Abstract:
Device and method for the alignment of stacked products to be wrapped such as newspapers, magazines and books, with or without inserts, of any thickness or size. Sheet placers feed products into the device via a conveyor system equipped with pushers, set at predetermined positions. The products are aligned by engaging elements that rotate through a slot inside of which the conveyor pushers also slide. The engaging elements decrease in speed as they intercept the products, and align the products with the conveyor pushers as they are transported along the conveyor to a packaging area.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
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   STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
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   INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC 
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   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention relates to an aligning device and method for feeding products into an automatic packaging machine. 
   In the field of publishing products, packaging machines currently receive a range of these publishing products such as envelopes, newspapers, magazines, books, with or without included gadgets, and they place said products in position, neatly wrapped in plastic film or paper. 
   In order to perform this operation, said products, such as a newspaper including relative inserts or additional gadgets, must be fed correctly aligned and stacked with suitable sheet placers or similar devices. This requirement is necessary to facilitate the following wrapping action and to obtain correct wrapping results, where the products in the package are neatly stacked to occupy the least possible space. 
   Naturally it must be taken into consideration that all wrapping action is performed automatically. In fact, the various products listed above stacked between suitable sheet placers or similar devices, are sent forward towards a conveyor that transfers them to the following area for wrapping in plastic film or paper. 
   The conveyor system is generally composed of a pusher conveyor whereon the pushers are arranged at a certain distance one behind the other with a step that can be set in advance. The pushers move forward until they are in contact with the product or stack of products that are fed gradually until they make up the contents of the final package. 
   The sheet placers or similar devices that are especially selected for said feeding action are not able to place the fed products in perfectly aligned stacks, partly because of the conveyor motion, and partly because the surface and materials of the products themselves often lead to sliding when in contact with each other, causing them to become misaligned. 
   This problem is increased when the film is transparent, or when the products in the stack have very different sizes. Moreover, misaligned stacks also require larger quantities of packaging materials in order to contain all the products. 
   BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   Therefore the general aim of the present invention is to identify and realise an aligning device and method for feeding products into an automatic packaging machine that will resolve the technical problems described above. 
   Another aim of the invention is to realise a device and method of the aforesaid type that is able to function with any product thickness or size without creating problems. 
   A further aim of the invention is to realise a device and method of the aforesaid type that maintains correct stacking position in spite of the type of material or product surface. 
   A further aim of the invention is to realise a device and method that uses a minimum of film or paper while providing precise and correct packaging levels at the same time. 
   A further aim of the invention is to realise a device that can be easily associated with any type of packaging machine already in use. 
   A further aim of the invention is to identify a device and method that ensure correct packaging operations while making them as automatic and fast as possible at the same time. 
   These and other aims according to the present invention have been attained by realising an aligning device and method for feeding products into an automatic packaging machine as illustrated in the appended claim  1 . 
   Further important characteristics of the present invention are described in the dependent claims. 
   The functional and structural characteristics and the advantages of the device and method according to the invention will be illustrated for greater clarity in the descriptions of the embodiment that is provided as an example but that is to be considered in no way limitative, with reference to the appended drawings wherein: 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a schematic drawing of a side view of an aligning device for products to be fed into an automatic packaging machine, including a section of a pusher conveyor system, 
       FIG. 2  shows a view from above of the machine illustrated in  FIG. 1 , 
       FIGS. 3-5  are schematic drawings of side views of the aligning device illustrated in  FIG. 1  in successive operating steps. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   The drawings illustrate the conveyor  11  equipped with pushers  12  that receives publishing products or other products  13 ,  13 ′,  13 ″, etc, such as newspapers, magazines, books, envelopes, gadgets, or other additional products from sheet placers shown schematically in  14 ,  14 ′,  14 ″, etc, in an automatic packaging machine for said products, as defined previously for wrapping in plastic film or paper. 
   An aligning device for said feeding products according to the present invention and identified throughout with the numeral  15 , is positioned slightly downstream of each of the sheet placers schematically illustrated in  14 ,  14 ′,  14 ″, etc. 
   In particular, as shown in the example, the device comprises at least one engaging element, such as a blade  16  or rod, which extends out from a transport belt or chain  17  that move in the same direction as the pushers  12  of conveyor  11  in continuous motion, and that are arranged adjacent to or over the conveyor  11 , as shown in FIG.  2 . For example, the pushers  12  of conveyor  11  travel forward in a lengthwise slot  18  pulled by a chain positioned underneath the plane surface  19  for sliding the products  13 ,  13 ′,  13 ″, etc. 
