US2339299A - Cartridge loader - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 18, 1944. E, sMiTH ET AL 2,339,299

CARTRIDGE LOADER Filed June 3, 1943 8 Sheets-Sheet l @dal BULL. il

Jan. 18, 1944. E. l.. SMITH ET AL CARTRIDGE LOADER Filed June 3, 1943 8 Sheets-Sheet 2 ITI! Hllw KNN INVENTORJ 4 [mf/JW Jan. 18, 1944. E L SMITH ET AL 2,339,299

CARTRIDGE LOADER.

lFiled. June 3, 1943 8 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTO R6 ifm-floral M/M BY Ala 63m ZZML #am E. L. SMITH ET AL CARTRIDGE LOADER Jan. 1s, 1944.

8 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed June 3, 1943 mvENToR's ww im Jan. 1s, 1944.

E; L. SM|TH ETAL CARTRIDGE LOADER Filed June s, 1943 a sheets-sheet e INVENTORl QQ M l CARTRIDGE LOADER` Filed June s, 1945 8 sheets-sheet 7' ,g/Z i/ M fn.

l l l Il f3 72 37 200 y v A96 o.

Jan. 18, 1944. 5.1.. SMITH ET A1.

CARTRIDGE LOADER Filed June 3, 1943 8 Sheets-Sheet 8 Patented Jan. 18, 1944 CARTRIDGE LOADER Elmer Lovell Smith, Longmeadow, and Carl E.

Melhorn,-Springfeld, Mass., assignors to Pack age Machinery Company, Springiield, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application June 3, 1943, Serial No. 489,480

8 Claims. (01.86-47) 'I'his invention relatesvto a method of packaging a plurality of cartridges into pockets of a cardboard carton suitable for shipment to eld stations or supply houses and the like.

The mechanism provided in this machine singles out cartridges from a hopper and places them oneY by one into individual pockets within a cardboard container. Improvements arise inthe handling of said cartridges and the speed with which they are placed within said boxes for their quick delivery to the vital areas where needed. The handling of the cartridges and the delivery of the completely filled cardboard boxes onto the discharge conveyor oi the machine for immediate delivery where needed will be clearly deiined in the following description of ythe machine of which;

Fig. 1 is a right hand end View ofthe machine showing the box hopper mechanism and the general machine drive;

Fig, 2 is a front elevation of the machine'with the exception of the box hopper mechanism which has been broken away;

Fig. 3 is a sectional View taken substantially along the line 3-3of Fig. 2, showing .the relation of the box conveyor to the receiving-and transfer drums respectively;

FigAis a partial top plan taken justbelowrthe cartridge transfer drums substantially'on the line l-li of Fig. 2 with parts omitted and broken away;

Fig. 5 is a sectional detail taken on line 5.-5i of Fig. 4 to show one of the cartridge pusher chain units in relation to one of the cartridge transfer'. drums, with certain parts broken away;

Fig. 6 is a sectional detail taken'substantially on the line 5 5 of Fig. 4 with parts broken away and showing one of the cartridge pusherdrive mechanisms in relation to the transfer drumwith parts omitted;

Fig. 7 is a form of modiication showing means for adjusting the cartridge pusher chain if so desired;

Fig. 8 is a partial sectional View taken substang tially along the line 8 3 of Fig. 4 showingthe location and operation of the cartridge pusherat the last unit of the machine in relation to the last cartridge transfer drum with parts broken away;

Fig. 9 is a partial detail showing-the relation of one of the cartridge pushers to one: of the rotary pushers pushing the cartridges; home into theseveral pockets of the cardboard boxes;

Fig. 10 is a detail lookingat the lowerl portion of one of the cartridge transfer drums-showing the cartridge guidesand the cartridges beingdelivered in proper alignment with the several pockets in the lower row of the cardboard boxes movling along in the background, thercartridge pusher and its operating mechanism being omitted for clearness;r

Fig..11 is a detail taken through one of the cardboard packing boxes-showingone of the rotary pushers after having pushed the cartridges home in the upper row of the box;

Fig. 12 is a partial top plan taken along the same plane as Fig.. 4 and..joining`the latter on line A-A;

Fig. 13 is taken substantially along the line I3i3 of Fig. 12V showingthe drive, in detail, of the discharge paddles, and therelation of the box conveyor to the discharge belt;

Figs. 14, 15 and 16`are views showing the operation of the machine, Figs. 14 and'lbeing taken as looking from theleft of Fig. ishowing theA method of delivering the empty cardboard packing boxes ontothe box conveyor while Fig.` 16 is a rear view of themachineand. shows the progress of the. cartridges from the.. four delivery chutes tothereceiving drums through the trans# fer drums and oninto the boxes positioned onthe conveyorv chain.

Re'ferringmore,particularlyto the drawings it will. be` understood that. the machine'will com'- prise a suitable. supporting `frame.- generally indicated at l. end frames 2 tied together byfa cross piece member 3 which houses the vsupporting bearings for the overhanging cartridge-drums on the right side looking in the direction of Fig. 3, and their respectivedrivemechanisms asseen on the left sidein the same. view. -In front of end frames 2 and supporting the boxhopper mechanism 4 is a U-shaped frame` member 5 which`4 is also supported by main frame l.

The box hopper mechanism vdelivers empty boxes to the box conveyor to. be filled withvcartridges and finally. pushed Y onto a discharge. belt ready tobe packed Vfor shipmentA to the Veld stations or. wherever needed. The box hopper con-V sists o1 hopper sides and back panel .l supported by frame' mounted upon supporting frame member 5. Theboxes. to be lled are of cardboard and contain one longitudinal and nineV` cross partitions forming two rows of ten cartridgef'receiving pockets. Along one horizontal edge of said box is hinged a ap portion large enough to retain' the cartridges-in the pocketsi in both rows when said flap isclosed. n

. Theoperatorl places ythe empty boxes llL'just Mounted upon this main frame, I are described, in the hopper one above the other in a single pile (Fig. 1) with the flaps II toward the front and top. The lowermost box will rest on bottom support member I2 with the others on top of it. A pusher I3 reciprocates back and forth to push said boxes into the path of a reciprocating flapper I4 which pushes them down in front of the lugs on the continuously moving box conveyor i5 to be carried along through the machine.

