US1530118A - Machine for filling bags, settling the contents thereof, and closing them - Google Patents

Description

March 17, 1925.

HOEPNER MACHINE FOR FILLING BAGS, SETTLING THE 4 Sheets-Sheet l CONTENTS THEREOF, AND CLOSING THEM Filed June 2, 1923 March 17, 1925. 1,530,118

G. HOEPNER MACHINE FOR FILLING BAGS SETTLING THE CONTENTS THEREOF, AND CLOSING THEM Filed June 2, 1925 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 March 17, 1925. 1,530,118

G. HOEPNER MACHINE FOR FILLING BAGS, SETTLING THE CONTENTS THEREOF, AND CLOSING THEM Filed'June 2, 1923 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 March 17, 1925.

- G. HOEPNER MACHINE FOR FILLING BAGS, SETTLING THE CONTENTS THEREOF, AND CLOSING THEM Filed June 2, 1923 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Mar. 17, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATEN GEORGE H OEPNER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

MACHINE FOR FILLING BAGS, SETTLING THE oofi'rnn'rs THEREOF, AND CLOSING THEM.

Application filed June 2,

To all whom it may concern:

Be itknown that I, GEORGE Honrmm, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago. county of Cook, State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Machines for Filling Bags, Settling the Contents Thereof, and Closing Them, and declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification.

Various kinds of commodities are shipped in large bags adapted to contain a, hundred pounds or more of such commodities. The bags are filled and then closed. No matter how the commodities are introduced into the bags, whether by means of automatic weighing machines, or otherwise, it is necessary to jar the contents of the bags to settle and compact them in order to leave sufiicient margin at the mouth of the bags to permit the bags to be closed easily, unless the bags be made unduly long; this settling and compacting of the contents of the bags being required regardless of whether the bags are tied shut or sewed shut. Heretoe fore, so far as I am aware, it has always been necessary for the attendants to lift and drop the heavy filled bags several times in order to settle their contents, taking up time which could otherwise be usefully employed and making the work for the attendants unduly heavy. Furthermore, so far as I am aware, after the bags have been filled it has been necessary for the attendants not only to cause the contents to settle, but also to lift the bags from the filling point to the point at which the bags are closed, here, also, involving possible loss of time and unduly heavy labor on the part of the attendants.

The object of the present invention is to produce a simple and novel machine in which the contents of a bag may be caused automatically to settle and the filled bag to be carried away to and past a closing device without requiring any lifting on the part of an attendant, or any other work on his part than the manipulation ofthe con trolling levers for the machine.

In carrying out my invention I make use of a conveyor underlying a bag filling 1823. Serial No. 642,937.

means and running past a closing mechamsm, preferably a sewing machlne, to-

gether with means for intermittently driving the conveyor so that it will serve to support a bag underneath the filling means until the bag is filled, and then carry it to and past the closing mechanism. I also em-, ploy means for bodily lifting at least that portion of the conveyor in the vicinity of the bag filling means and then dropping it so as effectively to jar the contents of a bag thereon and cause them to settle, this jarring process being kept up as long as may be necessary in order properly to settle the contents of the bag; and the jarring mechanism being adjustable according to the nature of the goods or commodities and the amount that is to be placed in a bag.

The various features ofnovelty whereby my invention is characterized will hereinafter he pointed out with particularity in the claims; but for a full understanding of my invention and of its objects and advantages reference may be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

F gure 1 is a front elevation of a machine arranged in accordance with my invention, including a sewing machine and the discharge end of an automatic weighing machine; Fig. 2 is an end view, looking at the left hand end of the machine as it appears in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is an end view of the machine looking at the right hand end as it appears in Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a section taken approximately on line 4-74: of Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is a section taken approximately on line 5-5 of Fig. 1, on an enlarged scale, only the supporting yoke for the swinging end of the conveyor and the means for lock ing it or permitting it to move up and down, being shown; and Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the inner end of the foot lever shown in Fig. 5.

