EP0076939B1 - Device for forming and delivering small packages consisting of several plain individual products of paper, cellulose wadding or the like - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a device for forming and dispensing packets from several flat individual products made of paper, cellulose wadding or the like, in which the individual products are fed to a stacking device lying at intervals between conveyor belts and the packets formed there are removed by a dispensing device connected downstream of the stacking device and be dissipated.

Such devices are generally known. They are used, for example, to combine products made from a paper web by cutting and folding, such as paper handkerchiefs, paper towels, etc., into packages consisting of counted individual pieces and, for example, to feed them to a packaging machine. For this purpose, the devices can be preceded by a whole series of other machine groups, such as unwinding stations, printing machines, embossing calenders, folding devices and cross cutters.

A problem with such devices is that the speed at which the products can be fed to the device is limited by the fact that after each package is completed, a certain amount of time is required to feed the package from the stacker to the dispenser. The uptake of the supplied individual products by the stacking device and the formation of a new packet can only be resumed when the previous packet has left the stacking device completely and the stacking device is returned to the initial state in which the formation of a new packet can be started . So that the devices upstream of the device cannot either only run at a relatively slow speed or can only be operated intermittently, it is possible to connect several devices for the formation and delivery of parcels in parallel and to operate them in tandem, each of these devices using transport switches with which the machines supplying the products are connected. Such systems are very expensive in terms of the necessary transport switches and the dispensing devices.

A device for packaging cross-folded carrier bags in outer bags is known (DE-A 23 60 628), in which there are two stacking devices arranged one behind the other as seen in the feed direction, which are alternately in operation and in which the products are fed to the second stacking device by the The first stacking device takes place and each stacking device has a collecting cassette arranged below the conveyor belt system and an ejection device arranged above the conveyor belt system, which is provided with a vertically acting ejection plate, and the conveyor belt system consists at least in the area of the ejection device of parallel single belts which are arranged in such a way that the products are narrow Edge zones are detected and pressed through one of the ejection devices through the conveyor belt system into one of the collecting cassettes and in which the delivery device to the stacking devices continues is arranged that the parcels are discharged on the dispenser in a direction perpendicular to the feed direction. This known device corresponds to the general concept of claim 1.

The ejection devices in the known device are driven by pneumatic piston-cylinder units. This has the disadvantage that the device is extremely limited in terms of the number of lifting and lowering movements of the ejection device per unit of time and high output rates cannot be achieved.

A device is also known (DE-A 24 02 239) for conveying single sheets, in which there are two stacking devices arranged one behind the other, as seen in the feed direction, which are each operated alternately, the products being fed to the second stacking device by the first Stacking device is carried out. The individual sheets are held by suction on conveyor belts arranged above them. However, such a device is not useful for conveying and collecting folded products, since the suction effect only affects the top layer and the folded products would fall apart hanging on the conveyor belt. in the case of several products, only the top product would be recorded at all.

The object underlying the invention was to improve a device with the features from the preamble of claim 1 so that it is possible with relatively little design effort, individual products, in particular folded individual products and several individual products combined in small packages, at high speed continuously feed the device, selectively convey it to the first or second high-speed stacking device and continuously discharge the packets formed there without the feed process having to be interrupted.

The invention is based on the knowledge that it is not possible to drive the ejection devices pneumatically, hydraulically or electrically at the required high production speeds, because with these drives the pushing of the Individual products are not possible with the required accuracy due to the conveyor belt system in the collection cassettes. The basic idea of the solution is to provide a purely mechanical drive that works with the required accuracy and speed, with a particular problem to be solved was also to control the alternating work of the two stacking devices with the required accuracy.

The above object is achieved according to the invention with the features specified in the characterizing part of patent claim 1.

Advantageous embodiments of the device according to the invention are the subject of the dependent claims.

The device according to the invention can be produced in a structurally simple manner, in particular in the embodiments described in the subclaims.

