Patent GB-715890-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in case filling machine
IPC: B65B21/16
Filed: 1951-06-29
Abstract: 715,890. Case filling machines. DAVIS CASER CO., Inc. June 29, 1951 [Oct. 26, 1950], No. 15491/51. Class 94 (1) [Also in Group XXX] A case filling machine includes means for advancing successive rows of bottles between guides and over a grid until the grid is covered, whereupon the grid is moved laterally into alignment with the guides so that the bottles drop through into a compartmented basket held thereunder, the basket being then lowered on to a case and the bottles released into the case. Bottles in linc on a conveyer 1 are led by a guide 17 on to a plate 165 and between adjacent flights 5 extending laterally from a stepped intermittently movable endless chain conveyer 3. The foremost bottle, as the space between flights 5 is filled, contacts a switch arm 109 to cause the conveyer 3 to move forward a step. The switch causes a valve to open to supply air to a cylinder 51, Fig. 6, to move a piston .55 linked to a pusher 75 engaging a flight of the conveyer. A switch button 105, engaged by the pusher at the end of its stroke, causes the air supply to the piston 55 to be shut off, and a pivoted hooked bar 87 rocked by movement of the pusher 75, holds the conveyer in its stepped position. Successive rows of bottles are pushed by the flights 5 of the conveyer 3 from the plate 165 along horizontal rails 9 of a grid 7, each bottle of a row being guided by parallel upper and lower guides 8.. As the grid becomes full the end bottle of the end (first) row moves a switch lever 221 to actuate a solenoid 213 to pull the grid 7 to one side so that the rails 9 move into vertical alignment with the guides 8 and the bottles fall through the grid into a vertically movable compartmented basket 11 positioned thereunder. The bottles are held in pockets 239 of the basket by resilient depending fingers 249, 251, the fingers 251 being flexed inwardly by rocking bars 253.. Assuming a case C to have been positioned below the basket, actuation of the switch lever 221 causes air to exhaust gradually from a cylinder 281, so that the basket is gradually lowered, on vertical rails 269, on to the case C. As the carriage is lowered the bars 253 are rocked to allow the bottles to fall from the basket pockets 239; this is effected by the rocking of a lever 265 connected to the end bar 253, by contact with a stationary plate 271, the end bar 253 being linked by rack and pinion means with the other bars. A diaphragm switch 301 controls the length of time the basket is in its lowered position. A case C is moved into the machine by rollers 351 of a roller conveyer on to rollers 355, Fig. 17, below the basket 11 to contact a plate 359 to actuate a switch 361 (not shown). This causes a piston in a cylinder 369 to move a case pusher 377, having case engaging rollers 390, along the rollers 355 until the case contacts fixed rollers 393, against which it is held by the pusher 377 and by rollers 395 carried by pivoted arms 407 which are swung in to engage the sides of the case by rack and pinion means operated by a lever 399 rocked by a rod 402 carried by the pusher 377. As the basket 11 is raised, after depositing the bottles in the case, it opens a switch 423, Fig. 1, to allow the pusher 377 to be retracted by springs 379, the rollers 355 then move the filled case on to discharge rollers 356, the case side engaging rollers 395 moving apart. In a modification, Fig. 24, the bottles are held in the basket 11 by inflatable membranes 433 and spring fingers 469, 471, the membranes being deflated to release the bottles. In a further modification, Fig. 27, expansible inverted frustoconical rubber tubes 501 are substituted for the spring-fingers 469, 471. Specification 715,937 is referred to.