Conveyors: power-driven – Conveyor system for arranging or rearranging stream of items – By longitudinally respacing successive articles in stream
Reexamination Certificate
2001-04-13
2002-11-19
Ellis, Christiopher P. (Department: 3651)
Conveyors: power-driven
Conveyor system for arranging or rearranging stream of items
By longitudinally respacing successive articles in stream
C198S462300
Reexamination Certificate
active
06481561
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to packaging machines, and more particularly to a container feeder for use in packaging machines for making a web of packaging material into a tube, filling contents into the tube, transporting the tube a distance at a time which distance corresponds to the length of one container, sealing and cutting the tube transversely thereof to form a pillowlike uncompleted container, and feeding the uncompleted container to a completed container forming device to form the container into a rectangular parallelepipedal completed container, the container feeder being adapted to feed the uncompleted container to the completed container forming device.
As disclosed, for example, in JP-A No. 10-29608 (1998), such feeders are already known for feeding pillowlike uncompleted containers to a conveyor of a container forming device for forming the uncompleted container into a rectangular parallelepipedal completed container. The known container feeder comprises a slanting chute having a lower end positioned at the starting end of the transport path of the conveyor, and a receiving member so disposed as to be movable upward or downward along the transport path of the chute, the receiving member being movable into the chute transport path when moving downward to receive the lower end of the container.
With the conventional feeder, the container is transported, as received by the receiving member at is lower end, along the chute. To avoid interference with the conveyor, the receiving member can not be moved down to a position close to the conveyor transport path. The container is eventually allowed to fall off the chute and received by the conveyor. Accordingly, the falling container becomes inevitably damaged by an impact produced when received by the conveyor.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to overcome the above problem and to provide a container feeder adapted to feed pillowlike uncompleted containers to a container forming device for forming the uncompleted container into a rectangular parallelepipedal completed container, without causing damage to the container during feeding.
The present invention provides a container feeder for feeding pillowlike uncompleted containers each having a container body and upper and lower ears projecting laterally from upper and lower ends of the container body to a conveyor of a container forming device for forming the uncompleted container into a rectangular parallelepipedal completed container, the container feeder comprising a slanting chute having a lower end positioned at a starting end of a conveyor transport path, a first receiving member so disposed as to be movable upward or downward along a chute transport path, the first receiving member being movable into the chute transport path when moving downward to receive the lower end of the container body of the container falling along the chute under gravity, and a second receiving member so disposed as to be movable upward or downward along the chute transport path, the second receiving member being movable into the chute transport path when moving downward to receive the upper ears of the container received by the first receiving member.
With the container feeder of the present invention, the container is transported along the chute while being received by the first receiving member first, and then by the second receiving member. Since the second receiving member receives the upper ears of the container, the second receiving member can be moved down to a position close to the conveyor transport path. Accordingly, the pillowlike uncompleted container can be fed to the container forming device free of damage. Since the container falling down the chute has its body received by the first receiving member, the container which is forced down can be received effectively, and can be delivered to the second receiving member after the container is relieved of the downward force.
If the path of upward or downward movement of the second receiving member has a lower end joined to the starting end of the conveyor transport path, the container can be received by the conveyor without allowing the container to fall off the chute.
Further if the speed of downward movement of the first receiving member is higher than the speed of downward movement of the second receiving member, the first receiving member rapidly leaves the container after the second receiving member receives the upper ears, with the result that the timing of delivery of the container from one receiving member to the other can be determined easily. Moreover, the container can then be fed to the container forming device smoothly free of damage.
The first receiving member is attached to a first endless chain having a lower-side travel path positioned close to the chute transport path along the upper side thereof, and the second receiving member is attached to a second endless chain having an upper-side travel path positioned close to the chute transport path along the lower side thereof, the second endless chain comprising a pair of chain members extending in parallel as spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance and each having the second receiving member attached thereto, the chain members having lower ends positioned at opposite sides of the starting end of the conveyor transport path. In this case, the second receiving member can be moved down to the starting end of the conveyor transport path to deliver the container to the conveyor without the likelihood of the container falling off the chute.
The conveyor has holders, each holder comprising a bottom plate extending in parallel to the conveyor transport path, and a side plate projecting upward from the bottom plate and extending orthogonal to the conveyor transport path, the side plate of the holder as halted at the starting end of the conveyor transport path having an upper end joined to the lower end of the chute to deliver the container from the chute to the holder in this state. The container can then be allowed to slide down the chute and subsequently down the side plate for transport. Thus, the container can be fed to the container forming device free of any impact.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5031380 (1991-07-01), Ueda
patent: 5836143 (1998-11-01), Yoshida et al.
patent: 5852919 (1998-12-01), Matsuda et al.
patent: 6079188 (2000-06-01), Katayama et al.
patent: 10-29608 (1998-02-01), None
Fujimoto Masafumi
Katayama Hiroshi
Ueda Michio
Yamamoto Hidekimi
Yoshida Kiyomi
Ellis Christiopher P.
Ridley Richard
Shikoku Kakoki Co. Ltd.
LandOfFree
Container feeder does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Container feeder, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Container feeder will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2969326