Can filler

Claim 2

In a can-filling machine, means providing a pressure-packing station, means for continuously moving a plurality of containers and aligned measuring boxes loosely filled with particulate material in uniformly spaced succession through said packing station, and a pressure-packing mechanism at said packing station for simultaneously packing into each successive pair of containers the particulate material loosely filled in each said successive pair of containers and the associated measuring boxes as they pass through said packing station.

Claim 3

The machine defined in claim 1 wherein the path of motion of the measuring boxes and containers through said packing station is arcuate.

Claim 4

The machine defined in claim 1 wherein said pressure-packing mechanism is cyclically operated in synchronism with the movement of said container moving means.

Claim 5

The machine defined in claim 3 wherein said pressure-packing mechanism comprises a pair of packing plungers and means for reciprocating said pair of plungers simultaneously through an adjacent pair of measuring boxes into an adjacent pair of containers as said adjacent pair of containers and measuring boxes move through said packing station while maintaining said plungers substantially in alignment with said pair of measuring boxes and containers as they continuously move through said packing station and for restoring said pair of plungers to a position for reciprocation through the next succeeding pair of measuring boxes into the next succeeding pair of containers.

Claim 6

The machine defined in claim 4 wherein the paths of motion of said containers and of said plungers are arcuate about a common axis.

Claim 7

The machine defined in claim 5 wherein the reciprocation of said plungers is effected at least primarily by imparting orbital motion thereto in a direction parallel to said common axis while said plungers are maintained in their said arcuate path.

Claim 8

The machine defined in claim 4 wherein each of said plungers comprises a main portion and a pressure plate mounted on the lower end of said main portion.

Claim 9

The machine defined in claim 7 wherein each of said plungers includes means mounting the plunger pressure plate portion for movement relative to the plunger main portion and wherein said machine includes means for imparting orbital motion to the main portion of said plungers and for imparting rectilinear motion to the pressure plate portion of said plungers relative to the main portion of said plungers during a predetermined portion of the path of orbital motion of the main plunger whereby the total movement of the pressure plate portion of the plunger in a direction parallel to said axis may exceed the magnitude of movement of the main portion of said plunger parallel to said axis.

Claim 10

The machine defined in claim 4 wherein said pressure-packing mechanism comprises means for drive connecting said packing plungers to said container and box-moving means to move said plungers along with said adjacent pair of containers and boxes through said packing station and for subsequently interrupting said drive connection to restore said plungers to said position for reciprocation into said next succeeding pair of boxes and containers.

Claim 11

The machine defined in claim 9 wherein said plunger-reciprocating means comprises a cam-actuating assembly.

Claim 12

The machine defined in claim 9 wherein said plunger-reciprocating means comprises a crank-actuating assembly.

Claim 13

In a can filler in which cans are continuously moved in an arcuate path and are filled by gravity transfer of particulate material through a synchronously and similarly moving can extension conduit aligned with the can to effectively increase the volume of the can during such gravity transfer, a mechanism for completing the particulate material transfer through said conduit and completing the packing of said can, said mechanism comprising a plunger, means guiding said plunger for movement back and forth along an arcuate path substantially coaxial with the axis about which the can and can conduits move, the axis of the plunger remaining substantially in alignment with axes of the can and conduits during at least a predetermined portion of the path of movement of said cans and conduits, means for imparting orbital motion to said plunger in substantial synchronism with the movement of a can and conduit while it is guided in said path to move said plunger into, through and out of an aligned one of said conduits during one-half of the cycle of orbital motion in one direction along said path and to restore said plunger along said path to its initial position during the other half-cycle of its orbital motion.

Claim 14

In a can filler in which cans are continuously moved in an arcuate path and are filled by gravity transfer of particulate material through a synchronously and similarly moving can extension conduit aligned with the can to effectively increase the volume of the can during such gravity transfer, a mechanism for completing the particulate material transfer through said conduit and completing the packing of said can, said mechanism comprising a plunger, means guiding said plunger for movement back and forth along an arcuate path substantially coaxial with the axis about which the can and can conduits move, the axis of the plunger remaining substantially in alignment with axes of the can and conduits during at least a predetermined portion of the path of movement of said cans and conduits, means for imparting orbital motion to said plunger in substantial synchronism with the movement of a can and conduit while it is guided in said path to move said plunger into, through and out of an aligned one of said conduits during one-half of the cycle of orbital motion in one direction along said path and to restore said plunger along said path to its initial position during the other half-cycle of its orbital motion.

Claim 15

The filler defined in claim 12 wherein said plunger-guiding means comprises a pair of cam tracks disposed in alignment with and in vertically spaced relation above the path of movement of the cans and conduits, a pair of cam follower rollers, one engaged with each of said cam tracks, and means mounting each of said cam follower rollers for rotation relative to said plunger while permitting relative axial movement therebetween.

Claim 16

The filler defined in claim 13 wherein the rotation axes of said cam follower rollers are coincident with the longitudinal axis of said plunger.

Claim 17

The filler defined in claim 12 wherein said orbital motion-imparting means comprises a pair of parallel cranks mounted for rotation about spaced parallel axes lying in a plane substantially perpendicular to the path of can and conduit motion and means pivotally connecting said plunger to each of said cranks about axes equally spaced from and parallel to the crank rotation axes.