US1795312A - Filling machine - Google Patents

Description

March 10, 1931. J. J. M'oJoNNlER ET Al. 1,7955312 FILLING MACHINE Filed oct. 18, 192e I N Imfen ors March 10, 1931. J. J. MoJoNNlER /l-:T AL. 1,795,312

FILLING MACHINE 'Filed oct. 18, 192e -7 sheets-sheet 2 March l0, 1931- J. J. MOJONNIERET AL FILLING MACHINE Filed oct. 18, 192e March 10, 1931.

.1., J. MoJoNNlER ET AI. 13795312 FILLING MACHI'NE '7 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed oct. 18, 1926v March 10, 1931 J. J. MoJoNNlER ET AL 1,795,312

FILLING MACHINE Filed Oct. 18, 1926 '7 Sheets-Sheet 5 J. J. MoJoNNlER ET AL 1,795,312

FILLING MACHINE Filed Oct. 18, 1926 '7 Sheets-Sheet 6 March 10, 1931.

March 10, 1931- .1. J. MoJoNNlER ET AL 1,795,312

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Patented Mar. 10, 1931 .UNITED STATES PATENT ol-FICE JULIUS L MOJONNIEB AND HARLEY R. PHILLIPS, OF OAK PARK, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOB'S TO MOJONNIER BROS. CO., A. CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS FILLING-MACHINE Application filed October 18, 1926. Serial No. 142,225.

The present invention relates to filling machines for use in lling containers with commodities of a plastic nature, such as ice cream, sherbet, water ice, pomade, paste and the like. The machine herein disclosed as an embodiment of the invention was developed by us more particularly for the purpose of lilling large metal containers with ice cream and like dairy products. The machine herein disclosed has been constructed and operated. It is designed to fill metal cans of from three to ten gallons capacity and it does so at a rapid rate.

The invention particularly claimed in this which theL containers are brought into correct position below the valve of the machine at the time of delivery of the commodity. To

this end the conveyor is arranged so as to cor' rectly space the containers in respect to their positions longitudinally of the conveyor. This spacing takes place automatically as the containers are carried along by the conveyor. In conjunction with the mechanism for also arrange means for positioning or centering the containers laterally of the conveyor so that they will be properly presented at the delivery point. A tripping linger, whlch is operated by the container to bring' about a functioning of the machine, is utilized in a novel way in connection with the' 'centering ofthe containers. 1

In carrying out our invention we employ a novel arrangement of the various .parts of the machine upon and within a box like main frame or casing. The parts are mounted so as to provide the greatest accessibility for nspection, replacement and repair, while at the same time maintaining a high degree of eiliciency for the machine in operation.

The' features of vour invention with thelr advantages will be more fully understoodupon reference to the following detailed description taken in connection wlth the ac companying drawings, while the scope of the invention will be particularly pointedoutin the appended claims.

The machine hereindis'closed is along the lines of that shown in United States Patent case is the novel step by step mechanism by accomplishing this longitudinal spacing, we

No. 1,502,314, granted July 22, 1924, to our assignee herein, Mojonnier Bros. Co.

Referring to said drawings, Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a filling machineL constructed and arranged in accordance with the present invention; Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same; Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the same; Fig. 4 is-a transverse sectional elevation of thecontainer feed mechanism, the plane of section being indicated by the line 4-4 of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a horizontal section throu h the machine taken on a plane indicated by t e line 5-5 of Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is a sectional view of the main valve and nearby parts, the section extending lengthwise of the measuring cylinder, as indicatedby the line 5"---5a of Fig. 2; Fig. 6 is a transverse vertical section illustrating the gearing and other parts atthe rear of the machine, the plane of section being indicated by the line 6--6 of Fig. 2; Fig. 7 is a transverse vertical section of a portion of the machineillustrating more particularly the conveyor feed mechanism, the lane of section being indicated by the line g-J? of Fig. 5; Fig. 8 is a sectional view of a portion of the same mechanism taken on a plane indicated bythe line 8-8 of Fig. 7; Fig. 8"L is a sectional view of the main valve and nearby parts, the section being vertical and extending lengthwise of the rotary valve member, as indicated by the line 88- of Fig. 5a; Fig. 9 is an inverted plan view of the cut oif valve and associated parts, said valve.

being located at the lower'end of the spout through which the commodity is delivered to the container; and Fig. 10 is a transverse section through the spout and cut off valve, the section being indicated -by the line 10-10 of Fig. 9. Throughout these views like char acters refer to like parts. Ingeneral,` the machine illustrated comprises a vcommodity supply connection A. through which the commodity is fed, a valve B by which the flow of the commodity is controlled, a cylinder Cl for measuring the commodity charges, a spout D through which the commodity flows on its way to the container, a conveyor E by which the containers F are brought to filling position below the spout D,

and an auxiliary valve G at the mouth of the spout D.

'Upon examination of the drawings in detail, it will be seen that the cylinder fC is positioned upon a main frame 20 having a plurality of supporting legs 21.` The frame isa box like structure which forms a casing for many of the movable parts of the machine. In order that ready access may be had readily worked upon. Obviously, the covers 25, 26, and 27, may be attached to the main frame or casing --20 in various ways which need not be particularly described.

