Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65B—MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING
  • B65B19/00—Packaging rod-shaped or tubular articles susceptible to damage by abrasion or pressure, e.g. cigarettes, cigars, macaroni, spaghetti, drinking straws or welding electrodes
  • B65B19/34—Packaging other rod-shaped articles, e.g. sausages, macaroni, spaghetti, drinking straws, welding electrodes

Definitions

• the sausages are length measured and, if acceptable in length, are pushed from the conveyor onto a collating tray.
• Air jets move the sausages across the collating tray so that they are arranged in a mutually parallel, side-by-side arrangement on the tray.
• a packaging tray is aligned beneath the collating tray, and a pusher arm is used to slide the collated group of sausages off of the collating tray and into the packaging tray.
• the collating tray is formed of a low-friction material in an attempt to solve the problem inherent in moving sausages along their length by pushing them from one end.
• Y7 ⁇ PO in a mutually parallel, end-to-end configuration toward a measuring and collating station.
• the length of the sausages is measured so that sausages which are not acceptable for packaging are permitted to continue on the conveyor into a discard hopper.
• Those sausages which meet the length requirements are pushed from the conveyor at precisely the time when they are properly oriented beside a collating tray.
• Air jets positioned along the side of the conveyor and directed across the top of the collating tray roll the sausages across the tray, the first sausage rolling all the way across the tray until stopped by a sidewall, the second sausage rolling to abut against the first, and so on, until the tray is full.
• a counter is incremented as each sausage is pushed from the conveyor to determine when the collating tray is full.
• the collating tray itself has an undulating upper surface, with a trough to receive each of the sausages in their collated arrangement, and a slight ridge separating the sausages.
• the collating tray includes a plurality of apertures which are connected to a manifold within the collating tray. This manifold is, in turn, connected to a valving system which selectively connects the manifold to air pressure or vacuum.
• the collating tray itself is mounted on a rotating drum, typically with seven other trays arranged about the periphery of the drum, so that the outer surface of the drum forms an octagon.
• the drum is mounted to rotate, and the valving structure for selectively connecting the collating tray manifold to air pressure or vacuum is typically in the form of a rotary valve mounted at the hub of the drum to automatically sequence the air pressure and vacuum in accordance with the rotational position of each collating tray.
• OMPI When a collating tray is aligned in the upper-most rotational position to receive sausages from the conveyor air pressure is supplied to the collating tray apertures, forming an air cushion to effectively float the sausages on the tray over a cushion of air as they roll from the endless conveyor, pushed by the air blanket from the air jets, into their collated position. Because of the non-uniform nature of the sausages, and the fact that they cannot be pushed from the conveyor sufficiently precisely to align them perfectly on the collating tray, the sausages typically form a slightly irregular pattern on the collating tray when the tray is full. Thus, the sausages will be aligned by the undulating troughs to lie parallel to one another, but may be differently displaced along their length relative to one another.
• the collating tray in addition to the sidewall which stops the rolling motion of the initial sausage, includes an end wall on the end of the tray toward the direction of rotation of the collating tray drum.
• the rotating valve disconnects the air pressure from the collating tray apertures and connects these apertures to a source of vacuum.
• the sausages are then tamped onto the collating tray by a tamper mechanism. This tamping operation tends to seat the lower surface of each sausage against the apertures and the supplied vacuum. Because of the flexibility of the coligen casing, or other similar casing on the sausage, a tight seal is formed between the sausage and each collating tray aperture.
• the collating tray apertures are arranged so that they exist only beneath the collated sausage location, so that the collating tray manifold is completely sealed by the sausages in the tray.
• the vacuum source is disconnected by the valving mechanism as the tray is rotated to the third index position, but the vacuum within the manifold is sealed, so that the sausages become vacuum attached to the collating surface.
• a second embodiment which may be useful in situations where the sausages cannot be made to tightly seal against each of the apertures, provides a continued evacuation of the manifold until the sausages are dropped into the packaging tray.
• the rotating drum After tamping and evacuating the collating tray, the rotating drum is successively indexed to the 90-degree, 135-degree, and finally the 180-degree position, as further sausages are loaded onto succeeding trays in the upper-most (zero degree) position.
• a packaging tray typically moved on an endless conveyor beneath the rotating drum, is positioned accurately beneath the aligned sausages on the collating tray.
• the vacuum is disconnected from the vacuum manifold and air pressure is again supplied to the apertures.
• the sausages are therefore released from the collating surface, now in an inverted position, and are ejected by air pressure from the collating surface into the packaging tray in an accuratel aligned and collated position.
• Movement of the tray may be arrested so that multiple tiers of sausages may be packaged in a single packaging tray.
