US2880907A

US2880907A - Article dispenser

Info

Publication number: US2880907A
Application number: US644336A
Authority: US
Inventors: Artez F Mainers
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1957-03-06
Filing date: 1957-03-06
Publication date: 1959-04-07
Anticipated expiration: 1976-04-07

Description

April 7, 9 A. MAINERS' 2,880,907

ARTICLE DISPENSER Filed March 6, 1957 United States Patent ARTICLE DISPENSER Artez F. Maiuers, Shelby County, Tenn.

Application March 6, 1957, Serial No. 644,336

Claims. (Cl. 221-299) This invention relates to a mechanism for dispensing a stack of articles. ployed in a bakery for dispensing light weight aluminum pie pans from a stack one at a time onto a conveyor to be subsequently filled. Although, from time to time in the following specification the use of the present invention will be described in connection with this particular application, it should be understood that it is not intended to so limit the invention but it may be used in other applications to dispense other sizes and shapes of articles.

In dispensing articles, as aluminum pie pans, the problenl often exists of the articles not separating properly from a stacked or nested disposition. Thus, my invention is directed towards providing an efficient and improved dispenser which overcomes this problem.

An important object of the present invention is to provide a positive means of dispensing articles one at a time from a stacked disposition.

A further object is to provide a dispenser for any size or shape of object that has a flange or bead on the edge.

A further object is to provide a dispensing mechanism including a reciprocable escapement and separating mechanism having a knife edge which is movable between the flanges of the lower two articles to be dispensed for the separation thereof.

A further object is to provide such a dispensing mechanism with an upper deck, and a lower deck vertically and closely spaced beneath said upper deck and with each of the decks having an open area through which an article to be dispensed will pass and each having stop means for preventing the articles from passing therethrough.

'A further object is to provide such a dispensing mechanism in which said upper deck and lower deck are spaced apart substantially the thickness of the flanges of the articles to be dispensed so that the channel formed thereby is adapted to receive the flanges of only one of the articles to be dispensed.

A further object is generally to improve the design and construction of dispensing mechanisms.

The means by which the foregoing and other objects of the present invention are accomplished and the manner of their accomplishment will be readily understood from the following specification upon reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a top plan view of the dispenser of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken as on the line IIII of Fig. 1, showing the escapement and separating mechanism in a first position, and with the thickness of the flanges of the pie pans being exaggerated for purposes of illustration.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view similar to Fig. 2, except showing the escapement and separating mechanism in an intermediate position in its movement from said first position to a second position.

Fig. 4 is also an enlarged fragmentary sectional view It is particularly adapted to be em- 2,880,907 Patented Apr. 7, 1959 similar to Fig. 2, except showing the escapement and separating mechanism in said second position.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view on the scale of Figs. 1 and 2, and taken as on the line V-V of Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view on a greatly enlarged scale of the knife edge per se taken as along the line VIVI of Fig. 4. I 7

Referring now to the drawings in which the various parts are indicated by numerals, dispenser 11 includes a base member 12 having an opening therethrough which is larger than the articles to be dispensed for free passage of the articles therethrough. Thus, in the present drawings is shown the circular pie pans P to be dispensed and a circular opening 13 having a diameter greater than that of the pie pans. A plurality of upstanding rods 15'ar'e mounted on base member 12 adjacent opening 13 thereby forming a guide to align the stack of pans P above the opening and to prevent the pans from being moved laterally when the dispenser is operated.

An escapement and separating mechanism 17 is reciprocably mounted from base member 12 as by bearings 19 for reciprocation in a horizontal plane. Mechanism 17 includes a pair of spaced side members 21 joined at the ends thereof by a pair of spaced end members 23 to form a rigid frame 25 which encircles the stack of pans P. The spacing between side members 21 and end members 23 is such that the stack of pans will not be contacted by the frame 25. Each of side members 21 slidably extends through a pair of the bearings 19 to permit reciprocation of mechanism 17 to the right and left as viewed in Fig. l. Mechanism 17 may be reciprocated by any suitable means, as for example a solenoid, not shown, and connected to frame 25 as by a shaft 27.

