US2927611A - Ice cream filling machine - Google Patents

Description

March 8, 1960 B. L. TANKERSLEY ICE CREAM FILLING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 13, 1956 TTORNEK INVEN TOR. 5am? A. 7zme/zs/ey BY EL WIIJ Q M 5 W I 1- mE=. 9 Ill il f I \I HM l. W WM a 1 March 8, 1960 B. L. TAllKERSLEY 2,927,611

v ICE CREAM FILLING MACHINE Filed Aug. 13, 1956 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

Arm N554 March 8, 1960 B. L. TANKERSLEY 2,927,611

ICE CREAM FILLING MACHINE Filed Aug. 1a, 1956 5 Sheets-Sheet s 4 TTOK EV.

March 8, 1960 B. 1.. TANKERSLEY ICE CREAM FILLING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Aug. 13, 1956 g g a Q INVENTOR. 52/775 L. 72/? e y ATTORNEK March 8, 1960 B. TANKERSLEY 2,927,611

ICE CREAM FILLING MACHINE Filed Aug. 15, 1956 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 IN V EN TOR.

United States This invention relates to machine for filling tartar-is with bulk material as for eirainple ice or am, the p may object *beingio provide apparatus than autom throughout the filling operation and capahle without operator attention of completely fillihg the cartons without spillage or other defects in operation; pla "fig the cartons in condition for closure as the emanate ffoni the machine.

It is the most important object or the instant tion to provide a filling machine for ice cream cartons and the like having components for ta'atinh successively feeding the cartons to a ti ing into registering relationship a that ia-lee spout and thereupon lowering the filled crush 'oii'to' im lacable support that retrieves the filled beneath the spout clearing the space theretie oath 'fo'r' receiving another carton.

Another important object of the latest the provision or a filling machine that ein sy's a v cal-1y reciproeabl'e structure for handling the respect to the material discharge spent and parable in connection with a horizon-tally reciprocahle as Bl'y' that includes a pusher, as well as a slide o'prably iii'tei'eonnected and associated with the said "structure in lmed relationship thereto to feed the cartons to the stiuctiiie and remove the same after filling. I

A further object of the instant invention is the are vision of a filling machine permitting continuous feed'ng: of the material under pressure throughw' the discharge spent by virtue of the fact that the empty cartons are fed thereheneath at a lower elevation than that o the reciprocable slide which receives the filled when and withdraws the same from beneath the spout.

A still further object of the invention is t6 provide novel means for controlling the rate of descent of the carton under influence of the pressure of material emanate ing from the spout so that elimination of pockets and complete filling of the carton is assured.

It is an important of the instant invention to invide fluid pressure means for con-trolling th vertical re: ciprocation of the carton handling structure utilized not only to cushion,'and thereby control the rate of descent, but employed to withdraw a vertically reciprocable piston from beneath the filled car-ton when it comes to rest upon thehorizontally reciprocabl'e slide and to hold the pisthh in such .position until an empty carton is depositetlthei'e on. Another aimof the instant invention is to provide means controlled by the vertical movement of the "canton itself for in turn controlling the reciprocation of the empty carton pusher and the slide for withdrawing the filled 65 carton from the piston and from beneath the s'pout'. 7

Other aims and objects include the novel formation of the spout itself to assure elimination of air pockets; the way in which the fluid pressure assembly is eontrolled by parts oi the mechanism for reciprocating the plls lie'r and the slide; the way in which a pressuretamk; together Witli'press'ure rghlators, are provided to control the 'vel Patent Patented Mar". 8, 1960 2 i thepiston; the way in the the 1 was .are td,; l b e at am n tit r a "continuouslymovingjconyeyori the manner of providing a stiles of carton grasping or holding dogs on, and adjacent to, the horizontally reciprocable strucltiire' for assuring proper feeding and removal of the canons with respect tothe spout; and many other more filliii'g' immin nt-ads pursuant to my present invention} parts being broken away for cleanest. l I

Fig. '2 is a side 'elevationa-l view thereof, parts being brokenaway to reveal details of construction.

I Fig. 3 an enlarged, fragmentary, plan view beneath the material feeding spou illustrating the conveyor and the horizontally i'ecipio'cable parts fO-ijfeeding the cartons and withdrawing the same. h 4

Fig'. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 illustrating the horiz'o'ntally reciprocable parts in another position.

Fig.5 is a fragmentary, detailed cross-sectional view talr'il'on line V V of Fig. 4.

