US2775987A - Vibratory packing machine - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 1, 1957 w. s. BOHLMAN ET AL VIBRATORY PACKING MACHINE Original Filed April 1'. 1953 3 Shee ts-Sheer, 1

WALTER S. BOHLMAN JACK D. HAYES,JR.

INVENTORS AGENT.

Jan. 1, 1957 w. s. BOHLMAN ETAL 7 VIBRATORY PACKING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed April 1. 1953 WALTER s. BOHLMAN JACK o. HAYES,JR.

INVENTORS AGENT w. s. BO'HLMAN ET AL 2,775,987

VIBRATORY PACKING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 FIG. 6

WALTER S. BOHLMAN JACK D. HAYES,JR.

INVENTORS AGENT Jan. 1, 1957 Original Filed April 1. 1953 its containers. where the trend is more and :more in the :directionaof the relatively insensitive blasting agent, the furnishing ,0f1a1blasting composition at a=uniform ,densityis-of increasing importance to obtaining positive and uniform rzletonations with the conventionally employed detonating means such .as blasting capsxand detonating fuse-s.

' vibratory packer.

United States Patent Dfice vrBRAtroRY PACKING MACHINE W-alter -S. -Bohlman and Jack D. Hayes, J12, Wilmington,

DeL, assignorsto Hercules PowderGompany,"Wilniing- :tonnDeL, acorporation of-Delaware "Quiginal application .April 1, .1953,Senial .No. 346,206.

.Divide'd and thisapplication'MayjZl, 1954,,Se1'ial No. 431,337

3-:Claims. (Cl. 141-12) This invention relates to the filling and packing of .materialin containers and ,more particularly to process .and "apparatus for i-filling and packing tgranular and semigelatinous explosive materials ,into containers.

In the packaging art today it .is highly desirable to pack-containers with a desired amount of mateniail .at-va uniform density. While this-is .importantinrtheepackagupon the tunifoim'pack-ing of the cxplosivewcomposition In modern day blasting techniques For :many yearsthe standard dynamite package has probably been the 1% inux 8 Lin. stickf In developing the Hall type of machine-theart has produced in packer which is satisfactory forthis type .and .size ;of cartridge,

and this general type of machine is generally used .in

the rmannfacture of small cartridges. The :Hall type :packer functions :by the tamping of the explosive com- :position into the cartridge .by means .of tamping rods.

In more recent years, however, cartridges of increased Packaging :probsuch cartridges by hand. :However, these cartridges may be expeditiously packed at the present time by vibration inaccordance with the disclosure of :copending applicaxtionaSeria'l No. 134,530, filed December 22, 1949, now

abandoned.

For many years there has been a desire =nthe part of those engaged in blasting operations to employsmall diameter cartridges ofincreased length such as cartridges 1% to 2 inches in diameter and from 12 to 24 inches in length. These cartridges have been available in very limited quantity, however, in view .of the fact that it has not been found possible to satisfactorily rnodify the Hall type packer to produce such cartridgesdue at least partially to practical mechanical limitations of this type machine.

Since such cartridges can be satisfactorily consolidated by vibration if the-material can be uniformly introduced into the cartridge in a proper manner, it has been desired to produce this type of cartridge with a This effort, however, has not been successful due to the fact that no satisfactory means has been developed for uniformly feeding the explosive into the small diameter cartridge during vibration. Clear- .ly, it is unfeasible from .the commercial :standpoint 'to introduce the material by hand. Vibratory feeders :have .proved unsatisfactory in that the feeding of the ex- "Patented Jan. .1, @1957 plosive into the small diameter cartridges .has not .been rapid enough or satisfactorily :uniform and in any practical machine where a .number of cartridges must be packed at once, nonuniform :densities .are .obtaineddne to .the fact that some of the cartridges became filled a substantial period before the others and then were sub jected to vibration in the filled condition for an .undesirably long period. 'At the present time, therefore, there is no equipment disclosed in the .art which .has

been found satisfactory for packing long cartridges .of

reduced diameter. The few that have been available in the past either have been .packed by hand or .else have been produced by loading shorter cartridgespacked on a Hall machine into a longer cartridge. Neither of these methods is commercially feasible.

