US3780491A

US3780491A - Apparatus for wrapping small articles

Info

Publication number: US3780491A
Application number: US00225466A
Authority: US
Inventors: W Robinson
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1971-02-19
Filing date: 1972-02-11
Publication date: 1973-12-25
Anticipated expiration: 1990-12-25
Also published as: GB1378163A; IT947608B; CH553092A; FR2126052A5; DE2207238A1

Abstract

Apparatus for wrapping small articles, especially sweets, having wrapping units mounted one at each end of a reciprocating carrier which moves between two delivery stations in the form of apertured discs, each wrapping unit having means for picking up a sweet from its associated disc and means for drawing wrapping paper from a supply and locating the paper and the sweet in prewrapping positions preparatory to wrapping the paper around the sweet, the arrangement being such that in each limit position one wrapping unit is picking up a sweet from its associated disc while the other wrapping unit is wrapping a sweet previously picked up from its disc. There can be two or more wrapping units at each end of the carrier.

Description

' United States Patent [191 Robinson 1 APPARATUS FOR WRAPPING SMALL ARTICLES [76] Inventor: William S. Robinson, Carvers Close,

1 12A Blagreaves Ln., Littleover, England [22] Filed: Feb. 11, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 225,466

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data 1 Dec. 25, 1973 Hacket 53/221 Fischer 53/210 X 57] ABSTRACT Apparatus for wrapping small articles, especially sweets, having wrapping units mounted one at each end of a reciprocating carrier which moves between two delivery stations in the form of apertured discs, each wrapping unit having means for picking up a sweet from its associated disc and means for drawing wrapping paper from a supply and locating the paper and the sweet in pre-wrapping positions preparatory to wrapping the paper around the sweet, the arrangement being such that in each limit position one wrapping unit is picking up a sweet from its associated disc while the other wrapping unit is wrapping a sweet previously picked up from its disc. There can be two or more wrapping units at each end of the carrier.

25 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures PATENTEB DEC 2 5151 5 SHEET 1 OF 3 SHEET 2 UP 3 PATENTEU DEC 2 5 I975 SHEET 3 OF 3 1 APPARATUS FOR WRAPPING SMALL ARTICLES This invention relates to apparatus for wrapping articles. The invention is particularly suitable for wrapping small articles such as chocolate, or sugar confectionery, and for the sake of convenience in description the articles will be hereinafter referred to as sweets. The wrapping material usually used is film, foil or paper; the wrapping material will hereinafter be termed paper. It

is to be understood, however, that these terms are not used restrictively, for instance the invention could equally well be applied to the wrapping of mechanical or electrical components.

In connection with apparatus at present in use for wrapping sweets the sweets are usually presented one at a time to a wrapping position, in some cases by means of an endless conveyor, and in other cases by means of a rotary turntable or feed plate. Simultaneously paper is unwound from a reel and fed to the wrapping position and a suitable length of the paper is cut off by a knife for the wrapping of each individual sweet. Some form of wrapping means then acts to apply the paper round the greater part of the sweet, for instance it may in the case of a sweet which is of square or oblong shape in plan view apply it to one face and round both sides and ends, thus forming a tube. The sweet thus wrapped is then presented to finishing devices, and these vary according to the desired manner of finishing the wrapping of the sweet. In some cases the paper will be folded over the still exposed face of the sweet, and may be heat sealed or crimped along the overlapping parts. In other cases the paper will be enclosed round the sweet by twisting of the spare areas of the paper.

The present invention is concerned with improved forms of wrapping apparatus of this general kind. Existing apparatus for this purpose is of a rather complex nature, and hence costly; moreover it is arranged to operate at high speeds and tends to be somewhat unreliable; in addition by reason of its complex nature faults are not readily rectified, so that a machine may be out of use for an appreciable time because of a comparatively trivial defect.

The invention provides apparatus for wrapping articles comprising a wrapping unit, an article delivery station and means for effecting relative movement therebetween, said wrapping unit including means for collecting an article from said delivery station, means for drawing wrapping material from a supply thereof and means for moving said wrapping material and said article into juxtaposed relation preparatory to wrapping o the material around the article.

