US3070930A - Wrapping machines - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 1, 1963 w. BARR 3,070,930

WRAPPING MACHINES Filed Jan. 17, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet J.

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Jan. 1, 1963 w. L. BARR 3,070,930

WRAPPING MACHINES Filed Jan. 17; 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 d- Adieu) United States Patent Ofitice 3,070,930 Patented Jan. 1, 1 963 3,070,930 WRAPPING MACHINES Walter Lionel Barr, Albion Works, Gainsborough, England, assignor to Rose Brothers (Gainsborough) Limited, Gainsborough, England Filed Jan. 17, 1961, Ser. No. 83,283 Claims priority, application Great Britain Jan. 23, 1960 5 Claims. (Cl. 53-159) This invention relates to wrapping machines of the kind in which a plurality of articles, e.g., sweets, are arranged end to end and fed as a batch, together with a common wrapper, into a pocket of a wrapping member which transports the batch through a series of wrapping stations to complete the [folding of the common wrapper about the batch, successive batches being fed to successive pockets of the wrapping member. The articles may themselves be individually wrapped before being formed into the batches.

The invention is concerned with the formation of the batches and their transfer to the pocketed wrapping member.

According to the present invention, there is provided a wrapping machine of the above kind, comprising a collecting channel adapted to receive articles in succession end to end to form successive batches, said channel having at least one of its side walls movable upwardly and downwardly, an intermediate pliatforlm arranged alongside the channel, means for moving the movable side wall downwardly clear of each successive batch as it is formed, means for transferring the batch transversely from the open side of the channel on to the intermediate platform, means associated with the intermediate platform for constraining the successive batches in an endwise direction, each successive batch being transferred to the intermediate platform itself serving to transfer the preceding batch from the intermediate platform to a waiting receiving pocket.

The receiving pocket is conveniently one of a series formed on an intermittently movable chain conveyor arranged to run alongside the intermediate platform, the batches subsequently being transferred from the conveyor pockets to the pockets of the wrapping member. The forward face of the batch on the intermediate platform acts as a temporary guide for the batch in the conveyor pocket as the conveyor moves to carry the batch one stage forward. Forwardly of the transfer position and up to the position where the batch is transferred to the wrapping member, the conveyor is provided with a side guide on both sides of the conveyor in the usual way.

The collecting channel is conveniently constituted by a stationary supporting platform and a vertically movable channel section the side walls of which constitute the side walls of the channel. The channel section may be mounted in a vertical slideway and operated by a rotatable cam. The side walls of the channel need only extend upwardly over a portion (say about a third) of the height of the articles.

The transferring means may consist of a transverse pusher carried by a cam-operated arm, the pusher having a forward extension arranged to engage the upper surfaces of the articles during the pushing action. To avoid interference with the articles by the forward extension during the retracting movement of the pusher, the latter may be pivotally mounted on the arm and arranged to be lifted at the end of the forward stroke by a cam-operated link.

The invention has been found particularly useful as applied to a combined apparatus for wrapping individual toflees cut in succession from a strip, and collecting batches of the wrapped toffees and wrapping the batches, the wrapped toffees being fed directly from the individual wrapping machine on to the collecting channel and transferred in batches in the above manner to a pocketed feed conveyor of the batch wrapping machine.

Such an application of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which FIGURE 1 is an elevation of part of the combined apparatus showing mechanism for collecting and transferring the batches,

FIGURE 2 is a side view of the apparatus of FIG- URE l in the direction of the arrow, and

FIGURE 3 is a plan of the apparatus.

Sweets 11 pass from the individual wrapping mechanism (not shown) along a delivery channel 12 to a collecting channel consisting of a stationary platform 13 and movable side guides 14, the latter being mounted on a vertically movable slide bar 16 carrying a roller \17 arranged to engage a rotatable cam 18 secured to a cam shaft 19, the slide bar being guided by slots 21 engaging guide blocks 22 mounted one on the cam shaft 19 and the other on a rock shaft 23. The sweets 11 pass from the delivery channel 12 into an arcuate chute 24 down which they are assisted by an oscillating deflecting member 26, the sweets 11 changing from a horizontal to an upright position during movement down the chute 2-4. The deflecting member 26 is formed on an arm 27 pivotally mounted in a bracket 28 by means of a shaft 29, the arm 27 having an extension 31 connected by a pivoted link 32 to a cam-operated arm (not shown).

The platform .13 terminates in an end stop 33 in substantial alignment with a guide wall 34 on an intermediate platform 36 having a further guide Wall 37 so positioned in relation to the number of sweets in a batch as to constrain the successive batches in an endwise direction.

