US1756561A - Apparatus for filling and capping bottles - Google Patents

Description

April 29, 1930. o. LARSEN APPARATUS FOR FILLIN G AND CAPPING BOTTLES 3 sheets-sheet 1 Original Filed March 3, 1924 I fllafLa/rjeng April29, 1930. o. LARSEN APPARATUS FOR FILLING AND CAPPING BOTTLES Original Filed March 3, 1924 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 hwzm'ir OM/f [la/405214 April 29, 1930. o. LARSEN APPARATUS FOR FILLING AND CAPPING BOTTLES Original Filed March 3, 1924 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Apr. 29, 1930 UNITED stars ATE '1':

AGE MFG. COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLIIVOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS APPARATUS FOR FILLING AND CAPPING BOTTLES Original application filed March 3, 1924, Serial No. 696,456. Divided and. this application fi1ed.0ctober I '7,- 1926. Serial No. 139,960.

wvhich this application is a division.

The principal object of the invention is to provide improved automatic conveying means for moving the bottles through-the machine, which is readily adjustable to all sizes of bottles, which minimizes breakage, and which is efficient in operation.

Other objects andadvantages will appear inthe following description of a preferred I embodiment of the invention, which I have selected for illustration in the accompanying drawings. It will be understood, however,

that various changes inform, construction and arrangement may be made by those skilled in the art, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as eX- pressed in the appended claims.

- Referring to the drawings, Fig. 1 repre sents a central vertical sectional view of the machine, complete except that for clarity of disclosure only those of theidentical capping heads, filler valves and bottle elevators are illustrated which are intersected by the plane of the vertical section. Fig. 2 is a plan view or" the machine with the tank and upper portion of its support removed at the plane of the line 2-2 in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation taken on the plane of the line 3-3 in Fig. 1.

Stated generally, the machine as illustrated herein comprises a rotating reservoir or tank which carries depending discharge tubes with their control valves for filling the milk bottles, and which also outwardly supports a concentric series of capping heads for the placing of caps in the mouths of the bottles after they are filled. The bottlesare positioned during these operations on elevating pistons located beneath the tank discharge valves and capping devices, the pistons or elevators being carried by a rotating table revolving in synchroni'sm with'the supply tank livered to and taken awayfrom the revolving series of elevator pistons by means of an arrangementof worm conveyors and adjustable guides which first position the successive bottles on the inner portions of the elevating pistons. The bottles are then elevated into OLAF LARSEN, OF FORT ATKINSON, WISCONSIN, ASSIGNOR TO THE CREAMERY PACK.-

and its attached devices. lT-he bottles are de- I engagement with the filling valves during a portion-of the revolution of the synchronized series ofpistons-and filling valves. When filled, the bottles are lowered and moved by means of an adjustable guide to the outer portions of the pistons, whereupon they are again elevated into engagementwith the capping heads,'.capped, and lowered out of engagement therewith. The bottles are then moved off from the pistons as they successive-- 'ly reach another guide, before the completion of the revolution of the particular pistons upon which the respective bottles rest, and:

are directed into engagement with the worm conveyor which moves the bottles outwardly from the filling and capping mechanism to an accumulating table or upon suitable conveying means for delivering them. wherever desired. The conveying and positioning guides are readily adjustable for operation upon the severalstandard sizes of milk bottiles. a

The revolving reservoir with its bottle filling'and capping devices, and the synchro-. nously rotating mechanisms for positioning and elevating the bottles to the filling and capping devices, are fully described and illus trated in my co-pendmg appllcation, Serial,

Number 696,456, andare identified but generally herein. The bottle conveying mechanisms are described with particularity hereinafter.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral 1, indicates a stationary basecarrying at one end an upright pedestal 2 upon which is operatively supported the mechanisms for the filling and capping operations. Mounted on the lower portion of the pedestal is a stationa Y ary annularsupport 4 carrying a cam-ring 5 for controlling the operation of the bottle lifting pistons. V

The cylindrical upper portion of the pedestal operativelv supports a revoluble sleeve 8, on the lower end of which is secured a spur gear 11 in driven engagement with a pinion 12 mounted on the shaft 13. The shaft 13 is driven through the bevel gears 15 and 16 by a m n at-1 7 Mounted onthe sleeve 8 is an annular member 19 in which are operatively supported he se a -bot l ator p st n od .2 ca rying th bo l suppo ting head 2 h P tons 23 are supported at their'lower ends upon rollers 29 bearing upon the cam ring5. The

member 19 also carries a table 38 flush with ,theltops-of thexheads-2twhen the latter are in.

lowermost position. V

' Within the pedestal 2 is provided mecha nism for raising and lowering the overhead supply tank withitsfattached filling valves 'andca-pping heads to accommodate the varying heights'ofbottles of different capacities. An elevating screw 40, having a nonrotatable sliding bearing at48 in the upper end of the pedestal 2, carries a gear sleeve 41 on its lower threaded end portion. The gear sleeve 41'is rotatably su-pportedin the base of the pedestal, and isin toothed engagement with a pinion 45 carried by the shaft-46 operable by a hand Wheel47.

