CA1224138A

CA1224138A - Rotary cutter

Info

Publication number: CA1224138A
Application number: CA000475178A
Authority: CA
Inventors: David Yanik; Robert R. Rader
Original assignee: Wirtz Manufacturing Co Inc
Current assignee: Wirtz Manufacturing Co Inc
Priority date: 1984-04-02
Filing date: 1985-02-26
Publication date: 1987-07-14
Also published as: JPS60213414A; GB8507992D0; IT8547863A1; JPH0710456B2; FR2561953A1; GB2156726B; US4583437A; IT1181859B; FR2561953B1; DE3507932C2; GB2156726A; IT8547863A0; DE3507932A1

Abstract

ROTARY CUTTER

Abstract of the Disclosure A machine for cutting a continuous web into successive individual battery plates has a rigid frame on which a cylindrical rotary anvil is journalled.
rotary knife drum is fixed on a shaft journalled on a pair of laterally spaced upright plates mounted for vertical sliding movement on the frame of the machine.
A toggle linkage is utilized to shift the drum mount-ing plates vertically between operative and inoperative positions. The knife drum shaft is journalled on one of the mounting plates such that the plate can be dis-engaged from the shaft and tilted laterally outwardly by simply removing a nut threaded on the end of the shaft.

Description

~L2~3~3 This invention relates to a rotary cutter, and, more particularly, to a cut-off machine for battery plates.
Battery plates or grids are sometimes cast as a continuous web by means of continuous casting machines.
After casting, the web is pasted and, after pasting, it is severed into successive individual plates. The art has developed to a point where such a web can be cast and pasted at a rate as high as 200 feet per minute. If an individual battery plate has a length of about 6" it follows that, if a battery plate production line using such equipment i9 to operate efficiently, the plate cut-off mechanism must be capable of severing the web accu-rately at a rate as high as 400 plates per minute. As a practical matter this can best be accomplished with a rotary cutter.
The thickness of a pasted plate for a lead-acid battery at the line of severing is frequently at least about ~040 to .050". This thickness of Iead presents considerable reslstance to complete penetration by a cutter knife when the rotary cutter is operating at a high speed. Rotary cutters of conventional design are incapable of cutting~lead~alloy battery grids at the above-referred-to speed-because at such speed the sup-port for the rotary d~rum on ~hich the knife blades are mounted yields in response to the speed of the drum : ~ ' 1224~L3~3 and the resistance of the ~ead ko knife penetration.
The end result is that, at speeds in the range re-ferred to, the knife blades o conventional rotary cutters do not completely penetrate through the plate web. Yielding of the support structure for the knife drum is due in part to the fact that the support struc-ture must.be designed to permit the.drum to be easily removed for servicing and also to be easily separated from the anvil against which the drum rotates to ini-tially introduce the web therebetween.
The primary object of this invention is toprovide a rotary cutter designed for severing a con-: tinuous web of battery plates into individual platësat a relatively high speed.
A more specific object of this invention is to provide a rotary cutter of the type described con-structed such that the rotary drum which supports the knife blades is mounted on a rigid support frame in a manner to prevent yielding thereof in the operative position while permltting the drum to be easily re-moved for servicing and to~be:separated from the anvil to permit thè lntroduction of the plakeweb therebetween. ;~
Other objeots, fe~tures and advantages of the present invention will become apparent;from.the follow- ..
ing description and accompanying drawings, in which:

'' ~22~3~3 FIGURE 1 iS a plan.view of a plate cut-off mechanism according to t~e present invention;
FIGURE 2 is an eleva~ional view as viewed in the direction of arroWs 2-2:in FIG. l;
FIGURE 3 iS a sectional view taken along the line 3-3 in FIG. 2 with the cu~ter drum in the opera~
tive.position;
FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary elevational.view as seen in the dirèction of the arrows 4-~ in FIG. 3;
FIGURE 5 is a fra~mentary ele~ational ~iew similar to FIG. 2 and showing.the rotary knife drum shifted to the inoperative position;
FIGURE 6 is a fraymentary sectional ~iew of the knife drum; and FIGURE 7 is an end.view of the knife drum with portions.bro~Qn away as.~iewed along the line 7-7 in FIG. 6.
The machine of.the present invention includes a main support frame lO in the form of a weldment con-sisting essentially of a plurality of steel tubes and plates connec~ed together to form rigid`upright and horizontal support mémbers. A rigid top frame 1~ is mounted on the main frame lO.~ Top frame 12:includes a pair of laterally spaced, upright side walls 14,16 rigidly interconnected adjacent each end and adjacent the longitudinal central portion thereof by vertical - ~ .

