US3318065A

US3318065A - Connector clip and method and apparatus for assembling units with said clip

Info

Publication number: US3318065A
Application number: US412273A
Authority: US
Inventors: Jr James C De Shazor
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1963-04-03
Filing date: 1964-10-07
Publication date: 1967-05-09
Anticipated expiration: 1984-05-09

Description

May 9, 1967 J.. c. DE SHAZOR, JR 3,313,065

CONNECTOR CLIP AND METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ASSEMBLING UNITS WITH SAID CLIP Original Filed April 5, 1963 10 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. JAMES C. DESHAZORJR.

j Mwk ATTORNEY J. c. DE SHAZOR, JR 3,318,065 R CLIP AND MET May 9, 1967 CONNECTO HOD AND APPARATUS FOR ASSEMBLING UNITS WITH SAID CLIP Original Filed April 5, 1963 10 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. JAMES C. DESHAZOR,JR.

ATTOR N EY May 9, 1967 c. DE SHAZOR. JR 3,

CONNECTOR CLIP AND METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ASSEMBLING UNITS WITH SAID CLIP Original Filed April 5, 1963 10 Sheets-5heet 3 (III/m I i 24? y I 243 294 29:, N y 25' 216 INVENTOR JAMES C, DESHAZOR, J R.

/ ATTORNEY 3,318,065 AND APPARATUS H SAID 0 y 1967 J. c. DE SHAZOR, .JR

CONNECTOR CLIP AND METHOD FOR ASSEMBLING UNITS WIT Original Filed April 5, 1963 LIP l0 Sheets-Sheet 4 E OE m A K On VI O D E T M m g// m M 0 EN 5w w E W /N// V .l D d/ $8 A c a \i S r E 8M I m KWN J .5 Non wom u mom :61 wmml wmm nmm

May 9, 1967 J. c. DE AZOR.

SH JR 3,318,065 CONNECTOR CLIP AND METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ASSEMBLING UNITS WITH SAID CLIP Original Filed April :3, 1963 10 Sheets-Sheet 5 N i; 1 M I H I :7 J, 356" P f 1 J M {I I ;i r Q 355 358 FIG. 9

I O 0 C) O ENTOR.

5 AT+EY INV 365 358 JAMES C. DESHAZOR, JR.

May 9, 1967 J. DE SHAZOR, JR 3, 1 CONNECTOR P AND METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ASSEMBLING UNITS WITH SAID CLIP Original Filed April 3, 1963 10 Sheets-Sheet 6 may FIG. I3

INVENTORL R J W Z W M N S R E O D T dfT A S E M A J May 9, 1967 J. c. DE SHAZOR, JR 3,

CONNECTOR CLIP AND METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ASSEMBLING UNITS WITH SAID CLIP Original Filed April, 5, 1963 10 Sheets-Sheet 7 R J C R R m m N A w Q Q E m M EN 0 S 95 M m M EN 4 whm fiw wwN Y2 J4). $1. C :J? r

F P if 3% N ZTQRNEY V May 9, 1967 or: SHAZOR, JR 3,318,065

.C. CONNECTOR CLIP AND METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ASSEMBLING UNITS WITH SAID CLIP Original Filed April 1965 l0 Sheets-Sheet 8 FIG. 20

F G. l9

389 INVENTOR JAM ES C. DESHAZOR, JR.

ATTORNEY May 9, 1967 J. c. DE SHAZOR, JR 3,318,065

CONNECTOR CLIP AND METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ASSEMBLING UNITS WITH SAID CLIP Original Filed April 5, 1963 10 Sheets-Sheet 9 I @9 3 j F I G. 30

INVENTOR.

JAMES C. DESHAZOR, J R.

ATTORNEY May 9, 1967 .1. c. DE SHAZOR, JR 3,318,055

CONNECTOR CLIP AND METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ASSEMBLING UNITS WITH SAID CLIP Original Filed April 5, 1963 10 Sheets-Sheet 10 INVENTOR. JAMES C. DESHAZOR JR.

a ATTORNEY 3,318,065 CONNECTOR CLIP AND METHOD AND APPARA- TUS FOR ASSEMBLING UNITS WITH SAID CLIP James C. De Shazor, Jr., 3314 Coy Drive, Sherman Oaks, Calif. 91403 Original application Apr. 3, 1963, Ser. No. 270,341, now Patent No. 3,255,566. Divided and this application Oct. 7, 1964, Ser. No. 412,273

9 Claims. (Cl. 53-48) This application is a division of US. Ser. No. 270,341, filed Apr. 3, 1963, now Patent No. 3,255,566.

Application S.N. 270,341 is in turn a continuation-inpart of application Ser. No. 100,618 filed Apr. 4, 1961, now abandoned and application Ser. No. 174,655 filed Feb. 12, 1962.

This invention is directed to a connector clip, and methods and apparatus for assembling multiple units into a package form with the connector clip, and is particularly adapted to assembling containers such as conventional cans into multiple unit packages.

For the sake of brevity, certain portions of the specification of application Ser. No. 270,341, of which this application is a division, have been deleted from this specification. However, for completeness, reference is made throughout this specification to the disclosure in application Ser. No. 270,341 and such portions are hereby incorporated by reference.

In the drawings I have shown the present preferred embodiments of my invention in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective of the front side of the present apparatus with parts removed for clarity;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective of a modified form of the can transfer and control assembly;

FIGURE 3 is a side elevation view of the assembly as shown in FIGURE 2 with the transfer assembly in advanced position;

FIGURE 4 is a perspective of a first form of an orientation assembly;

FIGURE 5 is a perspective of a second form of the orientation assembly;

FIGURE 6 is a perspective of a fifth form of the orientation assembly;

FIGURE 7 is a FIGURE 6;

FIGURE 8 is a cross section taken on line 8-8 of FIGURE 7;

FIGURE 9 is a perspective of a sixth form of the orientation assembly;

FIGURE 10 is a plan view of the assembly shown in FIGURE 9;

FIGURE 11 is a cross section of a vacuum chuck;

FIGURE 12 is a top plan view, partly in cross section, of a gear box for rotating the chucks of the orientation assembly;

FIGURE 13 is a cross section through the gear box and electromagnetic chucks forming part of the orientation assembly, taken on line 13-13 of FIGURE 12;

FIGURE 14 is a top plan view, partly in cross section, of a modified gear box for rotating the chucks of the orientation assembly;

FIGURE 15 is a top plan view of a lift plate forming part of the mechanical orientation assembly;

FIGURE 16 is a cross section of the lift plate, taken on line 16-16 of FIGURE 15;

plan view of the assembly shown in 3,318,065 Patented May 9, 1967 FIGURE 17 is a cross section of the lift plate, taken on line 17-17 of FIGURE 15;

FIGURE 18 is a vertical cross section through a transducer sensing head, taken on line 18-18 of FIGURE 5, forming part of the modified orientation assembly;

FIGURE 19 is a bottom plan view of a pressure pad for applying clips to the top of the containers at the clip application station;

FIGURE 20 is a cross section of the pressure pad shown in FIGURE 19, taken on line 22-20 of FIGURE 19;

FIGURE 21 is a cross section of the pressure pad shown in FIGURE 19, taken on line 21-21 of FIGURE 19;

