US3696968A

US3696968A - Article depositing machine improvement

Info

Publication number: US3696968A
Application number: US96894A
Authority: US
Inventors: Merrell O Jaech
Original assignee: Morton Norwich Products Inc
Current assignee: ATK Launch Systems LLC
Priority date: 1970-12-10
Filing date: 1970-12-10
Publication date: 1972-10-10
Anticipated expiration: 1989-10-10

Abstract

An improvement in the selector element of an article selector and depositing construction which selects articles from a mass and transfers them to a point of deposit. The improvement resides in the selector disc which is formed of a cooperatively engaged top and bottom plate, the top plate carrying a plurality of first spaced apart apertures disposed in a single ring concentrically to the center axis of the disc. The bottom plate defining an equal number of spaced apart second transfer apertures on its bottom surface and elongate depressions on its upper surface, the first and second apertures communicating with each other through said elongate depressions to form a plurality of radially disposed magazines for holding and transferring articles.

Description

United States Patent n 1 3,696,968 Jaech 1 Oct. 10, 1972 [54] ARTICLE DEPOSITING MACHINE Primary Examiner-Robert B. Reeves IMPROVEMENT Met-tell 0. Jaech, Florisfant, Mo.

Morton-Norwich Products, Inc., Chicago, Ill.

Filed: Dec. 10, 1970 App]. No.: 96,894

lnventor:

Assignee:

U.S. Cl. ..22l/265, 133/8, 222/370 Int. Cl ..B6$g 65/18 Field ofSearch ..l33/8; 22l/263, 264, 265. 277;

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Assistant Examiner-Thomas E. Kocovsky Attorney-Jack Axelrood [57] ABSTRACT An improvement in the selector element of an article selector and depositing construction which selects articles from a mass and transfers them to a point of deposit. The improvement resides in the selector disc which is formed of a cooperatively engaged top and bottom plate, the top plate carrying a plurality of first spaced apart apertures disposed in a single ring concentrically to the center axis of the disc. The bottom plate defining an equal number of spaced apart second transfer apertures on its bottom surface and elongate depressions on its upper surface, the first and second apertures communicating with each other through said elongate depressions to form a plurality of radially disposed magan'nes for holding and transferring articles.

8Clainn,4DrawlngFigures PATENTEBHBT \0 I972 SHEET 1 OF 3 INVENI'OR MERRELL O JAECH PATENIEDocI 10 m2 SHEEI 2 0F 3 OF V , IIIIIIIII INVEN'IOI! MERRELL O JAECH PATENTEnncnomn 3.696.968

sum 3 or 3 FIG. 3

FIG. 4

INVENTOII MERRELL O JAECH ARTICLE DEPOSITING MACHINE IMPROVEMENT BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION FIELD OF THE INVENTION In various industries there is the need to deposit a particular quantity of a given additive into containers which are traveling in a production line. There are three principal varieties of depositing mechanisms. One mechanism deposits a liquid additive in pre-measured quantities. A second, deposits granulated or powdered material from bulk in pre-measured quantities. Both of these mechanisms are unrelated to the present invention and will not be discussed here any further.

The apparatus of the present invention relates to the third type of depositing mechanism. This mechanism selects and separates out discrete articles such as tablets, pills, ball bearings or the like from a mass of such articles and deposits them at a pre-determined rate and location. Such mechanism is generally located to coordinate with a canning, bagging or other filling type production line. The articles to be deposited are discharged into a moving container as the container passes beneath said discharge point.

DESCRIPTION OF PRIOR ART This type of article depositing mechanism generally comprises a support, mounted thereon at a cant of about 45 from the horizontal, a selector means, said means including a rotating selector disc with apertures or ridges therein, perpendicular to said selector means, a depositing means, including a slotted depositing disc and a depositing gate, and above said selector means a hopper which receives the mass of articles which are to be deposited.

