US3701232A

US3701232A - Article insertion devices

Info

Publication number: US3701232A
Application number: US140506A
Authority: US
Inventors: David George Parker
Original assignee: Masson Scott Thrissell Engineering Ltd
Current assignee: Masson Scott Thrissell Engineering Ltd
Priority date: 1971-05-05
Filing date: 1971-05-05
Publication date: 1972-10-31
Anticipated expiration: 1989-10-31

Abstract

A record and an open ended bag are conveyed along different paths at right angles to each other, but in the same plane, insertion of the record into the bag taking place at the intersection of the paths. As the bag is being conveyed it passes between a pair of rotatable eccentric suction rollers which grip the front and back faces of the bag respectively and cause the bag to be opened as the surfaces of the rollers move apart, due to the rotation of the rollers.

Description

United States Patent Parker Oct. 31, 1972 [54] ARTICLE INSERTION DEVICES 2,202,431 5/1940 Rohrbacher ..93/28 In e o a i G g a w n I -...53/l87 oa wa ingham, Van Del Meulen "."53/l87 X 3,446,121 5/1969 Achelpohl ..93/28 [73] Assignee: Masson Scott Thrissell Engineering 3,527,337 9/1970 Formo ..53/ 187 X Ltd., Bristol, England 3,545,346 12/ 1970 Achelpohl ..93/28 [22] Filed: May 5 1971 3,618,476 11/1971 Achelpohl ..93/28 X [21] Appl. No.: 140,506 Primary Examiner-Theron E. Condon Assistant Examiner-Horace M. Culver 11' 'l [30] Foreign Application Priority Data I Attorney Crag Antone l & I May 1970 BiWhwv; 111.11 [57] ABSTRACT A record and an open ended bag are conveyed along [52] U.S. Cl. ..53/187, 53/386, 93/28 different paths at right angles to each other, but in the [51] Int. Cl ..B65b 5/04,-B65b 43/30 same plane, insertion of the record into the bag taking [58] Field of Search ..53/187, 386, 186, 384, 188; place at the intersection of the paths. As the bag is 93/28, 8 R; 198/131, 38 being conveyed it passes between a pair of rotatable eccentric suction rollers which grip the front and back [56] References Cited faces of the bag respectively and cause the bag to be opened as the surfaces of the rollers move apart, due UNITED STATES PATENTS to the rotation of the rollers.

a ...V..93/28 8 Claims 6 Drawing Figures /67 a0 w 6 $6, I 176, 1' 1w] a4 1 4 ,7 @f a 5 w- SHEET 1 OF 3 'P'A'TE'N TED nm 3 1 1972 INVENTOR DAVID GEORGE PARKER M QAGMQQ; Q will ATTORNEYS P'A'TEN'TEDHN I I912 3701.232

SHEET 2 [IF 3 W w w fli 204 INVENTOR DAVID GEORGE. PARKER ATTORNEYS 1 ARTICLE INSERTION DEVICES This invention relates to devices for inserting gramophone records, or like articles into a bag. The present invention may with advantage be employed in a record packing machine as disclosed in U.S. Pat. application, Ser. No. 36,261 filed Nov. 5, 1970.

According to the invention, we provide a device for inserting a record or like article in a bag, comprising means for opening said bag and means for feeding the record or like article into the open bag, in which said opening means comprises a pair of eccentric rollers, means for driving said rollers in phase, means for feeding a bag between said rollers with its open end adjacent to one end of said rollers, the bag feeding means and the roller driving means being so synchronized that as the bag enters between the rollers the surfaces of the latter are at their position of closest approach, while as the bag passes on between the rollers their surfaces separate, and suction means associated with said rollers so that front and back faces on the bag are held against the surfaces of the rollers as said surfaces separate.

