provided with top and bottom frame assemblies wherein the top frame assembly has a pair of separble, axially spaced hangers. The hangers support the ironing cylinder at both ends to permit a reduction in size of the ironing cylinder, supports and heating fluid conduit. Replacement of the ironing cylinder may be accomplished by separating the top and bottom frame assemblies and decoupling the hangers from the top frame.

The ironing cylinders may be constructed in the form of an external removable jacket surrounding an internal drum. Cooperating slots on the internal periphery of the jacket and an external periphery of the drum receive a wedge-removable shaped retaining member to define a unitary assembly.

The pressing cylinder is supported in the bottom frame assembly which includes an elongated carrier member. A bearing for receiving an end of the pressing cylinder is attached to a two-armed lever which exerts a radial force between the ironing and pressing rollers. A fixed arm of the lever is removably affixed to one of the hangers of the top frame assembly. Detachment of the movable arm gives external access to the portion of the endless belt between the ironing and pressing cylinders.

The bottom frame includes a pair of blocks defining a chamber therebetween through which the endless belt also advances, the carrier members resting on the blocks. One of the blocks is preferably made removable to provide external access to the portion of the belt in the chamber.

A further feature of the invention includes a hydraulic system for controlling the tension of one or more supports with the endless belt. The system includes a hydraulic cylinder whose piston is affixed to one or more of the tensioning rollers to impart movement to such rollers in response to an error signal from a detector in contact with the endless belt.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

The invention is further set forth in the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the appended drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is an elevation view, partly broken away, of a continuous ironing and pressing machine in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the machine of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic representation of a hydraulic arrangement for driving tensioning rollers for the endless belt in the machine of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 4 and 5 are diagrammatic views of two alternative techniques for rotating the ironing and pressing cylinders in the machine of FIG. 1; and

FIGS. 6 and 7 are side and cut-away axial views, respectively, of an ironing cylinder construction including a removable outer jacket and an inner drum.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawing, a continuous ironing and pressing machine 60 includes a bottom frame 1 and a top frame 21. An elongated carrier member 4 is secured to the bottom frame 1 via a member 61, and rests on a pair of axially spaced blocks 2, 3. The blocks define therebetween a chamber 62 which receives a portion of an advancing endless belt 29 during the passage of the belt around a pair of pressing cylinders 9, 10. The belt 29 carries a flat material (not shown) such as leather to be ironed and pressed, and is also routed via a plurality of rollers 30, 31, 34 through the space between the cylinders 9, 10 and an ironing cylinder 24 as shown.

The pressing cylinders 9 and 10 have necks 7 and 8 rotationally supported in oppositely forked segments of a pair of side plates 5 and 6, which are affixed to opposite ends of the carrier member 4. The plates 5 and 6, the carrier member 4, and the bottom frame 1 define a unitary bottom frame assembly 63.

The bottom frame assembly 63 is releasably secured to a top frame assembly 64 by means of axially separated side plates 25, 26 and a loading member 27. The top assembly 64 includes a pair of hangers 17, 18 releasably secured to the top plate 21 via a pair of pins 19, 20. Oppositely extending necks 22, 23 of the ironing cylinder 24 are respectively supported for rotation in the hangers 17, 18.

The plate 25 releasably joins the hanger 17 to one end of the bottom assembly 63. In like manner, the plate 26 joins the hanger 18 to the other end of the bottom assembly 63. The loading member 27 is connected between the axial ends of the bottom frame 1 and the top frame 21 nearest the hanger 18. Advantageously, the plate 25 is made disengageable only when the top and bottom frames are unloaded, i.e., only when the loading member 27 is first disconnected.

The portion of the endless belt 29 extending between the pressing cylinders 9 and 10 and the ironing cylinder 24 may be subjected to varying radial pressure by means of a pair of two-armed levers 11 and 12. The levers 11 and 12 are actuable by hydraulic power units 15, 16 via transducers 13, 14. Bearings 71, 72 for the pressing roller necks 7,8 are respectively coupled by the levers 11, 12 between the hanger 17 and the carrier member 4. In particular, a fixed arm 73 of the lever 11 is secured to the carrier 4. A movable arm 74 of the lever 11 is coupled to the hanger 17 be means of the transducer 13 and the power source 15, the latter being removably joined to the hanger 17. (A corresponding arrangement is provided for the lever 12). With this scheme, disconnection of the movable arms of the levers 11, 12 by detaching of the power sources 15, 16 from the hanger 17 will render externally accessible the portion of the endless belt 29 between the pressing cylinders and the ironing cylinder.

The rollers 31 and 34 are made adjustable in their tension on the endless belt 29. Such tension adjustment is provided for by individually supporting the rollers 31 and 34 on pistons 81 and 82 of hydraulic cylinders 33 and 35, respectively. The cylinders 33, 35 are pivotally attached to the bottom frame assembly 63.

