US3265386A

US3265386A - Box blank support device

Info

Publication number: US3265386A
Application number: US405157A
Authority: US
Inventors: Palamenti Albert
Original assignee: Koppers Co Inc
Current assignee: Beazer East Inc
Priority date: 1964-10-20
Filing date: 1964-10-20
Publication date: 1966-08-09
Anticipated expiration: 1983-08-09

Description

Aug. 9, 1966 A. PALAMENTl 3,265,385

BOX BLANK SUPPORT DEVICE Filed Oct. 20, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 MAXIMUM BLANK SUPPO2T- LENGTH -*-MINIMUM bLANK LENGTH--l INVENTOa. 645E197 IQQLHNLA/TI,

1966 A. PALAMENTI 3,265,386

BOX BLANK SUPPORT DEVICE Filed Oct. 20, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 4 zwvlsxvro United States Patent 3,265,386 BOX BLANK SUIPGRT DEVICE Albert Palamenti, Saddle Brook, N .J., assignor to Koppers Company, Inc., a corporation of Delaware Filed Oct. 20, 1964, Ser. No. 405,151 4 Claims. (Cl. 271-61) This invention generally relates to a support device for different sized box blanks and more particularly to a support device for different sized box blanks in a reciprocating feeder.

A reciprocating box blank feeding mechanism includes a box blank support bed upon which a stack of box blanks are supported before and during the feeding operation into adjacent machinery for printing, scoring, slotting and the like. The support bed has a pair of rearwardly extending arms with recesses therebetween. The arms form extensions of the blank support bed and have adjustably mounted thereon. a backstop bar which supports the stack of box blanks at their rear or trailing edge so that the lowermost or bottom blank has its rear edge elevated above the surface of the support bed. A reciprocating spring feeder passes beneath the stack of box blanks and engages the rear or trailing edge of the bottom box blank and moves it forwardly into the processing machinery. Both the backstop bar and the spring feeder are adjustable along the longitudinal path of travel of the box blank so that the same reciprocating feeder mechanism can be used with different size box blanks.

The pair of arms extending rearwardly from the blank support bed are conventionally spaced from each other and arranged on the blank support bed so that the recess therebetween permits access by the operator for controlling a stack of short box blanks whose trailing edges terminate at a substantial distance in front of the rear edge of the arms or extensions. When long box blanks are being fed into adjacent processing machinery, a portion of the blanks spans the recess between the pair of spaced arms. The box blanks are relatively flexible and their center portions sag into the recess. To eliminate the sagging of the long box blanks it is conventional practice to provide a horizontal support between the rearwardly extending arms. The horizontal support substantially fills the recess and supports the center section of the long box blanks. The horizontal support, commonly referred to as a bed leaf, is hingedly secured to the support bed between the rearwardly extending arms and may be pivoted from a hanging vertical inactive position to a horizontal support position where the bed leaf support is locked in substantially the same horizontal plane as the blank support bed.

The hinged type support has several disadvantages that interfere with the feeding of different sized box blanks. The hinged support must be lifted into position and locked in a horizontal support position. The hinged support has a fixed dimension so that the recess between the rearwardly extending arms is either fully open or fully closed. Where the hinged support is in a horizontal position it completely fills the recess between the rearwardly extending arms and the operator has difficulty in reaching and controlling a stack of short length box blanks. If the hinged support is moved out of its support position, the recess is fully open and the span of the blanks between the edge of the bed and the backstop bar is not supported. The improved box blank support herein described eliminates the above disadvantages and provides continued support for the different sized box blanks.

Briefly, the invention herein disclosed provides a box blank support that is positioned in receiving portions of the arms extending rearwardly from the blank support bed so that the blank support top surface is in substantially the same horizontal plane as the blank support bed. The

Patented August 9, 1966 blank support is reciprocally movable in the receivers toward and away from the blank support bed so that the blank support will provide support for box blanks having different lengths. The box blank support is secured to and movable with the transversely extending backstop bar so that the blank support assumes the optimum supporting position for the intermediate portions of the box blanks fed to the processing machinery that is dependent on the relative position of the backstop bar.

Accordingly, the primary feature of the present invention is to provide an adjustable box blank support that is positioned between the rearwardly extending arms of a blank support bed in a reciprocating feeder mechanism.

Another feature of this invention is to provide a blank support carried by the rearwardly extending arms of a,

blank support bed and associated with the backstop bar so that the blank support assumes an optimum support position for box blanks positioned on the backstop bar.

Another feature of this invention is to provide a blank support device that opens or closes the recess between the rearwardly extending arms as the backstop bar is adjusted to support the rear edges of different sized box blanks.

