Closure Handling And Orienting Apparatus

Abstract

Apparatus particularly adapted for handling oblong closures having printing thereon wherein the closures are first aligned end to end in a row regardless of whether or not the printing on adjacent closures reads in the same direction, and thereafter the closures are oriented and realigned with the printing on all of the closures oriented to read in the same direction.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The apparatus of the type herein illustrated is principally employed in the bottle filling industry wherein the filled bottles are provided with closures. The closure handling apparatus is adapted to sort and align randomly arranged closures which are deposited into a feed chute in an oriented condition, successive closures being withdrawn from the feed chute for application to the filled bottles.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Prior closure handling and orienting apparatus adapted to handle randomly arranged closures is illustrated and described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,715,978 assigned to the present assignee. Such prior apparatus is arranged to handle cylindrical closures wherein the randomly arranged closures are guided onto an orienting disk adapted to support those closures assuming a predetermined oriented position thereon, and to deposit such closures into a supply chute from which successive closures are withdrawn to be applied to bottles. Any closures assuming a position other than such predetermined oriented position are rejected from the orienting disk. Such prior closure handling apparatus is not adapted to handle elongated rectangular or oblong closures nor does it contemplate arrangement of the closures to permit reading in the same direction of any printed matter thereon.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In general, the present invention contemplates novel closure handling apparatus particularly adapted for handling elongated, substantially rectangular or oblong closures having printing or other characters thereon and in which provision is made for first aligning the closures longitudinally end to end and with their open ends up without regard for the direction of the printing and for thereafter sorting and realigning the closures to cause the printing on successive closures to read in the same direction.

The novel handling apparatus is adapted to first align and orient randomly arranged rectangular closures so that they all face with their open ends up, the closures being then deposited into a vertical chute. Successive closures then pass a sorting mechanism which is provided with means for detecting the direction of the printing thereon. Those with the printing reading in one direction are released onto one track and those reading in the opposite direction are released onto a second track. Provision is then made for changing the direction of the closures with the printing reading in the opposite direction so that all of the closures will read in the same direction. The closures which have been caused to change their direction are received on a track parallel to the first track, and provision is then made for realigning the oriented closures in both lines into a single line for delivery to the closure applying machine.

Provision is also made for controlling the operation of the apparatus whereby to maintain a supply of closures commensurate with the demand therefor, and to discontinue the supply of closures when a surplus thereof is detected.

Accordingly, the present invention has for an object to provide novel and improved closure handling apparatus adapted to align and orient randomly arranged elongated rectangular or oblong closures with their open ends all facing in the same direction in a superior and efficient manner.

The invention has for another object to provide novel and improved closure handling apparatus of the character specified adapted to handle oblong closures having printing thereon and wherein provision is made for orienting and aligning the closures in a manner such as to have the printing thereon read in the same direction in a novel and superior manner.

A further object of the invention is to provide novel and improved closure handling apparatus of the character specified wherein novel provision is made for controlling the operation of the apparatus to discontinue the feed of closure when the supply thereof exceeds the demand therefor.

With these general objects in view and such others as may hereinafter appear, the invention consists in the closure handling and orienting apparatus and in the various structures, arrangements and combinations of parts hereinafter described and particularly defined in the claims at the end of this specification.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings illustrating the preferred embodiment of the invention:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of closure handling apparatus embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation thereof;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a closure adapted to be handled in the present apparatus;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the driving mechanism to the rotary disk;

FIG. 5 is a side elevation thereof shown partly in cross section;

FIG. 6 is a detail view in cross section as taken on the line 6--6 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a side elevation of means for controlling the feed of closures onto the rotary disk;

FIG. 8 is a cross sectional detail view of a portion of the control means shown in FIG. 7;

FIG. 8A is a plan view detail of the control means shown in FIG. 8;

FIG. 9 is a cross sectional detail view of the transfer mechanism as seen from the line 9--9 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 9A is a plan view detail of the transfer mechanism shown in FIG. 9;

FIG. 10 is a cross sectional view of the chute as seen from the line 10--10 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 11 is a plan view of the driving mechanism to the cam shaft associated with the sorting and orienting mechanism;

FIG. 12 is a front elevation of the sorting and orienting mechanism showing portions of the drives;

FIG. 13 is a detail view in side elevation of the sorting and orienting mechanism showing the cam shaft and the cam operated valves associated therewith;

FIG. 13A is a detail view of a curved portion of the chute leading to the switching mechanism;

FIG. 14 is a side elevation of the switching mechanism;

FIG. 15 is a rear view of the switching mechanism;

FIG. 16 is a plan view of the tracks forming a part of the orienting mechanism;

FIG. 17 is a side elevation of the tracks shown in FIG. 16, portions thereof being shown in cross section;

FIG. 18 is a detail view in side elevation and partly in cross section of the closure stop and release mechanism for releasing the closures alternately from two tracks to form one line thereof;

FIG. 18A is a detail view showing the parts in a different position of operation;

FIG. 19 is an elementary diagram of the electrical and pneumatic controls embodied in the present apparatus; and

FIG. 20 is an electrical diagram embodying the controls to be described.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring now to the drawings and particularly to FIGS. 1 and 2, the container handling apparatus therein shown comprises in general: a guide chute 10 through which randomly arranged elongated rectangular or oblong closures 14 having printing thereon are delivered; a rotary carrier disk 12 which is mounted to rotate in a horizontal plane and which is arranged to receive and sort the randomly arranged closures 14; a transfer chute 16 through which successive closures released from the rotary disk pass to enter an elongated chute 18 having a horizontal portion 17 and a vertical portion 19, the closures entering the chute longitudinally end to end without regard for the direction in which the printing can be read; detecting, sorting and orienting means indicated generally at 20 wherein closures reading in different directions are deposited into different lines or tracks 22, 24; turn around or recoil mechanism 26 for redirecting and thus orienting the closures in one track to read in the same direction as the other track; and means indicated generally at 27 for releasing the closures alternately from two parallel lines or tracks 28, 30 into a single line or track 32, the latter comprising an upwardly inclined chute, only one end of which is shown for delivering the closures to a supply chute, not shown, and from which successive closures are withdrawn for application to containers.

