US1435743A - Article-feeding mechanism - Google Patents

Description

L. L. SALFISB'ERG.

ARTICLE FEEDING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 5, 1920.

1,435,743. Patentefl Nov. M, 1922 6 AR g 20 5 29 @etented Nov. 14-, W22.

PATENT @FFHQE.

LEROY L. sALrIsBEnc, or NEWARK, new JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO wens-LEE COMPAILW,

or NEWARK, new JERSEY, A conronn'rron or DELAWARE.

ARTICLE-FEEDING ranonamsn Application filed June 5, 1920. Serial-Ito. 386,828.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it knownthat- I," LEROY. L. SAmisnnRo, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Newark, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey,haVeinvented' -an Improve: ment in Article-Feeding Mechanism,' of whichthe following is a specification.

tion with packaging machines,*': mjore pa'i- .ticularly of the type designed-to package articles such as candies, medicinal tablets and the like. One object of the invention is to facilitate and control the distribution of articles as they are withdrawn from a hopper and in such a manner that there I will be a reliable and continuous supply of articles presented in position for permanent packaging.

One embodiment of my invention is illustrated in the drawings accompanying the present specification, and in which Figure 1 is a top plan view, and

Figure2, a View in vertical section on the line '22 of Figure 1.

Referring-to the drawings, the articles to be ackaged may conveniently be held in a hopper 1 having a laterally constricted discharge Jpassage2 and a substantially coneshaped bottom portion 3 interposed between the hopper 1 and the dischar e passage 2. An article defiectlng mem er 4 is arranged within the container opposite the entrance to thepassage 2 and spaced therefrom suficiently to allow articles to move fromthe main portion of the container into the constricted portion without, however, having the entire weight of the overlying articles bearing directly upon those which have already found their way into the constricted portion 2. An article carrying platen 5 is arranged opposite the discharge opening of the passage 2 and extends beyond the edges of said opening, said platen being mounted for rotation to impart centrifugal motion to articles which have been moved through the passageway into position on the upper or supporting surface of the platen. This surface is pref erably enclosed in a housing having a lateral wall 6 and a transverse wall 7, said transyerse wall overlying, the upper or support ng surface of the platen and spaced therefrom topermit the free movement of articles across'sal'd surface in a predetermined relatlve POSltiOIlL As indicated in Figure 2, the

lateralor upright wall 6 of the housing is ,provided w1th a threaded portion 8 which engages a similarly'threaded portion 9 of 'thetransverse or upper wall 7. Thus, by

moving one threaded portion with respect fto the other, the distance between the upper or supporting surface of the platen and the interior or lower surface of the wall 7 may be varied to accommodate articles of different slzes. The platen 5 is shown with a hollow interiorly threaded centrally arranged hub 10 adapted to receive the threaded endof a shaft 11 carrying a gear 12 which may be driven by any suitable means not shown. A nut 13 threaded on the shaft 11 and engaging a face of the hub 10 may be utilized to fasten the platen securely on the end of the shaft at any desired position of vertical adjustment thereon. Thus, by rotating the shaft 11, the platen 5 is rotated and accordingly moves the supported articles away from its center and into position to be intercepted by a take-off chute 14, indicated in dotted lines in Figure 1, said chute being substantiallv tangential with respect to the-platen 5. The inner or open end of said chute thus receives articles as they are forced from the ra idly rotating platen. The opposite end of the chute is closed but the articles are permitted to be discharged therefrom through an opening in the bottom wall of the chute arranged adjacent to the terminal stop 15 thereof, said opening, in the present embodiment of my invention, communicating with a passageway 16 in a gear 17 normally meshing with a toothed portion of the platen 5. A sleeve 18 having a flanged portion 19 is mounted in a bearing 20 and is adapted to rotate with the gear 17 when the latter is actuated by the rotation of the platen 5. A flexible conduit 21 may be secured to the lower or discharge end of the sleeve 18 and in position to receive articles as they are forced through said sleeve from the chute 14:, said articles being conveyed by, said conduit into such position article engaging or displacing arms or pins 23, said arms being arranged to engage and displace in succession articles as they are discharged from the discharge end of the flexible conduit 21. The discharge end of said conduit may conveniently be secured to a sleeve 24. rotatably mounted in a rigid member 25 which also carries an article supporting platform 26 arranged in position to receive articles as they are fed throu h the discharge opening and to present t e same in the path of the rotating pins 23.

To prevent or minimize the clogging or jamming of the articles as they come in contact with the upper or supporting surface of the platen 5, a suitable agitator may be provided, shown in the present case as a rolling member, such as a ballbearing 27, supported on the upper surface of the platen and extending into the discharge opening of the constricted portion 2 of the hopper. In operation, it is contemplated that one or several of these agitators may be set in motion by the rotation of the platen and will serve to expedite the movement of the tablets or other articles toward the supporting surface of the platen.

The device herein described also provides means for conveniently disposing of dust or relatively small particles of the material being packaged. Thus, the upright or lateral Wall 6 may be provided with a perforation 28 positioned adjacent to the peripheral edge of the platen 5 so that particles which are thrown from the upper surface of said platen by reason of the centrifugal force operating during rotation thereof will move through said perforation and may be collected in a trough shaped member 29 arranged in particle receiving relation to the opening 28. The peripheral extent of said opening 28 may vary to meet different conditions.

From the foregoing description, it will be clear that the present invention affords a feeding mechanism which is capable of continuous operation at high speed and at a relatively uniform rate. Furthermore, the articles are subjected to a relatively small amount of impact and it is thus possible to utilize the device in the feeding of relatively fragile tablets or tablets of relatively loose texture without prohibitive breakage.

I claim as my invention:

1. In an article feeding mechanism, the combinationv of a hopper having a bottom discharge opening, a rotatable article carrying platen in article receiving relation to said opening and extending beyond the edges thereof, a housing enclosing the article supporting surface, of the platen, said housing having an opening adjacent to the peripheral edge of the platen to permit the pamage of dust and particles of less than predetermined dimension.

2. In an article feeding mechanism, the combination of a hopper having a'bottom discharge opening, a rotatable article carrying platen in article receiving relation to said opening and extending beyond the edges thereof, a housing enclosing the article supporting surface of the platen, said platen being adjustable with respect to a Wall of the housing to accommodate articles of different sizes.

3. In an article feeding mechanism, the combination of a hopper having a bottom discharge opening, a rotatable article carrying platen in article receiving relation to said opening and extending beyond the edges thereof, a housing enclosing the article supporting surface of the platen and having a wall spaced from said surface, said wall being movable toward and away from said surface to accommodate articles of different sizes.

4. In an article feeding mechanism, the combination of a hopper having a bottom discharge opening, a rotatable article can rying platen in article receiving relation to said opening and extending beyond the edges thereof, and a rolling agitator freely movable on the platen.

5. In an article feeding mechanism, the combination of a hopper having a bottom discharge opening. a rotatable article carrying platen in article receiving relation to said opening and extending beyond the edges thereof, and a rolling agitator supported by the platen and extending into the bottom discharge opening of the container.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification this second day of June, 1920.

LEROY L. SALFISBERG.

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