In the drawings I have illustrated my invention as embodied in a mechanism including a weighing machine and a sewing maconsidered, generically, as bag filling means. Adjacent to. the bag filling means is a sewing machine 2 which may conveniently be driven by a suitable motor 3. The bag filling and closing means may be supported in any suitable way as, for example, on a standard 4.

' Arranged below the bag fillin means and the sewing machine is a movab e conveyor, shown as taking the form of; an endless belt 5, the upper run of which is horizontal. The conveyor beltipasses around two wide pulleys or rolls 6 and 7. The roll 6, which lies beyond the vertical plane of the sewing machine, is' fixed to a shaft 8 supported in a suitable forked pedestal 9, the arms 10 and 11 of which lie in proximity to the ends of the roll 6; while the roll 7 which runs idle, has its journals 12 rotatably mounted between a pair of longitudinal plates or bars 13 extending from one roll to the other in proximity to the ends of the rolls. The upper run of'the conveyor belt rests on a series of small rollers 14 mounted between the'bars or plates 13 so as to project slightly above the same. The pedestal 9 is mounted in a stationary pedestal 15 so as to be movable vertically relatively thereto while being held against movements in other directions. On the inner side of the pedestal 9 is a lug 16, while below the. same and fixed to the pedestal 15 is a lug or bracket 17. A screw shaft 18 extends upwardly through and in screw-threaded relation with the lug or bracket 17, and loosely engages, at its up per'end, with the lug or bracket 16. A bevel gear wheel 19 is fixed to the/screw shaft 18. A cooperating bevel gear wheel 20 is rotatably supported by a bracket 21 on the pedestal 9. The gear wheel 20 is fixed to a shaft 22, on the outer end of which is a handle or crank 23. It will be seen that by turning the crank or handle 23, the pedestal 9 may be' raised or lowered, so as to adjust the top of the conveyor to the proper height with respect to the sewing machine. At some distance from that end of the conve or at which the roll 7 is situated is a U-s aped frame member 24 underlying the conveyor belt and having its arms fastened to the bars or plates 13. A swinging strut 25 is attached at its upper end to the frame member 24, conveniently by hanging it upon a journal 26 projecting laterally from said frame member; the strut being of such length that when it stands in a vertical position and rests at its lower end upon a stationary block-27 or other suitable surface, the conveyor is supported in the proper position for carrying a bag resting thereon from a filling posi tion past the sewing machine.- When the strut is swung forwardly toward the observer in Fig. 1, so as to carry it clear of the supporting block, the right hand end of the conveyor is allowed to drop down, swinging about the supporting shaft 8 at the opposite end. The downward swinging movement of the conveyor is limited by a post or other abutment 28 arranged directly below the frame member 24 and preferably having at the upper end a head- 29 of rubber or other suitable cushioning material. The frame member 24 is provided with a downwardly-projecting vertical arm 30 to which is secured a bar 31 adapted to be adjusted lengthwise of the arm. A roller 32 rotatable about a horizontal axis, is carried by the bar 31 near the upper end of the latter; this roller lying directly above a cam 33 adapated to be rotated as will hereinafter be described. The parts are so proportioned that when the strut 25 is swung into an inoperative position the free end of the conveyor structure dro s down until its movement is arrested by t e cushioned post and, as the cam is rotated, it engages with the roller 32, gradually lifting the conveyor and then abruptly passing out from under the cam roller so as to permit the conveyor to drop down under the action of gravity.

It will be seen that if while a bag which has been filled or which is being filled is resting upon the conveyor near the swinging end of the latter, the conveyor is alternately raised and dropped so as to strike a series of blows on the cushioned post, the contents of the bag will be jarred and compacted. By adjusting the arm which carries the cam roll, the height through which the cam will lift the conveyor during each revolution of the cam may be varied and thus the length of the drop of the conveyor may be adjusted to suit the conditions of the particular service which is to be rendered at any given time. Further regulationof the jarring effect may be obtained in another manner than by the variation of the distance through which the conveyor is allowed to drop, namely, by partially counterweighting the swinging end of the conveyor and a filled bag resting thereon. To this end I have suspended the free end of the conveyor by means of a strong spring 35, the lower end of which is attached to a bail 36 connected at its ends to the two side frames 13, while the upper end of the spring is attached to a hook having a long shank 37 passing upwardly through a latorally-projecting arm 38 on the upper end of a stationary standard 39; the shank of the screw being screw-threaded and having a nut 40 on the same above the arm 38. By adjusting the'. nut the tension on the spring when the conveyor is. swung to the lower limit of its movement may be varied so as to offset any part of the weight of a filled bag, so that the blow struck by the tliii by side at the front of conveyor on the post beneath the same, for a drop of a given height, may be varied between wide limits.

