US2832592A

US2832592A - Mechanism for feeding and setting up collapsed cartons

Info

Publication number: US2832592A
Application number: US528266A
Authority: US
Inventors: Frederick W Kucklinsky; Arthur D Farnow
Original assignee: CONTAINER EQUIPMENT CORP
Current assignee: CONTAINER EQUIPMENT CORP
Priority date: 1955-08-15
Filing date: 1955-08-15
Publication date: 1958-04-29
Anticipated expiration: 1975-04-29

Description

April 29, 1958 F. W. KUCKLINSKY MECHANISM FOR FEEDING AND SETTING UP COLLAPSED CARTONS Filed Aug. 15, 1955 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 A m. A Mg m Jm r WW) 1% W 1 p k .Wm f

April 29, 1958 1 F. w. KUCKLINSKY ETAL 2,832,592

MECHANISM FOR FEEDING AND SETTING UP COLLAPSED CARTONS Filed Aug. 15, less 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 74 fizz/9,775 A April 29, 1958 F. W. KUCKLINSKY ETAL MECHANISM FOR FEEDING AND SETTING UP COLLAPSED CARTONS Filed Aug. 15. 1955 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 BYA April 1958 F. w. KUCKLINSKY EI'AL 2,832,592

MECHANISM FOR FEEDING AND SETTING UP COLLAPSED CARTONS Filed Aug. 15, 1955 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTORS. if'eig'icilff/cf'gzhslfgk y Jrliyfi iiryang 70 MIKEY/751a United States Patent MECHANISM FOR FEEDING AND SETTING UP COLLAPSED CARTONS Application August 15, 1955, Serial No.-528,266 7 Claims. (Ci. 271---44) This invention relates to packaging machinery, and has reference, more particularly, to improvements in machines for filling and closing paper cartons, the cartons being initially collapsed or flat folded, and being automatically delivered from a stack thereof to means for setting up the same to an open condition preparatory to filling and closing thereof.

In the operation of carton filling and closing machinery to which initially fiat folded or collapsed cartons are automatically and successively fed from a stack thereof to the carton setting up mechanism, whereby each carton is expanded or squared to an open condition ready to receive the material or objects to be enclosed therein, it sometimes happens that the supply of materials or objects being filled into the cartons, either by hand or automatically, becomes temporarily exhausted. In machines as heretofore known, if such happening occurs, the collapsed cartons continue to be fed into the machine from the stack through the setting up mechanism and past the filling station, until the machine as a whole is stopped. Before the machine is stopped, an appreciable number of empty cartons is likely to pass the filling station unfilled, which involves carton waste. Furthermore, if the machine is stopped, progress of cartons, which have previously moved past the filling station and have received their content, are halted and remain stationary in the machine in various degrees of closed condition, until the machine is again started. Such halting of filled cartons which have not been completely closed, permits unsealed glue coated closure flaps thereof to dry so that, when the machine is again started, these cartons do not become properly sealed, and have to be separated from properly closed and sealed cartons after discharge from the machine, and thereafter closed and sealed by hand. This involves loss of time and additional labor which is objectionable and costly.

Having the above in view, it is an important object of this invention to provide a carton filling and closing machine with means for stopping delivery of collapsed cartons from the supply stack thereof without otherwise stopping operation of the machine and the progress of previously filled cartons through the machine to the discharge point thereof; said means being under the immediate manual control of an operator or attendant located at the filling station of the machine.

It is another object of this invention to provide a carton filling and closing machine with improved means operative to expand or square flat folded or collapsed carton bodies, and thus set up the same in open condition ready for reception of material or objects desired to be inserted thereinto for enclosure thereby.

The above and other objects will be understood from a reading of the following detailed description of an illustrative embodiment of the invention in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view of a carton filling and closing machine showing the carton feeding mechanism and control means therefor, and the means for setting up the cartons to open condition.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary rear end elevational view of the carton feeding mechanism and the control means therefor according to this invention, this view being drawn on an enlarged scale, and showing said mechanism conditioned to successively feed collapsed cartons from a stack thereof; and Pig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the same, taken on line 3-3 in Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary rear end elevational view of the carton feeding mechanism, similar to that of Fig. 2, but showing a d mechanism conditioned to stop the carton feeding o eration; and Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view, taken on line 5-5 in Fig. 4.

Referring to the drawings, in which like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts, the reference character indicates a longitudinally extending trackway by which cartons to be set up, filled and closed are supported as they are moved through the machine.

