US2319167A - Casing machine - Google Patents

Description

May 11, 1943. R. J. STEWART CASING MACHINE Filed Nov. 10, 1941 .9 Sheets-Sheet 1 m mum y 11, 1 R. J. STEWART- 2,319,167

' CASING AciuuE Filed Nov. 10, 1941 9 Sheets-Sheet 2 g; (3 11 Ky J I Robe/'7" J. Sfewarfi.

R. J. STEWART 2,319,167

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CASING MACHINE May' 11,1943.

9 Sheets-Sheet 6 May 11,1943. R. J. STEWART- CASING MACHINE Filed Nov. 10, 1941 9 Sheets-Sheet '1 R. J. STEWART 2,319,167

CASING MACHINE Filed Nov. 10,' 1941 May 11, 1943.

9 Sheets-Sheet 8 May 11, 1943. v R. J. STEWART 2,319,167

- CASING MACHINE Filed NOV. 10, 1941 9 Sheets-Sheet 9 Patented May 11, 1943 CASING MACHINE Robert J. Stewart, Baltimore, Ma, assignor to Crown Cork & Seal Company, Inc., Baltimore, Md a corporation of New York Application November 10, 1941, Serial No. 418,613

a Claims. (01. 226-14) The present invention relates to a casing machine, and, more particularly, to a machine for delivering bottles or other articles to crates or other types of receptacle.

, An important object of the invention is to pro vide an apparatus capable of operation at optimum speed to place articles in receptacles.

Another important object of the invention is to provide a casing machine whereby articles may be moved from a continuously moving line and successively placed in proper position in moving receptacles. a

Another object of the invention is to provide a system of controls for a casing machine which will insure that the machine will only start operation when the supply of articles to be cased is adequate and the articles are in proper position. In addition, the control will prevent the machine from being placed in operation until the proper supply of receptacles is at hand and no articles are jammed with respect to the machine.

A still further object of the invention is to provide amechanism responsive to'jamming of articles and which will lock in the position to which it is moved by the occurrence of a jam.

This arrangement insures that the machine can not be accidentally started and, in addition, serves to prevent the operator from starting the machine until he has moved to the point at which the jam occurred to clear the same.

Another object of the invention is to provide easing fingers to control the dropping movement of articles into receptacles and which fingers are so mounted as to have a movement of optimum eiilciency to-direct the articles along proper lines and, in addition, prevent the articles from being vention assures that the crates will be maintained with their walls parallel to the line along which the bottles will drop and will also have their pockets aligned with that path. In addition, the machine maintains the bottles .on the proper line during their dropping movement.

It has heretofore been proposed to control dropping movement of articles into a crate by flngers movable through an orbital path. However,

the fingers of the present invention are so mounted and operated that they will always be under positive control to move through an orbital path of the most desirable form. I

Another object of the invention is to provide a bottle casing machine of the type including" bottle and crate moving elements and wherein these elements are driven by means of optimum will be apparent from the following drawings, a

wherein- Figure 1 is a rear elevation of the apparatus; Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view onthe line 2-2 of Figure 3;

Figure 3 is a side view of the apparatus, looking toward the machine from the right hand portion of Figures 1 and 2;

Figure 4 is a central vertical sectional view through the machine on the line H of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 2 but with certain operating elements omitted;

Figure 5a is a detail vertical section on the line Stu-5a of Figure 5;

Figure 6 is an enlarged and fragmentary vertical sectional view taken on the angled line 8-8 of Figure 5;

Figure '7 is a view similar to Figure 6 taken on the line 'l! of Figure 5;

Figure 8 is a vertical section showing details of the operating mechanism;

Figure 9 is a view similar to Figure 8 but showing the elements at a successive stage inv their operation;

Figures 10 to 17 are detail vertical sectional views of a portion of the mechanism shown in Figures 8 and 9 andshowing the operating elements in successive stages of their cycle;

Figure 18 is a generally horizontal sectional view on the line l8 |8 of Figure 9, with the guide chutes omitted; and

Figure 19 is a view diagrammatically showing,

the control circuits of the apparatus.

The construction and operation of the 'ap-. paratus may be generally described as follows: Referring to Figures 1 to 5, bottles B move to the apparatus on a bottle conveyor 8 (Figure 3) from a filling machine or the like, the conveyor 8 being driven by a motor 9 throug suitable variable speed gearing. Receptacles or cases C, forexample, bottle crates, move to the apparatus on a crate conveyor Ill moving along a line at right angles to the movement of the certain bottle conveyor 8 and below thelatter conveyor. Conveyor Ill is suitably driven by a motor which is not shown.

A drum device ll (Figures 2 and 4) is freely rotatable about a horizontal shaft lla journaled directly above bottle conveyor 8, the drum comprising a vertically arranged disc l2 and series of circumferentially spaced pins l3 pro jecting from its front face along lines parallel with its axis. The arrangement of the pins with respect to bottle conveyor 8 is indicated in Figure 8, from which it will be noted that the pins (entire pushing load.

define pockets to receive the bottles in lines ex- 7 the vertical axes of the bottles extendingradially of the drum.

The bottles or other articles to be cased are urged into the pockets of drum II by the continued movement of the conveyor 8. Drum II is rotated step by step. about shaft lla through a cam operated and pawl carrying lever generally indicated in Figures 8 and 9 and rotation of the drum causes a group of bottles corresponding to the width capacity of a crate, usually four bottles, to be moved step by step from bottle conveyor 8 and upwardly along a fixed plate l4 to the position illustrated at the left of Figure 8. When the bottles reach this position they will be pushed off the plate I! to move downwardly along its skirt l toward the pockets of a crate C which is supported upon an upwardly inclined roller conveyor It.

