US2087675A

US2087675A - Article feeding mechanism

Info

Publication number: US2087675A
Application number: US48316A
Authority: US
Inventors: Conrad E Peterson
Original assignee: LONG GUM CO DE
Current assignee: DE LONG GUM Co; LONG GUM CO DE
Priority date: 1935-11-05
Filing date: 1935-11-05
Publication date: 1937-07-20
Anticipated expiration: 1954-07-20

Description

July 20, 1937. c. E. PETERSON 2,087,675

ARTICLE FEEDING MECHANISM Filed Nov. 5, 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet l /;/ENTOR ATTORNEY,

July 20, 1937. c. E. PETERSON ARTICLE FEEDING MECHANISM 3 Sheet -s 2 Filed 1955 23 D r 1 m m c 5 2 5 m PM 6 Q 4 1 9 w 2 1 UQTV H a .....Y. 7 5 Y l3 a. 3 3 H .w B .J v 1 W 4 A I ORNE July 20, 1937.

C. E. PETERSON ARTICLE FEEDING MECHANISM Filed Nov. 5, 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 I 6 ATTORNEY.

Patented July 20, 1937 ARTICLE FEEDING MECHANISM Conrad E. Peterson, Maiden, Mass., as'signor to De Long Gum 00., South Boston, Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Application November 5, 1935, Serial No. 48,316

6 Claims.

This invention relates to mechanisms for arranging and feeding disks, tablets, and similar articles. It will be herein disclosed as embodied in the machine shown and described in my copending application Serial No. 709,637, filed February 3, 1934, which issued June 16, 1936, as Patent No. 2,0441'748, although it will be evident that the invention, and particularly certain features of it, are equally useful for other purposes.

The machine shown in said application is designed to enclose a core of chewing gum, or other material, in a hard, compressed shell of powdered sugar. These operations are entirely automatic, manual attention being required merely to sup- 16 ply the necessary materials to it and to take away the finished product. In order to avoid the production of imperfect articles, it is important that the mechanism which feeds the cores shall be reliable to an exceptionally high degree. This involves the steps of arranging the cores for delivery, conducting them to the point of delivery, and accurately controlling such delivery. All of these operations must be performed reliably and without attention on the part of the operator or machine attendant. To devise a mechanism that will meet these requirements forms the chief object of this invention.

The nature of the invention will be readily understood from the following description when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, and the novel features will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings,

Figure 1 is a front elevation of those portions of the machine shown in the above entitled application with which the present invention is more especially concerned;

Fig. 2 is a vertical, sectional view of the tablet feeding mechanism;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view, with parts in section, showing details of the hopper and the rolls for feeding the disk-like cores out of the hopper;

Fig. 4,is a sectional view on a larger scale of ,a gate mechanism at the lower end of a chute;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing certain of the chutes and illustrating the mechanism-for operating the rocking gate; and

Fig. 6 is a vertical, sectional view of the gate and adjacent parts at substantially the instant of delivery of the core to a mold.

.The drawings show only approximately so much of the machine illustrated in my pending application above referred to as is necessary to an understanding of the present invention. For

and operation of said machine, reference should be made to said application. 1

Referring first to Figs. 1 and 2, the machine there shown comprises a flexible conveyor having two chains Ill-l0 running over suitable sprocket wheels, one pair of which, are shown at lA-H. Secured to and carried by this conveyor are a series of mold bars i2, each bar being provided with a series of mold cavities. Working in each cavity is a plunger 22 which forms the bottom of the cavity, and the entire series of plungers rests on rails 25 which serve both to support the plungers and also to move them into different elevations at successive points in the cycle of operations of the machine. Mechanism is provided for moving the conveyor, step by step, past a series of stations, certain of which are indicated at A, B, C and D, Fig. 2. Asthe mold bars travel from left to right, Fig. 2, along the upper horizontal run of the conveyor, a charge of sugar is deposited in each mold cavity at station A; a chewing gum core is similarly delivered to each cavity at the station B, and a second measured charge of sugar is placed in each mold at the station C. Subsequently these materials in all the cavities of each bar are compressed at'the station D, and the compressed confections so produced are ejected from the molds at a subsequent station, not shown. The reference letters and numerals so far used correspond to those designating similar parts in my application above designated.

