US2511714A - Automatic bag feeder to conveyer - Google Patents

Description

June 13, 1950' KELLER 2,511,714

AUTOMATIC BAG FEEDER TO CONVEYERS Filed May 26, 1948 4 Shets-Sheet 1 ""HHHII IIIHI lllllW'" INVENTOR. GREGORY H. KELLER June 13, 1950 KELLER 2,511,714

AUTOMATIC BAG FEEDER TO CONVEYERS Filed May 26, 1948 v 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. GREGORY H.. KELLER BY Q 2 ATTzS June 13, 1950 G, H. KELLEgQ 2,511,714

M C BAG FEEDER T0 CONVEYERS INVENTOR. GREGORY H. KELLER BY Y June 13, 1950 G. H. KELLER 2,511,714

AUTOMATIC'BAG FEEDER TO CONVEYERS Filed May 26, 1948 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 1NVEN T 0R. GREGORY H. KELLER Patented June 13, 1950 UNIT STATES PATENT OFFICE Gregory H. Keller, Helena, Ark. Application May 2c, 1948, SerialNo. 29,251 9 Claims. (01. 19826) This invention relates to continuous belt conveyors, and has for one of its immediate objects the provision of a conveyor which is particularly well suited for use, as an adjunct to a bag sealing machine, although not restricted in its utility to any specific application.

Tall bags which have been filled and are to be transported by a belt conveyor to a bag sealing machine must be held in upright posture on the belt; and in order to prevent the bags tipping over enroute itis necessary to provide supporting means on the belt, such as individual pockets into which the filled bags can be placed.

In a sense, it would be feasible for the operators who fill the bags or attend the bag-filling machines to place them manually in conveyor pockets; but it has been found to be a serious impedimentqto a bag fillers output capacity to require him to divert'his attention from the bagfilling'operations injorderf properly to plaqe'th bags, afterv filling on, the conveyor belt. this is especially true where sever'al operators are placing bags onlthe convcyor belt at differ: ent points. therealon'g, because in those cases each operator,. except,the one ,farthest from the sealing machine, would have to exercise caution to avoid placing bags in pockets already occugpied, or attempting to. do so. j

With a view to simplifying to the greatest possible extent they-operation of placing filled bags. in empty conveyor pockets and thereby in-' creasingeach operators' output, the present in; vention contemplatesthe provision of feed hoppers or chutes, one for-each operator, into, which i the operators place the bags, as they. are] filled j and it further. contemplates the provision oi mechanism'which operates automatically to irelease thebags from, the hopners so that they fall only-into empty pocketsfon thefconveyor.

Additional objectsd'and novel features 'oflthe subject ,invention will be apparent as the en} suing detailed'description 'progressesl 1. 'Referring to the. drawings wh'ch accompany this specification; ,1 h i L Figure l is an elevational view Ora belt conveyor in accordance [with the invention, the'view being brokenintotwo parts the lower of which is afoohtinuatiohofthe right endl of the'upper part, four receivingstations whereat filled bags are placed upon. the jconveyor being illustrated;

Fig. 2"is an enlarged sectional view taken'at line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. ,3 is a reproduction of a portion'of Fig. 2,-

illustrating the operation of a trap which serves to release the filled bags from one of the hoppers in properly timed relation to the movement of the conveyor belt; 3 Fig. 4 is an enlargedfragmentary side elevational view, showing one of the receiving-stations and the mechanism thereat which functions to operate the trap at proper times, s'o'that-the filled bags fall from the hopper, one at a'time, into pockets provided for their reception on the conveyor belt; I

Fig. 5 is an isometric view of a rocker member forming a part of the mechanism which functions to release the bags at the proper instants; Fig. 6 is a fragmentary plan'view,'-partly'in section, taken at line 6'-5 of Fig. 4;

vFig. '7 is'a view identical with Fig. 6 except that it portrays an alternative condition of the mechanism therein shown; and j Fig. 8 is an isometric view of one of the several blocks which are attachedto the conveyor belt and arranged thereon to form pockets for reception of filld'bags'the blocks serving to hold the bags in upright posture.

