Apparatus for maintaining a sufficient stock of blanks for a packaging machine

To maintain a sufficient stock of blanks (10) in packaging machines, especially for hinge-lid packs to receive cigarettes, there is a magazine (11) with a plurality of magazine shafts (13, 14, 15), from which a stock of blanks (16) is extracted successively in the region of an extraction station (12). A residual stock (23) of blanks is constantly maintained in the extraction station (12), while the magazine (11) is displaced after a magazine shaft (13, 14, 15) has been emptied.

DESCRIPTION 
The invention relates to an apparatus for the packaging of articles, 
especially cigarettes, into blanks of packaging material which are 
extracted from a magazine and fed to folding members. 
The blanks processed in a packaging machine can either be severed 
continuously from a sheet of packaging material in the region of the 
packaging machine or be introduced as finished blanks into a blank 
magazine of the packaging machine. The invention is concerned with the 
latter solution which is used, above all, in the production of packs from 
relatively thick packaging material, preferably thin cardboard. In the 
production of hinge-lid packs for cigarettes, prestamped blanks arranged 
in stacks are used in practice. 
In high-performance packaging machines, the demand for blanks per unit of 
time is relatively high. Consequently, an important problem is to 
guarantee that blanks will be provided in sufficient quantity. Since the 
stocks of blanks can only be limited, a further important concern is to 
supply the folding members of the packaging machine continuously with 
blanks, even when these are delivered in batches. 
The object on which the invention is based, in a packaging machine with a 
magazine for receiving blanks stacked on top of one another, is to 
guarantee a high magazine capacity and continuous uninterrupted supply to 
the folding members. 
To achieve this object, the magazine assigned to the packaging machine is 
formed from several part magazines (magazine shafts) which each receive a 
stock of blanks (blank stack) and which can be fed in succession to a 
(common) extraction station. 
The magazine preferably consists of several, especially three, vertical 
magazine shafts arranged next to one another, in each of which a 
substantial stock of blanks is received and which can be moved above the 
extraction station as the result of a common transverse movement. A 
particular magazine shaft is always located in the extraction station, so 
that the stock of blanks can be extracted at the bottom according to 
consumption. 
A further essential feature of the invention is that a residual stock of 
blanks is constantly maintained in the extraction station for the magazine 
and can be topped up as a result of the emptying of a magazine shaft. As 
soon as the magazine shaft located in the extraction station is emptied, a 
full magazine shaft is moved into a position above the residual stock, 
whilst at the same time blanks continue to be extracted from the residual 
stock. The content of the magazine shaft is then lowered as a result of a 
downward movement until it has topped up the residual stock or until it 
joins the latter, so that a quantity of blanks formed from the residual 
stock and the content of the magazine shaft is available. 
In the region of the extraction station, the stock of blanks in the 
magazine shafts open at the bottom is supported by a retractable 
supporting member (supporting finger). By means of this supporting member, 
the stock of blanks in the magazine shaft is lowered until it comes to 
rest on the residual stock. 
The magazine as a single unit, consisting of several magazine shafts, and 
the supporting member in the region of the extraction station are driven 
by means of special mechanical gears, in such a way that the movements are 
synchronized exactly. Accordingly, further features of the invention 
relate to the gears for the magazine and supporting member (supporting 
finger) and to the constructional design of the magazine and of the 
abovementioned supporting member.

The apparatus illustrated in the drawings is part of a packaging machine, 
in the present case for the production of hinge-lid packs for receiving 
cigarettes. The individual hinge-lid packs are folded from blanks 10. 
These in turn are manufactured (outside the packaging machine) and are 
introduced in large stacks into the packaging machine, in particular into 
a magazine 11. Individual blanks 10 are extracted from this in succession 
in the region of an extraction station 12 and fed to suitable known 
packaging members. 
In the present exemplary embodiment, the magazine 11 consists of several, 
namely three, part magazines in the form of magazine shafts 13, 14 and 15. 
Each of these is intended for receiving a stock of blanks 16, in 
particular a stack of blanks 10 resting on top of one another. The 
magazine shafts 13, 14 and 15 are combined into a common magazine 11 and 
attached to a continuous rear wall 17. Each magazine shaft 13, 14, 15 is 
limited by side walls 18 and 19 which diverge from one another in the form 
of a funnel towards the open front side of the magazine shafts and towards 
the rear wall 17. Opposite the rear wall 17, the stocks of blanks 16 are 
each supported by a vertical spacer strip 20. The magazine shafts 13, 14 
and 15 are open on the front side located opposite the rear wall 17 and at 
the top and bottom. It is consequently easy to fill them with blanks 10 
and extract these. 
A particular magazine shaft 13, 14, 15 is always located in the extraction 
station 12. Located in this, underneath the magazine 11 and at a distance 
from it, is a suitable blank-extraction unit, in particular a transfer 
roller 21 of known design and operation. This is moveable to and fro in 
the longitudinal direction of the blanks, and the particular blank located 
at the bottom is taken from the stack or the stock of blanks 16 and can be 
fed to a discharge conveyor, in the present case two conveyor rollers 22. 
