US3775942A - Vacuum stoppering apparatus with pegboard shelf adjustment - Google Patents

Abstract

Vacuum drying and stoppering apparatus having multiple shelves permits variable shelf spacing by means of a pegboard type arrangement. Using an appropriate pattern of the pegholes, one or more shelves may be immobilized by seating them in the lowermost shelf and then redistributing the remaining shelves according to a predetermined coded hole sequence.

Description

United States Patent 1191 Powell et al. Dec. 4, 1973 [54] VACUUM STOPPERING APPARATUS WITH 3,039,621 6/1962 Pilcher 108/107 PEGBOARD SHELF ADJUSTMENT 1 3,255,722 6/1966 Ferdinand et al.... 108/144 3,537,233 11/1970 Costello et a1] 53/264 [7 Inventors: Harold Powell, g of Prussia; 3,668,8[9 6/1972 Henshaw 53/102 Cornelius C. Dunn, Havertown; John R. Burke, Philadelphia, all of P Primary ExaminerTravis S. McGehee As '1 t E --H M. C l [73] Assignee: Pennwalt Corporation, Philadelphia, jf s gggigs g u vet [22] Filed: June 8, I972 121 App]. N6; 260,791 ABSTRACT Vacuum drying and stoppering apparatus having mul- [52] US. Cl. 53/264, 53/102 tiple Shelves permits variable Spacing means [51] Int. Cl B67b 1/04, B65b 31/02 f a pegboard type arrangement. Using an appropriate [58] Field of Search .1 53/101, 102, 180, pattern of the pegheles, one or more shelves may be 53/264 287; 108/106 144 immobilized by seating them in the lowermost shelf and then redistributing the remaining shelves accord- [56] References and ing to a predetermined coded hole sequence.

UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,792,678 Baldwin, Jr. et al 53/101 2 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures a0 75 11:1} 72 iii PATENTH] DEC 4 I973 SHEET 1 OF 4 PATENTED 41975 3.775.942

SHEET 2 BF 4 F/GZ 66 & F/G.4

PAIENTEB DEC 4 I975 SHEET 3 OF 4 VACUUM STOPPERING APPARATUS WITH PEGBOARD SHELF ADJUSTMENT This invention relates to an apparatus for vacuum drying materials contained within bottles and then capping or stoppering the bottles while they are still under vacuum.

Conventionally, vacuum drying apparatus for materials, such as biologicals, includes a series of vertically movable shelves which are supported in vertically spaced disposition from each other within a cabinet thereby allowing bottles or other containers having caps or stoppers loosely retained therein to be seated on the shelves. After the materials in the bottles are dried, the shelves are drawn toward each other while under vacuum so that the caps are pressed into the bottle mouths. Thereafter, the shelves are retracted to their initial position for insertion of fresh bottles containing material to be subjected to vacuum drying and sealing.

In prior U. S. Pat. No. 3,668,819 there is shown a vacuum drying and stoppering apparatus in which each of the shelves is capable of being infinitely adjusted to any position within the cabinet whereby various bottle sizes may be accommodated at respective shelf levels. The present invention also concerns an adjustable shelf system for vacuum drying and stoppering apparatus, but allows the adjustment to be made with greater facility. While the instant design provides for the handling of various .bottle sizes, it contemplates that only one bottle size will be subjected to the treatment at any particular time. Hence, the mode of shelf adjustment is such that the spacing between all of the shelves is to be the same during any one run, but variable to accommodate a different bottle size in another run.

A principal element of the present invention is the use of pegboard shelf supporting means having a pattern of holes which enables all of the shelves to be placed in service while at any time permitting one or more shelves to be immobilized so that the active shelf space is adjustable in equal increments. That is, within the fixed distance between the top and bottom shelves of the drying cabinet, any number of shelves may be reactivated by resting them on the lowermost shelf. Then, by incorporating stops or rests within appropriate preselected coded hole positions of the pegboard pattern, the active shelves may be redistributed equally in the remaining available space so that the increments between adjacent shelves are the same. The present system thus makes possible for a dryer of a given size and having a certain number of shelves to be conveniently adjusted for the greatest active shelf area commensurate with a particular bottle size.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a multiple-shelf vacuum drying and stoppering apparatus in which the shelves may be adjusted for spacing in order to accommodate the largest number of bottles of a particular size.

Another object of this invention is to provide a vacuum drying and stoppering apparatus wherein the shelf spacing may be conveniently adjusted with minimum effort. I

Other objects of this invention are to provide an improved device of the character described that is easily and economically produced, sturdy in construction and highly efficient in operation.

, With the above and related objects in view, this invention consists of the details of construction and combination of parts as will be more fully understood from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view and partly broken away of a vacuum drying and stoppering apparatus embodying this invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along lines 2-2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along lines 3-3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a front plan perspective view of a shelf support member having a pegboard configuration embodying this invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagramatic view showing the manner of accomplishing the variable shelf spacing.