' In addition to suitable supporting framework, which does not nod to be described in detail, the conveyor includes a continuous belt [0, a driving pulley l2, a guide pulley [4, a tensioning pulley l6, and a number of idler rollers [8, which latter serve merely to support the lower run of the belt and prevent excessive sagging thereof. There are shown resting on the upperlrun of the belt H1, in Fig. 1, number of bags 20 in upright posture. Thesebags'may be assumed to have been put on the conveyor at various stations therealong, which stations are identified by reference numerals 22, 23, 24 and 25, respectively, situated at oneside only of the conveyor belt. There maybe any feasible number of such stations, on each side of the belt, depending largely upon the length of the conveyor and the capacity of the bag sealing machine served therebyit being here assumed, for purposes of description, that the conveyor is employed in conjunction with a bag sealing machine.

The belt I0 is driven in the direction indicated byarrows in Fig. 1, and has its delivery endpositioned adjacent a sealing machine, shown fra mentarily and identified by the reference numeral 26. The present invention is not concerned with the sealing machine, per se, and, for that reason, there is no occasion to do more than to indicate its position, as has been done in Fig. 1, except to mention that as the bags are taken from the belt by the sealing machine they travel in a horizontal path, as clearly indicated.

Because the bags which the subject conveyor is designed to handle are too tall and thin to stand erect by Virtue of their own stability, lateral supporting; means. must'. be providedtherefon. To. that end there are attached to the belt W a large number of blocks 28, conveniently of wood, one of which is shown isometrically in Fig. 8, together with the metal fittingafor attaching the. same to the belt. Each block 28 is of rectangular form, having a sloping edge 28' anchis secured at the bottom to a metal strip 29 whichextends transversely of the belt and is provided with countersunk bolt holes 30 to receive bolts. by means of which attachment to the belt is efi'ected. AJmetahplate: 32 is; securedi to. one side. of. the block 28, along the lower edge thereef,.,by means. or woodscrews 3.3.- and 34,. and, the. said. plate.3'2' may! be welded, to: the crossestrip 29= The several blocks 28-. are. located: on. the belt zig-zag fashionr as clearly depictedin Figs. 6 and. 7, being so spaced as to form two parallelseries. of pockets extending. lengthwise of the belt. The pockets; of. one seriesare identified by the. reference: numerals 36- while. those of. the. other. series areiidentified by the reference. numerals 38.. The blocks form,- conjointly, three; sides. of each pocket, while. the tourth. sideis formed by a. stationary guide rail 4!], 42, placed at either side of thetwaseries, or blocks. These. guide rails. may be strips. of wood, secured to the. framework of theconveyor and. they overliethe. two edge portions; or the upper. run. of thebelt. The pockets are proportionedin conformity with the size of the bags tobe handled, largeenough toreeei-ve: the bags. freely and small. enough to ensure that the bags will beheldiuprightm v The. tour stations 2Z2 .-,..inc1usive, as well. as suchadditional stations as. may be placed at the opposite sideoi. the. conveyor, usually are situated adjacent bag filling machines from which an operator takes the bags, as. they are filled; and w transfers themone. at a. time to the. conveyor belts I It is important. that theoperator be. able to devote. his entire attention to the bag-filhngz op.- eration, without having. to. divert. attention. to

seeing, to it that. thefilled. bags are each placed man. empty pocket. onlthe conveyorr 'll'he task of so doing,, without. mechanical. assistance, would headditionally-complicated and. hampered; where several.- operators. are using; the same. conveyor,

1 because. all. the operators, exceptv one, would; be

obliged to make sure, in ea ch instance,,. that a selectedpocket is an.- emlptyLQneQ. Hvenwhen only one operator is usingthezconveyor there. wouldbe a. material loss of. time involved in placing the bags, in. the pockets, manually; .and'where several operators. are. involved, simultaneously, the loss at time. would. begreatly increased; due. to the necessity of distinguishing. empty pockets. from those-alreadyfillect. I H

By virtue ofthe electro-mechanical'. provisions about to be described,. each. operator has only to-take-each bag, as itis'filled, and place ina hopper, paying no attention to the conveyor; and the mechanism automatically determines when an empty pocket is about to come into position to receive a bag, and automatically releases the bag from the hopper at the proper time, so that it falls accurately into the empty pocket.