FIGURE 22 is a cross section similar to central portion of FIGURE 20, showing a modified form of pressure P FIGURE 23 is a top plan view of a pressure pad for applying clips to the bottom of the containers at the clip application station;

FIGURE 24 is a cross section taken on line 24-24 of FIGURE 23;

FIGURE 25 is a cross FIGURE 23;

FIGURE 26 is an enlarged perspective, with parts removed for clarity, of a clip feeding assembly for supplying clips to the bottom clip pressure pad at the clip application station;

FIGURE 27 is a side elevation view, with parts removed for clarity, of the assembly shown in FIGURE 26, at the start of the clip feeding cycle;

FIGURE 28 is similar to FIGURE 27, showing the clip feeding cycle at a point just prior to deposition of the clip on the bottom pressure pad;

FIGURE 29 is similar to FIGURE 27, showing the clip feeding cycle at the point when the clip has been deposited on the bottom pressure pad;

FIGURE 30 is similar to FIGURE 27, showing the clip feeding clip cycle at point midway in the return stroke preparatory to receiving another clip for the next clip feeding cycle;

The connector clip, or connector unit, employed in various embodiments of this invention is comprised of a body of resiliently flexible plastic material for positioning at the center of a plurality of symmetrically positioned cans, the body having a radial portion to overlap each can of the plurality of c-ans, each of the radial portions being formed with a shoulder on its underside to engage the inner side of the bead of the corresponding can, each of the radial portions being formed with a plurality of downwardly extending, resiliently flexible, hook-shaped teeth to hook under the outer circumferential shoulder of the bead of the corresponding can, each of the radial portions being formed with a plurality of downwardly extending, resiliently flexible, hook-shaped teeth to hook under the outer circumferential shoulder of the head of the corresponding can, said plurality of teeth comprising at least one tooth on the two halves respectively of the radial portion, said body of plastic material being completely pre-formed for effective engagement with the plurality of cans simply by merely forcing the body against the ends of the cans to cause each of said teeth to flex outward to pass said outer circumferential shoulder of a can and then to flex inward into engagement with the circumferential shoulder.

section taken on line 25-25 of 3 For details of the connector clip, reference is hereby made to FIGURES 1 through 14 of application Ser. No. 270,341 and that portion of the specification of application Ser. No. 270,341 titled Clip.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY The containers are fed into the machine on an infeed conveyor, to a can transfer and control assembly, which transfers the containers to a main conveyor, which in turn sequentially moves the containers to an optional orientation assembly, to orient the containers to a desired position, a top clip application station, to apply a clip to the top of the containers, and a bottom clip application station, to apply a clip to the bottom of the containers, to form a multiple container package.

My preferred embodiment shows a machine for simultaneously packaging twelve cans to form two six-can packages, however, it is understood that this machine can package from two to almost an unlimited number of cans simultaneously to form packages comprising two or more cans each. My preferred embodiment also shows the cans being initially fed transversally in a double row from one side of the machine, however, my invention includes an in-line feed directly from the infeed conveyor to the main conveyor, or the simultaneous transverse feed- ,ing of cans from two infeed conveyors (located on opposite sides of the main conveyor) onto the main conveyor, or the transverse or in-line feeding of only a single row of cans to the main conveyor.

Conveyor system FIGURE 1 illustrates the basic machine frame with the main convey-or system mounted thereon. This conveyor system includes a pair of conveyor chains 169, preferably spaced between 2"2 /2" apart and ideally about 2%" apart, and having a top surface with a low coefficient of friction such as steel. Spaced lugs 170 are affixed to the upper surface of each conveyor chain 169 for a purpose to be described hereinafter. The lugs on the spaced chains are transversely aligned to function as a single cross bar. The pairs of lugs are equally spaced along the conveyor chain to provide sufiicient space between the lugs on the chains to receive the desired number of containers between the lugs. The lugs are spaced such that the containers fit between the pairs of lugs but the containers cannot move appreciably by sliding along the conveyor chains. The conveyor chains 169 are continuous and pass around pairs of sprockets 171 mounted on shafts rotatable in pillow blocks 172 integral with the frame. The pairs of sprockets 171 are four in number and move the conveyor chains in a generally rectangular path in a direction moving from left to right on the top horizontal run as viewed in FIGURE 1. The conveyor chains pass along an upper substantially horizontal run to the exit end of the apparatus shown in the right hand end of FIGURE 1, downwardly in a vertical run over idler sprockets 171 shown in the lower right hand portion of FIGURE 1, along a lower horizontal run around a second pair of lower sprockets 171 and upwardly in a ver tioally inclined run around the top sprockets to the entrance end of the machine.

A motor and speed control (not shown), of conventional construction, provides the driving force for the main conveyor chains 169. This motor and speed control drives a Hilliard clutch (not shown), of conventional construction. The Hilliard clutch operates for a single revolution and then stops until again actuated to repeat the cycle. The clutch is driven by the motor and speed control by suitable conventional sprockets and chains. The clutch drives one of the pairs of sprockets 171 which in turn drive the conveyor chains 169. Preferably this drive mechanism provides an acceleration and deceleration curve in the form of a sine wave thereby minimizing starting and stopping shock to articles on the main conveyor system. The Hilliard clutch is normally locked i in stopped position by a pneumatic operated progression advance cylinder. This cylinder is automatically actuated by the main machine timer control system to release the clutch for a single revolution.

A dogging system is provided on the main drive shaft for the sprockets 171. This dogging system consists of a circular plate rotatable with the main drive shaft and having a single dogging notch in its periphery. A pneumatically operated dog (not shown) is activated by a progression lock cylinder. This cylinder is automatically actuated by the main machine timer control system to move the dog outwardly to permit the circular dogging plate to move in unison with the main drive shaft. The dog rides on the periphery of the circular plate until the notch is encountered, at which time the dog enters the notch. The entry of the dog into the notch is simultaneous with the completion of .a single revolution by the Hilliard clutch. The function of the dogging system is to ensure exact, repetitive positioning of the conveyor chains 169 and the containers on the chain.

There is an infeed conveyor, cam counter and control mechanism shown in FIGURES 20 to 24, inclusive, of application Ser. No. 270,341, in the specification of the application in the portion entitled Infeed Conveyor.

Container transfer and control assembly The infeed conveyor (see FIGURES 18 and 20 through 24 of application Serial No. 270,341) moves the containers to a container transfer and control assembly shown in FIGURES 2 and 3.

A pusher plate 230 is affixed to a piston rod 231 operated by a pneumatic cylinder 232 mounted on the machine frame. Introduction of pressurized air to the rear end of cylinder 232, moves the pusher plate transversely of the infeed conveyor transferring the cans from the infeed conveyor to the main conveyor in the manner hereinbefore described. The cans enter the can transfer and control assembly on the infeed conveyor in the direction of the arrow shown in FIGURE 2 and are stopped by the stop plate 214. The cutoff plate 215 is attached at a right angle to pusher plate 230 and functions in the same manner as previously described.