As above stated, the present invention is especially concerned with the mechanism for delivering the chewing gum cores to the molds and arranging them suitably for the operation of the delivering or feeding mechanism. These cores usually have the form of disks or tablets of circular outline, somewhat thicker at their central portions than at their edges, as indicated in Fig. 4. They are brought to the'machine in a loose mass and dumped into the hopper l5. In the particular machine shown, each mold bar contains five mold cavities, and accordingly, five chutes [6 are provided to conduct the tablets or cores into substantially the position required for such delivery. An important feature of this invention resides in the mechanism for operating on the loose mass of tablets to deliver them to the respective chutes.

As will be evident from an inspection of the drawings, the chutes are arranged to receive the tablets edgewise in a vertical row, each tablet resting-on that immediately below it. Consequently, the mechanism for sorting the tablets must be organized to deliver the tablets to the chutes in this vertical edgewise relationship. According to this invention two horizontal parallel rolls l1 and I8 form the bottom of the hopper and support the mass of cores or tablets in it. They are spaced apart by a distance only slightly greater than the maximum thickness of the tablets so that the tablets can drop freely through the space between them if they come to the bite of the rolls in an approximately vertical position. While the rolls may be made of any convenient material, they preferably are made of wood, or of some other material having a surface adapted to exert some frictional resistance to the movement of the tablets over them. In order to avoid any possibility of crushing the tablets, or of their becoming jammed between the rolls, and thus preventing the further feeding movement of them, or of feeding them when incorrectly positioned, mechanism is provided for revolving the two rolls in the same direction. It will be clear from an inspection of Figs. 2 and 3 that if any tablet, such as those shown at T, drops into the bite of the rolls, the downwardly moving surface of the roll l'l in contact with the tablet, tends to carry the latter into the bite. At the, same time the upwardly moving surface of the other roll l8 acts on the tablet with a tendency to carry it upwardly away from the bite. Preferably this roll is revolved at a somewhat higher surface speed than the roll I'l. These two members acting on a tablet or core thus operate to work the disklike tablets into a vertical plane as they approach the bite of the rolls. When they are in this plane they can drop freely through the space separating the rolls, and this movement is aided by the roll I1.

Such a mechanism has been found to handle these disk-like bodies gently and to operate with a high degree of certainty in delivering them to the mechanism which subsequently engages and guides them. 1

The mechanism for revolving the rolls comprises gears secured directly to the shafts on which the rolls are mounted, these gears meshing with an intermediate gear IS. A sprocket wheel 20 is secured on the end of one ofthe roll shafts and drives the latter, the wheel itself being connected by a chain 2| with another sprocket wheel 23, fast on the cam shaft 24 which is positively driven from the main driving shaft of the machine so that it is always kept in time with the movements of the conveyor.

The tablets which pass downwardly between the rolls l1 and I8 drop into a guideway provided between two upright plates 2S--26,-these plates being spaced apart by a distance slightly greater than the width of the tablets, so that they hold these articles in a vertical plane. Also located in this guideway are a series of rolls 21, secured fast on the inner ends of the respective shafts 28. Gears 28 are mounted on the-outer ends of said shafts and cooperate with intermediate gears 30 to connect this whole train of gears together positively and thus to compel the rotation of all of the rolls 2! in the same direction. The gear 29 at the left-hand end of the gear chain shown in Fig. 1 is connected through bevel gearing with a shaft 3| which has a sprocket and chain connection with the shaft on which the sprocket 'wheel 28 is mounted. These disks 21'also are spaced apart by a distance sufficient to allow a tablet T to .pass edgewise downwardly between them with the tablet in the same planeas the rolls. Also, that portion of the guideway immediately below the rolls 21 is partlyoccupied by filler plates 32, Fig. 3, so spaced and designed as to provide short chutes or guideways 33 leading from the spaces between adjacent rolls down to the upper ends of the respective chutes I6. Thus the rolls 2'I-2l feed tablets, one at a time, from the guideway above them into the respective chutes or passageways 33. These passageways, as well as those in the chutes 16, are only wide enough to allow the tablets to slide freely through them.

