US1302649A - Hopper-feed for woodworking-machines. - Google Patents

Description

A. E. FOLSOM. HOPPER FEED FOR WOODWORKING MACHINES.

APPLICATION m'zb' um. 4, 191 r 1,302,649. v Patented May 6,1919.

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A. E. FOLSOM. HOPPERFEED FOR WOODWORKING MACHINES.

APPucM'on FILED JAN. 4, 1917.

1,302,649. Patented May 6, 1919.

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fame/afar A. E. FOLSOIVIL HOPPER FEED FOR WOODWORKING MACHINES.

Patented May 6, 1919s:

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APPLICATION FILED JAN. 4. 191?.

11 ll STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ARTHUR E. FOLSOM, 0F WINGHENDON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO WILLIAM M.

WHITNEY, OF WINCHENDON, MASSACHUSETTS.

HOPPER-FEED FOR WOODWORKING-MACHINES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 6, 1919.

Application filed January 4, 1917. Serial No. 140,630.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ARTHUR E. FoLso vr, a citizen of the United States, residing at W'inchendon, county of \Vorcester, and State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Hopper-Feeds for Woodworking-Machines, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like characters on the drawings representing like parts.

The invention to be hereinafter described relates to wood werking machines, and more particularly to such machines known as surface planers.

In machines of this type, it is usual to provide a cutter for acting upon the work and to feed the work to the cutter by means of feed rolls rotated at such a speed that the wooden pieces to be planed may have imparted thereto a substantially smooth surface. Since the planing cutter moves in a circular arc, and the wooden pieces move in a rectilinear path, there is a tendency to produce a series of small ridges and alternating depressions on the surface of the wooden pieces, and these will be more or less apparent according to the relative speed of the cutters and pieces being planed. For the best results the speed of the wooden pieces past the cutting station should be such that these ridges and depressions shall be small and not prominently apparent, and to this end it is the common practice to rotate the feed rollers relatively slower than the cutters, yet not so slow as to materially interfere with economic production.

The feed rollers are usually of the sectiona] type, each section of which is yieldingly mounted for automatic movement toward the work or the opposite feed roll, so that should a piece be fed to the cutters or planer knives and pass from between the feed rolls before the next piece enters be tween the rollers, the sectionpf the opposed feed rollers move toward each other, and must be separated by the following piece to be planed which will require to be pushed in the line of feed. In orderalso that the planer knives may actupon the surface of the pieces successively without danger of chipping or splintering, it is desirable that the pieces be fed to the knives in a direction diagonal to the grains of the wood, or, where the grain runs longitudinally of the pieces, diagonally to the direction of feed. An important feature of the present invention, therefore, consists of a hopper for holding a plurality of pieces to be planed and a smooth surfaced belt having a surface speed greater than that of the feed rolls for taking the pieces successively from the hopper and delivering them in a diagonal direction to the feed rolls. By the use of a smooth surfaced belt, the pieces to be planed may enter the control of the more slowly moving feed rolls by which. they are passed to the cutters, without interrupting the continuous movement of the feed belt, because the latter may move freely beneath the piece Without effecting its movement by the feed rolls. At

such times, however, it is desirable that the weight or pressure of the piece upon the smooth surface of the belt may be relieved in order to lessen the friction that would otherwise occur to the detriment to the relatively fast moving belt.

Another important feature of the present invention, therefore, consists in mounting a pair of the feed rolls in such relation that, when they engage the piece delivered to them by the smooth surfaced belt, they will tend to lift or raise the wooden piece sufficiently to relieve the belt of excessive friction.

Still another feature of the invention consists in a hopper for containing a series of superposed pieces to be planed and holding them in a diagonal position relatively to the feed movement, the effect being that when the lowermost piece of the series is moved by thebelt into control of the feed rolls, the next piece will be moved with its leading end overlapping side by side the trailing end of the preceding piece.

The above and other features of the invention will be hereinafter described in connection with the accompanying drawings showing one good practical form of the invention, and then be definitely set forth by the claims.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a plan view showing sui'licient portions of a surface planer to make clear the application of the present invention thereto;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the parts shown byFig. 1;

Figs. 3, 4L and 5 arerdiagranmiatic views showing by Fig. 3 a piece to be planed being fed by the rapidly moving belt, by Fig. 4

the same piece and its relation to the belt and feed rolls as it enters the control of the latter, and by Fig. 5 the same-piece after it has finally entered under the full control of the feed rolls.

