Carton filling machine

Oct 30, 1934. μ. j. M1LMOE. 1,979,207

CARTON FILLING MACHINE Filed .April 22, 1929 16 Sheets-Sheet 1

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cn

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attorney. '

Oct 30, 1934.

M. J. MILMOE

CARTON FILLING MACHINE Filed April 22, 1929

1,979,207

Sheets-Sheet 2

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ATTORNEY.

Oct. 30, 1934.

M. J. M1LMOE

CARTON FILLING MACHINE Filed .April 22, 1929

1,979,207

Sheets-Sheet 3

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ATTORNELV.

Oct. 30, 1934.

μ. j milmoe 1,979,207

CARTON FILLING MACHINE

Filed April 22, 1929 16 Sheets-Sheet 4

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Oct 30, 1934.

M. J. M1LMOE

CARTON FILLING MACHINE

Filed April 22, 1929

1,979,207

Sheets-Sheet 5

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ATTORNEY.

Oct 30, 1934.

M. J. MILMOE

CARTON FILLING MACHINE Filed April 22, 1929

1,979,207

Sheets-Sheet 6

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Oct 30, 1934. m. j milmoe 1,979,207

CARTON FILLING MACHINE Filed April 22, 1929 16 Sheets-Sheet 7

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ATTORNEY.

Oct 30, 1934. m. j milmoe 1,979,207

CARTON FILLING MACHINE Filed April 22, 1929 16 Sheets-Sheet 8

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Oct 30, 1934. _M j milmoe 1,979,207

CARTON FILLING MACHINE Filed April 22, 1929 16 Sheets-Sheet 9

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ATTORNEY.

Oct 30, 1934.

1,979,207

M. J. M1LMOE

CARTON FILLING MACHINE

<img file="US1979207A_D0014.tif" />

ATTORNEY.

Oct 30, 1934. M. J. MILMOE

CARTON FILLING MACHINE

Filed April 22, 1929

1,979,207

Sheets-Sheet 11

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ATTORNEY.

Oct. 30, 1934.

1,979,207 . M. J. MILMOE

CARTON FILLING MACHINE

Filed April 22, 1929

Sheets-Sheet 12

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ATTORNEY.

Oct 30, 1934. M. j. milmoe 1,979,207

CARTON FILLING MACHINE Filed April 22, 1929 16 SheetS-Sheet 13

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ATTORNEY.

Oct 30, 1934. μ. j. milmoe 1,979,207

CARTON FILLING MACHINE Filed April 22, 1929 16 Sheets-Sheet 14

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Oct. 30, 1934. M j. MILMOE 1,979,207

CARTON FILLING MACHINE Filed .April 22, 1929 16 Sheets-Sheet 15

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Oct 30, 1934.

M. J. MILMOE

CARTON FILLING MACHINE

Filed April 22, 1929

1,979,207

Sheets-Sheet 16

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ATTORNEY,

Patented Oct. 30, 1934

1,979,207

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE

1,979,207

CARTON FILLING MACHINE

Michael J. Milmoe, Chicago, Hl., assignor to F. B. Redington Company, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois

Application April 22, 1929, Serial No. 356,933

Claims.

The present invention relates to carton filling machines and particularly to that type of machine in which a folder or circular is inserted in the carton at the same time as the article.

> The illustrated embodiment of my invention shows a machine which is adapted to insert tubes of tooth paste, shaving cream, and the like, into a carton, and to simultaneously insert a descriptive circular or folder in said carton ¹ by a certain novel means which will presently be described.

The present invention has for one of its objects the provision of a machine which is smooth in operation and which Will insert the article and ’ folder into the carton with a minimum amount of effort and much more quickly than in machines previously employed for such purposes.

Another object of this invention is the provision of means for insuring that one and only one carton will be delivered at predetermined intervals so as to prevent clogging of the machine.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved feed chain for the articles which has a variable speed mechanism which causes the chain to move very slowly while the article is at the position where it is to be ejected from the feed chain into the carton, and to move rapidly . after the article has been ejected and until the next article is in position to be ejected.

Another object of this invention is the provision of means for feeding the circulars or folders to a position between the article and the empty carton in which the article is to be placed.

Another and quite important object of this invention is the provision of a means which tends to partially fold the circular or folder prior to the time that the article comes into engagement therewith so as to insure that the circular or folder is carried into the carton by the article when it is engaged thereby and not deflected to one side or the other of the article as the article moves into the carton. By the use of this means, it is practically certain that each carton will receive a circular whereas, in some embodiments, it was found that if the article itself was used alone to carry the circular into the carton, quite a number of the circulars were deflected to one side or the other and did not enter the carton. The folding device may, however, be dispensed with.

The glue applying mechanism shown herein is described and claimed in my co-pending application Ser. No. 590,062.

In the drawings:—

Fig. 1 represents a front elevation of the machine which embodies my invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view thereof;

Fig. 3 is an elevational view of the right hand end of the machine, as viewed in Fig. 1;

Figs. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 are detail views of the (Cl. 93—6) variable speed driving mechanism for the chain which carries the articles;

Fig. 10 is a front elevation of the means for transporting the cartons from the hopper to a position where the article is inserted, to a second po- 65 sition where the flaps are folded, and to a third position where glue is applied to the flaps;

Fig. 11 is a view similar to Fig. 10 but shows the parts in a slightly different position;

Fig. 12 is a plan view of the apparatus shown 70 in Fig. 10;

Fig. 13 is an isometric view of the means for stripping the cartons from the hopper and feeding them to a position where they may be opened and fed by means of the transporting device shown 75 in Figs. 10 to 12, inclusive;

Fig. 14 is a front elevation of the stripping mechanism shown in Fig. 13;

Fig. 15 is a view similar to Fig. 14 but showing the parts in a slightly different position; go

Fig. 16 is a cross-section on the line 16—16 of

Fig. 14;

Fig. 17 is an elevational view showing the hopper gate and the expander for opening the cartons; grj

Fig. 18 is a view similar to Fig. 17 but showing the parts in a slightly different position;

Figs. 19 and 20 illustrate the means used for adjusting the articles in the pockets of the feed chain so that they will be in proper position for in- _0Osertion in the cartons;

Fig. 21 illustrates the manner in which the articles are placed in the cartons;

Fig. 22 is a view looking from the right in

Fig. 20; ₀₅

Fig. 23 is a view similar to Fig. 22 with the parts in a slightly different position;

