RACHADEIRA WITH CUTTING RIBBON

SCIENCE REFERENCE LIBRARY (54) Title of invention Belt-knife splitting-machine (51) INT CL³;B26D 3/28//1/46 (21) Application No 7832705 (22) Date of filing 9Aug 1978 (73) Proprietor Maschinenfabrik Moenus A.G., Voltastrasse 74-80, 6000 Frankfurt 90, West Germany. (30) Priority data (31) 2736374(32) 12 Aug 1977(33) Fed.Rep of Germany (DE) (43) Application published (72) Inventors Willi Trutschel21 Feb 1979 (45) Patent published 6 Jan 1982 (52) Domestic classification B4B93 97A (56) Documents cited None (74) Agents Gill Jennings & Every, 53/64 Chancery Lane, London, WC2A1 HIM. (58) Field of search B4B (21) Application No 7832705 (22) Date of filing 9Aug 1978 (73) Proprietor Maschinenfabrik Moenus A.G., Voltastrasse 74-80, 6000 Frankfurt 90, West Germany. (30) Priority data (31) 2736374(32) 12 Aug 1977(33) Fed.Rep of Germany (DE) (43) Application published (72) Inventors Willi Trutschel21 Feb 1979 (45) Patent published 6 Jan 1982 (52) Domestic classification B4B93 97A (56) Documents cited None (74) Agents Gill Jennings & Every, 53/64 Chancery Lane, London, WC2A1 HIM. (58) Field of search B4BoCDO O oo LONDON THE PATENT OFFICE 1/52/5Fig. 23/5/⁽.CDu:to^j\\<N^—₍₎—_>^R-Q)fNCO.4/55/5 r GB 2 002 278 B SPECIFICATION Belt-knife splittinig-machine The invention refers to a belt-knife splitting-machine in which the belt knife is held in a knife guide extend­ing across the working width, and a material feed gap arranged in front of the cutting edge of the knife is bounded by a preferably driven lower roller and an upper roller adjustable for height and preferably also for bowing. In the case of known belt-knife splitting-machines the driven lower roller consists of individual mem­bers which with a certain prestress press the ma- terialto be split against the supported upper roller. In this way irregularities in the thickness of the ma­terial, which in the case of hides are unavoidable, can betaken up by the individual members of the lower roller. The tiickness of the useful material to be split off is determined by the position of the upper roller with respect to the position of the cutting edge of the straight belt.-knife and may be altered by an adjustment of the upper roller for height. Numerous materials to be split have at the sides less thickness than in the centre. This applies not only to hides in which the side parts are by nature thinner than on the back and the neck but also to plastics webs (artificial leather) which because of their production are thinner at the edge. If the upper roller runs straight the side parts are no longer grip­ped by the upper and lower rollers, no secure drive results, and above all splitting errors arise so that the desired accuracy which in the case of leather amounts to ± O.OEi mm. and in the case of artificial leatherto ± 0.025 mm, cannot be maintained. If the upper roller is displaced so hard downwards that even the side parts are gripped with certainty by both rollers, the centre part is so highly compressed elastically that because of the unloading after the 40 splitting irregular thicknesses again occur. Belt-knife splitting-machines are again known in which the upper roller can be given a curvature in order to give the useful split at the sides a greater thickness than in the centre. In this way the softer 45 side parts of the hide are split off with a rather grea-terthickness than the back portions lying in the centre, so that after further processing which also comprises strengthening through compression, a piece of leather of continuously uniform thickness is 50 achieved. In the case of this construction there exists a still greater danger that the side parts are no longer gripped by the rollers or respectively that the centre part gets too strongly compressed. The object of the invention is to provide a belt- 55 knife splitting-machine of the kind described initially, by which higher accuracy in splitting can be achieved than hitherto and errors in splitting can be avoided. In accordance with the invention, in a belt-knife 60 splitting-machine having a belt knife guided in a knife guide which extends across the working width, and a material feed gap arranged in front of the cut­ting edge of the knife and bounded by a lower roller and an upper roller which is adjustable for height, 65 the knife guide is Formed on a flexible upper part which is connected by adjustable fastening means to a lower part which is resistant to bending, whereby the knife guide may be given a selected curvature. With this construction the width of the useful split 70 can be set independently of the shape and position of the upper roller. The upper roller can therefore be set with respect to the lower roller in the way which is most favourable for the conveyance of the ma­terial through the machine. The exact thickness of 75 the split and the curve of the thickness of the split is then set by means of the knife guide. In this way errors in splitting can be practically completely avoided. The result is