GB1087895A - Improvements in feeding articles in succession - Google Patents

Abstract

1,087,895. Shoots and hoppers; orientating articles; endless conveyers. AUTO WRAPPERS (NORWICH) Ltd. May 3, 1966 [June 25, 1965], No. 26984/65. Headings B8A and B8S. [Also in Division F2] Apparatus for feeding tablets 2, Fig. 2, from a bulk supply in a hopper 11 to sets 3, 4 of vibrating parallel vanes which orientate the tablets so that they stand on their peripheries and travel down channels formed between the vanes, comprises a shoot 7 for feeding the tablets from the hopper 11 to the set 4 of the vanes, a baffle 35 movable into and out of the path of the tablets passing down the shoot 7, and a feeler 16 adapted to be moved by a heap 9 of tablets overfed to the set 4 of the vanes, to actuate a micro-switch controlling the movement of the baffle 35. The bottom of the shoot 7 is apertured to allow broken pieces of tablets to be sifted out. A rotating brush 5 ensures that projecting tablets are pushed down into the channels between the vanes. The feeler 16 is mounted on a shaft 14 and in its undeflected position prevents tablets from running down on top of tablets in the channels. A cam (19), Fig. 3 (not shown), is also mounted on the shaft 14 and is adapted, when the feeler 16 is deflected, to move an arm (20) of the micro-switch (21), operation of which starts an electric motor (22), Fig. 4 (not shown). The motor (22) is connected to the baffle 35 through a reduction gear (23), a crank-pin (24), a connecting rod (25), a plate (26) keyed to a shaft (27) on which is secured a pulley (28) of a chain drive (29), and an arm (34) carrying the baffle 35 and secured to a shaft (31) on which is fixed the other pulley (30) of the chain drive (29). In operation, when the switch (21) is actuated, the crank-pin (24) is rotated a half-revolution to move the baffle 35 into the path of the tablets, and when the switch (21) is released the crank-pin (24) is rotated through a further half revolution to lower the baffle 35, the motor (22) being further controlled for this purpose by two limit microswitches (43), (44) operated by a pin (40) on a link (37) which is connected to the plate (26) for oscillation therewith. The tablets are fed from the hopper 11 to the shoot 7 by an endless conveyer belt 10 intermittently driven through a chain drive (!46), Fig. 5 (not shown), by a pawl (49) and a ratchet-wheel (48), the pawl being reciprocated by a solenoid (50). The latter is de-energized when the baffle 35 is moved to its blocking position. Circuitry is described, Fig. 6 (not shown), for controlling the motor (22) and the solenoid (50). Momentarily lifting of the feeler 16, e.g. by tablets moving on the vanes or on tablets in the channels between the vanes, is prevented from starting the motor (22) by a time-delay relay in the circuit. The tablets may subsequently pass to a conveyer 1 of a wrapping machine.