US2081526A - Filling machine - Google Patents

Description

E. W. BLEAM May 25, 1937.

FILLING MACHINE Filed May 3, 1954 6 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. a a QM mlgic w 4' ATTORNEY.

y 937. E. w. BLEAM 7 2,081,526

FILLING MACHINE Filed May 5, 1934 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR 151; ATTORNEY.-

FILLING MACHINE Filed May 3, 1934 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 Q v w Q I dm a A i Z? a w 1 lk I 8 d v 1 I\MQ\\HI\ I I 0 o a $5 O W 8 w a r 0 0 W o fl/ I l a a o m; a 43 a 7 v 3 \l f May 25, 1937. r E. w. BLEAM FILLING MACHINE Filed May 3, 1934 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 N RS 4 & S NQNE T I INVENTOR.

BY I

ATTORNEY.

May 25, 1937. E. w. BLEAM FILLING MACHINE 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed May 5, 1954 M km V INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY..

Patented May 25, 1 937 UNITED STATES PATENT" OFFICE Stokes and Smith Company, Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania 7 Application May a, 1934, Serial so. 723,681

8 Claims. (01. 240-55) My invention relates to filling machines and more particularly to machines for filling cartons, boxes, containers, or the like, with a desired weight of more or less finely divided material as sugar, salt, cereals, talcum and the like.

In accordance with my invention when the machine is tripped, as by an operator, or automaticaliy, to initiate the cycle, an accumulated I equivalent structure, one of which obstructs flow of the material to accumulate it for the bulk feed occurring when the plate is moved away,

- and the other ,of which partially obstructs the flow, when the first plate is out of flow-obstructing position, to allow discharge at slow rate until the scale is balanced, wherupon the first plate moves into, and the second plate moves out of, flow-obstructing position; the spacing of the plates along the spouigor path of flow of the material, limiting the amount that may accumulate between successive cycles of operation.

My invention also resides in the features of combination, construction, and arrangement hereinafter described and claimed.

For an understanding of my invention and for illustration of a preferred form thereof, reference is to be had 'to the accompanying draw-' ings, in which:- I

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the weighing and filling machine as viewed from the front;

Fig. 1a diagrammatically illustrates the connections of electrical control apparatus used in the machine. I

Fig. 2 is a perspectiveview, on enlargeds'cale,

' of parts appearing'in Fig. 1, with parts omitted,

and with part of the framework broken away;

Fig. 3 is "a perspective view on enlarged scale, with the cover plate removed, to show operating mechanism; I

Fig- 4 1s a perspective view, with parts broken away, of the upper portion of the machine; Fig. 5 is a schematic plan view of the-system shown in Fig. 6: Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a system utilizing several units such as shown in Fig. 1.

.Referring particularly to Figs. 1 and 2 the motor M is secured to the base I of the machine between the side frames 2 and 3 and continuously drives the shaft 4 through suitable means, as belt 5. The driving clutch member 8, loose on shaft 8a, is driven from shaft 4 through the train of mechanism including gears 1, 8, Fig. 2, gear 9 mounted on the same shaft Ill. as gear 8, Fig.3, gear H which is secured to shaft'i2, sprocket It on shaft I2, chain i4, and sprocket l5 rotatable with the driving clutch member 8.

The pawl or driving clutch member i8, mounted upon bracket I! which is secured to shaft Ba,

is normally held out of engagement with the driving clutch member 8 by the latch i8 pivot-r ally mounted on the side frame 2 and adapted to be released by the pedal l9 to which it is connected by the link 20.'

When the pedal is is'momentarlly depressed by the operator of the machina'the pawl it will lock the shaft 6a to the driving clutch member for one revolution, the latch l8 at the end of the revolution reengaging the pawl and opening the clutch.

