US3281012A - Article packaging machine - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 25, 1966 G. E. MARTELL 3,281,012

ARTICLE PACKAGING MACHINE Filed Aug. 15, 1963 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 H4 '8 INVENTOR, W a H GEORGE E. MARTELL '5 BY FIG. 3C 7 ATTORNEYS Oct. 25, 1966 e. E. MARTELL. 3,281,012

ARTICLE PACKAGING MACHINE Filed Aug. 13, 1963 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 70 FIG. 9.

INVENTOR. GEORGE E. MARTELL ATTORNEYS Oct. 25, 1966 G. E. MARTELL 3,281,012

ARTICLE PACKAGING MACHINE Filed Aug. 13, 1963 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR. GEORGE E. MARTE LL BY v ATTORNEYS Oct. 25, 1966 G. E. MARTELL ARTICLE PACKAGING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Aug. 13

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INVENTOR. GEORGE E. MARTELL ATTORNEYS United States Patent O 3,281,012 ARTICLE PACKAGING MACHINE George E. Martel], Runnemede, N.J., assignor to Smith Kline & French Laboratories, Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed Aug. 13, 1963, Ser. No. 301,780 Claims. (Cl. 221-172) The present invention relates to a machine for counting and grouping a plurality of articles into predetermined groups, orientating the articles of each group into predetermined positions and dispensing each group of articles into an individual container wherein the articles are ar ranged in predetermined positions.

Although the present invention has obvious utility for packaging various types of articles, the invention will be described in connection with the packaging of elongated tablets or capsules wherein it is desired to package a weeks supply of one-a-day type capsules. Therefore, assuming that it is desired to dispense seven capsules into each container, it will be apparent that a container may be used if the capsules are arranged in two groups of three capsules each with the seventh capsule orientated in a position transverse to the parallel orientations of the other six capsules.

It is therefore one object of the present invention to provide a machine for grouping and orientating a plurality of articles in predetermined positions.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a machine for grouping, orientating and packaging a plurality of articles such that the articles occupy particular positions in the package.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a machine for performing the above indicated functions in a purely automatic manner whereby the number of personnel required to perform the packaging operation is substantially reduced.

The above objects as well as others relating more particularly to the details of construction and operation will become more fully apparent from the following description when taken with the accompanying drawings in Which:

FIGURE 1 is a top, chine;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of a container into which one group of capsules is to be packaged;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary, sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view of the machine taken along the plane indicated byline 44 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged, sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged, fragmentary view of a portion of the machine showing the alignment of certain components thereof;

FIGURE 7 is a sectional view taken along the plane indicated by line 7-7 of FIGURE 6;

FIGURE 8 is a sectional view taken alongline 88 of FIGURE 6;

FIGURE 9 is an enlarged fragmentary view of a portion of the machine showing the alignment of other components thereof;

FIGURE 10 is a perspective view of an assembly for supplying empty containers to be filled with capsules; and

FIGURE 11 is. a schematic view of the mechanism. for driving and controlling the operation of the various components of the machine.

Referring first to FIGURES 1 and 4,v the m'achine'includes abase 12 supporting afront wall 14. andarear wall 16 the latter of which is of greater vertical extent than. the former.Walls 14 and 16' support aplate 18 plan view of the packaging m-aminimum size 3 ,281,012 Patented Oct. 25, 1966 which is preferably inclined at an angle of 22 with respect to the horizontal although it will be apparent that the angle of inclination is subject to considerable variation;

Plate 18 supports the operating components of the machine which include abin 20 formed by acontinuous wall 22 secured toplate 18 by means ofbrackets 24, 26 and 28.Bin 20 is adapted to contain a plurality of capsules to be packaged and, in view of the inclination ofplate 18 andbin 20, it will be apparent that the capsules will be maintained in the lower right-hand corner of the bin hereinafter referred to as position A.