   The free end of said engaging element  16  is inserted into said lengthwise slot  18  so that it is guided during its motion at variable speed. 
   Moreover, the engaging element  16  moves into contact with one end of the fed product  13 ,  13 ′,  13 ″, etc, frontally, that travels forward propelled by the relative pusher  12 , as well as one or more further products  13 ,  13 ′,  13 ″, etc, stacked in a pile, but not aligned with the bottom product. 
   This way, due to its position in contact with the front end of the product or stacked products, the engaging element  16  aligns said products with the respective pusher  12  which acts on the bottom product, recomposing the stacked position arrangement, and aligning any protruding products that may be out of line with the others in the pile. 
   Then said engaging element  16  moves away from said products to permit forward travel towards the packaging area or towards another sheet placer. 
   In particular, the figures illustrate how certain means such as a belt or chain  17  that transports and determines the forward travel of the engaging elements  16 , is driven by a variable speed motor  20 . The belt or chain  17  can transport more than one engaging element  16 . 
   In this manner the engaging element  16  can also travel at variable speed thus realising the aligning method according to the present invention. In fact, during a first step it descends rapidly in front of the stacked products propelled by the respective pusher  12 . Then in a second step, it slows down bringing the engaging element  16  into contact with the most protruding part of at least one of these stacked products that are arrested, at least partially, and placed in contact at the rear with the respective pusher  12 . Therefore during a third step it returns to the same speed as the pusher  12  and performs the correct alignment of all products. Last of all during the final step, it accelerates to disappear from its position in front of the products engaged in forward travel to permit their correct motion on the packing line. 
     FIG. 1  shows the device  15  in initial intervention position in which the engaging element  16  descends as controlled by the belt  17 , to be inserted into the slot  18  in the sliding surface  19 , where it stops. 
   Then the motor  20  accelerates the engaging element  16  a little to a speed slightly less than the pusher  12  forward travel speed. This way, the engaging element  16 , at slower speed, makes contact with a product  13 ′, placed in position previously by a sheet placer  14 ′ on top of a first product  13 , fed by the sheet placer  14 . 
   The front of product  13 ′ protrudes slightly compared to product  13  positioned underneath it, and is therefore aligned in a backwards direction and placed in contact with the respective pusher  12 . 
   Once this operation has been completed, the engaging element  16  is gradually accelerated at the same speed as conveyor  11 , and therefore the same speed as pusher  12 , to complete the aligning action with the products positioned underneath, including the parts that protrude most. When this alignment has been completed, the engaging element  16  is removed rapidly from the position in front of products  13 ,  13 ′ to permit easy forward travel, propelled by pusher  12 . 
   In addition, the engaging element  16  is immediately ready for repositioning in front of the next two products to be aligned. 
   Naturally it is obvious that a device of this type is mounted downstream and adjacent to each sheet placer in order to control the product stacks as they are formed with the addition of new products that are foreseen for inclusion in the final packaging. 
   The respective aligning device will intervene to recompose the stack in correct form for each additional and potentially protruding product misaligned in a vertical direction in the stack under composition. 
   Packaging operations performed using these devices or applying the methods described in the present invention result as being free of all the problems that previously limited functionality and correct packaging. 
   In fact, elimination of protruding product parts in stacks under composition does not interfere with the automatic processing of stacked products, and prevents excess use of plastic wrapping and possible handling machine jamming. 
   In fact, thanks to the product aligning device, the plastic film or paper adheres completely to the wrapped products creating a package that has a pleasant appearance and that is efficiently packed. 
   Moreover, if inserts or other products are included in the package, they remain efficiently blocked inside the film or paper that adheres to all the contents, assuming the same shape and blocking them in position. 
   The use of this device and method for aligning machine fed products also involves a considerable saving in wrapping film or paper during packaging, reducing consumption to a minimum. When calculated for large quantities, this saving reduces packaging costs considerably. 
   It should also be remembered that said device can be installed easily even on existing packaging machines. In fact, assembly is reduced to simply mounting the device components without having to intervene on the machine structure. 
   Naturally the term “product” refers to a packaged or non-packaged product, whether single or composed of several items, with variable thickness and size, that must be wrapped in plastic film or paper. Moreover, as stated above, the basic product such as a newspaper, a magazine, a book, or other product, can be combined with at least a second product, with the same or different measurements, that acts as an additional element such as any type of gadget, a compact disk, a floppy disk, a perfume, or any other object of a reasonably small size. 
   The device and method described in the present invention can be subject to numerous modifications and variants while remaining within the concept of the invention. 
   Moreover, basically all materials used, in any size or with any components, can be of any type according to technical necessity. 
   Sequence Listing 
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