On what is the rear side of the conveyor, as viewed in Fig. 1, is placed an elevated rail 41 secured upon the upper ends of suitable uprights 42 fixed at their lower ends to the rear frame member or bar 13; the rail serving as a support against which a filled bag may rest so as to prevent the bag from toppling over and at the same time guide the bag into operative relation to the sewing machine when the conveyor is moved for the purpose of carrying the filled bag away from the filling point.

In the arrangement shown, the conveyor and the vibrating mechanism therefor are adapted to be driven by an electric motor 45 mounted upon a suitable standard 46', the lower end of. which is fastened to a gear box 47 lying in rear of the conveyor, as it appears in Fig. 1, and through which a rearward extension of the shaft Spasses. A main driving shaft 48 extends through the gear box below and at right angles to the shaft 8, parallel with the direction of the length of the conveyor. This main driving shaft extends entirely across the machine and is mounted at its 0 posite end in a bearing in the upper end of a suitable stationary pedestal 49. The main driving shaft is driven through a suitable belt 50, which in turn is driven by the motor 45. A suitable clutch 51. which I have indicated only conventionaltv in the drawings, is arranged between the shaft 8 and the last element of the gear mechanism in the gear box, so that the main driving shaft may run continuously and the shaft which drives the conveyor may run intermittently, permitting the conveyor to stand idle except when the clutch is thrown in. i

The cam for vibrating the conveyoris driven from the main shaft, so that it is constantly rotated whenever the motor is running. The driving connection between the cam and the shaft may take any desired form. In the arrangement best illustrated in Figs. 1 and 3, it will be seen that there is fixed to the cam, so as to be rotatable therewith, a sprocket wheel 53, over which :runs a sprocket chain 54, which in turn passes over a sprocket wheel on the main driv'ihg shaft.

The clutch for controlling thedriving connection between the main shaft and the conveyor, and the starting and stopping of the sewing machine motor, are controlled respectivelv by pedals 60 and 61 lying side the machine, so that an attendant may place one foot simultaneously on both pedals and cause the conveyor and the sewing machine to start and sto in unison with each other. The supporting strut for the swinging end of the conveyor is controlled by a foot lever 62 pivotally supported at its inner end beside the lower end of the strut 25, and having an upwardly-projecting arm 63 paralleling the strut when the strut is in its upright posifrom above the supporting'block 27; thus leaving the conveyor structure free to be moved up and down. The normal position of the strut is the upright position in which a spring 66 connected at one end to the strut and at the other end to a stationary support, tends constantly to hold it. Therefore, when the attendant removes his foot from the foot lever, the spring immediately swings the strut back above the supporting block. In the arrangement shown, one end of the spring is fastened to a clip 67 engaged with the pin in the strut, while the other end of the spring is attached to a hook 68 rigidly fastened to the U-shaped frame 24. The support may be prevented from swinging back too far in any suitable way as, for example,

by means of a stopor finger 70 attached to the lever arm, 63in rear of the strut and projecting across the plane in which the strut swings.

In order to give to the rearward extension of the shaft- 8 a support in addition to that afforded by the pedestal 9, I have placed in rear of the machine a vertical standard 72 on which is mounted a bearing block 73 adapted to be adjusted in a vertical direction; the rear end of the bearing in this block. Added stiffness is given to the structure by a brace 74 extend ing from the upper end of the support 46 for the motor 45, in a downward lateral direction to the stationary frame member 49 at the opposite end of the machine; and by a. diagonal tie rod 75 extending from the functure of the guide rail 41 with one of theuprights 42 to the point of connection of the other upright 42 and the rear frame member 13. These are, however, simply minor structural details.

