Bacon or ham sacking machine.

Application filed October 25,1912. , Serial No. 727,713.

To dll whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, John A. Henebekgh, a citizen of the United States, residing at Kansas City, in the county of Wyandotte 5 and State of Kansas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bacon or Ham Sacking Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to bacon and ham . 10 sacking machines, and my object is to produce a machine of this character whereby sides of bacon and hams can be expeditiously and properly sacked.

A further object is to produce an efficient 15 machine of this character, which automatically adapts itself to slight variations of width in the sides of bacon or hams being sacked and which is adjustable to accommodate sides of bacon and hams of material 20 variation in width.

With these general objects in view and others as hereinafter appear, the invention consists in certain novel and peculiar features of construction and organization as 25 hereinafter described and claimed; and in order that it may be fully understood reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, in which—

Figure 1, is a top plan view of a bacon 30 and ham sacking machine, embodying my invention. Fig. 2, is a side view of the same with the driving wheel omitted. Fig. 3, is an enlarged cross section on the line III—III of Fig. 1. Fig. 4, is an enlarged section on 35 the line IV—IV of Fig. 1. Fig. 5, is a section on the line V—N of Fig. 2, with the operative parts shown as in Fig. 6. Fig. 6, is a section on the line VI—VI of Fig. 5. Fig. 7, is a fragmentary side view of a 40 wheel forming part of the invention.

In the said drawings where like reference characters identify corresponding parts in all the figures, 1 is a table or bench provided at its underside with a longitudinal 45 groove or guideway 2, and with a plurality of transverse guideways 3, extending from the longitudinal guideway to the side margins of the top of the table, and dove-tailed in said guideways 3 are transversely extending 50 slide bars 4, the slide bars at the same side of the longitudinal center of the table being connected together by longitudinal bars 5.

are vertical bars rigid with and projecting upwardly from the outer ends of cer⁵⁵ tain of the slide bars, and bars 6 are provided with inwardly projecting arms 7 which fit slidingly on the table top. Resting on the table top and at opposite sides of the longitudinal center of the same, is a pair of longitudinally-extending guide bars 8, _G0provided with channels 9 at their inner sides or faces, and each is provided with a plurality of Outwardly projecting pins 10 fitting in bores 11, in the arms 7 and against coiled springs 12, in said bores, said springs ₆₅when unresisted holding the said channeled guide bars 8 a slight distance inward of the inner ends of arms 7, and to guard against dislocation of said pins from said bores, the former are provided with longitudinal slots 70 13 engaging pins 14 secured in arms 7.

The longitudinal bars 5 vertically below a pair of the slide bars 4, not equipped with upwardly projecting bars 6, are provided with oppositely threaded openings 15 and 16 75 and extending through said threaded openings is a screw 17, having oppositely threaded portions 18 and 19, in engagement with the threaded openings 15 and 16, and said rod is equipped at one end with a hand wheel 80 20, whereby it may be turned to effect approaching or receding movement of the slidable frames constituted by parts 4, 5, 6, 7, . and 8, the object of such adjustment being to increase or diminish the width of the 85 space between the channeled bars 8 for a purpose which hereinafter appears, and to insure its adjustment when the screw 17 is turned, it is^ necessary to prevent endwise movement of the screw, and this is accom- 90 plished by providing it with a collar 21 fitting between a pair of bearing lugs 22, depending from and bearing a rigid relation to the sides of the guideway 2, as shown in Fig. 3. At the discharge end of the chan- 95 neled guideway constituted by bars 8, said bars are recessed at 23 and from the vertical plane of said recesses to its adjacent end the table top is recessed as at 24.

is a pair of longitudinally-extending 100 oppositely boxved sack holders and distenders which are secured at corresponding ends in recesses 23 in any suitable manner, so that the inner sides of said holders or distenders shall lie flush with the inner sides of the 105 channels 9 of said bars and thus offer no impediment to the· ready slippage of a side of bacon or a ham from a position in the channeled guideway to a position between the said sack holders and distenders, it being no noted that a sack 26 for the reception of a side of bacon or a hani can be readily slipped . i_soe&,a®s over the holders and distenders, owing to the fact that the recess 24 in the top of the table provides the necessary space for the recep' tion of that part of the sack which will bridge _δ the undersides of the said holders and distenders. Preferably these holders or distenders will be of such material and so secured that they will have a tendency to -stretch the mouth of the sack slightly so ₁₀ that there will be no material frictional contact between the sack and the side of bacon or ham forced into the sack, until the former is projected beyond the free ends of the holders and distenders and has come into 15 engagement with the bottom of the sack, as otherwise material frictional engagement between the side of bacon or ham and, the sack would result· in stripping the latter from the holders or distenders before the 2o meat had come in contact with the bottom of the sack.

For the purpose of forcing the side of bacon or a ham into a sack held and distended as explained, a reciprocating plunger 25 27 is arranged upon the top of the table for movement between the guide bars 8 and holders and distenders 25, said plunger being mounted upon the front end of a rod 28, extending through a stationary.' guide 29, 30 upon the table, and connected at its rear end to a post 30 secured rigidly to a slide bar 31, dovetailed in guideway 2. The bar 31. is provided at its front end with a depending eat 32. to which is pivotally connected the 35 link 33 pivoted at its opposite end to a crank shaft 34. The operation of this crank shaft imparts reciprocating movement to the plunger, but as the machine will preferably be operated by power, it is desirable that it 40 shall effect reciprocatory movement of the plunger only when the person in control desires such movement to occur.

