Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and method
for automatlcally loading cases with articles, and more
pa~ticularly, relates to an imp~oved apparatus and method in
which the articles are bottles, cans or the like which are fed
into the apparatus in continuous rows and are then loaded into
the case in groups of rows and columns.
The Prior Art
la Various methods and apparatus for loading articles in cases
are known in the prior art. One type of apparatus assembles the
articles in parallel rows of the length of the case by moving the
required number of articles sideways off the article conveyor.
When the p~oper numbe~ of columns is assembled~ the entire
caseload is dropped or lowe~ed into the case.
Another method and appa~atus is to load the case row by
row. The loading apparatus picks up a row of the ~equired length
and puts it in the case and then returns to pick up the next row
of the same length, placing it ln the case beside the fi~st row.
A third type of apparatus separates the articles into
parallel columns as they are conveyed to the loading station.
The articles at the lead position of each column are dropped into
the case row by row. A variation of this is when the a~ticles
are round cans. They may be all slid lnto the case at the same
time, the loading apparatus releasing an enti~e case load at once
to ~oll into the case.
It is an ob~ect of this invention to eliminate the
elaborate machinery required to assemble a caseload of articles
and lower it into the case.
It is another object o~ this invention to eliminate the
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hydraulic and electric motors required to move and reorient the
various articles while putting them in the case.
It is a further ob~ect of this invention to eliminate the
manual placement of the case in a position to receive the
articles or to eliminate the electric or hydraulic motors in the
devices to move the carton from the conveyo~ to the loading
station and then return it to the case conveyor when it is
filled.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The ene~gy f~ee loader is fed bottles by a bottle conveyo~.
The bottles in the loader rest on a hinged ledge. When the
number of bottles required to fill the carton is present in the
loader, a first sensor is activated. The cases are conveyed to
the loade~ below and beside the position of the bottles. The
cases are tipped up and, when in place, they activate the second
senso~. When both senso~s are acti~ated, the bottles d~op and
fall into a chute directing the bottles f~om the loading station
and into the cases. The chutes ~eorient the bottles from a
single line into the ~ows and columns required to fill the cases.
The loader may fill one case entlrely in one cycle, two cases
half full on each cycle, or several cases partlally full on each
cycleO When the bottles have dropped, the ledge is reset to
receive the next group of bottles. The force of the bottles tips
the case back onto the conveyor and it is carried away.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention will be better understood and the ob~ects
other than those set forth above will become appa~ent when
consideration is given to the following detailed descriptlon
thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed
d~awings wherein:
FIG. 1 is a pe~spective view of the energy free loader with
bottles on the ledge and cases in place ready to receive them;
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FIG. 2 is a section on llnes 2-2 of ~IG. l looking toward
the boxes;
FIG. 3 is an end vlew of the energy free loade~ showing the
bottles in so:Lld llne on the ledge and ln dashed line about to
enter khe cases;
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view on lines 4_1~ of FIG. 3
showing the untripped position in solid line and the tripped
position in dashed llnes;
~ IG. 4A is an enlarged view of the roller and roller
support shown in FIG. 4;
FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 show the bottle and pivoted ledge in the
support, partially t~ipped, and fully tripped posltion;
FIG. 8 is a front view of the energy free loader showing
the boxes being tilted;
~IG. 9 is a perspective view of an alternate form of the
energy free loader.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
For the pu~poses of promotlng an understanding of the
principles of the invention, reference will now be made to the
embodiment illustrated in the drawlngs and speclfic language will
be used to describe the same. It will neve~theless be understood
that no llmitation of the scope of the invention is the~eby
intended, such alterations and further modifications in the
illustrated device, and such further app~ications of the
p~inciples of the invention as illustrated therein being
contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to
which the invention relates.
The energy-~ree loader comprises several principal s~stems.
These are the bottle support system 20, the bottle guide system
30, the bottle sensor system 40, the case sensor system 50, and
the case conveying system 60. All of these sytems are attached
to the main frame 70.
The bottle suppor~ system 20 is an extension of a
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conventional bottle conveyor such as a belt conveyor with end
tray 21. The system includes a ledge 22 which extends from the
belt conveyor for the length of four bottles in the system as
shown. The ledge 22 has a vertical and horizontal plate and fits
under and around one edge o~ the bottle. The bottles are urged
onto the ledge 22 by the following bottles on the conveyor
system. Each bottle is held upright in the bottle support system
by plake 23 acting on the opposite side of the top of the bottle
holding it in an upright position. Ledge 22 is attached to pivot
24 and counterbalanced by weight 25 holding the ledge in the
horizontal position when fewer than four bottles are on the
ledge. Attached to ledge 22 is roller 26, whose function is
explained below.
Bene~ath the bottle support system is the bottle guide
system 30. This includes an upper chute 31 for two bottles and a
lower chute 32, also for two bottles. The upper chute begins
below the right hand two bottles in FIG. 1 and ends in a position
to make those two bottles the upper course in the right case as
shown in FIG. 1. The lowex~ chute begins below the le~t hand two
bottles and ends in a position to make the lo~er course ln the
le~t case in FIG. 1. Behind the ledge and extending across the
loader~ is bottle guide 33. Above the lower chute is ~lexible
deflector 34. Not shown are suitable side guides which will
prevent lateral or rotational movement o~ the bottles as they
move down the chutes.
