Apparatus for inserting spacer members between two upright articles
AssigneePhilip Morris Incorporated
InventorRoy Joseph Devilbiss
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Apparatus for inserting a panel spacer between two articles in which a housing carrying cam fingers moves from an upper position to a lower position so as to engage the tops of the articles with the cam fingers to tilt and separate them whereupon a panel insert held in the housing is released and drops between the articles with there also being provided a plunger blade to fully insert the panel spacer and also to prevent the dropping from the housing of a spacer member next above.
Claims17
Apparatus for inserting a panel spacer member intermediate the juxtaposed ends of two upright articles arranged in side-by-side alignment, said apparatus comprising
- an inserter head unit,
- means for supporting said head unit for vertical movement between a first upper position and a second lower position and vice versa,
- a vertically disposed string of panel spacer members, the lowermost spacer member in said string being disposed in said head unit and there being means for releaseably holding said lowermost spacer member in said head unit against the action of gravity and when said head unit is in its first position,
- means carried at the lower part of said head unit and operable during movement of said head unit from its first to second positions for engaging the tops of said articles and applying force thereto tending to tilt same in opposite directions away from each other to thereby provide an enlarged space between their juxtaposed ends,
- said spacer holding means being operable during movement of said head unit from its first to second positions for releasing said lowermost spacer member from its held position in said head unit whereby said lowermost spacer member drops into said enlarged space,
- an elongated plunger blade member,
- means disposed adjacent said head unit for supporting said blade member for vertical and horizontal travel relative to said head unit, and
- means imparting both vertical and horizontal movement to said blade member during the course of movement of said head unit from its first to second positions for positioning a tip end of the blade member between said lowermost spacer member and that next above in the said string after said head unit has moved a predetermined distance from its first to second positions and thereafter applying with said tip end a downward thrust to said lowermost spacer to fully insert it between said articles, said motion imparting means further being operative to retain the tip end of said blade member positioned below said next above spacer member when said head is moved upwardly from its second to first positions.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.