Improvements in Packaging Machines.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 23rd Aug., 1898-Accepted, 22nd Oct.,
1898
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Packaging Machines.
I, HENRY EYSTER SMYSER, a citizen of the United States, residing at the Hotel
Margaret, Borough of Brooklyn, in the City of New York, United States of
America, Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said invention, and
in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement:-
This invention relates to machines for automatically filling bags or receptacles
with material, and closing them to form a completed package. It relates particu-
larly to the construction of such machines set forth in the Specification of my
Letters Patent No. 16,739, dated 28th July 1896. My present invention is
especially applicable to the machine set forth in that specification, although it
may be applied in connection with other machines of the same general character.
The object of my present invention is to provide an improved and simplified
construction of carrier for transporting packages in a packaging machine, either
during the period while they are being dried, or whenever they are being carried
from one part of the machine to another.
The accompanying drawings show my present invention as applied to a machine
for making paper bags, filling them with sugar or other material, gumming and
closing the tops of the bags to form packages, drying these packages, and finally
delivering them out of the machine. The particular machine to which my inven-
tion is here shown as being applied, is the one set forth in my said Specification
of July 28, 1896, which may be referred to for a full understanding of all those
parts of the machine which are not herein fully shown or described.
In the accompanying drawings,
Fig. 1 is a horizontal section partly broken away in different planes to show
different portions of the construction;
Fig. 2 is an elevation of the main revolving part of the machine constituting
the bag pockets and package carrier viewed obliquely in the direction indicated
by the arrow 2 in Fig. 1, all extraneous and intervening portions of the mechanism
being removed;
Fig. 3 is an oblique diametrical section in a vertical plane indicated by the
line 3-3 in Fig. 1 ;
Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view on a larger scale, the section being taken in the
same plane as Fig. 3, with the parts shown in a somewhat different position;
Fig. 5 is a horizontal fragmentary section on the same scale as Fig. 4, being cut
on the plane of the line 5-5 therein;
Fig. is a fragmentary vertical section on the line 6-6 in Fig. 5;
Fig. 7 is a vertical transverse section on the hne 7-7 in Fig. 6;
Fig. 8 is a fragmentary sectional plan showing a portion of the bottom ring in
Figs. 6 and 7, and a section of one of the partitions;
Fig. 9 is a perspective of one of the partitions;
Fig. 10 is a fragmentary horizontal section in the same plane as Fig. 5 showing
a modification:

page_text: Fig. 11 is a vertical section on line 11-11;
Figs. 12 and 13 show a chain carrier, Fig. 12 being a horizontal section and
Fig. 13 a vertical cross section;
Fig. 14 is a front view of part of a modified construction of carrier;
Fig. 15 is a transverse section showing a detail of construction.
In so far as the elements or parts shown in the accompanying drawings are
identical with the corresponding parts in my said Specification of July 28, 1896,
I have here designated them by the same letters or numbers of reference.
Referring to the drawings, let 132 designate a vertical shaft mounted in bear-
ings in a suitable frame of any practicable construction, and carrying a wheel P
which may be constructed with spokes, and with a circular rim 130, and which
carries a series of pockets N N, open at top and bottom, and which slide around
over a circular table 0. The construction of these pockets may be greatly varied,
all that is essential being that they shall constitute carrying cells or compartments
adapted to receive the bags and hold them while they are filled, and while their
tops are closed to form packages.
The wheel P is caused to revolve intermittently, moving each time the distance
from one pocket to the next (or it might be made to move the distance of two or
more pockets at a time if preferred). For imparting these movements, I employ a
swinging lever 141, and its accessories, as fully set forth in my said patent (see
Fig. 21 thereof).
At any suitable point in the rotation of the pockets N, suitable paper bags are
thrust into them one by one, either by hand or by automatic mechanism. These
bags are carried around in the pockets, as shown in Fig. 3, during which if still
damp from the paste used in making them, they may be dried by the heat of
steam, which may be introduced into the hollow table or outer wall g (Fig. 3).
At any suitable point, for example where indicated by the words "bags filled
here in Fig. 1, a weighed or measured charge of material to be packed is depo-
sited in the bag. At any suitable subsequent position, for example where indi-
cated in Fig. 1, gum or glue is applied to the top of the bag, and finally the top
of the bag is folded down to enclose the material and form a package, for example
in the position indicated by the words "top of bag closed here" in Fig. 1. It
then becomes necessary to remove the package from the pocket in order to empty
the latter and prepare it for receiving a fresh bag. For this purpose, according
to the mechanism disclosed in my said Specification of July 28, 1896, the package
in the next position runs off the end of the table (Fig. 2) and comes over a
plunger Y, while another plunger X stands just above it. Thereupon the upper
plunger X, which is mounted on a vertical slide 275, moves down upon the top of
the package, so that the package is confined between the two plungers, as shown
in Fig. 4, whereupon they move down together, carrying the package a between
them to the position shown in Fig. 3. In this position the package stands oppo-
site a horizontally moving plunger or pusher Z, mounted on a slide 291, which
then advances and pushes the package out from between the two plungers X
and Y. In my former machine, this pusher pushed the bag into a drying conduit,
where it was engaged between endless belts or conveyor chains below and above,
by which the packages were carried along underneath the pocket wheel P; and
finally delivered out of the machine. My present invention provides an improved
and much simpler construction instead of this conveying conduit.
