US2204127A

US2204127A - Distributing mechanism

Info

Publication number: US2204127A
Application number: US171884A
Authority: US
Inventors: Fred E Domke
Original assignee: WH Hutchinson and Son Inc
Current assignee: WH Hutchinson and Son Inc
Priority date: 1935-06-05
Filing date: 1937-10-30
Publication date: 1940-06-11
Anticipated expiration: 1957-06-11

Description

June 11, 1940. DOMKE DISTRIBUTING MECHANISM Original Filed June 5, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 4y km June 11, 1940. F DQMKE 2,204,127

' DISTRIBUTING MECHANISM Original Filed June 5, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented June 11, 1940 UNITED STATES 2,204,127 DISTRIBUTING MECHANISM Fred E. Domke, Chicago, IlL, assignor to W. H.

Hutchinson & Son, Inc., Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Original application June 5, 1935, Serial No.

25,052. Divided and this application October' 30, 1937, Serial No. 171,884

8 Claims.

My invention relates to a distributing mechanism, and more particularly to a machine for arranging and discharging a plurality of articles in an orderly succession.

The mechanism is primarily intended for use T in connection with and as a part of a. machine for feeding counting and packaging closure devices such as bottle caps and crowns which are customarily packed in lots containing predetermined amounts. Ordinarily these caps are man ufactured with a desired finish, and it is of the utmost importance that they be handled previously to packaging in such a manner as to avoid any possibility of the closures becoming deformed or defaced, since the former defects might lessen the possibility of securing a satisfactory and permanent seal, while the latter would injure the finish.

It is therefore one object of my invention to provide a distributor mechanism to which the closures are delivered in an indiscriminate mass and from which the closures proceed in an orderly succession of the individual closures which are correctly positioned for subsequent presentation to a counting mechanism, and further in which theclosures are so handled as to obviate any damage thereto either by way of deformation or surface marring.

A further object is to provide a mechanism of the character indicated, wherein the closures are carried bodily to the delivery opening thereof and which incorporates a self-cleaning feature for removing dust, cork particles and foreign material andalso a provision for cooling or ventilating the mechanism and closures that is useful in instances where the closures are delivered in a heated condition to the mechanism.

This application is a division of my co-pending application for a Machine for feeding, counting, and packaging articles, Serial No. 25,052, filed June 5, 1935.

These and further objects of my invention wil be set forth in the following specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and the novel means by which said objects are effectuated will be definitely pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings:

Figure l. is an elevation of the mechanism partly in section, showing the drive therefor;

' Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional elevation, as viewed along the line 22 in Fig. 3, looking in the direction of the arrows, showing the manner in which the closures are discharged singly through the side thereof;

Fig. 3 is a section along the line 3-3 inFig. 2, V

looking in the direction of the arrows, and showing the relation of the discharge. chute to the toothed carrier flange of the distributor;

Fig. 4 is a section along the lihe 44 in Fig. 2, looking in the direction of the arrows, and showing the guard which prevents movement of any closures through the discharge opening except those resting on the carrier flange of the distrib utor;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view along the line 5-5 in Fig. 3, looking in the direction of the arrows, and illustrating a detail of the distributor adjacent the discharge opening thereof; and

Fig. 6 is a side elevation, looking in the direction of the arrow 6 in Fig. 2, showing the relation of the discharge chute to the feeding mechanism, which is more particularly described in the above-identified application, and which presents the closures toa counting mechanism (not shown).

The specific embodiment of my invention as set forth in the present application relates to a machine for the counting and packaging of bottle caps or crowns. It will be understood, however, that the broader phases of the invention are likewise applicable to articles in general, inclusive of screw caps and the like, which it is desired to handle under comparable conditions.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral H1" designates an endless conveyor of any suitable construction which at one end is located adjacent a corking machine (not shown) for receiving therefrom the individual caps that have had applied thereto the customary cork sealing disks. These caps, which are thenin a rather hot condition, are delivered by the conveyor ID to a distributor mechanism l l which is supported on a table I2.

The distributing mechanism comprises an open top drum l3 which is provided with an' upstanding, annular wall l4 and a skeleton or open framework bottom l5 that is supported in spaced relation to the top of the table l2 by legs iii. A distributor. I1 is rotatably mounted within the drum I3 and it is provided with a dome-shaped. top wall I8 that preferably extends above the upper edge of the drum wall I 4 and which is also preferably highly polished in order that it will not mar or scratch the caps that are dumped thereon by the conveyor III.