In a particularly advantageous embodiment of the device according to the invention, in which the individual products coming from a cross cutter are fed to the first stacking device at intervals between conveyor belts, the stacking devices are preceded by a collecting device. The great advantage of this embodiment is that it enables the throughput speed of the device to be adapted to the generally very high working speed of the cross cutter without great design effort, which is difficult because the maximum working speed of the ejection devices carrying out an up and down movement limits is.

The control of the downward movement of the cassette bottoms of the collecting cassettes described in claim 10 can be carried out in various ways. Claims 11 and 12 indicate simple mechanical constructions that work with one or two cams. However, it is also possible in principle to design the control entirely as a pneumatic sequence control.

In a very advantageous embodiment of the device according to the invention, the features of claim 14 are realized, with which a particularly gentle and clean stacking of the individual products in the collecting cassettes is achieved.

It is fundamentally possible in the device according to the invention to work with a dispensing device as described in claim 15, in which the packets formed are discharged with a single cassette chain assigned to both stacking devices. If higher throughput speeds are to be achieved, however, an embodiment of the dispensing device as described in claims 16 and 17 has proven particularly useful.

Very favorable results regarding the feeding of the individual products as well as the simplicity and compactness of the overall device are achieved if the conveyor belt is designed according to the features of claims 18 and 19.

With the embodiment according to claims 3 to 7, it is possible to lock both stacking devices at the same time in a very quick and simple manner during the operation of the entire device, and it is additionally achieved that in this locked state an unimpeded passage of the products through the entire device is possible . In this way, it becomes possible to interrupt the collection process immediately if individual products appear that are unusable for production due to material or dimensional errors, the defective individual products passing through the conveyor through the device through a special collecting device, for example a waste. Containers are fed.

• Fig. 1 eine Einrichtung zur Bildung und Abgabe von Päckchen nach der Erfindung in einer schematischen Vorderansicht;
• Fig. 2 in einer stark schematisierten paraleElperspektivischen Darstellung den Weg der Erzeugnisse durch die Vorrichtung nach Fig. 1;
• Fig. 3 in einer parallel-perspektivischen Darstellung eine Steuervorrichtung für die Kassettenböden;
• Fig. 4 in einer parallel-perspektivischen Darstellung eine Sperrvorrichtung für eine Einrichtung nach Fig. 1;
• Fig. 5 eine Einzelheit der Vorrichtung nach Fig. 1 im Bereich der Ausstoßvorrichtung in einer parallel-perspektivischen Darstellung;
• Fig. 6 in einer teilgeschnittenen Teildarstellung eine Variante zur Steuervor ichtung für die Kassettenböden gemäß Fig. 3.
• Fig. 7 in einer schematischen Teilansicht von vorne eine Ausführungsform einer Einrichtung zur Bildung und Abgabe von Päckchen mit einer beiden Stapelvorrichtungen gemeinsam zugeordneten zusätzlichen Sperrvorrichtung;
• Fig. 8 einen Schnitt nach der Linie VIII-VIII in Fig. 7.

Exemplary embodiments of the device according to the invention are explained in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

• Figure 1 shows a device for forming and dispensing parcels according to the invention in a schematic front view.
• Fig. 2 shows in a highly schematic, parallel perspective view the path of the products through the device according to Fig. 1;
• 3 shows a control device for the cassette bottoms in a parallel perspective illustration;
• FIG. 4 shows a locking device for a device according to FIG. 1 in a parallel perspective illustration; FIG.
• 5 shows a detail of the device according to FIG. 1 in the region of the ejection device in a parallel perspective illustration;
• 6 shows a variant of the control device for the cassette bottoms according to FIG. 3 in a partially cut partial illustration.
• 7 shows a schematic partial view from the front of an embodiment of a device for forming and dispensing packets with an additional blocking device which is jointly assigned to the two stacking devices;
• 8 shows a section along the line VIII-VIII in FIG. 7.