The selector disc positioned beneath the hopper rotates through the mass of articles in the bottom of the hopper where individual articles fall into and fill the apertures in the selector disc. The selector disc then rotates the filled apertures to a position above a transfer area. This transfer area is usually located at the highest point of rotation of the disc and thereby allows articles to fall from said apertures into slots of a depositing disc. The depositing disc has slots around its periphery and is positioned below said transfer area. When an article falls from an aperture in the selector disc it passes through the transfer area and into a slot of the depositing disc thereby effecting a transfer of the article from one disc to the other. The depositing disc is rotated at a speed and direction to coordinate with the speed and direction of the selector disc so that each slot in the depositing disc receives an article from each aperture in the selector disc. The speed is usually the same as the selector disc and at the transfer area the periphery of both discs are moving in the same general direction. The depositing disc after receiving an article at the transfer area rotates its filled slots past a sensor device to a deposit gate. There it is deposited into a container moving in the same direction as the slot containing the article. If the sensor device detects that a particular slot contains no article. said sensing device causes a shut-off of the operating line so that no container will pass the depositing gate without receiving an article.

Some depositing mechanism frequently miss filling a depositing disc slot and therefore incorporate a compensating device in order to prevent frequent shutdown of line operations. Such a compemating device senses an empty aperture in the selector disc and deposits an article in the slot of the depositing disc which would normally receive an article from the unfilled aperture. However, such a compensator has a number of disadvantages. The extra equipment requires more maintenance and offers more possibility for wear and mechanical breakdown. In addition, the supply of articles in the compensating device is limited and it can be quickly depleted thereby obviating its function. It is more desirable to have a depositing mechanism which is reliable and requires no compensating device.

The heart of the depositing mechanism is the selector disc. This element must select therequired number of articles each time and transfer no more and no less to each slot of the depositing disc with the highest degree of reliability.

Conventional selector discs have a series of apertures, each of which picks up a single article. The apertures are evenly distributed near the periphery of said disc. Said apertures may have a beveled leading edge contiguous with a slight groove curved towards the central portion of the disc. These modifications aid in selecting an article but necessitate that the disc be rotated in the direction for which it is designed. As the disc revolves in its proper direction through the mass of articles, an article falls into an aperture and is carried up towards the transfer area. A retaining ring positioned beneath the selector disc, and upon which the article rides, prevents the article from falling out of its aperture. At the transfer area there is a gap in the retaining ring permitting the article to fall into a slot of the depositing disc. The depositing disc then carries the article to the deposit gate where it is deposited into the appropriate chamber.

Difficulties arise on occasion when two or more articles are caught by an aperture in the selector disc thereby causing two articles to drop into a container. Also, the articles will sometimes bridge over an aperture preventing any articles from entering said aperture, resulting in an empty slot in the depositing disc and a shutdown of the filling operation. Once an aperture in a conventional selector disc passes through the hopper there is no way for it to pick up an article. If an article has failed to fall into an aperture, the slot corresponding to that aperture will be empty and cause a shutdown. Further, in order to insure that each aperture is properly filled, conventional selector discs must be revolved at a limited rate thereby limiting the speed of the filling operation.

In order to improve results, a variety of modifications have been tried. These include different sized apertures, different angles of beveling and different depths of ridges and apertures in the selector disc. Also tried were different speeds, different angles of cant for the entire selector disc and a gate in the hopper to secure a controlled level of articles in contact with the selector disc. Because none of these measures produced highly reliable results, the aforementioned compensating device is usually employed.

According y, it is an object of the present invention to provide a selecting and depositing mechanism which is highly reliable and eliminates the necessity for a compensating device.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a selecting and depositing mechanism which provides a selecting disc which will reliably single out an article from a mass of articles and transfer said article to said depositing mechanism.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a selecting and depositing mechanism which provides than an article will be transferred to a depositing disc even though the selecting disc has failed to separate out an article during a particular revolution through a mass of articles.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a selecting and depositing mechanism which provides high reliability at a high rate of speed.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a highly reliable selecting and depositing mechanism which allows for inexpensive and maintenance-free construction.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a selecting and depositing mechanism which provides a selecting disc which is rotated in either direction with equally high reliability.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The apparatus of the present invention relates to an improved selector disc for use in a depositing mechanism, which depositing mechanism comprises a selector construction including a selector disc which selects articles from a mass of said articles and transfers them to a depositing construction, said depositing construction carrying said articles to a point of discharge or deposit at a pre-detennined time in order that said articles are deposited into a container passing below said deposit point.