The supply connection A is, in the present instance, merely a connecting tube or pipe 28 through which the commodity is supplied. Commonly, in practice, the pipe 28 forms the outlet of a hopper located above the machine. In some installations the machine is on one ioor of the building, and the hopper from which the pipe 28 leads is on the floor above. Since there is but one cylinder C, the hopper will not be divided into compartments as in the aforesaid Patent No. 1,502,314, but will constitute a single container from which the supply passes to the filling machine.

The pipe 28 is suitably connected at its lower end to the valve casing 29, in which the main valve B of the machineis located. As clearly shown, the casing 29 is provided at its upper end with a flange 68. r-l.`his flange is mated with a flange 69 upon a collar 70 which surrounds and is secured to the lower end of the pipe 28. The flanges 68 and 69 are secured together by bolts or other suitable means. rlhe valve B is mounted for rotation on a horizontal axis` after the manner of the valve shown -in the patent to Geyer No. 1,401,150, dated December 27, 1921. The valve structure is also shown in the application of Julius J. Mojonnier, Serial No. 75,953, filed December 17, 1925. f' rThe rotary mem- ;ber 30 of the valve B fits into a transverse bore in the valve casing 29, and is provided with a suitable passage 8,4a which cooperates with passages, 84h, 84 and 82a in the casing 29 to guide the commodity from the pipe 28 to the cylinder C in one position of the valve, and from the cylinder C to the discharge spout D in the alternate position of the valve. The rotary element 30 is provided with a single passage 84aiwhich is shaped as shown more particularly in Fig. 5a. ln the position Shown in that figure, passage 84a establishes connection between passages 84h and 84`of the casing 29, that is to say, from supply conineaeia I necti'on A tohcylinder C. In the alternate position of the member 30, passage 84a connects passage 84"l with outlet 82a and thus 'connects cylinder C with outlet spout D. The

rotary member 30 is held in place in casing 29 by a removable head 45 and thumb screw 46. The disk or head 45 is of slightly greater diameter than the bore in which member 30 fits and thus provides a bearing shoulder at the end of the valve. The opposite end of the member 30 is provided with a similar shoulder 81". The two shoulders bear against opposite ends of the casing and allow the member 30 to be rotated the necessary distances. With this construction it is only necessary to unscrew the thumb screw 46 and then the entire valve member 30 may be readily removed from the casing 29 for cleaning the parts. The rotary valve member 30 .is provided witha crank arm 31 which is connected at its end distant from the thumb screw 46 with a connecting rod 32 which is reciprocated through the agency of a cam roller 33 and a cam track 34 upon a cam member 35 keyed to the upper end of a vertical driving shaft 36 journaledin parts of the frame 20 near the rear end of the machine. The cam wheel 33 is carried by a pivoted lever 37 which is connected at its free end to the rear end of a rod 38, which in turn is connected at its forward end to the rear end of connecting rod 32.` rlhe rod 38 is guided in its recprocations by a guide member 39 secured to the top of the casing 20 of the machine. A short ink 40 serves as the connecting means between the lever 37 and rod 38. The pivotal connection of the lever 37 is provided by a pivot pin 41 which extends through an opening in a boss formed at the end of the lever 37 and finds bearing in an opening through a thickened portion 42 of the main frame 20. A trans.- verse pin 43 and associated washer 44 hold the pin 41 in place. lt will be seen from the relation of these parts that each rotation of the vertical driving shaft 36 causes the valve 30 to pass through a complete cycle which includes two positions. In one of these the commodity is guided into the cylinder, and in the other it is directed as it passes out of the same. rlhis vparticular valve structure has been employed by applicants assignee for some'time and of'itself constitutes no part of our present invention.

rlhe cylinder C is mounted upon the upper side of the casing 20 and exten-ds somewhat beyond its forward edge, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 1. The forward end of the cylinder is fitted to therear end of the valve casing 29. The cylinder is provided with a piston 60a of any preferred construction which cooperates with the cylinder to supply measured charges of thel commodity to the container after theA u manner disclosed in the aforesaid Patent No. 1,502,314. The piston is reciprocated by power transmitted from the upright driving shaft 36 at the rear of the machine. Thecam member 35 which, because of this con` struction, also serves as a crank disk. The

mounting of the pivot 48 upon this disk produces in eect a vcrank upon the upper end of the vertical shaft 36. The crank pin 48 is connected to the rear end of a connecting rod 52 which is connected at its forward end by means of a yoke 53 with trunnions 54 formed on the upper and lower sides of a block 55 which is fixed to an intermediate rock arm 56. As clearly shown, the member 55 is secured to the arm 56 by machine bolts 57 and the upper and lower portions of the member 55 extend above and below the arm 56 in such a way as to bring the -trunnions 54 in line with thefcenter of the arm. By this construction the connecting rod has a lixed pivotal connection with the arm 56 which constitutes an oscillating, member intermediate of the shaft 36 and the cylinder C. The connection between the shaft 36 and the piston of the cylinder is completed through a second connecting rod 58 which is connected at its forward end to the piston a, and at its rear end by means of a yoke, 59 to a pivot pin 60 carried upon a reciprocating block 61 mounted for adjustable movement in a slot 62 formed in the rock arm 56. This adjustment is accomplished through an adjusting screw 63 which has threaded engagement with an opening through the block 6l and only rotary engagement with bearings 64 on the upper l side of the rock arm 56 near its pivot 65. A

