Claims
- 1. Spin flow forming apparatus for reducing the diameter of an open end of a cylindrical container body, comprising:
- a tooling disc turret and a base pad turret mounted for co-rotation with a main turret shaft;
- a plurality of necking spindle assemblies mounted on the tooling disc turret at circumferentially spaced intervals from each other;
- each said necking spindle assembly including a first member engageable within the open end to support the container open end on the spindle and a second member mounted adjacent the first member for positioning within the container interior inwardly adjacent the first member;
- a plurality of base pad spindle assemblies mounted on the base pad turret in respective coaxial alignment with said necking spindle assemblies, for respectively engaging a bottom wall of one said container body;
- means mounted on the tooling disc turret externally of the container body for radially inward movement into necking contact with the container side wall, whereby relative movement of said externally mounted means in cc-action with said first and second members causes radial inward deformation of the container open end to neck-in said end; and
- locking means mounted on the tooling disc turret for limiting movement of said externally mounted necking means towards said first and second members under a predetermined supply condition of container bodies to said apparatus.
- 2. Apparatus of claim 1, wherein said locking means is responsive to a signal indicative of a disruption in the supply of container bodies to the apparatus to prevent tool-to-tool contact between the externally mounted necking means with said first and second members.
- 3. Apparatus of claim 1, further comprising means for moving said second member into contact with the side wall of the container body to be necked and out of contact with said necked-in side wall.
- 4. Apparatus of claim 3, wherein said moving means includes a gear means operatively connected to said second member and located outwardly adjacent a rear face of the tooling disc turret.
- 5. Apparatus of claim 4, further comprising means, operatively connected to said locking means, for moving said externally mounted necking means, wherein said necking moving means includes a shaft means projecting rearwardly outward from the tooling disc turret to define a pivot axis about which said externally mounted necking means pivots towards and away from the first and second members.
- 6. Apparatus of claim 5, further comprising a cam mounted adjacent the tooling disc turret; and connecting means, including a cam follower, for transmitting camming movement to both said shaft means and said gear means to selectively control the movement of said second member and said externally mounted necking means.
- 7. Apparatus of claim 6, wherein said connecting means includes a first activating plate mounted on the shaft means for co-rotation therewith, said first activating plate being directly connected to the cam follower through a connecting rod arrangement which rotates the first activating plate and thereby the shaft means through a first predetermined angular interval sufficient so that the externally mounted necking means contacts one of the first and second members or the container body side wall interposed therebetween.
- 8. Apparatus of claim 7, wherein said connecting means further includes a second activating plate mounted on said shaft means for co-rotation with and by the first activating plate through a means for connecting said first and second plates together, said second activating plate including means for rotating said gear means during co-rotation of said second activating plate.
- 9. Apparatus of claim 8, further including stop means for limiting movement of said second activating plate without preventing further rotational movement of the first activating plate through said first predetermined angular interval.
- 10. Apparatus of claim 9, wherein said stop means is a stop lug attached to said rear face of the tooling disc turret in alignment with and to contact a stop projection extending radially outward from the second activating plate.
- 11. Apparatus of claim 10, wherein said plate connecting means includes a spring means normally biasing the first and second activating plates together and which plate connecting means is resiliently yieldable to allow further rotation of the first activating plate against spring bias after the second activating plate is stopped with the stop means.
- 12. Apparatus of claim 8, wherein said locking means includes means for latching the first activating plate to prevent final rotational movement thereof through its entire first predetermined angular interval and thereby prevent tool-to-tool contact between the externally mounted necking means with said first and second members.
- 13. Apparatus of claim 12, wherein said latching means includes a latching projection formed on the first activating plate; a latch operatively mounted adjacent the first activating plate and means for moving the latch between a latch position whereby said latching projection rotates into latching contact with said latch to prevent said final rotational movement, and an unlatched position where the first activating plate is free to rotate through said final rotational movement.
- 14. Apparatus of claim 13, wherein the latching projection projects radially outward from the first activating plate and said latch is pivotally mounted to the tooling disc turret to project radially inward into the path of movement of said latching projection for latching to occur.
- 15. Apparatus of claim 1, wherein each said necking spindle assembly includes a spindle housing; a spindle shaft supported for rotation with the spindle housing; a spindle gear mounted to rotate the spindle shaft and thereby the first member co-rotatably mounted to said spindle shaft; means for resiliently biasing the first member towards the second member and being resiliently slidable against said bias, in the direction away from the second member, as the externally mounted necking means moves radially inward into contact with one of the first and second members or the container side wall interposed therebetween so as to displace the first member from the second member, said second member being a roll eccentrically mounted in relation to the spindle axis on a support shaft extending through the spindle shaft.
- 16. Apparatus of claim 15, further comprising a plurality of first line shaft gears mounted at spaced circumferential locations from each other in the tooling disc turret, and a plurality of pairs of idler gears mounted in the tooling disc turret with the idler gears in each pair in respective contact with one of the spindle gears; a plurality of second line shaft gears mounted at spaced circumferential locations from each other in the base pad turret in rotating contact, through other idler gears operatively mounted in the base pad turret, with a pair of spindle gears respectively mounted for rotating adjacent ones of the base pad assemblies; a plurality of line shafts extending between the turrets for respectively connecting associated ones of the necking and base pad spindle gears in coaxial alignment with each other; common gearing means, rotationally supported through bearings on the main turret shaft, for simultaneously rotating said line shafts through intermediate gears respectively mounted on said line shaft in meshing contact with said common gearing means.