'Ihe box hopper mechanism is driven from shaft which rotates continuously. A crank 2i pinned to shaft 20 oscillates lever 22 mounted on stud shaft 23 by a link connection 24 to said lever. Pusher I3 is slidably mounted in ways 25 on frame member 5. Located between said ways is a slidable platform member 26 which supports member 21 and carries pusher` I3 for oscillation in ways previously mentioned (Fig. l). Pusher I3 is oscillated back and forth by yieldably mounted lever 21 connected by a link 28 to a boss 29 formed on the under side of platform 2t, said link 28 being pivotally secured to boss 29 by a pin 33. Lever 21', mounted on stud shaft 23, is yieldably secured to drive lever 22 by a spring 34 which is hooked between pin 35 on lever 22 and pin 36 on lever 2'I'. Lever 21 carries an adjusting screw 38 which is constantly forced against stop pad 39 on lever 22 by tension from said spring 34. The pusher I3 oscillates back and forth pushing one box after another to the box conveyor. Should anything happen so as to cause a box to jam or become lodged in the mechanism for any reason, lever 22 will follow the motion of crank' 2| but lever 2l" and pusher I3 may anism. A cover 49 which encloses pusher i3 also acts as a back-stop to hold the boxes I t as the pusher I3 returns from its forward position, as in Fig. 14, so that said pusher may pull itself out from under the lowermost box. As soon as the pusher I3 clears the box I0, said box'will fall immediately onto the bottom member I2 of the hopper directly in the path of the pusher I3 as it advances on its next forward stroke (Fig. 15). A bracket 42 mounted on hopper frame 8 carries side guides 43, one of which is shown in Fig. 1 as in the back. The front one has been removed for clearance. Centrally disposed between said side guides 43 and mounted for oscillation up and down in a swinging motion from pivot stud shaft 44 mounted in bracket 42, is a bell crank lever 45 which carries a ilapper plate I4 to contact the box pushed under it by the pusher i3 and slap it down onto and in front of the oncoming lugs of the continuously moving box conveyor. The action of the pusher I3 and the ilapper plate I4 is timed in perfect unison with the continuously moving lugs on the box conveyor so that each box is placed simultaneously between said lugs on said box conveyor. The front of the box, as seen traveling in the direction of the arrows in Fig. 16, contacts the lug pushing the preceding box and the back of the box is contacted by the lug pushing it, therefore positively guiding each box. The box conveyor is, in turn, in perfect timed relation with the four cartridge transfer drums so as to cause each pocket in each box to be positively aligned with its respective pocket in the continuously rotating cartridge transfer drums so that as the conveyor travels with the boxes and the transfer drums continuously rotate and deliver the cartridges, all the pockets in all the boxes will be filled with cartridges, the method for which will be explained more fully later in the description.

The apper plate i4 moves continuously to slap one box down onto the conveyor after another. To accomplish this, bell crank 45 is connected by a link 45 to a lever 4'! pivotally mounted at 48 to frame 5 in back of box hopper 4. Lever 4l carries a roll 49 which is held in contact with cam 59 by tension of spring 5I. Cam 55 is securely fastened to hopper drive shaft 23 which rotates continuously in the direction of the arrow (Fig. 1). As the box is pushed under the apper when said flapper is in its upraised position indicated by dotted lines (Fig. 11i) it will be held momentarily between side guides 43, supported from frame 42 (Fig. 1), until plate I4 contacts the top of said box and pushes it down toward the box conveyor traveling along underneath. The box will be guided further by radially shaped guides 53 and 54 respectively. The flap II will strike against the rounded portion 55 of hopper bottom member I2, which also comprises guide portion 53, and cause said flap to be bent upwardly as the box is pushed down onto the box conveyor as seen in Fig. 15. With the flap raised in this position, access to the several pockets in the box will be unobstructed when the cartridges are fed from the transfer drums into said pockets. The iiaps are retained in this uplifted position during the boxes travel through the machine by a guide member 55 (Fig. 16). Said flap guide 5E will be cut away, at the four cartridge supplying stations (Fig. 4) enough to allow the entrance of the cartridges into said pockets in said boxes and for the free action of the rotating pusher which will be described later.

' The box conveyor carries empty boxes from the box hopper, along past the four cartridge loading stations where the boxes are filled simultaneously with cartridges and finally delivers them onto the discharge conveyor which will be explained later. The box conveyor is made up of box-carrying lugs 58 interconnected by links 59 to form a continuous conveyor chain I5 (Fig. 16). Box carrying lugs 58 have extensions 6E) on each side which ride in ways 6I formed in support bracket 62 mounted on frame i. Box retaining and pushing lugs 53 are formed out of lugs 58 and are centrally disposed between the box conveyor bottom plates 64 secured to the top of bracket 62 and spaced apart as seen in Fig. l so as to receive box retaining and pushing lugs 63 as they move continuously with the boxes through the machine. Side guide 54 associates with guide 53 to form a channel at the box hopper station by which the boxes will be guided transversely as they are carried along on the conveyor chain.

Box conveyor chain I5 travels over an idler sprocket 58 supported by bracket 69 which in turn is mounted on frame I (Fig. 1). A guard 1B encloses sprocket 68 and conveyor chain 'I5 as the conveyor support bracket 62 does also along the entire length of the machine. At the` discharge end of the machine (Fig. 13) is located the conveyor chain drive sprocket II which is pinned to conveyor drive shaft 'I2 for continuous operation.

Box guided at the boxhopperstation isreplaced by guide 65 (Fig. 3) which lgives support to the lower corner of the boxes aftersaid boxes leave said -box hopper station and are placed securely between the conveyor lugs 63 on the box conveyor to be filled with cartridges and delivered onto the discharge conveyor, which will be described later. Box flap guide v5 (Fig. 3) replaces guide 53 (Fig. l) at the box hopper station, to form a continuous channel when associated with bottom plates B4 and lower box corner guide `|55 secured to plate S4 throughwhich said boxes are pushed. Several brackets are mounted successively along the length of conveyor support bracket B2, one of which is shown in Fig. 3 as at 15. Through these several brackets l5 passes a shaft jwhich carries, at different intervals, brackets 11one of which is also shown-securely mounted upon shaft 'i6 to be readily pivoted with said shaft by the movement of handle '.'Salso secured to shaft T6 for the inspection of boxes as they travel along on the conveyor l5. Secured to bracket 'Vi is a box corner guide member 'i9 in the form of an angle iron. Alsoy secured to bracket 11 is a box hold-down and flap guide member combined as shown at Bil. When bracket l? is in its proper position as in Fig. 3 box holddown member 8i! and flap guide member 56 will together form a channel as seen in Fig. 3 for boxflap to be positively guided in its bentup position during its travel through the machine so the cartridge may be easily placed within the several pockets in said boxes.

