US1846909A

US1846909A - Article-feed for wrapping machines

Info

Publication number: US1846909A
Application number: US334785A
Authority: US
Inventors: Schmitt Frank Reinhold
Original assignee: AMF Inc
Current assignee: AMF Inc
Priority date: 1929-01-24
Filing date: 1929-01-24
Publication date: 1932-02-23
Anticipated expiration: 1949-02-23

Description

Feb. 23, 1932. F. R. SCHMITT 9 ARTICLE FEED FOR WRAPPING MACHINES Filed Jan. 24, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet l x El i/ i mg N Qt 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fsb. 23, 1932. F. R. SCHMITT ARTICLE FEED FOR WRAPPING MACHINES Filed Jan. 24, 1929 ATTORNEY m-arm;

Patented Feb. 23, 1932 UNITED STATES:

FRANK REINHOLD SCHMITT, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO AMERICAN.

PATENT OFFICE MACHINE & FOUNDRY COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY ARTICLE-FEED FOR WRAPPING MACHINES Application filed January 24, 1929. Serial No. 334,785.

This invention relates to article feeds for wrapping machines designed to supply articles one by one to the feeding device which introduces the articles into the machine. It is particularly designed for use where the articles are supported in the feeding device of the machine in tilted or lower position with respect to the supply of articles upon the article feed, and in other situations where it is necessary or desirable that the articlesbe dropped or deposited, rather than pushed or tipped, from the, article supply feed to the feeding device of the machine.

In successively feeding articles one by one from a supply to the device which introduces the articles into the machine, it has been the common practice to periodically hold the supply of articles on the article feed stationary while a forwarding belt, on which they rest, moves continuously. Resulting excessive wear on the belt necessitated frequent shutdowns and replacements. Moreover, such wear could not be avoided by merely moving the belt intermittently in situations such as those above pointed out because a considerable over-travel of the belt would then be necessary to propel the articles clear of said belt and onto the feeding device, and moreover the articles would cause wear by sliding over the forward end of the belt.

Accordingly, it is one of the objects of the present invention to provide a simple and effective article'feed which 'will drop or deosit articles more or less squarely onto the ceding device to introduce the articles into the machine, without tipping over the articles. Another object is to provide anarticle feed to successively supply articles one by one to the feeding device of the machine without rubbing between the belt and the articles, whereb excessive wear of the belt may be avoided. Still another object is to provide means for withdrawing the forwarding belt from under an article over said feeding device to permit it to drop t ereon, and to do this by rolling the belt, rather than sliding it under the article. Still another object is to provide for suitable adjustment of the several parts and their operating connections,-

to feed articles of different sizes. With these and other objects in view, the invention consists 1n certain constructions and comblnations which will be hereinafter described and then set forth in the hereunto appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, in which like characters of reference indicate the same or like parts:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the improved article and device into. engagement with-said stop,'and

mechanism for withdrawing said forwardin g means from under the leading article engaging said stop to permit it to drop to said feeding device. In the best constructions, the said forwarding means includes a forwarding belt, and preferably there is provided a pulley forming a loop at the forward end of the operating run of said belt, together with mechanism operating to reciprocate said pulley lengthwise of the run in order to roll the belt from under said leading article. In the best constructions also, devices are provided connecting said forwarding means and said mechanism to intermittently drive the former from the latter. tions also include means for moving said stop away from the leading article when the forwarding means has been withdrawn." The means above referred to may be widely varied in construction within the scope of the claims, for the particular machine selected to illustrate the invention is but one of many possible concrete embodiments of the same. The invention, therefore, is not to be restrict- The best COIlStIllC-r ed to the precise details of the structure 4 brackets 5 and 6. Another pair of brackets 9 and 10 are carried by

uprights

7 and 8. Brackets 5 and 9 support between them a horizontal rod 11 extending alon one side of the path of the articles, and brac ets 6 and 10 similarly support the horizontal rod 12 on the other sideof said path. On these rods 11 and 12, a carriage consisting of the frames 13 and 14 connected by the cross bars 15 and 16, is slidably mounted for red rocation lengthwise of the path of the artic es. The brackets 5 and 6 also carry adjustable blocks 20 onwhich is mounted a stationary pulley 19. Adjustment of the blocks movesthe pulley to regulate the tension of the forwarding belt 24. The brackets 9 and 10 have horizontal arms 21 on which there is mounted a shaft 22 carryin a pulley 23. The

carriage carriesupulleys

1 and 18, pulley 17 forming a loop at the forward end of the upper run of the belt. 1

The forwarding belt 24 runs over the

pulleys

17, 18, 19 and 23, on the upper operating run of which the, supply of articles A rests.