Now in accordance with the present invention, there has been developed aprocess and equipment to carry out such a process by means of which cartridgesof any reasonable size and length can be quickly produced in large numbers with uniform packing density.

Generallydescribed, the present invention comprises aprocess for filling and packing materials into containers which comprises forcing the material through a .passageway andintoa container by means of a reciprocating member, subjecting the container to vibration to consolidate the material in the .container, shortening the effective stroke .of the reciprocating member when the container is filled to the desired density, continuing reciprocation-of the member with ashortenedefiective .stroke until the passageway is .at least partially filled with .a packed core .of the material, replacing the filled container with-.an emptycontainer, andlengthening the effective stroke of the :reciprocating member to force Also included in the invention is equipment for carrying out such a process, .a preferred embodiment of which com- .prises .a platen, means for vibrating theplaten, a hopper :disposed above the platen containingaat least one nipple to engage the mouth of a container to be filled, means for delivering the material to be packed to :the hopper, and a 'reciprocable rod aligned with each nipple, the stroke of each rod being such that when fully extended the end of the rod does notextend substantially beyond the mouth of the nipple, said rod forcingthe material in the ;.hopper "through the nipple and said vibrator vconsolidating the material in said container. In employing the'process and the apparatus in this preferred embodiment of the invention, therefore, .the material to xbe :packed is uniformly forced through the nipples :of the hopper from where it falls .freelyinto the vibrating container.

In a further preferred embodiment of the apparatus of the invention the reciprocating members or rods .will

be attached to a column crosshead assembly disposed above a'hopper with each rod in coaxial alignment with a nipple in the hopper assembly. The stroke of .the rods will be such that at their lower limit of travel they do not extend substantially beyond the mouth of the nipples. Preferably, the individualrods willbe yieldably mounted in the .crosshead assembly so that when the containers have been filled, the effective stroke of the rods will be-shortened and asuitable core will be packed in the nipple. ;been consolidated by vibration are removed, the nipples Then when the cartridges which have will be sealed and prevent loss of powder therethrough until an empty set of cartridges replaces the filled set. At this point theeffective length of the stroke .can be automatically lengthened in a suitable fashion and the initial stroke after the lengthening will :force the core from the nipple into 'the icontainer tand thereafter "the material will be continuously introduced into the :fresh containers as before. While this effective shortening of the stroke of the rods can be effected in a number of suitable ways, it is preferred in accordance with a further embodiment of the invention to employ a feeding or tamping assembly which comprises a cylinder, a reciprocable rod passing longitudinally through the cylinder, sealing means disposed between rod and cylinder adjacent each end of the cylinder, a piston mounted on the rod Within the cylinder and disposed in sealed, slidable relationship with the cylinder walls, a first port for introducing pressurized fluid to one end of the cylinder to exert pressure on one end of the piston, a second port for introducing pressurized fluid into the cylinder on the opposite side of the piston, fluid flow through the second port being prevented when the piston is disposed adjacent the second port, said rod being movable in the direction of the first port for a distance sutlicient to move the piston past the second port when a force sufficient to overcome the pressure of the fluid entering the first port is longitudinally applied to the rod, said rod being further movable in the same direction for a distance sutficient to prevent further contact with the work when the fluid entering the second port exerts a pressure on the other surface of the piston sufficient to overcome the pressure exerted by the fluid entering the first port, and said rod being movable in the opposite direction for a distance sufiicient to engage the work when the pressure exerted by the fluid from the second port is released or overcome.

The effective stroke of the reciprocating members or rods can also be shortened by employing a friction joint between the rods and a crosshead support member. In like manner, a suitably weighted rod may be employed which is freely mounted in a crosshead support. A further alternative for shortening the effective stroke of the rods is to automatically lower the platen and hopper when all containers are filled, allow packing of the cores in the nipples, and then further lower the platen for discharging the shells.

