US1518921A - Flour-packing machine - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 9, 1924- l,518,921

H4.' OB. HARDING FLOUR PACKING MACHINE Dec, 9, 1924.

v 1,518,921 H. oB. HARDING FLOUR PACKING MACHINE Filed June 1, 1920 Y 4 Smets-sheet 2 mvEN-roo NG HENRv oa. HA wrrNezss:

l @Lawu ATTORNEYS Dec.9,1924. 1,518,921

H. OB. HARDING FLOUR PACKING MACHINE Filed June 1, 1920 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 FIG' 3 NVEN'TOR HENRY O'. HARDNG ATTORNEYS De@ 9,1924. I

' H. OB. HARDING FLofUR PACKING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet Filed June 1 ==ianlll1|ll-Illllllluwawlll 5 m a l INVENTOR:

ATTORNEYS Patented Dec. 9, 1924,

@Roser nerr-ena or son-e.

.i ,n nl S. @gewannen @n rincon-neutrino MAoHfIngs..

Application. filed June, 1f,

110,. @ZL when; 22; may concern;

Beit. known that; aHnnRnOE Hermine, n. Citizen. @if die United; States. residing. at Minneapolis in. the. nnnnty, ntl Hennepin. and! Qt B linnesetnr han@ invented; ner.-V tnnnen andnsefnh Erninovementsn Eloun- Backing lyLaclll-inesc, ofi, which the, following is a" speci-lication- The present invention nelatesgto machine-S. for' packing materials in. pnlvcnnlent forint and,A ymore particularly. for. the packing of Henn in bags or Small- Sncke The object of the invention` is the provision of; machine oli the character Stated theconstruction ofi Whiclp issuch, as to enable bags 01 Sacks otv.slavi-119;;-Szesg and designed to contain varying Weights.. off the material Dackedi t0. be f11ediexpeditiously-andf With-V out the necessity for incorporating weighing. instrumentalities in the inachinQor den termination otthe precise Weight ot: the filled. contenders.

The. inventionv further. seeks. to proyide. a machine of the. class` referred to wherein pr vision is made t0n- Coiupacting the-i ma:k teria as it enters the. bag: or saclc so as to tilt the latter coiiallleteliy, and thnsinsure. the proper Weight ot the contents which the has 'sackis intended t04l contain.

Furtlae .inore, the invention also.. aiins. to preside a packing. niacin-xine such as linens tioned the parts of which are s o organized and rela-ted as.` toA preclude undue impfdlnien-t thereof?, thereby affording. a machine requiring but ininiinuin attention to= maintain in proper. Work-ing condition, and one in which the necessity tor repair. or replacement of parts is comparatively Slight.

Further objects and advantages will appear as. the nature of thel improvements is better understood, the invention consisting substantially in the nov-el construction, cornbination and arrangement of: parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and finally pointed out in the, appended claims.

A practical embodiment of the invention is presented in the disclosure herein, but this is not to be talgen in a limiting or restrictive sense, it being intended to delineate to the artan appropriation of the concept and its application in practical forni to the purposes 'for which the invention is contemplated,

19129. Serial Nn. 38,545,654

In the. drawings; Eig. L sfnl front elevation Qta, flora-.packingY machins.. Constructed in., accordance. with.

the. Present invention.;

Figs., Zend Slain Sideaudireanelenntons, nniiectivnls, thennefs;

Eig, 4L sectional. plan vien( on thelinc nii-7.1i, off-Eig.. 1f; i i A Eig, 6 is a front elevation.` thereoff;

7w is a, detail sectional viewon, the linei773 oEig, 3;

Eig. Siis a detail elevation of the accelerating clutch-shittin-g, lever.- and the actuator therefor.;

Fig, 9 is. a longitudinal: sectional view of the accelerating clutch;`

Fig. 10 is` a det-ait perspective vien!I of certain.. ot` the. leverfshiitting contacts and the support tenths'. same; i'

Fig. 11 is a similarview of the counterbalance tor the, bag-supporting. Vcarriage.`