The machine frame 1 may be of any desired form or character for the suitable support of the operating parts. Mounted in suitable bearings 2 supported by the machine frame is a planing cutter 3 c rrying the usual knives 1 for acting upon the surface of the work. These parts, as well as the adjusting features for changing the position'of the planing or surfacing cutter 3, may all be as usual in this class of machines, and being well understood by those skilled in the art, need no further elucidation.

Rising from the machine frame are the supports 5 in which is mounted transversely of the machine frame, the bar or rod 6. A sleeve 7 is sustained by the bar or rod 6 and is adjustably held thereto by suitable means such as the set screws 8, the construction being such that by proper manipulation of the set screws 8, the sleeve 7 may be adjusted to different positions transversely of the machine. Secured to or formed as part of the sleeve 7 is a bearing or sleeve 9, Fig. 2, sub stantially at right angles to the sleeve 7, and secured in said hearing by suitable means such as the screws 11 is the pin 10, which also passes loosely through lugs 12 projecting from the hopper 13. V

The present invention contemplates that the hopper 13 be adjustable relative to its supports, for a purpose that will presently appear, and to this end the hopper 13 has adjustably threaded in a lug 14 thereof, an adjusting screw 15, the lower end whereof rests upon the upper end of the pin 10, and is provided with a lock or set nut 16, the construction being such that by turning the adjusting screw 15 the hopper may be raised or lowered and held in adjusted position. The amount of such adjustment is dependent upon the difference between the length of the bearing 9 and the distance between the lugs 12.

When the hopper is in operative position as indicated by full lines, Fig. 1, an adjusting screw 17 bears upon an abutment 18 secured to the machine frame 1. From the construction described it will be noted that the hopper may be moved to operative position,'as indicated in full lines, Fig. 1, or by turning it up, it may be placed in an inoperative position, as indicated by dotted lines, Fig. 2. In moving it to its inoperative position the bar or rod 6 may be turned in its bearings 5, or the screws 8 may be loosened as the hopper be turned about the rod 6.

The hopper 13 is of the open bottom type and has two walls which are secured together at substantially right angles, as shown, the construction being such that wooden pieces 19, which may be of rectangular shape, may be positioned by the hopper relative to the line of feed by placing the ends of the pieces against one wall and the sides against the other.

As hereinbefore indicated, it is desirable that the wooden pieces be presented diagonally to the line of feed, and to this end the hopper 13 is adapted to be turned into the desired position about the axis of the pin 10 as a center. Usually the hopper will remain in adjusted angular position due to the weight of parts, but if desired, means such as the set screw 20, may be employed to secure it in such position.

Mounted in suitable bearings 21 carried by the machine frame is a roller 22 about which passes the endless belt 23 having a smooth uninterrupted surface which travels beneath the hopper 13, the other turn of the belt being supported by a roller 24. The roller 24 is preferably mounted in sliding boxes 25 carried in slots 26 formed on a supporting frame 27 pivotally connected at 28 to the machine frame or a part, such as the wedge piece 29, carried by the frame. A suitable adjusting screw 30 serves to adjust the roller 24 to take up any objectionable slack in the belt 23.

It is sometimes desirable to adjust the upper run of the smooth surfaced belt 23 to facilitate placing the wooden pieces on the belt for movement to the hopper, and in the present instance of the invention the frame 27 has secured thereto preferably by pivotal connections 32, the yoke 31 into the socket 33 of which extends the upper end 34 of an adjusting stem 35, the lower end of which is threaded into a support 36, preferably mounted to rock in brackets 37 projecting from the machine frame. From the construction described, it will be obvious that by rotating the stem by the hand-wheel 38 the outer portion of the smooth surfaced belt 23 may be apjn'opriately raised or lowered to facilitate the work of the attendant in placing the wooden pieces on the upper run of the smooth surfaced belt for transmission to the hopper 13, and when in adjusted position may be locked by a set screw 39 or other suitable means.

The wooden pieces are usually placed upon the front portion of the upper run of the smooth surfaced belt by an attendant who guides them in a. general direction to be carried to the hopper by the belt, or he may reach over the belt and place the pieces directly in the hopper. To avoid injury to the attendant a guard piece -10 is secured to the frame 27 in front of the roller 24 and belt 23.

