US3063712A

US3063712A - Carton-feeding apparatus

Info

Publication number: US3063712A
Application number: US166808A
Authority: US
Inventors: Kay James Arthur
Original assignee: Rose Brothers Gainsborough Ltd
Current assignee: Rose Brothers Gainsborough Ltd
Priority date: 1961-01-30
Filing date: 1962-01-17
Publication date: 1962-11-13
Anticipated expiration: 1979-11-13

Description

Nov. 13, 1962 Filed Jan. 17, 1962 J. A. KAY

CARTON-FEEDING APPARATUS 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Nov. 13, 1962 J, A. KAY

CARTON-FEEDING APPARATUS 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 17, 1962 Nov. 13, 1962 J, A. KAY

CARTON-FEEDING APPARATUS 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Jan. 1'7, 1962 Nov. 13, 1962 J. A. KAY

CARTON-FEEDING APPARATUS Filed Jan. 1'7, 1962 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 United States Patent Ofitice 3,053,712 Patented Nov. 13, 1962 3,063,712 CARTON-FEEDING APPARATUS James Arthur Kay, Gainsborough, England, assignor to Rose Brothers (Gainsborough) Limited, Gainsborough, England, a British company Filed Jan. 17, 1962, Ser. No. 166,808 Claims priority, application Great Britain lian. 30, 1961 6 Claims. (Cl. 271-36) This invention relates to carton-feeding apparatus of the kind (hereinafter referred to as the kind described) in which collapsed cartons of cardboard or similar material are fed forwardly in succession from a stack or pack by one or a series of transfer blades each adapted in turn while moving in a plane to be inserted between the collapsed walls of the leading carton at a separating station and to carry that carton to an intermediate station whereat the blade is withdrawn from the carton, the cartons being squared-up or opened during such movement. Such apparatus is used, for example, in the feeding of cartons to a carton filling and closing apparatus. The invention is concerned with the construction and operation of the mechanism for actuating the transfer blades.

According to the present invention there is provided an apparatus of the kind described comprising a blade carrier arranged for movement over a closed path to carry a transfer blade mounted on the carrier from the separating station to the intermediate station and vice versa, said carrier being mounted in a support for pivotal movement relatively to said support about an axis normal to said closed path, a pinion freely mounted in said carrier for rotation about an axis normal to that of pivotal movement of the carrier in the support, a stationary toothed rack member arranged in mesh with said pinion, and means for translating said support around said closed path.

By these means, the transfer blade moves over the closed path at all times in planes parallel to itself so that, with the stack or pack so arranged that the leading carton lies in the same plane at the separating station as that taken up by the blades at that station, the blade is smoothly inserted into the leading carton which is then transported by the blade to the intermediate station.

Conveniently, a plurality of supports, in each of which is mounted a carrier as described above, are secured at spaced intervals along an endless chain arranged adjacent the stationary rack member, the chain being suitably driven to carry the supports successively round the closed path. With such construction, a blade enters the leading carton as its support travels with a straight run of the chain whilst the blade is withdrawn from the preceding carton at the intermediate station as its support travels in the opposite direction with the opposite run of the chain.

For cartons of substantial width, pairs of spaced blades may be used, each blade of a pair being mounted on a carrier as before, and the pairs of carriers being connected together and pivotally mounted in opposed pairs of supports secured at spaced intervals along a pair of laterally spaced chains each disposed adjacent a stationary rack member for engagement with the pairs of pinions.

The cartons, thus opened, may be passed from the intermediate station to a score-breaking and transfer device serving to pass the opened cartons to a carton filling and closing apparatus.

By way of example, a carton feeding apparatus according to the invention will now be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which FIGURE 1 is a cross-sectional elevation of the apparatus,

FIGURE 2 is a plan thereof,

FIGURE 3 is an end view of the apparatus as seen in the direction of the arrow in FIGURE 1,

FIGURE 4 is a detail of FIGURE 1 drawn to a larger scale,

FIGURE 5 is a section on the line 55 in FIGURE 4,

FIGURE 6 is an isometric view of part of the apparatus, and

FIGURES 7, 8 and 9 are diagrams illustrating part of the operation of the apparatus.

Collapsed cartons 11 in the form of a pack are supported between side guides 12 on a pair of endless chains 13, the latter being driven so as frictionally to engage the base of the pack and urge the cartons towards a separating station, a movable end wall 14 also being supported on and urged forwardly by the chains 13 to provide support for the rear of the pack. The leading carton 11 is urged into engagement with abutment rollers 16 and yieldable stops 17, the rollers 16 being arranged to engage an end wall panel 18 of the carton.

Arranged below the separating station is a pair of laterally spaced endless chains 19 each supported between inner and

outer chain guides

21 and 22, respectively, and driven continuously by a pair of sprockets 23 through gearing 24 from a driving shaft 26, the sprockets each passing through a slot 27 in the respective outer chain guide 22 to engage the respective chain 19. Secured at spaced intervals along the chains 19 by screws 28 are opposed pairs of blade supports 29 in each of which a blade carrier 31 is mounted for pivotal movement relatively to the support 29 about an axis normal to the path of movement of the chains 19, each pair of opposed carriers 31 being connected laterally by a blade-carrying bar 32 to which is secured a pair of laterally spaced blades 33.

Rotatably mounted on a shaft 34 secured in each carrier 31 is a pinion 36, the axis of rotation of the pinion being normal to that of pivotal movement of the carriers 31 in the supports 29, and there is secured to the inner chain guide 21 a stationary toothed rack member 37 arranged in continuous mesh with the various pinions 36. With such construction the blades 33 are caused to remain parallel to each other as the chains 19 are driven by the sprockets 23 around the tracks formed by the

chain guides

21 and 22.

Arranged adjacent one side of the pack of cartons 11 is a flap-deflecting member 38 arranged to pass behind the forward lower flap 3? of each carton 11 in turn to facilitate the entry of the blades 33, the adjacent side flap 40 being cut away at 41 to facilitate the action. The deflecting member 38 is rotatably mounted in a bearing member 45 and arranged to be oscillated in timed relationship with the movement of the blades 33 by a lever 4-2, connected by a link 43 to a cam-operated lever (not shown). The bearing member 45 is internally threaded for engagement with a thread 44 formed on the bearing surface of the deflecting member 38. Upon actuation of the lever 42, therefore, the deflecting member is at once caused to rotate and to move axially, such movement causing the tip 46 of the deflecting member simultaneously to pass inside the flap 39 and to pivot so as to cause the flap 39 to be deflected upwardly.

The blades 33 are spaced laterally a distance corresponding substantially with the width of the forward wall portion 47 of the carton 11 and are so arranged as to lie (when inserted between the walls of the carton) with their outer edges adjacent the score lines 48 constituting the side edges of the wall portion 47.

The yieldable stops 17 and the abutment rollers 16 are so positioned that the leading carton 11 in the pack lies in substantially the plane of movement of the blades 33 while on the upward straight run of the chains 19. In operatiomtherefore, as the lower flap 39 is deflected outwardly (see FIGURE 6) the upwardly moving blade 33 passes behind the front wall 47 of the leading carton, and as the chains 19 pass around the upper curved portions of the tracks the blades 33 move further upwardly and simultaneously horizontally to move the carton 11 along a support 49 to an intermediate position, the side flap 18 engaging the abutment rollers 16 during such movement to cause the carton to open up towards its rectangular form, continued movement of the chains 19 around the upper curved portions of the tracks causing the blades to complete the horizontal movement of the carton and simultaneously commence their withdrawal movement. The carton is thus left standing at the intermediate position supported only by the support 49 and the rear side guide 12. As the next succeeding blade 33 carries out the same movements, the next succeeding carton is moved to the intermediate position, and during such movement it causes the preceding carton 11 to recollapse in the opposite direction against the surface of a re-folding drum 51, the panel 18 now lying against the inside wall of the wall portion 47. Such collapsing action causes the leading carton to pass into the nip between the drum 51 and a roller 52 carried by an arm 53 and resiliently urged into engagement with the surface of the drum (see FIGURES 7, 8 and 9). The roller 52 is provided with a gear 54 arranged in mesh with a driving gear 56 formed on a disc 57 extending from the hub (not shown) of the drum 51, further gearing (not shown) being provided for driving the disc 57. The drum and roller are thus both driven and serve to urge the re-collapsed carton into a narrow channel formed between the surface of the drum 51 and an outer guide 58. Forked pushers 59 mounted for radial movement within the drum 51 and for rotational movement therewith are operated by stationary cams (not shown) to pass through suitable apertures in the drum surface into engagement with the rear edge of each carton in turn as it leaves the nip of the roller 52 and the drum 51 to forward the carton to the feed conveyor of a carton filling and closing apparatus.

