Abstract: An apparatus for processing a scrap rubber tire carcass having a circumferential crown and a pair of sidewalls extending generally radially inwardly from and generally perpendicular to the crown, each of the sidewalls having an inner circumferential edge. Included are tire holding apparatus for holding the tire carcass while cutter blades cut the held tire carcass through from the inner circumferential edge to the crown substantially along a single radius at one place. Pinch rollers advance the cut tire carcass longitudinally in a direction generally tangent to the circumference of the drown while a spreading channel receives the cut end and on a continuous basis flattens the sidewalls such that the sidewalls and crown lie substantially in a common plane. The flattened carcass is advanced by additional pinch rollers into a granulator which chops the received tire carcass to particles.

Abstract: A conversion press assembly for forming easy open beverage cans and a transfer belt conveyor therefor. The press assembly comprises a main press having tooling therein for forming the can ends and a can end transfer belt extends therethrough to carry can end blanks from a downstacker or other supply apparatus. Attached to the main press frame is an auxiliary, tab press having its own crankshaft but being driven off the same drive assembly as the main press. Strip stock is fed into the tab press wherein the tabs are formed, and the tabs, still in strip form, are then fed transversely into the main press for attachment to the can ends at a stacking station. The transfer belt comprises a plurality of carriers mounted on a flexible belt wherein the carries include flexible fingers for resiliently gripping the can ends.

Abstract: A conversion press assembly for forming easy open beverage cans and a transfer belt conveyor therefor. The press assembly comprises a main press having tooling therein for forming the can ends and a can end transfer belt extends therethrough to carry can end blanks from a downstacker or other supply apparatus. Attached to the main press frame is an auxiliary, tab press having its own crankshaft but being driven off the same drive assembly as the main press. Strip stock is fed into the tab press wherein the tabs are formed, and the tabs, still in strip form, are then fed transversely into the main press for attachment to the can ends at a staking station. The transfer belt comprises a plurality of carriers mounted on a flexible belt wherein the carriers include flexible fingers for resiliently gripping the can ends.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a mechanical press, and in particular to such a press having a crown portion with an open top thereby permitting the crankshaft and connection arm assembly to be lowered therein in a preassembled state. Next, a cover plate is connected to the crown and the press motor assembly is mounted thereon. Belt connections to the drive assembly can be made through openings in the cover plate and access to the drive assembly can be had through removable doors on the ends of the crown. Preferably, the press frame comprising the bed, uprights and crown are formed as a single casting thereby avoiding the necessity for tie rods.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a mechanical press, and in particular to such a press having a crown portion with an open top thereby permitting the crankshaft and connection arm assembly to be lowered therein in a preassembled state. Next, a cover plate is connected to the crown and the press motor assembly is mounted thereon. Belt connections to the drive assembly can be made through openings in the cover plate and access to the drive assembly can be had through removable doors on the ends of the crown. Preferably, the press frame comprising the bed, uprights and crown are formed as a single casting thereby avoiding the necessity for tie rods.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a mechanical press, and in particular to a guiding arrangement for the reciprocating slide of such a press. The press comprises a crown and bed and a plurality of vertical uprights connecting the crown and bed. A plurality of guideposts are rigidly connected to the crown and depend downwardly therefrom, the guideposts being parallel to each other and substantially perpendicular to the plane of the bed. The guideposts each have free ends which are unsupported and terminate short of the bed of the press so that the parallelism of the guidepins is determined solely by their connection to the crown. In order to counteract the non-vertical forces exerted on the slide by the connection arms, which tend to cause the slide to tilt about a horizontal axis perpendicular to the axis of the crankshaft, bearings are mounted between the connection assembly and the crown.

Abstract: The invention relates to a mechanical press and in particular to a means for achieving thermal stability, particularly shutheight stability, by utilizing the waste heat from lubricant circulated through the drive assembly to heat the uprights. The oil is circulated through the crankshaft and connection arm assembly in the crown and then caused to flow through a thermal transfer device mounted to each of the uprights wherein the heated oil transfers a portion of its heat to the uprights so that they elongate due to thermal expansion at the same rate as the connection arms. The thermal transfer devices comprise a plurality of baffles over and through which the oil flows under gravity or pressure, wherein the baffles cause the oil to form a plurality of vertically spaced pools in good thermal contact with the uprights.