US3165233A

US3165233A - Container feeding machine

Info

Publication number: US3165233A
Application number: US311381A
Authority: US
Inventors: John B West
Original assignee: Maryland Cup Corp
Current assignee: Maryland Cup Corp
Priority date: 1963-09-25
Filing date: 1963-09-25
Publication date: 1965-01-12
Anticipated expiration: 1982-01-12

Description

Jan, 12, 1965 J. B. wEsT 3,165,233

CONTAINER FEEDING MACHINE w ,"3 JEM; f/La/WLVL.

ATTORNEY Jan. l2,

Filed sept. 25, 1963 1965 J. B. wEsr CONTAINER FEEDING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 JOHN B. WEST ATTORNEY Jan. l2, 1965 J. B. wEsT CONTAINER FEEDING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Sept. 25, 1963 INVENTOR JOHN B. WEST FIG. 3. 32 I 12%.

ATTORNEY Jan. 12, 1965 J. B. wEsT CONTAINER FEEDING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Sept. 25, 1963 Ilbl-lll I IIIIILIPII..

SIA

`R O MT S E ww nm N H 0 J FIG.8.

Jan. 12, 1965 J. B. wEsT CONTAINER FEEDING MACHINE:

5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Sept. 25, 1963 INVENTOR JOHN B. WEST FIG. IO.

Hwy/W ATTORNEY United States Patent C) 3,165,233 CONTANER FEEDHNG MACHNE John B. West, Pikesville, Md., assigner to Maryland Cup Corporation, Owings Mills, Md., a corporation of Maryland Filed Sept..25, 1963, Ser. No. 311,381 3 Claims. (Cl. 221 221) This invention relates to feeding machines and it is more particularly concerned with machines for feeding containers of various kinds from a stack of nested containers, such as paper and plastic cups and tubs, ice cream cones, etc.

An object of the invention is the provision of a feeding machine of the type mentioned which supports a stack of nested containers and discharges them one by one on cyclic actuation of an operating member.

Another object of the invention is the provision of such a machine which is adapted for use in conjunction with filling machines that dispenses materials of various kinds, such as food, into the containers. v

A further object is the provision of means for cyclicly supporting and releasing a stack of nested containers at the bottom thereof in combination with cyclic means cooperating therewith to alternately grip and release the penultimate container of the stack, thereby permitting the lowermost container to fall away and be separated rfrom the stack.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of means for cyclicly supporting and releasing a stack of nested containers at the bottom thereof in combination with cyclic means coacting therewith to alternately grip and release the penultimate container of the stack and for exerting a positive force downwardly against the lowermost container when the penultimate container is gripped so as to insure separation of the lowermost container from the rest of the stack.

A still further object is the provision of a container feeding machine which is long wearing and adapted for prolonged periods of continuous use as a manufacturing facility.

These and still further objects, features and advantages of the invention will appear more fully from the description which follows hereinafter in conjunction with the accompanying drawing.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view, partly broken away, of an embodiment of the invention especially adapted for flat bottom paper cups or tub, attached to a filling machine, the latter being shown fragmentarily.

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional View along the line 2 2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a plan sectional view along the line 3 3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a plan sectional view along the line 4 4 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional view of a fragmentary portion along the line 5 5 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 6 is an elevational view of the frame skeleton parts of the embodiment, with some parts broken away.

FIG. 7 is another elevational view of the frame skeleton parts of the embodiment as seen from the right side of FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a top plan view of the skeleton frame parts, partly broken away.

ICC

FIG. 9 is a vertical sectional view along the line 9 9 of FIG. 6.

FIG. 10 is an exploded view in perspective of certain parts of the embodiment.

Referring to the drawing with more particularity, the embodiment is illustrated in reference to a container filling machine 11 having a rotatably mounted horizontal loading wheel 12 which is provided with apertures 13 foi receiving the containers to be lled. The filling machine alone, however, forms no part of the present invention.

A stationary wall 14 of the filling machine adjacent the wheel 12 is provided with a mounting bracket 15 opposite the space between a Lconsecutive pair of the apertures 13 when the loading wheel is in its stationary or resting phases between intermittent rotational movements. The location of the bracket is in advance of the filling station (not shown) of the lling machine or of the initial iilling station if there are more than one, such as where a plurality of materials are to be loaded into each container successively. 1

Spacers 17 are provided between a beam 16 comprising part of the frame of the embodiment and the bracket 15 about mounting screws 1S.

