US2772579A - Card driving mechanism - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 4, 1956 J. o. JEFFERY 2,772,579

CARD DRIVING MECHANISM Filed April 9, 1952 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 James 0. Jeffery INVENTOR.

BY W-5e;

Dec. 4, 1956 J. 0. J

EFFERY 2,772,579

CARD DRIVING MECHANISM Filed April 9, 1952 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 /0 F I g. 2.

"F 40 QM m 2238 /42 3a 124 Q 206 Fig. 7

NZ ZN James 0. Jeffery INVENTOR.

Dec. 4, 1956 Filed April 9, 1952 J. O. JEFFERY CARD DRIVING MECHANISM 4 Sheets-Sheet. 3

in BY James 0. Jeffery INVENTOR.

United States Patent CARD DRIVING MECHANISM James 0. Jeffery, North Vassalboro, Maine, assignor of one-half to Harvey E. Gagne, Winslow, Maine Application April 9, 1952, Serial No. 281,359

Claims. (c1. 74-665) This invention comprises novel and useful improvements in a card driving mechanism and more specifically pertains to a gearing assembly for conveniently and compactly connecting a power source such as an electric motor to the cylinder of a carding machine in an improved manner.

The principal object of this invention is to provide a gearing assembly whereby the individual cylinders or pair of cylinders of a carding machine, commonly referred to as the first, second and third breakers of the same may be connected to independent power sources in an improved and compact manner in contrast with the conventional and well established practice 'of connecting such carding cylinders to a common counter-shaft or power-shaft.

A further important object of the invention is to provide a connecting and gearing mechanism as set forth in the foregoing object which shall be readily adaptable to be applied to different sizes of carding cylinders.

A further object of the invention is to provide a gearing assembly and driving mechanism in accordance with the foregoing objects which shall have improved means for taking up slack or wear in the gearing assembly.

Another object of the invention is to provide a driving mechanism conforming with the foregoing objects which shall not interfere with the reverse rotation of the carding cylinders from a separate power source to effect reclothing of the cylinders.

And a final important object of the invention as specifically enumerated herein, resides in the provision of a driving and gearing mechanism connecting separate power sources to the individual cylinders or sets of cylinders of a carding machine which shall be capable of convenient and easy mounting adjacent the existing frame work of a carding machine; and which shall be compactly and conveniently mounted in the customary or available passageway or aisles between batteries of such machines.

These, together with various and ancillary features and objects of the invention, which will later become apparent as the following description proceeds, are attained by the present invention, a preferred embodiment which has been illustrated, by way of example only, in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a typical carding machine lay-out showing a pair of carding machines disposed in parallel relation on opposite sides of a passageway or aisle, each such carding machine having first, second and third breakers or carding cylinders together with the driving means of this mechanism applied thereto;

Figure 2 is an end elevational view of one of the carding cylinders and its driving mechanism applied thereto in accordance with this invention, this view being taken from the aisle or passageway between the carding machines;

Figure 3 is an end elevational view of the other end of. the carding machine, taken substantially in the direction of the arrow 3 of Figure 1 and showing the positive driving connection between the cylinder shafts of the first "ice and second breakers or carding cylinders for operating the same from a single or common power source;

Figure 4 is an end elevational view of the driving mechanism of Figure 2, being taken from the left end of the same;

Figure 5 is a central longitudinal sectional view taken substantially upon the plane of the section line 5--5 of Figure 6 and showing upon an enlarged scale the interior of the gear casing of the reduction gearing assembly forming a part of the driving mechanism shown in Figure 2; I

Figure 6 is a vertical transverse sectional view taken substantially upon the plane indicated by the section line 66 of Figure 5;

Figure 7 is a vertical transverse sectional View taken upon an enlarged scale substantially upon the plane indicated by the section line 7--7 of Figure 2 and showing the construction of one of the idler sprockets of the driving mechanism;

Figure 8 is a vertical sectional detailed view taken substantially upon the plane indicated by the section line 88 of Figure 7 and showing further details of the idle sprocket;

Figure 9 is a vertical transverse sectional detailed view take upon a large. scale, of one of the driving sprockets forming a part of the gearing mechanism of this invention; and,

Figure 10 is a vertical sectional detail view of the driving sprocket, taken substantially upon the plane indicated by the section line 1010 of Figure9.