Mounted across the rear end portion of the trackway 10 is an upstanding, endwise open, hopper structure 11, which serves to support a stack of initially flat folded or collapsed cartons C.

A stationary slideway bar 12 is suitably supported to extend longitudinally beneath the hopper structure and below the top level of the trackway 10. Slidably supported by said slideway bar 12, for movement back and forth thereon, so as to traverse the open bottom of the hopper structure 11, is a reciprocable carton feed device. This carton feeder device comprises a rearward slide member 13 and a forward slide member 14, respectively formed with downwardly open longitudinal channels between dependent

side wall portions

15 and 16 with which they are respectively provided. Said rearward and forward slide members normally abut one another in end to end relation, and are detachably coupled together, so as to move as a unit back and forth upon the slideway bar 12, when the carton feeder device formed thereby is con ditioned for carton feeding operation. The means for detachably coupling together the rearward and forward slide members comprises a latching lever 17, which is pivotally supported in connection with the rearward slide member 13, within its bottom channel, by a transverse pivot pin 18 that is supported by and between said dependent side wall portions 15 of the rearward slide member. The latching lever 17 is provided with a forward arm 19 that extends into the bottom channel of the forward slide member 14, and which is provided at its free end with a charnfered latch nosing 20 that leads to a a latching notch 21; the latter being operative to engage over a transverse latch pin 22 which is supported by and between said dependent side wall portions 16 of the forward slide member. The latching lever 17 is also provided with a rearward arm 23, in connection with the free end of which is preferably mounted an antifriction roller 24. Supported by the rearward slide member 13 is a compression spring 25 which yieldably rotates the latching lever 17 to its normal latched engagement with the latch pin 22 of the forward slide member 14. Afiixed to the top of the rearward slide member 15, to project forwardly over the top of the forward slide member 14 is a pushplate 26 which underlies the stack of cartons lodged in the hopper 11, so as to be moved back and forth relative to said stack of cartons by the reciprocation of the carton feeder device. Adjacent its forward end, said pushplate 26 is provided with a feed shoulder 27, the height of which approximates the thickness of a flat folded or c01 lapsed carton C. Afiixed to and extending forwardly from the forward end portion of the push-plate 26, so as to be unitary therewith and with the rearward slide member 13, is a carton stack supporting member 28. When the carton feeder device is disposed in its retracted position, preparatory to a forward feeding stroke thereof, said supporting member 28 supports the stack of cartons, so that the bottommost carton thereof is positioned in aligned opposition to the feed shoulder 27 of the push-plate 26,

and thus in position to be engaged and advanced thereby during the ensuing forward feeding stroke of the carton feeder device. Preferably the slideway bar 12 is provided in its top face with a guideway channel 29 in which said supporting member slidesduring operation of the carton feeder device.

Means is provided for effectingsuitably timed reciprocation of the carton feeder device. An illustrative form ofsuch means as shown (see Fig. 1) comprises an oscillatable lever 30, which is pivotally mounted on a transverse shaft 31 that is supported by and across the machine framework. The free end of this lever 3t connected by links 32 to the forward slide member 14 of the carton feeder device which is straddled by said links. Operated by a .power shaft 33, which is journaled in and across the machine framework, is an eccentric 34 that is connected by its connecting rod 35 to the oscillatable lever 30, and which thus functions to produce oscillation of the latter whereby to reciprocate the carton feeder device.

Forwardly beyond the hopper 11, the machine is provided with continuously driven carton propelling conveyor means, which comprises at least one conveyer chain 36 which is supported by sprockets including a drive sprocket 37 that is mounted on the power shaft 33, and an idler sprocket 38 over which runs the advancing course thereof in parallel relation to the trackway it) of the machine. Mounted on the conveyer chain 36, at suitably spaced longitudinal intervals therealong, are carton propelling members 39, which are adapted to upstand from the advancing course of said conveyer chain, so as to engage rear sides of cartons C that are supported by and for advancing travel upon said trackway 10.