a split material of extremely high accuracy. Since the deviations of the knife guide 80 from a straight line in practical operation only needs to be slight, as a rule less than 1 mm, but the knife guide has a length of several metres no noticeably higher friction occurs between the knife and the knife guide because of this curvature. Structurally the 85 lower part resistant to bending serves as a basis of reference with respect to which the flexible upper part can acquire an accurately definable deforma­tion. Preferably the upper part comprises a longitudinal 90 girderthe height of which is considerably less than its width. In this way the desired flexibility is pro­vided. Furthermore, the upper part may be a hollow gir­der of which at least one vertical wall exhibits 95 weakening cutouts arranged in one longitudinal side. The horizontal walls are readily flexible. The stiffening vertical walls are made flexible by the cut-outs for weakening. The resistance to bending of the lower part should 100 be achieved with the smallest possible outlay in material and weight. To achieve this the lower part may, for example, be stiffened by supporting walls or webs after the style of a truss. It may also be a hollow box stiffened by cross-walls. It is necessary to 105 employ continuously adjustable fastener means. In the case of a preferred construction the fastener means are on the contrary adjustable at the two ends of the upper and lower parts but on the contrary are not adjustable in the middle. Another alternative 110 provides that the fastener means are adjustable in the middle of the upper and lower parts but on the contrary are not adjustable at the two ends. Depend­ing upon whether the belt-knife is to be displaced more frequently at the ends or in the middle, one or 115 other execution may be chosen. But in combination with an adjustment for height the same shapes of useful split between the knife'and the upper roller can be set with both constructions. Furthermore, between each end and the middle at 120 least one further adjustable fastener means may be provided. In this way there result not only bending lines of a predetermined type, but a variety of curva­ture may beset. Furthermore, it is recommendable to provide in 125 the case of at least part of the fastener means at least one hinge each, the axis of which runs in parallel with the axis of curvature of the knife guide. Such a hinge facilitates the free setting of the upper part in dependence upon the adjustment of the fastener 130 means.

GB 2 002 278 B In the case of a preferred construction two hinges are provided, one of which is fastened to the upper part and the other to the lower part, and which are connected together by a screw which adjusts the dis-5 tance apart of the hinges. It is extremely advantageous if the adjustable fas­tener means can be adjusted by motor, e.g. hydrauli-cally, pneumatically or electrically. Then an adjust­ment, e.g. by means of a pedal controlling the ser-10 vomotors, which keeps the hands of the attendant free for handling the material, can be effected even during operation, for example, for adaptation to side parts which over their length have differing structure and thickness. The soft flank parts of a hide may 15 thereby be split by a curve of the knife guide deviat­ing from the straight, whilst the harder front and rear paws may be cut with a straight curve of the knife guide. For example an adjustable fastener means may 20 have a servomotor between the upper and lower parts and an adjustable stop which determines the end position of the upper part. By actuation of the servomotor the knife guide moves into a position defined by the stop. If the servomotor is de-25 energized the knife guide returns into its straight position of rest. Adjustability by motor, in particular with the employment of stops, has the advantage that it may be caused under programmed control, preferably by means of a programming mechanism, 30 in order to alter the curve of the knife guide auto­matically during the splitting process. The lower part may be supported on the bed of the machine where it may, for example, be movable horizontally along a slideway, in order to alter the 35 distance between the cutting edge of the knife and the gap between the upper and lower rollers. But the possibility also exists of holding the upper part at both ends onto the bed of the machine by means of a hinge at each end, so that the lower part 40 acts merely as the stressing mechanism. Then the whole of the knife guide may be adjust­able for height relative to the material feed gap, in orderto enable adaptation to different materials. Some examples of machines constructed in 45 accordance with the invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:- Figure 1 is a front elevation of one machine; Figure 2 is a rather diagrammatic section taken on the line A-A in Figure 1; 50 Figures is a longitudinal section taken on the line C-C in Figure 2 through the upper and lower parts; Figure4 shows