The device shown in FIGS. 1 to 6 for the formation and delivery of packets from individual products, for example paper towels, has two stacking devices, of which a first is generally designated BC and a second is generally designated DE. The two stacking devices BC and DE are arranged one behind the other, and a conveyor belt consisting of several individual belts 1, 2 and 3, which will be explained in more detail below, is guided such that it first passes through the stacking device BC and then through the stacking device DE. The The device is preceded by a cross cutter 26, which is only indicated, and which may also be preceded by further machines which are not specifically shown.

The individual products separated from the cross cutter 26 are fed to the first stacking device B-C in the direction Z after passing through a collecting device explained in more detail below. The principle of the device and the flow of the products can best be read from FIG. 2. In the first stacking device B-C, a first packet P is formed from the supplied individual products A. As soon as the predetermined number of individual products in the package has been reached, this package is fed onto one of two transport chains 17 of a delivery device and at the same time the stacking device BC is blocked in order to be made continuous for the following individual products A, which are also supplied to the second stacking device DE, in which the next packet P is already formed while the first packet is being fed to the delivery device. When this has been completed, it is immediately switched back to the first stacking device B-C while this parcel is being handed over to the second of the two transport chains 17. The finished packets P pass through the delivery device in a direction perpendicular to the feed direction Z and are pushed at the end of the two transport chains 17 onto a third transport chain 29, which is explained in more detail below, and arrive on this, for example, at a packing machine F.

The details of the overall structure of the device can be seen in FIGS. 1 and 2.

Each of the two stacking devices BC and DE has an ejection device B and D arranged above the conveyor belt 1-2-3. Each of the ejection devices has a lifting frame 4, which is guided in rod guides 5 so as to be vertically movable, and an ejection plate 25 on its underside is arranged. An eccentric disc 6 (see also FIG. 4) is arranged inside the lifting frame 4 and is connected to a drive shaft 10, which leads to a drive 12. The lifting frame 4 is supported by a support roller 7 on the eccentric 6. From the drive 12, the lifting frame 4 is raised by the eccentric disc 6 against the force of pressure springs 8 and in this way is caused to make continuous lifting and lowering movements.

Below the conveyor belt 1-2-3, each stacking device has a collecting cassette, which is denoted overall by C or E. Each of the collecting cassettes C and E has a controlled lowerable floor 15 on which a storage plate 16 is supported by springs 38.

A control device shown in FIG. 3 can be used to control the lowering of the base, in FIG. 3 the two cassette bases are designated 15a and 15b. Each cassette base 15a, 15b is connected to a control shaft 32a, 32b via a pivot lever 33a, 33b. Control levers 34a, 34b are arranged on the control shafts 32a and 32b and are guided on cam disks 31a, 31b. The two cams 31a and 31b are designed such that, via the mechanism shown in FIG. 3, the two cassette bottoms 15a and 15b execute a movement which is phase-shifted by approximately 180 ° with respect to one another, in which they are first slowly lowered, then lowered more quickly to an end position and finally be raised again after a standstill.

The collecting cassettes C and E are designed as collecting shafts, which are delimited at their four corners by perpendicular angle profiles for centering the packets P. The rear angle profiles 20 are arranged in a fixed manner, while the front angle profiles 21 a and 21 b are arranged so as to be rotatable about an axis perpendicular to the bottom of the cassette in order to clear the passage path for the parcels P from the collecting cassette onto the transport chain 17.

The conveyor belt is constructed in a manner known per se from a plurality of groups of belts running in parallel, which are guided in the region of the two ejection devices B, D in the manner shown in FIG. 5. As can be seen, the conveyor belt consists of three belt groups, namely two lower edge zone belts 1, which are designed as flat belts, two upper edge zone belts 2, which are designed as round belts, and a central belt 3, which is designed as a flat belt. The edge zone belts 1 and 2 are guided so that that each individual product A is covered by them in narrow marginal zones. In order to avoid a large return path for the two lower marginal zone bands, these are guided in the manner shown in FIGS. 1 and 5. After this, the lower edge zone bands 1 are returned after the band has been folded into a position in which the band plane is rotated by 90 °, past the collecting cassettes C and E. In order to obtain an even better guidance of the individual products, a center belt 3 is also provided in the area of the ejection devices B and D.

