Prior art comprises the operation of manual demolition of the kinescope in order to remove the external metal belt and detach the electron gun in the terminal section of the cathode tube befo- re severing the posterior conical part of the tube from the ante- rior screen section, where the image is formed, and then to ex- tract the metal grill; said operations are performed manually by an operator; further, on the inner part of the glass forming the screen, always necessarily of considerable thickness, there is a coating of fluorescent powder which, when struck by the electronic pencil of the electron gun, forms the image on the screen : said powder, being particularly polluting, must be carefully aspirated before the considerable quantity of glass constituting the screen can be recovered; fi- nally, the posterior conical part of the kinescope has an outer coating to create inside it the mirror image, hence said posterior conical part of the kinescope cannot be attached to the anterior part of the screen and must be disposed of in a different manner.

As stated, manual disposal is labour intensive and so is not suited to disposal involving separation of materials in the case of large quantities of kinescopes.

Prior art also comprises two machines for carrying out the ope- ration of dismantling and cutting the parts of the kinescope, thus

facilitating certain operations involved in the preparation and cutting of the anterior and posterior parts of the kinescope.

In the first machine the complete kinescope is placed on a ro- tating cup, on a horizontal plane, and secured from above with a coupling that rests on the extremity of the conical part: after the metal belt of the kinescope has been cut manually by means of a disc cutter, an electrical reduction unit, whose shaft is paral- lel to the axis of the kinescope, winds up said belt and detaches it from the kinescope. The rotation of said cup enables one to work on the perimeter of the kinescope, causing said reduction unit to oscillate on an arm parallel to said axis.

In the second machine the kinescope, minus its metal belt, is placed on a central suction pad rotating on the workbench : the vacuum causes the kinescope to remain firmly attached to said suc- tion pad. A metal blade on an oscillating arm on the side of said kinescope between the anterior part of the screen and the poste- rior conical part serves to incise the glass of the kinescope.

Subsequently, two electric wire elements are advanced laterally to the kinescope close to said incision: the action of heat rapidly caused the glass to break as a result of localised thermal shock.

The operator can thus manually remove the posterior conical part, extract the metal grill from inside and deposit them in separate bins. Lastly, the machine is equipped with a suction tube that the operator advances to the inner surface of the screen and aspi- rates the fluorescent powder so as to render recoverable the glass of said screen, which is finally detached from said suction pad and deposited in an appropriate bin.

Given that these machines are separate and involve a conside- rable amount of labour they do not make for the capacity necessary to dispose of large quantities of said kinescopes. In particular, the incision of the kinescope is made where there are still resi- dues of the glue used to attach said metal belt removed by the

first machine. The action of the electric wire element is impai- red by the presence of said residues with the result that the cut is not made or the elements are soiled, which leads to their being damaged. Finally, the fact that the machines are separate does not allow for the adequate protection and safety of the operator during the operation.

Such prior art may be subject to considerable improvement with a view to the possibility of freeing most of the above-mentioned operations of demolition, cutting and disposal from manual inter- vention, that is, of designing a machine that may enable said ope- rations to be performed more quickly and, no less important, with lower labour input. Finally, of affording the operator greater safety while carrying out his task.

From the foregoing emerges the need to resolve the technical problem of inventing a machine which, by further combining the operations of preparation and cutting of the kinescope, will allow the cut to be made safely and quickly and make for a closer inte- gration of the successive operations so as to enable them to be performed by a single operator.

The invention resolves said technical problem by adopting an improved machine for preparing kinescopes for cutting, comprising: a workbench featuring a rotating support for the kinescope; an arm for holding the upper part of the kinescope fast having a cen- tral hole in axial alignment with said support and being height adjustable so as to rest on the posterior conical part and on the tip of the electron gun; a rotating clamping device with its ro- tational axis parallel to the axis of the kinescope, for winding up the metal belt that has been detached from the side of the ki- nescope; characterised in that it has a rotating brush for clea- ning said side oscillating on the horizontal plane close to the plane of the cut envisaged for the kinescope in preparation.

Adopting also, in a further form of embodiment, an improved ma- chine for cutting kinescopes, comprising: a workbench featuring a rotating suction pad for holding the screen of the kinescope fast; means for incising said side; two wire elements each mounted on a device with reels for spooling and for maintaining the mechani- cal tension of the wire: they are mobile longitudinally and transversally with respect to the side of said kinescope so as to encircle it completely about its perimeter; an aspirator hood which partially covers the machine, featuring also a manually ope- rated suction tube; characterised in that, it has an oscillating brush on the horizontal cutting plane for cleaning the side of the kinescope before said elements are moved into position for cut- ting.

