U.S. patent application number 10/235189 was filed with the patent office on 2004-03-18 for method of and apparatus for transferring articles from a fixed position to a moving conveyor.
Invention is credited to DiFrank, Frank J., Leidy, D. Wayne.
Application Number | 20040050661 10/235189 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 31887694 |
Filed Date | 2004-03-18 |
United States Patent
Application |
20040050661 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Leidy, D. Wayne ; et
al. |
March 18, 2004 |
METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR TRANSFERRING ARTICLES FROM A FIXED
POSITION TO A MOVING CONVEYOR
Abstract
Sweepout apparatus (10) for sweeping an aligned array of glass
containers (C) from a deadplate (12) of a I.S. glass container
forming machine to a machine (14) that runs transversely to the
array of containers on the deadplate and serves to transfer the
containers for further processing. The apparatus comprises a swivel
portion (16 or 116) that is oscillatable in an arc of approximately
90.degree. and a head (18) that is carried by the swivel portion
and is reciprocable relative thereto, the head carrying an
elongated bar (20) with a spaced plurality of pocket-defining
fingers (22) that extend from the bar. The sweepout further
comprises independently operatable first and second coaxial
reversible electrical motors (30, 28), an output shaft (32) of the
second electric motor (28) passing through an annular output shaft
(56) of the first electric motor (30). Reversible motion imparted
to the annular output shaft of the first electric motor causes
oscillating motion of the swivel portion of the sweepout apparatus.
Reversible motion imparted to the output shaft of the second
electric motor axial through a planetary gear (42) imparts
reciprocating motion to the elongated bar relative to other
structure of the sweepout portion. The output shafts (32, 56) are
rotatable independently of one another.
Inventors: |
Leidy, D. Wayne;
(Perrysburg, OH) ; DiFrank, Frank J.; (Toledo,
OH) |
Correspondence
Address: |
OWENS-ILLINOIS, INC.
ONE SEAGATE, 25-LDP
TOLEDO
OH
43666
US
|
Family ID: |
31887694 |
Appl. No.: |
10/235189 |
Filed: |
September 4, 2002 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
198/418 |
Current CPC
Class: |
C03B 9/453 20130101;
B65G 2201/0244 20130101; B65G 47/82 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
198/418 |
International
Class: |
B65G 047/26 |
Claims
We claim:
1. Sweepout apparatus for transferring a plurality of aligned
articles on a member to a conveyor that extends transversely to the
aligned articles on the member, said apparatus comprising: a head
with an elongated bar having a spaced plurality of fingers
extending transversely therefrom, each finger defining, with the
elongated bar, a pocket for receiving one of the articles, said
head with said elongated bar being oscillatable through an arc of
90.degree. to sweep the plurality of articles from the member to
positions on the conveyor, the elongated bar being reciprocable to
engage the articles on the member and to retract from the articles
on the conveyor: a first reversible electric motor for imparting
oscillating motion to the head, said first reversible electrical
motor being fixed in position during its operation and having an
annular output shaft operatively engaging said head; a second
reversible electric motor for imparting reciprocating motion to the
elongated bar with respect to said head, said second reversible
electric motor being fixed in position during its operation and
being in coaxial alignment vertically below said first reversible
electric motor, said second reversible electric motor having an
output shaft extending through said annular output shaft of said
first reversible electric motor, said annular output shaft of said
first reversible electric motor and said output shaft of said
second reversible electric motor being rotatable relative to one
another; and a planetary gear transmission for imparting
reciprocating motion from said output shaft of said second
reversible electric motor to said elongated bar.
2. Sweepout apparatus according to claim 1 wherein each of said
first reversible electric motor and said second reversible electric
motor is an a.c. servomotor.
3. Sweepout apparatus according to claim 2 wherein: each of said
plurality of aligned articles is a freshly-formed glass container;
said member is a deadplate of I.S. glass container forming machine;
and said conveyor is a machine conveyor in a glass container
manufacturing plant.
