US2061644A - Can filling machine - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 24, 1936. c. H. AYARS 2,061,644

CAN FILLING MACHINE Filed Sept. 23, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet l [nvenior v Charles H Hy r MW. 24, 1936. c. H. AYARS CAN FILLING MACHINE Filed Sept. 23, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheec 2 Khan I yar Attorney Inventor Charles H H c/ 9 .c; H. AYARS CAN FILLING MACHINE Nov. 24,

Filed Sept. 23, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet '3 IIIIIIIIllIIIIIIIIIIIIII/IIIIIIIIlIlII/I/III [Illlllllllll I nununn a n w v (INA/A h I I M I- I; v

IIIIIIIIIIIIII IIIIIIIlIIIIlIIlIlIIlI/II/I/ll llll'lllllll I I I I Ill/Ill I I I IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII/IlIIIIIlI/I H l'torney wholetoma-toes andthe'likemay bei-directed-into,

I disrupt the wholetomatoes and break them int Patentedi-Nov; 24;

umreo 23613442 can rmnme- MACHINE camera. Ayarsi sa'lem, N.-J'., assignor to Machine Gompany, Salem, N-JQ; a corporation:

Applieatlon september 23,1935, Serial'No. 41,652

Thisinventionrelates'tocan filling machinery" and has particular" reference tomachinery for! filling cans with juicy or semi-juicy; material such; forinstance', as tomatoes,

In the tomato canningiindustry, tomatoes afterbeing, picked are usually washed: mechanically and by some sort of a, machine like that shownand describedin'my co-pending application Serial No. 752,954, filed November 14,- 1934,from which machine they. are passed on to a scalderv and the skins removed; Thetomatoes-are then passed to acanfilling machine where measured quantities are placed continuously in cans.- 1, the

canscappedand then passed to" a conditioning machine for cooking the same.

While the present invention will be discussed in connection with the fillingof cans with toma toes, it will, of course, be understood that other commodities such,1for: instance, as'peache'sand other fruits and vegetables, may be placed means by 'themechanism described herein.

Inv machines for filling cans with tomatoes and in such machinesasshownby my former'United States Letters Patents N'o. 1,459,492, grantediJ-une 19, 1923; No. 1,476,278, grantedDcemberl, 1923; No; 1,480,335, granted January 8, 1924'; andNo;

1,883,460, granted October 18,- 1932, the. happen from which the commodity is receivedby the, telescoping measuring cupsis located directly," above the rotating turrets so that when the meats uring cup is opened 'to be filled from saidhoppen the entire weight of the contents of said hoppe bears upon the materialentering the'cup'and, in;

the (DB-SGIOf tomatoes, this weightis suflicient .t

pieces;-

The primary object of the present inventio I ism provide a machine wherebycans may b filledwwith fragile commodities sue-tailor instanc the weight of the materlalin'the hUDDEI'gSQ-tl'lfll;

the cups, for deposit' in the'cans.

provide such-a machine-imwhichthe whole-to matoes will notbe subject-to the action-or theshaker which is likelyto disrupt the-same.

Still'another objector the-invention is toprovide' sucha machine wherein-the' whole tomatoes willbedeposited into the 'cups prior to the deposit of thepuipy disrupted tomatoes';x"wheichy the whole tomatoesawill not be subject to the le vellmgaction of the shaker.

still-another object orathe lnvention is'topro the cups at the other side of the turret. hopper may also be provided with perforations as tomatoes-withthe'skinwenioved and wherein the tomato 1 will not be'idl-sruptedorbroken by' machine with the novel mechanism in therein, 40

latl've Another object 015- the present invention is vide sucha machin'ewith a hopper having means for straining the juice from the tomatoes placed in:saidhopper and directingthe same into a--well. AstilLfurther object of the invention is-to providemeans in the said juice well or pan whereby 5' measured quantities of the said juice is deposited into'each-ofthe cans prior to. the reception'of the'tomatoes into the same. 1 Another object is to provide means in the said juicewellor pan for maintaining a level o f the 1 said juice th'ere'inand means for carrying off the excess. 1 V

