US2219827A

US2219827A - Bottle packing machine

Info

Publication number: US2219827A
Application number: US177883A
Authority: US
Inventors: Wallace D Kimball; Cornelius I Braren
Original assignee: STANDARD KNAPP CORP
Current assignee: STANDARD KNAPP CORP; STANDARD-KNAPP Corp
Priority date: 1937-12-03
Filing date: 1937-12-03
Publication date: 1940-10-29
Anticipated expiration: 1957-10-29

Description

w. D. KIMBALL r AL 2,219,827

BOTTLE PACKING MACHINE Filed Dec. 3, 1937 15 Sheets-Sheet l Oct. 29, 1940.

ATTORNEYS Oct 29, 1940- w. o. KIMBALL ET AL BOTTLE PACKING MACHINE l5 Sheets- Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 3, 1.937

Oct. 29, 1940.

w. KIMBALL El AL BOTTLE PACKING MACHINE 15 Sheets-Sheet 3.

Filed Dec. 3, 1937 ATTORNEYS Oct 2 1940- w. D. KIMBALL El AL 2,219,827

BOTTLE PACKING MACHINE Filed Dec. 3, 1937 15 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTQRS' Walla e fl/fima/Z fomeZwsj Bran-en Wm... W, m; a M

. ATTORNEYS Get. 29, 1940. w. n. KIMBALL ET AL BQTTLE PACKING MACHINE Filed Dec. 3, 1937 15 Sheets-Sheet INVENTORS lyailaqe 27. ffz'maZZ Co'rneZzus Z rareza M,ML KZ MQEM ATTORNEYS 29, 1940. w. D. KIMBALL E1 AL 2 219,821

BOTTLE PACKING MACHINE Filed Dec. 3, 1937 15 Sheets-Sheet 6 fl a/Zace D Carmel: BY

Oct. 29, 1940. w. D. KIMBALL ET AL BOTTLE PACKING MACHINE Filed Dec. 3, 1957 15 Sheets-Sheet 7 I v I IIQZZQ gornelz'us ATTO RN EY5 INVEVTOR cej If/MZQZZ Z Bra 702 KW M,

w. D. KIMBALL. ET AL 2,219,827

BOTTLE PACKING MACHINE I Filed Dec. 3, 1937 15 Sheets-Sheet 8 INVENTORS Wed/ape 2. Kima/Z CorzeZz as Bra ran ATTORNEYS Oct. 29, 1940.

W. D. KIMBALL ET AL BOTTLE PACKING MACHINE Filed Dec. 3, 1937 15 Sheets-Sheet 9 INVENTQRS 022a as E /f2mbaZZ oz neZzz/sl Bra 7e22,

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ATTORNEYS Oct. 29, 1940- w. D. KIMBALL ET AL 2,219,327

BOTTLE PACKING MACHINE Filed Dec. 3, 1937 15 Sheets-Sheet 10 \NVENT R5 /4 0//ace ,2. X2275 a]! gg rzglzz/s jf Brazen 7745/7? ATTORNEYS Oct. 29. 1940- w. b. KIMBALL ET AL I 2,219,827

BOTTLE PACKING MACHINE Filed Dec. 3, 1957 15 Sheets-Sheet 11 INVENTORS Wallaqefl/f/mba]! CoyvelwsZBramn ATTORNEY5 l5 Shee1 ;sSheet 13 Oct. 29, 1 w. D. KIMBALL ET AL BOTTLE PACKING MACHINE Filed Dec. 3, 1937 Get. 29, 1940.

w. D. KIMBALL ET AL BOTTLE PACKING MACHINE Filed Dec. 3, 1957 15 Sheets-Sheet l4 ww g V a? 0d 29, 1940- w. D. KIMBALL ETAL 2,219,327

BOTTLE PACKING MACHINE Filed Dec. 3, 1937 15 Sheets-Sheet l5 ATTORNEYS Patented Oct. 29, 1940 UNITED, STATES 2,219,827 BOTTLE PACKING MACHINE Wallace D. Kimball, Cornelius I. Braren, Standard-Knapp City,

Jackson Heights, and

Jamaica, N. Y., assignors to Corporation, Long Island N. Y., a corporation of New York Application December 3, 1937, Serial No. 177,883

38' Claims.