Wall 22 mounts a pair ofbrushes 30 and 32 which are adapted to sweep over the surface of a first rotatingdisc 34 which is secured on ahub 35 clamped to rotate with adrive shaft 36 by astud 37 and anut 38.Disc 34 rotates in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in FIG-URE 1 and it will be noted that the peripheral portion diameters of the respective portions of each aperture, it

will be noted that the diameter ofportion 41 is slightly in excess of one-half the length of the capsule and that the diameter ofportion 42 is slightly greater than the .width of the capsule. Of course, the particular diameter and shape of theportions 41 and 42 are subject to considerable variation and, alternatively, these portions may be shaped so as to include an additional tapered portion inter-connectingportions 41 and 42 as disclosed in copending application Serial No. 224,689 filed on September 19,1962, now abandoned, and assigned to the assignee of the present invention.

Again referring to FIGURE 6, the array ofapertures 40 further includes a second radially disposed row ofapertures 40d, 40e and 40 The first and second rows of apertures just defined are circumferentially spaced so that the first row leads the second row asdisc 34 rotates in the counterclockwise direction as viewed in FIGURES 1 and 6. Intermediate the first and second rows, the disc is provided with aseventh aperture 40g and it will be noted that this aperture is positioned close to the second row of apertures and at a radial position betweenapertures 40d and 40e.

Each of the apertures also includes abeveled portion 43 and it will be noted thatbeveled portions 43a-43f are provided on the circumferentially trailing side ofcylindrical portions 42a-42f, whereas, beveled portion 43g is positioned on the radially inner side of cylindrical portion 42g.

Again referring to FIIGURES l and 4, astationary plate 44 extends immediately beneath a portion ofdisc 34 and it will be noted that the periphery of the plate extends approximately about the periphery ofdisc 34. The inner portion ofplate 44 terminates beneathdisc 34 in anedge 45 which is slightly advanced in the-counterclockwise direction with respect towall 22 ofbin 20.

Immediately beneathstationary plate 44 there extends a second rotatingdisc 46 which is also secured tohub 35 so as to rotate in unison withdisc 34.Disc 46 is provided withfifteen groups of oblong slots 47a1-47g, each group of slots being directly beneath one array of apertures 4011-408. As'shown in FIGURE 6, one end of each slot 47 is aligned with one ofapertures 40 and it will be noted that the elongated length ofslot 47g extends radially, whereas, the elongated lengths of slots 40a-40f extend substantially circumferentially.

tioned a secondstationary plate 48 which, as shown in' FIGURE 1, extends about the periphery ofdisc 46 except for a cut-out portion forming an enlargedslot 50 which permits reciprocating movement of ashutter 52 the upper surface of which is coplanar with the upper surface ofplate 48.

As shown in FIGURES 1 and 5,shutter 52 includes anarm portion 54 which is'secured to acrosshead 56 slid-ably mounted in abracket 58 secured toplate 18.Bracket 58 also serves to mount apneumatic cylinder 60 having an actuatingrod 62 connected tocrosshead 56.Cylinder 60 is preferably of the double acting type having reversible inlet andexhaust lines 64 and 66 although it will be readily apparent that a single acting cylinder having a return spring may be employed in the alternative.

Reference is now made to those portions of the machine which feed the individual containers into the machine, a preferred form of such container being illustrated in FIGURE 2 as comprising arectangular box 70 having hinged upper andlower halves 72 and 74 which are adapted to be secured in closed position by interengagingsnaps 76 and 7-8. A plurality of open containers are maintained in a hopper generally designated 80 which is mounted onplate 18 as shown in FIGURES 1 and 10. This hopper comprises anupright rod 82 rigidly supporting a pair of vertically spaced,U-shaped plates 84 and 86 having respective pairs ofleg portions 88 and 90. A pair of vertically extendingangle brackets 92 and 94 having mutually facingguide portions 96 and 98 are supponted byleg portions 88 and 90 such that their lower ends terminate at a point spaced from the upper surface ofplate 18 by an amount slightly greater than the individual thicknesses of open container halves 72 and 74. Thus, guideportions 96 and 98 ofbrackets 92 and 94 are adapted to be received in the space formed by the hinges between the open container halves so that a plurality of containers may be vertically stacked to form a column from which the bottornmost container may be individually ejected.

The mechanism for ejecting the containers one at a time from the bottom of the stack includes apneumatic cylinder 100 having an actuating arm connected to reciprocatea'push plate 102 between a pair ofguides 104 and 106.Cylinder 100 is illustrated as being of the double acting type having reversible inlet andexhaust lines 108 and 110 although it will be readily apparent that a. single acting cylinder having a return spring may be utilized in the alternative.

