539,392. Shoots and conveyers. RAYMER, M. M. Feb. 5, 1940, Nos. 2242 and 2243. Convention dates, May 15, 1939, and Sept. 16, 1939. [Class 78 (i)] A machine for dispensing loose, flaked, granulated or powdered material comprises a number of shoots 77 leading from a common hopper 78 with means for directing the material selectively into the shoots and means for receiving the material from the shoots and distributing it evenly over a number of trays. In one form, Figs. 1 and 3, partitioned trays 1 are each supported on a table 2 slidably supported in pedestals 4 and shaken by a rotating toothed wheel 9 to shake down the contents of the tray. Cereal 83 from a flaking mill is fed by conveyers 85, 84 to the hopper 78, which has a gate or valve 79 directing the cereal alternately to one or other of the shoots 77. The valve is actuated through a lever 80 and rod 81 from a cam 82 on the main shaft 35. Beneath each shoot 77 is a belt conveyer 12 on a carriage 15 reciprocated by a rack 16 and pinion 43 over the corresponding tray 1, the conveyer pulley 13 being driven through a bevel gear 17 and a gear 18 splined to slide on a shaft 19 driven through sprocket gearing 23 and a clutch 24 from a shaft 25 geared at 36 to the main shaft 35. The clutches 24 and clutches for driving the pinions 43 are actuated by cams on the shaft 35, the arrangement being such that each conveyer 12 in turn receives cereal from its shoot 77 and then deposits it in the corresponding tray. Figs. 10 and 15 show a modification in which the trays move past the lower ends of the shoots and the belt conveyers are eliminated. Each shoot 122 leads to a compartment 121 of a pan or jigging-conveyer 110 supported by a flat spring 113 from bars 114 and actuated by a vibrator 111. At the forward end of the conveyer 110, the materials falls through a spout 109 on to trays 108 supported by a carriage 107 running on tracks 105. The spout 109 is supported by parallel links 118, 119; when the junction between a pair of trays passes under the spout, the latter is swung across the junction by means of linkage 242 ... 245 actuated from a cam 233 on the shaft 169, Fig. 15. Each carriage 107 is reciprocated by a rack 138 and a pinion 139 on a shaft 150 driven through a clutch and sprocket gearing 204 or 220 from shafts 202,166, Fig. 15. The shaft 204 is connected through gears 201, 200, a shaft 199, a gear 198, and a normally loose gear 189 to a shaft 160 driven from a main motor through gearing and a sprocket chain 158. A gear 164 on the shaft 160 is connected through idlers 165, 167 to a gear 168 on the main cam shaft 169. Gears 173, 189 normally loose on the shaft 160 are alternately clutched thereto by clutches 175, 191 under the control of cams 187, 196 on the shaft 169, so that the carriages 107 are alternately actuated through the shafts 202, 166 and sprocket gearing 204, 220. At the end of its travel, each carriage can be stopped by actuating a pedal, which disengages a clutch, to enable full trays to be replaced by empty ones. The carriage can then be moved to its filling position by hand or by turning the gear 139 by means of a handle 140, and the pedal is restored to its normal position by a pivoted stop 225, allowing the clutch to re-engage. The valve 129 directing the material alternately to the shoots 122 is actuated by cams 247, 248 on the shaft 169, Figs. 15 and 18. A bell-crank 255 carries a roller 254 for engagement with a recess 251 in the cam, and is connected to the valve by a rod 135 and lever 134. At the end of the recess 251, the roller 254 is lifted quickly out of the recess by a bell-crank 259 actuated by the cam 247. The trays 108 are clamped to the frames 144, Fig. 23, of the carriages 107 by cams 265 held by springs 270 in engagement with ears 264 on the trays and adjusted by a hand-wheel 278 on a shaft 277 connected by chain gearing 280 to sprockets 274 on the spindles of the cams.