For delivering cartridges to the cardboard boxes this machine has four cartridge chutes, the construction of which is similar to machines built before and will not be described in detail. The several chutes are lled by any suitable automatic means so as to deliver a constant flow of cartridges to the receiving drums for their transfer into the transfer drums and hence into the several pockets of the cardboard boxes for shipment. Detecting mechanisms may be employed in the several chutes for the automatic stopping of the machine, should a gap occur in the cartridge supply in anyone chute. `Cartridge guides 85 which make up said chutes are disposed vertically above the center of cartridge receiving drums (Fig. 16).

For delivery of the cartridges from the chutes r 85 the machine consists of four cartridge receiving drums mounted centrally and vertically above four cartridge transfer drums (Fig. 16). The semi-circular pockets in said transfer drums coordinate with the pockets in the cardboard boxes being carried along on the box conveyor as both move continuously while the cartridges are being delivered from the former to the latter. The method of delivering said cartridges from one to the other will be described later.

The uninterrupted flow of cartridges fall by their own weight through said chutes 85 into the several semi-circular elongated pockets which are disposed radially around the periphery of the receiving drums 96, 9i, 92 and 93 respectively, said drums being mounted for continuous rotation on shafts Sli, 95, S6 and 91 respectively (Fig. 16). Said shafts are journaled in bearings in cross member 3 and carry on their opposite ends gears S3, 99, |69 and lili respectively (Figs. 2 and 3). Secured to said spur gears 98, 99, iliil and lill are respective bevel gears |62, IBJM and |95 which are continuously driven by bevel gears 66, |51, |68 andl severallymounted on continuously.V rotating driveshaft .il El, which is-:journatled 7 6 in bearings mounted on upright .frame lmembers 22 supportedffrom base I, previously, de-

scribed.

Cartridge transfer drums H2, H3, H4 Vand.

I I5 also contain semi-circular shaped pockets disposed radially around their peripheries for the purpose of receivingthe several cartridges from the previously mentioned receiving drums. and arecentrally mounted below said cartridge receiving drums and are severally supported, on shafts H6, I|'|, ||8 and H9, also journaled in cross member 3 (Fig. 3). Spur gears |29, |2|, |22, and` |23, pinned to shafts IIE, I|'|, H3, and |I9 respectively are driven constantly by spur gears 98, 99, |09, and previouslymentioned as driving the four receiving drums.

Therefore thecartridge receiving and transfer drums are driven in a 2. to 1 ratio from drive shaft H9 through said beveled gears mentioned previously, saidtransfer drums being constantly rotated in a speed equal to that of the box conveyor for the transfer of cartridges from the radially disposed pockets on the periphery of the transfer drums into the several pockets of the cardboardA packing boxes held rmly between the lugs on the box conveyor and iinally delivered onto the discharge conveyor with said cartridges in the several pockets within saidcardboard boxes which will be more fully explained later.

The cartridges fall from their respective 'chutes 35 `into the several pockets |25 in the receiving drums 90, 9|, 92, and 93 respectively. They are guided from lateralv movement while in these s everal pockets by S-shaped guides |26 at their base ends' which are towards cross member 3, and removable guides |526Y at their tip ends. Guides |26 also. possess a circumferential guiding portion as at, |21 (Fig. 16) to retain the cartridges in their Yrespective pockets |25 until said pockets communicate with Correspondingpockets |28`in the periphery of the transfer drums disposed directly. below.

' The cartridges in certain pockets in the receiving drums, said pockets beingdesignated by numbers l'tolO (Fig. 16) will always fall into correspondingly numbered pockets in the transfer drums., The transfer drums will have two sets of said numbers 1 to 10 (Fig. '16) because of their half speed as compared to the speed of the receiving drums.v Namely, as the cartridge in pocket number 7 in receiving drum 9|) rides off the circumferential guide portion 21 of tip-end guide memberlZe (Fig. 16) 'it will fall into correspondingnuinber 'l' pocket in transfer drum I l2, directly below, as theyboth rotate continuously in the direction of the arrows.

Looking at transfer drum I2' for example, numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 respectively represent' cartridges in these aforesaid numbered pocketsasr having been transferred into these several pockets from correspondingly'nurnbered pockets l, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 in receiving drum 96, cartridge number 7 being vthe last one to have been transferred into drum ||2 according to the position here shown. Cartridges numbered 8, 9 and 10 are Vretained in their several pockets in drum 9i) 'but' will'eventually fall into correspondingly numbered pockets 8, 9 and 10 in transfer drum H2. Therefore, pockets numbered 6, 5, 4, 3 and 2 in receiving drum 90 are now empty and the severa-l cartridges that were in these pockets lhave been transferred'into pockets 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and also number r1 in transfer drum H2. Pocket number lin receiving drum now hasanother cartridgein; it :whichzitzhasfjust` Y received 'from the supply chute 85. As the drum 9|) turns continuously, the following pockets 2, 3, 4, 5, etc., around the periphery of the drum will also be filled again and as they travel down the other side of the circumferential arc in the direction of the arrow they will be guided and held into their respective pockets until they ride off the circumferential guiding surface |21 into their correspondingly numbered pockets in the receiving drums.

Pockets |25 in all the receiving drums are rounded on their leading edges according to the direction of the arrow as at |30 so that more time will be gained for the entrance of the cartridges into said pockets |25 from the cartridge guides 85 while the receiving drums rotate continuously. Pockets |25 in all the receiving drums are noticeably deeper than pockets |28 in the transfer drums. Said pockets |28 are purposely made shallow so as to enable the cartridge pushers to contact the lower edges of the base ends of the cartridges and push them out of said pockets |28 in the transfer drums into corresponding pockets in the cardboard packing boxes carried on the box conveyor, which will be more fully explained later in the description. It will be noticed that two blank spaces numbered 11 occur on the periphery of drum ||2 and one is also present on drum 90. After a cartridge has fallen into pocket 10 in receiving drum 90 for example, the cartridge immediately following in the delivery chute 85 (first unit, Fig, 16) will have ridden onto the blank, arcuated surface of said drum 90 and thence into pocket numbered 1 here shown on the drawings in this particular position of the machine. Blank arcuated surface on receiving drum 90 will always register with the two correspondingly arcuated surfacesalso numbered 11 on said transfer drum ||2 as both drums rotate continuously.

