Abstract:
A cottoner having a wadding section forming station, the station having: a carrier, a holder, and a feed mechanism mounted on a base in series. Moving means on the base reciprocate the a carrier toward and away from the feed mechanism. An operating controller on the base open and close the holder. The carrier has a gripper for gripping a length of wadding material to carry it from the holding means toward the feeding means when the carrier is moved toward the feed mechanism while the holder is open. The carrier releases the length of wadding material when moved away from the feed mechanism while the holder is closed to hold the length of wadding material. 
     The cottoner includes an inserting station for inserting each section of wadding material formed at the wadding section forming station into a container. 
     The cottoner also has a sensing station for sensing if the wadding material has been inserted, and inserted properly, into the container at the inserting station. 
     The invention is also directed toward a method for operating the wadding station in the cottoner.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention is directed toward a cottoner and a method of operating at least part of the cottoner. The invention is more particularly directed toward a cottoner that quickly and cleanly provides sections of wadding material; inserts the sections into containers; and checks that the sections have been properly inserted into the containers. The invention is also particularly directed to a wadding section forming station of the cottoner which provides the sections of wadding material and to a method for operating the section forming station. The invention is further particularly directed toward a sensing station on the cottoner for determining whether or not a container is properly filled with a section of wadding material. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Cottoners, providing sections of wadding material which are usually doubled and stuffed into containers holding pills or the like, are well known. The sections of wadding material are usually cut from a long length of the wadding material and fed to a location where the section is doubled and then inserted into the container. The sections are usually cut by cutters such as scissors. However, cutting the wadding material produces loose bits and pieces of the wadding material which bits and pieces can accumulate in the apparatus and eventually interfere with its operation. Frequent cleaning eliminates this problem but is time consuming and not productive. Some cottoners pull the sections off the length of wadding material rather than cutting them off. Examples are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,501,770 and 2,805,531. These machines are cleaner to operate but they are still quite slow in operation employing, as they do, feed rolls to initially feed the length of wadding material and rotating tables to feed the sections. The known machines are also difficult to thread to start the operations or to continue them if the wadding breaks. The known cottoners also do not sense if the wadding has been properly inserted in the containers. If the wadding sticks out slightly, it may be difficult to place caps on the containers, particularly if the caps are screwed on. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is the purpose of the present invention to provide a cottoner apparatus that provides sections of wadding by pulling rather than cutting the wadding thus minimizing the accumulation of the bits and pieces of wadding around the machine during operation. It is another purpose of the present invention to provide a cottoner which is fast, easy to operate, and reliable in operation. It is a further purpose of the present invention to provide a cottoner which can be simply and easily adjusted to provide the sections in different lengths as required. It is another purpose of the present invention to provide a cottoner that can be easily and quickly threaded with the length of wadding to begin operation of the device. It is a further purpose of the present invention to provide a method of operating a wadding section forming station in a cottoner. It is a further purpose of the present invention to provide a cottoner which has sensing means for sensing that the wadding has been properly inserted in the containers, the sensing means located in a position to be readily accessible and adjustable. 
     In accordance with the present invention there is provided a cottoner having a wadding section forming station for providing sections of wadding which station uses reciprocating carrier means for carrying the length of wadding material to a position where it is sectioned by pulling. The forming station can be easily operated in a slower mode than normal for automatically threading the length of wadding material to start operations. The forming station includes holding means downstream from the carrier means for selectively holding the wadding; and feeding means downstream from the holding means for pulling a section of wadding away from the holding means, the section of wadding separating from the length of wadding at the holding means. The forming station is operated in a sequence where, with the holding means open, the carrier moves toward it to feed the leading end of the wadding material from the holding means to the feeding means. The carrier stops, the feeding means operates and then the holding means closes to have the feeding means pull a section of wadding material away from the length of wadding material at the holding means. The feeding means stops, the carrier moves away from the holding means, the holding means opens, and the cycle is repeated. 
     The feeding means feeds the separated section of wadding material to a section locating means. From the locating means, a loading station takes the wadding section, folds it and inserts into a container. The filled container is then moved past a sensing station on the apparatus, the sensing station checking that there is a section of wadding in the container and also checking that the wadding is fully within the container and not partially sticking out. The sensing station is in a position where it can be easily adjusted for handling different containers and easily serviced. 
     The invention is particularly directed toward a wadding section forming station for a cottoner, the station having: carrier means, holding means, and feeding means mounted on a base in series. Moving means on the base reciprocate the carrier means toward and away from the feeding means. Operating means on the base open and close the holding means. The carrier means has gripping means for gripping a length of wadding material to carry it from the holding means toward the feeding means when the carrier means is moved toward the feeding means while the holding means is open. The carrier means releases the length of wadding material when moved away from the feeding means while the holding means is closed to hold the length of wadding material. 
