US2971306A

US2971306A - Device for applying punch tags

Info

Publication number: US2971306A
Application number: US835678A
Authority: US
Inventors: Ronald W Phillips
Original assignee: St Lawrence Starch Co Ltd
Current assignee: St Lawrence Starch Co Ltd
Priority date: 1959-08-24
Filing date: 1959-08-24
Publication date: 1961-02-14
Anticipated expiration: 1978-02-14

Description

Feb. 14, 1961 R. w. PHILLIPS 2,971,306

DEVICE FOR APPLYING PUNCH TAGS Filed Aug. 24, 1959 E WW 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 RONALDW. PHILLIPS INVENTOR PATENT AGENT Feb. 14, 1961 R. w. PHILLIPS ,971,306

DEVICE FOR APPLYING PUNCH TAGS 7 Filed Aug. 24, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 RONALD W. PHILLIPS INVENTOR BY Mm:

PATENT AGENT 2,971,306 Patented Feb. 14, 1961 DEVICE FOR APPLYING PUNCH TAGS Ronald W. Phillips, Lakeview, Ontario, Canada, assignor to St. Lawrence Starch Company Limited, Port Credit, Ontario, Canada Filed Aug. 24, 1959, so. No. 835,678

9 Claims. (21. 53-137 This invention relates to a mechanism for feeding and delivering objects, and in particular it relates to a mechanism for feeding and applying flat punched objects over the necks of a series of containers.

A particular object of this invention is to provide means to apply punched tags over the necks of a series of containers.

Another object of this invention is to provide a simple and easily constructed mechanism which will retain a stack of punched discs and remove a punched disc from the stack of discs and place it over the neck of a container.

A further object of this invention is to provide a novel arrangement of a transferring means which retains a stack of punched tags, removes one tag at a time and positions it so that it falls over the neck of a container passing beneath it.

Further objects of my invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of one form of an apparatus embodying my invention showing the apparatus with a full magazine and in one operating position.

Figure 2 is a similar perspective view showing the apparatus with a partly filled magazine and with the mechanism in another operating position.

Figure 3 is a schematic view of an apparatus embodying my invention with the mechanism in position to withdraw a punched disc or tag from the magazine, and

Figure 4 is a schematic view of the apparatus of Figure 3 but with the mechanism in position to place a disc or tag on the neck of a container.

Briefly, my invention comprises a magazine which retains a stack of fiat punched objects, such as discs or tags, and a moveable arm having a primary suction device at the end which removes one of the punched objects at a time from the bottom of the stack and transfers it to a position over a series of moving containers. The suction is removed from the primary suction device, and suction is applied to a smaller secondary suction device in another arm. The secondary suction device holds the punched object at such an angle over the moving containers that the neck of a container catches the punched portion, pulling it from the secondary suction device, and permitting it to fall over the neck of the container.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, I have shown in Figure 1 a series of containers 10, each having a neck portion 11. The containers are spaced on a moving belt 12 which is supported by rollers 14 or other supporting and/or driving means. The belt 12, which moves in the direction indicated by the arrow, may have stops 15 to position the containers 10 at a desired spacing. The stops 15 are, however, not necessary to the invention.

A magazine 16 is located above the belt 12. Magazine 16 is shown having four

guide members

18, 19, 20 and 21 which surround a stack of flat punched objects 22. The objects 22 may, of course, be of any shape required for the container 10 and it may be of any suitable material. The objects 22 are shown in the drawings as washer-shaped tags and they will be referred to hereinafter simply as tags.

At least two of the

guide members

18, 19, 2t) and 21 have a retaining means which may be only a small projection at the bottom ends thereof. This retaining means may, of course, be adjustable and is shown in Figure 3 as adjustable retaining means 24, 25 and 26. The retaining means may include a spring device, or it may rely on the spring inherent in the guide members which are secured only at their mid-portion by a band 28. There should be sufficient spring action to permit a tag 22 to be withdrawn from the bottom of the stack, but to return the retaining means to the normal position immediately after the tag 22 is withdrawn past them. This permits only one tag to be removed from the bottom of the stack at a time.