The container feeding mechanism further includes aconveyor belt 112 which is adapted to convey each ejected container a short distance to the right as viewed in FIG-URE 1. The upper surface ofbelt 112 is substantially coplanar with the upper surface ofplate 1 8 so that each container is conveyed to a position C beneathstationary plate 48.

In order to prevent the container from sliding toward the front of the machine along the inclined surface ofplate 18, asmall door 113 is hinged to plate 18 and biased to a vertical position by a spring 114 as shown in FIG-URE 3. Conversely,door 113 is adapted to fold into a horitontal position wherein it is received in anaperture 115 so that the door is flush with the upper surface ofplate 18.

Movement of each container from position C overfolding door 113 is accomplished by arotating disc 116 which is also secured tohub 35 so as to rotate in unison withdiscs 34 and 46.Disc 116 includesprojections 117 one of which engages each container and sweeps it along an arcuate path bounded by aguide 118, each container being positioned directly beneath a group of slots 47 as shown in FIGURE 9. Thus, each container is conveyed beneathshutter 52 and onto asecond conveyor belt 120 which discharges the filled container from the machine.

Reference is now made to FIGURES 4 and 11 which illustrate the mechanism for driving each of the above described components. This mechanism includes adrive motor 122 connected to asuitable power source 124 through a manually operatedswitch 126.Motor 122 rotates apulley 128 which is connected through adrive belt 130 to asecond pulley 132 which rotates ashaft 134.Shaft 134 carries agear 136 meshing with asecond gear 138 which, in turn, drives aworm shaft 140 which meshes with agear ring 142 rigidly secured to asleeve 144 connected toshaft 36.Shaft 36 is journalled in upper and lowerradial bearings 146, 14 8 and the lower end of the shaft is supported in athrust bearing 150.

Again referring to FIGURE 11,shaft 134 also carries -agear 152 which drives asecond gear 154 providing an input toa speedchange gear unit 156.Gear unit 156 includes afirst output shaft 158 which drivesconveyor belt 120 through a pair of pulley-s 160, 162 interconnected by adrive belt 164. In addition,gear unit 156 includes asecond output shaft 166 which drivesconveyor belt 112 through :a pulley and belt assembly generally indicated at 168.

In order to synchronize the operation ofcylinders 60 and 100 with respect to the rotation of the discs,shaft 166 carries adrive gear 170 which meshes with asecond gear 172 rig-idly secured to acam shaft 174 carrying a pair ofcams 176 and 178, each cam preferably having two lobes.

.Cam 176 actuates the movable element of avalve 180 which controls the operation ofcylinder 60 throughlines 64 and 66. Similarly,cam 178 actuates the movable element of avalve 182 which controls the operation of cylinder throughlines 10 8 and 110. Of course, the various gear ratios and the number of lobes per cam are selected such that the cams actuate their respective cylinders fifteen times per revolution of the discs.

The operation of the machine is as follows. A constant supply of capsules is maintained in the lower right-hand portion ofbin 20 in the area designated A. Thus, as each group ofapertures 40 pass beneath area A, each of the apertures becomes filled with a capsule and the excess capsules are swept away and maintained in the area A bybrushes 30 and 32. During the continued rotation ofdisc 34 from position A to position B, all of the capsules contained inapertures 40 are retained therein due to the engagement of their bottom portions withstationary plate 44. As shown in FIGURE 7, the capsules in each of apertures 40a-40f are inclined in the direction of rotation due to the dragging of the bottom portions of the capsules overplate 44 and the location ofbeveled edges 43a-43f. However, the capsule inaperture 40g is not inclined in the direction of rotation since beveled edge 43g is not positioned in the trailing side of this aperture and therefore does not permit such inclination.

Of course, all of the capsules are inclined with respect to the vertical due to the inclination ofdisc 34.