- 17. In an apparatus for changing the shape of a plurality of metal products, said apparatus including at least one turret mounted for co-rotation with a main turret shaft; means for locating said plurality of metal products on said turret at spaced intervals from each other: first tool means and second tool means on said turret and relatively movable toward each other for contacting said metal products to change said shape, whereby the absence of a said metal product on said turret allows tool-to-tool contact and wearing of forming surfaces on said first and second tool means; the improvement comprising locking means responsive to a signal indicative of a disruption in the supply of metal products to the apparatus to prevent tool-to-tool contact between the first and second tool means by preventing the second tool means from completing its entire range of movement against said first tool means.
- 18. A method of spin flow necking an open end of a metal container body, comprising the steps of:
- a) feeding a container body between a necking spindle assembly mounted on a first turret and a base pad spindle assembly mounted on a second turret in coaxial alignment with the necking spindle assembly while co-rotating said first and second turrets about their common axes of rotation;
- b) locating a bottom wall of the metal container body in suction contact with the base pad spindle assembly;
- c) locating the open end of the container body on the necking spindle assembly;
- d) spinning the thusly centered container body by rotating the necking and base pad spindle assemblies about their common axes of rotation which is parallel to the turret rotational axes; and
- e) wherein, during step b), a centrally located plug on the base pad spindle is initially extended relative to a surrounding outer ring to project forward from said ring, and then said plug and ring are jointly moved forward until the plug through which suction is supplied in step b) engages the bottom wall of the container body in suction contact while the outer ring contacts the bottom wall at locations radially outwardly adjacent the plug in supporting engagement.
- 19. Spin flow forming apparatus for reducing the diameter of an open end of a cylindrical container body, comprising:
- a tooling disc turret and a base pad turret mounted for co-rotation with a main turret shaft;
- a plurality of necking spindle assemblies mounted on the tooling disc turret at circumferentially spaced intervals from each other;
- each said necking spindle assembly including a first member engageable within the open end to support the container open end on the spindle and a second member mounted adjacent the first member for positioning within the container interior inwardly adjacent the first member;
- a plurality of base pad spindle assemblies mounted on the base pad turret in respective coaxial alignment with said necking spindle assemblies, for respectively engaging a bottom wall of one said container body;
- means mounted on the tooling disc turret externally of the container body for radially inward movement into necking contact with the container side wall, whereby relative movement of said externally mounted means in co-action with said first and second members causes radial inward deformation of the container open end to neck-in said end; and
- means for supplying suction to the base pad spindle assemblies, said suction supplying means including first means for supplying suction under a first predetermined condition to selected ones of the base pad spindle assemblies and second means for supplying suction under a second predetermined condition different from the first predetermined condition, to others of the base pad spindle assemblies.
- 20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein said first means supplies a high volume flow of vacuum air under a first negative pressure level as said first predetermined condition to said selected ones of the base pad spindle assemblies adjacent which container bodies to be necked have just been fed to the base pad turret, said high volume flow of vacuum air being sufficient to suck the container bottom wall onto the associated base pad spindle.
- 21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein said second means supplies a low volume flow of vacuum air, relative to said high volume flow, under a second negative pressure level as said second predetermined condition and which is different from the first negative pressure level, to said other base pad spindles located at rotational positions on the base pad turret downstream from those positions in communication with said first means, said low volume flow and second pressure level being sufficient to hold said container bodies to their base pads while necking-in forces are applied to the container open end.
- 22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein said first negative pressure level is in the range of 5-7 inches mercury and said second pressure level is in the range of about 17-19 inches mercury.
- 23. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein said suction supplying means includes:
- i) a wear plate and means for mounting said wear plate for co-rotation with the base pad turret, said wear plate including pairs of radially adjacent different diameter first and second ports formed at circumferentially spaced intervals on and wear plate;
- ii) a vacuum distribution manifold and means for mounting said manifold stationarily adjacent and in sliding contact with one side of said wear plate, said manifold including at least one circumferentially extending first slot located at the same first radius as the first radius of the first port to communicate with an inlet side thereof, and at least one circumferentially extending second slot located at the same second radius as the second radius of the second port to communicate with an inlet side thereof and located downstream from the first slot;
- iii) means for supplying suction to the first slot to achieve said first negative pressure level, and means for supplying other suction to the second slot to achieve said second negative pressure level; and
- iv) means, co-rotatable with the wear plate and adapted for communication with the outlet side of each first and port, for transmitting suction to said base pads;
- wherein base pads in communication with the first slot through the first port(s) are subjected to the first negative pressure level and other base pads in communication with the second slot through the second ports are subjected to the second negative pressure level.
- 24. The apparatus of claim 21, further comprising locking means mounted on the tooling disc turret for limiting movement of said externally mounted necking means towards said first and second members under a predetermined supply condition of container bodies to said apparatus.
RELATED APPLICATION
This application is a continuation-in-part of co-pending application Ser. No. 07/884,810, filed May 15, 1992, entitled "Spin Flow Necking Apparatus and Method of Handling Containers Therein", now abandoned.
US Referenced Citations (19)
Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
884810 |
May 1992 |
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