' Fig. 6 is a schematic view illu'strating the manner of operation of certain of the components; togetherwith a wiring diagram showing the electrical features of the maliine.

Fig. 65 is an "enlarged view of the fluid control valve partially ill-section. k V

Figs. 710 ll inclusiire are schematic views showing the sequence of operation from the time the carton is first fed to th e'sp'o'ut until the filled carton is removed therefrom; and V Fig. 12 is an enlarged view partially in section-showin a carton being filled with material emanating from'th discharge spent. I I

The machine illustrated in the drawings and aboi'lt to be described; has been especially adapted for filling conventional open-top ice cream cartons 14 with ice creairl 16 emanating from an open bbttoin discharge spout 18, as best seen in Fig. 12 of the drawings. The cartons 14 are fed continuously along a horizontal path of travel into a position in front of a horizontally receipr'ocabl'e pusher '20 by a continuous conveyor 22.

vThe conveyor 22 is driven by a prime mover such as anelectric inotof'r 24 shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 6; and

which is operably connected with one of the shafts 26' through an idler shaft 28 by belt and pulley means 30 and chain and sprocket wheelmeans 32 (see Figs. l and 2). Whenthe machine is placed in operation, switch 34 is closed to energize the motor 24 and thereby drive with the plate 38 through a pin 44 depending from the.

latter. h v

A second electric motor 46 reciprocates .the bar 336 and, therefore, the pusher 20, as well as the plate 38 through the medium of a crank 48, belt; and pulley means 50; adjustable linkage 52 and 54, disc 56 and over-running clutch 58 that is in turn controlled by solenoid 60;

The liuk 5 2 pivotally interconnects the upper end. of

vertically swingablecrank 48 with an ear 62 depending from the bar 36. The lowermost end of the crank 48 is pivotally connectedwith the disc 56 by the link 54;

the connection between the link 54 and the disc 56 being eccentric to the axis of rotation of the latter. Such ecdisc 56 permits shifting of the bearing 64 along the track means 66 toward and away from the axis of rotation of. the disc 56, it being understood that disc 56 is driven from the over-running clutch 58. I

A fluid pressure assembly is provided for receiving the empty cartons successively from the conveyor 22 and imparting vertically reciprocable movement thereto with respect to the spout 18. Such assembly includes a fiuid cylinder 70 having a vertically, reciprocable piston 72 therewithin that is in turn provided with an upstanding stem 74, and a small plate 76 rigid to the upper end of the stem 74. Manifestly, the piston stem 74 is aligned vertically with the axis of the spout 18 and moves toward and away from the open bottom of the latter when piston 72 is actuated.

A manifold 78 is coupled witha source of fluid under pressure such as air (not shown) through a feed line 80- having a pressure regulator 82 interposed therein. The lowermost end of the cylinder 70 is connected with the manifold 78 by a pipe 84 and the upper end of the cylinder 70 is connected with the manifold 78 by a pipe 86. A pressure tank 88 is connected to the pipe 84 by a branch 90 and a pressure regulator 92, together with a pressure gauge 94 are connected to the pipe 84 between the tank 88 and the manifold 78.

A valve 96 is interposed in the pipe 86 and as shown in Fig. 6a, the said valve 96 includes a tubular body 98 having a reciprocable spring-loaded plunger 100 extending into one end thereof. A roller 102 on the outermost end of the plunger 100 is held in constant engagement with the periphery of the disc 56 by spring 104 within the body 98 behind the plunger 100. When plunger 100 is in the position shown in Figs. 6 and 6a, fluid above the piston 72 is exhausted to the atmosphere by way of exhaust port 106 in body 98 communicating with the upper is placed in communication directly with the pipe 86,

thereby interconnecting the manifold 78 with the upper end of the cylinder 70. When however, the disc 56 rotates to a position where the roller 102 engages the cam 114, plunger 100 moves outwardly under the action of spring 104 to a point intermediate the ends of its path of travel and in such position of the plunger 100, neither the bore 108 nor the passage 110 is in communicatio with either the pipe 86 or the port 106.

When the pusher 20 moves from the position shown in Figs. 3 and 7, to the position illustrated in Figs. 4 and 8, it removes a single carton 14 from the continuously operating conveyor 22 and slides such carton 14 onto the plate 76 directly beneath the spout 18. By virtue of the fact that the plate 38 is connected with the pusher 20 for reciprocation therewith, it is seenalso that the said plate 38 moves to and 8.

