Container positioning machine

Claim 2

Apparatus for the controlled placement of containers having ferrous caps on a removable surface comprising: means defining a passage terminating at said surface, means for feeding containers through said passage onto said surface, temporarily magnetizable stop means arranged across the width of the passage for magnetically engaging said caps and positively retaining containers in said passage to prevent further movement of containers onto the surface when said surface is removed from adjacent the passage, and means for selectively raising the magnetizable means.

Claim 3

Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the containers comprise upright vessels and the feed means comprises means engaging a bottom and a top of the vessel and moving the bottom and the top at like speeds towards the surface.

Claim 4

Apparatus according to claim 2 including means applying a constant vessel-engaging force to the engaging means.

Claim 5

Apparatus for stacking a multiplicity of containers in a crate having a substantially cylindrical shell, comprising: a support structure defining a container passage having a substantially horizontal container supporting surface and terminating in a circular arcuate mouth, means having an axially movable, substantially horizontal, circular-shaped crate surface for placing the crate adjacent the mouth so that the crate surface is aligned with the mouth of the container supporting surface, means for slidably moving the containers through the passage towards the mouth and onto the crate surface, and circularly arcuately arranged stop means positioned across the width of the mouth for grasping containers that protrude past a cylindrical inside wall of said shell to prevent such containers from contacting objects adjacent the crate surface periphery.

Claim 6

Apparatus for stacking a multiplicity of containers in a crate having a substantially cylindrical shell, comprising: a support structure defining a container passage having a substantially horizontal container supporting surface and terminating in a circular arcuate mouth, means having an axially movable, substantially horizontal, circular-shaped crate surface for placing the crate adjacent the mouth so that the crate surface is aligned with the mouth of the container supporting surface, means for slidably moving the containers through the passage towards the mouth and onto the crate surface, and circularly arcuately arranged stop means positioned across the width of the mouth for grasping containers that protrude past a cylindrical inside wall of said shell to prevent such containers from contacting objects adjacent the crate surface periphery.

Claim 7

Apparatus according to claim 4 wherein the crate is substantially higher than the containers for the placement of a plurality of container layers in the crate, and including means for raising and lowering the crate surface for the placement of multiple, vertically stacked container layers in the crate.

Claim 8

Apparatus according to claim 4 wherein the means for moving the container through the passage comprises a rotatable roller driven at a constant rate, means biasing the roller into contact with the containers, and means maintaining the force constant to prevent damage to the containers and the roll from irregularities in the container configurations and foreign objects accidentally entering between the roller and the containers.

Claim 9

Apparatus according to claim 4 wherein the stop means comprises a substantially vertically disposed resilient member depending from above the containers in the passageway to below tops of the containers, and means supporting the resilient member across the width of the passage mouth for temporarily engaging and retaining containers extending substantially beyond the periphery of the crate surface.

Claim 10

Apparatus according to claim 4 including means for releasably retaining the crate adjacent to and aligned with the passage mouth.

Claim 11

A container loading apparatus for fitting a multiplicity of rigid, upright containers on a container storage surface for the subsequent handling of the containers while on that surface, the apparatus comprising: a support structure, means mounted to the support structure and defining a container passageway terminating at the support surface, the support structure including means positioning the support surface relative to the passageway, container transport means disposed on the side of the passageway opposite the support surface for transporting the containers towards the passageway and permitting relative motion between the containers and the transport means, means independent of the transport means intermittently moving containers through the passageway and onto the support surface, said transport means and the intermittent means comprising side-by-side, first and second elongate belt means, wherein the passageway is disposed on a side of the support structure in alignment with the second belt means, and includes guide means for deflecting containers moving towards the passageway from the first belt means onto the second belt means, and means mounted to the support structure for constraining containers on the support surface.

Claim 12

A container loading apparatus for fitting a multiplicity of rigid, upright containers on a container storage surface for the subsequent handling of the containers while on that surface, the apparatus comprising: a support structure, means mounted to the support structure and defining a container passageway terminating at the support surface, the support structure including means positioning the support surface relative to the passageway, container transport means disposed on the side of the passageway opposite the support surface for transporting the containers towards the passageway and permitting relative motion between the containers and the transport means, means independent of the transport means intermittently moving containers through the passageway and onto the support surface, said transport means and the intermittent means comprising side-by-side, first and second elongate belt means, wherein the passageway is disposed on a side of the support structure in alignment with the second belt means, and includes guide means for deflecting containers moving towards the passageway from the first belt means onto the second belt means, and means mounted to the support structure for constraining containers on the support surface.

Claim 13

Apparatus according to claim 9 wherein the intermittent means further includes a roller disposed across the passageway above the second belt means, the roller having a relatively high friction surface, means rotating the roller at a surface speed equal to the surface speed of the second belt means, and means permitting free upward movement of the roller to provide for the accommodation of off-size containers and foreign objects between the containers and the roll without damaging the containers and the roll.

Claim 14

Apparatus according to claim 9 including means for lowering the support surface and the containers thereon beneath the container constraining means.

Claim 15

A container loading apparatus for fitting a multiplicity of rigid, upright containers closed with fErrous caps, on a container storage surface for the subsequent handling of the containers while on that surface, the apparatus comprising: a support structure, means mounted to the support structure and defining a container passageway terminating at the support surface, the support structure including means positioning the support surface relative to the passageway, container transport means disposed on the side of the passageway opposite the support surface for transporting the containers towards the passageway and permitting relative motion between the containers and the transport means, means independent of the transport means intermittently moving containers through the passageway and onto the support surface, electromagnets positioned across the width of said passageways for constraining containers on the support surface, and means for lowering the electromagnets to retain caps of containers extending substantially past the periphery of the support surface in contact with the electromagnets and thereby prevent spillage, tip-over and damage to such jars.

Claim 16

A container loading apparatus for fitting a multiplicity of rigid, upright containers closed with fErrous caps, on a container storage surface for the subsequent handling of the containers while on that surface, the apparatus comprising: a support structure, means mounted to the support structure and defining a container passageway terminating at the support surface, the support structure including means positioning the support surface relative to the passageway, container transport means disposed on the side of the passageway opposite the support surface for transporting the containers towards the passageway and permitting relative motion between the containers and the transport means, means independent of the transport means intermittently moving containers through the passageway and onto the support surface, electromagnets positioned across the width of said passageways for constraining containers on the support surface, and means for lowering the electromagnets to retain caps of containers extending substantially past the periphery of the support surface in contact with the electromagnets and thereby prevent spillage, tip-over and damage to such jars.