Article Packaging Apparatus

Abstract

A conveyor moves a series of discrete articles along a path extending past a pair of tubular package forming and filling stations. Transfer means move articles from the conveyor onto trackways along which they slide by gravity into the formed tubular packages, along with charges of material separately deposited in the packages. Either of the transfer means may be selectively disabled while the other continues to operate.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention is in the field of package filling apparatus and particularly apparatus for depositing discrete articles in successive packages being filled with a companion product.

It is common in the packaging and merchandising field to provide separate articles in a packaged product, which articles are not part of the product itself. One example is the small "prize" commonly packaged in containers of a well-known popcorn confection. Heretofore the deposit of a prize in each package has presented some problems and the prior practice involved a separate step or station for that purpose.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to apparatus for depositing a discrete article in each of successive packages being filled with a product and is best summarized by the following objects:

A principal object of the invention is to provide apparatus for receiving discrete articles adjacent a package filling station and sequentially delivering those articles to the interior of sequential packages as they are being filled with the product.

Another object of the invention is to provide such an apparatus operable in timed relation to the package filling mechanisms.

Still another object of the invention is to provide such an apparatus for feeding articles from a single supply to a plurality of packaging filling stations and wherein any one of the delivering means may be disabled at will.

It is a further object of the invention to provide such apparatus wherein the articles are placed on a chute wherein they travel by gravity into the path of movement of product being delivered into a package whereby the product moving into the package engages the article and ensures its delivery into the package with the product.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary front elevational view of a packaging machine including mechanism for inserting an article in a bag or package while it is being formed and filled;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 2--2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary end elevational view as seen from the line 3--3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view, taken on the line 4--4 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary transverse sectional view, taken on the line 5--5 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view, taken on the line 6--6 of FIG. 2.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

In FIG. 1, numeral 2 designates generally a device for wrapping individual articles to be deposited in a package of product. The machine 2 is only schematically shown but represents a machine for receiving discrete flat articles and wrapping the same to form a flat pillow-type article best seen at 4 in FIG. 6. In the example shown, the "prize" is a small flat article wrapped in a suitable paper or similar material and secured around its edges to define opposed edge portions 6.

Referring again to FIG. 1, the articles so prepared are delivered by a pocket conveyor 8 to a horizontal conveyor device 10. The conveyor device 10 comprises stationary fixed rails 12 (see FIGS. 2 and 4 also) along which the articles 4 slide while being supported thereby. Side rails 13 (FIG. 4) keep articles 4 on rails 12. An endless belt 14 is trained over sprockets or rollers 16 and 18 with its lower run spaced upwardly above the tracks 12 and supported by guides or ledges 15 (FIG. 2). The conveyor belt 14 is provided with a multiplicity of spaced, generally U-shaped pushers 20 extending outwardly therefrom with their lower ends in proximity to the spaces between spaced rails 12, as best shown in FIG. 2. The wrapping machine 2 is driven in any suitable manner and is coupled by a drive belt or sprocket 22 to a shaft 24, the other end of which is drivingly connected by a sprocket chain 26 to suitable bevelled gears (not shown) for driving sprocket wheel 18 in a clockwise direction, as seen in FIG. 1. Thus, the belt 14 and pushers 20 are driven in timed relation to the machine 2 and in such direction that the downwardly extending pushers 20 engage wrapped articles delivered by the machine 2 and push the same along rails 12 to the left, as seen in FIG. 1. The presence of the machine 2 is not essential to applicant's invention, articles such as articles 4 could be supplied to conveyor 10 from any suitable source, even a bulk supply.

Numeral 28 indicates generally a bag forming and filling apparatus of known construction. The machine 28 may, for example, be a twin bag apparatus as shown and described in the patent to Tew et al U.S. Pat. No. 3,256,673, granted June 21, 1966. The disclosure in that patent, insofar as it is necessary for a complete understanding of the present invention, is incorporated herein by reference.

In brief, however, the machine 28 receives strips of package forming material (not shown) which are guided over tube formers 30 and are longitudinally sealed to define a continuous tube 32 of bag forming material. Not shown in the present drawings but as part of the machine 28 there are transverse sealing jaws that cyclically engage the tube 32, seal the same transversely and draw the same downwardly through formers 30. The transverse seal constitutes the top of a previously filled package and the bottom of the next package to be filled. After the transverse seal is made, a charge of material is fed downwardly through the formed tube in a manner well known to the art and more fully described in the aforementioned Tew et al patent. It is to be noted that as described herein the machine 28 forms and fills a pair of bags simultaneously at stations designated A and B in the drawings.

The tracks 12 extend past and adjacent the filling stations A and B but at some elevation thereabove and laterally displaced, as best shown in FIG. 2.

Referring now to FIG. 4, it will be seen that the trackway defined by rails 12 is interrupted adjacent each of the stations A and B to provide a gap 34 in the trackway.

As shown in FIG. 1, sprocket wheels 36 are keyed to the shaft 24 opposite each station A and B, and generally coplanar with the gap 34. The shaft 24 is rotatably supported in suitable bearings 37 mounted on the frame 40 of the apparatus and a bracket 38 is pivotally mounted on the shaft 24 adjacent each sprocket wheel 36. On the other side of the gap 34 from sprocket wheels 13 there are rotatably mounted on the outer end of brackets 38 further sprocket wheels 42. The wheels 42 are mounted for horizontal adjustment by means of a threaded adjusting mechanism 44 to regulate the tension in sprocket chains 46 trained over wheels 36 and 42. Each of the chains 46 carries a single outwardly extending transfer projection or member 48 thereon and the upper run of chain 46 is directed to pass through the gap 34 previously described.