All the several stations are identical, save for being right and left hand, when they are disposed on both sides of the conveyor, and it will be necessary to describe only one of them. Station 22 is the one selected for description because the sectional views of Figs. 2 and 3 are taken immediately adjacent that station, as indicated by the position of line 2-2 on Fig. 1.

Referring more'especially toEigs. 2- 5,; inclusive, asheetmetal funnel-like.- hopper to having a vertical chute 46a is suspended by means of a. suitable supporting structure so that a, discharge opening. atits. lower, extremity overlies the row of pockets 38; and it is so positioned, lengethwise of the. conveyor belt, that a pocket will be in position to receive each bag upon being released from the hopper: The operator drops the filled bags, one at. a time, into the open upper end of the hopper, which, as will be seen, is flared at the top, on three sides, so as to. facilitate insertion oi the; bags. The. passageway through the chute portion. litdissoclimensioned as to afford a; fairly close sliding fit for the filled bags; thus ensuring that. each bag will be upright posture when discharged from the chute.

Ainetalplate. 4.5, normally positioned below the hopper discharge opening, as shown in Figs. 2 and. 4,. functions as a; trap to retain each bag within the lower end of the chute 44a until anempty conveyor pocket 38 is in position to receive the. same. The plate {5 normall'y'is positioned as: shown in. Fig. 2, but: is: movable, as indicated by thedouble-headed arrow on that figure to an alternate open. position, as shown in Fig. 3, to release. a. bag 20' resting thereon. Upon being released; the bag. drops. by" gravity, as depicted Fig. 3".

Mounted on the hopper and pivoted at 46' is an: arm 48' which projects" through an opening in the. front. of the hopper and normallyis positioned,.as per Fig. 2, sothat" its lower end'portion will. intercept each bag as' it descends through the. chute. Arm 4:8 normally is held in that position. by a. leaf spring. .49 which is resilient enough to. allow the arm 4.8to' swing out of the way under, the weight of asingle filled bag. A

, contact spring 50 is secured at its upper end to the-arm 48 so as. to be movable therewith and, has a contact 5|. at its, lower end which, is adapted to. engage a fixedcontact 52 when, the arm 48 is. deflected under the weight of a; bag. as per Fig. 3-. The aforementioned contacts are nor mally open,. and; the purpose. thereof is to condition the energizing circuitof a plunger solenoid", to bedescrfibedlatenwhich controls operation of the trap. Were it not for said contacts the trap would open each time. an empty pocket 38 passed the. station 22,. irrespective of the presence or absence of a. filled hag inthe hopper; and that, of course, would be objectionable because of. the useless wear. anditear and current consumption involved.v

The trap 45 is riveted at one end. to an upright arm 54 whichis fulcrumedona pin 56'.carried .by a. bracket 51- secured to the frame of the machine, said arm being bent, as shown, to clear the conveyor belt. and other, parts of the. mechanism. A leaf spring, 58 servesto return the arm 54. anditrap 4.5; to their normal. positions (Fig. 2) and suitable stop means are provided to limit the movements of said arm in either direction.

The conveyor belt runs continuouslywfind it will be clear enough, assuming a filled bag in the hopper, that if the trap is opened at precisely the right instant the bag will drop into a pocket on the conveyorbelt. But inasmuch as some ofthe pockets mayalready be occupied when they reach the station 22, it is essential to make sure that the trap will be opened only when an empty pocket is at hand to receive the bag',;and that must be accomplished automatically,

The arm 54 is actuated by means of the rocker member 68, which is shown isometricallyinFig. 5, and in plan view in Figs. 6 and 'l.- This'memher is pivotally mounted on a Z-shaped bracket I52 secured to the frame of the machine and carrying anupright pintle 63 which extendsthrough the bore of a sleeve 64 forming an integral part of the rocker member. Welded to thesleeve 64 are two arms 65 and 66, disposed substantially in quadrature, and :the latter includes a bent portion 661: which functions as a feeler and also as a cam follower, as presently will be made clear. Extending from the free end of the bent portion 66a of the arm 66, and integral therewith, is a lug 61.

