US716281A

US716281A - Machine for feeding and wrapping powders.

Info

Publication number: US716281A
Application number: US12620702A
Authority: US
Inventors: Frank A Robinson
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1902-10-06
Filing date: 1902-10-06
Publication date: 1902-12-16
Anticipated expiration: 1919-12-16

Description

MACHINE FUR FEEDING AND WBAPPNG PIJWDERS.

(Appliazion medoet. e, 1902.) (No Model.)

5'Sheets-Shelat I.

qTToRNEYsJ Patented Dec. I6, |902.

F. A. ROBINSON. MACHINE FOR FEEDING AND WRAPPING PDWDERS.

(Application led Oct. 6, 1902.)

5 Sheets-$heet 2.

(No Model.)

WIT NESSE .S

.ATTORNEYS E .L. H R/ 0 e O 0 m .u T n s w., k rV/m nm w. m 1 D I 1 w oem.. u "l wm .m E H .r11 .m m 1; i@ P P /y lll M. G m m w m N- A m l m B .M0 m S w e m D w vw w. B N d l...|l|| m o Alm l PU m m F A l h w M f rr E P F l 00 R f# m .Il 7 li M L m f6 l H 1| I C u E M M l IIIH N m m H 2, M W fr w 7. M 0 0 N 1N\ N0. 716,28l. Patented Dec. I6, |902.

F. A. ROBINSON. MACHINE FOR FEEDING AND WBAPPINGPWDERS.

(Application led Oct. 6, 1902.)

5 Sheets-Sheet 4.

`(No Mpdel.)

WIINESSE S d' IN VENTOR oq TTORNE YS.

` FRANK A. ROBINSON, or sYRAcUsE, New YORK, AssIeNOR To MORRIS LARY, ORNEw YORK, N. Y.

MACHINE FORFEEDING AND'WRAPPING POWDERS.

srncrrrcATIoN forming part ofL'tersra'i-.ent No. 716,281', dated nembf ic, 1902.

l l l l Application led October, 1902. l Serial No. 126,207. (No model.)

i `To @ZZ whom, it may concern:

Beit known that I, FRANK A.RORINsON,`of

Syracuse,` in the county of Onondaga, in the `State of New York, have invented new and useful Improveme'ntsinMachines for Feeding and Wrapping Powders, of which the following, takenfin connection .with the accom-` panying` drawings, is"a full, clear, and exact provements upon the devices set forth in my Patents Nos. 702,482 and 702,591, both of which were issued June 17; 1902. The generalpurpose of this machine is-toY Y put up medicine powders and similanpackets automatically and continuously, the powder and the paper for wrapping the same being received by the machine in bulk and the packets containing a predetermined quantity of powder being discharged from the machine in a finished condition ready for sale or use.

My Object, therefore, in making these improvements in theseveral mechanisms embodied in this machine is to render the several actions easier and to relieve the moving parts from intermittent or irregular strains and injurious vibrations, so that the machine may be run underabelt' at a greater speed than has heretofore .been practicable.

To this enditheinvention consists in the combination, construction, and arrangement of the parts ofia powder feeding and wrapping machine, as hereinafter fully described, and pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the drawings, Figures l and 2 are respectivelytop plan and` side elevation of a powder filling and wrapping machine'embodying the various improvements hereinafter described, portions of the feeding mechanism and former being shown in section in Fig. 2. Fig. `3 i's top plan, partly broken away andpartlyin section, of the rotary head carrying the gripping, endfolding, and locking mechanisms and thedevices for creasing the packets and discharging the same from the head..l Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional View taken on" line et' 4 of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a face View offene side of the detached rotary head, showing particularly the gripping and endfolding gates. Figs. 6 and 7 are respectively top plan and face views of one of the creasing devices and the cam for operating the same. Figs. S and 9 are respectively top plan and side elevation of the packet-discharging devices. Figs. 10 and 11 are topplan views, partly in section, showing particularly the end-folding and locking mechanisms in different positions, the ends of the packet being partly foldedin Fig. 10 and completely folded andfinterloclied with each other in Fig. 11.