When the mechanism above described is in operationit maintains the chutes I6 filled constantly with tablets or cores, and the lower end of each line of tablets rests on a flange 34 which extends across the machine under the entire series of chutes. All of these chutes are connected rigidly together by upper and

lower bars

35 and 36, and. the former of these bars is connected by hinges 31 to one of the plates 26. Consequently, this entire series of chutes can be swung forward far enough to carry the lowermost tablet in each chute past the front edge of the plate-like stop 34 thus permitting its escape. This movement is produced at the desired point in each cyaccomplished by mounting a plate 42 on the rigid support 43 where it can slide freely backward and forward on guide screws 44, Fig. 5, and mounting a finger piece 45 at the forward end of this plate where it straddles a chute IS. The

finger on this part 45 projects into the vertical slot in the front of the chute, but normally its inner end is practically flush with the inner surfaces of the front members of the chute. However, when the chute is moved forward by the cam 38, the front face of the second tablet T", Fig. 4, strikes the end of the finger 45 during the first part of this movement and, as the movement continues, the contact of the tablet. with this finger forces the slide 42 forward against the action of the spring 46. The pressure so applied to the tablet T" is sufficient to bind it in the chute with such force that it will support the weight of the line of tablets above it. When the chute again is returned to its initial position, however, the pressure of the finger 45 on the tablet T" is automatically removed and then the entire line of tablets can drop until the lowermost unit in this line strikes the stop plate 34.

Each of the chutes I6 is equipped with a mechanism of this character operating in the manner just described.

Cooperating with each chute is a gate or transfer bar 41 provided with a series of pockets 48 in line with the respective chutes and also with the cavities M in the mold bar l2 at the instant any mold bar is stopped at the station B. When the chutes l6 are swung forward by the cam 38, as above described, the lowermost tablet in each chute drops into the pocket 48' in line with its respective chute, as shown in Fig. 4. The front sides of all of these pockets in the gate 41 are closed at this time by a plate or bar 50, carried by two arms 5|, which are pivoted to swing freely on brackets 52 mounted on the stationary support 43. An instant after tablets have been deposited in the chutes 48 this gate or transfer bar is revolved through an angle of nearly 90 and in a clockwise direction, Fig. 4, into the position illustrated in Fig. 6. This movement allows the tablets in the pockets to drop flatwise into their respective mold cavities M in one of the mold bars It. A charge of sugar has previously been deposited in each of these mold cavities, and by dropping the tablets into the respective cavities while the tablets are in an approximately horizontal position, any danger of materially disturbing the sugar in the molds is avoided. This is important for the reason that if the cores or tablets were delivered in an edgewise or a steeply inclined relationship into the molds, they would be likely to displace the sugar in a considerable part of the mold and thus produce a bare spot on the core in the finished product. In any event, there would be great danger of so distributing the sugar that in the finished article the core would not be surrounded by a hard compressed shell of sugar of approximately uniform thickness, and such a shell is extremely desirable for the purpose of.

protecting the core against deterioration.

The rocking or tipping movement of the gate 41 just described is produced by providing the gate with a toothed segment 53, Fig. 5, at one end, and meshing this segment with a similarly toothed member 54 on the lower end of a lever 55 pivoted on the screw 56, Fig. 1. A cam 51, secured on the cam shaft 24, acts on this lever to swing it at the desired point in the cycle and thus to rock the gate or transfer bar 21, as above described. This lever is returned to its normal position after being operated by the cam by the spring 58, Fig. 2.

