US2329842A - Marking machine - Google Patents

Description

21, 1943. M. D. KENNEDY EI'AL MARKING MACHINE Filed June 12, 1940 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 Sept. 21, 1943.-

M. D. KENNEDY ETAL MARKING MACHINE Filed June 12. 1940 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 Mai Se t. 21, 1943. M. D. KENNEDY EIAL 2,329,342

' MARKING MACHINE Filed June 12, 1940 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 3/ V 4, m a

9 .am I m Lilli F a awe/1M MARKING MACHINE Filed June 12, 1940 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 p 1943- v M. DQKENNEDY arm. 2,329,842

MARKING MACHINE Filed June 12, 1940 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 gYWsM M p 1943- M. D. KENNEDY EI'AL 2,329,842

MARKING MACHINE Filed June 12, 1940 e Sheets-Sheet e Patented Sept. 21, 1943 Examiner MARKING MACHINE Mabry D. Kennedy and Richard Sias, Orlando, Fla., assignors to American Machinery Corporation, Orlando, Fla.,

a corporation of Florida Application June 12, 1940, Serial No. 340,111

13 Claims.

The present invention is a marking machine for markin trade names, grade marks or other indicia on the surface of spherical objects, such as oranges, grapefruit, tangerines, apples, lemons, limes, cantaloupes, etc., but it is to be understood that the use of the invention is not to be restricted to these named articles as it is susceptible of use with a wide range of objects.

The problem of marking individual fruit in the modern packing plant has become increasingly difiicult within recent years due to materially increased production of modern equipment, to the introduction of new processes, such as "coloradded, which latter process, by law, must be identified upon the skin of each fruit so treated, and to the marking of the grade upon the surface of the individual fruit. Greater marking speeds are required by this increased capacity. Definite limitations on the percentage of fruit not properly marked imposes more extreme conditions by virtue of new processes. Adaptability of a marking machine to present equipment installation, at points where fruit may be marked after it is graded, without reducing or impeding the speed of production, is a requirement, together with means for quickl and inexpensively changing the die to permit markin of different grades.

Existing marking machines employ a timing mechanism for feeding to the marking mechanism the articles to be marked. The speed of such timed feeding means is much slower than the movement of the articles or fruit through other preceding handling equipment of the packing house, thus slowing up the ultimate output of the equipment. Such timed feedin means consists of pockets or slots into which the fruit or other objects are dropped at random prior to marking and considerable time is required to allow the individual fruit or object to fit itself into the pocket which must be of adequite size to fit the largest fruit; and, consequently, abnormal or small size fruit is handled or marked with great inefiiciency, if at all, resultin in the marking being on the stem or blossom ends of the fruit and necessitating, in many cases, separate machines to be provided for large, small and intermediate sizes or else elaborate adjustments made.

The general advantages of the machine of the present invention over existing machines is its speed of operation, such speeding being a cont nuous flow, at least at the same speed the fruit passes through previous equipment in the line of handling or packing, the elimination of the necessity of timing the objects passing through the marking machine, its simplicity of construction resultin in a much less expensive machine, its adaptation for use without change to existing packing house equipment, and its ability to con-- (:01 the position of the articles passing through it to insure a marking on the smooth side of the fruit, while the fruit passes therethrough at least at the same speed that it is handled by other conveyor equipment in the plant without the necessity of special feeding mechanism or other means to rearrange the fruit to proper marking position and irrespective of grade or size.

In order to accomplish the above and other advantages the invention possesses many features of novel construction and of arrangement and combination of parts, all of which will be specifically described and ultimately pointed out in the appended claims. Among these features are:

(1) A trough means receiving the fruit and allowing it to pass therethrough as quickly as the fruit is capable of being moved and a stamping means arranged in the path of movement of the fruit and mean for pressing the fruit in succession and irrespective of its size against the stamping means whereby an impression is made on the fruit;

(2) The feed trough having diverging sides over which the fruit rolls and means for imparting a spinning action to the fruit as it passes through the trough so that it will revolve about its stem and blossom ends as an axis and thereby present a wide surface of the fruit to the marking device:

(3) In arranging a trip device to be actuated by the weight of each piece of fruit, which trip device causes a freshly inked stamping die to present itself to each piece of fruit;

(4) Arrangement of the dies so that they may be brought from inking to marking position with a minimum of movement;

(5) Mounting of several sets of dies around a die block where at least two die surfaces are alternately brought into marking position from inking position;

(6) Mounting of several sets of dies about a die block which is adjustable so as to change the legend to be marked upon the fruit;

('7) Means to normally maintain the dies, which are heated, out of contact with the inking means whereby the inking means will not become destroyed or injured;

(8) Means actuated by each fruit passing over the marking device for actuating die inking ribbon, step by step;

(9) Means for automatically reversing the movement of the inking ribbon at a predetermined point in its length;

(10) A novel means for actuating the dies from inking to marking position which includes an electric switch actuated by each movement of the die for closing a circuit which will control its next movement.

