US2561271A

US2561271A - Machine for packaging pipe cleaners and the like

Info

Publication number: US2561271A
Application number: US704901A
Authority: US
Inventors: Charles T Gould
Original assignee: JEROME CHAIMS
Current assignee: JEROME CHAIMS
Priority date: 1946-10-22
Filing date: 1946-10-22
Publication date: 1951-07-17
Anticipated expiration: 1968-07-17

Description

MACHINE FOR PACKAGING PIPE CLEANERS AND THE LIKE Filed Oct. 22. 1946 C. T. GOULD July 17, 1951 4 Sheets-Sheet l July 17, 1951 C. T. GOULD MACHINE FOR PACKAGING PIPE CLEANERS AND THE LIKE 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 22, 1946 w z ffwa C. T. GOULD July 17, 1951 MACHINE FOR PACKAGING PIPE CLEANERS AND THE LIKE Filed 0013. 22, 1946 4 Sheets-$heet 5 July 17, 1951 c. T. GOULD 2,561,271

MACHINE FOR PACKAGING PIPE CLEANERS AND THE LIKE Filed Oct. 22, 1946 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented July 17, 1951 MACHINE FORZPACKAGNGQPIPECLEANERS AND Y'IHE HIKE-11 Charles T; .Gould; Walpole, Ma ss., assignor to ass and Jerome doing business as ApplicatiomOctobenZZelMfi, .Ser-iaLNn. 704,901

6 -Glaifiis. 1

The object of thisin vention' is to 1 rovrde an efficient automatic machine for'ra'pidl yand' a'c curately placing pipe cleaners QrbthersleriHBi elongated articles in containers; The'pipe'cleane'rs'h'ere referred to are of the farniliartypecoiisisting of two wires twisted together, between which" tufts offibers are confined andise'ciirelyl held; The containers in whichthe'cleaners'iare' placed may be envelopes 'made v'15 paper or carj d board having substantial stiffness'b'u't flexible enough to befbovved'irom a fiat condition by application of a moderate degre'e'ofj'foi'oe'. such envelopes may be open at both ends, or atione" end only and closed 'at"the" other end and','1in"any case, their front and rear walls "are'conn'ected' together at the'side' edges;

A further object is totrim groups" of pipe cleanerswhenthey have been placedin the' en-f' velop'es so'tha't all'niember's ofthegro'uh will be 'o'f the "same length and 'correspondingendsnf all will be in thesam'eplane.

A" further object is'to provide means, for cair' ryingthepackages" away from" the loadingpointto'a depository where they maybe" placed-in c'ases'for'shipment.

The salient features of the invention initspre' ferred forr'nnomprise a'm'agaz'ine in which empt'y envelopes or equivalent containers are stacked; a -feeder for removing the envelopes, oneby on'ei froi'nthe' bottomof the 'stack,---Ineans, of -Which thefee'dermaybe apart, for spreading out 'the' sides-of the envelopeafter removal from the' 'stack so a's t'o openthe receivingm'oiith ofthe' en'- velope sufficiently to permit easy-entrance 0f a bunch of pipe cleaners, means for advancing" si multaneously a bunched number ofpipe cleaner strips of indeterminate length mto-=tne-operr mouth of anenvelope placed to receive them; meamuor cutting offthe cleaner stii'ps x iear the" receiving mouth of the envelope aften'they-mave been advanced to a prescribed distance intothe envelope, means for displacing theenvelope Withits contents of pipe cleaners from t-h'e filling pd sitiorrand at the same time pressingithe sides of the envelope together and moreor less' flatte'ningfio'ut .the' bunch of contained pipe -cleaners; and a \conveyer' to TWhiCh the packages of clean ers-are delivered by: thei-last named meanszand' by which they are carried to atflnal depository;

Although the foregoing. statement:setsu-forth all of .the principal parts of the hereinafter de scribed embodiment 1 of the invention, it iistto be understood that the invention a is notilimited to the combination of all of suchipa rtsy hut includes various apartial combinations; orsubcombinatio'ns and modifications operative t'o place pipe cleaners and: similar articles. in envelopese or;,simi1ar: conminers;