The device, when so mounted, extends outwardly from the Wall 14 over the loading wheel 12 and comprises a pair of spaced upper

transverse ribs

19, 19 and a pair of corresponding lower

transverse ribs

19A, 19A which correspond to and normally straddle the apertures 13 of the loading wheel when the wheel is in the resting phase of its cycle of operation. The spaces between the ribs comprise passageways through which the containers ypass from a pair of nested stacks of the containers 20. The ribs are connected to the beam 16 by bolts 20A.

The containers illustrated comprise conventional stii paper cups or tubs and they are supported in the form of nested stacks which can extend above the beam 16 and be laterally retained by means of a group of vertical guide rods 21 with extension sections 21A set about the spaces between the ribs. The guide rods 21 are provided in threadedly engageable sections and they are mounted on the

ribs

19 and 19A as shown in FIGS. 6-9. The spaces between the ribs may be reduced for smaller size containers by inserting shims 20B between the ribs and the beam 16.

The stacks of containers are each intermittently supported by a pair of swinging

arms

22, 22 on diametrically opposite sides of the stack.

The arms 22 each comprise a pair of matching

side members

23 and 24 which are secured at the bottom to a cross bar 25 by means of screws 26.

To the bottom of the cross bar 25, there is secured an inwardly extending tinger 2'7 by means of a bolt 28 for engaging the bottom side 29 of the lowermost container 3l? of the stack when the arms 22 are in their closest position to each other. The arms are pivoted at their upper ends to the

pintles

31, 31 carried by brackets 31A on the inner pair of

rods

21, 21 between a shoulder 31B of the lower section of each rod and the botom side of the adjacent rib 19A. The ribs 19A are biased outwardly by means of tensioned coil springs 32 mounted on the pintles having in each case one of their ends 33 secured `to a stationary point 34 of a rib 19A, and their other ends 35 secured to the respective armsvto urge the 3 f arms to rotate on their pintles to the outward positions shown by the broken lines in FIG. 1.

The stacks above the lowermost receptacles are each alternately supported by a second pair of

vertical arms

36, 36 which are hingedly mounted on the same pintles 31 between the

side members

23 and 24. The lower ends of these arms each have horizontal portions which are bifurcated to provide a pair of spaced

lingers

38 and 39. The fingers are adapted in their innermost positions to contact opposite walls of the penultimate cone 37 of the stack.

Between each pair of

fingers

38 and 39 there is disposed a horizontal ange 40 of a vertical bar 41. The bars 41 are adapted to reciprocate vertically when the fingers are engaging the walls of the penultimate container of the stack. By means of this reciprocating motion, the flanges 40 move downwardly and contact the rim of the lowermost container 30 of the stack and urge it to disengage from the stack, if it has not already been disengaged under the force of gravity alone, thereby insuring a positive feeding action of a container on each cycle of operation. To effect this reciprocating motion, the vertical bars 41 are disposed on the inner sides of theirrespective arms 36 and are attached by

bolts

42 and 43 to camming blocks 45 through a vertical slot 46 of each arm 36 and an offsetting shim 37 is interposed between it and the bar 41.

The camming blocks 4S are each provided with a camming slot 48 -throughr which a camming rod 49 extends transversely. The camming blocks 45 are hollow and they are each provided on the interior with a retainer cup 50 the lower end 44 of which bears against the top of the corresponding cammingrod 49 under the action of a coil spring 51 on the interior of the cup, the upper end of the spring bearing against upper wall 52 of the block 45. By these means the blocks 45 are each constantly urged upward relative to its respective camming rod 49. Thus, as the rods move downwardly in the camming slots 48 the blocks are maintained in their uppermost positions under the force of the springs 51 until the rods reach the bottom of the camming slots whereupon they force the blocks downward and carry with them the bars 41. In moving downward, the rods 49 in the camming slots force the arms 46 inwardly due to the slope of the inner edges of the slots 48.

