US2985340A - Blowing head for packaging apparatus - Google Patents

Description

y 1961 c. w. VOGT 2,985,340

BLOWING HEAD FOR PACKAGING APPARATUS Filed Nov. 5. 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 H 1 il|||||' [m ik 14.25

INVENTOR. CLARE/val: W VOGT M ,4 TTORNEYJ May 23, 1961 c. w. VOGT 2,985,340

BLOWING HEAD FOR PACKAGING APPARATUS Filed Nov. 5. 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 "JNVENTOR. CLARA-Na W V047 A; ATTORNEZJ United States Patent BLOWING HEAD FOR PACKAGING APPARATUS Clarence W. V0gt,, Weston, Conn. (Rte. 4, Westport, Conn.)

Filed Nov. 5, 1956, Ser. No. 620,531

10 Claims. (Cl. 222-189) This invention relates to improvements in blowing or feeding heads for apparatus for forming and filling packages, and it relates particularly to an improved type valve for a blowing head by means of which finely divided, powdered or pulverulent materials such as flour, brown and powdered sugar, cake mixes, pie crust mixes and the like can be blown into lined or unlined cavities, molds, boxes and other containers or enwrapments in accurately measured amounts and without waste of material.

Filling apparatuses generally of the type referred to above are disclosed in my co-pending applications Serial No. 595,249, filed July 2, 1956, and Serial No. 611,231, filed September 21, 1956. In each of these applications, a blowing head is provided which includes a rotary valve member adapted to be rotated to one position to permit flow of material from a hopper into a magazine and into another position in which the material received in the magazine is discharged by means of air pressure applied thereto through the valve into an enwrapment, mold, cavity, pocket, core box, container or the like.

The present invention relates toan improved form of valve for a blowing head which is constructed and arranged to be easily manufactured and serviced and by means of which leakage or loss of the material being filled into the enwrapment is reduced to a minimum.

More particularly, the new form of valve for a blowing or filling head has a novel arrangement of the valve elements therein and of filter elements, such as porous members, screens, perforated plates or the like through which gas under pressure is supplied to the valve for discharging the finely divided material therefrom, these elements being arranged and related so as to reduce to a minimum the possibility of leakage of the gas and the finely divided or powdered material from the blowing head.

For a better understanding of the present invention, reference may be had to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a typical apparatus of the type embodying the present invention shown partially broken away and with the air control valve for the blowing head partly in section to disclose details thereof;

Figure 2 is an end elevational view of the apparatus;

Figure 3 is a view in section taken on line 3-3 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a view in section taken on line 4-4 of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a view in vertical section of the blowing head including the portion of the magazine, discharge and gas venting means therefor.

The form of blowing head including a valve accord- 2,985,340 Patented May 23, 1961 ice 7 of which air is supplied to the interior of the casing. The

opening 12 in the top of the casing 11 is adapted to be aligned with the bottom of a supply hopper 21 which is mounted on the casing in any suitable way, such as by means of screws 22 passing through the outwardly-extending flange 23 at the bottom of the casing into threaded openings in the top of the casing.

Mounted within the casing 11 is a rotary ball valve member 25 which is provided with a diametrically extending bore 01 opening 26 and an intersecting radial opening 27 thereby forming a generally T-shaped cavity within the ball valve 25. The ball valve is removably mounted in the casing and can be rotated to dispose either the diametrical passage 26 or the radial passage 27 vertically.

A sealing means for the ball valve, such as a rubber ring 28, is mounted in a recess 29 formed in the undersurface of the top of the casing around the opening 12 therein. The resilient or rubber ring 28 bears against the top of the ball valve and seals therewith but permits relative rotation of the ball valve.

A supporting ring 31 formed of metal or the like, engages the lower portion of the valve 25 and is provided with a lapped valve seat 32 of semi-spherical shape complemental to the shape of the ball 25. As best shown in Figure 3, the ring 31 is received for vertical sliding move ment in the opening 13 in the bottom of the casing 11 and is normally biased upwardly by means of a coiled or corrugated spring 34 interposed between an outwardly extending circular flange 35 on the ring 31 and a retaining ring 36 which is detachably mounted on the bottom of the casing 11 by means of screws or the like. Proper centering of the ring 36 in the opening 13 is assured by means of an annular extension 37 which fits in the opening 13. A gasket may be interposed between the ring 36 and the casing 11 to prevent leakage. The rings 28 and 31 engage the ball valve 25 at all times and are in sliding contact .with it so that their engaging surfaces are wiped clean by movement of ball valve.