• the movement of the tray may be arrested so that sausages may be arranged end-to-end in multiple rows of sausages in a larger tray.
• the air pressure supplied to the collating tray apertures is advantageously continuously supplied from the 180-degree ejection location until the tray is again indexed at the upper-most starting position (zero degrees) for receipt of additional sausages.
• This continuous supply of air pressure tends to keep the surf of the collating tray clean and free of debris , such as small sausage particles, etc., which might otherwise collect on the surface of the tray to interfere with accurate vacuum sealing, as described above.
• FIG. 1 is a general perspective view of an apparatus constructed in accordance with this invention
• Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view taken at the line 2-2 in Figure 1;
• Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view taken at the line 3-3 in Figure 2, showing the apparatus at one stage of its operation;
• Figure 4 is a view similar to that of Figure 3, showing the apparatus at a subsequent stage in its operation;
• Figure 5 is a vertical sectional view taken at the line 5-5 in Figure 4;
• Figure 6 is an exploded, perspective view of a release mechanism for the trays utilized by the apparatus shown in Figure 1;
• Figure 7 is a partly sectioned elevational view of the mechanism of Figure 6, in assembled condition, and showing this mechanism in a first stage of its operation;
• Figure 8 is a view similar to that of Figure 7, showing the mechanism in a second stage of its operation
• Figure 9 is a view similar to Figures 7 and 8, showing the mechanism in a third stage of its operation
• Figure 10 is a perspective view, partially broken away, of an alternate embodiment of the sausage collating and packaging machine of the present invention.
• Figure 11 is a perspective of the collating tray of Figure 10.
• Figure 12 is a sectional view of the tray of Figure 10 taken along line 3-3, including a section through a part of the rotating drum of Figure 10;
• Figure 13 is a sectional view taken along line 4-4 of Figure 12, showing the interrelationship of the rotating and stationary valve surfaces of the rotating valve at the hub of the drum of Figure 12;
• Figure 14 is an exploded perspective view of the rotating and stationary valve faces of Figure 13;
• Figure 15 is a flow chart showing the operation sequence of the mechanism of Figure 10; - Figure 16 is a sectional view similar to Figure 14 showing an alternate valve embodiment; and
• Figure 17 is an exploded perspective view of the rotating and stationary valve faces of Figure 16.
• the apparatus generally shown by the numeral 10 is seen to include the following basic components: a tray dispensing assembly 12, a first endless conveyor 14 for conveying sausages 15, or the like, along a straight path in the forward direction, as identified by the arrow 16, a second endless conveyor 18 laterally adjacent to the first endless conveyor 14 and passing beneath the tray dispensing assembly 12 so that it can transport trays sequentially in the forward direction identified by the arrow 16, a loader means 20 adjacent the first conveyor 14 on the side opposite from that of the second endless conveyor 18 (i.e., the nearer side as seen in Figure 1), the loader means 20 being adapted to displace the sausages 15 laterally off the first conveyor 14 (which would be away from the viewer in Figure 1) , means defining a table surface 22 suspended over the second conveyor 18 forwardly of the dispensing assembly 12 and adapted to receive sausages which are displaced laterally by the loader means 20, stop bars 24 for arresting a tray on the second conveyor 18 in a desired position
• the endless conveyor 18 can be constituted by a single endless conveyor, or can be constituted by a plurality of sequential conveyors in the manner well known in the industry. The use of a plurality of conveyors is often resorted to when the angle defined by the conveying surface to the horizontal is intended to change over its length.
• the stop bars 24 are controlled by two air-operated cylinders 30 and 31.
• the stop bars controlled by these cylinders are identified in Figures 3 and 4 as 24a and 24b, respectively.
• Each of the cylinders 30 and 31 is mounted on an angle bracket 33 secured to a side 35 of the rectangular frame 28. The opposite side is identified by the numeral 37, the forward end by the numeral 38, and the rearward end by the numeral 40.
• the stop bars 24a and 24b are constituted, as can be seen in Figures 3 and 4, by extrusions of T-shaped cross-section, which may be of aluminum or other like material. Each of the stop bars 24a and 24b is secured at the bottom end of the piston 42 of its respective air-operated cylinder 30,31.
• the position of the table surface 22 with respect to the second endless conveyor 18 is best seen in Figures 3 and 4.
• the table surface 22 is not a single integral surface, but rather is defined by a plurality of rollers 44 strung on cross rods 46 which extend perpendicularly between the sides 35 and 37 of the rectangular frame 28, and thus perpendicular to what has been identified as the forward direction 16.
