US1987562A - Safety lock for textile machine covers - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 8, 1935.

J. Moss 1,987,562

SAFETY LOCK FOR TEXTILE MACHINE COVERS Filed Jan. 16, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet l Jan. s, 1935. J. Moss f 1,937,562.v

SAFETY LOCK FOR TEXTILE: MACHINE COVERS Filed Jan. 16, i932 2 sheets-sheep 2 o www* Patented Jan. 8, 1935 Joseph Moss, North smithelaRQ-I., assign@ to Whitin MachineWorks, '.Whitinsville, `Mass., a corporationof Massachusetts f f 'Y Application January 16,

11 claims. (el. 1922-1355'-Y f The present invention relates toA locks, `and more particularly to safety locks for cotton ma.- chinery, such as'openers and pickers, wherein operating parts such as beaters travel kat such high speeds as to be inconspicuous or invisible to theeye. L

The mainobject of the present invention i`s to provide vlocking means for cotton machinery to permit convenient opening of. the doors or guards of enclosed operating parts when the machine is not running, but positively to prevent access to theseparts of the machine when these latter are in operation, and also to prevent'starting of the machine when the .locking devices are in unlockedgrelation.` A further object of the invention is tol provide a single locking Adevice capable of effecting simultaneously the freeing and securing ofv a plurality of doors or guards.v

In thejattempt to Vprovide satisfactorysafety locks for such doors, covers, and guards, a variety of exacting conditions must be met. The devices must be simple' and direct in their action, to make certain that they will Workevery time. They must be easy to operate, and impose no extra burden or nuisance on the operato-r, Aor he will nd a way to render them inoperative and subject himself to the hazard they are aimed to protect him from, just to simplify his work. They must not give access to the enclosed parts until vthe latter have actually come to rest,'as serious accidents have happened where the safety looks have been rendered inoperative as soon asthe driving power is unshipped, and access kthus allowed to the parts While still travelling under their own momentum. They must not rely wholly on magnetism or gravity for their j maintenance in a relation to prevent opening of the doors or guards, or on the force of springs lwith their propensity for failurewithoutwarning, or` o-n friction when subjected to the vibration caused by the running of the machine in question or adjoining machines, as is nearly always the case. 'l'

With the aim of satisfying these requirements, the invention comprises a whollymechanical and positive safety lock which-not 'only llocks the covers in closedv position when the drive-'shaftgof the dangerous movingparts is infrunning relation, and correspondingly locks the drive-shaft against rotation before the covers lcan be raised, as heretofore in certain instances, but also locks the locking device itself in one or other of the positions it assumes in effecting the reciprocal locking and release of these parts, so that it can'- not shift or give way accidentally; further, the means adopted for thus locking the locking delock automatically` l 1 vice against unintentional shiftarel providedl in L 'duplicata rendering vthe @possibility 'ofv their simultaneous failure practically 'riegligib-le,v and the said means may also'be arranged so as to as sumemtheir. control vo ver` the movement'of Athe lOther "aims andc vantagesof the Ainvention are 'as will appear'fro'm theiaccompanring Specifation .and Qlms; taken'n 1011116011011 With the drawings illustrating? 'preferred embodiments. In thedra'vvings,f'` y FigQl is at,horizontal-sectional Viewv ;of ea cotton cleaner :embody/ing a, lock` of the present invention." f' I Y i lFig. 2 an end elevation rof thecleaner. l Y

Fig. 3 isa detail sectional'view of fthe bolt and associated parts.v H y ,Figji'is aplan viewgof certain of the parts of Figi` in dis',assembledA relation. A v

` Fig. 5 `isa detaill in" vertical section, showing an ,alternative self-actuating form.

. The invention is j herein illustrated: 'i and describedV as embodied in1 a cotton beater or cleaner having twodoors lor covers, and as shown in the drawings comprises a frame -1,0, having a cleaning 25 chamber enclosed atfthe top by the vcapV 1f1 and provided inthe bottompqrtion thereof with any suitable opening and*'cle`a.ning instrumentalities, such as grids and perforated plates. `A rotor `or beater'fcomplising,Milureliiy '0f .Speed'dscs 14 from which extend adialf arms', 15 l worksyithin lthe chamber2v i'fhQ'jdldS, being fixed onfashaft 1.6 onwhich aremo'unted tight and loose pulleys '18 andfZO respectively, "The shaft is drivenr by a belt whichmay be shifted f from `:one pulley to the other.