Any desired number of nipples and reciprocating rods may be employed as desired. In accordance with a further embodiment of the invention a plurality of shuttles for the cartridges may be rotatably mounted and suitably coordinated so that fresh shells may be inserted into one shuttle and filled shells may be crimped in a third shuttle during the course of the loading of material into the shells disposed in the second shuttle.

It is generally preferred that the stroke of the reciprocating rod be so limited that the rod only forces the material completely through the nipple and does not tamp pack the material in the container per se. However, it will be appreciated that in the crosshead assembly specifically illustrated in Figs. 1, 2, and 3 the stroke can be of any length desired, depending on the length of the cylinders, without changing the operating principle. Thus, if desired, the stroke can be lengthened to the point desired and this particular crosshead assembly may be employed to tamp pack as Well as feed.

Having generally described the invention, more particular illustration will be given with reference to the drawing in which Fig. 1 is a part elevational, part sectional front view of a packing machine in accordance with the invention; Fig. 2 is a part elevational, part sectional end view taken along line 2-2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a sectional detail view of the yieldable mounting means for the reciprocating rods in the machine shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is an elevational diagrammatic view of the crimping means employed in the machine shown in Figs. 1 and 2; Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram showing an embodiment in which a plurality of rotatably mounted shuttles is employed; and Fig. 6 is a part elevational, part sectional view of a preferred pneumatic vibrator for use in the packing apparatus of the invention.

Referring to Figs. 1 through 4, the packing machine shown is supported by a frame 10. A platen 11 is supported adjacent each end on resilient mountings 12 and may be raised or lowered by means of fluid cylinders 13. A pneumatic vibrator 14 is bolted to the under side of the platen 11 with the power stroke of the piston 15 being in the vertical direction or normal to the plane of the platen 11. A rack 16 for receiving filled cartridges is rotatably mounted on an axle 17 and is actuated by pneumatic cylinders 18. A crimping assembly 19 is supported on rods 20 in a position directly above the rack 16 when it is in the vertical position shown in Fig. 2. The crimping assembly is split as shown in Fig. 1 into two sections 21 and 22. The lower section 22 contains the folding dies 23, while the crimping plungers 24 are mounted in the section 21 and extend downwardly into dies 23. Air cylinders 25 are mounted on section 21 and contain pistons 26. Piston rods 27 lead from the piston 26 through the member 21 and are anchored in the member 22. The crimping assembly is actuated by cylinders 28 mounted at each end of the machine. The piston rods of the air cylinders 28 are connected to levers 29 which are in turn connected to the pull rods 20 which pull the mechanism downward to make the crimp.

A shuttle 33 is pivotally mounted at each end on arms 31 which are in turn pivotally mounted on the frame. A clevis 32 extends from the base of the shuttle 30 and a clevis 32a extends from the base of the arm 31. Fluid cylinders 33 and 34 are provided to actuate the movement of the shuttle during operations, the piston rod of cylinder 33 being connected to clevis 32 and the piston rod of cylinder 34 being connected to clevis 32a. When the shuttle 30 is in the position shown in Fig. 2, the actuation of the fluid cylinder 33 causes the bottom of the shuttle to swing outwardly to the position shown by the dotted lines at 35. When cylinder 34 is actuated and the arms 31 are pulled downward, the shuttle 30 then takes the horizontal position shown by the dotted lines at 36. In Fig. 1, cartridges 37 are shown with their bottoms resting on the platen 11. Directly above the shuttle is mounted a hopper 38, the bottom of which is formed by a nipple plate 39. The nipples 40 enter into the mouths of the cartridges 37 when the shuttle and platen are raised to filling position. Tandem stirrers 41 are mounted in the hopper 38 on either side of the nipples 40. A crosshead assembly 42 is disposed above the hopper 38 and is reciprocated in its entirety by cranks 43 on a shaft leading to the power source. Supported in the crosshead assembly 42 are a plurality of reciprocable metal rods 44. Wooden tamp sticks 45 are joined to the metal rods 44 and terminate in rubber tips 46. Disposed about the rod 44 between horizontal members 47 are airtight cylinders 48. Secured to the rod 44 within the cylinder 48 is the piston 49. Low pressure air is introduced to the cylinder 48 through port 50 by means of pipe 51 and header 52. High pressure air is introduced to the cylinder 48 through port 53 by means of pipe 54 and header 55. As shown in Fig. 3, the piston 49 is disposed in the cylinder 48 adjacent the port 53 and is preventing the introduction of the high pressure air.

