APPARATUS FOR INTERMITTENT, UNIDIRECTIONAL ROTATION OF CIGARETTE TRAYS
United States Patent 3766789
Cigarette tray in automatic cigarette packing mechaine is rotated through 180° to return it to an upright position by an intermittent drive comprising a worm gear on a shaft carrying a tray holder, a disk driven with the worm gear and having stops for restraining rotation of the worm gear, a detent engageable with such stops and a worm engaging the worm gear and mounted on a continuously rotating shaft which is axially slidable against spring pressure, the worm and its shaft moving axially when the worm gear is restrained until it disengages the detent from the disk stop which permits rotation of the worm gear and return of the worm by the spring pressure to a normal position with accompanying rotation of the tray holder.
US Patent References:
Escapement
Tetro - February 1959 - 2871702
Timer escapement
McVicker - May 1967 - 3319477
Escapement
Tetro - February 1959 - 2871702
Timer escapement
McVicker - May 1967 - 3319477
Inventors:
Cartoceti, Italiano (Bologna, IT)
Orlandi, Giancarlo (Bologna, IT)
Orlandi, Giancarlo (Bologna, IT)
Application Number:
05/202111
Publication Date:
10/23/1973
Filing Date:
11/26/1971
View Patent Images:
Export Citation:
Primary Class:
Other Classes:
74/112, 74/393
International Classes:
A24C5/356; B65B19/04; A24C5/00; B65B19/00; F16H27/04
Field of Search:
74/84,393,112
Primary Examiner:
Kaufman, Milton
Claims:
We claim
1. Apparatus for producing intermittent, unidirectional rotation comprising a rotatable output shaft and a driven, rotatable input shaft, detent means for alternately preventing and permitting rotation of said output shaft, driving means interconnecting said shafts comprising a first member mounted on and for rotation with said driven shaft connected in driving relation with a second member mounted on and for rotation with said output shaft, one of said first and second members being movable from a first position to a second position by said driven shaft when said output shaft is prevented from rotating, detent operating means movable with said one member for releasing said detent means when said one member is in said second position and thereby to permit rotation of said output shaft, energy accumulating means acting in opposition to movement of said one member from said first position to said second position for returning said one member to said first position upon release of said detent means and for thereby causing said one member to rotate said output shaft during the return of said one member to said first position.
2. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein said one member is said first member which rotates said second member during the return of said first member to said first position.
3. Apparatus as set forth in claim 2, further comprising container means for receiving and holding a cigarette tray mounted on and for rotation with said output shaft.
4. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein said driven shaft is mounted for sliding movement axially thereof, said first member is a worm and second member is a worm gear in engagement with said worm, said detent operating means is a projection on said driven shaft, said detent means comprises a disk having peripheral protuberances mounted for rotation with said worm gear and a lever having a portion thereof engageable with said protuberances and urged theretoward and having a portion engageable with said projection on said driven shaft, and said energy accumulating means is a spring urging said worm into said first position.
5. Apparatus as set forth in claim 4, further comprising a driving pinion mounted on said driven shaft in sliding and driving relation therewith.
1. Apparatus for producing intermittent, unidirectional rotation comprising a rotatable output shaft and a driven, rotatable input shaft, detent means for alternately preventing and permitting rotation of said output shaft, driving means interconnecting said shafts comprising a first member mounted on and for rotation with said driven shaft connected in driving relation with a second member mounted on and for rotation with said output shaft, one of said first and second members being movable from a first position to a second position by said driven shaft when said output shaft is prevented from rotating, detent operating means movable with said one member for releasing said detent means when said one member is in said second position and thereby to permit rotation of said output shaft, energy accumulating means acting in opposition to movement of said one member from said first position to said second position for returning said one member to said first position upon release of said detent means and for thereby causing said one member to rotate said output shaft during the return of said one member to said first position.
2. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein said one member is said first member which rotates said second member during the return of said first member to said first position.
3. Apparatus as set forth in claim 2, further comprising container means for receiving and holding a cigarette tray mounted on and for rotation with said output shaft.
4. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein said driven shaft is mounted for sliding movement axially thereof, said first member is a worm and second member is a worm gear in engagement with said worm, said detent operating means is a projection on said driven shaft, said detent means comprises a disk having peripheral protuberances mounted for rotation with said worm gear and a lever having a portion thereof engageable with said protuberances and urged theretoward and having a portion engageable with said projection on said driven shaft, and said energy accumulating means is a spring urging said worm into said first position.
5. Apparatus as set forth in claim 4, further comprising a driving pinion mounted on said driven shaft in sliding and driving relation therewith.
Description:
This invention relates to an intermittent, unidirectional drive mechanism particularly for returning a cigarette tray in an automatic cigarette packing machine to an upright position after being inverted to release cigarettes therefrom.
