US2152109A - Garment hanger machine - Google Patents

Description

March 28, 1939.

F. B. TODD I 2,152,109

GARMENT HANGER MACHINE Filed March 24,v 1938 s Sheets-Sheet 1 7&1 M2 25 23 Z INVENTOR M F 19. Todd I z v ATTORNEY March-28, 193 9., TODD 2,152,109

' GARMENT HANGER MACHINE Filed March 24, 1958 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR BY ,Todd

ATTORNEY March 28, 1939. TODD 2,152,109

GARMENT HANGER MACHINE Filed March 24, 1938 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR Y 17 Tadd ATTORNEY GARMENT HANGER MACHINE Filed March 24, 1938 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR ATTORNEY March 28, 1939. 5 TQDD 2,152,109

GARMENT HANGER MACHINE Filed March 24, 19 58 5 Sheets- Sheet Fir- /3Z /ZZ5 5 34 A26 I [golf /z/ 11L Mfr INVENTOR BY 1 7,5. 7002a W/%fimm ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 28, 1939 UNITED STATES PATNT 13 Claims.

My invention relates to wire forming machinery and more particularly contemplates the provision of a machine for forming wire garment hangers.

My invention further contemplates improvements in a machine of this kind whereby a large number of hangers may be formed per minute without causing excessive vibration of the parts and breakage of the parts.

My invention further contemplates the provision of a forming machine designed to produce a better looking hanger and one having greater strength.

My invention embodies other novel features, details of construction, and arrangement of parts which are hereinafter set forth in the specification and claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, forming part thereof, where- Fig. 1 is a plan view of my. improved machine;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary plan view of the feed carriage employed for carrying the wire blank into engagement with the forming plate, and showing the feed carriage in its inoperative position;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, showing the inward position of the feed carriage with respect to the forming plate;

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view of the feed carriage, showing the fingers employed for centering the wire blank;

Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view of the cam employed for moving the feed carriage;

Fig. 6 is a detail sectional view of the shoulder forming mechanism, showing same in its forming position;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary View showing the manner in which the forming dies act with the form plate to form the shoulder portion of the hangers;

Fig. 8 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the inner ends of the forming dies and a portion of the form plate;

. Fig. 9 is a detail sectional view taken along the line IXIX of Fig. 8, showing the forming dies engaging the ends of the wire blank to center same;

Fig. 10 is a view similar to Fig. 9, showing the 50 forming dies in their inward position;

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary detail view of the twister mechanism, showing the means employed for rotating the twister head for twisting the ends of the wire blank together prior to the 55 hook forming operation.

Fig. 12 is a sectional detail view showing the means employed for moving the twister head into and out of engagement with the ends of the wire blank;

Fig. 13 is a detail elevational view of the twister head;

Fig. 14 is a front View of the twister head;

Fig. 15 is a fragmentary plan view of the hook forming mechanism;

Fig. 16 is a sectional view taken along the line XVIXVI 'of Fig. 15, showing the hook forming mechanism;

Fig. 17 is a detail sectional view of the hook forming mechanism at the completion of the hook forming operation;

Fig. 18 is a detail sectional view of the cam and lever means employed to move the hook forming mechanism into and out of engagement with the work;

Fig. 19 is a detail sectional view showing the work discharge mechanism; and

Fig. 20 is a detail view showing the type of wire hanger formed on my machine.

Referring now to the drawings for a better understanding of my invention, I show a machine comprising a frame ll provided with bearing brackets l2 secured at the corners thereof to receive the shafts I3, I l, I5,.and l6. Bevel gears I! and I8 are secured at the ends of the shaft I3 for engagement with bevel gears l9 and 20, respectively, mounted on the shafts M and 15, respectively. A bevel gear 2| is secured on the shaft l5 to drive the bevel gear 22 secured on the end of the shaft l6. These shafts are driven by means of a gear 23 mounted on the shaft 13 and from any suitable source of power (not shown).

Feed carriage mechanism Referring now more particularly to Figs. 1 to 5, inclusive, I show a form plate 26 which is secured in a horizontal plane to the bottom of a cross frame member 21 by means of screws 28. The ends of the cross frame member being secured to the frame ll. Afeed carriage 29 is mounted for reciprocation in front of the form plate 26 by means of guide rods 3| which are mounted in bearings 32, provided on the frame II, and bearings 33 provided on the cross frame member 34. p

The feed carriage 29 is provided with an arm 36 which carries a roller 31 at its end for engagement with a cam 38 secured on the shaft IS. A bearing 39 is mounted on the frame H to receive the arm 36. A pair of feeder arms 4| are employed to position the wire blanks, one at a time, between the feed carriage 29 and the form plate 26. As these feeder arms form no part of the present invention a further description of the construction and operation of same have been reserved for another application. A pair of fingers G3 are provided at each end of the feed carriage to carry the wire blanks 42 from the feeder arms to the form plate; and a pair of forming members 44 are provided on the feed carriage to act with the form plate to form the wire blanks and to hold same against displacement throughout the following forming operations.

