US2708539A

US2708539A - Apparatus and method of receiving and bagging articles

Info

Publication number: US2708539A
Application number: US250370A
Authority: US
Inventors: Max E Toby
Original assignee: Package Enterprises Inc
Current assignee: Package Enterprises Inc
Priority date: 1951-10-08
Filing date: 1951-10-08
Publication date: 1955-05-17
Anticipated expiration: 1972-05-17

Description

y 1955 M. E. TOBY I 2,708,539

APPARATUS AND METHOD OF RECEIVING AND BAGGING ARTICLES Filed 001:. 8, 1951 4 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR Mari 7&5

ATi'ORNEYS Tiq E.

May 17, 1955 APPARATUS Filed 001;. 8, 1951 M. E. TOBY 2,708,539 AND METHOD OF RECEIVING AND BAGGING ARTICLES 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR MAX 755W ATTORN EYS May 17,1955 M E TOBY 2,708,539

APPARATUS AND METHOD OF RECEIVING AND BAGGING ARTICLES Filed Oct; 8, 1951 4 Sheeis-Sheet 3 Fig.5.

f5 INVENTOR I ma. 4-. MX. 5

ATTORN EYS CLES M. E. TOBY APPARATUS AND METHOD OF RECEIVING AND BAGGING ARTI 4 t e e a W w w h s 4 a 9 i a w/ Z l I I I I IA 4* 8 0 6 w m u w w 8 .1- 2 L M a d 3 7 m m Q E w s R Y mfi m m5 m mm A B W a 4 6 9 40 5 9 9 3 pi 7 66W 7 8E wffi n 2-. LI. 5; I m I f: a a Z a d g M .22 0 i g, N 3 9 3 7 0L2 $35 6 4 I W a 1- W APPARATUS AND METHOD OF RECEIVING AND BAGGING ARTICLES San Francisco, Calif., assignor to Package Inc., Oakland, Calif., a corporation of Max E. Toby, Enterprises, California This invention relates to a mechanism for, and a method of, stacking and bagging articles, and is particularly related to an apparatus arranged to receive a predetermined number of articles in stacked relation and sequentially urge each stack thereof into a bag or other package.

The apparatus of the present invention is particularly well adapted for the stacking and bagging of sliced meats or like products, and throughout the specification reference may be had to such products. However, it will be clear that the teachings of this invention may be likewise applied to other articles where it is desired to package, wrap, or merely separate stacks of articles, each having a preselected number of articles therein.

An object of the present invention is to provide ap paratus in which a large quantity of articles may be sequentially and rapidly received, as from a slicing mechanism, and which is arranged to segregate a preselected number of such articles in a stack, and to convey such a stack to a position remote from the apparatus delivering the articles, and then move the stack into a bag or other receptacle.

Another object of my invention is to provide appara tus of the character described which is compact in construction so as to minimize the plant floor space required and which is arranged to handle articles of food without danger of contaminating the latter, and without requiring the operator of the unit to manually handle such articles.

A further object of this invention is to provide a com bination stacking and bagging mechanism which is substantially completely automatic in operation, and which will reduce the number or plant personnel previously required for comparable operations.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an apparatus of the type described in which the stack ing, conveying and bagging mechanisms are all driven from a common power source and are so interrelated as to insure positive cooperation therebetween.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a novel transfer means for conveying the individual stacks of articles from the delivery mechanism to the bagging mechanism with a substantially true harmonic motion so as to greatly minimize the previously present danger of having the stacked articles thrown from the apparatus due to a non-uniform acceleration of the conveyor.

A further object of my invention is to provide a rotary transfer mechanism which is arranged to receive a stack of articles and to intermittently rotate such stacks to a position for bagging, and in which means are provided for positively locking the mechanism in each position of rotation.

A still further object of the invention is to provide apparatus of the character described in Which means are provided for positively preventing actuation of the bagging mechanism during periods when the stacks are being moved.

"' set forth in 2,708,539 Patented May 17, 1955 Another object of this invention is to provide a device of the type referred to which may be 'adju's'tably positioned vertically and laterally relative to a slice! or other feeding machine.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an improved method of taking stacked articles from their initial point of deposit and rapidly moving such articles to a position for bagging the same.

A further object of the invention is to provide a mechanism of the above character which is capable of high speed production over extended periods of operation without requiring any special handling or 'repai'rf's The invention possesses other objects and features of advantage, some of which, with the foregoing, will be the following description of the preferred form of the invention which is illustrated in the drawings accompanying and forming part of the specifica= tion. It is to be understood, however, that variations in the showing made by the said drawings and des'cr'ip tion may be adopted within the scope of the invention as set forth in the claims.

Referring to said drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view, partly in section, of the apparatus comprising the present invention;

Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view of a pertion of the operating mechanism.