At the time the bottles reach the position shown at the left in Figure 8 and also shown at the left in Figure 12, one of a plurality of eas- 11m fingers l'l pivoted on a horizontal axis will engage the bottom of each bottle so that the bottle may only move downwardly along the skirt l5 and between vertically extending guide vanes l8 (Figure 5) in accordance with the downward movement of the fingers ll. Figures 12 to 17 diagrammatically illustrate the movement of the fingers I] after they have engaged the bottom of the bottle and it will be observed from Figures 16 and 17 that the fingers l1 finally move behind the skirt l5 so as to become disengaged from the bottle, permitting the latter to drop into the pocket of the crate C as shown in Figure 17.

The crates C are advanced up the inclined conveyor l8 by a crate moving element l8 which engages the cross dividing walls D of the crates C and, alternatively, the end walls E. The type of crate disclosed in the drawings includes twenty-four pockets, arranged in six cross rows, with four pockets in each cross-row. Referring to Figures 8 and 9, stop arms or crate holding means 28 to engage the crate walls D or E are so positioned with respect to skirt l5 that they will cooperate with the crate moving element l8 to hold thercrates in such position that a line of cross pockets will be in proper position to receive dropping bottles. As a result, the descending bottles will move into the cross line of pockets P, their. only free dropping movement being that which occurs after the bottom of the bottle has reached a point immediately above the crate as indicated in Figure 15.

A generally horizontal plate 2| best. shown in Figures 8, 9 and to 1? moves forwardly and backwardly with the bottle easing fingers up inclined conveyor l8 by pulling element I9,

the forward edge of plate 2| will bear against the bottles just dropped into the crate being filled. This action of plate 2l will assist in moving the crates up incline l6. In the event the crate wall to be engaged by crate moving element I9 is broken, plate 2| can assume the In addition, should a bottle drop to stand upon theupper edge of a crate cross wall, plate 2l will push the bottle into a crate pocket.

The apparatusincludes controls to insure that the machine will only operate when a supply of bottles or other articles and crates or other receptacles are delivered thereto, and also controls to insure that the machine will only start when the proper number of bottles has been positioned in each pocket of the drum l2. It further includes a control to prevent the machine from operating in the event that a bottle is knocked over or becomes jammed while being moved into a drum pocket.

More particularly, a detector 22 best show in Figure 5 functions to stop operation of the machine in the event that a gap occurs in the line of bottles delivered by conveyor 8 and a detector 23 on the crate conveyor l0 best shown in Figure l is responsive to the feed of crates to the machine. A detector 24 shown in Figure 5 is responsive to the feeding of bottles to the drum II and will prevent the drum from being started until the full number of bottles to be placed in the pocket of a crate is received in a drum pocket. A detector 25 also shown in Figure 5 isso positioned that should a bottle be in such position that, on the advancing movement of the drum, it straddles the drum pocket and the corner of detector 25, either while the bottle is in an upright or a horizontal position. the movement of the machine will be stopped.

The specific structure of the embodiment of the apparatus disclosed in the drawings includes a frame including four or more vertical upright elements 30 which support a lower horizontal framework SI and superposed horizontal frame elements 32 and 83. As best shown in Figures 2, 3 and 4, the disc l2 of drum ll is secured to a sleeve 4| which is freely rotatable upon a horizontal shaft lla joumalled on the upper horizontal framework 33. The disc l2 has a large ratchet wheel 45 fixed to the side thereof opposite that from which the pins I! extend. The drum pins l3 preferably include a circular row of relatively large diametered pins .46 extending from the drum along a circular line near the periphery of disc I! together with a circular series of pins 41 of somewhat smaller size arranged on a circle of somewhat smaller diameter. Referring to Figure 8, for example, it will be noted that a pin 48 and a pin 41 are both arranged along a line extending radially through the axis of drum II. By this arrangement. apair of adjacent pins 46 and a pair of adjacent pins 41 form a pocket between them in which a bottle may stand, the more closely spaced pins d1 causing the pocket to be reduced at its upper portion. that is. its portion nearest the diameter of the drum. It will be understood thatthearrangement of the pins may be varied to define pockets of somewhat d fferent configuration but which will still hold articles in such position that their vertical axes will extend radially with respect to the axis of the drum while moving with the drum. I The bottle conveyor 8 is preferably formed of metal links having a fiat upper surface to support the articles and, as best-shown in Figures to '7, moves on a trackway 48 which extends across the frame of theapparatus somewhat above the horizontal framework 32. The conveyor movesabout a sprocket wheel 48 positioned at the outer side of the disc I2 of drum I I so that the top run of conveyor 8 will move bottles entirely within the pockets ofthe drum. The rotation of drum II ment to move a line of bottles forward fromthe in a clockwise manner relative to Figure 2 will cause bottles to be swept off one side of the conveyor 8 as indicated by the arrow in Figure 5. The framework 58 which'guides the movement of the bottles on conveyor 8 may be extended as indicated at 51 on the opposite side of the conveyor 8 to a point adjacent the disc I2.

Referring to Figures 8 and 9, the plate I4 across which bottles move with drum II is fixed in theframework and is curved upwardly from the conveyor trackway 48 so that it conforms to the diameter of the disc I2, .thereby insuring that conveyor 8. The pawl'GIl willridealon'g ratchet wheel upon upward'm'ovement 'of' rodjflf'so as to engage the next tooth. 'Inordertoprevent the drum from turning in the opposite direction, a. sto'p'arin 'Il' is pivoted on the upper 'tion of bottles may be smoothly moved from conveyor 8 to and along plate l4 Without their position with respect to the axis of the drum being changed. As best shown in Figures 4 and 5, a vertical wall 52 extends along theplate I4 parallel with the disc I2 of the drum, the disc and wall thereby serving to generally direct the movement of bottles along plate I4.

