GB2199008A

GB2199008A - Apparatus for transferring products between several production machines

Info

Publication number: GB2199008A
Application number: GB08728978A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Antonio Gamberini
Original assignee: GD SpA
Current assignee: GD SpA
Priority date: 1986-12-17
Filing date: 1987-12-11
Publication date: 1988-06-29
Anticipated expiration: 2007-12-11
Also published as: CN1008237B; DE3742093A1; GB2199008B; IT1201609B; IT8603614A0; GB8728978D0; CN87108132A

Description

1 1, 41 2199008 1 APPARATUS FOR TRANSFERRING PRODUCTS BETWEEN SEVERAL

PRODUCTION MACHINES This invention relates to an transferring products between machines. In particular,the invention relates to an apparatus for transferring products between machines of a production line, in which one outlet of a production the irlets ef at least t,,7c,zEe- machines.

apparatus for several production The apparatus according to the present invention is advantageously used in the tobacco industry for transferring packets of cigarettes from a cellophane-wrapping machine or paper-wrapping machine to two cartoning machines.

With reference to the tobacco industry, it is known to package groups of packets of finished cigarettes into containers. known as "cartons". This operation is performed by machines, hereinafter called cartoning machines, which are able to carton groups consisting usually of ten or twentyfive packets of cigarettes positioned side by side. to form a parallelepiped block. Each cellophane-wrapping machine is normally associated with one cartoning machine of the aforesaid type, which given the operating rate of currently available cellophane-wrapping machines is able to form from-sixteen to forty cartons per minute, according to whether the cartons contain twentyfive or ten packets of cigarettes.

It can however sometimes be necessary to produce cartons of the aforesaid type containing a very small number of Packets of cigarettes. Some tobacco-proces sing industries for example form cartons X 2 containing four or five packets.

It is apparent that in such a case one cartoning machine may not be able to handle all the packets of cigarettes originating from one cellophanewrapping machine. In this respect in order to accommodate the production of the cellophane-wrapping machine the cartoning machine would have to operate at a rate corresponding to the production of eignty to one hundred cartons per minute, ie at a rate much higher than its design rate, with the risk of damaging it or compromising its proper operation.

To produce cartons containing a very small number of packets it has been attempted to feed two cartoning machines with the packets from one cellophane-wrapping machine. However in order to do this it is necessary to divide the continuous stream of packets arriving from the cellophane;.wrapping machine so as to form two half-capacity streams directed towards the two cartoning machines.

Apparatuses are known for dividing a stream of products into two, in which the products, fed as a continuous row, are switched alternately along two feed lines by pusher elements driven transversely to the feed direction of the row. A drawback of these apparatuses is that the pusher elements, which have to operate very rapidly against the fastly advancing packets, collide violently against the packets and can damage them. A further drawback is that during the sudden transverse shifting caused by said pusher elements it often happens that some packets overturn or assume an otherwise irregular position.

X According to the present invention in an apparatus 4i 91 1 is 3 for transferring products between machines of a production line, in which an outlet of one production machine is connected to the inlets of at least two user machines, the apparatus comprising an outlet path for a succession of products from said production machine, an inlet path for said products to each said user machine, and a distributor member interposed between said outlet path and said inlet paths to selectively feed said products leaving said production machine to each said inlet path, said distributor. member comprises a deviator element defining at least one connection path, actuator means connected to said deviator element to cause it to undergo switching movements in a direction transverse to said outlet and inlet paths in order to selectively connect said outlet path to one of said inlet paths, and inhibitor means disposed upstream of said inlet paths to prevent said products advancing during the operation of said actuator means.

Preferably, said outlet path and said inlet paths each comprise a respective belt conveyor for said products, an outlet end of said outlet conveyor faces an inlet end of- each said inlet conveyor, and said deviator element is mounted mobile above an outlet end portion of said'outlet conveyor.