A top transfer plate 233 is pivotally mounted at 234 to the top edge of pusher plate 230. One end of a connector rod 235 is pivotally afiixed to the top surface of the top transfer plate 233 and the other end of the rod is pivotally afiixed at 236 to a stationary part of the machine frame. A V-shaped bottom transfer plate 237 is affixed to the underside of the top transfer plate 233 and engages the sides of the cans away from the pusher plate 233. A can divider 238 is affixed to the midpoint of the underside of the top transfer plate 233 and extends downward between the cans to prevent chiming of the cans as previously described.

A second cover plate 239 is positioned over the main conveyor 152 and is pivotally mounted at 240 along one of its edges to a stationary part of the machine frame. A spring 241 is afiixed at one end to the top of the cover plate and at the other end to a stationary part of the machine frame. The spring is in extended condition as shown in FIGURE 2 and biases the cover plate upward in a swinging motion about pivot 240 to the position shown in FIGURE 3 when the cover plate is released but stopped by a stop 240a.

When pressurized air is introduced into the right hand end (FIGURE 3) of cylinder 232, the piston rod 231 moves the pusher plate 230 toward the left thereby pushing the cans from the infeed conveyor to the main conveyor as shown in FIGURE 3. The rod 235 swings the top transfer upward about pivot 235 thereby releasing cover plate 239 to permit spring 241 to pivot the cover plate 239 upward. The final positions of the plates are shown in FIGURE 3. The outer edge of top transfer plate 233 overlies a part of cover plate 239 so that upon retraction of the pusher plate 230, by introducing pressurized air into the left hand side (FIGURE 3) of cylinder 232, transfer plate 233 forces cover plate 239 down ward against the force of spring 241 to the position shown in FIGURE 2. The cycle is then repeated.

A micro-switch 209 is also provided on the assembly shown in FIGURES 2 and 3 for activation by pusher plate 230.

Orientation assembly My preferred embodiment is arranged for rotating 12 chucks simultaneously to orient 12 cans. This assembly can be operated for less than 12 cans or can be increased in size to orient an indefinite number of cans depending upon the size and construction which one desires to build.

FIGURE 4 illustrates a part of the preferred embodiment of the orienting assembly 153 and shows an electromagnetic constantly rotating chuck 243, the internal structural features of which are shown in cross section in FIGURE 13. This chuck 243 includes a central core 244 attached to a drive shaft 245, an arbor 246 afiixed to the lower end of the core 244 and a cap 247 aflixed to the upper end of the core with a shell 248 forming side walls around the core. Cap 247 has a positive metal ring 249 and a negative metal ring 250 against which carbon brushes 251 ride to supply electrical power for activating the electromagnetic field in the chuck created by Wire windings 244a. The drive shaft 245 enters an orientation gear housing 252 suspended above the main conveyor by supports 253 aflixed to the main machine frame. The housing consists of a base plate 254 aflixed by bolts to a cover plate 255. Suitable bearings 256 mounted in the base and cover plates rotatably receive the drive shaft 245. A gear 257 is keyed to the drive shaft 245. The gears 257 on each of the drive shafts mesh thereby insuring the direction of rotation shown in FIGURE 12. It should be noted that each of the chucks are rotated in an opposite direction to the adjacent chuck. This type rotation is useful and effective when using the orientation assemblies shown in FIGURES 4 and 5. In FIGURE 14, I have shown a gear arrangement having idler gears 258 mounted within the housing 252 on shafts to provide rotation of all gears 257 and associated chucks in the same direction as shown by the arrows in FIGURE 14. This arrangement permits rotation of the chucks in the direction of the arrows shown in FIGURE 14 or all in a reverse direction from the arrows shown in FIGURE 14 dependent upon the direction of rotation of the actuating motor, or the pulley belt arrangement. One of the shafts 245 extends upward through the cover plate 255 to provide an integral shaft extension 259 to which is keyed a pulley 260 driven by a motor with suitable belt connection. If a reversal of direction of rotation of gears 257 is desired, the belt is formed in a figure 8.

Referring to FIGURE 4, the electromagnetic chuck attracts the ferrous container to the chuck after the container has been slightly elevated above the main conveyor. The electromagnetic chuck is constantly rotating, therefore upon attraction of the ferrous container to the chuck, the container immediately commences rotation until released from the chuck.

Referring now to FIGURES 4, 15, 16 and 17, I have shown the orientation lift plate which elevates the cans above the main conveyor. The plate dimensions are such that width-wise the plate can move vertically in the gap between the chains of the main conveying system, and is of a length sufiicient to accommodate the number of cans which are to be oriented. In my preferred embodiment shown in the figures, I have shown a plate sufliciently long to accommodate twelve cans for simultaneous orientation.

The lift plate includes a base plate 263 having a plurality of detachable inserts 264 afiixed to the base plate by screws. The inserts are circular plates covering about a 120 arc and having a flat central portion 265 and an upraised peripheral ridge 266 as shown in FIGURE 17. The upraised ridge 266is flat on its upper edge and has a sloped outer face 267. The container or can is received on the insert plate in the manner shown in dash lines in FIGURE 17 with the bottom rim, bead or chime 268 positioned outside the ridge 266 and the lower edge of chime 268 being supported by an arcuate plate 269 affixed and conforming to the arcuate shape of insert 264. The bottom of the container or can does not engage the upper edge of ridge 266. The base plate 263 is connected to a piston rod extension 270 which in turn is aflixed to a piston rod of a pneumatic orientation lift cylinder 271 mounted below the base plate and pivotally mounted to the main machine frame. Cross support plates 272 and a longitudinally support plate 273 form part of the secondary main machine frame and are affixed to the machine frame. The base plate 263 has downwardly extending integral guide rods 274 at spaced locations on each side of the cylinder 271 and are slidably received within ball bushings 275 mounted in a sleeve 276 aflixed to support plate 273. The lower end of each guide rod 274 is headed and has a rubber washer. Upon actuation of the cylinder 271,the base plate and inserts are elevated until the head on the guide rods 274 engage the lower end of sleeve 276 to provide a positive stop for the elevation of the plate.

The plate shown in FIGURES 4, 15, 16 and 17 is particularly directed to my preferred embodiment using a mechanical orientation stop to be described hereinafter.

I have shown in FIGURE 4 a typical can having a steel body and steel top and bottom. The body is seamed in a conventional manner to form a vertical seam 277 and the top and end portions of the can are attached to the body by a crimping action which results in a bump 278 along the bead or chime 268 of the can. This bump varies in the extent of its protrusion from the chime 268 but typically is about .011" in a steel can and between about .007.008 in an aluminum can. The embodiment shown in FIGURE 4 utilizes this protruding bump for purposes of orienting the can. The mechanical orienting stop is located between the cans when they are positioned on the lift plate and an additional mechanical orienting stop is located at the right hand (forward) end of the lift plate as shown in FIGURE 15. Thus, in my preferred embodiment, every insert plate 264 has an orienting mechanical stop immediately adjacent its outside surface and inclined surface 267. These orienting stops are shown in an enlarged cross section in FIGURE 17. The insert plate 264 is rigidly mounted on the backing plate 263 of the lift plate by screws 279 or the like and a pointed carbide mechanical orientation stop 280 is located a short distance from the edge of the insert plate as shown in FIGURE 17. The spacing between the vertical wall of the insert plate and the vertical wall and point of the orientation stop 280 is only sufficient to receive the chime or bead 268 of the can but not sufficiently wide to pass the bump 278 on the chime or head 268. Thus, as the can is rotated, the bump 278 comes into engagement with the rounded point of the orientation stop 280 and rotation of the can is stopped. After rotation of the can is stopped in this manner, the magnetic chuck continues to rotate and slide on the top of the can until the electromagnetic chuck is de-energized.