Said cartridge handling mechanism just described Will be recognized on the drawings as the iirst typical unit in a series of four as shown in Fig. 16. The other three units operate correspondingly and all are so timed to each other that each pocket in said receiving drums will communicate with the same corresponding pocket in the transfer drums during every cycle of their operation and said pockets in each transfer drum have a specific pocket to communicate with in the cardboard packing boxes for the accurate delivery of the cartridges from the transfer drums into said pockets in the packing boxes with the aid of a single cartridge pusher and also a rotary pusher for each unit, the action of which will now be explained.

Looking at the partial plan view of the cartridge pushing units, Fig, 4, it will be noted that there are four such units each comprising a cartridge pusher and a rotary pusher operating simultaneously. The cartridge pusher pushes the cartridges out of the pockets in the transfer drum into the several pockets in the cardboard packing boxes a far as its construction will permit. Said cartridges are further pushed home to their proper position, entirely within said pockets in said cardboard boxes, by a rotary pusher acting in conjunction with said cartridge pusher and both operate continuously to deposit said cartridges into the several pockets in the packing boxes as said boxes are carried along on the box conveyor. Each pocket in each cardboard box will contain a cartridge when said box leaves the last transferring unit during its travel with the box conveyor and will then be delivered, fully packed, onto the discharge conveyor of the machine.

The cartridge pushing unit comprises two .parallel mounted endless chains |35 each being carried upon three sprockets (Figs. 5 and 6), one of which is a double driving sprocket |36 mounted on and driven from shaft |31. Said shaft |31 is continuously rotated by bevel gear |33 which meshes with continuously rotating bevel gear |38 suitably secured to constantly rotating shaft |13 (Fig. 2). Said sprockets and driving shaft |31 are mounted in suitable bearings between the two sides of an H-shaped bracket |60. Said bracket |40 comprises an extension from each side frame, said extensions being secured by bolts |52 to the under side of main frame through aperture |43 in said main frame as best shown in Figs. 4, 5, 6, and 8 respectively. Mounted across said parallel chains |35 are cross pieces |45 suitably secured so as to carry cartridgelpushers |45, centrally mounted upon said cross pieces |45 so as to travel between top enclosure pieces |131 mounted along the top of bracket |150 and spaced apart as at |58 to allow the passage of said cartridge pushers |415. Multiple cartridge pushers |135, only two of which are shown for clearness, are carried on said parallel chains |35 spaced apart from each other along said chains at proper intervals to Contact the lowermost edges of the base ends of the cartridges (Fig. 8) as they are brought one after the other into the path of said approaching pushers |40 by the continuous rotation of transfer drums H2, H3, H4, and I5 in the direction of the arrows previously described, and the continuous advancing of said cartridge pushers |56 on chains |35 as they travel around their triangular shaped course as shown best in Fig. 6. Top enclosure pieces |41 mounted on upright sides of bracket |40 are both made more rigid and the cartridge pusher mechanism is further enclosed by front end plate |48 secured to H-shaped bracket side members at their front ends by bolts |59. The chains |35 supporting said cartridge pushers |46 ride up onto chain supporting shoes |50 which lie under the chain rollers so as to give rigid support to said pushers as they contact cartridges in the pocket |28 of the several transfer drums and push said cartridges into the pockets of the cardboard packing boxes. f

A slot S may be provided in bracket |50 to receive the squared end of an adjustable member T upon which is mounted one set of sprockets over which cartridge pusher chains |35 pass. At the center of a U-shaped extension of member T is provided a bolt and lock nut arrangement which bears against end plate |58. Chains |35 may be tightened or loosened b-y said bolt and lock nut so as to keep cartridge pushers |45 in proper alignment and for easy assembly of said cartridge pushers and their chains respectively. Each of the four cartridge pusher units shown in Fig. 4 may be provided with this adjustable feature here shown in Fig. '1 as a modified form.

The cartridge pushers are all traveling transversely to the direction of travel of the cardboard packing boxes on conveyor I5 as seen best in Fig. 4. The entire cartridge pushing unit is mounted in an aperture in the main frame at an angle sufficient to cause pushers |46 to push cartridges progressively from the pockets |28 of the transfer drums as said drums rotate continuously. The location of transfer drum ||2 in relation to said cartridge pusher, rotary pusher, box nap guide 56, and cardboard box conveyor |5, is best. shown in Fig. 4 indot-dash lines Von the drawings. Although the cartridge pushers |46 travel transversal to the direction of travel of the box conveyor |5 said pushers are constructed so that the pushing surface |55 of each pusher is parallel at all times to the direction of travel of said box conveyor l5 and therefore said pushing surface will push flat against the base ends of the cartridges (Figs. 4, 8, and 9) as it contacts them to push them from their pockets |28 in the transfer drums into the several pockets in the cardboard packing boxes traveling along on the box conveyor I5.

Referring to Fig. l0, we have a full scale view (Figs. 4, 5, 6, 8) with certain parts broken away to showhow the several parts are assembled so as to guide the cartridges from their several pockets in the transfer drum ||2 to their corresponding pockets in the cardboard packing box. In this view We are looking at the inside front face of the transfer drum just inside the S-shaped cartridge guide |25. 1t is a View showing the operation at the rst cartridge transfer unit in Fig. 16 but looking in the opposite direction from said Fig.

16 with the packing boxes traveling along in the background.

Circumferential guides |51 and |56 (Figs. 4 and .confine the cartridges to their pockets |28 during their travel, in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 16, from the receiving drum pockets to the several pockets in the cardboard packing boxes. The lower portions of S-shaped guides serve to guide the cartridges at their base ends from lateral travel toward the supporting cross member 3 of the machine (Fig. 3). Circumferential guide |51 is provided with a beveled surface |59 for guiding the cartridges against a lateral movement toward the box conveyor and packing boxes. The shoulder |59 of the cartridges guides against this beveled surface |59 while said cartridges are positioned in the pockets |28 of the transfer drums and are lowered in their arcuated travel onto the milled-out circumferential surface |69 on lower cartridge guide |6| (Figs. 3, 4 and 10) secured to-the'top surface of aforesaid enclosure pieces |41l (Fig. 4).