It to be understood further that the" term pipe cleaner ,as" used" in this specification is a descriptive term designating the material ope'rated on" by reference" to the characteristicsiiof' articles" commonly known by" that term and is not a" limitation of the invention to J use conne'ction with goods which have? the character istics before described. Inits broader aspects the invention is applicable to packaging slender elongated articles of other descriptions" which are capableflofv being ;p1ace'd"in envelopesor analogous holders for storage -andishipment.

In the accompanying drawings l have shown a; machine which embodies ,the principles :of this invention in their'pr'es'ently preferred forms; and therein"- Fig; 1"is a side elevation'of the machine;

' Fig. 2 isa rear elevation,.as seen fromtheright' hand side offFjig. '1

Figs. 3; 4; Band 6' are" fragmentary sectional Views taken on lines t -3; 4'4; "5-5 and 8-6; respectively, of Fig. .2;

Fig. '8 is a sectional view on line 8'--8*' of Fig: Band Fig. "9' a "fragmentary elevation of so much of the machine as appears in'the' upper right hand part of'Fig.-2 as seen from in front of the machine;

lfiike reference'characters designate the same part's wherever'they occur in all thefigures;

"I"he"frameof"the machine supports a table Hl-and contains bearings in which horizontal s'haft'sl I, I2, 'l'3-'-and 1 4" are contained. Shaft l='- l -is*the"-main shaftand is driven by abelt [5 and pulley 16 from a motor or other'source of power;-not**h'ere shown. Shaft l 2 *is acam shaft and Supports -a--fa-c'e cam H anddisk carns-l;8; 19 20 -ahd 2 l'. -=It -isdriven fromshaft' lThy-a train of gears 22 "233-24 and- 25 l of which the first'a-nd last are secured to the shafts ll and' 'l respem ti'velv; and theintermediate gears 2'3 and are connected together and mount'ed on astud -shaft 262- -'-Shafts I3 and* l l' carry roll's' 2'! and 2 8,'res-pec'- tiv'eiy; which are in surface contactWitlr'one another; The shafts l3 and W are --coup'l'ed to'- gether by

gears

29 and 36 at one "end" at a-c'on'- siderable' distance from the rolls, and the end of shaft l' l nea re'st to --r'cll'-2-'8' and opposite to'the -end on -which gear- -3il -i'ssecured isc'ontanied in a beating box '31 which occupies avertical g-ui'de'- wayin the:frameworks-arid iscapableof -rising anti-descending; 'Th'is-permits -the upper-roll 28' to press b'wgravity: on the lower r011 =2 and" on anything which'may be located between tha-rolls; andalso spermitsit to r is'ea fi1led pack'- asfi' sses through;

A pusher slide 32 is mounted in a guideway 33 in the top of the table II] which extends in alinement with the nip of the rolls 2'! and 2B in a direction perpendicular to the common plane of the roll axes. A magazine 34 is erected on the table over the slide 32 and has interior dimensions con- I stituted and disposed to contain a pile of pipe cleaner envelopes a with their side edges parallel to the rolls. Such envelopes are commonly made of stiff paper or cardboard with a length of '7 inches, more or less, and a width of 3 inches, more or less, and are open at both ends and closed at both side edges. Or they may be closed at one end.

This magazine is set back from the rolls a sufiicient distance to permit emergence of an envelope from its bottom far enough to provide a space in which the later described suction devices can act on the envelope after its advancin side edge has encountered the nip of the rolls. Preferably the distance between the nip of the rolls and the nearer boundary of the magazine is approximately equal to the width of envelopes of the size which the magazine is adapted to contain, although it may be greater or slightly less.