The chamberis provided on (Opposite sides with an inlet 26 and an outlet'28 respectively disposed adjacent opposite ends ofthel casing,v The Adoors and- 3 2 are provided to permit -acc'essto the i interior of 'thefcleanen the formerjon'vthe inletv side andthe latter` on thelo'utlet sidefof the ma'- chine.- 'The doors Aarejpi'voted on hinges 33.` and swingt outward upwardinopening.v The doors have'suitable means `:(notfshown) for holding them'htightly closed in ai'rti'ght relation when themachine is running. The' door v32-lies adjacent to the drive-end frame of the machine,

andv at theopposite end it"terminate's short of 50 theendframe and' adjacent Ato the outlet connec- 1 i tion`2`8'; correspondingly, thedoor 3O`Kdoes not extend to the end frame of themachine at the drive-endthereof, because of the presence of the inlet -ZGadjaCent-this end; but extends yfrom-the inward lateral face of such inlet clear to the opposite end frame of the machine.

In accordance with the invention, these doors are provided with safety locking means supplemental to and independent of the means for holding them tightly closed. Thus, the door 30 is locked' byY a lon'g'rod 40 whichfp'a'sses through the end-frame of thel machine, and under the inlet connection 26, with its extremity outside of and overlapping the material of the door, in such.V

relation as to prevent the lifti-ngof the door until the rod is withdrawn a short distanc'ei The door 32 is similarly locked by a short rod 42 which correspondingly overlies the edge" ofthe doorito'fprevent its being raised. The' rods-wand i2-'are of such lengths that the doors may be unlocked by sliding the rods slightly toward the drive-end of the machine and to permit such sliding action the rods are fitted loosely through holes in the-end frame and the corresponding end portions of the girts 36 extendix-ig'v the length" of the' machine, the longer of the rods, '40, 'having an auxiliary guide 37 fixed on the lengthwiseyertical flange of the gutes; y j Y `To provide for positively maintaining. the rods 40 and42 in locking. position; .except when the shaft 16 islat rest, the" rods 40 and`42l are connected` respectively, with shift .arms44 and 46. Each arm-issecurely fastened to its corresponding rod by a pin 48; The arms are-connected together by a yoke 50 secured to each arm by a bolt `v52. vOne of the arms, .shown as' the arm 4'4, has an integral outwardly projecting cylindrical stop 54, which is adapted to enter between two of the projecting fins 56 formed integrally on theinternal face of the tight pulley 1'8.. A number. of the fins 56- are provided,l spaced only a vsufficient distance to permit. the entrance of the stop 54 into one of the interstices'between adjacent-hns when the pulley is Aat rest, and striking against the rounded end ofthe stop to prevent its entry if brought against them while the pulley is rotating at speed. The stop 54 is so disposed that it is voutof engagement with the 'iins when the rods are locking position, but must enter into a position between two adjacent ns before' the locking rods are movedsuiiiciently to unlockthe doors.l

The arms 44 and .46 are -moved towardor away from the pulley to withdraw the rods` from lockingy relation with 4the;de )rs-or return them to such locking relation by two lock-.actuating and keeping devices inU the form ofsliding bolts, both of identical construction. `Each -bolt comprises a rod 58 slidingly 'movable endwise in bearings 46,0 on a bracket 62 which `has a bottom 4securing plate 641attachednas by bolts 65V to flanges`66 which extend along theV end. of the casingandup Y tothe bearingfor shaft 16. Each rod 5|8-passes through anv opening Y59; in its corresponding shift arm, -which latter lies between fthe bearings 60 of eachbracket 62. Upstanding from ythe bolt rod 58 is a manually operated -handle 68 having a knob at the top.` The handle is embraced between the main `portion of the shift arm and a finger '7l formed integrally on the shift arm, permitting swinging of the handle about the axisof the bolt, but causing bolt and shift arm to move together when the bolt is moved endwise. The shift arms are moved asa unit `trom locking to unlocking position, or vice versa, by grasping both of the knobs 70 and sliding f the bolts endwise. In `this manner the lock. is operated to withdraw the rods 40 and 42 from the doors and block the rotation of the beater, or to lock the doors and free the beater for resumed rotation.