• the rollers 44 are freely rotatable, and the rollers on adjacent cross rods 46 do not touch.
• the rollers 44 are made of a low-friction material like nylon, so that there will be no tendency for the sausages 15 to stick to their surfaces. Thus, because the rollers 44 are free to rotate, there is little or no frictional resistance against movement of the sausages 15 in the forward direction with respect to the table surface defined by the rollers 44.
• the cross rods 46 are secured at either end to portions of the main frame structure for the apparatus, which includes a vertical partition 47 below the side 35, and a further partition 49 extending downwardly from the top surface of a main horizontal mounting plate 50. This construction is particularly well illustrated in Figure 2.
• Partition 47 supports, along an upper edge 52 thereof, a plurality of rollers 54 of cylindrical configuration, mounted for free rotation about vertical axes. These rollers constitute a stop or abutment means at the far or leftward side of the table surface 22, against which the first sausage to enter the table surface 22 can come to rest.
• the fact that the rollers 54 are freely rotatable means that the end sausage will not encounter any frictional drag when it is moved forwardly off the table surface 22 by the pusher means 26 which is shortly to be described.
• the table surface 22 has a free forward edge 55 which is suspended above the second 5 conveyor 18.
• the free forward edge is, in effect, defined by the furthest forward series of rollers 44, but the point being made is that there is no abutment or other means which would prevent sausages from moving forwardly " off the forward edge 55 of the table surface
• the pusher means 26 is located generally above the table surface 22, and is adapted to reciprocate in a direction parallel to the arrow 16.
• 1* * -' is adapted repeatedly, at timed intervals, to push a plurality of sausages stacked in side-by-side relationship on the table surface 22 in the forward direction 16, so that they pass beyond the free forward edge 55 and into a tray 60 which has been brought
• the tray 60 is located such that its rearward half remains under the table surface, while its forward half projects forwardly of the forward edge 55 and is adapted to receive sausages displaced forwardly from the table surface 22.
• the mechanism includes a pusher blade 62, which is rectangular in configuration and which extends downwardly from a horizontal support strut 63.
• the side 35 of the rectangular frame 28 and the opposite side 37 are both configured to define a cam track 65 which has a lower leg 67, an upward leg 68 at the forward end of the lower leg 67, a return leg 70 above the lower leg 67, and a downward leg 72 joining
• the support strut has, at either end, follower means adapted to follow the respective cam tracks in the sides 35 and 37.
• the follower means is constituted by two freely rotating follower wheels 75 at either end of the support strut 63.
• the support strut 63 is firmly attached to the distal end of the piston 76 of an air cylinder 78.
• the other end 79 of the cylinder 78 is pivotally attached to a bracket 80 which is affixed to the end 38 of the rectangular frame 28.
• the strap members extend generally in the forward direction from their location of attachment to the top of the support strut 63, and each one passes centrally through an open-ended sleeve member 84, which in the embodiment shown is generally of rectangular configuration.
• the center opening of the sleeve member is also rectangular, with a smaller vertical dimension than the horizontal dimension.
• the resilient strap members 82 are also flattened in configuration, and can be received slidingly within the sleeve members 84. At no time during the circuit of the follower wheels 75 around the cam track 65 do the strap members 82 become fully disengaged from the sleeve members 84.
• the resilience and configuration of the strap members 82 is such that as the air cylinder 78 contracts, pulling the support strut in the forward direction, the resilient strap members 82 begin to feed through the respective sleeve members 84.
• the sleeve members 84 are oriented in such a way that the hypothetical center axis if extended passes above all portions of the cam tracks 65.
• the strap members 82 are such that,
• the "arm" length over which the strap members 82 exert the upward force is so long that the upward force is not sufficient to raise the support strut and associated structure upwardly against its own gravitational weight.
• the support strut 63 and the pusher blade 62 are raised upwardly so as to be clear of any further sausages 15 being displaced from the first endless conveyor 14 and onto the table surface 22.
• Figure 3 shows the first phase of the filling of a tray 60 with sausages.
• the filling pattern is one in which a first group of sausages are placed in the forward end of the tray, following which a second group is placed in the rearward end.
• the sausages remain at all times aligned in the forward direction, and the number of sausages side-by-side may typically be from four to eight or even more, depending upon the side of the tray.
• the stop bars 24a and 24b reverse as just described, which allows the endless conveyor 18 (which is always moving) to carry the tray 60 forwardly to the downstream stop bar 24b as shown in broken lines in Figure 4.
• This presents the rearward end of the tray immediately forwardly adjacent the table surface 22 defined by the rollers 44.
• a further signal is given o the air cylinder 78 to initiate another complete cycle, which sweeps the second lot of sausages into the rearward end of the tray.