bending lines of the knife guide achievable with the Figure 3 example; Figured is a section similar to Figure 3 through 55 another example; Figure 6 shows bending lines of the knife guide achievable with the Figure 5 example; Figure 7 is a further section similar to Figure 3; and Figures shows bending lines of the knife guide 60 achievable with the Figure 7 example. Figures 1-3 show a belt-knife splitting-machine which is described below only in so far as is necess­ary to understanding the invention. On a machine bed 1 is held a work table 2 over which the material 3 65 to be split is fed. A material feed gap is bounded by a lower roller 4 and an upper roller 5. The lower roller 4 consists of a plurality of individual members which are carried along by the resilient covering 6 of a driv­ing roller 7 and are pressed upwards. The upper rol- 70 ler 5 is held in a bridge 8 adjustable for height and supported by backing-rolls 9. The middle backing-rolf 9 is journalled fixedly in the bridge 8; the bear­ings for the free ends of the two outer backing-rolls 9 are on the contrary displaceable in height relative to 75 the bridge 8. This allows the upper roller 5 to be given a bow in operation. At the back of the belt-knife splitting-machine is arranged a belt knife 10 shown in Figure 1 merely in dash-dot line, which is laid round two guide pulleys 80 11 and 12 at least one of which is driven. The belt knife is continuously sharpened by means of a hon­ing device 13. In the working region the belt knife is held in a knife guide 14. In this way the materials gets split up into the split-off useful material 15 85 which is carried away upwards, and the residue 16 which remains and is carried away downwards. The knife guide is formed by a groove which is formed between a flexible upper part 17 and an associated likewise flexible cover 18. Thefiexible 90 upper part consists of a hollow girder the height of which is less than half its width. The rear vertical wall 19 for reduction of its stiffness is provided with cut­outs 20 for weakening, arranged in a longitudinal row, through which also screws 21 may be screwed 95 for fastening the bearings of three hinges 23,24 and 25. By means of two hinges 26 and 27 this upper part 17 is held by its ends onto the bed 1 of the machine. A lower part 28 is made resistant to bending by lon­gitudinal walls 29 and supporting walls 30 arranged 100 after the style of a truss. A bearing 32 for a further hinge 33 is fastened to the lower part 28 by means of screws 31. This hinge is part of an adjustable fas­tener means 34 which exhibits a screw 35 the thread of which engages through an upper hinge pin 36 for 105 the hinge 25 and which atthe bottom receives be­tween two flanges a hinge pin 37 for the hinge 33. The lower and upper parts are therefore connected together by three fastener means, namely, two non-adjustable fastener means formed by the hinges 23 110 and 24 at the ends and one adjustable fastener means 34 in the middle. In Figure 3 is illustrated an undeformed upper part 17 in which the knife guide 14 forms a straight linea (Figure 4). By turning the screw 35 clockwise the 115 middle of the upper part 17 gets bowed upwards so thatthe bending line/? for the knife guide results. With turning of the screw 35 in the opposite direction the bending iine^ results. Jn this way any intermedi­ate positions may be chosen. 120 In operation the upper roller 5 can now be set by the backing roils 9 and the adjustment of the bridge 8 for height in such a way that the material 3 to be split is gripped across the whole working width securely between the two rollers 4 and 5, without too great 125 pressures occuring in the material. Then the knife guide 14 may be set in such a way thatthe useful material 15 across the whole working width has the thickness corresponding with the structure atthe time, which can be achieved with extremely high . 130 accuracy. In this way rejects are practically com- GB 2 002 278 B pletely avoided. In the case of the embodiment as in Figure 5, for corresponding parts the same reference numbers are employed as in Figures but increased by 100. 5 What is different is essentially that the loweT part 128 resistant to bending is a hollow box stiffened by crosswalls 130. Two h inges 123 and 124 which con­nect the upper part 117 and lower part 128 together at the ends and form r on-adjustable fastener means are arranged atthe height of the upper part. Besides one adjustable fastener means 134 in the middle two further adjustable fastener means 138 and 139 of the same construction are* provided in the middle of each half of the upper and lower parts. The lower part has feet 140 by which it may be fastened directly to the bed 1 of the machine. With this construction complicated bending lines of the knife guide can be set as is indicated in Figure 6 by the letters d and e. In the case of the embodiment as in Figure 7 in which the same reference numbers as in Figure 3, but increased by 200 <ire employed, the lov/er part 