US3105776A

US3105776A - Apparatus for waxing beaker-like containers

Info

Publication number: US3105776A
Application number: US32963A
Authority: US
Inventors: Weyhmueller Hermann
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1959-07-01
Filing date: 1960-05-31
Publication date: 1963-10-01
Anticipated expiration: 1980-10-01

Description

Oct. 1, 1963 H. WEYHMUELLER APPARATUS FOR WAXING BEAKER-LIKE CONTAINERS INLET OPENING Filed May 51, 1960 United States Patent Ofiice 3,,ldfl7b Patented Oct. 1, 1963 3,105,776 APPARATUS FDR WAWG BEAKER-LIKE CGNTADIERS Hermann Weyhmueiier,.18/20 Baurngartenstrasse, Nen-Uim (Danube), Germany Filed May 31, 195i), Ser. No. 32,963 Claims priority, appiication Germany .iuly 1, 1959 5 Ciainis. (Cl. 11852) The invention concerns a method and apparatus for waxing beaker-like hollow bodies and, more particularly for waxing containers made of hard paper, such as eakers, ice cream tubs or.other packing containers for foodstufis and sweetmeats.

The purpose of waxing is to increase the stability of the container and to impregnate the surface of the material of which the container is made thereby protecting it against being penetrated by the various liquids of the filling materials which, particularly in the case of acids, fats and oils, is of considerable significance. Waxing prevents seepage through the packing.

Waxing has hitherto been carried out in special large installations or machines either by means of spraying devices or by dipping the entire container in a liquid wax bath. The excess wax, in these known installations, is then drained. Thus, besides control of the temperature for draining, there is no possibility for the thickness of wax on the hollow bodies to be regulated. In known apparatus the containers are conveyed through the draining chamber by means of special carriers, the latter merely assuming the function as holders and conveying means. If the temeprature of the wax bath or of the draining chamber has not been set correctly, then it is possible for drops of wax to remain on the edges of the containers and at a later stage to cause interruptions when making further use of the containers, for example, in automatic machines. For this reason known draining chambers have a large overall length and occupy considerable space. Attempts have indeed been made to conduct the conveying means for the containers in tiers which, however, necessitated large quantities of heat and involved heavy operating costs.

An object of the present invention is to overcome the above-mentioned difhculties.

According to the present invention, one or more containers are passed through a waxing tank by rotation of a container-support member on which they are carried, the or each container subsequently being subjected to a rotary movement about its own axis. At least the inner surface of the or each container may be sprayed with wax before being immersed in the waxing tank. The rotary movement of the or each container about its own axis may commence immediately on leaving the waxing tank and terminate before reaching the uppermost rotary position of the container stand.

Also according to the present invention, an apparatus for waxing beaker-like containers comprises the starshaped rotary member, provided with one or a plurality of rotatably mounted holding arms, arranged above a waxing tank, the or each container being adapted to be supported by one holding arm in such a way that it is passed through the waxing tank, a driving means coupled to the holding arms, being adapted to rotate each holding arm about its own axis.

Each individual holding arm may comprise a cage-like holder, adapted to receive the container, having a shaft arranged substantially radially with respect to the axis of the star-shaped rotary body and rigidly connected with the cage-like container, the shaft in turn being rotatably mounted in bearings connected with the star-shaped r0- tary member. The shaft of the or each holding arm may carry a driving wheel, such as a friction wheel upon which a gearing, independent of the drive means for the star-shaped rotary member, is adapted to act temporarily to produce the additional rotary movement. The shaft of the or each holding arm may be mounted in its bearings so as to be swingable at right angles to its axis, for example, in such a way that a bearing swingably mounted in a pedestal bearing and a second bearing are adapted to be reciprocated at right angles to the holding ar-m shaft.

The gearing for the drive means of the holding-arm shafts may consist of a friction wheel mounted co-axially with respect to the star-shaped rotary member axis, against which friction wheel the friction wheel arranged on the shaft of the holding arm is adapted to be swung. The friction wheel may be of the drive mounted so as to be rotatable on the shaft of the star-shaped rotary member with variable speed.

