US3619967A - Method and apparatus for nesting bottles and other containers - Google Patents

Abstract

THERE IS DISCLOSED MACHINE AND METHOD FOR PACKING CONTAINERS IN A CORBON USING AN INVERTED CARBON TYPE OF CASE PACKING MACHINE IN WHAT IS KNOWN AS A NESTED ARRANGEMENT, IN WHICH THE ARTICLES IN ONE ROW ARE OFFSET WITH RESPECT TO THE ARTICLES IN THE ADJACENT ROWS A DISTANCE OF APPROXIMATELY ONE-HALF THE DIAMETER OF THE CONTAINER THE CONTAINERS ARE CONEYED BETWEEN SIDE GUIDES, WHICH PREFERABLY OSCILLATE, OVER AN UNOBSTRUCTED OPEN ARRANGING AREA ONTO A TITABLE PLATFORM. BY ASSURING THE STAGGERING OF THE CONTAINERS IN THE FIRST TWO ROWS CROSSWISE ON THIS PLATFORM, ALL CONTAINERS THEREAFTER INDEFINETELY REPEAT THE PATTERN OF THE FIRST TWO ROWS IF THEY ARE FORCED OF CROWDED TOWARD THE PLATFORM. ALSO PROVISION IS MADE FOR INITIALLY TILTING THE PLATFORM A SHORT DISTANCE TO FACILITATE APPLICATION OF THE INVERTED CARTON OVER THE CONTAINER ON THE PLATFORM BEFORE THE PLATFORM IS TILTED UPRIGHT TO UPSET THE CARTON.

Description

3 Sheets-Shoot l F. P. ALDUK lll/ ll Nov. 16, 1971 Filed May 14. 1969 INVENTOR FRA/VK P. ALDUK afm, #94 ,m

/r/l Aller/nys Nov. 16, 1971 F. P. ALDUK 3,619,967

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR NESTING BOTTLES AND OTHER CONTAINERS Filed May 14. 1969 I5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Q VIIIIIIIIIIII'IIIIIIIA /NvEn/rron FRAN/ P. ALau/r lli: Allo/nays F. P. ALDUK Nov. 16, 1971 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR NESTJING BOTTLES AND OTHER CONTAINERS 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed May 14, 1969 Fr||| lha H I..

/NVE/VTI? FRANK P. ALDUK @YM W y f/ his Attorney 3,619,967 Patented Nov. 16, 1971 tice U.S. Cl. 53-26 18 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE There is disclosed a machine and method for packing containers in a carton using an inverted carton type of case packing machine in what is known as a nested arrangement. in which the articles in one row are offset with respect to the articles in the adjacent rows a distance of approximately one-half the diameter of the container. The containers are conveyed between side guides, which preferably oscillate. over an unobstructed open arranging area onto a tiltable platform. By assuring the staggering of the containers in the first two rows crosswise on this platform, all containers thereafter indefinitely repeat the pattern of the first two rows if they are forced or crowded toward the platform. Also provision is made for initially tilting the platform a short distance to facilitate application of the inverted carton over the containers on the platform before the platform is tilted upright to upset the carton.

This invention is for an improvement in the container packaging apparatus such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. 2,657,845, granted Nov. 3, 1953 to R. A. Smith, and for an improvement in the method of operating the same.

Pat. 2,657,845 discloses a machine in which containers placed on a conveyor belt are aligned into parallel rows and pushed over a dead plate onto a platform capable of holding a case lot of the containers. When this platform is full, the operator places an empty carton down over the bottles on the platform with the box flaps folded back and the platform tilts forward, dumping the filled carton over, so that the flaps are now at the top, where they may be closed and sealed, instead of the carton being inverted as when the carton is placed over the bottles. A gate arrangement stops the oncoming cartons from feeding across the dead plate when the platform is so tilted. This machine has primary utility with cartons having a cell structure with each container being in a separate cell, out of contact with the adjacent containers. In such a carton, the cells restrain the bottles from relative movement, but the centers of the bottles are in line crosswise and lengthwise of the carton.

With many containers, and depending on the manner of handling and shipping, the cell-forming partitions are not necessary and a case lot can be put in a smaller carton if the containers are nested-that is, with the containers in one row being offset half-way between the containers of the adjacent rows, so that with round or hexa- :gonal containers each container, except the marginal ones, contacts four adjacent containers, the offset positioning of the containers in this way interfitting the containers in one row into the areas between the converging sides of the containers in the adjacent rows. This interfitting or nesting confines the containers snugly against relative movement in the package, so that if the cushioning function of the cells is unnecessary, the size of the carton required to hold a case lot is reduced and the package is less expensive and there is less lost weight in a truck load.