hand wheel 66 on the -end of the screw63 enables the latter to be rotated for shifting the block 61 and thereby the pivotal connection between'the connectlng rod 58 and the oscillatmg member 56. Because of the nearness G of the Wheel 66 to the pivot 65, it has only slight movement as the member l56 is oscillated and'may be readily turned by hand even while the machine is in operation. .The adjusting screw 49 :at the rear end of rod 52 constitutes a primary means for adjusting the throw ofthe piston of the cylinder. vThelatter may be given a further refined adjustment by means of the hand wheel 66, as just explained. It may be pointed out that the yoke 53 upon the forward end of the connecting rod 52 is split for the purpose of as-VA sembling the yoke upon the trunnions 54.

- The parts of the yoke 5 3 are held together upon the rod 52 by any suitable means as thebolt and nut connection 67. It will be seenthat each rotation of the vertical driving shaft 36 will cause a complete to and fr0 movement of the cylinder piston. In normal operation the rearward movement of the piston will draw in a charge of the commodity from the supply source, and the forward movement of the same will -orce it through the spout D into the container. This to and fro movement of the piston will synchronize with the movements of the oscil lating valve B.

Beneath the main valve B is located the spout D. This comprises a tubular member 71 which is provided at its upper end with a head 72 finished so as to lit accurately and snugly against the lower end 73 of the valve casing 29. The head 72 is provided with a lateral arm 74 which terminates in a boss 75. The latter is positioned, directly below a similarboss 76 upon an arm 77 extending forward from the valve casing 29. The bosses 75 and 76 are provided with registering vertical openings for the passage of a pin 78 having a head at its lower end and threaded at its upper end for the reception of a knurled nut 79. It will be .seen that by unscrewing the nut 79 the pin 78 may be withdrawn. In such case this portion of the spout D will be free from the structure above it and the same may be removed. On the far side of the head 72 from the arm 74 is avprojecting flange 80. This flange is adapted to rest on a ledge 81 extending outward from the casing 29, as clearly shown in Fig. 1. When assembling the spout, the flange 80 is first placed upon the ledge 8l and the spout` forced upward until the bosses 75 and 76 come into contact and alignment. Then the pin 78 is inserted and the nut 79 applied. It will be seen that this structure is such that the spout D may be readily removed from the casing 29 and the under side of the valve casing readily and thoroughly cleaned, while the spout may also be cleaned after removal from the machine. It may be pointed out in thisv connection that the auxiliary valve G is also provided with a removable connection with its actuating parts so that the spout D and valve may be removed together from the other parts of the machine'.

The valve G is located at the lower end of the spout D and vcomprises two knife members or blades 82, 83 which are mounted to oscillate in a plane at right angles to the axis of, the spout. In the present instance this plane is a horizontal plane. The members 82 and'83, when in engagement, contact along a diameter .of the tubular member 71. When separated., asl clearly shown by the dottedline positions of Fig. 9, they are entirely clear of theA o'pen end of the member 70. In thisway they do not interfere with the passage 'with a laterally extending arm 91 which moves with the plate as a unit. It may be made integral with the plate or as a separate member fixed to the plate. The outer end of the arm 91 is provided with a handhold 92 by which the arm 91 may be manually moved. Obviously, such manual movement will rock the plate 82 about its pivot pin 87. In this way it may be moved from open posi-` tion to closed position and vice versa. In order to transmit this movement to the plate 83 an interconnecting member in the form of a rotatable plate 93 is provided. This rotatable plate lies directly beneath the fiange 86 upon the lower end of the spout member 71, and is adapted to rotate upon a bearing shoulder 94 upon the same member directly beneath the flange 86. The pla-te 93 is thus confined between the flange 86 on the upper side and the knife members 82 and 83 on the under side,y as clearly illustrated in Fig. 10.v

Pin and slot connections are provided between plate 82 and plate 93. Similar connections are provided between plate 83 and plate 93. In the plate 93 there are two slots 95. Cooperating with these'slots are two pins 96. One of these pins is fixed in the member 82 and the other is fixed in the member 83. The slots 95 extend radially and the effect of the movement of plate 82 from the full line position of Fig. 9 to the dotted line position of that figure causes the associated pins 96 to move outward in their slots 95. Thus plate 82 rotates plate 93 and plate 93 in turn rotates plate 83. The movement of arm 91 in one direction will close the cut ofll valve G by bringing plates 82 and 83 to-gether while the movement of the arm 91 in the opposite direction will open said valve by separating said plates.

For the purpose of actuating the arm 91 in timed relation with the valve B, a connection is provided with the connecting rod 32. This includes a sleeve 101 which is rmly clamped to the rod by screws 102. The sleeve 101 has a downwardly projecting arm 103. To the lower end of this arm is pivoted a link 104. The forward end of the link 104 carries a yoke 105. The bifurcated arms of the yoke 105 straddle the member 91 and are provided with-openings through which extends a bolt 106 which is headed at one end and provided with a nut at the other so as to securely attach the yoke 105 to the arm 91. The arm 91 is, obviously, apertured for the passage of the bolt 106. As before pointed out, the removal of the bolt 106 disconnects the eut otl' valve from the link 104 and so, enables the spout D and valve G to be removed as a unit from the rest of the machine. When so removed the same may be readily cleaned.