Fig. 24 is an elevational view of the means for advancing the circulars to a position between a carton and an article located at their loading ₁₀θ positions;

Fig. 25 is a plan view of the means shown in Fig. 24 and is drawn to a slightly larger scale;

Fig. 26 is a view taken substantially along the line 26—26 of Fig. 1 and shows the means for , ejecting the article from the feed chain and the means for bending the circular prior to the time when the article engages said circular;

Fig. 27 is a view similar to Fig. 26 showing the article partially ejected from the feed chain and illustrating the manner in which the circular is ^uobent before insertion in the carton;

Figs. 28 and 29 are'views illustrating further details of the mechanism shown in Figs. 26 and 27; 115

Figs. 30 and 31 are views similar to Figs. 26 to 29, inclusive, showing a slightly modified form of the means for bending the circular;

Fig. 32 is a plan view of the means shown in

Fig.30; 120

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Fig. 33 is a view similar to Figs. 30 and 31 but ahrwring the parts in a slightly different position;

Fig. 34 is a view of the improved glue applying 5 apparatus used in my invention;

Fig. 35 is a view similar to Fig. 34 with the parts in a slightly different position;

Fig. 36 is a plan view of the mechanism shown in Figs. 34 and 35 and also illustrates the manner 10- in which the flaps of the carton are folded prior to the gluing operation;

Figs. 37 to 39 inclusive are details of the folding means shown in Fig. 36.

Prior to my invention, it has been customary 15 in devices of this nature to use a feed chain having a plurality of pockets or buckets formed thereon for the purpose of supporting and carrying articles to a position where these articles may be inserted in a carton. These chains usually have been driven intermittently as by a Geneva ^: movement, so that they were stopped while the article was being ejected from the pockets on the chains and this meant that when the chains were again put into motion to move the next article into 25 position, the chains would be given a sudden jerk which would cause the articles in the pockets to move around and out of the position intended so that when it was desired to eject the article from the chain, the article would not be in the po30 sition desired. Furthermore, chains which are driven intermittently are less efficient in their operation and do not permit the articles to be positioned as rapidly as might be desired.

The present invention has eliminated most of 35 the difficulties arising from the use of a chain which is driven intermittently by providing a driving means for the chain which drives the chain continuously but at a speed which varies from a very slow speed to one which is consider40 ably faster. To express it differently, it might be said that the chain is moved so that it is moving very slowly while the article is near the position where it is to be ejected from the pocket, in which it rests, and moves rapidly after the article has . 45 been ejected until the next article is near the position where it is to be ejected.

Other difficulties which were experienced with prior devices have been overcome in the manner suggested in the objects of the invention and 50 these will be more fully set forth as the description of the apparatus proceeds.

Referring now to the drawings and more particularly to Figs. 1 to 9, inclusive, the reference numeral 1 represents the frame of the machine 55 embodying my invention and 1’ represents a supplemental frame member which rests on the frame member 1 and helps support the various parts of the mechanism, presently to be described. A plurality of shafts 2 and 3 having sprockets 8 ₆₀ and 8', respectively, rigid therewith, are adapted to carry the chain 4 which has pockets or buckets 5 on the outer surface thereof for the reception of articles which are to be placed in cartons. The shafts 2 and 3 are rotatably mounted in ₆₅ brackets 9 and 6 respectively, the bracket 9 being fastened to the supplemental frame member 1' and the bracket 6 being fastened to an extension 7 secured to one end of the frame 1.

The shaft 2 has a worm wheel 10 fastened rig70 idly thereto and adapted to rotate therewith, as will be best seen in Fig. 4. A bracket 13 on the supplemental frame member 1' has a shaft 12 rotatably mounted therein and this shaft carries a worm 11 meshing with the worm wheel 10. A 75 chain 15 is trained over a sprocket 14 rigid with the shaft 12 to drive the shaft which, in turn, drives the feed chain through the worm and worm wheel just described.

A bracket 20 on the main frame 1 carries the main drive shaft 19 which may be driven from 8 any suitable source of power. A gear 18 is rigid with the shaft 19 and drives the gear 17 meshing therewith and rotatably mounted on a supplemental bracket 23 which is mounted on top of the bracket 20 and held in place by the bolts 24. The 8 downwardly extending ears 25 and 25' on the bracket 23 have stub shafts 17' and 16', respectively, rigid with respect thereto. -The gear 17 is rotatably mounted on the stub shaft 17' and the sprocket 16, which has a disc 26 preferably 9 but not necessarily integral therewith, is mounted on the stub shaft 16'. The disc 26 has a roller 27 eccentrically mounted thereon and this roller is slidable between opposed guiding members 28 fastened in parallel relation to each other and 8 to a radius of the gear 17. The chain 15 is trained over the sprocket 16 as well as the sprocket 14.

As the gear 18 rotates, it drives the gear 17 and due to the pin and slot connection between the gear 17 and the disc 26 integral with the 1( sprocket 16, the latter are rotated about the stub shaft 16' and at a non-uniform speed. This nonuniform speed is transmitted by means of the chain 15 to the sprocket 14, shaft 12, worm 11, and worm wheel 10, to the chain 4 and is so timed 1( that the chain will be driven very slowly past the position where the article is to be ejected therefrom and move rapidly to position successive articles in position to be ejected.

It will be understood that the shaft 19 is rotat- 1! ing at a uniform speed and therefore the gears 17 and 18 also rotate at a uniform speed. However, it will be noted from an examination of Figs. 7, 8 and 9, that the uniform speed given to the gear 17 is transformed to a non-uniform 1] speed for the disc 26. Figs. 7, 8 and 9 represent three successive positions of the gears 17 and 18 and of the disc 26, the gear 17 rotating in the direction indicated by the arrows and each position of the gear 17 shows the gear rotated through li 90° from its previous position. Therefore, in Fig. 8, the gear 17 has rotated thru 90° from the position shown in Fig. 7 but it will be noted that the roller 27’ has rotated less than 90° about the stub shaft 16' and therefore must have rotated li at a speed slower than the speed of the gear 17 while traveling from the position shown in Fig. 7 to that shown in Fig. 8. However, when the gear is moved from the position shown in Fig. 8 to the position shown in Fig. 9, the roller 27 moves more i; than 90° about the stub shaft 16' thereby rotating the disc 26 at a speed which is greater than the speed of rotation of the gear 17. As the gear 17 rotates from the position shown in Fig. 9 to a position 90° farther on in the same direction, the j; roller 27 will move approximately the same amount as it does when moving from the position shown in Fig. 7 to the position shown in Fig. 8 and similarly in the next 90° of rotation of the gear 17, the roller 27 moves through the same j angle as it does when moving from the position shown in Fig. 8 to that shown in Fig. 9.