The ejection plate 25 arranged on the lifting frame 4 is therefore designed as a double plate which is fastened to the lifting frame 4 via a U-shaped holder 37. When the lifting frame is moved up and down, the double plate 25 dips into the area between the upper candle zone belts 2 and the central belt 3 and presses the individual product A down into one of the collecting cassettes C or E.

In the areas outside the ejection devices B and D, the conveyor belt can be included both on the top and on the bottom of the individual products A. or several center bands to provide a more stable section guide.

Each of the ejection devices B and D has a locking device for the purpose of interrupting the lifting of the lifting frame 4. This locking device is shown in more detail in FIG. 4. It has a hollow control shaft 9 which is arranged around the drive shaft 10 and is connected at one end to its own drive device 13. A control disk 11 is arranged at the other end of the control shaft 9. The circumference of this control disk 11 has two areas, each with a 180 ° circumferential angle, which have a different radius. Furthermore, a stop 14 is arranged on the lifting frame 4, which extends parallel to the drive shaft 10 into the circumferential region of the control disk 11. This stop 14 is arranged and the two radii of the control disk 11 are dimensioned such that when the lifting frame 4 is raised, the peripheral region of the control disk 11 with a larger radius can slide straight under the stop 14, but the lifting frame 4, as long as the peripheral section with a larger radius is located under the stop 14, with a corresponding position of the eccentric disc 6, despite the action of the compression springs 8, cannot perform a lowering movement. However, if the peripheral area with a smaller radius is below the stop 14, the lifting frame 4 can carry out its lifting and lowering movements unhindered. The lowering movements of the lifting frame 4 are thus blocked in a certain position of the control disk 11. The eccentric disc 6 then continues to run without affecting the lifting frame 4.

By changing the rotational speed of the control disk 11 via the A drive 13, the number of strokes or the blocking time can be predetermined as desired, the same number of revolutions of the eccentric disk 6 taking place during a blocking time as in the operating time.

The two locking devices of the ejection devices 8, D are operated from a common drive, in such a way that one of the two ejection devices 8 and D is in operation, while the other D and 8 is locked.

The dispensing device for the parcels P connects to the collecting cassettes C and E arranged under the ejection devices 8 and D. As already mentioned, it has two circumferential conveyor chains 17 arranged at right angles to the conveyor belt 1-2-3, the front ends of which are each arranged below one of the collecting cassettes C and E. Each of the transport chains 17 consists of two pairs of double chains, which are connected to one another via chain pins 18, with drivers 18 being arranged on the chain pins. The double chain pairs, as can be seen from FIG. 2, are guided via separate guide rollers 36a and 36b and the drivers 19 are connected to the chain pairs in such a way that the drivers are always circumferentially guided in a direction parallel to one another.

With the cassette bottom lowered, the drivers 19 each push a finished packet P out of one of the collecting cassettes C or E with the angle profile 21a or 21b open and onto a track 17a, on which it is transported. At the end of the transport chain 17, it is pushed onto a third transport chain 29 running at right angles to the other two transport chains 17, which is provided with drivers 3ü. The packet P is fed to a packing machine F by this third transport chain 29.

Both the transport chains 17 and the transport chain 29 can run continuously.