Referring now in detail to.` the. accompanying. drawings, the, numeral 1 0. designates a pair.;A oli verticalh supporting standards which. Jfor-In a part ot. the machine traine, and: by which thefwieight oli-the machine is sustained. Arranged between said stand# arde 10, and suitably held therein,I is a feed hopper. 11 with which communicates a supply chute. 12 that leads from an elevated source. oji the flour to be packed. rI Fhe p assage of: the fiouu througlixtlie chute 12 is controlled by. a sliding," gate 13, arranged therein,q and connected-v'toil said gate 13 4is an operating' lever. 141 which has' a lug 15 connected tlieretdthat cooperates with a supporting raclg 16 projecting to one lside oi. the frame ot. the machine. The teeth of the rack 16 are engaged by the lug 15, and obviously the degreeof movement ot the gate. 13 across the supply chutelz'may be easily controlled and regulated by adjusti lment of tire operating lever 14 on'saidl'sulpporting rack. i 'i y At the head of: the supporting standards 10, and-v disposed at opposite"sides of the frame, is apair oii horizontal suoporting` rails 17, which rails preferably are formed ot angle iromand passing through the chute 12, in parallel relation With the railsy 17, 'but at a point above the 'sama'is'a line shaft 18 treinv which power is 'derived 'for rhiving intermediate shaft 2O the ends of which are journaled in suitable bearings 21 carri-ed by Jthe supporting rails 17. At the opposite side of the supply chute 12, and located at the upper portion of the machine frame, is a clutch mechanism 22 which is connected to a packing shaft 23 disposed vertically of the machine, said clutch mechanism 22 providing an intermediate driving connection between the packing shaft 23 and the line shaft 18. The shaft 23 passes downwardly through the feed hopper 11, and mounted on said shaft, within said hopper 11, is a plurality of packing angers 24. These augers serve to force the flour or other material being packed downwardly through the hopper 11, which hopper has a contracted tapering lower end 25 which terminates in a discharge nozzle 2G. The bag to be filled is applied to the lower end of the discharge nozzle 26, and under the action of the packing angers 24 the flour is compactly pressed into the container on said nozzle.

Cooperating with the feed hopper 11 and its discharge nozzle 26, and serving to support the bag in sustained relation to the nozzle 26 as the bag is being filled, is a bag supporting carriage 27. This is in the form of a rectangular vertically-disposed frame 28 from which extends a horizontally-arranged shelf 29, said carriage 27 being mounted for vertical movement between the supporting members 10 of the frame. The edges of the frame 28 are fitted between vertical guide rods 30, la pair of which is mounted'at the inner face of each of the members 10. The frame 28 has a series of rollers 31 mounted thereon, said rollers being disposed between the guide rods 30, and thereby reducing' frictional movement as the carriage 27 operates. There is slight play between the rollers 3l and the guide rods 30 to accommodate proper vertical movement of the frame 28 so as to insure rolling contact of said rollers with the guide rods in such movement of the frame. This provides for slight canting of the frame 28 as it rises and falls and establishes proper movement of the rollers 31 along the guide rods 30.

A controlling shaft 32 is arranged at the rear of the supporting members 10, the ends thereof being mounted in suitable bearings 33 carri-ed by said members 10, and mounted on said shaft 32 is a sprocket wheel 34 over which a sprocket chain 35 is connected to a brace strap 36 which extends from the shelf 29 to the upper end of the frame 28 and thereby imparts rigidity to the bag-support 27, the other end of said chain 35 being con nected to a supporting frame 37 designed to receive a plurality of counterweights 38 for counterbalancing the carriageY 27. The frame 37 is received by a pair of parallel vertical guides 39 suitably supported by straps 40 on the members 10. Provision, therefore, is made for counterbalancing the carriage 27, and when the latter is relieved of the weight of the filled bag the weight-s 38 serve to elevate the shelf 29 of said carriage to a point immediately below the discharge nozzle 26, and to maintain the same in this position so that the empty bag placed upon the discharge nozzle 26 will be held thereon until forced downwardly by the introduction of the fiour from said nozzle. The ends of the counterweights 38 are notched for receiving inwardly-extending V-shaped guides 41 arranged vertically of the sides of the frame 37. These guides terminate short of the upper end of the frame/37 to permit introduction of the weights to and removal of the same from the frame. When placed over the upper ends of the guides 41 the notches of the weights 38 register with the upper ends of said guides, and their downward movement in the frame 37 locks them in engagement with said guides. At the upper end of the frame 37, and arranged at opposite sides thereof, is a pair of pivoted latch members 42 which are mounted upon a pintle 43. Each of these latch members may be swung independently of the other, their lower ends extending below the upper end of the frame 37, and thus preventing any displacement of the counterweights 38 from the guides 41 untilr the latch members are properly swung to one side of the frame.