Upon continued rotation ofdisc 34 in the counterclockwise direction, the capsules in apertures 40a-40c pass overedge 45 ofplate 44 and therefore drop intorespective slots 47a-47c located inrotating disc 46. Since these capsules are inclined in the direction of rotation of the discs and sincebeveled portions 43a-43f provide the only clearance spaces whereby the capsules can turn from their initial, substantially vertical position to their substantially horizontal position, the alignment of the elongated lengths of the capsules and the elongated lengths of slots 40a-40f is insured. As a result, each of these capsules drops into the position shown in dotted line in FIGURE 8 wherein each capsule slides overplate 48 as it continues to rotate withdisc 46.

Immediately after the first row of capsules has passededge 45, the capsule contained inaperture 40g passes overedge 45 and, due to the inclination ofdisc 34 and the location of beveled portion 43g, this capsule drops into associatedslot 47g ofplate 46 as shown in solid line in FIGURE 8.

Upon continued rotation ofdisc 34, the capsules contained inapertures 40d-40f pass overedge 45 and therefore drop intoslots 47d-47f in the same manner as described hereinabove with regard to the capsules in apertures Mia-40c. Thus, the capsule originally inaperture 40g becomes radially orientated inslot 47g, whereas, the capsules originally in apertures Mia-40f become orientated perpendicular thereto inslots 47a-47f.

Simultaneous with the above described operations,cylinder 100 is intermittently actuated by the operation ofvalve 182 so thatpush block 102 reciprocates beneathhopper 80 and thereby ejects container-s 70 one at a time ontobelt 112 which successively conveys each of them to position C beneathplate 43. At this posit-ion, one ofprojections 117 comes into engagement with each container and moves it in the counterclockwise direction against springbiased door 113 so that the door folds to a horizontal position and, thereafter, returns to its vertical position so as to retain the next container against sliding movement until it is engaged by the succeeding projection. Of course, each container engaged by aprojection 117 is positioned directly beneath a group of slots 47 as shown in FIGURE 9 sincediscs 116 and 46 are locked onhub 35 so as to be driven in unison byshaft 36.

Continued rotation ofdiscs 46 and 116 bring each container and the group of capsules associated therewith into position D, whereupon,valve 180 actuatescylinder 60 so as to moveshutter 52 radially inwardly from beneath the capsules. Thus, the capsules drop into the container wherein they are aligned in two rows of three capsules with the seventh capsule positioned between the rows. and perpendicular to the other capsules. Lastly, the continued rotation ofdisc 116 sweeps the filled container ontoconveyor belt 120 which then discharges the container from the machine to the next station on the assembly line.

From the foregoing description it will be apparent that the present invention provides for the counting, grouping, orientating and dispensing of articles in a fully automatic manner which is substantially more rapid than the previ ously required hand operations. Of particular advantage is the fact that the machine is capable of automatically and rapidly orientating different capsules of each group in different directions relative to each other and it will be obvious that the number of capsules orientated in each direction is in no way limited to the specific six and one arrangement dsecribed hereinabove. Therefore, it is to be understood that the foregoing description is intended merely to illustrate the principles of the invention and the invention is not to be limited other than as specifically set forth in the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A machine for grouping and orientating elongated capsules comprising a first plate having upper and lower surfaces, means for moving said plate in a direction parallel to the planes of said surfaces, groups of apertures having individual axes extending through said plate from said upper to said lower surfaces, each of said apertures being of a size and a shape so as to receive a capsule with the elongated axis of the capsule extending transverse to the planes of said surfaces, a stationary plate underlying said moving plate and [forming a closure for said apertures, each of said capsules being supported by said stationary plate and tilted at an angle with respect to the vertical due to frictional drag on the capsule as it is moved across said stationary plate by said moving plate, a second moving plate underlying said stationary plate, means mounting said second moving plate for movement in a plane parallel to the plane of movement of said first moving plate, said second moving plate having slots extending therethrough, said slots being elongated and having their elongated lengths extending parallel to the plane of movement of said second moving plate, each of said slots being aligned with one of said apertures so as to receive a capsule therefrom upon the movement of said apertures beyond said stationary plate, each of said apertures having enlarged portions forming clearance spaces whereby said tilted capsule is permitted to drop out of said aperture only in the direction in which the elongated length of the capsule is aligned with the elongated length of an associated slot, means forming closures [for said slots, and means for discharging said capsules from said slots.

