Pill counting and filling mechanism

• US 3,139,713 A
• Filed: 03/05/1962
• Issued: 07/07/1964
• Est. Priority Date: 03/05/1962
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Charles F. Bross, Leland H. Merrill
• Original Assignee: Charles F. Bross, Leland H. Merrill
• Inventors: Merrill, Leland H., Bross, Charles F.
• Application Number:
  US04/177,409
• Time in Patent Office: 855 Days
• US Class Current: 53/55
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 5/103 for packaging pills or tablets

Claims

1. A MECHANISM OF THE CLASS DESCRIBED COMPRISING (A) A CONTINUOUS MOVING RECEPTACLE CONVEYOR, (B) A SERIES OF GUIDE RAILS DISPOSED LONGITUDINALLY ABOVE THE CONVEYOR AND DEFINING TWO PARALLEL PATHS EXTENDING FORWARDLY FROM A SINGLE PATH FOR THE MOVEMENT OF PREDETERMINED GROUPS OF RECEPTACLES FROM A COUNTED POSITION IN THE SINGLE CONVEYOR PATH INTO FILLING POSITIONS IN THE RESPECTIVE PARALLEL PATHS, (C) SEPARATE MEANS FOR HOLDING AND FOR SPACING GROUPS OF RECEPTACLES IN ARTICLE-RECEIVING POSITION IN THE SAME TRANSVERSE RELATIONSHIP IN EACH OF THE PARALLEL CONVEYOR PATHS, (1) A MOTOR-ACTIVATED STOP FOR EACH PATH MOVABLE TRANSVERSELY OF THE PATH INTO AND OUT OF POSITION TO CHECK THE ADVANCING RECEPTACLE OF THAT GROUP, (2) A SERIES OF MOTOR-ACTIVATED PINS SPACED ALONG THE CONVEYOR REARWARDLY OF THE STOP AT PREDETERMINEDLY FIXED SPACED INTERVALS SLIGHTLY GREATER THAN THE CORRESPONDING DIMENSION OF A RECEPTACLE, WITH (3) THE SERIES OF PIN MOTORS BEING CONNECTED FOR SUCCESSIVE ACTIVATION BY THE ELECTRICALLY-CONTROLLED MECHANISMS (D) PARALLEL ROWS OF STATIONARY ARTICLE-DISCHARGE CHUTES POSITIONED ALONG THE CONVEYOR ABOVE EACH OF THE RESPECTIVE PARALLEL PATHS, AND CONNECTED TO (E) PARALLEL ROWS OF DEPENDING STATIONARY ARTICLE-DISCHARGE TUBES HAVING THEIR LOWER ENDS DISPOSED FOR REGISTRATION WITH THE RESPECTIVE RECEPTACLES AS THEY COME INTO FILLING POSITION ON THE RESPECTIVE CONVEYOR PATHS, (F) A SINGLE RECEPTACLE DIVERTER-GATE HINGED ON A VERTICAL AXIS ABOVE THE CONVEYOR IN INTERPOSITION BETWEEN THE TWO PARALLEL PATHS AND THE SINGLE PATH FOR BACK AND FORTH SWINGING TO ALTERNATE THE ADVANCE OF GROUPS OF RECEPTACLES FROM THE SINGLE CONVEYOR PATH INTO THE RESPECTIVE PARALLEL CONVEYOR PATHS, (G) A SINGLE ARTICLE DIVERTER-GATE LOCATED INTERMEDIATE THE CHUTES AND THE TUBES SWINGABLE FOR ALTERNATING THE FLOW OF ARTICLES INTO ONE OR THE OTHER OF THE ROWS OF RECEPTACLES ON THE RESPECTIVE CONVEYOR PATHS, (H) ARTICLE-DELIVERY MEANS FOR DEPOSITING PREDETERMINED QUANTITIES OF ARTICLES IN THE DISCHARGE CHUTES, (I) MOTORS FOR DRIVING THE CONVEYOR AND THE ARTICLE-DELIVERY MEANS, AND (F) ELECTRICALLY-CONTROLLED MECHANISMS FOR EFFECTING THE COORDINATED OPERATION OF THE DIVERTER-GATES, THE ARTICLE-DELIVERY MEANS AND THE RECEPTACLE-HOLDING AND SPACING MEANS.