A depending, annular wall l9 extends downwardly from the top I8 in concentric relation to the drum wall I4 and spaced therefrom a distance slightly greater than the width of a bottle cap so that the cap will be supported in a vertical plane by a toothed flange 20 which projects outwardly from the lower end of the wall l9 into slightly spaced relation to the inner periphery of the drum wall M, the latter spacing being such as to just provide working clearance. The upper side edges of the teeth on the flange 20 provide positive shoulder means for moving the caps circumferentially of the drum against any frictional retardation offered by the inner surface of the drum wall M.

The distributor i1 is supported by means of a sleeve 21 thatis located centrally thereof and whose lower end bears against the upper edge face of a. bearing 22 that is supported on the top of the table 12. A shaft 23 is journaled in the bearing 22 and its upper end extends through the sleeve 2| for affixation thereto by a pin 24. The lower end of the shaft extends down'below the top of the table I2 and has secured thereto a bevel gear 25 which meshes with a bevel gear 26 that is secured to a shaft 21. The shaft 21 is journaled in a pair of hanger bearings 28 that depend from the top of the table l2 and the shaft extends beyond the table for securement to a driving pulley 29 that may be connected to any suitable source of power.

At a convenient location, a slot 30 is cut in the drum wall M in such a manner that the opposite, parallel faces thereof are substantially tangentially disposed to the inner and outer peripheral surfaces of the drum wall M and the distributor wall l9, respectively. One end of a delivery chute 3| is located adjacent the outer end of the slot 30 and this chute is provided with a guide plate 32 that extends across the annular space between the drum and distributor walls. The inner edge of this guide plate may be appropriately beveled in order to place the same in almost touching relation to the peripheral surface of the distributor wall l9, so that this guide plate will exercise a peeling action on the caps as they are successively brought adjacent the guide plate, thereby directing the caps gently and without any danger of deformation into the chute 3i. 7

Because of the circular construction of the drum and distributor, it will be noted in Fig. 3 that, in the region of the delivery slot-30, the toothed flange 20 moves away from the left wall of the slot 30 in its rotation and the opening that would otherwise be formed is closed by a filler block 33 having in plan View the marginal outline of a right-angled triangle, the base of which fits against the enteringend of the chute 3| to provide a smooth and continuous surface over which the capsmay pass.

As noted in Fig. 1, the caps are delivered indis- I criminately on the upper wall of the distributor and thereafter slide by gravity into the annular space between the drum wall and distributor wall. In order to prevent the direct movement of any of the freshly delivered caps through the delivery slot 30, a guard plate 34 having substantially the marginal outline shownin plan view in Fig. 4 extends inwardly under the top wall of the slot 30, as clearly indicated in Fig. 2, and sufficiently across the annular space between the drum and distributor walls to prevent themovement of any caps into the delivery chute 3|, except those resting directly on the toothed flange.

The plate 34 has an car part 35 which is aflixed to the outer surface of the drum wall (see Fig. 2)..

ward the top of the table l2. and in one or both of the opposite sides thereof may be provided sight openings 36 through which the movement of the caps can be observed.

The lower end of the chute 3! terminates in delivery relation to one end of the feeding mechanism designated generally by the numeral 3'! in Fig. 6, which presents the caps successively to a counting mechanism (not shown), all as described more particularly in the aforesaid copending application.