..

l3~3 :

cross bracing plates 18 and by a plurality of horizontal cross bars 20 extending between the lower edges thereof.
Frame 12 is fixedly mounted on tubular members 22 which form a part of the rigid main frame 10 by means of bolts 24.
A shaft 26 extends between side walls 14,16 of frame 12. ~ach end of:shat 26 is fixedly mounted on the adjacent side wall by means of yoke plates 28 which are accurately located on and secured to the inner faces of the side walls by dowel pins and screws 30. A
cylindrical anvil 32 is journalled on shaft 26 by means of bearings 34. With the above-described arrangement : anvil 32 i5 accurately located on frame 12 for rotation about a precise horizontal axis~ It will be noted that the opposite ends of anvil 32 and bearings 34 are dis-posed closely adjacent the yoke plates which support the opposite ends of shaft 26.
Adjacent the outer side of each side wall 14, `
16 there is arranged on frame 12 cutter mountiny side plates 36,38. Ad~acent their lower ends side plates 36, 38 are interconnected by a rigid cross bar 40. Cross bar 40 has reduced end portions 42 whlch project later-ally through correspondingl~ sized openings in plates 36,38. A retainer plate 44 is bolted to the reduced end portion 42 or cross bar 40 that extends~through side , .~.

~.

~L2Z~3~3 plate 38 so as to securely clamp one end of the cross bar to plate 38. The opposite end o cross b~r 40 has a retainer plate 46 bolted to the adjacent reauced end portion 42 against the outer face of plate 36. Retain-er plate 46 has a rounded shoulder 48 at its upper end which is flush with the upper end of the adjacent re- ;`
duced end portion 42 of the cross bar. The lower edge of cross bar 40 adjacent the inner face of mounting plate 36 is angularly relieved as at 50. The provision o the rounded shoulder 48 and the relieved portion 50 enables the mounting plate 36 to be tilted or pivoted from the aolid line to the broken line position shown in FIG. 3.
Adjacent the upper end of the two side plates 36,38 there is journalled a shaft 52 on which a knife drum 54 is supported. Shaft 52 is supported on plates 36,38 by bearings 56 that are housed within retainers 58. Retainers 58 are fitted within openings formed in the two side plates and are secured thereto by means of screws 60-(FIG. 4). The outboard end portion of shaft 52 is tapered as at 62 and the inner race of the adja-cent outboard bearing 56 is seàted on a bushing~64 hav-ing a tapered bore matching,~the taper on the portion 62 of the shaft. The outboard end of shaft 52 is threaded to receive a nut 66 which, when tightened, firmly clamps :~L2~4~38 the outboard bearing 56 (and side plate 36) in fixed axial position relative to shaft 52. The tapered por-tion 62 and the thread~d end of the shaft are propor-tioned and dimensioned such that, when nut 66 is remov-ed, side plate 36 ~together with bearing 56, bushing 64 and retainer 58) can be pivoted laterally outwardly over the end of the shaft to the broken line position shown in FIG. 3.
Both plates 36,38 are guided for vertical move-ment on the respective side walls 14,16 of frame 12 by guide rollers 68. In addition, side plate 38 is retain-ed in flatwise engagement with the outer face of side `wall 16 by a pair of gib plates 70 ~FIG.~2).
The means for raising and lowering side plates 36,38 are best illustrated in FIGS. 2, 3 and 5. These means consist of a pneumatic cylinder 72, the head end of which is pivotally supported on frame 10 as at 74.
The distal end of piston rod 76 is pivotally connected as at 78 to a pair of links 80 which straddle and are pivotally connected as at 82 with a block 84. Block 84 is shiftable vertically by means of an adjusting screw 86 extending through threaded collars 88~and 90 located on vertically opposite side~ of a rigid support bloc~
92 on frame lO. The pi~otal connection 8Z between links 80 and block 84 can be raised and lowered by threading 6.