In various machines, particularly automatic machines, it is sometimes necessary that a shaft be caused to have an intermittent, unidirectional rotation with its motion related to the continuous, unidirectional rotation of another shaft of the machine. For example, in automatic cigarette packing machines, the cigarettes are poured in batches in an orderly manner into the machine hopper, each batch being contained in an open top and front tray, so that each tray must first be turned 180° to be overturned for pouring the cigarettes into the hopper and, then, must be turned another 180° to return it to its original position, that is, upright, after the cigarettes are poured into said hopper.
Thus far, the systems used for turning the trays have been rather complicated or have presented the inconvenience of being very large. In these prior art systems, the resetting of a tray upright involved either a rotation around a shaft parallel to one of the major sides of the tray or a rotation around a shaft perpendicular to a plane which is parallel to the back of the tray but external to said tray.
One object of this invention is to substantially eliminate these inconveniences and, for this purpose, it employs an intermittent rotating mechanism which is particularly useful for returning the trays to an upright position in the tray feeders for automatic cigarette packing machines. The rotating mechanism comprises a mechanical potential energy accumulator, generally a spring system, operatively interposed between a continuously rotated drive shaft and a driven shaft which is intermittently rotated by means of the energy accumulated in said energy accumulator, means for automatically locking and releasing the driven shaft in relation to predetermined minimum and maximum charge conditions of said accumulator, said locking and releasing means being coupled in an operatively predetermined manner with the drive shaft so that the rate and timing of the intermittent rotary motion of the driven shaft is directly related to the continuous rotary motion of the drive shaft.
The features of the invention and the resulting advantages will be clearly understood from the following detailed description of a presently preferred embodiment of the invention, which description should be considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawing in which the single FIGURE is a perspective view, partly broken away and partly in section, of such preferred embodiment.
With reference to the drawing, a container 2 is fastened to an end of an output shaft 1. Empty trays C are successively transferred to the container 2 by conventional means, not illustrated. A worm gear 3 is keyed on the output shaft 1 and a disk 4, having two protuberances or stops 104 on its periphery, is secured to the worm gear 3. The stops 104 are spaced from each other and generally are diametrically opposed. A worm 7 which is secured to the driven shaft 5 meshes with the worm gear 3 to provide a driving connection between the driven shaft 5 and the output shaft 1. The shaft 5 is driven by a pinion 8 which is coupled to it with a slidable longitudinal tongue or key type coupling 9. The hub of the pinion 8 is carried in a bearing 108 which is housed in a bushing 208 integral with the fixed frame of the machine, so that said pinion 8 can rotate the shaft 5 but is prevented from moving axially or longitudinally of the shaft. The shaft 5 can, however, slide with respect to the pinion 8 in a direction axially thereof. The pinion 8 constitutes the coupling element between the shaft 5 and any suitable driving source (not illustrated).
The disk 4 constitutes one part of a detent means for alternately preventing and permitting rotation of the output shaft 1. Cooperating with the disk 4 is a lever 10 pivoted at 11 on the machine fixed frame and carrying at the end 110 a roller 12 which is urged into contact with the periphery of the disk 4 by means of a spring 15 which acts on the lever 10. As long as the roller 12 is engaged with one or the other of the protuberances 104 on the disk 4, the lever 10 prevents the rotation of said disk and, consequently of the shaft 1.
A roller 13 is mounted on the lever 10 and extends into the vicinity of the shaft 5 so as to come into contact with the head of the worm 7 when it moves from the position shown to a second position to the left thereof as described hereinafter. Of course, instead of using the head of the worm 7 to engage the roller 13, a projection of the shaft, such as a pin extending therefrom, may be used. As mentioned, an empty tray C which is overturned at the packer hopper by conventional means not illustrated is transferred into the container 2 which is equipped with a suitable holding element 14, pivotable around the axis of the shaft 14a, to prevent the tray from dropping while the container 2 rotates. The drawing shows the empty tray C being transferred into the container 2.
When the roller 12 engages one of the protuberances 104 of the disk 4, it prevents the shaft 1 and the worm gear 3 from rotating. Consequently, the worm 7, while rotating in engagement with the teeth of said gear 3, causes the shaft 5, to which it is keyed, to move axially towards the lever 10. When the shaft, and hence, the worm 7, reach a predetermined second position, the head 107 of the worm 7, or as mentioned, any other suitable projection integral with the shaft 5, engages the roller 13 and causes the lever 10 to rotate round the fulcrum 11 until the roller 12 becomes disengaged from the protuberances 104. As soon as the roller 12 becomes disengaged from a protuberance 104, the worm gear 3 is free to rotate.
