US2602532A - Can tester feed mechanism - Google Patents

Description

July 8, 1952 E. LAXO CAN TESTER FEED MECHANISM 2 SHEETS--SHEET 1 Filed Aug. 1, 1947 INVENTOR. f0 14x0 BY J yaw/1 159mm Wrap/v06 July 8, 1952 E. LAXO CAN TESTER FEED MECHANISM 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Filed Aug. 1, 1947 Patented July 8, 1952 poration of Delaware Application August; 1947, serial No. 765,486

The" present invention relates" to can testers, and more particularly to mechanisms for feeding cans-onto the can carrier wheel of the tester.

In the gravity feed of cans into the pockets of the tester, carrier wheel, the considerable weight of" all cans in solid array in the inclined feed chute is,relied upon to bear against the leading can'and force-it into a tester pocket at the proper time. The loadon the leading can is so'great as to tend to distort it, buckling the flanges and breaking open the side-seam. Moreover, reliance'upon gravity for placing'the cans successively into the pockets results in an uneven feed-with a consequent tendency for the cans to be bent and damaged.

Accordingly, ;it'-is an object of the present in 5 Claims. 7 (01. 198 .26)

speedf Radial pins l9 on the effect a ;positive driving connection withthe chain. i

As the wheel 12" rotates cans C are fed by; 1

gravity f'rom'the feed chute I0 into the successive pockets, being carried around the wheel for almost 360degree's and then projected into a discharge chute 28.; During its travelwith the wheel between the feed and discharge ,ch utes I0, 2G, :each'canC is clamped in a pocket ll,

' compressed air is fed into the can, suchvair feed vention to overcomethe aforenoted disadvantages by providing a mechanismwhich feeds eachleading can in the-feed-chute uniformly into a carrier wheel pocket. 0 V

'Anothenobject of the invention is to relieve the leading can inthe feed chute of'a'can tester of the gravitational load of the following cansinthe feed chute prior to the placing of the leading-can in the tester carrier wheel pocket.

One form which the invention may assumeis exemplified in the'following description and illustrated byway of'example in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is'a partial front elevation of tester.

Fig. Z- is a side" elevation of part of the tester, parts being broken away to disclose, internal'features.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary'transverse section of the tester carrierwheel drive mechanism,

a can Fig, i is a fragmentary view of the apparatus for feeding successive foremostcans into succes-" sive pockets of the carrierwheel.

In'the form'of invention disclosed in the drawings, cans C "are led from a can feed chute Hi for successive feeding or disposition into the. circumferentially arranged pockets ll of a carrier wheel 12 suitably mounted'for rotation on the frame of'the machine. As specifically illustrated,

the frame includes a base. portion l3 and spaced upright supports ['4 to and betweeniwhicha shaft .i5 is. secured, rotatably mounting the carrier wheel t2. Rotation of the wheel is effe'c'ted in any suitable manner, as, for example, by transmitting the motion ofl'a suitable electric motor lfito, a driving sprocket I!- which is encompassed by a chain, 18 encirclingfthe periphery of the carrier wheel'lljin order to effect a frictionaldrive. Liofjthej carrier wheel at the proper rate of.

iscut ofi", and the can is thereafter communicated with a pressure responsive detecting mechanism 2i which determines the leakage condition, if any,

applications for Can Tester Drive Mechanism,

Serial No. 765,488, filed August 1, 1947'; Can Tester Valve Mechanism, Serial No. 765,484, filed August 1, 1947' and now Patent No. 2,482,677, granted September 20, 1949; CanTester Leak Detecting Mechanism, Serial No. 765,485, filed August 1, 1947 and now Patent No. 2,551,020, I granted Mayfll, 1951; and Can Tester Pocket Assembly, Serial No. 765,483, filed August 1, 1947.

The can feeder intake chute I0 is ordinarily a continuation of a much longer chute leading from an overhead can conveyor and inclined downwardlyto the tester at a rather steep pitch.

levelingoif at its point of connection to the feed "v chute at'asubstantially lesser pitch or incline. Byvirtu e of the. incline of the can feedchute arrangement, the cansC are fed by gravity toward the can pockets ll on. the carrier wheel.