I will now proceed to describe my present invention.
Ĭ
My invention provides a carrier for receiving the packages after they have
been removed from the pockets N, adapted to hold them until their tops shall
have become dried or set, and to carry them to any suitable or convenient location
where it is desired to have them delivered or expelled from the machine. To this
end, my invention provides an endless movable carrier for receiving the packages, con-
structed preferably with top and bottom plates adapted to hold the packages between
them, and mounted to move in an endless path, preferably by being constructed in

page_text: circular form, and made to move concentrically around a center. Preferably the
carrier is divided into compartments each adapted to receive one package. The
carrier is best constructed concentrically with the central shaft 132, to revolve
around this shaft, and for simplicity it is preferable to have it move coincidently
5 with the movement of the pocket carrying wheel, to which end the simplest and
best construction is to mount, the carrier on or attach it to this wheel, so that it
shall be carried therewith. My invention, however, is not limited to the special
details of construction or arrangement.
I will proceed to describe in detail the particular and preferred construction
which is shown in the drawings. The package carrier as a whole is designated 330.
It is constructed of two flat circular plates 331 and 332, which are spaced apart a
distance approximately equal to the height of the packages. The upper plate 331
is fastened to the rim or ring 130 of the wheel P. The carrier is divided into
cells or compartments 333, by means of intervening partitions 334. To render
the construction as light as possible, these partitions are made hollow, being pre-
ferably formed of plate metal bent into the shape shown in cross-section in Fig. 5.
The top and bottom plates are connected together by bolts 335 at intervals, which
pass up through the hollow partition 334, and which screw into lugs projecting
from the rim 130, by which all the parts are fastened together, and at the same
time the carrier is attached to the wheel P. In the particular construction shown,
the partitions 334 are held in place by being sunk into hollow radial grooves 336,
Figs. 6 and 8, in the rings 331 and 332, while to prevent their outward radial
displacement, the inner ends of the hollow partitions may be elongated, as indi-
cated at 337 in Figs. 7 and 9, projecting thus into notches 338 in the top and
bottom plates (Figs. 7 and 8).
It results from this construction that the carrier 330 has its compartments 333
equal in number and in spacing to the pockets N. This equality is necessary
when the carrier is fixed to the pocket wheel P, but would not be otherwise. The
arrangement is such that when a package is plunged down from a pocket by the
plungers XY, a compartment 333 stands exactly in line with it, as shown at the
right in Fig. 5, so that upon the movement of the pusher Z, it pushes the package
into the compartment, advancing to the position shown in dotted lines in Figs. 4
and 5. At the next forward movement of the carrier the next empty compart-
ment 333 is brought into alignment with the pusher. Thus at each movement the
carrier has a new package a pushed into one of its compartments. The packages
are held so firmly between the top and bottom plates of the carrier, that the flaps
or folds of their closed tops cannot unfold or fly up, the tops of the packages being
thus held firmly down for a sufficient time to enable the glue or gum to thoroughly
dry and cement them down.
At any convenient discharging position, the packages are successively expelled
from the compartments of the carrier. This is done by a pusher 340, which may
be similar to the pusher Z, and which at each stoppage of the carrier advances
into the coincident compartment, pushes ahead of it the package, and expels the
latter onto a table u or any suitable support, and then moves back through the
compartment before the next forward movement of the carrier. This pusher 340
may be driven in any suitable manner, as by a cam, but the simplest construction
is that shown wherein this pusher is mounted through the medium of a suitable
bracket 341, on a slide 342, which as shown is coincident with or a prolongation of
the slide 291, although this is not necessary, as two separate slides might be
employed.
i
The subdivision of the carrier into compartments is not strictly essential, as the
top and bottom plates are the only portions of the carrier that need come into
contact with the packages, the bottom plate supporting the packages, and the top
plate serving to hold the top flaps down until they are dry. In Figs. 10 and 11.