For starting the packing shaft 23 and the angers carried thereby an operating lever 44 is employed. This is in the form of a bell-crank lever which is bolted to a shaft 45 carried by one of the supporting members 10. The short arm of said bell-crank lever is pivoted to aconnecting rod 46 which `extends upwardly, the upper end of said rod 46 Vbeing pivotally connected, as at 47, to an actuating arm 48 which is connected to the clutch mechanism and by which the driving relation of said clutch mechanism to the driving shaft 18 is controlled. rThe operating lever 44 may be controlled by hand or by foot, and for the latter purpose a treadle fr'ame 49 is hingedly connected to the lower ends of the members 10, a connecting link 5() extending from said frame 49 upwardly to the operating lever 44. Thus it will be seen that if the foot be applied to the frame 49, and downyward pressure be exerted thereon, the operating lever 44 will be swung downwardly,

with an intermittent drive which is actuated from the constantly rotating shaft 20. rlhis drive includes a pulley 76 carriedby the shaft 2O over which is trained a belt 77, and said belt is also trained o-ver a driven pulley 78 connected with one member 7 9 of a clutch, the other member 8O of which is fastened to the shaft 32. While the member 79 is supported by the shaft 32 it rotates independently thereof. Vhen moved into engagement with the fixed member 8O the shaft 32 is actuated at the speed of the clutch member 79 and thel driven pulley 78, and this speed is such as to accelerate rotation of the shaft 32, thereby causing the bag Supporting carriage 27 to descend for the rest of its downward movement under a quick impulse, and thus increasing its speed over that induced by the introduction of the flour into the bag by the compressive action of the packing shaft 23 and its angers. The acceleration of the downward; movement of the bag supporting carriage does not take place until the required weight of the contents has been filled in the bag. At this point the carriage 27 has descended to a sufficient extent that a downwardly-directed contact block 81 mounted thereon will engage a releasing lever 82 carried by the shaft 45, and thus connected, through the operating lever 44, with the rod 46. The lower end of the releasing lever 82 is oset so as to extend into the path of downward movement of the block 81. When the latter engages the releasing lever 82 it throws said lever 82 towards the member 10, or from the position shown by dotted lines in Fig. l to that shown by full lines therein, and this causes the rod 46 to move in an upward direction and thereby actuate the clutch mechanism 22 to brake its driving connection with the shaft 18, whereupon the packing shaft 23 ceases to rotate. lt is at this time that the clutch member 79 is moved into engagement with the clutch member 80. To ,effect this it will be observed that the member 79 and the driven pulley 78 are mounted on a transversely swinging supporting bar 83 pivotally connected to a bracket 84 carried by one of the frame members 19. The lower end of the supporting bar 83 has a link connection 85 with a shifting lever 8G fulcrumed upon a support 87 Carried by the machine frame. The lower end of the shifting lever 86 (see Fig. 8) is in the path of movement of a bell-crank lever 88 the vertical arm of which has a horizontal engaging foot 89 at its lower end against which the lower end of the lever 86 normally rests, and this engagement is preserved by a coil spring 90 one end of which is connected to the lever 88 and the other end of which is connected to a vertical supporting bar 91 carried by the machine frame and arranged centrally thereof. T he spring 90 exerts a pull on the lower end of the lever 86 to swing the latter towards the middle of the machine frame, and said bell-crank lever 88 is pivotally connected to an attaching arm 92 carried by one of the frame members 10. As the lower end of the lever 86 normally contacts with the bell-crank lever 88 the horizontal arm thereof is normally raised. Pivotally connected to the horizontal arm of said lever 88- is a contact finger 93 having an anti-friction roller 94-journaled thereon. The finger 93 may swing upon the bell-crank lever 88 in an upward direction, as indicated in the dotted lines in Fig. 8, but its movementv in a downward direction is limited by a lug 95 which engages a shoulder 96 formed on the horizontal arm of the lever 88. The engagement of the lug 95 with the shoulder 96 maintains the .linger 93 in alignment with said horizontal arm, and consequently pres-` sure exerted on the contact linger 93 in a downward direction will swing the bellcrank lever 88 so that the foot 89 thereof will swing the lower` end of the lever 86 outwardly, resulting in engagement of the clutch member 79 with the clutch member 80. rllhis establishes driving connection between the pulley 78 and the shaft 32 and the accelerated downward movement of the bag supporting carriage results.