The rocker member 60 is spring-biased-clockwise, as viewed in Figs. 6 and '1, by means of a coil spring 68 which bears against the arm 65; and the bent portion 66a of the arm 66 is adapted to enter each of the pockets, under the impetus of said spring, as said pockets move into registration therewith. But if a pocket is occupied by a filled bag, the arm portion 66a will be preventedfrom entering. As the belt moves forward, the blocks successively strike the inclined surface 66b and, in the manner of cams acting upon cam followers, are effective torotate the rocker member counter-clockwise, as clearly illustrated in Fig. '1. This movement of the rocker member is effective to move the arm 54 out of its normal position (Fig. 2). to the open trap. position of Fig. 3, provided a certain condition precedent obtains, dependent upon the pocket 38 (which has just previously passed the rocker member) being unoccupied, .If the pocket in question is already occupied, it obviously would not be permissible to open the trap and dislodge another bag onto the existing occupant. Hence, some provision is needed which will preclude the rocker member 68 being effective upon the arm 54 in event of the pocket being occupied. The provision here madeto that end includes a vertical bar 10 which is pivotally connected at 1| to the arm 54 and carried thereby. From inspection of Figs. 4, 6 and '7 it will be seen that the bar 18is laterally ,offset from the arm 54, and it normally is sopostured that the lower end portion thereof (see Fig. 4) is disposed out of the path-of the adjacent end of the 1ug61. The upper end of the bar 18 is frictionally engaged by a 4 leaf spring 12 attached to'the arm 54 and-efi'ective yieldably to retain the bar 10 in any posture of rotation until it is forcibly'rotated to another posture. In order that the arm; 54 maybeactuated to open the trap, it. is necessary that the I bar 16 be so postured that its lower ;end ;-por tionis in the path of the lug 61. Were it otherwise, a counter-clockwise rotationiof the rocker member 68 would be a nullity. The Hpper gnd portion of the bar 10 is slotteduarcuatelyto receive-a pin 13 which is afflxedto1the arm154iand serves to limit the rotation of the bar 18.,in-both directions while permitting sumcientrotation thereof to enable its lower end to be movediinto and out-of the path ofthe lug 61; I; g .z;;il

. 6' ,Thearm 65, forming an integral part of the rocker member .88. is provided with a contact 15 which is adapted to engage a fixed contact 16 when the rocker member is1postured as per Fig. 6; but if there isa bag in the pocket 38 in registration with'the feeler portion of the rocker member,the latter is-thereby'prevented from rotating clockwise sufliciently to close thecontacts 15 and 16. The latter contacts are in series with the contacts 6| and Stand with the winding of a plunger solenoid '18 the function of which is to rotate the bar 10 from its normal full-line posture of Fig. 4 to the posture thereof indicated. in dot-dash outline in the same figure, so that its lower end portion stands in the path of the lug 81, thereby pre-conditioning the arm 54 for rotationby the rocker member 60. The solenoid 18 has a plunger '19, normally retracted by a spring and provided at its forward end with a flange or head 8| which is positioned to strike the edge of the bar 18 near the upper end thereof when the solenoid is energized, thereby rotating said bar so that its lower end portions is moved into the path of the lug 61.

Now it will be apparent that if there is a bag in the'hoppeiiholding the contacts 5| and 52 closed, and the pocket 38 engaged by the rocker member'GO is empty so as to bring about a closure of thecontacts 15 and '16, the solenoid 18 will be energized and the bar 18 will, .resultantly, be so postured that when the rocker member is subseqently'rotated counter-clockwise by the succeeding block 28, as depicted in Fig. 7, the lug 61 will contact the bar 10 and thus rotate the arm 54 and move the trap 45, carried by said arm, to the open position (Fig. 3). Thereupon, the bag will drop from the chute 44a into the empty pocket. If, on the other hand, the pocket 38 is occupied, the contacts 15, 16 will not close and the solenoid will not be energized. Likewise, if there is no bag in the hopper, the contacts 5|, 52 will be open and, again, the solenoid will not be energized. Therefore, under either or. both of the latter conditions the arm 54 will not be actuated.

