Abstract: A fountain aerator for propelling and aerating water includes a float having a flow tube extending therethrough for suspending the aerator in a body of water. A motor base assembly contains a motor provided with a rotatable output shaft. An open ended housing is spaced from the float and connected between the flow tube and the motor base assembly. A wear ring is secured within the housing and defines a central opening therein. A covered impeller is retained in the housing in spaced relationship with the float and is coupled to the motor output shaft for rotation therewith. The impeller has a series of radially extending blades which define a series of outlet passages in communication with the inlet. A flow straightener is spaced from the float and fixed to the housing in overlying, surrounding relationship with the impeller.

Abstract: A packaging machine for loading of individual articles into a product cartons that includes a rotary blank feeder and a rotary board erector. The rotary blank feeder includes a plurality of feeder arms each having a vacuum head. The feeder arms are each rotatable about a common axis of rotation and the entire folding arm assembly is rotatable about an offset secondary axis of rotation. Each vacuum head of the rotary blank feeder moves into contact with the lowermost planar carton blank contained with an overhead hopper and transfers the carton blank to a board feed conveyor. From the board feed conveyor, each carton blank enters into a rotary board erector having a plurality of folding arms rotatable at variable speeds about a common axis of rotation. The folding arms of the rotary board erector partially fold each planar carton blank for loading with individual articles.

Abstract: In a machine for packaging individual items such as 6-packs of beverages into a container, the containers are moved along a lower conveyor and the items are moved along an upper conveyor. A pusher bar pushes the items off the upper conveyor whereupon they drop by gravity into the containers. Shortly before the items begin to fall, the pusher bar rotates frictionally against the back of the item whereby that the falling speed of the back of the item as it leaves the upper conveyor is increased so that both the backside and the frontside of the item drop into the container with the sides vertically aligned.

Abstract: A continuous web of material having holes and lines of perforations therein is unwound from a roll and fed onto a staging roller. From there it is pushed onto a carrier belt having pins thereon. The pins match with the holes in the web material, and the web is drawn past a fracturing station which separates sections of the web into sheets along the lines of perforations. The individual sheets then are carried by the belt around an accelerator roll which speeds up the sheets to match the speed of receiving objects with which the individual sheets are to be combined. A second staging roller is installed at the in-feed end of the apparatus and coordinated with the first staging roller, so as to provide continuous and uninterrupted feeding of the web and hence individual sheets to the receiving objects.

Abstract: A heat/process control is disclosed which takes advantage of the characteristics of some plastics in that they absorb medium wavelength infra-red heat waves in a comparatively wide range of temperatures (and therefore wavelengths). The heaters used in this equipment are of quartz-tube construction which can be used through a wide temperature range. Tests have indicated that lamp wattage and machine processing speed were mathmatically related. For plastics of different formulation and/or thickness a series of parametric curves exist. Each curve is resident in the machine control and can be incorporated with a simple selector switch. For a given plastic a mathmatical equation relating speed and heater temperature is selected. If an increase in speed is required, the target speed and associated temperature is calculated and then loaded into the controller.

Abstract: The aspirator or air-injector of the present invention includes an air transport pipe disposed within a fluid transport tube. The end of the pipe which is disposed within the tube is cut at an angle to the axis of the pipe and provides a beveled face disposed within the tube, facing upstream of any fluid passing through the tube, and being rotated at an angle between 5 and 20 degrees.

Abstract: A destacking/feeding system separates individual articles such as flat container blanks or trays nested in a stack. The destacking and feeding system comprises at least two pairs of opposed endless feed conveyor belts having respective vertical runs. The feed belts are spaced apart to grip opposite sides of the articles to feed them downwardly along a path to a second pair of belts or wheels which travel at a second, higher speed. The feed belts feed the stack of nested trays to the second, higher speed belts, which accelerate the lowermost articles and propel them downstream at the second speed. At the lower end of the second, higher speed conveyor, the articles are released and fall sequentially by gravity onto a waiting conveyor.

Abstract: A multi-part tray is provided to carry a plurality of objects in precise and accurate array through a process device. The tray parts are each fastened to a flexible plate and also to a conveyor. The conveyor is caused to travel a circuitous route around convex curves which thereupon splay the tray parts apart beneath a loading station and also beneath an unloading station where the objects are slidably moved onto or removed form the tray. A plurality of loading and unloading fingers slide in corresponding grooves in the bottoms of the tray-parts and beneath the objects.

Abstract: The process and apparatus of the present invention includes a conveyor for applying a continuous sheet of plastic to the tops of a plurality of beverage containers, the tops and chines of which are smaller than the outer diameters of the containers. A heating element applies heat through openings in a mask placed between the heater and the plastic and softens portions of the plastic in areas in alignment with the tops of the containers but smaller than the container tops. An unsoftened portion of the plastic surrounds the softened portion in alignment with the chines of the containers and a forming plate pushes the plastic sheet against the container tops so that the softened portion is above the tops, and the unsoftened portion snaps around and beneath the chines.