Here, said cartridges lie Vfree from guides |51 and-|58fortheir traverse journey intothe pockets of the cardboard packing boxes (Figs. 8 and 10). nally by their contact with the lower edges of the pockets |26 in the transfer drum. Said transfer drum is continually rotating and by said contact with said lower edges of saidpockets |28, carry .said cartridges along in the direction of and par- ,allel to, the box conveyor while the'cartridge pusher travels in a traverse direction toward said box conveyor and the face of said cartridge pusher contacts vthe base end of said cartridge and Ipushes italong outof vsaid transfer drumrpocket 12s-into .corresponding pockets or cells in the lowermost. row ofthe cardboard packing-box on conveyor f;i5. Because of the cartridge pushers being mounted on a continuously moving endless chain i'they are not able to push said cartridges home into the pockets of the cardboard lpacking boxes but leave said cartridges in a posi- (conveyor, ithey` are severally `contacted simultaneously by a, rotary pusher i operating oon- Said cartridges are still guided longituditinuously in a circumferentialu motion, the path of which is indicated by dot-dash lines |66 in Fig. 9, to contactsaid cartridge base ends and .push them circumferentially traversal to their longitudinal direction of travel, thereby forcing them home simultaneously into their respective pockets in the cardboard packing. box. Aforesaid box flap guide 56 isv shown cut away to allow 'the aforesaid action of the cartridge pushers and said rotary pushers and will now keepthe properly positioned cartridges C2 within their respecpockets. Rotary` pushers |65 are so constructed y (Fig. 11) to contact upper :and lower rows of careach transferunit as the `box conveyor carries them along andpast the opening in said box `flap guide58. Y

The continuous motion of said-rotary pusher is circumferential inthe direction of the arrow Fig. 9. To accomplish this. said rotary pusher is mounted on two cranks, one of which is driven.

Mounted for rotation infront bearing |16, suitably secured-to main frame I,v is a shaft |1| continuously driven by bevel gears l |12 from drive shaft |13, the continuous drive for'whichwill be explained later. Pinned to the :top 'of shaft 11| is a rotary pushercrank'member |13 which comprises crank pin |14 and crank link pin |15 of crank link member |11.

positioned radially from said pin |14 to form a supplemental crank portion |16 for the operation Mounted on crank pin |14 is the extreme end of rotary pusher arm |18. Rotary pusher arm |18 also comprises an additional bearing mounted on corresponding crank pin` |14"carried on an idlerrotary pusher crank unit mounted in rear bearing |80 also on main frame Said idler rotary pusher crank unit mounted in bearing |86 is identical to driven crank unit mounted in front bearing |10. Therefore, as driven shaft-HI rotates-in a counterclockwise drection,-rotary pusher |65 will rotate in a circumferential path as shown at |66, Fig. 9, due to the 4construction of doubleoranks |13 and |13 mounted inK aforesaid bearings |19 and |89 respectively, as just described.

It will be noted that the packing box consists of two rows of pockets separated longitudinally by' a transverse partition-centrally supported by multiple vertical partitions spaced apart to form said pockets or cells `within said box. This machine is designed to first llthe lower row ofsaid box with cartridges and then the upper row in :the same manner, .as will .be seen in Figs. 8, 10,

and 16, and will now bedescribed.

As aforesaid, the cartridges fall .from the chutes into pockets |25 in the receiving drums and are transferred from saidV pockets into correspending pockets |28 in the transfer drums. Looking atFig. 16, packing box .Blnow contains cartridges in the lower row designated by numbers 1,'2, 3, 4, and 5 respectively, said cartridges having been transferred from pockets |23 in transfer drum ||2 correspondingly numbered '1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 1espectively,when--said; pocketswere in alignment with leach .otherijust as pockets-|26 numbered 6 and 7 now lare in this particular aligned position, a full scale view of which is shown in Fig. 10 for illustrating more clearly the Vpossibility of said pockets |28 yin said transfer drum being in perfect alignment during a short interval within the cycle of operation of the machine.

'The cartridge pusher contacts the base end of the cartridge when said drum and box pockets are aligned as shown by number 7 cartridge in Fig. 10 and while the drum continues to rotate, in the direction of the arrow, the cartridge pusher |46 pushes said number 7 cartridge out of its pocket |28 into corresponding pocket number 7 in the cardboard box container shown going along in back on conveyor l5, not shown in this view but previously explained. Cartridge drum ||2 will travel from the position shown by number 7 cartridge (Fig. 10) to number 6 cartridge position which is approximately one inch, during which time said cartridge pusher will have pushed said cartridge number '7 approximately three inches on a traversal path through the transfer drum pocket |28 containing said number 7 cartridge. The same operation occurs simultaneously for each cartridge in each pocket of the transfer drums, said operation to be followed up immediately by the aforesaid action of the rotary pusher to place said cartridges home fully Within the packing box pockets.

It should be noted in Figs. 16 and 10 that each drum provides cartridges for filling alternate pockets successively in said cardboard packing boxes. By the cooperation and accurate timing of the following drum, which also fills alternate pockets left empty by the first-named drum, the lowermost row of pockets in the packing box will first be completely filled with cartridges, the near completion of which is here shown in box B2, Fig. 16. Namely, cartridge transfer drums H2 and H3 supply cartridges to be placed in the lowermost row of pockets in the cardboard packing boxes while immediately afterward, drums H4 yand ||5 simultaneously provide cartridges for` lling the uppermost row of pockets in the same aforesaid cardboard packing boxes for their delivery onto the discharge conveyor, to be explained later.

Referring to Fig. 16, numbers 6, 7, 8, 9, and in box B3 represent where cartridges with corresponding numbers 8, 9, and l0 now being retained in pockets |28 of transfer drum H2 by circumferential guides |51 :and |58 respectively and by S-shaped guide are going to be placed. Number 6 cartridge is already as far into its box pocket as pusher |46 can push it, and the following pusher |46 on cartridge pusher chains |35 previously explained is now acting on cartridge number 7 to push it within its pocket in box B3 during the time said cartridgevand pockets are traveling to the position shown by number 6 cartridge.