     The invention is also directed toward a sensing station for a cottoner having a first sensing means for sensing if there is a wadding section in a container and a second sensing means for sensing if the wadding section is fully within the container. 
     The invention is further directed toward a cottoner apparatus having; 
     a wadding section forming station for a cottoner, the forming station having: carrier means, holding means, and feeding means mounted on a base in series. Moving means on the base reciprocate the carrier means toward and away from the feeding means. Operating means on the base open and close the holding means. The carrier means has gripping means for gripping a length of wadding material to carry it from the holding means toward the feeding means when the carrier means is moved toward the feeding means while the holding means is open. The carrier means releases the length of wadding material when moved away from the feeding means while the holding means is closed to hold the length of wadding material. The cottoner includes a loading station for taking each wadding section from the forming station and inserting it into a container; and a sensing station having a first sensing means for sensing if there is a wadding section in the container and a second sensing means for sensing if the wadding section is fully within the container. 
     The invention is also directed toward a method of operating a wadding section forming station in a cottoner to form sections of wadding material from a length of wadding material, the forming station having a carrier means, holding means and feeding means in series. The length of wadding material is passed by the carrier means and has its leading end held by the holding means. The method including the steps of: opening the holding means; moving the carrier means toward the holding means from a first position to a second position, the carrier means carrying the length of wadding material to move the leading end of the wadding material to the feeding means; rapidly operating the feeding means to feed the wadding material past the holding means and the carrier means; operating the holding means to clamp the material when a predetermined amount has been fed past the holding means by the feeding means to separate a section of the material from the length of material at the holding means; and stopping the feeding means after feeding the section through the feeding means. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a schematic front view of the cottoner apparatus positioned adjacent a conveyor; 
     FIG. 2 is a detail, schematic, front view of the cottoner showing the forming station; 
     FIG. 3 a  is a rear view of the carrier; 
     FIG. 3B is a cross-section view of the carrier taken along line  3 B— 3 B in FIG. 3A; 
     FIG. 4 is a schematic side view showing the holding means: 
     FIG. 5 is a schematic side view showing the feeding means; 
     FIG. 6 is a cross-section view taken along line  6 — 6  in FIG. 2 showing the section locator; 
     FIG. 7 is a schematic side view of the inserting station; 
     FIG. 8 is schematic top view of the inserting station; 
     FIG. 9A is a schematic side view of the sensing station; 
     FIG. 9B is a schematic top view of the sensing station; 
     FIG. 9C is a schematic cross-section view of the sensing station taken along line  9 C— 9 C in FIG. 9 a;    
     FIG. 9D is a schematic cross-section view of the sensing station taken along line  9 D— 9 D in FIG. 9 a ; and 
     FIGS. 10A to  10 F are schematic views showing the operation of the forming station. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The cottoner apparatus  1  of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 1, has a wadding section forming station  3  for forming sections of wadding material; an inserting station  5  next to the forming station  3  for folding and inserting the sections of wadding material into containers; and a sensing station  7  following the inserting station  5  for sensing correct delivery of the sections into the containers. The cottoner apparatus  1  is adapted to be mounted adjacent a conveyor  9  (shown in dotted lines) conveying a line of the containers C (also shown in dotted lines) between a filling station (not shown), where the containers are filled with pills or the like, and a capping station (not shown), where the containers are closed with a cap. A supply  11  of wadding material is located near the apparatus  1 , next to the forming station  3 . The wadding material is in the form of a long, rope-like length L of material that is coiled to form the supply  11 . 
     In more detail, as shown in FIG. 2, the forming station  3  has carrier means  15 , holding means  17  and feeding means  19  arranged serially on a base  21 . The base  21  is movably mounted on a sub-frame  23  of the apparatus  1  to be able to move toward or away from the loading station  5  as shown by the arrow ‘A’. The sub-frame  23  itself is movably mounted on a main frame  25  to move vertically up or down as shown by the arrow ‘B’. The carrier means  15  comprises a carrier  27  mounted on a support  29 , the support  29  movably mounted on the base  21  for movement in a direction toward and away from the holding means  17  as shown by the arrow ‘C’. The carrier  27  is constructed to hold and move the length L of wadding material toward the feeding means  19  when the carrier is moved toward the holding means  17 . The carrier  27  preferably is in the form of a tubular cone with the small end  37  of the cone nearest the holding means  17 . The longitudinal axis  39  of the cone is parallel to the direction of movement of the cone. The large end  41  of the cone is farthest from the holding means. The length L of wadding material enters the cone through the large end  41  and emerges from the small end  37 . The small end  37  of the cone grips the length L of wadding material as it moves toward the holding means  17 . 