The guideway 33 extends from the edge of the table nearest the rolls a distance great enough to permit backward movement of the pusher 32 until its forward end is clear of the magazine, and advancing movement of the pusher far enough to bring an envelope against the nip of the rolls and a slight distance further. guideway and the pusher are preferably as wide as the length of the envelopes, or approximately so.

The pusher is moved back and forth by a lever 35 which is pivoted at its lower end to a bracket 31 on the frame and the upper of which enters a slot in the pusher.

This lever carries a roller 38 which bears on the circumference of the cam 23 and is held against the cam by a spring 39. This cam is suitably formed to cause the pusher 32 to move back and forth rapidly through the range above described with each revolution of shaft l2 and to remain stationary through a large fraction of the cycle when in its position of nearest approach to the rolls. Thus on each revolution of the cam shaft, the pusher is quickly withdrawn from the position in which it is shown in Figs. 1 and 4, far enough to permit descent of the pile of envelopes in the magazine 34 with placement of the lowest one of the pile in line with the pusher; and is immediately thereafter quickly advanced to bring the lowermost envelope to the nip of the rolls, which are stationary at that time. Preferably the edge of the pusher which bears on the envelope is provided with a lip 40 shown in Fig. 4, which overlies the adjacent edge of the envelope while propelling it, and after the advancing edge has entered the open space between the

rolls

21 and 28 and been arrested by the contacting portions of the rolls. When so arrested, the advancing edge of the envelope is overlapped by the roll 28.

A suction cup 4| is mounted stationary in the table ill between the magazine and the axial plane of the rolls and located where it is overlaid by the receiving end portion of the envelope a which is in receiving position, (Figs. 4, 7 and 8) This cup is coupled by a pipe line 42 with a vacuum chamber 43 from which a pipe 44 leads to air exhausting means, not shown, which may be of any suitable character. A second suction cup 45 is located above the cup 4| in substantial alinement therewith and is mounted on the lower end of a tube 46 which is held by a carrier 41 and is'coupled by a pipe 48 with the vacuum chamber 43. Carrier 41 in turn is mounted on a bar 49, which is reciprocable through table It and through

guides

53 and 5| which extend above and below the table (Fig. 5). The bar 49 is coupled at its lower end by a pin and slot connection with a lever 52 pivoted to a bracket 53 (suspended from the table or otherwise supported by the machine frame). This lever carries a cam follower roll 54 which is held by gravity against the circumference of the before mentioned cam 48, which is here called for convenience the suction cam.

A vent valve 55 is connected at a convenient point in the pipe line 48 and is equipped with an operating arm 55 arranged to be engaged and moved by a stud 5! on the carrier 41 when the latter is brought to the extreme upper limit of its rising movement from a point near said upper limit. The movement then given to the valve arm 56 opens the valve and allows inflow of air This to the vacuum system, whereby the vacuum is broken in the pipe 46 and cup 45. Arm 56 is arranged to close the vent valve and cause it to remain closed at all times except when the carrier is at and near the upper limit of its movement. A constant vacuum is maintained in the suction box 43.

The function of the cups 4| and 45 is to spread apart the sides of the envelope which has been brought to the position a indicated in Fig. 4. Cam I8 therefore is formed with a low dwell b,

. a rise 0, a high dwell d, a short rise e, a second high dwell f, and a descent 9. These portions of the cam are angularly so related to the pusher 20 that the cup 45 is held elevated by the dwell while a filled package is removed and pusher 32 then advanced to bring an envelope to the position a; the descending surface y then allows the cup 45 to descend and bear on the upper side of the envelope, the rise a then lifts the cup 45 and draws with it the upper side of the envelope away from the under side thereof, which is then held down by the stationary cup 4|. Dwell d occupies so much of the cycle as is required for advancing cleaners into the envelope by means later described. So long as the parts g, b, c and d support the follower roll 54, the vent or bleeder valve 55 is closed and suction is exerted by cup 45 on the envelope. The final rise e lifts the carrier 4? by an additional amount which is suificient to open the valve 55, whereby the vacuum in the cup 45 is broken and the envelope is released therefrom. From this point on the cycle is repeated.