' Proper positioning of the casing 11 on a supporting bracket or plate 38, such as, for example, the turntable disclosed in my application Serial No. 611,231 is assured by means of the annular extension 39 on the ring 36 which engages in a complemental hole 40 in the turntable or platform 38 and the screws 41 which extend through the flanges 42 of opposite ends of the casing 11 into the platform 38. The discharge magazine 43 of the blowing head is maintained in fixed relation to and alignment with the blowing head by means of an annular extension 44 thereon which fits snugly within the opening 40.

It will be apparent from the preceding description that the elements of the blowing head thus far described can readily be assembled and disassembled inasmuch as the supporting ring 36 is detachably associated with the easing 11 and upon removal, the supporting ring 31 and the ball valve 25 can be removed through the opening 13.

A feature of the present invention is the provision of novel air filtering and diffusing means which enables gas pressure to be supplied to the interior of the casing 11 to discharge material supplied from the hopper through the valve and magazine without danger of leakage of the material from the blowing head. As shown particularly in Figures 1, 3 and 4, air is supplied to the blowing head by means of a solenoid-controlled air valve 45 of the kind described more particularly in my co-pending applications Serial Nos. 594,152, now Patent No. 2,935,233, issued May 3, 1960, and 611,231. The solenoid valve is constructed and arranged so that when in the position disclosed in Figure 1, gas or air supplied under pressure through the pipe'46is shut oif from the blowing head 10.

and the'blowing head is connected to an exhaust port 47 in the valve 45 by means of the normally open valve 48.

When the valve 48 is closed and the valve 49 is opened by energizati-on of the solenoid valve 45, and the ball valve 25 is in the position shown in Fig. 3 air or gas under pressure is supplied to the-blowing head 10 to discharge material from the magazine into the container to be filled. After the charging operation is completed, the valve 49 is' closed and the valve 48 opened to relieve gas pressure and thereafter the ball valve 25 is turned to a positionsuch that the diametrical bore 26 is disposed vertically for receiving a charge from the hopper 21, the valve 45 being in the exhaust position so that gas pressure is not supplied to'the interior of the casing 11. In either the blowing or the exhaust position of the valve 45, it is highly desirable that the material supplied to the blowing head 10 from the hopper 21 should not escape to the atmosphere.

To that end, the plates 18 and 19 are provided with couplings 50 and 51 having passages therein which are connected by means of the pipes 52 and 53 to a T 54 joined to the solenoid valve 45. The plates 18 and 19 are suitably sealed around their peripheries to the walls 16 and 17 of the casing by means of resilient rings 55 which are located in grooves 56 around the openings 14 and 15 in the side walls and engage the inwardly-extending, generally circular bosses 57 and 58 on the plates 18 and 19.

Enlarged cavities 59 and 60 in the bosses 57 and 58 communicate with the passages in the couplings 50 and 51 and are covered at their inner sides by concave- convex plates 61 and 62 substantially concentric with the ball valve 25 and formed of filter material such as screening, perforated metal or porous sintered metal, as illustrated. The openings or pores in the metal plates 61 and 62 should be small enough to prevent the escape of the powdered material from the hopper, but the porosity of the plates should be great enough to permit ready passage of air or gas therethrough. Any suitable means, such as screws, can be used to secure the porous plates 61 and 62 to the bosses 57 and 58. The metal plates 61 and 62 are essentially in alignment with the bore 26 in the valve 25 when the latter is in the blowing and exhaust position shown in Figs. 3, 4 and so that the gas under pressure is blown directly into and exhausted directly from the opposite ends of the bore 26. This relation of the gas inlets to the valve equalizes the gas pressure on opposite sides of the ball valve 25 thereby preventing.

lateral displacement thereof which might momentarily unseat the valve 25 and permit escape of gas into the hopper'2I upon initiation of the blowing operation.

The blowing head has only one movable element extending through the walls of the casing 11. This element is a shaft for rocking the ball valve 25 back and forth between its filling position, in which the diametrical passage forms a How path from the hopper 21 to the magazine 43, and its discharge or blowing position (Fig. 3) in which the upper part of the ball valve is interposed between the hopper 21 and the magazine 43 and the radial'passage 27 is in communication with the magazine 43 to enable the powdered material to be discharged by gas pressure supplied through the plates 61 and 62. As