It will be seen that a bag placed on the conveyor, directly below the filling means, while the conveyor is standing still and the sewing machine is idle, may be filled in the usual way. During the filling operation or at the end of such operation, if desired, the attendant presses down on the foot lever 62, causing the supporting strut 25 to be swung into its inoperative position; whereupon the unsupported end of the conveyor structure drops down untilit rests on the cushioned post 28. The main motor 45 having been shaft 8 having a previously started, the cam 33 will be constantly rotated, so thatduring each revolution it lifts the conveyor structure above the supporting post and again releases it so as to permit it to drop by gravity and strike a more or less sharp blow against the post; the effect being to jar the contents of the bag and cause them to settle and be compacted. As heretofore explained, a wide range of adjustment of the jarring action 'may'be made to suit any particular conditions. When the contents of the bag have settled sufficiently, the attendant releases the foot lever 62, stopping the jarring action, and he then immediately resses down on the two pedals and 61, c utchin the con- .veyor to the main drive shaft an starting the sewing machine motor. Consequently the conveyor begins to move,carrying the bag toward the left, as viewed in Flg. 1, past the sewing machine. Before the bag reaches the sewing machine the attendant collapses and flattens out the upper portion thereof and directs this collapsed flattened portion into the sewing machine, so that the bag will be sewed shut while traveling past the machine. When the bag reaches the left hand end of the machine it is dis-. charged by the conveyor on any suitable stationary or movable support,-not shown. ,It Will thus be seen that after the attendant places an empty bag in the machine he is not required to lift the same or shift the same through any manual exertion, because the jarring which has heretofore been done by hand is done automatically and, after this operation, the filled bag is carried past the sewing machine and to a discharge point by power-driven mechanism. Consequently the work of the attendant is made light and much time issaved because of the rapidity with which the several'necessary operations may be performed by machinery and because the filling, sewing, jarring and con-' veying mechanisms are so co-ordinated that they form a single machine, which is simply supplied with empty bags and material to 11 them and discharges filled and closed ags.

The main-motor is preferably provided with a reversing switch, not shown, so as to permit the conveyor to be run backwards in case it be desired to carry a bag past the sewing machine more than once or if for any other reason it be desired to move a bag backwards. i

If the attendant is required to support the open upper end of the bag in his hands while the filling progresses, there may be more or less waste of material through spilling; and, if the bag is permitted to sag and wrinkle or fold, the attendant will be re quired to lift the bag more or less to cause it to expand fully, thus causing loss of time and placing an unnecessary burden on the attendant. To overcome these objections I have provided a simple device for insuring an opening of the mouth of a bag as great as and registering with the discharge outlet opening from the filling means, and at the same time avoiding the formation of wrinkles or folds in the body of the bag. To this end I make the lower end of the outlet member 1 in the form of a short tube or pipe 80. On this tubular portion there is slidably fitted a sleeve 81 having around the lower end an outwardly-directed flange 82, which is preferably cut away on the front side of the machine. The sleeve is held in a raised position by four springs 83, two on the front side and two at the rear; these springs being attached at their upper ends to angle-irons 84 fastened to the member 1 and being connected at their lower ends to the sleeve. The attendant places the mouth of a bag over the flanged end of the sleeve, gripping the slack in one hand so as to cause the bag to hang from the sleeve. As the material with which the bag is to be filled enters the bag the weight thereof stretches the springs, causing the sleeve and the bag to move down until the bag rests on the conveyor. Thereafter the springs tend to lift the bag and therefore hold the sides thereof taut until the bag is complete- 1y filled.

While I have illustrated and described with particularity only a single preferred form of my invention, I do not desire to be limited to the exact structural details thus illustrated and described; but intend to cover all forms and arrangements which come within the terms employed in the definitions of my invention constituting the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a machine of the character described, a bag filling means, a verticallymovable member for holding a bag below said filling means, means for partially counterbalancing said member and a filled bag thereon, a stop, and means for alternately raising said member and dropping it against said stop to jar the contents of the bag.