Preferably said wrapping unit is mounted on a reciprocating carrier which may be provided with a wrapping unit at each end thereof and duplicate article delivery stations so arranged that in each limit position of the carrier one of the wrapping units comes into working relationship with one of the delivery stations while the other wrapping unit effects a wrapping operation upon an article previously removed from the other delivery station.

Preferably there is more than one wrapping unit at each end of the reciprocating carrier, for instance, there may be two, three or more, there being a delivery station positioned appropriately for each wrapping unit, so that at each reciprocatory movement of the carrier more than one wrapping operation will be performed.

The movements of the carrier may be effected by cams or other suitable means arranged to provide for a period of dwell in each limit position of the carrier. Each wrapping unit is preferably mounted on the carrier in a readily removable manner.

Preferably all movements of the components of the or each wrapping unit are effected from a single input shaft, for example a cam shaft. The cam shaft may be rotated by a sprocket wheel engaged with an auxiliary chain drive coupled to the carrier for movement in synchronism therewith.

The means for drawing wrapping material from a supply thereof preferably comprises two fixed fingers and two movable arms which are urged towards the respective fixed fingers under spring action and the movement of which is controlled from the cam shaft. The article-collecting and wrapping-gripping arms are preferably interconnected such that the former prevent operation of the latter when no article is present at the associated delivery station.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a sweet wrapping machine according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the machine showing the drive mechanism and with various parts omitted for clarity;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of a sweet wrapping head;

FIG. 4 is a side elevation of a detail of the sweet wrapping head; and

FIG. 5 is a part sectional diagrammatic elevation showing a sweet wrapping head and associated mechanism.

Referring to the drawings, the machine includes a main housing 10 carrying a driving motor 11 which, through suitable gearing to be described hereafter, drives all the movable components of the machine in synchronism with one another. The housing also carries a pair of end extensions 12 on each of which are supported two sweet carriers 13 and associated driving mechanism. In the upper part of the frame structure a carrier frame 14 is mounted for to-and-fro horizontal movement. The carrier frame supports four sweet wrapping assemblies indicated generally at 15 only two of which are shown in FIG. 2. Each sweet wrapping assembly is associated with one of the sweet carriers 13 and the arrangement is such that as the carrier frame 14 reciprocates the two sweet wrapping assemblies at one end of the machine are brought into operative relationship with their associated sweet carriers while the two sweet wrapping assemblies at the other end of the machine are withdrawn from their associated sweet carriers and perform wrapping operations on sweets picked up from the respective carriers.

As best seen in FIG. 2 the frame structure 14 extends through slots 16 in the opposite side frame members of the machine and is secured to slide blocks 17 mounted on horizontal rods 18 one at each side of the machine. The slide blocks are coupled to a cam follower 19 engaged in a track 20 formed in a cam wheel 21 mounted on the main drive shaft 22 of the machine. The cam track 20 is designed such that the carrier frame is reciprocated uniformly between its two limit positions but dwells briefly in each such position. During the dwell period various operations are carried out by the sweet wrapping assemblies as will be described hereafter.

The main drive shaft 22 is driven from the motor 11 by a belt 23 and pulley 24. A helical gear 25 is mounted V midway along the shaft 22 and meshes with a similar gear 26 on a cross-shaft 27. The opposite ends of the crossshaft 27 are supported in bearings 28 adjacent to each of which is a spiral cam member 29. This cam member engages with follower teeth 30 depending from a disc 31 connected by a short vertical shaft 32 to a gearwheel 33 mounted on the respective end extension 12. The gear 33 meshes with two further gears 34 which drive the two sweet carriers 13 at that end of the machine through vertical shafts 35. Each sweet carrier 13 is provided with a circumferential series of apertures 36 each adapted to accommodate a sweet to be wrapped, the number of apertures corresponding to the number of depending teeth 30 on the disc 31, and the arrangement being such that the cams 29 at each end of the cross-shaft 27 rotate the associated pair of discs 13 in a step-wise manner so that each of the apertures 36 is brought in turn into a delivery position in line with the associated wrapping assembly 15. The cams 29 at the opposite ends of the shaft 27 are angularly off-set relative to one another whereby rotation of the pairs of discs at opposite ends of the machine takes place at different times during the operating cycle.

