Patent GB-1053241-A (GB)
IPC: B65B19/22
Abstract: 1,053,241. Package wrapping; conveyers K. KÍRBER. Feb. 11, 1964 [May 9, 1963] No. 18372/63. Headings B8A and B8C. A method of wrapping articles, such as cigarette packets, is characterized in that a web of wrapper material is arranged to enclose in U-form a continuously moving stream of the articles, is formed into a tube and sealed, is folded in between the articles, is cut into portions each enclosing one article, which portions have their direction of motion turned through 90 degrees before folding and sealing of the wrapper is completed. The web may be transparent synthetic resin foil, e.g. polypropylene treated to tear more readily in the transverse direction. The wrapper strip 19 is fed from a reel 20 between driven rollers 21, 22 at position I so that a tear assisting tab 65 is provided by cutters on the rollers. The tab is held raised from the strip by a guide 76, Fig. 10 (not shown), during its travel to position VIII. Cutters 24 on a head 23 at position II make fold assisting incissions 78 in the film, the length of which correspond to the thickness plus the spacing of the articles to be wrapped. A continuously moving stream of spaced articles 6 is fed by a conveyer 1 towards a feed wheel 8 on which members 9 guide the articles around a track 7 into the strip at III. At this point the strip is bent into its U-form as it passes through a folder member 26, Fig. 7 (not shown). The wheel 8 co-operates with a belt 12 projections 14 on which drive the articles through the machine towards position VIII. These projections are spaced so that they lie between successive articles, and such that where they co-operate with the projections 9 on the wheel 8 they fold one side of the strip across the end faces of the articles at the incisions 78, Figs. 9, 10 (not shown). The articles are completely enclosed in the strip by folding ploughs 29, 30 at V. During this folding the tab 65 is held out from the wrapper by a guide slot in the plough 30. A heated endless belt at 31 at VI, pressing against the articles, seals the side of the tube. The tube is compressed between the articles in order to pre-fold the wider end flaps of the wrapper before the tube is cut into individual portions. The tube is fed between wheels 28, 33 at VIII such that corresponding projections 32, 34 engaging between articles compress the tube over the ends of the articles. These wheels are run at a lower peripheral speed than the rate of the incoming articles, to compensate for the shortening of the tube during folding. The entubed articles are supported on a guide 40 which surrounds part of the circumference of the wheel 28, 80 that they are carried to the top in flat portions 38. At the top of the guide a wheel 41 at IX, fitted with cutter blades engaging the wheel projections, separates the tube into individual portions, which are driven by a conveyer 44 along a track 43 towards a rotary wheel 49. The hollow rotary wheel 49, Fig. 21 (not shown), carries internally a separately driven sun-wheel 127 which co-operates with several planetary wheels 128 supported on shafts 129 in the wheel casing 49. The shafts 129 support trays 52 which are maintained in a fixed direction by the planetary gearing. A cam track 133 raises the shafts for the trays to receive the portions at the end of the conveyer 44 so that they are carried round and deposited on a track 54 below a driving conveyer 56, so that they travel in a direction at right-angles to their previous direction of motion. Folders 59 at X, Fig. 23 (not shown), on each side of the support track 54 fold in the leading narrow end parts 137, prior to the folding down of the top and bottom flaps by ploughs 60, 61 at XI and XII. Sealing of the end faces is effected by heated belts 62 at XIII. A takeoff device, not disclosed, removes the wrapped packages for further treatment.