4. Apparatus according to claim 3 wherein said planetary gear
transmission comprises: an annular sun gear operatively connected
to said output shaft of said second reversible electric motor; a
circumferentially spaced-apart plurality of planetary gears
engaging said sun gear; and an annular ring gear surrounding and
operatively engaging each of said plurality of planetary gears.
5. Apparatus according to claim 4 wherein: said plurality of
planetary gears consists of three planetary gears.
6. Apparatus according to claim 5 and further comprising: a sector
gear; structure for mounting said sector gear for oscillating
motion about an axis spaced from an axis of said second reversible
electric motor; a drive gear driven by said planetary gear set and
coaxially aligned with said second reversible electric motor, said
drive gear engaging said sector gear; at least one reciprocatable
rod engaging said elongated bar; a bracket to which said at least
one elongated bar is attached, said bracket having a slot therein;
a link mounted coaxially with said sector gear for oscillation with
said sector gear, said link having a free end spaced away from the
axis of oscillation of said sector gear; and a roller follower at
said free end of said link and received in said slot of said
bracket, oscillation of said sector gear and said link causing said
bracket to reciprocate by virtue of engagement of said roller
follower in said slot.
7. Apparatus according to claim 6 wherein: said at least one
reciprocable rod comprises a spaced-apart plurality of reciprocable
rods.
8. The method of transferring a plurality of aligned articles on a
member to a conveyor that extends transversely to the aligned
articles on the member, the method comprising: providing an
elongated bar having a spaced plurality of fingers extending
transversely therefrom, each finger defining, with the elongated
bar, a pocket for receiving one of the articles, the elongated bar
being oscillatable through an arc of 90.degree. to sweep the
plurality of articles from the member to positions on the conveyor
and being reciprocable to retract from the articles on the
conveyor; providing a first reversible electric motor to impart
oscillating motion to the elongated bar, providing a second
reversible electric motor for imparting reciprocating motion to the
elongated bar, said second reversible electric motor being
positioned in coaxial alignment with said reversible electric
motor; operating said first reversible electric motor to impart
oscillating motion to the elongate bar; and operating said second
reversible electric motor to impart reciprocating motion to said
elongate bar.
9. The method according to claim 8 wherein: each of the plurality
of aligned articles on the member is a freshly-formed glass
container; the member is a deadplate of an I.S. glass container
forming machine; and the conveyor is a machine convenyor in a glass
container manufacturing plant.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] This invention relates to a method of, and an apparatus for,
transferring a multiplicity of aligned articles on a stationary
member to the flight of a conveyor that is moving transversely of
the alignment of the articles on the stationary member. More
particularly, this invention relates to a sweepout for transferring
a multiplicity of aligned, freshly-formed glass containers on a
deadplate of a glass container forming machine of the I.S.
(individual section) type to the upper flight of a conveyor for
transferring the glass containers to an annealing lehr.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] As is explained in commonly-assigned U.S. Pat. No. 6,076,654
(Leidy), the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference
herein, various devices and steps are involved in transferring
freshly-formed glass containers from the deadplates of an I.S.
machine to an annealing lehr for heat treatment of the containers.
Among the devices employed in such a process is a sweepout device
that is used to simultaneously transfer a plurality of aligned
containers, usually two, three or four containers, from an I.S.
machine deadplate to an upper moving flight of an endless machine
conveyor.
[0003] Prior art I.S. machine sweepout devices are described, for
example, in commonly-assigned U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,795,503 (Perry),
4,162,911 (Mallory), 4,199,344 (Mumford et al.), 4,222,480 (Perry),
and 5,904,745 (Nafziger et al.), the disclosure of each of which is
also incorporated by reference herein. As is disclosed in such
references, or as is otherwise known, a typical I.S. machine
sweepout head has a horizontally extending elongated bar with a
plurality of spaced, horizontally extending fingers extending
transversely from the elongated bar. Each finger defines, with the
elongated bar, a generally L-shaped container receiving pocket.