Also driven from the main drive shaft 22 are a pair of chain drives 37 to shafts 38 mounted towards opposite ends of the machine and carrying pairs of sprocket wheels 39 driving chains 40. The chains extend upwardly from the sprockets 39 at each end of the machine and are entrained round guide pins 41 so that their upper runs extend horizontally in a direction parallel to the shaft 27. These chains are engaged by sprocket wheels 42 carried one by each of the sweet wrapping heads 15. All the wrapping movements of the latter now to be described are effected from the chain drives through the sprockets 42.

Referring now to FlGS. 3 to each sweet wrapping head is mounted by a single fastening on cross members 43 of the carrier frame 14. Thus the base of each assembly 15 has a depending threaded stud 44 which passes through a slot 45 in the cross member 43 and is engaged by a nut 46. A pin 47 also depends from the base of the assembly 15 and engages in the slot 45 to prevent rotation of the assembly about the axis of the stud 44. The slot 45 is longer than the distance between the pin and stud to enable slight adjustment of the assembly lengthwise of the cross member 43. In this way the entire sweet wrapping assembly 15 may be removed from the machine by unscrewing the nut 46 thereby greatly facilitating inspection or repair.

A pair of sweet gripping arms 48 are pivotally mounted on vertical posts 49 rotatably supported in the main body 50 of the assembly 15 and extend forwardly therefrom so as to project over the associated sweet carrier 13 at appropriate times during the operating cycle. The posts 49 extend below the main body 50 of the assembly and carry intermeshing toothed plates 51 interconnected by a tension spring 52 serving to urge the shafts in directions to bring the arms 48 towards one another. The upper end of one of the two shafts carries a rearwardly directed extension 53 which carries a depending follower 54 engaging a cam 55 mounted on a main input shaft 56 secured to the sprocket wheel 42.

The cam 55 has high and low face portions respectively urging the arms 48 apart against the action. of the spring 52 and allowing same to move together under the spring action at appropriate times in the operating cycle. The motion applied to one arm 48 by the cam 55 is transmitted to the other arm through the plates 51 to move to the other arm in the opposite sense.

Also mounted on the input shaft 56 are a pair of further cams 57 which engage with rollers 58 carried by respective ones of a pair of movable paper gripping arms 59 located between the sweet gripping arms 48. The movable paper gripping arms 59 co-operate with a pair of fixed plates or fingers 60 having slots 61 formed in the forward portions thereof whereby wrapping paper 62 (FIG. 5) supplied through a feed device 63 may enter the slots 61 and be gripped by the arms 59 rising into contact with the plates 60. The position adopted by the wrapping paper is shown in broken lines in FIG. 3. A rearward portion of each movable paper gripping arm 59 is connected by a tension spring 64 to the body 50 of the machine whereby to urge the rollers 58 into contact with their associated cams 57.