The containers must be fed to the delivery point beneath the spout D. As before stated, the machine herein disclosed has been devised with a view to handling containers of large capacity. The containers illustrated herein are metal cans capable-of holding as much as step movement while at the same time properly positioning the containers as they travel toward and finally stop in the position directly beneath the spout D ready to receive the contents of the cylinder C. The conveyor comprises uprights 107 and 108 of Variable length. Each upright is provided with an adjustable foot 109. By means of these feet the conveyor can be lined up so as to give a rectilinear path for the upper stretch of the conveyor chain 110/even though the floor on which the conveyor is mounted vis uneven. Besides the uprights, the conveyor includes longitudinal members 111 and 112.- These members are preferably angle irons secured to the tops of the uprights 107 and 108 respectively. As clearly shown, the portion of the conveyor extending along the front of the' machine comprises a table or runway made up of channel irons 113 arranged in an inverted position. Between the two sets of channel irons 113 is a space for the passage of the conveyor chain 110. A channel-iron 114 lies beneath the upper stretch of the chain 110 and serves to support it. At suitable intervals the channel irons 113 and 114 are supported by transverse members 115. Obviously, these different Iparts may be variously arranged. At some points the uprights 107 and 108 are connected by transverse members 116 and these carry channel irons 114 for the support of the lower stretches of the chains. The chain 110 passes over suitable conveyor wheels 117, one such wheel being located at each end of the conveyor. These wheels are preferably mounted each in aI frame 118 which is secured to uprights of the conveyor or other supporting means. Thus in the case of the conveyor' E, we provide an auxiliary bracket97 which is secured at one end to the adjacent frame 118, and at the other end to a portion of the main frame 20. One of the Wheels 117, in the case of each conveyor, is preferably mounted in its frame 118 for adjustment. Fig. 4 wherein the wheel 117 is journaled in 5 movable bearings 119 arranged for adjustment by screws 120. The longitudinal members 111, 112 of the conveyor, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 1, serve as guides and keep the containers F within bounds. The conveyor E, which serves to feed the containers to the delivery position below the spout D, has one of' its wheels 117 mounted in its frame 1,18 upon a shaft 126, the axis of which is parallel to the axis of the cylinder C, but lies to one side of the vertical 'plane through the cylinder axis. The shaft 126 has keyed to it a ratchet wheel 127. This ratchet wheel is located at the end of the shaft nearest the casing 20. A rock arm 128 A is mounted for free oscillation upon the shaft 126 adjacent to the wheel 127. The rock arm 128 carries a driving pawl 129 which falls by gravity into engaging position with the teeth of the ratchet wheel 127 as the arm 128 is oscillated. The oscillation of the arm 128 is provided through connectionswith the vertical lshaft 36 at the rear of the machine. These connections include links and crank arms. The first of these is a link 130 which is connected at one end to the rock arm 128 on the shaft 126, and at the other end to the outer end of a crank 131 which is pivotally mounted within the forward end of the casing 20 beneath the cylinder C. The connection of the link 130 with the rock arm 128 includes a terminal member 132 which is pivoted at the point 133 to the arms of a yoke 134 pivotally mounted on the pin 135 of the rock member 128. The terminal member 132 4o has a threaded bore into which the end of a threaded rod 136 of the link structure 130 passes. .The other end of the rod 136 extends into a like threaded bore in a terminal member 138. The center of the rod is -provided with an angular head so that the rod 136 and its terminal members 132 and 138 may be moved toward or from each other, the threads on the opposite sides of the head being right and left hand threads. Lock nuts 137 serve'4 to hold the parts in adjusted position. The terminal member 138 is connected by a pivot 150 to a bifurcated member 151, the bifurcated arms of which pass on opposite sides of a block 55139 which has trunnions 140 upon its upper and under sides, which trunnions pass through o enings in the bifurcated ends Such a mounting is illustrated inl of the mem er 151. The blockV 139 travels in j a slot 141 formed in the outer end of the crank arm 131. By means of a screw 142 mounted for free rotation in the crankV arm 132 and having threaded engagement with an opening through the block 138, it is possible to adjust the position of the block 139 35 in the direction of the crank arm 131. v- By.

j means of the threaded coupling member 136 the length of the link 130 may be accurately adjusted, and by means of the adjusting screw 142m the crank arm 131 the stroke of the link 130 and, consequently, the strokeK a pivot pin 143. The latter is secured in a i stirrup 144 mounted within the casing 20 beneath the cylinder C. .This stirrup is secured at its ends to the casing 20 by any suitable means as nuts and bolts 1 45. The crank arm 131 is actuated by force applied at an intermediate point. For this purpose a link 146 is employed. This link is connected to the rock arm 131 by pivot pin 147. The opposite end of the link 146 is similarly connected by a pin 148`to the outer end of a crank arm 149 of a bell crank lever 156. The latter is provided with a long central hub or sleeve which is mounted upon a vertical pivot pin 157 xed at its lower end in the stirrup member 144 and at its upper end in a projection 158 from said member. The upper crank arm 159 of the'bell crank lever 156 is connected by a pin 160 with a bifurcated terminal member 161 threaded upon the forward end of a connecting rod 162, a lock nut 163 serving to hold the parts in adjusted position. The rear end of the rod 162 is similarly threaded into an opening in the eccentric strap member 164, a lock nut 163a serving in thisinstance to hold the parts in adjusted position. The eccentric strap is d1- vided and its parts are connected through the instrumentality of bolts 165 and nuts 165. The eccentric strap 164 surrounds and closely embraces an eccentric 166 on the under side of a beveled gear wheel 167 mounted upon the vertical shaft 36 and driven, as we shall see later, independently of that shaft.