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the apparatus;

Figure 4 is a cross-sectional plan view taken substantially in the plane indicated by the line of Figure l. 1

Figure 5 is a cross-sectional plan view taken siib= stan'tially in the plane indicated by the line 5- 5 of Figure 1. I

Figure 6 is a cross-sectional plan view taken 's'ubs'tan tially in the plane indicated by the line 66 of Fig= ure 1.

Figure 7 is a cross-sectional elevational view taken substantially in the plane indicated by the line 7 7 of Figure 1.

Figure 8 is a crosssectional elevatioiial view taken substantially in the planes indicated by the line 8'-8 of Figure 4.

The apparatus of the adapted for receiving a present invention is particularly plurality of Slices of sandwich meats, cheese, or the like from a slicing" machine fern ing no part of the present invention), remaining sta tionary while a stack of a predetermined number of slices is being built up, moving said stack to a position remote from the receiving station, and forcing said stack into a bag or the like while another stack is being formed, Machines to carry out the foregoing could be constructed in numerous different ways, but for reasons of economy of construction, posi-tiveness of operation, and high suecessful productivity, I prefer to construct the apparatus" in a manner substantially as set forth in the drawings. As here shown, the entire unit is mounted in and on a housing 16 which includes a top wall 17, and a plurality of side walls 18 cooperating to define a substan tially enclosed chamber 19 in which the bulk of the operating mechanism is disposed; In order to adjust the height of the housing relative" to the hoof; and there particularly, relative to' a slicing" or other machine with which it may be used, on the opposite end walls of the housing I provide one or more vertically spaced lugs" 21 having threaded apertures therein for receiving vertically extending and threaded shafts" 22; These shaftsar'e suitably journaled in vertically spaced plates 23, the latter extending outwardly from angle members 24 which constitute a portion of the housing support frame 26. The frame 26' also includes vertically disposed angles 27 ranged to engage and guide the respective corners of the housing 16 as the latter is selectively raised and lowered.

As will be understood, rotation of the shafts 22 in the threaded housing lugs will cause relative movement between the housing 16 to which the lugs are secured and the frame 26 in which the shaftsare vertically fixed. Slight floor irregularities may be compensated for by means of casters 28 or the like disposed adjacent the intersecting corners of angle members 29 which comprise the lower end of frame 26 and which are welded or otherwise secured to the angles 27. The casters are provided with threaded shafts 31 which are vertically adjustable in plates 32, each of the latter being provided with a threaded aperture for receiving its respective shaft and extending outwardly from the corners of the frame. Thus, aseach corner of the apparatus may be independently adjusted, the main function of to substantially raise or lower the entire housing 16. In view thereof, means are provided for simultaneously rotating the shafts 22, and as here shown, such means include a chain 33 operatively connected to sprockets ,34, the latter being secured adjacent the lower end of each shaft for rotation therewith. The sprockets, are preferably disposed just above the lower bearing members 36 for the shafts, and to facilitate manual rotation of the latter, a hand wheel 37 is connected to one or both of the shafts. It is thus believed clear that by rotating the hand wheel 37, the shafts 22 will effect selective raising or lowering of the housing. Also, if desired, an idler sprocket 38 may be mounted for rotation in the plane of the chain 33 on a bar 39 extending transversely between opposed angle members 29 so as to insure substantially simultaneous rotation of the shafts. As hereinabove stated, the apparatus of this invention is particularly well adapted for receiving slices of meat, cheese, or similar products from a suitable slicing machine, a portion of the framework of such a machine being indicated by the numeral 41. The slicer is preferably bolted to the floor structure as indicated at 42, and means are provided for selectively moving the apparatus adjacent the slicer so as to position the slice receiving mechanism in proper spaced relation to the slicer discharge. Such means include a plate 43 extending vertically upwardly from opposed side angles 29 to which are pivotally mounted as by pins 44, straps 46, the latter being joined together by a transverse strap 47. The upper ends of straps 46 are apertured to receive a pivot shaft 48, the latter also being pivotally connected to horizontally extending straps 49 having hooks Si adjacent their distal ends. These hooks are adapted to overlie a transverse shaft 52 of the slicing apparatus,

and it is believed clear that by causing oscillation of :11;

the straps 46 about their pivots 44 the apparatus will be selectively moved toward or from the slicer. Such movement of the straps 46 is effected by means of a threaded bolt 53 having a hand wheel 54 which is journaled for rotation in a member 56 extending outwardly from the frame. A pair of spaced collars S7 prevent axial movement of the bolt, and the distal end of the the shafts 22 is 2 latter is threaded into a traveler element 58 secured to one of the straps 46. By threading the bolt through the traveler, the aforesaid movement will be created, and to make the entire mechanism more sturdy, a shaft 59 is secured to each of the straps 49 and is gcneraily parallel to transverse strap 47.

