Abstract:
A device for separating individual cup-shaped containers from a stack of such containers is provided, including a frame, a separating mechanism, an adjusting mechanism, and a power transmission mechanism. The separating mechanism includes at least a pair of screw rods arranged on opposite sides of the frame and substantially parallel to and spaced from each other to receive the stack therebetween. The power transmission mechanism is coupled to the screw rods by mated gears for driving rotation of the screw rods. The screw rods have screws engaging outer rim of each individual container and having an increased pitch whereby when the screw rods rotate, the container is driven forward in a given direction and is increasingly spaced from the other containers due to the increased screw pitch. The adjusting mechanism is coupled to the screw rods to selectively adjust the distance between the screw rods for accommodating containers of different specifications. Thus, automatic separation of the cup-shaped containers can be achieved, and in addition, the device can be applied to containers of different specifications easily.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The present invention generally relates to a device that separates individual cup-shaped containers from a stack of the containers, and in particular to such a device that employs a pair of screw rods having screws of increased pitches to separate individual cup-shaped containers from the stack of containers that is positioned between and engaging the screw rods. 
         [0003]    2. The Related Art 
         [0004]    Heat-shrinkage films made of plastics are commonly used in packaging goods for purposes of decoration and protection. An example of the goods that is enclosed by the plastic film is heat-resistant cup-shaped containers that are often used to pack instant foods, such as instant noodles and brewing soups. To save space for storage and transportation, the cup-shaped containers are often partially fit over and stacked on each other. 
         [0005]    Individual containers must be separated from the stack before further processing, including film fitting, can be carried out. Conventionally, the containers are separated manually and are then placed on a conveyer belt one by one in an equally spaced manner for subsequent film fitting operation that is automatically carried out. However, human error often occurs and the distance or pitch between separated containers that are positioned on the conveyer belt may vary from container to container. This causes difficult in automatically fitting the plastic film over the containers and other processing. 
         [0006]    Thus, it is desired to have a device that effectively separates individual cup-shaped containers of stack from each other to alleviate the above problems. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0007]    An objective of the present invention is to provide a device for separating individual cup-shaped containers from a stack, comprising a frame retaining the stack and a separating mechanism comprising two screw rods on opposite sides of the frame whereby screws of increased pitch of the screw rods engage outer rim of each container and drives the container in a given direction to separate the container from the stack when the screw rods rotates. Manual interference during the operation of the device is not needed at all and costs of time and labor are substantially reduced. 
         [0008]    Another objective of the present invention is to provide a device for separating individual cup-shaped containers from a stack by means of two spaced screw rods engaging outer rims of the containers and comprising an adjusting mechanism for selectively adjusting the distance between the screw rods for accommodating stacks of cup-shaped containers of different specifications. 
         [0009]    A further objective of the present invention is to provide a device for separating individual cup-shaped containers from a stack by means of two spaced screw rods engaging outer rims of the containers and driving the container forward with the rotation thereof, comprising a transmission mechanism coupled to and controlling the rotation of the screw rods whereby the forward-driving speed of the container is well controlled and timing when the container is deposited onto a conveyer belt is precisely set to ensure proper positioning of the container on the conveyer belt for enhancing subsequent processing, including film fitting, and thus improving quality and efficiency of final products. 
         [0010]    To realize the above objectives, in accordance with the present invention, a device for separating individual cup-shaped containers from a stack of such containers is provided, comprising a frame, a separating mechanism, an adjusting mechanism, and a power transmission mechanism. The separating mechanism comprises at least a pair of screw rods arranged on opposite sides of the frame and substantially parallel to and spaced from each other to receive the stack therebetween. The power transmission mechanism is coupled to the screw rods by mated gears for driving rotation of the screw rods. The screw rods have screws engaging outer rim of each individual container and having an increased pitch whereby when the screw rods rotate, the container is driven forward in a given direction and is increasingly spaced from the other containers due to the increased screw pitch. The adjusting mechanism is coupled to the screw rods to selectively adjust the distance between the screw rods for accommodating containers of different specifications. Thus, automatic separation of the cup-shaped containers can be achieved, and in addition, the device can be applied to containers of different specifications easily. 