In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, the randomly arranged printed oblong closures 14 are delivered to the apparatus in controlled amounts by an upright convyer 36 which is provided with a plurality of equally spaced flights 38. The outer run of the conveyer is arranged to cooperate with a bulk supply hopper associated therewith to pick up the closures on the flights 38 as the outer run passes through the bulk supply hopper. In operation, when the closures are carried over the upper end of the conveyer, they fall off the flights 38 and are guided by the chute 10 onto the rotary carrier disk 12. The driving mechanism for the upright conveyer includes a normally engaged clutch 40 diagrammatically indicated in FIG. 19 which is arranged to be pneumatically disengaged by control mechanism, indicated generally at 42, to be hereinafter more fully described. The upright elevating conveyer 36 may comprise the conveyer illustrated and described in the U.S. Pat. to Sterling, No. 3,079,042, to which reference may be made for a more detailed description thereof.

As illustrated herein, the rotary carrier disk 12 is supported for rotation about a central stationary post 44 suitably supported in the machine frame. The depending hub 48 of the disk 12 is provided with a sleeve 50 secured to the hub by bolts 52. The sleeve is provided with ball bearings 54, 56, the lower bearing 56 resting on a shouldered portion of the central post 44. A lock washer 58 and nut 60 threadedly carried by the post 44 engage the upper ball bearings 54 as shown.

The carrier disk 12 is arranged to be rotated through connections from a motor 62 belted to one end of a drive shaft 64 having a normally engaged clutch 66 associated therewith. The shaft 64 is journaled in a bracket 68, and the other end of the clutch shaft is belted to the input shaft 70 of a speed reducing unit 72. The output shaft 74 of the speed reducing unit is provided with a pinion 76 which is in mesh with a gear 78 connected to the lower end of the sleeve 50 by the bolts 52. The motor 62, bracket 68 and speed reducing unit 72 are attached to the underside of a mounting plate 80 supported on the post 44 by a flanged hub 82. A casing 84 mounted on top of the plate 80 encloses the gearing.

In operation, the disk 12 is arranged to be rotated in a counterclockwise direction at a relatively slow speed arranged to be varied as required. The mounting plate 80 is further provided with an extension comprising longitudinally extended side bars 86, 88 secured to two opposite sides of the plate, and a cross bar 90 connecting the outer ends of the side bars.

As herein shown, the carrier disk is surrounded by a circular guard or upright supporting wall 92. The wall 92 is supported from the mounting plate 80 by four equally spaced, radially extending struts 94 secured to upright spacing members 95 bolted to the plate 80. Each strut 94 carries an upright bar 96 at the outer end thereof to which the circular wall 92 is secured.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the specific closure 14 being handled in the present apparatus comprises an oblong closure having curved side walls and straight end walls and is designed to be pressed onto a container. The open end of the closure is provided with a rolled edge 98 so that the width of the closure is greater across the rolled edges than the width of the body portion. This feature is taken advantage of to sort those closures assuming an oriented position, that is, with their open ends up, from those closures assuming a position with their open ends down. In practice, the randomly arranged closures are guided longitudinally end to end into a single line as they are carried around on the rotary disk, the closures being guided outwardly into engagement with an annular groove 100 in the marginal edge of the disk 12. The groove 100 is made of a width such as to accept in a fully seated position the width of the body portion of those closures having their open ends up while those closures having their open ends down are not able to seat themselves in the grooves because of the increased width across the rolled edges 98. In practice, the randomly arranged elongated closures deposited on the disk 12 may fall with their open ends up or down, a majority of the closures falling naturally under the influence of gravity with their open ends up.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the closures are guided into the groove to extend longitudinally end to end therein by a curved leaf spring 102 carried by a curved plate 104 attached to a clamp collar 105 secured to the upper end of the central supporting post 44. As best shown in FIG. 6, the annular groove 100 is defined on one side by the peripheral edge of a circular sheet metal member 106 attached concentrically to the upper face of the rotary disk 12, the other side of the groove being defined by a raised rim 108 integral with the disk 12. In practice, the closures with their open ends up will seat themselves fully in the groove 100 while those closures guided toward the groove with their open ends down will not be permitted to seat themselves in the groove because of the rolled edge 98 and will assume an angular position therein. Provision is made for removing such non-oriented closures from the groove, and as herein shown, see FIG. 6, a plurality of spaced air jets 110 are mounted to direct streams of air radially inwardly of the rotary disk against the angularly disposed closures to effect return of such closures toward the center of the disk. Such air jets are also arranged to remove any closures which are not fully seated in the groove, some of the closures thus removed being overturned to assume an open end up position so as to enter the groove the next time such closures are guided therein by the curved leaf spring 102. As herein shown, see FIG. 6, the air jets 110 are supported by brackets 112 secured to and depending from the lower edge of the circular wall 92. The lower end of each bracket is horizontally extended and has an opening to receive the threaded end of its air jet, the latter being vertically adjustable in its bracket and held in its adjusted position by lock nuts 114. The closures are also urged outwardly on the disk by centrifugal action to enter the annular groove. As diagrammatically shown in FIG. 19, each of the air jets 110 is connected to a manifold 111 which in turn is connected by a pipe 113 to a regulated source of compressed air indicated at 115.