I have shown a carrier in which the partitions 334 are omitted. The packages are
pushed into place between the top and bottom plates by the pusher 7, and remain
in their proper relative positions by the frictional engagement of the plates with

page_text: them. The top and bottom plates 331 and 332 are mounted upon radial spokes 343,
held at the proper distance apart by studs 344. The expelling pusher 340 may be
mounted on a bracket arm 345 fastened on the slide 342, the bracket arm 345
passing between the upper and lower plates, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 11.
The carrier may be otherwise modified, it being only essential that it shall be
an endless carrier adapted to receive the packages, and to carry them until their
delivery position is reached, and then to permit of the expulsion of the packages.
For example any form of endless chain carrier that is adapted to perform these
functions in connection with a machine for making, closing or otherwise handling
packages, is within my invention. A suitable construction of chain carrier is
shown in Figs. 12 and 13. Each link consists of a plate 346, bent at top and
bottom to form the top and bottom plates 3311 and 3321 of the carrier. The links
may be connected together in any suitable way known to makers of chain gearing
or chain conveyors, as for example by means of hinge leaves 347 and 348 engaging
hinge pins or pintles 349.
It is not essential that both the top and bottom plates shall be formed as a
moving part of the carrier, as either of these plates, or even both of them, might
be made stationary, and the packages be pushed along against such stationary
plate or plates. In Fig. 14 I have shown the top plate 432 as being stationary,
being bolted at intervals to a supporting portion 433 of the main frame of the
machine, while the bottom plate 332 is constructed as shown in Fig. 11, being
mounted on spokes 343, which connect it to a hub suitably mounted. In this
case the partitions 334 are fixed solely to the bottom plate 332.
The carrier may move independently of the pocket carrying wheel P, although
the simplest construction is to have it move therewith. By constructing it to
move independently, it may move at a different speed, or around a different center,
or in a different direction, as the exigencies of any particular construction of
machine may demand.
It sometimes becomes necessary to provide for variations in the height of the
packages. This is especially necessary with weighing machines, where variations
in bulk for a given weight have to be provided for by varying the size of the
package, and in the machine shown in my said patent means is provided for
admitting variations in height of a package. To adapt my present invention to
these variations, I may construct either the upper or lower plate of the carrier
to yield vertically, in order that it may be displaced more by a package of
abnormal height than by the usual package. Preferably it is the top plate that
should thus yield, and rather than mount the entire ring 331 to yield, it is pre-
ferable to provide each compartment of the carrier with an independently yielding
top plate. One suitable construction to this effect is shown in Fig. 15, where the
carrier is constructed exactly the same as, for example, in Figs. 4 and 5, except
that it is slightly higher than the height of the packages, and there is added to
each compartment a yielding top plate 350, which may be variously constructed,
but preferably is a sheet or plate of spring steel, which is bent back upon itself
and fastened upon the upper ring 331 of the carrier.
Having now particularly described and ascertained-the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim in respect of packaging machines of the general character herein before set
forth is:
1. The described carrier for the completed packages consisting of top and
bottom plates between which the packages are received, the carrier being movable
in an endless path and having means for thrusting successive packages into it,
and having means for finally delivering the packages from it, substantially as
specified.
2. The described construction of endless carrier 330 consisting of top and bottom
plates moving together, and carrying the packages while holding their folded tops
and bottoms, substantially as specified.

page_text: 3. In a packaging machine having a series of pockets N carried by a wheel P,
the described construction of carrier 330 consisting of circular plates fastened to
said wheel so as to turn therewith, combined with means for transferring the com-
pleted packages from said pockets into said carrier, and for finally delivering the
packages out of the carrier, substantially as specified.
4. The described construction of carrier 330 consisting of top and bottom
plates 331 and 332, with upright partitions 334 between them forming compart-
ments for receiving the packages, substantially as specified
5. The combination with the carrier 330, of a pusher Z for thrusting the pack-
ages into the carrier, and a pusher 340 for delivering them out of the carrier, both
pushers being moved together by being both connected to the same slide 342, sub-
stantially as specified.
6. The described construction of carrier having its top or bottom made yield-
ing to accommodate packages of varying heights, of which one example is shown
in Fig. 15, substantially as specified.
7. The modification of the carrier 330 wherein its top plate is stationary as
shown in Fig. 14 (or having both top and bottom plates stationary) its parti-
tions 334 being movable to propel the packages, substantially as specified.
8. The modification of the carrier 330, wherein the same is made as an endless
chain having top and bottom plates for receiving successive packages, as shown
for example in Figs. 12 and 13, substantially as specified.
9. The several novel details of construction pertaining to the carrier 330, and
the means for delivering the packages to it and expelling them from it, substan-
tially as herein before set forth.
Date : 09-1 d
Luaust
1908
J. C. MEWBURN & ELLIS,
55 and 56, Chancery Lane, London, Chartered Patent Agents.