Although the pusher 32, in continuing its move-, ment for a short distance after the envelope is arrested by the

rolls

21, 28, causes the sides of the envelopes to be somewhat bowed, it does not necessarily bend all of them so that the sides are spread apart. Depending on whether the sides of an envelope are perfectly flat, or more or less warped, the sides may be sprung apart, or both sides may be sprung either downward or upward. But the suction cups, operated in the manner described, insure that the under side of the envelope will be held down and the upper side raised so as to open the receiving end Widely enough to admit a bunch of the cleaners.

But the suction elements can be depended on alone to open the mouth of the envelope and the ferred that both agencies act in conjunction in the manner described, orderto give complete'assurance of opening the receiving mouths of all the" envelopes wid'elyi enough. a a

Thepipe cleaner stock is provided instrips or strings of indeterminate length," which 'may be' many feet or'yar'ds; A numberbf s'uch strips oi strings (as one dozen, more or 1es's; the number prescribeda's the contents of' a given package); arewo'und' in parallel; and more or'iess'bu'nenea fashion, on a spool or'reel, not here shewir'wmcn is mounted in convenient proximity 'to' the pack aging macmneandfrom Whichthe strip sto'c klis led tothe machine. FigsQ'T, 8' ahd '9-s'h'ow'at'ha bunch" of cleaner strip'material passing between ahd"throat are mounted stationary on the machine fram'with' the thrO'at'GO hear the receivingehd of theeiivelope'which is in loading position; and the guide 58 at a distance therefrom somewhatgreater than the prescribed length of the finishedcleaners. That'is, the space between these members is long enough to permit travel of 4 the feeder 59 in this space, back and forth-,- through a distance equal to the prescribed length of the cleaners. The feeder is provided with a fixed gripper 6'! at one side of the bunch of stock and a pivoted gripper 62 at the other side of the bunch, the latter gripper being pressed by a spring estewaid the bunch. These grippers are preferably made as thin metal plates having serrations on their free edges and inclined convergent- 1y. toward the throat 69. Similar grippers 64 and 65," the latter being pressed upon by a spring,

are mounted on the fixed guide58 to prevent the' bunch of stock from being pushed back when the feeder withdraws between successive feeding:

strokes.

The throat has a tapered passageway of which the'small'er endis next to the receiving envelope and alined therewith, having a-- height and-- width less than those of the open mouth of the envelope. A knife 61 is guided to reciprocateclose against the surface of the throat member fieand across the delivering orifice thereof so as to cut-- off the cleaners after they-have been advanced into the envelope.

. The feeder 59 thus described is'mountedona- .slide or carrier 68; which is mounted to reciprocate on a guide 69- securedto the front side of the;

table [9 in parallel with the alinement of guide 58'; throat 60- and receiving envelope. connected by a link it with a lever ll Which-is pivoted'at 12 (Fig. 2') to a'bracket 13"on;the-

machine frame and carries a follower roll 14 engaging the operating end face of cam H. A spring 15, connected to lever H and an anchorage on the frame, holds the foll'ower 14 against the cam. The axially offset operating face of cam H i s-angularly related to the cams 29 and I8 so as to cause re traction of the feeder while the envelope is being placed'in 'rec'eivihg position and opened, and

advance of the feeder while the envelope is'sta feeder'reaches the end of""itsfeeding strokeand before "theloaded'pa'ckag'e is "removed. It isother- This slide is wise formed to retain th knife in its-retracted positioiiddring alfthejrest'ofthe'cycle.

It maybe remarked at this pbiht that, altfidiigh theleve'r52 has been described previeiisiy as'riei'd' against 'itsbperating cainls' y its weight aiiii" that Of the p'a'rfs iWhich it operate I may apply to it aspring', such as 'the'sprihg 18 t'impart a more rapid downward movement-to these elements "thafiis caused by" grew-c9 hone; if desired.-.

