Improvements in Means or Apparatus employed in Packing Tea and other substances.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 8th Oct., 1891
Complete Specification Left, 8th July, 1892-Accepted, 18th Aug., 1892
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Means or Apparatus employed in Packing Tea
and other substances.
We, CHARLES FIELDING, Manager, and JAMES WHITE, Warehouse Foreman,
both of "The Co-operative Wholesale Society Limited," 99 Leman Street,
Whitechapel, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows:-
The invention has for its object improvements in means or apparatus employed
in packing tea and other substances, whereby the amount of work done at a single
machine is greatly increased.
For this purpose we employ a turntable fitted with guides and stops to receive
the lower flanged ends of the "blocks," which latter are loose and capable of being
readily inserted in, and removed from, the said guides; when these "blocks
are placed in their guides and against their stops, they are in position, when the
turntable is rotated to the required extent, to be brought underneath a rammer or
plunger, which is adjustably fixed to the cross-head carrying and operating the
same. The turntable is also provided with carriers fixed thereto intermediate of
the "block" guides for the purpose of receiving the funnels after the latter have
been raised out of the "blocks," and carrying them to a position where they can
he removed by an attendant.
The rammer or plunger cross-head before referred to is carried by the upper
ends of a pair of rods, which, at their lower ends, are connected together by a
cross bar guided at its ends and carrying at the centre, a pulley, which is acted
upon by a cam to depress the rammer or plunger, and such cross bar has connected
thereto, chains, which pass over guide pulleys and have weights connected thereto,
which act to keep the pulley on the cross bar up to its cam and to raise the rammer
or plunger. The machine is also provided with lifters, which, after the tea has
been rammed, act to raise the funnels out of the "blocks," and to deposit them
on the carriers before referred to. These lifters are suitably guided and are
attached, at their lower ends, to a cross bar guided at its ends and carrying
pulleys which rest against cams, by which the lifters are raised and lowered at the
required times.
The cams are carried by a shaft, to which rotary motion is given by gearing
from a main driving shaft, which, by suitable gearing, gives the required step by
step rotary motion to the turntable.
The turntable is arranged above a fixed table, at which the attendants work to
remove the funnel from its supports and the "block" from its guides, to weigh
the tea or other substance, fold the wrapper around the tubular portion of the
funnel, place the funnel with the wrapper thereon in the "block," charge the
funnel with tea, and finally place the "block" containing the funnel, wrapper, and
tea, in the "block"
guide.
The operation of the machine is as follows:-When a "block" containing its
charge of tea, the wrapper, and funnel, arrives underneath the rammer or plunger
by the step by step rotary motion given to the turntable, the rammer or plunger
is caused to descend and compress the tea; then the lifters are caused to rise
and thereby raise the funnel out of the "block," the turntable is again partially
rotated so as to bring a carrier into position between the lifters, and the rammer
or plunger is simultaneously caused to rise and to remain in its highest position
until a fresh "block" with its wrapper, funnel and tea are brought underneath
the same.
As the carrier" approaches the lifters, the latter are gradually
lowered until they deposit the funnel they have lifted out of the previously ratamed

page_text: "block" on to the said carrier, which latter then, in the continued rotation of
the turntable, carries the funnel into position for an attendant to remove it previous
to furnishing it again with another wrapper. An attendant also removes the
"blocks" from their guides and takes the wrapper with the tea therein out of the
"block." The turntable stops in its rotation for a time to permit of the action
of the rammer and lifters.
We would here remark that we do not confine ourselves to the precise
arrangement of mechanism above described for operating the rammer and lifters,
as such may be varied without departing from the peculiar character of our
invention.
By the aid of our invention a greater number of attendants are enabled to work
at a given machine, whereby the latter is constantly supplied with work and
considerable economy thereby obtained.
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CHAS. FIELDING,
JAS. WHITE,
By Harris & Mills,
23, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Means or Apparatus employed in Packing Tea
and other substances.
We, CHARLES FIELDING, Manager, and JAMES WHITE, Warehouse Foreman,
both of "The Co-operative Wholesale Society Limited" 99 Leman Street,
Whitechapel, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement, reference being had
to the accompanying drawings and to the figures and letters marked thereon :-
Figure 1, is an elevation partly in section of a packing machine or apparatus
constructed according to our invention.
Figure 2. is a vertical cross section drawn on the line 1. 1 of Figure 1, and
Figure 3 is a plan of the upper parts of the machine.
In the several figures like parts are indicated by similar letters of reference.
The invention has for its object improvements in means or apparatus employed
in packing tea and other substances whereby the amount of work done at a single
machine is greatly increased.
For this purpose we employ a turntable a fitted with "blocks" b preferably
fixed thereto by means of screws 6', as shown, so that said "blocks" shall be
accurately and rigidly held in position whilst the machine is at work, but which
can be readily removed therefrom for cleaning by previously removing the
screws b. These "blocks" can, as stated in our Provisional Specification, be
provided with flanges at their lower ends to fit into guides and against stops on
the turntable, so that they can be readily inserted in and removed from the said
guides, but the arrangement above described and represented in the drawings is
preferable, as there is no fear of the "blocks" being improperly placed on the
turntable. When the turntable a is rotated to the required extent, the "blocks" b
are, in succession, brought underneath a rammer or plunger c, which is adjustably
fixed to the cross head & carrying and operating the same. The turntable a is
also provided with carriers d fixed thereto intermediate of the blocks b for the
purpose of receiving the funnelse after the latter have been raised out of the
*blocks
and carrying them to a position where they can be removed by an
The rammer or plunger cross head is carried by the upper ends of a pair of
rods which are guided in sleeves A' carried by the main frame A, and which
rods e², at their lower ends, are connected together by a cross bar c³ guided at its
"
attendant.