As the wheel 167 is rotated, each revolution will produce a to and-fro movement of the connecting rod 162. Such movement -will oscillate the bell cra-nk lever 156 and the latter, by reason of the link 146, will rock crank arm 131 about its pivot pin 143 and cause a Ito and fro movement of the link 130, thelatter in turn producing a suitable oscillation of the driving pawl 129.

Each advance of the ratchet wheel 127 by its pawl 129 will cause the conveyor chain 110 to advance the distance of the two links. As clearly shown, every other link in the chain is provided with a lug 168. These lugs engage behind the containers and advance them each time the' ratchet wheel is moved Yone step. The distance between the lugs 168 is the distance between the centers of adjacent containers when engaging the lugs upon the conveyor chain 110. It will be noted that the upper surfaceK of the links of the upper stretch of the conveyor is elevated slightly above that of the adjacent floor provided by the inverted channel arms 113. The floor thus provided tends to hold the containers back while the chain tends to advance them. The result is that the containers are gradually brought up against the lugs 168 as they advance along the conveyor toward the filling position. These lugs upon the conveyor chain, in conjunction with the adjacent floor of the container, as well as the guides 111, 112, provide thus a means for adjusting the containers in direction lengthwise of the conveyor. Even though the containers are not accurately positioned upon the conveyor by the attendant whose duty it is to put them thereon, yet they will, after traveling a short distance along the conveyor, be brought up into engagement with their respective lugs 168 and thus be accurately spaced for the filling operations which are to take place. The containers are furthermore adjusted laterally of the conveyor E. This is brought about by a long yielding finger 169 which lies opposite the trip finger 170 by which the mechanism for filling is set in operation when a container comes into filling position. The spring finger 169 is pivoted at the point 171 to a bracket 17 2 upon one of the uprights 107 of' the conveyor E. Its forward end, as clearly shown in Fig. 3, extends into a position directly opposlte that of the forward kend of the trip finger 170. At an intermediate point the finger 169 is provided with a downward projection 173. The lower end of this projection is connected to one end of a spring 174. The other endl of the-spring is attached to a fixed part of the frame of the conveyor. The function of the spring is to cause the free end of the finger 169 to yieldingly press toward the vcenter of the conveyor in opposition to the trip finger 170.

The forward end of the finger 169 rides4 upon the floor of the conveyor provided by the inverted channel irons 113. It normally lies in position to be engaged by the oncoming containers. It yields lto the pressure Iapplied by the containers but in so'doing forces them against the trip finger 170. The joint action of the fingers 169 and 170 centers the containers or otherwise properly positions them with reference to t-he width of the conveyor E.-

After the containers are filled they are still advanced step by step along the conveyor E. Of course, they may be manually removed directly from this step by step conveyor after being filled. In other instances, it may be preferable to conduct them to a continuously traveling conveyor, such as the conveyor H. In the inst-ance illustrated, the

conveyors E and H meet at a right angle and the chains 110 upon the conveyor H are not provided with lugs as they are upon the conveyor E. Furthermore, two chains 110 are employed upon conveyor H, while only one such chain is employed upon conveyor y who scrapes off the surplus cream or other commodity from the tops of the containers and places it in the extra container on the table 176. As soon as the extra container is filled, it is shoved on to conveyor H and carried away. Another empty container is then taken from the table 175. The attendant, who uses a spatula or other tool for scraping the surplus commodity off of the top of the containers, places a sheet of paper on the filled container. The scraping operation is merely to give the commodity in the container a smooth upper surface so that the paper may be readily and promptly applied to keep the contents free from contamination. The conveyor H is similar in construction to t-he conveyor E, and need not be described more particularly. The main dierences have been pointed out. As clearly shown, the table 175 is mounted upon the upper ends of uprights 107 and 108, while the table 176 is secured to a plurality of uprights 107 and supported by a brace 177. Since the construction of t-he conveyor H is the same, except for the differences noted, as that of the conveyor E, like reference characters will indicate like parts in both.

It is, of course, important not to discharge a cylinderful of the commodity through the spout D unless a container is in position to receive the same. Accordingly, trip mechanism isprovided which will set the discharging mechanism in operation only when a container is positioned beneath the spout D. As previously noted, a trip finger 170 normally lies in the path of travel of the containers and when a container stops beneath the discharge spout D this trip finger is actuated to cause the vertical driving shaft 36 to make. one revolution. During this revolution the cylinder piston is given one complete to and fro movement and the valves B and G are fully operated. The rotation of the vert-ical shaft 36 is dependent upon a pin clutch associated with the beveled gear wheel 167. This clutch includes a disk 178 keyed adjacent to the lower end vof the shaft 36 and a cooperating pin 179 which is capable of Vertical movement in an opening in the hub of the beveled gear wheel 167. When unhindered, the pin 179 will enter an opening in the disk 178 and the shaft 136 will rotate in response to the rotation of the wheel 167. The upper end of the pin 179 carries a laterally extending pin 180 upon which is mounted a cam wheel 181.