' shown in Figure 4, the operating mechanism includes a shaft 65 which is rotatably mounted in a thickened bearing portion 66 of the end wall 67 of the casing 11. Opposite fiat surfaces 68 are formed on the inner end of the shaft and engage in an arcuate notch 69 formed in one side of the ball valve and extending generally perpendicular to the axis of the bore 26. The opposite side walls of the notch 69 are parallel and engage the flats 68 on the shaft non-rotatably, but slidably so that movement of the ball 25 relative to the shaft 65 can take place to enable the ball to engage the sealing ring 28 in the blowing position of the valve 25. The direction of introduction of gas is such that the ball valve 25 is forced against the sealing ring 28 during blowing thereby precluding leakage. However, when the ball valve is being shifted between the filling position and the blowing position, it is relieved of pressure and thus canbe moved quite easily. Rotation of the shaft 65 by means of the cam-actuated lever arms 70 and 71 mounted on a squared end 72 of the shaft 65 moves the ball valve back and forth between the positions described above. Any suitable mechanism such as the cam elements disclosed in my application Serial No. 611,231 can be used for rocking the shaft 65.

Suitable sealing means, such as, for example, the O- ring 73 mounted in a groove 74 in the shaft, prevents escape of gas or powdered material out of the casing 11 around the shaft 65.

If desired, the shaft may be provided with appro.-'

priate limit stop means, such'asthe stop plate 75, fixed to the shaft 65. As shown in Fig. 2, the stop plate 75 has right angularly related stop surfaces 76 and 77 for cooperation with the stop lugs 78 and 79 on the plate 80 which is fixed to the end wall .66 of the casing so that the valve is limited to an angle of rotation of As shown in Figure 5 and described in greater detail in my applications Serial Nos. 595,249 and 611,231, the bottom 81 of the magazine 43 may be downwardly tapered and has a discharge passage 82 of small diameter therein. A recess 83 adjacent to or concentric with the passage 82 is provided to vent gas from a container or cavity into which material is charged from the magazine 43. A

filter member 84 formed of sintered porous metal or the like covers the recess 83 to prevent escape of the material from the container.

From the preceding description, it \m'll be apparent that a blowing head construction has been provided in which all of the joints in the casing are eflectively sealed so that the powdered material received in the blowing head and subjected to pressure of gas therein cannot leak out or escape through'the'joints inthe casing. Moreover, the rotary shaft 65 does not extend through the porous plates 61 and 62 so that a difiicult sealing problem is avoided thereby. Accordingly, loss of material and contamination of the apparatus by escaping material are reduced'to 'a minimum.

It will be understood that the apparatus is susceptible tornodification in the shape and size of the-casing and theelements mounted therein, and the manner in which the ball valve and other elements. thereof are associated with each'other. Accordingly, the form of the invention described herein should be considered as illustrative and not as limiting the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A blowing head for filling apparatus comprising a hollow casing having an open top and bottom, a material supply member communicating with the open top of said casing, a discharge element communicating with the open bottom of said casing to receive said material therefrom, a valve member movably mounted and housed completely within said casing and having a first passage therethrough movable to one position in which-one of its ends is connected to said supply member and its oppositedisposed at an angle to said first passage and communicating with said first passage and movable to a position in which it is connected with said discharge element when said first passage is disconnected from said supply member, operating means extending through said casing for moving said valve member, a gas inlet and exhaust port in said casing in spaced relation to said operating means to supply gas under pressure to the interior of said casing and discharge material from the passages in said valve member and said discharge element, and a filter member on said casing covering the port, said operating means being disposed outside said filter member.

2. A blowing head for filling apparatus comprising a hollow casing having side walls and a top and a bottom, said top and bottom having openings therein, a material supply member communicating with said top opening to supply finely divided material into said casing, a discharge member communicating with the bottom opening of said casing to receive said material therefrom, a rotary valve member housed completely within and rotatably mounted in said casing and having a substantially diametrical passage therethrough and a radial passage having an inner end communicating with said diametrical passage and an open outer end, a shaft extending through one side wall of said casing and engaging said valve member for rotating it between a first position in which the diametrical passage has its opposite ends connected with said top and bottom openings and providing a direct path of flow between said top and bottom openings, and a second position in which said radial passage is connected with said bottom opening and said diametrical passage is disconnected from said top opening preventing flow from said top opening to said bottom opening, a gas inlet and exhaust passage in a side wall of said casing other than said one side wall, and a filter member mounted on said other side wall and covering said gas inlet and exhaust passage, said shaft being disposed outside of said filter member.

3. The blowing head set forth in claim 2 in which said rotary valve member is a ball valve member of smaller diameter than the bottom opening of said casing, and said blowing head comprises a first annular valve seat adjacent to the top of said casing, encircling said top opening and engaged by said ball valve member, a second annular valve seat adjacent the bottom of and movable relatively to said casing for engaging the ball valve member, said second seat being smaller than the bottom opening of said casing to enable the second seat and ball valve member to be removed through said bottom opening, and means detachably connected to said casing adjacent to said bottom and extending into said bottom opening for resiliently urging said second seat against said ball valve member and the latter against said first seat.