Control of the tension in the rollers 31 and 34 is provided by varying the axial movement of the associated pistons. As indicated in FIG. 3, such control of the tension in the roller 34 may be controlled by an error signal developed in a sensing detector 37, which provides an output signal proportional e.g., to the deviation of the instantaneous pressure applied to the endless belt 29 from a predetermined value. Such error signal is combined with a reference value in a transducer 82 and applied to the cylinder 35 via a distributor 36. The latter provides a hydraulic input on both axial sides of the piston 82 to facilitate closed loop control. (Similar control may also be provided if desired for the cylinder 33). A common hydraulic fluid source 38 is employed for controlling all the hydraulic cylinders employed in tensioning the rollers 31, 34.

Such source 38 also is employed for hydraulic drives 39, 40 (FIG. 4) for the pressing cylinders 9, 10 and the ironing cylinder 24. The cylinder 24 is chain-driven by drive 39, while the cylinders 9, 10 are each chain-driven by the drive 40. In the alternative arrangement shown in FIG. 5., separate hydraulic drives 42, 43 are provided for the separate pressing cylinders 9, 10.

With the arrangement described above, it is found that external access to the machine for removal and replacement of the ironing cylinder 24 is much more convenient than in the prior art. For example, the following relatively simple sequence of operations may be followed to remove the cylinder 24: (a) disconnection of the loading member 27; (b) disconnection of the side plates 25, 26 to decouple the top plate assembly 64 from the bottom plate assembly 63; (c) disconnection of the power units 15, 16 from the hanger 17; (d) lifting of the top frame assembly 64 off the machine by a crane (not shown) by means of eyes 28--28 on the top plate 21; and (e) removing the pins 19, 20 to decouple the hangers 17 and 18 and the cylinder 24 from the top frame 21. The procedure may them be reversed when placing a new or modified ironing cylinder into the machine.

One advantageous construction of the ironing cylinder, which facilitates repair and replacement, is that shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. The cylinder 24 includes an inner drum 45 and a replaceable outer jacket 44. The inner periphery of the outer jacket 44 and the outer periphery of the drum 45 are respectively provided with cooperating longitudinal slots 49, 50. A removable wedge-shaped member 48 is insertable into the space formed when such slots 49, 50 are aligned to hold the jacket and drum together as a unitary assembly. The member 48 may be releasably secured in place by means of screws or bolts 51 extending through splice pieces 52--52 associated with front parts 46 of the drums 45. Replacement of the jacket 44 may therefore be accomplished by removing and reassembling the wedge-shaped member 48.

The machine construction described above also permits convenient removal and replacement of the endless belt 29. For this purpose, the following sequence of operations may be employed: (a) disconnection of the loading member 27; (b) disconnection of the side plate 25; (c) removal of block 2 to render bottom chamber 52 accessible; (d) release of the tensioning rollers 31, 34; and (e) release of the connection between the power units 15, 16 and the hanger 17 as indicated above.

In the foregoing, the invention has been described in connection with preferred arrangements thereof. Many variations and modifications will now occur to those skilled in the art. It is accordingly desired that the scope of the appended claims not be limited to the specific disclosure herein contained.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. In a machine for the continuous ironing and pressing of flat material including an ironing cylinder cooperable with a pressing cylinder to apply pressure to an endless, material-conveying belt advanced between the ironing and pressing cylinders, an improved construction for the machine which comprises:

a top frame; a bottom frame including a pair of axially spaced blocks that define a channel therebetween for receiving the endless belt;

first and second hangers removably suspended from axially spaced regions of the top frame for rotatably supporting opposite ends of the ironing cylinder;

an elongated carrier member affixed to the bottom frame in engagement with the blocks, the carrier member and the bottom frame defining a bottom frame assembly; a bearing for rotatably receiving an end of the pressing cylinder;

a two-armed lever connected to the bearing, one of the arms of the lever being movable;

first means for coupling the movable arm of the lever to the first hanger;

second means for coupling the other arm of the lever to the carrier member; and

means for removably securing the first hanger to the bottom frame assembly.

2. A machine as defined in claim 1, in which one of the blocks of the bottom frame is removable to provide external access to the chamber.

3. A machine as defined in claim 1, in which the first coupling means is removably secured to the first hanger to provide external access to the portion of the endless belt between the ironing and pressing cylinders.

4. A machine as defined in claim 1, further comprising a loading member for removably coupling to the bottom frame a portion of the top frame adjacent the second hanger, the disconnection of the loading member facilitating removal of the securing means.

5. A machine as defined in claim 1, in which the machine further comprises a hydraulic cylinder coupled to the first assembly and containing an axially movable piston, a first tensioning roller around which the endless belt extends, and means for affixing the roller to the piston for varying the tension on the endless belt in accordance with the axial movement of the piston.

6. A machine as defined in claim 5, further comprising means for instantaneously detecting the deviation of the force applied to the endless belt from a predetermined value, and means responsive to such deviation for varying the axial position of the piston.

7. A machine as defined in claim 1 in which the ironing cylinder includes an inner drum and an outer jacket, the inner periphery of the outer jacket and the outer periphery of the drum having alignable slots, and in which the machine further comprises a retaining member cooperable with the slots in the jacket and the drum when such slots are aligned for removably affixing the jacket to the drum.