In a preferred construction the bag feeding means comprises a driven roller and a further roller resiliently urged towards said driven roller, and a perforated conv eyor having suction applied thereto, said driven and said further roller being so positioned as to grip said bag therebetween adjacent to its open end, said perforated conveyor being adapted and positioned so as to suctionally support the closed end of said bag opposite said open end, said driven roller, further roller, and perforated conveyor being adapted to feed the said bag along a first path to said station. The bag feeding means and the roller driving means are so synchronized that the surfaces of said eccentric rollers are at their greatest distance apart when the bag is at said station.

The means for feeding the record or like article preferably comprises a chain conveyor provided with pusher means which engage said record or like article to feed it along a second path in the same plane as said first path, but at an angle thereto so as to insert said record or like article in said bag whilst said bag is at said station.

The pusher means may conveniently be arranged to continue to feed said record or like article along said second path after said record has been completely inserted in said bag so as to move the bag away from the said eccentric rollers and bring the closed end of said bag into contact with a resilient pad, means being provided to disengage said pusher means from said record or like article and to cut off suction from said perforated conveyor simultaneously so as to release said record and said bag after said bag contacts said resilient pad.

Apparatus embodying the invention may also include a variety of other features, as will be seen from the following description of one preferred form of such apparatus.

Reference will be made to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a front elevation of apparatus for inserting a record into a bag;

FIG. 2 is a section on the line II-II of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a plan view ofFIG. 2;

FIGS. 4A, 4B and 4C are diagrammatic views showing successive positions of certain parts during insertion of a record into a bag.

In the drawings a paper bag is fed, in the direction of arrow A FIG. 3), by a finger 161, mounted on a chain conveyor 162 carried by a sprocket wheel 162a fixed to and continuously driven by shaft 162b, towards a record insertion device !63. At the same time a record 164 is fed, in the direction of arrow B (FIG. 3), towards the device 163, by a pusher 165 mounted on a further chain conveyor 166 carried by a sprocket wheel 166a fixed to and driven continuously by shaft 166b. The shafts 162a, 166b are both driven by suitable gearing (not shown) from an input shaft 208 (FIG. 1) which in turn is driven from a continuous drive unit diagrammatically shown at 209. The

conveyors

162, 166 are arranged so that the bag and the record are moved towards the device 163 in the same plane, but at right angles to one another, as shown in FIG. 3. The bag 160 is oriented so that its open edge is parallel to its direction of movement and is facing in a direction towards the record, so that the latter may be inserted into the bag as will be explained later.

The device 163 consists of a box like structure, open at the top and bottom, and having a front wall 167, a

rear wall 168 and two

side walls

169, 170. The side wall 169 is shaped to receive and support the right hand end (as viewed in FIG. 1) of a housing 171 along the top surface of which the bag 160 is fed by the finger 161, and the front wall 167 is shaped to receive and support the right hand end (as viewed in FIG. 2) of a pair of side frames 172 on which are mounted guides 173 which support and guide the record 164 as the latter is pushed by pusher 165.

The guides 173 are arranged parallel to each other and are spaced apart a distance such that the record 164 is supported at diametrically opposite points in vee shaped grooves 174 (see FIG. 1) provided along the mutually facing surfaces of the guides 173. The pusher 165 is formed with two upwardly extending projections 165a which are also formed with vee shaped grooves, as shown in FIG. 2. The record is thus supported at four points round its periphery, which ensures that it does not tilt while being moved. The guides 173 extend in the direction of arrow B to a position level with the front wall 167.

The finger 161 feeds the bag 160 until the leading edge thereof is gripped between a driven roller 175 and a further roller 175a resiliently urged against the roller 175. The roller 175 is mounted on a shaft 176, supported in bearings mounted on the front and

rear walls

167, 168 respectively. The rollers 175, 175a are positioned close to the front wall 167 (see FIG. 3) so that they grip the bag adjacent the open edge thereof. At the same time as the rollers 175, 175a grip the open edge of the bag, the edge opposite that edge is suctionally gripped from above by suction applied to a suction box 178 along the underneath of which runs a continuous perforated belt 179 carried between a pair of

pulleys

180, 181. The pulley 180 is fixed to the shaft 176 and the pulley 181 is mounted on a further shaft 182 carn'ed between the rear wall 168 and a partition 183 (FIG. 3).

