US1890555A - Apparatus for manufacturing artificial sponges - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 13, 1932. L, C, ABRAHAM 1,890,555

APPARATUS FR MANUFACTURING ,ARTIFICIAL SPONGES Original Filed Oct. 8. 1930 .3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Dec. 13, 1932. c. ABRAHAM APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING ARTIFICIAL SPONGES Original Filed Oct. 8, 1930 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Dec. 13, 1932. l L. c, ABRAHAM j 1,890,555

APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING ARTIFICIAL SPONGES Original Filed Oct. 8. 1930 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 .277 renfe/4.'

Patented Dec. i3, i932 wat l LEWIS CROWFORD ABRAHAM, F AUDERGHEM, BELGIUM APPARATUS FOR MAN'UFACTURING ARTIFICIAL SFNGES @riginal application filed Uetober 8, 1939, Serial No. 487,352, and in Belgium October 14, 1929. Divided and this application led June 16, 1931. Serial No. 544,919.

l My present invention relates to articial Sponges for cleaning kitchen-utensils and other similar p urposes, according to my copending application Serial No. 487,352 of which this application is a division.

According to this co-pending application, said Sponges are made of a wire gauze bag containing suitable filling material, the

mouth of which is contracted and closed by lomeans of an outer metal cap having its rim provided with teeth bent inwardly through the meshes of said wire gauze.

Now my present invention has for its object an apparatus for closing the mouth of such bags by means of this toothed cap, said apparatus being thus adapted to contract the mouth of the bag, in the shape of a collar, to ht a cap upon said collar and to bend the teeth of the cap inwardly through the meshes of the wire` gauze bag.

1n the accompanying drawings l:

Figs. 1 to 3 are diagrammatical views of dierent steps of the sponge bag closing operation.

Fig; 4 shows thenished sponge with its closing cap.

'Fig 4a shows a closing cap provided with a handle.

Fig. 5 is a sectional side elevation of a device for making the closure according to my invention.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged horizontal section on line A--B of Fig. 5, showing the parts for drawing the mouth rims of the bag together in two different positions on either side of the line C-D. y

Figs. 7 and 8 are a bottom plan view and side elevation respectively of one of the parts for drawing the rims of the mouth together. The first step consists in drawing the rims of the opening 1 of the sponge shaped wire gauze 2 close together. The metal sponge is formed of a bag-like structure 2 of metal gauze closed at one end 3 and open at the opposite end and containing a'suitable filling material. l From Figs. 1 and 2 it will be seen how the rims of the opening 1 of said bag may be contracted by means of fingers 4 to form a collar 5.

In the second step a cap 6 provided with a crown of teeth 7 will be placed upon the collar 5. The teeth 7 will be bent inwardly to cause the same to engage the collar 5 as shown in Fig. 3. To this end 1 use-a plunger 8 which 1n its upward movement will press the cap 6 against the ends oi' the fingers 4 moved close together, whereby the teeth 7 engaging the curved faces 9 on the fingers 4 will be bent in- Wardly at right angles to the ring of the cap.

After the cap has been 4applied as described, the bagu material lills out or spreads so that only the rounded part of the cap is visible, as shown more particularly in Figure 4. This rounded part ofthe cap may provide a convenient surface for a trade-mark or advertisement and forms in edect an ornamental linish to the article.

The cap 6 may also be provided, with a handle 6a as shown in Fig. 4a, enabling the sponge to be easily grasped. Said handle 6a may be attached to the cap 6 in any desired way.

The device serving to carry out these steps comprises a frame 10, on which a circular plate 11 having an upstanding rim or flange 12 and a central projection 13 is arranged. The iiange 12 supports a stationary circular plate 14, the underside of which has a series of radial grooves 15 ,in which fingers 4 and pushers 16 are alternately arranged, (see Fig. 6), which are distinguished over each other in that the fingers 4 are provided with bevelled hooked ends 17, whilst the -pushers 16 have not such hooks and are a little shorter than the fingers 4. Each finger and each pusher has its underside provided with a pin 18 engaging one of the oblique curved grooves 19 in a cam disc 20 arranged between 4the stationary plate 14 and the plate 11.

Said cam-disc is adapted to be rotated around the central projection or boss 13 on the plate 11 by means of a handle 21. The pins 18 of a finger 4 and an adjacent pusher 16 engage the same groove 19.

Secured centrally to the plate 11 below the boss 13 is a sleeve 22, which together with a. sleeve, 23 ysecured to the frame 10 servest'o Vguide the plungeryS in the axis of the boss 13 through a central hole 24 in the latter. A lever 25 having a treadle 26 at its lower end,

pivoted at 27 on the frame 10 and provided with an eccentric slot 28 engaged by a pin 29 on the plunger 8, serves' to move the latter upwardly upon depressing the treadle 26. The treadle lever 25-26 will be moved back to its inoperative position by the action of a spring 30.

