Improvements in Can-filling Machines.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 5th Nov., 1895-Accepted, 14th Dec., 1895
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
[Communicated from abroad by WILLIAM BEEDE PAGE, of Dixon, Illinois,
United States of America.]
Improvements in Can-filling Machines.
I, DAVID YOUNG, Patent Agent, of the Firm of D. Young & Co., of 11 &
12 Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., 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 :-
Heretofore in the use of can-filling machinery, some of the difficulties encountered
have been as follows:-The lower cut-off would not effectually prevent crops from
falling on the side of the can, particularly where a thick substance, such as
condensed milk, was being operated upon; again, difficulty has been experienced in
so constructing the measuring receptacle that it would not leak. By a combination
of devices and appliances my present invention overcomes these various difficulties
and many others, and produces a machine which is smooth, simple and effective in
its operation.
In the drawings,
Figure 1 is a side clevation with parts in section of my machine.
Figure 2 is a plan view of the same.
Figure 3 is a front elevation.
+
Figure 4, a plan view of a portion showing the table on which the cans are
placed.
Figure 5 is a detail showing in elevation the table revolving mechanism.
Figure 6 is a detail in elevation of the lower cut off.
A represents the drive shaft of the machine which may be driven from any
suitable source of power. Located thereon is a pinion A¹ which meshes with the
gear B on the parallel counter shaft B. C is the main frame of the machine.
D
is a head supported by the machine frame having a hollow chamber D¹ forming
the measuring receptacle. D is a cylinder one end communicating with said
receptacle D and D' is a piston head working in said cylinder, a pitman D¹ being
engaged to said piston head D' and the pitman pivoted to the upper end of the
lever D, the latter being operated as hereinafter described. E represents the tube
or pipe communicating with the supply of material upon which the machine is
operating. The first application of my present machine was for the purpose of
filling cans with condensed milk and I will therefore, for the sake of illustration,
speak of milk as the substance placed in the cans by the machine. Communicating
from the pipe E to the receptacle or chamber D is a passage E' and F is what
may be termed the cut off valve for opening aud closing said passage E. F' is the
pitman for said valve, the said pitman being pivoted to the lever F which is tilted
or operated as hereinafter described. G is what I may term the lower cut off. It
is a small arm or lever (see Figure 6) provided with an orifice g and provided with
the pin G', the latter being supported by the socket or clamp G2, said clamp G³
being engaged to the nozzle G³ and said nozzle G³ engaged by screw-threads or
otherwise with the main head D. In order that the portion g' may have a proper
bearing against the nozzle I provide on the upper end of the pin G' a lock or .
bearing nut and an intermediate spring which bears against the supporting
clamp G and thus keeps the cut off against the end of the nozzle by a constant
spring pressure. The cut off G is provided with a segment g, Figure 4, which
meshes with the rack bar H the latter sliding in the bearings.h connected with the
arm H'on the vertical shaft H, said shaft H³ being operated as will be hereinafter

page_text: described so that a partial revolution of the shaft 'H' operates through the bar H
and segment to tilt the cut off G and throw the orifice g under or away from the
nozzle as will be hereinafter more fully described. On the countershaft B¹ is a
disk J having on its face a pin or roller J. The lever D is fixed to another
countershaft D and extending from this countershaft is the fixed lever D' which
has on its lower end the slotted bearing D which entbraces the pin J'. It
will be observed that the slot D" in the arm or lever is somewhat larger than the
diameter of the pin for a purpose to be thereinafter more fully described. On the
face of the gear B are two cams K, K. The lever F (pivoted at ƒ to the main
frame) has its lower end adjacent to the path of said canis K, K. A roller K on
said lower end of the arm F directly in the path of said cams, is struck by_them
and this tilts the arm. The roller is thrown in one direction by the cam K-and
then back again by the cam K'. On the countershaft B' is another disk M, on the
periphery of which are two cams M' M. A bar N sliding horizontally in suitable