     The cone-shaped carrier  27 , as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, is formed from tapered fingers  43 . The fingers  43  are pivotably mounted, by pivots  45 , near their large end  47  to a support ring  49 . Spring means  51 , located between each finger  43  and the ring  49 , bias the narrow ends  53  of the fingers  43  together to define the small outlet end  37  of the cone. The narrow ends  53  of the fingers  43  are biased by the spring means  51  to dig into the wadding material as the carrier  27  moves toward the holding means  17 . 
     The ring  49 , on which the carrier  27  is mounted, is mounted on the support  29  which in turn is connected to a moving mechanism  55  fixedly mounted on the base  21  as shown in FIG.  2 . The moving mechanism  55  can comprise a fluid cylinder  57  having a projecting piston rod  59  with the support  29  connected to the end of the piston rod  59 . Operation of the cylinder  57  will move the piston rod  59 , and thus the carrier  27 , back and forth toward and away from the holding means  17  as shown by the arrow ‘C’. The cylinder  57  is parallel to the longitudinal axis  39  of the carrier  27 . 
     The holding means  17  are located next to the small end of the carrier  27 . The holding means  17 , as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, can comprise a pair of jaws  61 ,  63  that can be actuated to clamp together, the jaws  61 ,  63  extending transverse to the direction of movement of the carrier  27 . One jaw  61  can be fixed on the base  21 , via a support  65 , with the other jaw  63  pivoted, via a pivot  67  relative to the one jaw  61 . A fluid operated cylinder  69 , mounted on the base  21 , moves the other jaw  63  with respect to the one jaw  61 , about pivot  67  to clamp them together or move them apart. 
     The feeding means  19 , shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, comprise two feed rolls  71 ,  73 , one above the other, rotatably mounted on the base  21 . The feed rolls  71 ,  73  are adjacent the holding means  17 . The axis of rotation of the rolls  71 ,  73  is transverse to the direction of movement of the carrier  27 . The rolls  71 ,  73  are preferably spring loaded toward each other by suitable means (not shown) and present a nip  75  into which the leading end of the wadding material is fed from the carrier means  15  through the holding means  17 . Operating means  77 , which could be in the form of a two-speed motor  79 , rotates one of the feed rolls  71  and, through gearing  81 , the one roll  71  rotates the other roll  73 . Other operating means could be employed to rotate the feed rolls 
     The forming station  3  has a wadding section locating means  89  positioned directly behind the feeding means  19 . The locating means  89 , as shown in FIGS. 2 and 6, preferably comprises an elongate, shallow, tray  91  generally aligned with the nip  75  formed by the rolls  71 ,  73 . The tray  91  receives sections of wadding material fed from the rolls as will be described. A stop  93  is frictionally mounted on the top edges  95  of the tray  91 , the stop  93  forming an adjustable end wall for the tray which end wall limits the movement of the sections of material and thus locates them on the tray. An elongated slot  97  is provided in the bottom of the wall  99  of the tray  91  between its ends. The tray  91  is mounted on a support  101  which in turn is mounted on the base  21 . 
     The inserting station  5 , adjacent the section forming station  3 , takes the sections of wadding material and inserts them into containers on the conveyor. The inserting station  5 , as shown in FIGS. 1,  7  and  8 , has a folding member  107  provided on the apparatus below the tray  91 , the folding member  107  aligned with the slot  97  in the tray allowing the member to move longitudinally relative to the tray if needed. Moving means, such as a pneumatic cylinder  108  mounted on the sub-frame  23  of the machine, move the folding member  107  up and down through the slot  97  in the tray  91 . A pair of transport tubes  109 ,  111  are mounted at the ends of an arm  113  which is mounted, at its center, on a vertical rod  115 . The rod  115  passes through a support  117 . The support  117  is mounted on the sub-frame  23  of the machine. A pneumatic rotary drive  118  mounted on the sub-frame  23 , rotates the rod  115  to rotate the arm  113  back and forth on the support  117 . The drive  118  can comprise a pneumatic cylinder  119  moving a rack  120  to rotate a gear  121  fixed on the rod  115 . Other drive means can be employed. The transport tubes  109 ,  111  are cylindrical and are each moved back and forth, by rotation of the arm  113 , in a semi-cylindrical arc from a first position P 1  over the tray  91  aligned with the folding member  107 , and a second position P 2  over a container C on the conveyor  9 . A pusher member  123  is located above the container C at the second position P 2  above the tubes  109 ,  111 . The pusher member  123  is connected to moving means (not shown) mounted on the sub-frame  23  of the machine. The moving means can comprise a pneumatic cylinder. A tamping member  124  is located downstream of the pusher member  123  along the conveyor  9  to complete insertion of the wadding into the container C. The tamping member  124  is also connected to suitable moving means (not shown), such as a pneumatic cylinder, mounted on the sub-frame  23  of the machine. The position of the tamping member  124  can be adjusted longitudinally relative to the position of the pusher member  123 . 