FIG. 6 shows a variant of the control device shown in FIG. 3 for lowering the bottoms 15 and 15a, 15b of the collecting cassettes C and E, respectively. As can be seen from FIG. 1, a storage plate 16 is supported on the cassette base 15 by means of compression springs 38 in order to allow the respective parcel to yield resiliently when a single product is pressed in. Instead of a helical spring 38, a pneumatic spring 35 can also be used here, on which the support plate 16a (see FIG. 6) is supported. The air chamber of the pneumatic spring 35 is constantly in an unspecified manner under an adjustable pressure that allows a given travel. The storage plate 16a is connected directly to the guide arm 33a or 33b via the pneumatic spring 35 and to the cam plate 31a or 31b in FIG. 3 via the shaft 32a or 32b.

In the device shown in FIGS. 1 to 6, a collecting device is additionally arranged in the transport path of the individual products A in front of the first stacking device BC. This collecting device has a rotating collecting cylinder 22 arranged below or above the conveyor belt and a lock 23 which is controlled by a cam disk 24. This lock 23 is controlled so that every second one of the individual products A is not immediately led onto the conveyor belt 1-2, but instead Collection cylinder 22 is supplied. By means of conveyor belts 27 guided around the collecting cylinder 22, the branched individual product, designated A 'on the collecting cylinder 22, is circulated in one full cycle and fed back to the conveyor belt at the receiving point. The diameter and the speed of rotation of the collecting cylinder 22 are chosen with regard to the transport speed and the distance of the individual products A on the conveyor belt so that each individual product A 'fed to the collecting cylinder 22 is placed after one cycle exactly on an individual product A following on the conveyor belt. The superimposed individual products A and A 'then pass through Lock 23 and are fed in the direction Z to the stacking devices BC and DE. If the circumference of the collecting cylinder 22 has a length which corresponds to the sum of the length of three individual products and three spaces arranged between the individual products and its speed is selected such that the peripheral speed of the collecting cylinder 22 is equal to the transport speed of the individual products A, a Individual product fed from the lock 23 to the collecting cylinder 22 is placed on the third of the subsequent individual products.

With this collecting device it is possible to double the feed speed to the cross cutter 26 and thus the total machine throughput.

The operation of the device shown in FIGS. 1 to 6 is explained below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

1 shows a state of the device in which the stacking device B-C is locked and the stacking device D-E is in operation. A single or multi-lane paper strand is fed to the cross cutter 26 and is divided into individual products A. The individual products A pass through the collecting device in which, in the manner described above, two individual products are placed one on top of the other and transported further in the direction Z. They are led on the conveyor belt 1-2-3 under the ejection device B, which is locked, to the stacking device D-E, which is currently in operation. The lowering movements of the lifting frame 4 push the products through the conveyor belt 1-2-3 into the collecting cassette E, which is slowly lowered during this time using the control device described with reference to FIG. 3. If there is a predetermined number of products in the collecting cassette E, the latter is quickly lowered to the end position. At the same time, the locking device of the stacking device B-C is released and the locking device of the stacking device D-E is locked. The same process of packet formation on the stacking device B-C now begins. During this time, in the manner shown in FIG. 2, the packet P formed in the collecting cassette E is gripped by the drivers 19 of the transport chain 17 and guided out of the collecting cassette E onto the transport track 17a. For this purpose, the angle profiles 21 b are pivoted into a position in which the packet P can be pushed out. The bottom 15 of the collecting cassette is somewhat shorter than the length of the parcel, so that the drivers 19 lie against the parcel P and can slide it laterally past the bottom 15 onto the transport path 17a. At the end of the transport chain 17, on which several packets P can be located in each case, the packets are pushed onto the third transport chain 29 and their carriers 30 are fed to the packing machine F.

During these processes, the same process of packet formation, as can be seen in FIG. 2, takes place on the stacking device B-C. After completion of this packet, the switch to the stacking device D-E takes place again and the packet P formed on the stacking device B-C is discharged in the manner described above.

