WO1990014271A1

WO1990014271A1 - Arrangement in a can-filling machine

Info

Publication number: WO1990014271A1
Application number: PCT/SE1990/000338
Authority: WO
Inventors: Lars-Evert Alm
Original assignee: Alm Lars Evert
Priority date: 1989-05-22
Filing date: 1990-05-22
Publication date: 1990-11-29
Also published as: SE8901795D0; AU5743990A; SE8901795A; SE462481B

Abstract

An arrangement in a can-filling machine has at least one compartment (7) with an elongate receiving opening (8) for receiving, in a receiving position and from a conveyor (3) for batchwise feeding of sausages (5), a batch of sausages which are to be introduced into a can in the can-filling machine. A rotatable first roller (14) extends, at least in the receiving position of the compartment (7), substantially along one longitudinal edge of the receiving opening (8) to be rotated by means of a motor (20). A rotatable second roller (10) extends substantially along the other longitudinal edge of the receiving opening (8). Sausages (5) falling down from the conveyor (3) are rolled or 'mangled' by the two rollers (10, 14) in an efficient manner down into the compartment (7), also if the sausages are crooked or of irregular shape and/or consistency.

Description

ARRANGEMENT IN A CAN-FILLING MACHINE.

The present invention relates to an arrangement in a can-filling machine, said arrangement comprising at least one compartment with an elongate receiving opening for receiving, in a receiving position and from a conveyor for batchwise feeding of sausages, a batch of sausages which are to be introduced into a can in the can-filling machine. There are two main types of sausages on the market: sausages with skin and sausages without. Skinless sausages can be produced in such manner that they become not only substantially identical as to consistency, length and thickness, but also firm and easy to handle. Sausages with skin, on the other hand, acquire varying lengths and thicknesses and, furthermore, often become limp in con¬ sistency, as well as crooked. Consequently, sausages with skin are difficult to handle and pack in cans. There are, today, no machines on the market capable of automatically packing cans with such sausages.

The object of the present invention is therefore to provide an arrangement in a can-filling machine, which makes it possible to automatically pack sausages with skin into cans. According to the present invention, this object is achieved by means of an arrangement which is of the type stated by way of introduction and which is characterised by comprising a rotatable first roller which, at least in the receiving position of the compartment, extends sub- stantially along one longitudinal edge of the receiving opening to be rotated by means of a motor, and a rotatable second roller which extends substantially along the other longitudinal edge of the receiving opening.

In a preferred embodiment, the arrangement has a plurality of compartments disposed along the circumference of a stepwise rotatable drum magazine and each provided with a receiving opening, the rotatable first roller being, at each compartment, supported by a lever unit adapted to be pivoted in response to the rotational position of the drum magazine so as to place the rotatable first roller in different positions relative to said one longitudinal edge of the receiving opening.

Preferably, the first roller supported by the lever unit is adapted to open and close the receiving opening of the compartment when said compartment is moved, respec¬ tively, towards and away from the receiving position by rotation of the drum magazine.

The invention will be described in more detail below, reference being had to the accompanying drawing which is a partial cross-section schematically illustrating an arrangement according to the invention. The arrangement shown in the drawing comprises a drum magazine 1 which is stepwise rotatable in the direc¬ tion of the arrow Pi and which has a horizontal shaft 2. An endless conveyor belt 3 travels over a cylinder 4 which is provided obliquely above the drum magazine 1 and whose shaft is parallel to the shaft 2 of said magazine.

Sausages 5 are fed batchwise in the direction of the ar¬ row P2 on the upper part of the conveyor belt 3 so as to fall down against the drum magazine 1 beyond the cylinder 4. In the embodiment shown, the sausages 5 are fed in batches of eight. A guide plate 6 is provided for guiding sausages 5 falling from the conveyor belt 3 towards the drum magazine 1.

The drum magazine 1 has a number of compartments 7 (six in the embodiment shown) which are uniformly distri- buted along the circumference of the magazine and each have an elongate receiving opening 8 which is directed radially outwards. The compartments 7 are formed of slotted tubes extending parallel to the shaft 2 of the drum magazine 1. The tubes are welded to and extend through two circular end plates 9 which are attached to the shaft 2 in such manner that they are perpendicular thereto.

A rotatable roller 10 is provided along the, as seen in the rotational direction Pi of the drum magazine 1, rear edge of the receiving opening 8 of each compartment 7. The roller 10 is mounted in bearings (not shown) in the end plates 9.

A lever unit 11 is associated with each compartment 7 and has two semicircular levers 12 each adjacent to one end plate 9. Said levers have an inner diameter equalling the outer diameter of the tube forming said compartment 7 and surround the front portion of said compartment, as seen in the rotational direction PI of the drum magazine 1. The two levers 12 of each unit 11 are interconnected by means of a strut 13 extending parallel to the shaft 2 of the drum magazine 1. Furthermore, the two levers 12 of each unit 11 support between them a roller 14 which is parallel to the roller 10 and rotatably mounted at the outer end of the levers 12 which are pivotably connected with the respective end plate 9 at their inner end. Thus, each lever unit 11 is pivotable about a shaft 15 which is parallel to the shaft 2 of the drum magazine 1 and which is provided radially inwardly of the compartment 7 to pivot between an inner position in which its levers 12 are concentric with the tube forming the compartment 7 and in which the roller 14 extends along the receiving opening 8 of the compartment 7 between the two longitu¬ dinal edges of said opening, and an outer position in which its levers 12 are at a distance from the tube and in which the roller 14 extends along the, as seen in the rotational direction PI of the drum magazine 1, front edge of the receiving opening 8 of the compartment 7. In the drawing, the lever unit 11 is shown in its outwardly pivoted position at the right and the upper compartment, and in its inwardly pivoted position at the compartment to the left. Each lever unit 11 is biased towards the outwardly pivoted position by means of a tension spring 16 which, at one end, is attached to one lever 12 and, at its other end, is attached to the end plate 9 adjacent to said lever. The same lever 12 cooperates with a stop means 17 which is mounted on the adjacent end plate 9 and which has a first stop lug 18 and a second stop lug 19. The stop means 17 is displaceable between a first position which corresponds to the inwardly pivoted position of the lever unit 11 and towards which it is urged by a spring means (not shown) and in which the lever 12 is applied against the first stop lug 18, and a second position which corresponds to the outwardly pivoted position of the lever unit 11 and towards which it is urged against the action of the spring means by a cam means (not shown) during rotation of the drum magazine 1 and in which the lever 12 is applied against the second stop lug 19.