As appears in Fig. 3, which discloses parts visible when the cover 21 for the recessed side frame 2 is removed, to the one-time shaft 8a is secured a cam 22, rotatable in clockwise direction as viewed in this figure, and having the position shown when the shaft to is at rest. When the machine is tripped and shaft 6 begins to rotate the cam 22 engages the roller 23 secured to the link member 24 to lift it to the position shown in Fig. 3,'to rock the lever arm 25 secured to one end of a shaft 28 passing through the side frame 2, and to whose other end is secured the lever 21 which is connected by link 28, Fig. 2, to the bell-crank lever 29 secured to the upper extension of the side frame.

A universal Joint 30 between the other arm of the bell-crank lever and the lever 31 secured to the upper endof a shaft 32 effects clockwise rotation of the shaft, as viewed in this figure, to remove the plate 33 obstructing flow of material from the nose 34 of spout 35 at the bottom of hopper 8B. The supporting arms for plates 33 and 31 are adiustably secured toshaft 32, for example, set screw 38a adiustably fastens supporting arm 38 of plate 3! to shaft 82, and bolt 33a adjustably clamps the supporting arm of plate 33 to shaft 32.

'As the plate, is so moved out of flow-obstructing position, the plate 31 at the end of arm 38 also securedto shaft 32 swings into the slot 39 of the spout 35, to segregate the material accumulated above plate 33 from the remainder above plate 31. As thus far described, the swinging out of plate ll and the swinging in of plate 21 effects dumping of a predetermined mass of material into the container.

Preferably and as more clearly appears in Fig. 4, the plate 31 is provided with an opening 4|! substantially smaller in area than the area of the spout to allow restricted flow of material from the hopper, so that the weight of material delivered to the container B can be accurately controlled.

Referring again to Fig. 3, the cam 22 of the one-time shaft, in lifting the bar 24, rocks the lever, pivoted thereto to throw in the friction clutch 42 to effect driving of the shaft 43 from shaft 4. More specifically, the gear 44 at the end of shaft 4, Fig. 3, drives the gear 45 connected to the driving clutch member 46. The operating collar 41 for the clutch is provided with a groove which receives projections of the pivoted yoke member 4| between which and the end of lever 4| is a resilient link system comprising the rod 48 pivoted to the end of the yoke arm 48 and extending through an opening in the bracket 50 pivoted to arm 4|. The spring BI is compressed when arm 4| is rocked, thereby cushioning the transmission of the clutch-closing force.

The clutch 42 is locked in running position by the spring-pressed pawl 82 pivoted on arm 4| and hooking over the abutment 52A, secured to shaft 58 to which is also secured the member 54 normally restrained from movement by the solehold-operated latch SI.

The movement of lever 4| to the aforesaid latched position also effects movement of the contact member 60 into engagement with the stationary switch contacts ii! (Figs. 1a and 3).

As shown in Fig. 4, the shaft 42 driven through clutch 42 extends to the top of the machine and terminates within the gear box 56. The gear 51, at the end of the shaft 43, meshes with gear 58 which drives the gear 58 secured to the upper end of the shaft ll tothe lower end of which is secured the holder 8| for feed auger Bio. The

' gear 02 movable in unison with the gear drives the gear" secured to the upper end of the hollow shaft 84 to the lower end of which is secured the agitating member 65 disposed above the auger for the purpose of insuring free flow of the material by preventing it from packing.

When a predetermined weight of material is transferred to the carton B, the solenoid 66 is energized, as hereinafter more-fully described, to trip the latch 55 so that the spring 61, in tension between arm 4| and member 2a. secured to the frame of the machine, effects disengagement of the clutch 42, and pulls the bar 24 downwardly to restore the engagement between the roller 23 and cam 22, which, in the meantime, has returned to the position shown in Fig. 3, to return the plate I! to the position blocking the discharge from the spout l4 and to remove plate 31. The opening of the clutch stops the agitator and auger. and the removal of plate 21 permits material to flow from the hopper 36 into the spout, now closed by plate 32, to fill the space between the paths of movement of the two plates 33 and 31. The counterclockwise movement of the lever 4| also breaks the solenoid circuit by withdrawing the bridging contact member I from between the contacts I (Figs. 1a and 3).

