Patent GB-1376873-A (GB)
Title: Apparatus for forming an insert of a wrapping
IPC: B65B35/44
Filed: 1973-01-26
Abstract: 1376873 Packaging apparatus SIG SCHWEIZERISCHE INDUSTRIE-GES 26 Jan 1973 [28 Jan 1972] 4058/73 Heading B8C Apparatus for forming an insert of a wrapping for groups of flat articles such as biscuits, the insert comprising a strip-like member having portions which are bent upwardly substantially at right-angles to a base to form partitions comprises a feed device 4, 5 for sheet material, a severing device 7 for severing said strip-like members from said sheet material, means 8, 8 for pre-folding the bent-up portions 2a, a first endless conveyer element 9 having drivers 11 which are spaced apart by a distance equal to the distance between the bent-up strip portions 2a and which are positioned to engage below the bent up strip portions, means 13 for the metered insertion of a group of flat articles between the bent up strip portions, and a second endless conveyer element 14 having for each filled insert, an individual driver 16 adapted to engage the rearmost group of articles in each carrier insert. As shown, in a packaging machine which serves to form a package Fig. 1, which comprises a corrugated cardboard insert folded to form two partitions 2a, three rows of biscuits 1, and an enclosing sleeve 3 of transparent plastics material, corrugated cardboard, fed from a roll 4, Fig. 2, and provided with fold lines 6 by embossing rollers 5, is cut, by a cutter 7, into individual inserts 2 and the inserts are fed, one behind the other, on to a conveyer 9 by laterallyspaced pairs of conveyer belts 8, 8, the latter converging in the feed direction to progressively squeeze the inserts inwardly and prefold them about the lines 6 to form the partitions 2a. The conveyer 9 consists of a slideway 12 and two endless chains 10 interconnected by bars 11, 11a the bars 11 being spaced to engage between the bent-up partitions 2a and the bars 11a to extend between adjacent inserts 2. The conveyer 9 carries the inserts 2 beneath a device 13 which introduces counted rows of biscuits 1 into the compartments of the inserts and transfers the loaded inserts to the second conveyer 14 which comprises driving bars 16 carried by a pair of endless chains 15, 15, the bars being spaced to engage the rearmost rows of biscuits of the inserts to urge them along the slideway 17. The friction of the latter causes the inserts, as they proceed, to bunch up so that the partitions 2a are pressed together. A third conveyer 18, similar to the conveyer 14 but located beneath the inserts, feeds the loaded inserts to a device, not shown, which forms the sleeve 3. In a modification, Figs. 5, 6, (not shown), only the conveyers (9, 14<SP>1</SP>), both located beneath the inserts 2, are provided, the first conveyer (9) having the bars 11a omitted and the sprocket wheels for the chains (151) of the conveyer (14<SP>1</SP>) at the upstream end being mounted on the same shaft as those for the upstream ends of the chains (10) which are inwardly spaced with respect to the chains (15<SP>1</SP>). The drive bars (16<SP>1</SP>) of the conveyer (14<SP>1</SP>) are connected to the chains (15<SP>1</SP>) by cranked brackets (20), to clear the chains (10). Instead of extending between pairs of cabins the bars 11, 11a and 16, 19 may be respectively cantilevered from a single chain.