2. The machine as claimed inclaim 1 wherein said first moving plate is inclined at an acute angle with respect to the horizontal, the clearance space associated with a predetermined number of apertures being positioned on the trailing side of the respective aperture, and the clearance space associated with a predetermined number of different apertures being positioned along the direction of inclination of said first plate when the capsules in said different apertures are discharged whereby said first and second predetermined numbers of capsules drop out of their associated apertures with their elongated lengths extending in different directions.

3. A machine for grouping and orientating capsules comprising a first rotating disc having groups of apertures for receiving capsules, said apertures being of a size and shape so as to contain said capsules with their elongated axes extending transverse to the plane of rotation of said disc, a stationary plate extending parallel to and beneath a portion of said disc so as to initially retain the capsules in said apertures, said plate terminating in an edge beneath said first disc, a second rotating disc extending beneath said plate, said second disc having an elongated slot aligned with each of said apertures, the elongated lengths of some of said slots extending in nonparallel directions, and means operative upon the passage of said apertures over the edge of said plate for causing each of said capsules to drop into an associated slot with the elongated length of the capsule aligned with the elongated length of the slot associated therewith.

4. A machine in accordance withclaim 3 having means for retaining capsules in said slots during a portion of the rotation of the disc.

5. A machine for grouping and orientating capsules comprising a first rotating inclined disc having groups of apertures for receiving capsules, said apertures being of a size and shape so as to contain said capsules tilted with their elongated axes extending transverse to the plane of rotation of said disc, each of said apertures having an enlarged portion forming a clearance space whereby the the tilted capsule is permitted to drop out in only one direction, a portion of said enlarged portions being positioned on the trailing sides of the associated apertures and a portion of said enlarged portions being positioned with respect to the associated apertures substantially on a radius of said disc, a stationary plate extending parallel to and beneath a portion of said disc so as to initially retain the capsules in said apertures, said plate terminating in an edge beneath said first disc, a second rotating disc extending beneath said plate, said second disc having an elongated slot substantially perpendicular to a radius thereof aligned with each of said apertures having an enlarged portion on its trailing side to receive a capsule released from the associated aperture upon its passage beyond the edge of the plate and having an elongated slot substantially on a radius thereof aligned with each of said apertures having an enlarged portion positioned substantially on a radius of the first disc to receive a capsule released from the associated aperture upon its passage beyond the edge of the plate, means forming closures for said slots and means for discharging capsules from said slots.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,930,509 3/1960 Hall 221-265 2,949,997 8/1960 Martell 221265 X 3,123,959 3/1964 Carriere et al. 53143 FRANK E. BAILEY, Primary Examiner.

P. H. POHL, Assistant Examiner.

Claims (1)

1. 3. A MACHINE FOR GROUPING AND ORIENTATION CAPSULES COMPRISING A FIRST ROTATING DISC HAVING GROUPS OF APERTURES FOR RECEIVING CAPSULES, SAID APERTURES BEING OF A SIZE AND SHAPE SO AS TO CONTAIN SAID CAPSULES WITH THEIR ELONGATED AXES EXTENDING TRANSVERSE TO THE PLANE OF ROTATION OF SAID DISC, A STATIONARY PLATE EXTENDING PARALLEL TO SAID BENEATH A PORTION OF SAID DISC SO AS TO INITIALLY RETAIN THE CAPSULES IN SAID APERTURES, SAID PLATE TERMINATING IN AN EDGE BENEATH SAID FIRST DISC, A SECOND ROTATING DISC EXTENDING BENEATH SAID PLATE, SAID SECOND DISC HAVING AN ELONGATED SLOT ALIGNED WITH EACH OF SAID APERTURES, THE ELONGATED LENGTHS OF SOME OF SAID SLOTS EXTENDING IN NONPARALLEL DIRECTIONS, AND MEANS OPERATIVE UPON THE PASSAGE OF SAID APERTURES OVER THE EDGE OF SAID PLATE FOR CAUSING EACH OF SAID CAPSULES TO DROP INTO AN ASSOCIATED SLOT WITH THE ELONGATED LENGTH OF THE CAPSULE ALIGNED WITH THE ELONGATED LENGTH OF THE SLOT ASSOCIATED THEREWITH.

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