Since the movements of the disc 26 are transmitted through the sprocket 16 and the chain 15 to the feed chain 4, it will be seen that the j latter will receive a movement which is alternately fast and slow. The various proportions of the disc 26 and gear 17 may be varied and the . roller 27 may be given more or less eccentricity than that illustrated, or the stub shafts 17' and 1

1,979,207

16' may be offset more or less than that illustrated to vary the ratio between the slow and fast speeds of the chain 4, as desired, it being understood that the same principles of operation apply even i though the proportions may be changed as stated.

Referring now to Figs. 10, 11 and 12, a means is provided for transferring the cartons 30 from a position within the hopper 29 to the position । where they are to receive the article. The hopper 29 has a front wall 31 and a rear wall 31', the latter having a longitudinal slot therein for permitting the operator to place the cartons in the hopper. The hopper also has a wall 32 on one side thereof connecting the walls 31 and 31' and a hinged plate 33 is pivoted to a pin 34 fastened to the rear wall 31' and at one side thereof so that it can be swung against the ends of the cartons in the hopper to aline the cartons.

The cartons are removed from the bottom of the hopper by means of a stripping device which is later to be described, and, to insure that the cartons will settle to the bottom of the hopper, the hopper is provided with a combined gate and agitating device which comprises a lever 36 shown more in detail in Figs. 17 and 18, and this lever is pivoted at 37 and carries a gate 40 which passes through an opening 35 in the front wall 31 of the hopper and is adapted to engage the edges of the cartons within the hopper.

A screw 38 is screw-threaded into the bracket 38' fastened to the hopper and passes freely through an opening in the upper end of the lever 36. A spring 39 surrounds the screw 38 and yieldingly urges the lever 36 against the head of said screw, which head limits the movement of the lever in that direction. For moving the lever against the action of the spring 39, said lever is provided with an extension 41 which has a cam surface 42 adapted to be engaged by a roller 43 rotatably mounted on a reciprocating lever 44. The lever 44 is reciprocated by means of a cam actuated lever 45 co-operating With the cam 45'. Each movement of the lever 44 to the left moves the lever 36 clockwise and each movement of said lever 44 to the right releases the lever 36 so that it is free to rotate counter-clockwise and thus urge the gate 40 in a downward direction. The weight of the cartons in the hopper permits the gate 40 to ride over the edges of said cartons on its upward movement since there is not enough friction between the gate 40 and the edges of the cartons to carry the cartons along with the gate in its upward movement. However, as the gate 40 begins its downward movement, the friction between the gate and the cartons, supplemented by the weight of the cartons, produces a force sufficient to insure that the cartons always move toward the bottom of the hopper and that there is always a carton ready to be stripped from the bottom of the stack of cartons in the hopper. The gate 40 also serves as a gauge to insure that only one carton at a time can be carried out of the hopper. For this purpose, the lower edge of the member 40 while in the position shown in Fig. 17, is adjusted by means of the screw 38 to a distance less than the thickness of two cartons and more than the thickness of one carton, away from the support 76 on which the bottom carton rests so that said gate will prevent the carton second from the bottom from coming out of the hopper with the bottom carton. It will be understood that when the bottom carton is being stripped from the stack of cartons, the gate is in the position shown in Fig. 17 and not that shown in Fig. 18 where it is shown slightly raised.

The lever 44 receives its motion from a cam actuated lever 45, later to be described. The shaft 46 rigidly mounted in a bearing 47 has 80 guides 48 slidable thereon and these guides support a member 49 which has a pivotal connection at 50 with the lever 44 and guides the movement of said lever. An expander 51 is also mounted on the member 49 and this expander is adapted to 85 enter the carton as said carton is moved into its first position in front of the hopper 29, as will be best shown in Fig. 11, which shows the expander within the partially opened carton.

To fully open the carton and to then move 90 the carton to successive positions in advance of the hopper 29,1 provide a transporter designated as a whole by the numeral 52. The transporter is pivotally supported at 55 and 56 on the levers 53 and 54, respectively, which, in turn, are piv- 9i otally connected to and supported by the bell crank levers 60 and 61, respectively, as will be best seen in Figs. 10 and 11. The bell crank levers 60 and 61 are pivoted at 59 and 62, respectively. The bell crank lever 60 has a roller 64 100 rotatably mounted on a projection integral with one arm thereof and this engages a cam groove 69 in the cam 67, rotation of which imparts a rocking motion to the bell crank lever and this motion is transmitted by means of the connect- lot ing link 65 to the other bell crank lever 61. The bell crank levers 60 and 61 oscillate about their pivots in unison and cause the levers 53 and 54 to alternately raise and lower said transporter to the positions shown in Figs. 10 and 11. Means no is also provided for moving the transporter longitudinally at the same time as it is given the up and down movement just described. This means comprises the lever 58 pivoted on the same pivot 59 as is the bell crank lever 60 and 113 said lever 58 has a roller 63 engaging a cam groove 68 in the cam 66 and as the lever is oscillated about its pivot, this motion is transmitted to the transporter through the connecting links 57 and 53. The connections just described :23 give to the transporter 52 a combined motion which moves the transporter to the right from the position shown in Fig. 10 and then downwardly and to the left, and, finally, substantially vertically to its original position. During the :25 movement of the transporter to the right, the cartons 30 are carried along therewith and simultaneously a carton is stripped from the bottom of the stack of cartons in the hopper 29. This stripping mechanism, best illustrated in Figs. 13, 14, 333 15, and 16, will now be described in detail.