Normally, the cam wheel 181 rides up over the cam surface 182 upon the end of a pivoted arm or member 183. As the wheel 181 rides up over the cam surface 182, it withdraws the pin 179 from the disk 178 and the Wheel 167 rotates one revolution without rotating the shaft 36. When that revolution is completed, if the cam 182 is still in position to engage the cam wheel 181, the pin 179 is held up and can not drop into the opening in the disk 1,78. Consequently, the wheel 167 makes another revolution Without rotating the shaft 36. Thus it will be seen that as long as thecam face 182 is in position to he engaged by the cam wheel 181, the shaft 36 will not rotate. Since the shaft 36 must rotate in ordei` to discharge the commodity into the container, it becomes necessary to shift the cam surface 182 out of the path of the cam wheel ,181 whenever the right condition exists for the discharge -of the commodity. F or this purpose the arm 183 which carries the cam face 182 is mounted on a vertical pivot pin 184 suitably secured to a casing 20. Normally, a spring 185 acts between an arm 186 upon the cam member 183 and a fixed point on the frame to hold the cam face ,182 in position to be engaged by the cam wheel 181. To rock the member'183' against the tension of the spring 185 and in response to movements of the trip finger 170, suitable link and lever' connections are employed. These include a link 187 which connects the arm 186 of the cam member 183 with a lever 188 which is pivoted to a bracket 189 carried by a transverse member 190 of the frame structure of the machine. The lever 188 is in turn connected at a point some distance from its pivot to the rear end of a rod 191. The forward end of the latter is connected to an arm 192 secured to the upper end of a vertical rod 193. The latter is mounted in hangers 194 secured to the. frontof the main casing 20. The trip finger 170 `is secured to the lower end of the rod 193. ,With this construction it will'be seen that a movement of the trip linger 170 to the right, as the\parts are viewed in Fig. 5, will cause the rod 191 to move toward the front of the machine with a consequent similar movement of the rod 187 and the arm 186 upon the cam member 183. This forward movementwill throw the cam face 182 out of the pa'th of travel of the cam Wheel 181. The result of this action will be, as before noted, to allow the pin 179 to engage its opening in the disk 178 and thus clutch the shaft 36 to the driving wheel 167 for at least one revolution. In order to provide for manually actuating the trip mechanism, the arm 192 is provided with a handheld 195. Byfa forward pull upon the latter the trip mechanism will be actuated as just described. Furthermore, if it is desired to manually operate the trip mechanism while examining some portion of the machine and standing near the center of the casing 20, the hand levers 196 may be used. These are fixed at the opposite ends of a rod 197, which is journaled at its ends in the opposite side walls of the casing 20. At an intermediate point the rod 197 is provided with a crank arm 198 which is fixed upon the rod and pivotally connected at its outer end to the forward end of a rod 199. The rlatter is connected at its rear end to the inner end of the lever 188. The relation of the connections is such that a forward and downward pull upon either of the hand levers 196 will bring about the trip movement previously described.

For driving the machine parts we preferably employ an electric motor 206 suitably mounted within the casing 20 at a point near the rear of the machine and underneath the lower bearing of the shaft 36 which, by the way, is a thrust bearing employing a ball 207. This bearing is located in a'transverse member 208 of the machine frame. This member provides, with the frame members 209 and 210, suitable bearings for horizontal shafts 211 and 212, the latter being located directly above the former. The pinion 213 on the shaft of the motor 206 meshes with a gear Wheel 214 keyed to the shaft 211. A pinion 215 is likewise keyed to the shaft 211. The latter pinion meshes with a gear wheel 216 y keyed to the shaft 212. The latter shaft carries a beveled pinion 217 which meshes with the teeth of the beveled gear wheel 167. By following out this train of gearing, it will be seen that the wheel 167 is driven continuously so long as the motor 206 is in operation. In view of this fact, the step by step mech-` anism which is driven through the eccentric 166 is also driven continuously, that is to say, as long as they motor is in operation. The other parts of the mechanism, namely, the vcylinder piston, the main oscillating valve B, and the cut off valve G, are dependent for their operations upon thel rotation of the shaft 36, and the latter, as we have seen, is dependent upon the position of the trip mechanism for operating the pin clutch members 178 and 179.

In carrying out our invention, obviously many alterationsand modifications may be made in the particular structures illustrated without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Likewise dierent parts of the disclosure may be used independently of each other and still come within the purview of the invention. We, therefore,.do not wish to be limited to the exact constructions shown but aim to cover all those alterations and modifications which rightly come Within the scope of the invention, by the terms of the appended claims.