Escapement and separating mechanism 17 additionally includes a lower deck 29, and an upper deck 31 fixedly interconnected with the lower deck and vertically spaced thereabove a distance substantially equal to the thickness of the flanges F on pie pans P. Lower deck 29 comprises a pair of lower plates 33 respectively fixedly attached to the top of side members 21 and projecting inwardly towards one another from the respective side members. Arcuate cut-out portions 35 are respectively provided in lower plates 33 opposite one another to form an open area in lower deck 29 greater than the area of pans P whereby the pans may freely pass therethrough. Upper deck 31 comprises a pair of upper plates 37 respectively fixedly supported from lower plates 33 as by spacers 39. Upper plates 37 project inwardly towards one another from the spacers and form with lower plates 33 a channel therebetween adapted to receive the flanges F of pie'pans P. Arcuate cut-out portions 41 are respectively provided in upper plates 37 opposite one another to form an open area in upper deck 31 greater than the area of pans"? whereby the pans may freely pass therethrough. The open area of the upper deck 31 and the open area of the lower deck 29 are staggered, that is, the open area of upper deck 31 is to the left and the open area of lower deck 29 is to the right as viewed in Fig. 2.

The inner edges of upper plates 37, exclusive of the cut-out portion 41, are spaced apart a distance less than the diameter of flanges F and greater than the greatest diameter of the body B of the pie pans P whereby body B will hang down between the plates in the manner best shown in Fig. 5 and thus a stop means is provided for the flanges F which prevents the pie pans from passing wheii this stop means is under the pans. Similarly, thein'ner edges of lower plates 33 are spaced apart as above de scribed for the upper plates whereby stop means is pro vided on lower deck 29.. It will he understood that since the cut-out area of the upper deck 31 is staggered relative to the cut-out area of the lower deck 29, it follows that -the'st0p :means ofthe upper-deck and the lower deck are staggered. .Thesedgesofeachof upper plates 37adjacent the right hand part of cut=out portion 41, as viewed in Fig. l, is sharpened to provide a knife edge as at 43, the ifunctionxof whichwillzbe apparent in the description of the operation of;thetdispenser-tofollow. The knife edge 43,;is preferably sharpened from the upper and lower faces of upper plates ,37 to provide a wedge shaped point terminatingat ;a. position substantially half way between stile t pper andtlower faces of the plate.

As previously explained, escapement and separating m eehanism 17 is-reciprocably mounted from base mem- ;;be r ;1 2. The reciprocation is from and to a first posi- =;tio n, best illustrated inFigs. 1 and .2, and to and from 1 hignment with opening '13 and the stop means go the lower decki-29 .exten ds above the side edge-porsigns :of 11118 opening. ,In said second position the open of tlflworde ck 1'29Ji5 in vertical alignment-With open- ;ingrlfi and the stopmeans of theupper deck 31 extends abovexthe side edge portions of the 1 opening.

In the operation of dispenser :11, the stacked pans -P are placed between .guide rods in the manner best shown ,in ;Figs. 1 and 5. For convenience and clarity lowermost pie pan will 'be designated Pl, the next -one above that :PZ, vetc. Similarly, the flanges of the lowermost pan P1 will the designated F1, the next one above that F2, etc.

Referring now to Fig. 2, it will be seen that when .meehanism 17 is in said first position, knife edges 43 are in horizontal alignment with an imaginary point lying be een :flanges F1 and F2, and flanges F1 rest on the stop .means of the lower deck 29 to support the stack of pie ,pans. When .mechanism v17 is moved from said jirstposition to said second position, knife edges 43 will pass between flanges F1 and F2 and due to the wedging action of the knife ,edges on flanges F1 and F2, pie pan P1 will be separated and freed from pan P2. During ;this movementof mechanism 17, one position of which is illustrated in Fig. 3, flanges F1 will be received between upper deck ,31 and lower deck 29. When mechanism 17 reaohes said second position pan P1 will drop through the open area of lower deck 29 and out through openinglfi, At the same time, the stop means of upper deek ,31 will have'moved under flangesFZ to support the of pie pans. Then when mechanism 17 moves i; said second position to said first position the flanges Eladrop down through the open area of upper deck 3?.

onto {the stop means of lower deck 29 in position for pan ;P 2 do be dispensed in a manner as above described for pan P1. Thus, reciprocation of mechanism 17 is effective :to dispense the pie pans P one at a time from the s ack- From the foregoing description it is apparent that an effective dispensing mechanism is provided which insures that the articles to be dispensed are properly separated. Additionally, :it is apparent that the dispenser of the present invention is efficient and provides positive means for delivering the articles one at a time to a point below the dispenser.