This invention comprises the new and improved construction and combination of parts and their operating relation to each other which will be described more fully hereinafter and the novelty of which will be particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, to be taken as part of the specification, there is fully and clearly shown one embodiment of this invention, in which drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a view in section and in elevation taken along the line 11 of FIGURE 3 illustrating the backstop bar in its re-ar most position for supporting long box blanks.

FIGURE 2 is a view in side elevation and in section taken along substantially the same plane as FIGURE 1 and illustrating the backstop bar in position for feeding short box blanks.

FIGURE 3 is a top plan view of the blank feeder with the backstop bar set at its rearmost position for feeding long box blanks.

FIGURE 4 is a view in elevation and section taken along the line 4-4 in FIGURE 3 illustrating the support member supported at its side edge portions on the rearwardly extending arms. Portions of the backstop bar are omitted in FIGURE 4.

The detailed construction of the backstop bar and the spring feeder is not illustrated nor described in detail in this specification. The backstop bar and the spring feeder are of conventional construction and a detailed description of these elements can be found in US. Patent No. 2,289,- 010, dated July 7, 1942, issued to H. B. Greenwood, and entitled Printer Slotter Feed. The backstop bar and spring feeder described in the above United States patent could be used with the invention herein described.

Referring to the drawings, there is illustrated portions of a blank feeding mechanism generally designated by the numeral 10 that includes

frame members

12 and 14 with a transverse support 16 that has a depending leg 18. Positioned between and supported by the frame 14 is a bed support 20 that terminates at a front edge 21 adjacent the

feed rolls

22 and 24. Extending transversely across the bed support 20 adjacent the

feed rolls

22 and 24 is a bar 26 that supports a plurality of depending gates 28. The gates 28 have their lower edge portion 30 spaced above the top surface 32 of bed support 20 and permit the passage of a box blank therebeneath into contact with the

feed rolls

22 and 24. The bed support 20 has a rear edge portion 34 with a pair of rearwardly extending extensions or

arms

36 and 38. The

arms

36 and 38 are parallel to each other and are spaced to form a recessed portion 40 therebetween. The upper surface of aaeasss the

arms

36 and 38 is in substantially the same horizontal plane as the bed support 20.

There is provided a transverse backstop assembly generally designated by the numeral 42 that is arranged to support the trailing or rear edge of a stack of blanks above the horizontal top surface of the

arms

36 and 38 and support bed 20, as is illustrated in FIGURE 2. The transverse backstop assembly so positions the blanks that a spring feeder generally designated by the numeral 44 may engage the bottom blank and feed the bottom blank to the take-

up feed rolls

22 and 24. The backstop assembly 42 has a transverse channel 46 that is supported by blocks 48 that are secured to the channels 46. A plurality of vertical backstops 47 that have a forwardly extending edge 49 are secured to the channel 46 to support the box blanks thereon.

The

arms

36 and 38 have elongated T shaped

slotted portions

50 and 52 extending lengthwise thereof. Bolt members 54 extend through suitable apertures in the blocks 48 and have an enlarged head portion 56 that slid-ably secures the backstop assembly 42 to the

arms

36 and 38. Nuts 58 having laterally extending handle portions have the bolts 54 threaded therethrough and serve to tighten the bolt head 56 upwardly against the inwardly extending ortions of the T shaped slot to secure the backstop assembly 42 in a preselected position along the

arms

36 and 38.

The spring feeder assembly 44 includes a transverse bar 60 which extends between the

arms

36 and 38 and has a plurality of spring feeders 62 secured thereto. The spring feeder assembly 44 is supported by a pair of reciprocating

bars

64 and 66 that are positioned in

elongated slots

68 and 70 in the

arms

36 and 38 and bed 20. The

bars

64 and 66 are commonly referred to as knocker slides and are suitably secured to a reciprocating drive mechanism that reciprocates the spring feeder assembly 44 to feed box blanks longitudinally along the support bed 20. The heretofore described reciprocating feeder 10, including the spring feeder assembly 44 and backstop assembly 42, are of known, conventional construction.

Spanning the recess 40 is a blank support generally designated :by the numeral 72 that has a front edge portion 74 and

side edge portions

76 and 78. The blank support 72 has an upturned rear end portion 80 that is secured to the backstop channel 46 by means of screws 82. The blank support 72 has its

edge portions

76 and 78 overlying the

inner portions

84 and 86 of

arms

36 and 38 so that the lateral edge portions of the blank support 72 are slidably supported by portions of the

arms

36 and 38. The bed support and the

arms

36 and 38 have a vertically recessed portion 88 defined by

shoulders

90 and 92. The recessed portion 88 has a lateral dimension substantially equal to the lateral dimension of the blank support 72, and the depth of the recessed portion 88 is substantially equal to the thickness of the blank support 72. with this arrangement the top surface 94 of blank support 72 is in substantially the same horizontal plane as the top surface of the bed support 20. The blank support 72 spans the recessed portion 40 between the rearwardly extending

arms

36 and 38 and reciprocates with the backstop assembly 42. The blank support member 72 is arranged to support the intermediate portion of the box blanks supported by the backstop assembly 42.