Above the upper crosshead member 47, each rod passes through an upper cylinder head supporting an orificed cam member 56.and is prevented from disengagement by a nut 57. Each cam is freely movable by the rod. At the lower limit of travel of rod 44, when its etfectivc stroke is at the longest value, the nut 57 engages the cam 56. As the rod approaches its upper limit of travel and its effective stroke is at the shortest value, the upper end of the rod engages the projection 53 and carries the entire cam upward until the piston 49 reaches the limit of its upward travel in the cylinder 43. When the rod 44 is up, the portion 59 of the cam 56 clears the elongated lever 60 which is attached to a rotatable, spring loaded rod 61. This rod 61 is unable to rotate clockwise until all cams 56 of all rods 44 have cleared the lever 60. When the entire lever 69 is cleared, the rod 61 rotates in a clockwise direction to actuate valving s mechanisms @(not shown) j e- 'functioning of which will be hereinafter described. -V\('hen;therods- 44 are returned to the down position, the-fiist cam creams-to contact the-lever 60-forces 'it to retate counterclockwise tobecome cocked or loaded -for the next cycle. "The material to bepackedis-deliveredeto-the hopper=58by-any suitable means such as a moving beltconveyor or *the like.

The machine-of *Figs. -1 through '4 operates as follows. The explosive composition ;to be packed is introduced unifermly-tothe hopperes by suitable means {not shown) such as a moving-belt conveyor. The shuttle fitl is initially loaded with emptyshells. The shells are loosely held in the shuttle and are" treeto-rnove longitudinally-therein. As shown in Figs. 1 and g2, theshuttle -is in the upright position and'th'e platen -11-is raised by-means of cylinders 13 until the shells 'e ga ge -the nipples '40. The stirrers 41 are continuously rotated and the crosshead assembly :42 is -made to continuously reciprocate synchronously with the stirrers -41--by means of cranks 43 which are connected to apower source "(not shown). As soon as the platen 191 israised and the shells -37 engage ithe nipples 40, the vibrator-14 is automatically actuated. 'The sticks 45, continuously reciprocating with the crosshead, 'force the explosive through the 'nipples =40 and-into the containerswhereit is continuously consolidated-by the vibration imparted *to the-cartridges37 bythe platen 41. Dueto uniform introductionof-the composi tion into the hopper 38, the synchronous ;.distribution :-by stirrers 41, and the-actionofthe rods45, the-shells are filled practically simultaneously, thus exposing-the explosive in 'each shell to practically the-same amount of vibration. W-hen the-level of.consolidated powder-rises above the egress orifice of the nipples -40,' the powder isthen consolidated-iin thenipples-40 by tamping action of-the'sticksf45. All this-=tirnc low pressure air is being introduced into theupper'part ofthe-cylinders 48 through the port 50. The pressure-of this air is-such thatwith each succeeding increment of powderthat ispacked in the nipples 40, the efiective stroke of the -rod 44 -is shortened -by compression of 'air in the upper part of the cylinder 48 by the-piston 49. On the up-stroke of the crosshead assembly, however, the low pressure air again fully lengthens the stroke of the stick 45 and the. next increment of powder packed in the nipple by the succeeding-stroke 'is packed 'to a=density suflicient to still further shorten the effective stroke of the stick 45. When each nipple is =fille'd=to the-desired level, the piston 49 is raised-by action'of -thmpowder-packed inthe nipple to a point where it passes port 53 and allows high pressure air to flow-into the lower'part of cylinder =48. .T he high pressure air'then-overcomesthe- 1ow:pressure air and the piston 49 is 'then -forced into the upper portion :of the cylinder 48-to'withdraw thestick 45 from contact with thePQWdEIfiHtheQiPPIe01' hopper. As the high-pressure -air-fcrces-each rod M-to itsupper limit of travel, each cam 56 is lifted and successively clears the lever 60. When the last rod A'Grises and the last cam :56 clears the lever '60, 'the spring-loadedrod -..61 is allowedto rotate clockwise to actuate a valvingrnechanismwhich shuts off the flow of'air to'thevibrator 14 andreverses the air :in cylinders 13 to'lower 'the-platen 1 1. Lowering of the platen =11 allowsthe shells 37 to fall away from the nipples 40, whereupon the consolidated, continuous column of powder in =the shell breaks away from the nipples which remain'sealed by the cores packed therein.