The present conventional carding rooms include a plurality of carding machines disposed in rows which are in parallel relation on opposite sides of passageways or aisles, in the manner indicated in Figure 1, with just sufiicient spacing being allowed between the machines on opposite sides of the aisle to permit access to the same. Customarily, each of the carding machines receives its power from either an overhead counter. or power shaft; or by means of belt drives from thefloor below. Both of these arrangements give rise to numerous and well understood disadvantages in the operation of the machinery of the carding room. It is generally considered to be desirable to provide a separate source of power for. each of the carding machines; or for certain of the carding cylinders or breakers of the same. Heretofore however this desideratum has been impractical since all known driving mechanisms have required such space that the same cannot be readily accommodated in the pasageway between the conventional placing of the carding machines, thus rendering impractical or impossible the application of the same to the carding machines with the conventional floor arrangement.

it is therefore the essential and fundamental purpose of this invention to provide individual driving mechanism for carding machines which may be readily applied to conventional and existing machines and within the limited space available in present installations in a carding room.

Reference is now made more specifically to the accompanying drawings, wherein like numerals designate similar parts throughout the various views.

Referring first to Figure 1, it will be seen that there has been disclosed a conventional arrangement of carding machines in a carding room, there being shown two carding machines disposed on opposite sides of an aisle or passageway. Each machine may be of any conventional and well known design, the same including first, second and thirdbreakers for carding cylinders indicated respectively by the numerals 10, 12 and 14. As men'- tioned above, these carding cylinders may be of any known or conventional construction, and also of any of the conventional sizes, the mechanism illustrated being specifically adapted to carding cylinders of sixty inches in diameter, although the principles of this invention and the mechanism are not limited to this particular size.

An electric motor 16 is associated with either of the carding cylinders or 12, being connected thereto by the transmission or gearing assembly indicated generally by the numeral 18 which forms the subject matter of this invention. It is preferred to use the motor 16 to drive the first and second breakers 1t and 12, while a similar motor 29 is connected by another of the trans mission assemblies 18 with the third carding cylinder or breaker 14 of the carding machine. It is of course understood that the motor 16 will be of the requisite size to supply the necessary power for operating the carding cylinders or breakers associated therewith, and this invention is therefor not limited to any particular type or size of motor. The particular gearing assembly illustrated however, is intended to receive its power from a motor of approximately 900 R. P. M., and a mercury clutch 22 of any conventional construction is interposed between the driving shaft of the motor and the power input shaft of the gearing assembly 18.

It should be specifically noted that the gearing assembly to be hereinafter described together with the motor connected with the same is of very narrow width,

so as to extend to a minimum extent into the aisle or passageway between the two carding machines.

Each of the carding cylinders or breakers is provided with a cylinder axle or shaft 24 which rotatably supports the cylinder and serves to drive the same.

It will thus be apparent that the motor 16 and the gearing assembly 18 is directly connected to the axle or shaft 24 of the first carding cylinder or breaker 10 for directly driving the same, while the shaft or axle of the second breaker or cylinder 12 is positively connected to and driven by the shaft of the first cylinder 10 from the outside end of these shafts in a positive manner. This positive connection, as will be more readily apparent from Figure 3, consists of a pair of sprocket gears 26 secured to each of the cylinder shafts 24 upon the end of those shafts which is remote from the passageway or aisle, and a sprocket chain 28 is entrained over these sprockets to establish a positive driving connection therebetween. By means of a suitable supporting stand 30 a sprocket chain idler and tensioner 32 is positioned to bear against the sprocket chain.

The third breaker or carding cylinder 14 is directly driven by its motor 12 through the associated mechanism 18.