Following eachopening of the trap, it is necessary to restore the bar 10 to its normalposture which is that indicated in full lines in Fig. 4; but it also is necessary to keep the trap open long enough to ensure that'the bag is completely clear thereof before the arm 54 is allowed to return to its normal posture, as per Fig. 2. And those conditions have given rise to a problem the solution of which has demanded the exerciseof very considerable ingenuity, as will now be pointed out and explained. I

A cam plate orWedg BZ has an'oblique surface 82a which is positioned to intercept and engage the protruding edge of the bar 10, and is thereby effective to rotate said bar back to its normal posture as the arm 54 continues to move toward fully open position. But such rotation of the bar 16 displaces it from the path of the lug -61 and would result in the bar 54 being released bar 18 out of the path of the lug 61.

too soon, thereby closing the trap prematurely.

- -In order to avoid that circumstance, there is provided a latch bar 84 pivoted at 85 and having a detent 86 which is adapted, by virtue of a. biasing spring 81, to latchingly engage the arm 54 before the bar 10 has been rotated sufficiently to clear the lug 61. Thus, the arm 54 is latched in open posture beyond the time when it otherwise would be released by virtue of the rotation of the However, it isnecessary to release the arm 54 as soon as pos- 75 sible after the baghas been fully discharged from t n te'se thait'thef trapwi'llibe in casinos to intercept the next" a-g to be "dropped "mm the hogper; v v 'Retractionor the latc'lr bardfand onsequent releaseor' the arm 54-" isefiected by'meansvoi a the E8 which is'piv'etally connected 'a/li- 89 the latch bar 8*4-1- and'threaded toreeeive'a mean; The link 98 passes througharn opening in-the arm 5'5 of the relrer member 8d andthe 'nutw is so positioned thereon thatjwheirthe rockermermber; has assumed the posture in which: it issrshowlm in' Figfl'], thearm ET isba're'ly in contact withthae rrut 98 i manifestly, a further counter-clockwise rotation oft'h'ereeher member fin will-resmlrt inzthe lini 881- being pu l l'ed to the by we 65; aindthatiin turn, will causethel'atch bar fizttoebe retracted sufiicientlyto release the; arm: 542; The further rotation of said rocker member needed teretract the: latch bar is efiectedby at ladierall projection on the side of the block Mirandzisso positioned that it will engage theamm E li. at the rocker member filiiandl eausethe-laiiter taberntated ccimter clockwise through. :ai smalbadditional an-glejust enough so that the-armlfifi will move the link 88 to'the right (Figs. 6 and 7) sufficiently to disengage the detent 86 from the edge of the bar 54. The lateral projection, of which there one on each block 28, may conveniently be the head of a round head screw 34 which, as shown in Fig. 8-, is one of the two screws .by which the-block 28 is securedto the plate 32. The other screw, identified by the numera1 33 (Fig. 8) may have a fiat head and be countresunk into the plate so that it does notproject beyond its surface. 1

It will be self-evident that the arm 31 and the contacts El and 52 could be omitted so that the energizing circuit of the solenoid 'I8would include only the contacts 75 and T6 and a source of current, and that the only consequence of so doing would be to cause the trap 45 to open regardless of the presence or absence of a bag in the hopper. The only objection to such an omission is that the arm 54%, together with the trap, would be" oscillated unnecessarily and without useful purpose. However such unnecessary movements of the aforementioned components is of no major significance, and I do not intend that my invention shall be regarded as limited by the fact that my disclosure includes provisions for preventing such unnecessary movements.

It is, of course, essential that only one bag be placed in the hopper at one time; but the operation of the conveyor and feed mechanism ordinarily isso fast that the bags can be passed to the hopper as rapidly as they are filled.

Although my improved conveyor and feed mechanism was conceived primarily as the solu-' tion ofa problem which obtained in the feeding of filled bags to a sealing machine, its potential usefulness" clearly is not limited to that application, noreven, to the conveying of bags. The termbelt, as used in this specification and the appended claims, is to be construed broadly and includes link-belts or chains as well as leather and fabric belts, such as I have chosen to illus- Y It is'oibvi'ous that various changes may be made in the specific embodiment set forth for purposes of, illustration Without departing from the principles of the invention. Accordingly, the inven- 'ment into said given position.