The improved selector disc of this invention comprises a disc having a first and a second surface, said first surface defining a number of first apertures having a diameter slightly larger than the diameter of the articles being deposited, which first apertures are evenly spaced concentric to the center axis of said disc, said second surface defining an equal number of second apertures having a diameter approximately equal to the diameter of said first apertures, said second apertures being evenly spaced concentric to the center axis of said disc and, relative to said first apertures, being positioned peripherally thereto. That is, said second apertures are at a distance from said center axis which is greater than the distance of said first apertures therefrom. In one preferred embodiment the difference in distance from the center axis between said first apertures and said second apertures is equal to about one or more diameters of said apertures. Said first apertures and said second apertures communicate with each other by magazine means through the depth of said disc. Said magazine means have a depth approximately equal to the diameter of said first and second apertures and are positioned generally radial to the center axis of said selector disc. Though said first apertures may be positioned at almost any distance from the center axis of the disc, a preferred position is from about one tenth to about one half the distance from the center axis to the periphery of said disc. As hereinbefore stated, the second apertures, relative to said center axis, should be one or more diameters distal from the first apertures with a preferred position being from about one half to about nine tenths the distance from the center to the periphery of said disc. A preferred length for the magazine is from about two to ID times the diameter of the articles which are being deposited. The magazine means of the invented structure provides a highly reliable depositing mechanism by insuring that the depositing construction regularly receives an article from the selector construction. Because the magazine means stores one or more articles in reserve, failure of the first aperture to pick up an article on a particular revolution through the mass of articles in the hopper does not prevent an article from being delivered from the second aperture to the depositing construction. Therefore, once the magazine means are filled with articles, the reliability of operation of the invented selector disc is far greater than conventional selector discs.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I shows a perspective view from slightly above the depositing mechanism of the subject invention. The hopper 4 is depicted tilted partially back and is not shown in its entirety.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a cross-section through the center of the depositing mechanism shown in FIG. I. In this view hopper 4 is in the closed operating position.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view from above the improved selector disc 30. For purpose of illustration a portion of top plate 30 has been cut away in order to show depressions or passageways 38. Also a portion of bottom plate 32 has been cut away to show the relationship of the two plates to each other and the apertures and magazines thereby defined.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view along line A-A of FIG. 3 showing the cross-section of improved selector disc 26.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring more particularly to the drawings by reference numerals, there is disclosed a power-driven depositing mechanism. For purpose of illustration only, the described depositing mechanism is here considered as depositing salt tablets. Broadly the depositing mechanism includes a support 2, a powered drive mechanism (not shown), a hopper 4 for containing the mass of articles such as tablets, a selector construction 8 and a depositing construction 10, (FIGS. I and 2).

SELECTOR CONSTRUCTION A substantially bowl-shaped casting (hereinafter referred to as selector disc bowl I2) is secured to support 2 by screws or the like at an angle of about 45 from the horizontal. Selector disc bowl 12 comprises a bottom portion I4 (FIG. 2), a side wall 16, extending from said side wall an emptying tube 18, (FIG. 1) and a hinge 20 secured to the upper portion of said side wall 16. Bottom portion 14 of selector disc bowl I2 is broken away at its upper-most portion to provide a clear opening (hereinafter referred to as transfer area 21). Said transfer area 21 is positioned so that it allows tablets from the selector disc construction 8 to pass into the upper-most portion of the depositing construction 10.

Selector disc bowl 12 has a central opening which receives and serves as a bearing 17 for one end of shaft 22 (FIG. 2). The other end of shaft 22 has bearing 23 in an opening formed in support 2. Shaft 22 is disposed at right angles to the plane of bowl l2 and hence is at substantially a 45 angle from the horizontal.