, ~

1;~243~
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screw 86 into or out of block 84. A pair of arcuately shaped toggle links 94 straddle links 80 and are pivot-ally connected at their upper ends as at 96 to a lug 98 welded to the lower edge o cross bar 40. The lower ends of toggle links 94 are pivotally connected as at 100 to links 80.
In the operative position shown in FIG. 3 piston rod 76 is extended and rotates links 80 in a clockwise direction about the pivot axis 82 to the posi-tion wherein the links abut against a plate 102 affixedto an upstanding, laterally adjustable angle iron bracket lU4 on frame 10. In this position pivot axes 96,100 are substantially vertically aligned with the pivot axis 82 and the side plates 36,38 are pulled downwardly and lock-ed in their operative position. When piston rod 76 isretracted, links 80 are rotated counter-clockwise about the pivot axis 82 and the toggle links 94 shift plates 36,38 upwardly to the position shown in FIG. 5 wherein the knife drum 54 is spaced from an~ above the cylindri-cal anvil 32. The extent of vertical movement of plates36,38 is limited by the stroke of cylinder 72. Shoulder screw 106 in side wall 16 of frame 12 which engages verti-cal slot 108 in side plate 3,~ serves to help stabilize side plate 38 when side plate 36 is pivoted to the open position.
The lowermost position of the two side plates 36,38 is deter-mined by the vertical adjustment of screw 86 which can be re-tained in its adiusted position by a locking screw 110.

Z4~3~

Referring now to FIGS. 6 and 7, drum 54 in-cludes a pair of circular cylindrical end plates or rims 112 of annular shape which are secured as by screws 114 to the opposite ends of an annular body 116. The annu-lar body 116 is formed around its periphery with a plur-ality of pockets 118 at the bottom of which is seated a blade support 120. The radially extending blades 122 are retained in the pockets by wedge blocks 124 secured in place by screws 126. ~hen the blades 122 are properly lo arranged on the drum their radially outer edges define a cylinder having the same radius as the annular end plates 112. In the operatiVe position of knife drum 54, that is, when the side plates 36,38 are locked in the lowermost position by the togyle mechanism described, the end plates 112 are in pressure rolling engagement with the cylindrical surface of anvil 32 and the radial outer edges of blades 122 are rotated successively into contact with the outer perlphery of the anvil so as to sever a web fed t~erebetween.
Drum 54 is securely locked to shaft 52 by means of a pair of conventional locking collets lZ8.
Each collet consists of a sleeve having a~t~readed por-tion 130 and an axially slo~ted collet section 132 that is surrounded by an axially split collet contractor collar 134. The collet section 132 and the sections of collar 134 have corresponding tapers as indicated at ~L2Z~3~3 136 so that, when the collar sections 13~ are shifted axially inwardly toward each~other, the collet sections 132 are forced into firm gripping engagement with the periphery of shaft 52 and t~e collar sections 134 are shifted radially outwardly into firm enga~ement with the inner periphery of body 116. The means for shift-ing the collar sectlons 134 axially comprise nuts 138 which are connected axially to the collar section 134 as at 140.
There is also journalled on ~rame 12 a rotary driven web feed roller l42 on which a weighted contact-ing roller 144 is supported. Referring to FIG. 1, the drive mechanism for- knife drum 54 and web feed roller 142 is illustrated. This mechanism includes an electric motor 146 ha~ing a belt drive 148 with a gear reducer 150. Gear reducer 150 has first output shaft 152 coupled to web feed roller 142. A second output shaft 154 on gear reducer 150 is coupled to a shaft 156 that has a belt drive 158 with a transmission 160.` The out~
put of transmission 160 has a belt drive 162 with a second transmiSsion 164 which~in turn has a belt drive 166 with a pulley 168 mounted on the inboard~end portion of shaft 52. A belt tensio~ing rol;ler 17Q enables the pulley 168 to be shifted vertlcally with side~plates 36, 38 without affecting the drive to the knife drum 54.