In Figs. 14 and 15 are shown two positions of the stripping mechanism as seen from the same side of the transporter as seen in Figs. 10 and 12. The position shown in Fig. 14 illustrates the 35 position of the mechanism just before stripping a carton from the stack of cartons in the hopper, and Fig. 15 shows the position of the mechanism just after it has begun its movement towards the right and started to strip a carton from the bottom of the stack of cartons in the hopper. The transporter comprises two parallel members 52’ and on the extreme left hand portion of each of said members is rigidly mounted a bearing 72 and each of these bearings has a :/.5 member 70 pivoted thereto as at 71 and carries a stripper bar 74 having an outwardly and upwardly extending projection 75 on the right hand portion thereof and this projection is intended to engage the lowermost of the cartons in the stack _oC

1,979,207 and carry it out of the hopper between the front wall 3(1 thereof and the supporting bar 76 on which¹ it is adapted to slide. Each member 70 has a recess therein to receive one end of a 5 spring 73, the other end thereof being received in a similar recess in the member 52'. This spring normally urges the member 70 upwardly away from the member 52’ but the upper movement thereof is limited by a stop 79 engaging 10 a projection 80 on the member 52'.

A pin 81 in each of the members 70 is adapted to engage and be actuated by cams 82 and 84 fastened to the member 76 and in a maimer later to be described. The cartons in the hopper 15 are adapted to rest upon the projections 78 and 78' adjacent recessed portions 77 and 77' in the members 76 and 76', respectively. This insures that the edges of the lowermost carton always lie in the same plane for if the cartons were 20 slightly warped and the member 76 did not have the cut-away portions 77 and 77', the edges of the lowermost carton would not always be in the same plane due to the fact that the warped portion would have a tendency to make the carton 25 lie irregularly on the surface of the member 76. It will be readily understood that if the edges did not always lie in the same plane, the projection 75, which is adjusted so that its upper edge lies at a distance above the surface of 30 the member 76 which is not greater than the thickness of a carton stacked in the hopper, will either engage more than one carton or not engage any cartons at all depending upon whether the edges of the lowermost carton are below or 35 above that normally intended. If the carton is warped downwardly, the bellied portion thereon extends downwardly into the cut-away portions 77 and 77' and the position of the edges thereof is not materially affected. If, however, the car40 ton has its warped portion extending upwardly, it would not materially affect the operation of the stripper. One end of the member 76 is fastened by means of the bolt 86 to a projection 83 integral with the rear wall 31' of the hopper. 45 The member 85 is fastened to the member 76 and has the cam member 84 fastened thereto.

Starting with the parts in the position shown in Fig. 14, it will be noted that the pin 81 is in engagement with the cam 84 and therefore the 50 member 70 is held downwardly against the action of the spring 73 so as to position the upper edge of the projection 75 so that it is not above the upper edge of the lowermost carton in the hopper, As the member 52’ moves toward the 55 right, carrying with it the member 70, the projection 75 on the stripper 74 engages the edge of the lowermost carton and carries it forward as shown in Fig. 15, the front edge of the carton passing through the opening between mem60 bers 31 and 76 into a position in front of the hopper 29. Soon after the member 52' moves to the right, the pin 81 is free of the cam 84 so that in case the carton is warped upwardly, the action of the spring 73 will yieldingly urge the stripper 65 upwardly so that it will not come out of engagement with the edge of the carton. The surface 70' of the member 70 helps to support the carton as it is being carried forward and to guide it into engagement with the stripper 75.

Again referring to Figs. 10 to 12, inclusive, it will be noted that the transporter, as shown in Fig. 11, is in its lowermost position and the carton 30, just to the right of the front wall 31 of the hopper, has been partially opened by the ex75 pander 51 and that the member 70 is consider ably below the bottom of the hopper and is in a position where it is to be raised vertically along with the transporter into the position shown in Fig. 14 or Fig. 10. As the transporter moves from the position shown in Fig. 11 to that shown in Fig. ⁸10, the projection 87 engages the left hand portion of the carton and while one side of the carton is held down against the m&amp;nber 76 by means of the expander 51, the projection 87 engages the side shown directly above it in Fig. 11 and opens ⁸the carton still further until it is in the fully opened position, shown in Fig. 10. While in this fully opened position, the upper side of the carton is engaged by the friction member 92 which co-operates with the member 76 to hold the car- i ton in its fully opened position. The shorter projection 88 on the transporter assists the projection 87 by keeping the carton from sliding to the right until the carton is fully opened at which time it is carried bodily to the right by the move- i ment of the transporter, previously described. After the transporter has moved to the right a distance which will position each carton in its next successive position, said transporter drops downwardly and then moves backwardly, in the 1( manner previously set forth in detail, so that it is in the position shown in Fig. 11 and can again' carry out the cycle of operations just described. The carton which was previously moved forward between the projections 87 and 88 will be moved 1( forward by the projections 89 and 90 during the' next cycle of operation, and the similar projections 91 are used to advance the carton to the successive positions shown as the transporter passes through each cycle of operation until it is no 11 longer necessary to keep the cartons separated as they are at the left in Figs. 10 and 11. Thereafter, the last projection 91 to the right pushes all of the cartons arranged to the right thereof until they are removed from between the members 11 92 and 76 by hand or by any suitable mechanism, or are carried to the end of the supports 76 and 76' and deposited in a suitable receptacle'.

While the cdrton is in one of the successive positions shown in Figs. 10 and 11, it is opposite li the unloading position for the articles in the feed chain 4 and the transporter is so timed that the carton is stationary while thie article is being inserted therein. However, it is possible with this, device to have the carton move slowly along with’ 1$ the slow feed of the chain'so that the carton can be filled while it is still in motion. For instance, I might use a continuously moving carrier as in my Patent No. 1,486,598, granted March 11, 1924. A chain similar to the chain 4 might be used to keep the cartons opposite the article pockets in the chain 4.

Means are provided for positioning a folder or circular C between the carton and the article prior to inserting the article in the carton. This comprises the hopper B having a member B' pivoted thereto for the purpose of engaging one edge of the circulars adapted to be placed therein, as best seen in Fig. 2, and a suitable mechanism 94, of well known design, is used to remove the circulars from said hopper and place them in a position such as that shown in Figs. 24 and 25. In these figures, C represents the initial position of the circular and C^l, C², C³, and C⁴ represent successive positions thereof. While in the present instance, the device illustrated shows means for folding the circulars and feeding the same to a position between the carton and the article, it will be understood that these circulars need not be folded and that any other desired u

1,079,207 5 fiiechanism may be used to position the circulars between the carton and the article.