The mechanical orientation stop 280 is normally shimmed outwardly by shim stock 281 from a spacer stop 282 to compensate for wear. The orientation stop 280, shim stock 281 and spacer stop 282 are covered by a washer 283 which is affixed to the base plate 263 by a screw 284 or the like.

As will be described hereinafter in more detail, I have provided a timing circuit for all the chucks such that the chucks are demagnetized after a period of time limited to that period sufiicient to permit about one 360 rotation of the cans. Thus, as the lift plate is elevated, the electromagnetic chuck engages the can for rotation for a time period at least sufiicient to permit one 360 rotation prior to being de-energized to release the can. For example:

assume the chucks are rotating at a constant speed of 300 rpm, the chucks are automatically de-energized to release the cans after one-fifth of a second. This one-fifth of a second permits one revolution of the chuck and attracted can, thereby insuring that the bump 278 on the chime 268 of the can will engage the orientation stop 280 and orient the can in the desired position dependent on the position of the mechanical orientation stop 280. If the bump on the can is positioned initially immediately over the orientation stop, the can will not rotate at all and will merely be released from the magnetic chuck upon deactivation of the chuck. This timing can also be accomplished on the master cam by timing the activation of the lefting cylinder and the magnets.

The distance between the upper edge of the insert plate and the underside of the chuck which engages the top of the chime of the can is slightly greater than the distance between these two points on the can. Thus, the magnetic chuck slightly raises the can off the upper ridge of the insert plate insuring free rotation of the can. Thus, upon deactivation of the magnetic chuck, the can is dropped a short distance from the magnetic chuck.

The orientation stops 280 can be located in any desired position along the insert plate to give desired orientation of the cans. Typically the cans contain a trade name or trademark for the products contained in the can and it is desired to orient the cans such that the trademark or trade name is facing outwardly of the ultimate package and the seam of the can is hidden from the view of the purchaser. I have also found that in orienting a product such as a six-can pack, it is desirable to orient the end cans on the six-pack with the trademark or trade name facing at an angle to the end of the package so that the trademark or trade name is visible from either a side inspection of the package or an end inspection of the package by the consumer.

After the cans have been oriented, pressurized air is fed to the top of the cylinder 271 to lower the orientation lift plate to a retracted position below the main conveyor thereby depositing the oriented cans on the main conveyor. The main conveyor is then activated in its intermittent operation to move the oriented cans to the top clipping station.

In FIGURE I have shown an alternative form of orientation assembly for use on all ferrous top cans and particularly those which do not have a bump on the chime. In this construction the magnetic chuck is identical to that hereinbefore described and operates to magnetically attract and rotate the can whene it is fabricated from steel. The orientation lift plate which I use in this assembly is a plain plate 286 movable vertically by a pneumatic cylinder mounted on the machine from below the plate. It is not necessary that this plate be vertically moving if the magnetic chucks have sufficient power to lift the cans from the main conveyor, however, I prefer to vertically lift the cans into engagement with the rotating chuck. I have found that if the magnetic chucks are located only a short distance from the top of the cans, the cans can be attracted to the chucks without the necessity of the vertical lift plate.

In the construction shown in FIGURE 5, I have utilized a transducer sensing head as shown in cross section in FIGURE 18. This transducer sensing head is of conventional construction and includes a central probe 287 integral with a permanent magnet 288 and an electrical coil 289 surrounding the probe. The transducer is housed within an outer sleeve 290, an inner sleeve 291, and a nose sleeve 292 through which the probe extends. An epoxy resin disc 293 is utilized to insulate the permanent magnet 289 from the sleeve 291. The probe is spring-biased outwardly by a spring 294. Suitable supports are provided from the machine frame to hold the transducer in proper position relative to the rotating cans.

The transducer is placed in close proximtiy to the side wall of the can such that it can detect the passage of the vertical seam 277 which has four metal thicknesses. The transducer is provided with suitable electrical connections to a timer and relay, such as a Reed relay, which disconnects the electrical power to the magnetic chucks thereby releasing the can in an oriented position. The relay not only de-activates the magnetic chucks but can activate an AC. current to kill residual magnetism in the chucks. The operation of the transducer is well understood in that it senses the several layers of steel located in the vertical seam 277 of the side wall of the can.

In FIGURE 32 of application Ser. No. 270,341, which is hereby referred to I have shown an orientation assembly similar to FIGURE 5 with the exception that it is utilized on an aluminum can.

I have illustrated the vacuum head in cross section in FIGURE 11. The gear housing 252 for driving the vacuum chuck is identical to that previously described with the exception that the drive shaft of the vacuum chuck must be connected to a vacuum source. The drive shaft 245 extends through the base plate 256 of the gear housing and is modified to have a central bore 297 connected to a vacuum source. The lower end of the drive shaft is splined or keyed to a core bar 298 such that the core bar forms an integral part of the drive shaft. A plurality of spaced passages 299 are provided around the lower end of drive shaft 245 and provide communication between the bore 297 of the drive shaft and a recessed portion 300 on. the top of the core bar. The passages 299 are circumferentially spaced from each other around the drive shaft 240. The core bar also has a central bore 301 forming a continuation of the bore 297 of the drive shaft and extends downwardly to the lower face 302 of the core bar. The bore 301 reduces to a lesser diameter in opening into the face 302. A cup-shaped housing 303 is slideably mounted on the drive shaft 245 and provided with an O ring 304 for sealing the sliding interface between the housing and the drive shaft. The housing is inverted with its open end down and its closed end immediately above the core bar 298. The lower end of the housing is partially closed by a cover plate 305 which threads into the open lower end. A central opening in the cover plate slidably receives a necked portion 306 of the lower end of the core bar. This necked portion is slidably sealed within the opening in the cover plate by an O ring. The lower face of the cover plate receives a spacing plate 307 which threads into a circular threaded recess in the cover plate 305 and is locked into position by locking pins 300 driven into aligned openings in the spacer plate, cover plate and lower face of the core bar. Thecore bar is slidable vertically on the locking pins. The core bar has an internal flanged portion 309 which receives a large 0 ring to slidably seal the interface between the flanged portion 309 of the core bar and the inside face of the housing 303. Thus, the core bar functions like a fixed piston within the cylindrical housing formed by the housing 303 and the cover plate 305.

Upon the application of vacuum through the bore 297 in the drive shaft, the vacuum suction exerts a force through the passages 299 to the chamber immediately above the core bar and below the top of the housing 303, thereby sucking the housing, face plate and spacer plate downwardly until the spacing plate engages a can top located below the chuck. Once the spacer plate 307 has engaged the top of the can, the full effect of the suction force is exerted through the bore 301 in the core bar and provides a suction within the concave opening of the spacing plate 307 thereby drawing the can into tight contact with the plate and rotating the can in unison with the chuck. Preferably, the chuck is constantly rotating. Upon release of the vacuum force from the bore of the drive shaft, a coil spring 312 that is compressed longitudinally in the area between the flanged portion 309 of the core bar and the top face 310 of the housing, exerts a spreading force between the housing and core bar, thereby 9 elevating the housing to the position shown inFIGURE 11 which effects a release of the can from the vacuum chuck and an elevation of the vacuum chuck out of contact with the can.

