GB2220187A

GB2220187A - Apparatus for transferring and applying wrappers to articles

Info

Publication number: GB2220187A
Application number: GB8913810A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Jurgen Korner; Werner Kmoch; Wolfgang Girndt; Peter Pietsch
Original assignee: Nagema VEB
Current assignee: Nagema VEB
Priority date: 1988-07-01
Filing date: 1989-06-15
Publication date: 1990-01-04
Anticipated expiration: 2009-06-15
Also published as: IT1231472B; DD273611A1; GB2220187B; JPH0245313A; IT8948146A0; BR8903322A; GB8913810D0; DE3915888A1; DE3915888C2

Description

1 -- c 0.. "1 2r 2 APPARATUS FOR TRANSFERRING AND APPLYING WRAPPERS TO

ARTICLES The present invention relates to apparatus for transferring articles, especially sweets, from rotary feed means to rotary delivery means and applying wrappers to the articles during transfer.

A device for the wrapping of articles on the basis of the translational principle is disclosed in DD-PS 200 119. In that case, sweets are conveyed at uniform spacings in a groove in horizontal plane into a shaping shaft by entraining members of a continuously circulating, endless conveyor chain. A flexible wrapping material web runs from a supply roll by way of two feed rollers into the shaping shaft and is continuously applied around the advanced sweets, the web being applied as a hose with rim portions overlapping at the bottom. The hose with the inserted sweets is drawn through the shaft, slidingly on a plate, by two contacting, continuously driven conveyor belts and fed to a conveying device equipped with gripper tongs. After seizing of a hose end by a respective gripper tong in the region of an enclosed sweet, a pair of scissors severs a hose portion from the hose. The gripper tongs then pivot the seized hose portions into the vertical position and travel through a deflecting path, in which twisting tools twist those ends of the hose portion which project beyond the sweets. The thus wrapped sweets are thereafter freed through opening of the gripper tongs. It is disadvantageous in this device that the overall length of the device increases substantially with increasing performance of the machine.

A further device of this kind is described in DD-PS 134 621. The rotational elements of singling setter, gripper wheel, transfer wheel and wrapping wheel rotate continuously and in opposite sense one to the other in pairs. The rotational speeds of these elements are so synchronised that their retaining elements meet in a radial plane symmetrically r 5.

at a point of tangency of the circles at the same circumferential speed at the transfer or take-over places. The retaining elements meet displaced through 90 relative to each other, so that they do not obstruct each other during the transfer or take-over. This device is applicable to small articles which are prepared for the machine by a singling setter. This device is not applicable to soft articles, which are severed from a tangentially advanced continuous mass strand and in which the cut face represents the folding face of the wrapping medium. Soft articles of that kind would deform on the singling setter during the ordering pro- cess, which would lead to disturbance in the course of further processing. Articles of that kind have to be seized and advanced to the machine singly.

Finally, a device is disclosed in DE-PS 606 423 in which the head paths of the grippers of the wrapping apparatus of two neighbouring is carriers moved past each other mutually penetrate and the gripper jaws are displaced through 90' relative to each other. The gripper cheeks of one carrier run between those of the other carrier and during this passage are so opened and closed by cam control that the gripper jaws of the one apparatus open for the transfer of stock to be wrapped and wrapping, whilst the gripper jaws of the other apparatus close in order to take over stock to be wrapped and wrapping. This device is usable only for the wrapping of individual pieces of a certain strength and the performance of the device is limited by the feeding of the articles by way of a transport chain. 25 There is thus a need for apparatus able to feed, for example, small articles of soft consistency gently to a wrapping wheel in a high performance operation. Such apparatus should preferably be able to take over articles severed from a tangentially advanced mass strand and seized at the side surfaces by the retaining elements of a gripper wheel, provide them with wrappers and transfer them to a wrapping wheel for the closure of the wrappers.

According to the present invention there is provided transfer app-aratus for transferring articles from rotary feed means to rotary delivery means and applying wrappers to the articles during transfer, the apparatus comprising a wheel provided at its circumference with a plurality of retaining element pairs each operable to retain an article taken over from the feed means and with a plurality of clampipg devices arranged between the retaining element pairs and each comprising a plate to extend over an article held by an associated retaining element pair and a tong for engaging a wrapper for that article, means to turn each retaining element pair and pivot each clamping device during rotation of the wheel, and a rail arranged above the retaining element pairs and ahead of the delivery means to effect folding of wrappers around retained articles.

In a preferred embodiment, the transfer wheel is arranged after a gripper wheel and has retaining elements arranged in pairs radially at the circumference for the take-over of the articles and transport thereof to a wrapping wheel. The retaining elements are mounted to be rotatable and the elements of each pivotable clamping device, which are constructed as paper tongs and as a retaining plate, are arranged between the retaining element pairs. A substantially horizontal folding rail is mounted above the retaining elements behind a wrapper inlet. The retaining elements of each pair are operatively engaged with respective toothed racks, which are curved, for example so as to define a ballshape. In that case it may be possible to gently take over articles j 14 of soft consistency, for example caramels, from the gripper wheel and deliver them to the wrapping wheel without changing the shape of the articles and with performance of the transfer operation at relatively high speed.