8 I'claim-f" '1 :I 'In combination; a continuous belt-conveyor having means defining" a series of pockets are: tribut'ed lengthwise of the belt and movable. therewith, dispensing means lecated adjacent the conveyor and'joperative in response to each actuation torelease a single unit-to-be-conveyed for'deliveryinto one of'said pockets, mechanism controlled bysai'd'conveyor and'responsive to t'he presence or absence 6f one otsaidun-its-ih each oneoi" said pockets passing a given point-toactuate said dispensing meanseach time an emptypocketis positiorl'e'd to: receive a uni-t'i rom the dispensing means, the 'firs t'mentioned means comprising seriesoffb-ioeks attached to the belt and" spaced apa1t lengthwise-thereof; and the conveyor controlled mechanism comprising a'rocher member which is biased tobea'r against the sides cf sai'dblocks and adapted teen-tier the passing pockets between said-block's, and means actuab'le bysa'id rocker member'topre-condition said dispensing means'for actuaticm said rocker member being elf-entire to actuate said" ere-ennditicning means-onlyupen entering an unoccupied one of said pockets, said rocker member beme 'eifective upon emerging froman empty pocket to actuate said dispens'ing means' follbwing a: preconditioning thereof as 'hefbrespeci-fied;

2; combination; a continuous belt conveyor having meansa series of pockets distributed lengthwise ofthe-bel t and movable therewith; dispensing means located adjacent the conveyor and operative inresponse to each actuation to release asingl unit-tobe conveye'd for delivery'i'nto one of said pockets, mechanism controllediby saidconveyor and responsive to the presenceor absence of one of sa-i'd units in each one or said pocketspassing agiven point toactinatesaid dispensing means each time an empty pocket is positionedtoreceive a unit from the dispensing means;fthe first" mentioned means QOrriprisi-ng a series of blocks attached tothebelt and spaced apart lengthwisethereof; the conveyor controlled mechanism com-prising a rocker member which'is' biased to against the sides oifsa-id blocks and adapted to enter the-passing pockets between said blocks, the dispensing means incl-riding a fulcrumed arm which is efie'c ti-ve uponbeing moved from its normal posture toan alternate posture to release a unit-to be conveyed, said arm being actua-ble-by said rocker member when the latterj in turn, is rotated by one of said blocks; means actua-bleby said rocker member toprecondition-"said dispensing means for actuatibn; saidrocker member being efiecti ve toactuatefsaitl preconditioning meansonly upon entering arr unoccupied" one-of said pockets; said rocker membenbeing effective upon emerging from an empty pocket to actuate said dispensmea-ns following a pre condi tioning thereof as before-"specified? and an 'element' carried by said armand engageable by said rocker member only when i-n a given position; and a, solenoid forming apart of said pre-cond itiorring means and operable; when energihed to move said el'e Irr combinat'i'om a continuous hel-t 'conveycr having a series of blocksm-ou'nted on the: belt and movable therewith and spaced apart-length- -wisefof the bel t to-form a series of spaced pockets each of whicl iis adapted; to receive an article for conveyance; dispensing means associated with said conveyor and operative upon: being actuated to dteprcsitv an article inan: empty one of said pockets, said dispensing? meansincluding a: first member which is movable from a normal posture to ari alternate posture to e fiect release offian article, and whichis" then returname tolits normal posture, a rocker mem ero erative upon being rotatedin"a"certain'direction to move said first member from its 'normalj posture to 'its alternate f 'po'sture, providedf'said'i first men'iber has en conditioned forfi enga'g'ement by :said rocker member, conditioning'me'ans operative to condition said 'firstinember soth'at it isenga'geable by said rocker member, said rocker member having a part which contacts said blocks as they pass thereby and which is adapted to enter, successively, all passing pockets which are unoccupied, means biasing said rocker member so that it rotates oppositely to said certain direction each time said part registers with an unoccupied one of said pockets, thereby causing said part to enter the empty pockets, said blocks being effective, in passing, to rotate said rocker member in said certain direction, said conditioning means being actuable by said rocker member to condition said first member in response to each rotation of said rocker member which is occasioned by said part entering an empty pocket, the arrangement being such that when said part registers with an occupied pocket it is blocked from entrythereinto by the article in the pocket, said rocker member being consequently prevented from actuating said conditioning means.