Provision is made for preventing entrance into the annular groove 100 of nested closures or closures arranged one above the other. As herein illustrated, a curved top rail 116 is disposed above the groove 100 concentric with the rotary disk. The rail 116 is supported from the circular wall 92 by spaced rods 120 extending radially inwardly therefrom and a short distance inwardly from the outer marginal edge of the groove 100. A second rail 118 which occurs for a short distance only at the exit portion of the guideway defined by the groove is supported from the inner rail 116 by spacing collars 122 and bolts 124 and is disposed immediately above the outer marginal edge of the groove 100. The lower edge of each rail is spaced a short distance above the height of a closure fully seated in the groove, the rails being vertically adjustable by bolts 126 extending through clearance openings in the rail 116 and threadedly engaged with the rods 120. Thus, the inner rail 116 serves as a shield to prevent entrance of more than one closure at a time into the groove so that nested or overlapping closures which cannot enter the groove assume a raised position to be returned onto the center of the disk by the air jets 110. Likewise, those closures with their open ends down which cannot be fully seated in the groove are removed therefrom by the air jets. It will be noted that once an oriented closure is fully seated in its groove, the top rail 116 serves to retain the closures therein so that they cannot be removed by the air jets.

From the description thus far it will be seen that the randomly arranged closures are guided into end-to-end alignment with their major axes arranged longitudinally in the annular groove 100 with their open ends up, and as herein shown, see FIG. 9, successive closures in the line are removed from the groove by the transfer chute 16 which is arranged tangentially with respect to the groove. The transfer chute 16 is arranged to guide the closures with their open ends up into the horizontal leg 17 of the chute 18 and is supported above the disk 12. The chute 16 extends through an opening 128 in the circular supporting wall 92.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the closures with their open ends up are guided upwardly out of the groove 100 by a pivotally mounted ramp 130, the lower end of which rests in the groove and up which successive closures are guided to an upper level on a base plate 132. The ramp 130 is pivoted at 134 to the base plate 132 and is maintained in resilient contact with the bottom of the groove 100 by a coil spring 136 connected between the underside of the ramp and the base plate as shown.

The base plate 132 is supported by an upright bracket 138 fastened at its lower end to the side bar 88 which latter extends from the mounting plate 80. The transfer chute 16 includes side rails 140, 142 and a top rail 144. The side rail 142 is bolted to the base plate 132, and the side rail 140 is attached to angle brackets 141 which are mounted for lateral adjustment on the base plate. The top rail 144 is supported for vertical adjustment by angle brackets 145 attached to the side rail 142. In operation, the closures carried along in the groove 100 engage the ramp 130 and the back pressure of succeeding closures urges the leading closures up the ramp. The closures are assisted up the ramp by a stream of air from an air jet 146 supported in the circular wall 92, the air stream being directed through an opening in the top rail 144. Additional air jets 148 supported in brackets 150 fastened to the side rail 142 are likewise provided to advance the closures along the upper level of the transfer chute and into the horizontal leg 17 of the chute 18. The area of the disk 12 over which the receiving end of the transfer chute is disposed is protected from interference by the closures on the disk by guard members including a member 152 secured to the inner rail 116 and a second member 154 secured at one end to the circular wall 92 as shown in FIG. 1. The member 154 is further supported by an angle piece 156 secured to the base plate 132. The free end of the member 152 is arranged to overlap the free end of the member 154 as shown.

As herein illustrated, the chute 18 leading to the detecting and sorting means 20 is secured at one end to the bracket 138 in alignment with the transfer chute 16. The chute 18 comprises a pair of spaced bottom rails 158, 160 which are bolted at the receiving end to the bracket 138. Fastened to the bottom rails are a plurality of guide rail supporting units indicated generally at 162, each supporting unit including a cross bar 164, side rail holders 166, 168 secured to the cross bars and which carry the side rails 170, 172, and a pivotally mounted top rail support 174 in which the stems 176 of the top rail 178 are supported for vertical adjustment. Each rail support 174 is pivotally carried by a bifurcated upright bar 180 attached to one end of its cross bar. It will be observed that each top rail support 174 is adjustably limited in its rocking movement by a set screw 171 carried by the support 174 and which cooperates with a stop member 173 secured to the upright bar 180. The side rail holders 168 are fixed in the cross bars 164 while the side rail holders 166 are mounted for adjustment laterally in the cross bar 164. Each cross bar 164 also carries a U-shaped bracket 182 depending centrally therefrom which supports an air manifold 184 provided with a plurality of spaced air jets 186 for rapidly advancing the closures along the chute. The first cross bar 164, comprising the bar nearest the end of the transfer chute 16 is provided with a second upright bar 188 at the opposite side of the chute which supports an angle member 190. A similar angle member 192 is carried by the upright bar 180. Between the angle members 190, 192 is supported a photoelectric detecting unit indicated generally at 194, and which forms a part of the control mechanism for discontinuing rotation of the carrier disk when a surplus of closures is detected as will be hereinafter more fully described. It will be understood that the closures are advanced along the horizontal leg 17 of the chute by the air jets 186 mounted in the manifold 184. The outer end of the horizontal leg 17 of the chute 18 is connected to the vertical leg 19 thereof by a curved section 196 which comprises a curved connecting plate 198 bolted at one end to the base plate 132 and at its other end to a cross bar 200 forming a part of the vertical leg 19. The curved section 198 is provided with curved side rails 202 attached to the connecting plate 198 and a top rail 204 adjustably connected to the side rails 202 by angle brackets 206. At a medial portion of the curved section 196 is disposed a photoelectric detecting unit indicated generally at 197 which is supported by brackets 199 attached to the section 196. The detecting unit 197 forms part of a control mechanism for discontinuing operation of the orienting mechanism 20 when spacing between closures is detected as will be hereinafter more fully described.