[0004] Prime movers, heretofore usually pneumatic cylinders,
provide dual motions to the head with the elongated bar and fingers
that extend therefrom. The first of such motions is a reciprocating
motion a first portion of which serves to move the elongated bar
and its fingers from a position out of contact with containers on
the deadplate into a position engaging the containers on the
deadplate. The other motion is a 90.degree. oscillating motion to
the head, a first portion of which transfers the containers on the
deadplate to the upper flight of the machine conveyor. Then, as a
second portion of the reciprocating motion, the elongated bar and
its fingers are retracted to a position out of engagement with
containers on the machine conveyor to permit the containers to be
conveyed away from the forming machine by the machine conveyor,
and, as a second portion of the 90.degree. oscillating motion, the
head with the elongated bar with its fingers is returned to its
original position to be ready to begin a repeat of the process.
While pneumatic cylinders have heretofore usually used to power
both required motions of a glass container sweepout head, U.S. Pat.
No. 5,429,651 (Bolin), which specifically discloses a pneumatic
device for actuating the reciprocating motion of the sweepout
pusher mechanism, does disclose, in words only, at column 13, lines
45-50, that a stepping motor could also be used for such purpose.
Further, U.S. Pat. No. 5,125,499 (Saathoff et al.) does teach the
use of a stepping motor for powering the oscillating motion of a
sweepout head, but also teaches the use of a fluid motor for
powering the reciprocation of the pusher arm.
[0005] The use of a pneumatic cylinder to power either the
reciprocation or the oscillation of a sweepout head finger-carrying
bar has certain operating disadvantages, however. Precise control
over the timing of the reciprocation or oscillation of the pusher
head is difficult to achieve, which creates problems in accurately
timing the motion of the pusher head relative to other motions of
an I.S. machine. Further, modification of either of the timing of
the sweepout pneumatic cylinders is difficult to achieve, as is
required, for example, when the machine is modified to produce
larger or smaller containers, and it is difficult to control the
speeds of a pneumatically-powered sweepout head at the beginning
and end of its extension and retraction motions.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] To overcome the aforesaid and other problems associated with
prior art I.S. machine sweepouts, according to the present
invention there is provided an all-electric sweepout. The sweepout
of the present invention has a pair of vertically arranged,
reversible electrical motors, each motor preferably an a.c. servo
motor. The motors are coaxially aligned, and the output shaft of
the lower motor, which provides reciprocating motion to the
sweepout head through a planetary gear drive, extends through an
annular output shaft of the upper motor, which imparts oscillating
motion to the sweepout head. The output shafts of the lower and
upper motors are rotatable with respect to one another. Because the
installed positions of the upper and lower motors are fixed, the
wiring for the motors need not have a pigtail to accommodate
movement of a motor relative to a source of power, and oil lines
for motor cooling, which is desired to permit prolonged operation
in a hostile, high-temperature environment, need not have flexible
components. Also positioning the motors below the sweepout head
does somewhat reduce the temperatures to which the motors are
exposed.
[0007] Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to
provide a method of and an apparatus for transferring a plurality
of articles from fixed positions to a moving conveyor in which all
required motions are powered by reversible electric motors whose
positions are fixed. More particularly, it is an object of the
present invention to provide a method and an apparatus of the
foregoing character that is well-suited for operating in proximity
to a glass container forming machine, where the operating
temperatures can be somewhat higher than ambient.