Fig. l2 is a face view of the mechanism for interlocking the ends of the packet with each other. Fig.'13 is a detailed view showing the means for elevating and carrying one of the ends of the packet upwardly and inwardly in the operation of interlocking one end of the packetwith the other. Figs. 14 and 15 are fragmentary sectional views of the receiving end of the former, showing the paper-guide. Fig. 16 is an end view of the delivery Iend oi the former and its clamp. Figs. 17, 18, and 19 are fragmentary sectional views of the powder-discharge nozzle and revolving gate. Fig. 20 is an enlarged sectional View through the shaft and blade-hubs in the main hopper. Fig. 21 is a detail view of one of the cutters and its support.

Similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

In carrying out the object of my invention a continuous roll of paper 1 is placed upon a reel 2, which may be located in any suitable position relative to but preferably above and slightly in advance of the receiving end of a suitable former 3, through which the paper is drawn continuously for folding the same longitudinally into the desired shape for receiving and retaining the powders, this former being composed of sheet-metal plates arranged in close proximity to each other, but slightly separated for forminga lengthwise paper-passage, the receiving end of which is substantially dat and is gradually bent or,

folded toward the delivery end, which is shaped into the counterpart of the desired form of the fold of the paper, so that as' the paper emerges from the delivery end of the former it is ready to be severed and folded into the desired packets. The upper wall of the former extends from the receiving end or mouth only part of its length and usually terminates at or near the point where the edges of the paper are turned upwardly to receive the powder. It is therefore apparent that a portion of the paper is exposed at the point where the powder is discharged, from which point the paper continues to fold as it passes through the former, entirely enveloping the powder therein.

The means for drawing the paper through the former preferably consists of a rotary head 4, provided with grippers 5, which are operated by a stationary cam 6, Figs. 3 andv 4, to impinge the folded paper against one of the faces of the rotary head, thereby operating to draw the folded paper from the delivery end of the former, it being understood that the paper-reel is located at the receiving end or mouth of the former and the rotary head is located at the delivery end, with its perimeter in substantial alinement with said delivery end.

I preferably provide the rotary head with a series of faces, and in this instance it is hexagonal in form and each face is provided with a set of grippers 5, so that as each face is successively presented in alinement with the delivery end of the former the grippers are arranged to automatically and successively engage the folded paper before being released by the advance grippers, thereby drawing the paper continuously and at substantially the same rate of speed.

Each of the faces of the rotary head 4 is provided with means for severing the continuous folded strip into suitable lengths for forming the packet, and each of said packet lengths incloses a powder at substantially its central portion, and I also provide each of the faces of the head 4 with devices for folding the ends of the packet inwardly toward each other and with additional devices for interlocking one end in the fold of the other end. It is obvious from this last statement that six completed packets are formed at each revolution of the head 4, and it therefore becomes necessary to feed a predetermined quantity of the powderinto the fold of the paper during its transit through the former at regular intervals during each revolution of the head and corresponding to the number of packets formed at each revolution of the said headin this instance sixand in order to accomplish this intermittent discharge of the powder in predetermined quantities and at regular distances in the fold of the paper during its transit through the former I provide a main driving-shaft 6', Fig. 2, an intermediary upright shaft 7, and a rotary spindle 8, having a spiral blade 9, movable in a dischargenozzle 10, partially inclosed by the folds of the formery and adapted to discharge through a suitable opening 11 into the fold of the paper between the opposite ends of the former.

The main shaft 6 and intermediary shaft 7 are provided with mutilated gears 12, arranged so that the upright shaft is driven onefourth of a revolution at each revolution of the shaft 6', the shaft 7 remaining stationary during the other three-fourths of a revolution of the main shaft. The shaft 7 transmits rotary motion to the spindle 8 through the medium of gears 13, which are of such pitch that each one-fourth revolution of the shaft 7 rotates the spindle 8 intermittently one complete revolution. It is therefore apparent that the spindle 8 and spiral blade 9 attached thereto make one complete revolution at each revolution of the shaft 6. This latter shaft 6 is connected to rotate the head 4 through the medium of gears 14, which are arranged so that one revolution of the shaft 6 rotates the head 4 one-sixth of a revolution. It therefore follows that the spindle 8 and blade 9 are operated to discharge a definite quantity of the powder in the fold of the paper once in every sixth of a revolution of the head 4, or rather once for each side or face of the head upon which the packets are folded and.

completed.