The skirt I5 down which the bottles slide from the plate I4 to the crate pockets is shown in top plan in Figure 5. It will be observed from this view that skirt I5 comprises a plurality of depending blocks 53 supported at their upper ends,

as also shown in Figure 14, by a cross bar 54 fixed to the frame ofthe apparatus. It will also be noted from Figure 5 that the blocks 53 are of such form that two adjacent blocks form a chute 55 down which a bottle may slide, with a vertically extending slot 56 between the blocks in which the fingers I1 operate.

Each block also supports a vertically extending plate or guide vane forming part of the group of vertical guide vanes I8, the purpose of these vanes being to prevent the bottles from moving sidewise as they drop in the chutes 55 and, further-- more, to deflect and space the bottles just prior to and during their dropping movement so that each, bottle will be transversely aligned with a; crate pocket at the conclusion of its dropping movement. That is, at the time that the bottles are. moved from the conveyor 8 by the drum II, they are in contact and they must be spaced somewhat before they can properly drop into the crate pockets. Figure 5 illustrates the center vane 51 of group I8 as vertical while the two adjacent vanes are inclined toward the reenter plate at their portions nearest the conveyor 8 so as to space the two outermost bottles of a line he of four from the two center bottles.

Referring to Figures 2, 8 and 9, the mechanism for moving the drum II step by step may be generally described as comprising a pawl device 68 operated from a cam shaft 6I driven by a. motor 62 through a suitable speed reduction unit 68. 'Pawl 68 ismoved in timed relation with the engaged by a strap 66 carried by a rod 61 pivotallir connected as indicated at 68 to a bell-crank 68 keyed to the shaft I la on which the drum II the frame '30 to, drop int the ratc they move beneath the same.,f In

v dition, a spring pressed plunger I2 may be mounted in the upper portion of the frame3ilto bearupon disc I2 and prevent overrun'ning. ,The pivotof stop arm II may be eccentrically mounted to render it adjustable. I A.

Just below plate I4, as shown n Figure 8, the vertical arm 80 of bell-crank 6 supports one end of a cross rod 88a as best shownin Figure I8, the other end of rod 88a being supported by a lever 80b keyed to shaft IIa to swing with the bell-crank 68. A generally horizontal U-shaped bracket BI is pivoted on rod 80a and the cross bar 8Ia of this bracket carries the crate pulling elements I9. provided and, as shown in Figure 18, these elements are of rod formation and each carries a pawl 82 at its free end, each pawl being urged to a limit position by a spring 83 acting upon its upper portion. The elements I8 are adjustably mounted in cross rod 8Iq so that thepositlon of each pawllengthwise of inclined conveyor I6 may be varied.

As best shown in Figures 2 and 9, a cam fo-llower 81 engaging a cam 86 carried on cam shaft 6| has its upper end pivotally connected to the frame 8 I. Cam 86 is so timed with respect to eccentric that the raising and lowering-of. the elements I8 will have a timed relation with ;respect to the forward movement (clockwise move- 5 rriient in Figures 2, 8 and 9) of the. vertical arm the forward rotation of drum II, the elements I8 will be in lowered position so that they will be in engagement with a wall D or Ev of the crate immediately behind the crate to be filled. At' the end of their forward stroke, cam 86 will cause the elements I8 to lift to release the crates, ordinarily permitting the line of crates to slide backwardly by gravity until the cratewall whichhas Just been engaged by the pawls 82 of the elements I9 will contact with the stop arms 28.

Then, as the bell-crank 68 is rotated in a counterclockwise or backward direction by eccentric 65, the elements I8, still in raised position, will like wise move backwardly. At the conclusion of the .crate pulling element I8 and the bottle easing backward movement ofbell-crank 69, cam 86 will permit elements I8 to drop sothat when their advancing movement again occurs, they will contact with the next succeeding cross wall of a crate. It is ordinarily preferred to "have the backward movement of the elements I8 continued to a point well behindthe crate wall to be engaged so'that the engaging ends of the pawls 82 will drop down behind such walls-and then come forward on their advancingmovement to contact the walls. However, should a pawl Four elements I9 are preferably 82 contact with a crate wall during backward movement of the pawl, the pawl will simplyturn against the action of itsv spring 83 to slide over the wall. Elements I! thus move'in an elongated orbital path.

The crate pulling elements It preferably push the crates up the inclined conveyor IS a sufiicient distance that the rear cross wall of the pockets to be filled will be positioned directly in the path of the dropping bottlesas indicated in Figure 13, and the crates then drop backwardly by gravity to the position indicated in Figure 15, in which position the crate stop arms 20 are in contact with the crate. In other words, the positionof the crates with respect to the vertical bottle guiding skirt I5 is finally controlled by the stop arms '20.

The stop arms are preferably mounted on an eccentric pivot so that their position can be adjusted lengthwise of conveyor l8.

it is not possible to align crate pockets with skirt I! simply by advancing the crates on each forward strokeof pullers l9 by a distance corresponding to the distance between the center lines of adjacent pockets in a crate. Obviously, if such practice we're followed, the rear wall of the of a crate would not reach skirt ii.