FIGS. 7 and 8 show part of a device for forming and dispensing packets from individual products, for example paper towels, which can be part of a device as shown and described in FIGS. 1 to 6. Of the stacking devices used there, only the ejection devices B and D arranged above the conveyor belt 1, 2 are shown in FIG. 7. The collecting devices (in FIGS. 1 C and E) arranged below the conveyor belt 1, 2 consisting of several individual belts are not shown. For example, they can be designed and provided with such a dispensing device as described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6. With regard to the design of the ejection devices B and D, reference is also made to the description with reference to FIGS. 1 and 4 above. Each of the two ejection devices B and D has a first locking device for the purpose of interrupting the lifting of the lifting frame 4, while the other ejection device is in operation. This locking device is shown in more detail in FIG. 4 and described further above.

So that a simultaneous blocking of both ejection devices B and D can be achieved, a common, second blocking device is arranged on these ejection devices.

This second locking device has a locking rod 40 running in the feed direction Z next to the two lifting frames 4, which is guided on levers 43 and 44 which are connected to it in an articulated manner and which can be pivoted about the axes 10 of the eccentric discs 6, the lever 43 on the first ejection device B. and the lever 44 is arranged on the second ejection device D. By the two levers 43 and 44, the locking rod 40 is guided so that it can be raised parallel to its longitudinal direction from a rest position, which is shown in Fig. 7, in a locking position, not shown.

At the upper part of the lifting frame 4 stops 41 and 42 are arranged, which, as shown, can be designed as rollers or as catch noses. The arrangement of these stops and the rest position and locking position of the locking rod 40 are selected so that in the rest position the distance of the top of the locking rod 40 from the stops 41 and 42 is greater than the lifting height of the lifting frame 4, so that the stops even when the lifting frame is lowered not on the Sit locking rod 40 and the lifting frame 4, controlled by the eccentric discs 6, can move up and down unhindered.

The locking rod 40 is raised by means of a control cylinder 45 which acts on an extension 44a of the lever 44 assigned to the ejection device D. By extending the control cylinder 45, the lever 44 in FIG. 7 is pivoted counterclockwise about the axis 10 and thereby the locking rod 40, which is guided in parallel by the other lever 43, is raised. In the raised position, both stops 41, 42 are seated on the top of the locking rod 40 so that both lifting frames 4 are held in the raised position and cannot perform any downward movement under the action of the springs 8. Since both lifting frames 4 are held in the raised position at the same time, the products fed in the feed direction Z can pass the two ejection devices B and D unhindered in this state and emerge from the device in the direction of the arrow M, for example, where they come into waste, not shown - Containers can fall. The lifting height of the locking rod 40 can be set in an adjustable manner by adjustable stops 48 and 49 which are arranged on the ejection device D on both sides of the lifting frame 4 and which cooperate with counter-stops 46 and 47 on the lever 44. The stop pair 46, 48 defines the rest position and the stop pair 47, 49 the locking position of the locking rod 40.

Claims (19)