This invention relates to machines for packing bottles in cases for shipping or storage, the cases comprising cartons, or boxes, made of corrugated board, fibreboard, wood, or other suitable material. More particularly, our invention relates to a packing machine in which the bottles-and this term will be used throughout the specification to include not only the glass containers usually meant by the term bottle, but also cans and other cylindrical containers, or articles, made of various materials-are advanced in upright posi tion to form a charge which is transferred to appropriate packing mechanism, usually comprising directing mechanism which merely guides thebottles into the case under the influence of gravity.' The machine automatically assembles successive charges, each of which is automatically transferred to the packing mechanism, and, in the embodiment of the invention chosen for illustration, dropped through the packing mechanism into its case. The cases, or cartons, are placed in the machine by hand, and, after receiving a charge, are automatically ejected from the machine under the controlof the machine operator.

The primary object of our present invention is to-provide an improved bottle packing apparatus of the type referred to which will automatically pack bottles in cases at a high rate of speed, and which is capable of operating con- 30 tinuously over long periods of time without substantial interruption of the line, or lines, of bottles fed to the packing machine.

The present invention has to do especially with packing machines for packing bottles in cell cases, that is, in cases which are provided with partitions forming individual cells or compartments for the bottles, although the apparatus of the invention can also be used to pack bottles in cases which are not provided with such partitioning devices. The bottles in the assembled charge are arranged in one or more parallel rows, the bottles of each row being in contact with one another. However, the partitions, usually of corrugated board, fibre board or wood-sometimes are as much as in. thick. Hence if the bottles were delivered to the cases in contact with one another, the ends of the bottles would strikethe edges of the partitions. Another object of our invention is, therefore, to automatically space the bottles of each row forming the charge so that they will properly enter their respective individual compartments.

Furthermore, both the cartons and the partitioning devices are ordinarily received by the user of the packing machine fin the fiat. The

operator of the machine unfolds both by hand and inserts a cell structure in each carton before placing the carton on the receiving table of the packing machine. These partitioning devices are a usually made of parallel strips of corrugated board some two or more inches Wide and slitted from opposite edges and fitted together so as to -form the required number of square cells when placed in a carton. These strips are flexible and in unfolding them from the flat the walls of some of the cells, particularly those adjacent the walls of the carton, will usually be bent to one side or the other from their correct position so that they would be in the path of the descending bottles unless straightened before the bottles enter 1! the compartments. Another object of the invention is to provide a particularly effective mechanism for automatically straightening the walls of the individual compartments to receive the bottles.

Although glass bottles, such as are used as containers'for beverages, food products, chemicals, etc., are usually made by means of a molding process, they nevertheless vary considerably in diameter. A common arrangement of such bottles when packed in a case provides for "four' rows of six bottles each, and there is enough vari-- ation in diameter of these bottles to cause a possible variation of about an inch in the length of a row of six bottles. This introduces a considerable problem in assembling the charge and properly placing the individual bottles in their respective compartments without causing jamming of the bottles in such a way that the machine has to be shut down and cleared by hand. Accordingly, another object of the invention is to provide a machine which is capable of handling the usual run of bottles of varying diameter without shut-down caused by the jamming of the bottles. 40

Bottle packing machines are customarily installed in a packing plant to receive the bottles from a previous operation, such as labelling. A further feature of our invention is the provision of a packing machine which is adapted to receive bottles from one, or from two, or from any multiple of two lines, and take the bottles in equal amounts from each line so long as a surplus of bottles is presented by each line.

Our invention will be understood from a study of the accompanying drawings which fllustrate the invention, by way of example, as embodied in a machine constructed for the purpose of packing glass bottles. In these drawings:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the machine. The bot- J "W lltles enter at the rear end, which is at the right; .the front of the machine where the operator stands is at the left; I

Fig. 2 is a side elevation taken from the right hand side;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged plan view showing the details of the construction of the end of the machine at which the bottles enter;

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the apparatus shown in Fig. 3 viewed from the left hand side of the machine;

Fig. 5 is a transverse vertical section taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 illustrates a detail and is a vertical longitudinal section taken on line 6-6 of Fig. 3;

Fig. '7 is an enlarged view of the charge-forming and packing mechanism and is a longitudinal vertical section taken on the broken line '|-'I of Fig. 9 looking in the direction of the arrows. The carton is shown in dotted lines in the elevated position ready to receive a charge of bottles;