From the construction thus far disclosed, it will be seen that pieces of wood placed in or carried to the hopper 13 by the belt, will be positioned by the hopper diagonally to the line of feed, and since the belt is below the open bottom of the hopper the wooden pieces will be taken one after the other by the smooth surfaced belt and be by it delivered to the feed rolls. as will more fully appear.

Located between the hopper 13 and the cutter 3 are the feed rolls. In the present instance of the invention two pairs of feed rolls are shown, each comprising an upper feed roll and a lower feed roll. These may be of usual construction and be mounted and rotated in usual manner. As indicated in Fig. 1, the upper feed rolls 41 and 42 are mounted in suitable boxes upon which rests the yoke 44 normally under the influence of a spring acting to forcibly depress the upper feed rolls. In the present invention the spring 45 is mounted on a rod 46, the upper end of the spring bearing upon a fixed abutment 47 and the lower end upon a plate 48 connected to the lower end of the rod 46. To adjust the spring tension, a hand wheel 49 is threaded to the upper end of the rod 46 and bears upon the yoke 44, suitable lock nuts 50 being employed to lock the parts in adjusted position.

The lower feed rolls 51 and 52 are carried in boxes mounted in the support 53 or other suitable sustaining means carried by the machine frame, and means such as the adjusting bolts 54 serve to adjust the lower feed rolls to place their top feeding surfaces in a plane slightly above the plane of the smooth surfaced belt 23. The upper and lower feed rolls may be rotated by any suitable means and caused to rotate in unison by idle gear connections, such as at 55.

As hereinbefore noted, it is a purpose of the invention that the smooth surfaced belt 23 shall be moved at a greater surface speed than the surface speed of the feed rolls, and to this end any suitable means may be employed. In the present instance, however, the roller 22 is driven by a multiplying train of gears 56, 57 from the driving means, such as the gear 58, the construction being such that the feed roll will be driven at the appropriate slower speed and the smooth surfaced belt will be driven at a relatively higher speed.

From the construction described it will be apparent that as the leading end of the wooden piece to be planed passes between the feed rolls, its leading end will be slightly raised and this lifting action of the feed rolls will be emphasized as the wooden piece passes fully between the bite of the upper and lower feed rolls. This action is well indic ated by Figs. 3 and 4. In Fig. 8 the wooden piece 19 is shown as resting upon the smooth surfaced belt and starting from the hopper in the direction of feed movement. As the leading end of the wooden strip enters between the first pair of feed rolls its leading end is slightly raised, thereby relieving the more rapidly moving smooth surfaced belt from excessive friction and further emphasizing this action as the wooden piece 19 passes fnlly between the bite and into the control of the upper and lower feed rolls.

This relief from friction which the rapidly moving belt experiences is an important feature of the invention as it enables a rapidly moving smooth surfaced belt to be employed for rapidly delivering wooden pieces to the more slowly moving feed rolls without experiencing destructive wear when the wooden piece is retarded by the feed roll control. A further feature of the invention proposes that when the wooden strip has been moved in the line of feed so thatits leading end enters between the bite of the second pair of feed rolls, the belt be further relieved from injurious frictional engagement with the wooden piece, and to this end the axis of th lower feed roll of the second pair, such as 42, 52, is placed slightly nearer the smooth surfaced belt, the effect being that as the end of the wooden piece passes between the second pair of feed rolls, the tendency is to lift the wooden piece and lessen the friction on the belt 23. This is graphically shown by Fig. 5 which is somewhat exaggerated to make clear this feature of the invention.

From the construction described as a good form of the present invention, it will be seen that the wooden pieces are adapted to be received by the hopper 13 and positioned there by in a diagonal relation to the line of feed, the lowermost piece resting on the smooth surfaced belt 23. The hopper being adjusted the proper distance above the belt 23 to permit the lowermost wooden piece to pass along with the belt, the piece will be rapidly moved toward the feed rolls while diagonally related thereto and then the more slowly moving feed rolls take control and reduce the speed of feed. At this time the rapidly mov ing belt moves under the wooden strip and excessive or objectionable frictional wear is prevented by the lifting action of the feed rolls upon the wooden piece. As the next wooden piece in the hopper drops upon the smooth surfaced belt, it will be moved rapidly forward in the line of feed to cause the leading end of the second piece to overlap the trailing end of the preceding piece, the effect being that the feed roll does not drop as the first piece passes from between the first pair of rolls in the line of feed, but

one piece may be caused to overtake and noye along the preceding strip substantially as lndicated in Fig. 1. The diagonal feed is also desirable in presenting the strips or wooden pieces to the cutter in a position not liable to cause splintering of the wooden pieces or strips.

