US3099118A

US3099118A - Machine for packaging

Info

Publication number: US3099118A
Application number: US55073A
Authority: US
Inventors: Jr Walter R Stelling
Original assignee: Applied Developments Inc
Current assignee: Applied Developments Inc
Priority date: 1960-09-09
Filing date: 1960-09-09
Publication date: 1963-07-30
Anticipated expiration: 1980-07-30

Description

1963 w. R. STELLING, JR 3,099,118

. MACHINE FOR PACKAGING Filed Sept. 9, 1960 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN V EN TOR.

.WaIier SieIlingJr.

BY M, m' attorneys July 30, 1963 w. R. STELLING, JR

MACHINE FOR PACKAGING 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOER. I l 211i?! R. Sfelling, jl'.

BY v I: m, W 71 D'flfirnegs .N-WWWL Filed Sept. 9. 1960 July 30, 1963 w. R. STELLING, JR 3,

MACHINE FOR PACKAGING Filed Sept. 9. 1960 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVEN TOR.

mm Olffrneys .Walter R. Stelling, Jr., Milwaukee, Wis.,

United States Patent 3,099,118 MACHINE FOR PACKAGING assignor, by mesne assignments, to Applied Developments, Dallas, Tex., a corporation of Texas Filed Sept. 9, 1960, Ser. No. 55,073

9 Claims. (Cl. 53-209) This invention relates to flexible packaging machines for applying a heat scalable material to a continuously moving line of individual products.

According to the present invention, a machine of the above general type is provided which utilizes novel vacuum means for tightly pulling the flexible material downwardly, and evenly without wrinkles, around all sides of the product.

A more specific aspect of the invention relates to novel means for evenly and tightly pulling the flexible wrapping material downwardly along two opposite sides of the continuously moving product, and then smoothly folding the excess of the pulled material underneath the product with- Inc.,

out any wrinkling of the material. The arrangement is such that a line of continuously moving individual products are tightly and smoothly wrapped in a rapid and eflicient manner.

These and other objects and advantages will appear hereinafter as this disclosure progresses, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a machine made in accordance with the present invention, certain parts being shown as broken away or removed for clarity in the drawings;

FIGURE 2. is a side elevational view of the machine shown in FIGURE 1 but on an enlarged scale, certain parts being shown in section, broken away or removed for clarity;

FIGURE .3 is a spread-out, plan view and showing the drive arrangement for certain of the conveyors and suction belts in the upper path of the machine, certain parts being broken away or removed;

FIGURE 4 is a spread-out, plan view and showing the drive arrangement for certain of the parts in the lower path of the machine, certain parts being broken away or removed, and

FIGURE 5 is a spread-out, plan view showing the parts and drive arrangement for the supply portion of the machine.

Referring in greater detail to FIGURE 2 of the drawings, the machine generally includes a lower, horizontal portion 10 in which the products to be wrapped travel first from left to right along an upper path indicated by an arrow P, and then are reversed in their direction of movement and move to the left along a lower path, indicated by an arrow PL. The machine also includes an upper supply portion 12 from which the web W of flexible and heat scalable wrapping material is fed from a supply roll S, is cut into wrappers M by a rotary knife K and the wrappers are then fed by and between a pair of upper endless members 14 and pairs of lower endless members 15, trained over respective sheaves 16 and 17 fixed on

shafts

18 and 19 respectively, which are journaled in

side walls

20 and 21.

In this description, reference will be made to certain rollers or other rotary elements, which are clearly shown 3,099,118 Patented July 30, 1963 ice in the views as being mounted on suitable shafts. These shafts in turn are clearly shown as being mounted in suitable anti-friction bearings located in the sides of the machines. Further specific reference to these rollers and bearings is not believed necessary. 7

A clutch and brake feed rollF in cooperation with a 'series of rubber covered wheels 22 act when the product is being fed to pull the web from the roll S and feed it be- .are trained over sprockets 27a and driven sprockets 27b.

The timing of the delivery of the wrapper with the product to be wrapped is such that the material is centered on top of the product.

A presser roll 28, mounted on the free ends of arms 29 pivoted on shaft 30, is raised slightly by the product as it passes thereunder, whereby the weight of the roller acts to press the piece of flexible wrapping material firmly against the top of the product and force any air from between the wrapper and product.

As shown in FIGURES 2 and 3, the pair of conveying chains 27 overlap adjacent their discharge end with the front end of a central suction belt 33. Thus, just before the product leaves the endless conveying chains 27, it is deposited on the central, perforated suction belt 33 trained over the driven roller 33a and a roller 33b. Side suction belts 35 and 36, one along each side of the central belt 33 and parallel therewith, move in same direction as belt 33 but at a slightly faster rate. The top flights of these side belts are also positioned about A" lower than the top flight of the center belt to allow the tucker plates (to be described) to be in about the same horizontal plane as the top flight of the center belt.- Belts 35 and 36 at one end are trained over

rollers

35b and 36b, respectively,

p and at their other end are driven by the rollers 35a and 36a respectively.

