9867. Ballard, M. H. April 29. Parcelling oranges &c.-A machine for wrapping oranges or other spherical articles in sheets of paper is provided with means for stopping the mechanism. if the supply of articles fails. The hopper 1, Figs. 1 and 8, has a narrow exit communicating with the inclined trough 2, the sides 3 of which are adjustable. The belt 4, Fig. 13, lies in an opening in the bottom of the hopper and passes over pulleys 5, 6 on the shafts 7, 8. The shaft 8 is driven by the belt 10. The shaft 7 is driven by bevel gearing 12, 13, 15, 16 from the main shaft 17. Revolving blades 18 on the shaft 19, operated by a belt, throw back into the hopper any superimposed articles. The shaft 19 is supported on bent arms 22, and is adjusted in height by means of notches engaged by pawls loosely mounted on the shaft 8. Plates or agitators 23, on sliding bars 24, push the articles away from the sides of the exit of the hopper. The bars 24 are reciprocated alternately by lever mechanism operated by cams on the shaft 7. The articles from the hopper strike the shoulder 34 and then pass along the shoot 35. Each article is lifted over the shoulder 34 by the curved plate 36, which has arms 37 pivoted to the plate 38, Fig. 8. The plate 38 is engaged by the lever 32, operated by a cam on the shaft 7. The shoe 41, over the lifting-plate 36, is carried on the pivoted arm 40, connected by levers 42, 44, 45, 46 to the wedge-block 47 which engages the oblique end of the bar 48. Clutchmechanism, connecting the loose driving-wheel 50 with the main shaft 17, consists of the arm 51, pivoted to a hub on the shaft 17, and bearing the shoe 52 engaging the rim of the driving-wheel. The arm 51 is raised by the spring 53 on the fixed arm 54, but when the arm is pressed down, the machine stops. The end of the arm engages the curved end 49 of the bar 48. The shoe 41 is held up by the articles in the trough 2, but if the supply of articles fails, the shoe falls, and the wedge block 47 rises. The curved end 49 then checks the revolving arm 51, and the clutch is thrown out of operation, stopping the machine. The cam 55, operated by the handlever 56, has a projection engaging a slot in the bar 46. When the cam is turned, the bar 46 is drawn down, releasing the clutch and raising the arm 40 to allow the passage of an article beneath the shoe 41. To hold the arm raised during a complete revolution of the shaft 17, a projection 59 on the bar 44 enters a slot leading to a cam-groove in the disc 58, and remains in the groove until the arm 40 falls through lack of articles. The cam-disc 58 is revolved by the chain 61. The stop 63 on the bar 44 limits the movement of the arm 40. The articles fall through the ring 64 and are guided above the support 66 for the wrapper by converging spring fingers 65. Paper is drawn from the roll 67, Fig. 1, by feeding-rollers 70, 71 driven by the rackbar 75, connected by rods 76, 77 to an eccentric on the shaft 17. The rods 76, 77 are adjustably connected so that the lengths of the wrappers may be varied. The tension roller 68 is carried by arms 73, each of which has a spring-pressed shoe 74 engaging a brake-wheel on the roll 67. The paper is severed by shears 72. Beneath the holder 66 are sets of jaws adapted to gather in the edges of the wrapper encircling the article and to pinch them together, forming a neck. The jaws comprise two piles of angular plates 78, 79, bolted together and separated by washers. The plates of each pile slide between those of the other. The uppermost plates are connected to rack-bars 80, 81 sliding in guides and engaged by pinions 85, 86 operated by the rack-bar 87, yieldingly connected to the slotted plate 89, a projection on which engages a groove in the cam-disc 91 on the shaft 17. Narrow plates 82 are fitted at the angles of the undermost plates by screws engaging slots, and are pressed outwards by springs 84. When the plates 78, 79 recede after pressing and scoring the neck of the wrapper, the plates 82 are pressed outwards to disengage the wrapper. The spring on the jaw 78 is made heavier than that on the jaw 79, so that the wrapped article will be ejected in a certain direction. The motion of the jaws 78, 79 is limited by an adjustable stop against which the rack-bar 87 strikes. The article is forced through the ring 64 and wrapper-support 66 on to the rest 93 by the plunger 94, which moves vertically and also swings on a vertical axis. The vertical motion is derived from the levers 95, 96 connected to a crank on the shaft 17. A pin in the collar 97 on the rod 94 slides in a groove in the bracket 99, loosely mounted on the rod 94, and the bracket is swung on its vertical axis by means of the arm 100 and levers 101, 102 connected to a cam on the shaft 17. The rod 103 supporting the rest 93 is pressed upwards by the spring 104. A locking-device is provided to hold the rest in its lowest position while the jaws 78, 79 are operating. Ratchet teeth 105, Fig. 17, on the rod 103 are engaged by the pawl 106, the pivot of which carries the arm 107, having a pin 108 which is struck by the projection 109 on the collar 110 on the rod 94 to release the pawl at the highest position of the plunger and to allow the rest 93 to rise. The latch 111, connected to the arm 107, passes through a hole in the fixed plate 112, and, when engaging the plate, holds the pawl 106 out of engagement with the teeth 105. The pin 113 on a collar on the rod 94 releases the latch when the plunger 94 arrives at its lowest position, and permits the pawl to engage the teeth. The wrapped articles are ejected by the pivoted arm 114, with a circular eye at its extremity, which moves) horizontally to strike the article off the rest 93. The arm 114 is operated by levers connected to a cam on the shaft 17.