• the tray is then completely filled with sausages, and the stop bar 24b is raised at another signal to allow the filled tray to pass forwardly beyond the apparatus being described.
• the tray may then pass on to other stations in which it is wrapped, stamped or labelled, and so forth. As soon as the filled tray has passed beyond the stop bar 24a, the latter descends once again to the position shown in solid lines in Figure 3, thereby to arrest forward motion of the next sequential tray at a position identical to that shown in Figure 3 for the tray 60.
• the filling procedure then repeats, with two cycles of the air cylinder 78 causing two further lots of sausages to be deposited into the next sequential tray, one lot in the front and one lot in the back.
• the apparatus continues in . this fashion so long as sausages and trays are supplied to it.
• O PI Detector means which may be optical, electrical, or air-operated, are provided to tell the assembly when the filled tray has passed beyond the upstream stop bar 24a, so that the latter may descend. These means are not illustrated.
• the loader means 20 includes -an air cylinder 89 mounted on a bracket 90, and having its piston affixed centrally to a displacement block 92 at about the same horizontal level as the sausages 15 which are conveyed - along the first conveyor 14.
• the cylinder 89 extends its piston and the displacement block 92, thus knocking an adjacently located sausage to the left in Figure 2 so that it falls down a slight incline and onto the table surface 22 defined by the rollers 44.
• the position of a sausage immediately upon contact with the table surface 22 is shown in broken lines and identified by the numeral 93.
• the blow holes 95 continually create a curtain of leftward moving air sweeping horizontally across the top of the table surface 22, such that as the sausages sequentially fall onto the table at the rightward side as seen in Figure 2, the air will gently but positively cause them to roll leftwardly over to the furthest leftward position which they can occupy.
• tray dispensing assembly shown at top right in Figure 1, it will be seen that this includes a plurality of upstanding guide rods 97 defining a central passageway in which a stack of trays 60 can be accommodated.
• the guide rods 97 are divided into four pairs, with two rods extending upwardly from a mounting block 98 adjacent the conveyor 14, with two more rods received in an identical mounting block on the opposite side, not visible in Figure 1, and with the other two pairs of guide rods being received in two identical mounting blocks 100, each of which incorporates a release mechanism now to be described in greater detail.
• the mounting blocks 100 are located at the upstream and downstream positions of the stack of trays, with the result that the upstream mounting block 100 is not visibl in Figure 1, being hidden by the stack of trays 60.
• the mounting blocks 100 of the two release mechanisms are adapted to retain the stack of trays in position within the guide rods and to dispense trays one at a time from the bottom, so that the dispensed tray falls down onto the second endless conveyor 18 and is transported forwardly to the loading position beneath the rectangular frame 28 as previously described.
• FIG 6 shows the essential components of the release mechanism.
• the mounting block is again
• OMPI identified by the numeral 100 can be seen to include a lower face 101, an inner face 102, and two side faces 104 of which only one is visible in Figure 6.
• a recess 107 is provided in the mounting block 100, the recess having an oblique face 108 extending between the inner face 102 and the bottom face 101. The recess does not extend the lateral margins of the inner face 102, and thus the recess has inside vertical walls 110 (only one visible in Figure 6) .
• the mounting block 100 would typically be machined from a solid block of material, such as aluminum, and in order to save weight the upper and outer portions are machined away to provide inward recesses 112 on either side of the mounting block between which is a central flange portion 113.
• the central flange portion 113 is of course integral with the remainder of the mounting block 100.
• the central flange portion 113 has an oblique corner face 114 which is parallel to the face 108 of the recess 107.
• a bore hole is machined through the central flange portion normal to the face 108, and the upper outer end of the bore hole is tapped to receive the end of a standard air cylinder 116.
• the piston of the air cylinder 116 extends in sliding relation through the bore just described.
• the bore can be seen at 118 in the sectioned portion.
• the lower inner end 118' of the piston of the air cylinder is machined to present an oblique forward end face 119, and an elongated notch 120 is machined on the underside of the piston immediately adjacent the forward face 119.
• a separate piece can be machined to the configuration shown in Figure 6 and then threaded onto the standard piston shaft of an air cylinder) .
• OMPI Vertical spring slots 122 are machined into the mounting block 100 on either side of the bore just described, these spring slots being oval in section, and being shown in broken lines in Figure 9.
• a bore 124 of smaller diameter is provided transverse to the spring slots 122 at the upper ends thereof, and traverses the spring slots centrally.
• a rod 125 is adapted to be inserted snugly into the bore 124 so that the upper ends of two springs 126 can be secured at the upper ends of spring slots 122.