To compensate for the above condition, the

pullers It, on each forward stroke, advance the line of crates by a distance at leastequal to the distance between-pocket center-lines in a crate, plus the difference between the thickness of one dividing wall D and the thickness of twoend walls E. If the stop arms 20 are then so positioned that the same number of end walls E will always be between their front faces and the front surface of skirt ii, the front surface of a rear wall of a crate pocket will always come to rest in exact, alignment with skirt ii.

In practice, it is found desirable to have the distance between the front faces of stop arms 20 andithe front surface of skirt l5 equal to the overall length of a crate, minus the inside dimension of one pocket. Also, it is most practicable to have the pullers l9 follow a somewhat longer stroke than that specified above for, by lengthening the stroke, it will be assured that the stop arms 20 will always readily drop into position. The stroke of the pullers l8 furthermoremust be so arranged thattheir forward movement will begin far enough to the rear to readily drop behind two pairs of thick walls E. I

As has been stated above, when operating upon crates of the type disclosed herein, the stop arms 20, finally control the alignment of the crate pockets beneath skirt l5 and the pullers I! preferably act only as -crate advancing or moving means. Howevenin some instances, even with pockets immediately behind the leading wall E of the pullers could terminate exactly at the point at which the stop arms 20 drop. That is, with the pullers having a stroke equal to the distance between crate pocket center lines plus the difference between one wall D and two walls E, the stroke could start that distance back of stop arms 20 even though the only time the pullers l9 would immediately contact withcrate walls would be when striking an end wall E. This arrangementwould eliminate the necessity of having the crates drop backwardly any substantial distance, because they would always stop exactly in alignment with skirt l5, In other words, all compensation for wall thickness would occur during the initial portion of the forward stroke of the pullers l9, instead of after the forward stroke is completed.

Referring to Figure 4, the inclined conveyor I8 is provided on one side with an adiustably mounted strip Na which carries rollers against which the side walls of the crates are forced by I spring-pressed rollers lib on the opposite side of the conveyor frame. By this arrangement,

the longitudinal partitions of the crates are maintained in alignment with the vanes of the bottle guiding plates l8. As best shown in Figures 8 and 18, the bottle easing fingers H are fixed to a rocker shaft ll journaled in bell-crank arm at and lever "b above rod 80a. Hence, the swinging movement of bell crank 69 controls the forward and backward movement of fingers ll into and out of the path of dropping movement of the bottles. However, the i'aising and lowering movement of fingers I1 is primarily controlled by a cam l5 fixed to the cam shaft 6| andiwhich is engaged movement of the bottles and will move them downwardly after they,have reached advanced position. As is hereinafter-more fully described.

- the resulting movement given the free ends of the fingers I! is orbital as showings of Figures 10 to 1'7. I

.As has been hereinbefore stated, plate 2| functions as a crate pushing means in the event that the other pushing or pulling means I! fails to make contact with a dividing wall D due to the fact that the upper portion of such wall D is broken. For this purpose, plate 2| has two upwardly extending ears I" at its ends which crates of the type referred to, the pullers I! may be used to both move and align the receptacles v and the stop arms 20 may simply act as"means positioned behind skirt I! a distance equal to.

the overall length of a crate minus the inside diameter of a crate pocket and the forward stroke 7 merit of the fingers n,

are apertured to loosely fit on rod a as shown in Figures 10 and 18. Each ear III! has a bifurcated upper portion to form legs Illi'which loose- 1y embrace easing finger shaft 94. Set screws mounted in the legs I06 opposite shaft control the swinging movement of the plate. A

spring Hll connected between bell-crank arm II and plate 2| urges-the latter to its upward position as controlled by forward leg Ill. and shown in FigurelO. In this position the plate will clear the top edge of the crate. Plate 2| will be urged to a downward position such as shown in Figure 16 by contact of the fingers/I1 therewith, this position being controlled byf the rear legs I". The set screws carried by the rear legs will, of course, be so adjusted as not to indicated a by the hamper move,-

asiaicr and 01 will follow cams 83 and 95, respectively,

springs may be connected between the followers and the machine frame to urge the followers downwardly.

The control devices to insure that the apparatus will stop when a gap occurs in the delivery of crates or bottles, or when a bottle becomes jammed between the rotating drum and the conveyor 0, and also to insure that the machine will not start unless the proper number of bottles is placed in a drum pocket, are as follows: v

The detector 22 to insure that the machine will stop in the event that a gap' occurs in the line of bottles upon the infeed bottle conveyor 8 comprises a plate I20 best shown in Figures 5, 5a, and 6 and positioned on the conveyor framework 48 alongside of the upper run of the conveyor 8 and at a point fairly close to the upper surface of the conveyor as shown in'Figure 5a.

Plate I is fixed to a bracket I2I and bracket I2I is pivoted at its lower end on a horizontal line as indicated at I22 to amounting plate I23 fixed to the side of the conveyor frame 48. At its lower end the bracket I2I includes a rearward projection I24 adapted to bear, through an adjustable set screw, upon an electric switch I25. The operating button of switch I25 against which the set screw bears is adapted to be urged to opened position by a spring within the switch of suflicient force to urge bracket projection I24 upwardly and thereby hold bracket I M and plate I20 inwardly toward the center-line of bottle conveyor 8. Inward movement of bracket I2I is limited by a set screw I22a. The moving elements of detector 22 are so balanced on pivot I22 that no pressure isexerted upon the spring of switch I25 unless a bottle is contacting plate I20.