In order to secure the lock-actuating bolts in one position or the other against vibration or accidental displacement, and thus lock the locking device against unintentional shift which has resulted in accidents, each bracket' '62rhasfat the top a horizontal shelf '72, formed in the edge with two notches, an inner notch 74 and an outer notch 76, the former to engage the bolt handle 68when.in inward. or door-locking position, and

Y the latter to engage the handle when in outward or beater-locking position. The handle, when receivediinone'of thenotche's, is tipped at a con- :bolt from being-Ajarred out of position, and thus from being permitted to move. endwise.

LIn Fig'. 5- is shown means for making the device self-locking in either the. door-locking or beater-locking position; if this additional safeguardi is desired. .The shank of each` handle 68 is simply. bent away fromthe beater-'shaft 16, so tliatthecenter .of gravity of thev handle and its knob"can never be carried into va position vertically above the axis of the Abolt 58.y Thus exlceptwhen actively upheld by the t.operators hand, the handle will always falljagainstthe shelf 7,2, and hence will automatically enter the notch 74or76-. f,

Itis to be noted that the provision of the lockactuating and keeping bolts 58 in duplicate doubles the certainty of operation and hence the safety assured by the structure without imposing any material burden `on the operator, who simply grasps the ltwo bolt handles simultaneously, one witheach hand. Y, H y

Under normal running conditionsgthefshaft is rotated by the tightpulley, the bolts are retained lockingmovement ofthe rods, and at the same time make a sufficient noise Vto warn the oper-` ator of hismistake. When the belt is running on the loosepulley, and the rotor has come .to a fini stop, the operator-may easily, unlockthe doorsbyM disengaging. the` lock-actuating bolt handles from the inner notches 74 and then slid- 4 ing Vthe bolts outwardly until the handles move into the -outer no tches`76, the bolts each carrying its respective shift-arm `and rod outward. Since it is necessary for the operator to release and shift both bolts -578 `silnultaneousely, both shift arms are moved together'to unlocking position, .and there is no possibility of cramping the bolts or thevrods in their bearings.l The stop 54 enters the space betweentwo adjacent fins and-positively prevents accidentalstartngof the machine whilevthe doors are unlocked. If the-stop should rstrike one of the fins and `'refuse toenterone of the spaces, the pulley may be turned slightly by hand. After unlocking, either or both doors may be easily opened. y n Y y n f Since the stop 54' engagesdirectly with Vthe driving connections, itis impossible to unlock the doors until the machine is completely at rest. Even after the belt is shiftedfrom the tight to the loose pulley, the operator is compelled to wait until the machine slows down, before the doors can be unlocked.

It will be seenthat in the preferred form of the invention, only a single stop 54 is employed, controlling themovement of both locking rods 40, 42, making the operation of entering this stop in proper relation between adjacent fins 56 an easy one and simply and quickly performed. A similar stop might be used on the other shift arm, but this is not necessary, because complete protection is afforded by the single stop, nor is it usually desirable,v because of the added care and nicety of fitting incident to mounting the parts with suiicient accuracy so that both stops might enter between fins of the pulley. However, if desired for any reason to make provision for locking the doors independently of each other, such a stop would be provided on each shift arm, and the shift-arms allowed to move independently by removal of the yoke 50. Y

Although the preferred form of the invention has been shown and described herein, it will be understood that the invention is not limited to the arrangements of parts herein specifically disclosed, but may be embodied in various modifications within the scope of the claims.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. In textile machines, the combination with a casing enclosing working parts thereof, and covers or the like removable for access to such parts, of a driving wheel for such working parts having a plurality of interstices, cover-locking means, a stop moving with the cover-locking means to occupy one of the interstices as the covers are unlocked, and a bolt serving both' to impart locking and unlocking movement to the locking means and to maintain such locking means in both locked or unlocked relation.

