Improved Feed Device for Orown Bottle Stoppering Machines and the like.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 3rd Jan., 1899-Accepted, 18th Feb., 1899
Improved Feed Device for Orown Bottle Stoppering Machines
and the like.
I, GEORGE CROYDON MARKS, of 18, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane,
London, W.C., Consulting Engineer, (being a communication from Wilber
Warren Hobbs, of 228, Highland Street, City and County of Worcester, Massa-
chusetts, in United States of America, Teller), do hereby declare the nature of
this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particu-
larly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:―
This invention relates to improvements in the construction of that class of
conducting chutes or conduits more especially designed for use in feeding
what are known as 11
crown bottle-stoppers" to bottle-stoppering machines or
means for the automatic manipulation of similar-formed articles for their pre-
sentation in regular order at a position of delivery.
The object of the present invention is to provide a conducting means or chute
organized for receiving the articles or crowns in differently-faced relation as
they may enter thereinto without regard to their order and adapted for effect-
ing within the chute the separation and reversal of a portion of said crowns
or the partial rotation or turning of the crowns in a manner to bring them
all into uniformly-facing relation and regular order at the position of delivery,
as more fully hereinafter explained.
Another object is to provide, in a chute of the character describod having
dual passages, a finger or gate device at the convergent part of the passage to
control the action of the crowns and avoid their clogging the passage at the
junction thereof.
These objects are attained by mechanism the nature of which is explained
in the following detailed description and illustrated in the drawings, wherein-
Figure 1 is a vertical section of a feed-chute embodying the invention, Fig. 1ª
being the lower end of Fig. 1 continued. Fig. 2 is a transverse section at
line V; Fig. 3, a section at line W; Fig. 4, a section at line X; Fig. 5, a
section at line Y; Fig. 6, a section at line 7, and Fig. 7 shows a modification
wherein each of the intermediary passages forms a partial twist instead of the
entire twist being formed in one of the passages.
The principal feature of the invention consists in a chute or conductor hav-
ing a throatway for receiving oppositely-facing crowns, a plurality of passages
leading therefrom and means for diverting the crowns into the respective pas-
sages according to the direction they face when in the throatway.
In addition one or more of said passages may be twisted, so that as the crowns
emerge from said passages they will be all disposed in the same direction.
Said passages may also if desired merge into a single delivery-way, so that if
this construction is used, all the crowns will pass out through the delivery-way
similarly disposed, no matter how faced when entering the throatway.
Referring to parts as shown in the drawings, A denotes the exit portion of a
hopper of any suitable or well-known construction for containing the supply
017

page_text: of crowns or articles which are deposited therein in bulk and from which they
fall into the throatway of the chute as they are brought into corresponding rela-
tion therewith by agitation of the hopper contents, us heretofore practiced.
B indicates the stoppering-machine collar or point of delivery, which may
also be of any suitable or well-known construction, it being sufficient for an
understanding of the present invention to simply show the positions at which
the articles or bottle-crowns are received and delivered by the improved chute
mechanism.
The body C of the improved chute can be of such dimensions and length as
may be required for the particular machine whereon it is in any instance to be
employed. Said body comprises a single receiving orifice or throatway 1,
adapted for entrance thereinto of the crowns when facing either in right or left
positions and irrespective of order, except the edgewise introduction of the
crown. This throatway 1 divides into separate passages 2 and 3, one of which, 3,
as shown in Fig. 1 and Figs. 3 to 5, bas a iwisted section or form of conduit,
while the other, 2, passes direct.
At their lower portions these passages 2 and 3 come together and merge into
a single delivery way or run 5, which leads to the place of exit, as the collar-
opening. At the dividing part of the throatway deflectors or guides are
provided, with grooves 7 and 8 at either side which receive the flanges of the
crowns and cause all such as are facing in one direction to go down the passage
and all such as are facing in the opposite direction to go down the passage 3,
wherein, by the twisted form of such intermediate passage, the crown is reversed
in position of facing and runs into the delivery-way 5 in regular order, facing
in the same direction as those that come down by the passage 2 and right side
up for delivery at the exit B ready to be placed on a bottle by well-known
action.
D D indicate fingers or gates arranged for moving into and from the pas-
sages 2 and 3 at or near the junction of said passages with the single run 5
and serving for alternately arresting the descending crowns in one of the pas-
sages while releasing those in the other passage, and vice versa, thus preventing
liability of two crowns meeting or coming together within the convergent space
at 4, and thereby clogging the chute when in use.
As herein illustrated, the passages are disposed so that the crowns are separated
by deflecting them in a direction flatwise of their disks; but it will be under-
stood that the passages can, if desired, be arranged to separate and bring the
crowns together by an edgewise deflection, the turning of one set of crowns or
the partial turning in opposite direction of all the crowns for bringing them
to uniform relation being effected by the twist of the intermediate passages,
as set forth.
In Fig. 7 is shown an instance in which both intermediate passages 2 and 3"
are twisted in sufficient degree to turn the crowns which enter the throatway in
oppositely-faced condition to a common plane and then merge at their junction 4
by edgewise convergence into the delivery-runway 5.
The dotted lines S indicate crowns as stopped in the passage by the gate D¹.
The movement of the gates D D' can be effected by any convenient mechanism,
as a lever F or levers and connection G, actuated from a moving part of the bottle
stopping machine. (Not shown.) Springs 9 afford a yielding contact in case
the gate is caught against the side of a crown.
The passages
and 3 may be formed rectangular in cross-section or of such
other form as will allow the crowns to pass smoothly therethrough. In the
present drawings they are shown as having a cross-sectional shape somewhat
resembling that of the crown, the better to indicate the facing direction of the
crowns as they pass the line or position corresponding to the several cross-sectional
views, Figs. 2 to 6.
In the operation a crown entering the throatway 1 faced toward the left, as
per dotted line at $1, Fig. 1, passes down the passage 3 and is rotated by the

