US2643102A - Agitating machine for bottled beverages and the like - Google Patents

Description

Jane 23, 1953 w. 1.. BAsHFoRD AGITATING MACHINE FOR BOTTLED BEVERAGES AND THE LIKE Filed Feb. 15, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet l IIIIIIIIIIIISIIIIIIIIIllllllIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIllilllrllllllllIlll R O T N E V m ATTORNEY June 23, 1953 w. L. BAsHFoRD 2,643,102

AGITTING MACHINE FOR BOTTLED BEVERAGES AND THE LIKE Filed Feb. 15, 1952 2 Sheets-Shes?l 2 1N VENTOR ATTORNEY Patented June 23, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT YOFFICE AGITATING MACHINE YFOR BOTTLED 'BEVERAGES AND THE LIKE William L. Bashford, Fresno, Calif.

Application February 15, 1952, Serial No. 271,793

17 Claims. (Cl. 259-54) The present invention relates 4to agitating machines, and more particularly to apparatus for agitating sealed individual merchandisalzile con tainers, e. g, bottles, each newly filled in `a bottling plant with two or more separate, different substances, such as a small quantity of beverage syrup and a larger quantity of carbonated or plain water, which must be intimately admixed in the containers to produce a homogeneous mixture, 'solution or dispersion for sale and consumption as a soft drink or the like.

While the invention is usable for producing a thorough mixture of practically any liquids, semiliduids, and/or solids that have been separately charged into individual bottles, cans or other containers, it is particularly `adapted for use in lthe bottling of carbonated cr non-carbonated beverages. and a preferred embodiment will in this applica-tion for `Letters Patent be described in terms of such use.

'it is customary, in beverage bottling plants, to charge relatively small quantities or" syrup .or flavored cono-entrate into empty bottles, then fill the bottles with carbonated or plain water, and then seal the bottles. Because the two charges are of di'ii'erent specic gravity, it is necessary to shake the bottles to produce the necessary com plete inter-dispersion of their contents.

A primary object of the present invention is to provide a machine which will rapidly and economically perform the required bottle shaking operation.

Related objects are concerned with performing the shaking operation on case lots of bottles or equivalent containers automatically as an incident to movement of the cases along a conveyor system for moving the cases from the bottling machine, label applying machine, and case-lilling station to Va point of final discharge, such as a table or platform from which the finished product is removed to storage or into a vehicle .for transportation. y

Incidental objects are concerned with producing a machine of the character described which will be fully automatic in operation, simple and durable in construction, inexpensive to manufacture and entirely foolproof in use.

A related object is to produce a machine which will require no motor or other power means to operate it.

A preferred embodiment of the invention which illustrates the principles defined. by the appended claims is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevational view illustrating 2 the machine disposed between upper and lower sections or levels of a conveyor system for moving cases of bottled beverages from the bottling and related machines and stations,

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view taken through the machine,

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view taken through the carriage element of the machine,

lig.` 4 is a top plan view `of the machine installed between the conveyor .sections as shown in Fig. l,

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional View, taken on the line 5-5 of Fighe,

Fig. 6 is a relatively enlarged longitudinal sectional view of the carriage shown at the discharge end of the upper conveyor section, and

Fig. '7 is a detail perspective View of Yone of the case-latching catches which are provided on the receiving end of the carriage.

In these drawings the reference numeral I designates any suitable type of level or slightly downwardly inclined conveyor, here shown as a roller way, on which cases 2 of newly lled bottles 3 are conducted serially from any conventional bottling, labeling and case-filling equipment. It is assumed that the bottles 3 in the case 2 located at the position shown in Fig. 1 have been charged first with a syrup, then illed with water, and then sealed, and require agitation to eiect the mixing or dispersion that has been explained hereinabove.