2. In textile machines, the combination with a casing enclosing working parts thereof, and covers or the like removable for access to such parts and a driving wheel for such working parts, of locking means movable parallel to the axis of the driving wheel to lock the latter and free the covers, and conversely to free the wheel and lock the covers, and a member moving with the locking means and locking it in both extreme positions of its movement. y

3. In textile machines, the combination with a casing enclosing working parts thereof, and covers or the like removable for access to such parts, and a driving wheel for such parts, of locking devices movable parallel to the axis of the driving wheel to lock the latter and free the covers, and conversely to free the wheel and lock the covers, and a bolt forced to travel with the locking devices and engageable with a xed part on the casing so as to be locked against movement.

4. In textile machines, the combination with a casing enclosing working parts thereof, and covers or the like removable for access to such parts, and a driving wheel for such parts, of locking devices movable parallel to the axis of the driving wheel to lock the latter and free the covers, and conversely to free the wheel and lock the covers, a bolt forced to travel with the locking devices and having an angularly projecting portion, and notches in connection with a fixed part on the casing to receive such portion to lock the bolt and thus the locking devices against movement.

5. In textile machines, the combination with a casing enclosing working parts thereof, and covers or the like removable for access to such parts, of `a locking rod for eachof ,several covers and located at a point relatively remote from other locking rods, shift arms secured to the locking rods and connected together to compel movement of all the shift -arms and locking rods in unison, a driving wheel'driving the moving parts having a plurality of projections, and a master stop on one of the shift arms to enter between the projections and prevent rotation of thedriving wheel when any and all of the locking rods are withdrawn to permit opening the covers, and conversely to prevent withdrawal of any of the locking rods while the driving wheel is rotating.

6. In textile machines, the combination with a casing enclosing working parts thereof, and covers or the like removable for access to such parts, of a locking rod for each of several covers, shift arms fixed to the locking rods and connected together to move in unison, a driving wheel having a plurality of projections, a stop on one of the shift arms to enter between the projections when the locking rods are withdrawn to permit opening the covers, and means apart from the locking rods locking the shift arms in coverlocking and also in cover-freeing drive-preventing relation.

7. In textile machines, the combination with a casing enclosing working parts thereof, and covers or the like removable for access to such parts, of driving means for the said working parts having a plurality of projections, a locking rod for each of several covers, a shift arm connected to each locking rod, means connecting the shift arms together, a stop in connection with the shift arms to enter between projections of the driving means, and a sliding bolt for simultaneously moving the shift arms.

8. In textile machines, the combination with a casing enclosing Working parts thereof, and covers or the like removable for access to such parts, of driving means for the said working parts having a plurality of projections, a locking rod for each of several covers, a shift arm connected to each locking rod, means connecting the shift arms together, a stop on one only of the shift arms, adapted to enter between projections of the driving means when the latter is stationary, a pair of sliding bolts for simultaneously moving the shift arms, a bolt handle and a bracket for each bolt, the bracket having notches to engage the handle ineither locked or unlocked position, the handle being inclined when received in one of the notches to retain it in place against vibration.

9. In textile machines, the combination with a casing enclosing working parts thereof, and covers or the like removable fo-r access to such parts, of driving means for the said working parts having a plurality of projections, a sliding locking rod for each of several covers, a shift arm connected to each locking rod, means connecting the shift arms for simultaneous movement, bolt rods passing through the shift arms, a handle connected to each bolt rod, a portion on each shift arm to embrace the handle, and a stop on one of the shift arms to enter between the projections of the driving means when the locking rods are clear of the covers.

10. In textile machines, the combination with a casing enclosing working parts thereof, and covers or the like removable for access to such parts, of driving means for the said Working parts hav- 11- lIn textile machines, the combination with a casing enclosing Working parts thereof, and covers or the like removable for access to such parts, of a movable structure including portions positioned to prevent opening the covers, a guide on the casing, a member travelling with the said structure andA relative to such guide, and means for preventing relative movement between this member and the guide.

JOSEPH MOSS.

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