US2472563A - Can line divider - Google Patents

Description

June 7,1949. E. BOURLAND 2,472,563

01m LINE DIVIDER Filed Dec. 9, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

2. ELI BOURLAND WM a ATTORNEY June 7, 1949. E. BOURLAND CAN LINE DIYIDER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed D60. 9, 1946 JLI UH UU-U.

INVENTOR. ELI BOURLA/VD fl M Z Patented June 7, 1949 UN IZ'ITTED lITSJTA-TIE ZS -"-2;472,563

.CAN' L I NE DIVIDER Eli'BourlandflMillbraie flighlands fialifs assigno'r to" Pacific Can Company, :smi raneiscosoanc,

a -corporation of Nevada Application December 9, 1946, "serial-Nannies:

lwGlaims.

Thisinven'tioni' relates to -an improved can" line divider.

Oneobject' of the invention is 'toprovide a can line divider which will divertncans or other cylindricalor'sphericalbodies "ie dfromany source into two or more lines.

Another "object of "thisinvention is to provide a can dividerv whichwil1 cause aminimum of wearupon'the cans"; to provide ad'eviceof maximumsimplicityan'd few moving parts ;.'t0" provide a can line "divider "that needsfnosynchronizing with other parts; to provide a-can line "divider that wili'notin'jure cans'ba'cke'djup in themachine by blocked:dischargeilines; to provide a can line 'divider'thatwill feed? an'uninterrupted supply of cans to one 1ine"'a'nd"divide' the surplus cans between one or.more other lines, etc.

Other objects'and advantages or this invention will appear from "therfollowing description.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a sectional view in front elevation of a device embodyingthis invention Fig. 2 is a'plan' view taken along-the line II-II of Fig. 1;

' Fig. 3 is a view in front elevation'showing the exterior of the device;

Fig. 4 is a vie'win side elevation partly in section taken" on the 'line'IVIV ofFig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view'in front elevation of a modified form ofthe device; and

Fig.6 is a diagrammatic ViewJof a modification.

The'housing ltrencloses a rectangular 'box like area in which aline' of cans entering in single file will be divided into two lines of 'single'file. The cams ll enter at" l2 and leave through the openings I3 and' it.

The housing I!) used to illustrate 'the'inven tion is made up of a'front'plate l5, a rear-plate l6, and two'resiliently mounted side plates I1 and I8. Around the top' and bottom of the housing I0 are angle-iron iramesZfland-Zl to Whichthe front plate and the rear plate'lt are fastened. Bolts 22*extend from the'side plates '11 andl8 and are slidably mounted-in the frames andZI where the springs-23 hold-them in a yielding -position. Theinward position of the side plates is regulated 'by'the lock nuts 2 4.

Separation of the-single hne of cans entering the housing I 0 at 12 into two lines of cans leavingthe housing atl'3 and I4 is accomplished by the expedient of; an *eccentrically mounted "soft mounted ."subs'taghtially bar allel with the" bottom of thehousing' lfl ai id with=the"side plates l1 and I8, and aboveilahd betweemthe "outlet openings 1 3 and 'l 4. ""f Sui-table conveyor'systems connect to the inl et I2 and the outlet I 3 and M to'handle the "cans before an d lafter "separation. The preferred relation' of 'the di'mensions of the" cylinder 25 and the cans to the space between "the two extreme positions of"the cylinder and "the side plates" I Tami- 18 is *such'that there should be less 'spacethan the"can":diameter between the side plate andtheicylirider' 'when the cylinder is in'itspo'sition closest 'to' the "side plate," and more space than the can "diameter when the cylinder is'ihits position-farthesttrom theside plate. In other words,"the cylinder'shou-ld have such a diameterand' bemounted offpenter on the shaft 26' tos-uch 'an amouh t;. that'as itrotates; its positions of"maximum""clearanoe* from "the side plates |'1"and"l8 ifrill prtnride"efs'paoe wmore than" equal to the diameter "d of thecans i'passing therethrough and its 'pos'itions "ofmi'n'imum clearance willpr'ovide aspa'ce l7 less'ithan the diameter d of the cans. I I

The "shaft p'irefer-ably "should; "be approximately "equidistant-from the" plates l2! "and l8','and high enough so that' thecylinderffi will clear thelips" 29 ofthe outlet': openings 3 and I 4.