The manner in which the magazine to may be refilled with a fresh supply of tags 22 is best explained with reference to Figures 1 and 2. Besides having

guide members

18, 19, 20 and 21, the magazine 16 has a removeable rod 17, supported at its upper end by a bracket 23. The rod 17 does not extend all the way to the bottom of theguide members but ends a short distance above the ends of the

guide members

18, 19, 20 and 21. That is, it ends a short distance above the retaining means 24, 25 and 26. As the punched tags 22 are used and the level of the remaining supply falls, the supply of tags may be conveniently replenished without interrupting the operation of the machine. The rod 17 may be removed and a new supply of the tags placed on the rod, that is, the rod 17 is inserted in the punched portion of the tags 22. The rod with the tags on it may now easily be placed in the magazine 16 with therod 17 positioned on the bracket 23 as before.

To time the operation of my device I provide a feeler arm 30 which is secured at the end to a shaft 31. Shaft 31 is free to rotate in

bearing members

32 and 33, and an arm 34 at the top end of shaft 31 is connected through a linkage shown generally as 35, to a control unit 40. The linkage 35, or the shaft 31, is biased in some manner so that the free end of the fecler arm 30 is pressed towards the containers 10. As the containers move on belt 12 past the feeler arm 39, the arm 30 is moved each time a container passes. The movement of arm 30 provides a signal or input to the control unit 40.

The control unit as has a hydraulic line 41 to supply an operating fluid to the control and to the mechanism itself. It will be obvious that either a liquid or a gas medium may be used to operate the hydraulic apparatus described, and it will also be obvious that an equivalent electrically operated apparatus could be used.

Hydraulic lines

42 and 43 carry the operating fluid from the control unit 49 to an actuating mechanism 44. The operation of the control unit 4% and actuating mechanism 44 are described in more detail hereinafter and the operation is mentioned only briefly at this time. The actuating mechanism 44 serves to move the connecting member 45 upwards and downwards. A moveable arm 47, which is pivoted at 48, is connected at one end by a sliding pivot to the lower end of member 45. The other end of arm 47 has two hollow

branched portions

48 and 49 with cup-shaped ends. Only one of the cup-shaped ends of

hollow portions

48 and 49 can be seen in Figures 1 and 2, and this is designated 50. The

hollow portions

48 and 49 communicate with a flexible tube 52 which leads to a switching unit 53. A hollow tube member 54 also extends down from unit 53. Both the flexible tube 52 and the hollow member 54 are adapted to create a suctional force at their ends for a period of time depending on the switching unit 53.

The switching unit 53 is actuated by a block 56 with a sloping surface 57 upon which a wheel 58 rides. The block 56 is fixed to connecting member 45, and, as the member 45 moves upwards and downwards, the wheel 58 is caused to move towards or away from the member 45. One end of an arm 60 holds the wheel 58 so that it is free to rotate, and the other end of arm 60 is pivoted at 61. The movement of, the wheel 58 is transferred from arm 60 to member 62, pivotally connected to the centre portion of arm 60, and thence to switching unit 53. Thus, it will be seen that the movement of the containers past the feeler arm 30 initiates the movement of the mechanism, and the movement of the mechanism operates the switching unit 53 which controls the suction used to remove the punched objects one at a time and hold them in position.

The operation of the mechanism will now be described with particular reference to Figures 3 and 4. These figures are partly in schematic form to make it easier to describe the operation, and the apparatus shown is thus not necessarily identical in all aspects to the apparatus shown in Figures 1 and 2. In Figure 3 the containers 10 are in such a position that the feeler arm 38* is not in contact with any container and the operating position is therefore the same as that of Figure 2. The shaft 31' is in its unrotated or normal position. Figure 3 shows shaft 31 biased in this position by spring 70 and connecting rope 71. The linkage 35 is positioned so that valve 72 in control unit 40 is towards the right in Figure 3, permitting the hydraulic fluid from pump or source 73 to flow through line 4-1, control unit 40; and line 42, to actuating mechanism 44 where it forces piston 74 downwards. Piston 74 is connected to member 45, which is also in its down-Ward position, thereby positioning arm 47 so that the cup-shaped end 50 is pressed against the bottom surface of the lowermost of the tags 22. There are, of course, two cup-shaped ends as previously described, but only one can be seen in either Figure 3 or 4.

A vacuum pump 76 and motor 77 create a partial vacuum in a line 78 leading to switching unit 53. As the plunger or valve 79 in unit 53 is in its left hand position in' Figure 3, there is also a partial vacuum in flexible tube 52, hollow tube 49 and cup-shaped end 50'. This creates a suctional force between the cup-shaped end and the lowermost or" the tags 22.

