Abstract:
System and methods for providing a transfer of products with the ability to match speed and position, and to change the incoming products from a narrow-edge-leading orientation to broad-edge-leading orientation, and to convey the products to a location to be grouped and transferred.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This application claims the priority of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/894,123, filed Oct. 22, 2013 (pending), entitled “FLOW WRAPPED PRODUCT TRANSFER,” the disclosure of which is hereby expressly incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. 
     
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0002]    The present invention relates generally to transferring, conveying, or handling of products, and more particularly to product transfer systems and methods. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    When handling products with packaging equipment, it is sometimes necessary to obtain a product from upstream equipment, where the product is traveling at a constant speed, a fixed pitch, and in a narrow-edge-leading orientation. Often, however, the pitch may vary or the product may be absent due to having been rejected upstream. Once the product is captured, it is often necessary to move the product with a particular pitch and speed, and to reposition the product from a narrow-edge-leading orientation to a broad-edge-leading orientation. 
         [0004]    One example of a known method for transferring products includes using a smart belt system, positioned upstream, to place incoming products on pitch. Once the products are on pitch, a turret wheel then grabs a product and spins the product 90 degrees, thereby changing the product&#39;s orientation from a narrow-edge-leading orientation to a broad-edge-leading orientation. After the orientation of the product is changed, the turret then places the product into a pocket, from which downstream equipment then picks and places the product into a carton. 
         [0005]    Another example of a known method for transferring products including using a conveyor that conveys incoming product, in a narrow-edge-leading orientation, to a flighted belt. The flighted belt waits with an open pocket for product to arrive. Once a pocket has been filled by an incoming product, the flighted belt then indexes, thereby presenting a new open pocket to be filled by a next incoming product. In such systems, the flighted belt is positioned perpendicular to the conveyor. Whereas the incoming products may be conveyed along the conveyor in a narrow-edge-leading orientation, upon transfer to the perpendicularly positioned flighted belt, the products are then moved by the belt in a broad-edge-leading orientation. 
         [0006]    Additional examples of known system and methods for transferring products are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,783,000, 7,134,258, and 6,390,276, the disclosures of which are hereby expressly incorporated by reference herein in their entirety. 
         [0007]    There remains a need for improvements in known product transfer systems and methods. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0008]    The present invention provides improvements to overcome shortcomings of known product transfer systems and methods. While the invention will be described in connection with one or more embodiments, it will be understood that the invention is not limited to these embodiments. On the contrary, the invention includes all alternatives, modifications, and equivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope of the present invention. 
         [0009]    In one embodiment of the invention, a method is provided for transferring products from a narrow-edge-leading orientation to a broad-edge-leading orientation, where there is no change in velocity between arriving products and a product vessel moving along a direction of product travel. 
         [0010]    In another embodiment of the invention, a method is provided for collecting individual products that arrive asynchronously and subsequently organizing the individual products into groups prescribed by a downstream transfer. 
         [0011]    In yet another embodiment of the invention, a system for transferring products includes a plurality of moving magnet linear motors and a plurality of independently controllable moving elements, each moving element having a product vessel coupled to it. 
         [0012]    Various additional features and advantages of the invention will become more apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon review of the following detailed description of the illustrative embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0013]    The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with a general description of the invention given above, and the detailed description given below, serve to explain the invention. 
           [0014]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a product transfer system in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0015]      FIG. 2  is a top elevation view of the product transfer system of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0016]      FIG. 3  is a side elevation of the product transfer system of  FIG. 1 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0017]    Referring now to the figures,  FIGS. 1-3  show an exemplary product transfer system  10  in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. As shown, the product transfer system  10  includes a launch conveyor  12 , an oval track  14  positioned beneath the launch conveyor  12 , and a plurality of carts  16  operatively coupled to the oval track  14 . Each of the carts  16  is independently controllable to be driven along the oval track  14 , for example by linear motors (not shown), for transferring products  18  received from the launch conveyor  12 . As shown, the oval track  14  may include, in continuous series, a first leg  14   a , a first turn  14   b , a second leg  14   c  opposed from the first leg  14   a , and a second turn  14   d  opposed from the first turn  14   b . Persons skilled in the art will appreciate that the system  10  may be adapted to tracks of various alternative configurations. 
         [0018]    The launch conveyor  12  conveys the products  18  from upstream equipment (not shown), positioned upstream from the conveyor  12 , to the carts  16  positioned on the oval track  14 . Each product  18  is carried by the launch conveyer  12  at a known speed, and passes by a photo eye  20 . The photo eye  20  identifies the conveyed product  18  and outputs corresponding data to the system  10 . The system  10  compares this data corresponding to the conveyed product  18  to positional data corresponding to a nearest empty cart  16  approaching the launching end  12   a  of the conveyor  12 . Based on this comparison, the system  10  determines an appropriate cart trajectory for the approaching cart  16 , so that the approaching cart  16  may be controlled to track synchronously with the conveyed product  18  when it is launched. In this regard, each cart  16  is controlled independently from every other cart  16 , such that each cart  16  may be registered individually to each incoming product  18  carried by the launch conveyor  12 . 