1. A device for forming packages consisting of several plain individual products of paper, cellulose wadding or the like, and for deliwering said packages in a rapid sequence, said indiwidual products (A) being conveyed at intervals by a belt conveyer system (1-2-3) to a stacking mechanism (B-C, D-E), and the packages (P) formad therein being removed and led away by a delivery mechanism (17) following said stacking mechanism, whereby two stacking mechanisms (B-C, D-E) are arranged one after the other in feeding direction, said stacking mechanisms operating in alternating sequence and the conveyance of the products to the sacond stacking mechanism (D-E) taking place straight through the first stacking mechanism (B-C), whereby each of the stacking mechanisms comprises a collecting cassette (C-E) arranged below the belt conveyar system, as well as an expeller mechanism (B,D) arranged above the belt conveyer system (1-2-3) and including a vertically operating expeller plate (25), said belt conveyer system (1-2-3) comprising, at least in the range of the expeller mechanisms (B,D), parallelly mowing individual belts (1-2) which are arranged in such a way that the products (A) are grasped in narrow marginal zones and are pushed, by one of the expeller mechanisms (B, D), through the belt conveyer system (1-2-3) into one of the collecting cassettes (C-E), the delivery mechanism (17) being arranged relative to the stacking mechanisms (B-C, D-E) in such a way that the delivery mechanism takes place in a direction perpendicularly to the direction of feed (Z), characterized in that each of the expeller mechanisms (B, D) comprises a movable lifting frame (4) which slides in rod guides (5) and at the lower end of which at least one expeller plate (25, 25a) is prowided, and which is adapted to be lifted, against the force of a compression spring (8), by means of an eccentric sheave (6) secured to a drive shaft (10), and that, during the operation of the second stacking mechanism (D), the expeller mechanism (B) of the first stacking mechanism is blocked by a locking mechanism comprising a driveable hollow control shaft (9) enclosing the drive shaft (10) ower part of its length to which control shaft a cam plate (11) is attached the circumference of which comprises two angle areas having radii of different length, and further comprising a stop member (14) attached to the lifting frame (4), said stop member being guided on the circumference of the cam plate (11) in such a manner that, depending on the position of the cam plate, the lifting frame (4) is either hald back in its raised- position or is released.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that both stacking mechanisms (B-C, D-E) each comprise a locking mechanism the control shafts (9) of which are connected with a common drive (13), that the angular areas having radii of different length comprise 180° each, and, on both cam plates (11), are offset to one another by an angle of approximately 180°, and that the transition from the smaller to the larger radius is substantially in the form of a step whereby the larger radius is of such length that when the lifting frame (4) occupies its fully lifted position, a predetermined clearance occurs between the stop member (14) and the circumference of the cam plate (11) having the larger radius.

3. A device as claimed in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it comprises a further locking mechanism (40 to 45) which is commonly associated with both of the stacking mechanisms (B' D) and by means of which both stacking mechanisms (B' D) can be simultaneously blocked in their operation and left open for the passage of the products said locking mechanism including a locking rod (40) arranged adjacent to both lifting frames (4) and extending in feeding direction (Z), as well as stop members (41, 42) arranged at the lifting frames (4) above the locking rod (40), said locking rod (40) being adapted to be lifted from a rest position in which its distance from the stop members (41, 42) is larger than the stroke of the lifting frames, into a blocking position in which both stop members (41, 42) rest upon the locking rod (40) so that both lifting frames (4), independently from the position of the eccentric sheaves (6) and the operationel condition of the locking mechanisms (10, 11, 14) associeted with the individual stacking mechanisms (B, D), are held back in their raised position.

4. A device as claimed in claim 3, characterized in that the locking rod (40) is guided by two levers (43, 44) which are pivotable about the shafts (10) of the eccentric sheaves (6), said levars being pivotally connected with the locking rod (40).

5. A device as claimed in claim 4, characterized in that a control cylinder (45) for lifting the locking rod (40) acts upon an extension (44a) of one of the levers (44).

6. A device as claimed in one of claims 3 to 5, characterized in that the stop members (41, 42) which are provided at the lifting frames (4), are formed as rollers.

7. A device as claimed in any of claims 4 to 6, characterized in that two stop members (46, 47) are attached to at least one of the levers (44) for cooperation with adjustable counter stop members (48, 49) in order to fix the rest position and the locking position of the locking rod (40).

8. A device as claimed in any of claims 1 to 7 in which device the individual products arriving from a crosscutter, are conveyed to the first stacking mechanism at intervals between belt conveyers, characterized in that the stacking mechanisms (B- . C, D-E) are preceded by a collecting mechanism comprising a lock (23) for conveying every second one of the incoming individual products (A) to a rotating collecting cylinder (22) having a circumference the length of which corresponds to the length of three individual products plus three intervals between said products, and that each individual product (A') which is carried on by the collecting cylinder (22), is laid down after one revolution on a following individual product supplied by the belt conveyer.

