FEEDER DEVICE STAND, IN PARTICULAR FOR PACKAGING LINES

Description

The present invention is related to a stand for a feeder device, in particular for a packaging line incorporating it, of the kind suitable for keeping the feeder device in the requested position with respect to the line.

Tipically, along a continuously operated packaging line, feeders of various kind are arranged, placing in a stack elements to be packaged, e.g. by a film of cellophane or by another thermosealable film, or in unwound paper as well, possibly provided with a thermosealable film or with a layer of adhesive resin, according to a procedure known as flow pack.

Exemplary elements to be packaged in this way are magazines, newspapers, flattened parcels and others, to which inserts are associated, made of a single sheet or of a booklet having a closed margin or a binder, e.g. formed by creasing line or y an envelope. In general, in the following said inserts will be referred as sheet-shaped single products.

They may be represented for instance by magazines separately sold or even sold in association thereamong, provided to the packaging lines through said feeder device, and inserts of various kind (promotional, advertising etc.) packaged together with said magazines. The feeder device, adapted for discrete elements like parcels, magazines, newspapers etc, or for substantially single products like single or folded sheets, envelopes, bound inserts or the like, are usually provided with a own motor, obviously to be synchronised with the motion of the packaging line. Further, they are not integrated in a single packaging line, but they should be available to be added or removed according to contingent needs and, for this reason, the motors thereof have to be on board,

Hence, it is understood that the same feeder device should be able to feed inserts of different sizes along the line, and possibly provided with different orientations with respect to the line. However, even with the variation of these parameters, the feeder must deliver the insert precisely centred on the packaging line leading to the wrapping station.

This problem is particularly felt when the feeder device is provided with means for pivoting the insert, e.g. of 90°. A common problem is that such means does not safely succeed to pivot the insert of a complete right angle, but of a portion thereof. Further, the variation of such rotation angle may modify the feeding position of the feeder device itself.

The technical problem underlying the present invention is to provide a stand of a feeder device obviating the drawbacks referred in connection with the prior art. Such problem is solved by a stand as above specified, comprising:

* a pedestal provided with an engaging projection apt to be introduced below the body of the packaging line;

* blocking means for arranging the pedestal in a fixed position with respect to the packaging line; * a saddle, positioned at the top of the pedestal, arranged to be translated, with respect to the pedestal, across the packaging line;

* a pivoting table, mounted on said saddle, on which a support base for the feeder device is formed; and

* means for positioning said support base with respect to said packaging line.

It is understood that the present invention is also referred to a feeder device comprising a stand according the above given main definition and according to the auxiliary definitions.

The main advantage of the stand and of the related feeder device according to the present invention lied in allowing a precise positioning of the device with respect to the line, adaptable according to the insert to be fed.

The present invention is hereinafter described according to a preferred embodiment thereof, provided to an exemplificative and non limitative purpose, with reference to the annexed drawings wherein:

* Figure 1 is a perspective view showing a feeder device, close to a packaging line, incorporating the stand according to a preferred embodiment of the invention:

* Figure 2 is a perspective view of a lower portion of the stand of Figure 1;

* Figure 3 is a partially sectioned side view of a detail of the lower portion of Figure 2;

* Figure 4 is a partially sectioned front view of the detail of Figure 3;

* Figure 5 is a partially sectioned perspective view of the stand of Figure 1;

* Figure 6 is an enlarged perspective view of a detail of the stand of Figure 1, shown in Figure 5;

* Figure 7 is a back perspective view of the stand of Figure 1; and

* Figure 8 is a perspective view of an upper portion of the stand of Figure 1.

Purely to a preliminary purpose, with reference to the drawings, a section of packaging line is generally indicated as 1. It has a longitudinal conveyor plane 2, formed on the top of a packaging line body 5, with a plurality of pushing members 3 travelling to push single products to be packaged. They are moved by a motor and by a related kinematic chain underlying the conveyor plane 2.

At the sides of the line body 5 a casing 4 is provided including a plurality of access bays apt to house kinematic transmissions, motors and auxiliary devices. A gap 6 is located bellow the body 5 which is supported by suitable levelling feet, to set said conveyor plane horizontally.

At said gap 6, the line comprises pairs of positioning rails 7, shaped so as to receive a feeder device stand which will be described hereinafter, positioned at predetermined areas of the line 1 where the feeder device may be optionally provided.

Said line 1, at said rails 7, has also anchoring members 8 provided in proximity of said conveyor plane 2, for blocking said stand with respect to the line 1.

Always with reference to the drawings, an embodiment of a stand according to the invention is globally indicated as 10.

It comprises a vertically upright pedestal 11 , mounted on wheels 9 and provided with an engaging projection 12 apt to be introduced below the body 5 of the packaging line 1, which is slab shaped, having a width corresponding to that of the pedestal 11 and such a length to substantially cover the whole width of the line body 5.