With the above and other objects in view, the invention consists in whatever is shown and described therein.

In the drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the present commercial embodiment of the invention:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of the invention;

Figure 2 is a schematic or diagrammatic view of electric wiring for the device;

Figure 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the invention taken substantially on line 3-3 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a front elevation of the machine;

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken substantially on line 5-5 of Figure 1;

Figure 6 is a longitudinal sectional view of the stamp actuating mechanism and a side elevation of the ribbon advancing and reversing mechanism, said view being taken substantially on line 6-6 of Figure 4;

Figure 7 is a front end view taken substantially on line 11 of Figure 3 to show the mechanism for actuating and controlling the movement of the stamps from inking to marking position with portions of the cover broken away, and illustrating its relation to the trough and the trigger device;

Figure 8 is a top plan view of the mechanism shown in Figure 7 but with the housing removed;

Figure 9 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially on line 9-9 of Figure 8 to illustrate the mechanism for moving the inking means to and from the stampers and the advancing and reversing mechanism for the inking ribbon; and

Figure 10 is a sectional view taken substantially on line Ill-40 of Figure 9.

Throughout the several views like characters will denote similar and like parts.

All the mechanism of the machine of the present invention is mounted upon a frame F consisting of appropriate structural members supporting a V-shaped trough T, and the actuating mechanism of the machine. It is preferred to enclose by a sheet metal housing H as much of the actuating mechanism as is conveniently possible for the obvious reasons of keeping the same clean, prevention of accidental injury thereto and provide safety for the attendant. The housing H is mounted upon the frame F and provides the top, side and end covering walls of the machine; and its top wall is formed to also provide the V-shaped trough T extending longitudinally of the machine. The trough is of a length sulncient to gather and arrange the fruit in single file as it passes from one end of the trough to the other, in commercial practice the length of the trough being about four or five feet.

The trough T at one end of the machine (which may be termed the rear end") is shaped to provide an upwardly inclined transversely extending chute I0 which is to be placed against the discharge end of a conveying means, which is part of the usual processing or handling mechanism, so that the fruit or other objects may be delivcred onto the chute l0 and into the trough T.

To insure that the fruit will be arranged in single file in the trough before it reaches the marking mechanism S and to position the fruit in the trough so that the side thereof will be presented to the marking mechanism, as well as to insure its rapid movement through the trough, a conveyor II is provided which in effect forms a moving wall on one side of the V-shaped trough T. This conveyor H at present consists of an endless belt having one reach thereof within the trough and extending longitudinally thereof and resting upon the inner face of one of the side walls of the trough, the other reach of the belt extending on the other side of said wall, The

mounting of said belt may be accomplished by providing suitable slots [2 and I3 in a side wall of the trough and adjacent its ends, respectively, and journalling rollers l4 and IS in said slots. respectively, and training the belt ll thereover. The bearings at each end of the roller M at the rear end of the trough are slidable in guides l6 and are adjustable for tightening or loosening the belt by means of hand operated screw rods Of course, other suitable means of adjustment may be employed. The belt II is driven from the drive shaft l B, suitably mounted on the frame E and preferably disposed under the trough T, the drive shaft having an operative connection by means of a driving belt I9 passing over a pulley 20 thereon and a pulley 2| mounted on an axial extension of the roller I6. The drive shaft i8 is driven from an electric motor 22 mounted on the frame F and having a belt driving connection 23 therewith.

At the forward or discharge end of the machine and immediately beyond the belt II, a stamp S is provided over which the fruit passes to receive a suitable impression of indicia or other design desired. In order to insure the proper marking of the fruit, a pressure wheel 25 is mounted to overlie the marker S and to engage the top of the fruit as it passes thereover to press the same against the marker,

As at present devised, the pressure wheel 25 comprises two concentric and spaced wheels having a pulley 26 disposed between them, the wheels and the pulley being in close juxta-position so as, in effect, to provide a pressure wheel with a broad peripheral surface. This wheel assembly is disposed between the arms of a U-shaped yoke 28 and journalled on a spindle 21 carried by the free ends of the yoke. The other or closed end of the yoke has rigidly connected therewith a laterally extending sleeve 29 through which extends a shaft 30 journalled at its end portions in upstanding brackets 3| extending upwardly from opposite sides of the top of the housing H.