The outer surface of each movable paper gripping arm 59 carries a stud 65 projecting towards the sweet gripping arms 48. The extent of projection of this stud is such that if the arms 48 are held apart by a sweet the studs 65 can pass within the arms 48 so that the paper gripping mechanism functions. However should there be no sweet present at the carrier 13 the arms 48 will move closer together to an extent such that when the movable gripping 59 rise the studs 65 will engage the undersides of the arms 48 and the paper gripping mechanism will therefore fail to function. Thus when no sweet is present for wrapping no paper will be drawn forward.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5 a tubular wrapping device or brush 66 is fixedly mounted in the frame of the machine in a position inwardly of each sweet carrier 13. This wrapping device co-operates with a vertically movable pusher member 67 adapted to be moved upwards at appropriate times during the operating cycle by a linkage 68 the movement of which is controlled by a cam wheel 69 driven from one of the shafts 38. The pusher member 67 forces each sweet and the associated wrapping paper through the device 66 and into engagement with a pair of upper gripping arms 70 carried on posts 71 rotatably mounted in the main body 50 of the assembly and coupled together beneath the body 50 by toothed members 72 (FIG. 3) similar to the members 51 which couple the posts 49. The toothed members 72 are not shown in FIG. 5. A cam 73 mounted on the end of input shaft 56 opposite from that carrying the sprocket wheel 42 engages a follower wheel 74 secured to one of the posts 71 and transmits angular movement to the associated post and through the members 72 to the other post thereby moving jaw members 75 carried by the arms 70 towards one another to grip partially wrapped sweets delivered from the device 66 by the pusher 67. Following gripping of the partially wrapped sweet by the jaws 75 a folding member (not shown) moves in from the left in FIG. 5 to form a first tuck by folding the tail of the paper nearest thereto beneath the sweet. The assembly 15 then moves away from the sweet carrier 13 thereby drawing the arms 70 over a fixed, substantially horizontal plate 76 which folds the remaining tail of the paper under the sweet thereby completing the wrapping operation. An

upstanding peg 77 is coupled to the pusher member 67 for vertical movement therewith and is adapted to engage in the apertures 36 in the sweet carrier 13 to raise each sweet from the aperture into a delivery position between the arms 48. Wires 78 mounted beneath the apertures 36 retain the sweets in the apertures as the carrier rotates, the peg 77 being slotted to clear the wires 78 as it rises.

Associated with each sweet carrier 13 is a cutter assembly 79 best seen in FIG. 2, the blades 79a of which are also shown in FIG. 5. The cutter blades are operated at appropriate times in the cycle by linkages 80 driven by pairs of eccentrics 81 mounted at opposite ends of the main drive shaft 22.

In operation of the machine sweets to be wrapped are placed one in each of the apertures 36 of the four sweet carriers 13 and as the main shaft 22 rotates the carrier frame 14 reciprocates from one end of the machine to the other. As the two wrapping assemblies 15 at one end of the machine approach their associated sweet carriers the two assemblies at the other end are withdrawing from the sweet carriers with which they are associated. During part of the movement between the extreme positions of each assembly 15 the associated chain 40 is moving at the same speed and in the same direction as the carrier frame 14 and hence the sprocket wheel 42 is not rotated. At other stages during the sequence of operations the chain and sprocket are rotating at different speeds in the same direction or in opposite directions thereby bringing about different operations of the parts controlled by the sprocket wheel.

As each assembly approaches its associated sweet carrier 13 the sweet gripping arms 48 are moved apart by a distance greater than the diameter of the apertures 36. At the same time the peg 77 rises to push a sweet upwards out of one of the apertures 36 to a position between the arms 48 which then close during the dwell period of the assembly 15 to grip the sweet between them. In the meantime wrapping paper has been fed from the device 63 into the'slots 61 of the fixed paper gripping plates 60 and the arms 59 then rise between the sweet gripping arms 48 to grip the leading edge of the paper. The assembly 15 then retracts away from the carrier 13 drawing the sweet and paper with it with the paper overlying the sweet until such time as the sweet is positioned below the wrapping device 66. The cutter blades 80 are then brought together to sever the paper from the roll and the pusher member 67 rises through the device 66 causing the paper to fold over the upper surfaceand sides of the sweet as indicated in FIG. 5. The pusher continues to move the sweet upwards while assembly 15 returns towards carrier 13 until the sweet is located between the jaws 75 of the upper arms 70 which are then brought together to grip the partly wrapped sweet. The assembly 15 then once more retracts away from the carrier 13 drawing the sweet over the fixed plate 76 which folds the paper round the lower portion of the sweet. The wrapped sweet is then ejected to the rear of the plate 76 for collection and any subsequent treatment which may be required. For example the sweet may be removed by a moving belt, chute or other suitable means.