A cap element 24 is secured to the upper end of shaft 22 above the bottom 14 of bowl 12. A tablet pick-up plate (hereinafter referred to as selector disc 26) is secured to cap 24 by a bolt 28 or the like.

Selector disc 26 (see FIGS. 3 and 4) is depicted as a two-piece construction comprising top plate 30 and bottom plate 32 removably secured to each other by an adhesive or other like means. It is seen that the periphery of selector disc 26 is coterminus with and defined by the peripheries of

plates

30 and 32. Top plate 30 has a plurality of spaced pick-up apertures 34 therethrough, said apertures 34 being evenly spaced concentric to the center of said plate and about one third of the distance from the center to the periphery of said plate 30. Bottom plate 32 has transfer apertures 36 therethrough evenly spaced concentric to the center of said disc and near the periphery thereof. The upper surface of said bottom plate 32 defines elongated depressions 38 one end of which terminate at apertures 36. When said depressions 38 are covered by top plate 30 they form magazines 38A which magazines communicate at one end with transfer apertures 36 and at their other ends with pick-up apertures 34. When secured to bottom plate 32, top plate 30 is positioned so that pickup apertures 34 communicate with transfer apertures 36 through depressions 38 to form magazines 38A.

Annular retaining ring 40 (FIG. 2) is positioned beneath transfer apertures 36 and is secured to bottom 14 of selector disc bowl l2. Said retaining ring 40 is broken away at its upper-most portion to coincide with transfer area 21. Transfer area 21 communicates with transfer apertures 36 when they are rotated to their upper-most positions thereby allowing tablets in transfer apertures 36 to pass through transfer area 21 and into depositing construction as hereinafter described.

HOPPER Hopper 4 (FIGS. 1 and 2) is attached by hinge to the upper edge of selectordisc bowl l2 and is secured in its operating position by clips 44. Hopper 4 comprises a barrel 46 secured by rods 48 to hopper base 50, said hopper base 50 being equipped with flange 52 and cone 54 removably secured to said flange.

DEPOSITING CONSTRUCTION AND GEAR TRAIN A crown gear 56 (FIG. 2) is mounted on shaft 22 below selector disc bowl 12. Also fixed to shaft 22, by a suitable set screw or the like, is a beveled gear 58, said beveled gear being spaced apart from crown gear 56. A drive gear (not shown) from a power train (not shown) is mounted below and meshed with crown gear 56.

Depositing construction 10 has a bowl-shaped casting (hereinafter referred to as depositing disc bowl 60) (FIGS. 1 and 2). Said depositing disc bowl 60 is secured to support 2 (FIG. 2) perpendicular to selector disc bowl [2 and comprises a bottom portion 62, a side wall 64 (FIG. 1) and, defined by an opening in said side wall at its lowest portion, a depositing gap 66.

A shaft 68 has bearing in bearing block 70 which shaft is disposed at right angles to the plane of bowl 60 and hence is at an angle of about 45 from the horizontal. One end of shaft 68 extends through the bottom 62 of depositing disc bowl 60 and has secured thereto timing adapter 72.

Adjustably secured to timing adapted 72 by bolts 74 is tablet depositing plate (hereinafter referred to as depositing disc 76). Depositing disc 76 has articlereceiving spaces 78 disposed along the periphery thereof (FIG. 1). Said article-receiving spaces are evenly disposed and are equal in number to the transfer apertures 36. Depositing disc 76 is at right angles to said selector disc 26 and is positioned so that the upper edge of depositing disc 76 is adjacent transfer apertures 36 at transfer area 21. Side wall 64 of depositing disc bowl 60 is also cut away at its upper portion to permit communicating between transfer apertures 36 and article-receiving spaces 78 at transfer area 21. Bottom 62 (FIG. 2) of depositing disc bowl 60 serves as a retaining surface for tablets in spaces 78. Secured by a set screw or the like to the other end of said shah 68 is beveled gear 80 which gear 80 is meshed with beveled gear 58. Normally beveled gears 58 and 80 are of the same ratio so that

discs

26 and 76 are rotated at the same speed. The ratio, of course, may be varied to allow for practical relationships of transfer apertures 36 and article receiving spaces 78.