As previously stated, the powder is discharged into the fold of the paper so as to be substantially central in the packet when it is severed, and the discharge-nozzle 10 is therefore arranged so as to deposit the powder at the desired point in the folded paper. The nozzle 10 and spindle 8 are arranged in an upright position, and the spiral blade 9 consists of a series of helices extensible longitudinally of the spindle 8 for the purpose of regulating the quantity of powder discharged through the opening 11, said helices being each provided with a threaded nut engaged with threads of dierent pitch upon a stem 15, extending upwardly through and above the tubular spindle 8 and formed with a handpiece 16, whereby the threaded stem 15 may be rotated independently of the spindle 8 and the helices extended or contracted, as may be desired, the tubular spindle 8 being provided with a lengthwise slot, through which the nuts of the helices project and serve to lock the tubular spindle and stem to rotate together.

The base of the nozzle 10 is preferably tapered downwardly and is surrounded by an annular shield 17, surrounding the upper end of the discharge-opening 11, to prevent the powder from being thrown centrifugally through the opening 11 and to concentrate the same within certain limits in the fold of the paper, it being understood that the centrifugal force given to the powder by the rapid rotation of the spiral blade 9 would otherwise tend to spread the powder over a considerable area.

The opening 11 is formed in the upright tapering wall of the base of the nozzle 10, and I usually provide a gate or closure 17 for said opening, which is secured to the lower end of the spindle 8 and rotates therewith across thev outer face of the discharge end of the nozzle and serves to close the opening once in each revolution of the spindle, this closure being so arranged as to normally close the IIO IIS

opening when the spindle is at rest, and its upper end is preferably offset in the direcivtion of its travel, so as to close theiopening gradually from the upper end downward and also to expose the opening from the upper end downwardly, the object of this being to permit the powder to begin to discharge as j soon as the spiral blade begins to rotate and toont off the discharge of the powder at the upper end before the blade ceases to rotate,

thereby enabling me to deposit predetermined quantities of powder with greater ac- In the practical operation of this machine it is found to be necessary at times to adjust the delivery end of the former with reference to the travel of the faces of the rotating E head 4, so as torender the draft of the paper through the former easy and also for the purpose of better adjusting the folded paper Within the range of the grippers, and it further becomes necessary to provide means for i this adjustment withouteifecting the position ofrthe former with reference to the discharge-- nozzle. This is accomplished by mounting theformer, so as to be swung or oscillated upon an axis substantially coincident with the axis of the nozzle, and I therefore mount the opposite ends of the former upon swinging

arms

18 and 19, mounted, respectively, upon upright standards 2O and 21, rising from a suitable supporting-base 22, said arms 18 1 and 19 being provided with split hubs for receiving the standards `2O and 2l and with suitable clamps for holding the arms in their adjusted position, the swinging arm 18 being provided with a lengthwise slot 23, which receives a supporting-spindle 24 for the rcceiving end of the former, and the arm 19 is provided with a hinged clamp 25 for receiving the delivery end of the former and hold- `ingithe same in proper position relative to the head 4. This swinging movement of the former conceutrically around the dischargenozzle 10, together with the specific form of nozzlethat is, the shield and the arrangement of the closure between the shield and i supporting the paper-holding reel, whereby said reel may be adjusted with reference to the mouth of the former, so that small or large rolls may be employed and the paper introduced into the receiving end of the former at substantially the same angle.

This means preferablyconsists of'a tilting arm 26, hinged at` 27 to` the arm 18 `and provided with a curved slot 28, concentrical with its pivot, for

receiving a clamping-screw 29, engaged withA the arm 18. y

It has been found that when the paper is drawn through the former rapidly it is more i or less liabiie to run or shift laterally while passing through the receiving end of the `gears 39.

former, which produces an imperfect fold andcauses the paper to bind in the former, and in order to obviate this difficulty I preferably loop the lower plate of the former around the spindle 24 and provide one of the walls of the loop and also the spindle with lengthwise slots 3 and 24', Figs. 14 and 15, of substantially the same,but slightly greater, length than the width of the paper, the spindie being adjustable endwise in the loop with reference to the adjacent end of the former, so that the paper passing through thelslots andinto the mouth of the former may be adjusted laterally, so as to prevent the lateral shifting of the paper, or, in other words, the end walls of the slot in the spindle 24 serve as guides for the edges of the paper, and

therefore regulate the position of the paper in the former, this being also another feature of the invention.

