US2648478A - Apparatus for packing food products - Google Patents

Description

Aug. l 1, 1953 E. H. CARRUTHERS APPARATUS POR PACKING Poom PRODUCTS 4 Sheets-Sheet Filed oct. 4, 1949 Dial..

Aug 1l, 1953 E. H. CARRUTHERS 2,648,478

APPARATUS FOR PACKING FOOD PRODUCTS Filed OC. 4, 1949 4 SheetsShee*v 2 INVENTOR. 55E/V H. CA/F/fU//E/PS Aug. 11, 1953 E. H. cARRuTl-IERS 2,648,478

APPARATUS RoR PACKING Roon PRODUCTS Filed Oct. 4, 1949 4 Sheets-'Sheet 3 E. H. CARRUTHERS APPARATUS FOR PACKING FOOD PRODUCTS Aug. 11, 1953 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed OCT.. 4, 1949 INVENTOR. 55E/V H. CAR/QUTHf/i Patented Aug. 11, 1953 UNITED S TAT E. S vvPAT EN T OFFICE APPARATUS FOR PACKING 'FO OD 'PRODUCTS 'Eben H. Carruthers, Warrenton, Oreg. Application October 4, 1949,'Serial`No. 119,467

v14 Claims.

l My invention relates to apparatus for packing food products and more particularly to apparatus for molding and packing elongated Vegetables such as string beans, carrots, asparagus, etc. in

cans in what is sometimes called in the art an asparagus type of pack.

The apparatus of my invention will be particularly described in connection with the packing of string beans in a so-called jumbled type of pack, one of the purposes for which it-has '4' been primarily designed. However, it maybe employed for packing products other than those specifically mentionedI such `as beets, sausages and perhaps other products of similar character.

While most vegetables have been with reasonable success packed -by machine, insofar as Iam aware, no one prior to the invention of'this application has developed a machine for successfully packing a so-called jumbled pack of string beans.

In making a jumbled pack of 4string beans, the 5 beans are usually picked when quite young Vand tender. At this stage in their development, the beans are very pliable and there is a lack of uniformity in their size `and shape. They tend to tangle themselves in a lmass particularly because the long axis thereof is usually sharply curved and it is therefore impossible to arrange them in the can in any uniform manner. The tangling of the beans in a mass makes it substantially impossible to pack them by conventional food packing machinery and, while the machine of the present invention has other uses, it has been particularly developed to overcome the problems encountered in packing a jumbled pack of young string beans.

An object of my invention is to provide anextremely simple machine adapted to pack a jumbled pack of a substantially Vuniform weight of string beans at a high rate of speed.

A `further object of my invention 4is to provide an endless chain of mold units so constructed and arranged that when they are open the vadjacent mold units form substantially Vedge to edge contact with each other so that no or very little space exists between adjacent molds in which the beans may lodge to interfere with closing of the mold units or result in the damage to the beans.

Another object of my invention isto vprovide a machine particularly designed for packing a jumbled pack of string beans in which during .the

lling operation the mold units or molding pockets are open in substantially edge to edge contact and the ends of the mold units are closedso rthat the operators may Aplace-the beans `in the mold runits :from the top while all sides of the mold units are closed, the vopen top presenting a llarge area opening and the molding unit 'presenting a large capacity trough in which the operator may deposit the beans without the operator being Yrequired to exercise undue care in the lling of the mold units with a substantially uniformquantity of beans.

Stillanother object of my invention is to provide a mold unit which when open presents a large pocket or trough for the Vreception of the beans, the capacity being Verymuch greater than the mold unit when it is closed so 'that the beans when deposited in the 'pocket with a proper charge for filling the can, lare for the most part well below the top edges of the mold unit.

Another object Aof -my invention is to provide a series of continuously moving mold units in which after the charge 'is placed in the troughs ofthe mold units, the mold units are closed at the top whereby any'openings inthe mold units in which beans may jam are of insignificant size and the Amovable mold elements during the closing thereof sweep the top closure so as to sweep any stray beans not in the troughs of the mold units into the troughs.

