Machine for producing and handling elongated tubular items

Claim 1

A MACHINE FOR PRODUCING DRAIN TILE FROM SEMI-PLASTIC CLAY MATERIAL IS GENERALLY CYLINDRICAL FORM COMPRISING, (A) MEANS INCLUDING A ROTARY SLICER MECHANISM MOVABLE GENERALLY LINEARLY WITH AN ENDLESS LENGTH OF SUCH MATERIAL, FOR PROVIDING A PREDETERMINED LENGTH OF SUCH SEMI-PLASTIC CLAY MATERIAL, SAID MEANS INCLUDING, (1) TROUGH MEANS ON SAID SLICER MECHANISM ADAPTED FOR FRICTIONAL COACTION WITH SAID ENDLESS MOVING LENGTH OF CYLINDRICAL MATERIAL TO MOVE SAID ROTARY SLICING MECHANISM THEREWITH FROM A STARTING POSITION, (2) MEANS FOR LOCKING SAID ROTARY SLICING MECHANISM IN ITS STARTING POSITION, (4) MEANS FOR DEACTUATING SAID LOCKING MEANS TO PERMIT MOVEMENT OF SASID ROTARY SLICING MECHANISM WITH SAID ENDLESS LENGTH OF MATERIAL, AND (4) MEANS FOR MOVING SAID ROTARY SLICING MECHANISM IN THE OPPOSITE LINEAR DIRECTION BACK TO ITS STARTING POSITION, AFTER ACTUATION OF SAID SLICER MECHANSIM TO PROVIDE SAID PREDETERMINED LENGTH OF MATERIAL, (B) A ROUNDER MECHANISM STATIONARILY MOUNTED AS A UNIT AND INCLUDING POWER DRIVEN VERTICALLY SPACED PARALLEL EXTENDING ROLLERS FOR RECIEVING SAID PREDETERMINED LENGTH OF CLAY THEREBETWEEN IN GENERALLY HORIZONTAL CONDITION, AND ROUNDING IT INTO SYMMETRICAL FORM BY ROLLING IT ABOUT ITS LENGTHWISE AXIS WHILE MAINTAINING SAID AXIS GENERALLY STATIONARY AGAINST SIDEWISE MOVEMENT, (C) TRANSFER MEANS COACTING BETWEEN SAID SLICER MECHANISM AND SAID ROUNDER MECHANISM FOR CONVEYING SAID PREDETERMINED LENGTH OF CLAY FROM SAID SLICER MECHANISM TO SAID ROUNDER MECHANISM, SAID TRANSFER MEANS INCLUDING, (1) MEANS FOR FIRST MOVING SAID PREDETERMINED LENGTH IN A DIRECTION LENGTHWISE OF SAID AXIS, AND THEN IN A DIRECTION TRANSVERSE OF SAID AXIS INTO SAID ROLLERS OF SAID ROUNDER MECHANISM, (D) A PLURALITY OF CUTTING MEANS ON SAID ROUNDER MECHANISM, (E) MEANS FOR ACTUATING SAID CUTTING MEANS TO CAUSE SERVERING OF SAID PREDETERMINED LENGTH OF CLAY DURING ROTATION THEREOF BY SAID ROLLERS INTO A PLURALITY OF LATERALLY AND HORIZONTALLY DISPOSED TILE, (F) MEANS ON SAID CUTTING MEANS FOR SMOOTHING THE ENDS OF SAID TILE AFTER SAID SEVERING OPERATION, (G) MOVABLE MEANS ON SAID ROUNDER MECHANISM TO EJECT THE SEVERED TILE SIDEWISE FROM SAID ROUNDER MECHANISM UPON TERMINATION OF SAID CUTTING AND END SMOOTHING OPERATIONS, (H) UPENDER MEANS DISPOSED TO RECEIVE THE TILE FROM SAID ROUNDER MECHANISM UPON EJECTION THEREOF AND FOR MOVING SAID TILE TO UPENDED SUPERIMPOSED CONDITION ONTO A MOVABLE RECEIVING PLATFORM, SAID UPENDER MEANS INCLUDING, (1) A VERTICALLY SWINGABLE TILE SUPPORTING MEMBER STATIONARILY PIVOTED FOR MOVEMENT IN A GENERALLY VERTICAL PLANE AND FROM A GENERALLY HORIZONTAL POSITION TO A SUBSTANTIALLY VERTICAL POSITION AND VICE VERSA, SAID TILE SUPPOTRING MEMBER BEING ADAPTED TO RECEIVE SAID TILE THEREON IN THE HOR-ZONTAL POSITION THEREOF AND TO MOVE THE TILE UPWARDLY INTO A VERTICAL POSITION, SAID TILE SUPPORTING MEMBER HAVING, (2) WITHDRAWABLE STOP MEANS MOVABLY MOUNTED ON SAID SUPPORTING MEMBER ADJACENT THE PIVOTED END THEREOF AND ADAPTED IN THE ACTIVE POSITION OF SAID STOP MEANS TO ENGAGE THE LEADING END OF A ROW OF THE TILE AND TO PERMIT THE TILE TO DROP BY GRAVITY ONTO SAID PLATFORM WHEN THE TILE SUPPORTING MEMBER IS SWUNG TO ITS VERTICAL POSITION AND SAID STOP MEANS ARE WITHDRAWN TO AN INACTIVE POSITION, (3) LATCH MEANS INCLUDING A PAIR OF ARTICULATED LINKS COACTING BETWEEN SAID STOP MEANS AND SAID SUPPORTING MEMBER AND ADAPTED TO BE ORIENTED SUBSTANTIALLY LINEARLY WITH RESPECT TO ONE ANOTHER FOR HOLDING THE STOP MEANS IN SAID ACTIVE POSITION, AND (4) MEANS FOR DEACTIVATING SAID STOP MEANS TO MOVE THE LATTER TO SAID INACTIVE POSITION, SAID DEACTIVATING MEANS COMPRISING A LINKAGE MOUNTED ON SAID SUPPORTING MEMBER AND CONNECTED TO ONE OF SAID LINKS FOR CAUSING COLLAPSING OF SAID LINKS FROM SAID LINEAR CONDITION TO AN ANGULAR CONDITION UPON PREDETERMINED ACTUATION OF SAID LINKAGE, AND SPRING MEANS COACTING WITH SAID STOP MEANS FOR CAUSING RAPID WITHDRAWAL THEREOF FROM SAID ACTIVE POSITION UPON SAID COLLAPSING OF SAID ARTICULATED LINKS, AND (5) MEANS INCLUDING AN ANCHORED FLEXIBLE ELEMENT COACTING WITH SAID LINKAGE FOR AUTOMATICALLY REACTIVATING SAID STOP MEANS BY ACTUATING SAID LINKAGE TO CAUSE MOVEMENT OF SAID ARTICULATED LINKS BACK TO SAID LINEAR POSITION AGAINST THE RESISTANCE OF SAID SPRING MEANS UPON MOVEMENT OF SAID SUPPORTING MEMBER FROM SAID VERTICAL POSITION TO SAID HORIZONTAL POSITION.