Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65B—MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING
  • B65B25/00—Packaging other articles presenting special problems
  • B65B25/14—Packaging paper or like sheets, envelopes, or newspapers, in flat, folded, or rolled form
  • B65B25/146—Packaging paper or like sheets, envelopes, or newspapers, in flat, folded, or rolled form packaging rolled-up articles
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65B—MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING
  • B65B63/00—Auxiliary devices, not otherwise provided for, for operating on articles or materials to be packaged
  • B65B63/02—Auxiliary devices, not otherwise provided for, for operating on articles or materials to be packaged for compressing or compacting articles or materials prior to wrapping or insertion in containers or receptacles
  • B65B63/026—Auxiliary devices, not otherwise provided for, for operating on articles or materials to be packaged for compressing or compacting articles or materials prior to wrapping or insertion in containers or receptacles for compressing by feeding articles through a narrowing space
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65B—MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING
  • B65B35/00—Supplying, feeding, arranging or orientating articles to be packaged
  • B65B35/30—Arranging and feeding articles in groups
  • B65B35/44—Arranging and feeding articles in groups by endless belts or chains
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65B—MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING
  • B65B35/00—Supplying, feeding, arranging or orientating articles to be packaged
  • B65B35/30—Arranging and feeding articles in groups
  • B65B35/50—Stacking one article, or group of articles, upon another before packaging
  • B65B35/52—Stacking one article, or group of articles, upon another before packaging building-up the stack from the bottom
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65B—MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING
  • B65B59/00—Arrangements to enable machines to handle articles of different sizes, to produce packages of different sizes, to vary the contents of packages, to handle different types of packaging material, or to give access for cleaning or maintenance purposes
  • B65B59/001—Arrangements to enable adjustments related to the product to be packaged
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65B—MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING
  • B65B59/00—Arrangements to enable machines to handle articles of different sizes, to produce packages of different sizes, to vary the contents of packages, to handle different types of packaging material, or to give access for cleaning or maintenance purposes
  • B65B59/003—Arrangements to enable adjustments related to the packaging material
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65B—MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING
  • B65B9/00—Enclosing successive articles, or quantities of material, e.g. liquids or semiliquids, in flat, folded, or tubular webs of flexible sheet material; Subdividing filled flexible tubes to form packages
  • B65B9/06—Enclosing successive articles, or quantities of material, in a longitudinally-folded web, or in a web folded into a tube about the articles or quantities of material placed upon it
  • B65B9/073—Enclosing successive articles, or quantities of material, in a longitudinally-folded web, or in a web folded into a tube about the articles or quantities of material placed upon it the web having intermittent motion
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65B—MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING
  • B65B9/00—Enclosing successive articles, or quantities of material, e.g. liquids or semiliquids, in flat, folded, or tubular webs of flexible sheet material; Subdividing filled flexible tubes to form packages
  • B65B9/06—Enclosing successive articles, or quantities of material, in a longitudinally-folded web, or in a web folded into a tube about the articles or quantities of material placed upon it
  • B65B2009/063—Forming shoulders

Definitions

• the invention refers to a machine and method for packaging groups of prepacked products in varying formats, such as groups of paper rolls or other products coming from one or more packaging machines from which the packages can be discharged with the roll axes arranged horizontally or vertically, in bags obtained from thermoplastic film or sheet unwound from a reel.
• a packaging and bagging device for packaging and bagging rolls of tissue paper is disclosed in EP-A-1, 306,308.
• An automatic bundling machine including a packaging section and a bagging section is disclosed in US-A-4,679,379.
• a plurality of packages are introduced into seats of a chain con- veyor, which forms groups of pre-determined packages, each package having a pre-determined dimension. Said group of packages is then moved on an elevator, and from there into a wrapping tunnel or mandrel, i.e. a device which forms a tubular wrap of thermoplastic film around the group of packages.
• the thermoplastic tubular film is transversely cut and sealed to form a bag around each group of packages.
• an embodiment of the invention is aimed at remedying these problems of the known devices, with a solution which, as the format of the product packages varies, requires simple, easy and rapid adjustments, which can be performed automatically, if required, via the use of a few servo controls that can be controlled from the machine control panel, appropriately configured for the purpose.
• an object of an embodiment of the inven- tion is to provide a bagging device, which has a compact and simple layout.
• the invention also concerns a method for bagging packages of products which is more efficient than prior art methods.