As the shaft 5 is moved axially, due to the action of the worm 7 on the stationary worm gear 3, a spring 16 which is between a thrust bearing 102 on the fixed machine frame and a collar 105 secured to the shaft 5 is compressed, the spring 16 acting as an energy accumulator. When the worm gear 3 becomes free to rotate, the shaft 5 moves axially in the opposite direction and returns to the position shown in the drawing. As the shaft 5 returns to such position it carries the worm 7 with it causing the worm gear 3 to rotate in the direction indicated by the arrow 3a, the worm gear 3 also being rotated, in part, by the rotation of the worm 7.
The spacing of the roller 13 from the head 107 is selected so as to produce 180° rotation of the shaft 1 during the return of the shaft 5 from the position in which it disengages the roller 12 from one protuberance 104 substantially to the position shown in the drawing. As the shaft 1, and hence, the disk 4, rotates, the roller 12 rides on the periphery of the disk 4 until it engages the other diametrically opposite protuberance 104 at which time rotation of the shaft 1 is stopped and the cycle is repeated, the container 2 being returned to the upright position shown where it is ready to receive and rotate another tray C.
While the container 2 is in the inverted position, the lever 17, rotatable by the shaft 17a, pivots the holding element 14 permitting the tray C to drop down on the pins 18 (only one shown) extending from the chains 19 which lower the tray C to the appropriate machine position (not shown).
From the foregoing, it is apparent that the continuous, unidirectional rotation of the driven shaft 5 is converted into intermittent, unidirectional rotation of the output shaft 1, the shaft 1 turning one-half of a revolution for each reciprocation of the shaft 5. The shaft 5 is caused to move axially in a first direction each time rotation of the worm gear 3, and hence, the shaft 1 is prevented by means of the detent means comprising the disk 4 with its protuberances 104 and the lever 10 with the roller 12. When the head 107 of the worm 7 moves the lever 10 because of engagement thereof with the roller 13, the detent means is released permitting the worm gear 3 to rotate and permitting the shaft 5 to move axially in the opposite direction by reason of the force of the spring 16.
Although the invention has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment especially adapted for use in automatic cigarette packing machines, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications thereof can be made, without departing from the spirit and principles of the invention as exemplified by the preferred embodiment illustrated and described herein. For example, the shaft 5 could remain fixed axially and the worm 7 could be slidably mounted thereon but rotatable therewith and the spring 16 could act between the fixed frame and the worm 7 so as to cause reciprocation of the worm 7 without axial movement of the shaft 5.
In various machines, particularly automatic machines, it is sometimes necessary that a shaft be caused to have an intermittent, unidirectional rotation with its motion related to the continuous, unidirectional rotation of another shaft of the machine. For example, in automatic cigarette packing machines, the cigarettes are poured in batches in an orderly manner into the machine hopper, each batch being contained in an open top and front tray, so that each tray must first be turned 180° to be overturned for pouring the cigarettes into the hopper and, then, must be turned another 180° to return it to its original position, that is, upright, after the cigarettes are poured into said hopper.
Thus far, the systems used for turning the trays have been rather complicated or have presented the inconvenience of being very large. In these prior art systems, the resetting of a tray upright involved either a rotation around a shaft parallel to one of the major sides of the tray or a rotation around a shaft perpendicular to a plane which is parallel to the back of the tray but external to said tray.
One object of this invention is to substantially eliminate these inconveniences and, for this purpose, it employs an intermittent rotating mechanism which is particularly useful for returning the trays to an upright position in the tray feeders for automatic cigarette packing machines. The rotating mechanism comprises a mechanical potential energy accumulator, generally a spring system, operatively interposed between a continuously rotated drive shaft and a driven shaft which is intermittently rotated by means of the energy accumulated in said energy accumulator, means for automatically locking and releasing the driven shaft in relation to predetermined minimum and maximum charge conditions of said accumulator, said locking and releasing means being coupled in an operatively predetermined manner with the drive shaft so that the rate and timing of the intermittent rotary motion of the driven shaft is directly related to the continuous rotary motion of the drive shaft.
The features of the invention and the resulting advantages will be clearly understood from the following detailed description of a presently preferred embodiment of the invention, which description should be considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawing in which the single FIGURE is a perspective view, partly broken away and partly in section, of such preferred embodiment.
With reference to the drawing, a container 2 is fastened to an end of an output shaft 1. Empty trays C are successively transferred to the container 2 by conventional means, not illustrated. A worm gear 3 is keyed on the output shaft 1 and a disk 4, having two protuberances or stops 104 on its periphery, is secured to the worm gear 3. The stops 104 are spaced from each other and generally are diametrically opposed. A worm 7 which is secured to the driven shaft 5 meshes with the worm gear 3 to provide a driving connection between the driven shaft 5 and the output shaft 1. The shaft 5 is driven by a pinion 8 which is coupled to it with a slidable longitudinal tongue or key type coupling 9. The hub of the pinion 8 is carried in a bearing 108 which is housed in a bushing 208 integral with the fixed frame of the machine, so that said pinion 8 can rotate the shaft 5 but is prevented from moving axially or longitudinally of the shaft. The shaft 5 can, however, slide with respect to the pinion 8 in a direction axially thereof. The pinion 8 constitutes the coupling element between the shaft 5 and any suitable driving source (not illustrated).