When the drum magazine 1 is rotated stepwise through one revolution in the direction of the arrow PI, each compartment 7 occupies successively, in the embodiment shown, six different positions, of which the top position is a receiving position in which said compartment receives sausages 5 falling from the conveyor belt 3, and the following position is a feeding position in which the received sausages 5 are pushed out of the compartment 7 by means of an ejector (not shown) to be introduced in a can (not shown).

When a compartment 7 reaches the receiving position, its stop means 17 occupies its second position, and the lever unit 11 is in its outwardly pivoted position in which one lever 12 abuts against the stop lug 19. When the compartment 7 is to be moved from the receiving posi¬ tion after having received sausages 5, its lever unit 11 is pivoted, in a manner described in more detail below, towards its inwardly pivoted position, so that the stop means 17 is displaced by the spring means from its second position to its first position for retaining, by means of the stop lug 18, the lever unit 11 in the inwardly pivoted position while the compartment 7 moves to the feeding position. When the compartment 7 is further moved from said feeding position, after having ejected the sausages 5, the stop means 17 is displaced by the cam means from its first position to its second position, and the lever unit 11 is pivoted to its outwardly pivoted position by the spring 16. The lever unit 11 is retained in this outwardly pivoted position until the compartment 7 again is to be moved from the receiving position.

When a compartment 7 occupies the receiving posi¬ tion, its lever unit 11, as mentioned above, is in its outwardly pivoted position, which means that the rotat¬ able roller 14 extends along the, as seen in the rota- tional direction PI of the drum magazine 1, front edge of the receiving opening 8. In the receiving position, the roller 14 is rotated by means of a motor 20 which drives a belt 21 in the direction of the arrow P3. In its turn, the belt 21 drives a driving roller 22. The engine 20 and the driving roller 22 are mounted on a bracket 23 which is pivotable about a shaft 24 parallel to the shaft 2 of the drum magazine 1, from the initial position shown by dash-dot lines in the drawing to the driving position shown by continuous lines, in which the driving roller 22 is applied against and rotates the roller 14, and, while displacing the roller 14 towards the roller 10, whereby the lever unit 11 is displaced to its inwardly pivoted position, further to an end position not shown and then back to the initial position. When a compartment 7 occupies the receiving position and its roller 14 is rotated by the driving roller 22 ap¬ plied thereto, the bracket 23 being in the driving posi¬ tion, the conveyor belt 3 advances a batch of sausages 5 which, one by one, fall down towards the receiving open- ing 8 of the compartment 7. The driven roller 14 coope¬ rates with the second roller 10, and together they roll or "mangle" the sausages 5 in a highly efficient manner down into the compartment 7, also if these are crooked or of irregular shape or consistency. When the compartment 7 has received a batch of sausages, as the compartment 7 in the receiving position in the drawing, the bracket 23 is pivoted to its end position, so that it takes the lever unit 11 to its inwardly pivoted position in which the roller 14 is located between the two edges of the receiv¬ ing opening 8, thus preventing the sausages 5 from leav¬ ing the compartment 7. When the stop means 17 has been displaced to its first position by the spring means, the drum magazine 1 is rotated one step, and the compartment 7 is moved to the feeding position in which the sausages 5 are ejected into a can.

Claims

1. An arrangement in a can-filling machine, compris- ing at least one compartment (7) with an elongate receiv¬ ing opening (8) for receiving, in a receiving position and from a conveyor (3) for batchwise feeding of sausages (5), a batch of sausages which are to be introduced into a can in the can-filling machine, c h a r a c t e r - i s e d by comprising a rotatable first roller (14) which, at least in the receiving position of the compart¬ ment (7), extends substantially along one longitudinal edge of the receiving opening (8) to be rotated by means of a motor (20), and a rotatable second roller (10) which extends substantially along the other longitudinal edge of the receiving opening (8).

2. Arrangement as claimed in claim 1, comprising a plurality of compartments (7) disposed along the circum¬ ference of a stepwise rotatable drum magazine (1) and each provided with a receiving opening (8), c h a ¬ r a c t e r i s e d in that the rotatable first roller (14) is, at each compartment (7), supported by a lever unit (11) adapted to be pivoted in response to the rota¬ tional position of the drum magazine (1) so as to place the rotatable first roller (14) in different positions relative to said one longitudinal edge of the receiving opening (8).

3. Arrangement as claimed in claim 2, c h a r a c ¬ t e r i s e d in that the first roller (14) supported by the lever unit (11) is adapted, by the pivoting movement of said lever unit (11), to open and close the receiving opening (8) of the compartment (7) when said compartment is moved, respectively, towards and away from the receiv¬ ing position by rotation of the drum magazine (1).