9. A device as claimed in any of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the collecting cassettes (C, E) are open on two opposite sides thereof and comprise a bottom (15,15a, 15b, 16ae) which is downwardly movable in controlled manner, and further comprise horizontally acting ejector mechanisms (19) for pushing the finished package (P) out of the collecting cassette (C, E) in a direction towards the delivery mechanism (17).

10. A device as claimed in claim 9, characterized in that the bottom (15, 15a, 15b, 16a) of each of the collecting cassettes (C-E) is connected with control means (31a, 31 b) by means of which the two bottoms (15a, 15b) of the cassettes are first slowly moved downwardly in alternating sequence i.e. out-of-phase by 180°, are then moved faster downwardly into an end position and, after a standstill, are finally moved upwardly again.

11. A device as claimed in claim 10, characterized in that a common cam plate is provided for the two bottoms of the cassettes, said cam plate controlling a drive pinion meshing with a rack which is connected to the respective cassette bottom.

12. A device as claimed in claim 10, characterized in that a separate cam plate (31a, 31 b) is provided for each of the cassette bottoms (15a, 15b), said cam plates each controlling a pivoted lever (33a, 33b) connected to the cassette bottom.

13. A device as claimed in claim 10, characterized in that the control means is formed as a pneumatic sequence control.

14. A device as claimed in claims 10 to 13, characterized in that each of the collecting cassettes (C, E) comprises a depositing plate (16, 16a) which, through a springy intermediate link (35, 38) having a predetermined stroke, is connected with the cassette bottom (15) or the control means (31a, 31b), respectively.

15. A device as claimed in any of claims 1 to 14, characterized in that the delivery mechanism comprises a travelling cassette chain arranged perpendicularly to the belt conveyer, the forward end of said cassette chain being arranged between the collecting cassettes of the two stacking mechanisms, whereby the cassettes are each open on the two sides facing the stacking mechanisms, and whereby an ejector mechanism acting horizontally in a direction parallel to the belt conveyer, is arranged at each of the collecting aessettes, a further ejector mechanism acting horizontally in a direction parallel to the belt conveyer being arranged at the rearward end of the cassette chain.

16. A device as claimed in any of claims 1 to 14, characterized in that the delivery mechanism comprises two travelling chain conveyers (17) arranged perpendicularly to the belt conveyer (1-2-3), the forward end of said chain conveyers being positioned below a collecting cassette (C, E), each chain conveyer comprising a pair of chains (17) connected through chain bolts (18) whereby catches (19) are attached to said chain bolts (18) for pushing the finished package (P) out of the collecting cassette (C, E) in a direction perpendicular to the belt conveyer, and for guiding the package along a path of travel (17a), and that, at the rearward end of the chain conveyer (17), a third chain conveyer (29) having catches (30) is arranged perpendicularly to said first and second chain conveyer (17) onto which third chain conveyer the packages (P) are pushed by the first and second chain conveyer (17).

17. A device as claimed in claim 17, characterized in that at least the first and second chain conveyers consist of a pair of double chains by means of which the catches (19) are always guided in directions parallel to one another.

18. A device as claimed in any of claims 1 to 17, characterized in that the individual belts (1-2-3) of the belt conveyer, at least in the range of the expeller mechanisms (B, D) consist each of an upper and a lower marginal-zone belt (2 or 1) arranged in both marginal zones, whereby the upper marginal-zone belt (2) is formed as a round belt and the lower marginal-zona belt (1) is formed as a flat belt, and whereby the return movement of the lower marginal-zone belt (1) takes place laterally of tha collecting cassettes (C, E) with the plane of the belt twisted by an angle of 90°.

19. A device as claimad in claim 18, characterized in that between the two upper marginal-zone balts (2), an intermediate belt (3) in the form of a flat belt is guidad, and that the expeller plate is formed as a dual plate (15) attached to a U-shaped holder (37) and adapted to be inserted into the range between tne upper marginal-zone belts (2) and the intermediate belt (3).

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