The extent of movement of the carton 14 is, of course, governed by movement of the pusher 20 but in order to assure that the carton 14 is held properly aligned with the spout 18, the pusher 20 moves cartons 14 to a position embraced by a pair of swingable spring-loaded, arcuate" fingers 116 seen best in Figs. 2 to 4 inclusive. A pair of parallel rails 118 guide the cartons 14 as the same are the right as depicted in Figs. 4

advanced by the conveyor 22 and a pair of parallel plates 120 perpendicular to the rails 118 guide the cartons 14 as the same are advanced by the reciprocable structure The fingers 116 are mounted on the plates 120 and swingable about vertical axes 122. Upstanding pins 124, one on the innermost rail 118 and the other on the outermost plate 120, are.provided with lateral extensions 126 serving as stops for the fingers 116. The said fingers 116 are yieldably biased toward each other by springs, rubber bands or the like 128, interconnecting the said fingers 116 and the upstanding pins 124, the said yieldable means 128 biasing the fingers 116 against the terminal ends of the extensions 126 when the pusher 20 and the plate 38 are in the position shown by Figs. 3 and 7.

I the dogs 132 for swinging movement toward and awayfrom each other about vertical axes, and means such as rubber bands 136 interconnecting the dogs 132 and their. corresponding panels 138, yieldably bias the dogs 132 inwardly toward each other. The L-shaped dogs 132 are employed to engage or grasp the filled carton 14 to pull the same along with the plate 38 from beneath the spout 18 during movement of the plate 38 from the position shown in Fig. 3 ,to the position shown in Fig. 4, as will hereinafter be more fully explained. The dogs 132 are shown in Fig. 4 engaging a filled carton designated by the numeral 140.

. After the plate- 38 and its dogs 132 have moved the filled carton 14a to the position shown in Fig. 4', a pair of arms 138 engage the filled carton 14a to prevent its returnmovement toward the conveyor 22 with the return ofthe plate 38 to the position shown in Fig. 3.

, The arms 138 are mounted for swinging movement on plates 120 about vertical axes 140 in substantially the same manner as fingers 116 are mounted on the plates 120, as seen in Figs. 2-4. Here again, through use of a a, lateral projection 142 rigid to the mounting means for the arms .138, the latter are yieldably biased inwardly toward each other by rubber bands or the like 144, interconnecting the projections 142 and the arms 138. Any suitable means (not shown) may be employed if deemed desirable or necessary,. to limit the extent of inward swinging movement of the arms 138. means 144 permit the arms 138 to swing outwardly when the slide 38 and its dogs 132 move the filled carton 1411 from beneath the spout 18 to the position shown in Fig. 4. It is noted in Fig. 2 that the dogs 132 are disposed below the fingers 116 and the arms 138, whereby the dogs 132 may reciprocate freely with the plate 38 without interference by fingers 116 and arms 138.

Figs. 7 to 11 inclusive, is the fact that the fingers 116 ing removal from beneath the spout 18 Motor 46 operates continuously up'on closing of switch 146 (Fig-6) but rotation of disc 56 and, therefore, re-- ciprocation of pusher 20 and plate38, are interrupted .during each cycle of operation by energization of solenoid 60. Such en'ergization is controlled by a switch 148' in series with the solenoid 60 and switch 146. A springloaded, horizontally reciprocable actuator rod 150 for controlling switch 148, is disposed within the path of --'travel of'the carton 14 as the same is elevated onto the? spout 18 in telescoping relationship thereto by upward The yieldable' Notable in amass-i movement attire piston '72. As seen n Fig. 6 switch 148 is normally open but as soon 'as the nppermost edge of th'e carton 14 engages therod 150 to shift the latter away from the spout 1'8, switch 148 is closed, causing solenoid 60 to remain energized until lt hecarton 14 again descends to a position clearing the rod 1 5'0} Manifestly, means (not shown) is provided for adjusting the rod 150 not only vertieally to predetermine the period of time during which switch its is held closed, but horizontally toward and away from the spout 1 8 to accommodate cartons having differing wall thicknesses. The solenoid-controlled, ever-"running clutch 58 is conventional and, therefore,fits details of operation are not illustrated. It may be pointed out merely'that solenoid 60 controls a pawl forming a part or the clutch st to prevent its establishing a driving connection between belt and pulley means 54 and the disc 56wheneverisolenoid 6Q is energized. v k