According'to the invention, the can filling chine comprises upper and lower rotatable tur rets with telescoping measuring cupsthereon for adjusting the measuring capacity of said cups, a

shaker orsagitator on the upper turret and a V hopperhaving its open'upper endoffset vertical] from said turrets and having an angularly dis posed funnel portion for directing. tomatoesplaced therein on to said upper turret. The fumnel portion of said hopper is so arranged in angularityithat the pulpyrmass of broken or disrupted tomatoes'will'fall on to the turret at the point of entrance from said funnel portion; while the wholetomatoes will rise to the top of said pulpy 25 mass-andwill roll across the turret and fallinto The 11 andawall behind-the same provided with means ,for draining the juice into ajuice pan. The juice -pan may also be provided with-an adjustable measuringapparatus whereby -a measured quanty of said juice'is deposited ,into each of the =cans. a

-. The drawings illustrate an embodiment of the invention and theviews therein are as-followsz Rig. 1 is'a perspective view showingfilling rated Fig. 2 ice, top plan view-showing th re positions ofthehoppenfiturrets, agitatonor, shah er, andtheir connecting mechanism,

Flgl Sjis'a vertical; sectional view: on the line 3- 3 of Fig. 2, lookingfin the direction of the ar-' I'OWS',

Fig; 4 isa vertical sectional view taken onthe lined-tor Fig. 2iand looking in the direction of: the arrows, and

Fig. 5' is-a vertical sectional view'on theline 5-'-5 of Fig. 2, looking in thedirection' of the arrowa m t ng machine'illustrated in 1 is substaYit'ialIyiike that shown in the patents hereiiilbefore enumerated and having applied thereto FFICE,

the several features of invention hereinbefore mentioned.

The machine is provided with a can receptacle 6 for feeding cans on to a screw "I which feeds them into proper position to be received by a star wheel 6 which locates the said cans in position below the funnels 9. This can feeding and positioning mechanism is explained in my application Serial No. 385,243, filed August 12,1928.

Abovethe funnels '9 is a drip pan H for the purpose of catching any juice which escapes during the filling operation and this drip pan is provided with a well l2 having measuring apparatus l3 therein, as later explained.

The machine is also provided with lower and upper turret members ld and I6 which have upwardly and downwardly circular flanges I! and I8 respectively, which said flanges telescope to provide adjustable measuring cups for measuring predetermined quantities of materials to be placed in the cans A. These turrets are rotatable through the medium of the shaft I9 connected in any suitable manner to the horizontal main shaft of the machine driven by the pulley 2|.

These turrets with their telescoping cups are clearly shown in United States Letters Patent No. 1,883,460, above referred to. v

The drip pan ll may be formed integral with the lower turret. 7

Above the turrets I4 and I6 is an agitator or shaker 22, which said member is provided with an opening 23 which provides a passageway for the material to enter the measuring cups. The walls of this shaker are substantially vertical on one side, as shown at 24, and outwardly flared on the other side, as shown at 26, Fig. 4. This shaker member is pivotally mounted on the shaft 21 by the sleeve 28 on the extension 29.

An arm 3| diametrically opposite the extension 29 extends from the shaker and is provided at its outer end with a slot 32 in which operates a wrist pin 33 mounted on the disk 34, which disk is mounted upon the shaft 36 and adapted for rotation therewith. The shaft 36 is in turn driven in any suitable manner, as from-the main shaft of the machine.

This type of agitator or shaker is clearly described in my Patent No. 1,818,780, granted .Au-.

gust 11, 1931.

The shaker or agitator 22 is surmounted by hopper mechanism which in the design illustrated herein consists of an outwardly flaring part 31 with a funnel portion 38 and a vertical wall portion 39 extending around the shaker 22 and connecting the funnel portion 38 of said hopper.