• the invention concerns a method which allows handling of packages of variable formats with easy and quick adjustment interventions on the packaging ma- chine.
• the invention concerns a method for bagging groups of packages of pre-packed products of varying format, in bags obtained from thermoplastic film or sheet unwound from a reel, including the following steps:
• the packages grouped on said elevator are moved by said elevator to the height of said bagging station and transferred from said elevator into a wrapping tube of said bagging station.
• the packages are lifted from a lower position, at the level of an advancement conveyor, to an upper position, where a wrapping tube or mandrel of a bagging machine is arranged. Arranging the bagging station underneath the advancement conveyor is not excluded.
• each bag can include a single layer of packages.
• the packages are grouped according to a plurality of superposed layers, such that each bag includes two or more superposed layers of packages, each layer including one or more packages.
• the layers are piled up in a superposed configuration on an elevator and then transferred into the bagging station.
• said layers can be formed on a first elevator, on which two or more layers of packages are formed.
• the elevator is then moved towards the bagging station such that the layered packages are transferred, e.g. by means of a pusher, from the elevator into the bagging station, e.g. into the wrapping tunnel of the bagging station.
• said superposed layers of packages are transferred from a first elevator to a second ele- vator and said second elevator moves said superposed layers of packages at the height of said bagging station.
• said packages are fed along a distribution conveyor, preferably in a spaced apart relationship. From said distribution conveyor said packages are distributed according to a plurality of substantially parallel rows.
• said distribution conveyor is pivoted around a preferably approximately vertical swivelling axis arranged at an inlet side of said distribution conveyor, such that an outlet side of said distribution conveyor is sequentially brought into alignment with a plurality of substantially parallel channels to sequentially feed said packages in each said channel and form a row of packages in each said channel.
• said rows are advanced along a direction substantially aligned with a main direction of advancement of said distribution conveyor. Since the distribution conveyor oscillates in order to distribute the packages in each said rows, the direction of advancement of said distribution conveyor is variable.
• a main direction of advancement is defined as an approximately mean direction between the various angular positions, which the distribution conveyor can assume when distributing said packages in said rows.
• the invention can typically be used to package and bag rolls of tissue paper, such as toilet rolls, kitchen-towel rolls or the like. In general, the invention can be applied for packaging rolls of wound web material. If the products to be bagged are rolls of wound web material, according to a preferred embodiment said rolls are oriented with their axes in a substantially vertical position and advanced along a substantially horizontal direction from said distributor con- veyor to said advancing conveyor.
• the method of the invention includes the following steps:
• said leading group of packages is discharged from said advancement conveyor on a first elevator and after said leading group of packages has been discharged from said advancement conveyor onto said first elevator, said " upstream packages are released and advanced towards the end of said advancement conveyor.
• the invention concerns a machine for bagging groups of packages of pre-packed products of varying format, in bags obtained from thermoplastic film or sheet unwound from a reel, including:
• an advancement conveyor with an inlet end and an outlet end, said advancement conveyor being provided with adjacent channels, said distribution conveyor being arranged and controlled to feed said packages sequentially into said channels, said packages forming adjacent rows travelling in said channels along said advancement conveyor;
• a retention device arranged along said advancement conveyor at a distance from said outlet end, for cyclically retaining on said advancement conveyor a package of each row positioned immediately upstream of the package(s) to be discharged on said first elevator when said stoppage member is de-activated.
• the arrangement of said retention device is such that it retains a package in each row of said advancement conveyor such that the flow of packages is interrupted even though the advancement conveyor continues to move.
• the continued motion of the advancement conveyor causes discharge of the most advanced packages in each row, i.e. the leading group of packages, once the stoppage member has been de-activated.
• the advancement conveyor therefore, feeds the leading group of packages on the elevator arranged at the exit side of said advancement conveyor while the upstream packages are prevented from advancing.
• a feeder is arranged upstream of said distribution conveyor, for feeding correctly oriented and spaced apart packages to the inlet of said distribution conveyor.
• said feeder is adjustable according to the format of said packages.
• it can include adjustable side walls and/or distanced conveyors, the mutual distance of which can be adjusted according to the height of the packages.
• said distribution conveyor is adjustable according to the format of said packages.
• said channels on said advancement conveyor are adjustable according to the format of said packages and of said groups of packages to be bagged. They can be adjusted as far as the width and the total number of channels is concerned. I.e. the number of rows of advancing packages can be modified, as well as the transversal dimension thereof.