The forward portion of this run is supported by bars 15 and 16 mounted on the reciprocating carriage, and the remainder of the operating run of this belt is supported by stationary bars 26 fastened to cross bars 27 and 28' carried by lugs 29- attached to the rods 11 and.12 and by lugs 30 and 31 on the brackets 9 and 10.

The two

vertical guide walls

32 and 33 serve to guide the articles as they are forwarded by the belt 24 and these walls are mounted on rods 34 and 35, being adjustable thereon for different widths of articles. For

this purpose, the rods 34 are slidable in bearings located in brackets 5, 6, 9 and 10 and are locked in position by the wing nuts 36.

The belt 24' is intermittently driven by the following means: A ear 37 loosely mounted on a stud 38 carried y a lug on the bracket 10, meshes with a gear 39 fixedly mounted on the shaft 22. On the stud 38 there is also loosely mounted a lever 40 which carries an eccentrically mounted roller 41 held by a s ring 42 in a circumferential groove of' a d1sk 43, integral with the spur gear 39. The lever 40, by means of a knuckle 45, is connected by the adjustable connecting rod 44 to a pin 46 adjustably mounted in slot 46a of an oscillating lever 47 mounted on the shaft 48.

By adjustment of the pin 46 in the slot 46a, the throw of the lever 40 can be varied to regulate the intermittent movement of the for-- warding. belt to the feeding of smaller or larger articles.

The lever 47 is oscillated by a cam 52 on shaft 53, which cam enga es aroller 54 and a lever 55 pivoted at 56 an connected by a rod link 49 which is secured to the stud 50 on the rec1procating carriage 13--14--15-16 by a knurled nut 51.

When the lever 40 is rocked in a clockwise directionthrough movement of the lever 47 ultimately driven by the'cam 52, the roller 41, by virtue of its eccentricity, grips the disk 43 and drives the gear 39. When the lever rocks in a counter clockwise direction, however, the eccentric roller is released, and causes the gear and forwarding belt to remain stationary. The. eccentric roller thus acts as a one way clutch, much in the same manner as a ratchet and pawl. The cam 52 is driven by means of a chain 59 connected to a sprocket 60 on the cam shaft 53 and a sprocket 61on drive shaft 62 of the wrapping machine proper. The shaft 62 is journalled in frame 3 and in a bracket 63 secured at 64 to said frame. A spring 65 attached to the lever 55 and anchored at 66 keeps the roller 54 in contact with cam 52.

A stop 79 is supported in the path of articles forwarded over the feed-way leading into the wrapping machine, and this stop is mounted for movement toward and away from the leading article forwarded by the belt 24.v This stop is mounted on a longitudinally adjustable rod 78 secured in

blocks

76 and 77 pivoted at the upper ends of a pair of parallel levers 70 and71 fixed respectively to shafts 68 and '69 journalled in a pedestal 67 The lever 70 is provided with an arm 7 2, to which is secured a pin 73, which projects into a slot 74 of a link 75 connected to cam lever 55.

I The stop 79 is pressed toward the leading article on the belt 24 by a spring 80. An adjustable set screw 81 bearing against the is reciprocated to the position A", shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, thereby extending the operating run of said belt over the table 82 of the feeding device of the wrapping machine. At the same time, movement of the carriage operating mechanism through the connecting devices 44, '41, 43, 37 and 39 imparts a forwarding'movement to the belt by reason of which the belt forwards the leading article resting on it onto the extended portion of the operating run simultaneously with the extension of said run.

As the article thus approaches its foremost position on the extended forwarding means, the stop 79 is caused by the movement of link 75 to exert pressure on the forward face of the article, thus pressing it against the following articles, and thereby securely holding same between the stop and said followis then withdrawn from under the article rearward movement of the carriage 1314 l5l6 and with it pulley 17, thereby rolling the belt from under the article A" without rubbing or friction between the article and the belt, leaving the article securely gripped between the stop plate at position 79 and the succeeding article on the forwarding belt.

As the carriage approaches the end of its rearward movement, the outer end of the slot 74 of link 75, driven from the same cam as the carriage, engages pin 73 on arm 72 of the lever 70, thereby moving the stop plate 79 away from the article during the last portion of the withdrawing movement of the forwarding means. This releases the suspended article A, which being wholly unsupported, drops squarely onto the inclined feed-way or table 82 of the feeding device of the wrapping machine. This table is suitably supported by bars 83 attached to the frame 3.