In order that a large number of powders may be made up from a single charge,`I preferably provide a hopper 30 of considerable capacity and having an inlet-opening 30 for receiving thepowder and an outlet-opening 3l, through which the powder is discharged onto a screw conveyer 32, a suitable screen being interposed in the discharge-opening for preventing the entrance of any foreign matter into the discharge-nozzle. The powder t is deposited into the hopper 30 and fed from the inlet-opening to the outlet-opening by conveyer blades 33, which are adjustably mounted upon a shaft 34, carrying agitatorarms 35, movable across the face ofthe screen in the outlet-opening. After the powder is discharged upon the screw conveyer 32 it is carried forwardly thereby and discharged into the upper end of the nozzle 10 above the spiral blade 9. The shaft 34 is journaled in IOO the opposite end walls of the hopper 30) and is provided with a friction-disk 36, engaged by a similar disk 37 upon an upright shaft 38,

said upright shaft being driven from the main shaft 6 through the medium of intermeshing suitable shaft 40, which is also provided with a friction-disk 41,driven bya similar disk 42, se-

cured to the shaft 38, the

disks

37 and 42 being adjustable lengthwise of the said shaft 38 to vary the speed of their

respective shafts

34 and 40. The upright standard 21 serves to support one end of the hopper 29, while the other end of the hopper is supported by suitable standards 43 rising from the base 22 and connected to the hopper by the brackets 44. The main feature of the noveltyin this feeding mechanism consists in the adjustability of the blades 33, which are threaded in suitable collars provided on the shaft and are adapted to be rotated in said collars, so as The screw 32 is mounted upon a IIC to change their angle of inclination, which therefore changes the speed of the feed of the powder, said blades being held in theiradjusted position by suitable lock-nuts 4,5.

Inthis particular machine considerable*` strain is brought to bear upon the rotating head, owing to the fact that it performs the function of drawing the paper through the former, and it therefore becomes necessary to provide a strong and durable bearing for the head which will prevent vibration and be capable of supporting the cam 6 and other fixed cams hereinafter described. I therefore provide the base 22 with an upwardlyextending boss 46, in which is journaled a sleeve 47, to the-upper end of which is secured the revoluble head 4, and its lower end is provided with one of the gears 14, whereby rotary motion is transmitted from the main shaft 6' to said head. As previously stated, this head is hexagonal in form, Fig. 3, and rotates continuously and consists, essentially, of a lower plate 48, formed with upright posts 49, to the upper ends of which is secured an open frame 50. Extending through the sleeve 47 above and beneath its opposite ends is a fixed spindle 5l, having its lower en-d secured to the base 22 by suitable brackets or arms 52, and its upper end is provided with a cap 53, covering the opening in the upper plate 52 of the head 4 and forming a guide for said head to steady the same during its rotation. The head 4 is arranged to receive the folded paper from the delivery end of the former between the lower and

upper plates

48 and 50, and the posts 49 are preferably arranged at the corners or angles of the sides of the head and form suitable bearings for the folded paper as it is drawn from the former by the grippers 5. Each of the sides or faces of the rotary head 4 is provided with a pair of grippers 5, which consist of thin metal plates journaled on inclined bearings on the upper plate 50 and adapted to rock vertically on said bearings to engage the folded paper at the opposite sides of the powder therein for drawing the paper through the former. These bearings for the grippers incline upwardly and outwardly from each other, so that when the grippers are rocked downwardly their outer edges lie in substantially vertical lines and determine the lines upon which the ends of the packet .are folded, and when vsaid grippers are rocked upwardly the outer edges are drawn inwardly toward 1 each other for permitting the release 0f the powders which are folded thereupon, it being understood that these grippers rock from a substantially vertical position when engaging the paper to a substantially horizontal position when discharging the iinished packet. These grippers are operated positively at all points in the revolution of the head, being each provided with a rearwardly-extending arm having a roller 55, riding in a groove 56 in the cam or trackr. This cam or track being'provided with a circumferential groove, and therefore with inner and outer walls, and being fixed to the spindle 5l, it is evident that as the head is rotated the grippers are operated independently but simultaneously by the opposite walls of the groove, which is so arranged that as each side or face of the head is in substantial alinement with the delivery end of the former the grippers are forced into engagement with the paper and continue to grip and draw the same from the former until the next succeeding set of grippers is similarly operated, whereupon the paper lying across the first-named side is severed and its ends are then folded and interlocked with each other while the grippers are still down and during substantially one-half the rotation of the head from the position where the grippers first engage the paper, after. which the grippers begin to elevate gradually with the folded packet thereon, and just before reaching the limit of their upward movement a suitable kicker or releasing device is operated to discharge the packet from the grippers. The cam 6 serves to hold the grippers in their uppermost position until they pass over the upper edge ofthe folded paper, after which they begin to descend and grip the paper, as previously described, the operation being the same for the grippers of each side. As soon as the grippers of one face firmly engage the paper and draw the same forwardly until the next successive grippers are firmly engaged with the paper the folded paper is severed at the corner or angle of the sides of the head.