A pulley 32 is keyed on one end portion of the shaft 30 (see Figure 4) and is driven by a belt 33 trained over a pulley 34 on the shaft [8 (Figures 1 and 3), the belt extending through a slot 36 in the top wall of the housing H. The wheel 25 is likewise driven by a belt 31 trained over the pulleys 36 and a pulley 38 fast on the shaft 30 and disposed between the arms of the yoke 38. The direction and speed of rotation of the wheel 25 is sufficient to quickly draw each piece of fruit in contact with its undersurface away from the remaining fruit in the trough T and discharge it from the machine; and, since the yoke arm 28 horizontally offsets the wheel from the shaft 30, the pressure of the wheel against the fruit moving thereunder is suiiicient to bring it into contact with the marker S so as to receive an impression therefrom. The periphery of the wheel 25 may be covered with a soft yieldable material 25a, such as rubber, felt and the like, to avoid hard surfaces and cutting edges from injuring the fruit.

The wheel 25 may be swung about the shaft 30 to raise and lower it to generally adjust its height sufiiciently to enable it to contact with the fruit passing thereunder; and this may be accomplished by the provision of a cam 39 keyed on a shaft 40 journalled at its ends in the brackets 3| and being provided at one end with a hand wheel 4|. This cam or eccentric 39 contacts with a shoe 42 rigid with the sleeve 29 and extending in a direction opposite to the arm 28. Thus, by

turning the hand wheel 4|, the cam 39 will depress the shoe 42 or allow it to rise, under the weight of the wheel and the arm, so as to raise and lower the wheel 25. It has been found that the cam 39 may be held in manually adjusted positions by a simple frictional device comprising a compression spring 43 (Figures 1 and 4) interposed between the cam 39 and the adjacent stationary bracket 3| and bearing against the same, respectively.

It will thus be seen that as fruit is delivered in rather scattered fashion onto the chute l0, it moves downwardly to the trough T where it begins to assume a single file arrangement. This single filing is accelerated by the moving belt H which draws or spaces out the fruit already settled in single file position in the trough, allowing other fruit crowding on the side to drop in these spaces, thus preventing crowding of the fruit to the sides of the trough. file position the fruit rests at one side upon the moving belt II and on its other side against the stationary side of the trough, which causes a spinning of the fruit on these two points of contact during the remainder of its passage through the trough. Such spinning of the fruit, in almost every case, causeslthe fruit to finally assume a spinning action on its stem and blossom ends as an axis, with said axis extending substantially horizontally and, since the marker S is positioned at the bottom or apex of the trough T, presents the most desirable side surface of the fruit to the marker so as to receive the impression therefrom. Consequently, as can be seen the fruit disposes itself in a single file before it reaches the marker and will move rapidly along the length of the machine, at least at the same speed of additional fruit being fed into the machine at H), which additional fruit also has a tendency to crowd against the preceding fruit and avoid any lagging thereof which occasionally may occur.

By virture of the fact that it is desirable to mark the fruit with ink it is necessary that the marker S be inked; but as the fruit has a more or less rolling action over the marker, it is impractical in some situations to employ a ribbon moving over a stationary marker or in other conditions to employ moving inking devices, which will periodically ink a stationary marker because of the steady unbroken flow of fruit over the marker. Consequently, to meet all conditions of use. the specific marking mechanism here illustrated is actuated from stamping position to a point Where it is inked and then returned to stamping position, this being accomplished by the following mechanism:

The marker S comprises a sleeve 24 having a cylindrical inner surface and a polygonal outer surface (preferably octagonal) and upon the faces of which are removably secured. such as by screws or the like, stamps bearing suitable legends or indicia. The sleeve 24 surrounds an oscillatory shaft 44 extending longitudinally of and positioned immediately below the bottom of the trough T. This shaft is journalled at its end portions in bearings carried by the casting 45 mounted on the forward end of the frame F and immediately beyond the forward end of the conveyor belt ll (see Figure 6 in particular). The sleeve 24 is slidable on the shaft 44 but is held in normal stationary position thereon by a helical spring 46 surrounding the shaft and bearing against the casting 45 and one end of the sleeve 24 to move the other end of said sleeve Examiner into abutting engagement with a laterally pro- It has been found that a movement of of the shaft in opposite directions is suflicient and, consewithin its coil and, due to the connection of the armatures with the shaft 44, the armature of the other non-energized solenoid is withdrawn outwardly therefrom. This movement is utilized to bring the pad b or b into contact with the stamp wh ch has been moved from marking position to inking position. With particular reference to Figures 7, 8 and 9, the parts are shown in a position wherein the solenoid 50 is energized and an abutment 490 on the armature 49a, arranged in alignment with an extended portion of the bar a, is brought into contact with the latter and moves member, the trigger arm the pad b carried thereby against the tension of the spring e into compressing contact with the stamp 24b of the selected operating pair or set which has been moved into inking position. When the solenoid 49 has been energized the reverse operation takes place, wherein the abutment 50c engages an extension of the bar a.