Intermediate the hopper 11 and the receiving end portions of the carton propelling conveyer chain 36 is a continuously driven carton transfer conveyer means, which comprises at least one conveyer chain 40, and preferably two thereof arranged to straddle the conveyer chain or chains of the carton propelling conveyer means. Said transfer conveyer chain 40 (or each thereof) is supported by sprockets including a drive sprocket that is mounted on the power shaft 33, and a rearward idler sprocket 41 and a forward idler sprocket 42 over which runs the advancing course thereof in parallel relation to the trackway of the machine. Carried by the transfer conveyer chain 40, at suitably spaced intervals therealong, are carton advancing lugs 43. The receiving end portion of the advancing course of the transfer conveyor chain 4% is disposed rearwardly of the terminal point of the forward feed stroke travel of the carton feeder device. The forward discharge end portion of said advancing course of the transfer conveyer chain 40 laps the receiving end portion of the advancing course of the carton propelling conveyer chain 36, so that a carton advanced by said transfer conveyer chain is positioned in advance of an approaching propelling member 39 of the propelling conveyer chain, so that the rearward edge and side of said carton can be engaged by latter for advance thereby.

Suitably positioned forwardly of the receiving end of the advancing course of the propelling conveyer chain 36, and within the trackway 10, so as to lie in the path of advance of a carton C propelled along the latter, is a yieldable carton lifter device comprising an upwardly projecting lifter lever 44, pivotally supported at 45 relative to the trackway, and having a downwardly extending tail portion 46 to which a pull string 47 is connected. Initially, i. e., before it is engaged by an advancing carton, the lifter lever 44 is swung by the pull spring 47 to a rearwardly inclined position, in which position it awaits engagement by an advancing carton.

Mounted above the trackway 10 adjacent to the carton lifter lever 44, for cooperation with the latter and with the propelling members 39 of the carton propelling conveyer means, is a carton squaring and holding device (see Fig. 1). This device comprises a stationary bracket 48, which is suitably supported from a stationary part of the ma- Chine, such e. g. as a side rail 49. Rotatably mounted respectively on rearward and forward ends of the stationary bracket 48 are longitudinally aligned rearward and forward idler sprockets 5t] and 51. Supported intermediate and in upwardly offset relation to the idler sprockets 50 and 51 is a tensioning idler sprocket 52. Supported by said idler sprockets 50, 51 and 52 is an endless chain 53, the forwardly moving course of which extends between the idler sprockets 50 and 51 so as to run parallel to the trackway it? at a level spaced above the latter substantially equal to the height of a carton, when said carton is set up in its squared and open condition. Carried by the chain 53, at suitably spaced intervals therealong, to pro ject perpendicularly outward therefrom, are rigid carton holding fingers or dogs 54.

The chain 53, with its carton holding fingers or dogs 54, is free to move under the thrust of a carton which is propelled forwardly along the trackway 10 by the carton propelling conveyer means. It is desirable by reason of this that the tension of the chain 53 be so adjusted as to yield to the thrust of carton advancing movement, and yet offer sufficient resistance to such movement as will maintain the holding engagement of carton contacting fingers or dogs 54 thereof with cartons which are propelled against the latter. To attain desired tensional adjustment of the chain 53, the tcnsioning idler sprocket 52 is mounted on a movable bracket extension 55 which is pivotally connected at 56 with the stationary bracket 48, and which can be moved to lift or lower said tensioning idler sprocket with chain tension adjusting effect. A cooperative lock screw and slot means 57, or other suitable means, is provided for securing said bracket extension 55 and the idler tensioning sprocket carried thereby in selected chain tensioning position.

In the operation of the machine as thus far described, the rearward and

forward slide members

13 and 14 of the carton feeder device being coupled together by the latch ing means for normal operation, the carton feeder device is reciprocated by its above described actuating means. The rearward stroke of the carton feeder device carries the push-plate 26 behind the carton supply stock, so that, on its ensuing forward stroke, the feed shoulder 27 of said push-plate will engage the rearward edge of the bottommost fiat folded or collapsed carton of said supply stack, and thereupon will push the latter forwardly out of said stack, and over the receiving end portion of the transfer conveyer means. By the timed operation of the chain or chains 40 of said transfer conveyer means, carton advancing lugs 43 thereof are moved behind the delivered collapsed carton so as to engage the rear edge of the latter, and thereupon advance the same so as to engage its forward edge with the lifter lever 44, and into position for engagement of its rear edge by the approaching carton propelling member or members 39 advanced by the chain or chains 36 of the carton propelling conveyer means.

