GB2072124A

GB2072124A - Improvements in wrapping machines

Info

Publication number: GB2072124A
Application number: GB8108497A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Baker Perkins Holdings Ltd
Current assignee: Baker Perkins Holdings Ltd
Priority date: 1980-03-26
Filing date: 1981-03-18
Publication date: 1981-09-30
Also published as: GB2072124B

Abstract

Chocolate bars 10 are advanced in procession to a continuously moving flight conveyor 14 providing an infeed to a wrapping machine by a slower continuously moving input conveyor 11, which delivers the articles in succession to an intermediate continuously moving take-away conveyor 12, which moves at a speed between that of the input conveyor 11 and that of the flight conveyor 14. The articles are so delivered by a tilting movement, which is controlled by a reciprocating control finger 17, which contacts the leading end of each bar leaving the input conveyor, to retard it temporarily, whereby it is released in timed relation with the movement of the flights 16 of the flight conveyors 14. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Improvements in wrapping machines It is usual practice when synchronising bar or disc shaped articles with the flights of the infeed conveyor of a continuous motion wrapping machine, to feed them in a single line up to a stop, and cross-transfer the articles into successive spaces in the conveyor by means of a pusher.

This method has a number of disadvantages especially at high speed, as the sideways shear force and endways impact on the articles will be very high. Even using the procedure described in British Patents Nos. 1443079 and 1439122, in which the time for cross-transfer is considerably greater than with the conventional method, the endways impact will be the same, i.e. equal to the force of the wrapping machine flights moving at wrapping rate.

It is known to feed a procession of articles in end-to-end abutment in alignment with the infeed conveyor with the object of reducing this impact, and to utilize a separating device to move each article sideways whilst it is still moving into position to be engaged by a flight of the infeed conveyor. British Patent No. 13721 51 depicts one such device, which depends on a lateral shearing action to effect separation of each leading article in the procession in turn for engagement with a flight.

For very fragile products even this form of separation is likely to damage products because each article is subject to a sideways movement whilst under a forward thrust from articles behind, and in the device of Patent No. 1372151 sideways displacement of each article relative to its immediate neighbour is the prime principle of separation.

The present invention provides apparatus for advancing articles in succession to a continuously moving flight conveyor providing an infeed in a substantially horizontal direction to a wrapping machine, comprising a continuously and more slowly moving upwardly travelling input conveyor on the upper part of which the articles travel in procession in end-to-end abutment, a take-away conveyor, which is located at the upper end of the input conveyor, is aligned with the flight conveyor and moves continuously at a speed intermediate the speeds of the input conveyor and the flight conveyor, and receives articles deposited thereon in succession by a tilting movement from the upper end of the input conveyor, the articles on the takeaway conveyor being engaged in succession by the flights of the flight conveyor for advance thereby, and a movable control finger, which operates in the line of travel of the articles on the input conveyor and coacts with each article in turn, as it reaches the upper end of the input conveyor, to retard said article temporarily and thereafter release it for tilting movement onto the take-away conveyor.

One embodiment of the invention will now be described in detail, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a side elevation of apparatus for transferring articles in succession from an end-toend procession to the infeed conveyor of a wrapping machine, Fig. 2 is a corresponding plan view, and Figs. 3 to 5 are detail views illustrating successive stages in the transfer of an article.

As shown, chocolate coated bars 10, which are initially randomly spaced, are advanced by an upwardly inclined input band 11 travelling at a speed V1, e.g. of 70 ft/min., so that they are in end-to-end contact at the upper end of the band, and delivered one at a time to a horizontal takeaway conveyor constituted by a pair of spaced bands 12 travelling at a speed V2 greater than V1, e.g. 100 ft/min. The bars 10 spaced on these bands 12 are further advanced to a wrapping machine (not shown) along a deadplate 1 3 by a horizontal flight conveyor travelling at a speed V3 greater than V2, e.g. of 180 ft/min.The flight conveyor includes a chain 14, which runs over end sprockets, one of which is shown at 15, and carries flights 1 6 which are disposed in the space between the two bands 12 of the take-away conveyor.

The tilting movement of the bars 10 as they move in succession onto the take-away bands 12 is controlled by a finger 17, which is disposed above the line of travel of the bars along the deadplate 13 and is reciprocated in a guide 18, in a direction aligned with the bars on the band 11, by an arm 19 operated by a cam (not shown).

When the leading end A of the leading bar 10 on the input band 11 has moved to a position B, the leading end X of the finger 17 has moved to its extreme forward position Y as shown in Fig. 3 and the trailing end C of the preceding bar has advanced to a position D. After the leading end A has contacted the finger 17, which at this moment is travelling at a speed V less than V1, the two move together to a position Z at which the bar is ready to tilt as shown in Fig. 4. The finger 17 then accelerates away from the bar as shown in Fig. 5 to allow the latter to tilt and project forwardly along the locus L (Fig. 1).

A moves to B at the speed V1 and C moves to D at the higher speed of V2, X moving to Y under control of the cam (not shown). When the leading end A of the bar moves from Y to Z in contact with the finger it moves at a velocity V of movement of the finger. On reaching the tilt point Z, at which the bar is ready to turn by the action of gravity, it is freed for so doing and for reverting to travel at speed V1 by acceleration of the finger to a speed exceeding V1.

Thus the bars 10 moving in end-to-end contact towards the tilt point move at a speed alternating from V1 to V and then back to V1 again. This action ensures that bars 10 presented to the inclined belt 11 in a random spaced order will advance until they reach end-to-end contact and make contact with the end of the finger 1 7.

It is important for the bars 10 to be allowed to row up in end-to-end contact, so that the finger 17 can synchronise them with the flights 16 travelling at speed V3.

The belts 11 and 12 travelling at speeds V1 and V2 and the flights 1 6 travelling at speed V3 are all driven by the same primary drive (not shown) and the finger 17 is also arranged to move in timed relation with the flights travelling at speed V3.

A feature of the present invention is the reduction of scuffing when transferring chocolate coated products from the lower speed inclined band 11 to the higher speed horizontal bands 12.

The tilting action used ensures instantaneous changeover from positive slow speed drive to a positive high speed drive with only line contact with the opposing slow speed drive for the last quarter of product travel across the transfer area.

Claims

1. Apparatus for advancing articles in succession to a continuously moving flight conveyor providing an infeed in a substantially horizontal direction to a wrapping machine, comprising a continuously and more slowly moving upwardly travelling input conveyor on the upper part of which the articles travel in procession in end-to-end abutment, a take-away conveyor, which is located at the upper end of the input conveyor, is aligned with the flight conveyor and moves continuously at a speed intermediate the speeds of the input conveyor and the flight conveyor, and receives articles deposited thereon in succession by a tilting movement from the upper end of the input conveyor, the articles on the take-away conveyor being engaged in succession by the flights of the flight conveyor for advance thereby, and a movable control finger, which operates in the line of travel of the articles on the input conveyor and coacts with each article in turn, as it reaches the upper end of the input conveyor, to retard said article temporarily and thereafter release it for tilting movement onto the take-away conveyor.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control finger executes a cam-controlled reciprocating movement between a forward position located clear of the leading article on the input conveyor and a retracted position, is contacted by said leading article on its ratraction stroke while travelling at a speed slower than the article and is thereafter accelerated during its retraction stroke to a speed exceeding the speed of the input conveyor when the said article has reached the point at which it is capable of tilting by gravity onto the take-away conveyor.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1 , substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.