A stirrup-like closure member, connected with the holder may constitute a locking means adapted to close the mouth of the cage-like holder to retain the individual containers. Preferably, the stirrup-like closure member is pivotably mounted on the holder and is adapted to be actuated by means of a cam track.

The waxing tank may be vertically adjustable relative to the axis of the star-shaped rotary member. For this purpose the waxing tank is supported on pairs of levers arranged so as to be swung mutually parallel relative to one another and provided with supporting rollers at the free ends thereof.

A spray pump may be arranged in the region of the waxing tank, and be so adjusted that a spraying nozzle sprays the wax into the container before the latter is immersed in the Wax bath.

A feed device may be provided, which is adapted to feed individually the containers which are stacked one within the other to the cage-like containers and a stacking device adapted to remove the containers after waxing,

The invention will be described further, by way of ex ample, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a digrammatic side-elevational view of a Waxing device constructed in accordance with the invention;

F16. 2 is a longitudinal section through the device shown in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a partial sectional view of an individual holder adapted to receive a hollow body to be waxed.

The waxing device in accordance with the invention is arranged in a frame 1 encased all around with heatinsulating panels.

A heata'ole waxing tank 2, having a spraying pump 3 driven by means of an electric motor 4, is disposed in the lower frame region. Heating means, not shown in detail, may comprise, for example, heating rods 2 which are disposed in the walls of the tank or in the tank bottom. The position of the waxing tank 2 is vertically adjustable and is shown in the drawings in its upper openational position. By means of a hand wheel 5 and a threaded spindle 6, levers '7 journaled at 8 are swung about, t iu-s allowing the waxing tank 2, which is mounted on rollers 9, to be raised or lowered.

In the apparatus shown, a supporting Wheel 11 and a friction wheel 12, are arranged on a common shaft it The friction wheel 12 which is rotatably mounted on the shaft iii, is driven by means of a variable drive 13, whereas supperting wheel 11 is fixedly mounted on the shaft lib and is moved by a driving gear 14 at constant speed. Both drives 13 and 1-!- may emanate from a centrally driven power take-off shaft.

Supporting arms 15 are radially disposed and rotatably mounted on the supporting wheel 11. Arms 15 are journaled in the angle supports 16 by means of pivot bearings 16'. A second mounting of the holding arms is effected in swivel bearings 17 of bars 17, which are axially displaceable in the supporting wheel 11. These bars 17 by way of cam-follower rollers 13 strike against a fixed cam track 25 as soon as friction discs 19, mounted on the ends of the holding arms 15, engage the friction wheel 12.

On the other end of the holding arms 15 there are mounted interchangeable wire holder cages having me taining stirrups 21 (FIG. 3) serving a locking means. These retaining stirrups 21 are so controlled via a pivot 22, swivel levers 23 and tilting levers 26 by a fixed cam track 24 that the wire cages 2d are open only in the upper position for charging and discharging. The lever 23 is swung by means of a collar 27 adapted to be reciprocated vertically.

The waxing device described above functions as follows:

Containers 28 not yet waxed are charged individually by hand or automatically into the cage-like holders through an opening 1'. This is preferably carried out in one of the upper positions of the cages. In these positions the stirrup 21 associated with the cage 23 has been swung out laterally. To obtain this movement, it is sufficient for a cam roller mounted on the lever 23 to strike against a fixed cam track 214 during rotation of the star-shaped rotary member 11. During the continuous or stepwise advance of the star-shaped rotary member If, the inserted container gets into the spraying range of the spray head 3, by means of which at least the inner wall surface of the container is sprayed. Subsequently the container 28, retained on all sides is immersed in the waxing tank 2 which is angularly ofiset from the spray means 3. Immediately on leaving the waxing tank 2 the cam roller 18 strikes against a cam track 25 and urges the friction di c 19 against the friction wheel 12, which is constantly rotating. In this manner the individual hold ing arm 15 with the holder 2i and the container 28 are rapidly rotated, during the course of which, the excess wax is centrifugally thrown off. In the upper frame re-' gion, the stirrup 21 is again swung away to allow the Waxed container 28 to be manually or automatically removed and, if necessary, supplied to a cooling device.