228 consists of a hollow box stiffened by intermedi­ate walls 230, which rests by its feet 240 on the bed 1 of the machine. The upper part 217 exhibits a central fastener foot 241 which is fitted by means of screws 252 directly onto the lower part 228. At both ends adjustable fastener means 242 and 243 are provided. The fastener means 242 exhibits a hydraulic or pneumatic servomotor 244, the piston of which is connected by a hinge 245 to the lower part 228 and its piston by a hinge 246 to the upper part 217. In addition there is an adjustable stop 247 against which the left hand end of the upper part 217 is pressed when the servomotor is fed with pressure medium. The fastener means 243 has a similar con­struction with a servomotor 248, the hinges 249 and 250 as well as the adjustable stop 251. With this construction bending linesfandgr can be 40 achieved as illustrated in Figure 8. The control of the servomotors may be effected during operating by ei pedal. Another advantageous possibility consists in controlling the servomotors by a programme control mechanism. 45 Then too in the case of a modified embodiment the whole knife guide meiy be adjustable for height rela­tive to the material feed gap, in order to split ma­terials of different thicknesses. 50 CLAIMS 1.A belt-knife splitting-machine having a belt knife guided in a knife guide which extends across the working width, and a material feed gap arranged 55 in front of the cutting edge of the knife and bounded by a lower roller and an upper roller which is adjust­able for height wherein the knife guide is formed on a flexible upper part which is connected by adjust­able fastening means to a lower part which isresis- 60 tant to bending, whereby the knife guide may be given a selected curvature. 2.A machine according to claim 1, wherein the upper part comprises a longitudinal girderthe height of which is considerably less than its width. 65 3. A machine according to claim 1 or claim 2,wherein the upper part is a hollow girder of which at least one vertical wall has weakening cut-outs arranged in a row longitudinally of the girderto assist bending of the upper part. 70 4. A machine according to any one of the preced­ing claims, wherein the lower part is stiffened by supporting walls or webs after the style of a truss. 5.A machine according to any one of the preced­ing claims, wherein the lower part is a hollow box 75 stiffened by crosswalls. 6.A machine according to any one of the preced­ing claims, wherein the fastener means allow rela­tive adjustment at the two ends of the upper and lower parts but not in their middle. 80 7. A machine according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the fastener means allow relative adjust­ment in the middle of the upper and lower parts but not at their two ends. 8. A machine according to claim 6 or claim 7, 85 wherein between each end and the middle of the upper and lower parts at least one further adjustable fastener arrangement is provided. 9.A machine according to any one of the preced­ing claims, wherein at least some of the fastener 90 means are each associated with at least one hinge, the axis of which is substantially parallel with the axis of curvature of the knife guide. 10.A machine according to claim 9, which com­prises two of the hinges, one of which is fastened to 95 the upper part and the other to the lower part, the hinges being connected together by a screw which adjusts the distance apart of the hinges. 11.A machine according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the adjustable fastener means can be 100 adjusted by motor. 12.A machine according to claim 11, wherein an adjustable fastener means has a servomotor be­tween the upper and lower parts and an adjustable stop which determines the end position of the upper 105 part. 13.A machine according to any one of the pre­ceding claims, wherein the lower part is supported on a bed of the machine. 14.A machine according to any one of claims 1 110 to 12, wherein the upper part is held onto a bed of the machine by means of a hinge at each end. 15.A machine according to any one of the pre­ceding claims, wherein the adjustment of the fas­tener means may be carried out under programmed 115 control or by means of a pedal. 16.A machine according to any one of the pre­ceding claims, wherein the whole of the knife guide is adjustable for height relatively to the material feed gap. 120 17. A machine according to any one of the pre­ceding claims, wherein the lower roller is driven. 18. A machine according to any one of the pre­ceding claims, wherein the upper roller is adjustable to give it a bowed shape. 125 19. A machine according to claim 1, substantially as described with reference to any one of the examples illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Printed for Her Majesty's Stationery Office by Croydon Printing Company Limited, Croydon, Surrey, 1981. Published by The Patent Office, 25 Southampton Buildings, London, WC2A 1AY, from which copies may be obtained.