Referring to FIGURE 2, a stack of box blanks of a preselected size is positioned on the bed support 20 with the front edges of the box blanks abutting the depending gates 28 adjacent the

rolls

22 and 24. The backstop assembly 42 with the nuts 58 loosened to permit adjustment, is advanced until the backstops 47 abut the rear edges of the box blanks. The rear edges of the blanks are elevated so that the lowermost blank rests on the ledge 49 of backstops 47. The spring feeder assembly 44 is then reciprocated to remove the bottommost box blank and feed it to the receiving rolls 22 and 24.

When the backstop assembly 42 is in the rearmost position to support elongated box blanks, the blank support 72 spans the recess 40 between the

arms

36 and 38 as is illustrated in FIGURES l and 3. When the backstop assembly 42 is positioned in its forward position, the blank support 72 (FIGURE 2) supports the front edges of the lowermost box blank and is positioned in the bed support recessed portion 88.

The maximum length of the bed support 72 along the path of box blank travel is determined by the dimensions set out in FIGURE 2 and is dependent on the minimum length blank that can be satisfactorily processed in adjacent equipment. The blank support 72 can have a length sufiicient to extend along the path of blank travel from the point where it is secured to the backstop assembly 42 forward to the front edge 21 of the bed support 26-. If blank support '72 exceeded this length, its front edge would interfere with the feed rolls 22 and 24. The width of the blank support 72 is determined by the width of the recess 4! between the

arms

36 and 38. The width of the blank support 72 should be such that the side edges 76 and 78 overlap portions of the

arms

36 and 38, as is indicated at the

inner portions

84 and 86 in FIG- URE 3.

Where it is desired to feed elongated box blanks to the adjacent processing equipment, the backstop assembly 42 is positioned so that the box blank front edge portions abut the gates 28 and the rear edge portions are supported by the ledge 49 of backstops 47. Assuming, for example, that the backstop assembly 42 is positioned as illustrated in FIGURES 1 and 3 to properly support the rear edge portions of the elongated box blanks, the blank support 72 is automatically positioned to support an intermediate portion of the elongated box blanks with the adjustment of the backstop assembly. The length of the blank support 72 illustrated in FIGURES 1 and 3 is such that in the rearmost position there is an open area between the front edge of the blank support 72 and the bed support rear edge 34. This open area has not been found to be detrimental because it only occurs when very long box blanks are being fed by the reciprocating feeder 10. The very long box blanks are amply supported by the rear edge of the bed support 20 and the front edge of the blank support 72. If, however, it is desired to eliminate the open area between the rear edge of the bed support 20 and the blank support 72, a blank support 172 Clliaving a greater longitudinal dimension can be utiize It is apparent with the previously described blank support it is now possible to automatically support the intermediate portion of different sized :box blanks without manually positioning the box blank support. The box blank support previously described is fixedly secured to the backstop assembly and is reciprocally movable therewith so that it assumes an optimum support position upon the positioning of the backstop assembly for supporting the rear edge of the box blank.

According to the provisions of the patent statutes, the principle, preferred construction, and mode of operation of the invention have been explained, and what is now considered to represent its best embodiment has been illustrated and described. However, it should be understood that within the scope of the appended claims the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described.

I claim:

1. In a reciprocating b-ox blank feeding mechanism the combination comprising,

a support bed having a pair of parallel spaced arm portions extending rearwardly therefrom, said arm portions forming a recessed portion therebetween,

a pair of parallel spaced slotted portions in said arms and said support bed,

a transversely extending backstop member,

means secured to said backstop member and positioned in said pair of parallel slots, said means arranged to support said backstop member for longitudinal adjustment relative to said support bed,

said backstop member including means to support the rear edge portion of a stack of box blanks in an elevated position relative to the top surface of said support bed,

an auxiliary support for the intermediate portion of said box blanks, said auxiliary support spanning said recessed portion between said arms,

said auxiliary support having edge portions on the upper surface of said arms, and

means connecting said auxiliary support to said backstop member for movement therewith longitudinally along said support bed.