Referring to the first cartridge transfer unit, namely receiving drum 90 and transfer drum H2, it will be noticed on the drawings. Fig. 16, that if said transfer drum H2 skips the first lower row pocket designated by X in cardboard packing box B1, the very first pocket designated by Y will be filled in the following box B3. Because of the box alignment with said transfer drum in this particular position shown, the last pocket will be filled with cartridge numbered 5 in the lowermost row of box B1 and due to the regular spacing of pockets |28 around the periphery of drum H2, cartridge numbered 6`in said transfer drum will enter said first pocket Y in the lowermost row in box B3. The box conveyor pushing chain lug 63 cooperates with the peripheral space between said pockets |28 carrying cartridges numbered 5 and 6 respectively and said lowermost row of pockets are alternately lled as previously described Following along in this same manner,

cartridge numbered l0 will be placed in the next to the last pocket in the lower row of box B3. 5 Therefore, peripheral blank space numbered 1l on transfer drum H2 will cooperate with vacant pocket Z in box B3 and conveyor chain lug 63 and the first corresponding pocket in the lower row ofthe box immediately following which can be referred to corresponding pocket X in box B1 here shown so as to cause alternate lower row pockets to be filled in said following box in the same order as the pockets in box B1 were filled previous to filling box B3 pockets.

A complete cycle of box pocket filling has now been described for the lower row of pockets in the cardboard packing box and the same identical construction and operation occurs for filling the uppermost row in the same packing boxes with cartridges except that to enable the radial pockets |28 on transfer drums H4 and H5 to cooperate with said upper row of pockets in the cardboard packing boxes, supporting drive shafts H8 and H9 for said transfer drums H4 and H5 respectively are positioned higher in alignment than aforesaid driving shafts H6 and H1 for said transfer drums H2 and I3 (Figs. 2 and 16).

By referring to the third cartridge transfer unit, namely that consisting of receiving drum 92 and transfer drum H4 operating to fill the uppermost row of pockets in said cardboard packing boxes, the occurrence and operation of peripheral blank surface numbered H on said transfer drums is clearly shown as previously described. Alternate pockets numbered 1, 2, 3,

4 and 5 respectively in the uppermost row of box B4 will be filled from transfer drum I4 and the remaining empty pockets left by Said drum H4 will be supplied with cartridges from correspondingly numbered pockets 6, 7, 8, 9, and l() respectively from said transfer drum H5 which acts in conjunction with said drum 4 to lill said upper rows in said cardboard packing boxes with cartridges, previously described.

To sum up the aforesaid operations required to lill all available pockets in each cardboard packing box with cartridges as said box travels continuously on box conveyor l5 past; four continuously operating simultaneous cartridge transfer units, the action taken is as follows. First transfer drum H2 will furnish cartridges to ll alternate pockets 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 respectively as shown placed in box B1 and alternate pockets 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 respectively as shown being filled in box B3 (Fig. 16). The next box immediately following B3, not shown, will have pockets filled in the order similar to box B1. Therefore cartridge transfer drum ||3 will furnish necessary cartridges to fill empty pockets left in the lowermost row in boxes B1 and B3 respectively, first filling in pockets numbered 6, 7, 8,'9, and 10 respectively as shown after having been lled accordingly in box B4, and 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 respectively in lower row of B2 as here shown in the act of completely filling said vacant pockets in said lower row of said box B2. The same procedure takes place in filling the upper row of pockets in the same boxes. Box B5 shows cartridges 6, '7, 8, 9, and 10 respectively in the uppermost row placed within their correspondingly alternate pockets, said cartridges being furnished by transfer drum H4, while box B4 is shown about to receive cartridges numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 in correspondingly numbered pockets 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 respectively. Box B2, immediately following box B4 will have essorage VV'said pockets in the uppermost row filled according to the same arrangement as box B did, namely pockets numbered 6, 7, 8, 9, and v respectively. Cartridge transfer drum H5 is so 'constructed and timed with relat1on to drum I I4 vtransfer drum I I5 will bridge across pockets numbered 5 in the upper row in box B6 and corresponding pocket numbered 6 in the upper row in box B5 previously lled by drum H4 and previously described, so that cartridges numbered 1, 2, 3,*4, and 5 now being retained in drum H5 by guides |51 and |58 respectively will be deposited in the upper row of box B5 directly above correspondingly numbered cartridges l, 2, 3, 4, 5 respectively, already in place in the lower row of said box. Box BPl shows all twenty cartridges being represented by their respective numbers placed in proper order to completely ll said cardboard packing box fordelivery onto the discharge conveyor.

The bottom-portion of said cardboard boxes has been removed inFig. 16 to show the available cartridge pockets and the transverse longitudinal partition separating each longitudinal row of ten cartridges, one above the other. Box

`flaps H are also shown in theirV raised position during their entire travel past cartridgereceiving drums H2, H3, H4, and H5 respectively as previously described, and held in this aforesaid raised position by member 8i) cooperating with iiap guide member 5S (Fig. 3) to form a retaining channel `for said box flaps to travel through, also described previously- During the process of filling the uppermost row ofthe cardboard packing boxes with cartridges,

it is very important to guide the cartridges'with `greater care and accuracy than was required for filling the lowermost row. The object is to .carry the center of the tip-end of the cartridge well above the transverse longitudinal partition where there are already present cartridges iillingv all pockets which have been placed there previous to filling said upper row. To accomplish this, lower guide member ISE?, Fig. 8, is purposely milled deeper on its forward surface |85 and ygradually rises to form an inclined surface'l upon which all upper row cartridges are released vfrom transfer drums H4 and H5 respectively,

surface |85 and also slightly Yabove thelevel `of said transverse longitudinal partition within said cardboard box, serves to level oi said cartridges high above said transverse partition safely within said upper row of pockets in said vpacking boxes as said cartridges are pushed simultaneously into said boxes by cartridge pushers |56 previously 4 described and shown in Fig. 8. n

Upon'completion oflling all of said pocketsin Yeach cardboard packing box as said box-is moved Yalong kon conveyor llrsaid conveyor carries said y lcompletely filled packing lbox to the #discharge mechanism for. thepurp'ose of vrighting .sai'dfbox and delivering it 'out 4`of ithe machine for `further packing into containers which are finallysent to eld stations Aor ammunition `supply houses or wherever desired. It will be noticed by the drawings that all of said packing boxes have been laying on their sides with the box flaps II held in an upraised position for the easy entrance of all of the cartridges into the several pockets within said boxes, during their entire continuous travel with the box conveyor I5 from the time they were severally placed upon said conveyor from out of the previously mentioned box hopper station, starting the beginning of their continuous travel through said machine, to Where they are now approaching, namely the discharge station. It is the purpose of the discharge mechanism to remove said completely lled cardboard boxes, containing twenty cartridges, from the continuously moving box conveyor I5 and place said boxes in an upright position onto a discharge conveyor for their safe delivery out of said machine.