While the circulars are at the position C, they are not folded and are positioned just in front S of the knife 95, which has a straight vertical edge, as best illustrated in Fig. 24. The knife 95 moves to the right against the circular C and carries it between the opposed guides 96 and 97 supported on the brackets 96' and 97', respectively, the 10 rounded forward edges of the guides assisting the knife in folding the circular in the manner Illustrated in the successive positions C¹, C^a, C³ and C⁴. The knife is reciprocated by means of a cam actuated lever 100 connected to the bracket 98 15 rigid with the knife 95 by means of the lever 99. The bracket 98 has a portion thereof clamped around the rod 101 slidable in suitable bearings in the frame. This rod 101 also has a pair of brackets 102 and 103 clamped thereto and these 20 carry the member 104 which has projecting finger-like extensions 105, 106 and 107, Integral therewith. As the knife moves the circular from the position C to C¹, the finger 105 moves against the circular already at C¹ and carries it to the 25 position C^a. Similarly, projections 106 and 107 carry the circulars from the positions C^a and C³to the positions C³ and C⁴, respectively, the latter position being between the carton and the article. As the knife 95 moves to the left, the member 30 104 moves therewith and to prevent the circulars from being drawn back therewith, the guide 97 is provided with a plurality of projections 108 and 108'. These engage at least one of the folded edges of the circular but are spaced sufficiently 35 from the member 97 so as to permit the fingerlike extensions 105, 106 and 107 to move the circular therebetween. The circulars are of course able to yield a sufficient amount in order to de this.

The projection 108 is arranged to yield so that it will permit the knife to go past as it carries the circular to the position C¹. To permit this yielding movement, the projection 108 is arranged in a bracket integral therewith and having open45 ings therein adapted to surround the pins 110 and 111 which guide it in a parallel direction toward and away from the member 96. The spring 109 normally urges the projection 108 towards the guide 96 and the knife 95 moves the projec50 tion away from the member 96 due to its engagement therewith as it moves the circular to the position C¹. As the knife is withdrawn, the projection 108 moves into the position shown in Fig. 25 to prevent the circular from being carried back 55 with the knife.

The guide member 97 has an opening 112 therethrough at the extreme right hand portion, as shown in Figs. 24 and 25. This opening is located directly opposite the opening in the carton 30 30 and between the carton and the circular located at C⁴. Referring now to Figs. 26, 27, 28 and 29, a means is shown for causing the article A to move from the pocket 5 into the carton 30 and for carrying the circular along therewith. 35 The cartons 30, in addition to being supported by the member 76, are supported on the members 76'. This forms a more rigid support for the cartons which is necessary particularly when the article is being inserted therein. In Fig. 26, the 70 circular C⁴ is shown in position and if the article were moved forward against the circular and through the opening 112 in the member 96, the circular would be folded over the end of the article and be carried into the carton therewith, 75 but it has been found in ordinary practice that, quite often, the circular will not bend as desired but will slip off to one side as the article is moved into the carton and if this is not noticed, the wrapped article will be sent out without a circular accompanying it. Therefore, a special 80 means is provided to insure that the circular will fold along the proper line so that when it is engaged by the article, it will be carried along therewith. This means comprises a circular folding device, or breaker, as it will hereinafter be termed, 85 115 pivoted at 117 to an extension 114 of the bracket 113 mounted on the auxiliary frame 1'. A spring 116 surrounds the pivot 117 and is so coiled as to urge the breaker 115 in a clockwise direction about the pivot. The breaker 115 has a 90 portion thereof at 115' bent at an angle to the main or body portion thereof and this acts as a limiting stop for the breaker in its clockwise rotation as it is so designed as to engage the bottom of the groove 122 in the guiding member 121, 95 as best illustrated in Fig. 26.

As the article A is ejected from the pocket 5, the head thereof strikes against the member 115 and swings the member 115 about its pivot as in the manner illustrated in Fig. 27. The portion ijo 115' engages the circular prior to the time that the circular is engaged by the article and since this portion 115' is of substantial width the tendency of the circular will be to fold over the edge thereof and not be deflected to one side or the -,r,₅other as is sometimes the case where the circular is engaged only by the head of the article and depends upon such engagement for folding the circular over the article.

It can readily be seen that, as the article moves -/,3 farther to the right and into the carton, the breaker 115 will be swung upwardly out of the way of the article and that the head of the article will engage the circular substantially along the line where it was folded by the member 115' and ₇-carry the circular into the carton. The opening ° 112 has beveled upper and lower edges, as best seen in Figs. 30 and 31 and these aid the breaker 115 in folding the circular.

Means are also provided for automatically ₁₉θ ejecting the article from the pocket 5 and causing it to move against the breaker and circular and into the carton 30. This means comprises an ejector 119 supported on the end of a lever 120 and the lever 120 is pivoted at 123 to a block 126 · ₉which, in turn, is pivoted to the bracket 125 at 124. This bracket 125 receives a motion toward and away from the feed chain 4 by mechanism later to be described. This movement carries the ejector 119 against the end of the article in the pocket 5 and moves the article into the car- ^XJton in the manner already described.

Figs. 26 and 27 illustrate, respectively, the positions of the ejector 119 just prior to ejecting the article and just after such ejection has been begun, and Figs. 28 and 29 illustrate the positions ’ of the ejector 119 as it is moved away from the carton and the pocket into a position where it will be in readiness to eject the next article in the next pocket.

To raise the ejector 119, there is provided a ¹⁴⁰lever 127 having a roller 128 engaging the under s^:de of the lever 120 and rollers 128' on either side of the lever 120 for guiding said lever during its reciprocating movement. A guide member 129 pj engages the upper side of the lever 120 so that the lever will not raise up at an inopportune time. The lever 127 is cam actuated so as to be raised as the ejector 119 begins its return movement. This insures that the ejector will clear the chain which 150

1,97®,307 is then moving at a rather rapid rate to position the next article in a position to be ejected. It will be noted that the chain 4 has supporting members for the pockets thereof comprising a pair of upstanding guides 4' in order to always keep the pockets at the proper height.

The upper end of the lever 127 is pivotally connected at 130 to a link 131 and this link, in turn, is pivoted to one of the guides 4'. The specific means for actuating the lever 127 is best illustrated in Figs. 1 and 3. These views show the lever 127 pivoted to one arm 151 of a bell crank lever, the other arm 152 thereof being adapted to engage the cam groove in the cam 133 rigidly mounted upon the shaft 66'. The bell crank lever is pivoted to a bracket 153 mounted on the auxiliary frame member 1'. The arm 152 and link 131 give a substantially parallel rotation to the lever 127 so that the lever is not canted.