So far as I am aware, no practical simple machine heretofore has been provided for effecting the nest packing of containers in a carton, and the prevailing practice is to load the Icontainers into the carton by hand to nest them.

I have discovered that with very little modification, the case packer shown in Pat. 2,657,845 can be used for nest packing of containers in cartons.

Generally my invention eliminates all dividers from over the conveyor so that the bottles are not confined into lanes, as is necessary with the machine of said patent, but there is simply a corridor into which the bottles or other containers move toward the discharge end of the machine, of a width corresponding substantially to one interior dimension of the carton in which the containers are to be placed, and which constitutes an arranging area. The platform area onto which the containers are moved is likewise free of any partitions, and it, too, is of a width corresponding to an interior dimension of the carton. Assuming the carton to be rectangular, the platform generally has a width equal to the interior length of the carton, and its dimension in the direction of travel of the containers is about equal to the interior width of the carton. Those dimensions in turn are determined by the diameter of the containers and the number of rows of containers to be placed in a carton. There is of course a stop along the outer end of the platform to limit the forward travel of the cartons.

I have discovered that under these conditions, round containers such as bottles, or polygonal containers having six or more panels (or, as in the case of nursing bottles, circular bottles fitted into cylindrical cardboard sleeves), will automatically and continuously, for an indefinite time, arrange themselves in nested rows of the same number in each row, if the first two rows on the platform crosswise of the direction of travel of the container are first set up, either by hand or automatically, across the width of the platform along the end stop. When a case load of bottles or other containers has been formed on the platform, an inverted carton is set over them, a gate moves into position to block the oncoming bottles, and the platform is tilted to turn the carton upright as disclosed in Pat. 2,657,845. While the platform is tilted, oncoming containers crowding against those in front form in the staggered rows indefinitely, so that when the tiltable platform returns to container-receiving position, another case Iload will push forward without disturbing the staggered row pattern onto the platform.

Also, either with nest packing or with packing containers that are arranged in rows crosswise and lengthwise as in said patent, diliiculty may be encountered in placing the inverted cartons over containers which have no neck at all, as for example cosmetic jars and baby food jars, or containers which have only a short neck and relatively straight side walls. This is especially so when the tilting platform is fiat instead of convexed as shown in said patent. The present invention provides an improvement wherein the tilting platform is first initially tilted only a slight distance so that the inverted carton may be slipped at least partially over the group of containers on the platform without the edge of the carton encountering the sides of the oncoming containers on the dead plate.

The invention may be more fully understood by reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. l is a longitudinal vertical section of a machine for practicing the invention, only the discharge end of the machine important to the present disclosure being shown, with some of the forward part of the machine being shown in broken lines;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 1 showing the manner in which an inverted carton is placed over a load of containers;

FIG. 3A is a fragmentary view similar to FIG. 3, but showing the manner in which the filled cartons are turned over and discharged;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a carton showing the arrangement of nested containers therein;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary vertical longitudinal section in the plane of line V-V of FIG. 2, showing a modified construction; and

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary plan View with parts broken away to show adjustment details.

The machine itself is basically similar to that shown in Pat. 2,657,845, in that there is a supporting frame structure 2 on upright legs 3. Mounted in the frame structure is a power-driven conveyor belt, preferably in the form of a link chain belt 4, that passes around a powerdriven roller 5 at the discharge end of the machine. The top reach of the belt is supported over a flat table 6 that prevents the belt from sagging. A variable speed drive is indicated at 7 (shown only in FIG. l) which is connected with the roller 5 through a sprocket drive chain 8. At the discharge end of the conveyor there is a dead plate 9 that is flush with the top surface of the upper reach of the conveyor. In front of this dead plate there is a vertically-movable gate 10 that is operated through a uid pressure cylinder and piston unit 11 to move from a retracted position where it is flush with the dead plate, to a raised position where it will obstruct the movement of the containers from the dead plate. Rearwardly of the gate 10 there is a platform 12, the surface of which is smooth, and which is mounted on a rock shaft 13 so that it may be rocked from a horizontal position to a substantially vertical position by means of a second uid and piston unit 14 and link 15 substantially as disclosed in Pat. No. 2,657,845. The machine here shown, however, is a modification of the structure shown in said patent to the extent that the gate and its operating mechanism and the tilting platform and its operating mechanism cornprise a removable unit wherein the side plates 12 that support these parts are removably bolted to the main frame of the machine, as disclosed in my application Ser, No. 796,- 092, filed Feb. 3, 1969. However, the present invention is adapted to either the construction shown in Pat. 2,657,- 845, or as disclosed in said application.