The can feed chute 10 consists of opposed side members 22- havingbottom channel-like fianges 23, whose groove 24 can receive the flanges of the can bodies C as they roll down the chute. The lowerfportions of the chute sides are mounted upon, a supportingshaft 25 suitably secured to the side members. M of the machine framathe chute being held at a desired angle of inclination by supporting legs 26 fixed to a shaft 27 extending, through the lower portions of the feed chute sides- 22. The lower ends: of the legslfi are mounted. upon a rod 28 secured to the side wheel may I also bracket 30 secured to a side frame I4 of the tester. A sprocket 3| is attached to one end of this shaft 29 and extends into the carrier wheel groove 32 so that its teeth engage the exterior of the chain I8 encompassing the carrier wheel,

in order that the shaft 29 will be rotated by the chain during the rotation of the carrier wheel I2. A second sprocket 33 is secured to the shaft 23 on the other side of the. bracket 30 and engages the exteriorof a second chain 34 runnin around two spaced sprockets 35, 36, one of which 35 is rotatably mounted 'on'a stud 31 suitably and adjustably securedto the frame of the machine, and-the other of which 36 is secured to a shaft 38 extending between and rotatably mounted in spaced bell crank arms 39 pivotally mounted on the rod 28 passing through the lower ends of the chute supporting legs 26; These arms are adjustable-about the rod by threaded rods 40 swivelly connected to the legs 26 and to other bell crank arms 4I extending outwardly of the rod 28.

A cam 42'issecured to the transverse shaft, and also a star wheel 43,-t-he star wheel having arms 44 substantially in alignment with radial lobes 45 on the cam. In'the specific form illustrated in the drawings, there are four cam lobes 45 disposed 90 degrees apart, and-also four arms 44 on the star wheel 43 disposed 90 degrees apart.

The cam 42' isengageable with a cam follower roller 46 rotatably mounted on an adjusting plate 41 received within a pad or channel 48 formed intermediately along the length of a can retarding lever or arm 49 'pivotally'mounted upon a stud 50 fixed to one of the chute supporting legs 26. The adjusting plate 41 is movable within the pad 48 radially of the cam 42 and held in adjusted position by a bolt 5I extending through the lever 49' and a longitudinal slot 52 in the plate, the bolt 5| being tightened to clamp the plate 4'! in any position of adjustment. The plate is adjusted inwardly when the mechanism is to feed larger cans fromthe feed chute III into the carrier wheel pockets I I, and is movable outwardly for the purpose of feeding smaller cans into the pockets. Such adjusting movement is required in order to appropriately position a retarding finger 53 adjustably bolted to the free,

inner end of the arm 49 and extending inwardly across the outlet end-of the feed chute I0. It will be apparent thatas the cam 42 rotates, the lever 49 is caused to move outwardly on its pivot 50;

and it must move outwardly to a greater extent to permit large cans to pass from the chute I0 into the pockets than small cans, Conversely, when smaller -cans are being fed into the tester, the extent of movement of the retarding finger 53 must be closer to the bottom of the feed chute the cans to 4 the chute to feed large cans C into the wheel I2, and in the opposite direction to operate effectively upon smaller cans.

While the cam 42 moves the lever 49 and its retarding finger 53 upwardly to permit cans C to pass out of the feed chute Ill, a spring 54, having I one end attached to the chute supporting leg 26 andits other end to a lug 55 secured to the rear of the lever 49, urges the lever toward the cam 42 to maintain its follower roller 46 in engagement with the cam lobes 45 and to urge the retarding finger 53 downwardly toward the bottom of the feed chute. The extent of inward movement of the lever 49 is limited by engagement of a screw 56 threaded through a boss 51 on the lever with a stationary member, such as the shaft 25 supporting the feed chute ID. This screw 56 can be held in various positions of adjustment by clamping a lock nut 58 threaded thereon against the boss 51. The star wheel 43 is fixed on the shaft 38 and extends upwardly into thefeed chute In between its sides 22 so as to arrest the cans C in their downward travel through the feed chute. v

The cam 42 and star wheel 43 are rotated in accordance .with the rotation of the carrier wheel I2. In the specific construction illustrated, the cam and star wheel rotate degrees as the carrier wheel moves the angular distance between adjacent pockets I I. The cans C are fed by gravity downthe feed chute I0 and are arrested by engagement of the leading can with the back face 44a of one of the star wheel arms 44. As the carrier wheel I2, cam 42 and star wheel 43 continue their rotation, the cam follower roller 46 rides down a cam lobe 45 toward an adjacent low point on the cam, whichallows the spring 54 to shift the retarding finger 53 downwardly, this finger then sustaining the entire load of the cans in the chute I0 and preventing the cans from moving against the carrier wheel I2. As rotation continues, the leading can is cradled in the star wheel between its arms 43 and is fed toward a pocket II on the carrier wheel, the next succeeding cam lobe 45 then engaging the follower 46 to elevate the retarding finger 53 from the path of the cradled can, Despite the elevation of such retarding finger, the rear 440. of the trailing cradling arm holds back the following cans in the chute III, and the star wheel 43 feeds the leading can into a pocket I I without such leading can being subject to the gravitational force of the bank of cans in the feed chute. The afore noted cycle of operation is repeated for each can,

which is successively cradled in the star wheel 43, relieved from the load of the following cans, and then fed smoothly into. a carrier wheel pocket I I.