In FIGURE 31, of application Ser. No. 270,341 I have shown an alternative form of my orienting assembly for use on ferrous metal cans having a prominent vertical seam. The electromagnetic constantly rotating chuck is identical to that previously described or a vacuum chuck as shown in FIGURE 11 may be used.

The details of the feelers are shown in FIGURES 48- 50 of application Ser. No. 270,341, and are described in that specification.

FIGURES 6-8 illustrate an alternative mode of rotating the cans for orientation purposes. The various mechanical and electrical stop devices and sensing devices previously described in this specification and in application Ser. No. 270,341 are usable with the can drive mechanism shown in these drawings. This type drive mech anism is particularly adapted for use with containers which do not have a substantially flat top such as aerosol cans. A rotary shaft 345 is positioned along each side of the main conveyor at the orientation station. This shaft has arcuate cut out portions 346 spaced from each other by flat lands 347. The number of arcuate portions is equal to the number of cans one desires to orient. Both ends of the shafts are rotatably mounted in pillow blocks 348 which are afiixed to a support bar 349 swingably mounted on pin 350 affixed to a stationary portion of the machine frame. The support bars and shafts 345 are moved transversely toward and away from the main conveyor by pneumatic cylinders 351 controlled by the main machine timer. A motor 352 is mounted on each support plate to rotate the shaft 345. Preferably the motors are operated constantly but may be intermittently operated.

Each arcuate portion 346 has an integral drive thread 353 extending in a spiral configuration around the innermost part of the portion. The thread is at an oblique angle to the axis of revolution of shaft 345. The thread is preferably a high coelficient of friction material such as rubber. The thread extends radially outward from the arcuate portion and engages the cans when the shafts 345 are moved to an inward position as shown in the drawings.

As the shafts 345 are rotated on a horizontal axis, the threads 353 engage the sides of the cans and cause rotation of the cans about their vertical axes. Since the cans are trapped within the arcuate portions, they merely rotate until their rotation is stopped by the mechanical stops such as I have previously described hereinabove. The shafts 345 are moved to an outward position, clear of the main conveyor, to release the cans for movement to the top clip application station.

FIGURES 9 and 10 illustrate an alternative can rotating asembly to that shown in FIGURES 6-8. This alternative assembly is usable in the same manner and arrangements previously described with respect to FIGURES 6-8. A plurality of rollers 355 are driven by integral shafts which in turn are driven by motors 356. The motors, drive mechanism, and rollers are mounted on a support plate 357 swingably mounted for movement toward and away from the main conveyor. This swinging movement is accomplished in the same manner as previously described by a pneumatic cylinder 358. A suflicient number of rollers are provided to engage and rotate every can.

The operation at the orientation station, when the cans have steel bodies and ends, using the electromagnetic chuck and the orientation lift plate shown in FIGURES and 16, is controlled by the main machine timer control as described in application Ser. No. 270,341.

The transducer sensing head cannot be used with the friction chuck, therefore, the use of the transducer is limited to the mechanical, magnetic and vacuum chucks.

The transducer sensing head, shown in cross section in FIGURE 18, preferably receives 27 volt DC. current into the coil. The permanent magnet 288 and probe 287 are made from a mumetal (or alloy) capable of detecting differences in magnetic fields in its immediate area. The can, rotating near the probe, has a normal metal wall 5 thickness of about 0.15 while the vertical seam has four metal thicknesses totalling about .060". Thus, there is a sharp change in the magnetic field between the normal side walls and the vertical seam. The coil 289 of the transducer is a sensitive detection system for changes in the magnetic field adjacent the probe and will change the voltage a minimum of .3 to 5 volts as applied to a timer relay. This voltage variation trips an adjustable timer circuit that is present to allow /2 revolution of can (less the delay time factor inherent in the circuitry) before release of the can from the chuck. At the end of the preset time, the timer circuit operates a Reed type relay (conventional high speed relay) that de-energizes the holding magnets in the electromagnetic chuck or releases the can from the mechanical or vacuum chucks, whichever the case may be. The Reed" relay can also introduce an AC. current into the electromagnetic chucks if hysteresis occurs. The end of the probe 287 normally must be within 44 of the can for proper operation.

The more sensitive transducer, for use on aluminum cans with a magnetic ink marking 277, does not require an impressed voltage on the coil 289 of the transducer to function as above described. The impressed voltage is unnecessary because the aluminum can side wall does not produce a signal as is the case with the ferrous can side wall and the ink marking will produce a clear signal upon passing the probe.

Top and bottom clip application stations .The cans after orientation are moved to the top clipping station (see FIGURE 15, application Ser. No. 270,- 341) and the cans of the top clipping station are simultaneously transferred to the bottom clipping station. The function of the top and bottom clipping stations is to engage the top and/or bottom of the oriented cans with 4 the connecting clip or clips to form a package. Although it is well known to clip a plurality of cans together to form a package unit, I have found that it is desirable to provide a connector clip for both the bottom and the top of the cans.

FIGURE 52 of application Ser. No. 270,341 shows a side elevation view of the top and bottom clipping stations and FIGURE 53 of application Ser. No. 270,341 shows an end elevation view of the clipping stations viewed from the right hand side of FIGURE 52, with some parts removed for clarity.

Each clipping unit includes a pneumatic cylinder 360 (FIGURE 20) which is operable for extruding and retracting of a piston rod 361. Suitable supplies of pressurized air are provided to the upper and lower ends of the pneumatic cylinder 360 for actuation of the internal piston upwardly or downwardly as desired. The pneumatic cylinder 360 is attached to the frame of the machine by suitable angle irons in a conventional manner. The lower end of the piston rod has an integral pressure pad 362 which will be described in more detail in FIGURES 19-22. Guide pins 363 are integral with the top side of the pressure pad 362 and extend upwardly through and are slidably received within an oilite bearing housed within an end plate 364 afiixed to the lower end of pneumatic cylinder 360. Each guide pin 363 is headed to limit the downward movement of the pressure pad. The main conveyor has two parallel chains with a central opening between the chains. A rigid stationary bumper plate '(FIG- URE 52, application Ser. No. 270,341) is positioned in this opening and is suitably supported by riser from the frame of the machine.

The bottom clipping station pneumatic cylinders are double acting and extend upwardly from the machine frame where they are mounted on mounting plates in- 75 tegral with the frame. The cylinders are supplied with pressurized air at their upper and lower ends. The piston rod of the pneumatic cylinder has an integral pressure pad on the upper end and a guide pin (see FIGURE 52 of application Ser. No. 270,341) is integral with the bottom face of the pressure pa-d and passes downward in sliding relationship through an oilite bearing housed in a mounting plate. The pressure pads are described in more detail in FIGURES 60-62 of application Ser. No. 270,341.

