US1392505A - johnson - Google Patents

Description

C. W. JOHNSON.

CULLING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 13. 1920.

1,392,505., Patented 0013. 4,1921.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

Jfiuentor Charles W. Jail 1 a WW flZZf /S.

C. W. JOHNSON.

CULLING MACHINE.

APPLICATION man SEPT. 13. I920.

Patented Oct. 4, 192L 2 $HEET$-SHEET 2.

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1700670605 Charles Z1 Job/won,

7 1 WW w sq UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES W. JOHNSON, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO WM. WRIGLEY JR. COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF VIRGINIA.

CULLING-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 4, 1921.

Application filed September 13, 1920. Serial No. 409,978.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, CHARLES W. JOHN- SON, a citizen of the United States, and a.

resident of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cullingof this character are ordinarily wrapped by mechanical means, whereby the articles are introduced in bulk into a feed hopper and from thence are advanced through successive stages in which the articles are uniformly arranged in package form and the wrappers applied and sealed. Inasmuch as the wrapping mechanism is delicate in construction, it is necessary that all the articles handled'shall be of a uniform shape in order to insure the proper operation of the parts, and the uninterrupted passage of the articles therethrough.

The object of the presentinvention is therefore to provide a device through which the articlesmay be passed before they are finally introduced into the wrapping machine, this device known as a culling machine-serving to separate the imperfect articles from the mass continuously fed thereto. The features of theinvention pertain especially to the novel features of construction of the machinewhereby large quantities may be passed through the machine and the imperfect articles sorted from the mass in an efiicient and dependable manner. The novel features hereinabove suggested are fully described in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein- "Figure 1 is. a view inside elevation of the machine,

Fig. 2 isa top plan View of the machine,

Fig. 3 is a view in vertical section taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2, and

Fig. 4 is an enlarged detailed view in cross section, taken on line 4. 4: of Fig. 3.

' Considering first the general features of construction of the machine, the same comprises a frame 1 adapted to rest on a suitable pedestal or other support, an upwardly openin -hopper 2 into which the articles are introduced, a horizontal reciprocating culling frame or agitator 3, an inclined chute 4 immediately below the agitator 3, and an agitator cleaning member 5 located beyond the agitator. The course of the articles through the machine is manifestly from the hopper to the agitator where the perfect articles pass directly through the same to the discharge chute 4, whereas the imperfect articles are held by the agitator and are periodically removed by revolving said agitator over and downwardly upon the cleaning device 5, thus freeing said imperfect articles from the agitator and permitting their disposal into a suitable receptacle.

The frame 1 comprises the two side frame members 6-6 having vertical legs 7-7 at their ends. At one end of the frame is provided a horizontal supporting member 8 upon which is slidably mounted. vertical guide plates 9 -9 which in turn support the hopper 2, said hopper being of the usual shape converging from the large entrance opening to a comparatively small discharge opening 10 at its lower end. At the lower end of the hopper and immediately adjacent to the discharge opening 10 is mounted a rotative brush 11 journaled at. its ends in the vertical guide plates 9--9, and actuated by mechanism hereinafter to be described. The discharge opening 10 is preferably in a vertical front wall 12 of the hopper, and immediately above the rotary brush 11, said dischargeopening facing. toward the agitator 3 and located immediately above the same. A sliding door or closure 13 is employed to close the discharge opening when it is desired to stop the feeding of the articles from the hopper.

The culling frame or agitator 3 so called by reason of its action, is located, as before suggested, immediately beyond the lower end of the hopper and slightly below the level of the discharge opening thereof. The

agitator consists of a rectangular frame made up of side plates let-14: connected together by transverse bars 1515. EX- tendingparallel with the side frame members1 l1 1 and connected at their ends to the transversebars 15-15, is a series of knife like bars 16, said bars being of .uniform thickness and are spaced apart a distance predetermined by the thickness of the articles to be sorted. As a. preferable construction, these bars are slightly sharpened along their upper edges, as is shown in Fig. 4c (althoughthe bars are shown in reversed position in said figure). The agitator frame is. not mounted directly upon the machine frame, but upon an oscillating frame journaledibetweenthe said frame members 66 ofthemachine frame. The oscillating frame clearly shown in Figs. '1 and 3 consists of parts as follows:

Pairs of vertical l'evers 1717 are pivoted intermediate their ends upon journal rods 18-18"ext'ending between the said plates 6-6; These pairsof levers are maintained in parallel relation, and are connected togethe'r at their lower ends by a pair of horizontal: links 19 19. The agitator .frame is supporte'dupon and connected to the up per ends of the levers 17-17 by means of journalgbear'ings; The agitator frame is permanently and pivotally connected to the.

