US2968419A

US2968419A - Work trays for cigarette factories

Info

Publication number: US2968419A
Application number: US814724A
Authority: US
Inventors: Youngman Derek Henry
Original assignee: Molins Machine Co Ltd
Current assignee: Molins Machine Co Ltd
Priority date: 1958-06-06
Filing date: 1959-05-21
Publication date: 1961-01-17
Anticipated expiration: 1978-01-17

Description

Jan. 17, 1961 D. H. YOUNGMAN WORK TRAYS FOR CIGARETTE FACTORIES Filed May 21,1959

WORK TRAYS FOR CIGARETTE FACTORIES Derek Henry Youngman, Dept-ford, London, England, as-

signor to Molins Machine Company Lmlited, a British company Filed May 21, 1959,'Ser. No. 814,724

Claims priority, application Great Britain June 6, 1958 3 Claims. (Cl. 220-24) This invention concerns improvements in work trays for cigarette factories, that is, trays in which large numbers of cigarettes are collected from cigarette machines and in which they are transported.

Such trays are often used for supplying cigarettes to the hoppers of packing machines. In this case a tray is a box-like structure, usually rectangular, and with an open top, sometimes with a removable lid, and the width betweenfront and back walls is slightly in excess of the length of a cigarette. Such a tray. will be referred to below as a cigarette tray of the kind referred to.

-In order that cigarettes in such a tray may be passed into a hopper the bottom Wall of the tray is constructed as a removable slide, the tray being supported over a hopper and the slide removed to permit the cigarettes to pass into the hopper.

It will be appreciated that as the weight of the mass of the cigarettes is supported by the slide there is a certain amount of friction between the slide and the lowest row of cigarettes and the rubbing action has been found to mark them.

In some trays a flexible band has been used instead of a slide but the construction has been such that release of the band caused the same rubbing action and marking as a slide.

An object of the invention is to overcome this defect.

According to the invention there is provided a cigarette tray of the kind referred to wherein the bottom wall is formed by a band of flexible material, one end of which is fixed to an end wall of the tray, the lower part of the tray having slotted guides extending along the length of the front and back walls and a roller being provided whose spindle is supported in the slots of the guides and around which the band is passed, said band being of a length somewhat in excess of twice the length of a tray so that after passing around the roller, when the latter is located at the end remote from the fixed end to the band, the remainder of the band can be brought back to said end to lie beneath the first portion and extend beyond the tray to provide a portion which may be grasped.

With such a construction the band is removed from the tray opening by a kind of peeling action as the roller runs along the guides and thus there is no rubbing no-r marking.

Means such as a catch may be provided to retain the roller at said remote end.

If desired a device may be provided for winding up the band into a coil as the roller moves along the guides in the action of opening the tray aperture.

The invention will be further described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is a front elevation of a tray, with the lower part of the front removed to show interior parts.

Figure 2 is an end elevation of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a diagram of trays, as used in charging the hopper of a cigarette packing machine.

2,968,419 Ratented Jan. 17, 1961 Figure 4 is a fragmentary view of the left-hand bottom corner of Figure 1 showing a modification.

Figure Sis a fragmentary view of the right hand corner of Figure 1 showing another modification.

Referring to the drawings, the tray 1 is of rectangular box-like form and of a width suitable to contain a ciga- -rette lengthwise between front and back walls without undue play. The illustration may be regarded as typical of the kind of trays with which the invention is concerned though various makes differ in detail and size and sometimes in shape.

To the lower edges of the front and

back walls

2 and 3 are fixed slotted rails 4 in which a spindle of a roller 5 can travel to and fro from one end of the tray to the other. A flexible band 6, made of canvas or other suitable material, is fixed at 7 to one end wall of the tray and passed around the roller and brought back again to the same end wall, beyond which it extends at 8 sufficiently to be grasped by the machine operator. In this condition the tray is ready to receive or retain cigarettes. When it is desired to discharge cigarettes from the tray the band can be pulled and the roller will travel along the rails 4.

It will be seen that the band is removed from cigarette supporting position by a kind of peeling action and there is no friction, and the cigarettes cannot be marked or injured in any way. The roller is held in the position shown in Figure l by any suitable catch, which is released when the band is to be pulled. Such a catch could be safely tripped automatically by the action of fitting the tray over a cigarette hopper. See Figure 4, where a spring catch 11 is tripped by engaging an abutment 12 on the hopper side.

Referring now to Figure 3, 10 is a diagram of the hopper of a cigarette packing machine with a tray superposed on it. As shown the band 6 has been pulled and the cigarettes have already passed from the tray to the hopper. If then the roller is held against translation while the tray is pulled to the right, as indicated by the arrow and the dotted tray, the band will be returned to cigarette receiving position and the roller catch can then be set to hold it.

In order to prevent the weight of the cigarettes from causing the band to sag, the free end of the band may be fastened in any desired way, for example, a block 9 on the band prevents undesired inward movement of the free end.

If desired the band could be wound up into a coil near the reference 8, instead of hanging free after the band has been pulled, but if the band is immediately returned to cigarette receiving position as explained above, there is little risk of its becoming soiled by hanging down for a few moments.

An arrangement for winding the band is shown in Figure 5 where 13 is a curved housing into which the band is rolled and a spindle 14 to which the end of the band is fixed is urged by a spiral spring (not shown) to rotate in the direction of the arrow, the arrangement being that commonly used on flexible measuring tapes.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A cigarette tray of the kind referred to wherein the 7' bottom wall is formed by a band of flexible material, one end of which is fixed to an end wall of the tray, the lower part of the tray having slotted guides extending along the length of the front and back walls, and a roller having a spindle supported in the slots of the guides and around which the band is passed, said band being of a length somewhat in excess of twice the length of a tray so that after passing around the roller, when the latter is located at the end remote from the fixed end of the band, the remainder of the band can be brought back to said end to lie beneath the first portion and extendheyond the tray to preyide a portion which may be grasped, whereby "said band may be peeled from the tray bottom as the roller runs lengthwise of the tfay in the -guidesto :permit discharge of cigarettes from the tray bot'tdm without 5 damage to the cigarettes.

'2. A tray as claimed in clair'n lcom'prising a catch to retain the roller at said rembte end. v

3. A'tray as claimed in claim 1 cbmprisinga device fo r winding up the band at the free end into'a coil as 10 the roller moves along the guides.

UNITED STA' IES PATENTS Adams Sept. 29, Scott Dec. 26, Beringer Aug. 28, Sehmid Sept. 4, Smith -June 20, Fergus May 29, Cavanaugh Apr. 28, Myers May 23,