Fig. 8 is an enlarged transverse vertical section taken on line 8-8 of Fig. '7. The carton is still elevated and the charge of bottles is about to be moved into position to drop into it;

Fig. 9 is an end elevation of the front end of the machine, which is at the left in Figs. 1 and 2. The carton has received the charge of bottles and been lowered into position to be ejected from the machine;

Fig. 10 is an enlarged side elevation of the charge-forming and packing mechanism taken from the left-hand side of the machine. A fresh carton is shown in position to be elevated to receive the next charge of bottles;

Fig. 11 is'a horizontal section taken on linel--ll of Fig. '7 to show in plan view the packing mechanism including the devices for directing the individual bottles into their respective cells or compartments and simultaneously straightening or positioning the partitioning devices. Certain parts are omitted for the sake of clearness;

Fig. 12 is a vertical longitudinal section taken on line l2-'-|2 of Fig. 11 showing the bottle directing chutes and their fingers for directing the individual bottles into their respective compartments and simultaneously straightening or positioning the partitioning devices within the carton;

Figs. 13 and 139, are enlarged and somewhat diagrammatic plan views of a portion of the packing mechanism of Fig. 11 illustrating the manner in which the bottle directing chutes accommodate rows of bottles of different lengths due to variation in bottle diameter, illustrating how the guide plates of the charge-forming mechanism are alined vertically with the bottlesupportin'g rails thereby causing the bottles to drop between the rails and engage the centralizing guides in so doing;

Fig. 14 is a fragmentary vertical transverse section, that is, a. section at right angles to that of Fig. 12;

Fig. 15 is an enlarged diagrammatic plan view similar to Figs. 13 and 13a showing a single row of bottles all of which are somewhat larger in diameter than the average, thereby making a row of greater than average length;

Fig. 16 is an enlarged side elevation of a centralizing guide;

Fig. 17 is a view of the centralizing guide in section taken on line l'll'l of Fig. 16;

Fig. 18 is a horizontal section taken on line Iii-i8 of Fig. 12 showing the details of the mounting of the centralizing guide;

Fig. 19 is a perspective view of a notched bracket plate for supporting the edges of the centralizing guides;

Figs. 20 to 24, inclusive, illustrate a packing mechanism provided with a modified form of centralizing guides, these figures corresponding respectively to Figs. 11 to 15, inclusive;

Fig. 25 is an enlarged view similar to Fig. 16 of the modified centralizing guide and its mountins;

Fig. 26 is an enlarged side elevation of the centralizing guide shown in Fig. 25;

Fig. 27 is a horizontal section taken on line 2'I--21 of Fig. 25 to assist in illustrating the manner of supporting and replacing one of the modified centralizing guides;

Fig. 28 is a fragmentary section taken on line 28-28 of Fig. 25 showing the rounded sloping centralizing edge of the modified guide;

Fig. 29 is a plan view similar to Fig. 1 but showing a modified form of the apparatus for converging the two lines of bottles entering the apparatus;

Fig. 30 is a sectional view taken on line 3030 of Fig. 29;

Fig. 31 is a sectional view taken on line 3l-3l of Fig. 29;

Fig. 32 is a sectional view taken on line 32-32 of Fig. 29;

Fig. 33 is a side elevation of the left hand portion of the apparatus as shown in Fig. 2 with certain parts omitted and for the purpose of i1- lustrating a modification of certain details; and

Fig. 34 is a transverse vertical section similar to the lower part of Fig. 8 for the purpose of iilustrating a modified carton supporting table.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings, and first to Figs. 1 and 2, the bottles enter the machine standing upright in two lines, or rows, l and 2, each row usually coming from a labelling machine. The two lines of bottles are received upon a wide belt 3 being maintained in line by suitable guide rails 4, 5 and 6.

The two rows are combinedinto a single row 1 between

guide rails

8 and 9 by means of a bottle switching mechanism, indicated generally by reference numeral [0. A distributing mechanism indicated generally by reference numeral ll rearranges the single row of bottles into four rows I2, each of these rows receiving an equal number of bottles.