Referring now in greater detail] to the drawings in which similar reference characters refer to similar parts, there is shown a vacuum drying and stoppering apparatus comprising a cabinet, generally designated as A, a plurality of vertically movable shelves, generally designated as B, shelf supporting means C in the form of a pegboard for holding the shelves in variable spaced disposition with respect to each other, and a drive D for drawing the lowermost shelf upwardly to effect capping of the containers E placed therebetween.

The cabinet A is generally conventional and includes a substantially rectangular insulated housing 12 having a door 14 hinged thereto. A suitable latch 16 is utilized to maintain the door 14 in hermetically sealed disposition against the housing, and one or more windows 18 permit observation of the interior of the cabinet A when the door is closed. A conduit 20 couples the interior of the housing 12 with a vacuum pump (not shown) so that the cabinet may be evacuated.

The shelves B are flat steel plates 22 of generally rectagular configuration and 1% inch thick for example. The plates 22 are bored through the thickness dimension for circulation of heat transfer fluid, such as steam or hot oil. Flexible hoses 24 in communication with the bores are further coupled to fittings 26 within the cabi net A at a suitable manifold. The opposed lateral edges of each shelf plate 22 have a pair of slide bearing guide blocks 28, each including an apertured bushing through which lifting rods 30 slidably extend. Fingers 32 are secured to the edges of the guide blocks 28 by screws 34, the distal ends of the fingers being adapted to rest upon stop screws 36 which are in threaded engagement with selected tapped holes (X1 to X36) in the pegboard" shelf support means C. It is to be observed that the respective distal ends of the fingers 32 are progressively shorter in length in order of descending shelf levels so that the fingers will not interfere with the stop screws 36 thereabove during shelf elevation. It is also to be observed that the tapped holes X1 to X36 in the pegboard are not in a single vertical line but rather are arranged in staggered rows to accommodate for the respective finger dimensions. The lowermost shelf B1 has the plate 22 thereof supported on an angle iron carriage 40, a nut 42 being secured upon the lower threaded portion 30 A of each lifting rod 32.

The shelf supporting means C includes four pegboard plates 44 which are vertically disposed in spaced disposition from the side walls of the housing A. The upper end of each pegboard 44 is retained in clamped disposition within slits 45 of a horizontal bracket 46 by passing a locking screw 48 through a corresponding hole in the bracket 46 and thence into threaded engagement with a tapped hole 50 in the pegboard plate itself. The brackets 46 are themselves secured by means of screws 52 to flats 54 formed on the lower portions of sealing cap bushings 56. The lower ends of the pegboard plates 44 are slidably retained behind a guide strip 58 affixed to the lowermost shelf Bl at the center portion thereof by way of screws 60 and spacer 62. The outboard ends of thelower guide strip 58 are secured to the bearing blocks 28 of the lowermost shelf through cap screws 64.

The upper portions of the rods 30 pass through the cap seals 56 in the roof of the cabinet A, and are coupled to a lifting frame 66 by means of a clevis joint 68. The lifting frame 66 is made up of four l-beams welded into rectangular configuration and secured at the four comers upon pads 70. The pads 70 are mounted upon screws 72 which are in intermeshing engagement with transverse drive worms 74 oriented at right angles thereto. Each of the drive junctions of the worms 74 and the screws 72 is enclosed in a corresponding casing 76, the lower ends of the screws being enclosed within grease wells 78 to insure adequate lubrication of the right angle drives. The intermediate portions of the worms 74 are interconnected by jack shafts 80. Extensions 82 of the jack shafts are connected to bevel gear right angle drives 84 and 86 which are interconnected by shaft 88. Right angle drive 86 is coupled to shaft 90 of main drive motor D. Thus, rotation of drive motor D in one direction will cause the lowermost shelf B1 to rise whereas rotation of the motor in the opposite direction lowers said shelf.

In order to adjust the spacing between the various shelves B, the lowermost shelf B1 is elevated on its lifting rods 30 by drive motor D until all of the plates 22 are telescoped together. At this stage, the uppermost shelf B11 will be in abutment with the bottom of the sealing caps 56. Then, starting with the uppermost shelf, the stop screws 36 are inserted within the appropriate tapped holes Xl to X36 in each of the pegboards 44 in order to provide the various shelf levels desired. As illustrated, there are eleven shelves B1 through B11 inclusive, and a suitable cabinet design would provide an available dimension of approximately 48% inches between the bottom of the top shelf B1 1 and the top of the bottom shelf Bl when the latter is in fully lowered position. Note that the upper shelf B11 is not active for holding bottles but rather acts as a ceiling stop. Since the thickness of each shelf is substantially 1% inch, the available space for ten active shelves may be equally divided into ten spaces of 3% inches each, i.e.:

Following a predetermined schedule, the stop screws 36 will be inserted in the tapped holes Xl-X36 to accommodate the respective shelves to provide for 3% inch spacing as follows:

Shelf Tapped Hole Code B" X36 B X35 B9 X30 B8 X26 B7 X22 B6 X17 B5 X13 B4 X9 B3 X4 B2 X1 Bl bottom Thus, bottle sizes of 3 /2 inClf heightor less could be accommodated on the ten active shelves. Thereafter, by elevating the lowermost shelf such that the bottles with caps in the mouths thereof are successively caused to abut the next shelf thereabove. The fully telescoped resistance when the top shelf B11 is encountered causes the respective caps to be stoppered within the bottles.