Unlike the machine shown in Pat. No. 2,657,845, there are no divider plates over the discharge end of the conveyor for arranging the bottles or other containers into parallel lanes or rows. There are only side plates or guides 16 which may be oscillated by an arrangement similar to that shown in the aforesaid patent, wherein there is an overhead bar 17 with dependent rods 18 that are connected to the forward ends of the side guide 16 while the rear ends are on vertical pins or pivots 19 (see FIG. 1), so that these side guides can be oscillated through a limited arc crosswise of the conveyor belt 4. This operation is effected by a motor and eccentric similar to that shown in the aforesaid patent.

It will be seen, therefore, that there is an open free assembly area between the side guides 16 on the conveyor belt, forwardly of the gate, and that there are no laneforming guides on the dead plate, the surface of which is also smooth, and as stated above, there are no guides on the platform 12. The platform, however, does have an end stop bar 20 and side guide plates 21 of less height than the height of the containers. Assuming, for purposes of illustration only, that the carton is rectangular and is designed to hold twenty-four containers arranged in four rows of six containers each, the distance from the stop 20 to the gate 10, or forward boundary of the platform 12, is just about the interior dimension of the carton into which the containers are to be placed, and the distance between the side guides 21 is the length of the interior dimension of the carton, this being in the example here assumed to be approximately the length of 61A; times the diameter of one of the containers. In other words, the distance between the side guides on the platform is `a multiple of the diameter of the containers plus about 1/2 that diameter. In the other direction the distance from the stop 20 to the gate is such that a plurality of nested rows of containers will fill the platform, with the row nearest the dead plate projecting slightly beyond the edge of the platform. For a given nurnber of staggered rows this distance will be less than if the bottles are centered one against another, as in said Pat. No. 2,637,845.

In operating the machine to nest the containers so that the containers in each succeeding row are offset one-half diameter from the containers in the adjacent rows, the first two rows of containers must be set up on the platform 12 in this pattern as indicated in full lines in FIG. 2 of the drawings. This is accomplished by hand placing the bottles in the event the cartons are supplied with a corner filler at one corner or two diagonally-opposite corners, or it may be accomplished automatically if a block of `some kind is either temporarily or permanently placed in the open corner with the end of the first row as indicated at 12a in FIG. 2. When the cartons have no corner filler or llers, so that it makes no difference where the empty corners occur, the pressure of the oncoming bottles or other containers will cause the first two rows and all succeedingl rows to self-arrange themselves in the staggered arrangement. If the carton is supplied with a filler in the corner corresponding to position 12a in FIG. 2, the operator must then be sure that the first row will leave this particular corner open. With the setting up of the rst two rows, containers which are being fed forward and pushed or crowded onto the platform will automatically repeat the pattern of the first two rows for an indefinite period of time. Usually the containers accumulate on the dead plate and on the discharge end of the conveyor belt, falling into this pattern for some distance back, depending on how fast the containers accumulate in respect to the rate at which they are removed. In the example above assumed, after tilting plate 12 has been filled with four rows, with the second and fourth rows staggered in reference to the rst and third rows, the operator places a carton in inverted position over the assembled containers on the plate 12 and pushes it down as shown in FIG. 3. Then by operating the cylinders 11 and 14 in the manner described in Pat. No. 2,657,845, the gate 10 will raise between the first row of containers on the dead plate and the containers on the platform 12, and at the same time the platform 12 will tilt to a nearly vertical position as shown in FIG. 3A, turning the carton over so that the carton aps which were opened out and folded back when the inverted carton was rst pushed down over the plate 12, are now at the top, while the containers themselves are inverted inside the carton, but of course are firmly held in the nested position by the walls of the carton. Since the platform 12 is pivoted near its center, the arc described by its end is of short radius. In the drawings, the containers have been designated C, and the carton or box has been designated B. FIG. 4 shows how the nested packages of containers appear.