This willtbe madecleari'irrFlg. '1 Where a is the distance-7between the side plate I 8 and the edge ofthecyhnder 25*wh'enf thecyli'nder isfarthest awayfromthemat'e l' b is"the distance between the side platefl and the edgeof'the'cylinder25 when the cylinder is closesttdtheside'platel1 and the "springs 23 "are extended; 'd is the diameterofthe' c'ans "H ;'"e is thief-diameter of the cylinder 25 rand f is thei-width betweenth'e side walls ll and-"18' whemheld-in' by'ftheirsprings 23. One other dimension is of interest',iname1y; thatshown by g. This istaken when thesideplatel1 has been "forced outwardly" because a loan H was caught between*theiface otithe' cylinderf25 and the plate 'I'l. -"'Something has :to' give because the distance b is less t-han' jfdf the .canvdiameter; so the dimension-g is equal? to 'd'th can diam'eter. When the side'w'alYl! isin the dotted line position, the spring 23 should still have clearance for further co'm'pr'e'ssiowas asafeguardagainst 'a can or 'otherhobject of" greater. dimension than d getting-caught-ybetween"thereylindeffiand the side plate *1 1. i Thepre'ferable ?relationship of these dimensions 'cahbesummanzed. as follows:

bodied cylinder 25'' set'withits axisin substanh ul b d tial alignment "withthe axis or thecans. Preferj g g j iifi gfi ably the *cyl1nder"'25*is-rotatedby the shaft- 26 g Should be at least equal 130 a mounted in bearings-"21 the plates l5 and it. A" sprocket 28-in the 'sh'aft ifireceives a chain or belt "from: an y s'uitable power source.

In a i'deviceir for separating "the lineiof cans into two "lines, one cylinder 'is sumcientg-and it is Withithese relationships-fin mind the operation of the idevice willi-be cleari The eans pour into the housing-iat l 2. -lfi the', cylihder 25- is in the position "showii 'in full lines in i le. '1 when a can II hits it, the can will be deflected to the right. If it is moving fast it may fall through the opening a into the outlet I4 before the cylinder 25 has rotated into its dotted line position and the clearance dimension becomes g or less than the can diameter. If the cylinder 25 is rotating slowly several cans may pass through the space a into the outlet I4 before the cylinder rotates enough to make the clearance over the outlet I3 equal to the can diameter d. So long as this latter clearance is equal at least to d the cans will be diverted into the outlet I3 and its conveyor C, while no cans will be going into the outlet conveyor at 4.

While the present device could be set to send alternate cans in exact alternate sequence into the outlets I3 and I4, this is not usually necessary in practice, so it does not matter if several cans go into one outlet before it is closed off and several cans then go into the other outlet. The result will average out so that a fairly equal division of the cans is made between the two outlets.

It sometimes happens that the cans being fed into the outlet conduits at I3 and I4 will not be taken out of the conduit as fast as they are fed into it with the result that the cans will back up into the housing III as shown on the right hand side. When this occurs (as well as when a can happens to come into the space between the cylinder 25 and the side plate l8 as the space is narrowing so that the can is caught and held by the cylinder 25) the cylinder 25 will press on the can II and through it force the side plate I8 outwardly into the dotted line position. This causes no injury to the can or to the machine. When the cans blocking the outlet I4 move on, the can adjacent the cylinder 25 will drop down as soon as the dimension becomes equal to a.

This feature makes the device foolproof and eliminates injury to the cans a well as eliminating any need for synchronizing the divider with other parts of the can line, especially if the machines located beyond the outlet conduits I3 and I4 have to be stopped from time to time. With this device the operator need not concern himself with stopping rotation of the cylinder 25 because no injury will come to the cans held on it when the line stops moving.