The means for severing the paper preferably consists of a series of vertically-disposed knife-blades 57, Figs. l0 and 2l, at the corners or angles of the sides of the head and movable radially in suitable slots 58 in the posts 49, said blades being pivotally mounted upon the lower plate 48 and are providedA with curved cutting edges extending above and beneath the upper and lower edges of the paper. Each of these blades is provided with a rearwardly-extending arm 59, carrying rollers 60and 6l, arranged one in advance of the other, the roller 60 riding uponaiixed cam 62 for rocking the knife-blade upon its pivot, and thereby cutting the paper, and the roller 6l rides vertically along the face of suitable abutmeuts 63, depending from the lower plate ot' the head 4. Although each side of the head is provided with a cutter 57, they are operated at substantially the same point in the revolution of the head, and I therefore provide a single cam 62, properlylocated upon the base 22, to rock the knife outwardly and for severing the paper, as previously described, this cutting operation taking` place soon after the grippers first engage the paper. It is thus evident that the operat-ion of the cutters is entirely independent of the folding mechanism, and this also forms an essential feature of my invention, owing to the fact that the strain upon the head incidental to the cutting is reduced to a minimum and takes the load entirely from the folding mechanism. The cutters being located in angles of the head, it is evident that they determine the length of the Vsevered IIO wrapper, and the grippers on each face of the head determine theposition of the fold of the ends of the wrapper.

As seen in the drawings, the folding mechanism consists of apair of horizontally-swinging gates 64and 65 for each side of the head, the gates of each pair being located at opposite sides and in proximity to the adjacent edges of the grippers and are adapted to fold the ends of the packet toward each other upon the grippers. These gates are provided with lower and upper trunnions journaled in suitable bearings in the lower and upper headplates 48 and 50, the free edges of the gates being normally forced against the outer faces of the corner-posts 49 by suitable springs 66 and swing through an arc of substantially half a circle toward each other for folding and impinging the ends of the wrapper against the outer surfaces of the grippers when in their gripping position against the action of the springs 66. The peculiar feature of novelty of these gates over my former patents lies in providing the gates with extensions 64 and 65', which normally form abutments against which the grippers impinge the adjacent portions of the wrapper prior to the endfolding operation, these extensions serving as substitutes for posts and are evidently yielding to relieve any undue strain on the grippers incidental to the shifting of the powder in the fold of the wrapper between the grippers and extensions. The means for rocking the gates on their trunnions during the rotation of the head are similarthat is, I provide one of the trunnions of each of the gates with forked

arms

67 and 68, which coperate with separate pairs of fixed

shoulders

69 and 70, the shoulders 69 being arranged in the path of the arms 67, and the shoulders 70 are disposed in the path of the arms 68. One of the arms 68 is slightly longer than the other and is forced to engage with the nearest shoulder70, which engagement by the revolution of the head operates to rock the arms 68 and gate connected thereto, the shorter arm swinging in between `the shoulders 70 and engagesthe more remote shoulders and continues to rock the gate 65 to its extreme inner position, this motion being more rapid than is produced by engagement of a longarm with its shoulder 70, and is therefore nearer to the axis of the gate 65.

Soon after the beginning of the rocking movement `of the gate 65 the forked arms 67 alternately engage the shoulders 69 and rock the gate 64 inwardly a little in advance of the gate 65.