Of course, it will be understood that any suitable means may be employed for oscillating the shaft 44 and alternately bringing the pads b and b in contact with the stamps of the operating set; for instance, one double acting solenoid may be employed or the solenoids 49 and 50 may be single acting of the armature ejecting type, rather than the armature attracting type as at present used.

The operation of the solenoids 49 and 50 is caused by means of a teeter member in the form of a plate 53 providing the bottom of the forward end of the trough T and over which the fruit marked. The forward end of the trough T, which includes the teeter member 53, is somewhat wider than its other portion as can be readily seen, particularly from Figure 7. The teeter member 53 is mounted for movement by means of a horizontal spindle 53a disposed transversely on its underside intermediate its end and rotatably journalled in bearings 53b on the forward portion of the casting 45, see Figures stamp opening 56 just large enough to allow the stamp on the sleeve 24, which is in stamping position, to project therethrough for a slight distance while the rear end of the teeter member Immediately in front of the stamp, or following the stamp in the direction of travel of the fruit, the teeter member is provided with an opening 56a of much greater area than the stamp opening 56. Secured to the casting 45 is a horizontal plate 54 which is aligned with the opening 56a and dimensioned to fill the area thereof. This plate 54 forms a stationary platform for the fruit passing from the stamp so that said fruit will not further influence the teetering movement of the member 53 as will be later explained.

Consequently, as each piece of fruit is dis charged from the trough T onto the teeter member 53 and initially passes under the wheel 25, the pressure on the fruit will depress the rear end of the teeter member to the position shown in full lines of Figure 6, instantly causing the operation of one of the solenoids to move the stamp of the operating set to marking position, where it is exposed; and, as the fruit rolls rapidly directly under the wheel, it will be pressed against the stamp, receiving a marking therefrom; and as the fruit passes from the stamp onto the platform 54, the springs will return the teeter member to its dotted line position until the next piece of fruit, immediately and closely following, repeats the operation described. This teetering movement of the member 53 is utilized to alternately energize the solenoids 49 and 59 by means of a trigger arm 59 projecting downwardly from one side edge of the teeter actuating a normally opened switch 60 positioned and arranged to close an electric circuit to either of the solenoids, when the rear end of the teeter member is depressed, and for opening the circuit when its rear end is held open by the trigger arm 59 fluence of the springs 57.

To effect the alternate operation of the solenoids 49 and 50 and, consequently, the operation of the two stamps 24a and 24b (of the set which have been adJusted for that purpose) may oscillate beyond the arrested movement of the arm 6|.

which,

txaminer trigger switch 60 to close, under the bias of its spring 60a, and current to flow through the switch to the commutator plate 61, through the brush arm 61 while in its full line position (Figures 2 and 7), to plate 68, thus energizing solenoid 50 which has attracted its armature 50a and by pitman 50b has rotated shaft 44 anti-clockwise to bring the previously inked stamp 24a into stamping position, to bring th stamp 24b and the inking pad b to inking position (see Figure 9).

As the fruit immediately passes directly under the wheel 25 and is pressed in contact with the stamp 24a to receive the marking therefrom, the pressure of the wheel upon the fruit keeps the rear end of the teeter member depressed as aforestated, with current still passing to the solenoid 50; but, when the fruit has passed over the stamp and off the teeter member onto the stationary platform 54, the tension of the springs 51 immediately raises the rear end of the teeter member to its dotted line position (Figures 3 and 6) before the next piece of fruit, immediately following, comes initially under the wheel 25.

In this interval, when the rear end of the teeter member has been thus raised by the springs 57, as just mentioned, the trigger 58 moves into engagement with the switch 60 to open it against its spring 60a, cutting off current to the solenoid 50; and, when this has been accomplished, the tension spring e connecting the arms 0 and 0' moves the arm 0 carrying the pad b (which had been in inking engagement with th stamp 24b) away from the stamp 24b to its dotted line position (Figure 9) and, since the bar a is in contact with the abutment 49c carried by the pitman rod 49a, the stamp carrying shaft 44 is rotated (clockwise in Figure 9 about 45. This movement of the shaft by the tension spring e accomplishes two purposes: (1) it moves the brush arm 6| from its full line position against the stops (9 to its dotted line position whereby the brush 66 thereof contacts with the commutator plate (59 to energize a solenoid 49 when the trigger switch 60 is next closed; and (2) it moves the stamp, which has been in inking position, out of contact with the inking member to avoid burning or injury to the latter from allowing contact thereof with the stamp for too long a period, when it is desirable in some instances to heat the stamps by means later to be described.