In the region of the extraction station 12, a certain minimum residual 
stock 23 of blanks 10 is constantly maintained. This residual stock 23 is 
located underneath the magazine 11. The particular magazine shaft 13, 14, 
15 located in the extraction station 12 supplements the residual stock 23 
by supplying the stock of blanks 16 in the respective magazine shaft. 
The magazine 11 is moveable as a single unit, in particular displaceable 
transversely in an essentially horizontal plane, in such a way that there 
is always one of the magazine shafts 13, 14, 15 located in the region of 
the extraction station 12 above the residual stock 23. Outside the region 
of the extraction station 12, the magazine 11 is arranged and is moveable 
above a magazine table 24. The magazine table 24 is located directly 
underneath the magazine 11, in such a way that the latter is displaceable 
relative to the magazine table 24, but the stock of blanks 16 is retained 
in the magazine shafts 13, 14, 15 open at the bottom. In the region of the 
extraction station 12, the magazine table 24 is provided with a recess 25. 
This makes it possible to extract the stock of blanks 16 from or lower it 
in the magazine shaft located in the region of the extraction station 12. 
In the region of the extraction station 12, the stock of blanks 16 in the 
magazine shaft located in the extraction station 12 is temporarily 
prevented from being lowered by means of a moveable supporting member. In 
the present case, this moveable supporting member consists of several 
(three) supporting fingers 26. These penetrate into the region of the 
recess 25 from the side at a distance from one another, specifically 
transversely to the longitudinal extension of the blanks 10. The latter or 
the stock of blanks 16 rest on the supporting ends of the supporting 
fingers 26. To empty the magazine shaft 13, 14, 15 located in the 
extraction station 12 or to lower the stock of blanks 16 onto the residual 
stock 23, the supporting fingers 26 are retracted from the supporting 
position (FIG. 3). 
As is evident from FIGS. 7 and 8, the stock of blanks 16, resting on the 
supporting fingers 26, is moved downwards together with them under its own 
weight, until it comes to rest on the residual stock 23 (FIG. 7). The 
supporting fingers 26 are then retracted to the side out of the region of 
the blanks (FIG. 8). The lowered stock of blanks 16 now tops up the 
residual stock 23. The extraction of blanks 10 on the underside by means 
of the transfer roller 21 is not interrupted during this operation. The 
supporting fingers return to an upper initial position (the dot-and-dash 
lines in FIG. 8), in particular in the plane of the magazine table 22, 
laterally next to the recess 25. As soon as the entire stack of blanks 10, 
with the exception of the residual stock 23, has been removed (below the 
plane of the magazine table 24), the magazine 11 is moved transversely in 
such a way that a magazine shaft with a stock of blanks 16 passes into the 
position above the extraction station 12. The supporting fingers 26 are 
previously moved into the position in the region of the recess 25, so that 
the stock of blanks 16 is supported in the region of the recess 25 (FIG. 
3). During the displacement of the magazine 11, the residual stock 23 
located underneath the magazine table 24 is reduced, so that a difference 
in level arises relative to the magazine table 24 (FIG. 3). This must be 
overcome by means of a controlled lowering of the following stock of 
blanks 16. 
In the present exemplary embodiment, the three supporting fingers 26 are 
connected outside the region of the blanks to a transversely directed 
supporting member, in particular a cross member 27. The cross member 27 
and consequently the supporting fingers 26 are moveable. For this purpose, 
there are attached to the lateral ends of the cross member 27 vertical 
supporting webs 28 which are directed essentially downwards and which are 
connected to a parallelogram linkage consisting of lateral parallalogram 
links 29, 30. Their free ends in turn are articulated on a linearly 
displaceable supporting member, in particular a slide 31, or on 
downward-directed supporting brackets 32 of the latter. As is evident 
especially from FIG. 2, the slide 31 is arranged laterally outside the 
region of the magazine 11, in particular at a distance from the rear wall 
17 of the latter. The supporting brackets 32 are attached to a bent 
supporting arm 37 of the slide 31. 
The parallelogram links 29, 30 cause a parallel movement of the supporting 
fingers 26. The controlled up-and-down movement is brought about when the 
supporting fingers or the parallelogram links 29, 30 rest on a guide 
member in the form of a supporting plate 33 arranged laterally. This is 
located outside the range of movement of the supporting fingers 26. 
Located in the region of a pivot bearing of the (upper) parallelogram link 
29 is a supporting roller 34. This rests on the top side of the supporting 
plate 33. It is moveable in such a way that the supporting fingers 26 
together with the parallelogram links 29 and 30 are always held in an 
essentially horizontal position. 