The ice cream 16 is fed continuously tinder pressure to the spout 18 from a source of'stipply thereof not shown) and the "spout 18 is specially formed as shown in Fig. 12, to eliminate the formation of air pockets within the carthin 14 and prevent complete filling thereof with the materi'al 16. To this end, spout 18 has an appreciably greater outside diameter than inside diameter by virtue of its double-wall construction, presenting 'a dead-air space 152 to prevent formation and freezing of condensate on the o uter surfaces of the spout 18. A1ternate1y,the space 152 may be filled with asu'itable insulation to thereby alleviate the freeiing problem which wouldotherwise prevent escape of air from the carton 14 as indica't'ed by arrows in Fig. 12. x

In this respect, his notable that the inside diameter of the carton 14 is slightly greater than the said outside diameter of spout 18. Notable also is that the outermost peripheral edge 154 of the spout 18 is beveled ones eg to assure guiding of the carton 14 onto the spoilt 18 when elevated by the plate 76 on piston stem '74.

Operation It must be understood at the outset that certain conditions exist at all times for automatic operation of the machine above described.

First, the ice cream 16 is fed continuously under pressure through the spout '18. Secondly, the conveyor 22 operates continuously upon closing of the switch 146 By the same token, the prime mover 46 operates continuously upon closing of switch 146 except only during closing of the switch 148.

Additionally, fluid under predetermined pressure as controlled by regulator 82, is placed on the manifold 78 through line 80 at all times.

I Finally, a predetermined pressure exists in the cylinder 70 beneath the piston 72 at all times determined by regulator 92 as indicated on the gauge 94. 7

With the above in mind, it is seen that the conveyor 22 feeds the cartons 14 continuously toward the outermost plate 20 and biases the same against such plate as conveyor 22 slides with respect to the row of cartons 14 held in place by the guide rods 118 as seen in Fig. 3.

Pusher 2t? moves the proximal carton 14b from the conveyor 22 and slides the same onto, theplate 76 by.

virtueof operation of motor 46. Viewing Fig. 2, it is seen that crank 48 is swung to the left-hand end of its path .of travel when the .pusher 20 is disposed as shown in Fig. 3. Clockwise rotation of the disc 56 exerts a pull upon the crank 48 through link 54 and crank 48 in turn pulls upon the bar 36 through link 52 to move bar 36, pusher 20 and plate 38 to the right. When these horizontally reciprocable parts are at the extreme right -hand end of their paths of travel, as shown in Fig. 4, the hear; ing 64 will have moved to the extreme left-hand endof its path of travel and be disposed adjacent the roller 192 of valve 96. r s p U It is understood of course, that the piston 72 is at the 14b, solenoid 60 will be energized redressage the h 6 liiwerinost end of its path of travel as sl f A in x and 8, dining the time that carton 1421 is being shifted thereupon by the pusher 2G. It is noted also in Figs. 4 and 8 that when the carton 1421 is resting 'iiponthe plate 76 (which "is ineidentally "at that time coplanar with upperstretch of "conve' or 22) thepushe'r andfthe fingers 116 cooperate in grasping and holding the cartdn' 14b in proper position for movement onto the "speu't 18. In this respect the pusher is provided with an up} standing, arc'uate flange 202i conforming to the contour of [the carton 14a in the same manner as the arenas can'- figiiration of the fin'ger's 1 16. p z ,7

Rotation of the disc '56, 180 as just "described, moves the cams 112 and 114th a position elearitig the 'r n ei 1112, thereby aligning the bore 108 with the port 106 and thereby exhausting the timid above piston 72,froif1 the cylinder 70fto the atmosphere. At that moment, i;e., moving "or theplnn'ger 100 to the position in Fig. 6a, pressure within the s8 and pi ad, therefore, in the cylinder 70 below piston 72, eause's ure latter to move upwardly thereby raising the carton 14b in the manner illustrated by Fig. 6 and to the position shown in Fig. 9 telescope'd on the spout 18. During the initial upward movement of the carton 14b, and prior to its engagement with the rod 150*t'o close switch 148, the pusher 20 will have commenced jits return movement toward the position shown in Fi This is by virtue of the fact that the bearing 64 com; mences its movement from adjacent the roller 102 toward the position'shown in Fig. 2. I, I i

However, as soon as switch 148 is closed by the carton 58 and rotation of disc 56 will be diseontiriued ii it ll standing the fact that the prime mover 46 continues to operate. p

W As "soon as piston 72 and, therefore, carton reset; the uppermost ends of their paths of travel, the force of i the ice cream 16 emanating from the spout 18 and owing into the carton 14, will cause the latter and, therefore, the piston 72, to move downwardly against the force or the fluid pressure existing in the tank 88, pipe 84 and cylinder 70 beneath piston 72. I t x 7 It can now be seen that the rate of descent under the force of the ice cream 16 is determined by the pr'ess'ure of fluid within the tank 88 as controlled by re'gulatfo'r9 2.