Coperating with and actuated by each of the gates 65 and its operating means is a suite able locking mechanism for interlocking one endof the `wrapper in the fold of the other end. This locking mechanism preferably consists of a pair of mutilated

gears

71 and 72, loosely mounted upon the lower trunnion of the gate 65 and meshing with a pinion 73, which is secured `to said trunnion and rotates with the gates. Secured to the lower gear is pivoted a lifting-arm 75, which it is apparent rotates with the lower gear 72 in a manner hereinafter described. The pinion 72 is provided with a hub 76, which is interposed between the gears 7l and 72 and secured to the lower trunnion of the gate 65 by a pin or equivalent means 77. This hub is provided with an upwardly-extending arm 78, having a forwardly and upwardly extending slotted cam 79, which is arranged concentric with the axis of the gate 65 and receives an extension 8O of the lifting-arm 75, whereby when the gate is rotated the arm 80 rides along the cam-face 79 and elevates the arm 75 into' engagement with the lower edge of one end of the wrapper, Fig. 12. The upper gear 7l is held from rotation until released by a catch 81, engaging the shoulder 82 upon the upper face of the gear, and the pinion 73 is provided with a projecting cam or arm 83, which is adapted to trip the catch 81 at the proper time to release the gear 71. ln the operation of this locking mechanism, Figs. 10, l1, and 12, assuming that the gate and locking mechanism are in the normal position, as seen in Fig. 12, then as soon as the gate begins to Vmove forwardly the pinion 7 3 is also actuated and rotates the lower gear 72 at twice the speed of the rotation of the pinion, owing to `the fact that the gear 71 is held from movement by the catch 81. The free end of the arm 75 is bifurcated, as seen in Fig. 13, to receive the lower edge of the wrapper, which may be indicated by the letter x, and is normally locked from rotation by engagement of the arm 8O in a notch 84 at one end of the cam 79,. said bifurcated extremity being normally in a plane beneath the lower edge of the wrapper. Just before the folding mechanism begins to operate this arm 75 is elevated by a suitable pawl 85, actuated by a cam 86, projecting upwardly from the supportingbase, which operation draws the arm out of engagement with the notch 84, whereupon the arm 75 is rocked forwardly at double the speed of the cam 79, and

the arm 80, riding along said cam, operates to elevate the free end of the arm 75 and the end of the wrapper engaged therewith, it being understood that this end of the wrapper vate the catch 81', and thereby releases the gear 7l, and when the gate is in this position i it is evident that the arm 75 has moved. through an arc of substantially half a circle, or, in

other words, is in close proximity to the intermediate portion of the wrapper between the grippers. Now in this position the gear 7l being released and the lower gear 72 being prevented from further movement by reason `of engagement of the arm 75 with the intermediate portion of the wrapper, as seen in Fig. `ll, the gate 65 is free to continue its movement to the position seen in Fig. 11 for additionally folding the adjacent end of the wrapper. During this latter movement of the gate 65 the cam 79 is carried a corresponding distance forwardly until the notch 84 is registered with the arm 8O in the folding position, thereby lowering the arm 75 and locking the same in position and permitting a corresponding downward movement of the uplifted end of the wrapper to interlock with the opposite end. l At about this time the short arm 68 leaves the last shoulder 70 and permits the spring 66 to return the gate 65, cam 79, and gears 7l, 72, and 73 to their normal positions, with the free end of the arm 75 again resting upon the pawl S5, ready for a repetition of the operation just described.

In the operation of the mechanism for locking one end of the wrapper in the fold of the other end it becomes necessary to break or crease the folded paper in such manner that the end engaged by the lifting-arm 75 will carry the end of the paper upwardly and forwardly over the other end of the wrapper as it is brought forward by the gate 64, and I therefore provide a creaser-arm 86, which is journaled in suitable bearings upon the upper plate 50 of the head 4. This creaser-arm or breaker is arranged to strike or break the paper from its lower edge near the outer edge of one of the gripper-blades in a diagonal line upwardly entirely across the wrapper, so that the lifting-arm 75 operates to fold the wrapper forwardly and upwardly on this diagonal line and at the same time opens the fold of the wrapper, so that when the uplifted end is released one part of the fold will drop in behind the opposite end of the wrapper, while the other part of the fold is in front of said opposite end of the wrapper, and the two opposite ends are thus interlocked with each other.

A spring 87 operates to force the arm 86 downwardly across the face of the wrapper, and a cam 88 engages an extension 89 of the arm 86 and serves to rock said arm upwardly out of the path of the folding-gate 65, these operations taking place just before the operation of folding and locking the ends of the wrapper begins.

The distinguishing feature of the locking mechanisms of this invention over my former patents consists in providing the specific cam 79, which moves with the gate, and in the locking and releasing mechanism for the pawl 75. It is obvious from the foregoing description that the wrappers are folded and locked upon the grippers, and as the head continues to move these grippers are elevated by the cam 6, and in order that the packet may be positively removed from the grippers before the folding operation is repeated I provide a suitable kicker or releasing member 90, consisting of an arm pivoted at 91, Fig. 4, and actuated by a cam 92, also secured to the supporting-base of the machine.