     
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0011]    The present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art by reading the following description of preferred embodiments thereof, with reference to the attached drawings, in which: 
           [0012]      FIG. 1  is a side elevational view of a device constructed in accordance with the present invention for separating individual cup-shaped containers from a stack of such containers; 
           [0013]      FIG. 2  is a side elevational view, in an enlarged scale as compared to  FIG. 1 , of a portion of the device of the present invention, particularly showing the stack of containers engaging and separated by screw rods of the device; 
           [0014]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of an adjusting mechanism that selectively adjusts the distance between the screw rods of the device in accordance with the present invention; 
           [0015]      FIG. 4  is a rear view of a frame of the device constructed in accordance with the present invention, showing a transmission mechanism of the device; and 
           [0016]      FIG. 5  is a top plan view of a device for separating cup-shaped containers from a stack in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, which comprises a feeding mechanism for automatically feeding stacks of containers in to the device. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0017]    With reference to the drawings and in particular to  FIGS. 1-4 , a device that is constructed in accordance with the present invention for separating stacked cup-shaped containers and feeding the separated individual cup-shaped containers, which will be briefly referred to as “cup separating device” hereinafter, is generally designated with reference numeral  100 . The cup separating device  100  comprises a frame  10 , a separating mechanism  20 , an adjusting mechanism  30 , and a transmission mechanism  40 . The frame  10  can be of any desired construction and, in the embodiment illustrated, comprises a feed hopper  11  arranged at a topmost location for receiving a stack  200  of cup-shaped containers  210 . The containers  210  are vertically stacked by having an open end facing downward and fit over an opposite closed end of the-next container at the lower side. 
         [0018]    The separating mechanism  20  comprises two screw rods  21 ,  22  and two first transmission gears  23 ,  24  respectively mounted to the screw rods  21 ,  22 . The screw rods  21 ,  22  are arranged on opposite sides of the frame  10  and stand upright. Also, the screw rods  21 ,  22  are substantially parallel to each other and spaced from each other by a distance sufficient to accommodate the stack  200  of the containers  210  between the screw rods  21 ,  22 . The screw rods  21 ,  22  each comprise a helical screw  211 ,  221  of variable thickness spaced by a helical groove  212 ,  222  of constant width corresponding to an outer rim  210 A of the container  210 , whereby the screws of the screw rods  21 ,  22  have a variable pitch, which in the embodiment is increased toward a given direction in which the containers  210  is moved by the screw rods  21 ,  22  to separate from the stack  200 . In addition, the width of the helical groove  212 ,  222  of the screw rod  21 ,  22  is sufficient to receive and properly engage an outer rim  210 A of the cup-shaped container  210  therein. The transmission gears  23 ,  24  are mounted to the screw rods  21 ,  22  for driving the screw rods  21 ,  22  respectively. The transmission gears  23 ,  24  can be of any type, and are preferably bevel gears as shown in the drawings. 
         [0019]    The adjusting mechanism  30  comprises two spaced boards  31 ,  32  between which two guide rails  33 ,  34  extend. A threaded rod  35  extends, in parallel to the guide rails  33 ,  34 , between and is rotatably supported by the boards  31 ,  32  with opposite ends of the rod  35  extending beyond the boards  31 ,  32 . A hand wheel  351  is mounted to one end of the threaded rod  35  for manually rotating the threaded rod  35 . Two movable blocks  36 ,  37  are arranged between the boards  31 ,  32  and each defines two through holes  361 ,  371  for the extension of the guide rails  33 ,  34  whereby the movable blocks  36 ,  37  are movable along the guide rails  33 ,  34  between the boards  31 ,  32 . The movable blocks  36 ,  37  also define inner-threaded holes  362 ,  372  engageable with the threaded rod  35  whereby the rotation of the rod  35  by the hand wheel  351  causes the movable blocks  36 ,  37  to move along the guide rails  33 ,  34 . This changes the distance between the movable blocks  36 ,  37 . 
         [0020]    Each movable block  36 ,  37  comprises an upper support member  364 ,  374  and an opposite lower support member  365 ,  375 . The screw rods  21 ,  22  are rotatably supported between the upper and lower support members  364 ,  365 , and  374 ,  375  of the movable blocks  36 ,  37 , respectively. Thus, by moving the movable blocks  36 ,  37  along the guide rails  33 ,  34 , the distance between the screw rods  21 ,  22  is changed for accommodating containers  210  of different sizes or specifications. 