• Said bagging station can include a pusher for transferring said groups of packages into said bagging station, for example into a wrapping tunnel to which a wrapping film or web is fed from a reel.
• the distance between said retention device and the end of said advancement conveyor is adjustable. In this manner the number of packages for each bag can be set as required. If more packages have to be placed in each bag, the distance between the outlet end of the advancement conveyor and the retention device is increased. Such distance is decreased if a smaller number of packages are required in the bag or in each layer of the bag.
• said retention device includes a member movable from a retracted position, in which it does not interfere with the packages advancing along said advancement conveyor, and an active position, in which it interferes with the packages advancing along said advancement conveyor.
• Said movable member can include a retention bar, which is lifted from a position underneath the advancing surface, defined by the active branch of said advancement conveyor, to an extracted position, in order to lift a package from said conveyor and temporarily retain it while the conveyor can continue to advance the packages downstream said retention device.
• the retention bar can include a retention edge, for example it can be shaped in the form of an L-profile, the edge forming an abutment surface for the packages. In a preferred embodiment the bar co-acts with an upper pinching bar, such that a package is temporarily retained between said two opposing bars for the time required for discharging the downstream packages from the advancement conveyor on the elevator.
• said retention device can include a moving member which is moved from an upper position, clear of said packages, to a lower position, in which it interferes with the packages and retains the foremost package immediately upstream the leading group of packages, i.e. those packages which have to be discharged on the elevator and moved into the bagging station.
• a lower retention bar moving from a lower inactive position to an upper active position is preferred, since it does not require spacing the packages in each row.
• said first elevator is arranged and designed to take at least a first position at the level of said advancement conveyor, to receive packages from said conveyor and a second position at the level of said bagging station, to discharge said packages from said first elevator towards said bagging station.
• said elevator is provided with a conveyor, such as a belt conveyor. The belt conveyor is activated to eject the packages from the elevator and/or to abut the packages along a wall placed on a side of the elevator.
• an abutment wall is arranged on the downstream side of said first elevator, against wall which said packages are stopped and aligned when they are transferred on said first elevator.
• the abutment wall can be fixed or movable.
• the stoppage member includes an abutment wall integral with said first elevator, extending downwards therefrom at the upstream side thereof and facing said advancement conveyor.
• said stoppage member includes a movable interception device arranged at the outlet end of said advancement conveyor.
• the machine includes a second elevator, arranged down- stream said first elevator in the direction of advancement of said packages.
• the advancement conveyor, said stoppage member, said retention device, said first elevator and said second elevator are arranged and controlled such that when a required group of layered packages has been formed on the first elevator, said first elevator is placed at the same height as the second elevator and said group of layered packages is transferred from said first elevator to said second elevator, so that while the second elevator transfers the group of packages to the bagging station, the first elevator is brought at the level of the outlet end of said advancement conveyor for receiving a new group of packages.
• FIG. 1 and 2 are schematic side elevation and overhead views respectively - of a bagging machine in a first embodiment for packaging one single layer, of product packages;
• FIG. 1a illustrates an enlarged side elevation of a component of the machine as per the preceding figures
• Figs. 6 and 7 are side elevation and overhead views respectively of a bagging machine in the version with layering device, for packaging several layers of product packages;
• FIG. 6a and 6b illustrate an enlarged side elevation and overhead view respectively of components of the machine as per figures 6 and 11 ;
• - Figs. 8, 9 and 10 illustrate a side elevation of the terminal part of the machine as per figures 6 and 7 during successive steps of a work cycle
• - Figs. 11 and 12 are side elevation and overhead views respectively of a device for feeding a bagging machine, in the simplified version alternative to that of figures 6 and 7;
• - Figs. 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17 illustrate a side elevation of the terminal part of the machine as per figures 11 and 12, during successive work steps;
• - Fig. 18 illustrates a side elevation of a possible embodiment of an elevator for the machines as per figures 6 and 11 ;
• FIG. 19 and 20 illustrate respectively, in perspective, a product package as it arrives at the machine as per figures 1 and 2 and how several packages of this type are bagged by said machine;
• FIG. 21 and 22 illustrate respectively, in perspective, a product package as it arrives at the machines as per figures 6, 7 and how several layered packages of this type are bagged by said machine.