The bracket 125 is rigidly mounted on a rod 134 (see Fig. 3) which is guided in suitable bearings in the frame and has a member 135 rigidly fastened to one end thereof. This member 135 engages a guide 136 and is guided thereby, thus preventing rotation of the shaft 134 about its axis. A cam actuated lever 138 having a roller 139 engaging a cam groove in the cam 140 has a connecting link 137 pivotally connected thereto and to the member 135 so that the oscillations of the lever 138 impart a reciprocating movement to the rod 134 through the link 137 and the member 135. This gives a reciprocating movement to the member 125 as previously described. The lever 138 is pivoted to the shaft 22.

The shaft 66’ carrying the cams 66, 67, 107 and 133 is rotated by means of the gears 141 and 142 connected, respectively, to the shaft 66' and the main drive shaft 19.

In Figs. 30 to 33, inclusive, I show a modified arrangement for moving the breaker against the circular and for thereafter retracting the breaker. It has been found that when the breaker is constructed as shown in Figs. 26 to 29, inclusive, the breaker does not always return to its normal position in a vertical plane, in view of the fact that the spring which is used to return the breaker often gets gummed up. The modification shown in Figs. 30 to 33, inclusive, however, avoids the possibility that the breaker 115 might not return to a vertical position or at least to a position which will not interfere with the positioning of the circular in the position C⁴ by providing a more positive means for returning the breaker 115 as the ejector is being withdrawn.

This means comprises a slidable member 144 which is pivoted at 143 to the breaker 115 and has the other end thereof slidably mounted between the opposed pins 145 fastened in the bracket 125. These pins 145 have a plate 146 with openings therein which slide over the ends of the pins to permit the plate to frictionally engage one side of the member 114 and springs 147 surrounding the pins 145 urge the plate 146 against the member 144, thereby offering resistance to the sliding of the member 144 between the opposed pins 145. The member 144 is provided with a cut-away portion 148 and is provided also with stops 149 and 150 for purposes presently to be described.

With the parts in the position shown in Fig. 30, the ejector 119 starts its movement towards the right to eject the article from the pocket 5. There is sufficient friction between the plate 146 and member 144 to cause this member to move forwardly along with the ejector 119 until the stop 149 arrests the motion of the member 144 by coming into engagement with the bracket 129 upon which the rollers 128 and 128' are mounted. Thereafter, the member 144 slides between the plate 146 and the bracket against the force 80 of friction. However, after the member 144 moves between the plate 146 and bracket 125, a sufficient amount, the cut-away portion 148 thereof comes between the plate 146 and bracket 125 and permits the member 144 to move freely 85 therebetween. This cut-away portion permits of this movement so that as soon as the breaker has accomplished its purpose, it will fall of its own weight against the article during the last part of its movement into the carton and also S3 against the ejector so that as soon as the ejector begins its rearward movement, the weight of the breaker 115 and member 144 tend to move the breaker about its pivot in a clockwise direction and during the last part of the rearward move- 9S ment of the ejector, the friction plate 146 again acts on the end of the member 144 to draw the same into the position illustrated in Fig. 30 and to thereby draw the breaker into a vertical plane, the block 150 limiting the movement of the Joo breaker 115 in a clockwise direction. In addition to the more positive actuation of the breaker 115, the means just described operates the breaker in such a way that it is not necessary for the article itself to do any substantial amount of work in jQg connection with folding the circular and, therefore, renders the machine more efficient in its operation.

As previously described, the chain 4 moves very slowly while in a position which is substantially opposite to the opening in the carton, and, in Fig. 32, one of the pockets 5 of the chain is shown in the position which it occupies just before the ejector engages the pocket to remove the article therefrom. It will be noted that the opening in jjg the pocket is not symmetrical with a line through the center of the carton but is in a position a little to one side of such a line. The pocket is adapted to move in the direction illustrated by the arrow and during the time that the ejector is ejecting the article from the pocket, it moves from the position illustrated until the inner edge 5' is in alinement with the inner edge 121' of the guide member 121. Since the ejector is of substantially the same width as the pocket, it jgg is necessary that the ejector move with the pocket in the direction of the arrow in order that it can also move from left to right to eject the article and for this reason, the lever 120 has a portion 120' forming a cam surface which co-operates with the roller 128' adjacent thereto to pivot the lever 120 about the pivot 123 just the right amount to cause the ejector to move with the pocket 5 in the direction of the arrow. An auxiliary guide member 122' assists the entry of the article into the carton.

Articles such as tooth paste tubes, have a tendency to roll in the pockets especially when the chain is given an irregular movement so that even though the tubes are placed in the pockets as desired, the same may move to other positions before it is desired to eject the tube from the pocket. A great many manufacturers desire to have the tube A inserted in a carton 30, such as illustrated in Fig. 21, the width of which is less 145 than the width of the clip A' on the end of the tube so that it is necessary to insert a tube with the clip arranged in the diagonal manner shown in Fig. 21. Therefore, if the tube is not in this position at the time it is to be ejected from the 150 ί, 079,207 pocket, the same will not enter the carton or else will cause damage to the carton. Therefore, it has been found desirable to provide a means which will insure that the articles are in the de5 sired position at the time when they are to be ejected. This means comprises a plate 154 and brackets 155 and 171 fastened to the auxiliary frame 1' and these in turn carry suitable aligning means. The member 155 has the arm 156 10 pivoted thereto at 157 and the pins 158 and 159 provide stops which limit the movement of the arm 156 in clockwise and counter-clockwise directions, respectively. Assuming that the chain is moving in the direction of the arrow shown 15 in Fig. 19, it will be noted that the arm 156 is just about to engage the article A located in the second pocket of the chain, counting from the left. It will be noted that both of the articles in the first two pockets are not in the desired posi20 tion but as the chain carries the articles under ,the arm 156, said arm rotates them into a position shown by the article in the third pocket. This arm is ordinarily heavy enough to cause the article to rotate but if desired may be provided 25 with a spring to rotate it clockwise.

Since the article in the third pocket is not in as firm engagement with the edges of the pocket as could be desired, a second means is provided for rotating the article still further. This 30 means comprises a bracket 160 mounted on the plate 154 and this bracket carries a pin 161 which passes through an opening in the angle bracket 162. A spring 163 surrounds the pin 161 and yielding urges the plate 162 downwardly. 35 The plate 162 has an angular extension 164 overlying the upper surface of the chain, as best illustrated in Fig. 22, and this tends to firmly seat the articles in the pockets so that the articles will occupy the position shown in the fourth 40 pocket of Fig. 19.