Mounted above the pressure pad and slightly above the top of the cans on the main conveyor is a bumper plate 373, (FIGURE 52, application Ser. No. 270,341). The cans are pushed against this plate when the pneumatic cylinders 367 are actuated to elevate pads 367 and supply the connector clip for clipping the bottom of the cans. The bumper plate receives a pair of spaced threaded bolt risers which thread into openings on the top side of the bumper plate and the bolts pass through a mounting plate integral with the frame of the machine. This mounting plate is the lower flange of an H beam. A tubular riser is positioned around each of the bolts and spaces the bumper plate from the flange of the H beam and suitable washers are positioned around the riser tube to locate the riser tube with respect to the flange of the H beam. A change riser is positioned around the bolt immediately above the flange of the H beam and a washer on the upper end of the bolt against the head of the bolt thereby providing a rigid stationary support for the bumper plate.

Referring to FIGURES 19-22, the piston rod 361 of pneumatic cylinder 360 is affixed to pressure pad 362 to move the pad vertically when pressurized fluid is admitted and exhausted from the ends of the cylinder 360. The end plate 364 extends outwardly from the cylinder as viewed in FIGURE 20 and slidably receives the spaced pair of diametrically opposed guide rods 363 which guide the pressure pad 362 d-uring its vertical movement. Since the guide rods 36 3 are headed, they provide a limit to the downward movement of the pressure pad 362. The central portion of the pressure pad includes an immovable rectangular plate 378 held in position by a pair of spaced headed pins 379 extending through openings in the pressure pad 362 and suitably secured thereto by screws and the like. The pins 379 have large flat heads which fit into the spaced openings 72, 74, in the clip shown in dashed lines in the figures. The heads of the pins are slightly oval such that the heads can be wedged into the openings in the clip and provide sutficient friction holding on the clip so that the clip may be picked up in the manner to be described hereinafter. The heads of the pins slightly distort the round holes in the clips. Mounted around the periphery of the plate 378 are six can aligning pads 380. Each of these pads 38 has an arcuate peripheral portion 381 with a downwardly directed lip 382 which fits into and engages the top of the can as shown in FIGURE 21. The can aligning pads 380 located on the long side of the plate 378 have a peripheral arcuate length of about 190 degrees sufficient to engage a major portion of the can top. The four can aligning plates 380 located at the ends of the plate 378 have a peripheral arcuate length of about 290. Each of the can aligning plates is movably supported to the plate 362 in the manner shown in FIG- URE 21. Each can aligning plate has an integral rod 384 extending upwardly from the plate and is slidably received in an opening 385 in plate 362. A pair of spaced diametrically-opposed aligning pins 386 extend through special openings 387 in the plate 362 and are received into threaded openings in the can aligning plate 380. Pins 386 are headed to limit the downward movement of the plates 38!) relative to plate 362. A pair of springs 388 are received into spring seats bored in the underface of plate 362 and top face of plate 380. These springs are constantly in compression and bias the can-aligning plate 380 to a downward position as shown in FIGURE 21. When the pressure pad is brought down into engagement with cans supported on the main conveyor, the can aligning plates 380 resiliently engage the top of the cans in the manner shown in FIGURE 21, thereby properly positioning the cans relatively to the clip shown in dashed lines in FIGURE 19, such that an accurate and complete attachment of the clip to the cans can occur by the proper clip parts being aligned directly above the chime or bead of the cans to which the clip is to be attached.

FIGURE 22 shows a modified form of the pressure pad in which the central rectangular plate 389 (for positioning the clip on the pad) is movably mounted relative to the plate 362. In this embodiment the rectangular plate is maintained in a spaced position from the plate 362 and the pins 379 are mounted in ball bushings 391 to provide relative movement between the

plates

362 and 389. Thus, as the modified pressure pad as shown in FIGURE 22 is moved down for a clipping operation, the clip, which is held by the heads on pins 379, engages the can slightly before the can aligning plates 380 engage the top of the cans. However, the clipping operation does not occur until the rectangular plate 389 is moved upwardly into engagement with the lower face of the plate 362. This position would be analogous to the position shown in FIGURE 20 and the clipping operation is effected between the clip and cans.

FIGURES 23-25 show the bottom pressure pad 370. The piston rod 369 is integral with the pressure pad 370 through a threaded connection in the pad. The guide rod 371 is threadably received in the pressure pad and is supported from the cylinder as hereinabove described. The upper face of the pad is planar except for holes 392 for receiving retaining pins 393 which hold the clip in position on the pressure pad. These pins are circular and the upper face is bevelled or sloped downwardly from its mid-point toward the edge as shown in cross section in FIGURE 25. The sloped face of the pins is positioned toward the clip feeding assembly to be described. Each pin has a downwardly extending shoulder portion 394 which fits into the opening 392 in the top of the pressure pad and a screw 395 extends through a central opening in the pin 393 and threadably engages an opening in the pressure pad to maintain the pins on the pressure pads as shown in FIGURES 23-25.

Clip feeding assembly FIGURES 63-68 (of application Ser. No. 270,341) show the top clip feeding assembly and FIGURES 69-73 (of application Ser. No. 270,341) show the bottom clip feeding assembly, and these figures and the associated disclosure are hereby incorporated by reference.

FIGURES 26-30 show the operation of the clip feeding assembly for supplying a clip to the lower pressure pad 370 which clips the bottom of the cans. The operation of this assembly is substantially identical to that described above with respect to the top clip feeding assembly for the top pressure pad. The essential difierences are noted in the figures and description and similar numerals indicate similar mechanisms. The clips are supplied by the clip-feed chute angles 405 to a clip pusher plate 426. The essential difference between the bottom clip feed assembly and the top clip feed assembly previously described is that the bottom clip pusher plate is merely a flat plate sliding on a satisfactory plate 427. The bottom clip pusher plate 426 does not have a stepped-down portion for feeding the clip but rather merely slides the clip over the stationary plate 427. The plate 427 extends to a position immediately adjacent the bottom pressure pad 370 as shown in FIGURES 26-30. The forward end of pusher plate 426 has sidewall extensions 428 and the clip being fed is located between the sidewalls and ahead of the plate 426. In FIGURE 28 I have shown the clip 429 in position for feeding to the lower pressure pad 370. The clip 429 has been separated from the stack of clips 430 in the angles 405. When pneumatic cylinder 410 is activated, the pusher plate 426 pushes the clip 429 from left to right in FIGURE 27, While the picker finger 418 remains stationary due to the lost motion connection between bolt 414 and the secondary pusher bar 415 as has been previously described. The picker finger support arm 417 has an integral spring 431 extending in an opposed direction to the picker finger and bent downward to engage the clip 429 during feeding as shown. As the clip 429 is pushed close to the pressure pad 370, the top of the clip is engaged by the outer end of the spring 431 at the clip mid-point (FIGURE 28). At this point, the shouldered bolt 414 has reached the right-hand end of the slot 416 in the secondary pusher bar 415, and further movement of the clip pusher plate 426 from left to right results in both the picker finger 418, spring 431 and clip 429 moving from left to right in unison to the position shown in FIGURE 29. The picker finger thus is moved from its position immediately below the stack of clips 430 and the stack is permitted to fall downwardly onto the top surface of the clip pusher bar 426; As the clip 429 moves from the position shown in FIGURE 28 to the position shown in FIGURE 29, it must ride up over the pins 393 on the upper face of the bottom pressure pad 370. Since theupper face of each of the pins 393 is sloped, and the spring is hearing downwardly on the center of the clip 429, the clip is snapped down over the pins 393 to a stationary position as shown in FIGURE 29. As the pusher plate 426 moves from right to left on the retraction stroke, from the position shown in FIGURE 29 to the position shown in FIGURE 30, the picker finger 418- and spring 431 remain stationary until the shoulder bolt 414 has reached the left-hand end of the slot 416 in the secondary pusher bar 415. At this point, the picker finger 418 and spring 431 commence movement from right to left in unison with the pusher plate 426, and the picker finger moves between the lowermost clip in the stack 430 and the next-to-lowermost clip, thereby releasing the lowermost clip onto the top surface of pusher plate 426. The clip feed chute angles 405 extend down to a position immediately above plate 426 thereby trapping the clip below the picker finger against movement toward the left as the pusher plate 426 is further retracted. As the plate 426 is further retracted, the clip drops downward onto plate 427 preparatory for the next clip feeding cycle. The final position of the clips and the picker finger is shown in FIGURE 27.