As a container 10 moves past feeler arm 30 to the position shown in Figure 4, the shaft 31 is rotated mov ing' rope '71 to the right. The linkage 35 transfers this movement to control unit 40' where the valve 72 is mo ed towards the left. The hydraulic fluid is now directed from line 41, through unit tit, through line 43, to the lower side of piston 74 in actuating mechanism 44. The piston 74 is moved upwards, member 45 is moved upwards, and moveable arm 47 is tipped on pivot 48. The arm 47 carries the lowermost tag 22 on the cup-shaped end 50 past a retaining means 25 and 27 by spreading the retaining means and the bottom of the guide members 12 and 21 apart briefly. The tag 22 is carried downwards and held at 'an angle to the horizontal. It should be noted that the cup-shaped ends are spaced apart sufficiently to allow the necks 11 of containers 10 to pass freely between them.

As the member 45 moves upwards, the sloping surface 57 of block 56 moves wheel to the right. Member 62 and plunger or valve 79 are thereby moved to the right. This removes the suction from the cup-shaped end 50 and applies it instead through the hollow tube 54. A light suctional holding force is created between the end of tube 54 and the tag 22. The tag 22 remains resting on the cup-shaped end members and the end of tube 54, and is held in place by the light force created by the suction at the end of tube 54. The position in which tag 22 is held is such that the neck 11 catches the punched portion ofthe tag at the lower side vas can be seen in Figure 4. The container moves onwards pulling the tag 22 from the position in which it was held. The tag 22 then falls into position around the neck 11.

It should be noted that the angle, at which the tag 22 is held just before the tag is caught by the moving neck of the container, is not critical. It is only necessary that the neck 11 of a container 10 catch the punched portion of the tag 22 and that the tag fall into position over the neck.

When the container 10 passes the feeler arm 30, shaft 31 returns to its normal position causing mechanism 35 to move valve 72 to the right. The actuating mechanism 44 then operates to return arm 47 to the position shown in Figure 3 and previously described. Suction is once more applied to the bottom of the next tag 22 in the magazine. The mechanism is now ready for the next cycle.

It will be seen that I have provided a simple mechanism to retain a stack of punched tags, remove one tag at a time from the stack, and place the tag in a position to fall over the neck of a moving container.

It is apparent that other arrangements and embodiments may be made without departing from the true spirit and scope of my invention and such embodiments of the invention as come within the scope and purview of the appended claims are to be considered as part of this invention.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A mechanism for automatically applying punched tags over the necks of containers comprising in combination with a conveyor for advancing said containers in a row along a predetermined path of travel, a tag magazine adapted to receive and retain a stack of tags and to permit the tags to be withdrawn therefrom, vacuum operated tag withdrawing means adapted to withdraw the bottom tag from said stack and to deliver it at an angle to the horizontal in the path of said neck of said container, and vacuum operated suction means adapted to hold said tag at said angle with a light suctional holding force, the punched portion of the tag and its angle of position of delivery being such as to cause the neck of the container to pick up the tag.

2. A mechanism for automatically applying punched tags over the necks of a series of containers comprising in combination with a conveyor for advancing said contain-' ers in a row along a predetermined path of travel, an upright tag magazine with guide members at the edges of said tags and releasable retaining means at the lower ends of said guide members to permit the tags to be withdraw one at a time from the bottom of said magazine, tag withdrawing means adapted to withdraw the bottom tag from said magazine and to deliver it at an angle to the horizontal against a rest arm in the path of the necks of said containers, said withdrawing'mea'ns having a first vacuum operated suction means to apply a suctional force to the bottom tag while it is being withdraw and delivered against said rest arm, and a second vacuum operated suction means in said rest arm to apply a light suctional holding force to said bottom tag when the tag is delivered against it, the punched portion of said tag and its angular position being such as to cause the neck of the passing container to pick up the tag.

3. A mechanism for automatically applying punched tags over the necks of a series of containers comprising in combination with a conveyor for advancing said containers in a row along a predetermined path of travel, an upright tag magazine with guide members at the edges of said tags and releasable retaining means at the lower ends of said guide members to permit the tags to be withdrawn one at a time from the bottom of said magazine, tag withdrawing means adapted to withdraw the bottom tag from said magazine and to deliver it at an angle to the horizontal against a rest arm in the path of thenecks of said containers, said withdrawing means having a first vacuum operated suction means to apply aarnaoe a suctional force to the bottom tag while it is being withdrawn and delivered against said rest arm, a second vacuum operated suction means in said rest arm to apply a light suctional holding force of said bottom tag when the tag is delivered against it, the punched portion of said tag and its angular position being such as to cause the neck of the passing container to pick up the tag, and actuating means operated by the passing of a container to control the operation of said tag withdrawing means and to control the application of the suction to said first and second vacuum operated means.