2. In a reciprocating box blank feeding mechanism the combination comprising,

a support bed for a pair of parallel spaced arm portions extending rearwardly therefrom,

said arm portions forming a recessed portion therebetween,

a transversely extending backstop member, means connecting said backstop member to said support bed for longitudinal adjustment relative thereto, said backstop member including means to support the rear edge portion of a stack of box blanks in an elevated position relative to the top surface of said support bed,

said support bed and said arm portions having a recessed receiver portion for said auxiliary support, said recessed receiver portion having substantially the same depth as the vertical dimension of said auxiliary support so that the top surface of said support and the top surface of said support bed are in substantially the same horizontal plane,

said auxiliary support having edge portions supported on the recessed receiver portions of said arms, and

3. In a reciprocating box blank feeding mechanism the combination comprising,

a support bed having a front edge portion and a rear edge portion,

said front edge portion terminating adjacent a pair of feed rolls,

a pair of parallel spaced arm portions extending rearw-ardly from said support bed rear edge portions, said arm portions forming a recessed portion therebetween,

a vertical gate member spaced above said support bed top surface adjacent to said feed rolls, the front edge portions of a stack of box blanks arranged to abut said gate member,

a pair of parallel spaced slotted portions in said arms and said support bed,

a transversely extending backstop member spanning said recessed portion,

block members secured to said backstop member,

bolt means securing said block members in said parallel slotted portions, said block members arranged to support said backstop member for longitudinal adjustment relative to said support bed,

said backstop member including means to support the rear edge portion of a stack of box blanks in an combination comprising,

a support bed having a front edge portion and a rear edge portion,

said front edge portion terminating adjacent a pair of feed rolls,

a pair of parallel spaced arm portions extending rearwardly from said support bed rear edge portions, said arm portions forming a recessed portion there between,

a vertical gate member spaced above said support bed top surface adjacent to said feed rolls, the front edge portions of a stack of box blanks arranged to abut the gate member,

a pair of parallel spaced slotted portions in said arms and said support bed,

a transversely extending backstop member spanning said recessed portion,

block members secured to said backstop member,

bolt means securing said block members in said parallel I slotted portions, said block members arranged to support said backstop member for longitudinal adjustment relative to said support bed,

an auxiliary support for the intermediate portion of said box blanks having a front edge portion, side edge portions and an upturned rear edge portion, said auxiliary support spanning said recessed portion between said arm portions,

said support bed and said arm portions having a recessed receiver portion for said auxiliary support, said receiver portion having substantially the same depth as the vertical dimension of said auxiliary support so that the top surface of said support and the top surface of said support bed are in substantially the same horizontal plane,

said auxiliary support side edge portions supported on the recessed receiver portions of said arm portion, and

means connecting said auxiliary support upturned rear edge portion to said transversely extending backstop member for movement therewith longitudinally along said support bed.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,844,371 7/1958 Rowlands 27144 M. HENSON WOOD, JR., Primary Examiner.

R. E. SCHACHER, Assistant Examiner.

Claims

1. IN A RECIPROCATING BOX BLANK FEEDING MECHANISM THE COMBINATION COMPRISING, A SUPPORT BED HAVING A PAIR OF PARALLEL SPACED ARM PORTIONS EXTENDING REARWARDLY THEREFROM, SAID ARM PORTIONS FORMING A RECESSED PORTION THEREBETWEEN, A PAIR OF PARALLEL SPACED SLOTTED PORTIONS IN SAID ARMS AND SAID SUPPORT BED, A TRANSVERSELY EXTENDING BACKSTOP MEMBER, MEANS SECURED TO SAID BACKSTOP MEMBER AND POSITIONED IN SAID PAIR OF PARALLEL SLOTS, SAID MEANS ARRANGED TO SUPPORT SAID BACKSTOP MEMBER FOR LONGITUDINAL ADJUSTMENT RELATIVE TO SAID SUPPORT BED, SAID BACKTOP MEMBER INCLUDING MEANS TO SUPPORT THE REAR EDGE PORTION OF A STACK OF BOX BLANKS IN AN ELEVATED POSITION RELATIVE TO THE TOP SURFACE OF SAID SUPPORT BED, AN AUXILIARY SUPPORT FOR THE INTERMEDIATE PORTION OF SAID BOX BLANKS, SAID AUXILIARY SUPPORT SPANNING SAID RECESSED PORTION BETWEEN SAID ARMS, SAID AUXILIARY SUPPORT HAVING EDGE PORTIONS ON THE UPPER SURFACE OF SAID ARMS, AND MEANS CONNECTING SAID AUXILIARY SUPPORT TO SAID BACKSTOP MEMBER FOR MOVEMENT THEREWITH LONGITUDINALLY ALONG SAID SUPPORT BED.