The bottles are maintained in line in these rows by means of guide rails I3. They travel on the belt 3 through the switching device It), and the dividing mechanism H and are delivered by this belt to the charge-assembling and packing mechanism indicated, as a whole, by numeral M. The distance along belt 3 between the dividing mechanism II and the apparatus l4 afiords a storage are for bottles arranged in rows ready to be delivered to the charge-assembling and packing mechanism, so that a full charge will be available as often as the assembling mechanism is ready to receive a fresh charge. The belt 3 slides beneath the bottles'whenever it is necessary for the bottles to pause before being admitted to the switching device In or the chargeassembling and packing mechanism l4.

As shown in Fig. 1, the parts of the chargeassembling and packing mechanism H are in position ready to receive a charge of bottles, and as soon as each of the four rows receives its full complement of six bottles each, and a carton [5 has been placed in the machine by the operator and elevated to the position shown in Fig. 7 by original position, as shown in Figs. 2 and 9 and the carton moves by gravity to the right, as

shown at Fig. 9 onto a roller conveying table H! "by. which the carton is carried to the next opera- -tion, machine.

usually to an automatic carton closing Having thus briefly outlined the operation of the machine, we will now proceed to a description of its various parts in detail as to both their construction and operation.

The apparatus is driven by an electric motor I9 shown in Fig. 1 which is belted to a reduction gearing 20, the slow speed shaft of which is provided with two sprockets 2| and 22. The wide belt 3 previously referred to is carried by a driving drum or roll 23 near the front end, and by a similar but smaller roll24 at the rear end of the machine. These supportingrolls are appropriately journaled in the machine frame which comprises two side bars- 25 extending substantially from end to end of the machine, and four upright posts. The posts are tied together near their bases by longitudinal members 21. Belt 3 is driven continuously by means of roller 23 so long as the machine is in operation. The shaft of roller 23 is provided with a sprocket 28 which is connected with sprocket 22 on the reducing gearing shaft by means of a chain.

The upper reach of wide belt 3 is maintained level by parallel supporting bars 29, shown in section in Fig; 5, which extend between the

belt supporting rollers

24 and 23. At the rear end of the machine immediately below roller 24, there is arranged an adjustable tension roller 30 and an idle roller 3laround which the lower reach of belt 3 passes, and by. means of appropriate adjusting screws 32 the tension roll 30 can be adjusted so as to maintain the desired tension on the belt.

- Referring now particularly to Figs. 3, 4 and 5, and the right hand ends of Figs. 1 and 2, there is here illustrated the switching mechanism I0 by means of which the bottle packing machine is enabled to receive its supply of bottles from two as may be seen in Fig. 2 so that the labels of the bottles will not be marred by contact with them. As the bottles are carried forward by the belt, they are received five at a time from each of rows I and 2 in a pair of simultaneously actuated switching

channels

34 and 35 which are oscillated periodically, as will presentlybe described, to deliver their respective groups of five cans each successively to form a single row which continues its advance between the

rails

8 and 9.

The switching

channels

34 and 3,5 are alike in construction, and each comprises a pair of vertical plates (36 and 31 for

channel

34, and 38 and 39 for channel 35) fixedly suspended from inverted U-shaped members 40 and 4| respectively. These U-shaped members are fixed to the lower ends of

vertical shafts

42 and 43 which are mounted for oscillation in long bearing bosses 44 on a transverse supporting member 45 which is mounted upon the upper ends of posts 26,-

The

switch channels

34 and 35 are oscillated by the following mechanism underthe control of the cans advancing in lines I and 2. A cam shaft 46 is journalled in the frame members 25 close to the two posts 26 at the rear end of the machine. This shaft is driven by means of a chain 4'! and suitable sprockets from the shaft of roller 24. Keyed near the opposite ends of-shaft 46 is a pair of

cams

48 and 49, the cam surfaces of which are arranged 180 apart so that when the cam shaft is rotated the switching

channels

34 and 35 will be oscillated in unison in one direction or the other by means of the levers and linkage shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5.

The connecting mechanism just referred to includes cam followers 50 and 5| which are arranged on cam follower levers Hand 53 mounted at the lower ends of two

vertical shafts

54 and 55. These shafts are pivoted as shown in Figs. 4 and 5 in suitable brackets 56 and 51 on the frame of the machine. The upper part of these shafts communicate their motion to the

switch channels

34 and 35, while the mechanism shown near the lower portions of these shafts (and to the right, as viewed in Fig. 4) is that by which the oscillation of the switch channels is controlled.