In order to provide for a larger size bottle, for example, a size just under four inches in height, one of the shelves is inactivated by nesting shelf B2 on the bottom shelf B1, and the remaining shelves distributed on the stop screws 36 inserted in the tapped holes according to the following schedule:

Shelf Hole Code B11 X36 B10 X34 B9 x29 B8 X24 B7 x20 B6 X15 B5 X1 1 B4 X7 B3 X2 B2 nested on B1 B1 bottom That is, nine active shelves would provide nine equal spaces of 4% inches each between adjacent shelves.

Alternative spacings of 4% inch, 5% inch and 6 /4 inch would be accomplished by respectively distribut For an equal space distribution of 7 A inches, the following schedule is adopted:

Shelf Hole Schedule B11 X36 B10 nest on B9 B9 X29 Ba nest on B7 B7 22 w B6 nest on B5 B5 X13 B4 nest on B3 83 X4 B2 nest on B1 B1 bottom As can be seen. the hole spacing for the selected number of shelves can be computed from the following formula:

where S, is the distance between shelves for n shelves T is the total distance between the ceiling and the lowermost shelf n is the total number of active shelves for use in the dimension T z= shelf thickness m is the number of inactive shelves After establishing the distance T and the total number of shelves to be included in that distance, [T(- n1 )(t)]becomes a constant equal to the total free space, which in the cabinet herein described is 37.5 inches, i.e. 48.75 9 (1.25).

As has been hereinbefore set forth, the horizontal positions of the holes for the various levels have been offset from a true vertical line in order that the fingers 32 will be engaged by the appropriate stop screws without interfering with each other. By following a hole schedule for the pegboards, it is readily seen that the shelves B may be easily spaced to accommodate a particular bottle size in a most expeditious manner.

Although this invention has been described in considerable detail, such description is intended as being illustrative rather than limiting since the invention may be variously embodied without departing from the spirit thereof, and the scope of the invention is to be determined as claimed.

What is claimed is:

1. Adjustable shelf stoppering apparatus for vacuum capping bottles of various sizes within a closed housing comprising: vertically disposed plate members spaced from the sides of said housing and including a plurality of holes at predetermined vertical levels for supporting shelves in equally spaced disposition according to the formula;

S,, spacing between shelves T total distance between ceiling and lowermost shelf n total number of active shelves m number of inactive shelves in nested disposition on the lower most shelf and t shelf thickness sets of pins received in selective holes to define a series of vertical levels spaced from each other to accomodate predetermined bottle sizes, a plurality of shelves including fingers at the edges thereof for resting engagement upon respective pins at the various levels, the holes at the respective levels being offset horizontally from the holes at the next successive level therebelow, and the fingers on the respective shelves being shorter in length in descending shelf order so that interference is avoided when said shelves are elevated into telescoping disposition, and means for elevating the lower most shelf until the caps of bottles sitting on the respective shelves successively abut up against the next shelf thereabove to squeeze the caps into sealing engagement with the respective bottles, whereby the shelves may be equally spaced from each other pursuant to said formula.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wheren said holes are tapped and said pins include complementary external threads.

Claims (2)

1. Adjustable shelf stoppering apparatus for vacuum capping bottles of various sizes within a closed housing comprising: vertically disposed plate members spaced from the sides of said housing and including a plurality of holes at predetermined vertical levels for supporting shelves in equally spaced disposition according to the formula; Sn (T-(n-1)(t))-(ni (t))/n where Sn spacing between shelves T total distance between ceiling and lowermost shelf n total number of active shelves ni number of inactive shelves in nested disposition on the lower most shelf and t shelf thickness sets of pins received in selective holes to define a series of vertical levels spaced from each other to accomodate predetermined bottle sizes, a plurality of shelves including fingers at the edges thereof for resting engagement upon respective pins at the various levels, the holes at the respective levels being offset horizontally from the holes at the next successive level therebelow, and the fingers on the respective shelves being shorter in length in descending shelf order so that interference is avoided when said shelves are elevated into telescoping disposition, and means for elevating the lower most shelf until the caps of bottles sitting on the respective shelves successively abut up against the next shelf thereabove to squeeze the caps into sealing engagement with the respective bottles, whereby the shelves may be equally spaced from each other pursuant to said formula.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wheren said holes are tapped and said pins include complementary external threads.

Images