After the tirst carton of containers has been removed, the platform 12 will return to its horizontal position and the gate 10 will lower. The pressure of the oncoming bottles by reason of the continuous travel of the conveyor belt will urge those bottles which are then accumulated on the dead plate and forwardly on the conveyor itself, into position on the platform 12, and the bottles will advance in the staggered rows into which they had formed to maintain the pattern of the two rows which were initially formed.

It is desirable to so operate the machine that there will always be more than a case load of bottles or other containers forwardly of the gate l0 so that it will be unnecessary for the operator to wait for a case load to build up b y the addition of containers one at a time on the plate 12. In fact if there are not at least two rows of bottles on the dead plate at the time the gate lowers, following the removal of the first load, the pattern will be lost, and it would be necessary for the operator to reset the first two rows to reform the nested pattern. However, as long as there are two or more rows always present forwardly of the gate 10, the pattern will automatically repeat. For this to occur, of course, the assembly area of the conveyor as well as the dead plate must be free of any obstructions which would prevent the bottles or other containers from moving about and adjusting themselves into position as the conveyor crowds them against the containers ahead which have already formed in nested position.

Usually the feed of bottles to the machine is so fast that a considerable number of staggered rows builds up in the arranging area of the belt, and it has been found that the bottles fall more readily into a nested pattern and with less rubbing of the bottles or other containers one against the other by oscillating the side guides 16 than if the side guides 16 were stationary, but it is not necessary that these side guides oscillate. It is necessary, however, that they provide a corridor of the width equal to the width between the side guides 21 on the tilting table 12.

While bottles are mentioned specifically, the invention has been successfully used with jars such as baby food jars, and pressure spray cans and other metal or plastic containers and with nursing bottles which are each packed with a hexagonal cardboard sleeve around each of them before they are delivered to the conveyor belt 4, and the invention has been successfully used with polygonal shaped bottles such as ketchup bottles which have more than four panels. It is, however, necessary that the containers be circular or multi-sided with more than five sides in order for the nesting to automatically take place.

With bottles, such as soft drink bottles, the arrangement is entirely satisfactory since the small diameters and extended lengths of the bottles provides adequate clearance between the bottles on the tilting platform and those on the dead plate for the inverted carton to be pushed down over the case load f bottles on the platform for a good portion of the bottle height. However, with bottles having an almost square shoulder below the neck, with jars, such as cosmetic cream jars, baby food jars, serum containers, restaurant type creamers, and spray cans and similar containers having little or no extended neck, it is more difficult to push the inverted carton over the group of containers on the platform, since the last row on the platform contacts the oncoming row on the dead plate, forming a zig-zag plane of separation that prevents the straight side of the carton from being pushed down between them. This may be better appreciated by reference to FIG. 2 where it will be seen that because of the nesting of the containers in one row between those of another,

there is no straight line of separation between the containers on the dead plate and those on the tiltable platform.

Where containers so shaped as to make the application of the inverted carton to the pack arranged on the tilting platform, including packing containers of this shape where they are not nested, but are in rows both lengthwise and crosswise as in Pat. 2,657,845, the arrangement shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 is preferable, and may be applied to all machines as shown in the preceding figures where the machine is to be used for this type of container or where a wide range of articles are to be packed.

In FIGS. 5 and 6 the structure is much the same as that shown in FIG. l, except that there is a third fiuid pressure cylinder set vertically under the tilting platform 12 between the shaft 13 and the gate 10. This cylinder is set on a cross bar 26 which is supported at its ends on the side plates 112. The cross bar 26 is provided at its ends with threaded studs that project through slots in the side plates 12 (see FIG. 5) and nuts on the ends of these studs clamp the side bar at the elevation to which it is adjusted, so that the cylinder 25 may be raised or lowered to change its effective stroke, since, at the lowermost position, there will be lost motion between the piston and the tilting plate. The cylinder has a piston, with the piston rod 29 having a terminal that contacts the under side of the tilting platform. When air under pressure is admitted to the cylinder 25 it will give the platform an initial tilt to raise the container on the platform above the level of the containers on the dead plate, as shown in FIG. 5, so that an inverted carton can be easily set down at least part-way over the containers on the platform after which cylinder 14 rocks the platform to a vertical or near vertical position, as previously explained. The diameter of the cylinder 25 and its piston is slightly greater than the diameter of the cylinder 14 and its piston, so that with the same air pressure, piston rod 29 will over corne the yielding pressure in cylinder 14 that holds the platform against tilting, but because of this resistance, the initial tilting by cylinder 25 will be gradual and not so sudden as to disturb the containers on the platform.