The latch 52 and the abutment 52A are so disposed and arranged that when the member 54 is released by cnergization of the solenoid, the latch I2, in its downward movement, rocks and slides out of engagement with the abutment 52A which immediately, due to the torsion spring ll, returns the member 64 to the position shown, so that when the solenoid is deenergized, the parts again assume the position shown in Fig. 3.

As shown in' Fig. 1, the carton B is positioned below the discharge spout of the hopper I8 upon the plate 1| supported by the rod 12 which passes through the table 13 of the machine upwardly from the cross member 14 positioned between the end of the scale arms 15 pivoted at 18 to the sup porting bracket 'Ila. Between the other ends of the arms 15 is positioned the cross member 11 which carries the weight-pan 'll of the scales. The bar 19 extending downwardly from the crossmember I! carries the counterweight and from bar 18 extends a short lateral pin normally holding switch I! open.

Except when the material is being fed by the auger at slow rate through the opening 40 in the upper plate 31, the scale is held locked against movement by the arm 8| which is biased by spring 82 to clamp the pin II adjustably secured to the rod 19 against the adjustable stop 84.

The cam 85 on the one-time shaft 60 during its rotation releases link 88 (Figs. 1 and 2) which is connected to the arm 81 secured to the shaft 88 to which the scale-locking lever 8| is fastened. so that substantially concurrently with initiation of the slow feed of the material, the scale is unlocked. When the scale balances, the switch 89 is operated to energize the solenoid circuit, as above described." Thereupon the members of clutch 42 are separated and the solenoid circuit interrupted by separation of switch contacts 58, 89, 89 as above described.

Briefly, when the operator depresses pedal I! to initiate the cycle, the plate 33 swings away from the bottom of spout 35 to allow the accumulated material to drop into the carton B. As indicated, the nose 34 of the spout and the distance between plates 23 and 31 along the spout are adjustable, so that this amount, which will vunavoidably varyv to some extent, falls in bulk and is not separatelyweighed, but is adjusted to be somewhat less than the desired weight; if too small, the time required for the slow or dribble feed is necessarily long, while, if it is made to be too near the exact weight, it is possible that sometimes more than the proper amount will be discharged. Under practical operating conditions, it is a simple matter to adjust the effective length of the spout between plates 23 and I1 to obtain rapid filling, as about 30 cartons per minute, with very high accuracy of weighing. To decrease the bulk feed, bolt "a (Fig. 4) is loosened and nose 34 pushed up farther into spout 35; conversely, to increase the bulk feed,

' the nose 34 is pulled downwardly to suitable extent. The volume of the spout between plates 13 and 31 can be'varied in other ways. The arrangement disclosed is satisfactory as affording a simple and convenient means for varying the bulk discharge.

Concurrently with beginning of the auger or slow feed, the scale is unlocked so that, when the scale is balanced, the plate 22 swings in inof plate 82 cannot be excessive, as plate 21 concurrently swings in to segregate the material in the spout from the remainder.

As appears from Fig. 1, the only part of the scale above the table 13 is the scale pan or plate Ii readily accessible to the operator; .the remainder of the scale mechanism is below the table 13 and therefore protected from falling material; the weight pan 18, however, is at the front of .the machine and readily accessible to the operator. The clutch-tripping pedal I9 is also at the front of themachine conveniently accessible to the operator.

In the system shown in Figs. 5 and 6, four filling units, essentially as described, are utilized with conveyors and transfer mechanism to provide full automatic operation. The endless conveyor C feeds empty cartons B to a positon between units No. 1 and No. 2. When the trigger or feeler is engaged by the leading carton, it operates latch 91 of the one time-clutch 92, which is similar in construction to the clutch comprising elements 5 and i5 of Fig. 2, to effect one revolution of shaft 93. The driving element 94 of the clutch is driven from the continuously operating shaft 12 of the double unit.. The shaft is coupled to shaft 93 as by. sprockets 95, 9?

and chain 98 to rotate one-half a revolution for each revolution of shaft-93.