"Cylinder 33 is nowactuatedto-swingthe bottom of the shuttle '30 shells 37 outwardly to clear the platen as shown -by the dotted lines at 35. The loaded shells, loosely 'held -by the shuttle 30," f all through the shuttle 30 intothe rackl'fi. Cylinder 34 then .is automatically actuated to swing down the now empty-shuttle 30 tothe horizontal position shown by the dotted lines at -36 in Fig. new group of empty shells is then inserted automatically into the shuttle 30 by an automatic shell feeding device '(not shown). "The cylinder 34 is then actuated to sswing alle-shuttle $0 back'into the vertical position -uncler the nipples 40. The platen 11 is then raised to engage the new shells with the nipples 40. At this point the high-pressure-- air entering'port 53 i is drained off and the pressure "below-the piston 49 is --released. The-low pressure air then forces the-pistons "49 down to extend-the rods 44 to-their liull length below the -crosshead. As the rods 44 are forced to their longest effective length, the nuts 57-iorce .the. cams '56 downward andthe lever 60 is againdepressed. The-rod 6l is rotated counterclockwise, the valv-i ng mechanismis reversed and, with rod 58, is cocked or-loaded itorzthe next cycle.

The crosshead assembly-42 has continuously -recip-rocated during this time and with the first stroke of thee);- tended rods 44 and sticks "45,-the cores which were built up in the'nipples 40 arepushed into theemptyshe'llsand the '-loading andpackingoperation-is repeated. Dur-i-ng the loading of this group of shells, the rack 16-which contains the-loaded first-group of-shells is swung' from -theiposition-shown in Fig. 2 to the vertical positionshown -bydotted lines 20-in Fig. 2 by means of-air cylinderi l8. Cylinder 28 is actuated, and-the-crimping mechanismlflis pulled dowuward -by-rod 20. As the folding {dies 23 turnthe edges of --the-:mouths of the shells inwardly, .the member :21 which is mai-ntained apart from the member '22 by cylinders 25 as shown-in Figul, forcesthe crimpingplungers 24 downwardly through the foldingdies 23 --to' complete the crimping operation. The pressureis then reversedimthecylinder-28 and the'crimping assembly 19 is raised -to its inactive-position. The rack 1 6 is then forced outwardly-by cylinders 18 to the discharging 'positionshown lay-the dotted lines at 58 in Fig. 2. The finished cartridges-are discharged to.a waiting-tray'or movinggbelt as=may be desired.

Exceptxfor supplying the "material =to be packed to --the hopper or to a feeding belt and for supplying empty containers to the hopper of the shell feeding machine, the entire operation (of the machine shown in Figs. 14 is automatic. The; particular valvin g mechanisms employed for -this particular machine are operated by :air pressure and are{ fabricated from conventional componentsknown to the art. Hydraulic or electrical mechanisms can be substituted if desired. The various cylinders of .the embodiment specifically described were air cylinders. Hydraulic cylinders of equivalent :rnechanical elements which will efiect'the necessary movement of the various parts of the apparatus may be substituted, if desired, -without departing from the invention as .set forth in the appended claims.