In the operation of the mechanism it will be understood that before the caps are delivered to the conveyor it, they may, for example, have had cork seals applied to the interiors thereof and are then indiscriminately dumped on the smooth and polished surface of the dome wall iii of the distributor H by the conveyor l0. At this time, the caps are ordinarilyin a rather Warm condition and after falling on the dome wall [8, they slide into the annular space defined by the drum and distributor Walls l4 and i9, respectively (see Fig. 2). In this position the caps are supported in an upright position with their skirt edges resting on the toothed flange 2G, with some caps facing in one direction and other caps in an opposite direction owing to the fact that the caps are indiscriminately dropped onto the flange 20. Because of the open construction of this flange, any foreign particles, such as dirt, pieces of cork or metal, etc., are evacuated through the openings between the teeth and these openings also serve an additional purpose in possibly cooling to some extent the hot caps. The distributor l7 rotates at constant speed and carries the caps bodily to the delivery slot 30 where the caps are successively directed by the guide plate into the delivery chute 3|. As already noted, and because of the provision of the guard plate 34, only those caps will be directed into the delivery chute which are actually resting on the flange 20. The operation of the distributor therefore arranges the caps in an orderly succession of the individual caps and there is no possibility of more than onecap being presented to the delivery opening of the drum at the same time, or of any clogging of the caps. If the distributor is completely or partially filled with caps, those caps which are not resting directly on the flange 20 will be carried around the drum over the submerged caps and over the guard plate until they drop by gravity into vacant places on the flange created by the discharge of caps into the delivery chute.

The width of the delivery chute 3| is such as to maintain the upright position of each cap which is therefore presented in this position to the cooperating parts of the feeding mechanism 37.

The mechanism is entirely automatic in operation, and continues to arrange and discharge the plurality of caps in an orderly succession as long as these caps are'supplied to the distributing mechanism. The latter handles the caps in such a manner that they are not marred or damaged in the slightest degree, and they are fed gently to the delivery chute in a position for precise gripping by the feeding mechanism in such a manner that no strain is applied to the caps.

My improved mechanism is capable of receiving an indiscriminate mass of crowns or caps and automatically arranging and discharging the same in an orderly succession at the rate of 850 caps per minute, which is considerably in excess of the capacity of any comparable existing machines. This handling rate can be increased several times by using a relatively larger distributor. y

I claim: l

1. In distributing mechanism for converting an indiscriminate mass of articles, such as bottle caps and the like, into an orderly succession of the individual articles, a stationary drum having an annular side wall with a delivery opening therein, a distributor device having a polished dome-shaped top and a depending annular side wall rotatable in the drum, said annular walls being spaced apart a distance only slightly greater than the thickness of the article, a horizontal flange on and extending throughout the lower side of said distributor wall and projecting into slightly spaced relation to the drum wall and having shoulders adapted to engage andpositively carry the caps bodily in succession toward said opening, the caps being indiscriminately dumped into the space between the drum and distributor walls onto said flange, and a guide for directing the positively carried caps singly through said opening.

2. In a distributing mechanism for converting an indiscriminate mass of articles, such as bottle caps and the like, into an orderly succession of the individual articles, a drum having an annular wall with a delivery opening therein, a distributor rotatable in the drum and having an annular wall concentric with and spaced from said drum wall and providing with the latter a space in which the caps are received in edgewise position, a toothed flange projecting outwardly from and continuously around the bottom of said distributor wall into slightly spaced relation to the drum wall, the teeth of said flange being adapted to engage the side walls of the caps and carry the caps bodily in succession toward the opening without material retardation due to the caps engaging the drum wall, the caps being indiscriminately dumped into the space between said drum and distributor walls and onto said flange, and a guide for directing the caps singly through said opening, the arrangement being such that the spaces between the flange teeth permit foreign particles to drop therethrough and to provide an air ventilating effect.

3. In distributing mechanism for converting an indiscriminate mass of crown seal caps into an orderly succession of the individual articles comprising an open top, a circular drum having a delivery opening in the peripheral wall thereof, a circular distributor rotatable in the drum and having a dome-shaped top with a depending circular side wall, said drum and distributor walls being substantially concentric and spaced apart such a distance that the caps may be received therebetween in edgewise relation, an annular, peripheral flange projecting at substantially right angles from the bottom edge of said distributor wall into slightly spaced relation to the drum wall and adapted to support the caps in edgewise relation, said flange having shoulders adapted to positively engage and carry the caps deposited therein individually toward said opening without any substantial retardation due to frictional engagement between the caps and drum, wall, a guide 4. In distributing mechanism for converting an indiscriminate mass of crown seal caps into anorderly succession of the individual articles comprising an open top, a circular drum having a delivery opening in the peripheral wall thereof, a dome-shaped, circular distributor rotatable in the drum and having a toothed flange projecting outwardly into slightly spaced relation to the drum wall, said drum and distributor being spaced apart a distance only slightly greater than the thickness of the caps so that the caps are received therebetween in edgewise relation only, the caps being dumped on the distributor and dropping on the flange for carriage to the delivery opening, said flange being constructed and arranged to carry said caps forwardly in a positive manner independently of each other, a guide for directing the caps resting on said flange successively through the delivery opening, and a guard adjacent the opening and forming a passage with the flange and adjacent drum and distributor wall for preventing direct movement of the caps through the opening, the teeth of said flange forming openings through which foreign particles may drop and also through which air may enter for direct ventilating contact with the flange carried caps.