A tank support 50,'-having a verticallyslidable nonrotating bearing supper-t in the upper portion of the sleeve 8,5is positioned vertically by the elevating screw 40. The support 50 carries a supply tank from which depend .a series of'bottle filling valves 57, and

upon whichare also supported a series of capping devices 59. The valves and cappers are positioned in register with the underlying series of bottle elevating'heads 24.

The varying sizes of bottles are latei ally centered under the valves and c'appers upon the heads24 -by means of spaced arms 61 and 62 carried by a spider mounted on the member 19. The spider-60 is 'rotatably'adjusted in relation to the heads 24by aflanged sleeve 64 connected to the spider 60 and rotatably supported on-the sleeve 8. A collar 68, secured to the tank support 50, carriesa key 69 engaging a spiral keyway 70 in the sleeve 64. Thus the'vertical movement of the tank effects the lateral movement of the armsfil.

'Milk is supplied to the tank through a pipe 73 and a level-maintaining control valve housed within thescreen 84; V

I The base '1 is extended at one side to support a housing 86 for the transmission gears structed of spiral blades 88 and 89 mounted respect vely on apairof laterally spaced 1 shafts 90and 91-, positioned above and paraland other mechanism hereinafter described.

Surmounting the housing is a flat table 87 pcsitioned'at thesame leve'l as the rotating table 38, Mounted'centrally-of this'tabjle-are a pair of conveyor worms for moving the bottles to andfrom the rotary table and piston heads w-hereonthe bottles are filled andcapped.

The conveying worms are preferably conlel to the surface of the table 87 The shafts 90 and 91 have their outer bearings in a trans- 7 mission case 92 mounted on the end of the table and extending downwardly into, the housing 85. Thetransmiss'ion gears for driving the worms are positioned in the casing and comprise a pair of interengaging transmission gears, of which one is illustratedat 9, 1, mounted respectively onuthe endsofthe shafts 90 and 91. The shaft 91 also carries a'gearl95 engaging the gear 96 mounted on a jack shaft 97 carrying also the gear 98, the latter having drive ngagem n withza gear :99 :;moun ed on the drive shaft 100 extending forwardly in the transmission housing and having drivingconnections hereinafter described.

The inner ends of the worinshafts are op eratively supported by a'block 101 secured upon theinner-end of thetable 87, and'having an extension 102 protruding overthe rotary. tablet-38 between the paths of the upper-arms 6'1 and lower arms 62 of the revolving bottle positioning spider, the extension 102 being provided with lateral wings 103 and 10.4:(see

Fig.2) in which the worm shafts have their respective bearings. The wings'103 andlo l are formed with angular lateral edges serving as guides in themovement of the bottles to and from .the elevating piston heads, as hereinafter more fully described. A protectivecover 105 preferably is positioned over the adjacent inner portions .of the revolving,

worms andis securedto the gearcasing 92 5 and the block 101, the outer sides of the worms'being exposed to receive bottles be-.-

tween the convolutions oftheir spiral blades and slide the bottles over thesurface of' the table 87 to and from the rotary series of elevating piston heads.

The bottlesare moved into engagement with the blades 88 ofthe worm which moves I the bottles toward the filling mechanism, preferably by means of a conveyor belt 106, the upper run of which is operated across and upon the upper surface of the table 87 beneath the two conveyor worms. The bottles may be dumped from cases upon -'a lateral extension (not shown) ofthe table 87' and manually pushed upon the belt 106, or they may be brought by other conveying 'means I (not shown) and mechanically transferred tothe belt 106.

The belt is operated and'supported by .means herein illustrated as comprising a pair upper wall of the housing. The belt 106 may be tensioned upon the driving roller 111'by means of a pair of idler rollers 113 pivoted in bearings 114 slidably mounted on the fixed side rods 115, thelatter carrying compression springs 116 tending to force the bearings 114 inwardly and causing the idlers 113 to bear resiliently upon the belt 106.

