| 摘要 |
1,073,398. Filling containers with tablets etc. LAKSO CO. Inc. Feb. 3, 1966 [May 20, 1965], No. 4795/66. Heading B8C. An apparatus for feeding articles, e.g. tablets, into containers 16 comprises a series of slats 24 each provided with cavities into which the articles are fed and from which they are ejected into shoots 22, when the slats are inverted, and thereby into the containers. The articles are fed from a supply into a hopper 30 where they form a stack (38), Fig. 5 (not shown). A sensing device (40), e.g. photo-electric cell, stops the supply when the stack (38) reaches a predetermined height. The slats 24 move anticlockwise in a closed path continuously and when they pass below the stack (38), the cavities are filled with articles. The slats 24 may be vibrated longitudinally by means of linkages (84), (86), Fig. 6 (not shown), connected to an eccentric 88. A brush 42 removes any excess articles from the slats. The filled slats pass an inspection area (46), Fig. 5 (not shown), where any faulty articles may be replaced manually. A device for detecting empty cavities may be used to stop the machine or alert an inspector. This device comprises an air jet (96), Fig. 7 (not shown), connected to an air chamber (94) fixed adjacent the slats. Each cavity in the slats is provided with an aperture (90) so that in the absence of an article, the air from the jet (96) displaces a paddle (98) which causes a shutter (100) to interfere with a photo-electric cell (102). From the inspection area (46), Fig. 5 (not shown), the slats 24 pass under a guard (48) which holds the articles in the cavities when the slats are inverted. Each slat 24 extends from, and is fixed to a rod (50), Fig. 2 (not shown), which is mounted in an element (52) attached to a pair of chains (60). Each rod (50) has a cam follower (56) which follows a cam track on a plate (58). The cam track causes the rods (50) to reciprocate once as they move along the lower path and hence the slats 24 are firstly moved transversely to the guard 48 until they are fully extended at a peak 28 and then retracted as they travel along the lower part of their path. When the slats are moved transversely to the guard (48), Fig. 4 (not shown), they pass above the shoots 22 into which the articles from the cavities in the slats fall. The shoots 22 are driven at the same speed as the slats 24. The articles fall down the shoots 22 into containers 16 which are moved along at the same speed as the shoots 22 by a screw 12. A hand wheel 32 may be provided to test the synchronism of the containers and the shoots &c. The slats 24 can be replaced by slats with different sized cavities. Two or more articles may be accommodated in one cavity to speed the feed, Fig. 8 (not shown). |