A pair of forming arms 36 are pivotally mounted on the under side of the feed carriage 29 and provided with upturned fingers 41 for engagement with the ends of the wire blanks to Wrap same around the ends of the form plate 26 as the feed carriage moves forwardly. The arms 46 are actuated by means of connecting links 48 which have their one ends pivotally connected to the arms and their other ends slotted at 49 to receive and engage pins 5i mounted on the frame I I. An adjustment screw 52 is provided at the outer ends of the connecting links; and the inner ends of the connecting links are connected by a tension spring 53.

Shoulder forming mechanism Referring now to Figs. 1 and 6 to 10, inclusive, I show a pair of shoulder forming arms 56 and 51 mounted for reciprocation in bearings 58 and 59, respectively, secured to the inner sides of the frame II. Rollers GI and 62 are provided on the outer ends of the arms for engagement in cam slots 63 and 64 formed in the earns 66 and 61, respectively. The cam 66 is secured on the shaft I4 and the cam 61 is secured on the shaft I5. Forming dies 68 and 66 are secured on the inner ends of the forming arms and are preferably adjustably mounted thereon by'means of screws II.

The upper end of the forming die 68 is formed with a projecting centering lug 12; and the lower end of the die 69 is formed with a projecting centering lug 13. Slots 14 and 16 are formed in the ends of the dies 68 and 69, respectively, and at the base of the centering lugs to receive the ends of the wire blanks. The forming dies act with the form plate 26 to form the shoulder portion of the hangers and act with a tongue portion 11 on the form plate to cause the free ends of the wire blanks to project rearwardly in a horizontal plane and in parallel relationship.

Twisting mechanism Referring now to Figs. 1 and 11 to 14, inclusive, I show a twisting mechanism comprising a shaft 8| provided with a twister head 82 and journaled in bearings 83 and 8d. The shaft is moved axially by means of a cam 86 formed with a cam slot 81 to receive a roller 88 mounted on one end of a push rod 89.

The push rod 89 is mounted for axial movement in bearings 9I and engages one end of a connecting link 92 having its other end pivotally engaging a lever 93. The lever 93 is pivotally mounted on a bearing 9d secured to the frame I l and has pins 96 mounted in its free end for encollar 98 .mounted on a lever I01 intermediate its ends.

The upper end of the lever is pivotally mounted on a bearing bracket I63 and its lower end is pivotally connected to a connecting link I99. The other end of the connecting link is pivotally connected to a gear segment I I I mounted for pivotal movement on a stud bearing H2 secured to the frame II. The gear segment meshes with a pinion gear II3 which is keyed to the shaft 8| to prevent relative rotational movement and yet permit relative axial movement. A finger H4 is mounted on the frame II to engage in a slot IIB formed in the hub of the pinion gear. A compression spring II1 is mounted on the shaft BI between the bearing 83 and the twister head 82; and a compression spring H8 is mounted on the shaft BI between the bearing 33 and a lock collar IIS secured to the shaft. The twister head and the shaft 8| are formed with a slot I2!) to receive he ends of the wire blank.

H ook forming mechanism Referring now to Figs. 1 and 15 to 18, inclusive, I show a hook forming mechanism comprising a rocking frame I2I pivotally mounted on bearings I22 and formed with an actuating arm I23. A hook forming arm I 2% is journaled in the frame and provided with a crank arm I26 the end of which is pivotally connected to a stop member I21 slotted at I28 to receive a pin I28 mounted on a bracket ISI on the frame. An adjustment screw I32 is mounted in the end of the stop member. A cable clamp I33, secured to the end of a cable I 34, is also pivotally connected to the end of the crankarm I26; and a roller I36 is mounted on the end of the hook forming arm I24. Another hook forming'arm I 31 is journaled on the frame I2! and carries a roller I38 at its end to coact with the roller I36 to form the hook on the wire blank. The roller I38 is formed with grooves I39 to receive the end of the Wire blank. A sprocket gear IQ! is secured to the arm I31.

The frame I2I is moved up and down by means of a cam I 32 having a cam slot Hi3 adapted to receive a roller M4 mounted on a rocking lever I46 at its lower end. The lever I 46 is pivotally mounted intermediate its ends on a bracket I41 mounted on the frame II and has its upper end engaging the actuating arm I 23 through a connecting link I48. The length of the connecting link Hi8 may be adjusted by means of a turnbuckle Ite. A wire positioning lever IEI is pivotally mounted on a bracket I52. provided on the cross frame member 3 5 and has its end pivotally connected to a connecting link I50 which, in turn, is pivotally connected to the frame I 2|.

