GB1133544A - Improvements in a feeding apparatus for a packaging machine - Google Patents

Abstract

1,133,544. Endless conveyers; packaging- machines. AZIONARIA COSTRUZIONI MACCHINE AUTOMATICHE S.p.A. 9 Feb., 1967 [12 Feb., 1966], No. 6342/67. Headings B8A and B8C. Articles 7 to be arranged in a superimposed position on an endless conveyer belt 1 are alternately transferred thereto from endless conveyer belts 5, 6 disposed on opposite sides and above said conveyer 1 by respective reciprocating pusher units 117, 118 staggered in the longitudinal direction of the conveyers whereby a first layer of articles is deposited on the conveyer 1 by the pusher 117 and on stepwise movement of the conveyer 1 a second layer is deposited upon the first layer by the pusher 118. The articles are fed to the conveyers 5, 6, by an endless conveyer belt 69 having guides 73 which over a portion 74 of their length have an oblique bottom to invert the articles and which conveyer is spaced from a further conveyer 66 a distance 75 whereby broken articles (biscuits) drop through said gap. The further conveyer 66 has a plurality of channels 64 each of which feeds a storage hopper 63, the outlet of which is controlled by a reciprocating pusher 79 operated by a cam wheel 89 to alternately feed the articles to the conveyers 5, 6 disposed on opposite sides thereof. A vertical pusher 78 driven in synchronization with the pusher 79 is adapted to lift the articles clear of the hopper supports 77b for engagement by the pusher 79 and can be controlled to raise the articles clear of said pusher 79 when the number of biscuits in the hopper falls below a certain limit. The endless conveyers 5, 6 are vertically spaced with respect to each other a distance equal to the thickness of an article and have plates or shelves 15, 16 at their discharge end over which the pushers 17, 18 operated. The pushers 17, 18 are driven from cam wheels 38, 39 through a lever mechanism (Fig. 2) whereby to have a horizontal forward stroke and a reverse stroke wherein the pusher is lifted clear of the plates 15, 16. Stops 61, 62 at the ends of the plates 15, 16 have switches 161, 162 for abutment by the articles when the desired number thereof are assembled on said plates whereby to initiate a cycle of the pusher units 117, 118. In an alternative embodiment (Fig. 4, not shown) the pushers (17), (18) are provided with additional pushers (17a), (18a) whereby three layers of articles may be superimposed on the conveyer 1. The first layer is provided by the pushers (17), the second layer is provided partially by the additional pushers (17a) and partially by the additional pushers 18a, whilst the third layer is provided by the pushers (18). The number of additional pushers for each pusher unit (117), (118) is equal to where n is the number of articles per layer and the overlapping end pushers of the additional pushers are in engagement with a reciprocating bar (121) whereby they are alternately raised to pass over the articles. The stops 161, 162 and the plates 113, 114 are retractable and adjustable to compensate for irregularities in the size of the articles.