Mounted respectively on stub shafts 184-, 185 are two

suction wheels

186, 187 arranged vertically above one another, the wheel 186 being positioned above the plane along which the bag 160 is fed, and the wheel 187 being positioned below said plane (see FIG. 1). Suction, from a source (not shown), is applied to the

wheels

186, 187 through two chambers 188.

The

wheels

186, 187 are eccentrically mounted on their

respective shafts

184, 185 in symmetrical opposition so that during each revolution of the wheels their peripheries move, for the first half revolution, away from each other, and, for the second half revolution, towards each other. The roller 175, the perforated belt 179, and the

wheels

186, 187 are all driven intermittently through suitable gearing (not shown) from an input shaft 210 FIG. 1) which in turn is driven intermittently by a drive unit, diagrammatically shown at 211.

On continued movement in the direction of arrow A, (FIG. 1), of the bag, the leading edge thereof passes between the peripheries of the

suction wheels

186, 187 which at this moment are almost touching, (as viewed in FIG. 1), so that suction will be applied to the two faces of the bag to hold the upper andlower faces thereof to the

wheels

186, 187 respectively. As the bag is moved further the two faces of the bag are pulled apart, due, as explained above, to the peripheries of the

suction wheels

186, 187 moving away from each other, until, after half a revolution of the

wheels

186, 187 the mouth of the bag is held open by an amount sufficient to permit entry of the record 164.

' The record 164 is fed by pusher 165 to a position such that a further pusher 189, having a V-shaped groove formed in its leading face (see FIG. 2) and travelling at a higher speed than the pusher 165, engages the record and accelerates it away from the pusher 165. The pusher 189 is carried by two chain conveyors 190 and the leading face of the pusher 189 is arranged to' engage the record between the projections 165a of the pusher 165 (FIG. 1). The chain conveyors 190 are carried by two pairs of

sprockets

191, 192, the sprockets 191 being freely rotatable on a shaft 193 carried between brackets 194, and the sprockets 192 being fixed to a driven shaft 195 carried between two fixed walls 194a which extend between the walls 167, 168.-The shaft 195 is driven through suitable gearing (not shown) from the continuously driven input shaft 208. The pusher 189 is pivotally mounted on the chains 190 and is urged in a clockwise direction (as seen in FIG. 2) by a torsion spring mounted on its pivot, the pusher being kept in the correct orientation for engaging the record 164 by two rails 196, which extend to a position just beyond the suction wheels 186, 187 (considered in the direction of movement of the pusher 139).

FIG. 4A shows the record 164 being pushed by the pusher 189 and also the bag 160 which has just passed into contact with the

suction wheels

186, 187, the closed edge of the bag being supported by the perforated belt 179.

In FIG. 4B the bag has been opened, as explained above, and the record is being pushed into the bag 160 by the pusher 189. When the record is completely inside the bag, i.e., the edge of the record is in contact with the sealed edge of the bag opposite the open edge, it also pushes the bag, which slides across the perforated belt 179 while still being supported by it. The pusher 189 continues pushing the record, and thus the bag, until the now leading edge of the bag (considered in its direction of movement which is now that shown by arrow C) touches a rubber pad 197 mounted on the rear wall 168, this position being illustrated in FIG. 4C. As the bag touches the pad 197 the pusher 189 runs off the rail 196 and pivots in a clockwise direction away from the record as shown in chain-dot line in FIG. 4C. Also at this moment the suction to the perforated belt is cut off and the bagged record is allowed to drop downwards as shown by arrowsD in FIG. 4C. The

