US1912696A

US1912696A - Package turning device

Info

Publication number: US1912696A
Application number: US439612A
Authority: US
Inventors: John L Ferguson
Original assignee: JL FERGUSON CO
Current assignee: J L FERGUSON Co; JL FERGUSON CO
Priority date: 1930-03-28
Filing date: 1930-03-28
Publication date: 1933-06-06
Anticipated expiration: 1950-06-06

Description

J. L. FERGUSON PACKAGE TURNING DEVICE June 6, 1933.

Filed March 28', 1950 s Sheets-Sheet 1 w z! m" 67 I A 4% W v 53 ,6, i 'IfiD'IZTJIIILILZZTQIlD "3: IZJ'IIIIITT- an i, 46 I .fiwenfor:

June 6, 1933. J FERGUSON 1,912,696

PACKAGE TURNING DEVICE Filed March 28, 1930 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 June 6, 1933. J. L, FERGUSON PACKAGE TURNING DEVICE 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed March 28, 1950 m m M 9 0 n a W v 9 6 z/ 7/ m 2 W M w W11 w 4 W iIItIillc W WW fl%/// Z 0. 7 9 3 T r x Patented June 6, 1933 UNITED STATES.

PATENT OFFICE JOHN L. FERGUSON, OF JOLIEI, ILIJNOIS, ASSIGNOR TO 3. L. FERGUSON COMPANY, OF JOLIET, ILLINOIS, A. CORPORATION 01 ILLINOIS PACKAGE TURNING DEVICE Application filed March 28, 1980. Serial No. 439,612.

- My invention relates to package turning devices and more particularly to devices for receivin and turning or inverting packages or containers as they are delivered from suit- 5 able filling and sealin machine, similar to that disclosed in .my Fatent No. 1,423,094, issued July 18, 1922.

Packages of the type mentioned are commonly used for containing cereal or other material and are usually of heavy paper or paper board, the end flaps being folded and sealed in a suitable sealing machine. These packages are delivered from the sealing machine before the glue or other sealing adhesiveused 16 in the final sealing operation is completely dry, and the flaps tend to loosen unless some means is provided to hold them in lace.

One of the desirable features of t e present invention is the rovision of means whereby packages are delivered laterally from a moving sealer-conveyor to a turning device wherein the packages are rotated in a plane transverse to the movement of the packages therethrough and wherein the packages are retained in horizontal axial alignment throughout the entire delivery and turning operation. This is important in that it allows the high speed operation of the sealer and delivery mechanism to conform with modern quantity production.

In my invention I provide a simple and eflicient means for securing the desired result, and it has for an object to provide means for receiving, pressing and turning the package, so that when it is delivered to the conveyor the weight of the material in the package will rest on the last sealed flaps, holding them snugly in position while the packages are travelling on the conveyor and until the adhesive is dry.

The turning operation loosens the material and tends to prevent bulging of the sides of the package, which latter action also has a tendency to put a lateral strain on the flaps and loosen them.

A further object is the provision of a device vwhich will be automatic in operation and necessitate a minimum number of operations afi'ecting the package.

Another object is to provide an eflicient turning device which will be small in size and which may be operated directly from the sealing machine and in which the turning device will not interfere in any way with the normal operation of the sealing machine or the rapid delivery of packages therefrom. To this end the hereinafter described package turmng device is one in which the package is fed to and delivered from the device by the operation of the ordinary sealer dellvery mechanism only and without the introduction of other handling devices.

Other objects will be apparent from the specifications and claims.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a top plan view of a portion of a carton sealing machine showin the eject- 1 ing mechanism and a turning evice associated therewith, portions being broken away 1n section better to illustrate the mechanism; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the device as illustrated in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the turning device removed from the carton sealer; ig. 4 is a fragmentary elevational view of the operating mechanism of the device, a cover thereof being removed and a. portion broken away;

Fig. 5 is a sectional perspective detail through a .ring gear and supporting frame; Fig. 6 is a plan sectional view taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the assembled driving member of the Geneva move ment used for timing the turning operation;

and,

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the lockin portion of the driving member illustrate I have illustrated my invention as applied to a sealing machine which latter comprises a frame 1 supporting suitable sprockets 2 and 3 for driving conveyor chains 4 and 5, respectively. The sprockets are driven by any suitable means and in opposite directions so that the adjacent portions of the conveyor chains travel in the same direction, as indicated by the arrow in Fig. 1, and at the same speed.