Normally the fingers 4 and pushers l6are in the retracted positions shown on the right hand half of Fig. 6. Upon rotating the camdisc 20 by means of the handle 21 the oblique curved grooves 19 will act on the pins 18 and cause the fingers 4 and pushers 16 to move towards the centre of the boss 13 as shown on the left hand half ofi Fig. 6.

Inv order to close a metallic sponge by means of the apparatus above described, the blank sponge 2 will be pla-ced at the centre of the boss 13, the mouth 1 thereof turned downwardly (Fig. l), whereupon the cam-disc 20 will be rotated to move the fingers 4 towards each other, whereby the hooked ends of said fingers will engage the meshes of the metal gauze, whilst the pushers 16 will cooperate with said fingers to contract the mouth 1 of the biank and form a collar 5 thereon. Now the treadle 26 will be depressed to move the plunger 8 upwardly, a cap 6 havingbeen placed previously through the opening 31 in the sleeve 22 upon said plunger, 8. Thus said cap 6 will be fitted upon the collar 5 and the teeth 7 thereon will be bent inwardly against the curved faces 9 on the fingers 4 as already described whereby the collar5 will be firmly.

held in said cap.

VHaving now fully described my said invention, what I' claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. In an apparatus for closing the mouth of a wire gauze bag filled with any desired material by means of a metal cap, the combination of a frame, a stationary horizontal plate on said frame, radial grooves in said plate, fingers having bevelled hooks at one end and pushers guided in said radial grooves, means for` moving said fingers andpushers in said grooves, towards the centre of said stationary plate, for the purpose of contracting the mouth of a wireV gauze bag placed at the centre of said stationary plate, a vertical plunger arranged centrally to said plate and adapted to receive a metal cap with a toothed pin on its upper end, means for moving said plunger upwardly whereby said cap will-be fitted upon the contracted mouth of the wire gauze bag and the teeth thereof bent inwardly against the heads ofsaid fingers Y and pushers, substantially as set forth.

2. In an apparatus for closing the mouth of a wire gauze bag filled with any desired material for cleaning purposes by means of 11. metal ca having a toothed rim, the comnamed plate, radial grooves in the 'lower face of said second plate, fingers having bevelled hooks at one end and pushers guided in said radial grooves, a central boss on the lower plate, a cam-disc arranged on said lower plate and adapted to be rotated around the central boss on said lower plate, curved grooves in said cam-disc, depending pins on said fingers and pushers enaging said curved grooves in said ca1n-disc,\vhereby said fingers and pushers will be shifted radially towards the centre of the cam-disc upon the rotation of the latter, means for rotating said cam-disc, for the purpose of contracting the mouth of the bag placed at the centre by the action of said fingers and pushers, a vertical plunger arranged`centrally to said plate and cam-disc and adapted to receive a metal closing cap on its upper end, means for moving said plunger upwardly, whereby said cap will be fitted upon the contracted mouth of the wire gauze bag and the teeth thereof bent inwardly against the heads of said fingers and pushers, substantially as set forth.

3.V In an apparatus for closing the mouth of awire gauze bag filled with any desired material for cleaning purposes by means of a metal cap having a toothed rim, the combi-- nation of a frame, a lower horizontal plate on said frame, an upper horizontal plate spaced some distance apart from the first named plate, radial grooves in the under face of said second plate, long fingers and short pushers arranged'alternately in said successive radial grooves for sliding movements therein, 'bevelled hooked ends with curved under faces on said fingers, a central boss on the lower plate, a cam-disc arranged on said lower plate and adapted to be rotated around the central boss thereon, curved grooves in said cam-disc depending pins on said fingers and pushers, the pinsion one finger and the advj acent pusher engaging the same curved groove in said cam-disc, whereby said fingers and pushers will be shifted radially upon the rotation of said cam-disc, means for rotating said cam-disc, for the purpose-of contracting the mouth of the bag placed at the centre by the action of said fingers and pushers, a vertical plunger arranged centrally to said plates and cam-disc and adapted to receiveametalclo cap on its upper end, means for moving ali plunger upwardly whereby said cap will be fitted upon the contracted mouth of the wire gauze bag and theteeth thereon bent inwardly against the curved undersides of said fingers,l substantially as set forth.

Dated this 1st day of June 1931. t

LEWIS CROWFORD ABRAHAM.

bination o a frame, a lower horizontal plate Y on said frame, an upper horizontal plate spaced some distance apart from the first

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