US3611675A - Apparatus for wrapping articles - Google Patents

Abstract

THE WRAPPING APPARATUS COMPRISES A PAIR OF SPACED ENDLESS BELTS EACH HAVING RESILIENT GRIPPING MEMBERS SO THAT OPPOSED GRIPPING MEMBERS GRIP AN ARTICLE THEREBETWEEN AND MOVE A SERIES OF ARTICLES UPWARDLY BETWEEN THE BELTS ALONG A VERTICAL FOLDING PATH. A WRAPPER BLANK IS POSITIONED OVER THE TOP FACE AND AT LEAST TWO SIDE FACES OF EACH ARTICLE AND THE ARTICLE IS THEN MOVED BETWEEN A PAIR OF GRIPPING MEMBERS. AS THE ARTICLE IS MOVED ALONG THE FOLDING PATH VARIOUS FOLDING ELEMENTS ENGAGE PORTIONS OF THE WRAPPER BLANK ENTENDING OVER FACES OF THE ARTICLE TO MOVE THESE PORTIONS AGAINST FACES OF THE ARTICLE TO COMPLETELY WRAP THE BLANK AROUND THE ARTICLE. THE ELEMENTS FOR FOLDING PORTIONS OF THE WRAPPER BLANK ARE MOUNTED ON THE APPARATUS FOR MOVEMENT LATERALLY INTO THE FOLDING PATH AND IN THE DIRECTION OF TRAVEL OF THE ARTICLES. THE FOLDING ELEMENTS MAY ALSO BE MOVABLY MOUNTED ON THE GRIPPING MEMBERS AND CAMMED INTO FOLDING RELATIONSHIP WITH THE WRAPPER BLANK PORTIONS AT PREDETERMINED TIMES. AS THE WRAPPED ARTICLES EMERGE FROM THE UPPER END OF THE FOLDING PATH EACH ARTICLE IS PUSHED LATERALLY THEREFROM ONTO A CONVEYOR BELT.

Description

Oct 1971 E. WALTIHER APPARATUS FOR WRAPPING ARTICLES 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 25, 1969 ATTORNEY 1971 E. WALTHER APPARATUS FOR WRAPPING ARTICLES 6 SheetsSheet Filed April 25, 1969 FIG 2a ENVI-LNTOIR ERHARDT WALTHER ATTOIRN v Oct. 12, 1971 E. WALTHER 3,61L675 APPARATUS FOR WRAPPING ARTICLES Filed April 25, 1969 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 uwmmn ERHARDT WALTHER ATTORNEY Oct. 12, 1971 E. WALTHER 3,61 L675 APPARATUS FOR WRAPPING ARTICLES Filed April 25, 1969 6 Sheets-Sheet 4.

uNvEN%nn ERHARDT WALTHER ATTORNEY Oct. 12, 1971 E. WALTHER W W APPARATUS FOR WRAPPING ARTICLES Filed April 25, 1969 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 I I3 uwvmmn ERHARDT WALTHER M WW M ATTQRNIEY United States lU.S. Cl. 53-224 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The wrapping apparatus comprises a pair of spaced endless belts each having resilient gripping members so that opposed gripping members grip an article therebetween and move a series of articles upwardly between the belts along a vertical folding path. A wrapper blank is positioned over the top face and at least two side faces of each article and the article is then moved between a pair of gripping members. As the article is moved along the folding path various folding elements engage portions of the wrapper blank extending over faces of the article to move these portions against faces of the article to completely wrap the blank around the article. The elements for folding portions of the wrapper blank are mounted on the apparatus for movement laterally into the folding path and in the direction of travel of the articles. The folding elements may also be movably mounted on the gripping members and cammed into folding relationship with the wrapper blank portions at predetermined times. As the wrapped articles emerge from the upper end of the folding path each article is pushed laterally therefrom onto a conveyor belt.

The present invention relates to the wrapping of articles on all sides with wrapping blanks, more particularly, to a wrapping apparatus in which the article being wrapped is conveyed continuously along a straight folding path.