Preferably, said deviator element clef ines an initial portion of each said inlet path, said actuator means being operable to selectively align an inlet end of each said initial portion with an outlet end of said outlet path.

In this case, said inhibitor means are positioned on said outlet path and preferably comprise braking means arranged to engage a said product and to lock it in a fixed position on said outlet path.

4 The present invention is described hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawing, which shows a plan view of a non-limited preferred embodiment thereof.

In the accompanying drawing the reference numeral 1 indicates overall an apparatus for transferring products in the form of cigarette packets 2 from a production machine consisting of a cellophane-wrapping machine 3 to two user machines consisting of two cartoning machines 4 and 5.

The apparatus 1 comprises a belt conveyor 6 for discharging the packets 2 from the machine 3, and two belt conveyors 7 and 8 for feeding the packets 2 to the machines 4 and 5. In particular-, an outlet end of the conveyor 6 is positioned facing and adjacent to the inlet ends of the conveyors 7 and 8, which form an angle with each other and are disposed coplanar with the conveyor 6.

Above an initial portion of the conveyor 6 there extend two fixed side panels 9 which are parallel to each other and to the conveyor 6, to define an outlet path 10 for the packets 2 from the machine 3. Likewise, above the conveyors 7 and 8 there extend two pairs of fixed side panels indicated respectively by 11 and 12, to defined respective inlet paths 13 and 14 for the packets 2 to the machines 4 and 5.

The conveyor 6 comprises an outlet end portion 15 which projects beyond the end of the path 10 and extends below a distributor member, indicated overall by 16 and arranged to selectively feed the packets 2 leaving the path 10 to one or other of the paths 13 and 14.

1) -1 k 11 r The distributor member 16 comprises a deviator element 17 defining two paths 18 and 19 for connecting the path 10 to the paths 13 and 14. For this purpose the deviator element 17 comprises a central plate assembly 20 having a substantially triangular plan shape and positioned above the end portion 15 of the conveyor 6. The plate assembly 20 consists of two plates 21 and 22 which conveniently converge towards the path 10 and are connected together at their other end by a block 23,disposed between the free ends of the paths 13 and 14 and pivoted on a pin 24 perpendicular to the plane of the conveyors 6,7 and 8.

The plate assembly 20 forms a common central connecting rod of two articulated parallelograms. a first of which comprises, in addition to the plate assembly 20, a straight side panel 25 connected by a hinge 26 to an inlet end of one of the side panels 11 and parallel to the wall 21 to define therewith the path 18, and the second of which comprises, in addition to the plate assembly 20, a straight side panel 27 connected by a hinge 28 to an inlet end of one of the side panels 12 and parallel to the wall 22 to define therewith the path 19.

Parallelism between the side panels 25 and 27 and the walls 21 and 22 which respectively face them is ensured by two cranks 29 and 30, which extend in opposite directions from a common pivot 31 carried by the plate assembly 20 and parallel to the pin 24, and of which each carries at that end distant f rom the end connected to the pivot 31 a stirrup 32 pivoted on a pin 33 parallel to the pivot 31 and carried by the respective side panel 25 or 27.

The crank 29 is connected by a coupling 34 to the t 1 6 output rod of an actuator member 35 arranged to swivel the deviator element 17 between a first position, shown on the accompanying drawing, in which the path 18 connects the paths 10 and 13 together, and a second position (not shown) in which the path 19 connects the paths 10 and 14 together.

The two side panels 9 of the path 10 have aligned apertures 36 through which there is mounted a mobile inhibitor unit 37 comprising a pusher 38 and a pusher 39 which are provided at their facing ends with braking means in the form of pads 40. The pushers 38 and 39 can be moved towards each other by respective actuator members 41 in order to lock a packet 2 between them and prevent the subsequent packets 2 advancing along the path 10. A control device 42 operates the actuator members 41 immediately prior to the switching of the deviator element between said two operating positions, to prevent any packet being located in that part of the path 10 downstream of the inhibitor unit 37 when switching occurs.