[0008] For a further understanding of the present invention and the
objects thereof, attention is directed to the drawing and the
following brief description thereof, to the detailed description of
the invention and to the appended claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
[0009] FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 1C are fragmentary, perspective views of
apparatus according to the present invention, each view
illustrating the apparatus at a different position in a cycle of
operation;
[0010] FIG. 2 is an elevation view, at an enlarged scale, of
elements of the apparatus of FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 1C;
[0011] FIG. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view, at a further
enlarged scale, of a portion of the apparatus of FIG. 2;
[0012] FIG. 4 is a view like FIG. 3 of an another portion of the
apparatus of FIG. 2;
[0013] FIG. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view, with a portion of
the structure broken away, of the apparatus of FIGS. 2 and 3;
[0014] FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken on line 6-6 of FIG. 3;
[0015] FIG. 7 is a fragmentary perspective view, partly in
cross-section, of a portion of the apparatus of FIGS. 2-6;
[0016] FIG. 8 is a view like FIG. 2 of an alternate embodiment of
the present;
[0017] FIG. 9 is a view like FIG. 3 of a portion of the apparatus
of FIG. 8;
[0018] FIG. 10 is a fragmentary perspective view of a portion of
the apparatus of FIG. 8; and
[0019] FIG. 11 is a view like FIG. 10 with the portion of the
apparatus depicted therein being turned by 180.degree. and with a
portion of the apparatus being broken away.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0020] Sweepout apparatus according to the present invention is
indicated generally by the reference numeral 10 in FIGS. 1A, 1B, 1C
and 2 of drawing. The sweepout apparatus 10 is used to
simultaneously transfer an aligned plurality of freshly-formed
glass containers C on a deadplate 12 of an I.S. machine to a moving
upper flight of a takeout, (machine) conveyor 14. The containers C
are then conveyed by the conveyor to an annealing lehr (not shown)
for heat treatment of the containers C to relieve residual stresses
therein, as is known in the art. The conveyor 14 extends
transversely of the deadplate 12, and the transfer of the
containers C from a deadplate 12 to the conveyor 14 requires that
the containers C be transferred to the conveyor 14 and turned by
90.degree. as they are transferred, to ensure that the containers C
will be aligned with one another on the conveyor 14 as they were on
the deadplate 12. To this end, the sweepout apparatus 10 is
provided with a swivel portion 16 that is repeatedly oscillated
through a 90.degree. arc, including the motion from its FIG. 1A
position to its FIG. 1C position. Further, the swivel portion 16 is
provided with a sweepout head 18 that is repeatedly reciprocated,
and the path of reciprocation of the sweepout head 18 includes
movement from the position in FIG. 1A to the position in FIGS. 1B
and 1C and then back to the position of FIG. 16.
[0021] The sweepout head 18 includes an elongated, horizontally
extending bar 20 with a plurality of spaced fingers 22 extending
transversely from the bar 20. Each of the fingers 22 defines, with
the bar 20, a pocket for receiving a container C, the number of
fingers 22 extending from the bar 20 being the same as the number
of containers C on the deadplate 12. The elongated bar 20 is
mounted on spaced, horizontally extending rods 24 that are
reciprocatable with respect to the swivel portion 16, as will be
hereinafter described more fully, to reciprocate the bar 20 of the
sweepout head 18 from the position of FIG. 1A, where the containers
C are not engaged in pockets of the sweepout head 18, to the
position of FIGS. 1B and 1C, where the containers C are engaged in
the pockets of the sweepout head 18. After the transfer of the
containers C from the FIG. 1A position to the FIG. 1C position, the
sweepout head 18 is retracted to permit the containers C to be
conveyed away by the conveyor 14, and the swivel portion 16 of the
sweepout apparatus 10 is then turned, in reverse, from its FIG. 1C
position to its FIG. 1A position to begin a repeat of the sweepout
cycle with a fresh array of containers C on the deadplate 12. As
shown in FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 1C, the sweepout head 18 is provided
with four container-receiving pockets, and this is the construction
that is suited for an I.S. machine that simultaneously produces
four containers at each I.S. machine section, a type of machine
that is often described as a "quad" machine. Of course, it is also
known that an I.S. machine can also be adapted to simultaneously
produce three containers at each I.S. machine section, a "triple
gob" machine, or even two containers at each I.S. machine section,
a "double gob" machine; in such cases, a sweepout apparatus 10 for
a triple gob machine would have a sweepout head 18 with only three
container-receiving pockets, and a sweepout apparatus 10 for a
double gob machine would have a sweepout head with only two
container-receiving pockets.
[0022] The sweepout apparatus 10 includes a stationary housing 26
that is positioned below and in alignment with the swivel portion
16. First and second reversible a.c. motors 28, 30, each preferably
a servo motor for precise controllability, are positioned in
vertical, coaxial alignment with each other within the housing 26.