I claim:

1. In a machine ,for dispensing flanged articles from a stack, a horizontally .shiftable mechanism including a horizontally disposed lower deck and a horizontally disposed upper deck vertically spaced from said lower deck and fixedly interconnected therewith, the spacing between said upper and lower decks being substantially equal to Q il tl fl fifi Of the flanges of one of the articles to be dispensed, each of said upper and lower decks being provided with an open area through which an article to be dispensed will pass and each having a solid stop portion thereof for preventing the articles from passing therethrough, said stop portions being integral parts of the respective decks and in horizontal alignment therewith, said open areas and said stop portions respectively being in staggered relationship, said open area of said upper deck being oiiset inrhorizontal spaced relationship from said open area of said lower deck, said stop portions being in partly overlapping relationship, said upper deck being provided with a knife edge adjacent the open area therein, said knife edge at its greatest vertical dimension being substantially'the same in thickness as the spacing between said upper and lower decks guiding means for vertically aligning a stack of articles to be dispensed, said mechanism being shiftable from and to a first position in which the open area of said upper deck and the stop portions of said lower deck is in alignment with said guiding means and ,shiftable to andfrom a second position in which the open area of said lower deck and the stop portion of said upper deck is in alignment with said guiding means, when said mechanism is in said first position said knife edge being disposed in alignment with a point between the flanges of the lowermost two articles to be dispensed and said stop portion in said upper deck being unobstructed thereabove and in horizontal alignment with said open area in said upper deck whereby when said mechanism is shifted to said second position said knife edge and said stop portion of said upper deck passes between the flanges and separates the lower two articles to be dispensed and the lower one is dispensed through the open area of said lower deck while the remainder of the stack is supported by the stop portion of said upper deck.

2. In a machine for dispensing articles from a stack, a horizontally shiftable mechanism including a horizontally disposed lower deck and a horizontally disposed upper deck vertically spaced from said lower deck and fixedly interconnected therewith, each of said upper and lower decks being provided with an open area through which an article to be dispensed will pass and each having a substantially fiat stop portion thereof for preventing the articles from passing therethrough, said stop portions being integral parts of the respective decks said open areas and said stop portions respectively being in staggered relationship, said open area of said upper deck being offset in horizontal spaced relationship from said open area of said lower deck, said stop portions being in partly overlapping relationship, said upper deck be ing provided with a knife edge adjacent the open area therein, a plurality of vertically extending rods for vertically aligning a stack of articles to be dispensed, said rods extending from above said upper and lower decks downwardly therebeyond whereby providing means for guiding the articles during the dispensing thereof, said mechanism being shiftable from and to a first position in which the open area of said upper deck and the stop portion of said lower deck is in position for alignment with a stack of articles aligned by said rods and shiftable to and from a second position in which the open area of said lower deck and the stop portion of said upper deck is in position for alignment witha stack of articles aligned by said rods, when said mechanism is in said first position said knife edge being disposed in alignment with a point between portions of the lowermost two articles to be dispensed and said stop portion in said upper deck being in horizontal alignment with said open area in said upper deck whereby when said mechanism is shifted to said second position said knife edge and said stop portion of said upper deck passes between said portions of the articles and separates the lower two articles to be dispensed and the lower one is dispensed through the open area of said lower deck while the remainder of the stack is supported by the stop means of said upper deck.

' 3. A machine for dispensing flanged articles from a stack comprising a base having an opening therein, upstanding rods mounted from said base adjacent the periphery of the base opening to form a guide for the alignment of the flanged articles over the base opening,

a mechanism shiftably supported from said base and spaced above said base, said mechanism including a frame having spaced side members, a pair of lower plates respectively fixedly mounted on said side members and being spaced apart a distance less than the width of said articles to be dispensed, said lower plates being cut-out to form an open area greater than the width of said articles to be dispensed, a pair of upper plates respectively fixedly joined to said lower plates and spaced thereabove, the spacing between said upper and lower plates being substantially the same as the thickness of the flanges of the articles to be dispensed, said upper plates being cut-out to form an open area greater than the width of the articles to be dispensed, said upper plate open area being staggered relative to said lower plate open area, said upper plate open area being offset in horizontal spaced relationship from said lower plate open area, said upper and lower plates being in partly overlapping relationship, said upstanding rods extending from said base above said upper and lower plates whereby to guide the articles while in stacked relationship and during the dispensing thereof, said upper plates being provided with knife edges adjacent said upper plate open area, said knife edges being in alignment with a point between the flanges of the lower two articles of the stack to be dispensed, said frame being shiftable to carry said upper and lower plates from and to a first position in which said upper plate area is in alignment with said base opening and the articles to be dispensed, and shiftable to and from a second position in which said lower plate open area is in alignment with said base opening and the articles to be dispensed, shift of said plates into said second position from said first position being effective to wedge the knife edges of said upper plates between the flanges of the two lowermost articles to separate the two and drop said lowermost article through said lower plate open area, said upper and lower plates being arranged so that in the shift of said plates toward said second position said knife edges of said upper plates are adapted to complete the wedging of the two lowermost articles before said second position is reached whereby the lowermost article will be released from the other articles in the stack and will be free to drop straight downward when said lower plate open area comes into alignment therewith, and shift of said plates from said second position into said first position being effective to drop the stack so that the stack rests on said lower plate.