It will be appreciated that both the wrapping assemblies 15 at one end of the machine operate similarly at the same time while the assemblies at the other end of the machine are simultaneously at a different stage in their wrapping cycle. Thus when the assemblies at one end are projected forwards in co-operation with their respective sweet carriers the other pair of assemblies are being drawn away from their sweet carriers and are carrying out a wrapping operation on sweets previously picked up from the respective carriers. Thus the machine forms two picking-up and two wrapping operations simultaneously and wraps four sweets during each complete cycle.

Since each cycle of operations of the machine effects the wrapping of a number of sweets (four in the particular example described) it will be apparent that the machine can operate at lower speeds than previously proposed machines without loss of output and in practice it has been found that the machine can operate at speeds approaching those of existing machines with less likelihood of malfunctioning due to its relatively simple construction. In this way considerably greater output can be obtained than with existing machines of this general kind. Moreover all the wrapping operations on each sweet are carried out by a single unit the drive to which is taken from a common input shaft and the unit is arranged to be rapidly and easily removed from the machine so that it may be replaced by another unit if overhaul or repair is required.

Many modifications may be made without departing from the invention. For example, while the machine described has four wrapping stations, one, two, six, eight or more could be provided if desired. Moreover, sweets may be transported to their pick-up positions by conveyor belt arrangements instead of sweet carrier discs of the kind described. The various arrangements of cams described for actuating the parts of the wrapping assembly may be replaced by alternative arrangements and the wrapping paper could be cut into suitable lengths by a rotary or other form of cutting apparatus. A vertically movable spring-loaded presser may be mounted above the pusher 67 so as to engage the paper and sweet from above as they rise through the former 66, thereby ensuring that the sweet and paper do not move apart as they pass through, the presser being withdrawn upwards clear of the arms 70 after the latter have gripped the partially wrapped sweet. The movements of the pressers for the several wrapping stations may be effected by cams on the shafts 38. Moreover the sweet and wrapping paper may be moved downwards through a wrapping member similar to the member 66 in which case the wrapping paper is presented below the sweet and is wrapped first round the bottom and sides of the sweet instead of round the top and sides.

It should also be appreciated that the member 66 may be replaced by means designed to wrap the sweets in various different ways, for example by initially forming the paper into a tube followed by twisting of the ends of the tube. In this case arms similar to the arms 70 will be arranged to grip the partly wrapped sweet by the sides rather than the ends, leaving the wrapping projecting from the ends for engagement by twisting members which may be of known construction. Where more than one wrapping unit is provided, the several units may each be designed to wrap the same or different sweets in different ways. Moreover as previously indicated the machine could be adapted for wrapping of other small articles such as mechanical or electrical components for example. In a further modification the eccentrics 81 may be replaced by cams which maintain the knives 79 apart for a longer period as the sweetcarrying arms 48 pass between them.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for wrapping articles comprising a wrapping unit, an article delivery station and means for effecting relative movement therebetween, said wrapping unit including first gripping means for collecting an article from said delivery station, and second gripping means for drawing wrapping material from a supply thereof, both said gripping means being mounted on a common support for movement in unison to transport, said wrapping material and said article to a wrapping position preparatory to wrapping of the material around the article.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said first gripping means comprises a pair of arms mounted for opening and closing movement in order to grip an article between them, said second gripping means comprising further arms at least one of which is movable to grip a wrapping material between them.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2 including means whereby the wrapping material is closed around the greater part of the article and means for completing wrapping and ejecting the wrapped article from the machine.

4. Apparatus according to claim 3 wherein said means for closing said wrapping material around the article comprises a tubular former and a pusher member adapted to push the article and wrapping material through the former.

5. Apparatus according to claim 4 wherein said means for completing the wrapping comprises a further pair of arms mounted for opening and closing movement in order to grip a partially wrapped article be tween them, and plate members mounted adjacent said arms and arranged such that on relative movement between said arms and said plate members the wrapping operation is completed.

6. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said wrapping unit is mounted on a reciprocating carrier.