This mechanism has been found in actual practice to operate with an exceptionally high degree of reliability. The cores in the hopper l are fed into the guideway 26, as above described, without jamming, and they are delivered to the respective passageways 33 by the rolls 21. The latter rolls operate in essentially the same manner as the rolls l1 and I8 to prevent any possibility of the cores jamming in the guideway, while feeding them, one at a time, to the passageways 33. It will be observed that each roll of this series, with the exception of those at the extreme ends, cooperates with two of the passageways 33. At one side it tends to feed the disks or tablets into ,the passageway at the latter side, while at its opposite side, where it is moving upwardly, it tends to raise any misplaced tablet, acting at this point in essentially the same manner as does the roll l8. At the lower end of each chute the delivery of the tablets or cores to the molds is controlled by the gate'mechanism above described, and this mechanism not only effects the discharge of the core at the proper time, but so positions each core during delivery that it falls into the mold in approximately a horizontal position where its tendency to disturb the sugar previously deposited in the mold is reduced to a minimum.

While I have herein shown and described a preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be evident that the invention may be embodied in other forms without departing from the spirit or scope thereof. Also, that features of the invention are equally useful in other relationships and in other machines where essentially the same problems are involved. For example, by increasing the distance between the plate 42 and the stop 34, the number of tablets that will be released upon a forward swinging movement of any of the chutes IE will be increased. Such an arrange .ment is useful in connection with the packaging of tablets or disks of various materials. Under these circumstances the gate or transfer bar 41 is omitted. By properly designing the parts, any desired number of tablets, within the capacity of the machine, may be released in any cycle.

Having thus described my invention, what I desire to claim as new is:

1. In a tablet feeding mechanism, the combination of two parallel horizontal rolls, means supporting said rolls side by side but spaced apart by a distance. only slightly greater than the thickness of the tablets, parts cooperating with said rolls to form a hopper for holding a mass of said tablets supported on said rolls, and mechanism for revolving said rolls in the same direction but at different surface speeds- 2. In a tablet feeding mechanism, the combination of two parallel horizontal rolls, means supporting said rolls side by side but spaced apart by a distance only slightly greater than the thickness of the tablets, parts cooperating with said rolls to form a hopper for holding a mass of said tablets supported on said rolls, mechanism for revolving said rolls, means below said rolls providing a relatively thin upright guideway opening at its upper end into the space between said rolls, whereby those tablets discharged through said space will drop into said guideway, a chute for guiding tablets away from said guideway, and means cooperating with said guideway to direct the tablets therein into said chute.

3. In a tablet feeding mechanism, the combination of two parallel horizontal rolls, means supporting said rolls side by side but spacedv apart by a distance only slightly greater than the thickness of the tablets, parts cooperating with said rolls to form a hopper for holding a mass of said tablets supported on said rolls, mechanism for revolving said rolls, means providing a thin guideway below said rolls to receive the tablets that drop through the space between said rolls, additional rolls in said guideway spaced apart to permit said tablets to pass edgewise between them, one at a time, and mechanism for revolving said additional rolls.

4. In a tablet feeding mechanism, the combination of two parallel horizontal rolls, means supporting said rolls side by side but spaced apart by a distance only slightly greater than the thickness of the tablets, parts cooperating with said rolls to form a hopper for holding a mass of said tablets supported on said rolls, mechanism for revolving said rolls, means providing a thin guideway below said rolls to receive the tablets that drop through the space between said rolls, additional rolls in said guideway spaced apart to permit said tablets to pass edgewise between them,

one ata time, mechanism for revolving said additional rolls, and a chute into which said tablets are delivered by the latter rolls.

. 5. In a tablet feeding mechanism, the combination of two parallel horizontal rolls, means supporting said rolls side by side but spaced apart by a distance only slightly greater than the thickness of the tablets, parts cooperating with said rolls to form a hopper for holding a mass of said tablets supported on said rolls, mechanism for revolving said rolls, means providing a thin guideway below said rolls to receive the tablets that drop through the space between said rolls,

, spaces between said additional rolls to receivethe tablets discharged through the spaces.

6. In a tablet feeding mechanism, the combination with a hopper, of a chute for guiding the tablets and automatic mechanism for arranging the tablets and delivering them edgewise to the chute, meansproviding a thin guideway below the hopper to receive the tablets that drop therefrom, rolls in the guideway spaced apart by a distance slightly greater than the diameter of a tablet to permit said tablets to pass edgewise between them; one at a time, mechanism for revolving said rolls, and a chute into which said tablets are delivered by said rolls.

CONRAD E. PETERSON.