Patent GB-707969-A (GB)
Title: Method of and apparatus for handling bottle stoppers and like articles
IPC: B65G47/68
Filed: 1950-02-15
Abstract: 707,969. Feeding articles in predetermined attitude. CLEGG, F. W. Feb. 9, 1951 [Feb. 15, 1950], No. 3823/50. Class 117 [Also in Group XXX] In a method of selection and delivery of stoppers or like articles from a scrambled mass, in which shank-up stoppers are separated from other stoppers of the mass and are forwarded for delivery, the stoppers of the mass are urged to travel upwardly in an inclined plane, having an inclination such that the critical limit of stability of stoppers lying other than shank-up is approached or exceeded during said travel, the stoppers other . than shank-up being overturned and returned to said mass, while shankup stoppers are maintained stable against overturning throughout said upward inclined movement to a delivery position. The invention has special application to a type of rubber stopper having a shank and an appreciably enlarged head, and. so proportioned that the stopper will stand with reasonable stability only head-up or shank-up, being more stable shank-up, and being incapable of lying stably on its side. A sterilized hopper which is inclined to the horizontal, has as its base a rotary disc 21, Fig. 2, which is driven at a uniform speed in the direction indicated by the arrow. A rotary paddie 32, driven by a belt 35, comprises a spindle carrying radially spaced groups of fingers 34 which sweep the path of travel of the stoppers 22 to ensure that the stoppers start on their travel one by one, and a plurality of deflector plates 30, attached to a radius beam 31, provide a number of guide paths for the stoppers which intersect the edge 29 of a guide plate 28. The thickness and height of the plate 28 are arranged so that the shanks of stoppers in the shank-up state may abut against the edge 29, with the heads partially projecting below an overhanging lip of the plate 28, the heads of stoppers in the headup state over-riding the lip. An outlet aperture 25 is provided with a downwardly inclined delivery track 27 formed by gudde lips spaced from the disc 21 to receive the heads of shank-up stoppers, and spaced apart from one another to receive the shanks of these stoppers. To assist in the orderly arrival of stoppers at the delivery position, and to ensure that the arrival of too many at a time will not block the mouth, a rejector disc 38 continuously rotated at a speed considerably greater than that of the disc 21, flicks the stoppers which come into contact with it towards the top of the retaining wall and thus back towards the outer deflector plate 30. To ensure that a head-up stopper cannot lodge in the mouth of the track 27, one or both of the guide lips is provided with a cam-shaped edge which engages beneath the head of such a stopper to tilt it to the point of insbability whereby it will roll out of the way, preferably to rejoin the scrambled mass of stoppers. The delivery track 27 follows a curved path, Fig. 6, to present the stoppers shank-down to enter from above bottles presented at the station as described in Specification 707,002, [Group IV(a)]. The heads 24 of the stoppers 22 are engaged by a flanged rim 43 of a continuously driven disc 44, while the bases of the shanks are engaged by an endless steel tape 45 to frictionally hold the heads of the stoppers against the rim 43.