As best shown in Figure 5, plate I20 extends lengthwise of bottle conveyor 8 for a sufficient distance to insure that two bottles may contact therewith, thereby preventing the switch from being opened intermediate the passage of two bottles closely adjacent each other. Also, the entrance edge of plate I20 is beveled to enable incoming bottles to readily move the plate to switch .closing position. As shown in Figure 51]., plate I20 is positioned .so close to the upper surface of conveyor 8 that when a bottle is lying horizontal upon the conveyor, the wall of the bottle will not contact with plate I20 because the latter will be below the horizontal diameter of the bottle. This prevents detector 22 from being moved to closed position by an upset bottle.

s As is hereinafter explained, the bottle feed detector 22 is not in circuit with the bottle conveyor driving motor 3 but only in circuit with the casing machine driving motor 62 so that motor 9 may operate continuously to deliver bottles, regardless of temporary stoppage of the casing machine driving motor 32.

Referring to Figure l, the crate or receptacle detector 23 comprises an arm I fixed to a rod I3l extending between the side frame members Ifla of conveyor It. Rod I3I also has fixed thereto an arm I32 extending in the opposite direction from arm I30 and adapted to engage the operating button of an electrical switch I35, which button is urged upwardly to circuit closing position by a spring within the switch. Detector arm I30 is urged upwardly into the path of the crates by a coil spring on rod I3I, so that it tends to move the operating element of switch I35 downwardly'to opening position. However, so long as the bottom wall of a crate is bearing upon arm I30, the latter will be held downwardly as indicated in Figure 1 so that switch I35 may remain in circuit closing position.

Crate conveyor I0 comprises a frame I0a having rollers I33 journaled therein to support the crates, the rollers being driven by an endless belt I31 engaging their lower surfaces and operated from a suitable source of power. In order to insure that the crates will be positively moved toward the lower end of the inclined conveyor I8, it is found desirable to cover spaced rollers I36a with rubber or other friction material to make a proper engagement with the bottom surfaces of the crates.

As is hereinafter explained, the crate conveyor drivingmotor is not in circuit with the crate detector 23, the latter only being in circuit with motor 62. .This arrangement insures that stoppage of the casing machine will not result in a temporary gap in the delivery line of crates.

As shown in Figures 5, 6 and 7, the detector 24 to insure that the casing machine will only start when the proper number of bottles is positioned in a drum. pocket comprises a blade I40 extending transversely of bottle conveyor 8. More particularly, blade I40 is fixed to a horizontally extending plate I pivotally connected to the lower ends of two parallel and vertical links I43 pivotally mounted on a support I42 fixed to theframe of the machine. One of the links I43 extends upwardly past its pivot and has a coil spring I44 connected thereto, which coil spring is secured atits opposite end to the support I42. Spring I44 thereby urges blade I40 inwardly into the path of incoming bottles on bottle conveyor 8. Spring I44 exerts just ,sufiicient tension that it will hold plate I40 to the right in Figure '1 if only three bottles are pressing against the latter I veyor 8 that should a bottle fall forwardly as it enters a leading drum pocket, the head of the bottle will be entirely above blade I43 so that the latter will not be moved into circuit closing position.

As shown in Figure 5, blade H40 preferably extends some distance along the path of movement of bottles or other articles with drum ll. More particularly, the blade is of such length transversely of conveyor 8 that the leading bottle will remain in engagement therewith to hold the bladein circuit closing position until just an instant'prior to the moment that the line of bottles reaches position Y, the first position off conveyor 8 occurring by reason of one movement of drum II.

Referring to Figures 5, 5a, and 7, the anti-jam detector 25 comprises an angled blade I50 ineluding an arm I5I extending alongside the path of movement of bottles with drum I I and an arm I52 extending alongside the path of movement of bottles with the conveyor 8. Blade I50 is pivoted at the outer end of arm I52 at av point I53 upon a support I54 secured to the frame 48 of conveyor 8. A spring I55 has one end thereof connected to frame 48 and the opposite end connected to blade I 50 to urge .the blade to the position shown in Figure wherein its arm I52 extends parallel with the center-line of conveyor 8. As shown in Figure 5a, arm I52 also has a projection I58 extending rearwardly therefrom, the undersurface of the outer end of projection I58 being beveled so that the operating button of an electrical switch I51 may normally extend upwardly into circuit closing position be-' neath the beveled portion.

In the event that a bottle becomes jammed between the-corner I50a of blade I50 and one of the pins I8 of drum II, blade I50 will be swung in a clockwise direction on its pivot I58 as viewed in Figure 5 so that the beveled portion of projection I58 will move past the operating button of switch I51 and the thicker portion of projection I 55 will contact with the operating button to force the latter downwardly to circuit opening position. At the same time, a downwardly urged spring-pressed plunger I58 extending vertically of blade I50 adjacent its pivot I53 will be moved downwardly by its spring into a socket I58 (Figure 7). This movement of plunger I58 will lock the detector in circuit opening position so that it cannot return to its normal position until the operator has drawn the plunger I58 upwardly. As is hereinafter explained, this arrangement prevents the machine from starting accidentally while an operator is endeavoring to remove broken glass from a point adjacent detector 25.

As shown in Figure 5a, the face of blade I is shaped to conform to the portion of bottles which will ordinarily be in engagement therewith. In addition, the blade is of such vertical width that a bottle lying down upon the conveyor 8 will contact therewith. Hence, if such a bottle becomes jammed between conveyor 8 and drum, II, blade I50 will be operated to circuit opening position.

The spring I which holds detector 25 inwardly as shown in Figure 5 is sufilciently strong that blade I50 will only be moved outwardly by a lateral movement of a bottle. However, detector 22, opposite blade I50, is so mounted that it will readily move outwardly upon mere movement of 'a bottle in contact with plate I20. By this arrangement, these two detectors can be mounted opposite each other and at the critical points it is desired to protect.