Adopting also, in a further preferred embodiment, an improved machine for the preparation and cutting of kinescopes, comprising: a workbench featuring a rotating suction pad for holding the screen of the kinescope fast, being mobile vertically on guides; a first work station for preparation in which there are: means for detaching the metal belt from the side of the kinescope; and a second work station for cutting in which there are: two wire elements each mounted on a device with reels for spooling and for maintaining the mechanical tension of the wire; an aspirator hood which partially covers the machine, featuring also a manually ope- rated suction tube; finally, there are in the machine means for incising said side of the kinescope; characterised in that, said suction pad is mobile also horizontally in the direction joining the two work stations, that is, sliding on guides parallel to said direction and maintaining its grip on said kinescope, which has already been prepared in said first work station for cutting.

Adopting, finally, in a further preferred embodiment, an impro- ved machine for the preparation and cutting of kinescopes, compri- sing: a workbench featuring a rotating suction pad for holding the screen of the kinescope fast, being mobile vertically on gui-

des; a first work station for preparation in which there are: means for detaching the metal belt from the side of the kinescope ; a second work station for cutting in which there are: two wire elements each mounted on a device with reels for spooling and for maintaining the mechanical tension of the wire; an aspirator hood which partially covers the machine, featuring also a manually ope- rated suction tube; finally, there are in the machine means for incising said side of the kinescope; characterised in that, it features a metal structure encasing the two work stations having mobile opening panels and outlets for the removal of the separate parts of the kinescope secured by mobile straps to ensure that the inner compartment is airtight, so as to maintain a slight vacuum in said compartment with the two work stations for preparation and cutting.

An embodiment of the invention is illustrated, purely by way of example, in the seven tables of drawings attached in which: Figu- re 1 is the front view of the machine for the preparation and cut- ting of the kinescope according to the invention; Figure 2 is the section II-II of Figure 1, relating to the first work station for the removal of the metal belt, preparation of the subsequent cut and detachment of the electron gun of the cathode tube; Figure 3 is the section III-III of Figure 1, relating to the second work station for cutting, separation of the conical part, removal of the internal metal grill and aspiration of the coating of fluore- scent powder from the screen; Figure 4 is the section IV-IV of Figure 1, relating to the plan view of the two work stations with the parts visible above the workbench in a position of rest and maximum excursion; Figure 5 is the section V-V of Figure 1 with the mechanisms present below the workbench ; Figure 6 is analogous to section IV-IV of Figure 1 in which the parts acting on the ki- nescope are shown in their working position; Figure 7 is an en- larged view of part of the section II-II represented in Figure 2.

In Figure 1 are visible in the metal structure 1 of the machine

two work stations: the first 2 where the kinescope 3, also of different dimensions, is positioned on the suction pad 4 mobile both vertically, in order to determine the exact plane 5 where the cut is to be made, and in a horizontal direction towards the second work station 6 with the kinescope for the actual cut, as well as rotating around its own vertical axis. Further, the size of the kinescope and its position on said mobile suction pad 4 is verified with the feeler arms 7 which, immediately after the pla- cing of the kinescope, ascertain its position, that is, the size of the kinescope 3, and its lie in relation to an angle reference point of the same suction pad 4, which is set to rotate around its own axis with respect to the structure of the machine 1. It is therefore possible to determine automatically the position of work on the kinescope, its height in relation to said plane 5, in that different sizes of kinescope present different distances between the screen, while still sitting on said mobile suction pad 4, the posterior conical part 8 and also the position of the electron gun 9.

In Figure 1 is also visible the vertically mobile chute 10 which, in the light of the data regarding the size of the kinesco- pe, is positioned vertically on said conical part 8, so as to in- sert said electron gun 9 in the guide ring 11 of said chute, which is made to rotate on a bearing. The pneumatic hammers 12, for small kinescopes, and 13, for larger ones, effect the detachment of the electron gun 9 which rolls into the inclined section of it outside the machine. The first work station 2 is completed by the flexible disc cutter 15 and by the rotating pliers 16 encircling the metal belt around the cutting perimeter between the screen and the conical part 8 of the kinescope. The guides 17 supporting said disc cutter 15 and pliers 16 allow for the positioning of each on the vertical plane and also horizontally, by means of an external manual control.