As the forward edge of the advancing collapsed carton is brought by the operating conveyer means into engagement with the spring tensioned lifter lever 44, the latter yieldably thrusts upwardly against the forward side panel of said collapsed carton, whereby to up turn said panel about its juncture with the bottom panel thereof, thus initiating the squaring movement of said collapsed carton. As this occurs, one of the fingers or dogs 54 of the carton squaring and holding means, which is carried by that portion of the chain 53 that is passing around the rear idler sprocket 56 thereof, has reached a position at which it will be engaged by the upper marginal portion of the upswinging forward side panel of the advancing carton. As the partially squared carton thereafter continues to advance under the propulsion of the propelling member or members 39 which exert forward thrust against the rear edge of its bottom panel, the aforesaid finger or dog 54 will move in company with the advancing carton to a perpendicular position, so as to back up the carton against the forward thrusting pressure of the propelling member 39, thus completing the squaring erection of the carton,

carton is subjected to erecting pressure between a propelling member 39 and a finger or dog S l of the carton squaring and holding device. It will also be understood that collapsed cartons will be successively delivered from the supply stack thereof, and successively erected to squared open condition by the means and in the manner above described.

The means for stopping delivery of the flat folded or collapsed cartons from the supply stack thereof, without otherwise stopping operation of the machine and progress of previously erected and filled cartons through the machine to the discharge point thereof, will now be described. Fastened to the rear end of the slideway bar 12 of the carton feeder device, to depend therefrom, is a bracket plate 60. Affixed to this bracket plate, to extend forwardly therefrom in parallel relation to the slideway bar 12, and so as to be disposed adjacently beneath the path of reciprocable movement of the

slide members

13 and 14 of the carton feeder device, is a bearing stud 61. Journaled on said bearing, stud for rocking movement thereon, is a hollow oscillatable shaft 62. Mounted on said oscillatable shaft, to upstand therefrom, is a latch release cam block 63, which is formed to provide an upwardly and rearwardly inclined cam section 64 on its free end portion, that leads to a transverse seating groove or channel 65 formed in the free end surface of said cam block 63. Also mounted on said oscillatable shaft 62, to depend therefrom, is a lever arm 66 that is operative to rock said oscillatable shaft, whereby to selectively move the latch release cam block 63 to an operative or an inoperative position. Preferably said lever arm 66 is provided with a spring pressed check ball 67, or equivalent detent means. which is engageable in one or the other of spaced check seats 68 formed in the inner face of the bracket plate 69, whereby to selectively hold the lever arm 66 in position to dispose the latch release cam block either in its operative or inoperative position.

Means is provided by which an operator or attendant, located at the filling station of the machine, can cause the latch release cam block 63 to move for selective disposition in either its operative or inoperative position, This means comprises a rock-shaft 69 journaled in suitable bearings 70 to extend along the side of the machine to a point adjacent to the filling station of the machine. Fixed on the forward end of this rock-shaft is an upstanding hand lever 71, by means of which said operator or attendant can actuate said rock-shaft. Fixed on the rearward end of said rock-shaft is a dependent lever arm 72. Pivotally connected with said lever arm 72 is the outer end of a connecting rod 73, the inner end of which is coupled to the leverarm 66 of the oscillatable shaft 62. Preferably, said connecting rod 73 extends slidably through a knuckle piece 74 which is pivotally mounted in connection with the free end portion of the lever arm 66, and fixed on the end of said connecting rod is a collar 75 which normally abuts the inner side of said knuckle piece. A compression spring 76 is mounted around the connecting rod 73 between the outer side of the knuckle piece and a stop abutment 77 with which the connecting rod is provided. T his latter arrangement provides a lost motion connection between the connecting rod 73 and lever arm 66 which permits the connecting rod to move relative to the lever arm 66 if, by any chance, movement of the latch release cam block 63 from its normal inoperative position to its operative position should be momentarily obstructed, thereby compressing the spring 76 so as to move the lever arm 66 and the latch release cam block after obstruction to operative movement of the latter is removed.

Mounted on the latch release cam block 63 is a stop member 78 which lies in the path of retractive movement of the rear slide member 13 of the carton feeder device, and which said rear slide member is adapted to abut upon completion of its retractive movement, so that the same is held thereby against rearward displacement from its retracted position when disconnected from the forward slide member 14.