It is, accordingly, apparent that by virtue of the invention the foremost can body is not subbroken laps or crushing of the cans. Moreover, the fOllOWillg cans are caused to progress in a uniform manner toward the star wheel, which then feeds them in exact timed relation with the positioning of the pockets on the carrier wheel adjacent the foremost cans. Such uniform and equally timed movements minimize the danger of deforming and damagingthe cans.

While I have shown: the preferred-form of my invention, it is to be understood that various those skilled in-the art without departing from As a consequence, cans can be the spirit 'of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A feeding device of the character described adapted to feed can bodies to a can body testing wheel, comprising an inclined feed chute having a lower end and defining a path of travel for can bodies; a rotary feed member having radial arms and disposed inwardly of said lower end and such that each of said arms, in succession, lies athwart said path of travel whereby the bottommost can body in said chute is cradled in a pair of arms and is fed forwardly and positively thereby while the rearward of said pair of arms obstructs the next can body; a gate at the lower end of said chute operable to prevent egress of a can body from said feed member and chute by gravity; and means operable to rotate said feed member and to open said gate in timed relation to said feed member.

2. A feeding device of the character described adapted to feed can bodies to a can body testing wheel, comprising an inclined feed chute having a lower end and defininga path of travel for can bodies, a rotary feed member having radial arms and disposed inwardly of said lower end and such that each of said arms, in succession, lies athwart said path of travel whereby the bottommost can body in said chute is cradled in a pair of arms and is fed forwardly and positively thereby while the rearward of said pair of arms obstructs the nextcan body, a gate at the lower end of said chute operable to prevent egress of a can body from said feed member and chute by gravity, means operable to rotate said feed member and to open said gate in timed relation to said feed member, and means for adjusting the position of said rotary feed member relatively to said chute to accommodate cans of different diameters.

3. A feeding device of the character described adapted to feed can bodies to a can body testing wheel, comprising an inclined feed chute having a lower end and defining a path of travel for can bodies, a rotary feed member having radial arms and disposed inwardly of said lower end and such" that each of said arms, in succession, lies athwart said path of travel whereby the bottommost can body in said chute is cradled in a pair of arms and is fed forwardly and positively thereby while the rearward of said pair of arms obstructs the next can body, a gate at the lower end of "said chute operable to prevent egress of a can body from said feed member and chute by gravity, means operable to rotate said feed member and to open said gate in timed relation to said feed member, and means for adjusting the degree of opening of said gate to accommodate can bodies of different diameters.

4. A feeding device of the character described adapted to feed can bodies to a can body testing machine comprising an inclined chute having a lower endand defining a path of travel for can bodies, a rotary feed member having radial arms and disposed inwardly of said lower end and such that each of said arms, in succession, lies athwart of said path of travel whereby the bottommost canbody in said chute is cradled in a pair of arms and is fed forwardly and positively thereby while the rearward of said pair of arms obstructs the next can body, a shaft on which the rotary feed member is mounted,-means adjustably supporting the shaft for movement toward and away from the chute, a cam on the shaft, a gate at the lower end of said chute operable to prevent egress of a can body from said feed member and chute by gravity, an arm carrying the gate at one end thereof and pivoted adjacent the other end thereto said feed member, and means for rotating said shaft.

1 5. A feeding device of the character described 7 adapted to feed can bodies to a can body testing machine comprising an inclined chute having a lower end and defining a path of travel for can bodies, a rotary feed member having .radial arms and disposed inwardly of said lower end and such that each of said arms, in succession, lies athwart said path of travel whereby the bottommost can body in said chute is cradled in a pair of arms and is fed forwardly and positively thereby while the rearward of said pair of arms obstructs the next can body, a shaft on which the rotary feed member is mounted, means adjustably supporting the shaft for movement toward and away from the chute, 'a cam on the shaft, a gate at the lower end of said chute operable to prevent egress of a can body from said feed member and chute by gravity, an arm carrying the gate at one end thereof and pivoted adjacent the other end thereof, a follower carried by the arm intermediate the pivot point and the gate and engaging the cam so as to cause said gate to open in timed relation to said feed member and means including an adjustable drive for rotating said shaft in its adjusted position.

ED LAXO;

REFERENCES CITED The followingreferences are of record in the file of this patent: J

UNITED STATES PATENTS

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