My invention further'contemplates the provision of a mold'unit which, when open, presents a large capacity pocket or trough which may be properly filled to the desired capacity solely by the judgment of lthe operator and which during the closing of vthe mold is completely protected on all sides against jamming of the beans in between adjacent `parts ofthe mold unit and the stationary members which form with the mold elements a complete enclosure Yfor the product,

the mold unit when closed molding the material to the shape of the can vand the mold units being successively moved to a 'can filling station where the charge of'beans is automatically placed in the cans in substantially the proper amount for the -filled. Yweight desired.

Other objects and `advantages of my invention will be'particularly pointed out in the claims and will be apparent from the following description,

when taken in connection with the accompany- Aing drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the machine of my invention with parts broken away and other parts, illustratedin dotted .lines-better to illustrate themachine of my invention;

.Eig..2 is a topplan view of the machine showing apartof thebelt for feeding the beans to the operators .prior .to Vplacing them in the mold units with portions of the machine being shown in dotted lines;

, operators.

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2 in the direction indicated by the arrows;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged View of a portion of Fig. 1 showing the action during the closing of the mold units with part of the side wall enclosing the mold units broken away and part of the mold closing elements shown in dotted lines better to illustrate the invention;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 5 5 of Fig. 4 in the direction indicated by the arrows; and

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 6--6 of Fig. l in the direction indicated by the arrows.

In the drawings, I have shown a feed belt II for conveying the beans to the operators who stand adjacent the end of the feed belt and transfer the beans to the mold units, generally indicated by the numeral I2. If desired apparatus (not shown) may be employed in connection with the feed belt I I to feed the beans at a more or less uniform rate to the operators at the filling station. Moreover, if desired, several feed belts may be employed to feed the materials to the Thus, for example in the packing of fruit cocktail it would be possible to provide separate feed belts for each ingredient to be packed in the cans. These and other arrangements are no part of my present invention.

Referring to Fig. l, the machine includes a frame comprising a pair of supporting members I3 and a pair of supporting members I4 located on opposite sides of the machine. The supporting members I4 are spaced further apart than the supporting members I3 and are connected together by a channel I5 and tie rods I5. The supporting members I3 and I4 are connected together through the channel I5 by pairs of channel shaped runner members I B and I1 located at opposite sides of the machine which may be welded or otherwise secured to the channel I5. Extending across the machine are pairs of channels I8 and I9 which are welded or otherwise secured to the runner members IB and I1, the assembly providing a rigid frame structure for the reception of the operating parts of the machine.

A driving sprocket 2l (Fig. 2) is fixed to a drive shaft 22 by means of a key and may be driven by a chain and motor (not shown).

As shown in Fig. 3, a pair of driving sprockets 23 are keyed to the shaft, as indicated at 24, so as to rotate with the shaft. A spider 26 extends between the driving sprockets and is bolted or otherwise secured thereto so that the driving sprockets are rigidly held together. The drive sprockets are each adapted to receive the drive pins of a chain, generally indicated by the numeral 21. As shown in Fig. 1y the chains pass over idler sprockets 28 mounted on an idler shaft 29 carried by the supporting frame members I3. The driving shaft 22 and the idler shaft 29 are of course suitably journaled in the frame, as indicated at 3! (Figs. 2 and 3).

Referring to Figs. 4 and 5, each mold unit comprises a xed but bodily movable base meinber 3G and a pair of movable jaw elements 31 which are pivoted with respect to the base 36 on opposite sides thereof. The base 36 is a partial cylinder and extends transversely of the machine for a length somewhat in excess of the height of the can in which the beans or other products are to be packed. The movable jaws are somewhat S shapedL so that when moved from the open position shown in solid lines in Fig. 4 to the substantially closed position, shown in dotted lines, the portions 38 of the movable jaws follow the contour of the transverse edges 39 of the base member. By this arrangement close clearances result and crevices are avoided in which the beans may lodge. The portions 4I of the movable jaws are formed on the arc of a circle and extend transversely of the machine to form partial cylinders which, when closed, completely envelope all sides of the product except for the fact that the molds have open ends.

In Fig. 4 I have shown the right mold unit as partly closed for purposes which will later appear. However, when the mold units are fully open, as illustrated in dotted lines in Fig. 1, they present a trough of considerably greater capacity than the mold units when they are closed so that the operators will have no trouble in placing the beans in the bottom of the mold units. The mold units are of sufcient capacity when open to receive a full charge of beans with the beans, except for stray beans, being located well below the top transverse edges 42 of the movable jaws 31.