7. Apparatus according to claim 6 wherein said carrier is provided with a wrapping unit at each end thereof and duplicate article delivery stations so arranged that in each limit position of the carrier one of the wrapping units comes into working relationship with one of the delivery stations while the other wrapping unit effects a wrapping operation upon an article previously removed from the other delivery station.

8. Apparatus according to claim 7 wherein more than one wrapping unit provided at each end of the reciprocating carrier there being a delivery station positioned appropriately for each wrapping unit.

9. Apparatus according to claim 6 wherein said reciprocating carrier is arranged to dwell in each limit position before its direction of movement is reversed.

10. Apparatus according to claim 9 wherein said carrier is driven by a cam member having a track designed to provide said dwell period at each end of the reciprocatory movement of the carrier.

11. Apparatus according to claim 6 wherein said wrapping unit is detachably mounted on said carrier by quick-release mounting means.

12. Apparatus according to claim 11 wherein said mounting means comprises a bolt depending from the body of the wrapping unit, passing through an aperture provided therefor in said carrier, and engaged by a nut.

13. Apparatus according to claim 12 wherein said aperture comprises a slot providing for adjustment of the wrapping unit relative to the carrier.

14. Apparatus according to claim 13 including a depending peg carried by said wrapping unit and engaged in said slot to prevent rotation of the wrapping unit relative to the carrier about the axis of said bolt.

15. Apparatus according to claim 3 wherein all move-ments of the components of said wrapping unit are efi'ected from a single input shaft.

16. Apparatus according to claim 15 wherein said input shaft carries a cam or cams for operating said arms for gripping an article, and further cams for operating said pairs of arms for gripping said wrapping material and the means for completing wrapping.

17. Apparatus according to claim 16 wherein said wrapping unit is mounted on a reciprocating carrier and said input shaft is rotated by a sprocket wheel engaged with an auxiliary chain drive coupled to said carrier for movement in synchronism therewith.

18. Apparatus according to claim 17 whrein said chain drive is continuously driven in a constant direction such that the reciprocating movements of said carrier result in said sprocket wheel rotating in one or other direction or remaining stationary at different stages during the operating cycle.

19. Apparatus according to claim 15 wherein said arms for gripping said wrapping material comprise two fixed fingers and two movable arms which are urged towards the respective fixed fingers under spring action and the movement of which is controlled from said input shaft.

20. Apparatus according to claim 19 wherein said arms for gripping an article and said arms for gripping said wrapping material are interconnected such that the former prevent operation of the latter when no article is present at the associated delivery station.

21. Apparatus according to claim 20 wherein said arms for gripping said wrapping material are provided with lugs extending into the paths of movement of said arms for gripping an article such that the latter prevent operation of the former except when the article gripping arms are maintained apart by the presence of an article.

22. Apparatus according to claim 1 including means for supplying wrapping material from a continuous roll and means for severing suitable lengths of material from the roll for use in wrapping each article.

23. Apparatus according to claim 22 wherein said means for severing said material comprises a pair of blade members movable to and from one another and arranged such that said means for collecting an article moves between said blade members in their open position.

24. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the or each said delivery station comprises a rotary disc provided with a circumferential series of openings each adapted to accommodate an article.

25. Apparatus according to claim 24 including indexing means serving to rotate each opening of said disc in turn into a delivery position, and ejector means operable to raise an article from the aperture into a position in which it may be collected by the associated articlecollecting means.

Claims

5. Apparatus according to claim 4 wherein said means for completing the wrapping comprises a further pair of arms mounted for opening and closing movement in order to grip a partially wrapped article between them, and plate members mounted adjacent said arms and arranged such that on relative movement between said arms and said plate members the wrapping operation is completed.

8. Apparatus according to claim 7 wherein more than one wrapping unit provided at each end of the recipro-cating carrier there being a delivery station positioned appropriately for each wrapping unit.

15. Apparatus according to claim 3 wherein all move-ments of the components of said wrapping unit are effected from a single input shaft.

25. Apparatus according to claim 24 including indexing means serving to rotate each opening of said disc in turn into a delivery position, and ejector means operable to raise an article from the aperture into a position in which it may be collected by the associated article-collecting means.