Feeder for shape unstable articles

• US 4,963,072 A
• Filed: 08/24/1989
• Issued: 10/16/1990
• Est. Priority Date: 08/24/1989
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Curt G. Joa, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Curt G. Joa, Inc.
• Inventors: McGuire, Daniel J., Miley, Guy M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Spar, Robert J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Slavin, Craig
• Application Number:
  US07/397,863
• Time in Patent Office: 418 Days
• Field of Search: 198/540, 198/543, 198/550.5, 198/550.9, 198/626, 198/627, 198/628, 414/795.6, 414/795.8, 414/797.6, 211/46, 211/61, 211/62, 211/285, 211/312 R, 211/221, 211/217, 211/36, 211/42, 193/2 R, 193/3, 193/33, 193/34, 193/38
• US Class Current: 414/797.6
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 59/066 by means of rotary devices or endless elements

Abstract

A feeder for shape unstable articles such as pads for absorbing body fluids has an upright hopper having top and bottom openings for receiving and discharging pads. First and second rotationally driven upper pulleys having a plurality of round belt receiving grooves in their peripheries are mounted adjacent the bottom opening of the hopper on opposite sides of the vertical center line of the hopper. Third and fourth idler pulleys are arranged in laterally spaced apart relationship and symmetrical to the center line of the hopper at a lower level than the first and second pulleys. Because the lower pulleys are closer to each other than the upper pulleys, the belts converge toward each other such that articles which settle out of the hopper finally become wedged between the belts proximate to the lower pulleys. A stepping motor is energized to drive the pulleys and translate the belts so that the lowermost article in the stack is dispensed from between the lower pair of pulleys by reason of being frictionally engaged at its edges by the belts on the grooved pulleys. The stepping motor is started at the moment a pad should be dispensed and is stopped in response to the pad dropping across the beam of a photosensor so the feeder is self-timing. Thus, the feeder is self-adjusting for each individual article ranging from a short feed time for a compressed article to a longer feed time for the next article which may not be compressed and, hence, thicker.

Claims

1. A machine for feeding soft, pliable articles having an unstable shape, comprising:

a hopper having a top opening for input of said articles and a downwardly facing bottom opening for outflow of said articles,

first and second similar pulley shaving a plurality of peripheral grooves and rotatable about parallel axes and laterally spaced apart by a predetermined distance in a common horizontal plane adjacent said bottom opening such that the space between said pulleys is in vertical alignment with said bottom opening,

third and fourth similar pulleys having a plurality of peripheral grooves corresponding to the grooves in the first and second pulleys and rotatable about parallel axes lying in a common horizontal plane and laterally spaced apart by a distance less than said predetermined distance by which said first and second pulleys are spaced apart, the third and fourth pulleys being arranged below the first and second pulleys and the space between said third and fourth pulleys being substantially aligned with the space between the first and second pulleys,

a first plurality of round belt means running over said first pulley in the respective grooves thereof and downwardly to over said third lower pulley in the respective grooves thereof and a second plurality of round belt means running over said second pulley in the respective grooves thereof and downwardly over said fourth lower pulley in the respective grooves thereof, said first and second plurality of belt means converging toward each other in the downward direction to define a generally v-shaped passageway into which articles from said hopper settle and at least the lowermost article is frictionally engaged directly between sides of the two pluralities of belt means between the lower third and fourth pulleys,

motor means operatively coupled to said pulleys for driving said pulleys rotationally, and

means for causing said motor means to run repeatedly to cause said belt means to translate by an amount sufficient to dispense only the lowermost article from between the lower pulleys under the frictional influence of the belts and then to stop running.

2. The machine for feeding articles according to claim 1 including:

a pair of shaft means journaled for rotation, said first pulley being fastened on one of said shaft means and said second pulley being fastened on the other of said shaft means,

a toothed pulley fastened on each of said shaft means,

said stepping motor having a power output shaft and a toothed pulley fastened to said shaft, and

a toothed belt engaged with and running on said pulleys.

3. The machine for feeding articles according to claim 1 wherein:

said hopper has a vertically extending wall member and there is a guide plate arranged generally parallel to the wall member and means for adjusting said guide plate toward and away from said wall member such that when said articles descend through said hopper in contact with said guide plate the articles will be maintained in a straight stack by the guide plate.

6. The machine according to claim 1 wherein said motor comprises a stepping motor.

4. A machine for feeding articles having an unstable shape, comprising:

a hopper having a top opening for input of said articles and a downwardly facing bottom opening for outflow of said articles,

first and second similar pulleys rotatable about parallel axes and laterally spaced apart by a predetermined distance in a common horizontal plane adjacent said bottom opening such that the space between said pulleys is in vertical alignment with said bottom opening,

third and fourth similar pulleys rotatable about parallel axes lying in a common horizontal plane and laterally spaced apart by a distance less than said predetermined distance by which said first and second pulleys are spaced apart, the third and fourth pulleys being arranged below the first and second pulleys and the space between said third and fourth pulleys being substantially aligned with the space between the first and second pulleys,

first belt means running over said first pulley and downwardly to over said third lower pulley and second belt means running over said second pulley and downwardly over said fourth lower pulley, said first and second belt means converging toward each other in the downward direction to define a generally v-shaped passageway into which articles from said hopper settle and at least the lowermost article is frictionally engaged between sides of the two belt means between the lower third and fourth pulleys,

motor means operatively coupled to said pulleys for driving said pulleys rotationally, and

means for causing said motor to run and stop to cause said belt means to translate and dispense the lowermost article from between the lower pulleys under the frictional influence of the belts,

elongated vertically extending guide members mounted in spaced apart and generally parallel relationship in said hopper for a stack of said articles to fit between said guide members,

an upper portion of one of said vertically extending guide members being at an acute angle with respect to vertical, and

a chuted mounted to said one guide member for directing said articles into said hopper.

5. A machine for feeding articles having an unstable shape, comprising:

a hopper having a top opening for input of said articles and a downwardly facing bottom opening for outflow of said articles,

first and second similar pulleys rotatable about parallel axes and laterally spaced apart by a predetermined distance in a common horizontal plane adjacent said bottom opening such that the space between said pulleys is in vertical alignment with said bottom opening,

third and fourth similar pulleys rotatable about parallel axes lying in a common horizontal plane and laterally spaced apart by a distance less than said predetermined distance by which said first and second pulleys are spaced apart, the third and fourth pulleys being arranged below the first and second pulleys and the space between said third and fourth pulleys being substantially aligned with the space between the first and second pulleys,

first belt means running over said first pulley and downwardly to over said third lower pulley and second belt means running over said second pulley and downwardly over said fourth lower pulley, said first and second belt means converging toward each other in the downward direction to define a generally v-shaped passageway into which articles from said hopper settle and at least the lowermost article is frictionally engaged between sides of the two belt means between the lower third and fourth pulleys,

motor means operatively coupled to said pulleys for driving said pulleys rotationally, and

means for causing said motor to run and stop to cause said belt means to translate and dispense the lowermost article from between the lower pulleys under the frictional influence of the belts,

including means for starting said motor means at the time an article should be dispensed and photosensor means for detecting the presence of said article shortly after said article has been dispensed and is dropping under the influence of gravity and for producing a corresponding signal for causing said motor means to be deenergized and to stop.