The supporting plate 33 is moveable up and down, in such a way that it can 
follow the corresponding movements of the supporting fingers 26 or 
controls these. For this purpose, in the present exemplary embodiment, the 
supporting plate 33 is attached to a (one-armed) pivotable supporting 
lever 35 which itself is arranged via a pivot bearing on the underside of 
the magazine table 24. Pivoting movements of the supporting lever 35 cause 
a corresponding up-and-down movement of the supporting plate 33 and 
consequently corresponding movements of the supporting fingers 26. At the 
same time, the supporting roller 34 allows different relative positions of 
the supporting fingers 26 in relation to the supporting plate 33. In the 
upper supporting position (FIG. 3), the supporting lever 35 and 
consequently the supporting plate 33 are directed essentially 
horizontally. In the present case, the lower end position of the 
supporting fingers 26 is defined when a stop 36 comes up against the 
supporting arm 37 of the slide 31. In the present exemplary embodiment, 
the stop 36 is designed as an extension of one of the upper parallelogram 
links 29. 
The magazine 11 is displaceable as a single unit by an amount corresponding 
to the transverse dimension of a magazine shaft 13, 14, 15, in such a way 
that there is always a particular magazine shaft located in the region of 
the recess 25 of the magazine table 24, that is to say in the region of 
the extraction station 12. For this purpose, the magazine 11 is provided 
with a sliding body 38 arranged on the outside of the rear wall 17 in the 
lower region. This sliding body is mounted so as to slide on a magazine 
support rod 39. The latter in turn is anchored at the ends in the machine 
frame 40. 
The magazine 11 is displaceable on the magazine support rod by means of a 
stepping gear 41. This consists of a disk-shaped driver 42 driven to 
rotate. The latter engages by means of a depression 43 on the periphery 
with drive journals 44 of a star wheel 45. The latter is arranged on a 
drive shaft 46 which is provided at its free end with a crank-like drive 
arm 47. This is pivoted as a result of the rotation of the drive shaft 46. 
Located on the end of the drive arm 47 is a drive journal or a drive 
roller 48. This penetrates into a vertical guide slot 49 in the rear side 
of the magazine 11 (rear wall 17). Pivoting movements of the drive arm 47 
result in a change in the angular position of the latter. As a result, the 
drive roller 48 slides up and down in the guide slot 49 and at the same 
time causes the transverse displacement of the magazine 11. The movements 
are executed periodically, in such a way that stepping movements of the 
magazine 11 into the alternative positions shown in FIGS. 4 to 6 take 
place. 
The magazine 11 or its rear wall 17 is supported not only on the magazine 
support rod 39, but also on the opposite upper side, specifically against 
tilting movements only. Its entire dead weight is absorbed by the magazine 
support rod 39. The tilting safeguard consists of two supporting rollers 
50, 51 arranged at a distance from one another. These are mounted fixedly 
on a cantilever of the machine frame. Between the supporting rollers 50, 
51 located at a distance from one another is received a guide rail 52 of 
angular crosssection, which transmits tilting loads to one supporting 
roller 50, 51 or the other. 
The relative position of the magazine 11 is selected so that it is inclined 
towards the rear side (rear wall 17) relative to the vertical plane. As a 
result, the blanks 10 rest against the rear wall 17 in a gently sloping 
plane. 
The movements of the supporting fingers 26, on the one hand, and of the 
supporting plate 33, on the other hand, are synchronized with one another 
by means of interacting drives. 
The slide 31 for the supporting fingers is mounted displaceably, at a 
distance from the rear side of the magazine 11, on two sliding rods 53 
arranged essentially above one another. The supporting arm 37, extending 
underneath the plane of the magazine table 24, adjoins the underside of 
the slide 31. The supporting fingers 26 resting on the supporting arm are 
in the plane of the magazine table 24, specifically within suitable 
longitudinal recesses 54 in the latter. 
The slide 31 is actuated by a pivoting arm 55 moved to and fro. This 
penetrates by means of a transmission roller 56 into a vertical guide 57 
of the slide 31. A free leg 58 of the pivoting arm 55 is supported by 
means of a tracer roller 59 on the periphery of a rotating cam disk 60. 
This is shaped so that pivoting movements for the transverse displacement 
of the slide 31 are executed in one direction and the other. 
The leg 58 is at the same time connected to an actuating arm 61, the free 
end of which carries an essentially vertical link 62 connected to the 
supporting lever 35. Pivoting movements of the actuating arm 61, initiated 
by the cam disk 60 in conjunction with the tracer roller 59 and the leg 
58, cause an essentially up-and-down movement of the link 62. This 
results, in turn, in a corresponding pivoting movement of the supporting 
lever 35 with the supporting plate 33 for bearing the supporting fingers 
26. 
The above-described gear is extremely efficient, quick-acting and accurate. 
In the present exemplary embodiment, safety measures are taken to prevent 
(lower) blanks 10 from escaping via a gap between the magazine 11 and the 
magazine table 24 during the displacement of the magazine 11 relative to 
the magazine table 24. The vertical side walls 18, 19 of the magazine 
shafts 13, 14 and 15 are provided with small downward-projecting noses 63 
which penetrate into corresponding longitudinal grooves 64 in the magazine 
table 24.