Claims

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:

1.

A machine for severing a continuous web into successive individual plates comprising, a rigid support frame, a rotary cylindrical anvil journalled on said frame for rotation about a rigidly fixed axis, a pair of laterally spaced plates supported on said frame for sliding movement in parallel planes perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the anvil, a shaft extending between said plates along an axis accurately parallel to the axis of rotation of the anvil, a pair of bear-ings fixedly mounted on said plates and in which said shaft is journalled for rotation, means for rotating said shaft, a drum supported on said shaft to rotate therewith, said drum having cylindrical surface por-tions which, when the drum is in operative position, are in rolling engagement with cylindrical portions of the anvil, a plurality of radially oriented knife blades extending axially of the drum and which, when the rotating drum is in operative position, cooperate with the outer periphery of the anvil to sever a web fed therebetween, rigid means extending across and interconnecting said plates at a location spaced from the anvil and drum and means for displacing said interconnecting means to shift the plates in a direction to move the drum to operative position in rolling engage-ment with the anvil and to an inoperative position where-in the periphery of the drum is spaced radially from the periphery of the anvil.
2.
A machine as called for in claim 1 wherein said plates are placed in tension when the drum is moved to said operative position.
3.
A machine as called for in claim 1 wherein the axes of the drum and anvil extend horizontally and the drum is positioned above the anvil so that it is moved downwardly into said operative position.
4.
A machine as called for in claim 1 wherein said displacing means comprises a mechanical linkage.
5.
A machine as called for in claim 4 wherein said linkage includes a toggle link having one end operatively connected with said interconnecting means.

6.

A machine as called for in claim 1 wherein said mechanical linkage includes a first link pivotally mounted on said frame about a first axis, means for rotating said link through a limited arcuate extent, a toggle link pviotally connected adjacent one end to said rigid interconnecting means about a second axis and pivotally connected adjacent its other end to the rotatable link about a third axis spaced from said first axis.
7.
A machine as called for in claim 6 including means for adjusting said first axis toward and away from said second axis.
8.
A machine as called for in claim 1 wherein said hearings are located closely adjacent the inner faces of said plates and the opposite ends of said drum are disposed closely adjacent said bearings.

9.
A machine as called for in claim 1 wherein said frame includes a pair of laterally spaced upright rigid supports, a shaft extending between said supports, means on the inner faces of said upright supports sup-porting the opposite ends of said last-mentioned shaft, said anvil being mounted on said shaft and having its opposite ends disposed closely adjacent said shaft supporting means.
10 .
A machine as called for in claim 9 wherein said bearings are located closely adjacent the inner faces of said plates and the opposite ends of said drum are disposed closely adjacent said bearings.

11.
A machine as called for in claim 1 wherein said shaft has a tapered portion adjacent one end there-of, a bushing having a correspondingly tapered bore seat-ed on said tapered end portion, the bearing adjacent the tapered end portion being seated on said bushing, said tapered end portion terminating in a threaded section, a threaded member on said threaded section retaining said end of the shaft in assembled relation with the adjacent bearing, the side plate on which the last-mentioned bearing is mounted being connected with said interconnecting means so that it can be pivoted later-ally outwardly when said threaded member is removed to swing the bushing and the associated bearing over and out of engagement with the tapered end portion of the shaft.
12.
A machine as called for in claim 11 wherein said threaded section comprises a threaded stud portion projecting axially outwardly beyond the side plate on which said last-mentioned bearing is mounted and said threaded member comprises a nut on said threaded stud portion.

13.
A machine as called for in claim 11 wherein said interconnecting means comprises a cross bar rigidly connected at one end to the adjacent plate, the other end of the cross bar having a reduced portion extending through a correspondingly shaped opening in the adjacent plate, a retainer secured to said reduced portion, said retainer having a portion engaging the outer face of the pivotable plate to lock the plate to said other end of the cross bar, said retainer also having a rounded shoulder thereon to accommodate pivoting of the side plate on the reduced end portion of the cross bar.