• Figure 19 illustrates a typical package C1 of rolls of paper arranged with their axis horizontally in several rows and in several layers and with the edges L of the heat-sealable wrapping sheet positioned on the ends of the hollow core of said rows of rolls, so that in the heat sealing phase of said edges between a pair of ordinary conveyors with vertical axis, the rolls undergo compression in the axial direction of greatest resistance to deformation: ⁇
• the packaging bag S obtained from a heat- sealable plastic film which is formed into a tube by means of a longitudinal seal,- not illustrated; and closed -at the opposite ends -by means of corresponding ⁇ transverse seals T1 and T2.
• a packaging of this type can be produced with the machine according to the invention, which is now described with reference to the Figures from 1 to 5 in a first embodiment.
• 1 indicates a tubular mandrel or wrapping tunnel with a horizontal axis, on which a continuous strip 102 of thermoplastic material runs longitudinally, unwound from a reel 2 controlled by unwinding means, not shown, controlled by a guide pulley 3 also of known type.
• the strip 102 is folded and then formed into a tube and its longitudinal overlapping edges are sealed by a known longitudinal sealing means 4, so that said wrapping tunnel produces a continuous tunnel of plastic material which, correctly timed, undergoes, by known means schematically indicated by the opposite arrows 5, positioned downstream of said wrap- ping tunnel 1 , a double transverse seal and is cut in-between the seals to close the end of the filled bag and the beginning of the new bag and to separate the filled closed bag, which can thus be moved away, from the new bag being formed.
• the packages to be bagged are arranged as described below on an eleva- tor 6 which in a step of its work cycle is at the same level as the wrapping tunnel 1, so that packages arranged on the elevator 6 can be pushed into and through the forming wrapping tunnel 1 and beyond it by the action of a known horizontal pusher 7, which pushes a portion of the bag- forming film along with the pack- ages inside the film downstream of the sealing and cutting means 5 which, properly timed, act as soon as said pusher 7 is retracted, so as to produce the bag S illustrated in Figure 20, inside which the packages will be packed tightly and blocked, exploiting the deformability and consequent elasticity of the packages on the horizontal plane, both lengthwise and crosswise, due to the ar- rangement of the rolls with their vertically oriented axes.
• the packages C1 are, initially- arranged . with their roll axes horizontal and move in single file-.in the.direction of the arrow F. For example they come in this position from an upwardly arranged packaging machine (not shown).
• the machine according to the invention comprises first positioning means 8 which feed the packages C1 forward, subjecting them to a transverse: rotation of 90?-, so as to; position them with- their; roll axes-vertical; said means comprise; for example; a ⁇ pair of adjacent belt conveyors 108, 208 which run in the same direction and at the same speed, the conveyor numbered 208 being of limited width and hori- zontal, while the wider one 108 slopes longitudinally downwards, so that while the package C1 performs a downward movement on this conveyor, the same is supported on one side by the horizontal conveyor 208 which causes it to perform the desired rotation of 90°.
• the packages C1 reach a hori- zontal motor-driven conveyor 9, which feeds said packages to a pair of reciprocally parallel conveyors 10, one above the other and appropriately motor-driven.
• Said conveyors 10 form a feeder, which feeds said packages at the right distance from one another (i.e. suitably distanced one from the other) onto the initial end, i.e. the inlet end of a rectilinear type horizontal belt distribution con- veyor 11 , which is pivoted about a substantially vertical axis 111 and is provided with lateral guides 211 and with appropriate motor.
• Said distribution conveyor 11 is provided with swivel means, not shown, which causes the distribution conveyor 11 to oscillate about the axis 111 so that its outlet end can be cyclically positioned in different horizontal positions, for example in three different positions as shown in Figure 2, so as to feed the packages C1 in rapid succession into three substantially parallel channels12.
• the channels have an adjustable width according to the format (e.g. the transverse dimensions) of the packages Cl
• Each channel is laterally defined by lateral guides 12 positioned with appropriate adjustment means, not shown, on one single advancement con- veyor13.
• the advancement conveyor 13 is formed by a single wide belt, as shown in the drawings. However, in an alternative embodiment said advancement conveyor can include a plurality of parallel narrow belts.
• the advancement conveyor 13 is driven by appropriate motor means, which causes the packages Cl to advance and to stop against a stopping, member.
• said stopping member includes a vertical wall 106 integral with the movable frame of the elevator 6.
• Said bar co-acts with a parallel upper bar 17 which, as the format of the packages C1 varies, can be adjusted in terms of distance from the conveyor 13, so as to substantially skim the tops of the packages moving on said conveyor.