Abstract: A side loading machine is capable of very rapid loading of complements of articles into open side cartons. Carton blanks are unfolded at an unfolding station and advanced to a loading station along a carton path. At the loading station, pusher bars are indexed in closed paths located perpendicular to and on both sides of the carton path. The pusher bars are indexed to push the complements from article waiting stations into the carton. New articles are fed to the article waiting stations between consecutive pusher bars. A split platform cooperates with a pusher bar to guide the articles into each article waiting station. Oscillating fingers and paddles positively control the locations of the carton flaps prior and subsequent to loading the complements into the cartons.

Abstract: A high volume aeration device comprises a motor and propeller tube suspended in a pond by a float. A propeller on the motor shaft and inside the propeller tube creates a generally hollow water output stream that rises out of the propeller tube. A diffuser plate is longitudinally slidable inside the hollow water output stream. The water output stream strikes the diffuser plate and locates it at an equilibrium location whereat the force of the water output stream on the diffuser plate periphery equals the weight of the diffuser plate. If the propeller cavitates, the reduced water output stream causes the diffuser plate to fall toward the propeller and redirect the water output stream to the propeller. The redirected water output stream reloads the propeller and enables the aeration device to resume full output without outside intervention after the cause of the cavitation has been eliminated.

Abstract: An automatic case accumulator accumulates and discharges cases in conjunction with a bottle filling line. Mother cases must be accumulated when a filling run is started until filled bottles are ready to be repacked into cases associated with later-filled bottles. At the end of the filling run, the mother cases are discharged to the packing machine to be loaded with the last filled bottles. The case accumulator comprises a vertically oriented frame with chains and sprockets for holding and moving a plurality of shelves. The shelves have respective bases that are in vertical alignment with portions of a number of cases that overhang a case conveyor. Raising a shelf under the case overhaning portions lifts the cases from the conveyor. Pivotable fingers on the next higher consecutive shelf are located inside the cases to prevent the cases from tipping off the shelf bases. Case stops block case downstream transportation by the conveyor while the shelves are moving vertically to accumulate or discharge the cases.

Abstract: A packer is especially useful for loading PET bottles into open top cases. The bottles are fed at a predetermined speed along an infeed path. An overhead pusher bar system contains vertically oriented bars that descend vertically between selected bottles at a penetration station to form the bottles into complements of the desired number. Vertical penetration is accompanied by horizontal motion of the bars as they travel in a curved path at the penetration station. The horizontal speed of the bottles at the penetration station is temporarily slowed as the bars descend between adjacent bottles. Horizontal bottle slowing is accomplished by pivoting a downstream bar to a horizontal orientation at a pivot station such that the bar acquires leading and trailing edges. The pivoting trailing edge forces the bottles upstream therefrom in the upstream direction relative to the continuous steady speed of the bar downstream end. Bar pivoting creates correct spacing between consecutive complements.

Abstract: A universal packer unfolds folded open side container blanks into fully opened containers and side loads them with complements of articles. The blanks are metered by a supply station and are propelled downstream to an unfolding station. The container flaps are spread apart, and expander arms enter the interior of each blank, thereby starting to unfold it. Erector arms strike the partially opened blank at the trailing edge thereof and push the trailing edge downward relative to the blank leading edge, thereby continuing the unfolding process. Drop lug assemblies emerge from under the blank trailing panel and pivot from a horizontal to a vertical attitude while in contact with the blank trailing panel, thereby completely unfolding the blank. Simultaneously with blank unfolding, a pair of grouper mechanisms forms the complements from a mass of the articles. The complements are propelled downstream in unison and aligned with the open containers.

Abstract: A high volume aeration device comprises a motor and propeller tube suspended in a pond by a float. A propeller on the motor shaft and inside the propeller tube creates a generally hollow water output stream that rises out of the propeller tube. A diffuser plate is longitudinally slidable inside the hollow water output stream. The water output stream strikes the diffuser plate and locates it at an equilibrium location whereat the force of the water output stream on the diffuser plate periphery equals the weight of the diffuser plate. If the propeller cavitates, the reduced water output stream causes the diffuser plate to fall toward the propeller and redirect the water output stream to the propeller. The redirected water output stream reloads the propeller and enables the aeration device to resume full output without outside intervention after the cause of the cavitation has been eliminated.

Abstract: A bottle packaging apparatus including a dual line bottle conveyor, a cover conveyor for feeding contoured covers to the bottles on the conveyor, a magazine positioned above the cover conveyor and including a pair of guide tubes for supporting a stack of contoured covers, each cover including flexible means for separating one cover from another, and a tab or ring mounted on the bottom of the guide tube for bending the flexible means into engagement with the next cover to physically separate the cover from the stack when the cover is pulled off of the guide tubes.

Abstract: A case packer for loading open side cases and trays with generally upright articles includes apparatus for controlling the location of the case flaps during the loading operation. A pair of doors is interposed in the path of the articles being loaded. The articles contact the doors, which swing open to push the side flaps out of the way. A plow-like strip is employed to control the location of the case bottom flap. The case blanks are stored in generally vertical stacks in an open-bottom hopper. The blanks are folded and supported so that pulling the lowest blank downwardly partially unfolds the blank before it is deposited onto a conveyor. The conveyor completes the unfolding process while transporting the case to the article loading station.