The disk 4 constitutes one part of a detent means for alternately preventing and permitting rotation of the output shaft 1. Cooperating with the disk 4 is a lever 10 pivoted at 11 on the machine fixed frame and carrying at the end 110 a roller 12 which is urged into contact with the periphery of the disk 4 by means of a spring 15 which acts on the lever 10. As long as the roller 12 is engaged with one or the other of the protuberances 104 on the disk 4, the lever 10 prevents the rotation of said disk and, consequently of the shaft 1.
A roller 13 is mounted on the lever 10 and extends into the vicinity of the shaft 5 so as to come into contact with the head of the worm 7 when it moves from the position shown to a second position to the left thereof as described hereinafter. Of course, instead of using the head of the worm 7 to engage the roller 13, a projection of the shaft, such as a pin extending therefrom, may be used. As mentioned, an empty tray C which is overturned at the packer hopper by conventional means not illustrated is transferred into the container 2 which is equipped with a suitable holding element 14, pivotable around the axis of the shaft 14a, to prevent the tray from dropping while the container 2 rotates. The drawing shows the empty tray C being transferred into the container 2.
When the roller 12 engages one of the protuberances 104 of the disk 4, it prevents the shaft 1 and the worm gear 3 from rotating. Consequently, the worm 7, while rotating in engagement with the teeth of said gear 3, causes the shaft 5, to which it is keyed, to move axially towards the lever 10. When the shaft, and hence, the worm 7, reach a predetermined second position, the head 107 of the worm 7, or as mentioned, any other suitable projection integral with the shaft 5, engages the roller 13 and causes the lever 10 to rotate round the fulcrum 11 until the roller 12 becomes disengaged from the protuberances 104. As soon as the roller 12 becomes disengaged from a protuberance 104, the worm gear 3 is free to rotate.
As the shaft 5 is moved axially, due to the action of the worm 7 on the stationary worm gear 3, a spring 16 which is between a thrust bearing 102 on the fixed machine frame and a collar 105 secured to the shaft 5 is compressed, the spring 16 acting as an energy accumulator. When the worm gear 3 becomes free to rotate, the shaft 5 moves axially in the opposite direction and returns to the position shown in the drawing. As the shaft 5 returns to such position it carries the worm 7 with it causing the worm gear 3 to rotate in the direction indicated by the arrow 3a, the worm gear 3 also being rotated, in part, by the rotation of the worm 7.
The spacing of the roller 13 from the head 107 is selected so as to produce 180° rotation of the shaft 1 during the return of the shaft 5 from the position in which it disengages the roller 12 from one protuberance 104 substantially to the position shown in the drawing. As the shaft 1, and hence, the disk 4, rotates, the roller 12 rides on the periphery of the disk 4 until it engages the other diametrically opposite protuberance 104 at which time rotation of the shaft 1 is stopped and the cycle is repeated, the container 2 being returned to the upright position shown where it is ready to receive and rotate another tray C.
While the container 2 is in the inverted position, the lever 17, rotatable by the shaft 17a, pivots the holding element 14 permitting the tray C to drop down on the pins 18 (only one shown) extending from the chains 19 which lower the tray C to the appropriate machine position (not shown).
From the foregoing, it is apparent that the continuous, unidirectional rotation of the driven shaft 5 is converted into intermittent, unidirectional rotation of the output shaft 1, the shaft 1 turning one-half of a revolution for each reciprocation of the shaft 5. The shaft 5 is caused to move axially in a first direction each time rotation of the worm gear 3, and hence, the shaft 1 is prevented by means of the detent means comprising the disk 4 with its protuberances 104 and the lever 10 with the roller 12. When the head 107 of the worm 7 moves the lever 10 because of engagement thereof with the roller 13, the detent means is released permitting the worm gear 3 to rotate and permitting the shaft 5 to move axially in the opposite direction by reason of the force of the spring 16.
Although the invention has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment especially adapted for use in automatic cigarette packing machines, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications thereof can be made, without departing from the spirit and principles of the invention as exemplified by the preferred embodiment illustrated and described herein. For example, the shaft 5 could remain fixed axially and the worm 7 could be slidably mounted thereon but rotatable therewith and the spring 16 could act between the fixed frame and the worm 7 so as to cause reciprocation of the worm 7 without axial movement of the shaft 5.