• These latter components 14, 15, 16 and 17 are fitted on a carriage 18, the sides of which run on horizontal guides 19 and which is connected to manual or automatic adjustment means so that, as the format of the packages C1 or the format of the final package S varies, the bars 16 and 17 can be positioned immediately upstream of the group of packages, which each channel of the conveyor 13 has to transfer to the elevator 6 for forming a single package S.
• the elevator 6 is of the type in which the working surface is formed by a horizontal conveyor 206 driven in the same direction as the conveyor 13.
• a vertical fixed wall 20 is provided, above which the film 102 passes towards the wrapping tunnel 1.
• lateral guides 21 provided with means for adjusting the reciprocal distance as the format of the packages to be bagged varies.
• the machine according to this first embodiment operates as follows. At the end of one work cycle and the beginning of the next work cycle, the elevator 6 is in the raised position as shown in Figure 1 with its wall 106 stopping the flow of packages fed into each channel 12 of the conveyor 13. If, as in the example shown in Figures 19 and 20, three rows of packages have to be cyclically fed into the packaging bag S with two packages per row, the unit consisting of bar 16 and the counter bar 17 is positioned at the level of the third package starting from the one that touches the stop plate 106. Thus, a leading group of packages, including two packages per channel 12, is formed, said leading group of packages is discharged on the elevator 6 as described later on and then transferred to the bagging station 1-5.
• the elevator 6 is raised to the same plane as the lower wall of the wrapping tunnel 1, as shown in Figure 5, so that the groups of packages arranged on the elevator 6 can then be transferred by the conveyor 206 of said elevator and by the pusher 7 through the wrapping tunnel 1 for a subsequent bagging phase.
• the bagging step as such is known and not described in detail.
• the machine returns to the condition of Figure 1 , since following lowering of the stop bar 16 the packages C1 temporarily retained by the bars 16, 17 are released and the rows of packages fed by the conveyor 13 can advance until they are stopped against the high wall 106 of the elevator 6.
• Figures 6 to 10 show- a further embodiment of the " machine according to the invention.
• the machine includes a layering device, which is used when several packages have to be stacked on one another in a layered condition and in said condition inserted in the wrapping tunnel 1 of the 0 bagging station.
• three layers of packages C2 as in Figure 21 must be arranged on top of one another in layers, for example in three layers, and this pre-arranged layered group of packages must be inserted through the aforementioned wrapping tunnel 1 for formation of the packaging 0 bag S as in Figure 22.
• the machine shown in Figures 6 and 7 comprises an initial conveyor 8' fed with packages C2 that move in the direction of the arrow F (see also Figure 21).
• Said first conveyor positions the packages C2 with their larger dimension in the feed direction, for example by acting pushing said packages C2 against a lateral initially inclined guide 308'.
• the packages C2 are intro-ised between the pair of motor-driven parallel conveyors 10 positioned one above the other that feed said packages at an appropriate distance from one another to the exchange conveyor 11 , which in turn distributes said packages in the various channels 12 of the conveyor 13, which moves the packages forward in several adjacent rows and is constructed in the same way as previously de- scribed with reference to Figures 1 and 1a.
• an interception device 22 is provided, which on command is positioned in front of the flow of packages to stop them and which, correctly timed, can be neutralised to permit the feed of said flow of packages.
• the bar 16 and the upper counter bar 17 are adjusted so that they are po- sitioned above the initial part of the package C2 which follows the one stopped by the aforementioned interception device 22.
• the rollers 23 rotate in a direction to feed the packages coming out of the conveyor 13 at a speed equal to and/or appropriately higher than that of said conveyor 13.
• a first elevator 24 formed of a plurality of parallel belts 124 which, on command, can be operated by motor means (see below) for feeding the packages forward and which terminate downstream in a comb-like arrangement, so that the vertical teeth of a comb 25 connected to raising and lowering means, not shown, can be positioned between them.
• the elevator 24 is on the same plane as the conveyor 13 and the comb 25 is in a raised position, so as to protrude through the belts 124 and above said elevator at a height sufficient to stop a layer of packages C2.
• Other parts of the machine shown in Figs. 6 and 7 similar to those shown in Figs. 1-5 are not disclosed and reference is made to the description of the previous embodiment.
• the machine shown in Figures 6 and 7 operates as follows (see Figs. 6, 8, 9, 10).