• a lip member 130 is provided as a separate component of the mechanism under discussion.
• the lip member 130 has a forward lip portion 132 in a wedge shape, and two rearward upstanding portions 133.
• Each portion 133 has a central slot 134 and through each side of both slots is provided a series of aligned bores 136 which are adapted to slidingly receive a further rod 138.
• the lower ends of the springs 126 are intended to pass around the rod 138 when in position through the bores 136.
• a further bore 140 is positioned in the lip member 130 and is adapted to receive the rod 129 as the latter passes through the bores 128 of the mounting block 100.
• the rod 129 defines a pivot axis about which the lip member 130 can swing with respect to the mounting block 100. Furthermore, the springs 126 are in tension when hooked around the rod 125 and the rod 129, and this tends to bias the lip member 130 into its furthest counter-clockwise position as seen from the 1ft, i.e., as seen in Figure 7. In the lip member 130 there is provided between the upstanding portions 133 a recess 143 adapted to receive the rod 118'.
• OMPI supporting the lip 132 also has a wedge-like cylindrical recess 145, the purpose of which will appear subsequentlappel
• a spring member 147 is provided, and is adapted to be secured against the forward face 102 in a recess
• the recess is substantially rectangular in section, and extends vertically centrally of the forward face 102.
• the spring member 147 is somewhat in the shape of a shovel, with a handle portion 149 adapted to be received in the recess* 148, and a blade portion 151 which has finger portions 153 bent forwardly at right angles to the main part of the blade portion 151, between which is provided a rounded recess 155.
• a threaded fastener 156 is provided to attach the handle portion 149 of the spring member 147 to the mounting block 140.
• Figure 7 the mechanism is shown before initiation of the cycle which releases one tray to fall down onto the second endless conveyor 18.
• the piston of the cylinder 116 is retracted, the lip member 130 is in its furthest counter-clockwise position, the lip 132 of the lip member 130 extends forwardly beneath the horizontal flange 160 of the lower-most tray 60" in the stack, further trays are in place above the lower-most tray 60", and the spring member 147 is in a position such that the fingers 153 are withdrawn behind the hypothetical plane of the forward face 102 of the mounting block 100, so as not to interfere with the trays in any way.
• Figure 8 shows the release mechanism after the initiation of a cycle intended to drop one of the trays onto the second endless conveyor 18.
• the piston 116 has been energized and the rod 118' has started its forward motion. It has moved far enough to push the lower end of the spring member 147 inwardly so that the fingers 153 come into engagement position beneath the flange 160"' of the second tray 60"'.
• the lower-most tray 60" is still retained at this point by virtue of the fact that the lip 132 of the finger member still extends under its flange.
• the rod 118* has extended forwardly as far as possible before it begins to exert a force on the rod 138.
• Figure 9 shows the final configuration at the end of the forward thrust of the rod 118'.
• the forward force exerted against the rod 138 has caused the lip member 130 to rotate completely out of the way of the lower-most tray 60", while the spring member 147 still retains the second lowest tray 60"' and the trays stacked thereabove.
• the first thing that happens is that the lip member 130 returns to its normal position under the influence of the springs 126, and then subsequent to this return the spring member 147 retracts back to the position of Figure 7.
• the remainder of the trays beginning with tray 60" ' fall down against the lip 132 of the lip member 130..
• a new cycle is then 0 set to start.
• This mechanism is shown generally at the numeral 170 in Figure 1, and includes three photoelectric light generators 173, 174, and 175, 5 together with matching light receptors 176 on the opposite side of the first endless conveyor 14.
• the projectors 173, 174, and 175 are longitudinally adjustable with respect to the forward direction arrow 16, as are the receptors 176, and the operation is as follows. 0
• the optimum length of sausage 15 for use with the particular plates being employed is determined on the basis of the longitudinal dimension of a tray. The distance between projector 173 and 174 is slightly less than this optimum length, while the distance between - * - " projector 173 and 175 is slightly more than this optimum length.
• the light beams from the various projectors will be intercepted. A sausage will first cut the beams from projectors 175 0 and 174, and these two beams will be off together for a certain period.
• the logic determines the condition of the light beams from projectors 174 and 175. If both of these are still cut, 5 then the sausage is too long and it is rejected. If both of these are open then the sausage is too short and again it is rejected. If the beam from projector 174 is cut but that from projector 175 is not, then the sausage is within the acceptable range and it is placed on the table 22 for insertion into the tray. Rejection takes place simply by not displacing the sausage from the conveyor 14 when it reaches the loading means 20. The sausage is then carried on further and simply runs free onto the mounting plate 50. The operator or one of the personnel attached to the assembly can then place the sausages which are rejected into a container to be reprocessed.