page_text: ends in grooves or ways A' and carrying at the centre a pulley which is acted
upon by a cam C fixed on the cam shaft B to depress the rammer or plunger c,.
and such lower cross bar has connected thereto chains, which pass over guide
pulleys and have weights c² connected thereto which act to keep the pulley *.
up to its cam C and consequently to raise the rammer or plunger c when permitted
by the cam C.
The machine is also provided with lifters f, which, after the tea has been
rammed, act to raise the funnels e out of the "blocks" and to deposit them on
the carriers d. These lifters fare guided in holes formed in the top of the
frame A, and are attached, at their lower ends, to a cross bar f' guided at its ends
in grooves or ways A', and carrying pulleys f' which rest upon cams F by which
the lifters are raised at the required times, the weight of the said lifters keeping
them in contact with the cams and consequently causing them to descend at the
required times.
The cam shaft B is driven from the main driving shaft D by means of a
pinion D' on the said driving shaft taking into a toothed wheel B¹ fixed on the.
cam shaft B. The required step by step rotary motion is given to the turn:
table a in the following manner. On one end of the cam shaft B is fixed a bevel
pinion B which gears into a bevel pinion g' fixed on the lower end of a vertical
shaft 9 on the upper end of which is fixed a crank g; to the outer end of this.
crank is pin jointed one end of a link g whose other end is pin jointed to a
lever fixed on the lower end of a short vertical shaft mounted in a bearing A*¯
carried by the framing A. The upper end of the shaft g has fixed thereon a
lever g which by a link g' is connected with and gives to and fro motion to a
double ended pawl lever 98 which by its pawls g' taking into recesses a² in the
inner face of the turntable a gives a step by step rotary motion to the latter at
the required times. The turntable a is arranged above a fixed table hit rests on:
the arms A and is controlled to rotate truly thereon by means of rollers A
mounted at the ends of the arms A' and bearing against the periphery of the.
turntable a.
The attendants work at the table à to remove the funnel from its supports, to
fold the wrapper around the tubular portion of the funnel, to place the funnel
with the wrapper thereon in the "block," to weigh the tea or other substance, to
charge the funnel with the weighed tea or other substance and when the funnel is.
removed from its "block" to fold the end of the wrapper over the tea or other
material and finally remove the packet of material from the "block" by means
of one section or flap of the folded upper, end of the wrapper.
The operation of the machine is as follows:-When a "block" 6 containing the
wrapper, funnel and charge of tea or other substance arrives underneath the
rammer or plunger c by the step by step rotary motion given to the turntable a
the rammer or plunger c is caused to descend and compress the tea or other
substance, then the lifters are caused to rise and thereby raise the funnel e out of
the "block"; the turntable a is then again partially rotated so as to bring a
carrier d into position between the lifters and the rammer or plunger « is simul--
taneously cansed to rise and remain in its highest position until a fresh "block" b
with its wrapper, funnel and tea or other material are brought underneath the
same. As a carrier d approaches the lifters f, the latter are gradually lowered
until they deposit the funnel e they have lifted out of the previously rammed or
compressed block on to the said carrier which latter then in the continued
rotation of the turntable a carries the funnel into position for an attendant to-
remove it previous to furnishing it again with another wrapper.
·
An attendant also removes the wrapper with the compressed tea or other material.
therein out of the "block" after having folded down the upper end of the wrapper..
The turntable a stops in its rotation for a suitable time to permit of the action
of the plunger or rammer c and lifters f.
We would here remark that we do not confine ourselves to the precise arrange-
ment of mechanism above described for operating the plunger or rammer, lifters.

page_text: and turntable, as such may be varied without departing from the peculiar character
of our invention.
By the aid of our invention a greater number of attendants are enabled to work
at a given machine, whereby the latter is constantly supplied with work and
considerable economy thereby obtained.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is :-
1. In apparatus for packing tea and other substances the peculiar arrangement
and combination of parts substantially as herein shown and described.
2. In apparatus for packing tea and other substances, the combination of an
intermittently rotated table carrying the packing "blocks," a plunger or rammer
to compress the material being packed, lifters for lifting the funnels out of the
"blocks" after compression of the material and carriers to receive the funnels
from the lifters and carry them to a position to be taken by an attendant all being
operated and arranged substantially as herein shown and described.
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CHAS. FIELDING,
JAMES WHITE,
By Harris & Mills,
23, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents.