US2720068A

US2720068A - Wrapping machines

Info

Publication number: US2720068A
Application number: US282139A
Authority: US
Inventors: Brook Leonard
Original assignee: Forgrove Machinery Co Ltd
Current assignee: Forgrove Machinery Co Ltd
Priority date: 1952-04-14
Filing date: 1952-04-14
Publication date: 1955-10-11
Anticipated expiration: 1972-10-11

Description

L. BROOK WRAPPING MACHINES Oct. 11, 1955 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 14, 1952 Oct. 11, 1955 L. BRCOK WRAPPING MACHINES 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 14, 1952 INVE NT 'R 7 M4320 a6, dam

Oct. 11, 1955 L. BROOK WRAPPING MACHINES 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed April 14, 1952 Oct. 11, 1955 L. BROOK WRAPPING MACHINES 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed April 14, 1952 United States Patent Othe 2,720,068 Patented (Oct. 11, 1955 1 2,720,068 WRAPPING MACHINES Leonard Brook, Beeston, Leeds, England, assignor to The Forgrove Machinery Company Limited, Leeds, Eng

land, a British company Application April 14, 1952, Serial No. 282,139 6 Claims. (Cl. 53-41) Thisinvention relates to wrapping machines of the type comprising a lifting plunger for lifting articles in succession into a wrapping mechanism, a picker at one side of the lifting plunger for intermittently feeding the end of a web of wrapping material horizontally into position above the lifting plunger and an intermittently op erating knife at the side of the lifting plunger remote from the picker for severing a wrapper from the leading end of the web so that the lifting plunger may lift a Wrapper with each article intothe wrapping mechanism.

In such a machine, it is necessary to shift the knife in relation to the lifting plunger when it is desired to vary the length of the wrapper applied to the article.

According to the invention the knife is mounted on a wrapper feed table which is slidable on the machine framework, in a direction parallel to that in which the wrapper is fed, to vary the position of the knife in relation to the lifting plunger, the feed table being readily detachable from the framework of the machine and carrying a linkage for imparting movement to the knife which, in all positions of adjustment of the feed table, coacts with a cam operated actuating member.

Adjustment of the knife to vary the length of wrapper cut from the web can therefore readily be made and the feed table can be detached from the framework of the machine when it is desired to clean it or to repair the knife-operating linkage without disturbing the adjustments and settings.

One specific embodiment of wrapping machine according to the invention for wrapping confectionery will now be described in detail, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the machine,

Fig. 2 is a plan View, on a larger scale, of the wrapper feed table,

Figs. 3 and 4 are respectively sections on the lines.

IIIIII and IVIV in Fig. 2,

Fig. 5 is a side elevation, on the same scale as Fig. 2, of the wrapper feed table,

Fig. 6 is a section on the line VI-Vl in Fig. 5 and Fig. 7 is a view looking from the left hand end of Fig. 2.

Like reference characters denote like parts throughout the figures.

A web 10 of heat sealing material (e. g. waxed paper) is periodically fed by a picker 9 (Fig. 2) from a reel 11 (Fig. 1) over

rollers

12 and 13 and along an adjustable feed table 14 (Fig. 2) past a pair of

cutting knives

15, 150. The knives are periodically actuated, as later described, to sever a wrapper from the leading edge of the web. A second reel 111 of wrapper is provided for use when the reel 11 is exhausted. f

The pickenactuating mechanism is fully described in U. S. application Serial No. 283,332, now Patent No. 2,676,441, and it will be sufficient to explain. here that a bell crank 16 carrying the picker 9 is periodically oscillated by a cam to impart forward and return strokes to the picker, while a link 17 is periodically raised and lowered by a cam-operated lever 18 to close and open the picker jaws. The lever 18 is coupled by a linkage 19 and a rod 20 to a clamp 21 which is lowered to clamp the web of wrapping material when the knives are operating and is moved to inoperative position when the picker jaws close to feed the wrapper forward.

The tablets to be wrapped are fed by hand from a hopper 22 into recesses 23 in a horizontal feed disc 24 (Fig. 2) which is intermittently rotated, anticlockwise as seen in Fig. 2, to bring the tablets in succession into position above a lifting plunger 25. This is periodically lifted by a cam operated linkage 26 (Fig. 1) to lift a tablet, and the wrapper which has been fed by the picker into position above it, through an annular brush contained in a member 27 and into a pair of grippers 28 on a carrier head 29, a cam-operated top plunger 30 having previously descended through the brush to press the wrapper against the tablet during its transit through the brush. The carrier head 29 is intermittently rotated and the wrapping of the tablets is completed on the carrier head as described in U. S. application Serial No. 283,332. A feeler (not shown) depending downwardly from a member 31 tests the recess 23 in the feed disc at the station immediately preceding the lifting station. If there is no tablet in that recess a catch 32 is positioned to intercept the lever 18 and prevent the picker jaws from closing on the wrapper, so preventing a wrapper from being fed into position above the empty recess. When the feeler encounters a tablet, the catch 32 is rendered inoperative.

Turning now to Figs. 27, the knife-supporting feed table 14 comprises a lower plate 33 for supporting the Web of wrapping material, and a cover member 34, at the forward end of the lower plate 33, having at one side a. boss 35 embracing a forwardly inclined. stud 36 extending upwardly from the lower plate.

The cover member 34 can be swung open for cleaning purposes. it swings with an angular upward motion so as to clear any obstruction which may have accumulated underneath and also to prevent disturbance of the wrapping material. It is retained in its closed position by engagement in a recess in its undersurface of a catch 37 (Fig. 4) urged upwardly by a spring 38 attached by screws 39 to the undersurface of the lower plate 33. The cover member 34 is located on its hinge stud 36 (Fig. 6) by a dog ended grub screw 40 fitting in a groove 41 in the stud. A further groove 42 is cut out to the top of the stud 36 to allow the cover member 34 to be withdrawn from the stud 36 after it has been turned to a predetermined positron.

The lower plate 33 carries guides 43 (Fig. 3) for the opposite edges of the web of wrapping material. The guides are adjustable in a slot 44 in a V-section slide 45 (see also Fig. 5) which extends transversely to the lower plate 33. The guides are held frictionally by.

compression springs 46 in the positions to which they have been set in their respective slots, and scales 47 are provided on the slide 45 to facilitate setting of the guides 43 to suit the width of web. The slide 45 is held fricionally by a peg 49, mounted on the free end of a flat spring 48, secured by screws 50 to the undersurface of the table, against movement in relation to the table, but it can be moved bodily in relation to the table by turning an eccentric stud engaging a hole in the end of the slide.

The feed table has a downwardly depending tongue 151 mounted to slide in a longitudinal slot 51 (Fig. 7) in a fixed frame member 52. An adjusting screw 53, engaging a tapped hole in the table, has a neck 54 (Fig. 2) of reduced diameter which rests in an upwardly open groove 55 (Fig. 7) in the frame member 52, so restraining the adjusting screw from endwise movement in relation to the machine framework. A clamping screw 56 (Fig. 5) is inserted from below, through a longitudinal slot 57 (Fig. 2) in the framework into a tapped hole in the lower plate 33 of the feed table. By slackening the clamping screw 56, by means of a knob 53, and turning the adjusting screw 53, by means of a knob 59, the feed table can be slid longitudinally along the framework and thereafter locked in its new position by the clamping screw 56. A scale 60 and index 61 (Fig. 2) are provided for showing the position of adjustment of the feed table in relation to the framework. The feed table can readily be detached from the framework by removing the knob 58 from the clamping screw 56. When this has been done, the feed table can be lifted directly off the framework.

At the end nearer the lifting plunger, the feed table supports the two

knives

15, 150 which extend transversely of the carriage and between which the web is fed into position above the lifting plunger. The knife 15 is fixed to a longitudinal shaft 62 (Fig. journalled in the feed table and having fixed to it, at the end remote from the knife, a projecting arm 63 (Fig. 7). The other knife 150 (Fig. 5) is pivoted on the shaft 62 and carries an arm 64, in which is a hole engaged by a pin 65 fixed to an arm 66 on a sleeve 67 surrounding the shaft and also having fixed to it, at the end remote from the knife, a projecting arm 68 (Fig. 7'). A spring 69 (Fig. 5) urges the knives into contact with one another. The ends of the arms 63, 68 (Fig. 7) are joined by links 70, 71 to a pin 72 on a lever 73 pivoted at 74 to the end of the feed table and carrying at the other end a tappet 75 which rests on a fiat surface 76 at the upper end of a cam-operated bar 7-7 (see also Fig. l). The

arms

63, 68 and the links 70, 71 form a parallelogram linkage and a spring 78 connected to an upstanding arm 79 on the lever 73 holds the tappet 75 in contact with the bar 77 and tends to close up the parallelogram linkage and move the

knives

15, 150 together in scissors fashion to cut the web.

The bar 77 is mounted to slide up and down on the framework of the machine and is urged downwardly by a spring 80. It is pivoted at its lower end to an arm 81 (Fig. l) fixed to a rocking shaft 82 which carries another arm 83 (Fig. 7) having on it a follower 84 which coacts with a cam 85 so as periodically to lift the bar 77 and so rock the lever 73 in the direction to open the

knives

15, 150 and thereafter to lower the bar 77 and allow the spring 78 to close the knives. The flat surface 76 of the bar is of such length that the tappet 75 coacts with it in all positions of adjustment of the feed table.