The circuits whereby the detectors 22, 28, 24 and 25 control the casing apparatus motor 82 are shown in Figure 19.

Referring to Figure 19, power is supplied to the apparatus through main leads "I, I 12 and I18. A manual contro l switch I14 including a start button I15 and a "stop button I16 is provided. Assuming that the switch associated with the anti-Jam detector 25 is closed, the motor 82 will, be started when start button I15 is closed, this being accomplished by the following primary controlling circuit: 1

Currentwill flow from power line "I through lead I8I across ,start switch I15 and through lead I82 across the closed st'op switch I16 to lead I88 andthence across closed switch I51 of detector-25 to'a lead I84 including an electromagnetic holding coil I85 topower line I12. Energization of coil I85 will cause a carrier I88 to move contacts carried thereby'to cause current to flow from the power lines "I, I12 and I18 through primary switch I10, to leads I8I, I82 and I88, respectively.

With detector switch I25 closed due to bottles opposite plate I20 on conveyor 8, detector switch I85 closed due to crates on conveyor I0, and dey I to place the motor leads 20I, 202 and 208 m circuit'with leads I91, I82 and I83 so that the motor 82 will be started. v

"Start button I15 may of course be released instantly it has been pressed and so long as the detector switches are closed, the motor will continue to operate because holding coils I and I88will remain energized through the normally closed stop switch I18.

It will be noted that the switch I51 associated with the jam detector 25 is in the primary circuit directly in series between the holding coil I85 of primary switch I10 and the stop" switch I18. Because of this, if a jam occurs at detector 25,-regardless of the position of any of the other detector switches, the primary holding coil I85 will be deenergized, opening the primary circuit and also the circuit through the secondary holding coil I88 so that the motor 82 will stop. Obviously, the only way in which the circuit of the motor 82 can then be restored will be for the operator to again press the start button I15. In addition, as has been stated above, the blade I50 of detector 25 will lock in circuit opening position by the action of bolt I58 and the-operator must unlock the detector before the circuit can be re-closed. Since bolt I58 is positioned close to the source of the Jam, an operator moving to the detector is most apt, while there, to clear all broken glass from the operating elements before unlocking the detector. In the meantime, no other operator can start the machine until the operator near the jam has released bolt I58.

The bottle feed detector switch I25 and case detector switch I85 respectively associated with detectors 22 and 28, are so arranged in circuit with the switch I45 of detector 24 that through holding coil I88 of secondary switch I80 cannot initially be closed until all three of these detector switches are closed, nevertheless, the opening of the switch I45 of detector 24 after coil I88 has once been energized will not result in the coil being de-energized and the circuit through secondary switch I80 opened.

In more detail, when all three of the detector switches I45, I85, and I25 are closed because of the presence of bottles and crates on the bottle and crate conveyors, respectively, and also because four bottles are in contact with the blade I40 of detector 24, closing of the primary switch I10 will cause current to flow through holding coil I88 to close secondary switch I80 and cause motor 82 to start as has been stated above. However, whenever the switch I45 of detector 24 opens, as it regularly does as soon as bottles have moved from receiving position X in the drum II to the first position Y to whicnthe drum will move them, the resulting opening of switch I45 will not break the circuit through holding coil I88 because of by-pass 205 extending from lead I85 to the moving contact 208 which is in connection with lead I8I. It therefore follows that holding coil I88 will remain tect'or 22.

25 be actuated to circuit opening position, the

received group of bottles from their position on the bottle conveyor 8 shown at X in Figure 19 to pdsition Y in the same figure, blade I40 may move to open switch I45 because a' very brief interval of time will elapse before the leading bottle now moving into position X strikes the blade. However, this will not interrupt the operation of the machine. It will be observed from what has been stated immediately above, that detector 24 is, in fact, a starting detector to make certain that the machine cannot start after any stoppage until four bottles are at position X.

It is found in actual operation that the machine will operate continuously if its speed of operation is properly synchronized with-the rate of delivery of bottles on the conveyor 8 from a filling machine or the like and so long as the supply of crates is continued. That is, it can be assumed that the filling machine or other source of supply of bottles or other articles will be maintained in operation and, as long as this occurs, bottles will move in a continuous stream on conveyor 8. If a gap of more than two bottles occurs in the stream, the machine will then be stopped by the action of bottle detector 22 and will not re-start until the conveyor 8 moves four bottles to position XV However, in practice no means to count the bottles placed in position X within the drum II is necessary once the first group of bottles to be handled is-placed in that position to close starting detector 24.

Figure 19 also illustrates the manner in which the driving motor 9-for the bottle conveyor 8 is controlled through a manual switch 220 in a well known manner. It.will. be observed that the bottle conveyor driving motor 9 is operated entirely independently of the motor 62 which drives the cam shaft 6| to thereby drive the drum I2 and the mechanisms associated there- ,with. Hence, none of the detectors 22, 23, 25

or 25 will affect the operation of the conveyor driving motor 9 and the latter must be separately manually controlled.