In said first work station there is also a rotating brush 18

with a vertical axis oscillating on said horizontal cutting plane 5 to clean off from the side 19 between the screen and the poste- rior conical part 8 of the kinescope the residues of adhesive mat- ter used to fix said metal belt, during the rotation of said suc- tion pad 4. Finally, a sharp wheel 20 for incising said side 19 is positioned at the extremity of the arm 21, oscillating on said horizontal cutting plane 5.

In Figure 1 is also visible the second work station 6 where said mobile suction pad 4 transports the kinescope 3 into the wor- king position 22, sliding on the horizontal guides 23 in order to effect the cut on said horizontal plane 5. Also, a series of mi- ni-suction pads 24 for evacuating the conical part 8, borne on an arm 25 mobile vertically and sliding horizontally on the guides 26 to which is associated on the same arm, but mobile vertically with a different means of operation, a suction pad 28 that attaches to the screen S of the kinescope 3 from the inside.

In Figure 1 are also visible the reels 29 for spooling the wire element 30 in order to effect the cut on said horizontal plane 5.

Said reels are insulated from the structure 1 of the machine and are rendered mobile on said horizontal plane 5 by means of guides 31, both transversally and longitudinally, to encircle completely said side 19 with the two wire elements 30. The mini-suction pads 28, in attaching to the posterior conical part 8 of the kinescope before cutting, serve to hold the kinescope on the suction pad 4 and to evacuate it through the specially shaped window 32, closed by mobile rubber straps to ensure a slight vacuum inside the ma- chine. After the manual removal of the internal metal grill, not shown, by means of the lateral outlet 33, also closed by a mobile strap, and of slide 34, the operator, protected by the transparent panel 35, proceeds to clean with the flexible suction tube 36 the inner part of the screen 25, which is still held fast by the mobi- le suction pad 4.

In Figure 2 is also visible the anterior mobile panel 37 for

the introduction of the kinescope 3 into the first work station 2; said mobile chute 10 is shown in the two positions of maximum ex- cursion; the inclined plane 14 has an external prolongation 38 for the discharge of the electron guns 9 detached into the bin, not shown; there is a slit in the posterior wall protected by mo- bile flaps to ensure said slight vacuum. There is also visible the reduction unit 39 rotating said mobile suction pad 4, equipped with a device 40 for reading the angle position and with a rota- ting coupling 41 for supplying the vacuum needed for the suction pad 4 to function; said reduction unit 39, and hence the mobile suction pad 4, slides on the vertical guides 42 in order to locate the side 19 of the kinescope in the most favourable position for cutting. The levers 43, one for manual operation of the flexible disc cutter 15 which cuts the metal belt from the side 19 of the kinescope, the other for manual operation of the rotating pliers that wind up said belt, protrude from the front part 44 of the ma- chine.

In Figure 3 is visible the position of evacuation 45 of the co- nical part 8 of the kinescope 3, first, and of the screen 25, af- ter manual cleaning carried out with the suction tube 36. In Fi- gure 4, on the other hand, are visible the slits 46, for the pas- sage of the flexible disc cutter 15 through the plane of work, and 47 for the passage of the rotating pliers 16 for rolling up said metal belt which has to be detached from the side 19 of the kine- scope 3; the reels 29 of the metal wire element 30 are rendered mobile first transversally towards the position of work 22, follo- wing slits 48, then in a direction normal to the previous one, following the slits 49 present on said plane of work of the machi- ne 50. Said reels each has a roller 51 to guide the wire element 30 borne at the extremity of a respecti- ve arm 52, in the direction joining stations 2 and 6, towards the side 19 of the kinescope.

In Figure 5 is visible the twin-fulcrum angle actuator 53 for

the synchronous oscillation of the feeler arms 7 determining the size of the kinescope; the arm 21 bearing the roller for incising the side 19 is actuated by the angle actuator 54, while the arm 55 for oscillating the rotating brush 18 is actuated by the angle actuator 56. Said guides 31 actuating the reels 29, positioned between the two work stations 2 and 6, having to allow for the passage of the mobile suction pad 4 supported by the reduction unit 39, are sub-divided into two sections 57 and 58, both contem- poraneously mobile along the direction joining the work stations on the U-support 59, having a mobile carriage 60, placed below on the guides 23; a similar carriage 60 transports the guide 31 from the opposite side of the work station 6.