While the foregoing will permit a longitudinal adjustment, it is further desirable to arrange for lateral positioning of the apparatus which is efiected by means of spaced collars 61 disposed on the slicer shaft 52 and engageable with opposite sides of each strap 49. The shaft 52 is threaded in the slicer framework so asto permit axial movement of the shaft relative thereto, and upon rotation of the shaft by a handwheel 62, the collars will be moved along the axis of the shaft and forcibly urge the members 49, and consequently the entire slice receiving apparatus, in a lateral direction. Thus, the stacking mechanism is readily adjustable vertically, longitudi- 3 open end of a bag 81 nally and transversely of the slicer, and by merely op; erating the

proper handwheels

37, 54 and 62, the mechanism is universally positionable.

The slicer mechanism per se does not constitute any part of the present invention and only certain portions of the framework of the slicer have been illustrated in order to set forth an environment for the slice receiving apparatus of my invention and to illustrate the manner in which the apparatus may be positioned relative to the slicer. However, the slicer is of the conventional type and is arranged to receive a quantity of meat or the like, and by means of a rotating knife and a meat advancing mechanism, deposit a plurality of meat slices in a uniform stack, the number of slices in each stack being controlled by a suitable counting mechanism incorporated in the slicing apparatus. As a principal feature of the present invention, means are provided for receiving the said slices until a stack is formed, and then moving the stack out of the path of the sequential slices so that additional stacks may be formed as the preceding stack is being bagged. Such means include a disk-like member 71 positioned just above the top wall 17 of the housing and at the end of the latter adjacent the slicer machine. As best seen in Figures 2 and 3 of the drawings,

the disk 71 is divided into quadrants by four symmetri cally positioned sets of radial corrugations 72 on the upper surface of the disk. These corrugations terminate short of the disk center and extend to the periphery of the disk, and each set is of a size sufficient to receive a stack of slices from the slicing machine when the particular set is indexed into a position underlying the slice discharge of the machine. It is desirable to have the corrugations extend generally diametrically of the disk, so as to permit the stack to be easily pushed off of the disk when the stack is bagged, as will be hereinafter explained. In connection with the bagging operation, it will be noted that the disk 71 is provided with a central opening 73 through which certain portions of the bagging mechanism extend. Also, mounted on a side wall 18 of the housing, is a plate 74 which is arranged to support a bag mandrel 76. The mandrel merely comprises a horizontal plate 77 disposed immediately adjacent the periphery of disk 71 and coplanar with the upper surface of the latter, and a pair of flanges 78 rising vertically from the opposed sides of the plate 77. Plate 77 is preferably provided with a plurality of raised wires 79 which are aligned with a set of the disk corrugations 72 upon each quarter-revolution of the disk.

Also, to facilitate the placing of a bag on the mandrel, the flanges 78 slope downwardly toward the plate ad jacent the end of the latter remote from disk 71. In operation, the operator manually or otherwise, slides the (indicated in dot-dash lines in Figure 3) over the plate 77 and flanges 78 so that the open end of the bag is disposed adjacent the disk periph-- ery and in a condition to receive a stack of slices therefrom. Upon actuation of the plunger mechanism 82- to be hereinafter described in detail, the stack is pushed ofi of its set of disk corrugations and onto the wires 79 of the bag mandrel which is now completely encompassed by a bag. Further movement of the plunger will force both the stack and bag off of the carrier where it may fall onto a horizontal conveyor disposed subjacent the mandrel, the conveyor not being illustrated in the draw ings, and the operator may then place another bag on the mandrel for receiving the next stack from the disk. As will be understood, some means must be provided for rotating the disk 71 a quarter revolution as a stack of slices is deposited on one set of corrugations 72 from the slicer so as to bring the stack into registry with the bag carrier 76. Furthermore, in view of the fact that a period of time must elapse during which the stack is being formed,- the rotation of the disk is only intermittent, and it is of course necessary to properly register the corrugations with the slicer and bag carrier on each 26, and preferably depending from a transverse structural element 92 which is secured to the housing 16 so as to move with the latter. The motor is secured to element 92 in any suitable manner such as by bolting the motor base plate 93 to one or more structural members 94 which are fastened to element 92 by angle clips 96 or the like. The motor is arranged to drive a horizontally disposed worm 97 by means of a belt 98 operatively engaged with sheaves 99 disposed on the motor shaft and worm respectively. A worm gear 101 is positioned on a vertically extending shaft 102, the lower :37

end of the latter being mounted in the element 92 by means of a bearing 103, while an upper portion of the shaft is mounted in a similar structural element 104 ures 1 and 8, it will be seen that the worm gear includes a collar portion 107 freely rotatable relative to shaft 102 by means of annular bronze bushings 108 disposed between the shaft and collar. In this manner, although shaft 102 is freely rotatable in its

bearings

103 and 106, the

rotation of the worm gear will not impart any rotational movement to the shaft.