The'rolls' 2'7 and 28 are intermittently: rotated to remove findenvelepesrrem receiving 'pfs'imm. For rotating them; a ratchet!!! 1mg; 3);'is Itibiifi d"0fi Shaft I3 "adjacefit l'bll' 2] ailda" pawl "89 is' mbiihtd 'Ofi a"paWl carrier-181 and is springf'pressed' to engage the" ratchet. pawl car ri'ei a: isnibuhted to" rqtat j' about shaft I 3 andis connected byf alink82 'with a lever 8 3 pivote at 84bila fiiied'biackefiifi. Ajfor'ked link'BGi nected by a pivot 81 'to} lever" 83 and hasfj of parallel arms which embrace'the' cam shaft I21 The 'link flfi' carries a --ro11owe1'- roll 88 *w'hicli" held in contact-with the circumference of cam 2| by a spring 89 connected-with-lever 83 and with a? fixed "anchorage on -the-frame.-- The major part of cam 2| is concentricwith shaft l Zand it has rapidly descending surface "9ll 'and rapidly "rising" surface'9l which merge withemanate-er closetd the hub of the cam; Whenthe descending surface 90 passes the follower roll; thepaw'l is caused to slip idly over the ratchet, and the rising' sur face causes the pawl torotatethe ratchet and the feed rol-ls (roll 28 being rotated by the gear-pai-n 29 3ll) sufficiently far to propel the filled package between and clear-of the rolls. The-camsur face 91 is suitably locatedto effect this propelling action after the pipe cleaner strips-have beenplaced-inthe envelope and cut off, and-before the pusher 3 2 has brought another envelope into the charging-location. V

A- conveyer belt: 92 is supp rtedby-rolls 93 and; 94 (Fig. 1) with its upper stretch extending hori-L zontallyand in position to receive packages delivered by the feed rolls.- It is advanced step by; step. in time with the; feed 'rolls' by a pawl 95-: acting: on a ratchet 96 connectedwiththe-roll- 93. The carrier91 of pawl 95 is pivoted to'one end. of alink 98, the opposit nd-of which-is coupled by a pin and slot connection 99 with lever 83,. at a point nearerto the fulcrum thereof than the point at which link 82- is connected; Thus the lever 83 advances theconveyerbelt at the same time that it propels thefeed rolls,; b utthrough a shorter distance. Thus the filled; packages are deposited onthe conveyor withoverlaps. They are eventually discharged from; the conveye'r into a receptacle of any kind desi red.-

It will beac'parent frorhtlieforeg'oin'g that the machine 'is entirely eutematiem respect to placf ing "containers 'inreceivih'g" position, loading" the containers with the materialtd bepacka'g'edl' cutting. offth'e material in" pieces of prescribed leiigth and"de1'ivering the filled 'p'ackag'e's we finarreeeiver: The only service reduiredof'an attefidant'isto replenish the supply'of efive1ocee"-' ir'ithe' 'ma'g'azi'ne' 34 from tinie tdti'me' ands 4 sti'tute" new'quahtities of" the material as" be" pl'aee'difithe' envelopes.

Evideh'tly goods other than the specific pipe cleaners herein described can be paekedtnen velope's" or other analogous holders" by" the ma: chine'h'ere illustrated" and other machines 'c taming thei same" principles but" of possibly different "des'ighs'i a it is within my contemplation to provide ad justments and/ or substitute parts by which one machine can be adapted for packaging pieces of various lengths, singly or in any desired number's, in containers of various dimensions and types, all within the scope of the protection afforded by the appended claims.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A machine for packing elongated articles comprising a supporting structure, a magazine thereon adapted to hold a stack of open-ended fiat containers having flexible sides and resting on the supporting structure, a pusher movable on the supporting structure from one side of the magazine to the other side across the bottom thereof in a path transverse to the length of the containers for removing the bottom container therein and lacing such container in a receiving position, suction cups disposed above and below such position, means for moving one of such cups toward and away from the other to engage the sides of the container and draw them apart so as to open the mouth thereof, a feeder mounted on the supporting structure to reciprocate in a path alined with said receiving position and the length dimension of the container toward and away from the mouth of a container in such position, and means for reciprocating said feeder in timed relation with the actions of said pusher and container-opening means so that the feeder is advanced when a container is in the receiving position with its mouth open.