In the specific embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figs. 1-4, the crosshead -hasr'been made to reciprocate constantly, even though no material is being loaded during-part of the'cycle. "Thecycle can be so,controlled that.reciprocation of the crosshea'dtakesplace only during -actual filling operations. Furthermore, reciprocation of the crosshead can beelfected bymeans of fluid cylinders instead ;of =the gears :and power source employed in :the embodiment specifically described.

A=further embodiment of the invention is shown in '-Fig. 5 where three shuttles62, 63, and 64, eachscontaining a row of-holes to receive shells, are shown pivotally mounted-on arotatable support 6'5. In orderto increase the output of loaded cartridges, the assembly-shown in Fig. 5 canbe adaptedto function with-the-hopper and crosshead assembly of I the particularembodiment-shown in Figs. 1 through 4. In this modified structure thelernpty shells would be =fed intotheshuttles at station A by a shell feeder diagrammaticallyshown by dotted'lines at This shuttle would then be rotated to station E where loading and-packing-wouldtake place as in the operation previously-described. Crimping-by means shown at dotted lines67 and discharging of the filled shells-would -take-place -at station C as -shown. =Sucha modification of the=a-pparatusof the-inventioncan also= be tooled to it automatic operation lay-suitable control-means without in any way departing from the generic scope of the invention. In addition, it will be desirable to modify the shuttles in this embodiment so that they can exert pressure on the shells to hold them in the shuttle while they are not resting on the platen. Such pressure can readily be obtained by employing split shuttles, the sections of which may be drawn together by suitable mechanical means.

As disclosed in copending application Serial No. 134,- 530, it has been discovered that the packing of materials into containers at high uniform density is best effected by means of vibratory movement in which the power stroke in each oscillation is applied in only one direction. Thus, in the embodiment of the invention shown in Fig. 1, it is preferred to employ a vibrator in which the power stroke of the piston is in the upward direction and the piston is allowed to fall free after each power stroke, cushioned only by the air escaping during the exhaust stroke. For many materials, particularly the lighter materials, the frequency of vibration is quite important to obtaining optimum results. Thus, it is often desirable to employ different vibratory frequencies when packing different types of materials. To obviate the necessity of changing vibrators, it is often desirable to use a vibrator with a controllable frequency such as that disclosed in U. S. 2,609,791. Although electric and hydraulic vibrators may be employed, if desired, best results are obtainable with pneumatic vibrators. From the standpoint of safety it is not desirable to employ an electric vibrator for the packing of explosives. Pneumatic vibrators are generally preferred over hydraulic vibrators due to the fact that the pneumatic vibrator is generally characterized by a higher frequency which is usually necessary to satisfactorily pack most materials from both the standpoint of ultimate density and the time required to reach that density.

In Fig. 6 is shown a part sectional, part elevational view of a pneumatic vibrator having a unidirectional power stroke which may be easily converted for use as a platen vibrator in accordance with the invention. A reciprocable piston 70 is disposed in a cylinder 71 formed by a casing 72. The lower portion of the casing 72 is formed by a cylinder head 73 which is held in airtight relationship to the remainder of the casing 72 by a gasket 74 and studs 75. An annulus 76 is formed in the wall of the cylinder at a point equidistant from the ends thereof. Passages 77 and 78 are formed in the outer periphery of piston 70 at points which register with the center of annulus 76 when the piston 70 is alternately at the end of either its exhaust or power stroke. A duct 79 leads from the passage 77 through the piston 70 to the bottom of piston 70. A duct 80 leads from the passage 78 through the piston 70 to the top of the piston 70. Duct 80 is plugged with a threaded plug 81. Exhaust ports 32 and $3 are disposed in the wall of the cylinder at a point equidistant from the ends of the cylinder. The distance between the exhaust ports 82 and 83 is such that during reciprocation one end of the piston begins to cover one exhaust port just as the opposite end of the piston begins to uncover the other exhaust port. A threaded air inlet port 84 is disposed in one side of the casing 72 and leads into the annulus 76. A threaded air inlet port 85 is disposed in the opposite side of the casing 70 and also leads into the annulus 76. A threaded plug 86 is disposed in the air inlet port 85.