In Fig. is shown a modification of the device where the line of cans is to be diverted into three outlet conduits 30, 3| and 32. The object of this device is not to get an equal division of the cans between the three outlets, but to feed cans without hindrance into the middle outlet and into the outside outlets go the overflow, This has an advantage, for if the outlets 30, 3| and 32 are connected to three filling machines, for example, then the operator can feed the cans in at I 2 at the capacity of the three fillin machines. The result will be that each line will get its fair share of cans.

In Fig. 5 the same reference numerals are used where possible. There are two cylinders driven by a chain 33 to keep the cylinders synchronized to each other. The dimensions between the side plates I1 and I8 and the cylinders 25 are the same as on Fig. 1. The dimension is is constant and is equal to the dimension a in Fig. 1; that is, 70 should be greater than the can diameter d.

In operation the device of Fig. 5 will feed a continuous line of cans to the center outlet 3| through the gap it between the cylinders. There will be little interference with this flow of cans into the outlet 3| from the rotation of the cylinders 25. If the machine connected to the center line 3| uses up cans as fast as they are coming through the inlet I2, very few cans will be diverted to the outlets 30 and 32. However, the minute that cans slow down in the conduit 3| they will back up into the space It between the cylinders 25 and additional cans entering at I2 will be deflected to the side outlets 3D and 32. They will enter these outlets during the time the cylinders 25 are away from the side plates l1 and I8 by the dimension a.

A way of getting a line of cans divided into four lines is to use three of the devices like Fig. 1 arranged in pyramid-like form with the outlet I3 of the top one connected to the inlet I2 of the lower left one and the outlet I4 of the top one connected to the inlet I2 of the lower right one. This is shown diagrammatically in Fig. 6.

It will be apparent from the description and drawings that I have provided a device which is simple to construct and which is also simple to adjust so that different sized cans may be divided. The word can as used herein and in the claims is intended to cover spherical bodies and cylindrical articles other than cans in the popular sense of the word.

Changes may be made in the size, shape, material and arrangement of parts which do not depart from the spirit of my invention or from the scope of my claims.

I claim:

1. In a can line divider, the combination with a receptacle having side plates, of cylindrical means rotatably mounted in said receptaile so as to move in a generally horizontal position toward and away from said side plates as it rotates, a can feeding inlet opening into said receptacle and positioned so that the articles being fed will lie adjacent said cylindrical means; resilient mounting means for said side plates so that during rotation of said cylindrical means the spacing between said means and the adjacent side plate will vary from a space through which said can will not pass to a space through which it will pass; means for rotating said cylindrical means, and outlets in the bottom of said receptacle through which each can will be discharged.

2. In a can line divider, the combination with a receptacle having side plates, a pair of cylindrical means rotatably mounted in said receptacle so as to move in a generally horizontal position toward and away from said side plates as it rotates, a can feeding inlet opening into said receptacle and positioned so that the articles being fed will lie adjacent said cylindrical means; resilient mounting means for said side plates so that during rotation of said cylindrical means the spacing between said means and the adjacent side plate will vary from a space through which said can will not pass to a space through which it will pass; means for rotating said cylindrical means; and outlets in the bottom of said receptacle through which each can will be discharged.

3. A can line divider, including a housing having an inlet adapted to receive cans, a plurality of outlets in its bottom for said cans, and sides adjacent the outside edges of said outlets, a shaft mounted in said housing substantially parallel with its bottom and parallel with said sides and above and between said outlets, means for rotating said shaft, and a cylinder mounted off center on said shaft and of such a diameter that as it rotates its positions of maximum clearance from said sides will provide a space more than equal to the diameter of the cans passing therethrough, and its position of minimum clearance from said sides will provide a space less than equal to the diameter of the cans passing therethrough, said sides and the periphery of said cylinder being resiliently movable with respect to each other under abnormal stress.

4. A can line divider, including a housing having an inlet adapted to receive cans, a plurality of outlets in its bottom for said cans, and resiliently mounted side plates adjacent the outside edges of said outlets, a shaft mounted in said housing substantially parallel with its bottom and parallel with said side plates and above and between said outlets, means for rotating said shaft, and a cylinder mounted 01f center on said shaft and of such a diameter that as it rotates its positions of maximum clearance from said side plates will provide a space more than equal to the diameter of the cans passingtherethrough, and its positions of minimum clearance from said side plates will provide a space less than equal to the diameter of the cans passing therethrough.