Blocks 6 are mounted in spaced relation on the chain 4 and are arranfged to receive and convey unsealed and un lled packages or cartons 7. During the travel of the chain 4, one end of the empty carton is sealed and it is then automatically inverted by being forced, by air pressure, from the block through an inverted U-shaped chute as described in my above mentioned patent and transferred to one of a plurality of chairs 8 which are mounted in spaced relation on the conveyor chain 5, and in staggered relation to the blocks 6 on the chain 4. The blocks 6 and the chairs 8 are offset outwardly from their respective chains so that their axial lines coincide during their adjacent movement.

After the packages are transferred to the chairs 8 they are automatically filled and sealed and are then delivered to the turning device 9, which comprises a casing 10 inclosing the operating mechanism, and which is preferably supported on the sealing machine by a bracket 11 and a brace 12.

The turning mechanism includes a ring gear 13, rotatably mounted in an annular guide 14 in the casing 10, and which is retained in operative position by the ring cover 15. Package clamping members 16 are supported in movable spaced relation on the brackets 17 formed integral with the ring gear, and are held in alignment andoperative position by means of guides 18 and springs 19. The clamping members or plates 16 are provided with out-turned curved edges 20 to allow the easy entrance of the package from the chair 8.

The turning device is mounted on the sealing machine so that the clamping members 16 are in alignment with the filled and sealed moving package. A suitable follower or package ejector is moved forward intermittently'to push the sealed packages from the chairs and between the clamping members 16 where said packages will be held securel by the springs 19 until pushed therefrom by a succeeding package.

The movement of the follower 21 is controlled and synchronized with the movement of the packages by means of a cam 22, the follower being secured to a slide 23 having a roller 24 operatively engaging in a cam slot 25. The cam may be driven by any suitable means, preferably by a direct drive from some part of the sealer mechanism through a gear 26. The mechanism for intermittently turning the ring gear 180, to invert the package, is driven from a cam shaft 27, to which is secured a pinion 28 meshing in driving relation with a gear 29 formin a part of a Geneva movement driving mem er 30. The driving member comprises a locking plate 31, a plate 32 having rollers 33 mounted thereon, and a gear 29, all of which are secured together by screws 34. The complete driving member 29 is mounted for free rotation on a stub shaft 35 supported rigidly in the casing.

The rollers are arranged to engage in slots 36 in a driven member 37 for intermittent driving, the driven member being loosely mounted on the shaft 27 and the locking member 31 cooperating with arcuate surfaces 38 during the rest periods. The ring gear is driven by the driven member throu h a gear 39 secured thereto by screws 40 an throug a pinion 41 and a gear 42. The pinion 41 and gear 42 are rigidly secured together and loosely mounted on the stub shaft 35, the gear 42 meshing with and driving the ring gear 13. The above-described mechanism is inclosed in a chamber 43 of the casing 10, which is provided with a removable cover 44.

Suitable conveyor belts

45 and 46 are arranged to receive the packages as they are sing-driven from the sealer sprocket shaft 47, through a gear 48 thereon, an idler 49, a gear 50 on the shaft 51, and

bevel gears

52 and 53.

*The slot 25 of the cam 22 is of such shape that the follower 21 is pushed forward quickly to a, point beyond the path of the chair 8 and is not returned until the chair is beyond the path of the follower.

In operation the package is pushed between the clamping plates in the ring gear and is then inverted by the rotation of the gear, the movement of which is controlled by the Geneva movement transmission between the ring gear and the cam shaft, there being a definite time period between each operation durin which the lates clamp snugly against t e flaps, and t e weight of the material in the inverted package also tending to press the flaps together from in side the package. The package is then forced out of the turning device and between the conveyor belts by the pressure of the succeeding package. The length of the conveyor is such as to allow complete drying of the adhesive.