The cable I35 is connected to one end of a sprocket chain I53 which extends around the sprocket I54, sprocket I I I, and then has its other end connected to one end of a tension spring I55 connected to the frame member 21. The sprocket I55 is journaled in a bracket I56 pivotally mounted on the upper end of a rocking lever I51. This lever is pivotally mounted adjacent its center on a bracket I58 provided on the frame I I and carries a roller I 59 at its lower end for engagement with a cam I6I secured on the shaft I5.

Discharge mechanism Referringnow to Figs. 1 and 19. I show a discharge mechanism comprising a discharge plate I66 provided with a pair of vertically disposed kick-off rods I61 mounted in bearings I65 provided on the cross member 21. An arm I 69 is also provided on the plate I 66 to act with the rods I61 to remove the finished hangers from the form plate. Compression springs III are interposed between the plate I56 and the bearings. I68 to yieldably resist a downward movement of the discharge plate. A pair of rocker arms I72 and "3 are pivotally mounted on the cross member 21 and having their upper ends engaging the discharge plate while their lower ends .are provided with rollers IM- and I75, respectively, for engagement with cams IT! and H8, respectively. The cams I11 and I78 are secured on the shafts I4 and I5, respectively.

In the operation of my machine, the wire blanks 42 are carried from their position on the feed arms 4| to the form plate 26 by means of the feed carriage 29 which is actuated by the cam 38. The fingers #13, which form a V-shaped recess onthe front of the feed carriage, serve to, position the wire blanks against the form plate where they are then formed and held against displacement by the forming lugs 44. The form plate and the forming lugs act to indent the trouser support bar 208 of the wire hanger 20!. The feeding movement of the feed carriage also causesthe connecting links 43' to pivot the forming arms. 46 about their axes to bend the wire blanks around the corners of the form plate 26. The tension spring 5;; acts to pivot the forming arms M5 on the return stroke of the feeding carriage to take up the lost motion between the connecting links 48 and the pins 5|.

While the wire blank is being held in position on the form plate by the forming lugs 44 and fingers 4'! of the forming arms 46, the shoulder forming arms 56 and 57 are caused to move inwardly by their respective cams 6'6 and BI. The forming dies 58 and 69 act with the form plate to form the shoulder portion 202 of the hangers. The forward ends of the dies are provided with positioning lugs I2 and I3 and slots I4 and It to accurately position the wire blank ends on the form. plate 26 and act with the tongue 11 to bend the ends of the wire outwardly from the form plate for the twisting operation. The forming dies hold the wire blank in position on the forming plate during the twisting operation, and the positioning lugs are arranged to carry the thrust of the wire ends during the twisting operation. As viewed in Fig. 10, the wire ends are twisted in a clockwise direction in order that the lugs I2 and I3 will prevent displacement of the wire.

In the twisting operation to form the twist 203 in the hanger, the cam 86 acts through the push rod 89, connecting link 92, lever 93, and shaft 8I to move the twister head 82 forward to receive the ends of the wire blank in the slot I20. The twister head 82 is then rotated by means of the cam I03 which acts through the lever III'I, connecting link I69, gear segment III, and pinion gear I I3 mounted on the shaft 8I. After the ends of the wire have been twisted together, the twister head is moved rearwardly by the cam 86. The springs III and IIB serve to overcome the momentum of the moving parts.

The frame I2l of the hook forming mechanism is next lowered to form the hook 203 of the hanger. The frame I2I is actuated by the cam I42 acting through a rocking lever I46 and connecting link M8. In forming the hook, the cam IGI acts through a rocking lever I5'I to move the gear sprocket I54 away from the frame I2I, thereby pulling the crank arm I26 until the stop screw I32 strikes the stop pin I29. The axis of the roller I36 is then positioned in alignment with the axis of the arm I31 and a further movement of the sprocket I54 causes the chain I53 to rotate the gear sprocket IM which acts to bring the roller I38 around the roller I36 to form the hook. The rollers are then returned to their first position by means of the spring I30 which is under tension; and the frame is moved to its upper position by the cam I42.

The finished hanger is next discharged downwardly from the form plate 26 by the downward movement of the fingers I6! and I69 actuated by the cams I11 and I18 through the rocking levers I72 and I13. The springs I'II act to return these parts to their first position.

While I have shown my invention in but one form it is obvious to those skilled in the art that it is not so limited but is susceptible of various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit thereof; and I desire, therefore, that only such limitations shall be placed thereupon as are imposed by the prior art.