From the description thus far, it will be seen that the closures are advanced along the horizontal portion 17 of the chute by air jets 186, and when they enter the curved section 196, they fall by gravity into the vertical section 19 of the chute. During their travel along the horizontal portion of the chute, the closed or printed ends of the closures face downwardly, and when they enter the vertical portion of the chute, the printed ends of the closures face forwardly where they pass the detecting and orienting means 20 to cause those closures with their printing reading in one direction to pass into track 22, and those reading in an opposite direction to pass into track 24.

As herein shown, the detecting and orienting means 20 includes a retroreflective photoelectric unit 208 arranged to scan successive closures passing through the vertical section 19 of the chute and a switching arm 210 responsive to the photoelectric unit arranged to divert the closures into one track or the other. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the printing on each cap extends parallel to the major axis thereof and is provided with a white reflective spot 212 intermediate the ends thereof and offset to one side of its longitudinal center line. Thus, a closure may pass the detecting point with its white spot on either the right or the left of the center line, depending on the position it assumed when it entered the groove 100. The switching arm 210 is normally disposed in a position to guide the closures to the left to enter track 22 if the white spot is not detected. Conversely, if the white reflective spot 212 is detected, the switching arm 210 is rocked to the left to divert the closure to the right to enter track 24. Those closures entering track 24 are disposed in an oriented position with the white spots on the right of the longitudinal center line while those entering track 22 pass through the turnaround or recoil mechanism 26 to redirect the closures to present the white spots on the same side as those in track 24 so that all of the closures are oriented to read in the same direction.

Referring now to FIGS. 12 and 13, successive closures entering the vertical section 19 of the chute are engaged in and moved along with successive spaced radial pockets 214 of a rotary spider 216 fast on a cam shaft 218. The pockets 214, which as herein shown are six in number, are arranged to engage and guide the closures passing through the chute into a position to be scanned by the photoreflective unit 208. A scanning disk 222 having six spaced openings is also fast on the shaft 218 and is aligned with respect to the pockets 214 to have the light beam pass through the opening onto a reflective spot 212 of a closure. In order to urge the closures into uniform engagement with their pockets 214, a coil spring 221 is provided which is longitudinally supported in the chute 19 in a position opposite the pockets as shown. The vertical portion 19 of the chute comprises a base plate 224, side rails 226, 228 secured to the base plate, the plate 198 to which the curved section 196 is connected, and a front plate 230. As illustrated, the cam shaft 218 is journaled in a bearing 232 attached to the base plate 224 and is located so that the peripheral portion of the spider and the scanning disk overlie and extend within a portion of the chute 19 for cooperation with the closures.

As shown in FIG. 11, the shaft 218 is driven from a motor 234 belted to a variable speed drive unit 236. The variable drive unit is in turn belted to a clutch shaft 238 journaled in bearing brackets 237 and which has associated therewith a normally engaged clutch 240 and pulley 242 arranged to be automatically disengaged by control mechanism to be hereinafter more fully described. The pulley 242 is belted to the input shaft 246 of a speed reducing unit 248, the output shaft 250 of which is connected by a belt and pulley drive 252 to the cam shaft 218. The belt and pulley drive 252 is provided with a belt tightener 254. The entire drive is mounted on a platen 256 supported from the floor by posts 258 and flanges 260. A bracket 262 attached to the platen is connected to the vertical portion 19 of the chute and serves as a support therefor.

The tracks 22, 24 extend angularly to the left and right, respectively, of the vertical portion 19 of the chute and the switching arm 210 is disposed below the portion 19 and between the tracks 22, 24. The tracks then assume a vertical position as viewed in front elevation, and as shown in side elevation, the base plate 224 together with the tracks 22, 24 are curved forwardly at a point where the angular portions connect with the vertical portions of the tracks. At the lower end of the curved portion, the track 24 is curved to the right as viewed in front elevation to enter track 28. The track 22 extends forwardly and angularly upwardly to the turnaround mechanism 26, at which point the closure reverses direction and enters a curved track portion 29 which leads the closure into track 30 parallel to track 28.