A vacuum box 39 is located under all three

belts

33, 35 and 36 and has a suction conduit 39a extending therefrom and leading to a suction pump (not shown).

The central belt moves the product along and pulls the wrapper down tightly over the front and rear sides of the product thereby holding the wrapper tightly on the prodnet.

The side belts act to pull the wrapper tightly down over their respective sides of the product and, as these side belts are moving forwardly faster than the center belt and the product, they also act to pull the side edges of the wrapper forwardly slightly in relation to the product. In other words, the side belts act to pull the side edges of the wrapper tautly in a forward direction. A certain,

to be described. The tucker plates, in performing their function of plowing the side edges under the product, have a tendency to retard or pull the side edges rearwardly as the product continues to move along, and thus wrinkles would be created in the wrapper. By the use of more rapidly moving side belts, however, they overcome this retardation or drag effect createdby the tucker plates in performing their function.

The tucker plates 40, 41 are disposed above the belts and in parallelism with the top flights thereof. As shown in FIGURES 1 and 3, a plate is located on each side of the center belt and the plates extend over their respective side belt. the center belt and along side one another a short distance apart. The leading

edges

40a, 41a of the plates are formed as a long taper, and these inclined leading edges converge inwardly toward the center belt.

An endless and overhead conveyor 44, comprising a pair of

endless chains

45 and 46 connected together by pusher bars 47, also acts to move the product along its upper path P of travel. These pusher bars 47 travel at thesarne speed as the center belt.

The combined action of the tucker plates and belts is The innermost edges of the plates terminate over as follows. The front and rear sides of the wrapper are pulled downwardly over the product by the center belt. As the product then begins to move over the plates, the side edges engage the inclined leading edges of the plates and enter under the plates. These

edges

40a and 41a act to tuck or plow the wrapper side edges under the product as the latter continually moves along.

In this manner, the two sides of the wrapper are tightly folded completely and smoothly under the product.

As the prod-not then reaches the discharge end of the tucker plates, and begins to leave the belts, a small vacuum box 50 having a suction conduit 50a, acts to pull the front edge of the wrapper downwardly into the open top side of the box. As the product continues to be moved by conveyor 44 over the diverging, .rear ends of the plates, the front edge is pulled smoothly underneath the moving product. i

The product, which has now been wrapped around its two sides and also its front side, is then pushed over a hot plate 53 having a series of raised ribs 53a extending in the direction of product movement. These heated ribs act to heat-seal the flaps formed by the folded edges under the product as the latter moves over the plate 53. Thereby, when the direction of the product is later reversed, as will appear, the front edge will not be pulled free.

At the end of its travel in the upper path of movement, the partially wrapped product is pushed by conveyor rods 47 onto the free end of a pivoted flapper plate 56. This plate is pivoted on shaft 57 and has a cam follower 58 carried above and adjacent one end thereto. The plate is spring biased in the upper direction to the position shown in full lines in FIGURE 2 and is urged to the lower position shown in dotted lines, by the rotatable cam 60. The cam consists of two parts 60a and 60b which are adjustable relative to one another by a set screw 60c so that the length of time, during which the cam acts on the follower 58 to lower the platform, can be adjusted. Various size products can thus be accommodated.

The shaft 61 on which the cam is secured is rotated through the pair of sprockets 62 which are driven by a pair of endless chains 63. Pusher rods 64 are connected between chains 63 and as the chains travel over the

sprockets

62, 65, 66, 67 and 68, the rods push the product off the plate and 'across the vacuum box 70 and onto a Teflon endless, conveyor belt 71. Belt 71 and the pusher rods travel at the same speed and together act to move the product through the heating oven 73, as will more fully appear. 1

The platform 56 swings the product downwardly into the lower path PL where the product moves in a direction reverse to its original direction. In doing so, the product is gently lowered without turning it or otherwise changing its orientation. Thus when the direction of movement of the product is changed, the product will have a new leading side.

The timing of the plate movement in conjunction with v the movement of conveyor rods 47 and only one. product is lowered at ,a time.

As the product moves over," the small vacuum box 70, the only remaining edge of the wrapper which has 64 is such that not been pushed under the product, is pulled downwardly by this suction. Stated otherwise, what was formerly the trailing side of the product is now the front or leading side and the new leading edge of the wrapper is pulled under the product as the latter is moved over the box 70.

As previously mentioned, conveyor rods 64 move the wrapped product onto a heated Teflon belt and into the heat-shrink tunnel or oven 73. The endless belt 71 is heated by passing over a hot plate 74. Thus as the wrapped product moves with the belt and over the hot plate, all of its flaps on its underside are heated and firmly sealed.

As the wrapped product passes through the tunnel it is also heated so as to shrink the wrapping, drawing it tightly around the product. The tunnel is heated by means of hot air blasting into opposite sides of the oven through conduits 75 and 76. cated on opposite sides of the oven and oppositely facing directions and act to direct the hot air blast on the package, thoroughly heating the wrapping and promoting uniform shrinkage thereof.

Upon leaving the heated tunnel the pusher bar 64 moves the finished product over a series of parallel rollers 77, at the end of which the product is deposited on a pivot plate 80. This plate is pivoted on shaft 81 and when the product has been deposited against the plate rflange 82, the plate then tips to turn the package upside down on a platform (not shown). In this manner the package is turned with its sealed flap side up in order that a label may be applied thereover.

The main power source of the machine may be an electric motor (not shown) which is connected to the main power input shaft'85 (FIGURES 2. and 3). A 'gear 86 fixed on shaft is in constant mesh with gears 87 and 88 fixed to shafts 89 and 90 respectively. The various drive elements to other component parts of the .machine are clearly illustrated and, as they are conventional, no further description of them is believed to be.

necessary. S

ummary By means of the present invention a particularly compact wrapping machine is-formed which has two paths of movement, one being in opposition to and located directly under the other. A particularly short machine is provided in respect to the direction of product movement.

The machine provided by the present invention insures a tightly wrapped product and one from which the air has been expelled. The wrapping is entirely sealed and is also heat-shrunk to provide good appearance.

The machine is capable of rapid speed of operation and can be easily adjusted to accommodate various sizes of products to be packaged. I

Novel tucker plates have 'been provided which in conjunction with the more rapid moving .side belts act to smoothly fold the side edges of the wrapper under the product without any hesitation and without any wrinkling of the wrapper. All of the edges of the wrapper are uniformly pulled tightly along their respective sides and then pulled smoothly under the product, this all being done without any delay in the product movement.

Various modes of carrying out the invention are contemplated as being within the scope of the following claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which isregarded as the invention.

What is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

These conduits are 10- product, means for depositing a wrapper on the top side of said moving product with edges of the wrapper protruding beyond all sides thereof, suction means for pulling opposite side edges downwardly around the product, and tucker means adjacent said conveying means for tucking said opposite edges of said wrapper under said product as the latter moves along.

2. A machine for wrapping a moving product comprising, conveying means for moving the product, means for depositing a wrapper on the top side of said moving product with edges of the wrapper protruding beyond all sides thereof, suction means for pulling said edges downwardly around the product, tucker means adjacent said conveying means for tucking opposite edges of said wrapper under said product as the latter moves along, and other suction means beneath said conveying means for pulling the edge of the wrapper at the forward side of the moving product downwardly beneath said product whereby movement of the product will cause said edge to be pulled under the product.

3. A machine for wrapping a moving product comprising, a suction belt for holding and moving the product along a path, means for depositing a wrapper on the top side of said moving product with edges of the wrapper protruding beyond all sides thereof, suction means for pulling opposite side edges downwardly around the product as it moves along, tucker means adjacent said belt for tucking said opposite edges of said wrapper under said product tas the latter moves along, and other suction means for pulling the edge of the wrapper at the forward side of the moving product downwardly beneath said prodduct whereby movement of the product will cause said edge to be pulled under the product as the latter passes over said other suction means.

4. A wrapping machine -for wrapping a moving product comprising, a central suction belt for conveying the product, means for depositing a wrapper on the top side of said product with edges of the wrapper protruding beyond the sides of the product as it moves along on said belt; a pair of side suction belts, one on each side of said central belt and moving along side thereof, and tucker plates positioned above said belts, said side belts acting on said wrapper to pull their respective edges tightly downwardly over said product and carry them under said plates whereby the latter act to tuck said edges under said moving product.

5. A wrapping machine for wrapping a moving product comprising; a central, endless suction belt for conveying the product, means for depositing a wrapper on the top side of said product as it moves along on said belt; a pair of side suction belts, one on each side of said central belt and moving along side thereof, said side belts adapted to move at a higher rate of speed than said central belt, and tucker plates positioned above said belts, one extending from each side and arranged generally parallel to said belts, said side belts acting on said wrapper to pull their respective edges tightly downwardly over said product and carry them under said plates whereby the latter act to tuck said edges under said moving product.