Reference is made now more specifically to Figure 2 for a clearer understanding of the manner in which each of the motors, 16 or 20 and its gearing assembly 18 is associated with the cylinder shaft or axle 24. Mounted upon a suitable supporting platform which is designated generally by the numeral 34 and which is disposed in the aisle or passageway in close juxtaposition to the associated carding machine is the motor 16 or 20 which is drivingly connected to a reduction gear casing 36 of a construction to be subsequently set forth, and

which is operatively connected to the carding cylinder shaft 24. As illustrated, the armature or shaft 38 of the motor is connected to a power input shaft 40 of the reduction gear casing 36 by the heretofore mentioned mercury clutch 22. It is of course understood that in place of the clutch 22 any other type of overrunning clutch desired may be utilized, it being necessary for the purpose of this invention merely that a one-way or overrunning clutch be utilized. The power input shaft 40-is connected by a gearing assembly within the reduction gear casing 36 to a pair of co-axial and alined power output shafts 42 and 44 which are oppositely rotating, and which by means of a driving sprocket chain and driving sprockets in a manner hereinafter to be more specifically set forth, are connected with the driven sprocket gear 46 fixedly secured to the carding cylinder shaft 24 for actuating the same.

The power output shaft 44 is journaled in an outboard bearing 48 mounted upon a standard 50, and extends through the same with an extending portion 52 which is adapted to be connected with a second electric motor (not shown) by mens of which the carding cylinder may be reversely driven through the gearing assembly 18, when it is desired to reclothe the same in accordance with the usual practice. During this reverse movement, the carding cylinder will be rotated in the reverse direction, while the one Way or overrunning clutch 22 will disengage shaft 40 from the motor shaft 38.

Speed reduction. gear assembly Attention is next directed more specifically to Figures 5 and 6 for an explanation of the gearing assembly in the speed reduction gear casing36. Through this gearing assembly, the normal speed of rotation of the motor 16 and 29 is reduced from.900 R. P. M. of the motor armature shaft 38 to about 76 R. P. M. of the carding cylinder axles 24. The casing 36 preferably is provided with a pair of end walls 54 and 56 which are separated by a partition wall 58 which thus divides the interior of the easing into a pair of chambers 60 and 62. The power input shaft 440 is journaled in the end wall 56 and in the partition wall 58 by an anti-friction bearing assembly 64 and 66 respectively, and is provided with a driving gear 68 which is continuously in mesh with a driven gear 70 secured to a counter shaft 72 whose extremities are journaled in anti-friction .bearing assemblies 74 and '76 in the end wall 56 and the partition wall 58-1'espcctively. Likewise secured upon the countershaft 72 is a smaller driving gear 78 which is continuously in mesh with a larger driven gear 80 carried by the power output shaft 42 previously mentioned, which is mounted in the end wall 56 and in the partition wall 58 by anti-friction bearing assemblies 82 and 84 respectively, and which extends beyond the partition wall 58 into the casing 62 and has its extremity journaled into an anti-friction bearing assembly 86 positioned in a depending bearing web 88.

Between the partition 58 and the bearing web 88, the output shaft 42 is provided with a smaller driving gear 90 which is constantly in mesh with an idler gear 92 carried by the lay shaft 94 whose extremities are journaled in anti-friction bearing assemblies 96 and 98 respectively positioned in the partition 58 and in the web 88. The idler gear'92 is in turnv in mesh with a driven gear 100 carried by the counter shaft 102 whose extremities are journaled in the anti-friction bearing assemblies 104 and 166 which are respectively supported by the partition wall 58 and the end wall 54.

Finally, there is fixedly secured to the counter shaft 102 a driving gear 168 which is constantly in engagement with a driven gear carried upon the power output shaft 44 which is journaled in anti-friction bearing assemblies 112 and 114 carried by the web 88 and the end wall 54.

The gearing is such that the output shaft 42 turns in the same direction of rotation as the input shaft 40, while the alined output shaft 44 turns in the opposite direction from the input shaft 40. The two output shafts 42 and 4-4 thus turn in reverse directions for a purpose which will be subsequently apparent.