In the operation of my invention a quantity of powder is placed in the receptacle 30 through the opening 30 and is fed to the discharge-nozzle 10, from which it is deposited upon the paper in the former in predetermined quantities and at regular intervals corresponding to the number of powders which may be put up at each revolution of the head 4. The paper is drawn through the former by means of grippers 5, carried by the rotating head. Immediately after the grippers on one face of the head begin to draw the paper from the former and the next successive grippers are firmly engaged with said paper the cutterbetween the two sets of grippers is operated to sever the paper to form the packet. As soon as this cutting operation is completed the creaser is operated to break or crease the paper to facilitate the operation of the locking mechanism, whereupon the ends of the packet are folded inwardly upon the grippers and interlock with each other in the manner described, and then as the head continues to move the kickers 90 are operated to move Ithe packet from the grippers.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a machine for filling and wrapping powders, the combination of a former, and a paper-reel adjustable with reference to the mouth of the former to permit the paper of large or small rolls to enter said mouth at substantially the same angle.

2. In a machine for filling and wrapping powders, the combination of a former, a tilting reel-support, a paper-reel on the support, and means to hold the reel-support in its adj usted positions.

3. In a powder filling and wrapping machine, the combination with a powder-discharge nozzle, of a former capable of being swung concentric with the nozzle, and means to draw the wrapping-paper through the former.

4. In a powder filling and Wrapping machine, the combination of a former for the paper, a rotary head having means to draw the paper through the former, and means to adjust the delivery end of the former relativelyv to the head.

5. In a powder filling and wrapping ma- `chine, the combination with a former, a powder-feeding mechanism including a nozzle having a lateral opening, and a shield surroundingaportion of the opening,andascrew feed in the nozzle to force the powder through the opening.

6. In a powder filling and wrapping ma- IIO chine, the combination with a former, a powder-feeding mechanism including a nozzle having a lateral opening, and a shield surrounding a portion ofthe opening, and a gate rotary across the opening between the shield and opening.

7. In a powder filling and wrapping machine, the combination with a former, a powder-feeding mechanism including a nozzle around the outside of the nozzle and across the opening, the upper end of the gate being offset in the direction of its rotation to close and open a portion of the opening in advance of its lower end. l

9. A wrapping and folding mechanism including aformer, a rotary head, means on the head to draw the paper through the former, end-folding members on the head, and means separate from said members for severing the wrappers.

10. A Wrapping and folding mechanism including aformer, a rotary head, means on the head to draw the paper through the former, end-folding members on the head, a cutter on the head separate from `the end-folding niembers for severing the Wrappers, and means for actuating the cutter. y 11. A machine for feeding and wrapping powders including a former, a rotary head having means to draw the paper through the former, and separate mechanism to sever the wrappers and fold their ends.

12. A machine for feeding and wrapping powders including a former, a rotary head having grippers, cutters and end-.folding devices acting successively during therotation ofthe head to draw, cut and fold the formed paper into packets, and separate means to actuate the grippers, cutters and end-folding devices.

13. A machine for feeding and wrapping powders including a former, a rotary t head, grippers on the head, cutters, means separate from the cutters to fold the paper on the grippers, and means to force the wrapper from theigrippers. Y

14E. In a machine for feeding and wrapping powders, mechanism for locking one end of the wrapper in the fold of the other end, in combination with means to crease the Wrapper to facilitate the operation of the` locking mechanism.

15. The combination with end-folding gates of a powder-folding machine, and separate means to actuate the gates, of a cam and a lifting-arm both actuated by one of the gates to interlock the ends of the wrapper with each other.

16. In a powder feeding and wrapping machin'e, a former for the paper and means to feed the powder to the paper in the former, in combination with a rotary head, grippers, cutters, and end-folding mechanisms on the head operating separately and successively for the purposes described, means to crease the paper, additional mechanism to lock one end of the Wrapper in the fold of the other after the operation of the creaser, and additional means to remove the folded packet from the head.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand on this 2d day of October, 1902..

FRANK A. ROBINSON.

Witnesses:

H. E. CHASE, HOWARD P. DENIsoN.