The vibrator shown in Fig. 6 operates as follows. Pressurized air is introduced through air inlet 84 and flows into annulus '76 into the passage 77 and through duct 79 to the bottom of the cylinder 71. The piston 70 is forced upwardly by the pressurized air until the passage 77 travels beyond the annulus 76 and the exhaust port 82 is uncovered by the bottom of the piston 70. The upward stroke of the piston 70 is cushioned somewhat by the air cushion formed in the upper part of the cylinder 71 once the upper portion of the piston 70 has closed off the exhaust port 83. At the completion of its upward power stroke the piston 70 falls freely with its downward fall being cushioned by the air cushion formed when the lower portion of the piston closes the exhaust port 82. As soon as the passage 77 again registers with the annulus 76, air is again admitted to the bottom of the cylinder 71. The duct and passage 78 leading to the top of the piston 70 from the annulus 76 are provided to allow use of the vibrator shown with a power stroke in the opposite direction when the duct 79 is plugged and the duct 80 is unplugged. If both ducts are left unplugged, a conventional two-way power stroke is obtained. The passages 86, 87, and 88 which are plugged by studs 85, 89, and 90, respectively, are provided for attachment of a frequency control valve such as that shown in U. S. 2,609,791.

While it is generally desirable to employ a pneumatic, hydraulic, or electric vibrator to impart the necessary vibratory movement to the platen, the desired movement may be generated by other mechanical means.

It will be seen, therefore, that in accordance with the process and apparatus of the present invention it is now possible to produce uniformly loaded containers which are characterized by considerable length and a relatively small diameter. For example, in packing explosives, excellent results have been obtained with both free-flowing granular powders and semigelatinous compositions in cartridges from 1% to 2 inches in diameter and from 12 to 24 inches in length. However, the invention is clearly not limited in application to the packing of such containers, since it is apparent that it exhibits equal utility in the packing of any type of container. While the invention has been particularly described with respect to its application and utility in the explosives field, it is to be understood that the apparatus and process are equally applicable to other materials.

Since various modifications of the invention will occur to those skilled in the art which do not depart from the generic nature of the invention, it is intended that the invention be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

This application is a division of copending application Serial No. 346,206, filed April 1, 1953.

What we claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent 1. A process for filling and packing material into containers which comprises forcing the material through a passage and into a container by means of a reciprocating member, subjecting the container to vibration to consolidate the material in the container, shortening the effective stroke of the reciprocating member when the container is filled to the desired density, continuing reciprocation of the member with a shortened effective stroke until the passage is at least partially filled with a packed core of the material, replacing the filled container with an empty container, and lengthening the effective stroke of the reciprocating member to force the packed core into the empty container.

2. A process for filling and packing material into containers which :comprises forcing the material through a passage and into a container by means of a reciprocating member, subjecting the container to vibration applied in the vertical plane, shortening the efliective stroke of the reciprocating member when the container is filled to the desired density, continuing reciprocation of the member with a shortened effective stroke until the passage is at least partially filled with a packed core of the material, replacing the filled container with an empty container, and lengthening the effective stroke of the reciprocating member to force the packed core into the empty container.

3. A process for filling and packing material into containers which comprises forcing the material through a passage and into a container by means of a reciprocating 10 member, subjecting the container to vibration in the vermember to force the packed core into the empty contical plane, the vibration being such that in each cycle tainer. of oscillation force is applied to the container in only the upward direction, shortening the eifective stroke of the References Cited 1n the file of this patent reciprocating member when the container is filled to the 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS desired density, continuing reciprocation of the member With a shortened efiective stroke until the passage is at g M S least partially filled with a packed core of the material, 328439 55 2 2 replacing the filled container with an empty container, 1,049,029 Abjomsson et a1 Dec 1912 and lengthening the eifectlve stroke of the reclprocatmg 10 2,379,230 Griffin June 1945

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