• the collating apparatus 201 of this embodiment is mounted on a rigid base 203, designed to rest, for example, on the floor of a packing plant, immediately adjacent a sausage forming machine (not shown) .
• the sausage forming machine ejects finished sausages above an initial alignment guide 205.
• the alignment guide 205 When dropped into the alignment guide 205, the sausages are generally oriented parallel to the length of the machine 201, that is, in a direction along the width of Figure 1.
• the alignment guide 205 includes plural rollers which assure this alignment of each individual sausage and serve to accurately roll the sausages onto the top of an endless chain conveyor 207.
• the sausage forming machine ejects the sausages at a substantially uniform rate, and because the conveyor 207 moves at a uniform rate, the sausages are substantially equally spaced along the conveyor 207.
• the conveyor 207 is moved at a rate which is selected so that the sausages are spaced along the conveyor 207 and moved in a mutually parallel, end-to-end configuration toward a collating station 209.
• the sausages initially pass a length measuring mechanism 211 which measures each sausage to assure that it is between a minimum and maximum length. Those sausages which do not fall within the length boundaries continue on the conveyor 207 and fall off the end 213 of the conveyor 207 into a collection bin 215.
• the length measuring apparatus 211 serves the additional function of precisely determining the time when each sausage is positioned directly in front of the ejector mechanism 217 so that, by properly timing the ejection from the conveyor 207, the sausages can be roughly aligned on a collating tray 219.
• the ejector mechanism 217 typically ejects the sausages from the conveyor 207 with just enough force to position the sausages at the side of the collating tray 219 immediately adjacent the conveyor 207.
• a plurality of air nozzles 221, adjacent the conveyor 207, forms a moving blanket of air across the top of the collating tray 219 which urges each individual sausage to roll across the collating tray 219.
• a sidewall 223 stops the motion of the first sausage placed on the collating tray 219. As other sausages are added to the collating tray 219, they roll to abut against the previous sausage, so that the tray 219 is filled with sausages laying substantially parallel to one another in a mutually parallel, side-by- side configuration.
• a counter 225 responsive to the ejector mechanism 217, is used to determine when the tray 219 is full of sausages.
• the collating tray 219 is mounted on a rotating octagonal drum 227.
• An indexing mechanism 229 responsive to the counter 225, is used to rotate the drum 227 in 45-degree increments counterclockwise, as viewed in Figure 1. Once the tray 219 is filled, - the indexing mechanism 229 rotates the tray 219 to a tamping station 231, while air is continuously supplied through the surface of the collating tray 219.
• a tamping mechanism 235 lightly presses the sausages against the tray 219 and the air pressure, previously supplied to the surface of the tray 219, is discontinued. At the same time, a vacuum is drawn through the apertures in the surface of the tray 219. This vacuum, together with the tamping action of the tamping mechanism 235, seals the sausages against the upper surface of the tray 219.
• the drum 227 carries eight identical collating trays 219 on its eight octagonal surfaces so that, as one tray is positioned at the tamping station 231, the next successive tray is being loaded with sausages 221. Furthermore, the control apparatus prohibits operation of the ejector mechanism 217 during cycling of the indexing mechanism
• the vacuum at the trays 219 is replaced by air pressure which blows the sausages away from the surface of the trays 219, in accurately aligned position, into a waiting packaging tray 239.
• the packaging trays 239 are supplied, one at a time, by a tray dispenser 241 onto a tray conveyor 243.
• the operation of the dispenser 241 is synchronized with that of the drum 227, so that trays 239 arrive at the eject station 237 as required for filling.
• a stop mechanism 240 is used to arrest the motion of the trays 239 at the eject location 237 during the loading operation.
• the sausages fall into the stopped tray 239 as the endless belt conveyor 243 passes beneath the tray 239.
• the tray 239 may be stopped by the stop mechanism 240 to receive two tiers of sausages from two successive collating trays 219 on top of one another, or may be partially moved to receive two or more successive tiers, side-by-side.
• the tray 239 is then released and travels to the end of the endless belt 243 where it is accepted by a wrapping mechanism of prior art design (not shown) .
• the indexing mechanism 229 is of common commercial design, typically including a ratchet and pawl to
• OMPI accurately advance the drum 227 in 45-degree increments.
• the collating tray 219 will again travel to the 0-degree position to receive an additional group of sausages.
• air is continuously supplied at the surface of the collating tray 219 to keep the surface of the tray 219 clean and free of debris which might interfere with proper sealing of the evacuation process, which occurs at the tamping station 231.