5. A can line divider, including a housing having an inlet adapted to receive cans, a plurality of outlets in its bottom for said cans, and sides adjacent the outside edges of said outlets, a shaft mounted midway between said sides in said housing substantially parallel with its bottom and parallel with said sides and above and between said outlets, means for rotating said shaft, and a cylinder mounted off center on said shaft and of such a diameter that as it rotates its positions of maximum clearance from said sides will provide a space more than equal to the diameter of the cans passing therethrough, and its positions of minimum clearance from said sides will provide a space less than equal to the diameter of the cans passing therethrough, said sides and the periphery of said cylinder being resiliently movable with respect to each other under abnormal stress.

6. A can line divider including a housing having an inlet to receive cans, a plurality of outlets for said cans in the bottom of said housing, and resiliently mounted side plates at the side extremities of said housing; eccentric means rotatably positioned in said housing substantially parallel to said side plates and to the bottom of said housing; the size and eccentricity of said means being such that a can can pass between said means and each of said side plates during part of each period of rotation and cannot pass between said means and said plates during another part of each said period.

7. A can line divider including a housing having an inlet to receive cans, a plurality of outlets for said cans in the bottom of said housing, and resiliently mounted side plates at the side extremities of said housing; eccentric means rotatably positioned in said housing substantially parallel to said side plates and, to the bottom of said housing; the size and eccentricity of said means being such that a can can pass between said means and each of said side plates during part of each period of rotation and cannot pass between said means and said plates during another part of each said period, the maximum opening between said means and one said plate occurring at a different time from that of the maximum 6 opening between said means and the other said plate.

8. A can line divider, including a housing having an inlet adapted to receive cans, a main outlet in its bottom and one or more outlets adjacent said main outlet, and sides adjacent the outside edges of said housing, a pair of cylindrical means mounted on a generally horizontal axis for eccentric rotation in said housing adjacent said sides, the spacing between said cylindrical means being greater than the diameter of a can whereby an unobstructed way is provided for the passage of cans to said main outlet, and the spacing between each said cylindrical means and its adjacent sides being such that a can can pass between it and said sides during part of each cycle of rotation and cannot pass during the balance of said cycle of rotation, one of said sides and the periphery of the cylindrical means adjacent thereto being resiliently movable with respect to eachother upon cans lodging in the space therebetween, and means for rotating said cylindrical means.

9. A can line divider, including a housing having an inlet adapted to receive cans, a main outlet in its bottom and one or more outlets adjacent ,said main outlet, and side plates adjacent the outside edges of said housing, a pair of cylindrical means mounted on a generally horizontal axis for eccentric rotation in said housing adjacent said side plates, the spacing between said cylindrical means being greater than the diameter of a can whereby an unobstructed way is provided for the passage of cans to said main outlet, and the spacing between each said cylindrical means and its adjacent side plate being such that a can can pass between it and said side plate during part of each cycle of rotation and cannot pass during the balance of said cycle of rotation, and means for rotating said cylindrical means in unison whereby .the space between adjacent surfaces of said cylindrical means will remain substantially constant. I 10. A can line divider, including a housing having an inlet adapted to receive cans, a plurality of outlets in its bottom for said cans, and side plates adjacent the outside edges of said outlets,

a plurality of shafts mounted in said housing substantially parallel with its bottom and parallel with said side plates and above and between said outlets, means for rotating said shafts at the same speed, and a plurality of cylinders each mounted off center on its respective shaft, and spaced so that at all times a can can pass between adjacent cylinders, and spaced in relation to said side plates and of such a diameter that as the cylinder adjacent either of said side plates rotates the position of maximum clearance from the adjacent plate will provide a space through which a can will pass, and the position of minimum clearance will provide a space less than equal to the diameter of the cans passing therethrough.

ELI BOURLAND.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,940,526 Berger Dec. 19, 1933 2,127,924 Kimball et al Aug. 23, 1938

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