I claim: 7

1. Carton-feeding apparatus of the kind in which collapsed cartons of cardboard or similar material are fed forwardly in succession from a stack or pack by one or a series of transfer blades each adapted in turn while moving in a plane to be inserted between the collapsed walls of the leading carton at a separating station and to carry that carton to an intermediate station whereat the blade is withdrawn from the carton, said apparatus comprising a blade carrier arranged for movement over a closed path to carry a transfer blade mounted on the carrier from the separating station to the intermediate station and vice versa, said carrier being mounted in a support for pivotal movement relatively to said support about an axis normal to said closed path, a pinion freely mounted in said carrier for rotation about an axis normal to that of pivotal movement of the carrier in' the support, a stationary toothed rack member arranged in mesh with said pinion, and means for translating said support around said closed 7 path.

2. Carton-feeding apparatus of the kind in which collapsed cartons of cardboard similar material are fed forwardly in succession from a stack or pack by one or a series of transfer blades each adapted in turn while moving, in a plane to be inserted between the collapsed walls of the leading carton at a separating station and to carry that carton to an intermediate station whereat the blade is withdrawn from the carton, said apparatus comprising an endless chain, a plurality of supports secured at spaced intervals along the chain, a blade carrier mounted in each of said supports for pivotal movement relatively to said support about an axis normal to the path of movement of said chain, a pinion freely mounted in each of said carriers for rotation about an axis normal to that of pivotal movement of the carriers in the supports, a stationary toothed rack member arranged in mesh with said pinions, and means for driving the endless chain so as to translate said supports successively about a closed path to carry transfer blades mounted one on each carrier successively from the separating station to the intermediate station and vice versa.

3. Carton-feeding apparatus of the kind in which collapsed cartons of cardboard or similar material are fed forwardly in succession from a stack or pack by one or a series of transfer blades each adapted in turn While moving in a plane to be inserted between the collapsed walls of the leading carton at a separating station and to carry that carton to an intermediate station whereat the blade is withdrawn from the carton, said apparatus comprising a pair of laterally spaced endless chains, a plurality of 0pposed pairs of supports secured at spaced intervals along said pair of chains, a blade carrier mounted in each of said supports for pivotal movement relatively to said support about an axis normal to the path of movement of said chains, the blade carriers of each pair of supports being connected together, a pinion freely mounted in each of said carriers for rotation about an axis normal to that of pivotal movement of the carriers in the supports, a pair of stationary toothed rack members arranged one adjacent each of said chains and in mesh with the pinions carried by the supports on that chain, and means for driving the chains simultaneously so as to translate the pairs of supports successively about a closed path to carry transfer blades mounted on said carriers successively from the separating station to the intermediate station and vice versa.

4. Mechanism for translating a blade-like object over a closed path while moving in parallel planes, comprising a carrier support arranged for movement over the closed path, a blade carrier mounted in the support for pivotal movement relatively to said support about an axis normal to said closed path, a pinion freely mounted in said carrier for rotation about an axis normal to that of pivotal movement of the carrier in the support, a stationary toothed rack member arranged in mesh with said pinion, and means for translating said support around said closed path.

5. Mechanism for translating a blade-like object over a closed path while movingin parallel planes, comprising an endless chain, a plurality of supports secured at spaced intervals along the chain, a blade carrier mounted in each of said supports for pivotal movement relatively to said support about an axis normal to the path of movement of said chain, a pinion freely mounted in each of said carriers for rotation about an axis normal to that of pivotal movement of the carriers in the supports, a stationary toothed rack member arranged in mesh with said pinions, and means for driving the endless chain so as to translate said supports successively about the closed path.

6. Mechanism for translating a blade-like object over a closed path while moving in parallel planes, comprising a pair of laterally spaced endless chains, a plurality of opposed pairs of supports secured at spaced intervals along said pair of chains, a blade carrier mounted in each of said supports for pivotal movement relatively to said support about an axis normal to the path of movement of said chains, the blade carriers of each pair of supports being connected together, a pinion freely mounted in each of said carriers for rotation about an axis normal to that of pivotal movement of the carriers in the supports, a pair of stationary toothed rack members arranged one adjacent each of said chains and in mesh with the pinions carried by the supports on that chain, and means for driving the chains simultaneously so as to translate the pairs of supports successively about the closed path.

No references cited.