• a single motor 236 and gear mechanism 238 is advantageously used to drive both the conveyor 207 through a chain drive 2 and the conveyor
• the conveyor 207 typically comprises an endless steel chain 248 which carries a plurality of food grade urethane carriers 249. Each of the carriers is supported on a link of the chain and includes an upper surface which is slightly cup-shaped, having a higher wall on the side 251, facing away from the collating tray 219, and a relatively lower wall on the side 253 facing the collating tray 219. Each sausage thus rests on a plurality of the carriers 249, as it progresses toward the collating station.
• the measuring system 211 includes three infrared transceiving units 255, 257, and 259 ( Figure 10). As sausages pass adjacent these infrared transceiving units, the units sense the position of the sausage on the adjace conveyor 207. Each sausage must lie simultaneously alongside transceivers 259 and 257 to be long enough, and must not simultaneously lie alongside transceivers 255 and 259, since this would indicate excessive length. The position of the transceivers 255, 257, and 259 thus
• the measuring station 211 provides- a.--precise -indication of the time when a sausage is immediately adjacent to the ejector 217.
• a timer such as a monostable multivibrator, is initiated. The timer is accurately set on the basis of the speed of the conveyor 207 so that, when the sausage is immediately adjacent the ejector 217, the ejector 217 will push the sausage from the conveyor 207.
• the ejector 217 typically includes an air cylinder 261, the piston 263 of which is connected to a food grade urethane push bar 265.
• the push bar 265 is advantageously extended at a rate and to a distance, both selected to push the sausage off the conveyor 207 to 'pirace the sausage on the collating tray 219, but not to roll the sausage all the way across the tray 219.
• the sausages are carried across the tray toward the wall 223 by air which is supplied from a series of jets 221. These jets 221 form a blanket of moving air which continuously flows across the top of the collating tray 219. Air is also supplied under pressure through plural apertures 269 in the upper surface of the collating tray 219, this air tending to slightly float the sausages as they travel across the upper surface of the tray 219. The sausages will stack against one another, typically resting in locations as determined by the troughs 267.
• the counter 225 ( Figure 10) determines when the tray 219 is completely filled with sausages so that the tray 219 may be indexed to the next location and an empty tray 219 may be placed at the collating station 209.
• the undulating upper surface of the tray 219 in addition to forming a resting place for each of the sausages, tends to align the sausages as they roll across the upper surface of the tray 219, so that the sausages reach their final location parallel to the undulations.
• the lower surface of the collating tray 219 which rests on the drum 227, includes a manifold 271 which is connected to the apertures 269. This manifold 271 is in turn connected through the drum 227 to a source of vacuum by means of a valve, described below in reference to Figures 13, 14, 16, and 17.
• the manifold 271 is large enough so that, after a vacuum is drawn through the apertures 269 at the tamping station 231 ( Figure 10) , the vacuum source may be disconnected, and sufficient volume is provided in the manifold 271 so that slight leaks will not seriously degrade the vacuum within the system.
• the vacuum may be supplied using the valve of Figures 13 and 14 for a short period of time, and the sausages, once they have sealed the apertures 269, will remain attached to the tray 219, supported by the differential in pressure between atmosphere and the vacuum of the manifold 271.
• each of the collating trays 219 is connected by a tube 272 to a segmented vacuum/air valve 273 having a stationary portion 275 and a rotating portion 277.
• the valve portions 275 and 277 are typically lapped together to provide mutually rotating sealing surfaces for the application of valved vacuum and air supply to the trays 219.
• valve portions 275, 277 is shown in Figures 13 and 14_
• the sectional view of Figure 4 shows the apertures in the stationary segment 275 in solid lines and the positions of the apertures
• apertures 279 are aligned with each of the collating trays 219 so that, for example, the aperture 279A is at the upper-most or zero-degree position when the associated collating tray 219 is adjacent the ejector 217.
• the apertures 279 are uniformly spaced in a circular pattern, centered at an axle 281 which supports the rotating valve segment 277 and the drum 227. As shown in Figure 10, the other end of the axle 281 is supported on an upright front wall member 283, which additionally supports the tamping mechanism 235 and the indexing mechanism 229.
• the stationary valve portion 275 includes an arcuate groove 285 which extends between approximately the 35-degree position and the 180-degree position.
• This groove 285 is supplied with air under pressure from a compressor, so that those apertures 279 of the moving valve segment 277, which are rotationally oriented to overlap the groove 285, are supplied with air pressure.
• a single aperture 287, at the 45-degree position on the stationary valve segment 275, is connected to a vacuum pump, and thus evacuates each aperture 279 and its associated collating tray 219, when those trays are indexed to the 45-degree position, that is, at the tamping station 231.