The outwardly flared portion 31 is offset vertically from the turrets l4 and I6, and the funnel portion is set at such an angle as will direct the pulpy broken tomatoes on to the upper turret at a point near where the shaker or agitator will direct such mass into the cups B formed by the flanges of said turrets, while the whole tomatoes will rise to the top of said pulpy mass and will roll across the said upper turret and fall into the pockets on the other side of the turret.

Considering Fig. 2, the pulpy mass of tomatoes will be directed at a point near the cup nearest the center line of said machine and covered by said hopper, while the whole tomatoes will roll across the turret and be deposited in the cups B and B As the turrets are rotating in the direction of the arrow C, Fig. 2, the whole tomatoes will be directed into the cups B and 13 prior to the pulpy mass being deposited therein, so that as the pulpy mass which is filled into the cans and above the whole tomatoes comes into contact with the shaker or agitator 22, the whole tomatoes will not be disrupted as would be the case if they extended above the top of the can, in which case the shaker or agitator would sever them inlevelling the contents.

The funnel is provided with perforations 4| in the'lower part of the same and a separate Wall 42 will direct the juice passing through said perforations into the spout 43 formed on thef'ottom of the same. This spout directs the juices into the flaring cup 44 forming part of the drip or JLllCQ pan.

The juice pan has a rectangular extension 46 into which the pivoting shaft 21 of the shaker is screwed by threads 4! on the lower end thereof and this extension has a wall 48 forming overflow means for the said drip pan, and excess juices which flow into said rectangular extension are carried therefrom through the'opening 49 which may be connected with a pipe 5| extending to any means for collecting said excess.

The well l2 formed in the drip pan of the lower turret has a downwardly extending part'52 provided with-a chamber 53 and with a pipe 54. A shaft 56 extends into said well and has affixed to its upper end a rotary member 51 which has a measuring chamber 58 formed in the'lower face of the same; and said' member is provided with a sleeve 59 in which 'acapacity'adjusting member 6| operates. This capacity adjusting member is adjusted by virtueof a screw-threaded pipe 62 and rotary hand member 63, so that the said member 6| may be raised or lowered to alter the capacity of the measuring chamber 58." An air vent 62 extends through the member 6| and communicates with the pipe 62.

- Itwill readily be seen that when the shaft 56 which is connected by any suitable means to the main operating shaft rotates, the member 51 will rotate; and as the drip pan l 1 contains the juices of the material being filled into the cans, the chamber 53 will always be filled with said juice and as the chamber 58 passes over the chamber 53, the first named. chamber will likewise be filled with juice, and said juice will be carried over to the pipe 54 and directed from said pipe into the open top of a can A, as shown in Fig. l.

The machine is, of course, so timed that for each operation of the member 51 a canwill have been advanced to a point beneath the pipe 54; In this way, each can receives a measured quantity, of juice and consequently the cans are uniformly filled.

The hopper member is maintained in position by means of the extensions 66 and 61 extending out from the vertical wall 39 fitting over shafts 21 and 68 respectively.

It will be seen that in a machine of the type described, the whole tomatoes can be placed in the cans without fear of disruption and the pulpy mass placed in around the same to fill the voids and the excess-levelled off by means of theshaker.

-It will also be seen that by the juice straining means cooperating with the juice measuring and filling means, an accurateamount of juice may be placed in each can and, therefore, the cans will be uniformly filled with a certain percentage of Whole tomatoes, tomato pulp and juice.

Of course the mechanism illustrated and described herein may be modified in various ways without departing from the invention herein set forth and hereafter claimed.

The invention is hereby claimed as follows: 1. in a can nllingmachine comprising upper and lower horizontally disposed rotatable turrets with telescoping measuring cups thereon, a hopper having its open upper end offset vertically from said turrets and having an angularly disposed funnel portion for directing material placed therein onto said upper turret, said funnel being so disposed that substantially spherical objects will roll across the turret and enter-the cups opposite the base of the funnel while pulpous matter will fill into said cups at the mouth of the funnel.