6. A wrapping machine for wrapping a moving product comprising; a central, endless suction belt for conveying the product, means for depositing a wrapper on the top side of said product as it moves along with said belt; a pair of side suction belts, one on each side of said central belt and moving along side thereof, said side belts adapted to move at a higher rate of speed than said central belt; and tucker plates positioned above said belts and over which the product passes, said plates extending from opposite sides of said belts and arranged generally parallel to said belts, said tucker plates each having an inclined leading edge which converge toward one another in the direction of product movement; said side belts acting on said wrapper to pull their respective wrapper edges tightly downwardly over said product and carry them under said plates as the product passes thereover, whereby the plates act to tuck said edges under said moving product.

7. A wrapping machine for wrapping a moving product comprising; a central, endless suction belt for conveying the product along a first path of movement, means for depositi gll a beat scalable wrapper on said product to extend beyond the sides thereof as it moves along on said belt; a pair of suction side belts, one on each side of said central belt and moving along side thereof in the same direction as but at a higher rate'of speed than said central belt; tucker plates positioned above said belts and over which the product passes, said side belts acting to pull their respective extending wrapper edges tightly downwardly over said product and carry them under said plates whereby the latter act to tuck said edges under said moving product, suction means for pulling a portion of said wrapper downwardly over the leading side of said product whereby said portion will be pulled beneath the moving product, means for sealing said portion under said I product, means for shifting said product from said first path to the second path without appreciably changing the orientation of said product whereby the latter has a new leading edge, conveyor means for moving said product along a second path of movement which is in the reverse direction to and beneath said first path, second suction means along said second path -for pulling another portion of said wrapper over said new leading edge whereby continued product movement pulls said another portion under said product, and a heats hrink tunnel along said second path and having means sealing the bottom of said wrapper and shrinking said wrapper tightly around the product.

8. A wrapping machine for wrapping a moving product comprising; a central, endless suction belt for conveying the product along a first path of movement, means for depositing a heat sealable wrapper on the top side of said product as it moves along on said belt; a pair of suction side belts, one on each side of said central belt and moving along side thereof, said side belts adapted to move at a 'higher rate of speed than said central belt; tucker plates positioned above said belts and over which the product passes, said plates extending from opposite sides of said belts and arranged generally parallel to said belts, said tucker plates each having an inclined leading edge which converge toward one another in the direction of product movement; said side belts acting on said wrapper to pull their respective wrapper edges tightly downwardly over said product and carry them under said plates whereby the latter act to tuck said edges under said moving product, suction means for pulling a portion of said wrapper downwardly over the leading side of said product whereby said portion will be pulled beneath the moving product, means for sealing said portion under said product, means for shifting said product from said first path to a second path without appreciably changing the orientation of said product whereby the later has a new leading side, conveyor means for moving said product along said second path g of movement which is in the reverse direction to and beneath said first path, second suction means along said second path for pulling another portion of said wrapper over said new leading side whereby continued product movement pulls said anotherportion under said product, and a beat-shrink tunnel along said second path and having means sealing the bottom of said wrapper and shrink- .ing said wrapper tightly around the product.

7 said product so that said product passes over said former pl'ate means and thqedges of said wrapper are formed inwardly under the product.

References Cited in the file of this patent 5 UNITED sTA Es PATENTS 2,297,432 Rasch a a1. Sept. 29, 1942 2,737,002 Demler Mar. 6, 1956 2,854,799 Griese et a1 Oct. 7, 195s 2,855,735 Groth Oct. 14, 1958 8 Hartwi'g Nov. 18, 1958 Dreyfius et a1. Sept. 22, 1959 Berst .L Dem-1, 1959 Byland Mar. 1, 1960 Gentry 'Ap.r. 26, 1960 Wertheimer Mar. 21, 1961 Kostur Mar. 28, 1961 FOREIGN PATENTS Canada Mar. 29, 1960

Claims

1. A MACHINE FOR WRAPPING A MOVING PRODUCT COMPRISING, ENDLESS BELT CONVEYING MEANS FOR MOVING THE PRODUCT, MEANS FOR DEPOSITING A WRAPPER ON THE TOP SIDE OF SAID MOVING PRODUCT WITH EDGES OF THE WRAPPER PROTRUDING BEYOND ALL SIDES THEREOF, SUCTION MEANS FOR PULLING OPPOSITE SIDE EDGES DOWNWARDLY AROUND THE PRODUCT, AND TUCKER MEANS ADJACENT SAID CONVEYING MEANS FOR TUCKING SAID OPPOSITE EDGES OF SAID WRAPPER UNDER SAID PRODUCT AS THE LATTER MOVES ALONG.