By having the motors of the crate conveyor It and the bottle conveyor 8 entirely independent of the detector circuits, the machine can restart of its own accord after a temporary failure of either crates or bottles because the continued operation of these conveyors will correct the difiiculty. 4 bottles fails, even while conveyor 8 is still driven, operation of the drum II will discontinue due to the action of the detector 22. When this detector and detector 24 are again closed by resumption of feed of bottles on the conveyor, the

' motor 62 will again start, assuming that the crate detector 23 and anti-jam detector 25 are in circuit closing position, because onlysecondary switch I90 has been opened by opening of de- However, should the jam detector primary circuit through switch I10 will be opened and will remain opened until the manual switch v I14 is closed. When a jam occurs, the operator may stop the motors of the conveyors 8 and III by operating manual switches. However,

For example, if the supply of,

since both of these cmveyors can simply slide beneath bottles and crates standing thereon, their continued operation on the occurrence of a jam cannot cause damage.

The cycle of operation shown in Figures 10 to 17 is as follows: As best shown in Figure 10. bottles will be, moved from the upright position X in Figure 10, in which position they are standing upon the bottle infeed' conveyor 8, in two successive steps across the supporting plate I4 and at the end of the second step the'bottles at Z will still be entirely supported upon plate I4 with their vertical axes extending along a line passing through the axis of drum II so that the bottles will be inclined. 0n the next movement of drum II, the line Z of bottles shown'in Figure 10 will be pushed further across the supporting plate I4 as indicated in Figure 11 and at the completion of this movement of the drum this outermost line of bottles will be entirely clear of plate I4 and will begin to drop as shown in Figure 12.

Referring again to Figure 10, which showsthe preceding line Za of bottles as having been Just dropped into the pocket of a crate C, it will beobserved that at this time the 'bottle easing fingers I1 are in a downward position due to the fact that the lowest portion of cam 95 is beneath the cam following roller 96 of rod 91. In addition, because bell-crank 69 is at its extreme counter-clockwise position as shown .in Figure 2, the pivot 94 of the fingers I1 is retracted beneath plate I4 as far as possible. In the Figurell position the bell-crank 69 is being swung in a clockwise direction by rotation of the eccentric acting on rod 61. As a result, the bottles are being pushed toward the outer edge of support I4 as described and, in addition, the rotation of the cam is causing rod 91 to lift the crank 99 so as to rotate the shaft 94 carrying the fingers I1. In other words, as the fingers I1 are moved to the left in Figure 11 they are likewise swung upwardly. In Figure 12 the action of cam 95 has caused the fingers I1 to reach their maximum raised position and at the same time,

the move'ment of bell-crank 69 which has turned the drum to cause the outer row of bottles to drop from plate I4 has also bodily moved the fingers I1 to their limit forward position with respect to the chutes or skirt I5.

=r-As has been heretofore explained, the clockwise forward movement of bell-crank 69 will cause the crate moving element I9 including frame BI and the pawls 82 to move forwardly to move the crates up the inclined conveyor from theFigure 10 position to that shown in Figure 12, wherein the crates are so far forward that thecrate walldefining the rear wall of the row of pockets to be filled is advanced beyond the face of skirt I5 and is in the path of the bottles being dropped as shown in Figure 12. However, in the Figure 12 position, pawl raising and lowering cam 86 has acted .upon rod 81 to lift the pawl carrying frame 8| so that the crates are beginning to slide down conveyor I6 to proper position against stops 20.

Referring to Figure 13, the bottles are now falling down the chute along inclined lines which are parallelto the walls of the crate pockets 'In Figures 14 and 15 all of the movements shown in Figure 13 are continuing, with the result that the bottle is moving downwardly with the fingers H as the latter-are being further retracted and lowered.

In Figure 16, fingers H are entirely out of the path of the bottles and their backward movement therein. As a result, the clearance about the bottle is extremely small and it is important to have the bottle moving along the proper line.

The plate 2|, aside from assisting in the for-. ward motion of the crates by acting during the forward or driving movement of bell-crank 69 upon the rear of the bottles Just positioned in the crate, also acts upon the rear edge of any bottle which may catch upon the upper edge of the rear fingers are still moving rearwardly with the bellcrank 59. The bottles, now free to fall, are still dropping toward the bottom of the crate pockets. At this same time, the pulling elements l9 will still bein raised position, since they are still moving backwardly with bell-crank 69.

The return movement of bell-crank 69 with respect to drum H will carry the fingers I! and plate 2| somewhat to the rear of the position shown in Figure 1'7 and to a position approximating that illustrated in Figure 10. When the forward or clockwise movement of bell-crank 69 is initiated under the action of eccentric 65, the fingers |l will begin to swing forwardly and will also immediately begin to lift under the action of the cam 95.. Before the forward movement of the bell-crank 69 begins, cam 88 will permit the pawl carrying frame 8| to drop so that the pawls 82 will drop into engagement behind the crate dividing wall D or a-crate end wall E. As a result, when the forward motion of bell-crank 69 begins, the line of crates will be advanced as indicated in Figures 10 and 11.

The motion of the tips of the easing fingers I1 is along an orbital path of a generally triangular shape. That is, the fingers begin to lift immediately they move forwardly and their lifting motion terminates with the end of their for-' ward movement. This may be described as their movement along one leg of the triangle. Then the fingers drop while in an almost entirely forward position, defining the other leg of the triangle. During their return movement, which occurs while the fingers are almost entirely lowered, the third leg of the triangle is defined.

Because the entire dropping movement of the fingers occurs while they are in well advanced position, their entire dropping occurs while they are in engagement with the bottles. This assures that a maximum portion of the dropping movement of a bottle will occur under the control of the fingers.