What we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a machine of the class described, a source of commodity supply, a constantly rotating driving member, cyclic means operative when tripped to complete a cycle of operations during a given rotary travel of said driving member to withdraw a charge of the commodity from said source and deliver the same at a delivery point, a conveyor chain traveling at a fixed level through said delivery point and operative to convey containers to and beyond said point, guides along said chain for keeping the containers in engagement with said chain, a floor cooperating with said chain to support said containers as they are conveyed,means on said chain cooperating with said fioor to space the containers longitudinally as they are conveyed, pawl .and ratchet means for advancing said chain by intermittent steps, each step being equal to said spacing and one step occurring during each said given rotary travel of said driving member, a trip finger at said delivery point extending outward toward said chain, a spring finger opposed to said trip finger and serving to force the containers against said trip finger, and means responsive to the actuation of said trip finger to connect said cy- -clic means to said driving member for operation through said cycle to withdraw a charge of commodity from said supply and deliver the same into the container operating said trip finger.

2. In a machine of the class described, a source of commodity supply, a constantly rotating driving member, cyclic means operative when tripped to complete a cycle of operations during a given rotary travel of said driving member to withdraw a charge of the commodity from said source and deliver the same at a delivery point, a conveyer chain traveling at a fixed level through said delivery point and operative to convey containers to and-beyond said point, guides along op posite sides of said chain to form a channel for the containers in contact with said chain, a floor for said channel on either side of said chain having its upper container-engaging Y chain intermittently in steps each equal to the space between adjacent lugs and each advance step occurrin during each said given rotary travel of sai driving member, a -trip finger at said delivery point extending outward toward said chain, a spring finger opposed to said trip finger and serving to force the containers in the channel against said trip finger, and means responsive to the actuation of said trip finger to connect said cyclic means to said driving member for operation through said cycle to withdraw a charge of commodity from said source and deliver the same into the container at the delivery point.

3. In a machine of the class described, a source of commodity supply, a constantly rotating driving member, cyclic means operative when tripped to complete a cycle of operations during a given rotary travel of said driving member to withdraw a charge of the commodity from said source and deliver the same at a delivery point, a conveyer chain traveling at a fixed level through said delivery point, continuous guides on each side of said chain, similar continuous floor members on each side of said chain having between them a chain space extending lengthwise of the conveyer channel, said guides and fioor members being fixed in elevation at said delivery point and the upper surfaces of the fioor members being slightly lower than the upper surfaces of the chain links, upstanding lugs on said chain spaced apart far enough to allow a container to be positioned between two adjacent lugs, said link surfaces, lugs and floor cooperating to position the containers against said lugs respectively in columnar arrangement in the conveyor channel as said conveyor chain travels, means for advancing said chain in steps each equal to the space between adjacent lugs, one step for each said cycle of operations, trip and spring fingers at the delivery point for engaging opposite sides of the containers as they are presented at the delivery point, and means responsive to the movement of the trip finger by a container to connect said cyclic means to said driving member for operation through said cycle to withdraw a charge of commodity from said source and deliver the same into the container at the delivery point.

4. In a machine of the class described, means for delivering charges of a commodity at a delivery point; a conveyer for use in bringing containers to said delivery point, said conveyer comprising a conveyer chain and a substantially horizontal fioorl and guides on either side of the conveying stretch of said chain, said stretch of chain, floor and guides all extending through said delivery "point at fixed elevations, the upper surface of each link, when in the upper stretch of the chain, being in sectional elevation higher at its center than at its outer edges and sloping downward from its center to its outer edges and said center being higher than the upper surface of said fioor; upstanding lugs on said chain; the Hoor acting upon the containers to hold them back while the elevated surface of the chain tends to advance them,'said floor and surface thus cooperating until the containers are finally brought up against said lugs, said lugs thereupon advancing the containers in more or less regular spaced relation; an inclined trip finger and an opposing oppositely inclined yielding finger for engaging opposite sides of the containers as they approach the delivery point to position them centrally over the chain directly in front of their respectively engaged lugs at said point, the sloping portions of the upper surfaces of the links providing an inclined surface for the containers to travel on when moved laterally by said fingers to central position; and means responsive to the actuation of said trip finger by the container being positioned at the delivery point, to actuate said delivering means to place a charge of the commodity in the positioned container.

5. In a machine of the class described, means for delivering charges of a commodity at a. delivery point; a conveyer chain for advancing containers to and beyond said delivery point; means for advancing said chain step by step with intervals of rest; a floor extending through said delivery point and having a longitudinal space. for the passage of said chain, the level of said Hoor on each side of said chain being such that its upper container-engaging'surface is slightly below the upper container-engaging surface of the links of said chain whereby the chain tends to advance the containers and the floor tends to hold them back, the container-engaging surface of each link being in cross section highest at its center and gradually sloping down to its outer edges; upstanding lugs on links of said chain, said lugs beingspaced apart far enough to allow for the placing of containers between any lug and the next and serving to ultimately engage the containers and advance them successively by equal steps at first to a position of rest in a vertical plane through said delivery point and then to posiA tions of rest beyond said point, said vertical plane extending at right angles to the line of travel of the conveyer; guiding lingers above said floor having their forwardends approaching nearest to each other at the delivery point and operating to move the containers as they come to said point directly .over the center of said chain at said point,

the sloping portionsof the upper surface of the links providing inclined surfaces over which the containers may be readily moved under the lateral pressure of said guiding fingers; and means set in operation by the movement of one of said fingers to operate said delivering means to place a charge of the commodity in the container at the delivery point.