. The article deposited on the table 82 is guided by the side wall 84 which, when necessary, is cut away in the path of the extended forward ing mechanism and this wall is supported by a bracket 85 from frame 3. A number of pushers 86 "projecting through a slot in the table 82, carried at intervals by a conveyor chain not shown, engage with and push the articles along the table and into the wrapping machine. The operation of the machine on smaller articles is similar in all respects, being shown by dot-dash lines at A in Fig. 1.

It should be noted that the mounting and staggered relationship of the

pulleys

17 and 18, is such that they form contiguous oppositely disposed loops and are caused to reciprocate together with respect to the stationary pulley 19. I11 the remainder of the belt any increase in the length of the loop in the forward end of the operating run of the belt 24, formed by pulley 17, is compensated for by a corresponding decrease in the length of the loop formed by the pulley 18, and vice versa. Thus there will be no need of slack in the belt to avoid binding thereof.

It will also be observed that the driving means for the' belt, the mechanism for extending and withdrawing the forwarding means, and the mechanism operating the stop 79. are interconnected, all being ultimately driven from the cam 52 and the coacting lever 55, and that means are provided for adjusting the connecting linkage between each of these parts to suit variations'in operating conditions and the size of the articles.

What is claimed is;

1. The combination with a wrapping machine feeding device, of a stop in the path of articles forwarded to said device, means for forwarding a row of articles to press the leading article between said stop and the following article in a position overlying said feeding device, and mechanism forwithdrawing said forwarding means from under the leading, article to permit it to drop to said feeding device.

2. The combination with a wrapping machine feeding device, of a stop in the path of articles forwarded to said device, means for forwarding artlcles successively over said device into engagement with said stop, mechanism for withdrawing said forwarding means from under the leading article engaging said stop to permit it to drop to said feeding device, and means for moving said stop away from the leading, article when the forwarding means has been withdrawn.

3. The combination with a wrapping ma-' chine feeding device, of a stop in the path of 5 articles forwarded to said'device, means for forwarding article's successively over said device into engagement with said stop, mechanism for withdrawing said forwarding means from under the leading article engaging said stop to permit it todrop to said feeding device, and means operating said stop to press the leadingarticle against the following articles and then release the same when said forwarding means has been withdrawn.

4:. The combination with a wrapping machine feeding device, of a stop in the path of articles forwarded to said device, means for forwarding a row of articles to press the leading article between said stop and the following article in a position overlying said feeding device, and mechanism for withdrawing said forwarding means from under the leading article to permit it to drop to said feeding device, said forwarding means including a forwarding belt.

5. The combination with a wra ping ma chine feeding device, of a stop in t e path of articles forwarded to said device, means for forwarding articles successively over said device into engagement with said stop, mechanism for withdrawing said forwarding means from under the leading article engaging said stop to permit it to drop to said feeding de,- vice, and devices connecting said forwarding means and said mechanism to drive the former from the latter, including a drive shaft for said forwarding means, a member oscillated by said mechanism and means coacting with said member and said shaftjto intermittently rotate said shaft.

6. The combination with a wrapping machine feeding device, of a stop in the path of articles forwarded to said device, means for forwarding articles successively over said device into engagement with said stop, mechanism for withdrawing said forwarding means from under the leading article engaging said stop to permit it to drop to said feeding device, and interconnected means for operating said mechanism and for moving said stop away from said leading article when the forwarding means has been withdrawn.

7. The combination with a wrapping ma- 5 chine feeding device, of a stop in the path of articles forwarded to said device, means for forwarding articles successively over said device into engagement with said stop, and mechanism for withdrawing said forwarding means from under the leading article engag- 1 ing said stop to permit it to drop to said feeding device, ca1n operated means for actuating said mechanism and instrumentalities connected to said cam operated means for alternately moving said stop against said leading article and retracting the same.

8. In an article feed, the combination with a forwarding belt, of mechanism for alternately extending and withdrawing the forward end of the operating run of said belt,

and means for driving said belt to successive- 1y forward articles onto the extended portion of the run, said means including devices intermittently driven by said mechanism to impart forwarding movement to the belt during extending of the run and to cause said belt to remain stationary during withdrawal of said run. In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

FRANK REINHOLD SCHMITT.