Now, as the next succeeding fruit immediately following comes upon the rear end of the teeter member 53 and depresses it, the switch 80 is again closed, allowing current to flow therethrough to the commutator plate 61, to switch arm Bl, to plate 69 energizing solenoid 49. When the solenoid 49 is energized, it attracts its armature 49a and through pitman 49b rotates the stamp carrying shaft 44 clockwise for about 45, thereby moving the stamp 24b from its dotted line position (Figure 9) to assume the stamping position and moving the stamp 24a from dotted line position (Figure 9) to a position opposite the pad b (Figure 9). This movement of the shaft 44 likewise withdraws the armature a from its solenoid coil 50 and causes the abutment 500 on the pitman 50b to contact an end of the bar a on the inking arm 0' moving it against the tension of the spring e to press the pad b against the stamp 24a. As the piece of fruit passes from onto plat form 54 from the stamp 24b, the spring 51 causes the trigger 59 to open the switch 60 de-energizing the solenoid 49 and allowing a tension spring 2 (Figure 9) to swing the arm 0 against the abutment 50c, whereby the pad b is moved out of inking position with the stamp 24a and, simultaneously, the shaft 44 is rotated anti-clockwise for about 45 moving the stamp 24a to dotted line position shown in Figure 9 and moving the brush arm 6| from its dotted line position against stop to its full line position against stop 19 with the brush B6 in contact with commutator plate 68 to solenoid 58. From this position of the brush arm 8|, the next cycle of the machine continues as above described.

The linkage from the solenoids 49 and 50 to the shaft 44, the setting of the solenoids and the movement cf he arms 0 and c of the inking device I under the influence of sprin e is such that the stamp carrying sleeve 24a is rotated in either direction of its movement by the spring e through an arc of about 45, from inking position of the stamp to the neutral position thereof shown in dotted lines of Figure 9, and through an arc of about 45 from neutral position by the operation of either solenoid, thu the shaft is rotated through an arc of 90 in both directions, which corresponds to the position of any pair or set of stamps on the sleeve 24a which have been ad justed for the stamping operation. Of course, the various parts just mentioned may each be adjusted to produce more or less than a 45 movement of the shaft 44 so long as the sum of their total movement is about 90. While it has been rotate the stamp carrying sleeve 24a.

As above suggested, it is desirable in some instances to heat the marking device 5 and this may be accomplished, as shown, by providing one end portion of the shaft 44 with a longitudinal bore in which is disposed a heating coil generally indicated 8!, the conductors 82 leading from the coil are connected to insulated rings 83 on one ductors l6 and 13' (see Figure 2). Also, for lubricating purposes, the other end portion of the shaft 44 may be provided with a bore in which is threaded a lubricating nipple 85 and from which bore are openings 86 and 81, one to lubricate the forward end bearing of the shaft 44 and the other allowing passage of a lubricant to the pivot connections between the pitmans 49b and 50b and crank pin 5!. A suitable lubricating cup 88 may be provided for lubricating the bearing at the other end of the shaft. The other parts may be readily lubricated in any convenient way.

The pads b and b of the inking mechanism I may be inked in any suitable way; however, it is preferred in the present machine to employ an ink-ribbon R. This, therefore, necessitates in practical operation a ribbon advancing and reversing mechanism, particularly adapted to the present machine. As has been explained above, each successive piece of fruit passing under the pressure wheel 25 raises and lowers this wheel and this movement is availed of to advance the ribbon over the pads b and b.

Suitably supported, from the frame F and under the inking mechanism I and the marking mechanism S at the forward end of the machine, are two ribbon spools 89 and 9D removably keyed on spindles 89a and 90a, respectively, journalled at one of their ends in a downwardly extending plate-like casting 45a. The ribbon R is reeled on one spool and wound upon the other, and

conversely, while being passed over the inking pads b and b; and, to this end, the ribbon is trained under an idler wheel 55 underlying the stamp-carrying sleeve 24, then upwardly over outer faces of the inking pads b and b, then over and around the arms a and a and downwardly over the pivot rod d and d, which also serves as guide for the ribbon to and from the spools 89 and 98.

In order to rotate the spindles 89a and 98a to feed the ribbon through the inking mechanism I, the spindle 89a has fast thereon a toothed wheel 89b and a similar toothed wheel 98b is fast on the spindle 98a. A shiftable arm 9| carries a dog 92 designed to engage with either one of the toothed wheels 8% or 98b according to the position of the arm 9| to rotate spool 89 in an anticlockwise direction (Figure 9) to wind the ribbon thereon and to rotate the spool 98 in a clockwise direction to wind the ribbon thereon. In the drawings (as seen particularly in Figure 9), the ribbon is being drawn from the spool 98 and being wound on spool 89; the dog 92 being in cooperative engagement with the wheel 89b. The arm 9| is pivotally mounted, preferably at its lower end as at 93, to an intermediate portion of an actuating lever 94 arranged in a general horizontal position and pivoted at one end, as at 95, to the casting 45a and is connected to a lever 96 by a vertical connecting rod 91. (See Figures 1, 3, and 4.) The lever 96 is rotatably mounted on the shaft 48 and is engaged by a pin 98 carried by a collar 99 fast on the end of the sleeve 29 surrounding the shaft 38, which sleeve is connected to and movable with the arm 28 supporting the pressure wheel 25. The pin 98 is, of course, off center on the collar 99 and is positioned to engage under the lever arm 96 and move through an arc, thereby lifting and lowering the lever arm 96 as the wheel 25 is raised and lowered by the fruit or other spherical objects moving thereunder. This movement of the lever arm 96 is transmitted through the rod 9! to the lever 94 which causes the dog 92 to raise and lower, while in contact with the teeth of the wheel 89b, thus rotating the spool 89 to wind the ribbon thereupon.