The conveyor .section I is mounted at a relatively elevated position on a pedestal c and is longitudinally spaced from an aligned similar section 5 which is mounted at a lower elevation on a shorter pedestal 6. The two sections are connected by a runway 'I Which is downwardlysloped or inclined, either along a fiat plane or preferably along a curvilinear one as shown, from a receiving end 8 at the tail end of the upper conveyor section I to a discharge end 9 at the head end of the lower section 5.

The details of the conveyor sections are unimportant and form no part of the present invention. Suffice it to say that they may include spaced parallel side lrails Ill journaling idle rollers Il which support the cases 2 for movement by gravity or otherwise in a well known manner.

The runway 'I comprises a pair of laterally spaced parallel rails I2 of angle iron or the like, having their upper surfaces racked or provided with upstanding teeth I3. Any 7Vsuitable means may be used for maintaining the rails I2 at a fixed Separation from each other so as to leave the space between them wide open for a purpose hereinafter to be explained. In actual practice it is found suncient to secure the rail ends to the ends of the conveyor sections I and 5, the rigidity of the rail material rendering cross bracing or connections unnecessary.

The reference numeral I4 designates a carriage which comprises essentially a skeletonized iioor or bottom made up of two longitudinally extending spaced side angle irons I5, to each of which is riveted or otherwise permanently aixed an upstanding side wall I6, and the two side walls are surmounted by a roof or top member I1. To make the spacing between the floor and top members adjustable, each side wall may be made quite low throughout its length, or at least at its end portions as shown at I6a (lower than the shortest bottle which the machine will be called upon to handle), and slotted to receive bolts holding brackets I8 depending from the top, as shown in Figs. 3 and 6. The top member and the side walls of the carriage may take the form of rigid metal plates, and the floor member may be completed by intermediate cross bars I9, a back or trailing end sill 2U, and a front or leading end sill 2 I, all spaced apart and having their ends secured'to the side angle irons I5, as shown in Figs. 3 and 6. It will be recognized that the front and rear ends of the carriage are wide open so as to be capable of receiving and discharging a case 2. Such a case is shown in Figs. 3 and 6 positioned in the carriage.

Fixed to and spaced beyond the outer surface of each of the carriage side walls IS, as by a spacer block 22 having a large ange 22a, is a roller 23 provided with peripheral teeth 24 which are meshed with the teeth I3 of the adjacent one of the rails I2 of the runway 1. The two rollers are xed on the same axis, and the dimensions and proportions of the blocks 22 and flanges 22a are such that the diameter of the anges is greater than that of the rollers and the gauge of vthe rollers is that of the rails I2, while the distance between the outer surfaces of the carriage side walls I is less than the inside spacing of the rails I2. Thus the ilanges hold the rollers on the rails and the carriage turns bodily, rotating on the axis of the rollers 23, turning end over end between the rails I2, as the rollers roll in either direction, upwardly or downwardly along the runway 1.

It is convenient and sucient, though by no means essential, to make the length of the runway traversed by the carriage exactly twice that of the circumference of each of the rollers, so that on eachrnovement of the carriage either up or down the runway the carriage will turn through two complete revolutions. This has been found to be ample and adequate to produce the required and desired mixing of beverage ingredients forming the contents of bottles in the case carried by the carriage, but of course, well within the spirit of the invention, the runway may be made longer, and/or the rollers may be made smaller, to provide for any greater number of revolutions that experience may show to be desirable to produce thorough mixing of any particular beverage ingredients.