Consequently, depending upon the viscosity of the ice cream 16, the weight thereof, the pressure forjeail'sihgthe same to flow through the spout l8, pro er fil the carton 1'4 maybe assured by control of the fluid pressure in tank 88 through use of regulator 92 as giiided by gauge 94. Manifestly, the pressure behind fthe tee cream 16 when considering its weight, is lessthan the pressure maintained in pipe 84 as read on the gauge '94, so that while the rate of descent is impeded, nonetheless, carton 14b will descend at substantially the same rate of flow of the ice cream 16 emanating from spout 18.

As soon as the upper edge of the carton 14b clears the rod 150, switch 148 opens to again interconnect the prime mover 146 with the sliding assembly 20-38, and prior to lowering of the carton 14b to the lowermost end of its path of travel, the fingers of plate 38 will have returned to a position beneath the carton 14b to receive "the same. At this point it is to be noted in Figs. 7 to ll engaging the latter and withdrawing the same from her.

neath the spout 18, through the fingers 116 as the latter yield outwardly against the action of rubber bands 128 and as the plate 38 moves to the position shown in Fig. 4.

As the pusher 20 and plate 38 arrive at the position shown in Fig. 3 and, therefore, as the bearing 64 returns to the position shown in Fig. 2, cam 112 will engage the roller 102 thereby forcing the plunger 100 inwardly from the position shown in Fig. 6a, to a position where the bore 108 registers with the pipe 86. This action of the valve 96 directs fluid pressure from the manifold 78 to the cylinder 70 above the piston 72. Such pressure is higher than the pressure beneath the piston 72 and, therefore, the plate 76 is lowered from adjacent fingers 130 to the lowermost end of its path of travel, as shown in Fig. 10, rather quickly to clear the plate 76 for receiving another carton 14 from the conveyor 22.

The pressure is maintained upon the upper face of piston 72 throughout the time the cam 112 is in engagement with roller 102 and, therefore, throughout the time that an empty carton is fed by pusher 20 from the conveyor 22 to the plate 76. While the pusher 20 feeds an empty carton in this manner, the plate 38 simultaneously moves the filled carton 14a from beneath the spout 18, to a point of engagement by the terminal ends of the arms 138. The filled carton 14a moves freely between the arms 138 by virtue of the fact that they yield outwardly against the action of rubber bands 144. On the return movement of the plate 38 to the left-hand end of its path of travel, arms 138 hold the filled carton 14a and the plate 38 slides freely therebeneath. Any suitable means (not shown) may be provided to convey the filled cartons from the plate 38 to a point of placing lids thereon and further processing.

After the cam 112 moves to a position clearing the roller 102, cam 114 moves into'engagement with roller 102, permitting outward movement of plunger 100 only to a point where the bore 108 is between pipe 86 and port 106. This takes the pressure off the upper face of piston 72 but does not permit it to rise under influence of pressure therebeneath since the fiuid in the upper end of cylinder 70 cannot exhaust to the atmosphere by way of port 106 until cam 114 moves beyond roller 102 and spring 104 forces the plunger 100 to the position shown in Fig. 612. By such construction, therefore, it is seen that the connection between manifold 78 and the cylinder 70 is blocked prior to exhausting of the cylinder 70 to the atmosphere and, therefore, there will be no flow of fluid from the manifold 78 to the atmosphere by way of port 106 during continuous operation of the machine.

The disposition of the plate 38 above the level of conveyor 22 and above the plate 76 when the latter is at the lowermost end of its path of travel, is important. First, as above indicated and as seen in Fig. 10, during movement of the filled carton from beneath the spout 18, the ice cream 16 will be wiped smoothly from the spout 18 establishing a level of the material in the carton flush with its uppermost edge.

Additionally, remembering that the ice cream 16 flows continuously during the interval oftime between removal of the filled carton from beneath the spout 18 until an empty carton is placed thereon, a certain amount of the ice cream 16 will be forced beneath the lower edge of the spout 18. Consequently, when the empty carton is moved by the pusher 20 onto the plate 76, the upper edge of such carton will clear the partially discharged ice cream 16.

