US1791174A - Can-casing machine - Google Patents

Description

l Feb. 3, 1931.

L. TlTus CAN cAsmG MAGHINE original Filed June 4; l192e 4 Sheets-Sheet l Feb. 3, 1931.V

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wuemtoz Feb. 3, 1931. 1*.. TlTUs CAN CASING' MACHINE 4 sheets-sheet, 4

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Patented Feb. 3, 1931 UETED STATES LEON TITUS, PORT ARTHUR, TEXAS, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO THE PATENT OFFICE TEXAS COMPANY, OF yNEW' YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE CAN -CASING MACHINE Original application filed June 4, 1925, Serial No. 34,819.

Divided and this application led August 23,

1927. Serial No. 214,830.

vfor automatically casino Vsquare or angular cans.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a machine for automatically casing square or rectangular shaped cans such, for example, as oil cans in suitable shipping containers such as wooden boxes or the like.

Another object of the invention is to provide apparatus for feeding a supply of filled cans and a supply of shipping containers or cases to the can casing machine, and for selectively inserting one or more of the cans in one of the cases.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a machine for vautomatically moving together a can or cans and a container in which the cans are to be packed, and for subsequently carrying 0H:l the filled container.

A further object of the invention is to provide'a can casing machine wherein the cans and cases are suitably guided so that the cans are certain to fit squarely within the container.

' A still further object of the invention is to provide mechanical means for handling the cans .and containers, and timing means for controlling the operation of said mechanical means.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus for feeding the cases to the can casing machine at predetermined and spaced intervals. f i

Otherobje'cts, features, andadvantages of the invention will appear from` the' following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which- Fig. 1 is a view in sectional elevation,

taken on the line 1-1 of Fig. 2, of a can casing machine constructed in accordance with the present invention Yand constituting an embodiment thereof. Y

yFig. 2 is a plan view of the same' machine illustrated in F ig.` 1, some parts of the inachine having been brokeii away to more Fig. 4 is a similarrview taken on the line' 4 4 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a view in elevation of the case feeding mechanism and a sectional view of the main body of the machine taken on the line 5 5 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 6 is a plan view of the apparatus shown in Fig. 5.

' Referring to the drawings, the machine comprises a supporting frame-work having a number of supporting legs 10 connected at their upper ends by suitable side beams 11 and beams 12, and suitable cross beams, such as y13, are provided for purposes which will more readily appear as the description proceeds.

A number of rollers 14 are rotatably mounted at one end of the frame-work and a gravity chute 15 is positioned at one side of themachine so as to feed cans to the rollers 14. Case feeding mechanism indicated generally at 16 is secured to the side of the inachine and is constructed and arranged so thatits operation synchonizes with that of Y the machine.

Power for operating the machine is sup- Another rotatable shaft 23 is mounted at j" the opposite end of the supporting framework and is journaled in suitable bearings 24 which are secured to one of the end beams 12. The shaft 23 carries a pair of spaced sprocket wheels 25 and one end of the shaft which extends beyond one of the bearing members is provided with a gear wheel 26.

The shaft 22 likewise carries a pair vof spaced sprocket wheels 27. The power transmitted to vshaft 22 from shaft 19 is in turn transferred to shaft 23 by means of a pair of spaced sprocket chains or travelling conveyors 28 carried by the sprocket wheels 25 and 27, the chains travelling irom` leit to right as viewed in fhg. 2, and riassinp1 between certain of the rollers i4. .the cnains 28 are each provided with a pair or spaced lhtrlhil far 1 have described principally the mechanism for feeding to the. machine the cans which are to be cased. Briefly, poiverois applied to the pulley 17 and the siiaf ts i9, l2 and 23 are rotated thus moving` the sprocket chains, together with the lugs 29 1carrield thereby, in the manner iustdescribec T e cans, such as 30, are fed by tne'gravity chute 15 to the rollers 14 and while in positipn on the rollers, the upper surfaces pf which ar slightly above the uppeil faces oi the sprocke chains, are engaged by the lugs 29 and carried along thereby and oli the rollers.

At substantially the saine time a case or container is fed to the machine by the reed in@` mechanism. This mechanism consists' oi a table 60 immediately adjacent the machine and adapted to support one case and an inclined gravity chute or conveypr 6i. VIllhe conveyor 61 may be of any suitaole typ? out as illustrated is'simply slightly inclined and provided with rollers 62. A stop 63 is arranged to hold the cases on the conveyor 61 while a cam or preferably a pair or cams .64 mounted on a shaft 65 are provided to raise the cases over the stop 63 at a. predetermined oint in the cycle of operation of the ma; chine. ln synchronizing the operation of; the case feeding mechanism 16 with vthat or the machine the shaft 23 is extended and operatively connected to the shaft 65. The shaft 23 is geared to a shaft 66 by means of spiral gears 67, the shaft 66 carrying a sprocket 68 which is connected by a chai1n to a sprocket 70 on the shaft 65. The siiait 65 is arranged to make one revolution per cycle of the machine, the cams 64 thus coming into play once in each cycle and pperating to raise a case over the stop 63 and to deliver the case to the table or conveyor 60.

