GB1398550A - Article handling apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

1398550 Conveying and stacking tea bags and like packets; delivering flat articles DELAMERE & WILLIAMS CO Ltd 10 Nov 1972 [12 Nov 1971] 52082/72 Headings B8A B8R and B8C Tea bags T (Fig. 1), being conveyed on edge, in line, are successively picked up by grippers 38 as the latter are carried along the bottom run of an endless conveyer. The grippers, after they close on a tea bag, are rotated through 90 degrees and are displaced laterally. The lateral movement is in opposite directions for each alternate gripper. This produces two side-by-side stacks of tea bags. Each gripper comprises two jaws mounted on pivot pins 40, fixed on a plunger 42. The plunger is rotatably mounted in a cylinder 46 carried on a bar 36 slidable relative to a bridge member 26. The ends of the latter are connected to respective endless conveyer chains. Each bar 36 has a cam follower roller 82 which runs between a pair of cam rails 86. Alternate bars 36 have their cam follower rollers 82 at opposite ends, there being an appropriate pair of rails 86 on each side of the conveyer. The pairs of rails 36 converge in the direction of travel of the conveyer, away from the point of tea bag pick-up. This results in the grippers 38 (which are all initially disposed centrally of the conveyer) being displaced alternately to each side of the conveyer. Due to links 58 (Fig. 4), coupled between each gripper plunger 42 and a pivot point on the associated bridge 26, the grippers rotate through 90 degrees as they are displaced laterally. Thus the tea bags are moved rotationally and laterally into positions for forming two side-by-side rows, are are released into pockets of a corresponding conveyer as shown at the l.h. side of Fig. 1. The grippers 38 are urged to a gripping position by the action of a spring 74 which urges a plunger 62 radially inwardly of the conveyer. On its outer end, the plunger 62 is formed with rack teeth which drive the jaws of the gripper. Prior to pick-up of the tea bags, and at the region of release (at the l.h. side of Fig. 1), the grippers are opened by the action of cam tracks 90 which engage a follower 79 carried on each plunger 62. Additional cam members 96, 96, may be projected so as to release a defective bag. The bags are scanned by sensors (S1) (S2) (Fig. 8, not shown). These control a valve (V) in an air pressure line connected to a motor (MC) (Fig. 7, not shown), which motivates the members 96. The followers 79 are lubricated by a pad 118.