The deflecting member 26 sweeps successive sweets 11 down the chute 24, each successive sweet 11 pushing the preceding sweet or partially formed batch forward along the platform 13. As the leading sweet 11 reaches the stop 33, the slide 16 is operated by the cam 18 to lower the side guides 14 and a pusher 38, of a length appropriate to the number of sweets in a batch, than opcrates, in timed relationship with the deflecting member 26, to transfer the batch from the platform :13 to the intermediate platform 36, the batch pushing any preceding batch from the intermediate platform 36 into a waiting pocket 39 of an intermittently movable conveyor 41, the latter serving to forward the successive batches to the batch-wrapping mechanism (not shown).

The pusher 38 is mounted on a link 42, pivotally attached at 43 and 44 to a link 46 and an arm 47, respectively, the pusher being formed with a forward extension 48 adapted to engage the upper face of the batch during the pushing action. The arm 47 is pivoted on a shaft 49 and carries a roller 51 arranged to engage the face of a rotatable cam 52 mounted on the shaft 19, while the link 46 is pivotally attached to an operating arm 53 pivotally mounted on the shaft 23 and having an extension 54 carrying a roller 56 arranged to engage a rotatable cam 57 mounted on the shaft 19. The relative timing of the cams 5-2 and 57 is such as to cause the pusher 38 to move horizontally during the pushing stroke and to lift at the end of the pushing stroke to avoid interference with the oncoming sweets 11 during the retracting movement of the pusher 38.

I claim:

1. A wrapping machine of the kind referred to, comprising a collecting channel adapted to receive articles in succession end to end to form successive batches, said channel having at least one of its side walls movable upwardly and downwardly, an intermediate platform arranged alongside the channel, an intermittently moving 3 conveyor having receiving pockets extending along said platform at the side thereof opposite from said channel, means for moving the movable side wall downwardly clear of each successive batch as it is formed, pusher means for transferring the batch transversely from the open side of the channel on to the intermediate platform, and means associated with the intermediate platform for endwise constraining the successive batches, said pusher means acting through each successive batch as same is being transferred to the intermediate platform, to transfer the preceding batch from the intermediate platform to one of said receiving pockets.

2. A wrapping machine in accordance with claim 1, wherein the collecting channel is constituted by a stationary supporting platform and a vertically movable channel section the side walls of which constitute the side walls of the channel.

3. A wrapping machine as in claim 2, wherein the channel section is mounted in a vertical slideway and operated by a rotatable earn.

4. A wrapping machine as in claim 1, wherein the transferring pusher means consists of a transverse pusher carried by a cam-operated arm, the pusher having a forward extension arranged to engage the upper surfaces of the articles during the pushing action. 7

5. A wrapping machine as in claim 4, wherein the pusher is pivotally mounted on the arm and arranged to be lifted at the end of the forward stroke by a cam-operate-d link.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,678,151 Geisler May 11, 1954 2,681,171 Brown June 15, 1954 2,825,193 Loveridge Mar. 4,1958

Claims (1)

1. A WRAPPING MACHINE OF THE KIND REFERRED TO, COMPRISING A COLLECTING CHANNEL ADAPTED TO RECEIVE ARTICLES IN SUCCESSION END TO END TO FORM SUCCESSIVE BATCHES, SAID CHANNEL HAVING AT LEAST ONE OF ITS SIDE WALLS MOVABLE UPWARDLY AND DOWNWARDLY, AN INTERMEDIATE PLATFORM ARRANGED ALONGSIDE THE CHANNEL, AN INTERMITTENTLY MOVING CONVEYOR HAVING RECEIVING POCKETS EXTENDING ALONG SAID PLATFORM AT THE SIDE THEREOF OPPOSITE FROM SAID CHANNEL, MEANS FOR MOVING THE MOVABLE SIDE WALL DOWNWARDLY CLEAR OF EACH SUCCESSIVE BATCH AS IT IS FORMED, PUSHER MEANS FOR TRANSFERRING THE BATCH TRANSVERSELY FROM THE OPEN SIDE OF THE CHANNEL ON TO THE INTERMEDIATE PLATFORM, AND MEANS ASSOCIATED WITH THE INTERMEDIATE PLATFORM FOR ENDWISE CONSTRAINING THE SUCCESSIVE BATCHES, SAID PUSHER MEANS ACTING THROUGH EACH SUCCESSIVE BATCH AS SAME IS BEING TRANSFERRED TO THE INTERMEDIATE PLATFORM, TO TRANSFER THE PRECEDING BATCH FROM THE INTERMEDIATE PLATFORM TO ONE OF SAID RECEIVING POCKETS.

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