As the shaft 24 rotates the sprocket wheels 36 rotate in a clockwise direction, as seen in FIG. 2, and thus the upper run of the chains 46 and the projections 48 thereon move through the gap 34 from left to right, and since sprocket wheels 36 and conveyor belt 14 are driven in timed relation to each other, the projection 48 will pass between pushers 20, engage an article 4 and push the same laterally off tracks 12 toward the associated filling station A or B. A guiding means 50 is aligned with each gap 34 and includes ledge portions 52 for supporting the articles during a portion of their lateral movement and until they reach a position substantially directly above the center of shaft 24. At this position the articles enter a guiding trackway generally designated at 54, and shown in section in FIG. 5. As shown in that view, the guideway 54 comprises laterally spaced channel-shaped tracks 56 arranged with their open sides facing each other. In the upper region of the guideway 54, the channels 56 are secured to brackets 58 which in turn are held in spaced relation by a suitable spacer 60 and screws or the like 62. At its uppermost end the guideway 54 is secured to the outer end of guiding means 50, as shown at 62 in FIG. 4.

As clearly evident from FIG. 2, the guideway defined by channels 56 curves downwardly and outwardly somewhat concentric to shaft 24 for a short distance and then is directed sharply downwardly into and through a tube former 30. In the region of the tube former 30, the channels 56 are fixed to the longitudinal edges of a generally semi-cylindrical guide and spacer member 64 (FIG. 6), which in turn is fixed to a bracket 66 supported on the frame of the bag forming and filling machine 28. As shown in FIG. 2, the member 64 extends upwardly above the tube former 30 in addition to extending downwardly therethrough. A further funnel-like member 68 is of a shape to complement the member 64 to define a generally cylindrical guide tube extending downwardly into the tube former 30 with a funnel-like portion above the tube former. As is known in the art, the guide structure defined by members 64 and 68 constitutes a directing means arranged to receive charges of product from apparatus (not shown) in timed relation to the forming of the bags by machine 28 to sequentially fill the bags with product as they are formed. It is contemplated that the product delivering means, the bag forming and filling machine 28 and the wrapping machine 2 all be operated in timed relation so that an article 4 is pushed by transfer member 48 into guideway 54 so that the latter slides downwardly along the guideway by gravity into the tube former 30 at about the same time a charge of material is delivered into the product-guiding funnel-like structure so that the material substantially surrounds and engages the article 4 to ensure its delivery and movement into the package along with the product. It is to be noted that the guide structure 54 defined by the opposed channels 56 loosely engages and guides only the opposite edge portions of the article 4 and thus prevents the latter from becoming twisted or "cocked" and impeded in its progress into the package.

The position of the transfer projections 48 on their respective chains 46 is such that the transfer means associated with station B will engage only alternate articles 4 moving along conveyor 10 while the transfer means at station A engage and transfer the intermediate articles and thus articles are constantly supplied to both bag forming and filling devices.

Referring again to FIG. 2, the brackets 38 pivotally mounted on shaft 24 are held in the full line position of FIG. 2 by a suitable pneumatic or hydraulic motor device 70. The device 70 is pivotally supported at its upper end on a bracket 72 mounted on the machine frame 40 and is provided with an extensible piston rod 74 pivotally connected to the bracket 38 at 76. The motor device 70 may be of any conventional construction and it will be obvious that fluid pressure may be directed thereto to hold the bracket 38 in the upper position shown by full lines in FIG. 2. However, if for any reason it is desired to discontinue transfer of articles 4 to either of the stations A or B, the motor device 70 associated with that particular station may be actuated to swing bracket 38 downwardly about shaft 24 to the position sketchily shown by dotted lines 78 in FIG. 2. In this position the transfer projection 48 follows a path of movement sufficiently lower than its upper path of movement so that it does not engage articles 4 on the tracks 12 but merely passes thereunder without transferring such articles to the guideway 54. Obviously, transfer of articles can again be resumed by operating the motor 70 to raise the bracket 38 to its full line position.

While a single specific embodiment of the invention has been shown and described herein, the same is merely illustrative of the principles involved and other forms may be resorted to within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

I claim:

1. In combination with a cyclically operable package filling machine having a filling station defined by a generally tubular chute for receiving sequential charges of product and directing the same into successive packages;

a conveyor arranged to transport discrete articles, other than said product, to a position adjacent said filling station;

transfer means movable transversely of said conveyor in timed relation to the cyclic operation of said filling machine for engaging articles on said conveyor and moving them laterally therefrom; and

a trackway arranged to receive articles moved from said conveyor by said transfer means and extending into and along at least a portion of said tubular chute to slidably guide said articles into the path of movement of said product.

2. The combination defined in claim 1 wherein said conveyor comprises tracks for slidably supporting and guiding said articles, transport means movable parallel to said tracks and having projections thereon engageable with said articles to slide the same along said tracks; a transverse gap in said tracks adjacent said filling station; said transfer means having a pusher element cyclically movable through said gap to transfer articles to said trackway; and means interconnecting said transport means and transfer means to operate in timed relation.

3. The combination defined in claim 2 including means for selectively changing the path of movement of said pusher element to a path wherein it does not move through said gap and thereby does not push articles from said tracks while permitting said conveyor to continue operating.

4. The combination defined in claim 2 wherein at least two adjacent filling stations are provided, said conveyor extending adjacent both said filling stations and there being a transfer means for each filling station, and; means interconnecting said conveyor and transfer means for operation in timed relation wherein each of said transfer means moves alternate articles from said conveyor toward a respective filling station.

5. The combination defined in claim 1 wherein said trackway includes a major portion sloping downwardly whereby articles move therealong by gravity.

6. The combination defined in claim 1 wherein said trackway comprises a pair of spaced apart track members of channel shape with their open channels facing each other whereby to engage and guide said articles only at opposite edge portions thereof.