One of the distinct advantages of the mold units thus far described lies in their large capacity when open. However, further advantage resides in the fact that the movable jaws extend along opposite sides of the base member 36 so as to provide a rectangular opening or trough between the edges 42 of the movable jaws which presents an extremely wide mouth or trough to the operators for the reception of the beans. The beans may thus be placed in the mold units without the operators being required to exercise undue care.

As shown most clearly in Fig. 1 and as also shown in Fig. 4, the movable jaws when open are in contiguous relation with the movable jaws of adjacent mold units to avoid spaces between the mold units during the lling operation in which beans may lodge. By contiguous I mean a relationship between the movable jaws of adjacent mold units such that they are either touching when open or are in such close proximity to each other that no substantial space exists between the adjacent movable jaws.

Secured to the under side of each base member 36 as by welding or brazing are four plates or frame members 46 (Fig. 5). These plates not only serve to support the base member but also serve as the fixed elements about which the various movable parts, as presently described, shift. Fastened to the outer frame members 4S are runners `41 which slide in channels 48 carried by the frame channels I1 as shown in Fig. 5. The channels 48 extend across the top of the machine to a point just beyond where the cans enter the machine (Fig. 1) and the leading ends of the runners are beveled to facilitate their entry into the channels. The base members 3B thus move along a xed path as they travel through the mold filling and mold closing stations.

The chain pins 5I (Fig. 5) extend through the rollers 52 of the chain and through the chain links 53 and the plates or frames 46. In this mannerthe mold units are secured to the chain but the links may shift their relative position with respect to the mold units when the chains pass around the sprockets.

The four links 53 of the two chains are pivotally connected, as shown at 56 (Fig. 4), to

the plates or frame members 46 of one base member and the other ends of the links 53 are pivotally secured, as shown at 51, to the corresponding platesor frame members 46 of the adjacent molding unit. The arrangement'of the complete set of 'molding units and showing how they "are connected together is illustrated in Fig. 1.

Each of the movable arms or mold members 3l has on the rearward side thereof, a plurality of ears 53 which are by means oi pivot pins 59 (Fig. 5) pivotally connected (see also Fig. 4) to the plates or frame members 46 of the base member 3 Thus, when actuated by suitable mechanism, the movable arms 3l may swing about the pivots 59 from the solid line position shown in Fig. 4 to the dotted line position shown in the same figure.

The means for actuating the movable arms or mold elements 31 comprises a pair of depending connecting members El and 62, one pair being pivotally attached to each of the movable Yarms 3l'. The connecting members are pivoted to the center of the three ears 58 on the rearward side of the movable arms 3l by means of pivot pins 53 whereby the connecting members 6l and E2 are free to swing with respect to the ears 58. A shaft @ii extends between each pair of depending connecting members 5l and 62 and each shaft carries a roller 5l. As will be clear upon reference to Fig. 5, the rollers are adapted to ride upon cams $8 and B?. The cams are suitably supported on angle irons lil.

fis shown in dotted lines in l, the cams 56 and 69 have an entrance end 'il which is inclined upwardly so as to receive the rollers tl. The movable arms gradually begin to close somewhat beyond the entrance end, the direction of travel of the mold units being indicated by the arrows A in Figs. l and l. It will be apparent from the foregoing that each movable mold element has its own actuating means.

As will be clear from Fig. fi, the cams 88 and @d are out oi phase. By the expression out of phase is meant the fact that cam E3 for the roller c? for the leading arm or mold element il rises sooner than the corresponding cam for the roller ill' of the following arm 3l. That is, as shown in Fig. 4, the roller 6l at the right is higher than the roller t? at the left by reason of the out of phase relationship of the cams. This causes the leading arm or mold element 31 to move toward a closed position prior Ito the following arm 3l' for a purpose which will later appear.