Adjacent the upper end of the worm gear collar 107, is secured a lower clutch element 109 which is provided with a plurality of serrations 111 on the upper surface thereof. An upper clutch element 112 is provided with similar serrations on its lower surface, and means are provided for effecting selective engagement and disengagement of the respective clutch elements for a purpose to be hereinafter explained. Clutch element 112 is mounted on shaft 102 by means of a key 113 or the like whereby the element is capable of axial movement on the shaft but will be rotated therewith. Normally the two clutch elements are maintained in spaced or disengaged relation so that the continuous rotation of the worm gear will not impart any rotation to the shaft 102 or effect movement of the disk 71 or other parts of the mechanism. However, when it is desired to actuate the disk and plunger mechanism, some means must be provided for interengaging the clutch elements. The foregoing may be accomplished in the following manner. The

upper clutch element 112 is provided with a peripheral diametrically extending lug 114 disposed above the gen eral plane of the clutch serrations 111. A cam or clutch dog 117 is positioned so as to normally engage the under surface of lug 114 and hold the element 112 in disengaged position. Cam 117 is mounted on a medial portion of a horizontally extending member 118 which is journaled to a pair of spaced bracket members 122 fixedly secured to the element 92. Journaled on upper portions of the rod member 118 on opposite sides of cam 117 and extending generally horizontally from the memher are a pair of links 123 having their distal ends liketo member 118 by means of pins 119. If desired suit- .3:

able spacers 120 may be interposed between the brackets 112 and the links 123. Another pair of links 126 are likewise journaled on rod 124 to form a substantial continuation of the links 123, these links 126 being journaled on a pin 127 mounted between a pair of vertically a fixed transverse beam member 133 and with one or both of the links 126 normally urges the

links

126 and 123 into a generally horizontal position as indicated in Figure 1 so as to cause engagement of the cam .117 with the lug 114. However, upon either upward or downward movement of the arms 129 the toggle joint will be actuated and will result in pivotal outward movement of the lever arms 119 around the pin 121 thereby moving the cam carrying pin outwardly from the clutch lug 114, and permitting the clutch element 112 to gravitally descend into engagement with clutch element 109. However, to facilitate such engagement, a compression spring 136 may be interposed between the element 112 and a gear 137 which is secured to shaft 102 above the clutch mechanism.

Any suitable manual or automatic means could be provided for effecting a downward pull on the arms 129 so as to release the clutch lock and permit rotation of the shaft. However, I prefer to utilize a solenoid, generally indicated by the numeral 138, which may be mounted on the members 128. The solenoid is provided with a core or armature 139 which is secured to the pin 131. Thus, upon 'energization of the solenoid, the armature moves inwardly and effects the foregoing opening of the toggle joint and engagement of the clutch elements. The reason for the solenoid installation is that the solenoid may be readily connected to the slice counting mechanism of the slicer so that upon the deposit of a predetermined number of slices on the disk 71, the solenoid will be energized, the clutch will be engaged, and the disk will be rotated in a manner presently to be explained. As is well known, a solenoid impulse is of an extremely short duration, and therefore the cam will be removed from the clutch lug 114 for a period only sufficient to permit meshing of the respective clutch serrations for less than a single revolution, for toward the end of the revolution, the cam will again act to raise the clutch element 112 out of engagement with the element 109, but there will be suflicient rotating momentum to permit the lug to rise on the cam for completion of the revolution. Also, additional means may be provided to urge the lug on the clutch back to the cam 117 in the event inertia is insufficient to complete the single revolution. Such means include a gear 141 which is mounted for rotation with a vertically extending shaft 142 and is operatively connected to the gear 137 on shaft 102. Shaft 142 is journaled in a bearing 143 mounted in a fixed structural element 144 and extends downwardly therefrom to support a earn 146 having a generally egg-shaped periphery. Thus, as the shaft 102 is intermittently rotated, like rotation will be imparted to the cam 146 through the

gears

137 and 141. A cam lever 147 is fixed on a vertically extending shaft 148, the lower end of the latter being journaled in a fixed element 149. The distal end of lever 147 is provided with a cam roller 151 which is arranged to engage the periphery of cam 146, and to insure its rolling contact therewith, a tension spring 152 may be provided which has one end connected to a fixed portion of the housing and the other end connected to the lever 147. By means of the spring pressure, the cam lever roller will urge the cam substantially to the position indicated in Figure 2, that is, over the hump in the cam, even though the cam was not driven to this position. In this manner, if the inertia of the upper clutch element 112 will not sufiice to have the lug 114 engaged by the cam 117, the earn 146 will act as a driven member rather than a driver and effect the complete effecting the complete revolutions of

shafts

102 and 142, these partsserve a more important purpose which will be explained hereinafter. I