It willbe noted that the inclined conveyor I6 extends along a line which is at right angles to the line along which the bottles move. As a result, the forward and rear walls of the pockets into which a bottle drops will be parallel with the line L along which the vertical axis of the bottle moves during its dropping. -'I'his fact, as well as the fact that the bottles are eased downwardly along their line of dropping, is of'particular importance in positioning beverage containers. in the type of crates ordinarily provided for the same. More particularly, many types of such crates have their square pockets of a dimension only one-sixteenth of an'inch larger than the.

outside diameter of the bottle to be received wall of a crate pocket to push such bottle slightly. forwardly so that it will drop into the crate pocket. I

By operating all of the moving elements of the machine by rotary cam devices, smooth. and. quiet operation is assured and the strain on the operating elements 81, 81 and 91 is minimized.

It will also be observed that bell-crank or .lever element 69 entirely carries the fingers l1, plate 2| and pulling elements l9 and that all movement of elements ll, l9 and 2| relative to lever 69 are positively controlled. Because the vertically moving cam followers operating drum H and elements l1, l9 and 2| may be directly beneath the path of lever 69, the entire drive mechanism will occupy a minimum area horizontally of the machine.

The terminology used in the specification is for the purpose of description and not of limitation, the scope of the invention being defined in the claims.

I claim:

1. Inc. casing machine, article delivery means, article moving means to move articles in a path, a drive motor for said article moving means, a switch responsive to the presence of articles on said article delivery means, a switch responsive to the presence ofarticles in the path of the article moving means, a running control circuit for the drive motor including only the first-named of said two switches, and a starting circuit including both of said switches.

2. In' combination, a support, a pair of conveyor elements movable relative to said support, one of said conveyor elements being adapted to receive articles from the other, means to drive at least one of said elements, means to control said driving means comprising a detector at the point of article transfer and movable relative to said support to driving means stopping position upon the exertion of pressure against said detector by an article, and manually releasable means tohold said detector in driving means stopping position. 3. In a casing machine including a stationary frame, article supporting means, receptacle supporting means, means to move articles from said article supporting means into a receptacle on said receptacle supporting means, a member pivoted on the machine frame, drive means to oscillate said member, receptacle engaging means pivotally carried by said member, and means directly connecting said receptacle engaging means to said driving means so that said receptacle engaging first detector is moved outwardly by articles and inoperative when said second detector is moved outwardly by articles.

5. In a casing machine, an article conveyor, a receptacle conveyor, article moving. means to move articles from the article conveyor to recepj- I tacles on the receptacle conveyor, a drive motor port ,on said base, a receptacle support on said -receptaclesupportfa bell crank pivotedbn said for said last-named means, an article detector adjacent said article conveyor, 'a receptacle detector adjacent saidreceptacle conveyor, a jam detector at the point at which articles are engaged by said article moving means, a drive motor switch, a manual switch, a primary circuit including said manual switch and held closed by said jam detector, a secondary circuit normally held closed by said primary circuit and including said article and receptacle detectors and a drive motor switch controlling circuit normally held closed by said secondary circuit, whereby movement of said article and receptacle detectors to circuit opening position will open said drive motor controlling circuit without opening said primary circuit.

6. In a casing machine, an article conveyor, a receptacle conveyor, article moving means to move articles from said article conveyor to receptacles on said receptacle conveyor, an article detector adjacent said article conveyor, a receptacle detector adjacent said receptacle conveyor, a jam detector at the point at which said article moving means engages articles on said article conveyor, a drive motor for said article moving means, a circuit including said motor, a second circuit including said article and receptacle detectors to control said first-named circuit, and a third circuit including said jam detector-to control said second circuit.

said receptacl support, a lever pivoted on said,

base on a horizontal axis and including a sub- 7 stantially horizontal arm and a substantially vertical arm, driving means, means operatively connecting said driving means and the horizontal arm of the bell crank to oscillate the latter on its axis, means carried by the horizontal arm of said bell crank to move said article moving member, receptacle engaging means extending along and above said receptacle support and carried by the vertical arm of said bell crank to engage receptacles and advance them along said receptacle support, and means connecting said receptacle engaging means and said driving means to impart vertical lifting movement to said receptacle'enga'ging means. a

9. In a casing machine, a base, an article support on said base, a receptacle support on said base beneath said article support, means movable with respect to said base to move articles from said article support to drop into receptacles on base on a horizontal axis above said article support, fingers pivoted on said lever between said article support and said receptacle support to engage dropping articles to retard their dropping movement, a crank fixedly connected to said fingers, driving means ior said lever, and a link connecting said crank and said driving means to 7. In a casing machine, an article conveyor, W

a receptacle conveyor, article moving means to move articles from the article conveyor to receptacles on said receptacle conveyor, an article detector responsive to the presence of articles on said article conveyor, a receptacle detector responsive to the presence 01' receptacles on said receptacle conveyor, 9, third detector responsive to the presence oi articles at said article moving means, a drive motor for said article moving means, and a circuit controlling said drive motor havingall three detectors arranged in series to prevent the motor from being started unless all detectors are in position to close said circuit, and means effective when said circuit is closed swing said fingers vertically relative to said lever during their movement with the latter.

10. In a casing machine, a base, an article support on said base, a receptacle support on said base beneath said article support, an article moving member movable with respect to said base and across said article support to move articles from the latter to drop into a receptacle on said receptacle support, a lever pivoted on said base on a horizontal axis above said article support to hold it closed independently 01' said third detector.

8. In a casing machine, a base, on article supand engaging said article moving member to move the same, fingers pivoted on said lever between said article support and said receptacle support to engage dropping articles to retard their dropping movement, a crank fixedly connected to said fingers, driving means for said lever, and a link connecting said crank and said driving means to swing. said fingers vertically relative to said lever during their movement with the latter.

ROBERT J. STEWART.

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