The dog arm 9| is shifted from its position shown in Figure 9 to the dotted line position where the dog 92 will engage the wheel 98b, by means of a floating dog shifting cam member I88 having one end pivotally connected to an intermediate portion of the dog arm 9| above its pivot 93 and its other end held by a tension spring |88a against a cam follower or pin I8I carried on reversing member I82 where operation is controlled by ribbon feeler 890 for the spool 89 and feeler 980 for the spool 90. The reversing member I82 may be in the form of an intermediately pivoted lever pivoted at |82a and oscillatable between stops I83 and I83a, one arm carrying the cam follower |8I and its other end portion being pivotally connected to the feelers 89d and 98d. The feelers are yieldably held against the wound ribbon on their spools by any suitable means, such as by a tension spring I84 connecting the feelers. Two reversing pawls in the form of elongated push-bars 89d and 98d are employed for engaging the spool driving toothed wheels 89b and 98b, respectively. The

1 reversing pawl 89d is pivotally mounted on an arm of the reversing lever I82, preferably at the same point or on the same axis with the feeler 98c, and is rendered operative or inoperative by the movement of the latter while the reversing pawl 980 is preferably similarly mounted, on the same axis as the feeler 89c, and controlled by the latter.

The pawl ends of reversing pawl members 89d and 98d are arranged relative to their respective toothed wheels to engage the same in opposition to its winding rotation caused by the dog 92 so that each pawl member may be pushed longitudinally by the winding rotation when its feeler by which it is controlled, has moved to a predetermined position of its associated spool. For instance, as shown, when the ribbon spool 90 has been nearly unwound therefrom, the feeler 98c-following the diminishing diameter of the ribbon of the spool-will have raised or moved the pawl 89d into engagement with the toothed wheel 8% of spool 89, this being accomplished by a link 98e rigidly and adjustably projecting from the feeler 980 to provide a stirrup with which the pawl 89d freely engages. Similarly, a link 98a is carried by the feeler 890 to engage the toothed wheel 98b of spool 98. Consequently, with the pawl 98d in engagement with the wheel 89b, the next upward movement of the actuating lever 94, will bring the dog 92 into engagement with the teeth of the wheel 89b to rotate the same counter-clockwise, which movement of the wheel pushes the pawl 8901 to move the reversing lever I82 about its pivot I82a (counter-clockwise in Figure 9), thereby causing the follower |8| to ride up one side of the inverted V-shaped cam I880 on dog shifting member I88 and at the same time depressing the member I88 against the tension of its spring |88a. After the follower passes the apex of the cam I880, the spring |88a causes the other side of the cam to move against the follower, whose movement about pivot I82a has been arrested by stop I83, thus resulting in the member I88 being shifted to the right (Figure 9) and swinging dog arm 9| to the right about its pivot 93 to bring the dog 92 in cooperative relation with the toothed wheel 98b of spool 98. Now, the ribbon advancing means is in position to rotate the toothed wheel 98b clockwise for winding the ribbon R upon spool 98 from spool 89, pawl 98d having been permitted to move (by gravity) out of contact with the wheel 981) by movement of the feeler 890 on increasing diameter of the ribbon on spool 89, which movement of the feeler has moved the link 892 out of contact with the pawl 98d, Of course, any suitable means may be employed for biasing the pawl 89d and 98d out of contact with their respective wheels 8% and 98b.

The cam I880 on the dog shifting member I88 which yieldably contacts the follower |8| by virtue of the spring I08a provides for a shifting of the dog arm 9| without having a dead center during the shifting movement and, since the follower |8|a always engages one side or the other of the cam I880, the dog arm 9| is maintained yieldably by the spring |88a in its cooperative position with either toothed wheel 89b or 98b according to the position of the shifting member I88.

When the ribbon on the spool 89 has almost been depleted the feeler 890 will have moved the link We which in turn brings the pawl 98d into contact with the toothed wheel 9811 so that upon the next movement of the actuating lever 94 the dog 92, through the wheel 98b, will push the pawl 98d to move the reversing member I82 clockwise on its pivot I 82a, resulting in the reverse of the operation above described and the shift- :ulr.

ing of the dog arm 9| to its full line position shown in Figure 9 so that the ribbon will be wound onto the spool 89 from the spool 90.

