Conveyors: power-driven – Conveyor system for establishing and moving a group of items – Subdivides continuous item stream into longitudinally spaced...
Reexamination Certificate
1999-10-12
2001-10-30
Valenza, Joseph E. (Department: 3651)
Conveyors: power-driven
Conveyor system for establishing and moving a group of items
Subdivides continuous item stream into longitudinally spaced...
C053S448000, C053S543000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06308817
ABSTRACT:
The present invention relates to a method of forming a group of products on a cartoning machine.
The present invention may be used to advantage on machines for cartoning groups of bottles, to which the following description refers purely by way of example.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Machines for cartoning groups of bottles normally comprise a bottle grouping unit, normally located at the input of the cartoning machine.
Known bottle grouping units, such as the one described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,667,055, subject the bottles to relatively severe mechanical stress, on account of the groups normally being formed by feeding the bottles, spaced apart, along a given path, arresting one of the bottles, and feeding the rest up against the stationary bottle to form a group which is then removed. Moreover, jostling the incoming bottles against one another and against the stationary bottle in this way obviously imposes a relatively low maximum traveling speed of the bottles.
Limiting the maximum traveling speed of the bottles in turn results in an increase in the time taken to form each group and, consequently, in relatively low productivity.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method of forming a group of products on a cartoning machine, designed to eliminate the aforementioned drawbacks and which, at the same time, is cheap and easy to implement.
According to the present invention, there is provided a method of forming a group of products on a cartoning machine, said group comprising at least one row defined by a given number of products; the method being characterized by comprising the steps of forming an orderly succession of products; feeding said succession at a substantially constant first speed and along a first portion of a path by means of a first conveyor; feeding said succession onto a second conveyor located along a second portion of said path and traveling at a substantially constant second speed greater than the first speed; braking, on said second conveyor, a leading product in said succession, so as to cause the products of the succession to abut each other, until a portion of said succession comprising said given number of products moves onto the second conveyor; and releasing said leading product gradually so as to cause said portion to accelerate to said second speed.
The present invention also relates to a unit for forming a group of products on a cartoning machine.
According to the present invention, there is provided a unit for forming a group of products on a cartoning machine, said group comprising at least one row defined by a given number of products; the unit being characterized by comprising a compacting device for forming an orderly succession of products arranged contacting one another; a first conveyor for feeding said succession at a substantially constant first speed and along a first portion of a given path; a second conveyor located along a second portion of said path to receive said succession from said first conveyor and to convey said succession at a substantially constant second speed greater than the first speed; and braking means for engaging, on said second conveyor, a leading product in said succession, for braking the leading product until a portion of said succession comprising said given number of products moves onto the second conveyor, and for releasing said leading product gradually to enable said portion of the succession to accelerate up to said second speed.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4637509 (1987-01-01), Raudat et al.
patent: 4642967 (1987-02-01), Culpepper
patent: 5056298 (1991-10-01), Deadmond
patent: 5148654 (1992-09-01), Kisters
patent: 5667055 (1997-09-01), Gambetti
patent: 5701726 (1997-12-01), Smith
patent: 9306597 (1993-07-01), None
patent: 6902462 (1970-08-01), None
Derwent Abstract of NL 6902462 dated Aug. 19, 1970.
Corniani Carlo
Maggi Attilio
Risi Roberto
Azionario Costruzioni Macchine Automatiche A.C.M.A. S.p.A.
Ladas & Parry
Valenza Joseph E.
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