The motor 28, which is positioned beneath the motor 30, drives an
output shaft 32, FIG. 4, which is rotatably supported in spaced
bearings 34, 36. The output shaft 32 has a stub shaft 38 (FIG. 3)
of a speed reduction planetary gear set 42 shrunk or otherwise
inserted thereon, and the stub shaft 38,which is rotatably
supported in a bearing 39, drives a sun gear 40 of the speed
reduction planetary gear set 42. The planetary gear set 42 also has
a spaced plurality of planetary gears 44, and the planetary gears
44, which are driven by the sun gear 40, engage an interior gear
surface of a ring gear 46. The ring gear 46 is secured to the
interior of a cup-shaped portion 48a of a shaft extension 48 that
extends into the swivel portion 16 of the sweepout apparatus 10 and
is rotatably supported in bearings 47, 49 for rotation relative to
the swivel portion 16. The planetary gear set 42 serves to
substantially reduce the rotational speed of the shaft extension 48
relative to that of the shaft 32, for example, by a 1:5 factor.
Such a planetary gear set is available as a commercial item from
Mectrol, Inc.
[0023] The shaft extension 48 carries a drive gear 49, and the
drive gear 49 drives a sector gear 50 (FIG. 6). The sector gear 50
is mounted for pivoting motion in and relative to the head 16 about
a shaft 51 (FIG. 5) and has an overlying arm 53 (FIGS. 3, 5 and 6)
that pivots with the sector gear 50, and arcuate motion of the
shaft extension 48, which is caused to oscillate by reversing
motion of the motor 28, causes reversible motion of a follower 52
that extends from the arm 53 and rides in a slot 54 in a bracket 56
to which the rods 24 are attached. Thus, the reversing motion of
the motor 28 is effective to cause the rods 24, with the bar 20 and
the fingers 22, to extend and retract in unison to move between the
positions shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, and to do so with virtually no
backlash.
[0024] The a.c. motor 30 has an output shaft 56, and the shaft 56
is rotatably supported in spaced-apart bearings 58, 60. The output
shaft 56 is annular in configuration and the output shaft 32 passes
through the interior of the output shaft 56 so that the output
shaft 56 and the output shaft 32 are rotatable independently of
each other.
[0025] As seen best in FIG. 3, an annular housing 62 is secured to
the shaft 56 by threaded fasteners 64, and an integral bottom plate
66 of the swivel portion 16 of the sweepout apparatus 10 is secured
to the annular housing 62 by threaded fasteners 68. Thus,
reversible arcuate motion is imparted to the shaft 56 by the motor
30, and this motion is effective to oscillate the swivel portion 16
of the sweepout apparatus 10 between the position shown in FIGS. 1A
and 1B and the position shown in FIG. 1C, and this motion is must
be controlled relative to the extension and retraction motions
imparted to the sweepout head 18 by the motor 28, as both are
performed together to impart such extension and retraction motions
to the sweepout head while the swivel portion 6 is oscillating.
[0026] The sweepout apparatus 10, as heretofore described, uses
motors 28, 30 within a housing 26 that need not be moved in
service. Thus, wiring (not shown) to such motors may be stationary,
thereby avoiding the need for flexible or extensible wiring to such
motors in a relatively high temperature operating environment, and
such wiring may be of a plug-in, quick disconnect type for rapid
installation and removal of a sweepout apparatus 10 as a unit.
Further, because the housing of the motors 28, 30 need not be moved
in service, the motors 28, 30 may readily be oil cooled, as
desired, because coolant inlet and outlet lines for such purposes
need not be flexible. Further still, an electronic control unit,
not shown, may, if desired, be mounted on the housing 26 and, if
also desired, it too may be oil cooled, because inlet and outlet
lines to and from it will require no flexible elements. In any
case, positioning the motor 28, 30 below the head 16 will serve to
somewhat reduce the temperatures to which the motor 28, 30 are
exposed relative to that experienced by the head 16.