The cam 99 on shaft 95 is provided with a groove Hill which swings an arm carrying the transfer bar Nil from the full-line position to the dotted line position of Fig. 5, pushing on the scale plate Ila of unit No. 1 onto conveyor Cl, one filled carton and one empty carton, and

pushing two empty cartons onto this plate Ila from conveyor (3. The structure for operating bar ill! from cam 99 is similar to that disclosed for operating bars "HA and NB from cam 99A.

During the half-revolution of shaft 95, the high point of cam Hi2 operatesbar 20A, having the same function as link 20 shown in Fig. 2 of the single unit, to trip unit No. 2 to fill one of the cartons previously transferred to its scale plate Ila, The filling and weighing is effected automatically as described in connection with the single unit.

When the next carton on conveyor C actuates the trigger 90, shaft 95 makes another half rev-.

olution. Cam 99 thereon restores transfer arm lfll to the full line position of Fig. 5 and in doing so pushes off plate Ha of unit No. 2 onto conveyor C2, one empty carton and the carton just filled, and pushes from conveyor C onto this plate two more empty cartons. Another cam, similar to I02, trips unit No. 1 to effect a weighing and filling operation.

4 Briefly, the cartons on conveyor C are fed in groups of two, alternately, to units No. 1 and 2, and are delivered from each unit in groups of two, one filled to exact weight and the other empty, to conveyors Cl and C2. By changing the .positions or dimensions of bar Ill! and trigger 99, it is, of course, possible to feed only one carton for each reciprocation of bar lili in which event all cartons delivered to conveyors Cl, C2 are filled.

In the system specifically shown, however, the cartons are fed in groups of two by conveyors Cl and C2 adjacent to the units Nos. 3 and 4, respectively.

When a carton on conveyor Cl engages the trigger 90A, it releases latch MA to allow 'engagement of the members of clutch 94A to effect one revolution of shaft 93A, and one-half revolution of shaft 95A driven thereby through sprockets 96A, 91A and chain 99A. The coin 99A provided with a groove I09 swings the arms 103 which support the transfer member llliB so that the two filled cartons on the scale plate of unit No. 3 are pushed onto conveyor C9 by the two cartons being pushed from conveyor Cl onto the scale plate, one of which is filled, and the other of which is empty, and moved below the fillingv spout of unit No. 3. As shown, the cam follower H9 which engages the groove of cam 99A'is carried by the bar Ill pivotally carried by the arms H2, H2 secured to the lower ends of shafts H3 to which the arms 103 are secured. V

For the same half/ revolution of shaft 95A, the cam 102A trips unit No. 4 for filling of the empty one of the two cartons on its'scale plate Ho.-

The swinging of arms 193 also. moves the stop member I05A out of the path of cartons on the conveyor C2 so that shortly after unit No. 4 completes its cycle, cartons on conveyor C2 engage the trigger 9013 to effect another half revolution of control shaft 95A during which cam 99A opcrates bar "MA to push the two filled cartons from plate I la of unit No. 4 onto conveyor C3 and to push two more cartons from conveyor C2 onto the scale plate of unit No. 4, and moves stop H353 to permit movement of cartons on conveyor Cl toward trigger 90A. During the same half revolution of shaft 95A, the cam 192B effects 'tripping of unit No. 3 for its cycle of weighing and filling.

Therefore, for each tripping of latch 9iA, two filled cartons are-delivered to conveyor C3, and

two cartons, one to be filled, are delivered either from conveyor Ci or C2 to its associated'filling unit. a

When the units are thus ganged for multiple operation, they should be adjusted so that the It is to be understood that my invention is weighing operation of each is completed within not limited to the apparatus specifically illustrated, but is coeirtensive wlththe appended claims.

What I claim isr 1. A filling machine comprising means providing a path for discharge of material, structure movable to block said path, second structure movable partially to obstruct said path, a scale for supporting a container to receive the discharged material, a one-time clutch, mechanism operated whensaid clutch is tripped to effect movement of said first structure from blocking position and of said second structure to its partial obstructing position to allow first rapid and then slow discharge of material to said container, and means responsive to balance of said scale to return said structures to their previous positions.

