Claims
- 1. A continuous cleaning apparatus comprising an elongated cage, said cage having an open feed end and an open discharge end to permit the axial movement of a part therethrough, feed means for delivering a part to said feed end one at a time, discharge means for receiving a part from said discharge end, cleaning means positioned along said cage and external thereto for cleaning a part carried therein, said cage being of skeletal form with open portions in its periphery to permit cleaning media from said cleaning means to enter and pass through said cage, means for advancing a part past said cleaning means, rotation means connected to continuously rotate said cage to cause a part therein to continuously rotate as it is cleaned and advanced past said cleaning means, and means at said feed end for removing a part from said feed means and disposing it in said cage.
- 2. A continuous cleaning apparatus comprising an elongated cage, said cage having an open feed end and an open discharge end to permit the axial movement of a part therethrough, said cage including means for holding a part to minimize relative rotation of a part with respect to said cage to provide positive control of the disposition of a part as a part moves through said cage, feed means for delivering a part to said feed end one at a time, discharge means for receiving a part from said discharge end, cleaning means positioned along said cage and external thereto for cleaning a part carried therein, said cage being of skeletal form with open portions in its periphery to permit cleaning media from said cleaning means to enter and pass through said cage, means for advancing a part past said cleaning means, rotation means connected to continuously rotate said cage to cause a part therein to continuously rotate as it is cleaned and advanced past said cleaning means, and means at said feed end for removing a part from said feed means and disposing it in said cage.
- 3. A continuous treating apparatus for rapidly cleaning a succession of work pieces, said apparatus comprising a cage of skeletal wall construction open at both ends and having a width that permits the longitudinal passage of a work piece therethrough, rotating means for continuously rotating said cage about its longitudinal axis, said cage having walls shaped to directly engage the work piece and keep it from rotating with respect to the cage, abrasive throwing wheels positioned alongside the cage for projecting abrasive particles through the skeletal cage wall at a work piece in the cage, endless conveyor structure connected to carry a succession of work pieces from a lateral direction to one end of the cage, and pusher means mounted adjacent said cage end and including a ram having an end moveble toward and away from the opening of said cage and to remove work pieces from said conveyor structure and to cause work pieces to advance past said abrasive throwing wheels while being continuously rotated.
- 4. A continuous treating apparatus as set forth in claim 3 wherein said pusher means is mounted outwardly of said cage end.
- 5. In a machine for the surface treatment of articles of large dimension comprising a plurality of open cages having longitudinally spaced apart supporting ring members interconnected by longitudinal members arranged to define an open space in between for receiving the articles, means for loading the cages by displacement of the articles endwise into the cages, means for unloading the cages by displacement of the articles out of the cages, comprising a pair of spaced rollers mounted for rotational movement in one direction, means for displacement of a cage onto the rollers with the ring members riding on the rollers for rotational movement of the supported cage, an abutment means for stopping rotational movement of the cage when the latter becomes properly oriented for insertion of an article into or out of the cage, means for alignment of an article endwise of the cage at the loading station, ram means located adjacent one end of the article and power operated means for actuation of the ram in an endwise stroke between extended and retracted positions of adjustment to engage the article for displacement endwise into the aligned cage at the loading station and from the cage at the unloading station during the stroke of the ram.
- 6. A machine as claimed in claim 5 in which the ram is supported from a traveling carriage mounted for reciprocal movement and a hydraulic cylinder operatively connected to the carriage for effecting reciprocal movement of the carriage and ram between extended and retracted positions of adjustment.
- 7. A machine as claimed claim 5 which includes a conveyor on which a plurality of articles are supported at a level corresponding to the cage level, switch means responsive to the movement of the endmost article on the conveyor into endwise alignment with the empty cage to arrest movement of the conveyor.
- 8. A machine as claimed in claim 5 which includes means for displacement of the cage off of the rollers comprising a curvilinear plate disposed at one side and beneath the cage, curvilinear arms supporting the plate at one end and pivotally mounted at the other end for rocking movement between raised and lowered positions of adjustment, and power operated means connected to said arm for rocking the arm about its pivot to raised and lowered position to lift the cage from the rollers responsive to movement to raised position and to bring the plate out of the path of the cage and rollers when in lowered position.
