APPARATUS FOR SUPERIMPOSING ONE ARTICLE UPON ANOTHER

摘要

1508124 Feeding articles to conveyers; stoppering METAL BOX Ltd 18 March 1975 [21 March 1974] 12556/74 Headings B8U and B8T Articles such as paint can lids are individually fed to a feed member 18 from which they are individually dispensed on to the tops of cans passing on a horizontal conveyer (not shown) located under the member 18, the latter comprising a slide member 16 down which a lid slides to be initially held by a pair of retaining fingers 55 whose lower ends are closed by a respective retaining lug 28 of an associated release member 22 which is biased to the position shown, and when a can passes under the fingers 55 it abuts trip pins 41 of the release members 22 thereby causing release of the members 22 which, owing to the engagement of the pin 41 with the upper outer periphery of the can, are caused to pivot outwardly about respective spindles 23 so that the retaining lugs 28 are thus moved outwardly from the fingers 55 whereby a lid initially held thereby is free to slide under gravity down on to the top of the can. The release members 22 are each comprised of a slot 25 between arms 26, 27, an aperture 37 being provided in each of the arms which is aligned with an aperture (32) provided in a catch member 29 pivotally mounted at 30 on member 22, Fig. 3 (not shown), and a latching stud 38 extends outwardly from the associated finger 55 through the apertures (32), 37, a notch (40) on the upper side of the aperture 32 engaging the latching stud 38 thereby holding the member 22 against movement. When a can abuts the trip pins 41 it initially causes upward rotation of the catch members 29, sufficient to disengage them from the studs 38, and then the continued movement of the can causes the above said outward movement of the members 22, such movement being opposed by a weak tension spring 48, which causes the return of the members 22 to their initial position when the can has passed. In a modified apparatus, Figs. 4, 5 (not shown), the members (22) are each biased to their lid-retaining position by a respective compression spring (62), the members (22) being mounted on L-shaped channel members (56) whose positions are adjustable to provide for the dispensing of different sized lids.