As previously mentioned, the gear 141 is fixed for rotation on shaft 142, so that intermittent single revolutions of the shaft will be effected upon each opening of the toggle joint whether actuated by the solenoid 138 or otherwise. Secured to the upper member of shaft 142 is a crank 161 provided with an upstanding pin 162 at the distal end of the crank remote from its connection with the shaft 142. Journaled for relative rotary movement on the pin 162 is a horizontally extending link member 163 having one bifurcated end portion 164 and the other end telescopically movable in an element 166 which is journaled for rotation on a fixed post 167 whose lower end is secured to a structural member 168. With this arrangement, as the crank 161 is rotated one full revolution, it will impart a rotary movement to the forked end of the link 163 and at the same time cause the link to move axially relative to element 166 which will also oscillate around the post 167. The forked end 164 of the link is arranged to engage one of a set of four rollers 169 rotatably mounted on a disk 171 and equally spaced adjacent the periphery of the latter. The disk 171 is supported on the upper end of a collar 172 which is telescopically mounted over shaft 142, and bronze bushings 173 are disposed between the shaft and collar so as to permit free relative rotation between the same. It is believed clear that upon rotation of the crank 161, the forked end of the link 163 will slidably engage a roller on the disk and move the latter for a quarter revolution for each full revolution of the crank before the forked end is disengaged by the roller. Thus, the function of this mechanism is to convert a 360 degree rotary movement into a 90 degree rotation, the latter being the subsequent desired rotation of the slice receiving disk 71. Furthermore, although different mechanisms could be utilized to accomplish the foregoing, it is necessary and desirable that the quarter revolution of movement imparted to the disks 171 and 71 be of a substantially true harmonic motion so as to prevent sudden acceleration or deceleration which would tend to dislodge the stacked slices from the receiving disk. By virtue of the mechanism disclosed, it will be clear that for approximately the first 180 degrees of rotation of shaft 142 and the crank 161, no rotary movement of the disk 171 will be effected, as the link fork 164 will merely move axially toward a roller engaging position. However, continued rotation of the crank Will cause the fork to move in an arcuate path and convey the engaged roller and associated disk through ninety degrees whereat the fork will be moved out of engagement with the roller.

In view of the fact that the disk 171 is freely rotatable about the shaft 142, when the link is disengaged from the the roller, it would be possible for the disk to continue its rotary movement beyond the ninety degrees required unless some means are provided to positively lock the disk after each such quarter revolution. Such means preferably include a segmented disk 174 secured to the upper end of shaft 102 for rotation with the latter. The disk 174 will thus rotate one complete revolution for each rotation of

shafts

102 and 142 and the crank 161. It will be noted that the disk 174 is constructed as a substantially semi-circular plate of slightly more than 180 degrees whose peripheral portions overlie the disk 171 and are arranged to engage a pair of rollers 169 in one position of rotation of the segmented disk and are radially spaced from such rollers in another position of rotation. By referring to Figure 2, the position of the disk 174 is disclosed wherein the arcuate peripheral portions thereof engage two adjacent rollers and effectively prevent rotation of the disk 171 in either direction. This position corresponds to that when the disk 171 has completed a one-quarter revolution and it is necessary to prevent free wheeling thereof after disengagement of the link with the disk rollers. However, further rotation of the disk 174 will place the cut-out portion adjacent the rollers and permit free passage of'the rollers past the segmented disk and consequently result in the aforesaid rotation of disk 171.

From the-foregoing, the manner of achieving the intermittent and'positive quarter revolutions of the disk 171 will be understood, but it is still necessary to impart an identical movement to the slice receiving disk 71 so that the stacks may be moved from the slice receiving station to a position in alignment with the bag mandrel. To accomplish this, I utilize a sprocket 176 which is secured to the lower end of the collar 172 of the disk 171. An identical sprocket 177 is secured to a hub 178 mounted for rotation on a fixed post 179 extending vertically from the transverse structural element 133. With particular reference to Figure 7, it will be seen that a depending collar 181 of disk 71 is secured to hub 178 for rotation with the latter about the post 179, bronze bushings 182 preferably being inserted between the hub and post. To drive the sprocket 177, and consequently the hub 178 and disk 71, a chain 183 operatively connects the

sprockets

176 and 177, and to insure a positive drive therebetween, an idler sprocket 184 is provided which can be easily mounted on a stub shaft 186 also mounted on the element 133. Thus, when disk 171 is rotated a quarter revolution, the chain 183 will impart a like amount of rotation to the disk 71 for the purpose hereinabove explained.

Just prior to, or upon completion of the quarter revolution of the disk 71, the plunger mechanism 82 must be actuated so as to push the stack from the disk into the bag 81 positioned on the bag mandrel 76. Such mechanism must, of course, be properly timed relative to the rotary movement of the disk so that the stack of slices indicated by the numeral 186 and represented by the dotdash lines in Figure 3 will not be prematurely engaged by the plunger, yet which must be moved promptly after the positioning of the stack adjacent the bag mandrel to speed up the machine operation. Secured to the upper end of post 179 is a fixed U-shaped frame 187 having the legs 188 thereof in general axial alignment with the mandrel flanges 78. The transverse leg 189 of the frame is provided with spaced openings for slidably receiving and axially guiding a pair of spaced rods 191 sectu'ed at their ends by a member 192. Rods 191 also pass through similar openings provided in blocks 193 secured to the end of each frame leg 188. Carried by the rod ends is a plunger or piston 194 having a pushing surface 196 arranged to engage the stack 186 and force the same into the bag as the rods guide the plunger along a linear path of travel toward the bag mandrel.