The carriage descends by gravity from the receiving end 8 of the runway to the discharge end 9 thereof. To move it back up the runway, after it has discharged a case onto the conveyor section 5 as will be hereinafter explained, the invention provides a counterbalancing system whieh may include a cable 25 having one end connected to a bail 26 pivoted to the side walls of the Carriage and having a weight 21 connected to its other end. The cable is trained over a system of pulleys 28, 29 and 30 to permit the weight 21 to move up and down at a side of the conveyor section I as the carriage reciprocates along the runway. If desired or thought necessary, the run of the cable on which the weight 21 hangs may be caused to pass by an elevated xture 3| and loosely through the bore of an additional weight 32 which is slidably captive in the fixture. The arrangement is such that just before the weight 21 rises to the end of its path of movement, determined by arrival of the carriage at the discharge end 9 of the runway, the weight 21 will engage and pick up the weight 32, so that the added load will retard the descent of the carriage and bring it to a quick and gentle stop on the conveyor section 5. It will be recognized, however, that a retarding or deceleratiing effect .is produced also by the curvature of the runway. The steepness of the slope at the beginning of the descent of the carriage causes the carriage to move rapidly during the rst part of its descent, while the leveling of the nal portion of the runway causes the carriage to slow down as it approaches the discharge end 9, Both the contour of the runway and the additional weight 32 therefore tend to produce the same desired result; within the broad spirit of the invention either or both of these expedients may be used, or both may be omitted.

Of course the value of the weight 21 is made such that an empty carriage will be overbalanced by it and pulled up to the receiving end 8 of the runway, while a carriage carrying a case 2 will overbalance the weight and roll down the runway. Thus reciprocation of the carriage along the runway, taking cases down and returning empty for reloading, is accomplished.

In order to make it unnecessary for an operator to be positioned at the end of conveyor section I to feed a case 2 to the carriage each time the carriage arrives in receiving position, and to eliminate the need for any automatic timing mechanism coordinating delivery of cases with ascent of the carriage, the invention provides a detent device 40 in the end portion of the conveyor section I. These may comprise a pair of U-shaped elements each of which has a short leg 4I and a longer leg 42 biased upwardly as by a spring 43 so as normally to elevate both legs up into the conveyor section into obstructing relation with a case advancing along the conveyor. The two legs of each device are mounted so that they are spaced along the length of the conveyor, with each of the devices located on an inside margin of the bed of the conveyor, and the arrangement is such that the rearmost, and preferbly longer, leg of each device will normally be in position to engage the leading edge of an advancing case and stop it. However, when the carriage I4 reaches the receiving end 8 of the runway, being perched on the tail end of the conveyor section I, in the position shown in full lines at the left side of Fig. 1, the left hand edge of the carriage settles on and depresses the legs 4I, which of course pulls legs 42 down from in front of the case 2, whereupon the case is free to move into the carriage. To cause a waiting case, stopped behind the legs 42, to move automatically carriage depressing the legs 4I, the upper conveyor section I is best made slightly downwardlyinclined, as shown in Figs. 1 and 5.; As soon as the case clears the two devices, the legs are raised by the spring 43 and the next case advances by audios gravity and is halted by the legs 42 until the carriage returns and assumes receiving position, whereupon the cycle is repeated.

The receiving position of the carriage is one in which it rests flat on the extreme tail end of the conveyor section I, as shown in full lines in Fig. l. When @a case is fully seated in the vcarriage thus positioned, the loaded carriage becomes overbalanced and it tips forwardly about the tail roller of the conveyor section. It starts down the runway, turning end over end as the rollers 23 turn in their rolling movement down the rails l2. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, illustrated in the drawing, the rollers and runway are proportioned to turn the carriage through two complete revolutions during its descent, but of course within the spirit of the invention these proportions may be modified to cause the carriage to turn three or even more times, as has been explained; When the carriage reaches the discharge end 9 of the runway, by turning to come to rest in the position shown in Fig. 5 and in broken lines in Fig. l, the inertia of the relatively heavy loaded case causes the case to continue its forward movement, so that it issues from the open forward end of the carriage and moves along the lower level conveyor section 5.

In its movement along the runway, in both the descent and the ascent, the spacer block iianges 22a, which as best shown in Figs. l, 2 and 3 extend somewhat beyond the peripheries of the rollers 23, serve to steady the rollers on the rails I2 and prevent derailment in much the same manner as the flanged wheels of a railroad car truck function to maintain the wheels on the l track rails.