These two mechanisms are identical on the two opposite sides of the machine. That is to say, the mechanism for actuating switch channel 35 by means of. cam 49 is, identical with that for actuating switch channel. 34 by cam 48. Only one set of these mechanisms will be described.

The mechanism adjacent the upper end of shaft 54 for communicating the oscillation of this shaft to the switch channel 34' comprises a short lever 58 which is fixed to shaft 54, and a longer lever 59 which is loose on this shaft. A link 60 is pivoted to the outer end of this long lever and toinverted U member 40 of switch channel 34.

Shaft 54 is oscillated in one direction by means of the cam elevation 6| acting on cam follower 50, and in the opposite direction by means of a helical spring 62 which is attached at one end to the frameof the machine and at the other end to an extension 63 of cam. follower lever 52. ,The motion of short lever 58 is communicated to lever 59 in order to oscillate the switch channel 34. In the direction of movement under the actuation o-f'spring 62. this connection is a positive connection, whereas in the opposite direction of movement under the coaction of cam elevation 6| and cam follower 50, it is a yielding con-- nection. In this way the

switch channels

34 and 35 are yieldingly actuated in both directions so that should any jamming of bottles occur at the throat of

guide rails

8 and 9, no damage wouldoccur.

The connection between short lever 58 and long lever 59 includes a block 64 which is pivoted at 65 to the outer end of short lever 58, and which, under normal conditions, engages a somewhat similar block 66 which is fixed to the lower surface of long lever 59. These two blocks are held in engagement with one another by means of a helical spring 61 which is mounted upon a threaded rod 68, this rod being secured to the pivoted block 64 and extending through a suitable aperture in block 66 and being provided at its outer end with a nut 69. This spring keeps the blocks in contact to provide the positive actuation in one direction and provides a yielding connection between the blocks in the opposite direction of movement."

A control mechanism near the bottom and to the right of vertical shaft 54 as viewed in Fig. 4 controls the actuation of switch channel 34 by cam disc '48 by controlling the extension 63 of cam follower lever 52. Extension 83 is provided at its outer end with a latch block 18 adapted to be engaged by the end of a latch lever 11 which is pivoted loosely on a vertical shaft 12 that is carried upon a bracket member 13 secured to the machine frame. When in the position shown in the drawings, latch bar 1| prevents the oscillation of switching channel 34 under the influence of spring 62 when, due to rotation, the inner dwell 14 on cam 48 and cam surface 6| tend to permit cam follower 50 to move into engagement with the outer dwell 15. On each revolution of cam 48, however, the inner dwell 14 contacts with cam follower 50 sufficiently to move the parts slightly so as to shift latch block 10 out of engagement with the end of latch lever 1| for a purpose which will presently appear.

Latch bar TI is controlled by the bottles within the switch channel 34 and for this purpose a control lever 16 is provided. This lever is pivoted on shaft 12 above latch bar 1|, and has at its inner end a thin adjustable bottle engaging stop plate 11 which is positioned close to the end of guide rail 8 and is engaged by the center of the foremost bottle within switch channel 34. The pressure of the bottles within the switch channel against ,the stop plate 11 under their friction with the moving belt 3 tends to cause control lever 18 to'be moved forward against the tension of a spring 18 against an adjustable stop 19 mounted on brackets 13. When such movement of control lever 18 occurs, it places under tension a spring 88 which connects the tail portion 8i of this lever with the latch lever ll, one end of spring 88 being connected to tail portion 81, and the opposite end to a pin 82 which extends upwardly from lever H through a slot in tail portion 8|. Then upon the next rotation of cam 48, when cam follower 50 rides up on inner dwell 14 and thereby shifts the parts sufficiently to cause latch block 19 to release latch lever 1|, this lever is actuated by the tension of spring 88 just referred to, to the left, as viewed in Fig. 3 so as to bring the end of latch lever 1| out of the path of latch block 19. Following this, as soon as the cam 48 has rotated 180, or, in other words, to the point where the cam follower 58 commences to roll off from the inner dwell 14 along cam surface'Bl toward the outer dwell 15, the vertical shaft 54 is thereby oscillated and thus causes the oscillation, or shifting, of the switching channel 34 from the position shown in Fig. 3 to its opposite position whereby the five bottles therein are permitted to be advanced by belt 3 into the space between the

guide rails

8 and 9.