• the sealed manifold 271 sealed at the apertures 269 by the sausages and sealed at the apertures 279 by the flat surface of the fixed valve portion 273, maintains the vacuum beneath the tray 219 and maintains the sausages attached by the pressure differential at the surface of the tray 219, as the tray is indexed successively to 90-, 135-, and 180-degree positions.
• the groove 285 continues to supply air as the tray
• Figure 15 is a flow chart which diagrams the operation of
• the conveyor, vacuum source, and air pressure source are started at step 303, and the sausage length measuring transceivers 211 determine whether the sausage, passin on the conveyor 207, is too short at step 305. If the sausa ⁇ e is too short, the measuring transceivers 211 return the system to wait for the next successive sausage. If the sausage is not too short, the step 307 measures to determine if the sausage is too long. If so, the system is returned to measure the next successive sausage.
• the transceiver station 211 determines when the end of the sausage exits t ⁇ e last transceiver element at step 309 to begin * time delay at step 311, whi ⁇ h is selected in conjunction wi ⁇ h th-*-*** speed of the conveyor 207, to determine when + * he s-usa-e, having passed the length measuring t°st, is precisely located in front of the ejection mechanism 7-17.
• the indexing unit 229 is checked to see if the drum 227 is in the middle of an indexing movement. If it is, a delay is introduced at step 315 and drum movement is again checked at step 313.
• the ejector 209 is activated at step 317 to move the measured sausage off the conveyor 207 onto the collating tray 219.
• the sausage counter 225 is incremented at step 319 and its count is checked at step 321 to determine if the sausage collating tray 219 is filled, that is, if the count has reached a predetermined number. If not, the system, returns to step 305 to measure the next successive sausage.
• the drum 227 is indexed at step 323 by 45 degrees to index each of the collating trays 219.
• the sausage counter 225 is reset to zero at step 325 to enable it to count the next group of sausa ⁇ es, and the indexing unit 229 is again ⁇ hecked at step 327 to determine if it is in the middle of an indexing movement. If it is, a delay is introduced at step 329 and the indexing unit is again checked at 327.
• the tamping mechanism 235 is lowered against the sausages at the tamping station (45-degree position) and a time delay is introduced a * -* ** step 337 which measures the tamping period.
• the tamper is then raised at step 339 and a tier counter is incremented at step 341.
• the tier counter is utilized for determining ho" many groups of sausages will be placed in each individual packaging tray.
• the count of the tier counter i*- then checked at step 343 to determine whether the oackaging tray is -filled with the required number of sausaqe tiers. If not, the system is returned to step 305. If the tier counter has reached the desired tier count, a time delay is introduced at step 345 and a new tray is dropped onto the conveyor 243 by the tray dispenser 241 at step 347.
• step 349 the stop mechanism 240 is withdrawn for a short period O * P time, so that the tray which has been arrested at the loading position on the conveyor 243 is released to trave to the next successive piece of machinery, typically a wrapping station (not shown) .
• the system is then returne to measure the length of additional sausages at step 305.
• the embodimen*- of Figure 16 shows four air supply ⁇ rooves 411, 413, 415, and 417, and four vacuum supply grooves 419, 421, 423, and 425. Because each of th 0 vacuum grooves 419-425 covers less than 180 de rees of arc, it is p ossible to use each groove to supply vacuum to collating trays 219 on opposite octagonal faces of the drum 227, thus assuring that two trays 219 will never interface with any one of the grooves 419-425 simultaneously.
• the valve of Figures 16 and 17 includes an altered rotating member also, in which the radial position of the valving orifices is changed.
• the orifices 427 and 429 are equally radially displaced and are intended to interface with the grooves 417 and 425.
• opposite orifices 431 and 433 interface with the grooves 415 and 423, orifices 435 and 437 with grooves 413 and 421, and orifices 439 and 451 with grooves 411 and 419.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Attitude Control For Articles On Conveyors (AREA)
• Intermediate Stations On Conveyors (AREA)
• Container Filling Or Packaging Operations (AREA)

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Citations (3)

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• 1979
  • 1979-10-25 JP JP80500302A patent/JPS56501449A/ja active Pending
  • 1979-10-25 WO PCT/US1979/000893 patent/WO1981001126A1/en not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 1979-10-25 BR BR7909048A patent/BR7909048A/pt unknown
• 1981
  • 1981-05-04 EP EP19800900190 patent/EP0038324A4/en not_active Withdrawn
  • 1981-06-22 DK DK273681A patent/DK273681A/da not_active Application Discontinuation

Patent Citations (3)

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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