As a convenient means of controlling the action of the plunger the following construc 45 tion is provided:—35 is a collar rigidly secured on the shaft and provided with a notch 36. 37 is a key fitting in a longitudinal recess 38 in the shaft. 34 and provided with an outwardly projecting arm 39, adapt50 ed for swinging movement within said notch 36, and interposed between said arm and one end of said notch is a spring 40 which tends to turn the key in the recess, so that one edge of the former shall project outwardly be55 yond the circumference of the shaft and enter a keyway 41, in a belt wheel 42, mounted on the shaft, the engagement of the key with the keyway locking the wheel to cause it to turn the shaft, and the withdrawal of the 60 key from the key way leaving the wheel free to turn on the shaft. 43 is an arm rigid with the table adjacent the collar 35, and pivoted on said arm is a catch 44 having an inwardly projecting foot 45, and an out65 wardly projecting foot 46, the latter being held by the -pressure of the spring 47 in the path of the rotary movement of the arm 39 of the key 37, it being understood that the shaft rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow, Fig. 2. 48 is a suitable catch ₇₀pivoted at its lower end to the foot lever 49, and 50 is a spring normally holding the foot lever elevated, with the tooth of the catch 48 above the inwardly-projecting foot 45 of the catch 44. ₇₅

Assuming that the wheel 42 is rotating in the direction indicated by the arrow, Fig. 2, and that a sack has been placed on the holders and distenders, and a side of bacon upon the table between guide bars 8 and in ₈₀advance of the plunger 27, the operator depresses the lever 49 and thereby rocks the catch 44 so as to lift its foot 46 from the path of the arm of the key, it being noted that if the foot lever is fully depressed, the tooth ₈g of the catch 48 slides off the foot 45 of catch 44 and permits the latter to return to its original position under the action of spring 47. During the period in which the catch 44 is being tripped, the spring 40 tends to > 90 rock the key from a position in .which it lies wholly in the recess 38, to the position shown in Fig. 2, so that as the rotation of the wheel brings its keyway 41 into the radial plane of notch 38, the key is free to rock to the posi- 95 tion shown in Fig. 2, and thus enter the keyway and interlock the shaft with the wheel so that the former shall turn with the latter, it being understood that the wheel turns . with such rapidity that it interlocks with the 100 key and starts to turn the latter and the shaft before the catch 44 attains its original position. Just before a revolution of the shaft is completed, tfie arm of the key strikes the outwardly projecting foot 46 of catch 44 105 and as a result, the key is rocked back wholly within the keyway and the movement of the shaft ceases, and cannot occur again until the catch 44 is again tripped. In the revolution of the shaft, the link 33 imparts for- no ward movement to the plunger, and the latter forces the side of bacon or ham through the space formed by the supports or distenders and into the sack. Before such movement of the plunger ends, the bacon or 115 ham engages the bottom of the sack and thus the stripping of the latter from the holders or distenders begins. The stroke of the plunger continues until the rear end of the side of bacon or ham, indicated by the 120 letter “a” Fig. 1, clears the front end of the holders or distenders and is free to drop downward and pull the sack, which at this time is nearly stripped from the holders or distenders, free of the latter, this being easy 125 of accomplishment because that portion of the sack which will project above the bacon or ham is customarily slit or rather the longitudinal seam of the sack terminates short of the upper end of the same a distance ap- 130

1,069,253 proximately equal to the difference in length between the article inclosed and the length of the sack. As the sacked meat is thus expelled, the plunger is withdrawn and as it at5 tains its most remote position from the holders or distenders, the arm of the key as hereinbefore explained, engages the outwardly projecting tooth 46, of the catch 47, and is rocked so that the key shall completely re10 enter the recess of the shaft and thus leave the belt wheel free to turn without imparting further movement to the crank shaft. The operations described are repeated for each sacking operation.

I⁵ To facilitate the work, the guides 8 are adjusted to accommodate meat to be sacked of substantially uniform width, it being apparent that if there is a slight variation in width the springs 12 will accommodate such ²⁰ variation. To accommodate meat of materially greater or less width, the hand wheel will be turned to increase or diminish the distance between guides 8.

For sacking ham, the guides 8 and holders ²⁵ or distenders 25 will preferably be of greater height than those for sacking bacon, and it is also contemplated that plungers of greater width from one end to another and greater height shall be employed to accommodate sides of bacon of the greatest width and hams respectively, as it is desirable that the plunger shall have as extended a bearing as possible in order to more effectively accomplish the sacking operation.· ^o0 From the above description it will be apparent that I have produced a bacon or ham sacking machine embodying the features of advantage enumerated as desirable and I wish it to be understood that while I have illustrated and described the preferred em- 40 bodiment of the invention, I reserve the right to make all changes in the form, proportion, detail construction and organization of the machine properly falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as de- 45 fined in the appended claims.