A wide variety of articles of all shapes and sizes have been wrapped by machines with wrapping blanks comprising sheet material which does not spring back when folded but remains in the folded position. Such material may include but is not limited to tinfoil, cellophane, and laminated plastic material sheeting. Such wrapping materials are commonly used in the candy and confection industry. In one form of wrapping apparatus the article is moved upwardly by a ram against a wrapper blank which is held in the horizontal position and then carried along by the upwardly moving article. The article and wrapper is moved through a folding box so that the wrapper blank becomes positioned over the top and at least some side faces of the article with portions of the blank extending downwardly. Various types of folding members are then employed to fold the protruding portions of the wrapper blank against the bottom and end faces of the article. The article with the partially positioned wrapper blank is retained in movable grippers mounted on the periphery of a turn-table. The turn-table is moved intermittently through a number of stations in which the necessary folding operations of the protruding portions of the blank are performed while the turn-table is stationary. The completely wrapped articles are ejected from the grippers in the last stationary position of the turn-table.

Such a wrapping apparatus with a turn-table has the disadvantage that all folding operations must be performed while the article and the turntable are stationary. Thus, the different folding operations must be performed at the same time and within a period of time whose duration is as short as possible. This time limitation adversely aifects the quality of the folds. Further, the starting and stopping of the relatively heavy turn-table requires acceleration and deceleration of a considerable mass. In addition, the spacing between the various folding stations necessitates providing a relatively large amount of structural elements and drive means. This space requirement of the entire wrapping apparatus is particularly disadvantageous should it be desired to automate the operation.

Another form of apparatus which has been used for folding the protruding edge portions of the wrapper blanks comprises a horizontal conveyor chain having movable gripper jaws between which the articles having wrapper blanks partially positioned thereon are retained. The chain is operated intermittently and the articles are positioned between the jaws when the chain is stationary. A suitable control arrangement must be provided for opening and closing the jaws. This form of apparatus has the disadvantages described above for the turn-table wrapping apparatus.

Another form of wrapping apparatus comprised a horizontal rake-like member provided with opposed gripping jaws between which the partially wrapped article is inserted. The member is then intermittently moved to advance the articles to the next folding operation. The gripping jaws on the rake are opened to release the article at the next succeeding folding station and the member returns to its original position to pick up another article. The rake-like member may be pivotally mounted so as to swing back and forth between two adjacent stations. This wrapping apparatus, however, had all of the disadvantages of the wrapping apparatus as described above. The intermittent advance and withdrawal of the rake-like member substantially limits the output of the wrapping machine.

It is therefore the principal object of the present invention to provide a novel and improved apparatus for wrapping articles with a wrapper blank.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for wrapping articles wherein the articles are continuously advanced in one direction while being subjected to the folding operations.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a Wrapping apparatus wherein a wrapper blank is positioned over the top and at least some of the sides of the article and the article and wrapper blank then conveyed continuously through operations to fold the extended portions of the wrapper blank around the other faces of the article.

According to the present invention, the folding apparatus may comprise a conveyor consisting of a pair of spaced endless belts which define a folding path therebetween. Both belts are provided with opposed resiliently mounted gripping members to engage opposed sides of the article which is to be wrapped. The endless belts are positioned vertically so that the folding path is vertical. At the lower end of the folding path means are provided for positioning a wrapper blank on the top face and on at least some of the side faces of the article so that portions of the wrapper blank protrude outwardly of the article. The articles with the wrapper are uniformly spaced along the conveyor and move in a direction which is transverse to the bottom faces of the articles. A number of folding elements are mounted along the folding path in order to fold the extending portions of the wrapper blanks around the articles. The folding elements are driven so as to move laterally into the folding path in a direction transverse to the movement of the conveyed articles and at the same time transverse to the bottom faces of the articles in the direction of their travel. The folding elements are positioned so as to move behind an article toward the bottom face thereof. The number of folding elements corresponds in number to the portions. of the wrapper blank extending over the sides of the article which are to be folded against the article. At the upper end of the folding path there are positioned means for withdrawing the wrapped articles from the conveyor.

In a modification, the folding elements are movably mounted on the conveyor means and stationary cam means are engageable with the folding elements so as to move the folding elements into the folding path.

The wrapper blank is initially so positioned around the article that edges of the blank extend rearwardly or opposite to the direction of travel to the article as it continuously moves through the conveyor. As the articles are continuously moved through the conveyor the folding members are simultaneously moved laterally into the folding path and in the direction of movement of the articles so as to fold the extended wrapper portions against the faces.

Folding elements are also mounted along the folding path to fold the portions of the wrapper blanks protruding laterally over the end faces of the article.