[0027] In the embodiment of FIGS. 8-11, elements that correspond at
least in function to elements of the embodiment of FIGS. 1-7 are
identified by a 100 series numeral, the last 2 digits of which are
the same as the 2 digits of the embodiment of FIGS. 1-7.
[0028] The sweepout apparatus according to the embodiment of FIGS.
8-11 is indicated generally by the reference numeral 110 in FIG. 8
of the drawing. The sweepout apparatus 110, like the sweepout
apparatus 10, is used to simultaneously transfer an aligned
plurality of freshly-formed glass containers on a deadplate of an
I.S. machine to a moving upper flight of a takeout (machine)
conveyor, which transfers the containers to an annealing lehr (not
shown) for heat treatment of the containers to relieve residual
stresses therein, as known in the art. The sweepout apparatus 110
is provided with a swivel portion 116 that is repeatedly oscillated
through a 90.degree. arc, and the swivel portion 116 is provided
with a sweepout head 118 is repeatedly reciprocated, and the matter
of the path of reciprocation of the sweepout head 18 of the
embodiment of FIGS. 1-7.
[0029] The sweepout head 118 includes an elongated, horizontally
extending bar 120 with a plurality of spaced fingers 122 extending
transversely from the bar 120. The elongated bar 120 is mounted on
spaced horizontally extending rods 124 that are reciprocatable with
respect to swivel portion 116, as will be herein after described
more fully, to reciprocate the bar 120 of the sweepout head
118.
[0030] The sweepout apparatus 110 includes a stationary housing 126
that is positioned below and in alignment with the swivel portion
116. First and second reversible a.c. motors 128, 130, each
preferably a servo motor for precise controllability, are
positioned in vertical, coaxial alignment with each other within
the housing 126. The motor 128, which is positioned beneath the
motor 130, drives an output shaft 132.
[0031] The embodiment of FIGS. 8-11 differs from the embodiment of
FIGS. 1-7 mainly in the construction illustrated in FIGS. 9-11,
where a shaft extension 148 carries a drive gear 149, which drives
a sector gear 150. The sector gear 150 is mounted for pivoting
motion in and relative to the head 116 about a stub shaft 151 (FIG.
11) and has an overlying arm 153 that pivots with the sector gear
150. Arcuate motion of the shaft extension 148, which is caused to
oscillate by reversing motion of the motor 128, causes reversible
motion of a sleeve 152 that extends from the arm 153 and slidingly
surrounds a rod 154 that is mounted in a bracket 156, to which the
rods 124 are attached. Thus, the reversing motion of the motor 128
is effective to cause the rods 124, with the bar 120 and the
fingers 122, to extend and retract in unison to move between the
innermost and outermost positions of the bar 120, and to do so with
virtually no backlash.
[0032] The sweepout apparatus 110, as heretofore described, uses
motors 128, 130 within a housing 126 that need not be moved in
service. Thus, wiring (not shown) to such motors may be stationary,
thereby avoiding the need for flexible or extensible wiring to such
motors in a relatively high temperature operating environment, and
such wiring maybe of a plug-end, quick disconnect type for rapid
installation and removal of a sweepout apparatus 110 as a unit.
Further, because the housing of the motors 128, 130 need not be
moved in service, the motors 128, 130 may readily be oil cooled, as
desired, because coolant inlet and outlet lines for such purposes
need not be flexible. Further still, an electronic control unit,
not shown, may, if desired, be mounted on the housing 126 and, if
also desired, it too may be oil cooled, because inlet and outlet
lines to and from it will require no flexible elements. In any
case, positioning the motors 128, 130 below the head 116 will serve
somewhat to reduce the temperatures to which the motors 128,130 are
exposed relative to that experienced by the head 116.
[0033] Although the best mode contemplated by the inventors for
carrying out the present invention as of the filing date hereof has
been shown and described herein, it will be apparent to those
skilled in the art that suitable modifications, variations, and
equivalents may be made without departing from the scope of the
invention, such scope being limited by the terms of the following
claims and the legal equivalents thereof.
* * * * *