Sometimes when the tubes are placed in the pockets, the ends of the clip A' at the bottom thereof^-will rest on the opposite edges of the pocket, in a manner which is best illustrated with 45 reference to the third pocket shown in Fig. 20. With the tube in this position, neither the arm 156 or the angular extension 164 will be able to straighten the tube in the pocket until the ends of the clip are removed from the opposite edges 50 of the pocket. For this purpose, I have provided a kicker 165 pivoted at 167 to an arm 168. This arm in turn is pivoted at 170 to the bracket 171. A spring. 174 having its opposite ends fastened to the kicker 165 and arm 168 tends to yieldingly 55 urge these members toward each other about the pivot 167. This keeps the kicker 165 firmly in engagement with the plate 154 at all times and this plate 154 forms a guiding means to guide the kicker in its movement. Rigidly fastened to the 60 bracket 125 is a follower 172 carrying a roller 173 engageable with the cam surface 169 of the arm 168.

The stop 175 on the arm 168 is adapted to engage a stop 176 to limit the rotation of the arm 65 168 about its pivot 170. The bracket 171 has a guide bearing therein for guiding the rod 134 during its reciprocation. The operation of this mechanism is as follows:—

When the tube and the kicker are in the posi70 tions shown in Fig. 23, the follower is at its extreme left hand position and as it moves to the right, it engages the cam surface 169 and this movement tends to rotate the arm 168 clockwise and to move the kicker 165 from the position 75 shown in Fig. 23 to that shown in Fig. 22, the edge 166 sliding along the plate 177 until It reaches the edge of the plate and thereafter the edge 166' slides along the edge of the plate, as best illustrated in Fig. 22. During this movement, the upper end of the kicker engages the 80 clip on the tube in the adjacent pocket if the same is in a position such as that shown in Fig. 23 or in the third pocket of Fig. 20 and raises the tubes sufficiently so that the edges of the clip are free from the edges of the pocket and the 85 tube drops into the position shown in the fourth pocket of Fig. 20 and is thereafter engaged by the arm 156 and the angular extension 164 to straighten the tube in the pocket.

The chain 178 driven from the shaft 66' is 9C adapted to drive the shafts 179 and 180 to actuate the feeding mechanism 94 for the circulars C.

The beveled portion 5' of the pocket 5 permits the adjacent edge of the clip to drop into the pocket when the clip is kicked by the kicker 165. 95

After the article has been placed in the carton, the flaps of the carton are ready to be glued so as to seal the carton and a novel means for doing this has been provided in the embodiment shown. It will be understood, of course, that 10® were it desired to use a carton with only a tucked flap, the gluing mechanism may be dispensed with and suitable tucking mechanism may be substituted therefor in a well-known manner.

While the carton is at the position where the 105 article has been inserted, a projection or folding device 200 engages the adjacent flap and folds that flap inwardly to a position substantially at right angles to the longitudinal dimension of the carton, and the folding device 201, actuated HO by a cam, folds the opposite flap over the first mentioned flap. Thereafter, the cam 204 having the inclined faces 204' engages and folds the upper flap, as seen in Fig. 34, to the position which overlies the first two flaps mentioned. H5 Similarly, the lowermost flap 212 is folded downwardly by a folding device 210 so as to expose the surface of the flap which is later to be folded over into engagement with the third mentioned flap, with a layer of glue therebetween to seal said * flaps together. Folding devices 202, 203 and 209 corresponding with the folding devices 201, 204 and 210 are adapted to fold the flaps in a similar manner at the other end of the carton, the last of the flaps 211 being folded into a position simi- 1^5 lar to the flap 212. A folding device, not shown, located beneath the member 205, and similar in its action to the folding device 200, co-operates with the folding device 202 to fold the opposed flaps at the adjacent end of the carton.

Members 205 and 206 carry the folding devices 200, 203 and 204 and also the member 92. A member 206' is fastened to the member 92 and is pivoted at 208. The member 205 is pivoted at 207 and by raising either the member 205 or '³⁵206', the framework composed of the members 203, 204, 205, 206, 206', and 92, may be pivoted out of operative engagement with the cartons to permit inspection of the work or to clear out the machine in case some of the cartons get ’·’! jammed. The cartons are moved along by the transporter until they are in a position directly between the opposite glue applying rollers 213 and 213', at which position the flaps 211 and 212 occupy the positions shown in Figs. 34 and 35. I’o These flaps are now ready to receive a coating of glue on the surface adjacent the rollers and this is done in the following manner.

With reference to the glue applying apparatus at the right in Figs. 34 to 36, inclusive, it will 150 &amp;

1,970,207 io

CO be noted that the roller 213 is journaled in bearings on the opposite edges of the glue trough 214. The roller extends down into the trough 214 an amount sufficient to receive a coating of glue on the surface thereof as the roller is rotated. A gear 215 is mounted on the same shaft as the roller 213 and this gear is rotated by means of the gears 216 and 217 the latter being mounted upon the shaft 219 which carries a sprocket 218 driven by means of a sprocket 199 from a sprocket mounted on the main drive shaft 19. The roller 213 is timed so that it rotates but once to every forward movement of the transporter. In other words, it rotates once each time a carton is moved into the position shown in Fig. 34.

In prior gluing devices, it was not necessary to have the gluing roller rotate in timed relation to the movement of the cartons as the flaps on the carton merely passed over the surface of the rollers and picked up a certain amount of the glue while passing thereover. However, the disadvantage of using such a roller was that the flaps often picked up more glue than was necessary to securely hold the flap in position when folded against the other flaps of the carton. The present device has means for applying just the required amount of glue to the flap, ε-nd this means will now be described.