2. In a machine of the character described, a bag filling means, a verticallymovable member adapted to support a. bag below said filling means, a stop for arresting the downward movement of said member, a device for partially counterbalancing said member and a filled bag thereon, means for adjusting said device to vary the counter-balancing effect thereof and means for alternately raising said member and dropping it so as to cause the contents of the bag to be jarred.

3. In a machine of the character described. a bag filling means. a sewing machine, a single endless conveyor arranged below said means and said sewing machine, means for driving. said conveyor intermittently so as to permit a bag to be held under said filling means until it receives its charge and then to be carried past said sewing machine to be closed thereby, and means vibrating said conveyor to cause the contents of a bag thereon to be compacted.

4. In a machine of the character described, a bag filling means, a sewing machine, a single endless conveyor arranged below said means and said sewing machine, means for driving said conveyor intermittently so as to permit a bag to be held under said filling means until it receives-its charge and then to be carried past said sewing machine to be closed thereby, and means for alternately raising the conveyor and permitting it to drop against a support so as to jar the contents of a bag on the conveyor and cause them-to be compacted.

5. In a machine of the character described, a bag filling means, a member arranged below said filling means and pivotally supported at one end, a stop for limiting the downward swinging movement of said member, and means for alternately raising the other end of said member and dropping'it so as to cause the contents of a bag supported on said member to be compacted.

6. In a machine of the character described, a bag filling means, a member .ar-

ranged below said means and pivotally supported at one end, a stop for limiting the downward swinging movement of sai member, a spring suspending means for the other end of said member, and means for alternately swinging said member up wardly away from said stop and permitting it to drop against the resistance of sai spring. I

7. na machine of the character described, a bag filling means, a member arranged below said means and pivotally supported' at one end, a stop for limiting t e downward swinging movement of said member, a spring suspending means for the other end of said member, means for adjusting the tension of said spring suspending means, and means for alternately swinging said member upwardly away from said stop and permitting it to drop against the resistance of said spring.

8. In a machine of the character described, a bag filling means, a bag closing means, a single endless conveyor for supporting a bag below said filling means in order to permit thesame to be filled, a stop, means for alternately raising said conveyor and dropping it on said stop to settle and compact its contents, and means for moving said member to carry-the filled sack past said closing means.

9. In a machine of the character de scribed, an endless conveyor, a supporting frame for said conveyor pivoted at one end, a stop below the other end of the frame, means for driving the conveyor, and means for alternately swinging said frame upward and dropping it on said stop.

10. In a machine of the character described, an endless conveyor, a vertically swinging supporting frame therefor pivotally supported at one end, a stop for limiting the downward movement of the free end of the frame, a movable strut movable from a position in which it supports said frame clear of the stop to an inoperative position, a cam roll on the frame, a rotatable cam co-operating with said roll and constructed and arranged alternately to lift said frame from said stop and drop it when said strut is in its inoperative position, and means for moving said strut from one of its said positions to the other.

11. In a machine of the character described, an endless conveyor, a vertically swinging supporting frame therefor pivotally supported at one end, means for raising and lowering the pivoted end of said frame, a stop for limiting the downward movement of the free end of the frame, a movable strut movable from a position in which it supports said frame clear of the stop to an inoperative position, a cam roll on the frame, a rotatable cam cooperating with said roll and constructed and arran ed alternately to-lift said frame from sai stop and drop it when said strut is in its inoperative position, and means for moving said strut from one of its said positions to the other.

12. In combination, a sup-port for a bag which is being filled, a pipe above said support for discharging material into a bag, a member mounted on said pipe so as to be movable vertically thereon, said member having thereon means for entering the mouth of the bag and holding the bag suspended, and springs supporting said member, the parts being so proportioned and said springs being sufiiciently strong to cause the bag to be held clear of said support until it has received a part of its charge. a r

In testimony whereof, I sign this specifica-v tion.

- GEORGE HOEPNER.

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