As the bottles are carried on the belt 106 toward the worm blades 88, they are preferably shifted into single file arrangement before engaging the worm. A lateral guide bar 117 (see Fig. 2), rigidly secured to the table 87, extends at its inner end angularly over and towardthe center of the conveyor belt. Opposite to the bar 117 is-a swinging guide 118 extending angularly over the belt 106 and having a reciprocatory motion toward the opposite portion ofthe bar 117, which effects the shifting of the moving bottles without jamming so that they passsingly between the two guides toward the conveyor The guide 118 issupported at its pivoted end upon an upright stud 119 mounted on the table 87. A bell crank 120, also pivoted on the stud 119, has one arm adjustably connected to the swinging guide as by the thumb screw and nut 121 threaded through the arm of the bell crank and, swivel- 1y connected to the guide 118. The other arm of the bell crank 120 is pivoted to one end of a longitudinally resilient connecting member 122, comprising a pair of telescoping elements and a coiled spring attached at its 1 ends to the respective elements, the other end of the member 122 being connected to an eccentric 123 operating on the worm shaft 90.

-As the bottles engage the spiral blades 88, they are held'in such engagement by the under passing conveyor belt 106 and are moved laterally by the blades88' off from the belt to the surface of the table 87, where they are then retained in their engagement with the worm by an adjustable lateral guide 124 extending to the rotary table 38. The bottles are moved by the worm across the tables 87 and 38 to the elevating piston heads 24, the' angular wing 103 aiding in directing'the bott-les into position for engagement-by the arms 61 and 62 of the revolving spider. The bottles are shifted inwardly on the piston heads 24 into final osition for elevation intoengagement wit1 the filling valves 57 by another adjustable lateral-guide 125 supported on the table 87 and-extending between the spider arms 61 and 62. r

The guides 124 and 125 are supported respectively on two sliding blocks 126 and 127 which may be shifted by; a single control to position the guides to accommodate either of the several standard sizes of bottles, the guide 124 being adjustable to retain either size of bottle between the worm blades 88, andthe guide 125 being adjustable in cooperation with the arms 61 'and 62 ofthe previously described adjustable spider to center either size of bottle beneath the-filler valves. The block 126 is provided with ways engaging the parallel slide rails 128 fixed on the table 87 in angular relation to the axis of the worm conveyor. A bell crank 129, carried by a pivot stud 130 journaled in'the table 87 has a pivoted link connection 131 between one of its arms and the block 126. A handle 132, rigidly secured to the bell crank, provides manualmeans for operating the block 126 on its slide rails. The block 127 also is formed with a slide way engaging a rail 133 secured to the table 87 and disposed angularly to the rails 128. The other arm of the bell crank 129 has a pivoted link connection 134 withithe block 127 for movement of the latter on its slide 7 rail. The lengths-of the arms of the bell crank are so proportioned that. theshifting of the'guide 124 to proper position for one size of bottle automatically adjusts the guide 125 for that size. The guidesmay besecured in either position by means of the pins 135 movably mounted in the block 127 and positionable in selective holes in the rail 133 to secure the block against movementi A connecting guide link 136 may be pivotedon the block 126 at the inner end of the guide 124, the link having a longitudinal slot. engaging a pin fixed on the adjacent end of the block 127 and automatically adjustable with the intermovement of the two sliding blocks;

A further provision against I jamming of the bottlesis operative as the latter first engage the worm blades 88. There being liability that a bottle occasionally may be engaged at diametrically opposite pointsbetween the Y outer edge of the blades 88 and the endof the guide 124 and thus damage the machine or bottle, a section 137 of the end of the guide guide 124 by a compression spring 139 com fined between a lug onthe section 137 and a similar opposed lug on theblock 126, the adjacent end portion of the guide 117 serving as a normal positioning stop for the swinging i'15 When the bottles are filled and they reach 7 section.

the point where they are lowered finally out of engagement with'th'e filler valves they are then carried into lateral engagement with a I transfer guide 140 disposed in angular relation to the circular path of the bottles and shifting the bottles radially outward on the piston heads 24 as the bottles are 'moved against the guide by the spider arms 61 and 62. The bottles are thus positionedin register with the outer series of capping heads 59.

The transfer guide 140 is adjustable in position for the several sizes of bottles. A laterally extending supportin arm 141 carries the guide, and is centrally plvoted at 142 upon iso 7 porting arm 141. Longitudinal movementof 'the'bar 144 thus effects the swinging of the transfer guide 140 to the desired position.

To securexthe guide140 in selective posi-' tions, thebar 144 is supported at its-outer end 7 in a bracket 147 rigidly secured to the bar and V slidably positioned in a longitudinal slot'148 in the upper wall of the block 101, the latter 7 being of centrally open construction. A sliding plate 149 is, positioned above the wall of the'block 101, overlying the slot 148 and having a guide portion extending into the slot slightly spaced from the upper end of the bracket 147. The bracket is supported on the plate 149 by means of a pair of beaded screws 150 the latter being vertically movable in the plate 149 while securing'the bracket and plate against relative lateral movement. The bracket 147 is provided. with lateral flanges underlying the upper wall of the block 101,

' and, by operation of a thumb screw 151, passing freely through the plate and threaded into the bracket, the plate and bracket flanges may be clamped rigidly to the wall of the block, thus securing the bar 144 against movement; The-selective positions of the plate 149 preferably are determined by a pair of lift vpins 152 mounted in the plate and adapted to be dropped into selectively'registeri'ng holes in the underlying wall of the block 101, each of the holes being located to properly position the guide 140 for one size of bottles.

