Package making – Progressively seamed cover web or web folds – With closing of web between package units
Patent
1985-08-12
1986-11-25
Coan, James F.
Package making
Progressively seamed cover web or web folds
With closing of web between package units
53252, B65B 3524
Patent
active
046241000
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The invention concerns a device for continuously feeding (synchronizing) essentially flat articles of the luxury-food or food industry, especially bars or strips of chocolate, to a packaging machine, in which carriers in a transport assembly introduce the articles into a tube of wrapping material and shape them into individual packages with it.
Only a certain packaging output can be achieved with packaging machines of this type, which are known from U.S. Pat. No. 3,283,470 because it is difficult to feed the articles in. Since the tube of packaging material cannot be completely closed, tightly sealed packages cannot be produced. Furthermore, they can be employed only to package solid articles because they are subjected to excessive stress when transported through the machine.
The object of the present invention is to eliminate this defect and provide a device that allows thorough closure of even the most delicate articles in a wrapping that is tightly sealed on all sides at a high packaging output and without noticeable mechanical stress.
This object is attained in accordance with the invention in that an infeed for the articles that operates transversely with respect to and is synchronized with a transport mechanism that operates at a constant speed and is equipped with carriers is positioned upstream of the transport mechanism and in that buffers for the articles arriving on the infeed are positioned between the carriers and controlled in such a way that the articles will enter the tube of wrapping material in sequence and in a direction derived from the infeed and transport directions. A mechanism to control the buffers and carriers is provided in order to take out each frontmost article arriving from the infeed by means of its associated buffer without interference from the subsequent article as the carriers move transversely.
Preferably, closure mechanisms are provided that are in themselves known and that fasten the longitudinal edges of the tube of packaging material together by welding or cementing once the carriers have been removed, the infeed is positioned upstream of the tube shaper, and the carriers can be moved all the way into the operating range of the infeed in a direction opposite that of the transport mechanism that they are mounted on and transversely with respect to its direction of conveyance by means of a control mechanism, can initially be retracted along with the picked-up article into the entry range of the tube shaper, and, once the tube has been shaped, can be removed from it before it is sealed.
Preferably, the carriers are positioned in such a way that they can be moved in guides transversely over the transport mechanism that the carriers are mounted and connected to a control mechanism that activates them. The mechanism that controls the carriers and the buffers consists of a curve guide, a grooved curve for example, that extends all the way along the transport mechanism and of guide rollers bordering them and resting on the shaft of the carriers.
To ensure reliable loading of the machine without malfunction, the buffers are positioned between the carriers on the transport mechanism that the carriers are mounted on in such a way that the buffers can be moved, their heads supporting one side of the articles arriving in the infeed before the side of the frontmost article is picked up by its associated carrier. A curved guide that extends along the direction of conveyance and within which the buffers are guided by appropriate guide rollers is provided to control the buffers. Finally, a lead device is provided at the side of the infeed to further guide the articles toward the tube of wrapping material.
The theory behind the invention allows an extremely wide range of potential embodiments, one of which is illustrated in the drawings, in which
FIG. 1 is a schematic front view of the intake section of a packaging machine,
FIG. 2 is a top view of the section of a packaging machine illustrated in FIG. 1,
FIGS. 3 through 5 are details of FIG. 2 illustrating various operating positions
REFERENCES:
patent: 2605597 (1952-08-01), Scheib
patent: 3283470 (1966-11-01), Oelze et al.
patent: 3900096 (1975-08-01), Nack et al.
Coan James F.
Fogiel Max
Otto Hansel GmbH
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