Finally, in Figure 7 is visible the base with spheres 61 for centring the axis of the kinescope by force of gravity; in the initial phase the mobile suction pad remains under said base with spheres; only when the cutting plane 5 is identified is the sup- port 62 of the reduction gear 39 slid into position on said guides 42, by means of the linear actuator 63, supplying said suction pad with a vacuum for it to grip the screen S.

Operation of the new kinescope-cutting machine is as described below.

The operator removes the kinescope 3 and introduces it into the first work station 2 of the machine, after having opened the ante- rior panel 37; the kinescope is placed on the base with spheres 61 and, by force of gravity, assumes its position with its axis in line with the axis of said base and of the mobile suction pad 4 below; said panel is closed and the cycle of operations begins.

The vertically mobile chute 10 is lowered until the tip with the electron gun 9 of the kinescope 3 enters the rotating guide ring 11; the feeler arms 7 are advanced by the action of the twin-ful- crum angle actuator 53 and their tips push said kinescope, regard- less of its initial position, into the position with the longest

face of the side 19 of the kinescope towards the operator. With this operation the processor controlling the sequence of phases in the machine finds the smallest dimension of the kinescope 3 and is thus able, by extrapolation with known proportions, to determine its size and hence the subsequent positions. Then, having as vi- sual reference of the cutting plane 5 the incising wheel 20, the operator uses the up-down pushbuttons to regulate the height of the mobile suction pad 4, where, owing to the contact with the screen S, a vacuum is created. The kinescope 3 is now gripped by the suction pad 4 and is held fast by the pressure of the ring 11 on the posterior conical part 8; the side 19 is positioned so as to present, at the height of the cutting plane 5, that area of it that is closest to the beginning of the curvature of the said po- sterior conical part 8.

The operator now operates the pneumatic hammer 12 or 13, and the process prearranged by the control processor actuates one of the two: 12 for smaller kinescopes and 13 for larger ones. Said hammer shears off the tip with the electron gun 9 which falls out- wards into the chute 14; the posterior aperture of the chute is closed by a mobile strap, not shown, in order to maintain a slight vacuum inside the machine.

Subsequently, the operator grasps the external lever 43 of the flexible disc cutter 15 and brings it into contact with the side 19 of the kinescope 3, sliding said disc cutter on the horizontal and vertical guides 17; the disc cutter starts automatically as soon as it is moved from the idle position and, with the machine closed but being able to see inside, the operator guides said cut- ting disc onto the metal belt. In some types of kinescope said belt, once cut, detaches itself completely, in others, where it is glued to the side 19, it has to be detached by means of the rota- ting pliers 16; when released, the disc cutter 15 returns to the idle position and stops automatically.

Said rotating pliers are positioned on guides 17 identical to, but side by side with, the guides of said disc cutter 15, thus performing a similar cycle of operation and executing the forced detachment of said metal belt from the side 19 of the kinescope 3; furthermore, the mobile suction pad 4 can rotate with the pull of the belt and, at the end of the operation, the angle reader 40 ro- tates the kinescope and repositions it with the longest side fa- cing the operator.

The presence of residues of glue, or even just of powder depo- sited with use on said side 19, may impair the subsequent opera- tion of thermal cutting, so, during this phase, the brush 18, oscillating in said cutting plane 5, is brought into contact with said side 19 of the kinescope, through the agency of the angle ac- tuator 56, and brushes off the residues of glue and powder deposi- ted there.

Finally, in this first station 2, the incising wheel 20 is ad- vanced to said side, with the kinescope rotating, and incises the glass to facilitate breakage in the subsequent phase of thermal cutting. Lastly, the angle reader 40 intervenes to stop the kine- scope with the longest face of the side 19 facing the operator.

The chute 10 is raised and the kinescope, still held fast by the mobile suction pad 4, is transferred to the subsequent cutting station 6.

