Van Dam Machine Corporation

Van Dem Machine Corporation

Carlos E Fardin

James Dominico

Paul Cino

Ralph G Alessio

Apparatus for supplying rows of stacked frusto-conical cups to a feeding assembly of a cup printing apparatus includes a rotatable, hollow, crossed turret comprised of an outer turret section formed by four radially and equiangularly oriented connected tubes, and a central tubular section positioned centrally within the outer turret section, the crossed turret supplying a first row of stacked cups to the feeding assembly and automatically supplying a subsequent row of stacked cups in stacked relation on the first row after a level of the first row has decreased to a lower predetermined level and before a last cup of the first row has been supplied on a respective mandrel assembly of the cup printing apparatus; a rotary actuator which rotates the central tubular section; a motor driven assembly which rotates the outer turret section; a first sensor which senses when the level of the first row has decreased to the lower predetermined level to actuate the motor driven assembly to cause the outer turret section and central tubular section to rotate together by 90.degree. to supply the subsequent row of stacked containers in stacked relation on the first row of stacked containers; a second sensor which senses when the level of the subsequent row has decreased to a higher predetermined level and supplying a signal to the rotary actuator to cause the central tubular section to rotate 90.degree. with respect to the outer turret section so as to be oriented horizontally; and a pusher assembly which intermittently supplies rows of stacked containers to the crossed turret when the central tubular section has been rotated back to the horizontal position after the level of the subsequent row has decreased to the higher predetermined level.

Crossed turret cup feeder

A tube printing apparatus includes a rotatable mandrel wheel which successively moves tubes to be printed to different stations of the apparatus; a plurality of mandrels which hold the tubes on the mandrel wheel; a printing station including a printing blanket which prints the tubes successively moved to the printing station in contact with the printing blanket; a tube orienting head which circumferentially orients the tubes which are moved to the printing station so as to always provide printing on the tubes at the same circumferential position thereof; a reciprocating control assembly which intermittently reciprocates the tube orienting into engagement with the tubes at the printing station; a rotating control assembly which intermittently rotationally orients the tubes for printing to a desired circumferential position; and a common drive connected to the reciprocating control assembly, rotating control assembly and printing blanket to synchronously drive each of the same, thereby eliminating any complex electronic synchronous adjustments.

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Wayne, NJ, United States of America

Carlos E Fardin