         [0021]    The transmission mechanism  40  is arranged on the back side of the frame  10 , including a motor  41  mounted to the frame  10 . The frame  10  forms an elongate slot  12  in which two transmission wheels  44 ,  45  are movably received. The transmission wheels  44 ,  45  are coupled to a spindle  411  of the motor  41  by means of an endless timing belt  43  extending around a plurality of gears  42  that are rotatably mounted to the frame  10 . At least some of the gears  42  are movable with respect to the frame  10  for maintaining proper tension of the belt  43  and for accommodating the displacement of the transmission wheels  44 ,  45  along the slot  12  of the frame  10 . It is noted that in the embodiment illustrated, the timing belt  43  comprises teeth on both sides thereof. 
         [0022]    Transmission shafts  46 ,  47  are mounted to the transmission wheels  44 ,  45 , respectively, to rotate in unison therewith and are also movable away from/toward each other with the movement of the transmission wheels  44 ,  45  along the slot  12 . Each shaft  46 ,  47  has a free end extends through a hole  363 ,  373  defined in each movable block  36 ,  37  and the shaft  46 ,  47  is rotatably supported by the movable block  36 ,  37 . Thus, the movement of the movable blocks  36 , 37 , which changes the distance between the screw rods  21 ,  22 , can be done in unison with the displacement of the transmission wheels  44 ,  45  along the slot  12  of the frame  10 . 
         [0023]    The free end of the shaft  46 ,  47  supports a second transmission gear  461 ,  471 , which mates the first transmission gear  23 ,  24  that is mounted to the screw rod  21 ,  22 . Thus, the rotation of the spindle  411  of the motor  41  that is transmitted to the shafts  46 ,  47  through the belt  43 , the gears  42 , and the transmission wheels  44 ,  45 , is applied to the screw rods  21 ,  22  via the mated gear pairs  23 ,  461 , and  24 ,  471 , for driving rotation of the screw rods  21 ,  22 . 
         [0024]    The transmission gears  461 ,  471 , and  23 ,  24  can be of any desired type, provided they are mated with each other for transmission of torque. In the embodiment illustrated, the gears  461 ,  471 ,  23 ,  24  are bevel gears mating each other. 
         [0025]    To operate the cup separating device  100  of the present invention, the adjusting mechanism  30  is first operated to properly set the distance between the screw rods  21 ,  22  according to the size or specification of the containers  210  to be processed. The hand wheel  351  is rotated to move the movable blocks  36 ,  37 , and thus the screw rods  21 ,  22  supported on the movable blocks  36 ,  37 , with respect to each other for setting the distance between the screw rods  21 ,  22 . During the movement of the movable blocks  36 ,  37  that rotatably support the shaft  46 ,  47 , the transmission wheels  44 ,  45  to which the shafts  46 ,  47  are mounted are caused to move along the slot  12  in synchronization with the movement of the movable blocks  36 ,  37 . Thus, the rotation of the shafts  46 ,  47  can be maintained and is not interfered with by the movement of the movable blocks  36 ,  37 . 
         [0026]    The rotation of the shafts  46 ,  47  induced by the operation of the motor  41  is transmitted to the screw rods  21 ,  22  by the mated gears  23 ,  461  ( 24 ,  471 ). As mentioned previously, the outer rim  210 A of each container  210  in the stack  200  placed between the screw rods  21 ,  22  is received in and in driving engagement with the helical grooves  212 ,  222  of the screw rods  21 ,  22 . Thus, the rotation of the screw rods  21 ,  22  drives the individual containers  210  in a given direction, such as downward in the embodiment illustrated, toward a conveyer belt  300  (see  FIG. 1 ). Due to the increased pitch of the screw rods  21 ,  22  in the direction toward the conveyer belt  300 , each container  210 , when moved toward the conveyer belt  300  by the screw rods  21 ,  22 , is gradually separated from the next container  210 . Eventually, the containers  210  are completely separated from each other and are individually deposited onto the conveyer belt  300 . The conveyer belt  300  may carry and convey the separated containers  210  to the next processing stations. 
         [0027]    Referring now to  FIG. 5 , the cup separating device  100  of the present invention can be modified by adding a feed control mechanism  50  above the feed hopper  11  of the frame  10 . The feed control mechanism  50  provides control for automatically feeding container stacks into the hopper  11  to allow continuous operation of the cup separating device  100 . 