4. A valve for a blowing head for filling apparatus comprising a hollow casing having sidewalls, a top opening for receiving a finely divided material and a bottom opening for discharging said material, a rotary valve member mounted completely Within and rotatable relative to said casing and having a substantially diametrical passage therethrough and a substantially radial passage having an inner end intersecting said diametrical passage and an open outer end, one sidewall having an opening therein, a coupling plate mounted in said sidewall opening in sealed relation thereto, said plate having means including a passage therethrough for connecting the interior of said casing to a source of gas under pressure, a filter member mounted on said plate and extending across said passage, and a shaft extending through a sidewall of said casing and outside of said filter member for rotating said valve member between a first position in which said diametrical passage connects and forms a direct flow path between said top and bottom openings and a second position in which said diametrical passage is connected with said source of gas under pressure through said filter member and is disconnected from said top opening, and said radial passage is connected with said bottom opening.

5. The valve set forth in claim 4 in which said rotary valve member is a ball valve member of smaller diameter than the bottom opening of said casing, and said blowing head comprises a first annular valve seat adjacent to the top of said casing, encircling said top opening and engaging said ball valve member, a second annular valve seat adjacent the bottom of and movable relatively to said casing for engaging the ball valve member, said second seat being smaller than the bottom opening of said casing to enable the second seat and ball valve member to be removed through said bottom opening, and means detachably connected to said casing adjacent to said bottom and extending into said bottom opening for resiliently urging said second valve seat against said ball valve member and the latter against said [first seat.

6. A valve for a blowing head for filling apparatus comprising a hollow casing having sidewalls, a top opening for receiving finely divided material and bottom opening for discharging said material, a valve member housed completely within and movably mounted in said casing and having a first passage extending transversely therethrough and a second passage having its inner end intersecting said first passage between its ends and an open outer end, one of said sidewalls having an opening therethrough, a coupling member mounted in said one sidewall in sealed relation to said sidewall opening, said coupling member having an air inlet and discharge passage therethrough, a filter member mounted on said coupling member and extending across said inlet and discharge passage, and means extending through a sidewall of said casing outside of said filter member for moving said valve member between a first position in which said first passage connects and forms a direct flow path between said top and bottom openings and a second position in which said first passage is disconnected from said top opening and is connected with said source of gas under pressure through said filter member and said second passage is connected with said bottom opening.

7. The valve set forth in claim 6 in which said rotary valve member is a ball valve member of smaller diameter than the bottom opening of said casing, and said blowing head comprises a first annular valve seat adjacent to the top of said casing, encircling said top opening and engaging said ball valve member, a second annular valve seat adjacent the bottom of and movable relatively to said casing for engaging the ball valve member, said second seat being smaller than the bottom opening of said casing to enable the seat and ball valve member to be removed through said bottom opening, and means detachably connected to said casing adjacent to said bottom and extending into said bottom opening for resiliently urging said second seat against said ball valve member and the latter against said first seat.

8. The valve set forth in claim 6 in which said coupling member comprises a disc-like plate having a pipe coupling on its outer side provided with a passage extending through said plate, said plate having an enlarged open chamber in its inner side communicating with said passage, and said filter member comprises a thin plate of porous sintered metal, said sintered metal plate being secured to the inner side of said plate and covering said open chamber.

9. The valve set forth in claim 8 in which said valve member is a ball valve member and said sintered metal plate is concave-convex in shape and is substantially concentric with said ball valve member.

10. A valve for a blowing head for filling apparatus comprising a hollow casing having a sidewall, a top opening for receiving finely divided material and a bottom opening for discharging said material, a valve member housed completely within and rotatable relative to said casing and having a first passage extending transversely therethrough and a second substantially radial passage having ,its inner end intersecting said first passage be tween its ends and an open outer end, a gas inlet, and

exhaust openinginsaid sidewalLmeans for rotating said valve member to a ,fir'st'portion inwhich its first passage is substantially inalignment with and connecting said inlet and discharge opening and a second position in which said first passage is disconnected (from said top opening and its second passage is in alignment and con-' valve seat encirclingsaid top openingforengaging said rotary valve member and means normally urging said valve member against said valve seat.

References Citedin the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,152,632 Cassiere Apr. 4, 1939 2,319,192 Sheldon May 11, 1943 2,540,059 Stirn et a1. Ian. 30, 1951 2,858,212 Durant et al. Oct. 28, 1958

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