4. A mechanism for automatically applying punched tags over the necks of a series of containers comprising in combination with a conveyor for advancing said containers in a row along a predetermined path of travel, a tag magazine adapted to receive and retain a stack of tags and to permit the tags to be withdrawn therefrom, a movable arm adapted to press cup-shaped vacuum operated suction means which are connected to a source of a partial vacuum against the lower surface of the bottom tag in said magazine and to withdraw said tag from said stack, means to move said movable arm to deliver said tag into a position where it rests against a hollow support arm at an angle to the horizontal in the path of said containers, and means to remove the partial vacuum from said cup-shaped suction means and to apply said partial vacuum to said hollow support arm to provide a small suctional force to keep said tag in position, the punched portion of the tag and its angular position being such that the neck of the container picks up the tag which falls around said neck.

5. A mechanism for automatically applying punched tags over the necks of a series of containers comprising in combination with a conveyor for advancing said containers in a row along a predetermined path of travel, a tag magazine adapted to receive and retain a stack of tags and to permit the tags to be withdrawn therefrom, a movable arm adapted to press cup-shaped vacuum operated suction means which are connected to a source of a partial vacuum against the lower surface of the bottom tag in said magazine and to withdraw said tag from said stack, means to move said movable arm to deliver said tag into a position where it rests against a hollow support arm at an angle to the horizontal in the path of said container neck, means to remove the partial vacuum from said cup-shaped suction means and to apply said partial vacuum to said hollow support arm to provide a small suctional force to keep said tag in position, the punched portion of the tag and its angular position being such that the neck of the container picks up the tag which falls around said neck, and actuating means which is operated by approach of a container to control the operation of said movable arm and to control application of the partial vacuum to the cup-shaped suction means and to said hollow support arm.

6. In combination, a magazine to hold a stack of punched tags, said magazine comprising four vertical guide members located at the edges of said tags, releasable retaining means at the lower ends of said guide members, and a removable rod extending through the punched portion of said tags, means for supporting said removable rod at its upper end at a point above the upper ends of said guide members so that the bottom of said rod is above the bottom of said magazine, a movable arm having a bifurcated end, cup-shaped members located on each branch of said bifurcated end, a hollow fixed support arm, a source of partial vacuum pressure, means to connect said cup-shaped members to said source and to move said movable arm so that the said cupshaped members press against the lower surface of the bottom tag in said magazine, means to move said movable arm to withdraw said bottom tag past said retaining means and to position said tag against said hollow support arm at an angle to the horizontal, and means to connect said support arm to said source to provide a ing substantially parallel guide members with releasableretaimng means at the lower ends thereof, first vacuum operated suction means, a movable arm, said movable arm being adapted to press said first vacuum operated suction means against the lower surface of the bottom tag in said magazine, withdraw the tag past the retaining means, and deliver the tag at an angle to the horizontal in the path of the neck of a container required to pick up the tag, and second vacuum operated suction means adapted to hold said tag at said angle with a light suctional holding force.

8. In an apparatus for feeding punched tags, a magazine to hold a stack of said tags, said magazine comprising substantially vertical guide members at the edges of said tags, releasable retaining means at the lower ends of said guide members, a removable rod supported at its upper end extending through the punched portion of said tags, first vacuum operated cup-shaped suction means, a movable arm, said movable arm being adapted to press said first vacuum operated cup shaped suction means against the lower surface of the bottom tag in said magazine, withdraw the tag past said retaining means, and deliver the tag at an angle to the horizontal in the path of the neck of a container required to pick up the tag, and second vacuum operated suction means adapted to hold said tag at said angle with a light suctional holding force.

9. In an apparatus for feeding punched objects, a magazine to hold a stack of said punched objects, a movable arm having cup-shaped members at one end, a source of pressure at a partial vacuum, a hollow fixed support arm, means to connect said cup-shaped members to said source and to move said movable arm to press said cup-shaped members against the lower surface of the lowermost object in said magazine, means to move said movable arm to withdraw said lowermost object from said magazine and to position it against said support arm at an angle to the horizontal, and means to connect said support arm to said source to provide a light suctional holding force and to disconnect said cup-shaped members from said source.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,866,369 Podel July 5, 1932 2,340,639 Brinton Feb. 1, 1944