In order to lock the toothed wheels 8% and 90b against'reverse movement to that imparted by the dog 92, when the dog 92 is operating upon either of said wheels, a shiftable latch member I is provided, carrying a dog 92a similar to the dog 92. This latch member is pivoted at one end and is yieldably connected by a spring I06 to the distal end of the dog arm 9|. Thus it will be seen that as the dog arm 9| shifts from toothed wheel 89b to toothed wheel 90b, and conversely, the latch member I05 will be correspondingly shifted and be yieldably held in contact with such wheel as is being operated by the dog 92.

From the foregoing it will thus be obvious that great speed is possible as a result of the design and combination of parts of the present machine and that single fruit passing over the machine causes every part to function so that the speed of operation is directly proportional to the speed at which the fruit is fed to the machine. It will also be obvious that the machine offers many advantages over others now in existence, principally due to its speed of operation and the positioning of the fruit so that the marking will occur on the side of the same rather than at its stem or blossom ends. By actual tests it has been found possible to handle an excess of 300 units of fruit a minute over a single line and to produce a perfect mark on 98% of this fruit. The simplicity of the mechanism will result in a much less expensive machine than is now available to the trade and its mechanical arrangement will permit installation without change in existing equipment as is now necessary with existing machines.

While the above describes the machine as at present devised, it is to be understood that certain changes in construction, combination, and arrangement may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, particularly as pointed out in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a machine for marking rollable articles and which includes a feeding trough along which the articles roll successively, a marking device disposed under the bottom of the trough and including a plurality of stamps at least two of which are movable successively from stamping position through an opening in the bottom of said trough to an inking position and from an inking position to stamping position, means for actuating said stamps, means for controlling said stamp actuating means and operated by each succeeding article moving down the trough to said marking device and next to be marked, a yieldably mounted pressure device overlying the stamp in stamping position and between which pass the article to be stamped thus raising the pressure device and causing the latter to press the article against the stamp, inking means including an inked ribbon for inking the stamps when in inking position, and means actuated by the movement of the pressure device, caused by the articles passing thereunder, for feeding the ribbon inking means when said stamps are out of contact therewith.

2. In a machine for marking rollable articles fed thereto, a marking device comprising a stamping station and an inking station, a to and fro movable member, a pair of spaced stamps carried by said member and movable therewith and each arranged to be brought alternately to the stamping station from the inking station and to the inking station from the stamping station by said member in one direction of its movement, electric actuator means for moving said member alternately in opposite directions to effect said positioning of said stamps and including electrical circuits, and an automatic selector switch in circuit with said actuator means and operated by the movement of said member for effecting said alternate to and fro movements, and control means operated by the article moving to said stamping position to be marked for closing said selected circuits when contacted by said article and opening said circuit when out of contact with said article.

3. In a machine for marking rollable articles fed thereto, a marking device comprising a stamping station and an inking station, a to and fro movable member, a pair of spaced stamps carried by said member and movable therewith and each arranged to be brought alternately to the stamping station from the inking station and to the inking station from the stamping station by movement of said member in one direction, electric actuator means for moving said member alternately in opposite directions to effect said positioning of said stamps and including electrical circuits, an automatic selector switch in circuit with said actuator means and operated by the movement of said member for effecting said alternate to and fro movements, 2. depressible platform at the stamping station normally biased to raised position and adapted to be depressed by the articles passing thereover, said platform having an opening therein through which the stamp in stamping position may project and extending for a distance in advance of said stamping station with respect to the travel of the article through the machine so as to be depressed by the article before reaching the stamping station and during the stamping operation, a normally opened current control switch in said circuits and closed by said depressible platform when the latter is depressed, and a stationary platform upon which the articles move immediately after being stamped, whereby the depressible platform is permitted to raise to open said control switch,

4. In a machine as set forth in claim 3 wherein there are means for moving said to and fro member to positions intermediate said stamping and inking stations when the articles move from said depressible platform and which movement of the to and fro member causes the selector switch to move to sition.

5. In a machine for marking rollable articles comprising an oscillatable shaft, a pair of stamps carried by said member and arranged each to be alternately brought from stamping position to inking position and from inking position to stamping position by movement of said shaft in each direction of its movement; electrical means for intermittently moving said shaft in opposite directions of its movement including electrical circuits controlling each direction of movement of the shaft, a selector switch for selecting one of said circuits comprising a switch arm frictionally mounted on said shaft to permit limited movement thereof with the shaft to circuit selecting positions, a control switch for opening and closing said circuits, means for moving said shaft and the stamps thereon to intermediate positions when the control switch is open and another selecting powhich movement of said shaft moves the selector switch to another circuit selecting position.