2. A machine for packing elongated articles comprising a supporting structure, a magazine thereon adapted to hold a stack of open-ended flat containers having flexible sides, a pusher movable on the supporting structure from one side of the magazine to the other side across the bottom thereof for removing the bottom container therein and placing such container in a receiving position beside the magazine, normally stationary feed rolls located at the far side of such receiving position from the magazine and so arranged that the advancing boundary of the displaced container is brought to the nip of the rolls by the pusher, a feeder movable in a path parallel with the axes of said rolls and alined with said receiving position toward and away from the location occupied by the mouth of a. container when in receiving position for placing in such container the material to be packed therein, and actuating means for respectively reciprocating the pusher, reciprocating the feeder, and intermittently rotating said rolls in the above named sequence.

3. A packaging machine of the character described, comprising a supporting structure, a magazine on said structure adapted to hold a stack of open mouthed substantially flat containers having flexible walls, a pusher guided to move across the bottom of said magazine from a displaced position at one side thereof in a path which is transverse to the length dimension and side edges of the containers in the magazine, a pair of normally stationary delivery rolls arranged at the far side of the magazine from the pusher with their nipping portions in substantial alinement with the path of the pusher, means for reciprocating the pusher in the before named path, whereby it is caused to displace a container from the magazine and bring such container into the space between the magazine and rolls with its advanced side edge natal at the nip of the rolls, a feeder movable in a path transverse to that of the pusher and located in substantial alinement with the space occupied by a container when displaced from the magazine by the pusher, and with the length of such container, means for reciprocating the feeder between a point near the mouth of such a displaced container and a second position farther removed from such mouth, whereby to bring material into the container, and means for intermittently rotating said rolls in a direction to cause them to remove filled containers from their receiving position.

4. The packaging machine set forth in claim 3, combined with a trimmer located adjacent to the mouth of a container in receiving position, and means for operating said trimmer to cut off the material placed in such container by the feeder.

5. A packaging machine comprising a supporting structure, a magazine on said structure rising from the table adapted to hold a stack of flexible-walled open-ended envelopes resting on the table, a pusher mounted to reciprocate on the supporting structure beneath the magazine from a withdrawn position at one side of the magazine to the other side thereof in a path which enables it to remove an envelope from the stack in the magazine, suction cups arranged above and below the location to which envelopes are brought by said pusher in its propelling movements in positions enabling them to engage and apply suction to the outer surfaces of opposite sides of the envelope, means for withdrawing one of said cups from the other so as to spring the sides of the envelope apart and open the mouth thereof, guides arranged to hold elongated slender articles in alinement with the envelope displaced by said pusher, a feeder for such articles located between said guides, and means for reciprocating said feeder in alinement with the guides.

6. A packaging machine comprising a support adapted to hold an open-ended container in a receiving position, guides disposed to hold strip material of indeterminate length in alinement with the mouth of such a container, a feeder movable back and forth between said guides in alinement with them and having means arranged to grasp the material when the feeder is moving toward that guide which is nearest to the container, and a trimmer between the container and nearer guide for cutting off the material which has been placed in the container.

CHARLES T. GOULD.

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

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 883,803 Herz Apr. '7, 1908 1,437,410 Evans et al. Dec. 5, 1922 1,589,800 Frank June 22, 1926 1,892,148 Hohl Dec. 27, 1932 1,932,052 Stocks Oct. 29, 1933 1,991,223 Ledig et a1. Feb. 12, 1935 2,171,572 Kelley Sept. 5, 1939 v 2,336,213 Bayor et al. Dec. '7, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 343,589 Great Britain Feb. 23, 1931 389,699 Great Britain Mar. 23, 1933