The camming rods 49 are rotatably mounted on a vertical carrier block 53 and the portions 54 thereof in contact with the camming blocks45 are eccentric relative to the axis of rotation on the block 53. The middle sections 55 of the rods 49 have threaded portions 56 which engage the threads 57 of a transverse lead screw 59 rotatably mounted in the block 53. The lead screw 58 is provided with a finger knob 59. By turning the knob, the portions 54 can be adjusted to different positions of eccentricity relative to the camming blocks in their vertical reciprocation and, hence to vary the camming action for difference size containers within limits. The carrier block 53 is secured to the bottom of guide rods 68, slidably mounted in the beam 16 and is urged to a downward position relative to thebeam by means of coil springs 61 between the bottom of the beam and the top of the block 53. The springs 61 are mounted on pins 62 that are secured to the block 53 and which project upward into sliding engagement with sockets 63 of the beam 16. The pins so mounted and slidably engaged with the sockets also serve to limit the relative movement of the block toward the beam.

The guide rods 60 extend upwardly above the beam 16 and are secured to a crossbar 64 by bolts 65. One end 67 of the bar 64 is adapted to abut a powered reciprocating shaft 66 of the filling machine. The other end of the bar 64 extends outwardly and it is provided with a knob 67 for inwardly manipulating it such as may be necessary in engagement and disengagement of the opposite end with the shaft 66.

by the powered shaft 66 it carrier with it the block 53V which supports the camming rods 49. In the uppermost position of the block 53 the camming rods are at the upper ends of the camming slots 48. In this position of the block, the camming rods are also in contact with offset shoulders 68 of the arms 22, thereby forcing the arms to their innermost positions against theLaction of the springs 32. In this position, too, the vertical bars 36 are in their outermost positions by reason of the position of camming rods 49 in the upper end of the camming slots 48. With the arms 22 in this innermost position, the fingers 27 cooperatively engage the lowermost container of the stack and thus support the entire stack, while the

fingers

38 and 39 are free' of contact with any container of the stack.

As the bar 64 moves downwardly, it carries with it the block 53 and camming rods 49. 'I'he downward movement of these camming rods inthe slots 48 forces the camming blocks 45 inwardly, carrying with them the vertical arms 36 and the lingers 38 and 39. The camming rods, in moving from their uppermost positions to their lowermost positions, first reach intermediate positions at the bottom of the camming slots 48 and the

fingers

38 and 39 engage the sides of the penultimate container of the stack. As ther-camming rods continue to move downwardlyrthey bear against the camming blocks at the bottom of the slots 48 and thereby force the blocks downwardly. As these camming blocks moverdownwardly they carry with them the stripping fingers 40 which are attached to the camming blocks and cause them to engage the upper rim edge of the lowermost container of the stack. This engagement causes the container to become disengaged from the stack, if it has` not alreadybecorne disengaged under the force of gravity.Y In theirlowermost positions, the camming rods ride ,off the shoulders 68, thereby permitting the arms 22 to spread apart under the action of the springs 32 and clear a path for the disengaged container to fall through to the loading wheel 12.

On the upward movement of the camming rods, the shoulders 68 are re-engaged to bring the arms 22 to their innermost positions and the ngers 38 and 39 are retracted thereby permitting the stack to fall incremently and be supported again by engagement of the lowermost container with the fingers 27 whereupon the cycle of operation is repeated.

In the case of containers having different diameters, the movement of the

fingers

38 and 39 can be adjusted within the limits of eccentricity ofthe rod portions 54 by ksimply turning the knob 59.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A-container feeding device comprising a stationary Vmember having a vertical aperture for the disposition and passage of a nested stack of the containers therethrough; a first pair of arms hinged to the member on opposite sides of the aperture; jaws carried by said arms for engaging the bottom container of a nested stack of containers extending through the aperture; a second pair of 4arms hinged to the member on opposite sides of the stack having jaws for engaging the sides of the penultimate container of the stack projecting above the bottom container; first resiliently yieldable means urging the said first pair of arms outwardly to positions clear of the containers; second resiliently yieldable means urging the said second pair of arms inwardly; means for moving said iirst arms inwardly to cause the jaws thereof to engage the bottom container of the stack againstV the action of said first resiliently yieldable means while holding the second pair of arms clear of -the stack against the action of the said second resiliently yieldable means and for releasing the said first pair of arms under the action of the first resiliently yieldable means to cause the jaws thereof to engage the said penultimate container with the said second pair of arms and disengage the said rst pair of arms from the stack; stripping means slidably attached to the said 5 second pair of arms for exerting a downward force against the bottom `container of the stack when the said rst pair moving means comprising rods movable in paths adjacent to said arms, and blocks slidably attached to the said second arms, said blocks having slots in which said rods.

are disposed, said blocks having` camming surfaces for engaging said rods, saidV rods being rotatably `rnounted along their longitudinal axes and having eccentric portions in camming contactk with the blocks to vary the limits of motion of the arms in order to adapt the device to different sizes of containers.