I claim:

1. In a machine for forming wiregarment hangers, the combination with a form plate, of

a feed carriage for carrying wire blanks to the form plate, forming arms pivotally mounted on the underside of the feed carriage, upturned fingers provided on the forming arms for engagement with the ends of the wire blanks, and connecting links having their inner ends pivotally connected to the forming arms and their outer ends engaging the frame of the machine for actuating the forming arms to bend the wire blanks around the form plate.

2. In a machine for forming wire garment hangers, the combination with a form plate, of a feed carriage for carrying wire blanks to the form plate, cam means for actuating said feed carriage, forming arms pivotally mounted on the feed carriage, connecting links having their one ends connected to the forming arms and their other end engaging the frame of the machine, and tension spring means connecting the connecting links adjacent their ends connecting the forming arms.

3. A machine according to claim. 2 in which, blank positioning fingers are provided on the feed carriage to position the blanks on the form p ate.

4. A machine according to claim 2 in which, forming lugs are provided on the feed carriage to act with the form plate to form the wire blank.

5. In a machine for forming wire garment hangers, the combination with a form plate, of a pair of reciprocating dies to coact with the form plate to form the shoulder portion of the wire hangers, and positioning lugs provided on the reciprocating dies for positioning the wire blank between the dies and the form plate during the shoulder forming operation.

6. A machine according to claim 5 in which, slots are formed at the base of the positioning lugs to receive the wire blank.

'I. In a machine for forming wire garment hangers, a hook forming frame, a pair of arms pivotally mounted on said frame, a roller provided on each arm for engagement with the wire blank to form a hook portion thereon, common means for moving said arms, and means for moving the hook forming frame into and out of operating position with respect to the wire blank.

8. In a machine for forming wire garment hangers, a hook forming frame, a pair of arms pivotally mounted on said frame, a roller provided on each of said arms for engagement with the wire blanks to form a hook portion thereon, common means for moving said arms, means for moving the hook forming frame into and out of operating position with respect to the wire blank being formed, and means actuated by the hook forming frame for positioning the end of the wire blank with respect to the rollers prior to the hook forming operation.

9. In a machine for forming wire garment hangers, a hook forming frame, a pair of arms pivotally mounted on said frame, a roller provided on each of said arms for engagement with the wire blanks to form a hook portion thereon, a flexible connection engaging the arms to pivot I same, cam actuated means for operating the flexible connection, adjustable stop means provided on one of said arms to limit the movement of same, means for moving the hook forming frame into and out of operating position with respect to the wire blank being formed, and means for positioning the end of the wire blank with respect to the rollers prior to the hook forming operation.

10. In a machine for forming wire garment hangers, the combination with a form plate, of a feed carriage for carrying wire blanks to the form plate, means for actuating said feed carriage, forming arms pivotally mounted on the feed carriage, upturned fingers provided onthe :1, i forming arms for engagement with the ends of the wire blanks, connecting links having their inner ends pivotally connected to their respective forming arms and their outer ends engaging the frame of the machine, and tension spring means connecting the connecting'links adjacent their inner ends.

1. In a machine for forming wire garment hangers, the combination with a form plate, of a feed carriage for carrying wire blanks to the form plate, means for actuating said fee-d carriage, forming arms pivotally mounted on the underside of the feed carriage, upturned fingers provided on the forming arms for engagement with the ends of the wire blanks, connecting links having their inner ends pivotally connected to their respective forming arms and their outer ends engaging the frame of the machine, tension spring means connecting the connecting links adjacent their inner ends, and adjustment means for regulating the pivotal movement of the forming arms.

12. In a machine for forming wire garment hangers, the combination with a form plate secured to the frame of the machine, of a feed carriage for carrying wire blanks to the form plate, cam means for actuating said feed carriage, forming arms pivotally mounted on the underside of the feed carriage, upturned fingers provided on the forming arms for engagement with the ends of the wire blanks to bend same around the form plate, connecting links having their inner ends pivotally connected to their respective forming arms, means defining slots in the outer ends of the connecting links, pins mounted on the frame of the machine for engagement in their respective slots formed in the connecting links, and adjustment screws provided on the connecting links for engagement with said pins.

13. In a machine for forming Wire garment hangers, the combination with a form plate secured to the frame of the machine, of'a feed carriage for carrying wire blanks to the form plate, cam means for actuating said feed carriage, forming arms pivotally mounted on the feed carriage for bending the ends of the wire .blanks around the form plate, connecting links having their inner ends pivotally connected to their respective forming arms and their outer ends engaging the frame of the machine, a pair FRANCIS B. TODD.

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