When in use, packets 2 leaving the machine 3 are fed by the conveyor 6 along the path 10 and, as shown on the accompanying drawing, enter the connection path 18. The packets 2 are then f ed along the path 18 by the conveyor 6 until they reach the inlet end of the conveyor 7, from which they are fed along the path 13 and to the machine 4.

When a determined number of packets have been produced, the machine 3 feeds a signal from a counter, not shown, to the control device 42 to operate the inhibitor unit 37. The pads 40 of the unit 37 halt a packet 2, against which all subsequent packets supported by the conveyor 6 upstream of the unit 37 i 4 7 stop, whereas the packets 2 lying along the path 10 -downstream of the unit 37 are free to enter the connection-path 18.

After the time required for substantially completely emptying that part of the path 10 downstream of the unit 37 the control device 42 operates the actuator member 35, which switches the deviator element 17 from the position shown on the figure to a position in which the connection path 19 is aligned with the outlet of the path 10.

During switching, the packets 2 which occupy the path 18 continue their feed by the conveyor 6 along the path 18, which progressively empties.

Af ter switching, the unit 42 deactivates the inhibitor unit 37, the pads 40 of which withdraw towards the apertures 36 to release the packets 2, which again advance -along the path 10 and are fed by the conveyor 6 to the path 19 and thus to the machine 5 along to path 8.

When the said counter of the machine 3 has counted a determined number of packets after switching, it causes the unit 42 to reactivate the unit 37, to again switch in the aforesaid manner. In this manner, it is possible by means of the distributor member 16 to alternately feed the machine 4 and machine 5 with groups consisting of a determined number of.packets 2.

As the constituent number of packets 2 of.. each group can be varied by simply adjusting the counter. of the machine 3, the distributor member 16 makes it possible not only to use the machines 4 and 5 at relatively low operating speed but also to vary the number of packets 2 handled simultaneously by each of these k 8 machines.

It should also be noted that if one of the machines 4 or 5 is temporarily inoperative, the unit 42 can be deactivated after switching the deviator element 17 into its position for feeding that machine 5 or 4 which has remained operative, and after halving the production capacity of the machine 3.

11 9

Claims

An apparatus for transferring products between machines of a production line, in which an outlet of one production machine is connected to the inlets of at least two user machines, the apparatus comprising an outlet path for a succession of products from said production machine, an inlet path for said products to each said user machine, and a distributor member interposed between said outlet path and said inlet paths to selectively feed said products leaving said production machine to each said inlet path in which said distributor member comprises a deviator element defining at least one connection path, actuator means connected to said deviator element to cause it to undergo switching movements in a direction transverse to said outlet path and inlet paths in order to selectively connect said outlet path to one of said inlet paths, and inhibitor means disposed upstream of said inlet paths to prevent said products advancing during the operation of said actuator means.
2. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, in which said outlet path and said inlet paths each comprise a respective belt conveyor for said products, an outlet end of said outlet conveyor f aces an inlet end of each said inlet conveyor, and said deviator element is mounted mobile above an outlet end portion of said outlet conveyor.
3. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 or 2, in which in that said deviator element defines an initial portion of each said inlet path, said actuator -means being operable to selectively align an inlet end of each said initial portion with an outlet end of said outlet path.
4. An apparatus as claimed in claim 3, in which said inhibitor means are positioned on said outlet path.
5. An apparatus as claimed in claim 4, in which said inhibitor means comprise braking means arranged to engage a said product and to lock it in a fixed position on said outlet path.
6. An apparatus for transferring products between machines of a production line, substantially as described herein with reference to, and as illustrated in, the accompanying drawing.

Published 1988 at The Patent Office. State House, 66'71 High Holborn, London WClR 4TP Parther copies mkv be obtained from The Patent Office. SaJes Branch, St Mary Cray. Orpington. Kent BR5 3RD Printed by MWtaplex tecliniques lui. St Mary Cray, Kent. Con. 1/87.