bagged record drops on to the upper face of a pair of I support

bars

198, 199 which are respectively fixed to

pivot pins

200, 201 carried in brackets 202 fixed to the inside faces of the

side walls

169, 170. The

bars

198, 199 are arranged, to be moved to the position shown in chain-dot lines in FIG. 1, this movement being controlled by a pneumatic cylinder 204 the piston of which is fixed to one end of a lever 205, the other end of which is fixed to the pivot pin 201, of bar 199. A further lever 206 is fixed at one end to the pivot pin 200 of bar 198 and the two

levers

205, 206 are connected by a link 207 so that the

bars

198, 199 are moved in unison by the cylinder 204. When moved as just described the bagged record is allowed to drop further, in the direction of arrowsD in FIG. 4C, on to the top of a stack of bagged records, the stack forming ahopper from which bagged records are fed to further devices (not shown) which form no part of the present inventron.

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

1. A device for inserting a record or like article in a bag, comprising an insertion station, means for opening said bag and means for feeding the record or like article into the open bag at said insertion station, in which said opening means comprises a pair of eccentric rollers, means for driving said rollers in phase, means for feeding a bag between said rollers with its open end adjacent to one end of said rollers, the bag feeding means and the roller driving means being so synchronized that as the bag enters between the rollers the surfaces of the latter are at their position of closest approach, while as the bag passes on, towards said station between the rollers their surfaces separate, and suction means associated with said rollers so that front and back faces of the bag are held against the surfaces of the rollers as the surfaces separate.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1 in which the bag feeding means and the roller driving means are so synchronized that the surfaces of said eccentric rollers are at their greatest distance apart when the bag is at said station.

3. A device as claimed in claim 2 in which said bag feeding means comprises a driven roller and a further roller resiliently urged towards said driven roller, and a perforated conveyor having suction applied thereto,

said driven and said further roller being so positioned as to grip said bag therebetween adjacent to its open end, said perforated conveyor being adapted and positioned so as to suctionally support the closed end of said bag opposite said open end, said driven roller, further roller, and perforated conveyor being adapted to feed the said bag along a first path to said station.

4. A device as claimed in claim 3 in which said record or like article feeding means comprises a chain conveyor provided with pusher means which engage said record or like article to feed it along a second path in the same plane as said first 'path, but at an angle thereto so as to insert said record or like article in said bag while said bag is at said station.

5, A device as claimed in claim 4 in which sai second path is at right angles to said first path.

6. A device as claimed in claim 4 in which said second path is defined by guide means comprising a pair of parallel bars, the mutually facing sides of which are each formed with a V-shaped groove extending along its length, said bars being so positioned as to permit each record or like article to be supported in said grooves at diametrically opposite points on its periphery.

7. A device as claimed in claim 6 in which said pusher means comprises two lugs, each having a face formed with a V-shaped groove for engagement with each record or like article, said grooves coacting with the grooves in said parallel bars to prevent said record or like article from tipping while it is being fed along said second path and into said bag.

8. A device as claimed in claim 4 in which said pusher means is arranged to continue to feed said record or like article along said second path after said record has been completely inserted in said bag so as to move the bag away from the said eccentric rollers and bring the closed end of said bag into contact with a resilient pad, and means being provided to disengage said pusher means from said record or like article after said bag contacts said resilient pad.

Claims

3. A device as claimed in claim 2 in which said bag feeding means comprises a driven roller and a further roller resiliently urged towards said driven roller, and a perforated conveyor having suction applied thereto, said driven and said further roller being so positioned as to grip said bag therebetween adjacent to its open end, said perforated conveyor being adapted and positioned so as to suctionally support the closed end of said bag opposite said open end, said driven roller, further roller, and perforated conveyor being adapted to feed the said bag along a first path to said station.

4. A device as claimed in claim 3 in which said record or like article feeding means comprises a chain conveyor provided with pusher means which engage said record or like article to feed it along a second path in the same plane as said first path, but at an angle thereto so as to insert said record or like article in said bag while said bag is at said station.

5. A device as claimed in claim 4 in which said second path is at right angles to said first path.