As illustrated in FIGS. 14 and 15, the switching arm 210 is fast on a pin 264 journaled in a bearing member 266 secured to the base plate 224. The other end of the pin 264 is provided with an arm 268 fast thereon which is connected to the piston rod of an air cylinder 272 supported by a swivel stud 270 carried by an extension of the bearing member 266. The switching arm 210 is normally rocked to the right as viewed in front elevation, and the air cylinder 272 is arranged to rock the arm 210 to the left. As herein shown, the air cylinder 272 is connected by a pipe 274 to a normally closed solenoid air valve 276 which in turn is connected by a pipe 277 to a regulated source of compressed air indicated at 279. The solenoid valve 276 is electrically connected to a relay associated with the photoreflective unit 208. In operation, when the photoreflective unit is actuated by a reflective spot on a closure, the shifting arm 210 is rocked to the left as viewed in front elevation to guide the closure into track 24. Since the photoreflective device operates to open the solenoid valve only momentarily after which the air cylinder would normally be exhausted through the solenoid air valve, provision is made for maintaining the air cylinder 272 energized to hold the arm 210 shifted for a short time longer than momentarily to assure sufficient time for the closure to get by and thereafter to permit return of the arm to its normal position before a succeeding closure arrives at the scanning position. This is accomplished by preventing exhaust of the cylinder 272 through the solenoid valve for a predetermined time. As herein shown, the exhaust end 278 of the valve 276 is connected to a normally open holding valve 275 arranged to be controlled by a six-point cam 280 fast on the cam shaft 218. The holding valve 275 is provided with an arm 282 which carries a roller 284 for cooperation with the cam to close and open the exhaust port of the holding valve. The high points of the cam 280 are arranged to depress the arm 282 to close the exhaust port and the low points permit elevation of the arm to open the exhaust port to the atmosphere.

When the scanning beam falls on a non-reflective portion of the closure, indicating that it has to be turned around to orient the same, the solenoid valve 276 will not be actuated to rock the switching arm 210, and since the air cylinder 272 was evacuated during a previous cycle, opening and closing of the exhaust port by the cam 280 will have no effect.

From the description thus far, it will be seen that those closures detected with the reflective spot 212 on the right will pass into track 24 and thence will be guided into track 28, an air jet 281 advancing the closures along the track. On the other hand, those closures which are positioned so that a reflective spot is not detected will pass into track 22 to be guided to the turnaround mechanism 26. As herein shown, the turnaround mechanism includes an upwardly curved extension 286 of the track 22 up which the closure is advanced by an air jet 288 and a pair of high pressure air jets 287, 289 connected by a pipe 291 to a main line 323 which leads to a regulated source of compressed air indicated at 325; a leaf spring 290 supported at the end of the extension and against which the closure strikes; a return track 292 arranged to receive the closure which rebounds from the leaf spring, the return track 292 guiding the closure downwardly and angularly through a curved portion which joins the track 30 parallel to the track 28. The air jets 288, 287, 289 are supported from the extension 286 and advance the closures up the inclined portion of the track and against the spring, and an air jet 294 supported by the return track 292 advances the closures through the curved portion and into the track 30. As shown in FIG. 19, the various air jets for advancing the closure through the orienting mechanism and into chute 32 are connected to a manifold 295 which in turn is connected by a pipe 297 to the manifold 111.

In operation, the closures in track 24 have the reflective spot 212 on the right when viewed in front elevation, and when they enter the track 28, the reflective spot will be on the left when facing in the direction of travel of the closure. The closures in track 22 have the reflective spot on the left as viewed in front elevation, and when it enters the return track, the reflective spot 212 is still on the left. During the travel of the closure downwardly and around the curved portion of the track and into the track 30, the reflective spot remains on the left when facing in the direction of travel of the closure which corresponds to the position of the closures in the track 28. The oriented closures thus arranged in parallel lines in tracks 28, 30 are now manipulated to combine the two lines into one single line in track 32 by mechanism indicated generally at 27, and which includes two stop members 296, 298 one in each track 28, 30, respectively, and two air jets 300, 302 arranged to cooperate with their respective stop members. The stop members 296, 298 are pneumatically operated to alternately stop and release successive closures or group of closures in each line, and in operation, when one line is stopped, the other line is open to release one or more closures during one cycle, and during a succeeding cycle, the opposite line is stopped while the other line is open to release one or more closures, the air jets 300, 302 in each instance operating to rapidly advance a previously released closure through the double track area and into the single track 32. The outer rails 34 of double tracks 28, 30 are curved inwardly, as shown, to form the single track 32.

As best shown in FIG. 16, in operation, the closures may be released alternately from their respective tracks either singly or in groups of two or three, and when a released closure or group of closures engage their respective inwardly curved portions of the tracks 28, 30, a centrally disposed flexible guide rail 301 supported between the tracks is arranged to yield to permit passage of the closures into the single line. This expedient prevents displacement of one or more closures crosswise in the track during transfer from one of the lines 28 or 30 into the single line which would stop the flow of closures. As also shown in FIG. 16, a plurality of additional air jets 303 are disposed at the beginning of the single track 32 to rapidly advance the closures along the track.

As herein illustrated, the stop members 296, 298 comprise piston rods extending from air cylinders 304, 306. Each air cylinder is supported by an angle bracket 308 attached to its respective air jet 300, 302 and each air jet is threadedly and adjustably connected to the free end of an arm 310 supported at the lower end of a stud 312 depending from the base plate 314 of the tracks 28, 30. The stop rods 296, 298 are arranged to extend through openings 316 in the base plate 314, and the air jets 300, 302 are likewise directed to project a stream of air through said openings.