What is claimed is:

V 1. In a surface planing machine, the combination of a cutter for acting upon the surface of Wooden strips, feed rolls for feeding the strips to the cutter, a hopper for holding a series of wooden strips in diagonal relation to the axis of the feed rolls, and a smooth surfaced belt for taking the wooden strips successively from the hopper and mov ing them to the feed rolls in diagonal relation thereto.

2. In a surface planing machine, the combination of a cutter for acting upon the surface of wooden strips, feed rolls for feeding the strips to the cutter, a hopper for holding a series of wooden strips in diagonal relation to the axis of the feed rolls, a smooth surfaced belt for feeding the wooden strips in succession from the hopper and moving them in diagonal relation to the feed rolls, and means for moving the belt at a greater surface speed than the feed rolls to cause the leading end of a succeeding strip being fed from the hopper by the rapidly moving belt to overlap the trailing end of a preceding strip being fed by the feed rolls.

3. In a machine of the character de scribed, the combination of a cutter to act upon the surface of wooden strips, feed rolls for feeding strips to the cutter, a hopper for holding a series of wooden strips in diagonal relation to the feed rolls, a smooth surfaced belt on which the lowest wooden strip of the series rests, and means for moving the smooth surfaced belt at greater surface speed than the feed rolls to feed a wooden strip to the feed rolls in diagonal relation thereto with its end overlapping the trailing end of the preceding strip.

4. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a smooth surwooden strips to the feed rolls in a diagonal relation thereto with the leading endof one strip extending toward the feed rolls be yond the trailing end of a preceding strlp.

5. In a wood planing machine, the combination of a planing cutter, a hopper for containing wooden pieces to be planed, a smooth surfaced belt'for feeding the wooden pieces successively from the hopper, upper and lower feed rolls between the smooth surfaced belt and planing cutter for gripping a wooden piece delivered thereto by the smooth surfaced belt, the gripping surfaces of the feed rolls acting to lift the advancing end of the wooden pieces to relieve friction between the smooth surface belt and wooden piece, and means for giving greater surface speed to the smooth surfaced belt than to the feed rolls.

6. In a machine of the character described the combination of a cutter, a hopper, a smooth surfaced belt supported below the hopper, two pair of feed rolls between the belt and cutter, each pair comprising an upper and a lower feed roll, means for rotating the feed rolls, means for imparting a surface speed to the belt greater than the surface speed of the feed rolls, and means for supporting the feed rolls with the axis of the lower feed roll of one pair in a vertical plane nearer the smooth surfaced belt than the vertical plane passing through the axis of the upper feed roll of the same pair that the pressure on the belt of the wood piece to be planed may be relieved as the piece passes between the feed rolls.

7. In a planing machine, the combination of a cutter, a hopper for containing a plurality of pieces to be treated by the cutter, a feed belt below the hopper having a smooth unobstructed surface for carrying the pieces from the hopper, upper and lower feed rolls between the hopper and cutter mounted with the axis of the lower feed roll in a vertical plane nearer the belt than the vertical plane passing through the axis of the upper feed roll that the pressure of the piece upon the smooth surfaced belt may be relieved as the piece passes between the nip of the feed rolls, and means for operating the belt at a greater surface speed than the feed rolls.

8. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a cutter, a hopper for containing a plurality of pieces to be treated by the cutter, a smooth surfaced feed belt for feeding the pieces from the hopper toward the cutter, and means between the belt and cutter for retarding the speed of the pieces as they are successively fed by the smooth surfaced feed belt toward the cutter and relieving the belt from the pressure of said pieces as they are retarded to prevent excessive wear of the belt.

9. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a cutter, feed rolls for feeding wooden pieces to the cutter, a hopper for containing a plurality of wooden pieces diagonally arranged with relation to the axis of the feed rolls, means for adjusting the hopper for changing the diagonal relation of the wooden pieces and feed rolls, and a smooth surfaced belt to which the wooden pieces are successively delivered in diagonal relation to the feed movement of the belt, and means for moving the smooth surfaced feed belt at a higher speed than the surface speed of the feed rolls.

10. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a rotary cutter,

feed rolls for feeding wooden pieces thereto,

a feed belt having a smooth unobstructed feed surface, a hopper for supporting a series of wooden pieces in diagonal relation to the direction of feed movement of the belt with the lowermost piece resting on the smooth surface of the belt, and means giving the smooth surfaced feed belt its feed movement for feeding wooden pieces in succession to the feed rolls.

11. In a machine of the character clescribed, the combination of a rotary cutter, feed rolls for feeding wooden pieces thereto, a feed belt having a smooth unobstructed feed surface, a hopper for supporting a series of wooden pieces in diagonal relation to the direction of feed movement of the belt with the lowermost piece resting on the smooth surface of the belt, and means giving the smooth surfaced feed belt its feed movement for feeding wooden pieces in succession to the feed rolls, and means for adjusting the hopper to change the angular relation of the wooden pieces and feed belt.

12. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a frame, a rotary cutter mounted thereon, a smooth surfaced feed belt, a hopper supported above the smooth surfaced feed belt for containing a plurality of wooden pieces in diagonal re lation with the axis of the cutter, feed rolls between the feed belt and cutter, two rollers about which the smooth surfaced feed passes, a support for sustaining one of said rollers beyond the end of the frame, and means for adjusting the vertical position of said roller to vary the inclination of the belt, and means for operating the belt.

13. In a machine of the character de-. scribed, the combination of a frame, a rotary cutter mounted thereon, a smooth surfaced feed belt, a hopper supported above the smooth surfaced feed belt for containing a plurality of wooden pieces in diagonal relation with the axis of the cutter, means for adjusting the hopper toward and from the smooth surface of the feed belt, feed rolls between the feed belt and cutter, two rollers about which the I smooth surfaced feed passes, a support for sustaining one of the said rollers beyond the end of the frame, and means for adjusting the vertical position of said roller to vary the inclination of the belt, and means for operating the belt.

14. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a smooth surfaced feed belt, a two sided bottomless hopper for containing a series of wooden pieces with the lowermost piece resting on the smooth surfaced belt, a cutter, feed rolls for feeding wooden pieces from the smooth surfaced belt to the cutter, and means for adjusting the angular relation of the two sided hopper with respect to the lengthwise dimension of the smooth surfaced feed belt to cause the wooden pieces to be delivered by the belt to the feed rolls at the desired angular relation thereto.

15. In a machine of the character de scribed, the combination of asmooth surfaced feed belt, for frictionally feeding a series of wooden pieces, a two sided bottomless hopper for containing wooden pieces with the lowermost piece resting on the smooth surfaced belt diagonal to the line of feed movement of the belt, a cutter, feed rolls for feeding wooden pieces from the smooth surfaced belt to the cutter, and means for adjusting the hopper transversely of the belt and toward and from the belt.

16. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a cutter, feed rolls for feeding wooden pieces to the cutter, a feed belt having a smooth unobstructed feed surface and a hopper pivotally mounted above the feed belt for swinging movement into different positions about its pivotal mounting to present wooden pieces held therein at different angles to the feed movement of the smooth surfaced belt.

17. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a cutter, feed rolls for feeding wooden pieces to the cutter, a feed belt having a smooth unobstructed feed surface and a hopper pivotally mounted above the feed belt for swinging movement into different positions about its pivotal mounting to present wooden pieces held at different angles to the feed movement of the smooth surfaced belt, and means for adjusting the position of the hopper transversely of the smooth surfaced belt.

18. In a machine of the character de scribed, the combination of a smooth surfaced feed belt, a hopper, means for supporting the hopper above the belt, said means comprising a transverse member sustained upon the machine frame, a sleeve mounted on said member and permitting the hopper to be swung bodily upward into an inoperative position, and a sleeve at 'substantially right angles to the transverse member permitting the angular movement of the hopper with respect to the transverse member.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

ARTHUR E. FOLSOM.

Gopies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G."

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