4. A machine for dispensing flanged articles from a stack comprising a base having an opening therein, upstanding rods mounted from said base adjacent the periphery of the base opening to form a guide for the alignment of the flanged articles over the base opening, a mechanism shiftably supported from said base and spaced above said base, said mechanism including a frame having spaced side members, a pair of lower plates respectively fixedly mounted on said side members and being spaced apart a distance less than the width of said articles to be dispensed, said lower plates being cut-out to form a open area greater than the width of said articles to be dispensed, a pair of upper plates respectively fixedly joined to said lower plates and spaced thereabove, said upper plates being cut out to form an open area greater than the width of the articles to be dispensed, said upper plate open area being staggered relative to said lower plate open area, said upper plate open area being offset in horizontal spaced relationship from said lower plate open area, said upper and lower plates being in partly overlapping relationship, said upstanding rods extending from said base above said upper and lower plates whereby to guide the articles while in stacked relationship and during the dispensing thereof said upper plates being provided with knife edges adjacent said upper plate open area, said knife edges being in alignment with a point between the flanges of two of the articles of the stack to be dispensed, said frame'being shiftable to carry said upper and lower plates from and to a first position in which said upper plate open area is in alignment with said base opening and the articles to be dispensed, and shiftable to and from a second position in which said lower plate open area is in alignment with said base opening and the articles to be dispensed, shift of said plates into. said second position from said first position "being effective to wedge the knife edges of said upper plates between the flanges of two of the articles to separate the two, said upper and lower plates being arranged so that in the shift of said plates from said first position towards said second position saidknife edges of said upper plates pass from one side of the articles to be dispensed to the other side thereof to complete the wedging of the lowermost articles before said second position is reached whereby the lowermost article will be released from the other articles in the stack and will be free to drop straight downward when said lower plate open area comes into alignment therewith, and shift of said plates from said second position into said first position being effective to drop the stack so that the stack rests on said lower plates.

5. A machine for dispensing flanged articles from a stack comprising a base having an opening therein, upstanding rods mounted from said base adjacent the periphery of the base opening to form a guide for the alignment of the flanged articles over the base opening, a mechanism shiftably supported from said base and spaced above said base, said mechanism including a frame having spaced side members, a pair of lower plates respectively fixedly mounted on said side members, said lower plates being arcuately cut out to form an open area slightly greater than the width of said articles to be dispensed, a pair of upper plates respectively fixedly joined to said lower plates and spaced thereabove, said upper plates being arcuately cut out to form an open area slightly greater than the width of the articles to be dispensed, said upper plate open area being staggered relative to said lower plate open area, said upper plate open area being offset in horizontal spaced relationship from said lower plate open area, said upper plates overlapping a major part of said lower plates, said upper plates being provided with knife edges adjacent said upper plate open area, said knife edges being in alignment with a point between the flanges of the lower two articles of the stack to be dispensed, said knife edges being arcuate and terminating at a position substantially half-way between the opposite faces of said upper plate whereby providing a wedge adapted to spread apart the articles to be dispensed, each of said knife edges at its greatest vertical dimension being substantially the same as the spacing between said upper and lower plates, said frame being shiftable to carry said upper and lower plates from and to a first position in which said upper plate open area is in alignment with said base opening and the articles to be dispensed, and shiftable to and from a second position in which said lower plate open area is in alignment with said base opening and the articles to be dispensed, shift of said plates into said second position from said first position being effective to wedge the knife edges of said upper plates between the flanges of the two lowermost articles to separate the two and cause the upper and lower plates to be disposed on opposite sides of the lowermost article and thence to drop said lowermost article through said lower plate open area, said upper and lower plates being horizontally disposed and the spacing between said upper and lower plates being substantially the same as the thickness of the flanges of the articles to be dispensed whereby the lowermost article will be held in a horizontal disposition therebetween during the shift of said plates into said second position from said first position, and shift of said plates from said second position 7 8 into said first. position being :e'ifective to drop 'the stack 1,666,008 Graffenberger Apr. 10, "1928 :so thatthe .stacik'rests 'on .said lower plate. 2,233,690 Williamson 1941 2,293,073 Osborne et a1 Aug. '18, 1942 References .Citedlin the file of this patent 2,561,723 Berger July 24, 1951 PATENTS 5 2,602,556 Sheehan July 8, 1952 1,260,432 Nias Mar. 26, 1918 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,272,764 Blan'kenhorn et a1. July '16, 1918 529,549 Great Britain Nov. 22, 1940