As this motion of switching channel 34 takes place, it is to be noted that the left-hand end of plate 31 swings into the path of the oncoming bottles in line I and prevents their advancement, while the right-hand end of plate 36 moves into alinement with guide rail 8, thereby shifting the foremost bottle laterally out of engagement with the stop plate I1 so as to allow the flve bot;- tles in the channel 34 to advance. With this same movement, switching channel 35 moves in the reverse direction and plate 38 of that switching channel, which has theretofore occupied the position shown in Fig. 3 wherein it holds back the bottles advancing in line 2, is now shifted into alinement with guide rail 5, thereby permitting bottles from line 2 to advance into channel 35. This movement also brings the center of the forward, or right-hand, end of channel 35 opposite the stop plate 111 of the control lever 16a, of the oscillation control mechanism of switching channel 35.

It will be understood, by means of the mechanism just described, the bottles are delivered in groups of 5 taken alternately from the feed lines I and 2 into a single line which is formed between the

guide rails

8 and 9. This single line of bottles is advanced by the belt 3 to the redistributing mechanism, indicated generally by reference numeral II and shown in Figs. 1, 3 and 4. This mechanism comprises 3

deflectors

83, 84 and of similar construction and actuated by the bottles so that successive bottles shift the deflectors to cause the bottle immediately following to be diverted into a different path. Thus,

when the first bottle engages the deflector 83, it

will be directed into the channel 86, and as the bottle moves into this channel, it will cause the deflector 83 to oscillate about its shaft 81 and shift the point of the deflector onto the opposite side of this shaft from that shown in Fig. 3, so that the next bottle following will be diverted into the channel 88. Similarly deflectors 84 and 85 divert the bottles approaching from channels 86 and 88, respectively, into

channels

89, 90, 9| and 92 formed between the guide rails 13.

Each of the

deflectors

83, 84 and 85 is of particular construction in order to properly operate upon bottles standing upright and being advanced by means of a belt such as belt 3. This construction is illustrated in Figs. 4 and 1.

A superstructure is built above belt 3 comprising two

side members

93 and 94 which are secured to the side bars 25 of the machine frame. Connecting the upper ends of these side members 93 is a horizontal plate, or casting 95. The de flectors 83, 84 and 85 are carried by this casting, and for this reason, three vertical extensions 98 project downwardly from the castin 95.

All three of the

deflectors

83, 84 and 85 are alike, and consequently only one will be described in detail. Deflector 83, forexample, comprises two narrow deflecting members 91 and 98 which are mounted upon a vertical shaft 99. The deflecting members 91 and 98 are spaced apart on this shaft sufflciently to avoid contact with the labels on the bottles so as to avoid the possibility of their being damaged. Shaft 99 extends downwardly through one of the projections 98 to a point close to the surface of belt 3 in order to support deflector 98 below the label position.

It is important that the deflecting members 91 and 98 respond easily to the pressure of the individual bottles to swing from one side to the other,

and yet the resistance to this swinging movement tends to be very considerable because of the pressure which must be exerted by the deflector against the bottles to slide. the bottles sidewise on the belt 3, and because the shaft 99 must be suspended from a considerable distance above the belt. The desired free movement of the deflectors is provided by making shaft 99 extend well above the belt 3 and providing a long bearing for this shaft in one of the projections 98. In this way, the tendency for the shaft 99 to bind due to the pressure of the bottles transmitted to the lower end of the shaft is eliminated, and the deflectors 9-! and 88 will swing easily to one side or the other.

' It will be. understood that the deflectors s1 and 98, indicated generally by reference numerals 83,

84 and 85, are arranged to have only two stable positions. This is accomplished by means of a light helical spring I at the top of each of the of a pair of adjustablestops I02;

The bottles are carried forward from the redistributing mechanism II by means'ofbelt 3 in the four

lines

89, 90, 9| and 92' between the guide rails I3 to the charge-assembling and packing mechanism Id. The bottles as they reach the end of belt 3 over driving roll 23 are received upon a series of narrow supporting rails I03 (see Figs. 7, 8, 9, 11 and 12) which consist of thin metal plates mounted on edge in spaced parallel relation between a pair of transverse supporting bars I 04 and I05. Bar I04 is secured to extensions I09 of the side frame bars 25 which project beyond the two posts 28 near the front end of the machine. These extensions I06 support the entire charge-assembling and directing mechanism. Bar I is secured by collared bolts in spaced relation to a cross member I055 which is mounted on the outer ends of extensions I06. The ends of rails I03 are curved at I01 to bring their tips close to the surface of belt 3 as it passes around roller 23, as shown in Figs. 7 and 12 in order that r the bottles may slide smoothly from the belt onto the' rails.