     The sensing station  7  is located adjacent the conveyor  9  downstream from inserting station  5 . The sensing station  7  has means for sensing if there is a wadding section in the container C and for sensing if any of the wadding extends out of the container C. A container will be taken off the conveyor if no wadding is sensed, or if wadding material, which would interfere with capping, extends out of the container. The sensing station  7 , as shown in FIGS. 9A to  9 D, includes a first sensor  125 , generating an infrared beam  127 , located just above the top T of the containers C being filled with wadding. If the beam  127  is broken by a container passing just under it, the broken beam indicates material sticking out above the top T of the container. The location of the first sensor  125 , mounted on a support  128  located on the cottoner just above the conveyor  9 , can be adjusted to the height of the containers. A second sensor  129  is located just downstream of the first sensor  125 . The second sensor  129  also generates an infrared beam  131  which is located to be broken by the passage of the container C. The second sensor  129  is mounted on a support  132  on the cottoner, the support just under the conveyor  9 . The conveyor walls have openings  133  therein for the sensor  129  to sense the leading side of the containers. The breaking of the beam  131  by a container C triggers operation of a light source  135  above the center of the container C. The light source  135  sends a beam of light into the container C and senses its reflection to determine if wadding is in the container. 
     In operation, the cottoner apparatus  1  is mounted adjacent the conveyor  9  passing filled containers C to a capping station. The height of the sub-frame  23  of the apparatus is adjusted relative to the height of the main frame  25  of the apparatus to locate the bottom of the tubes  109 ,  111  in the loading station  5  just above the tops of the containers on the conveyor. The length of the wadding section to be formed is determined and a timer is adjusted to determine how long the feed rolls  71 ,  73  of the feeding means  19  operate and when the jaws  61 ,  63  of the holding means  17  are closed to get the length of wadding section desired. The length could range from between three inches and eight inches. The base  21  of the forming station  3  is adjusted horizontally on the sub-frame  23  to position the rolls  71 ,  73  the required distance from the folding member  107  on the base  23  at the loading station  5  to obtain the length of section desired to be formed so that the folding member  107  will be about midway of the section when the section is delivered from the feed rolls  71 ,  73  to the tray  91 . The slot  97  in the tray  91  allows the tray to move horizontally relative to the folding member  107 . The end wall  93  on the tray  91  is also adjusted to suit the length of section so as to locate the section about midway relative the folding member  107  when delivered onto the tray. 
     A supply  11  of wadding material is mounted on or adjacent the apparatus and the leading end LE of the length L of wadding is fed by hand through a guide  137  on the apparatus and then through the carrier  27  and out the small, front end  37  so that the leading end LE of the wadding length L projects slightly past the front end  37  of the carrier as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. A first control  139  on the apparatus is then actuated to operate the apparatus in a first mode of operation. Initially, in this first mode of operation, a threading mode, the feed rolls  71 ,  73  in the feeding means  19  are stopped, the jaws  61 ,  63  of the holding means  17  are closed, and the carrier  27 , holding the leading end LE of the wadding material, is as far from the holding means  17  as possible, in a first position, as shown in FIG.  10 A. Upon actuation of the first control  139 , the feed rolls  71 ,  73  start to slowly rotate, the jaws  61 ,  63  open, and the carrier  27  is moved toward the holding means  17  to insert the leading end LE of the wadding between the jaws as shown in FIG.  10 B. The rolls  71 ,  73  in this threading mode of operation, would rotate at around 50 rpm. When the carrier  27  reaches its closest, or second, position to the jaws  61 ,  63 , the carrier  27  stops, the jaws  61 ,  63  close to clamp the wadding as shown in FIG.  10 C and the rolls  71 ,  73  stop rotating. The carrier  27  then moves back to its initial position, sliding over the length L of wadding as shown in FIG. 10D, to complete a threading cycle. The leading end LE may reach the slowly rotating rolls  71 ,  73  and enter the nip  75  when the carrier is first moved toward the jaws. If this happens, the cycle is completed by having the jaws close, the rolls stop rotating, and the carrier return to its first position. The threading mode is now completed since the wadding material has reached the rolls. 