As illustrated in FIGS. 12 and 13, the pneumatic control for effecting alternate operation of the stop rods 296, 298 and the air jets 300, 302 comprises a pair of piloted air valves 318, 320, one of which is normally closed and the other of which is normally open. Each valve 318, 320 is connected directly to a regulated source of compressed air through pipes 322, 324 connected to a main pipe 323 which leads to a regulated source of compressed air indicated at 325. As herein shown, the normally open valve 318 is connected by a pipe 326 to the air cylinder 304 in track 28 and is also connected by a branch pipe 328 to the air jet 302 in track 30. Conversely, the normally closed valve 320 is connected by a pipe 330 to the air cylinder 306 in track 30 and also by a branch pipe 332 to the air jet 300 in track 28. The valves 318, 320 are controlled by a normally closed cam operated valve 334 which is connected by an inlet pipe 336 to the regulated source of compressed air and by an outlet pipe 338 to a pipe 340 connected to the piloted valves 318, 320. The normally closed valve 334 is provided with a spring pressed element arranged to be depressed by a three-point cam 341 fast on the cam shaft 218 to open the normally closed valve and permit air to pass through pipes 338, 340 which effects closing of the normally open piloted valve 318 and opening of the normally closed valve 320. When the cam 341 presents its low spots to the control valve 334, no air can pass through the latter, and the normally open valve 318 is free to permit air to pass to the air cylinder 304 in track 28 and to air jet 302 in track 30.

With this arrangement it will be seen that in operation when the cam 341 presents its low spot to the control valve 334, the stop rod 296 will be extended to stop the line of closures in track 28 and to release a blast of air in track 30 to rapidly advance the closures released during the previous cycle, and conversely, when the cam presents its high spot to depress the spring pressed element of control valve 334, air is released to the pilots of the valves 318, 320 to open the normally closed valve 320 and to close the normally open valve 318 whereby to extend the stop rod 298 to stop the line of closures in track 30 and to release a blast of air in track 28 to rapidly advance the closures previously released. The released closures are thus advanced alternately from each track 28, 30 either singly or in groups to form a single line of oriented closures in track 32.

Provision is made for controlling the operation of the apparatus in a manner such as to provide a continuous supply of oriented closures on the rotary disk 12 sufficient to keep up with the demand therefor and to discontinue the supply when a surplus of closures is detected on the disk which might interfere with efficient operation of the aligning mechanism or which might cause excessive agitation of the closures carried by the disk. In practice, the upright conveyer 36 is continuously operated to maintain a substantially uniform amount of closures on the disk, preferably an amount slightly more than the demand therefor such as to permit efficient operation of the sorting and aligning mechanism associated with the disk. In the event that a surplus of closures accumulates on the disk, provision is made for detecting such surplus and for discontinuing operation of the upright conveyer 36 in response to the detecting means until such time as a sufficient number of closures have been withdrawn from the disk to again permit normal operation of the sorting and aligning mechanism.

As diagrammatically indicated herein, see FIG. 19, the elevating conveyer 36 which supplies the closures in controlled amounts is driven by means including a normally engaged clutch 40 arranged to be held in its engaged position by an air cylinder 342 which is connected by a pipe 344 to a normally closed piloted valve 346, the latter being connected by a pipe 348 to a main pipe 349 which in turn is connected to a regulated source of compressed air indicated at 351. The pilot end of the valve 346 is connected by a pipe 350 to an air block 352 forming a part of the control mechanism 42 and having an inlet pipe 354 connected to the regulated source of compressed air as shown. The air block 352 comprises a pneumatic control unit provided with an air chamber 356 whose inlet 358 has a restricted throat portion. The outlet from the chamber 356 comprises a nozzle or jet member 360 which is provided with a relatively small orifice 365. As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 7, a feeler arm 362 of thin sheet metal and attached to a hinge plate 364 is pivotally mounted between trunnion bearings 366. The hinge plate 364 is provided with a valve member 368 for cooperation with the jet member 360 to control the escape of air from the orifice 365. The air block and feeler plate unit is adjustable to position the free end of the feeler plate at variable distances above the upper surface of the rotary disk 12 with the valve member 368 covering the orifice 365 to prevent the escape of air from the chamber 356. As a result, the pressure in the chamber is increased to an extent such as to operate the normally closed piloted valve 346 to effect opening thereof, thereby operating the cylinder 342 to maintain the clutch 40 engaged. As shown in FIG. 7, an adjusting screw 370 carried by an extension 372 from the air block 352 effects adjustment of the valve member 368 relative to the air jet 360.

In operation, when a normal number of closures are maintained on the disk 12, the feeler plate 362 will not be engaged and the pressure to the cylinder 342 will be continued to maintain engagement of the clutch 40. However, when an excessive number of closures are accumulated on the disk 12, the feeler arm 362 is engaged by a group of closures to rock the arm upwardly, thus permitting air to escape from the orifice 362. As a result, the pressure in the chamber 356 is rapidly reduced, enabling the normally closed piloted valve 346 to close, whereby the cylinder 342 is evacuated to effect disengagement of the clutch 40.

As illustrated in FIG. 7, the trunnion bearings 366 are carried by opposed arms 374 attached to the air block 352, and the latter is supported by an elongated stud 376 provided with threaded portions and extended through the block. The block is retained on the stud by a shouldered portion 378 engaged with one side and by a nut and washer 380 on the other side. The elongated stud 376 is attached to the upright supporting wall 92 by nuts 382 and is mounted for rotary adjustment therein. The outer end of the stud 376 is provided with a handle 384 by which the stud may be rotated to adjust the position of the feeler or detecting arm 362 relative to the upper surface of the disk whereby to permit more closures to be maintained on the disk in one instance before the detecting arm is engaged to discontinue the feeding operation, and whereby to permit fewer closures to be maintained on the disk in another instance before the detecting arm is engaged to discontinue the feeding operation. It will be apparent that as soon as the number of closures on the disk returns to a normal amount, the detecting arm will rock downwardly to again close the orifice 365 of the air block 352 whereupon the clutch 40 will return to its normally engaged position.