For the purpose of normally retaining the molding arms 3l' in an open position a pair of springs 'i5 are provided. One end of each of the springs is connected to ears carried by the stationary base 35. The other ends of the springs are connected, as shown at l2, to bell cranks '13. The bell cranks are pivoted. as shown at M, to the center trame members le or the xed base member S5 and the other ends of the bell cranks are secured, as shown at lli, to the depending connecting members 5I. The action oi' the spring l and the bell crank is normally to rotate the bell crank at the right (Fig. 4) clockwise around its pivot point lt. The other bell crank is normally urged in a countercloclzwise direction. The movable molding arms 3l are thus normally retained in the open position. The springs further retain the connecting members lil and 62 substantially vertical and urge the depending connecting members downward into engagement with the cams 68 and S9.

As shown most clearly in Fig. 5, carried by the members i8 and 'preferably riveted thereto are a pair of side walls Si. These side walls v8l extend from the forward end of fthe upper Arun of the chains, as shown at d2, 'to the rearward end of the upper .run of chains, as shown at 83. -As will be apparent from Fig. Y6, the mold units are open vat their transverse ends. The purpose of 'the side walls 8l is to close veffectively the open ends of the molds during the lling opera- -tion and during the closing of .the molds. The side walls 8l, as indicated in Fig. `5, are suffciently close to the open ends of the mold units as to prevent beans from lodging or being caught in the slight space which does exist between the ends of the movable mold units and the stationary side walls 8l.

It `will now be apparent that during the filling of the molds, the molds are open at the top. However, on all other sides the mold units are closed. Moreover, since the two movable arms or mold elements spread upward and outward from a central base member which also serves to form a part of the cylinder, the distance between the free ends of the movable molding arms is quite large so that a full charge of the beans occupies only a small portion of the mold units. Moreover, the movable free ends of adjacent mold units are contiguous to avoid any substantial space between the free edges in which beans may lodge and, as previously mentioned and as shown in Fig. 6, the side walls 8l close the ends of the molds without any substantial space existing between the ends oi the molds and the side walls 8 I.

Clearly shown in Fig. 1, at the end of the filling station, a cover plate ill is provided which eX- tends from the end of the illing station to substantially the point where the cans to be 'filled are admitted to the machine. The forward end of the cover plate has a transversely extending upturned lip 92 for the purpose of brushing into the mold units any stray beans which may have lodged on the top edges of the free ends of the mold units.

.As shown most clearly in Fig. 5, the cover Vplate rests on iianges 93 formed along the top edges of the side plates or walls Bl. The cover plate 9i may be held in position in any suitable manner as by wing nuts 9d suitably spaced along the .cover plate. Adjacent the point QS (Fig. 1) where the molds start to close, the cover plate and of course the top iianges 93 of the side walls upon which the cover plate rests, is shaped so as to conform to the arc about which the molding arms 3l swing. This arc of movement of the molding arms is controlled by shaping the cams i3d and 69 to produce the desired path of movement of the free ends of the arms. Thus, as viewed in Fig. 4 in which view the right kmolding arm is shown partly moved toward closed position, the extremity of the free end of the arm moves in close proximity during the closing movement thereof or contiguous to the under side of the cover plate Si l. The effect of this arrangement is to cause the molding arm to sweep closely beneath or contiguous to the cover plate ill as it moves toward closed position and push the Vbeans ahead of it without allowing them to escape from the mold units. Similarly the rearward molding arm sweeps forwardly in close proximity to the under side of the cover plate and pushes the beans ahead oi it. The mold units are thus completely closed on all sides while the movable molding arms are moving toward-closed position. Stray beans are thus constrained to move into one or the other of the `mold units and the beans are gathered and compressed into a compact cylindrical form. As previouslymentioned, thecams S8 and 69are out f phase so that the molding arm 31 at the right of Fig. 4. preferably starts to close first.

The cans S1 enter the machine through a can track 98 and drop into semi-circular openings 99 (Fig. 1) formed in a can turret, generally indicated by the numeral IOI. The can turret comprises a pair of plates |02 which are connected together as shown in the drawings by a spider I3. The plates |02 and the spider are keyed to the shaft 22 as indicated at |03 so that they will rotate in unison with the sprockets 23. Thereby, as each mold unit is closed and moved into the can filling station, it comes into registry with a can dropped down from the can shoot or track into a pocket 99. A backing plate |06 secured to the can turret, as shown at IG'I, engages the bottom of the can as shown at |08 and forms a stop for the can when the beans are pushed into the can. After the cans have been filled, as will be presently described, the cans rotate through approximately 180 degrees and drop (Fig. 1) into a can discharge chute or track III.