Said projection 12 has, at a distal end thereof and at each side thereof, first positioning rolls 13, placed so as to slip below said rails 7. At the proximal end thereof, i.e. at the pedestal 11 , the projection 12 comprises second rolls 14, placed so as to slip on said rails 7, thereby to frame the pedestal 11 in its position with respect to the line 1.

The pedestal 11 can be adjusted in height and, to this purpose, it has means for vertically translating the top of the pedestal 11. Such means, in the present embodiment, comprises a jack cylinder 15 which may be linked to a suitable control unit, according to any needing. In this connection, the pedestal is divided in a fixed lower portion 16 and in a mobile upper portion 17, said means for translating acting on this latter portion 17.

It comprises means for positioning at a predetermined level, e.g. a bar 18 apt to be fitted into notches formed into the lower portion 16. Alternatively, said means for translating my be composed by a hydraulic jack, by a motor-driven or hand wheel-driven mechanic system, preferably with a screw shaft engaged in a female screw formed in said upper portion, having such a friction coefficient to prevent the reversal of the shaft rotation caused by the top weight. Such means for translating serves to vertically arrange the feeder device with respect to the conveyor plane, to compensate irregularities of the floor or remarkable thicknesses of the insert to be fed to the line 1.

On said upper portion 17, the stand has lateral opposing anchoring devices 20, corresponding to said anchoring members 8. They comprise a hook 21 rotatably connected to a bar 22 sliding in a slit 23 into said upper portion 17. The angular position of the hook 21 can be immobilized by virtue of a 5 side hand wheel 24. The translating bar 22 can be moved against to a resilient member 25, i.e. a helicoidal spring, and it is driven by a screw spindle 26 which can be rotated by a back hand wheel 27.

In this way, the pedestal 11 can be approached to the line 11, introducing the positioning rolls 13, 14 on the rails 7. The hooks 21 are put forward with K) respect to the spring 25 and rotated so as to be anchored to the anchoring members 8 on the line 1. Then, they are drawn back until the pedestal 11 is integrally blocked to the line body 5.

It is understood that the rolls 13, 14 and the anchoring device 21 embody means for blocking the stand 10, to arrange the pedestal 11 in a 15 predetermined position with respect to the packaging line 1.

However, it is understood that such means for blocking can involve many variants. After the complete blocking, the upper portion 17, i.e. the feeder device, can be vertically adjusted with respect to the conveyor plane.

On the top of said pedestal 11 , the stand 10 comprises a saddle 30 which 0 can be translated, with respect to the pedestal 11 , across the packaging line 1 , in particular perpendicularly to the line itself. It has means for the horizontal translation of the saddle 30, provided between the saddle 30 and the upper portion 17.

In this connection, the saddle 30 is provided at the base thereof with a 5 horizontal rack 31, longitudinally arranged with respect to the saddle 30, on which is operated a toothed wheel 32 rotatably mounted on the upper portion 17 of the pedestal 11 , driven by a adjustment hand wheel 33. It is understood that brakes will be provided to stop the saddle 30 in the required position. This brake may be applied to the spindle 34 driving the 0 toothed wheel 32.

Further, such means for the horizontal translation can involve many variants, e.g. by including a screw spindle or a mobile ratchet gearing with a toothed bar.

On said saddle 30, the stand 10 comprises a pivoting table 40, rotatably mounted on a bearing 42 placed between the saddle 30 and the table 40. It is understood that brakes will be provided to stop the pivoting table 40 in a required position. The bearing 42 has a vertical rotation axis. On the table 40 a support base 41 is formed for a feeder device 50, which can be pivoted at will and blocked in any translated and pivoted position with respect to the line 1.

Therefore, the stand 10 comprises means for positioning said support base 41 with respect to the packaging line 1, which in the present embodiment comprises said means for the horizontal translation of the saddle 30 and the bearing, with their respective brakes.

In the present embodiment, said means for positioning also comprises means for vertically translate the top of the pedestal 11 , and the previously described means for the positioning of such a top at a predetermined level. On said support base 41, the feeder device 50 is arranged, of the kind apt to feed single products, as parcels, magazines, newspapers and the like, on the packaging line 1.

In this embodiment, the feeder device 50 comprises a support table 51 on which a stack a products to be fed is arranged, so as to hover the conveyor plane 2.

Said products are one-by-one drawn off from the base of the stack, pivoted and the placed on an inlet roller table 52 which can be programmed to pivot products or inserts with respect to the packaging line 1.

Such device 50 will be operated by an independent motor 53, electronically controlled and synchronized with the whole packaging line 1.

However, it is understood that the stand can be used in same way with different feeders.

To the above stand and related feeder device a man skilled in the art, to meet further and contingent needs, can introduce several additional variants and modification, any way all falling within the protection scope provided for the present invention, as defined by the annexed claims.