To elfect the linear movement of the plunger 194 toward and from the mandrel, one end of a link 197 is pivotally attached thereto intermediate the ends thereof by means of a pin 198. The other end of the link is pivotally mounted at the distal end of a lever arm 199 which is mounted for rotation with the shaft 148 by means of a fixed collar 201. As was previously mentioned in connection with the clutch mechanism, the shaft 148 is secured to the cam lever 147 which is oscillated by rotation of the cam 146. As the cam completes a single revolution, the cam lever will oscillate shaft 148 so as to impart a swinging movement of lever arm 199 both toward and from the bag mandrel. Although it would be possible to pivotally connect the end of the arm 199 directly to the plunger 194, such an arrangement would not permit the plunger to enter the bag as the end of the arm would undersirably contact the bag. By using the link 197, the plunger will not only urge the stack 186 off of the disk 71, but will continue pushing the stack onto and past the mandrel so that the end of the stack remote from that engaged by the plunger surface 196 will engage the closed end of the bag and push the bag and its now encompassed stack off of the mandrel and onto a conveyor or other filled bag receiver. Naturally, as the cam lever 147 is oscillated by rotation of the cam 146, the lever arm 199 will be likewise oscillated so that the plungerwill advance toward the mandrel and retreat therefrom during each cycle of the apparatus.

Although the functions and operations of the various parts of the apparatus are believed clear from the fore: going description, the operaiion of one complete cycle of movement will now be set forth. Assuming that the apparatus is properly positioned relative to the slicing mechanism by adjustment of the appropriate handwheels, the. slicer is set into motion and a plurality of superimposed slices of some product are deposited on one of the sets of corrugations 72 on the disk 71. After a predetermined number of slices have been deposited on the disk, the solenoid is actuated, preferably by means of a micro-switch operatively engaged with the slicer counting mechanism. As the impulse is received by the sole: noid, the core 139 is retracted and the toggle joint is opened. Obviously, if desired, either the toggle or solenoid could be independently actuated by an operator, but in actual practice, the micro-switch mechanism would be preferred. Upon opening of the toggle joint, the upper clutch element 112 will be momentarily engaged with the constantly rotating lower clutch element 109 and cause the shaft 102 to complete a single revolution as at the end of the revolution, the clutch lug 114 will climb up on the lug cam and efiect disengagement of the clutch. As the shaft 102 is rotated, similar rotation will be imparted to shaft 142 through the matching gears 13.7 and 141. The shaft 142 rotates the crank 161, and during one complete revolution of the latter, the link member 163 will cause the disk 171 to rotate one quarter of a revolution with a substantially true harmonic motion, further free rotation of the disk being prevented by the segmented disk 174. The said quarter revolution of the disk 171 is conveyed directly to the slice receiving disk 71 through the

sprockets

176 and 177 and their associated chain or belt 183. As the disk 171 substan t-ially completes its limited rotation, the cam 146 which is directly connected for rotation with the gear 141 will effect an oscillation of the lever 147 and shaft 148, the latter in turn causing the plunger 194 to slide the stack off of the disk corrugations and into a bag which has been placed on the bag mandrel 76 which is aligned with the stack afterthe said quarter revolution of the disk 71.

From this description, it will be seen that apparatus has been developed which will do far more than merely convey a product from one station to another. The parts are so arranged that the rotary receiving member will rotate exactly 90 degrees at selected intervals with out danger of stopping short of or moving past its quadrant positions. Furthermore, by means of the novel link mechanism, a uniform rotation is imparted to the disk so that it is practically insured that other product w tated. Then, with the plunger mechanism which is positively locked during rotation of the disk, it is possible tov speed up the machine operation and yet guarantee movement of the plunger only when the product is aligned with the open bag on the bag mandrel. It should also be. pointed out that by utilizing the method of receiving a stack, rotating the same and then pushing the same into a bag or the like, maximum production may be maintained while still cutting down on the normally required personnel to operate devices for performing comparable operations.

I claim:

1. Apparatus of the character described comprising a horizontally disposed rotor element having a plurality of sets of radially extending guide means thereon, said guide means sets being equally spaced from each other, means for intermittently rotating said element a distance equal to the circumferential spacing of said guide means sets, a plunger mechanism disposed over said element, means for advancing said plunger mechanism radially outwardly and substantially immediately over one of said sets of guide means, and means for synchronizing the movement of said plunger mechanism with said rotation of the element whereby said plunger mechanism will adthe stack or 1 remain on the disk as the latter is 1:01

' tinuing such radial movement of said article until the leading edge of said article engages and effects similar movement of the bag and the article placed therein, said bag movement being substantailly as great as the length of said bag.