OPERATION In operation the powered drive train (not shown) supplies power to revolve crown gear 56 (FIG. 2). Crown gear 56 is attached to shaft 22 and thereby causes attached selector disc 26 and beveled gear 58 to rotate. Beveled gear 58 is meshed with beveled gear 80 which is attached to shaft 68. Depositing disc 76, also attached to shaft 68, by means of timing adapter 72, is thereby caused to revolve synchronously with selector disc 26.

Tablets are placed in hopper 4 and by gravity fall against revolving selector disc 26. As selector disc 26 revolves it carries pick-up apertures 34 underneath the mass of tablets whereby said tablets fall into said apertures. At the lower-most point of rotation of magazines 38A contained in selector disc 26, tablets from pick-up apertures 34 fall into and load said magazines. Concomitantly with the loading of said magazines, tablets also fill transfer apertures 36 where they are stopped by retaining ring 40. As tablets are transferred out of transfer apertures 36 new tablets enter pick-up apertures 34 as replacements. Though, during a particular revolution of selector disc 26 a tablet may not enter a pick-up aperture 34, the reservoir of tablets in magazines 38A insures that there is always a tablet in transfer apertures 36.

After a tablet passes through magazine 38A and reaches transfer aperture 36 it falls a short distance until it contacts retaining ring 40. As selector disc 26 rotates, the tablet rides on retaining ring 40. When the pick-up apertures 34 with their appurtenant magazines 38A and transfer apertures 36 are carried to the upper extremities of their rotation the tablets contained therein ordinarily would have a tendency to fall out of their respective apertures and/or magazines. However, such emptying of magazines 38A and

apertures

34 and 36 are prevented by the walls of magazine 38A and

apertures

34 and 36 respectively. Tablets positioned in transfer apertures 36 eventually reach transfer area 21 at the apex of their rotation. Here tablets fall into article-receiving spaces 78.

The ratio of beveled gear 58 and beveled gear 80 is such that an article-receiving space 78 is rotated to receive a tablet from each transfer aperture 36. Exact positioning of article-receiving spaces 78 may be made by adjustably moving depositing disc 76 relative to timing adapter 72. Articles which fall into article-receiving spaces 78 are carried to the lower-most position of their rotation where they encounter depositing gap 66. The tablets then fall into containers (not shown) passing beneath said depositing gap 66. The drive train synchronizes the speed of the depositing mechanism with that of the passing container.

The selector disc may be made from plastic, metal, wood or other conveniently worked materials. It is preferable that the surfaces have a low friction factor. Though this disc can be manufactured in one piece it is more convenient to manufacture it in two pieces, a top and a bottom plate as hereinbefore exemplified. A twopiece construction also allows for inexpensive replacement of the top plate which is the element of the selector disc most subject to wear.

Modifications in the shape and size of the pick-up apertures, the magazines and the transfer apertures may be made to accommodate a variety of conditions and a variety of articles being deposited. The apparatus of the present invention may be used to deposit one, two or more articles at a time. The particular size and positioning of the transfer apertures, the transfer area and the article-receiving spaces as well as the ratio of speed between the selector disc and the depositing device may be varied to accomplish the desired results.

What is claimed is:

1. In a depositing mechanism which comprises a selector construction including a selector disc which selects articles from a mass of said articles and transfers them to a depositing construction, said depositing construction carrying said articles to a point of deposit at a pre-deterrnined time in order that said articles are deposited into a container passing below said depositing point, the improvement comprising a selector disc having a top and bottom plate cooperatively engaged, said top plate on its upper surface defining a plurality of spaced apart first pickup apertures therethrough disposed concentrically in a single ring around the center axis of said disc at a distance intermediate the center of said disc and its periphery, said bottom plate on its lower surface defining a number of spaced apart second transfer apertures equal in number and approximately equal in diameter to said first apertures, said second apertures being disposed concentrically to said center axis at a distance therefrom greater than the distance therefrom of said first apertures, the upper surface of said bottom plate defining elongate depressions one end of which terminate at said second apertures and the other end of which terminate at said first apertures, said first and second apertures communicating with each other through said elongated depressions through the depth of said disc thereby defining a plurality of magazine means, said magazine means being af fl ga i' a t us f cl im l n e rein the diameters of said first and said second apertures and the cross-section of said magazine means are slightly larger than the diameter of the articles which are being deposited.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said first apertures are positioned from about one tenth to about one half of the distance from the center to the periphery of said disc and said second apertures are positioned from about one half to about nine tenths of the distance from the center to the periphery of said disc.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said magazine means have a length which is equal to from about two to about ten times the diameter of the articles which are being deposited.