When spraying the wax it is possible for the speed of the holding arms 15 to be varied by adjusting the continuous drive 13. This maxes it possible to vary the application thickness and density of the wax. For this reason it is also advisable for the radial rotary member 11 and the friction wheel 12 to be driven independently of one another. It is also possible to dispense with immersion waxing and for the containers 28 merely to be sprayed internally and externally with wax.

I claim:

1. An apparatus for coating containers with wax, said apparatus comprising a housing forming a substantially closed, heated waxing chamber formed with an opening for supplying containers to be coated to said chamber and for discharging coated containers therefrom; a container-support member journaled in said housing and provided with a plurality of angularly spaced radial shafts rotatably journaled thereon within said chamber; a respective container lholder secured to the outer extremity of each of said shafts for releasably engaging one of said containers; first drive means for rotating said containersupport member; wax-depositing means angularly offset from said opening forwardly thereof in the path of said holders for covering with liquid wax walls of each container inserted into a respective container holder at said opening upon rotation of said support member; and second drive means effective at a location angularly offset from said wax-depositing means forwardly thereof for rotating each of said shafts upon displacement thereof past said wax-depositing means at a rate sufificient centrifugally to dislodge excess liquid wax from the walls of containers carried by said shafts and to distribute wax adhering to said walls substantially uniformly thereon.

2. An apparatus for coating containers with wax, said apparatus comprising a housing forming a substantially ing for rotation about a substantially horizontal axis and provided with a plurality of angularly spaced radial shafts rotatably iournaled thereon within said chamber; a respective container holder secured to the outer extremity of each of said shafts for releasably engaging one of said containers; first drive means for rotating said containersupport member; wax-depositing means angularly offset from said opening, said wax-depositing means being disposed below said opening and forwardly thereof in the path of said holders for covering with liquid wax walls of each container inserted into a respective container holder at said opening upon rotation of said support member; and second drive means effective at a location angularly offset from said wax-depositing means forwardly thereof for rotating each of said shafts upon displacement thereof past said waxdepositing means at a rate sufiicient centrifugally to dislodge excess liquid wax from the walls of containers carried by said shafts and to distribute wax adhering to said walls substantially uniformly thereon.

3. An apparatus for coating containers with wax, said apparatus comprising a housing forming a substantially closed, heated waxing chamber formed with an upper opening for supplying containers to be coatedto said chamber and for discharging coated containers therefrom; a container-support member journaled in said housing for rotation about a substantially horizontal axis and provided with a plurality of angularly spaced radial shafts rotatably journaled thereon within said chamber; a respective container holder secured to the outer extremity of each of saidshafts for'releasably engaging one of said containers; first drive means for rotating said container-support member; wax-depositing means angularly offset from said opening, said wax-depositing means being disposed below said lopeningand forwardly thereof in the path of said holders for covering with liquid wax walls' of each container inserted into a respective container holder at said opening upon rotation of said support member; second drive means effective at a location said location toward said opening and closing said loclo' ing means upon the advance of said holders from said opening toward said wax-depositing means.

4. An apparatus for coating containers with wax, said apparatus comprising a housing forming a substantially closed, heated waxing chamber formed with an opening for supplying containers to be coated to said chamber and for discharging coated containers therefrom; a

' container-support member journaled in said housing and provided with a plurality of angularly spaced radial shafts rotatably journaled thereon within said chamber; a respective container holder secured to the outer extremity of each of said shafts for releasably engaging one of said containers; first drive means for rotating said containensupport member; wax-depositing means includ-y ing a tault of liquid wax angularly offset from said opening, said tank being disposed below said opening forwardly thereof in the path of said holders whereby containers carried by the latter are immersed successively in said liquid wax, thereby covering with liquid wax walls of each container inserted into a respective container holder at said opening upon rotation of said support member; and second drive means efiective at a location angularly offset from said wax-depositing means forwardly thereof for rotating each of said shafts upon displacement thereof past said Wax-depositing means at a rate suflicient centrifugally to dislodge excess liquidwax from the walls of containers carried by said shafts and to distribute wax adhering to said walls substantially uniformly thereon.