bearings on the frame has a roller m which terminates in the path of and is struck
by the cams M' M³, the cam M¹ causing the roller to move the bar horizontally in
ne direction and the cam M² to return it. This bar N is pivoted to an arm Non
the lower end of the vertical shaft H so that a horizontal movement of the bar
partially revolves the shaft H2, and as above described this operates the lower
cut off. We thus see that when the main shaft is revolved the countershaft B' will
through the gear B also be revolved. A revolution of this countershaft revolves the
disk which in turn tilts the lever D' and the main piston Ds is thus operated. The
revolution of the gear B causes its cams K, K' to tilt the arm F2 and this operates as
above described to move the upper cut off piston F back and forth to open and cut
off the supply of milk to the receptacle D'. The revolution of the disk M acts
through the cams M'M' to move the sliding bar N and the movement of the latter
operates the lower cut off G. On the shaft B₁ is also a sprocket wheel 0,
provided with a sprocket chain O', which runs to the forward part of the machine
where there is another countershaft with a sprocket wheel O. On this shaft is a
beveled gear O which meshes with the beveled gear O' on the vertical shaft 0:
On the upper end of this shaft O is a plate of peculiar shape, a portion (as
shown in Figure 4) being crescent or moon shaped as at O' with a pin 08 in the
concave side. Adjacent to the shaft O is another vertical shaft P on the upper
end of which is a table that carries the cans to be filled. On the lower end of the
shaft P is a plate P¹ having on its periphery a series of rounded indentations P
and a series of deeper indentations Pa. The shallow and deep indentations
alternating with each other as shown in Figure 4. The plate P¹ and the
plate O are placed in such relation with each other that a revolution of the
shaft Os and plate O will cause the pin O to engage in the deep indentations 1
and revolve the plate P and as soon as the plate P₁ has been moved the
proper distance the rounded or crescent portion 0 will engage in the shallow
indentation: P³ and prevent a further movement of the plate P until the pin
has made another revolution and engaged in the next deep indentation. It wil
thus be seen that the table P4, Figure 1, on the upper end of the shaft P is always
moved just sufficiently to carry the next can under the nozzle and it is then held
against further motion by the portion O riding in the shallow indentation Pr
until the filling apparatus has completed its work. The general operation of the
machine is as follows:- A quantity of milk is placed in a suitable receptacle ablive
the machine, the pipe E leading therefrom down-to the hollow head or measuring
receptacle D The machine is shown with the upper cut-off cutting off the supply
the filling or main piston about to move forward and the lower cut off with the
orifice g under the nozzle. It will be observed as mentioned above that the
bearing slot 'Ds on the lower end of the arm Dis larger than the pin J which
it engages so that while the disk Jrevolves continuously there is a lost motib
for the pin J at each half revolution of the disk, that is, the arm D remains
stationary while the pin is travelling: across the slot D. During this pause in
the motion of the main piston D the cut offs operate: The cams are so
2.

page_text: the can.
In
arranged that, as the piston D' moves backward and reaches the backward end
of its stroke, the cam K moves the piston F forward and cuts off the supply from
the pipe E; the instant the upper piston has cut off the supply above, the cam M'
moves the lower cut off so that the hole g is underneath the nozzle. This action
of the two cut offs one cutting off above and the other opening up below takes
place while the main piston D³ is stationary because of the lost. motion above
mentioned. The piston is now moved forward by the pin J' and forces the milk
in the receptacle I)' down into the can below. As the piston reaches the forward
end of its stroke there is again a cessation of its movement for an instant and
during that time the cam M operates the lower cut off to move the portion g
under the nozzle and thus cut off the supply, and immediately this is completed
the cam K operates to open the upper cut off so that the backward movement or
retraction of the piston D³ draws down a supply of milk from the pipe E. The parts
are so timed that as soon as the lower cut off has shut off the supply of milk to the
can the. pin 08 engages in the slot P³ and revolves the table sufficiently to bring
the next succeeding can under the nozzle and the operation is. completed.