3. Apparatus for receiving articles from a dispenser and conveying a selected number of such articles to a position remote from said dispenser comprising, a rotor element having a substantially flat upper surface on which said articles may be placed, a freely rotatable disk-like member having a plurality of circumferentially spaced projections extending from the surface of said member, means engageable with a selected one of said projections, a power source for moving said projection engaging means into and out of engagement with sequenital projections and rotating said disk member, means for limiting the rotation of said member to an amount equal to the spacing of said projections, and means interconnecting said disk member and said rotor element for driving the latter in synchronism with the former.

4. Apparatus as set forth in claim 3 in which means are provided for selectively placing said power source into and out of operative engagement with said projection engaging means whereby said rotor element will be intermittently rotated through its said degree of rotation.

5,. Mechanism of the type described comprising a circular plate-like element having a plurality of equally circumferentially spaced article-receiving portions on the upper surface thereof, a horizontally disposed disk having a plurality of equally circumferentially spaced roller members extending vertically therefrom, the number of said rollers being equal to the number of said portions on said element, a power source, a crank member operatively connected to said power source, means for imparting intermittent single rotations to said crank member, a link member having a medial portion rotatably secured to said crank member and one end portion slidably mounted in a freely rotatable element and the other end portion provided with roller engaging means, said roller engaging means upon one rotation of said crank moving into engagement with a roller and moving said roller and the disk member through a number of degrees corresponding to the spacing of said rollers and thence moving out of engagement with the roller, and means connecting said disk and said element whereby said element will be rotated in synchronismwith said dis 6, Mechanism of the type described comprising a cireular plate-like element having a plurality of equally circumferentially spaced article-receiving portions on the upper surface thereof, a horizontally disposed disk having a plurality of equally cireumferentially spaced roller members extending vertically therefrom, the number of said rollers being equal to the number of said portions on s i el ment. a P e s ur d i ng means p tivelr connected to said power source, means for intermittently rotating said driving means, a link member having a medial portion engageable for movement with said driving means and an end portion releasably engageable with one of said rollers, said end portion effecting rotation of said disk when engageable with said roller in an amount equal to the circumferential spacing of said rollers, said disk being freely rotatable, stop means operatively connected to said power source and movable in synchronism with said driving means engageable with a roller at the end of said rotation of the disk, and drive 11 means interconnecting said disk and element for driving said element in timed relation to the rotation of said disk.

7. Article receiving and conveying apparatus compris ing a horizontally disposed article-receiving disk-like member having a plurality of equally circumferentially spaced indexing stations on the upper surface thereof on which said articles may be sequentially deposited, means for rotating said member an amount equal to the spacing between said stations including a rotary power source, said rotating means further including a rotor member connected to said disk-like member for synchronously rotating the latter therewith, a crank, clutch means interposed between said crank and said power source whereby intermittent impulses of rotation of said crank may be obtained, means for limiting said crank rotation to one revolution, said rotor member having means thereon spaced equally around the periphery of the latter, means driven by said crank and sequentially engageable with said spaced rotor means for rotating said rotor an amount equal to the angular spacing of said rotor means, and means including a segmented disk rotatable in synchronism with said crank and having a portion engageable with adjacent rotor means upon completion of each crank revolution so as to lock said rotor in position.

8. Apparatus for receiving articles from a dispenser and bagging the same comprising, a housing, a member mounted for rotation adjacent the top of said housing, a single bag mandrel fixedly mounted on said housing adjacent the disk-like member periphery and extending radially outwardly therefrom, means for intermittently rotating said member a preselected number of degrees so as to bring equally spaced peripheral portions of said member in radial alignment with said mandrel, plunger means having a fiat article-engaging surface mounted on said housing, and means for selectively moving said plunger means radially over each of said peripheral portions toward and from said mandrel whereby articles may be pushed from said member and into a bag disposed over said mandrel, said plunger means at one end of its stroke extending radially beyond peripheral edge portions of said disk-like member and between said mandrel.

9. Apparatus for receiving articles from a dispenser and placing a quantity of such articles in a bag or like container comprising, a horizontally disposed rotor having a plurality of equal circumferentially spaced article receiving stations on the upper surface thereof, said rotor being freely rotatable, means for supporting a bag with the open end of the latter adjacent said rotor periphery, a rotary power source, drive mechanism, a clutch operatively interposed between said mechanism and power source, means for intermittently interengaging said clutch and effecting rotation of said drive mechanism, means on said clutch limiting rotation of said drive mechanism to a single revolution when said clutch is interengaged, a disk operatively connected to said drive mechanism and rotatable thereby, means for converting a full revolution of said drive mechanism to a partial revolution of said disk conforming to the number of rotor receiving stations, direct drive means between said disk and rotor, a plunger slidable radially over said rotor toward and from and in axial alignment with said bag supporting means, and means for urging said plunger toward said bag supporting means substantially at the end of rotation of said disk.

