Patent GB-1415104-A (GB)
Title: Method and apparatus for packagiang baths of compressible materials
IPC: B65B27/12
Filed: 1973-11-12
Abstract: 1415104 Apparatus for compressing batts of compressible material JOHNS-MANVILLE CORP 12 Nov 1973 [21 Nov 1972] 52407/73 Heading B8C An apparatus for packaging batts of compressible material comprises a hopper 22 having a longitudinal centre line, first and second side walls 32, 34 extending parallel to said longitudinal centre line, the hopper having a bottom wall 36 extending between, and secured to, the side walls, the hopper also having two open ends, a first ram 42 located within the hopper and extending between the side walls and movable relative to the hopper in a direction parallel to the longitudinal centre line and perpendicular to said open ends; at least one movable closure member 38, or 40, for closing off the open top of the hopper to confine compressible material within the hopper; a drive member 120 located outside of the hopper and connected to the first ram for moving the latter in said direction; and a shoot 24, or 26, adjacent each of said open ends, and each having a longitudinal centre line perpendicular to the longitudinal centre line of the hopper, each of the shoots having a lateral opening therein which is defined by said open end of the hopper, and each of said shoots having an open discharge end 166 for discharging compressed materials into a package. The apparatus also comprises a second ram 176, Fig. 4, carried in each of said shoots and movable axially of the shoots; and drive members 198 for moving each said second ram in each shoot the hopper being sized to accept the batts in a side-by-side relationship with the thickness dimension of said batts parallel with the longitudinal line of the hopper. As shown, each side wall 32, 34 of the hopper 22 is formed of overlapping upper and lower sections, such as 44, 46 respectively for side walls 32, Fig. 5, the ram 42, movable backward and forward across the whole width of the hopper 22 by a reversible motor 120 and chain-link mechanism 125, being formed of an upper part 90 which is telescopically adjustable over a lower part 92. The chainlink mechanism 125 is connected to a trolley 102 which is attached by a plate 104 which extends through a slot in the floor of the hopper, to the ram 42, rollers 94, 96 on the upper sides of the upper ram part 90 engaging in corresponding channels, such as 98, for the upper wall section 44, Fig. 5. The upper sections of the side walls 32, 34, connected together by cross bars 52, are movable vertically by pairs of screw-jacks 56, Fig. 1, which are driven by a reversible motor 198 acting through rods 66 in order to vary the height of the hopper 22 and that of the ram 42 according to the width of the batts of insulation material such as fibre glass, which are to be loaded, side-by-side, in the hopper 22. The upper member 172 of two telescopically adjustable members 166, 172 of each of the pair of identical loading shoots 24, 26 are connected to the vertically movable upper members of the side walls 32, 34 so that the height of each shoot is simultaneously adjustable. The vertically movable member 44 of the side wall 32 also carries, at its upper end, a pair of hold-down gates 38, 40 which are pivotally mounted, as at 68, Fig. 5, to a plate 78, connected to the rail 98 and guided for vertical movement in blocks 82, and which are movable from a vertical open position to a horizontal closed position by means of pneumatic cylinders 74 carried by the plate 78. A ram 176, with a forwardly projecting ram plate 178, Fig. 4, is mounted by wheels 182, 184 for reciprocal movement in each loading shoot 24, 26 to push each load, delivered by the ram 42 as the latter moves from one side of the hopper to the other, through an opening in the shoot adjacent the corresponding open end of the hopper, and into a bag, not shown, previously placed by an operator over the outlet opening of the shoot. The bag is held in position against the sides of the shoot by spring-loaded clamps 228 which are operated by vacuum cylinders (226), Fig. 6 (not shown). When the ram 42 has delivered a load into a shoot 24 or 26 and is retracted, in the opposite direction to push the succeeding load previously stacked by the operator in the hopper 22 toward the other shoot 26, or 24, upper and lower retaining fingers 148, 150 are allowed to pivot respectively downwardly and upwardly to retain the load just delivered compressed within the respective shoot. Movement of a load, by the ram 42 into a shoot causes the fingers 148, 150 to be pivoted out of the way. Each ram 176 is driven by a reversible motor 198, Fig. 4, and a chain link mechanism 204, 218. When a ram 176 is fully advanced to push a load into a bag the latter is supported in a bag table 28, the side walls (244, 246) of which, Fig. 6 (not shown), are maintained, by a spring, in their vertical backing-up position. The bag is released by de-energizing the clamps 228 and operating a pneumatic cylinder (256) to move the walls (244, 246) into their inclined positions as shown at the lefthand-side of Fig. 1. The hopper 22 is loaded with a stack of side-by-side batts of glass-fibre insulating material, while the gates 38, 42 are raised, the latter being closed as the ram 42 commences to move from one side of the hopper to the other. Operation of the apparatus is controlled by a system of conventional limit switches.