As the bottles are being shifted outwardly over the piston headsby the transfer guide 140, they are prevented from over running their proper position by a counter guide 153 (see Fig. 2) which ispivotally mounted at one end on a vertical pin 154 carried by a bracket 155 secured to the table 87. The

guide 153 is laterally swingable between the spider arms 61 and-62, and is resiliently actuated to the limit of its adjustable position by means of a compression spring156 confined between a depending lug on the bracket 155 and a suitable abutment on the guide 153. The inward movement of the guide is adj ustably limited by a screw 157 pivotally attached to'the guide 153 and extending freely through a lug on the bracket 155, the outer end of the screw carrying a thumb nut 158 bearing upon the lug. Preferably the spring 156'is positioned about the screw 157 and bears against the lug supporting the screw. By

adjustment of the thumb nut 158, the guide 7 153 may be positioned for co-operation with with thebevelled gear 198, mounted on the journaled in the table 87.

the guide 140 for properly positioning any size of bottle.

After the bottles have been raised into engagementwith the capping heads 59, capped and againlowered, they are carried into engagement wit-h'the stationaryangular guide 104 which shifts them off from the piston heads and the rotary table 38 into engagement with the spiral blades 89 of the second worm conveyor, the latter operating to slide the filled and capped bottles outwardly over .angularly disposed slide-rails 161 secured to the table 87. The'guide'159 and its support--- ing block may be moved into-the proper relation to the guide 104 and the spiral blades. 89 for any size of bottles, by means of a link '162 pivotally connected at one end to the block 160 and at the other end to a crank 163 rigidly mounted ona vertical pivot stud 164 The lower end of the pivot stud 164 carries a crank 165 (see Fig.1) positioned beneath the table and connected by the rod 166 toa crank 167 mounted on theextended lower end of the pivot stud 130 carrying the manual control handle 132. The machine operator is thus enabled to adjust coincidently the three guides 124,125 and 159 atone operation to either size of bottles, the pins 135 securing the adjustment when made.

Upon passing beyond the retaining guide 159, the filled bottles accumulate on the outer end of the table 87 conveniently for the operators inspection and their replacement in cases. Guard rails168 and 169 prevent the bottles from being. carried off the table by the A belt 106, or it may be desirable to remove the guard 169 and conveythe bottles away from the table for inspection and casing.

As illustrated herein, the machine is operated primarily by a motor 170 belted to a driven pulley 172 operating a conventional speed reduction train of gears housed in the case 174, and by which a main drive shaft 187 is driven, the latter being connected with the drive shaft 17 as by a coupling 193.

A rearward extension of the main drive 7 shaft 187 carries a bevelled gear 194 meshing with another bevelled gear 195, .(see Fig. 1)

mounted on the upright shaft 196 having its bearings in a'suitable extension of the trans-' mission case 174 and carrying atits upper end a bevelled gear 197, operati'vely meshing shaft 100 driving the worm and belt conveyors.

I claim as my invention:

1. In apparatus of the class described, the combination of a stationary table, a helical blade rotatable on a horizontal axis adjacent the surface of said table, said blade being adapted to laterally receive bottles between its convolutions and slide them along the surface of said table, a retaining guide positioned laterally of a portion of said blade, and a belt conveyor positioned on the surface of said table beneath and transversely of said blade, said conveyor being operable to carry bottles into engagement with said blade and so retain them until engaged by said retaining guide.

2. In apparatus of the class described, a table, a pair of rotatable helical blades positioned over said table adapted to receive bottles of selective sizes between their convolutions and move the same across said table respectively to and from the adjacent ends of said blades, a pair of retaining guides respectively arranged to laterally retain the bottles in engagement with said blades, a pair of blocks respectively supporting said guides and slidably supported on said table, a pair of cranks pivoted on said table, each of said cranks having a link connection with one of said blocks, and operative connections be tween said cranks whereby said guides may be simultaneously adjusted to a selected size of bottle.

3. In apparatus of the class described, a table, a rotatable helical blade adapted to laterally receive bottles between its convolutions and move them across said table, a belt conveyor operable beneath and transversely of saidblade, a stationary lateral guide angularly disposed over said conveyor, an oppositelyr positioned laterally swingable guide extending angularly over said conveyor, said two guides cooperating to shift bottles on said conveyor into single file for engagement with said blade, and means for reciprocally moving said swinging guide. h I1:1 witness whereof I have hereunto set my OLAF LARSEN.

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