10. Apparatus for intermittently rotating a substantially circular plate member having a plurality of equally spaced receiving stations on the upper surface thereof through a number of degrees conforming to the angular displacement of said stations comprising, a freely rotatable disk having a plurality of projections thereon extending generally normal to the surface of said disk, the number of said projections and their spacing conforming to the number and angular displacement of said rotor receiving stations a horizontal crank member, means adjacent one end of said crank for intermittently imparting one revolution thereto, a link member having a medial portion pivotally ill secured to said crank, a rotatable sleeve member'having a medial portion pivotally secured to said crank, a rotatable sleeve member for telescopically receiving one end of said link, the other end of said link having a forked portion for engaging the next succeeding projection, means for limiting said disk rotation to the spacing between said projections, and means interconnecting said disk and plate whereby movements of the disk will be imparted to the plate.

11. Apparatus of the character described comprising, a disk-like member having a plurality of equal circumferentially spaced article-receiving stations on the upper surface thereof, a mandrel for supporting a bag with the open end thereof adjacent to and extending radially outwardly from the periphery of said member, means for intermittently rotating said member, means for limiting said rotation whereby said receiving stations will be sequentially aligned with said mandrel, a plunger disposed above said upper surface of the member, means for guiding said plunger diametrically across said member in substantial alignment with said mandrel so as to engage an article on said receiving station, means for actuating said plunger in synchronism with the rotation of said rotor, and said plunger being movable beyond the periphery of said rotor whereby said bag may be disengaged from said mandrel.

12. Apparatus as set forth in claim 11 in which said plunger actuating means includes a cam and a cam follower, an arm secured to said plunger, a cam follower, and a shaft interconnecting said follower and arm for imparting oscillating movement to the latter so as to move the plunger in said guide means.

13. Article receiving and conveying apparatus comprising, a horizontally disposed article-receiving rotor, at plunger slidable over the upper surface of said rotor, guide means for said plunger disposed radially of said rotor, a rotary power source, a lower clutch element fixed to said power source, a vertically extending shaft, an upper clutch element secured to said shaft, and movable axially relative thereto whereby said clutch elements may be selectively engaged and disengaged, means for moving said upper element downwardly into engagement with said lower element for a period less than one complete revolution of said shaft, means for effecting locking of said clutch elements after one revolution of said upper clutch element and said shaft, 21 second shaft, intermeshing similar gears on each of said shafts, a freely rotatable disk member in axial alignment with said second shafts having a plurality of equally spaced vertically extending rollers extending from the upper surface thereof, a crank secured to said second shaft overlying said disk, a slotted link-receiving member mounted for free rotary movement, a link slidably journaled in said latter member-and having a medial portion pivotally secured to one end of said crank and a forked end portion engageable with a disk projection for rotating the disk through a partial revolution upon rotation of said crank, a segmented disk secured to said first shaft and having a portion interposed between adjacent disk projections at the end of said partial revolution, and means for interconnecting said disk and rotor whereby the latter will be moved in synchronism with the disk.

14. Apparatus as set forth in claim 13 including a cam mounted for rotation on said second shaft, a plunger arm pivotally connected to said plunger, a rocker shaft fixed to said plunger arm, a spring loaded cam follower secured to said shaft, said cam being arranged to oscillate said rocker shaft and effect movement of said plunger radially outwardly of said plunger. radially outwardly of said disk at substantially the termination of rotation of said disk and rotor. 15. A method of bagging articles deliverable from a dispenser comprising receiving said articles from said dispenser, moving said article in a path along a substantially horizontal plane until said article is aligned with the open end of a bag positioned remote from said dispenser,

halting said movement along said path, moving said article within said horizontal plane and in a direction in substantial alignment with the longitudinal axis of said bag and into the latter, and continuing to move said article until the bag is also moved along its said horizontal axis.

16. Apparatus for receiving articles from a dispenser and conveying a selected number of such articles to a position remote from said dispenser comprising an element having a substantially flat upper surface on which said articles may be placed, a rotatably mounted member having a plurality of circumferentially spaced projections extending from a surface thereof, means releasably engageable with a selected one of said projections, a power source for moving said projection engaging means into and out of engagement with sequential projections and rotatin necting said memb latter during rotation of References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Tzibides Sept. 4, Jackson Jan. 1, Meyer-Jogenberg Mar. 11, Taylor Sept. 14, Von Sydow Stirn et a1. Gorby Christian g said member, and means intercond said element for rotating the Jan. 30, 1951 Feb. 20, 1951 May 15, 1951