2. A container feeding device as defined by claim 1 and means for rotating the rods relative tothe blocks. 3. A container feeding device as 'defined in claim 1 in of arms are in the released position and the penultimate container is supported kby said second pair of arms; said which the rods arevrotatably mounted in a reciprocating I 1,964,335 6/34 Wessman 221-221 2,730,268 1/56 Moesch 221-221 2,974,828 3/61 Matteson 221--221 3,057,515 l0/62. Loeser 221-221 3,104,780 9/63 Carter et al. 221-221 RAPHAEL M. LUPO, Primary Examiner.

LOUIS I. DEMBO, Examiner.`

Claims

1. A CONTAINER FEEDING DEVICE COMPRISING A STATIONARY MEMBER HAVING A VERTICAL APERTURE FOR THE DISPOSITION AND PASSAGE OF A NESTED STACK OF THE CONTAINERS THERETHROUGH; A FIRST PAIR OF ARMS HINGED TO THE MEMBER ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE APERTURE; JAWS CARRIED BY SAID ARMS FOR ENGAGING THE BOTTOM CONTAINER OF A NESTED STACK OF CONTAINERS EXTENDING THROUGH THE APERTURE; A SECOND PAIR OF ARMS HINGED TO THE MEMBER ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE STACK HAVING JAWS FOR ENGAGING THE SIDES OF THE PENULTIMATE CONTAINER OF THE STACK PROJECTING ABOVE THE BOTTOM CONTAINER; FIRST RESILIENTLY YIELDABLE MEANS URGING THE SAID FIRST PAIR OF ARMS OUTWARDLY TO POSITONS CLEAR OF THE CONTAINERS; SECOND RESILIENTLY YIELDABLE MEANS URGING THE SAID SECOND PAIR OF ARMS INWARDLY; MEANS FOR MOVING SAID FIRST ARMS INWARDLY TO CAUSE THE JAWS THEREOF TO ENGAGE THE BOTTOM CONTAINER OF THE STACK AGAINST THE ACTION OF SAID FIRST RESILIENTLY YIELDABLE MEANS WHILE HOLDING THE SECOND PAIR OF ARMS CLEAR OF THE STACK AGAINST THE ACTION OF THE SAID SECOND RESILIENTLY YIELDABLE MEANS AND FOR RELEASING THE SAID FIRST PAIR OF ARMS UNDER THE ACTION OF THE FIRST RESILIENTLY YIELDABLE MEANS TO CAUSE THE JAWS THEREOF TO ENGAGE THE SAID PENULTIMATE CONTAINER WITH THE SAID SECOND PAIR OF ARMS AND DISENGAGE THE SAID FIRST PAIR OF ARMS FROM THE STACK; STRIPPING MEANS SLIDABLY ATTACHED TO THE SAID SECOND PAIR OF ARMS FOR EXERTING A DOWNWARD FORCE AGAINST THE BOTTOM CONTAINER OF THE STACK WHEN THE SAID FIRST PAIR OF ARMS ARE IN THE RELEASED POSITION AND THE PENULTIMATE CONTAINER IS SUPPORTED BY SAID SECOND PAIR OF ARMS; SAID MOVING MEANS COMPRISING RODS MOVABLE IN PATHS ADJACENT TO SAID ARMS, AND BLOCKS SLIDABLY ATTACHED TO THE SAID SECOND ARMS, AND BLOCKS HAVING SLOTS IN WHICH SAID RODS ARE DISPOSED, SAID BLOCKS HAVING CAMMING SURFACES FOR ENGAGING SAID RODS, SAID RODS BEING ROTATABLY MOUNTED ALONG THEIR LONGITUDINAL AXES AND HAVING ECCENTRIC PORTIONS IN CAMMING CONTACT WITH THE BLOCKS TO VARY THE LIMITS OF MOTION OF THE ARMS IN ORDER TO ADAPT THE DEVICE TO DIFFERENT SIZES TO CONTAINERS.