It will be evident that the type of operation which has been explained requires some holding or latching means for securing the case in the carriage during its rotating descent down the runway, with appropriate release for discharge ci the case onto the conveyor section 5.

The invention provides such latching in the form of the means best shown in Fig. 6. A pair of spring clips 5|) Vare bolted to the topsuriace ci the back or trailing end sill 2li of the carriage iloor so that their outer portions will lie belowv the level oi the horizontal flanges of the side angle irons l5 on which the case slides, while their inner ends are turned up, as shown. It will be evident that the iront end of an oncoming case will depress each of the resilient clips as it slides over them, and that the free ends of the clips will rise behind the trailing end of the case, to the position shown in Fig. 6, and lock or latch the case against backward movement out of the carriage.

Fig. 6 Ialso shows the means employed for halting the case at a position fully received within the carriage and preventing premature sliding of the case out from the front of the carriage. This may comprise a pair of pins 5| resiliently pressed up through laterally spaced holes in the front or leading end sill 2| of the carriage floor by spring means 52 socketed below the sill. The spacing of the pins 5| and the latches 50 is such as to accommodate between them the length of a case 2 with slight clearance, and the pins and latches serve to hold the case within the carriage during its rotation on descent along the runway. The roof or top l'l of the carriage holds the bottles, and hence the case also, well seated on the carriage floor.

In order to retract the pins 5| when the carriage reaches the discharge end 9 of the runway,

each of the pins may be provided with a racked or toothed front edge engaged by a small gear or gear-segment 53 journaled on a pintle 54 mounted below the sill 2|. A finger 55 is formed on the gear land extends forwardly from it at a downward inclination in the normal upstanding posi tion of the pin. As thecarriage swings down to the horizontal position shown in Fig. 5, at the end of its descent of the runway, the ringer impinges on the top surface of a cross tie 56 of the conveyor section 5 and is thereby lifted or turned counterclockwise. This rotation of the gear depresses the pin 5| into the socket containing the spring 52, Iand the case 2 is free to slide by its momentum or inertia out of the carriage and onto the conveyor section 5. As soon as the case clears the carriage, the spring 52 raises the pin and the carriage returns to the top of the runway ready to receive the next case from the conveyor section for repetition of the cycle.

It is desirable to center the rollers 23 so that their common axis passes through the center of gravity of the loaded carriage, as will be understood.

yIt is believed to be evident from the foregoing that the structure provided by the present inven tion is extremely economical to build and to operate, since it involves few parts, no precision elements or delicate mechanism, no motor or electrical consumption, and requires no special skill and no great amount of labor for installation. Additional advantages will be recognized by those skilled in the art.

It is to be understood that numerous changes from the exemplary embodiment which has been illustrated and described may be made within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the claims. and that not all of the elements and parts'of this complete embodiment need be used in the par ticular combination shown.

I claim:

1. An agitating machine for mixing charges of syrup and water in individual merch-andisable containers comprising a downwardly inclined continuons fixed runway having an upper receiving end and a lower discharge end, a carriage recipro-cable along the runway and operatively connected thereto for rotation automatically during movement down the runway, means for supplying containers to the carriage when at the receiving end of the runway, and means for disu charging containers from the carriage when at the discharge end of the runway.

2. An agitating machine for mixing charges of syrup and water in individual merchandisable containers comprising a downwardly sloping continuous fixed runway having a receiving end at an upper level and a discharge end at a lower level, conveyors communicating with the runway, and a carriage operatively connected to the runway for rotation automatically during movement down the runway, means for holding on the carriage containers received from the upper level conveyor, and means for releasing said containers from the carriage at the discharge end of the runway for movement along the lower level conveyor.

3. An agitating machine as claimed in claim 2, in vwhich the carriage comprises a floor adapted to receive a case of containers and includes means for holding said case and the containers therein against separation from the carriage during rotation on movement down the runway.