In this connection also the relative inside and outside diameters of the spout 18 becomes important for. the diameter of such discharged ice cream will be appreciably less than the inside diameter of the carton 14. -Conse-' quently, when the latter is raised by the piston 72, no spillage will occur and there will be no tendency of the upper. edge of the carton 14 shearing the ice cream -16 and causing the same to spill over the outside of the carton 14. Still further, the double-wall construction of the spout 18 presents a space 156 beneath the lower edge of the spout 18 within the carton 14 as seen in Fig. 12 for progressive and gradual collection of air and discharge thereof upwardly as shown by the arrows between the carton 14 and the spout 18.

The amount of ice cream 16 that extends below the spout 18 as just above explained, depends of course, upon the speed of operation of the machine, all of which is controlled in part by regulation of the pressure in tank 88 as determined by regulator 92. In this connection, it is important to select the cushioning tank 88 and to determine its capacity in connection with the size of the cylinder 70. For the most part however, the cartons may be filled in rapid succession as fast as it is possible to force the ice cream 16 through the spout 18.

Having thus described the invention what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. In a machine for filling cartons, an open bottom material-feeding spout; structure for raising the cartons into register with the spout to receive the material therefrom and for lowering the cartons as the same fill; reciprocable mechanism for feeding the cartons successively to said structure; apparatus connected with said mechanism for reciprocation therewith for removing the filled cartons successively from said structure; and means having parts disposed to be engaged by the cartons as the same are raised by said structure and while the cartons are being filled for preventing reciprocation of said mechanism and said apparatus during a predetermined period of operation of said structure.

2. In a machine for filling cartons, an open bottom material-feeding spout; vertically reciprocable structure for receiving said cartons singly, raising the same into register with the spout to receive the material therefrom and lowering the same during filling thereof; apparatus for removing the filled cartons from the structure in. cluding a horizontally reciprocable plate; and means for moving the plate to a position within the path of travel of the carton as the same descends during filling, and

' thereupon out of said position after the filled carton comes to rest on'the plate to withdraw said filled carton from beneath the spout.

3. In a machine for filling cartons, an open bottom material-feeding spout; vertically reciprocable structure for receiving said cartons singly, raising the same into' reciprocation therewith for engaging said filled carton as the same comes to rest on the plate whereby the plate exerts a pull on the filled carton to carry the same therewith and thereby withdraws the filled carton from beneath the spout as the plate moves out of said position.

' 4. In a machine for filling cartons, an open bottom material-feeding spout; vertically reciprocable structure for receiving said cartons singly, raising the same into register with the spout to receive the material therefrom and lowering the same during filling thereof; apparatus for removing the filled cartons from the structure including a horizontally reciprocable plate; means for moving the plate to a position within the path of travel of the carton as the-same descends during filling, and thereupon out of said position after the filled carton comes to rest on the plate; means mounted on the plate for reciprocation there with for engaging said filled carton as the same comes to rest on the plate whereby the plate exerts a pull on the filled carton to carry the same therewith and thereby withdraws the filled carton from beneath the spout as'the plate movesout of said position; and means remote from the spout and engageable with the filled carton after the same has been withdrawn from beneath the spout for preventing movement of the filled carton with the plate as the latter returns to said position.

5. In a machine for filling cartons, an open bottom spout 'for feeding material under pressure; a fluid pressure assembly beneath the spout having a cylinder, a piston reciprocable vertically in the cylinder toward and away from the spout and means on the piston for receiving a carton to be filled; reciprocable mechanism for feeding the cartons successively to said assembly while the piston is at said lowermost end of its path of travel; reciprocable apparatus for supporting the filled carton after the fluid is directed to the cylinder above the piston, said apparatus being movable to a position for withdrawing the filled carton from beneath the spout; a tank coupled with a source of fluid under pressure; means'for directing the fluid from the tank to the cylinder beneath the piston to raise the latter and thereby move the carton into register with the spout; regulator means between the tank and said source of fluid for maintaining the'pre ssure in the tank below the pressure of the material whereby to be engaged by the cartons as the same are raised by said j 7 structure and while the cartons are being filled for preventing reciprocation of said mechanism and said apparatus during a predetermined period of operation of said structure.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 714,875 Doble Dec. 2, 1902 766,433 Von Echt Aug. 2, 1904 2,718,345 Howard Sept. 20, 1955

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