Clip transfer assembly FIGURES 80 and 81 of applicaiton Ser. No. 270,341 show the clip transfer assembly for supplying racks of clips to the clip feed chute angles and these figures and associated disclosure are herein incorporated by reference.

Clip supplying assembly FIGURES 74-79 of application Ser. No. 270,341 show the clip supplying assembly for feeding racks of clips to the clip feeding assembly and these figures and associated disclosure are incorporated herein by reference.

Pneumatic system Electrical system FIGURE 84 of aplication Ser. No. 270,341 shows a schematic of the electrical system used on the machine .and this figure and the associated specification is likewise incorporated herein by reference.

Electronic orientation circuit FIGURE 85 of application Ser. No. 270,341 is a schematic of the electronic orientation circuit and is incorporated by reference along with the disclosure which describes it.

Modified form 0 machine FIGURE 82 of application Ser. No. 270,341 shows a modified form of my invention in which the clips are applied to the cans while in constant movement. The modification provides a continuously operating machine operable normally at higher production rates than the intermittent machine previously described. This is also incorporated herein 'by reference.

Timer cam profile FIGURE 86 is the timer cam profile and is shown in application Ser. No. 270,341 and is incorporated herein by reference.

While I have described my present preferred embodiments of my invention, many modifications and changes can be made within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. In an apparatus for transferring a plurality of cans having substantially cylindrical sidewalls and integral top and bottom walls, including: a feed conveyor moving a succession of the cans in abutting rows longitudinally on the conveyor with the axes of rotation of the cans being disposed vertically thereon; a support located at one end of the conveyor to receive the rows of cans: from the conveyor; a vertically disposed, movable pusher plate located at one side of the support and parallel to the direction of movement of the rows of cans; a stop plate located at a second side of the support transverse to the direction of movement of the rows of cans to stop the movement of the cans when they abut the stop plate; power means operatively connected to the pusher plate to move the pusher plate and cans on the support transversely of the feed conveyor; a second conveyor disposed adjacent the support to receive the cans moved transversely by the power means; a top plate positioned above and substantially parallel to said support to overlie the rows of cans positioned on the support; guide means operatively related to the top plate to guide the plate upwardly and transversely of the feed conveyor; biasing means on the guide means to normally maintain the top plate in a downward position engaging the tops of the cans positioned on the support; and a backing plate integral with the underside of the top plate and engageable with the sides of the cans in one row away from the pusher plate; said pusher plate being engageable with an edge of the top plate such that upon activation of the power means and movement of the pusher plate to transfer the cans the top plate is moved upwardly and transversely of the feed conveyor until said backing plate is out of engagement with the side of the cans thereby permitting transverse transfer of the cans.

2. In an apparatus for articles above a feed path while rotating the articles to a desired oriented position; including: a rotatable chuck comprising: a vertically disposed drive shaft adapted to rotate about its longitudinal axis, a bore extending longitudinally through the shaft and adapted for connection with a vacuum source; a cup-shaped housing, opening downward, slidably mounted on the lower end of the drive shaft; a cover plate rigidly mounted across the opening in the housing to form a chamber within. the housing and plate; a core bar affixed to the lower end of the drive shaft and disposed within the housing, the bar being smaller vertically than the height of said chamber such that the housing is movable vertically relative to the shaft and core bar; a lower peripheral portion of the core bar providing a piston-like sliding seal between the core bar and inside surface of the housing; a biasing means disposed between the housing and the core bar to normally bias the housing upwardly from the core bar; a second bore communicating between the bore of the drive shaft and the chamber in the housing whereby upon application of said vacuum source, the housing is moved downward into contact with the core bar; and, a third core communicating between the bore in the drive shaft and orienting articles by holding the I the bottom face of the cover plate such that upon application of said vacuum source, the third bore supplies a suction at said bottom face of the cover plate to hold an article in contact with the cover plate and rotate the article in unison with the rotation of the drive shaft.

3. In an apparatus for orienting a plurality of cans having substantially cylindrical sidewalls and integral top and bottom walls, the bottom wall being connected to the sidewalls by a chime having a small radially extending bump; including: a pair of spaced feed conveyors adapted to feed spaced rows of cans; an orienting station located in the path of the feed conveyors, and including: a base plate normally positioned below the conveyors and movable vertically in the space between the conveyors, said base plate having a plurality of arcuate upstanding ribs engageable beneath individual cans located on the feed conveyors to elevate the cans above the conveyors; an orientation stop aflixed to the base plate adjacent each rib and engageable only with said radially extending bump on the chime of each can; power means to move the base plate vertically in the space between the conveyors; an orientation head located above the feed conveyors a distance slightly greater than the height of said cans, and directly above the base plate; said head including: power means to provide a rotary motion about a vertical axis, a plurality of chucks mounted for rotation about individual vertical axes and actuatable by said power means in the head, one of said chucks being located above each of said ribs such that elevation of the base plate brings a can into engagement with one of said chucks, and attraction means in each chuck to attract and hold a can slightly above the rib underlying the can, such that upon rotation of the chuck, the attracted can is also rotated until the bump on the chime of the can engages said orientation stop.

4. In an apparatus for forming a package unit by uniting a plurality of cans with a connector unit, comprising: as assembling station, including: feed conveyors to supply a pair of parallel rows of cans to said station; a top uniting assembly positioned in the path of the feed conveyors and having a supply of said connector units, slide means for removing a single connector unit from said supply and moving the connector unit to a position over the feed conveyors, holding means to receive the connector unit from the slide means and move the unit into connecting relationship with the top of a plurality of cans at the assembling station; a bottom uniting assembly positioned in the path of the feed conveyor adjacent the top uniting assembly, and having a supply of said connector units, slide means for removing a single unit from said supply and moving the connector unit to a position under the feed conveyors, and holding means to receive the connector unit from the slide means and move the unit into connecting relationship with the bottom of said plurality of cans which have previously been top connected at the top uniting assembly.