To effect actuation of the bell-crank 88 in the manner just described a contact shoe 97 is carried by the contact block 81,l which block is elongated, as shown in Fig. 10, and said block 81 is adjustably mounted on verti-cal slotted ysupport 98 centrally arranged on the frame 28 of the carriage 27 The adjustment of the block 81 'is effected by a thumb screw 99 which engages the slot of the support. 98. The block 81 and the shoe 97, therefore, are capable of adjustment together, and by means'of the screw 99 the block 8l and the shoe 97 may beheld at any desired point of adjustment along the support 98, thereby providing for engagement of the shoe 97 with the bell-crank 88, as well as engagement of the block 8l. with the leve-r 82, at different points on the carriage 27. The lower end of the contact shoe 97 is deflected so that the same will have a rolling contact with the anti-friction roller 94, and at the same time this deflected end will swing the bell-crank lever 88 on its pivot until the roller 94 has cleared the deflected end whereupon the roller will travel along the vertical side of said shoe 97, thereby holding the clutch members. 79 and 80 in engaged rela-tion until the shoe 97 has cleared the bell-crank leve-r. At this time the pull of the spring 90 draws the lower end of the shifting lever 88 inwardly. and rele-ases the clutch member 79 from engagement with the member 80. llVhen this re lease takes place, and the filled bag has been ofthe mechanism employed for shiftiirgthe clutch member 79.

ltisdesirable. that the upwardimovenrent ofithe carriage i 27 shouldb'e 1li'mit'ed,an"d for this fpurposev a pair `of inwarilly deflected stops lOO'isfemployed. o'f'thes'erstmps is mounted on 'each ofethe :frame members 10, the/upper end of 'each 'stop terminati" in-an overhanging head 101. Thcselhe -s lOl are contacted Aby rearwardly-exten ding abutments l02'carri'ed by rthe carriage 127, whereby the upward movenrent the I earria-ge 27 is checked.

To 'cushion the `carriage as' it 'eo' nes f to rest `on its downwardmovement a seri-eg-of elastic buffers 103 are: supported inl the-lower end ofthe frame in the. :path of said rarriage, the-lower en'dlfof the carriage contactingwith these bufersand therebyieliminat ing shock to the' carriage.

From the foregoing 'thfel operation vv'of the herein described machine' willfbel: understood, and `briefly described is'as follows: 'lheibag or saclr' to bei filled' is'p'la'ced onthek discharge nozz'le 126 so A'that the fb'ottomf tl'iere'offwillfbe adj acent to' the lowerend' of said nozzle. At this time the Ishelf f 29 v of" the 'bagV supporting carriage 27 is -in its elevated position,=-'and the bag is held againstdownward disp-lacement from t'hefn'ozzle 26. The connecting rod f46 rnow being forced downwardly, 'by downward-pressure r4appliedf tothe :operating handle 44 or to the trea'dle1frameH49,ltheactuating lever 48 `Noperates v-the clutch mechanism to establish driving rrelation between the shaft 18 and the packing shaft23 ln the movement of the lever 44njust= mentioned it is swung past a dead'centerand-to the dotted line position shown in Fig. l, thereby holding down the connecting rod 46 and locking the clutch mechanism 22 in its operative power-transmitting position. This sets in rotation the packing augers 24, and the flour is thereby forced downwardly through the nozzle 2G into the bag or sack thereon. The Hour thus becomes compacted in the bag or sack, and as the latter is filled the shelf 29 is forced downwardly against the counterbalancing effect of the Counterweights 38, as well as the resisting action of the control shaft 32 due to the braking action of the shoes 54 and 55 now exerted on the friction wheel 53.' blt will .tbe iremembered that on the ydownwar.d :movement of the rod 446 the vlever Gt4 dias be'en swung downwardly :also 'by Athe yoke 66 and lconnecting irod .67 which textend 'between fsaid lever 'and-said =rod 46. /Vhen lthe required quantity offcontei'itfs has `been placed in itlie bag lor sack 'fthe bloc-lr *81 'contacts `=witl1 and actuates the :lever r 82'to :the full-line fposition of `l,1=and=.thi-s throws fthe rod 46 'upwardly inorder to disccnn'eet,by properaactuati'on of the lclutch =mechanism 22, ithe packing shaft '123 from .its1driving `"relation withethe shaft 5.18. :isthefspring 72 is now pulling ithe llever .64 upwardly, the `brake shoesie zand fare released ffrom fthe '-wheel 58 *so that l'resistance :ofV the: shoe|` 54 f and to rotation of the'control sha-ft 32 is 1removed. `.The contact `shoe 97 vnow ib'eing in engagement xwith fthe bell-crank `rlever *88, the yeon'tii'iueddownward movement of the carriage 27 causesthebellecranlr lever 884:0 be' swung on its p`ivot,lfiand ithe shifting |`lever 8G 1:to be "swung f-outwardly. This engages the clutch 1 member vT9 .withithe f. clutch 'finember 80, .f'in'iparting accelerated.' movement fto said control shaft, resulting in a vquick downward. movement of the carriageLQ? for the nremainder of its travel "until shoe 97 rid s off vlever r88,"a'nd'thereby .fplacingzthe filled bag orsaclifin position"conveniently rto be .remet-'ed from the shelf-129. lVlrenthe weiglitofithey filled .bag orsack is ifreed ifrom th e shelf-'29 'the cou'nte'rweights E88 ipromptly to Eraisefthecarriage `ftofits elevated position `and for iff-supporting a "new empty bag sach which has lbeen i placed v on the discharge nozzle k:26. rlh-e :return upward movement vvof :the i carriage 'LQ/7, liunder influence fof ther counterweights- 38, bis, .of course, rapid, but just priror to the Lcarriage 2T reaching"v the limit `ofits upward :movement the .fbrakesh'ees 541 and andere applied'itofthe wheelr, and t`he :upward movement-...o the carriage 2T 'fis thus checked. This :applicationofijthe brakelrshoesiis-.duetto @thefzcontact of :the tappet farm 75 witlntllie .finneriiend' of the lever :731ml the reverse `rotation of the sproolzetfwhecl 34fdue to the-descent otithe weights :38. f-l/Vhenwthis Contact ofther-.ta pp et 76 andithelflever y73 ytakes piacessaid lever is rocked on its pivot, its outer end is depressed, and this depresses the lever 64 so as to swing the brake shoes 54 and 55 into engagement with the wheel 53. The cycle of operations just described is repeated with each bag or sack, it being understood that when the packing shaft 23 is at rest there is no discharge of the flour from the nozzle 26.