Rigidly secured to the shaft 22 so as to rotate therewith is a plunger carrying unit, generally indicated by the numeral I I2. The plunger carrying unit comprises a pair of plates II3 which are connected together as shown in the drawings by a spider II4. The plunger carrying unit I I2 since it is keyed to and rotates with the shaft 22, can be and is arranged so that the plungers ||6 aline with the mold units which, as previously mentioned, aline with the open ends of the can. The plungers IIS have a plunger face |I'I slightly smaller than the diameter of the mold units when closed. The plungers |I| pass through bushings IIS mounted in the plates II3 and the actuation of the plungers is controlled by a cam H9. Rollers mounted on the ends of the plunger rods II- ride on the cam I IQ.

Means are provided for adjusting the cam ||9 which is provided with integral flanges, indicated at I2I through which bolts pass and secure a plate |22. The cam IIB has an annular cavity for the reception of the heads of bolts |23 which are threaded into the side stands or frame members I4. By adjusting the position of nuts |23, the cam may be adjusted to cause the plunger faces to be inserted into the mold units at the proper time and to the proper extent to secure a desired degree of compression of the beans in the can. Preferably the lobe or high point |24 of the cam is arranged so that the face ||'I of the plunger enters the can to an extent suicient to compress the beans so that their natural resiliency will not cause them to spring outwardly over the edges of the can. Each of the plunger rods is provided with a collar I2'I iixed to the plunger rod as shown in the drawings. The collar serves as a backing for a spring |28, the other end of which bears against the plate II3. The spring serves to press the collar and plunger in a direction to the left, as viewed in Fig. 3, so that the roller rides on the cam IIS. The collar I2'I has an extended arm |29 which has a forked end |3I. Rods |32 exten-:l between and are secured to the plates II3 and are adapted to receive sleeves |33 which the forked ends of the arms straddle. By this arrangement the rods are maintained in position such that the rollers will always maintain contact with and rotate parallel to the cam IIS.

It is believed from the above that the operation of the machine of my invention will be clear. It is suicient to state that during the initial part l'8 of the upper run of the chains the mold units are spread Wide open so as to readily receive the beans placed therein by the operator. After being filled with a proper charge of the material, the proper level of charge being capable of being readily estimated by an experienced operator, the mold units pass through, in effect, a tunnel during which interval the mold units are closed on all sides so as to avoid jamming of the beans and the movable mold elements move to a closed position. After the molds have been closed and the beans have been compressed thereby, the mold units are brought into alinement with the open ends of the cans fed from the can shoot 98. The

i plungers IIS are then actuated in proper timed relation by the cam |I9 to force the compressed beans into the can. As previously mentioned the plunger to some extent extends into the can so that the beans are compressed in the cans. The lled cans continue their rotation with the can turret and are discharged into the discharge shoot I I At the bottom of the turret the cams 68 and 69 are sloped so that the molds are free to open under the action of the springs l5. They remain in this open condition throughout most of their movement until they again reach the tunnel formed by the cover plate.

While I have described the preferred form of my invention, it will be apparent that various modifications and changes may be made particularly in the form and relation of parts without departing from the spirit of my invention as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a machine of the character described, in combination, a plurality of molding units, each of said molding units including a base portion of partial cylindrical form and a pair of arms pivoted with respect to said base portion on each side thereof, each of said arms having at least a portion of its surface forming a partial cylinder, and means for moving said arms to a closed position with respect to said base portion to form a cylinder, one of said arms being movable t0- ward the closed position before the other.

2. In a machine of the character described, in combination, a plurality of molding units, means for pivotally linking adjacent molding units together, means for moving said molding units through a path of travel, each of said molding units including a pair of arms of partial cylindrical form pivoted with respect to each other and having free edges, said arms when swung apart forming a trough for the reception of the product, means for swinging said arms toward each other to form substantially a cylinder for confining the product, a covering element beneath which the molding units pass during their travel after they have been filled, said covering element being shaped so that the path of movement of said arms being such that during closing of the molding units the free edges of the arms move in contiguous relation to the covering element.