6. In a machine of the class described,

means for delivering charges of a commodity at a delivery point; a conveyer chain for advancing containers to and beyond said delivery point; means for advancing said chain step by step with intervals of rest; a floor extending through said delivery point and having a' longitudinal space for the passage of said chain, the level of said floor on each side of said chain being such that its upper container-engaging surface is slightly below the upper container-engaging surface of the links of said chain whereby the chain surface tends to ladvance the containers and the floor applies .a drag which tends to hold them back, the container-engaging surface of each link being in cross section highest at its center and gradually sloping down to its outer edges; upstanding lugs on links of said chain, said lugs being spaced apart longitudinally of the chain far enough to allow for the placing of a container between any one lug and the next, said lugs serving to engage the containers when drawn back by the floor and then to advance them over said floor to and through the delivery point, the conveyer coming to rest Withthe containers successively at the delivery. point; centering means engaging opposite sides of the containers and operating to shift them transversely of the line of travel of said chain as they approach the delivery point, the sloping portions of the upper surfaces of the links providing inclined planes over which the containers may be easily moved by said centering means; and means responsive to the movement of said centering means upon the centering of each container to actuate said delivering means to place a charge of the commodity in the centered container.

7. In a machine of the class described, a commodity supply connection, means operative to receive the commodity from said supply connection and deliver the same in charges at a delivery point, a fixed conveyor floor extending through said point, said floor having a longitudinal space for a conveying chain, a conveying chain traveling lengthwise of said Hoor in said space through said delivery point, the level of thetop of the chain while traveling through the conveying stretch being slightly above that of said Hoor whereby the chains upper surface tends to advance the containers thereon and the floor applies a drag which tends to hold the oontainers back, the container-engaging surface of each link being in cross section highest at its center and sloping down to its outer edges, upstanding spaced lugs on said chain, said lugs serving to engage the containers when retarded by the floor'and then, when thus engaged, to advance them over said floor to and through said delivery point, guides extending through said delivery point on each side of said floor for limiting the latteral movement of the containers being advanced by said chain, an inwardly and rearwardly inclined trip finger at said delivery point extending toward said chain at a level just above said floor, an inwardly and rearwardly inclined spring finger extending toward said chain from the opposite side of the same-at a level just above said floor, said two inclined fingers operating to shift the containers over the sloping surfaces of said links to center them over said chain at said delivery point, and means actuated by said trip linger to cause said commodity handl-ing parts to deliver a charge into the container operating said trip finger.

8. In a machine of the class described, a source of commodity supply, a constantly rotating driving member, cyclic means operative when tripped to complete a cycle of operations during a given rotary travel of said driving member to withdraw a charge of the commodity from said source and deliver the same at a delivery point, a conveyor chain traveling at a fixed level through said delivery point and operative to convey containers to and beyond said point. guides along said chain for keeping the containers in engage ment with said chain, a floor cooperating with said chain to support said containers as they are conveyed, said floor having its upper container-engaging surface slightly below the upper container-engaging surface of that portion of the chain which is at the moment in conveying position, said iioor and chain surfaces having slip frictional engagement with containers being conveyed, the chain surfaces tending to advance the containers and the floor surfaces tending to retard them and to cause them to slip back over said chain surfaces, stop means on said chain at intervals to engage the containers to limit their backward movement over said chain surfaces to space them apart and to compel them to advance at the speed of said chain and to successively present themselves at said delivery point, pawl and ratchet mechanism for advancing said chainy by intermittent steps, said steps corresponding to the said spacing of said stop means and there being one step for each said given rotary travel of said driving member, and means actuated by a container at said delivery point to connect said cyclic means to said driven member for operation through a cycle.

9. In a machine of the class described', a source of commodity supply, a constantly rotating driving member, cyclic means operative when tripped lto complete a cycle of operations during a given rotary travel of said driving member to withdraw a charge of the commodity from saidsource and deliver the same at a delivery point, a conveyor chain traveling at a tixed level through said delivery point and operative to convey containers to and beyond said point, guides along op osite sides of said chain to orm a channel or the containers in contact with said chain, a floor having a central track on which the container-advancing stretch of said chain travels, the upper surface oit the chain in said stretch being slightly above that of said floor, the chain surface engaging the con tainers by slip frictional engagement tending to advance them through said stretch, the fioor meanwhile engaging the containers and frictionally retarding their advance and tending to draw them backward over the advancing chain surface, upstanding equally spaced lugs on said chain spaced farther apart than the horizontal dimension of the containers so that. containers may be readily and inexactly located between them, said lugs operating to engage the containers to limit their backward movement over said chain surface and to positively engage them and thus cause their advance to said delivery point at the speed of said chain and in spaced relation to each other, pawl and ratchet mechanism for advancing said chain intermittently in steps each equal to the space between adjacent lugs and each advance step occurring during each said given rotary travel of said driving member, and means actuated by a container at said delivery point. to connect said cyclic means to said driving member for operation through a cycle to withdraw a charge of commodity from said source and deliver it into the container at said delivery point.A

ln witness whereof, we have hereunto aff fixed our signatures this 8th day of October` JULIUS J. MOJONNIER. HARLEY R. PHILLIPS;

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