2. In a can filling machine comprising upper and lower horizontally disposed rotatable turrets with telescoping measuring cups thereon, a hopper having its open upper end offsetvertically from said turrets and having an angularly disposed funnel portion for directing material placed therein onto said upper turret, and means for preventing said material from passing over the edge of said turret, said funnel being so disposed that substantially spherical objects will roll across the turret and enter the cups opposite the base of the funnel while pulpous matter will fill into said cups at the mouth of the funnel. 3. In a can filling machine comprising upper and lower horizontally disposed rotatable turrets with telescoping measuring cups thereon, a hopper having its open upper end offset vertically from said turrets and having an angularly disposed funnel portion for directing material placed therein onto said upper turret, and means connecting the open end of said funnel for preventing said material from passing over the edge of said turret, said funnel being so disposed that substantially spherical objects will roll across the turret and enter the cups opposite the base of the funnel while pulpous matter will fill into said cups at the. mouth of the funnel.

4. In a can filling machine comprising upper and lower horizontally disposed rotatable turretswith telescoping measuring cups thereon, a hopper having its open upper end offset vertically from said turrets and having an angularly dis- :posed funnel portion for directing material placed therein onto said upper turret, and a vertical wall connecting the open end of said funnel for preventing said material from passing over the edge of said turret, said funnel being so disposed that substantially spherical objects will roll across the turret and enter the cups opposite the base of v the funnel while pulpous matter willfill into said cups at the mouth of the funnel.

5. Ina machine for filling cans with juicy ma terial, comprising adjustable measuring cups and an agitator for shaking pulpous material into said cups for deposit in the cans, a juice pan around the cups, a hopper having means for straining the juice and directing same into said pan, and means in said pan operated by said machine for supplying cans with measured quantities of said juice.

. and directing 3 6. In a machine for filling cans with juicy ma.- terial, comprising adjustable measuring cups and an agitator for shaking pulpous material into said cups for deposit in the cans, a juice pan around the cups, a hopper having means for straining the juice and directing same into said pan, and a rotatable measuring device in said pan for supplying, cans with measured quantities of said Juice. 1

7. In a.machine for filling cans with juicy ma,- terial, comprising adjustable measuring cups and an agitator for shaking pulpous material into said cups for deposit in the cans, a juice pan around the cups, a hopper having means for straining the juice and directing same into said pan, and a rotatable and capacity adjustable devicein said pan for supplying cans with measured quantities oi. said juice.

8. In a machine for filling cans with juicy material, comprising adjustable measuring cups and an agitator for shaking pulpous material into said cups for deposit in the cans, a juice pan around the cups, a hopper having perforations in the wall thereof leading into means for collecting the juice said pan for supplying cans with measured quantitles of said juice.

9. In a machine for filling cans with juicy material, comprising adjustable measuring cups and an agitator for shaking pulpous material into said cups for deposit in the cans, a juice pan around the cups, a .hopper having perforations in the wall thereof leading into means for collecting the juice and directing same into said pan, means in said pan for supplying cans with measured quantities of said juice, and verfi'ow means on said pan for carrying off excess juice.

10. In a can filling machine for tomatoes comprising upper rotatable turrets with telescoping measuring cups thereon, a hopper having its open upper end ofiset vertically from said turrets and having a funnel portion so disposed in angularity that the pulpy disrupted tomatoes will fall onto the upper turret at the point of entrance from said funnel while whole tomatoes will rise from the pulpy mass and roll across said upper turret and fall into said cups substantially opposite said entrance point.

11. In a can filling machine for juicy materials, comprising upper and lower rotatable turrets with telescoping measuring cups thereon, a juice pan, a hopper having its open upper end offset vertically from saidturret and having a funnel portion extending in a. downward angular direction, said hopper having perforations and means for directing the juice of said material into the juice pan, means for serving a measured quantity. of said juice into each can to be filled, and overflow means for removing excess juice from said pan.

CHARLES H. AYARS.

same into said Dan, and means in

Images