The means for turning the retaining element pairs may be operable to turn the pairs through an angle of rotation of substantially 900.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be more particularly described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fi 9. 1 is a schematic front elevation of transfer apparatus embody ing the invention; and Fig. 2 is a partly sectional view, to an enlarged scale, of a transfer wheel of the apparatus.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings, there is shown transfer apparatus comprising a transfer wheel U arranged between a gripper wheel 1 and a wrapping wheel 2, the wheel U comprising a drum 3 mounted to be rotatable on an axle 4. A cam disc 5 and a double cam disc 6 are fastened to the axle 4. Retaining element pairs 7, which are mounted to be rotatable about radial axes, are arranged at the circumference of the housing 3, together with clamping devices 10 comprising sheet metal retaining plates 8 and paper tongs 9, the clamping devices being arranged between the retaining elements 7. The retaining elements 7 are each associated with a respective toothed rack 11, which is mounted to be radially displaceable in a sleeve 13 against the force of a compression spring 12. The sleeve 13 is arranged to be rotatable in the drum 3. The free end of each rack 11 bears on the effective surface of a pawl lever 14, which is mounted to be pivotable in the drum 3 and which carries a cam roller 15 co-operable with the inner cam track of the double cam disc 6. A bevel wheel 16, which is disposed in engagement with a toothed segment 17 of a pivot lever 18, is fastened to the sleeve 13. The lever 18 is mounted to be pivotable in the drum 3 and carries a cam roller 19 which follows a cam track of the cam disc 5. The clamping devices 10, which are mounted to be pivotable in the drum 3, have cam rollers 20 which follow the outer cam track of the cam disc 6. The transfer apparatus is completed by a folding rail 22 arranged horizontally above the retaining elements 7 behind a wrapper inlet 21.

In use, the rotational elements of gripper wheel 1, transfer wheel U and wrapping wheel 2, which are arranged in a row, rotate continuously and in opposite sense one to the other in pairs in direction of the arrows X. The speeds are so synchronised that their retaining elements meet symmetrically in a radial plane at the points of tangency of the arcs at the take-over or delivery zones and at the same circumferential speed. The retaining elements of the wheels also meet with a lateral offset relative to each other at the take-over or delivery zones, so that these elements do not obstruct each other during the take-over or delivery operatipn.

Sweets B, which are retained by the retaining elements of the gripper wheel, are taken over at the transfer place A by the opened retaining elements 7 of the transfer wheel. For opening of the retaining elements 7 of each pair, the cam roller 15 runs along the inner cam track of the cam disc 6, whereby the lever 14 is set into pivotal movement. The toothed rack 11 is raised and the retaining elements 7 are opened by way of the toothing. During the take-over of the sweet B, the retaining plate 8 of the clamping devices 10 pivots over the sweet B that has been taken over. This occurs through pivotation of the clamping device in the rotational direction of the transfer wheel. The pivotal movement of the clamping device is effected by the cam roller 20 running along the outer cam track of the cam disc 6. After take-over of the sweets B from the retaining elements 7 of the transfer wheel, the retaining elements 7 perform a rotational movement through 900, which is completed at the wrapper inlet 21. This rotation results from co-operation of the cam roller 19 of the pivot lever 18 with the cam track of the cam disc 5. The pivot lever 18 is thereby pivoted and this pivotal movement is transmitted by way of the toothed segment 17 to the bevel wheel 16 of the sleeve 13. After entry of a wrapper E has taken place, the clamping device 10, the retaining plate 8 of which is situated above the sweet B of the preceding station, pivots back against the rotational direction of the transfer wheel and its paper tongs 9 firmly clamp the entered wrapper E of the following station. The retaining element 7 with the sweet B and the vertically extending wrapper clamped by the tongs 9 is now, on further rotation of the transfer wheel, passed below the rail 22, during which the wrapper is laid over against the rotational direction of the transfer wheel. At the delivery zone Z, the sweet B is taken over by the retaining elements of the wrapping wheel 2, during which the bent-over portion of the wrapper sleeve is laid over completely. During the delivery of the sweet B to the wrapping wheel 2 and its further transport to the folding station, the clamping devices 10 again pivot forwardly in rotational direction of the transfer wheel so that the retaining plate 8 again pivots over the sweet B at the take-over place A. At the same time, the retaining elements 7 turn back through 90' in order to be ready for take-over of a further sweet.

1 C LAI MS 1. Transfer apparatus for transferring articles from rotary feed means to rotary delivery means and applying wrappers to the articles during transfer, the apparatus comprising a wheel provided at its circumference with a plurality of retaining element pairs each operable to retain an article taken over from the feed means and with a plurality of clamping devices arranged between the retaining element pairs and each comprising a plate to extend over an article held by an associated retaining element pair and a tong for engaging a wrapper for that article, means to turn each retaining element pair and pivot each clamping device during rotation of the wheel, and a rail arranged above the retaining element pairs and ahead of the delivery means to effect folding of wrappers around retained articles.

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, whereinthe rail is substantially horizontal.

3. Apparatus claimed in either claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the retaining elements of each pair are operatively engaged with respective curved racks to effect opening and closing of the elements.

4. Apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, the means for turning the retaining element pairs being operable to turn each pair through an angle of rotation of substantially 900.

5. Apparatus substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 Published 1989 atThe Patent Office, State House, 68/71 High HolbOrn. London WClR 4TP. Further copies may be obtainedfrom The Patent offLoe. Wes Branch, St Mary Cray, Orpington, Kent BF.5 3F.D. Printed by Multiplex techniques ltd, St Mary Cray Kent, Con. 1/87