4. The combination in accordance with claim 3 wherein said first member is a fulcrumedarm, and which combination includes a bar pivotally mounted on and carried by said arm, said bar being rotatable between two alternate postures, in only one of which it is engageable by said rocker member, an electromagnetic means operative, upon energization, to move said bar to the posture in which it is engageable by said rocker member, and an energizing circuit for said electromagnetic means, including a switch which is adapted to be closed by said rocker member when said part enters an unoccupied pocket, and means operative to move said bar to its alternate posture following de-energization of said electroma netic means and in response to movement of said arm to its alternate posture, said electromagnetic means and said circuit, including said switch, constituting said conditioning means.

5. In combination, a continuous belt conveyor having a series of blocks mounted on the belt and movable therewith and spaced apart lengthwise of the belt to form a series of spaced pockets each of which is adapted to receive and support in upright posture a filled bag, bag dispensing means disposed above said conveyor and including a trap having a normal position and an alternate position, said trap being effective in its normal position to prevent discharge of a bag from the dispensing means, but not effective so to do when in its alternate position, and mechanism operative to move said trap to its alternate position to release a bag from the dispensing means, said mechanism being operative under control of the conveyor to release bags from said dispensing means in such timed relation to the travel of the conveyor belt that the released bags are deposited in said pockets, individually, said mechanism being further controlled bythe presence of bags in the conveyor pockets so as to prevent the release of bags from the dispensing means except in those instances when there are empty pockets in position to receive them, said mechanism including a member positioned adjacent the conveyor and which is biased to 6. The combination accordance with claim 5 wherein saidmechanism-aincludes a fulcrumed arm ylhich carries said trap at its distalend, wherein said member isrot'atable and has first arm which bears against theblocks and enters the unoccupied pockets and is spring-biased toward said blocks and has a second arm which carries a contact, and wherein said means comprises an electromagnetic device and an energizing circuit therefor including said contact and a second contact, said contacts being normallyseparated but adapted to be engaged in response to rotation of said member resulting from said first arm entering an unoccupied pocket, said electromagnetic device being effective, when energized, to condition said mechanism for operation by said member.

7. The combination in accordance with claim 5 wherein said mechanism includes a rulcrumed arm which carries said trap at its distal end, wherein said member is rotatable and has a first arm which bears against the blocks and enters the unoccupied pockets and is springbiased toward said blocks and has a second arm which carries a contact, and wherein said means comprises an electromagnetic device and an energizing circuit therefor including said contact and a second contact, said contacts being normally separated but adapted to be engaged in response to rotation of said member resulting from said first arm entering an unoccupied pocket, said electromagnetic device being effective, when energized, to condition said mechanism for operation by said member, characterized by the inclusion of a bar pivotally mounted on said arm and having two limiting positions in one of which it is engageable by said rotatable member whereby to enable said rotatable member to actuate said arm and thereby move said trap to its alternate position, said electromagnetic device being operative, when energized, to move said bar into position to be engaged by said rotatable member.

8. The combination in accordance with claim 5 wherein the dispensing device comprises a normally open switch included in circuit with said electromagnetic device, said switch being adapted to close in response to the presence of a filled bag in the dispensing device, the function of said switch being to prevent said trap being moved to its alternate position when there is no filled bag in the dispensing device and ready to be discharged onto the conveyor.

9. In combination, a continuous belt conveyor having a series of blocks mounted on the belt and movable therewith and spaced apart lengthwise of the belt to form a series of spaced pockets each of which is adapted to receive and support in upright posture a filled bag, a bag-dispensing chute disposed above said conveyor and having a discharge opening, a trap normally closing said opening, a fulcrumed arm supporting said trap and movable to open said trap, said arm being movable about its fulcrum, periodically, in response to the movement of said belt whereby to open said trap each time a.

pocketis in peefrtion to -receive a bag said chute, latc'lfing means pperative to retain said am tempqrari ly open-trap pcsition whereby to prevent prematureclosingof the trap, and 5 means opera-hie by th'e conveyor "fer (ile-atfi'xgzafiing said latching means whereby to release said arm foliowing the lapse of sufficient time for-a filled bag gorma'lly to be fully discharged mm the Number.

UNITED STATES PA'IENTS Name Date Lawrence Dec. 12; 1905 WLghit Jan. 4, 1910 Leva'lley June .4, 1912 Bohn b Mar. '1, 1927 Koerner Aug. 7, 1928 Meyer Dec. 26, 1933 Newman Mar. 5; 1940 Ea p Aug. 1.4, 1945

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