Bottle sensor system 40 detects when there are ~our bottles
in the bottle support system 20. All of the bottles are urged
along the ledge 22 by the following bottles on the bottle
conveyor system. If~ for some reason, there are missing bottles,
lt will take longer for the four bottles to be in place. When
the four bottles are in place~ the lead bottle presses on bottle
stop 42 attached to lever arm 41 which is pivoted at 47. Below
the lever arm 41 is roller support 43 on which rides roller 26.
Depending below the roller suppor~t 43 is roller~ stop 44. Below
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the roller stop is horizontal lever a~m 45 on which is attahed
case lever hook l~6. Not shown is a stop which limits the
movement of lever arm 41.
The case conveying system 60 includes a conventional
conveyo~ chain. On the side of the conveyor away from the loader
is inclined bar 62 which rises ~rom beneath the conveyor and one
side o~ the case to an elevation to tip the case towards the
bottle support sytem. On the other side of the conveyor are side
supports 63, 64, and 65 which hold the cases in the tipped
position. The cases are prevented from moving furthe~ in the
tipped position by case sensor system 50 and the end ~rame 66.
Case sensor system 50 contains case lever 51 which is
pivoted at 52. The case lever arm 51 includes ~inger 53 which
cooperates with the case lever hook 46. The case lever 51 is
pivoted by the leading case being pushed into the final case
loading position by following cases on the conveyor system. The
case contacts case arm 54 which is also connected to pivot 52.
The case arm 54 is prevented from further movement by end ~rame
66.
Mode of Operation
The bottles are continuously conveyed by the bottle
conveyor across tray 21 to the bottle support system 20. The
following bottles urge the ~our leading bottles to slide across
ledge 22 and plate 23 until the lead bottle strikes bottle stop
42.
I~ a case is not in position to be loaded the case lever
~inger 53 prevents the lever arm 41 from moving and the four
bottles ~emain on ledge 22, which is held in the horizontal
position by rolle~ 26 resting on roller support 43.
The cases are pushed along the case conveyor by the
following cases~ When the leading case strikes the inclined bar
52 it will tilt and rise above the conveyor, thus losing contact
with the conveyor. It rests on inclined bar 62 and side supports
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63 and 64 and is pushed forwad by the fo:Llowing cases. As the
case approaches the case loading position it has tilted beyond
top dead center and is khen supported entirely by s~de support 65
along the side and not bar 62. The inclined bar 62 does not
extend to the final case loading position. The lead case strikes
case arm 54 pushing it against end frame 66. The case need only
move the case arm enough to allow finger 53 to disengage from
case lever hook 46, thus allowing lever arm 41 to pivot freely.
When lever arm 41 pivots, the roller 26 falls o~f of roller
support 43 thus pivoting ledge 22 to a vertical position and
releasing the bottles. Each of the four bottles falls against
bottle guide 33 and then into the chutes 31 and 32. The two
bottles above the lower chute 32 first strike flexible delfector
34 which serves to guide them and to limit their velocity to
guard against denting the bottles.
The two bottles which go through the lower chute to the
trailing case form the lower course in that case. The two
bottles which go through the leading case from the upper course
in that case. Those two bottles have sufficient momentum to tilt
the case, or pivot it around support bars 63 and 64 back onto the
conveyor chain which removes the case from the loader.
Immediately after the bottles fall from the bottle support
system the lever arm 41 will be biased back to its original
position by the weight of lever arm 45. It is prevented from
returning to that position because roller 26 is riding on roller
stop 44. When the bottles have fallen below ledge 22, weight 25
will bias the ledge back to the horizontal position, thus
bringing roller 26 back up above roller support 43 and allowing
the ~eed-in lever to return to its original position.
A second embodiment is shown in FIG. 9. The only
difference is in the bottle guide system 30~ This comprises four
chutes or slides 35, 36, 37, and 38. The inner chutes, 36 and
37, are identical in design and guide those two bottles down and
to one side when khey are released by the support system. Outer
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chutes 35 and 38 are mirror images o~ each other, guiding the
outer two bottles in an S-shaped route down and to one side and
on top of the bottles in chutes 36 and 37. The two central
bottles in chutes 36 and 37 fall directly into the lower position
in the case. ~ecause the chutes are shoL7ter than chutes 35 and
38, those two bottles arrive into the case slightly ahead of the
other two bottles which follow the S-shaped chutes 35 and 38 and
become the top level in the case.
In this embodiment one case is entirely loaded in one
cycle.
The loader could equally load a 3x3 case in one or three
cycles or a 2/4 case in one, two or four cycles. The operation
herein disclosed is applicable to cans or bottles or containers
of various configuL7ations.
Although the present invention has been described with
reference to two particular embodiments thereof, it should be
understood that those skilled in the art may make many other
modifications and embodiments thereof which wlll fall within the
spirit and scope of the principles of this invention.