5. An apparatus for coating containers with Wax, said apparatus comprising a housing forming a substantially closed, heated waxing chamber formed with an upper opening for supplying containers to be coated to said chamber and for discharging coated containers therefrom; a container-support member journaled in said housing for rotation about a substantially horizontal axis and provided with a plurality of angularly spaced radial shafts rotatably journaled thereon Within said chamber; a respective container holder secured to the outer extremity of each of said shafts for releasably engaging one of said containers; first drive means for rotating said container-support member; wax-depositing means including a nozzle for spraying liquid wax into the interiors of said containers angularly offset from said opening, said nozzle being disposed below said opening forwardly thereof adjacent the path of said holders where by containers carried by the latter are successively sprayed With said liquid Wax, thereby covering with liquid Wax interior Walls of each container inserted into a respective container holder at said opening upon rotation of said support member; and second drive means effective at a location angularly offset from said wax-depositing means forwardly thereof for rotating each of said shafts upon displacement thereof past said Wax-depositing means at a rate suificient centrifugally to dislodge excess liquid wax from the Walls of containers carried by said shafts and to distribute Wax adhering to said walls substantially uniformly thereon.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,404,309 McDonald Jan. 24, 1922 1,977,704 Vaughn et al. Oct. 23, 1934 2,119,720 Reifsnyder June 7, 1938 2,699,750 Wittkuhns et a1. Jan. 18, 1955 2,821,158 Brown et a1 Jan. 28, 1958 2,839,025 Burke et al June 17, 1958 FOREIGN PATENTS 341,908 Great Britain Jan. 15, 1931

Claims

1. AN APPARATUS FOR COATING CONTAINERS WITH WAX, SAID APPARATUS COMPRISING A HOUSING FORMING A SUBSTANTIALLY CLOSED, HEATED WAXING CHAMBER FORMED WITH AN OPENING FOR SUPPLYING CONTAINERS TO BE COATED TO SAID CHAMBER FOR SUPPLYING CONTAINERS TO BE COATED TO SAID CHAMBER AND FOR DISCHARGING COATED CONTAINERS THREFROM; A CONTAINER-SUPPORT MEMBER JOURNALED IN SAID HOUSING AND PROVIDED WITH A PLURALITY OF ANGULARLY SPACED RADIAL SHAFTS ROTATABLY JOURNALED THEREON WITHIN SAID CHAMBER; A RESPECTIVE CONTAINER HOLDER SECURED TO THE OUTER EXTREMITY OF EACH OF SAID SHAFTS FOR RELEASABLY ENGAGING ONE OF SAID CONTAINERS; FIRST DRIVE MEANS FOR ROTATING SAID CONTAINERSUPPORT MEMBER; WAX-DEPOSITING MEANS ANGULARLY OFFSET FROM SAID OPENING FORWARDLY THEREOF IN THE PATH OF SAID HOLDERS FOR COVERING WITH LIQUID WAX WALLS OF EACH CONTAINER INSERTED INTO A RESPECTIVE CONTAINER HOLDER AT SAID OPENING UPON ROTATION OF SAID SUPPORT MEMBER; AND SECOND DRIVE MEANS EFFECTIVE AT A LOCATION ANGULARLY OFFSET FROM SAID WAX-DEPOSITING MEANS FORWARDLY THEREOF FOR ROTATING EACH OF SAID SSHAFTS UPON DISPLACEMENT THEREOF PAST SAID WAX-DEPOSITING MEANS AT A RATE SUFFICIENT CENTRIFUGALLY TO DISLODGE EXCESS LIQUID WAX FROM THE WALLS OF CONTAINERS CARRIED BY SAID SHAFTS AND TO DISTRIBUTE WAX ADHERING TO SAID WALLS SUBSTANTIALLY UNIFORMLY THEREON.