As shown most clearly in Figure 5, the end walls 54 and 56 are provided with cover plates 116 and 118 respectively which serve to retain the anti-friction bearing assemblies 114, 106, 82, 74 and 64 in their hearing seats. As shown especially in Figure 2, the reduction gear casing 36 is further provided with a lubricant filling opening 120 having a filling plug 122 therein, and a closed bottom wall is provided with a drain plug 124. It is to be understood that the gears within the casing 361 may be ofanydesired character, spiral or helical being found to be satisfactory and being illustrated in Figure 5. Similarly, any desired anti-friction bearing elements may be utilized in the gear casing.

Referring especially to Figure 6, it will be seen that the partition member 58 is provided with a flat vertical face to which a closure member or plate 128 is removably secured as by fastening bolts 130. The adjacent sur; faces of the partition 58 and the plate 128 are provided with semi-cylindrical recesses for receiving the above mentioned anti-friction bearings 84, 76 and 66 of the shafts 42, 72 and 40 respectively, this construction thus provides a ready means for removably securing the shafts and bearings. A similar construction may be provided for securing the other shafts and their journal bearings.

Sprocket chain drive assembly As shown more clearly in Figure 2, the power takeoff shafts 42 and 44 are provided with driving sprocket gears which are of identical construction, and hence are both designated generally by the numeral 132. As shown in Figure 9, these sprocket gears are non-rotatably secured to the power shafts 42 or 44 as by keys 134 and key-ways 136. It will be observed that the two sprocket gears 132 rotate in opposite directions in accordance with the reversed rotations of the output shafts 42 and 44 as above mentioned.

A pair of idler sprocket gears which likewise are of identical construction are each indicated by the numeral 138 and are mounted upon the reduction gear casing 36 as set forth hereinafter, the idler sprockets being illusT trated in Figure 7. An endless sprocket drive chain 140 is provided, this chain, as will be apparent from Figures 1, 2, 4 and 6, being entrained over the pair of driving sprockets 132, over the pair of idler sprockets 138, and over the driving sprocket 46 of the carding cylinder 10 or 14. It will thus be apparent that the oppositely rotating driving sprockets 132 serve to rotate the driven gear 46 with a positive non-slipping drive.

Inasmuch as it is desirable that the driving mechanism as hereinbefore set forth shall be applicable to diflierent sizes of carding cylinders, and shall be applicable to different sizes of gears 46, adjusting means are provided which will facilitate the adjusting of the slack or tension in the sprocket driving chain 140 as well as for taking up wear and the like in the chain.

For this purpose, the idler sprockets 138 are mounted in a manner which will permit independent vertical and horizontal adjustment of each sprocket. As shown in Figures 2 and 6, the vertical wall 142 of the gear reduc-. tion casing 36 which may be removeably secured thereto as by fastening bolts 144, is provided with a vertically extending rib 146 whose outer vertical surface is serrated or toothed in the manner shown in Figure 6. A supporting bracket 148 is provided for each of the ribs 146, this bracket having a shank portion 150 having a serrated or toothed surface which is complementary to that of the rib 146 and is adapted to be adjustably and lockingly secured thereto. For this purpose, the shank 150 is longitudinally slotted as at 152, see Figure 2, and fastening bolts 154 extend through this slot and serve to lock and secure the shank 150 of the bracket 148 upon the serrated surface of the rib 146 in vertically adjusted position.

The upper portion of the bracket 148 has an upstanding standard 156, which at its upper end is provided with a horizontally extending cross arm member 158 which is longitudinally and horizontally slotted as at 160. Mounted upon the top of the gear casing 36 and adjacent the standard 156 is an upstanding support bracket 162 to which is adjustably secured the shank portion 164 of a supporting bracket 166 as by a lock nut 168. At its upper end, the bracket 166 is provided with a horizontally and laterally extending portion 170 which is in every respect similar to the portion 158 of the bracket 6 156. In addition, the members 164 and 162 may be ad'- justably locked in engagement with each other by serrated surfaces in the same manner as the members 146 and previously described.