5. In an apparatus according to claim 4 wherein said connector unit releasably secures together a plurality of said cans each having at its upper end a peripheral bead forming a downwardly facing outer circumferential shoulder; and said connector unit comprising: a body of resiliently flexible plastic material for positioning at the center of a plurality of symmetrically positioned cans, the body having a radial portion to overlap each can of the plurality of cans, each of the radial portions being formed with a shoulder on its underside to engage the inner side of the bead of the corresponding can, each of the radial portions being formed with a plurality of downwardly extending, resiliently flexible, hook-shaped teeth to hook under the outer circumferential shoulder of the head of the corresponding can, each of the radial portions being formed with a plurality of downwardly extending, resiliently flexible, hook-shaped teeth to hook under the outer circumferential shoulder of the bead of the corresponding can, said plurality of teeth comprising at least one tooth on the two halves respectively of the radial portion, said body of plastic material being completely pre-formed for effective engagement with the plurality of cans simply by merely forcing the body against the ends of the cans to cause each of said teeth to flex outward to pass said outer circumferential shoulder of a can and then to flex inward into engagement with the circumferential shoulder.

6. In an apparatus according to claim 4, wherein: each of said supplies of connector units includes a vertically disposed chute containing a vertical stack of the units; slide means movable beneath said chute to move a single connector unit from said chute to said holding means; finger means normally disposed beneath the connector units in the chute, and movable to a second position to release the supply of connector units to provide a single connector unit to said slide means; a lost motion connection between said slide means and said finger means so that the finger means remains stationary beneath the stack of units during the major portion of the time period that the slide means is moving the connector unit to the holding means and the lost motion connection is exhausted and moves the slide and finger means simultaneously during the final portion of the movement of the slide means, thereby moving the finger means to said second position.

7. Apparatus for forming a multiple can package in which the beads at the end portions of'adjacent cans are united by a connector clip having protruding elements for snapping over and locking the clip to the beads, comprising:

(a) a package-forming station;

(b) means at said station for mounting a clip in operative position;

(c) means for locating said clip and said can endportions in alignment with each other with some of said elements in abutting relationship with the beads; and,

(d) means for relatively moving said mounting means and said station relative to each other to bring said clips and said container bead into contact with each other to snap said elements over said beads to lock the containers together to form a package;

(e) orientation means operatively related to said package forming station and including:

(i) a shaft rotatable about the horizontal axis, a plurality of peripheral pockets spaced along the shaft and of suflicient size to individually receive said cans, a spiral outstanding thread aflixed in each of the pockets and rotatable coaxially with said shaft; said thread being engageable with the can positioned in the pocket and adapted to rotate the engaged can about a vertical axis upon rotation of the shaft about its horizontal axis; and,

(ii) means to stop the rotation of the cans in a desired oriented position.

8. An apparatus for orienting articles comprising: an orienting station; means operative to feed a plurality of articles to said station; means operative at the station to individually rotate each of said articles about a vertical axis; and including a magnetic chuck to attract and elevate each article above the feed means; power means to constantly rotate each chuck; and timer means to reduce the magnetic attraction of each chuck to release the elevated article after a predetermined rotation of each attracted article; and means operative at said station to stop the rotation when each article is in its desired oriented position.

9. An apparatus for orienting articles comprising: an orienting station, means operative to feed a plurality of articles to said station; means operative at the station to individually rotate each of said articles about a vertical axis and including a vacuum chuck to attract and elevate each article above the feed means; power means to constantly rotate each chuck and timer means to reduce the 1 7 1 8 vacuum attraction in each chuck to release the elevated 2,528,912 11/1950 Rappaport et all 1983j article after a predetermined rotation of each attracted 2,548,743 4/1951 Schreiber 279-3 article; and, means operative at said station to stop the 2,769,642 11/1956 Berry 279-3 X rotation when each article is in its desired oriented posi- 2,843,252 7/1958 Eddison et a1. 198-33 tion. 5 2,929,181 3/1960 Poupitch 5348 X References fitted by the Examiner 3,144,740 8/1964 Erickson et a1. 5348 UNITED STATES PATENTS ,196,589 7/1965 COOK 53-48 1,824,432 9/ 1931 Hendry 53-452 X FRANK E. BAILEY, Primary Examiner. 2,042,733 6/1936 Risser 279-3 2,345,884 4/1944 Powers et a1 279--3 X 10 s- BOUCHARD, Assistant Examiner.

Claims

1. IN AN APPARATUS FOR TRANSFERRING A PLURALITY OF CANS HAVING SUBSTANTIALLY CYLINDRICAL SIDEWALLS AND INTEGRAL TOP AND BOTTOM WALLS, INCLUDING: A FEED CONVEYOR MOVING A SUCCESSION OF THE CANS IN ABUTTING ROWS LONGITUDINALLY ON THE CONVEYOR WITH THE AXES OF ROTATION OF THE CANS BEING DISPOSED VERTICALLY THEREON; A SUPPORT LOCATED AT ONE END OF THE CONVEYOR TO RECEIVE THE ROWS OF CANS FROM THE CONVEYOR; A VERTICALLY DISPOSED, MOVABLE PUSHER PLATE LOCATED AT ONE SIDE OF THE SUPPORT AND PARALLEL TO THE DIRECTION OF MOVEMENT OF THE ROWS OF CANS; A STOP PLATE LOCATED AT A SECOND SIDE OF THE SUPPORT TRANSVERSE TO THE DIRECTION OF MOVEMENT OF THE ROWS OF CANS TO STOP THE MOVEMENT OF THE CANS WHEN THEY ABUT THE STOP PLATE; POWER MEANS OPERATIVELY CONNECTED TO THE PUSHER PLATE TO MOVE THE PUSHER PLATE AND CANS ON THE SUPPORT TRANSVERSELY OF THE FEED CONVEYOR; A SECOND CONVEYOR DISPOSED ADJACENT THE SUPPORT TO RECEIVE THE CANS MOVED TRANSVERSELY BY THE POWER MEANS; A TOP PLATE POSITIONED ABOVE AND SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL TO SAID SUPPORT TO OVERLIE THE ROWS OF CANS POSITIONED ON THE SUPPORT; GUIDE MEANS OPERATIVELY RELATED TO THE TOP PLATE TO GUIDE THE PLATE UPWARDLY AND TRANSVERSELY OF THE FEED CONVEYOR; BIASING MEANS ON THE GUIDE MEANS TO NORMALLY MAINTAIN THE TOP PLATE IN A DOWNWARD POSITION ENGAGING THE TOPS OF THE CANS POSITIONED ON THE SUPPORT; AND A BACKING PLATE INTEGRAL WITH THE UNDERSIDE OF THE TOP PLATE AND ENGAGEABLE WITH THE SIDES OF THE CANS IN ONE ROW AWAY FROM THE PUSHER PLATE; SAID PUSHER PLATES BEING ENGAGEABLE WITH AN EDGE OF THE TOP PLATE SUCH THAT UPON ACTIVATION OF THE POWER MEANS AND MOVEMENT OF THE PUSHER PLATE TO TRANSFER THE CANS THE TOP PLATE IS MOVED UPWARDLY AND TRANSVERSELY OF THE FEED CONVEYOR UNTIL SAID BACKING PLATE IS OUT OF ENGAGEMENT WITH THE SIDE OF THE CANS THEREBY PERMITTING TRANSVERSE TRANSFER OF THE CANS.