The bell crank 16 (Fig. l) which imparts reciprocating movement to the picker is slotted and coupled by a slide 86 to a slotted driving lever 87 which is oscillated by a cam to reciprocate the picker 9. By adjusting the slide 86 the stroke of the picker may be adjusted to conform with the position of adjustment of the

knives

15, 150, so as to feed the length of wrapper appropriate for the articles to be wrapped, and also to ensure that the cut wrappers will be fed into correct position in relation to the lifting plunger 25. A scale 88 serves to indicate the stroke to which the picker has been set.

The guides 43 can be pre-set, with the aid of the scales 47-, in relation to the slide 45 to suit a given width t of wrapper. Thereafter, while the machine is running, a final lateral adjustment of the wrapper can be made, if necessary, Without disturbing the setting for width by turning the eccentric stud 90.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a wrapping machine comprising a wrapping mechanism, and a lifting plunger for lifting articles in succession into said wrapping mechanism, the combination with said lifting plunger of a framework, a horizontal feed table resting on said framework, a reciprocating picker for feeding the end of a web of wrapping material forward along said table and into position above said lifting plunger, a knife on said table for severing wrappers in succession from the end of said web, a guide on said framework, said guide extending parallel to the direction of wrapper feed and said table being removably positioned on said guide, a manually operable adjusting member for adjusting said table along said guide to vary the distance between the knife and the lifting plunger, a

linkage mounted on said table for operating said knife, a lever pivoted to the table for actuating said linkage, an actuating member mounted adjacent the table, said actuating member having a long face abutting against the end of said lever in all positions of adjustment of the table in relation to the guide, a cam arranged to reciprocate said actuating member and thereby, through said lever and linkage, to operate said knife and a releasable clamping member for holding said table in adjusted position on said guide.

2. In a wrapping machine comprising a wrapping mechanism, and a lifting plunger for lifting articles in succession into said wrapping mechanism, the combination with said lifting plunger of a framework, a horizontal feed table resting on said framework, a reciprocating picker for feeding the end of a web of wrapping material forward along said table and into position above said lifting plunger, a pair of knives pivoted to said table which are operable in scissors fashion to sever wrappers in succession from the end of said web, a guide on said frame: work, said guide extending parallel to the direction of wrapper feed and said table being removably positioned on said guide, a manually operable adjusting member for adjusting said table along said guide to vary the distance between said knives and said lifting plunger, a pair of coaxial shafts supported by the table and extending lengthwise thereof, means connecting each of said shafts to one of said knives, a lever pivoted to said table and extending. tranversely thereto, a linkage coupling one end of said lever to said shafts and serving to impart opening and closing movements to said knives on pivotal movement of said lever, an actuating member mounted adjacent the table, said actuating member having a long face abutting against the other end of said lever in all positions of adjustment of the table in relation to the guide, a spring between said lever-and said table for maintaining the end of the lever in contact with the actuating member, said spring tending to close said knives, a cam for reciprocating said actuating member and thereby through the agency of said lever imparting movement to said knives, and a releasable clamping member for holding said table in adjusted position on said guide.

3. In a wrapping machine, a combination as claimed in claim 1, wherein the adjusting member comprises a screw engaging a tapped hole in the table, and comprising a bracket on the framework having therein an upwardly open groove accommodating a neck on said screw, said bracket restraining said screw against endwise movement but allowing of upward movement of said screw to withdraw said screw from said bracket.

4. In a wrapping machine, a combination as claimed in claim 1, wherein the clamping member comprises a screw depending downwardly from a tapped hole in the table through a longitudinal slot in the framework.

5. In a wrapping machine, a combination as claimed in claim 1, comprising a slide on said feed table which ex-- tends transversely thereto, guides for the opposite edges of said web which are adjustably mounted on said slide, and an eccentric pin connecting said slide to said table, said slide being adjustable tranversely to said table by rotation of said eccentric pin.

6. In a wrapping machine, a combination as claimed in claim 1, wherein said feed table comprises a lower plate adjustable in said guide and serving to support said web, a cover member at the forward end of said plate, and a forwardly inclined stud extending upwardly from said lower plate, said cover plate being pivoted at one side thereof to said stud.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Re. 8. 0 Crowell Sept. 16, 1879 736,592 Godfrey Aug. 18, 1903 2,220,256 Martindell Nov. 5, 1940, 2,252, 28 Petskeyes s- 12, 1