Patent GB-254684-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in or relating to apparatus for applying sheets or wrappers to boxes or x blanks
IPC: B31B15/00
Filed: 1926-05-04
Abstract: 254,684. Stokes & Smith Co., (Assignees of Federwitz, T. A. and Bailey, W. T.). July 1, 1925, [Convention date]. Sheet-separators.-Apparatus for covering or wrapping stayed or unstayed boxes with sheets comprises mechanism for feeding adhesivelycoated sheets individually and successively to the covering or wrapping machine in the same direc. tion as reciprocatory means, timed with the sheetfeeding mechanism, intermittently conveys individual boxes or box blanks to the machine. The cover sheets a, Fig. 1, are taken from a pile and gummed in a machine G of any suitable type from which they are deliverd successively to belts d, d<1> by which they are taken to a conveying unit C, the machine G and units C being driven from the shaft u of the covering machine W in timed relation thereto. The pile table m of the machine G has adjustable guides n engaging the edge of the cover sheets and pressure rollers e or air jets flatten the blanks upon the belts d, d'. The conveying unit C comprises chains &c. 25 running on guides in frames 9, Fig. 8, and over sprockets 18 driven from a transverse shaft 5 driven intermittently through a ratchet geared to a shaft 2, which is geared to an oscillating toothed sector c actuated by a cam geared to the shaft u, and the chains carry grippers G<1> which take the sheets a from the belts d, d<1> and carry them to the covering machine W. Each gripper comprises a member 29, Fig. 16, pivoted to a link of the chain and a spring, acting on a lug on the member 29, normally forces the arm 33 thereof against a rotatable disc 34 to grip a sheet between them, the grippers being opened to receive a sheet by pivoted levers 73 which are actuated by cams 68 on shafts 51 to depress the arms 32 of the members 29 when the chains are at rest ; the shafts 51 are driven through a shaft 47 from a shaft 40 which is rotated continuously from the shaft 9, and the shafts 40, 51 each make one rotation for each operation'of the covering-machine. The forward edges of the sheets engage the vertical faces of the members 29, and the sheets are supported by belts 182 running beneath the chains &c. 25 and driven in unison therewith by rubber-covered rollers 180, 181 geared to the shaft 5. The sheets are released from the grippers when over the platen of the machine W by adjustable cam surfaces 25
, Fig. 13, carried by the frames 9 and engaging the arms 32 of the grippers, the forward edge of the released sheet entering slots 25g in plates 25f secured to the frames and being temporarily retained in the slots by air suction. The shaft u is driven through a spring-controlled friction clutch 115 from the dnving-pulley v, the movable part of the clutch being connected by a link 117 to a bar 120 carrying a block 123 and connected to a lever 121 pivoted in the frame of the machine W. The block 123, Fig. 29, carries a slidable pin 124 engaged 'by a lever 126 secured to a pin 127 pivoted in the block and connected by levers &c. 129, 132 to a shaft 134 carrying a lever 135, Fig. 6, pivoted to a link 137 engaging a latch 139 connected to a feeler lever 145 disposed between the belts 52 in the path of movement of the boxes and normally kept depressed thereby; in this position the pin 124 is moved into the block 123 against the action of a spring and out of the path of movement of a lever 114 oscillated from the main cam of the machine W. Should the supply of boxes fail, a cam on the shaft 51 allows the feeler lever 145 to raise and a spring moves the latch 139 out of engagement with the link 137, this action being assisted by a cam 152 on the shaft 40 moving the link sliglitly sideways; movement of the latch allows a spring 136 to rotate the shaft 134 and pin 127 which, with the spring in the block 123, moves the pin 124 into the path of the lever 114 which consequently moves the pin and block, releases the clutch 115 and stops the machine; the gripper blocks are actuated, when the machine is stopped, to release the partly dried glued sheets by bars 169 which are moved by a hand-lever to depress the arm 32. The link 137 or the block 123 may be manually actuated to stop the machine, and the link may be re-engaged with the latch 130 by a hand-lever on the shaft 134. The conveyer frames 9 and associated parts are adjustable to suit the size of box being covered. In a modification of the conveyer unit the gripper-actuating members 73 are associated with adjustable nozzles supplied with air under pressure which assists in aligning the sheets and holding them against guide fingers. The Specification as open to inspection under Sect. 91 (3) (a) states that the conveyer and gripper units are of general application and may be used with package, can, and other wrapping machines. This subject-matter does not appear in the Specification as accepted.