To accomplish this aforesaid purpose of said discharge mechanism, it is necessary for the pushing surface of the discharge paddles ISil to move continuously in a plane parallel to the continuously moving box conveyor I5. Said dis charge mechanism is supported from bracket 555 mounted on main frame I (Fig. 13). Rigidly secured to bracket |95 is stationary gear |96 around which three sets ofplanetary gears are carried for rotation on stub shafts |91 and |98 respectively. Said stub shafts are severally mounted in bearings on disk member |99 which in turn is pinned at Zii to continuously rotating vertical discharge paddle drive shaft 23| supported in bearings 2(22 on support bracket |95 simultaneously driven by bevel gear 203 pinned to the lower end of said shaft 23|. Said bevel gear Zii is driven by bevel gear 204 which is suitably secured to aforesaid box conveyor drive sprocket 7| pinned to aforesaid continuously rotating box conveyor drive shaft 'i2 for continuous operation of the discharge paddles |99. As the planetary gears 2&5 travel around the periphery of stationary gear it, with the teeth of said gears in mesh, stub shafts |91 with gears 2i5 rotate in acounter-clockvise direction. Said gears 295 mesh with larger gears Zilli supported on stub shafts ist also jcurnaled in bearings on disk member iiand cause said gears 255 to travel Vin' a Clockwise direction just fast enough in vaccordance with' the speed oi rotation ofshait 29| to cause discharge paddles lili), which Vare made part of said gears 296, to move continuously in aparaliel path equal to the-direction of travel of the conveyor.

By this parallel 'movement `of the discharge paddles i3d, said paddles are brought flatly against the upper portion of the open top of the card packing box, eruitaiding twenty carges, it lies on its side between the box conveyor lugs which have conveyed it from the afcreme tioned box hopper station to said gc station. Because of the fact that stub s |538 mounted on disk member i559, l rotates continuously in a counter-clock.- directi said shafts travel in a circumferential path around drive shaft Because of the planetary gearing used to drive discharge paddles ltd, previously described, said paddles travel in a oircumferentially parallel path to the v,box vconveyort ereiore squarely forcing said cartridg'e filled cardboard box out from between the conveyor lugs 63 of box conveyor I5, over the rounded portion El@ of previously described conveyor support bracket 62, which runs the entire length of the machine.

The cartridge lled box will rst be eased onto the discharge belt 2 i2 in a leaning position as shown in Fig. 13 in full lines, and as said discharge belt travels in the direction of the arrow in 12, the cartridge lled cardboard box Will be cammed into an upright position as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 13 by the diminishing width between the conveyor side guides as shown at 2! l of surface 2H), as the box is carried along out of the machine on said discharge belt 2 I 2. A box guide 2515 is provided opposite the line of action during the actual pushing of said cartridge filled box out from between the box conveyor lugs 63 and onto the discharge belt 2 I2 as previously explained so as to conne said box to said discharge conveyor. Said discharge belt 2i2 slides over member' 2I3 which in turn supports the weight of the filled cartridge boxes and said belt is driven from flanged pulley 2M. Said pulley 2M mounted on a shaft in bearings supported from frame I in turn supports a sprocket 2 I5 which is driven by a chain 24S from a sprocket on a continuously rotating discharge belt drive shaft 2 i?.

To continuously rotate the numerous drive shafts previously mentioned throughout the description of this machine a motor 223 is provided (Fig. l). A drive pulley 22! secured to said motor drive shaft 222, continuously drives pulley 223 mounted upon a shaft 224 journaled in bearings 22E@ treme end of main frame I as viewed in the direction of Fig. 1. Secured to said shaft 224 is a gear 226 which drives gear 221 supported for continuous rotation upon shaft 228 also supported in bearings 229 at the end of frame I. Mounted in bearings projecting from main frame I, Figs. 1 and 2, is shaft H3 continuously driven by gear I'M which meshes with gear 221, previously mentioned. Therefore, rotary pushers |55 are continuously driven through bevel gears IIZ previously described as mounted on shaft I'l3 for continuous operation.

Also suitably secured to shaft 228 at the furthermost end of main frame I is a sprocket 230 which drives shaft Hit by a ch'ain I II and sprocket H2 suitably secured to said shaft I l0, thereby providing continuous rotation for all cartridge drums as previously explained. On the extreme end of shaft III), opposite to sprocket H2, Fig. 2, is secured another sprocket 233 by which .box hopper drive shaft 20 is continuously driven. Shaft 20 is coupled by gearing 235 to stub shaft 235 mounted within box hopper support frame 5, said shaft 23|.= being continuously rotated by a chain 23'! driven from sprocket 233. Said chain 231 drives sprocket 238 suitably secured to said stub shaft 236, thereby providing continuous driving means for the previously described box hopper mechanism. Mounted upon continuously rotating shaft 228 is a worm gear 24d which drives Worm wheel 24| which is secured to box conveyor drive shaft l2 thereby providing continuous drive to said shaft l2 for the continuous movement of box conveyor I as previously described. Each cartridge pusher unit possesses a bevel driving gear I38 previously described as being mounted for driving shaft I3? to cause said cartridge pushers |46 to travel continuously. Said gears |38 of each cartridge which are suitably secured at the expusher unit mesh with corresponding bevel gears E3B which are pinned to shaft I'l3 for the continuous operation of all cartridge pusher units.