Various sizes of bags may be employed, and the adjustability of the parts herein described permits the machine to ill the respective weights of bags with the varying amounts of the flour or other material being packed. Under these adjustments the aclou ala'

tuation of the machine is such that appro-Ximately the exact weight will be introduced to the different sizes of the bags, and this avoids the necessity of incorporating in the machine weighing mechanism for the deter mination of the precise weight of the contents of the bags. As the latter are removed in their filled condition from the machine they may be placed upon a scale and the required amount of liour placed in the bags o1 sacks or taken therefrom to give the precise weight of the contents which the bags or sacks are to contain. In the actual working of the machine herein described it is found that but slight variation in the weight of the contents occurs, and this is compensated for at the time that the actual weight of the filled bag is determined.

The machine may be equipped with a registering counter 104 for indicating the number of bags filled by the machine when in operation. This counter may be of any ap` proved construction and is actuated from the bag supporting carriage 27 to register each filled bag by suitable tripping devices interposed between said carriage and the counter.

I claim:

1. Ina machine of the class described, the combination with feeding means, of a receptacle support movable towards and away from the same, a control shaft, operative connections between said control shaft and said support, said control shaft operating through said connections to control positively the receptacle support in its movement bot-h to and from the feeding means,

and actuating shaft, a clutch for` yrendering the actuating shaft effective on the control shaft, and means operable by the receptacle support for operating the clutch.

2. In a machine of the class described, in combination, feeding means, a support movable toward and from the same, a control shaft operably connected with the support,

an actuating shaft, a clutch for connectingy the actuating shaft to the control shaft, braking means effective on the control shaft, and means operable by the support for operating the clutch and the braking means.

3. In a machine of the class described, the

combination with feeding means, of a receptacle support movable towards and awayv through saidv connections to control positively the receptacle support in its movement both to and from the feeding means,

driving means for actuating the control shaft, and means operable by the support to control the effectiveness of the driving means on the control shaft.

d. In a machine of the class described, the combination with feeding means, of a receptacle support movable towards and away from the same, a control shaft, operative connections between said control shaft and said support, said control shaft operating through said connections to control positively the receptacle support in its movement both to and from the feeding means, said operative connections between the control shaft and said support serving also to determine the direction of movement of one by the direction of movement of the other, drive mechanism, a clutch controlling the effectiveness of the drive mechanism on the control shaft, and means operable by the support for operating the clutch.

5. In a machine of the class described, in combination, feeding means, a movable receptacle support, a control, shaft, driving connections between said shaft and the support whereby the direction of movement of one is determined'by the direction of movement of the other, drive mechanism, a clutch controlling the effectivenessy of the drive mechanism on the control shaft, means operable by the support for operatingv the clutch, braking mechanism for governing movement of the control shaft, and means operable by the support for controlling effectiveness of the braking means.

In testimony whereof I- have hereunto subscribed my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

HENRY one. nannine,

l Witnesses: F. D. MCCARTHY,

J. H. MULLIKIN.

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