While I have described but one embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood that changes may be made in the mechanical features thereof without departing from the spirit of the invention, and I desire, therefore, that the invention be limited only by the scope of the appended claims and the show-- ing of the prior art.

ed from the turning device, the belts I claim: 1. A package turning device coin llSlIlg means to receive a freshly sealed pac age in a direction axially of said turning device, means associated with said recelving means to support said package by pressure on the sealed portions, means for turning said supporting means, a driving means, a Geneva movement between said driving means and said supporting means, a follower for moving consecutive packages to said receiving means, and means to svnchronlze the effective operation of said follower with the mefi'ective operation of said Geneva movement. I

2. A package turning device comprlsing a ring gear, package receiving and engaging means mounted in said gear, and means for intermittently turning said gear, said turning device being arranged to allow the pack ages to be received from one S1616. of said gear and ejected from the opposite side.

3. The combination with a package sealing machine of an ejecting device associated therewith for laterally intermlttently ejecting packages therefrom, a package turnmg device to receive said packages, and means for turning the received package substantially on an axis parallel with the line of movement of the package into said turning device, each succeeding package ejecting the previously received package from sald turning device.

' 4. A package handling machine COIILPIIS- ing an ejecting means for ejecting packages laterally from a conveyor, a turnlng means for inverting the ejected packages, sald conveyor being arranged to convey packages between said ejector and said turning means, and means for synchronizing the operation of said ejector and said turning means.

5. A package handling device comprislng a moving conveyor, means thereon for snpporting a package, a follower for e ecting said package, a turning device to receive and turn said package, and means for moving said follower quickly to a point beyond the path of said package supportlng means to move said package into said turning device and to return said follower after said package supporting means is beyond the path of said follower.

6. A package handling device comprising a rotatable ring member, a follower oscillatable to and from said ring in substantial- 1y axial alignment therewith, means for passing packages consecutively between said follower and said ring and into axial alignment therewith, means in said ring for engaging consecutive packa es, means for intermittently rotating sai ring, and means cooperating with said rotating means and said follower to synchronize their movements to cause said follower to operate for moving packages consecutively into said ring after each one-half revolution of said ring.

7. In a machine of the character described, the combination with a constant speed sealer conveyor of an oscillatable follower adjacent one side of said conveyor, a turning device on the opposite side of said conveyor, chairs on said conveyor for supporting packages and arranged to pass betweensaid follower and said turning device, means for intermittently operating said turning device, and means for moving said follower to a point adjacent said turning device and beyond said chair and returning said follower after the chair has passed the path of the follower.

8. In a device of the character described, an oscillatable follower, an intermittently rotatable member spaced therefrom and rotatable in a plane at a right angle to the movement of said follower, package carriers arranged to move consecutivelybetween said follower and said rotatable member, package clamping means in said rotatable member, and means to move said follower in front of each consecutive carrier to move packages therefrom into said clamping means and back of each consecutive carrier to return said follower.

9. The combination with a horizontally disposed sealer conveyor having chairs thereon for supporting packages, of a rotatable package turning device adjacent said conveyor and rotatable in a plane parallel to the path of said conveyor, a follower in substantially axial alignment with said turning device and movable from one side of said conveyor to the other to push packages consecutively from said chairs to said turning device, and operating mechanism between said turning device and said follower to cause the follower to push a package from a chair to said turning device while said turmng device is stationary and to retain said turning device and said follower stationary while said chair is passing the path of-said follower and to rotate said turning device after said follower has started its return.

10. A package turning device comprising a rotatablepackage receivin means, means for moving packages through said receiving means on a line co-axial with said receiving means, and means for rotating said receiving means and said package on said coaxial line while said package is in said receiving means.

11. A package turning device comprising a package engaging means, means for moving packages bodily in a substantially straight line through said package engaging means and stopping each consecutive package in said engaging means, means for rotating said engaging means and package in a direction transverse to the line of movement and while the bodily movement of the package is stopped.

12. A package turning device of the character described comprising a cylindrical member rotatable on its axial line and at ranged to receive packages from one end and to allow them to be ejected from the other end, means in said member to engage the sealed portions of a package, and means for turning said member to invert said pack, age during said engagement.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name.

JOHN L. FERGUSON.