Gummed paper taping unit with improved access to the path of the paper

Abstract: A gummed paper taping unit is described comprising, in succession, a unit (1) for supporting a roll (30) of gummed paper tape (2), a tape control unit (3), a tape centering unit (4), a unit (17) for feeding the tape integral with a rotating plate (5), a contrast unit (18) integral with a fixed plate (6) opposed to said rotating plate (5) and co-operating with it to define a tape path that can be opened towards the outside, a cutting unit (19), a unit (28) for the deviation of the tape towards a vertical direction, a moistening unit (10) and a unit (11) for the application of the tape to a box to be sealed. The abovementioned deviation unit (28) comprises at least two guide portions (24, 26) co-operating to define a space for the passage of the tape between one and the other of them. One (24) of said guide portions of the deviation unit (28) can be moved integrally with said rotating plate (5) to gain access to the space between the abovementioned portions.

Description: The present invention relates to a gummed paper taping unit with improved access to the path of the paper. It is well known that sealing machines are units used to operate the seal of the bottom and of the top of parallelepiped boxes with turned-over flaps, through the use of adhesive tape or gummed paper. In particular this latter solution has assumed considerable importance over the course of the past few years, in relation to the growing needs linked with ecological problems. Sealing machines, either with adhesive tape or with gummed paper, comprise a base for supporting boxes to be sealed, means for moving the boxes associated with said supporting base and two taping units, one lower and one upper, for sealing the bottom and the top of the boxes, respectively. With reference to sealing machines with gummed paper, taping units are known, described in the Italian patent application No. MI92A000407 dated 25 February 1992, that comprise a plurality of individual units that can be divided into separate units, among them a supporting unit for a roll of gummed paper tape, a unit for controlling the tape, a centering unit and a unit for feeding the same, a contrast unit co-operating with the abovementioned feeding unit, a tape cutting unit, a unit for moistening and a unit for the application of the tape to the top or to the bottom of a box. The use of gummed paper determines the drawback in the taping units that it is relatively easy for the paper itself to jam, especially in the presence of dampness and when the machine itself is allowed to remain at a standstill for a certain period of time with the tape in it. Such a drawback imposes the construction of the gummed paper taping units in such a way as to reduce the possibilities of jamming and, at the same time, to allow an easy and simple intervention on the part of the operator for the possible removal of the same. For this purpose the abovementioned taping units have the tape feeding unit that can be moved away from the contrast unit, so as to uncover a substantial part of the path of the tape upstream from the moistening and application units. In such known gummed paper taping units, the problem is, however, unsolved of access to the paper tape in the area between the cutting unit and the moistening unit, where the tape is forced to pass through a unit for deviating the tape towards a perfectly vertical direction suitable for the application of the tape to the front of the box to be sealed. Such a deviation unit is in fact constituted by two guide portions co-operating in a reciprocal position that cannot be changed in any way. The object of the present invention is thus that of accomplishing a taping unit for sealing with gummed paper, of the type described previously, wherein the problem represented by the passage of the tape through the abovementioned deviation unit is also solved. According to the invention such object is attained by means of a taping unit comprising, in succession, a unit for supporting a roll of gummed paper tape, a tape control unit, a tape centering unit, a unit for feeding the tape integral with a rotating plate, a contrast unit integral with a fixed plate opposed to said rotating plate and co-operating with it to define a tape path that can be opened towards the outside, a cutting unit, a unit for the deviation of the tape towards a vertical direction, a moistening unit, and a unit for the application of the tape to a box to be sealed, said deviation unit comprising at least two guide portions co-operating to define a space for the passage of the tape between one and the other of them, characterized in that one of said guide portions of the deviation unit can be moved integrally with said rotating plate to gain access to the space between the abovementioned portions. It appears clear that a taping unit is obtained in this way wherein the section of the path of the tape inside the deviation unit can also be opened for the purpose of maintenance and of unjamming the tape. These and other features of the following invention shall be made more evident by the following detailed description of one of its embodiments, illustrated as non-limiting examples in the enclosed drawings, wherein: Fig. 1 represents a taping unit according to the invention, in a lateral view, under normal operating conditions; Fig. 2 represents the same unit, still in a lateral view, under open conditions. With reference to Fig. 1, the taping unit according to the invention is constituted essentially by a plurality of individual units that can be divided into separate units fastened to a lateral supporting shoulder 8 to which, on the opposite side, there corresponds a lower lateral containment shoulder 9. More accurately, the taping unit comprises a unit 1 for supporting a roll 30 of gummed paper tape 2, a tape control unit 3, a centering unit 4, a pair of plates 5 and 6 co-operating for the guidance and movement of the tape, a tape feeding unit 17 and a contrast unit 18, associated respectively with the two plates 5 and 6 to determine the intermittent forward movement of the tape in relation to the machine's operating cycle, a cutting unit 19 associated with the feeding unit 17 to separate sections of tape of a preset length from the continuous tape taken from the roll 30, a moistening unit 10 for moistening the face of the paper tape provided with glue and an application unit 11 suitable for executing the application of the section of separated and moistened tape on the box to be sealed. The movement of the tape from the pair of plates 5 and 6 to the moistening unit 10 is executed by having the tape pass through a tape deviation unit 28, consisting of three guide portions 24, 25 and 26, that produce a deviation of the path of the tape itself towards an exactly vertical direction, suitable for the application of the tape to the front of a box 29 to be sealed. The construction features and the methods of operation of the abovementioned units, of a type known in itself from the previously mentioned Italian patent application, will not be described here in detail; it will be sufficient to mention that the two plates 6 and 5 in the at rest position (Fig. 1) are opposed to one another and that they are integral with the contrast unit 18 and the feeding unit 17, respectively, that in turn comprises the cutting unit 19 and integral with the control unit 3. Again in a known way, the plate 5 can rotate on an axis determined by a pivot 21 that is separably fastened to the shoulder 8. At the exit of the plate 5 there is the abovementioned guide portion 24 of the deviation unit 28, rigidly connected to the external structure of the cutting unit 19 through a screw and nut 20. The second guide portion 26 of the deviation unit 28, that is on the other hand integral with the shoulder 8, is opposed to the first guide portion 24, in a position such as to form with it a thin space for the passage of the tape toward the moistening unit 10. Consecutively to the guide portion 24 of the deviation unit 18, and at a terminal portion of the abovementioned guide portion 26, the third guide portion 25 of the deviation unit 28 is rigidly connected to the shoulder 8 in a vertical position. This latter portion 25 balances the force exerted by the moistening unit 10 on the tape, keeping the latter in a position such as to allow the completion of the moistening operations in a uniform manner. According to a preferred embodiment, the abovementioned guide portion 25 can be provided with a resistance 27 to heat the tape of gummed paper at the moment of moistening, thus facilitating the activation of the glueing mass. With the units 19, 17, 3 and with the plate 5, that, as has already been said, are integral with one another, there co-operates a disengagement unit 12 consisting of a pneumatic cylinder 13 hinged at 14 on the shoulder 8 and with the stem connected through a joint at 15 to a bracket 16 fastened to the external cover of the unit 17. The cylinder 13 acts on the plate 5 so as to produce a rotation on the axis determined by the pivot 21, thus moving the plate 5 away from the opposite plate 6 (Fig. 2). In this way the path of the tape between the two plates 5 and 6 can be opened for purposes of maintenance or, in the case of extended stops and in the presence of dampness, to prevent the tape from sticking to one of the plates causing jams. As illustrated in Fig. 2, in the taping unit according to the present invention the operation of the cylinder 13 also produces the rotation, again with axis in 21, of the guide portion 24 of the deviation unit 28, since this is rigidly connected at 20 to the unit 19 in turn integral with the plate 5. On the other hand, the guide portions 26 and 25 of the deviation unit 28 remain fixed in their initial position, as can be observed in comparing Fig.s 1 and 2. The movement of the guide portion 24 away from the guide portion 26, in a manner similar to what has been said in relation to the movement of the plates 5 and 6 away from one another, causes the path of the tape of gummed paper through the deviation unit 28 to open, thus avoiding the glueing of the same in case of long stops and in the presence of dampness. In this regard it is as well to note that any jams at the abovemented deviation unit 28 are in general more probable with respect to the other parts of the taping unit, in relation to the shape of the unit 28 itself, that must allow for a considerable deviation of the direction of motion of the tape, and especially in the vicinity of the moistening unit 10, that is provided with a water tank not shown in the figure. The particular shape with chamfered extremities of the guide portion 25 of the deviation unit 28 and the short section along which this contrasts with the guide portion 26 also allow a large reduction of the probability of tape jams with the machine not in operation, also as regards the subsequent section of the path (that is, the area where the two guide portions 26 and 25 of the deviation unit 28 are opposed to one another) although at such section the unit cannot be opened, and they also substantially facilitate operations for removing jammed tape.