         [0019]    Upon reaching the launching end  12   a  of the conveyor  12 , the product  18  is launched with a known product trajectory. Simultaneously, the cart  16  is controlled to track the trajectory of the launched product  18 , so that the cart  16  may ultimately capture the launched product  18 . In this regard, each cart  16  is equipped with a rotatable vessel  22  configured to capture, retain, and transport a launched product  18 . In particular, the rotatable vessel  22  is operatively coupled and rotatable relative to the cart  16 . In one embodiment, the rotatable vessel  22  may be in the form of a rotatable bucket or tray, such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,390,276 and 8,783,000, incorporated by reference above. In other embodiments, the rotatable vessel  22  may include any other suitable rotatable mechanism. 
         [0020]    When the product  18  is captured in the rotatable vessel  22 , the vessel  22  is positioned in a first orientation in which a length of the vessel  22 , and a corresponding length of the product  18  carried thereby, is oriented substantially parallel to a path of travel of the cart  16  along the oval track  14 . After capturing the launched product  18 , the cart  16  continues to advance, controlled independently from the remaining carts  16 , along the first leg  14   a  of the oval track  14  toward the first turn  14   b,  as indicated by directional arrow A. 
         [0021]    Before the cart  16  reaches the first turn  14   b,  the vessel  22  is rotated approximately 90 degrees, as indicated at R1, into a second orientation in which the length of the vessel  22 , and the corresponding length of the product  18  carried thereby, is oriented substantially perpendicular to the path of travel of the cart  16  along the oval track  14 . The cart  16 , with the vessel  22  in the second orientation, then travels around the first turn  14   b  of the oval track  14 , as indicated by directional arrow B. 
         [0022]    As shown in the illustrated embodiment, the product  18  may be launched from the launch conveyer  12 , and captured by the vessel  22  of the cart  16 , such that a narrow edge  18   a  of the product is leading (a “narrow-edge-leading orientation”). In this regard, the first orientation of the rotatable vessel  22  may maintain the captured product  18  in an orientation such that the narrow edge  18   a  of the product remains leading while the product  18  is carried by the cart  16  along the path of travel. The second orientation of the rotatable vessel  22  may then orient the product  18  such that a broad edge  18   b  of the product  18  is leading (a “broad-edge-leading orientation”) while the product  18  is carried by the cart  16  along the path of travel. Moreover, the plurality of carts  16  may be controlled so as to provide an inter-cart spacing X (referred to as “pitch”) that is sufficient to avoid collision of a first product  18  carried by a first cart  16  with a second product  18  carried by an adjacent second cart  16  following immediately behind the first cart  16 , when the second product  18  is rotated from the first orientation to the second orientation by its respective vessel  22 . 
         [0023]    Upon entering the second leg  14   c  of the oval track  14 , the cart  16  queues up with adjacent carts  16  containing products  18 . At this stage, the product  18  carried by the cart  16  may be transferred by downstream equipment (not shown) from the vessel  22  to a downstream location, such as a carton, for example. Once this transfer of the product  18  has been completed, the empty cart  16 , having an empty vessel  22 , accelerates along the second leg  14   c  of the oval track  14 , and travels around the second turn  14   d,  back toward the first leg  14   a , as indicated by directional arrows C and D, respectively. As the empty cart  16  exits the second turn  14   d , the vessel  22  is rotated approximately 90 degrees back to the first orientation, as indicated at R2, and then queues up with an adjacent cart  16 , ready to capture a new conveyed, incoming product  18  to be launched from the launch conveyor  12 . 
         [0024]    As described above, each cart  16  of the system  10  is controllable and movable along the oval track  14  independently from each of the remaining carts  16 . Accordingly, the rate of movement and positioning of each cart  16  along the oval track  14  may be controlled independently from that of each of the other carts  16 . 
         [0025]    Additionally, the rotational orientation of the vessel  22  of each cart  16  is controllable independently from that of each of the other carts  16 . Accordingly, the product transfer system  10  advantageously enables transfer of products with improved degrees of efficiency and accuracy. 
         [0026]    While the present invention has been illustrated by the description of a specific embodiment thereof, and while the embodiment has been described in considerable detail, it is not intended to restrict or in any way limit the scope of the appended claims to such detail. The various features discussed herein may be used alone or in any combination. Additional advantages and modifications will readily appear to those skilled in the art. The invention in its broader aspects is therefore not limited to the specific details, representative apparatus and methods and illustrative examples shown and described. Accordingly, departures may be made from such details without departing from the scope or spirit of the general inventive concept.