It is desirable that the cylinder 25 be set to raise very small containers less than tall ones, and for this reason it is desirable to adjust the height of the cylinder 25 without changing the length of its stroke. The further it is lowered, the greater will be the lost travel before it contacts the tilting plate to raise it.

The pneumatic system is much the same as disclosed in Pat. 2,657,845, in that air from a regulator 50 flows through tube 51 and branch line 52 to a four-way valve '53. When switch 54 at one side of the frame of the machine is pressed, Valve S3 admits air through tube 55 to the bottom of cylinder 25 to raise the piston and effect the initial tilt of the tilting platform and hold it at this angle. The operator then places the inverted carton over the containers on the platform and operates switch S6. This operates four-way rvalve 57, to which air is supplied through line 51, to admit air through tube 58 to the top of cylinder \14 to retract its piston and tilt the platform to the near vertical position. It also admits air through branch. tube 519 to the bottom of cylinder 11 to raise the gate 10. The switches '54 and 56 and the two switches at 60 may be either electric or pneumatic, as is well under stood in the art, pneumatic switches being here indicated. When the platform reaches this position it operates the dual switches at 60. The upper of these two switches operates valve 53 to admit air through` line 61 to the top of cylinder 25 to retract its piston, and the lower one operates valve 57 to admit air through line 62 to the lower end of cylinder 14 to return the tilting platform to containerreceiving position.

The same result could be achieved by operating cylinder 14 in two steps, but since this cylinder, as shown, operates quite rapidly and special valving would be required, the arrangement here shown is preferred.

Also, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the rear face of the gate 10 has a pair of rearwardly-projecting fianged arms 30 attached thereto, one near each end of the gate. Each plate 30 is slidably fitted in a vertical guide channel formed by blocks 32 secured to the adjacent fixed side plates of the machine. These blocks are here shown as being adjustable in a fore-and-aft direction by studs 33 extending through slots in the side plate, with clamping nuts 34.

It will be seen that in FIG. 5 the cylinder and piston unit 11 is set on a cross piece 36. Bolts 37 with clamping nuts pass through end portions 38 of this bar and through horizontal slots 39 in the side plates 12 so that as the gate is adjusted horizontally toward or away from the dead plate, the cylinder 11 may be correspondingly adjusted to assure proper vertical alignment.

It will be noted that the edge of the tilting plate 12 projects over the gate |10, so that the gate 10 can only rise as the plate 12 tilts up, and that the downward or return tilting motion of the tilting platform forces the gate down. Large diameter containers of course nest together a greater distance than small ones, so that when the platform lifts, larger containers will project further beyond the edge of the dead plate 9 than small ones. With larger diameter containers the adjustment here described enables the plane of vertical movement of the gate to be moved further out from the edge of the dead plate to clear the overhang of the row of containers on the dead plate. For small diameter containers, the gate is adjusted closer to the dead plate. The tilting platform 12 as here shown has the permanent bottom plate as shown, and an interchangeable top plate 12b. The top plate 12b for one size of containers will ordinarily be different for containers of another size, since their cartons are of a different size and the gap between the edge of the dead plate and the confronting edge of the plate 12b is selected so that said confronting edge will never extend toward the dead plate past the plane of vertical travel of the gate, so that when the plate swings down to the horizontal position it will not contact the containers on the dead plate. The arrangement of the guide 32 with the projecting iianges 30 has an added advantage where the nest packer unit is detachable from the main frame of the machine, in that it will keep the dead plate in vertical position when the unit is detached and set aside for the substitution of a different type of case packer, as explained in said application Ser. No. 796,092.

lt will be understood that the invention will operate with containers of very small diameters, or with containers of relatively large diameters, but in all cases the dimensions of the group which is arranged on the platform 12 must conform substantially to the inside dimensions of the carton into which the containers are to be placed. This dimension, as stated above, is a multiple of the diameter of the containers in one crosswise row plus about one-half diameter, and the width in the other direction is any convenient number of staggered rows. Also other generally cylindrical articles, such as spools of thread or bushings or other manufactured articles may be packaged in the same way, and the term container as here used comprehends pieces or units of circular of polysided section with more than five sides.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for the nested packing of containers in cartons comprising:

(a) a power-driven conveyor with a discharge end for carrying the containers to be placed in the carton forward and crowding them off said discharge end,

(b) a tiltable platform at the end of the conveyor onto which the containers are pushed by the conveyor, said platform having an end wall thereacross at the end remote from the conveyor to limit the number of containers that may be received on the platform at one time, and movable from a generally horizontal container-receiving position to a steeply-inclined discharge position,

(c) means for tilting the platform from a horizontal plane to a steeply-inclined position and returning it to a generally horizontal position,

(d) side guides along each side of the conveyor,

(e) side guides on the tilting platform in line with the side guides on the conveyor, and

(f) gate means between the conveyor and the platform arranged to restrain the containers against movement when the platform is being tilted and permit their movement onto the platform when the platform is horizontal,

the area of the conveyor between the side guides being free of any obstruction that limits the lateral movement of the containers as they crowd together in advance of the gate means, and the platform between its side guides also being free of any obstruction, the distance between the side guides of the conveyor and the side guides on the platform being a multiple of the diameter of the containers plus one-half that diameter and the distance between the said end wall and the gate being sufficient to 8 accept a plurality of rows of nested containers thereacross.

2. Apparatus for the nested packing of containers in cartons as defined in claim 1 in which there is also a smooth dead plate between the conveyor and the tilting platform, the dead plate having side guides that are aligned with the side guides along the conveyor and on the platform and the area of the dead plate between the side guides is smooth and unobstructed, the gate means being interposed between the dead plate and the tilting platform.

3. Apparatus for the nested packing of containers and cartons as defined in claim 1 wherein the side guides along the conveyor are pivoted at the ends nearest the platform on vertical pivots, and means for oscillating the side guides on their said pivots.

4. The combination with an upside-down case packer of the type having an endless conveyor along which containers are moved from a receiving end to a discharge end with a rearwardly-tiltable platform at the discharge end of the conveyor arranged to accept and retain a predetermined number of containers arranged in transverse rows thereon whereby the platform may be raised so that an inverted open top carton may be placed over the containers on the platform after which the platform is tilted to a substantially vertical position to discharge the Carton and turn it over with the containers, then inverted, therein, the case packer having a gate movable vertically between the end of the conveyor and the tiltable platform from a lower position out of the path of travel of the containers from the conveyor onto the platform to a raised position across the path of travel of the containers off of the conveyor of (a) means for initially raising and halting the edge of the platform above the level of the conveyor to provide clearance for placing the carton between the containers on the platform and those at the discharge end of the conveyor and for thereafter tilting the platform to a substantially vertical position.

5. The combination defined in claim 4 wherein the gate is adjustable transversely of its direction of travel.

6. The combination defined in claim 4 wherein there is a dead plate between the conveyor belt and the platform and the gate is movable in a vertical plane between the dead plate and the tiltable platform, and means for adjustably positioning the gate toward and away from the dead plate.

7. Apparatus for the nested packing of containers as defined in claim 1 in which there is a smooth surface dead plate without dividers between the conveyor and the tilting platform, the dead plate having side guides that are aligned with the side guides along the conveyor and on the tilting platform, the gate means being movable in a vertical plane between the dead plate and the tilting platform, and means for adjusting the gate means and its plane of movement toward or away from the dead plate.

8. Apparatus for the nested packing of containers as defined in claim 1 in which there is a smooth surface dead plate without dividers between the conveyor and the tilting platform, the dead plate having side guides that are aligned with the side guides along the conveyor and on the tilting platform, the gate means comprising a flat platelike member movable in a vertical plane between. the dead plate and the tilting platform, the apparatus having spaced side plates between which the tilting platform is positioned and supported, vertical guide elements on the side plates, and means projecting from that surface of the gate remote from the dead plate engaged in said guide elements for guiding the gate as it is moved vertically.

9. Apparatus for the nest packing of containers as defined in claim 8 wherein the plane of movement of the gate may be adjusted toward and away from the dead plate.

l0. Apparatus for the nest packing of containers as defined in claim 1 in which means is provided for initially tilting the platform to partly raise the containers on the platform above the level of those on the conveyor and thereafter tilt it to the steeply-inclined position.