page_text: twist of the passage so that it enters the delivery-run and is delivered right
side up, as per dotted line 85, Fig. 1; but if the crown is faced toward the
right in the throatway 1 (see dotted line S, Fig. 2) then such crown passes down
the passage 2 and is likewise delivered right side up at the same position as
shown by dotted lines 85.
By making the chute so as to receive the crowns in oppositely-facing positions
the probability of a given number of crowns entering the chute from the hopper
in any period of time is greatly increased, and by this, in connection with the
dual and twisted passages, the feeding efficiency of the apparatus is much
enhanced.
It is not necessary to always merge the plurality of passage ways into a
single delivery-way, for the device could be mounted on trunnions 20, and could
be cut off on the arc of the circle thereabout as indicated by the line 21 in
Fig. 7, and connections could be arranged so that at one time the crowns pass-
ing down through the passage 2 would pass out into position in the machine,
and at another time the crowns in the passage 3 would pass out, depending
upon the position to which the device is moved about its trunnions.
In this case the gates D-D would be dispensed with and suitable connec-
tions would be provided so that either passage-way 2 or 3 could be brought
in register with a passage which led to the machine by swinging the device
slightly on the trunnions 20.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said in-
vention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:-
1. The feed-chute for crown bottle-stoppers shown in the accompanying draw-
ing and described in the foregoing specification.
2. The feed-chute for crown bottle-stoppers constructed as shown in Fig. 1
and as described in the foregoing specification.
3. The feed-chute for crown bottle-stoppers constructed as shown in Fig. 7
and as described in the foregoing specification.
4. A chute or conductor for crown or cap bottle-stoppers, having an entrance-
throatway adapted for receiving crowns in oppositely-facing positions, a plurality
of passages branching therefrom, and means for diverting the crowns into the
respective passages, according to the direction they face when in the throatway,
for the purpose as set forth."
5. A chute or conductor for crown bottle-stoppers or similar articles, com-
prising a throatway adapted for receiving the crowns in oppositely-facing posi-
tions, a single-channel delivery-run connected with said throatway by a plurality
of intermediate passages, one or more of which are of twisted form, and guiding
devices at the throatway adapted for deflecting the crowns into the respective
passages, for the purpose set forth.
6. A feed-chute for crown bottle-stoppers or similar articles, having a single
entrance-throatway, a single exit or delivery-way, and two intermediate passages
merging therewith, said passages comprising a straight section or conduit adapted
for direct conduct of crowns to the exit, and a twisted section or conduit adapted
for turning crowns that are oppositely disposed and passing them to said delivery-
way for exit in uniform order.
7. In a mechanism for supplying crown-cape or bottle-stoppers to bottle-
stoppering machines, the combination with a supply-hopper, and the placing-
collar on said machine; of a chute having therein a plurality of passages adapted
to receive crowns entering thereinto in differently-disposed relation, anid passages
being relatively formed as described and convergently united in a common exit
adapted for delivery of the crowns in uniformly-disposed order at said collar,
substantially as set forth.
8. The combination, with the feed-chute having the dual converging and
twisted passages for bringing oppositely-facing crowns into uniformly-faced

page_text: relation; of movable fingers or gate devices near the junction of the passages,
and means for operating said gates for alternately detaining the crowns in one
or the other of the said passages, for the purpose set forth.
9. The combination, in a feed mechanism for crown-cap bottle-stopper
machines, of a supply-hopper, a conductor having a throatway formed to receive
crowns facing in both directions, two passage-ways dividing from said throutway,
means for diverting the crowns according to their position of facing into one or
the other of the passages, suid passages arranged to bring the crowns into
uniformly-facing order, a single delivery-run into which both of said passages
converge, and the movable fingers or gates acting at or near the uniting
junction of said passages, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.
10. A chute or conductor for crown bottle stoppers or similar articles com-
prising a throat-way adapted for receiving the crowns in oppositely facing posi-
tions, a plurality of passages branching therefrom, means for diverting the
crowns into the respective passages according to the direction they face when
in the throat-way, and means for operating the device so that the crowns will
pass out of one passage and then the other, substantially as described.
מחונת
VA
MARKS & CLERK,
18, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., and
13, Temple Street, Birmingham, Agents.