- 9. In a machine for the surface treatment of articles of large dimension comprising a plurality of open cages having spaced ring supports, means for loading said cages with articles to be treated to provide loaded cages, means for throwing particulate material onto the loaded cages while the cages are rotated for maximum exposure of the surfaces of the article, a pair of elongate rollers mounted for turning movement about spaced parallel axes to provide a cradle therebetween for receiving the loaded cages with the ring supports resting on the rollers, means for effecting turning movement of the rollers about their axes to transmit turning movement to the loaded cages supported therein, means for positioning a loaded cage onto one end portion of the rollers, and means for displacement of the cage at said one end portion along the surface of the rollers by an amount corresponding to one cage length to free the end portion for receipt of another loaded cage and for periodic displacement of the cages alinged endwise on the rollers.
- 10. A machine as claimed in claim 9 in which the means for displacement of the cages along the rollers comprises a ram in endwise alignment with the cages on the rollers and mounted for reciprocal movement longitudinally between extended and retracted position with the end of the ram spaced a short distance from the end of the endmost cage on the rollers and power operated means for displacement of the ram between extended and retracted positions to engage the endmost cage on the rollers for displacement thereof one cage length along the rollers during movement of the ram between retracted and extended positions.
- 11. A machine as claimed in claim 9 which includes an enclosure about a portion of the rollers intermediate its ends and means within the housing for throwing particulate treating material onto the cages supported on the portion of the rollers within the enclosure to expose the surfaces of the articles within the cages to the treating material.
- 12. A machine as claimed in claim 11 in which the means for throwing particulate treating material onto the loaded cages while being located within the enclosure comprises centrifugal blasting wheels aligned to project particulate material downwardly substantially throughout the length of the rollers located within the enclosure.
- 13. In a machine for the surface treatment of articles of large dimension comprising a plurality of open cages having spaced ring supports by throwing particulate material onto the cages while rotated for maximum exposure of the articles, loading and unloading stations including means for loading and unloading the cages by displacement of the article endwise into and out of the cage respectively, comprising a pair of spaced first rollers mounted for rotational movement in one direction, means for displacement of a cage onto the rollers with the ring supports riding on the rollers for rotational movement of the cage, an abutment means for stopping rotational movement of the cage when the latter becomes properly oriented for insertion of an article into or out of the cage, means for alignment of an article endwise of the cage at the loading station, ram means located adjacent one end of the article and power operated means for actuation of the ram means in an endwise stroke between extended and retracted positions of adjustment to engage the article for displacement endwise into the cage at the loading station and from the cage at the unloading station during the stroke of the ram means, a pair of elongate second rollers mounted for turning movement about spaced parallel axes to provide a cradle therebetween for receiving the cages with the ring supports resting on the second rollers, means for effecting turning movement of the second rollers about their axes to transmit turning movement to the cages supported thereon, means for positioning a cage onto one end portion of the second rollers and means for displacement of the endmost cage along the surfaces of the second rollers for an amount corresponding to one cage length to free the end portion for receipt of another cage and for periodic displacement of the cages aligned endwise on the second rollers, an enclosure about a portion of the second rollers intermediate its ends and means within the enclosure for throwing particulate treating material onto the cages supported on the portion of the second rollers within the enclosure to expose the surfaces of the articles within the cages to the treating material, a means for displacement of the cages from the loading station onto the one end of the second rollers, and a means for displacement of the cages from the other end of the second rollers to the unloading station.
Parent Case Info
This is a continuation, of application Ser. No. 871,145 filed Oct. 13, 1969 now abandoned, which is division of Ser. No. 551,395 filed May 19, 1966 now U.S. Pat. No. 3,517,465.
US Referenced Citations (13)
Divisions (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
551395 |
May 1966 |
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Continuations (1)
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Number |
Date |
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Parent |
871145 |
Oct 1969 |
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