Normally the lever member 66 is swung in clockwise direction, whereby to move the latch release cam block 63 to an inwardly swung position which offsets the same out of the path of reciprocation of the slide members 13 and of the carton feeder device (see Fig. 2). Under these circumstances, said

slide members

13 and 14 remain coupled together by the latching lever 17 (see Fig. 3), and therefore reciprocate as a unit so that the push-plate 26 is reciprocated therewith to successively deliver flat folded or collapsed cartons from the supply stack thereof, in the manner already hereinabove described, During such normal operation of the carton feeder device, if supply of material or objects at the filling station of the machine becomes temporarily exhausted, the operator or attendant, standing at the filling station of the machine, manipulates the hand lever 71 to efiect, through the rock shaft 69, lever arm 72 and connecting rod 73, counterclockwise movement of the lever arm 66 and oscillatable shaft 62, which swings outward the cam block 63 so as to dispose the same in the path of reciprocation of the coupled

slide members

13 and 14 of the carton feeder device (see Fig. 4). When the cam block 63 is thus operatively positioned, as the coupled

slide members

13 and 14 are rearwardly moved by an ensuing retractive stroke of the carton feeder device, the antifriction roller 24 of the rearward arm 23 of the latching lever 17 will engage and ride up over the cam section 64 of the cam block 63, and into the seating groove or channel 65, as the slide members complete their retractive movement. Such engagement of the latching lever 17 by the cam block 63 rotates the former about its pivotal connection with the rearward slide member 13, so as to downswing its forward arm 19, thereby disengaging the latching notch 21 from the latch pin 22 of the forward slide member 14 (see Fig. 5), thereby disconnecting said forward slide member from the rearward slide member 13-. The

slide members

13 and 14 being thus disconnected, the forward slide members alone will be reciprocated, while the rear ward slide member 13 remains stationary in its retracted position, and consequently the push-plate 26 carried by the latter remains stationary and inoperative. Under these circumstances, the carton feeder device becomes inactive, while nevertheless the machine otherwise continues in operation.

When a renewed supply of material or objects to be filled into set up cartons becomes available, and it is thereupon necessary that delivery of cartons from the supply stack thereof be resumed, the operator or attendant manipulates the hand lever 71 to return the cam block 63 to its normal inoperative position, thereby releasing the latching lever 17. When, under these circumstances, the forward slide member 14 is retracted and approaches the stationary slide member 13, the latch pin 22 will engage and ride over the nosing 20 of the latching lever 17 so as to bring said latch pin into alignment with the latching notch 21 thereof, whereupon the spring 25 will rotate the. latching lever 17 to its latching position, thus again coupling together the rearward and forward slide members in normal unitary relation, whereupon the carton feeder device resumes its carton delivery operation.

Having now described our invention, we claim:

1. In a carton filling and closing machine, in combination with a hopper holding a stack of collapsed cartons, a carton feeder to successively deliver cartons into the .machinefromthe bottomof. the stackthereof, said carton feeder comprising a rear slide member and a forward slide member, a cartonpush-plate. carried by the rear slide member, means to reciprocate the forward slide member, releasable means to normally couple together said slide members, whereby the rear slide member is operativeiy reciprocated by the forward slide member, and manually operable means to release said coupling means, whereby to disconnect the rear slide member from the reciprocated forward slide member so as to immobilize the former at the end of a retractive stroke thereof.

2. In a carton fillingand closing machine, in combination with a hopper holding a stack of collapsed cartons, a carton feeder to successively deliver cartonsinto the machine from the bottom of the stack thereof, said carton feeder comprising a rear slide member and a forward slide member, a carton push-plate carried by the rear slide member, means to reciprocate the forward slide member, a latching lever pivotally carried by the rear slide member, spring means to yieldably urge said latching lever into latched engagement with said forward slide member, whereby. said rear slide member is operatively reciprocated'by said forward slide member, cam means engageable by the latching lever at the end of a retractive stroke of the rear slide member, whereby to disconnect the latching lever from the forward slide member, and thus immobilize the rear slide member, and manually operable means to move said cam means to and from its latching lever releasing position.

3. The combination according to claim 2 wherein the manually operable means for moving said latching lever releasing cam means comprises an oscillatable shaft upon which said cam means is mounted, a rock shaft mounted on the machine to extend to the filling station thereof, a hand lever for actuating said rock shaft, said oscillatable shaft and rock shaft respectively having lever arms mounted thereon, and connecting rod means between said lever arms.

4. The combination according to claim 3 wherein the connecting rod means isprovided with a yieldable lost motion connection with the lever arm of the cam means actuating oscillatable shaft.