The guide rails I 3 terminate at a point vertical-. ly above the supporting bar I00 at the entrance to the charge-assembling mechanism. Beyond this point the bottles pass between a series of parallel spaced guide plates or slides I08 of the charge-shifting frame indicated generally by reference numeral I09 by means of which the bottles are supported in upright position on the rails I03 and the alinement of the bottles is preserved. The height of guide plates I08 is preferably somewhat greater than the height of the bottles, and the spacing of the guide plates is the same as the spacing of guide rails I3, the plates when in the charge-receiving position, as shown in Figs. 1, 7, 9 and 10, being in alinement with these guide rails.

The charge-shifting frame I09 comprises the guide plates or slides I08, 2. pair of horizontal parallel rods which extend crosswise of the ma-- chine and four upright-levers III. The plates I08 are suspended from the two cross rods II 0 by suitable hangers II2 by means of which the plates are carried in firmly fixed relation upon the rods The four levers III connect with rods I I0, constituting a parallelogram linkage by means of which the charge-shifting frame may be shifted laterally with respect to supporting rails I03. From the position shown in Fig. 8 where the guide plates I08 are in alinement with guide rails I3 and the supporting rails I 03 are opposite the centers of the spaces between the guide plates I 08, to the position shown in the fragmentary view in Fig. 14 in which the guide plates I08 are in alinement with rails I03 thereby causing the charge of bottles to descend by gravity between rails I 03 into the carton I5.

The rails I03 thus form between them a pinrality of chutes, each of which is subdivided, as will be later described, to form directing chutes for the individual bottlesto direct them into their respective cells. Each plate I08 at the left of a row of bottles, as viewed in Fig. 8, acts as a slide, or pushento push'the row of bottles which has been transported into the range of the pusher along one of the feeding rails I03, lateral- 1y of supporting rail to deliver it to the chute. Each plate I08 at the right of a row of bottles acts to check the movement of the bottles therein as they are moved laterally by the adjacent plate I08 at the leftacting as a pusher.

The two levers III on the right-hand side of the machine are pivoted upon a horizontal shaft III which is carried in brackets H4 on the machine frame. levers III are fixed to a horizontal shaft H5 (see Fig. and the shifting of the shiftable frame 'I08 is accomplished by rocking this shaft H5 as will presently be described. Shaft H5 is jour- 'naled-near its right-hand end, as shown in Fig. i

10; in aboss H8 projecting from a bracket III which is bolted tothe machine frame at the and 7. At its left-hand end, as viewed in Fig. 10, shaft I I5 is journaled in a bracket I I8 also bolted to frame extension I06. A collar H9 is fixed to .shaft 5 adjacent the I right-hand side of the bracket II8 to prevent the shaft from shifting longitudinally in one direction. The parts, as

shown in Fig. 10 close to the left-hand side of which the operator of the machine raises and lowers the successive cartons to and from the charge-receiving position shown in Fig. 7 will be described.

The operator first places in the carton about to be placed in the packing machine a set of partitioning devices which divide the lower part of the carton into a plurality of square cells, pockets, or compartments, each adapted to receive a single bottle. In the machine chosen for illustration the charge of bottles consists of four rows of six bottles each so that the partitioning device divides the carton into 24 bottle compartments. 0 This partitioning device usually consists of crossed strips of corrugated board suitably slitted from opposite edges to permit the assemblage of the strips, and reference numeral I20 indicates the longitudinal strips (Fig. 8) of this partitioning device, while numeral I 2| indicates the cross strips (Fig. 12), each beingvshown in section. The operator places the thus prepared carton temporarily on the shelf I22 with its end against a positioning bar I23 which is adjustably supported, as shown in Figs. 7 and 10; At theproper time the operator slides the carton by hand ofi from shelf I22 onto the carton-supporting table I1. The position of the carton is' shown in dotted lines in Figs. 9 and 10.

Supporting table I! is a roller table having a plurality of rollers I24 mounted in a frame I25.

The side of the carton is positioned against a stop member I26 carried on the supporting table On the left-hand side the two outer end of extension I06, as shown in Figs. 10, 9