forward pair of levers 171'7,' whereas-the rear end; that is to say, the end adjacent to the hopper, is pivotally connected to the adjacent pair of levers 17 by means of integral journal pins 21 which are adapted to rest within endwise opening bearing notches 22 formed at the upper ends of the levers' One of the journal pins 21 is extended in, the form of a handle 23, as shown in Fig. 2. By reason of this construction, the entire agitator-frame may be revolved from its horizontal position upon the oscillating frame through an angle slightly greater than 180 degrees toa position in contact with the agitator cleaning frame 5, as shown in Fig. 8. The sides of the agitator' frame are increased in height by the provisionoftransversely slidable extension plates 24: whichare secured to the side plates ,14 through' the medium of laterally projecting pins 25-25 which engage curvilinear slots '2 124 in the plates 24:, said pins being providedwith an arrangement of tension washers 26 asshown in Fig. 4, forthepurpose of yieldingly holding the extensionplates 24"a'gainst the side plates 14 of the agitator frame. Mounting the exj tension plates inthe manner described permits them to slide transversely as the agitator is revolved from one position tozthe other, as is fclearly shown by" comparing Figs. 1and3.. i

' Referring'now' to themechanism for driving themoving parts, a stub shaft .28 is journaled upon one of the side frame members 6, and is in axial alinement with the journal rod 18 upon which the rcarmost pair of levers 1717 are mounted. At the extreme end of the'stub shaft 28 (Fig. 2) is mounted a small belt pulley 29 by means of which power is delivered to the shaft 28 by means of a belt connected motor or other prime mover. Mounted upon the stub shaft 28 is a sprocket wheel 30, carrying a sprocket chain 31 which meshes with a slightly larger sprocket wheel 82 mounted upon the shaft 33 of the rotary brush 11. In this manner the brush is rotated at the desired speed, and preferably in a clockwise direction so as to facilitate the dis charge of the articles from the hopper into the reciprocating agitator frame 3. Mounted' upon the stub shaft 28 immediately behind the sprocket pinion 30 is a gear wheel 34 meshing with another gear wheel 35 of like diameter, which in turn is fixed to a' shaft 36 journaled in the side frame members 66-a short distance below and to the left of'the said shaft 28. The shaft 36 is provided intermediate its ends" with a crank 37 (Fig. 3) to which is applied a short connecting rod 38 extending horizontally and engaging a rod 39 extending transversely between and connecting the lower ends of the adjacent pair of lovers 17. Mani'fcstly the rota'tive movementtransmitted from the stubshaft 28 to the crank shaft 36 through the medium of the gear wheels 34; and 35 is transformed by means of the crank 37 and connecting rod 38 into a reciprocating movement which is transmitted to the levers 17-17 in the form of a rocking motion and finally to the agitator in the form of a reciprorating movement in a horizontal plane.

Ordinarily the hopper would he filled to capacity and the actuating mechanism having been set in motion, the articles are permitted' to pass from the hopper onto the surface of the agitator, the discharge of the articles being promoted by the rotativc brush 11. The articles on coming in contact with the surface of the agitator soon find their way between the blades 16, those articles which are of uniform thickness and 7 blades 40, not unlike the blades of the agitator itself, these blades being mounted edgewise and in inclined position upon a portion 41 of the machine frame 1 which supports the transverse bars 4242 engaging the lower edges of the blades 40. These blades are located in a predetermined relation to the bars of the agitator frame; namely, in alinement with the spaces separating said agitator blades, as clearly shown in Figs. 3 and 4. The agitator frame 3 is capable of being revolved from its normal operative position in a direction upwardly and away from the hopper, over and downwardly upon the blades 40 of the cleaning device, each of the stationary cleaning blades 40 passing between the blade 16 of the agitator frame, thus forcing the articles lodged between the latter upwardly, and to what is now the bottom surface of the agitator frame, in the manner clearly shown in Fig. 4. The articles thus released from the agitator frame are free to roll downwardly and into any suitable receptacle placed immediately below the lower end of the agitator frame. A chute or trough 43 serves to catch any of the articles which may be released from the cleaning frame or agitator in the act of revolving the latter. The handle 23 with which the agitator frame is provided is used by the operator in revolving the agitator frame.

The devices herein described and illus trated provide a means for readily and efficiently sorting or culling small articles of the character described, and the features embodying the invention are specifically set forth in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention 1. In a device of the character described, the combination of a culling frame comprising a series of bars spaced apart a predetermined distance, means for agitating said frame, and a series of fixed bars adapted to pass between the bars of said culling frame by the bodily movement of the latter from operative position.

acting to remove the articles lodged in said culling frame.

3. In a device of the character described, the combination of a reciprocating culling frame comprising a series of bars spaced apart a predetermined distance and mounted for bodily rotative movement into and out of operative position, and a cleaning frame mounted in the path of bodily rotative movement of said culling frame and comp-rising a series of bars adapted to pass between the bars of the said culling frame.

i. In a device of the character described, the combination of a supporting frame, a culling frame pivotally mounted on said supporting frame comprising a series of parallel bars spaced apart a predetermined distance, a hopper mounted above said culling frame, a chute beneath saidculling frame, means for agitating said culling frame, and a fixed frame mounted on said supporting frame, and comprising complementary parallel bars adapted to remove the articles lodged between the bars of said culling frame when the latter is swung bodily into contact therewith.

5. In a device of the character described, the combination of a main frame, a culling frame mounted on said main frame, and

adapted to be swung into and out of operative position, means for agitating said culling frame, and a cleaning frame mounted on said main frame and adapted to remove the articles therefrom when said culling frame is swung into contact therewith.

In witness whereof I hereunto subscribe my name this 8th day of September, A. D. 1920.

CHARLES W. JOHNSON.

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