What We claim is:

1. A loading mechanism for placing cartridges in cell-type containers, comprising a continuously rotating transfer drum provided with axially extending cartridge-receiving recesses, a continuously moving conveyor having container pushers advancing containers past the transfer drum at the same surface speed as the recesses and with a cell in alignment with each recess, and a pusher engaging the base of a cartridge in one of the recesses and having a diagonal direction of motion the longitudinal component of which is the same as the longitudinal speed of the conveyor and movable to shift a cartridge from a pocket to a cell of the container.

2. A loading mechanism for placing cartridges in cell-type containers, 4fcomprising a continuously rotating transfer drum provided With axially extending cartridge-receiving recesses, a continuously moving conveyor having container pushers advancing containers past the transfer drum at the same surface speed as the recesses and with a cell in alignment with each recess, a pusher engaging the base of a cartridge in one of the recesses and having a diagonal direction of motion the longitudinal component of which is the same as the longitudinal speed of the conveyor and movable to shift a cartridge from a pocket to a cell of the container, and a second pusher trailing in an endless path tangential to the containers and adapted to engage a cartridge partially seated in a cell and completely transfer it into the cell.

3. A loading mechanism for placing cartridges in cell-type containers comprising a pair of continuously rotating transfer drums each provided With spaced, axially-extending cartridge-receiving recesses arranged circumferentially of the drum, a continuously moving conveyor having container pushers advancing containers .past the transfer drums at the same surface speed as the recesses and with alternate cells in alignment with successive recesses, the spacing of the axes of the drums being such that the recesses of the second drum are in alignment with the cells missed by the recesses of the first drum, and a pusher engaging the base of a cartridge in one of the recesses and having a diagonal direction of motion the longitudinal component of motion 0f which is the same as the longitudinal speed of the conveyor and movable to shift a cartridge from a pocket to the cell ofthe container. v

4. A loading mechanism for placing cartridges in cell-type containers comprising a pair of continuously rotating transfer drums each provided with spaced, axially-extending cartridge-receiving recesses arranged circumferentially of the drum, a continuously moving conveyor having container pushers advancing containers past the transfer drums at the same surface speed as the recesses and with alternate cells in alignment With successive recesses, the

spacing of the axes of the drums being such that the longitudinal speed of the conveyor and movable to shift a cartridge from a pocket to the cell of the container, and a second pusher traveling in an endless path tangential to the containers and adapted to engage a cartridge partially seated in a cell and completely transfer it into the cell.

5. A loading mechanism for placing cartridges in cell-type containers comprising a pair of continuously rotating transfer drums each provided with spaced, axially-extending cartridge-receiving recesses arranged circumferentially of the drum, a continuously moving conveyor having container pushers advancing containers past the transfer drums at the same surface speed as the recesses and with alternate cells in alignment with successive recesses, the spacing of the axes of the drums being such that the recesses of the second drum are in alignment with the cells missed by the recesses of the first drum, the recesses being arranged in groups of a numloer equal to that of the number of cells in a complete layer, but with a space between the groups sufficient to bridge the gap between the last and rst cells to be 'filled in adjacent pairs of boxes, and a pusher engaging the base of a cartridge in one of the recesses and having a diagonal direction of motion the longitudinal component of motion of which is the same as the longitudinal speed of the conveyor and movable to shift a cartridge from a pocket to the cell of the container.

6. A loading mechanism for placing cartridges in double row cell-type containers comprising a plurality of sets of continuously rotating transfer drums each provided with spaced, axiallyextending cartridge-receiving recesses arranged circumferentially of the drum, a continuously moving conveyor having container pushers advancing containers past the transfer drums at the same surface speed as the recesses and with the cells of the two rows aligned with the recesses of the two sets respectively, and means at each drum for transferring the cartridges from the recesses to the cells.

7. A loading mechanism for placing cartridges in double row cell-type containers comprising a plurality of sets of continuously rotating transier drums each provided with spaced, axiallyextending cartridge-receiving recesses arranged circumferentially of the drum, a continuously moving conveyor having container pushers advancing containers past the transfer drums at the same surface speed as the recesses and with the cells of the two rows aligned with the recesses of the two sets respectively, means at each drum for transferring the cartridges from the recesses to the cells comprising a pusher engaging the base of a cartridge in one of the recesses and having a diagonal direction of motion the longitudinal component of motion of which is the same as the longitudinal speed of the conveyor and a second pusher traveling in an endless path tangential to the containers and adapted to engage a cartridge partially seated in a cell and completely transfer it into the cell.

8. A loading mechanism for placing cartridges in double row cell-type containers comprising a plurality of sets of continuously rotating transfer drums each provided with spaced, axiallyextending cartridge-receiving. recesses arranged circumferentially of the drum, a continuously moving conveyor having container pushers advancing containers past the transfer drums at the same surface speed as the recesses and with the cells of the two rows aligned with the recesses of the two sets respectively, means at each drum for transferring the cartridges from the recesses to the cells, and guide means for the cartridges of the second row directing them into the cells of the second row well away from the partition dividing the two rows of cells.

ELMER LOVELL SMITH; CARL E. MELHORN.

Y CERTIFICATE 0F CORRECTION. Patent N05 2,559,299- January 18, 19h11.. ELMERfLOVELL SMI'JH, ET AL,

Itis hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification of the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows: Page 2, first column, line 5'?, for the word. clearance read -fclearness-q and second colnmn, line 58,A for "a" before *.'guide" read --flap; page 1;, first column, lineA 65, for "a". 'before "far" read -.as; and that the said Letters Patent should he read lwith this correction therein that the same `may confom to the record of the case -in `the* Patent Office.

signed and sealed thisagthday of March, A. 13.19%.

s Leslie Frazer (Seal) Acting Commissioner of Patents.

CERTIFICATE oF CORRECTION.

Patent No.4 2,559,299. January 18, 19141;..

ELMER-LOVRLL SMITH,- ET AL,

It' 1S hereby certified that-error appears in the printed specification of the abo ve :numbered patent requiring Corr'eCtCn HC flgyf l coltmm, line 57, for the word I'cleeanzazaee" read -1eaz-ness; and second column,` line 58,', for "a"` b efore guide read flap; page I+, first column, line 65, for "af/before 'far" read v-as-; Vand that the said Lette'rs Patent should pe readwith this correction therein that the same may -conl form to the record of the Case -n th Patent Office.

signed and sealed this-23mm of March, A. D.19LILI.

Les 'l i a Frazer

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