Folded box hopper in a packaging machine

Details Folded box hopper in a packaging machine Folded box hopper in a packaging machine

1999-10-12

2001-08-21

Krizek, Janice L. (Department: 3652)

Material or article handling

Apparatus for moving intersupporting articles into, within,...

Unstacking apparatus

C271S157000, C414S795800, C493S315000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06276893

ABSTRACT:

This application claims Paris Convention Priority of DE 198 49 406.8 filed Oct. 27, 1998 the complete disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention concerns a folded box hopper in a packaging machine having a hopper shaft accepting a stack of folded boxes, a transfer device having a gripper for removing the lowermost folded box of the stack from the hopper shaft and an input belt for introducing the folded boxes into the hopper shaft, having a first adjustment device for height adjustment of the gripper and the hopper shaft relative to a downstream transport belt as well as a second adjustment device for the alignment of the hopper shaft relative to the gripper, wherein a height and/or tilt of the input belt can be changed.
During operation of a packaging machine, the initially flat, collapsed folded boxes must be erected and fed to the actual packaging unit. Towards this end, an input belt introduces folded boxes to a hopper shaft, the hopper shaft constituting an intermediate storage instrument and is normally tilted in a diagonally downward direction, the folded boxes being accepted in the hopper shaft in a stacked fashion. The lower side of the hopper shaft is open so that the lowermost folded box of the stack can be accessed and removed from the hopper shaft using a gripper. The gripper is part of a circulating transfer device which simultaneously erects the folded boxes and deposits them on a downstream transport device, normally the so-called folded box chain.
A reliable functioning of the folded box hopper and of the transfer device depends substantially on the precise mutual adjustment of the dimensioning and positioning of the individual components in dependence on the format of the folded box being processed. Since a packaging machine must process folded boxes having differing formats, the relative configuration of the individual components must be adjusted in the event of a format change. Towards this end, prior art has vertically aligned the transfer device together with the hopper shaft relative to the downstream folded box chain and also adjusted the hopper shaft relative to the removal position of the transfer device gripper. In addition, the width of the hopper shaft can be adjusted to the width of the folded-together boxes. Displacement of the transfer device and of the hopper shaft necessitates new positioning of the input belt. This is usually done with a plurality of transmission elements, wherein the input belt can be adjusted in height both at its front end facing the hopper shaft as well as at its rear end and can be shifted towards and away from the hopper shaft. This plurality of adjustment motion at both ends of the input belt is tedious so that a format change consumes a substantial amount of time. Furthermore the structural difficulty associated with the input belt adjustment devices is rather significant and therefore expensive.
It is the underlying purpose of the invention to create a folded box shaft of the above mentioned kind with which the input belt can be adjusted during a format change in a simple and rapid fashion.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This purpose is achieved in accordance with the invention with a folded box shaft in that the input belt is borne for pivoting on the hopper shaft at its front end proximate thereto via a first bearing and is borne by a second bearing proximate its rear end to move through a control path.
In accordance with the invention, the input belt does not have its own, individual adjustment unit rather adjustment of the input belt is coupled to the adjustment motion of the transfer device and/or of the gripper as well as of the hopper shaft as effect by the first and the second adjustment devices. Towards this end, the input belt is borne for pivoting at its front end in the first bearing either directly or indirectly on the hopper shaft. When the hopper shaft experiences a vertical and/or horizontal shift via the adjustment motion of the first and the second adjustment devices, the first bearing of the input belt is correspondingly shifted. This leads to an associated shifting in the horizontal and/or vertical direction of the rear end of the input belt. Since the rear end of the input belt is guided by the second bearing along a control path, each position of the first bearing is associated with a unique position of the second bearing so that a suitable adjustment of the input belt can be defined within the possible adjustment range of the first and the second adjustment devices. In this manner, the input belt automatically assumes a suitable position when the first and/or second adjustment device are activated. Separate drive or adjustment units are therefore not necessary for the input belt and the structural difficulty and the expense can be kept low.
Alignment of the input belt in the individual positions is literally defined by the control path acting on the second bearing. One advantageously provides that the input belt is likewise borne in a hinged fashion at its second bearing for shifting horizontally and vertically along the control path. Towards this end, the control path should be configured in such a fashion that the input belt is either directed horizontally or slightly tilted downwardly in the transport direction.
A control path having a circular arc shape can be effected in a simple fashion when the pivoting second bearing is disposed at one end of a pendulous support which is borne at its other end in a hinged and non-displaceable fashion on the packaging machine or its frame. The bearing point of the pendulous support fixed to the frame is preferentially disposed directly below or above the input belt so that the pivot motion of the pendulous support occurs substantially in the longitudinal central plane of the input belt.
The two pendulous support bearings should be displaced relative to each other in the direction of the hopper shaft for all adjustment positions so that adjustment always leads to a monotonic upward or downward motion.
In order to adjust the transfer device as well as the hopper shaft, a support member carrying the hopper shaft is preferentially borne for adjustment via the second adjustment device on a base member supporting the transfer device, and the first bearing of the input belt is disposed on the support member. In this fashion, the first adjustment device can impose a linear vertical adjustment motion on the base member, whereas the second adjustment device can impose a linear adjustment motion on the support member in a direction parallel to the plane of the lowermost folded box of the stack disposed in the hopper shaft.
Further details and features of the invention can be extracted from the following description of an embodiment with reference to the drawing.


REFERENCES:
patent: 2918279 (1959-12-01), Jackson
patent: 3429570 (1969-02-01), Scully
patent: 3914919 (1975-10-01), Boissy et al.
patent: 5547336 (1996-08-01), Whiteman
patent: 5588643 (1996-12-01), Tagliaferri et al.
patent: 5813965 (1998-09-01), Mitchell et al.
patent: 43 14 696 (1994-11-01), None
patent: 695 00 361 (1995-11-01), None
patent: 2 478 576 (1981-09-01), None

Affiliated with

Also associated with

Rating

Folded box hopper in a packaging machine does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.

If you have personal experience with Folded box hopper in a packaging machine, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Folded box hopper in a packaging machine will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2548606