Provision is also made for discontinuing rotation of the rotary disk 12 in the event that the chute becomes full beyond a predetermined point indicating that the closures are being supplied faster than they are being withdrawn. As herein shown, see FIGS. 4 and 19, the control for the drive to the rotary disk 12 includes an air cylinder 386 arranged to maintain the clutch 66 normally engaged. The cylinder 386 is connected by a pipe 388 to the outlet of a normally open solenoid valve 390 which has an inlet connected by a pipe 392 to the main pipe 349 which leads to the regulated source of compressed air 351. The control mechanism further comprises the photoelectric unit 194 which includes a photocell 394 supported on one side of the chute 18 and a light source 396 on the other side which are operatively connected to a relay 398 which in turn is connected to the normally open solenoid air valve 390.

In operation, in the event that a surplus of closures is provided, the closures will build up in the chute 18 to a point beyond the photoelectric unit 194 so as to cut off the light beam to the photocell for a predetermined length of time. When this occurs, the air passing through the solenoid valve 390 is cut off, permitting the normally charged cylinder 386 to become evacuated so as to disengage the clutch 66, thus bringing the rotary disk 12 to rest. It will be understood that only a slight delay in supplying closures to the chute 18 is sufficient to reduce the number of closures in the chute during continued withdrawals of closures therefrom, whereupon the solenoid valve 390 will return to its normally open position and the clutch 66 will be reengaged to resume normal running operation. It will be further understood that the photocell 394 connected in circuit with the relay 398, as shown in FIG. 20, may be adjusted through the relay so as to permit rapid passage of successive individual spaced closures through the chute without activating the relay. Under normal operating conditions, the closures transferred to the chute 18 are rapidly advanced by streams of air from jets 400 until they reach the trailing end of the line to form a continuous line arranged end to end up to the spider 216 where successive closures are received and advanced by the pockets 214 through the orienting mechanism 20. The air jets 400 are carried by a manifold 402 connected by a pipe 404 to a regulated source of compressed air as indicated diagrammatically at 406 in FIG. 19.

Provision is further made for controlling the operation of the cam shaft 218 under two different conditions. In one instance, when an absence of closures in the chute 18 is detected at a point immediately preceding the spider 216, the normally engaged clutch 240 forming a part of the drive to the cam shaft is arranged to be disengaged. This is for the purpose of assuring a continuous line of closures arranged end to end so as to permit successive closures to enter successive pockets of the spider. In other words, if the closures were delivered to the spider in variably spaced relation, the individual closures might fail to be engaged by a pocket and instead might be engaged by a point of the spider and thus jammed in the chute. In another instance, when an excessive build-up of closures adjacent the entrance to the chute 32 is detected, indicating that closures are being supplied faster than they are being withdrawn, the normally engaged clutch 240 is likewise arranged to be disengaged whereby to prevent jamming of the closures in the chute.

As diagrammatically illustrated in FIG. 19, the clutch 240 forming a part of the drive to the cam shaft 218 is held in its normally engaged position by an air cylinder 408 and the clutch is disengaged in one instance when closures are absent at a point in the chute preceding the spider 216, and in another instance, the clutch is disengaged when a surplus of closures are present in the track 32. The air cylinder 408 is connected by a pipe 410 to a normally closed solenoid air valve 412 which in turn is connected by a pipe 414 to a normally open solenoid air valve 416. The solenoid valve 416 is connected by a pipe 418 to the pipe 349 leading to the regulated source of compressed air indicated at 351.

The means for detecting the presence or absence of closures in the chute 18 at a point preceding the spider 216 comprises the photoelectric detecting unit 197 including a photocell 422 on one side of the chute and a light source 424 on the other side, the detecting unit being connected through a relay 426 to the normally closed solenoid air valve 412. The detecting unit 197 is arranged to energize the solenoid air valve 412 when the chute is filled with closures so as to cut off the light source. Thus, in operation, when the chute 18 contains a continuous line of closures in end-to-end contact, the normally closed solenoid air valve 412 will be maintained in its open condition whereby to permit air to pass to the cylinder 408 to hold the clutch engaged. On the other hand, when the feed of closures through chute 18 is discontinued and the trailing end of the line of closures passes the detecting point 420, the light beam signals deactivation of the solenoid valve 412 to effect closing of the same and evacuation of the cylinder 408 to effect disengagement of the clutch 240.

The means for detecting a surplus of closures in the track or chute 32 includes a photoelectric detecting unit 428 which comprises a photocell 430 and a light source 432, the detecting unit being connected through a relay 434 to the normally open solenoid air valve 416. In this instance, the detecting unit is activated when the light source is cut off by an accumulation of closures at the detecting point. In practice, successive closures released to enter the chute 32 are rapidly advanced by an air jet 436 past the detecting means to join the trailing end of the supply line from which successive closures are being withdrawn. Thus, in the event that the closures are being supplied faster than the demand therefor, the trailing end of the line will back up to a point where the closures will cut off the light beam and will thus cause the normally open valve to be closed to discontinue the feed of closures into the chute 32. Conversely, upon withdrawal of closures from the chute to cause the trailing end to extend forwardly of the detecting unit, normal operation of the apparatus will be again resumed.