A shaft 222 is rotatably mounted in bearings on the trough 214. A scraper 220 rigidly mounted on the shaft 222 has a pair of spaced arms 221 which lie alongside the flat faces of the roller and in close proximity thereto so as to scrape any glue from the edges of the roller so that this glue will not be thrown against the carton or against the flap but will be returned to the glue trough 214. The edge of the scraper which lies adjacent the peripheral surface of the roller 213 in the manner shown in Fig. 34 is adapted to scrape the glue from said surface while in said position so that ordinarily no glue is supplied by the roller 213 to the position where the flap is to be glued. However, at given intervals, means is provided for permitting a small amount of glue to remain on the peripheral surface of the roller and this is, in turn, carried to the flap at the position where it is to be glued and an abutment 235 forces the flap into engagement with the glue on the roller so that it is removed therefrom and remains on said flap. This small amount of glue which remains on the roller is represented by the numeral 236 in Figs. 34 and 35. The glue 236 is permitted to remain on the surface of the roller by simply raising the scraper 220 for a small interval of time and permitting some of the glue to pass between the scraping edge thereof and the peripheral surface of the roller. To raise the scraper 220, a cam 230 is rigidly mounted on the shaft 219 and this is engaged by a follower 229 which rocks the lever 226 about its pivot when actuated by the cam. This lever 226 is loosely mounted on the shaft 222 and is yieldingly urged clockwise about the shaft 222 by means of the spring 228. This insures that the roller 229 always remains in engagement with the cam 230. A pin 227 on the arm 226 engages a stop 224 integral with the arm 225 rigidly mounted on the shaft 222 and adapted to rotate thereon. In order to clamp the arm 225 in adjusted angular >-₀ position relative to the shaft 222, this arm is pro‘ vided with a split bearing surrounding the shaft and a screw 233 is used to tighten the split bearing upon the shaft. The arm 225 is adjusted into the position shown in Fig. 34 so that when the 75 roller 229 is on the high part of the cam, the pin 227 is in engagement with the stop 224 and the scraper is against the peripheral surface of the roller 213. The stop 224 is normally urged against the pin 227 by means of a spring actuated arm 223 adjustably fastened to the other end 80 of the shaft 222. A spring 234 has its opposite ends mounted in recesses in the arm 223 and in the frame of the glue trough 214 to actuate the arm 223. The force with which the stop 224 is urged against the pin 227 is determined by the 85 angular position in which the arm 223 is adjusted relative to the shaft 222. The arm 223 can be adjusted by loosening the screw 232 and rotating it into the desired position relative to the shaft 222 and again tightening the screw 232 οθ to hold the arm in adjusted position.

The operation of this device is as follows:—

The cam 230 is provided with a flat portion 231 and when this flat portion comes into a position adjacent the roller 229, the spring 228 rotates 95 the arm 226 clockwise, thereby moving the pin 227 to the left and permitting the arm 225 and the stop 224 to rotate to the left under the action of the spring 234. The rotation of the arm 225 rotates the shaft 222 and raise the scraper 220 _1ΰ0from the periphery of the roller, thereby permitting a small amount of glue 236 to remain on the surface of the roller in the manner illustrated in Fig. 35. This small amount of glue is then carried over against the flap 212 which removes 795 the glue from the roller. The carton is then moved into the next position where this flap is folded over the flaps which have already been folded so as to seal the carton. A similar gluing device is used to apply glue to the flap 211 at the -qq other end of the carton and this gluing device is similar to the gluing device just described in detail, the parts 213', 214', 215', 217', 218', 219', 220', 222', 223', 225', 226', 227', 228', 233' and 234' corresponding to the parts 213, 214, 215, 217, 218, 219, 220, 222, 223, 225, 226, 227, 228, 233 and 234 of the gluing device described.

The gears 215' and 217', however, are in-direct mesh and do not have a gear such as 216 interposed therebetween as in the gluing device shown -20 at the right. This is so as to have the roller 213' move in a direction opposite to the roller 213 so that both rollers are moved downwardly at the position where they will engage the respective flaps 211 and 212. A chain 198 passing 725 over the idlers 196 and 195 is adapted to drive the sprocket 218' from a sprocket located on the drive shaft 19.

It is preferable that the glue rollers be rotated so that each time the scrapers are raised the glue &lt;[₃₀is permitted to remain on different portions of the peripheries thereof. The reason for doing this is to prevent the accumulation of dried glue at one spot on each of the glue rollers. If this were permitted, the dried glue would soon be as thick as the clearance between the scrapers and rollers and the scrapers would scrape all of the fresh glue off the layer of dried glue and none of the fresh glue would remain to be applied to the flaps on the cartons. If the glue is permitted to remain on different portions of the peripheries each time, the scrapers will scrape the glue from the peripheries at the places where the glue was previously and therefore no dried glue will be permitted to remain on the peripheries of the rollers. As will be noted in the drawings the ^xgearing is such that the rollers will be rotated between presentation of successive cartons an amount which will accomplish the aforementioned result. The gears 217 and 217' are slight- 150

ΓΟ ton comprising means for positioning said article so that it can enter the carton, means for positioning the circular between the article and carton, and means for bending the circular prior to the time when said circular is engaged by said article.

3. A carton filling machine adapted to simuland 212, the carton is moved to a position between the members 238 in the manner shown in Fig. 36. Each of these members 238 has an opening 242 adapted to receive the flap as the carton is moved into position between said members. Projections 240 hold the remaining flaps in folded position and projections 241 are adapted ‘to engage the flaps 211 and 212 when the members 238 are moved vertically and to press said flaps against the already folded flaps and to thereby seal the ends of the carton. The members 238 are adapted to be moved vertically by cam actuated levers 239 after the flaps 211 and 212 have been received in the openings 242.

After the ends of the cartons have been sealed, the cartons are moved to the position shown at the bottom of Fig. 36 so that the cartons are in engagement with each other. The cartons now can be removed from the runways by hand or by any other means desired or they may be permitted to travel to the end of the supports 76' and drop into a suitable receptacle.

The operation of the device is as follows:—

Circulars are fed from the hopper 29 along the supports 76 and 76' into successive positions. The first of these positions is the position where the carton is opened, the next is where the carton is adapted to be filled, the next several positions are where the flaps are folded with the exception of the two which are to receive the glue, the next position is where the flaps have the glue applied thereto, and the last position is where the glued flaps are folded. Circulars are fed from the hopper B to a position just in front of the carton at the position where it is to be filled. The ejector 119 ejects the articles from the chain 4 into the carton 30 at the position where the carton is to be filled, the circular being carried along therewith in a manner which has been described. The chain moves slowly during the time the ejector is ejecting the articles from the chain and moves rapidly to position successive articles at the position where they are to be ejected. After the carton has been filled, the flaps are folded and glued in the manner which has been described.

Obviously those skilled in the art may make various changes in the details and arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the claims hereto appended, and I therefore do not wish to be restricted to the precise construction herein disclosed.