5. In a machine having a trackway over which cartons are moved subject to erecting, filling and closing operations, a hopper mounted over said traclcway to hold a supply stack of collapsed cartons, a slideway bar ext-ending under said hopper parallel to said trackway, a rear slide member and a forward slide member supported by the slideway bar, a carton push-plate carried by the rear slide member and operative on forward movements of the latter to deliver collapsed cartons from the hopper for movement through the machine, means to reciprocate the forward slide member, a latching lever pivotally mounted intermediate its ends on said rear slide member,

the forward arm of said latching lever and theforward slide member having cooperative means to latch together the slide members, whereby the rear slide member is reciprocated by and with the forward slide member, spring means to releasably retain the latching lever in latching position, an oscillatable shaft and means to support the t same parallel to and beneath the slideway bar and said slide members, a cam means mounted on said oscillatable shaft and adapted to be transversely movable thereby to and from a position to be engaged by the rearward arm of the latching lever at the end of a retractive stroke of the rear slide member, whereby when operative to release said latching lever and thereby disconnect the slide members so as to immobilize the rear slide member without interrupting reciprocation of the forward slide member or other operations of the machine, said oscillatable shaft having a lever arm to actuate the same and manually operable means for operating said lever arm.

6. In a machine having a trackway over which cartons are moved subject to erecting, filling and closing operations, a hopper mounted over said trackway to hold a supply stacknofcollapsed cartons, a,,,slideway barextending..under. .saidc. hopper. parallel. to. said .trackway, a rear slidemember and aforward slide member supportedby the slideway bar, a cartonpush-plate carriedby the rear slide member .and operative on forward movements of. the latter to deliver collapsed cartons from the hopper for movement through the machine, means to reciprocate the forwardslide member, a latching leverpivotal'ly mounted intermediate its ends on said rear slide member, the forward arm of said latching lever and the forward slide member ha. cooperative means to latch together the slide members, whereby the rear slide member is reciprocated by and with the forward slide member, spring means to releasably retain the latching lever in latching position, an oscillatable shaft and means to support the same parallel to and beneath the slideway bar and said slide members, a cam means. mounted on said oscillatable shaft and adapted to be transversely movable thereby to and from a position to be engaged by the rearward arm of the latching lever at the end of a retractive stroke of the rear slide member, whereby when operative to release said latching lever and thereby disconnect the slide members so as to immobilize the rear slide member without interrupting reciprocation of the forward slide member or other operations of the machine, said oscillatable shaft having a lever arm to actuate the same, a rock shaft mounted on the machine to extend to the filling station thereof, a hand lever for actuating said rock shaft, said rock shaft having a lever arm, and connecting rod means to connect said rock shaft lever arm with the lever arm of said oscillatable shaft.

7. In a machine having a trackway over which cartons are moved subject to erecting, filling and closing operations, a hopper mounted over said trackway to hold a supply stack of collapsed cartons, a slideway bar extend ing under saidhopper parallel to said trackway, a rear slide member and a forward slide member supported by the slideway bar, a carton push-plate carried by the rear slide member and operative on forward movements of the latter to deliver collapsed cartons from the hopper for movement through the machine, means to reciprocate the forward slide member, a latching lever pivotally mounted intermediate its ends on said rear slide member, the forward arm of said latching lever and the forward slide member having cooperative means to latch together the slide members, whereby the rear slide member is reciprocated by and with the forward slide member, spring means to releasably retain the latchinglever in latching position, an os'c'illatable shaft and means to support the same parallel to and beneath the slideway bar and said slide members, a cam means mounted on said oscillatable shaft and adapted to be transversely movable thereby to and from a position to be engaged by the rearward arm of the latch ing lever at the end of a retractive stroke of the rear slide member, whereby when operative to release said latching lever and thereby disconnect the slide members so as to immobilize the rear slide member without interrupting reciprocation of the forward slide member or other operations of the machine, said oscillatable shaft having a lever arm to actuate the same, a rock-shaft mounted on the machine to. extend to the filling station thereof, a hand lever for actuating said rock shaft, said rock-shaft having a lever'arm, connecting rod means to connect said rockshaft lever arm with the lever arm of said oscillatable shaft, and a yieldable lost motion connection between said connecting rod and one of said lever arms.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,226,588 Simpson Dec. 31, 1940 2,431,365 Bousquet Nov. 25, 1947 2,570,144 Mettler Oct. 2, 1951 2,677,543 Ohrn May 4, 1954