3. In a machine of the character described, in combination, a plurality of molding units, means for pivotally linking adjacent molding units together, means for moving said molding units through a path of travel, each of said molding units including a base portion of partial cylindrical form and a pair of arms of partial cylindrical form pivoted with respect to each other and with respect to said base portion and having free edges, said arms when swung apart forming with the base portion a trough for the reception of the product, means for swinging said arms toward each other to form with the base portion substantially a cylinder for conning the product, a cover element beneath which the molding units pass during. their travel after they have been iilled, said cover element being shaped so that and the path of movement of said arms being such that during closing of the molding units the free edges of the arms move in contiguous rela'- tion to the cover element.

4. In a machine of the character describa., in combination, a plurality of molding units, means for pivotally linking adjacent molding to gether, means for moving said molding. u." 't through a path of travel, each of molrliy units including a pair of arms of partial cylinorz cal form pivoted with respect to each other having free edges, said arms when swung apart forming a trough for the reception of the product, means for swinging said arms toward each other to form substantially a cylinder for confining the product, stationary means for closing the ends of said molding units while they are being nlled and during their closing movement, a covering element beneath which the molding units pass during their travel arter they have beenA filled, said covering element being shaped so that and the path of movement of said arms being such that during closing of the molding units the free edges of the arms move in contiguous relation te the covering element.

5. In a machine of the character described, in combination, a plurality of molding units, means for pivotally linking4 adjacent molding units together, means for moving said molding units through a path of travel, each o said molding units includinga base portion of partial cylindrical form and a pair of arms of partial cylindrical' form pivoted with respect to each other and with respect to said base portion and having free edges, said arms when swung apart forming with the base portionv a. trough for the reception of the product, means for swinging said arms toward each other to form with the base portion substantially a cylinder for confining the product, stationary means for closing the ends of molding units while they are being filled and durm ing their closing movement, a covering' element beneath which the molding units during th travel after they have been filler, cove element being shaped so that the of movement of said arms being such that closing of the molding units the free edges of the arms move in contiguous relation to the covering element.

6. In a machine of he character described, in combination, a plurality of molding units, for pivotally linking adjacent molding units t'. gether, means for moving molding units through a path of travel, each of sait, moldirg units including a pair of arms of partial cyl! drical form pivoted with respect each and having free edges, said arms when swung apart forming a trough for the reception of the product and with the free edges of adjacent molding units being contiguous, means for swinging said arms toward each other to form substantially a cylinder for conning the product, a covering element beneath which the molding units pass during their travel after they have been nlled, said covering element being shaped so that and the path of movement of said arms being such that during closing of the molding units the free edges of the arms move in contiguous relation to the covering element.

7. In a machine of the character described, in combination, a plurality of molding units,

' Vfor pivotally linking adjacent molding units together, means for moving saidy molding units through a path of travel, each of said molding units including a base portion of partial cylindrical form and a pair of arms of partial cylindrical form pivoted with respect to each other and with respect to said base portion and having free edges, said. arms when swung apart forming with the base portion a trough for the reception of the product andwith the free edges of adjacent molding units being contiguous, means for swinging said arms toward each other to form with the base portion substantially a cylinder for confining the product, stationary means for closing the ends of said molding units while they are being lledand during their closing movement, a, covering element beneath which the molding units pass during their travel after they have been lled and forming with the stationary means a tunnel, said' covering element being shaped so that and the path of movement of said arms being such that duringclosing. of the molding units the free edg s of the arms move in contiguous relation' to thev covering element.

8. In a machine of the character described; in combination, a plurality of molding unitameans for pivotally linking adjacent molding units togcther, means for moving said molding units through a path of travel, each of saidV molding units including a pair of arms of partial cylinrical form pivotedwith respect to eachother and' having free edges, saidV arms when swung apart forming a trough for the reception of thev product, means for swinging said' arms toward each other to form substantially a cylinder for coniining the product, a coveringl element beneathr which the molding units pass during theirtravel. aiter` they have been iilled', said covering element beingA shaped so that andthe path of' movement of said arms being suchA that during closing ofthe molding unit-s the free edges of the arms move in con.n tiguous relation to the covering element, saidfpath: of travel including a can filling stationg.,andl means at the can. filling station for ejecting the'contents of said molding units successively into cans:

9. In a machine or the character` described, inI

combination', a plurality of molding units, means for pivotally linking adjacent molding units to:`

gether, meansv for moving said molding units through a path of travel, each of saidv molding units including apair ofarms of partial cyline drical form pivoted with respect to each other and having free edges, said arms when swung apart forming a trough for the reception of the product, means for swinging said arms toward each other to form substantially a cylinder for conning the product, stationary means for closing the ends of said molding units while they are being filled and during their closing movement, a covering element beneath which the molding units pass during their travel after they have been filled, said covering element being shaped so that and the path of movement of sai-d arms being such that during closing of the molding units the free edges of the arms move in contiguous relation to the covering element, said path of travel including a can filling station, and means at the can filling station for ejecting the contents or said molding units successively into cans.

10. In a machine of the character described, in combination, a plurality of molding units, each of said molding units including a pair of arms of partial cylindrical form pivoted with respect to each other, said molding unit forming a trough for the reception of the product when open, said molding units being spaced so that the arms of adjacent molding units when open are contiguous, means for moving said arms to a closed position with respect to each other to form a cylinder, said molding units having open ends, means for moving said molding units continuously through a path of travel, and stationary means for closing said open ends while the molding units are being lled with product and while the arms are moving to a closed position.

11. In a machine of the character described, in combination, a plurality of molding units, each of said molding units including a base portion of partial cylindrical form and a pair of movable arms of partial cylindrical form pivoted with respect to said base portion on each side thereof, said base and arms forming a trough for the reception of the product when open, said molding units being spaced so that the arms of adjacent molding units when open for the reception of the product are contiguous, means for moving said arms to a closed position with respect to said base portion to form a cylinder embracing the product and molding the same, with the axes of adjacent cylinders being parallel to but out of alignment with each other, and means for moving said molding units continuously through a path of travel with the axes of the cylinders always parallel to each other.

12. In a machine of the character described, in combination, a plurality of molding units, each of said molding units including a base portion of partial cylindrical form and a pair of movable arms of partial cylindrical form pivoted with respect to said base portion on each side thereof, said base and arms forming a trough for the reception of the product when open, said molding units being spaced so that the arms of adjacent molding units are contiguous, means for moving said arms to a closed position with respect to said base portion to form a cylinder having an axis, said molding units having open ends, stationary means for closing said open ends while the molding units are being lled with product, and means for moving said molding units continuously through a path of travel with the axes of the cylinders always parallel to each other.

13. In a machine of the character described, in combination, a plurality of molding units, each of said molding units including a base portion of partial cylindrical form and a pair of arms of partial cylindrical form pivoted with respect to said base portion on each side thereof, said base and arms forming a trough for the reception of the product when opened, said molding units being spaced so that the arms of adjacent molding units are contiguous, means for moving said arms to a closed position with respect to said base portion to form a cylinder having an axis, said molding units having open ends, means for moving said molding units continuously through a path of travel with the axes of the cylinders always parallel to each other, and means for closing said open ends while the molding units are being filled with product and while they are moving to a closed position.

14. In a machine of the character described, in combination, a molding unit including a base portion having transverse edges and a pair of arms having free transverse edges and being hinged with respect t0 said base portion on opposite sides of and adjacent the transverse side edges of the base, said base and arms each being partially cylindrical and forming when in closed relation a cylinder for embracing the product with the cylinder having open ends, means for opening and closing said molding unit, said molding unit when open forming a trough which is relatively long in its longitudinal direction to facilitate placing a full charge of the product in the trough With the bulk of the product well below the free edges of said arms, stationary means for closing the open ends of the cylinder while it is being filled with product, and means for moving said molding unit continuously in a direction such that when the molding unit is closed to form a cylinder the axis of the cylinder is normal to the direction of movement, said axis remaining in said normal position throughout its movement.

EBEN H. CARRUTHERS.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 371,493 Dolan Oct. 11, 1887 1,855,675 Hoimeister Apr. 26, 1932 2,180,349 De Back Nov. 21, 1939 2,340,744 Gruwell, Jr. Feb. 1, 1944

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