The table 60 is preferably provided with power driven rollers 71 which operate to move the cases received from the conveyor 61 to the machine. r1`he rollers are driven by means of a belt 74 which is carried on a wheel or pulley 75 mounted on a rotatable shaft 7 2 which is iournaled in bearings on table 60. A chain 73 is carried on sprocket wheels mounted on shafts 66 and 72 so that the rotation of shaft 66 imparts a like movement to shaft 7 2.

rEhe case feeding mechanism herein described is particularly well adapted .for use in connection with a can casing' machine, but it should be clearly understood that itn can be used to equally goed advantage for .feeding boxes to nailing machines, for loading machines, and the like, and wherever it is desired to feed objects to an apparatus or mechanism at spaced intervals.

For the purpose of picking up the case, such as 31, and carrying it forward to meet the can or cans 30, another rotatable shaft 32 is mounted in suitable bearings in the supporting frame-work. A pair of spaced sprocket wheels 33 are keyed to the shaft 32 and carry sprocket chains or travelling conveyors 34 which chains also ride on a pair of spaced idler sprockets 35 which are loosely mounted on the shaft 19.V The chains 34 each carry a lug 36.

One end of the shaft 32 extends outward somewhat beyond the side of the supporting; frame-work and on the outer end of the shaft is a cone clutch 37 for controlling the transfer of power from the shaft 19 to the shaft 32, the clutch 37 comprising a fii'zed element 37 secured on the shaft 32 and an adjustable element 37 adapted to engage the fixed ele-ment by friction when in thrown-in position. A sprocket chain 38 rides on a sprocket wheel 39 which is keyed on the shaft 19 and on a sprocket wheel 40 which runs idle on the shaft 32 but which is rigid with the adjustable element 37 of the clutch 37 so that power is transferred to shaft 32 only when the clutch is thrown in.

A bracket 41 is secured to one of the side beams 11 of the supporting frame-work and pivoted thereto is a lever 42 which by reason of a spring 43 tends to hold the clutch 37 in the thrown-in position so that power is applied to the shaft 32. rllhe clutch retaining l lever 42 is provided with a suitable bearingI for engagement with the clutch 37 or, more strictly speaking, with the sprocket wheel 33 which is integral with the clutch.

A rotatable shaft 44 is journaled in suitable bearings secured on the side of the supporting frame-work and one end of the shaft carries a gear wheel 45, the gears of which mesh with those ofl the wheel 26 so that the A shaft 44 is rotated with the shaft 23. The other end of the shaft 44 carries a cam 46, the cam beingsubstantially circular in cross section but having a depressed portion as illustrated at 47. A roller 48 is mounted on the end of the lever 42 and engages the cam 46, the arrangementbeing such that when the roller 48 is engaged in the depression 47 of the cam 46 the spring 43 holds the clutch 37 in operative position so that the shaft 32 is rotated by power supplied from the shaft 19. `When, however, the roller 48 engages the raised portion of the cam 46 the lever 42 is moved outwardly against the re silience of the spring 43 so that the clutch slips, thereby stopping the rotation of the shaft 32. The shaft 32 may be supplied, if desired, with braking mechanism and in the present instance the braking mechanism takes the form of a belt 49 carrying a weight 50..

From the foregoing, it is apparent that the sprocket chains 28 and 34 Inovefin opposite directions so that while the cans 30 are being conveyed by the chains 28 `and lugs 29 in one direction, the case 31 is simultaneously conveyed in an opposite direction directly towards the on-coming cans. By employing a gear wheel 45 of a suitable size with respect to the gear wheel 26, the relative rateof rotation of the shafts 23 and 44 can be so regulated that the raised portion of the cam 46 will engage the roller 48 on the lever 42 to release the clutch 37 and stop the rotation of the shaft 32 at just the proper time, or as soon as the case 31 has been pushed against stops 54, thereby checking the forward movement of the chain 34 and permitting its direction of movement to be reversed while the chain 28 continues to advance and disbharge the filled case from the machine, t-he chain 34 riding on the idler sprockets 35.

Guiding machanism is providedto insure that the cans are directed squarely into the cases. The sides of the cases are very likely to be made up of more than one board and in case an edge of one of the boards should project the slightest bit one of the edges of one of the cans might hang up or catch on it and interfere with the successful operation of the machine. In order to prevent any such occurrence an upwardly projecting bracket 51 is secured on each side of the machine. A guide'member 52 consisting preferably of a thin sheet of flexible metal is pivotally mounted between the brackets 51. The guide member 52 normally hangs in a vertical position, but is free to be raised to a horizontal position when pushed forward by the advancing cans.