2. A filling machine comprising means providing a path for discharge of material, structure movable to block said path, second structure movable partially to obstruct said path, a'scale for supporting a container to receive the discharged materlal, means for locking said scale, a one-time clutch, mechanism operated when said clutch is tripped to effect movement, of said first structure from blocking position andof said second structure to its partial obstructing position to allow first rapid and then slow discharge said clutch to efiect release or said scale-locking means during slow discharge of the material,

means responsive to balance of said scale to return said structures to their previous positions, and means controlled by said clutch to efiect relocking oi! the scale by said scale-locking means.

3. A filling machine comprising a discharge conduit, movable structure for obstructing said' conduit to prevent discharge 0! material there from, a second structure movable to obstruct said conduit at a region more remote from the discharge end of said conduit than said first structure, means for biasing said first structure to obstructing position and said second structure to non-obstructing position, latching means for restraining said biasing means, and mechanism having a cycle oi operation for moving said first structure from obstructing position and said second structure to obstructing position to permit discharge of a predetermined volume of material from said conduit and setting said latching means, and subsequently in said cycle, tripping sai latching means.

4. A filling machine comprising a discharge conduit, flow-obstructing structure rotatable in a plane intercepting said conduit to prevent discharge of material therefrom, a second flowobstructing structure rotatable in a plane intercepting said conduit at a region more remote from the discharge end of said conduit than said first structure, means for biasing said first structure to flow-obstructing position and said second structure to non-obstructing position, latching means for. restraining said biasing means, and mechanism having a cycle of operation for moving said first structure from obstructing position and said second structure to obstructing position to permit discharge of a predetermined volume of material and setting said latching means, and, subsequently -in said cycle, tripping said latching means.

5 A filling machine comprising a discharge conduit, a shaft rotatable about an axis substantially parallel to said conduit, flow-obstructing structures axially spaced along said shaft and in predetermined angular relation. and means for moving said shaft in opposite directions alternately to move one of said structures to its flowobstructing position and the'other of said structures away from its flow-obstructing position comprising means ior biasing said shaft for movement in one direction, latching means ior restraining movement in said one direction. and

mechanism, having a cycle of operation to effect movement of said shaft in reverse direction, for setting of said latching means and, subsequently in said cycle, to efi'ect tripping oi. ,said latching means.

6. A filling machine comprising a discharge conduit, structure movable to block said conduit, 9. second structure movable partially to obstruct said conduit in advance of said first structure, a feed auger in advance of said second structure, a scale for receiving material from said conduit, a one-time clutch, mechanism operated when said clutch is tripped to effect operation of said iced auger, movement or said first structure from blocking position, and movement of said Second structure to its partially obstructing position, and means responsive to balance oi said scale within the cycle of said clutch to discontinue operation of said feed auger and to effect movement of'said first structure to its blocking position and movement of said second structure irom its partial blocking position.

7. A filling machine comprising a discharge conduit, structure movable to block said conduit. a second structure movable partially to obstruct said conduit in advance of said first structure, agitating means in advance of said second structure, a scale for receiving material from said conduit, a one-time clutch, mechanism operated when said clutch is tripped to effect operation of said agitating means, movement of said first structure from blocking position, and movement of said second structure to its partially obstructing position, and means responsive, after tripping of said clutch, to balance of said Scale to discontinue operation of said agitating means and to efiect movement of said first structure to its biockingposition and movement of said second structure from its partial blocking position.

ii. A filling machine comprising a table, a scale having a receptacle above said table and its weight pan below said table in position to be accessibleto the operator of the machine, a feedhopper above said table, structure movable to control discharge from said hopper to said receptacle, mechanism including a one-time clutch for eifecting movement of said structure to permit discharge to said receptacle, and disposed below said table, means responsive to balance of said scale during the cycle of said clutch to effect movement of said structure to cut off discharge to said receptacle, and means accessible to the operator to effect tripping of said clutch.

EDGAR W. BLEAM.

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