5. In a depositing mechanism comprising a selector device which selects articles from a mass of said articles and transfers them to a depositing device, said depositing device carrying said articles to a point of deposit at a pre-deterrnined time in order that said articles are deposited into a container passing below said deposit point, the improvement comprising a selector disc comprising a first plate and a second plate which plates are of equal diameter and cooperatively engageable said first plate defining a plurality of first apertures therethrough having diameters slightly larger than the diameter of the articles being deposited, which first apertures are evenly spaced concentric to the center axis of said first plate, said second plate having a first and a second surface said first surface defining a plurality of elongated depressions equal to the number of said first apertures said depressions having two ends one end terminating in a second aperture through the depth of said second plate, said second apertures having a diameter approximately equal to the diameter of said first apertures, the other end of said elongated depressions communicating with said first apertures and forming magazine means, when said first plate and said second plate are cooperatively engaged.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein the diameters of said first and said second apertures and the cross-section of said elongated depression are slightly larger than the diameter of the articles which are being deposited.

7. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein said first apertures are positioned from about one tenth to about one half the distance from the center to the periphery of said top plate and said second apertures are positioned from about one half to about nine tenths of the distance from the center to the periphery of said bottom plate.

8. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein said elongated depressions have a length which is equal to from about two to about 10 times the diameter of the articles which are being deposited.

Claims

1. In a depositing mechanism which comprises a selector construction including a selector disc which selects articles from a mass of said articles and transfers them to a depositing construction, said depositing construction carrying said articles to a point of deposit at a pre-determined time in order that said articles are deposited into a container passing below said depositing point, the improvement comprising a selector disc having a top and bottom plate cooperatively engaged, said top plate on its upper surface defining a plurality of spaced apart first pickup apertures therethrough disposed concentrically in a single ring around the center axis of said disc at a distance intermediate the center of said disc and its periphery, said bottom plate on its lower surface defining a number of spaced apart second transfer apertures equal in number and approximately equal in diameter to said first apertures, said second apertures being disposed concentrically to said center axis at a distance therefrom greater than the distance therefrom of said first apertures, the upper surface of said bottom plate defining elongate depressions one end of which terminate at said second apertures and the other end of which terminate at said first apertures, said first and second apertures communicating with each other through said elongated depressions through the depth of said disc thereby defining a plurality of magazine means, said magazine means being generally radial to said center axis.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the diameters of said first and said second apertures and the cross-section of said magazine means are slightly larger than the diameter of the articles which are being deposited.

5. In a depositing mechanism comprising a selector device which selects articles from a mass of said articles and transfers them to a depositing device, said depositing device carrying said articles to a point of deposit at a pre-determined time in order that said articles are deposited into a container passing below said deposit point, the improvement comprising a selector disc comprising a first plate and a second plate which plates are of equal diameter and cooperatively engageable said first plate defining a plurality of first apertures therethrough having diameters slightly larger than the diameter of the articles being deposited, which first apertures are evenly spaced concentric to the center axis of said first plate, said second plate having a first and a second surface said first surface defining a plurality of elongated depressions equal to the number of said first apertures said depressions having two ends one end terminating in a second aperture through the depth of said second plate, said second apertures having a diameter approximately equal to the diameter of said first apertures, the other end of said elongated depressions communicating with said first apertures and forming magazine means, when said first plate and said second plate are cooperatively engaged.