• the interception device 22 is raised and the head package (i.e. the leading package C2) is transferred by the advancement conveyor 13, which remains active, and by the thrust rollers 23 onto the first elevator 24.
• the belts 124 of the first elevator 24 can be maintained in motion to ease advancement of the ⁇ ackages C2 on the surface of the elevator 24.
• the conveyor belts 124 can be deactivated.
• the interception device 22 moves back down and the bar 16 is lowered so that the next package C2 is positioned against the device 22.
• the first elevator 24 moves down one step, which is preferably equal two or slightly greater than the height of a package C2. Then a second package is fed onto the elevator 24 and the cycle is then repeated until three packages C2 have been stacked on the first elevator
• the bar 16 moves up and down cyclically and the interception device 22 is also lowered and raised so that, cyclically, a set of packages (one for each channel 12 in the example shown) comes out of the thrust rollers 23, for stacking on the auxiliary elevator. It is not excluded that a different number of packages C2, for example two packages C2, are fed each time from the advancement conveyor 13 onto the elevator 24. In this case the bars 16, 17 are adjusted a step backwards, such that they act on the third package C2, i.e. leaving the first and second package C2 in each row free to be discharged from the conveyor 13 on the stack being formed on the elevator 24.
• lateral guides are provided for- controlling the layered group of packages on the auxiliary elevator 24 and on the main elevator 6. It is-clear-that also- in this- type of -machine, " as- the ⁇ product ⁇ format varies, only adjustment operations have to be performed and these can be easily automated.
• a machine with. layering device is now described, in a simplified embodiment with respect to the one of Figures 6 to 10.
• layering of the packages is performed directly on a first elevator 6' similar to the first elevator 24 of the machine shown in Figs. 6-10 (see below).
• Said elevator 6' is also used to move the layered packages C2 from he level of the outlet of the advancement conveyor 13 to the level of the wrapping tunnel 1.
• Members and parts of the machine oi Figs: 11 to 17 which are equal or equivalent to those of the embodiment shown in Figs. 6 to 10 are indicated with the same reference numbers and are not described again.
• the structure of elevator 6' is similar to the structure of elevator 24 and includes comb-like belts, so that between the comb-like end of its belts, facing towards the wrapping tunnel 1 , the downward-facing teeth of a comb 25' can operate.
• the comb 25' is fixed rather than movable as comb 25 (Figs. 6-11).
• the parallel belts 306' of the conveyor provided on top of elevator 6' or those 124 of the elevator 24 described previ- ously can be such as to derive their movement from a motor 406 in a fixed position, by means of a belt 306 guided about another pulley 506 in a fixed position and about pulleys 606 that can be moved with said elevator and are sustained by it. It is understood, however, that the belts of the elevator 6' and those of the elevator 24 can be driven by any other suitable means, e.g. by means of a motor supported by the elevator itself:
• adjustment means can be provided as for the preceding machine embodiment shown in Figures 6 and 7, or easy register means can be provided to modify the angle of said conveyor 13, so as to raise or lower the height of the outlet thereof, while the interception device 22 associated with said outlet can be kept at a constant height, like the counter bar 17 and the upper one of the motorised- parallel thrust rollers 23, while the lower ' one of said « rollers follows- the movement of ; the ⁇ outlets of ' said conveyor 13, to which the cycle start height of the elevator 6 can be adapted via suitable means. It is understood that even if not illustrated, also in this embodiment of the invention lateral- guides are provided ⁇ adjustable, according to format,; to control.the.flow. of products imthe.
• the aforementioned thrust rollers 23 can be replaced by a pair of parallel conveyors positioned one above the other, similar to 10 but also shorter.

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Cited By (9)

Citations (5)

• 2006
  • 2006-01-31 IT IT000049A patent/ITBO20060049A1/it unknown
• 2007
  • 2007-01-24 WO PCT/IT2007/000047 patent/WO2007088567A1/en active Application Filing
  • 2007-01-24 ES ES07706241T patent/ES2353642T3/es active Active
  • 2007-01-24 DE DE602007010731T patent/DE602007010731D1/de active Active
  • 2007-01-24 EP EP07706241A patent/EP1979235B1/en not_active Not-in-force
  • 2007-01-24 AT AT07706241T patent/ATE489287T1/de not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 2007-01-24 BR BRPI0707361A patent/BRPI0707361B8/pt active IP Right Grant

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