In the second station, when the kinescope 3 has reached the po- sition 22, the arm 25 is introduced with the directional mini-suc- tion pads 24 which, being brought into contact with the posterior conical surface 8, grip it through the intervention of the feeler arm with which they are equipped. With the kinescope firmly held by the mobile suction pad 4 and by the mini-suction pads 24 the wires 30 of the elements are placed alongside by advancing the spooling reels 29, and then the guide rollers 51, first transver- sally in the direction joining the work stations 2 and 6, then in

a longitudinal direction until the said rollers guiding the wire elements are brought into contact with the side 19 of the short face of the kinescope. Said manoeuvre is possible thanks to the transverse motion of the supports of said spooling reels on the guides 31 and to the longitudinal motion of the carriages 60 on the guides 23. The heating interval of the side 19, that is, the time the elements remain adjacent to it, is calculated on the ba- sis of the dimensional data previously ascertained. With shearing complete, the wire elements 30 are removed and the current is switched off; the mini-suction pads 24 carried on the arm 25 can now transport the posterior conical part 8 of the kinescope to the evacuation position 45; the vacuum feed to said mini-suction pads ceases when said position 45 is reached.

The operator then opens the anterior panel 35 and manually re- moves the metal grill from inside the kinescope, evacuating it through the lateral outlet 33. Using the suction tube 36, he aspirates the fluorescent powder from the inner part of the screen S. With cleaning complete, the operator closes the anterior panel 35 and proceeds to evacuate said screen S, which is still held by the mobile suction pad 4. The mobile arm 25 penetrates the work station 6 vertically to the position 22 and lowers the single suc- tion pad 28, also having an activating feeler arm which on coming into contact with the inner surface of the screen grips it. The vacuum is then released in the suction pad 4 which lets go of the screen and the said arm 25 can transfer it to the evacuation posi- tion 45 where, as for the mini-suction pads 28, suction ceases and the screen falls into the bin below.

The cutting cycle of the kinescope 3 concludes with the reposi- tioning of the mobile suction pad 4 in said first work station 2 at a level below the base with spheres 61, in readiness for a new cycle of preparation and cutting of the next kinescope.

The advantages deriving from this invention are: the phase of

preparation for cutting is rendered automatic as regards both the positioning and gripping of the kinescope and the ascertainment, by means of the feeler arms 7, of the dimensions of the kinescope 3, thus enabling the subsequent phases of severance and removal of the electron gun 9 and of regulation of the cutting plane 5 at the most convenient point and of the duration of the heating interval of said plane to be pre-programmed and allowing complete freedom in the order in which different formats of kinescope are presented for processing and demolition. The base with spheres 61 enables the axis of the kinescope to be determined by force of gravity and, with the lowering of the chute 10, with the rotating ring 11, allows the pneumatic hammer 12 or 13 for shearing the electron gun to be correctly positioned. The rotating pliers 16 and the flexi- ble disc cutter. 15, mobile on the horizontal/vertical guides 17, each separately allow the metal belt to be cut off the side of the kinescope and readily rolled up on said pliers. The preventive cleaning of the side 19 of the kinescope 3, by means of the rota- ting brush 18, makes for a more reliable action of heating of the elements 30 on it and longer life of the elements.

Again, said suction pad 4, mobile both vertically and horizon- tally, allows the two work stations of preparation 2 and of cut- ting 6 to be combined in a single machine, so as to make it easy for a single operator to oversee the cycle of work, which can be made semi-automatic and also automatic.

Furthermore, the mobile arm 25, bearing the mini-suction pads 24 that grip the posterior conical part 8 of the kinescope, and, on a different support, the central suction pad 28 that grips the inner surface of the screen S of the kinescope allow for the auto- matic evacuation of the severed parts of the kinescope 3, while the removal of the metal grill inside said kinescope and the cleansing of said screen S of the fluorescent powder are carried out manually. In any event, the panelling of the metal structure 1 and the flexible rubber straps that close the evacuation outlets

of the various parts enable a slight vacuum to be maintained insi- de the machine, thereby preventing polluting material and splin- ters of glass from escaping.

In practice, the materials, the dimensions and details of exe- cution may be different from, but technically equivalent to, those described without departing from the juridical domain of the pre- sent invention. The two work stations 2 and 6 may, albeit less advantageously, be constructed and made to function separately; the mobile suction pad 4 may be transferable from the preparatory station to the cutting station 6, but kinescope 3 will have to be transferred manually, or by other means, from one station to the other. Finally, the brush that cleans the side 19 of the kinesco- pe may, though again less advantageously, be incorporated in the second station 6, where the cutting takes place, instead of in the first, preparatory, station 2.