Patent ID: 6290453
Filing Date: 2001-09-18
Classification: B65H

Abstract:
A unit for feeding flat diecut blanks of wrapping material to a user machine, the unit comprising:a conveyor assembly by which single blanks disposed on edge transversely to a predetermined feed direction and ordered thus in a substantially continuous column are advanced along a predetermined path, said conveyor assembly including first conveyor means and second conveyor means, the first conveyor means being disposed following the second conveyor means along said path;a transfer station located downstream along said path where each blank in turn is picked up from the column;a pickup mechanism located at the transfer station and operating synchronously with the user machine;the first conveyor means and second conveyor means coinciding respectively with a first section and a second section of the path, of which the first conveyor means are driven intermittently for advancing the column of blanks toward the transfer station through a step of predetermined length at a predetermined frequency timed with the operation of the pickup mechanism, and the second conveyor means are driven continuously for advancing the column of blanks at a predetermined velocity toward the first conveyor means;wherein the first conveyor means comprise at least one belt fashioned from a relatively soft flexible material which is deformable by said blanks, said blanks creating at least one lip on said belt in the neighbourhood of the transfer station whereby said lip retains a forwardmost blank of the column.