practice it has been found that frequently a small amount of milk will, accumulate
on the lower cut off and at each succeeding cut off of the supply a little more
would be added until a drop was formed sufficient to drop down very often as the
can was leaving its position under the nozzle and the drop would strike the side or
top of the can outside the opening. This entails more or less labor in cleaning.
the cans and is to be avoided. To accomplish this I provide the lower face of the
cut off adjacent to the opening with a projection. 96 (see Figure 6). This pro-
jection may be either simply a pin or it may be an annular, ridge or an elongated
ridge. Its office is to engage and hold adjacent to the opening any milk that may
leave the main stream, so that when the cut off is again thrown the stream of milk
will pick up the drop that was left behind by the previous operation and carry it into
Or, in other words, this projection being, adjacent to the opening stops
any milk: from leaving the stream and getting away from the opening so that it
can not be, picked up by the next stream. E' is a hole leading from the way or
ylinder in which the piston F works up to the pipe E. Its office is as follows:-
When the piston comes forward and passes the opening or passage E' the space in
advance of the piston will be filled with milk and there being no outlet for this.
milk and the pressure on it being enormous it would be either forced out through
the seams between the plates of the head or else the piston would be stopped in its
movement. To obviate this the hole E' is provided so that as the piston comes
forward it will simply press the milk in advance of its back up into the receptacle E.
It is of course obvious that the various parts could be made adjustable.
instance the point of engagement between the pitman D and the upper end of the
arm or lever D could be made adjustable as for instance by the screw D' for the
purpose of adjusting the length of the stroke of the piston Ds, and thus graduating
the amount of milk that could enter the receptacle D'. So also the cams for
operating the cut offs could be engaged to their respective disks by slotted
engagement so that they might be adjusted to regulate the times of operations of
the cut offs. So also by making the plate or table P with a removable upper
table Ps having rounded recesses P' on the periphery the machine could be altered
to fit various sized cans by simply removing this top plate and substituting another
with smaller or larger recesses as the case may be. Qis a tightening pulley for
insuring the steady motion of the sprocket chain and thus regulating the motion of
the table. R is a guard located immediately above the tops of the cans on the
table and is to prevent a can that has not been placed squarely on the table and is.
tilted up so that its edge is higher than should be from striking against and
breaking the nozzle G. R¹ is a guard arm attached on to the stationary portion
of the table and projecting from the revolving table at such a height as to engage,
the filled cans as the table revolves and switch them off from the revolving table
onto the stationary table where they may be removed by the operator. It is
obvious that while in the above described machine I have shown only sufficient
1
For

page_text: apparatus to fill but a single can at a time, yet I might employ a number of tables
and measuring receptacles D' and in fact multiply all of the mechanism indefinitely.
So also there might be two or three measuring receptacles formed in the same head
the cut offs and pistons whereof might be operated by a single set of driving
mechanism and instead of removing the revolving table the space of one can at
each operation it might be made to move to bring two cans simultaneously under
two sets of nozzles. In other words the parts might be easily duplicated and the
capacity of the machine thus multiplied indefinitely without departing from the
spirit of my invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me by
my foreign correspondent, I declare that what I claim is :-
1. In a can-filling machine, the combination, with a stationary receptacle
having a passage leading from a source of supply, and a discharge nozzle, of a
piston for drawing the substance operated upon into the receptacle and forcing it
ont thereof, cut-offs and means for operating the same located on each side of the
receptacle to govern the admission to and the exit from the receptacle, and a
can-carrier for carrying the cans successively beneath the discharge from the
receptacle, substantially as described.
2. In a can-filling machine, the combination of a stationary measuring receptacle,
cut-offs and means for operating the same, for regulating the admission to and exit
from said receptacle, and a piston for drawing the substance into and forcing it
out of the receptacle, said piston being connected with the power mechanism by
intermittently operating mechanism.