11. Apparatus for the nested packing of containers as defined in claim 1 in which there is a smooth surface dead plate without dividers between the conveyor and the tilting platform, the dead plate having side guides that are aligned with the side guides along the conveyor and on the tilting platform, the tilting platform being supported for tilting movement about an axis near the end of the platform remote from the gate, and means positioned between the gate means and the axis of rotation for the tilting plate for initially tilting the plate to a slight angle from its horizontal position before Said means for tilting it to a steep angle is operated.

12. Apparatus for the nest packing of containers as defined in claim 1 wherein said means for tilting the platform to a steeply-inclined position and returning it comprises a fluid pressure cylinder and piston unit, and a second fluid pressure cylinder and piston unit arranged to initially tilt the platform a slight distance from its generally horizontal position before said first cylinder operates to tilt the platform to the steeply-inclined position.

13. Apparatus for the nest packing of containers as defined in claim 12 in which said second cylinder is adjustably supported to adjust the angle to which it initially tilts said platform.

14. Apparatus for the nest packing of containers as defined in claim 12 in which said rst cylinder is normally under pressure to hold the platform in the generally horizontal position when containers are received on the platform and said second cylinder and piston unit is of larger diameter than the first whereby the first yieldingly resists the operation of the second when both are operated by air under the same pressure.

15. The method of effecting the nested packing of containers of circular section and multi-sided containers having more than five sides in cartons, which comprises:

(a) initially setting up two rows of containers on a receiving platform area between side guides spaced from each other a distance equal to a multiple of the diameter of the containers at the level of maximun diameter plus about one-half such diameter with the containers in the second row offset one-ehalf diameter from those in the first row,

(b) thereafter crowding other similar containers onto the platform area against the first two rows until the platform is full, whereby the containers so crowded onto the platform area repeat the formation of containers in the first two rows,

(c) continuing to crowd heterogeneously positioned containers into an arranging corridor between two side guides aligned with the first-named side guides in advance of and level with the platform area with the leading containers in the corridor pressed against those on the platform area whereby the pattern arrangement of the rst two rows repeats itself in the arranging corridor,

(d) placing an inverted carton over a group of containers on the receiving platform, the interior length of which carton is about equal to the distance between the platform side guides and the interior width of which is just sufficient to span a selected number of rows of nested containers on the receiving platform area,

(e) removing the containers confined within the inverted carton from the platform area and turning the carton upright by tilting the platform rearwardly from a substantially horizontal position to a substantially vertical position in which the platform is first tilted upwardly through an arc sufiicient to provide clearance between the containers on the platform and the containers in advance of the platform, after which the inverted carton is placed over the containers on the platform, and thereafter completing the tilting of the platform to a vertical position, and

(f) advancing the prearranged container from the corridor onto platform area sufiiciently to fill a succeeding carton, and thereafter repeating the operation so long as there are containers in the arranging corridor, with the pattern initially established in said first two rows automatically repeating as the containers are crowded into rows in the arranging corridor.

16. The method defined in claim 15, wherein a gate is interposed between the receiving platform and the arranging corridor when the platform area is tilted.

17. The method defined in claim 15, wherein the vertically tilted carton is completely turned over as it leaves the platform to thereby remove the carton with the containers.

18. The combination with an upside-down case packer of the type having an endless conveyor along which containers are moved from a receiving end to a discharge end with a rearwardly-tiltable platform at the discharge end of the conveyor arranged to accept and retain a predetermined number of containers arranged in transverse rows thereon whereby an inverted open top carton may be placed over the containers on the platform after which the platform is tilted to a substantially vertical position to discharge the carton and turn it over with the containers, then inverted, wherein the platform is carried on a transversely-extending rock shaft and there is a fluid pressure cylinder and piston unit operatively connected with the rock shaft to effect the tilting movement thereof between its container-receiving position and a substantially vertical position, the case packer having a gate movable vertically between the end of the conveyor and the tiltable platform, from a lower position out of the path of travel of the containers from the conveyor onto the platform, to a raised position across the path of travel of the containers off the conveyor, and including means for initially raising the edge of the platform above the level of the conveyor to provide clearance between the containers on the platform and those at the discharge end of the conveyor and for thereafter tilting the platform to a substantially vertical position wherein a second fluid pressure cylinder effects said intial raising of the platform.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,535,880 12/1950 Tomkins 53-26 2,746,226 5/ 1956 Donald et al 53-392 X TRAVIS S. MCGEHEE, Primary Examiner E. F. DESMOND, Assistant Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 53-159, 243, 392

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