4. An agitating machine as claimed in claim 2, in which the runway includes a pair of laterally SDaced rails and the carriage includes'a pair of rollers xed relatively to the carriage and frictionally engaged with the rails for rotation, .and for rotating the carriage, as the rollers roll down the runway.

5. An agitating machine as claimed in claim 2, in which the carriage is counterb-alanced to move up the runway to the receiving end thereof when the carriage is empty and to descend to the discharge end thereof when loaded with a predetermined number of containers.

6. An agitating machine as claimed in claim 2, including a detent cooperating with the discharge end of the upper level conveyor. for stopping containers at said end, and means operative in response tothe carriage reaching the receiving end of the runway to actuate the detent to release containers to be received by the carriage.

7. An agitating machine as claimed in claim 2, in which the carriage comprises spaced parallel oor and top members adapted to receive between them a case of containers, in combination with movable abutment means operatively connected with the oor member for holding the case and the containers therein against separation from the carriage during inversion upon rotation down the runway.

8. An agitating machine as claimed in cla-im 2, in which the carriage comprises spaced parallel door and top members adapted to receive between them a case of containers, in combination with movable abutment means operatively connected with the floor member for holding the case and the containers therein against separation from the carriage during inversion upon rotation down the runway, said abutment means including a resilient element depressible by the leading end of a case entering the carriage and movable to abut the trailing end thereof and a second resilient element for engaging and stopping the leading end of a case fully seated on the carriage.

9. An agitating machinev as claimed in claim 2, in which the carriage comprises spaced parallel iloor and top members adapted to receive between them a case of containers, in combination with movable abutment means operatively connected with the floor member for holding the case and the containers therein against separation from the carriage during inversion upon rotation down the runway, said abutment means including a resilient element depressible by the leading end of a case entering the carriage and movable to abut the trailing end thereof and a second resilient element for engaging and stopping the leading end of a case fully seated on the carriage, and means cooperating with the second resilient element to retract the same and release the case automatically when the oarriage reaches the discharge end of the runway.

10. 'An agitating machine as claimed in claim 2, in which the runway includes a pair of laterally spaced toothed rails and the carriage 1ncludes a pair 0f rollers fixed relatively to the carriage and having peripheral teeth engaged with the teeth of the rails for rotation, and for rotating the carriage, as the rollers roll down the runway.

11. An agitating machine as claimed in claim 2, including a counterweight and a line connecting the counterweight to the carriage, the weight of the counterweight being suicie'nt to overbalance the carriage when empty and pull the carriage to the receiving end of the runway and adapted to be overbalanced by the carriage when loaded whereby the loaded carriage will roll down the runway to the discharge end thereof.

12. An agitating machine for mixing charges of syrup and water in individual merchandisable containers comprising a downwardly inclined runway having an upper receiving end and a lower discharge end, a carriage having iixed thereon roller means frlctionally engaged with the runway for rotating the carriage on descent along the runway, means for supplying containers to the carriage at the receiving end of the runway, and means for releasing the containers from the carriage at the discharge end of the runway.

13. An agitating machine as claimed in claim 12, in which the runway comprises rack means and the roller means comprises gear means meshed with the rack means.

14. An agitating machine as claimed in claim 12, including means for holding the containers in the carriage during descent along the runway.

15. An agitating machine as claimed in claim l2, including counterweight means for returning the empty carriage upwardly along the runway.

16. An agitating machine as claimed in claim 12, including means for retarding movement of the carriage as it approaches the discharge end of the runway.

17. An agitating machine as claimed in claim 12, including means for returning the empty carriage to the receiving end of the runway, and in which the runway is arcuately curved, being steepest adjacent the receiving end, whereby the speed of the carriage is reduced as it approaches the receiving end. WILLIAM L. BASHF'ORD.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name l Date 2,107,890 Frank Feb. 8, 1938 2,253,271 Hamilton Aug. 19, 1941 2,264,743 Copeland Dec. 2, 1941 2,329,787 Romano Sept. 21, 1943

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