5. In a device of the class described adapted for distributing bottle caps, a stationary drum having a circular side wall with an opening therein, a rotatable distributing device having a dome-shaped top wall and a circular side wall substantially concentric with the side wall of said drum and spaced therefrom such a distance that caps entering such space are maintained in edgewise position, a flange on the side wall of said distributor side wall constituting a bottom for the cap-receiving space, said flange having a plurality of circumferentially spaced openings defined by edges which serve to positively engage and carry the caps along with said flange, delivery means associated with said drum opening and extending into the path of said flange for discharging the caps, said means including structure by which the caps discharged are only those positively engaged with and carried along by said flange.

6. In distibuting mechanism for converting an indiscriminate mass of bottle caps into an orderly succession of individual caps comprising, a drum having a substantially circular side wall and a delivery opening in said side wall; a circular distributor rotatably mounted in said drum, said distributor having a convex top upon which the caps are initially received and a side wall depending from said top in substantially concentric relation with said drum, side wall; a cap-supporting flange projecting outwardly from the side wall of said distributor, the periphery of said flange being only slightly spaced inwardly from the side wall of said drum, the side walls of said drum and distributor being spaced apart a distance such that the caps are received in said space only in substantially upright position with a portion of the edges of said caps resting upon said flange, said flange having spaced transversely extending edge surfaces adapted to engage and positively move the caps resting on said flange toward said delivery opening against any retardation offered by the inner surface of said drum side wall; and means including a guide plate substantially tangentially disposed relatively to the side wall of said distributor for diverting the caps resting on said flange successively through said delivery opening to a gravity chute for discharge in orderly succession.

'7. In distributing mechanism for converting an indiscriminate mass of bottle caps into an orderly succession of individual caps comprising, a drum having a substantially circular side wall and a delivery opening in said side wall; a circular distributor rotatably mounted in said drum, said distributor having a smooth dome-shaped top upon which the caps are initially received and a side wall depending from said top in substantially concentric relation with said drum side wall; a cap-supporting flange projecting outwardly from the side wall of said distributor, the periphery of said flange being only slightly spaced inwardly from the side wall of said drum, the

side walls of said drum and distributor being spaced apart a distance such that the caps are received in said space only in substantially upright position with a portion of the edges of said caps resting upon said flange, said flange having substantially uniformly spaced slots therein providing cap engaging portions which serve to positively move the caps resting thereon toward said delivery opening against any retardation oiiered by the inner surface of said drum side wall; and means including a guide plate substantially tangentially disposed relatively to the side wall of said'distributor for diverting the caps resting on said flange successively through said delivery opening to a gravity chute for discharge in orderly succession.

8. In distributing mechanism for converting an indiscriminate mass of bottle caps into an orderly succession of individual caps comprising, a drum having a substantially circular side wall, a delivery opening in said side wall, and a bottom Wall portion extending inwardly from said side wall; a circular distributor rotatably mounted in said drum above said bottom Wall, said distributor having a smooth dome-shaped top upon which the caps are initially received and a side wall depending from said top in substantially concentric relation with said drum side wall; a cap-supporting flange projecting outwardly from the side wall of said distributor, the periphery of said flange being only slightly spaced inwardly from the side wall of said drum, the side Walls of said drum and distributor being spaced apart a distance such that the caps are received in said space only in substantially upright position with a portion of the edges of said caps resting upon said flange, the cap engaging portion of said flange having spaced radially directed surfaces adapted to engage and to positively move the caps resting thereon toward said delivery opening against any retardation offered by the inner surface of said drum side wall; and means including a guide plate substantially tangentially disposed relatively to the side wall of said distributor for diverting the caps resting on said flange successively through said delivery opening to a gravity chute for discharge in orderly succession.

FRED E. DOMKE.