A lower guide member 53 is likewise provided and consists preferably of a relatively thin metal sheet positioned slightly above the top of the machine in such manner that the lower face of the advancing case slips underneath the guide member which itself enters the oncoming caseand presents a smooth surface to the cans. Thus two sidesof thecase are in effect temporarily lined with a metal sheet, and hanging up of the cans on any protruding edges is prevented. The guide 53 has a shoulder portion 54 which constitutes a stop and prevents further forward movement of the case.

Stops 55 and 56 are positioned onl the frame-work opposite the chutes 15k andA 16, respectively, for the purpose of preventing more than the desired number of cans or cases from entering the machine atv one time. Two cans in. position on the rollers 14 prevent the admission of any more cans to the` machinev until the two have been removed from the rollers and positioned in the case. The case,"

during its forward movement towards the approaching cans, does not move far enough forward to give clearance for the admlssion of the succeeding casekwith the result that the succeeding case is held out of the machine until the first case has been filled and discharged from the machine. f

In operat-ion, cans gravitater down the chute 15 until two are in position upon the rollers 14. The sprocket cha-ins 28 are rotating continuously and the lugs 29 upon coming in contact with the two cans 30 carry the cans along before them (to the right as shown in Fig. 2). In the meantime, a case 31, adapted to contain two cans such as 30, has been fed to the machine by thev mechanism 16 and has been picked up by the lugs 36 on the sprocket chains 34 and carried forward, yor to the left as shown in Fig. 2. The case 31l continues to advance, its bottom side slipping under the guide 53, until the forward edge of the case comes in contact with the stop 54, when the` vchains 34 can no longer advance and the resistance in the clutch 37 is greatly increased thereby causing the clutch to slip, while the cans 30 which are advancing from the opposite direction are forced into position in the case. As the cans 30 advance towards the case they encounter the pivoted guide 52 which precedes them into the case 31 and in effect lines the upper side of the case so that there is no tendency for the cans to hang up on any projecting edges inside the case.

The operation of the cam 46 is so timed that as soon as a case comes in contact with the stop 54, or shortly thereafter the raised portion of the Acam 46 comes in contact with the roller 48 so thatrthe clutch' retaing lever 42 ismoved outwardly permitting the clutch 37 to entirely disengage. The forward movement of the sprocket chains 34 is thus arrested, while the movement of the sprocket chains 28 continues. Thus the lugs 29 whichnow engage the edge ofthe box move Obviously with the clutch out of engagement jl the lugs 29 on vchains 28 now move not only the filled case but also carry back chains 34 by reason of the engagement of lugs 36 with the case, the chain 34 ridingon idler sprockets 35. Suitable guide members 56 are provided` to insure that the box shall be properly deposited on the chute. The chute 55 is positioned somewhat rbelow the level of the sprocket chains 28 and connecting the chute.vk

with the end of thev supporting frame-work is` an inclined rack 57 down which the lled of which is a shoulder 58 against which the...

descending cases strike, the force of the pact being suficient to in eect throw or turn the cases onto the roller chute 55 in an upright position,-that is, with the open end up.

lf desired, the supporting frame-work may be provided with a flat top, such as 59, but the top must necessarily be made up of several sections in order to provide suhcient spaces between the sections for the operation of the sprocket chains 28 and 34.

Apparatus of preferred form and construction has been illustrated and described for the purpose of showing a way in which this invention may be practiced, but the inventive thought upon which this application is based is broader than this illustrative embodiment thereof. lt is, therefore, understood that the scope of the invention is not to be limited by the present disclosure, reference being had to the appended claims for that purpose.

lVhat l claim is:

1. A conveyor system comprising an in clined chute, a power actuated conveyor having one end thereof adjacent and its conveying surface above the lower end of the chute to provide a shoulder or stop for checking the downward movement of articles on said chute, and rotatable means for successively raising the articles on the chute over said stop and moving said articles forwardly onto the conveyor.

2. A conveyor system for feeding articles to a machine comprising an inclined chute, a power actuated conveyor having one end thereof adjacent and its conveying surface above the lower end of the chute to provide a shoulder or stop for checking the downward movement of articles on said chute, means for successively raising and moving said articles over said stop and onto the conveyor, and means for synchronizing the movement of said raising means with the operation of the machine.

3. A. conveyor system for feeding articles to a machine comprising an inclined chute, a horizontally disposed power actuated conveyor having one end adjacent and its conveying surface above the lower end of said chute to provide a fixed stop for checking the downward movement of articles on the chute, a rotating cam for periodically engaging the bottoms of articles Aon the chute to raise them over the stop and onto the conveyor, and means for operating said cam in synchronism with the machine.

4. In a conveyor system, a conveyor for moving a succession of articles, a second conveyor adapted to periodically receive articles from the first conveyor and having one of its ends adjacent and its conveying surface above one end of the first conveyor to provide a shoulder for checking the movement of articles on the first conveyor, means coinprising a rotating cam for periodically raising one of the succession of articles on the first conveyor over said shoulder and onto the second conveyor for further transfer, and means for operating said raising means.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 15th day of Aug., 1927.

LEON TITUS.

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