         [0028]    The feed control mechanism  50  comprises a conveyer  52 , such as a conveyer belt, that carries and conveys a number of stacks  200  of containers  210  toward the feed hopper  11 . A sensing device  51  is arranged at a proper location to detect the presence of the stack  200  inside the feed hopper  11  and, once the containers  210  inside the feed hopper  11  are all discharged and separated, the sensing device  51  actuates a transportation mechanism, including first and second pneumatic driving devices  53 ,  54 , such as pneumatic cylinders, to move the first container stack  200  that is located on the conveyer  52  into the hopper  11 . The sensing device  51  can be any known sensor, such as an opto-electrical sensor. 
         [0029]    The first and second pneumatic driving devices  53 ,  54  are arranged at an end of the conveyer  52 , which can be located close to and above the hopper  11  as shown in the drawings. In the embodiment illustrated, the first pneumatic driving device  53  is arranged to move in a direction substantially parallel to the conveying direction of the conveyer  52 , while the second pneumatic driving device  54 , which is mounted to a driving rod  531  of the first pneumatic driving device  53 , is movable in a direction transverse to that of the first pneumatic driving device  53 . In other words, the movement of the second pneumatic driving device  54  is substantially perpendicular to the conveying direction of the conveyer  52 . A driving board  542  is mounted to a driving rod  541  of the second pneumatic driving device  52 . Thus, by combination of the movement of the first and second pneumatic driving devices  53 ,  54 , the driving board  542  is positionable above the hopper  11 . 
         [0030]    The feed control mechanism  50  also comprises third and fourth pneumatic driving devices  55 ,  56 , such as pneumatic cylinders, which are arranged on opposite sides and above the hopper  11 . The third and fourth pneumatic driving devices  55 ,  56  have driving rods  551 ,  561  that face each other and are movable in opposite directions and substantially transverse to the conveying direction of the conveyer  52 . Guide boards  552 ,  562  are mounted to free ends of the driving rods  551 ,  561 , and carrier boards  57 ,  58  are mounted to lower edges of the guide boards  552 ,  562 , whereby when the driving rods  551 ,  561  are moved to extended positions, opposing edges of the carrier boards  57 ,  58  joint to each other to form a support plane that is substantially flush with the conveyer  52  and the guide boards  552 ,  562  delimit a temporal storage space A 1  for the stack  200  to be fed into the hopper  11 . 
         [0031]    Once the containers  210  that were previously fed into the hopper  11  are all discharged out of the hopper  11 , the sensing device  51  initiates, through control means, the operation of the pneumatic driving devices  53 ,  54 ,  55 ,  56 . The driving board  542  of the second driving device  54  is positioned behind the first stack  200  of containers  210  on the conveyer  52  to drive the stack  200  into the storage space A 1 . The stack  200  is thus held on the carrier boards  57 ,  58  and centered by the guide boards  552 ,  562  to become in alignment with the hopper  11 . The driving rods  551 ,  561  of the third and fourth pneumatic driving devices  55 ,  56  are retrieved, separating the carrier boards  57 ,  58  to allow the stack  200  to fall into the hopper  11  by its own weight. The stack  200  that falls into the hopper  11  is then processed by the screw rods  21 ,  22  to have individual containers  210  separated and sequentially deposited onto the conveyer belt  300 . 
         [0032]    After the stack  200  falls into the hopper  11 , the driving rods  551 ,  561  of the third and fourth pneumatic driving devices  55 ,  56  move back to the extended position to form the temporal storage space A 1  again. The first and second pneumatic driving devices  53 ,  53  are also back to their original positions, waiting to move the next stack  200  that is carried by the conveyer  52  to the position of the previous stack  200  into the storage space A 1 . 
         [0033]    The control means that operates all the pneumatic driving devices  53 ,  54 ,  55 ,  56  according to the detection of the sensing device  51  can be any known control device, such as a programmable logic controller (PLC) or an industrial computer. Further, the next stack  200  can be positioned on the carrier boards  57 ,  58  inside the storage space A 1  in advance to wait for the opening of the carrier boards  57 ,  58  or alternatively, the stack  200  is moved into the storage space A 1  when the containers  210  inside the hopper  11  are all discharged. 
         [0034]    Although the present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments thereof, it is apparent to those skilled in the art that a variety of modifications and changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention which is intended to be defined by the appended claims.