Claims: Gummed paper taping unit comprising, in succession, a unit (1) for supporting a roll (30) of gummed paper tape (2), a tape control unit (3), a tape centering unit (4), a unit (17) for feeding the tape integral with a rotating plate (5), a contrast unit (18) integral with a fixed plate (6) opposed to said rotating plate (5) and co-operating with it to define a tape path that can be opened towards the outside, a cutting unit (19), a unit (28) for the deviation of the tape towards a vertical direction, a moistening unit (10) and a unit (11) for the application of the tape to a box to be sealed, said deviation unit (28) comprising at least two guide portions (24, 26) co-operating to define a space for the passage of the tape between one and the other of them, characterized in that one (24) of said guide portions of the deviation unit (28) can be moved integrally with said rotating plate (5) to gain access to the space between the abovementioned portions. Taping unit according to claim 1, characterized in that said deviation unit (28) comprises a further portion of fixed guide (25) downstream from said movable guide portion (24) and opposed to said fixed guide portion (26) only along a short section of the tape's path. Taping unit according to claim 2, characterized in that said further portion of fixed guide (25), in the proximity of the opposing region, has chamfered surfaces suitable for minimizing the region of inaccessibility of the path of gummed paper.

Inventors: MARCHETTI AUGUSTO, MARCHETTI, AUGUSTO
Applicants: MARCHETTI AUGUSTO, MARCHETTI, AUGUSTO
Application year: 1993
Main classification: B65B51
IPC codes: B65H35, B65B51, B65H23