From the above description it will be seen that the present apparatus is capable of handling oblong closures having printing or other characters, marks or symbols thereon wherein provision is made for first sorting from a randomly arranged group thereof those closures which are disposed with their open ends up without regard for the direction of the printing, then depositing the closures end to end longitudinally into a chute and sorting successive closures with respect to the direction of the printing thereon into two different tracks or chutes, the closures in one track being redirected to read in the same direction as the other track, and finally bringing together the closures in both tracks to form one line in which the closures are all oriented to read in the same direction. It will be observed that novel provision is made for controlling the operation of the apparatus in a novel manner such as to assure a continuous supply of closures in conformity with the demand therefor and in a manner such as to prevent jamming of the closures at selected points in the apparatus. It will be further observed that the number of closures per minute supplied by the present apparatus may be varied by adjustment of the variable speed drives.

While the specification and claims refer to closures having characters readable in one direction or another, herein illustrated by readable characters occurring right side up or upside down depending on how the closure is disposed, it will be understood that such reference is intended to include other characters disposed in selected areas on the closures and adapted to be oriented as described.

Claims

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. Closure handling and orienting apparatus adapted to handle oblong closures having readable characters printed thereon, a rotary disk upon which randomly arranged closures are deposited, means for guiding the closures toward a grooved portion formed in the outer edge of said disk, said grooved portion adapted to accept and fully seated therein open-end-up closures only without regard for the direction of the readable characters thereon, means for removing and transferring successive open-end-up closures from the disk groove into a chute to form a line thereof, means for detecting the direction of the readable characters on successive closures, means responsive to said detecting means for distributing the closures reading in different directions into two different tracks, means for redirecting the closures in one track to read in the same direction as the closures in the other track, and means for bringing together and realigning the closures from both tracks to form one line thereof all reading in the same direction.

2. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 adapted to handle oblong closures provided with a rolled edge at their open ends, said grooved portion being of a width such as to receive the narrower closed end only of the closures in a fully seated position therein.

3. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 adapted to handle an oblong closure provided with a rolled edge at its open end, said grooved portion being of a width such as to receive the narrower closed end only of the closure in a fully seated position therein, and a plurality of air jets for causing return toward the center of the disk those unseated closures adjacent the outer edge of the disk.

4. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 adapted to handle an oblong closure provided with a rolled edge at its open end, said grooved portion being of a width such as to receive the narrower closed end only of the closure in a fully seated position therein, a plurality of air jets for causing return toward the center of the disk those unseated closures adjacent the outer edge of the disk, and a top rail disposed above said grooved portion adapted to prevent displacement of the fully seated closures by said air jets.

5. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 which includes means for returning toward the center of the disk those unseated closures adjacent the outer edge of the disk, and a top rail disposed above said grooved portion adapted to prevent displacement of the fully seated closures by said returning means.

6. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein the transfer means includes a guideway and a pivoted ramp carried by the guideway and engageable with said grooved portion to guide successive closures up out of the groove and into said chute.

7. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein each closure is provided with a reflective spot on one side of a longitudinal center line, said detecting means including a retroreflective photoelectric device arranged to control the distribution of said closures into one or the other of said tracks in accordance with the position of said reflective spot indicating the direction of the readable characters thereon.

8. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein each closure is provided with a reflective spot on one side of a longitudinal center line, said detecting means including a retroreflective photoelectric device, said distributing means comprising a switching arm controlled by said detecting means for guiding the closures into one or the other of said tracks in accordance with the position of said reflective spot.

9. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 which includes a driven shaft, a rotary spider having a plurality of spaced pockets mounted on said shaft, said pockets arranged to receive and advance successive closures at a uniform rate of speed past said detecting means.

10. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 which includes a driven shaft, a rotary spider having a plurality of pockets mounted on said shaft, said pockets arranged to receive and advance successive closures at a uniform rate of speed past said detecting means, and means for driving said shaft including means for varying said rate of speed.

11. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein the means for distributing the closures includes a switching arm controlled by said detecting means for guiding the closures into said different tracks.

12. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein each closure is provided with a reflective spot on one side of a longitudinal center line, said detecting means including a retroreflective photoelectric device, a switching arm controlled by said detecting means for guiding the closures into said different tracks, means cooperating with said detecting means including a rotary spider having a plurality of pockets for advancing successive closures past said detecting means, and a disk rotatable with said spider and having a plurality of spaced openings arranged with respect to said pockets to reveal that portion of successive closures in which a reflective spot appears when the characters are readable in one direction, the characters on those closures not revealing a reflective spot being arranged in a different direction.

13. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein the means for redirecting the closures in one track to read in the same direction as the closures in the other track includes a leaf spring against which successive closures are projected to cause the closure to rebound in a reverse direction, and an adjacent track arranged to receive the rebounding closures, said adjacent track leading the closures parallel to said other track.

14. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein the means for realigning the closures in two tracks to form one line comprises movable stop members one in each track, means for alternately projecting the stop in one track while simultaneously retracting the stop in the other track whereby to release closures alternately from each track.

15. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein the means for realigning the closures in two tracks to form one line comprises movable stop members one in each track, means for alternately projecting the stop in one track while simultaneously retracting the stop in the other track whereby to release closures alternately from each track, and air jets in each track operated in timed relation to said stops for rapidly advancing the released closures along said one line.

16. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 which includes means for feeding randomly arranged closures onto said rotary disk, means for driving said feeding means, means for detecting a surplus of closures on said rotary disk, and means responsive thereto for discontinuing the operation of said closure feeding means.

17. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 which includes means for driving said rotary disk, means for rapidly advancing successive closures along said chute to join the trailing end of the line, detecting means spaced from the normal position of said trailing end of the line, and means responsive to said detecting means for discontinuing the drive to said rotary disk when the trailing end extends to said detecting means.