6. In a machine for marking rollable articles fed thereto, a marking device comprising an oscillatable shaft, a pair of spaced stamps thereon arranged that one stamp will be in stamping position and the other in inking position when the shaft has completed each of its movements in one direction, electric solenoid means for moving the shaft in each direction of its movement and including an operative connection between said solenoid means and said shaft, inking means for each stamp and actuated by said solenoid means for contacting the stamp moved to inking position, electrical circuits to said solenoid means and including an automatic selector switch for alternately selecting one of said solenoid circuits, means actuated by the article fed to the marking device to be stamped and including a current control switch in said circuits, and means for moving said shaft and the stamps thereon to an intermediate position when said solenoid means is de-energized, said selector switch including a switch arm frictionally mounted on said shaft to permit limited movement thereof with the shaft to said intermediate positions for selecting another solenoid circuit.

7. In a machine for marking rollable articles, a marking device, means for feeding said articles to said device, said marking device comprising a stamping station and inking station, an oscillatable shaft, a sleeve rotatably mounted about said shaft and adapted to carry on the outer surface thereof a plurality of pairs of stamps, the stamps of each pair being spaced about said sleeve and arranged to have one stamp of each pair at the stamping station while the other is in the inking station when the shaft has completed a movement in one direction, means for adjusting said sleeve about said shaft to select any pair of stamps for effective operation, and means for oscillating said shaft.

8. In a machine as set forth in claim 7 wherein said adjusting means consists of a pin projection on the shaft to engage a notched edge of said sleeve, and yieldable means moving said sleeve in contact with said pin.

9. In a machine for marking rollable articles fed thereto, a marking device comprising an oscillatable member, a pair of spaced stamps thereon arranged so that one stamp will be in stamping position and the other in inking position when the member has completed each of its movements in one direction, electric actuating means for moving the member in each direction of its movement, inking means actuated by said electric actuating means for contacting the stamp moved to inking position, electrical circuits to said actuating means and including an automatic selector switch for alternately selecting one of said circuits, means actuated by the article fed to the marking device to be stamped and including a current control switch in said circuits.

10. A machine as set forth in claim 9 further characterized by means for moving said stamps to an intermediate position when said actuating means is de-energized for moving said selector switch to another circuit selecting position.

11. In a machine for marking rollable articles and having a guiding trough for causing said article to roll successively and unhindered to a stamping station in rolling contact with a stamp;

a marking device disposed under said trough at the said stamping station and including a to and fro movable member having a pair of stamps movable alternately into stamping position through an opening in said trough, power means for actuating said stamps in unison to and fro to shift one stamp from stamping position to an inking position and the other from an inking position to stamping position, a yieldably mounted member arranged to be engaged and operated by each succeeding article approaching and before the next article to be stamped reaches said stamping station, and means controlled by said operation of said yieldable member for operating said actuating means to cause the latter, when said member is engaged by each article, to move one of said stamps to stamping position to be contacted by said approaching article and to move the other stamp to the inking position.

12. In a machine for marking rollable articles and having a guiding trough for causing said articles to roll successively and unhindered to a stamping station in rolling contact with a stamp; a marking device disposed under said trough at said stamping station and including a to and fro movable member having a pair of stamps thereon and movable therewith to be brought alternately into stamping position through an opening in said trough, means for actuating said to and fro movable member to shift one stamp from stamping position to an inking position and the other from an inking position to stamping position, a yieldably mounted member arranged to be engaged and operated by each succeeding article moving toward said stamping station, means controlled by said operation of the yieldable member for operating said actuating means'to cause the latter to move one of said stamps to stamping position, and means acting upon said to and fro movable member to move said stamps to an intermediate position between their stamping and inking positions immediately after the stamping operation of each article and before said controlled means is next operated by said yieldable member.

13. In a machine for marking rollable articles and having a guiding trough for causing said articles to roll successively and unhindered to a stamping station in rolling contact with a stamp; a marking device disposed under said trough at said stamping station and including a to and fro movable member having a pair of stamps thereon and movable therewith to be brought alternately into stamping position through an opening in said trough, means for actuating said to and fro movable member to shift one stamp from stamping position to an inking position and the other from an inking position to stamping position, a yieldably mounted platform in the bottom of said trough and having one portion arranged rearwardly of said stamp opening in the direction of movement of the articles to said stamping station and normally biased to raised position and adapted to be depressed by articles passing thereover, an electrical switch operable, when said platform is depressed, to actuate said actuating means to move a stamp to stamping position prior to the contact of said article with the stamp, said platform being held depressed by the article while engaged with the stamp.

MABRY D. KEm Y. RICHARD SIAS.

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