     If the wadding is not long enough to reach the rolls, the threading cycle is repeated by again actuating the first control  139  to open the jaws  61 ,  63 ; move the carrier  27  toward the jaws and thus move the leading end LE of the wadding from the jaws  61 ,  63  toward the rolls  71 ,  73  as shown in FIG. 10E; and slowly rotate the rolls to pick up the leading end of the wadding to complete threading. The threading mode may even require a third cycle of operation to complete threading, each cycle actuated by pressing the first control  139 . The number of cycles required depends on the distance the wadding material initially extends from the carrier  27 . 
     Once threading of the wadding length between the rolls is completed, the machine is put in an automatic production mode operation, filling containers with sections of wadding material, through actuation of a second control  141 . When in a production mode of operation, the carrier  27  moves toward the open jaws  61 ,  63  of the holding means  17  to the second position and the feed rolls  71 ,  73  are rotated at high speed, around 360 rpm, to pull a required amount of length of wadding material past the open jaws  61 ,  63  and past the carrier  27 . When a required amount of wadding has been pulled past the jaws and carrier, the jaws clamp. The rolls continue pulling the length of wadding to separate a section S of wadding from the remainder of the wadding material at the clamped jaws as shown in FIG.  10 F. This separated section S of wadding is fed by the rolls onto the tray  91  against the stop  93  to locate it centrally of the pusher  107 . While this is happening, the carrier  27  is returning to its initial position. At its initial position, the jaws  61 ,  63  open, and the rolls stop rotating. The cycle is automatically repeated when the carrier reaches its initial position. The carrier  27  moves again toward the jaws to feed the material through the jaws to the nip of the rolls. The rolls rotate to pull a section out, the jaws clamp to separate the section and the carrier returns. It will be seen that the carrier continually reciprocates toward and away from the jaws to feed the wadding material to the rolls with the aid of the jaws. The jaws are clamped to allow return of the carrier without pulling the material with it. The jaws are unclamped to allow the carrier to feed the leading end of the material from the jaws to the rolls. The rolls pull the next section off, pulling the required amount of material through the carrier before the jaws clamp to separate the section. The rolls are operated intermittently to pull sections of a predetermined length past the jaws before the jaws clamp to allow the section of desired length to be torn off. 
     The section S of wadding material is fed from the rollers into the tray  91  against the stop  93  which is located to position the section S midway over the folding member  107 . The folding member  107  is then actuated to push the section up into the first tube  109  at position P 1 , folding the section in half as it does so. The arm  113  is then rotated to move the first tube  109  over the container C at position P 2  while the second tube  111  is moved from position P 2  to position P 1  over the tray  91  ready to receive a second section of wadding. The pusher  123  is now actuated to insert the first wadding section into the container from the first tube  109  while a second section is simultaneously pushed up into the second tube  111 . The first container is now moved away from position P 2  to the tamper  124 , a second container moved into position P 2 , the tubes rotated and the second section is inserted in the second container at P 2  from tube  111  while a third section is pushed up into the first tube  109  at P 1 . The tamper  124  is pushed down into the first container to tamp the first section into the first container simultaneously with the insertion of the second section by the pusher  123  into the second container. Both the pusher  123  and the tamper  124  are operated simultaneously by double acting pneumatic cylinders. 
     After tamping, the first container is then moved past the sensing station, past the first sensor  125  to ensure that no wisps of wadding material extend above the container and then past the second sensor  129  that ensures that the container has wadding material therein before it is capped. If no wadding is sensed or if wadding is sensed extending out if the container, the container is taken off the conveyor. 
     The carrier  27  has been described as a cone shaped member composed of spring-biased fingers. The cone shape makes it easy to initially thread the wadding material through the cone and the resilient fingers makes the carrier easily adaptable to carry different sizes of wadding. The fingers allow the carrier to carry the material in one direction but allow the material to be pulled through the carrier and allow the carrier to move in the opposite direction while the material is held in front of it. However, the carrier can comprise other reciprocating types of carrier means that will grip the wadding at a first position, transport the wadding in one direction to a second position, release the wadding at the second position and return to the first position. An alternate carrier for example could comprise a pair of jaws mounted for reciprocating movement, the jaws clamping the wadding at the first position, carrying it to the second position; releasing the wadding at the second position and returning to the first position to reclamp the wadding length at a new location. 
     The holding means  17  has been described as having two jaws  61 ,  63 , one jaw  61  fixed, the other jaw  63  pivotable. Both jaws however could be constructed to be movable toward and away from each other. 
     The feeding means  19  have been described as having a two-speed motor for rotating the rolls  71 ,  73 . Other operating means could be employed.