As shown in Figure 7, the idler sprocket 138 is journaled upon a sprocket axle 172 which may be in the form of a bolt extending through the horizontal adjusting slots in the portions 158 and 170, being locked in adjusted position as by locking nuts 174 upon its opposite screw threaded extremities. By this means, it will be apparent that the sprocket gear may be vertically adjusted by raising or lowering the bracket members 148 and 164 upon their supports 146 and 162 respectively; while the sprockets may be adjusted laterally in a horizontal plane by moving the axles 172 in the slots of the bracket portions 158, and in the corresponding horizontal slots in the bracket portions 170. By this means, it is evident that the tension and the slack of the sprocket drive chain 140 may be readily varied and adjusted as desired, each of these sprocket gears having the same adjustable supporting brackets.

Driving and idler sprocket gear construction Attention is now directed to Figures 9 and 10 for an explanation of the construction of the driving sprocket gears. The sprocket gears 132 include a hub portion 176 having a key-way receiving the above mentioned key 134, and to which is removeably and adjustably secured as by fastening bolt 178, the disk portion of the gear. As will be seen by reference to Figure 4, the bolts 178 extending through apertures in the disk portion 180 of the gear are received in circumferentially extending slots 182 in the hub 176 of the gear. By this means, the gear disk 180 may be angularly adjusted and locked in adjusted position with respect to the power out-put shafts 42 or 44.

As shown in Figures 9 and 10, the periphery of the sprocket gear disk 180 is provided with circumferentially spaced pockets or recesses 184, disposed between the sprocket gear teeth 186, and cushioning elements 188 in the form of sponge rubber or other cushioning and yieldable material is disposed in these pockets. The sprocket chain 140 will engage the sprocket teeth 186 as shown in Figure 10, but the links will rest against the cushioning material 188 in order to cushion the engagement of the sprocket chain with the sprocket driving gears.

Referring now to Figures 7 and 8, it will be seen that the idler sprockets 138 preferably consist of a pair of complementary annular disks 190 and 192, secured together as by fastening bolts 194, and being attached to hub plates 196, 198 as by fastening bolts 200. These hub plates embrace anti-friction bearing members 202 by means of which the hub and consequently the idler sprocket gears are rotatably journaled upon the idler sprocket shaft 172, suitable spacing sleeves or collars 204 being interposed between the hubs and the gear support bracket portions 158 and 170.

Complementary channel members 206 and 208 are disposed in the peripheries of the sections 190 and 192, and a cushioning member in the form of a leather ring or the like 210 is disposed in this channel to receive and cushion the sprocket chain 140.

It will thus be apparent that the sprocket chain yieldingly engages driving and idler sprocket gears in a manner to absorb shock and deaden the noise of the moving parts.

From the foregoing, the construction and operation of the device will be readily understood and further explanation is believed to be unnecessary.

However, since numerous modifications and changes will occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the appended claims.

Having described the invention, what is-claimed' as new is:

1. A card driving mechanism for a carding cylinder having a driven gear comprising: a pair of idler gears having axles parallelto the axis of the driven-gear, apair of driving gears having axles alined with each other and perpendicular to the idler gear axles, a drive c'hain entrained over all of saidgears, a power shaft parallel to said driving gear axles, connecting means between said power shaft and said driving gear axles, resilient means in said driving gears for cushioningcontact with said drive chain.

2. The combination of claim 1, wherein said connect: ing means comprises gearing. causing rotation of said driving gear axles in opposite directions.

3. The combination of claim 1, includingmeans for adjusting said idlers independently both vertically and horizontally.

4. The combination. of claim 1 including means for 8 angularly adjustingsaid= driving, gears upon their axles;

5.'.The combination of claim 1 including-an overrunning clutch in said connectingmeans, additional means for driving one'of said axle's of the driving gears in a reverse direction of rotation;

References Cited. in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 812,703 Truitt Feb. 13, 1906 2,574,580 McKay et'al Nov. 13, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS 317,934 Great Britain Aug. 29, 1929 356,649 Italy Feb. 7, 1938 517,316 Great Britain 0 J an. 26, 1940 910,515 France June 11, 1946

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