3. In a can-filling machine, the combination, with a stationary measuring
receptacle and cut-offs and means for operating the same for regulating the
admission to and exit from said receptacle, of the piston for drawing the substance
into and forcing it out from the receptacle, said piston being connected with the
power mechanism by an enlarged or slotted engaging device whereby at regular
intervals the piston is stationary while the power mechanism is continuous in its
motion, substantially as described.
4. In a can-filling machine, the combination, with the measuring receptacle and
cut-offs, of the piston for drawing the substance into and forcing it out from
the receptacle, said piston being connected to a lever having a slotted end, and
a revolving disc driven by the power mechanism having a pin working in said
slotted end, the slot in the lever being larger than the diameter of the pin,
substantially as described.
5. The combination of the power mechanism, a measuring receptacle, a piston
for drawing the substance into and forcing it out from the receptacle, inter-
mittent connecting mechanism between the piston and the power mechanism,
and cut-offs for regulating the admission to and discharge from the measuring
receptacle, said cut-offs being connected with the power mechanism by inter-
mittently operating mechanism, substantially as described.
6. The combination of a measuring receptacle, cut-offs on cach side of the
said receptacle, a piston for filling and emptying said receptacle, a tilting arm or
lover to the upper end of which the filling piston is connected, a tilting arm or
lever to which the upper cut-off is connected, and a sliding arm or lever to
which the lower cut-off is connected, a disc on a driving shaft having a pin
which engages in an enlarged slot in the piston lever and thereby intermit-
tently tilts the same, and cams on discs on said shaft to intermittently shift the
upper cut-off lever and the lower cut-off arm or lever, substantially as described.
7. In a can-filling machine, the combination, with a shaft, as at B₁, of a
revolving table, intermittently operating mechanism between said table and shaft,
a measuring receptacle having a discharge nozzle above the table, a cut-off above
said receptacle, intermittently operating mechanism between said cut-off and the
driving shaft B', a lower cut-off connected by intermittently operating mechanism

page_text: with the drive shaft, and a filling and discharge piston connected by intermittently
operating mechanism with the drive shaft, substantially as described.
8. In a can-filling machine, the combination, with the shaft, as at B', of the
revolving table, intermittently operating mechanism between said table and shaft,
a measuring receptacle having a discharge nozzle above the table, a cut-off
above said receptacle, intermittently operating mechanism between said cut-off
and the driving shaft B¹, and the lower cut-off connected by intermittently
operating mechanism with the drive shaft, and a filling and discharge piston
connected by intermittently operating mechanism with the drive shaft, said
mechanism being so timed that as the filling and discharge piston reaches its
backward movement the upper cut-off will close the inlet and the lower cut-off
will open the outlet and the piston will then move forward to discharge, sub-
stantially as described.
9. A can-filling machine in combination with the discharge nozzle and a lever
having on one end a segment geared with a reciprocating rack-bar and having
on the other end an imperforate portion and an orifice, and a projection on the
under side of said cut-off adjacent to the orifice, substantially as described.
10. A can-filling machine in combination with the discharge nozzle and a lever
having on one end a segment geared with a reciprocating rack-bar and having
on the other end an imperforate portion and an orifice and an elongated projection
on the under side of said cut-off adjacent to the orifice, substantially as described.
11. In a can-filling machine, the combination, with the measuring receptacle
and the inlet or upper cut-off, of an opening or passage leading from a point
in advance of the forward or advance position of the cut-off to relieve the pressure
in advance of the cut-off, substantially as described.
12. In a can-filling machine, the combination with the measuring receptacle,
the supply-pipe leading into the said measuring receptacle, and the cut-off for
cutting-off admission to the receptacle, of a passage leading from a point in
advance of the cut-off back to the supply-pipe, substantially as described.
Dated this 5th day of November 1895.
D. YOUNG & Co.,
11 & 12, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.