The various intermittently movable components of the wrapping apparatus such as the folding elements may be driven through a linkage system from the power source for driving the conveyor means.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the accompanying description when taken in conjunction with the following drawings, which are exemplary, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of the wrapping apparatus of the present invention;

FIG. 2a is a front elevation view showing the stages of a folding operation of an article conveyed through the apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 2b is a series of top plan views of the stages of the folding operations illustrated in FIG. 2a;

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view but in enlarged scale of the wiping brush employed in the present apparatus;

FIG. 4 is an overall perspective view of the lower folding members employed in the apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of the upper portion of the apparatus of FIG. 1 but with various components not being shown for purposes of clarity;

FIG. 6 is a front elevational view of a modification of structure to move the two lower folding members of the apparatus of the present invention;

. FIG. 7 is a side elevational view of the apparatus of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a series of perspective views showing stages of a modified folding operation according to the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a front elevational view of a portion of a modified apparatus for performing the folding operation shown in FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a simplified elevational view of a portion of )tgie apparatus of FI'G. 9 and taken in the direction 0 Proceeding next to the drawings wherein like reference symbols indicate the same parts throughout the various views a specific embodiment and modifications of the present invention will be described in detail.

' As may be seen in FIG. 1 the folding apparatus of the present invention is indicated generally at 10 and comprises two opposite endless conveyor belts 11 which are supported upon upper pulleys 12, lower pulleys 13 and side pulleys 14. The belts 11 are positioned in a vertical plane with their spaced parallel vertical reaches defining a folding path 15.

Uniformly spaced along the conveyor belts 11 are gripping jaws 16 and 17 which protrude laterally outwardly of their respective belts. Detachably mounted on the jaws are foam rubber pads or drivers 18 to grip articles therebetween during movement through the folding path. The resilient nature of the drivers 18 equalizes any dilferences in the widths of the articles being wrapped. The jaws 16 and 17 have portions thereof extending laterally into the vertical parallel grooves :19 and 20 on the face of the apparatus 10 so as to prevent any outward movement of 1 4 the conveyor belts 11 transversely to the direction of travel.

The gripping jaws 16 and 17 have folding members 21 and 22 slidably mounted thereon for horizontal movement when the gripping jaws are moving upwardly along the folding path 15. The folding members are provided with rollers or followers 23 which move upwardly in cam grooves 24 and 25 mounted on the front face 26 of the apparatus. The previously mentioned vertical grooves 19 and 20 are also carried in the front face 26. After the folding members 50 and 55 have performed their functions on an article, the left folding element 21 is first projected and subsequently thereafter the right folding element 22 is projected, while the left folding element 21 has only already been withdrawn. Thus, as the gripping jaws move upwardly along the folding path the folding members 21 and 22 will be moved horizontally in response to the cam grooves to carry out folding operations as will be subsequently described.

The upper pulleys 12 are mounted on horizontal shafts 27 and 28 extending outwardly from the front face 26 of the apparatus.

The feeding arrangement for the articles G which are to be moved through the folding path is located below the lower pulley 13 and outwardly thereof. This feeding arrangement comprises a conveyor belt .30 trained around a reversing pulley 31 and has a horizontal upper reach upon which the incoming articles G are supported. The reversing pulley 31 is also mounted on the front face 26 of the apparatus.

A lifting ram 32 is mounted in the housing of the apparatus below the folding passage .15 and is movable vertically in both directions. The ram 32 is shown in greater detail in FIG. 3 and has a longitudinal passage 33 therein which is connected to a source of a vacuum. By applying a vacuum to the upper face of the ram 32 the article G will be prevented from flying oif upwardly and will be retained thereon until the article is gripped between a pair of gripping members at the lower end of the folding path.

A push-in lever 34 which is displaceable transversely with respect to the conveyor 30 is operable to transfer the articles G from the upper reach of the conveyor belt 30 into the lifting ram 32. A plate 35 having an opening 36 which corresponds to the shape of the article G is positioned in the path of movement of the ram 32.

The wrapping material which is to be wrapped around the articles G is supplied in the form of a web from a web supply which is mounted upon a supply roll 39. The supply roll 39 together with a feeding roll 40 supplies the wrapping material onto the plate 35. The feed roll 40 is also constructed as a cutting roll and partially separates the endless web into wrapper blanks H of the desired length. A roller 41 also rotates continuously and functions to tension the web and feed the web to a swinging feeding lever 42 carrying a frictional engagement member 43 which is lined with rubber and which engages in its forward movement the partially separated web to separate the partially separated blanks from each holder. The separated blank is moved onto the plate 35 over the opening 36 so as to be positioned over the lifting ram 32.

Positioned above the plate opening 36 and in the path of movement of the ram 32 is a Wipe-on brush 45 as shown in greater detail in FIG. 3. The bristles of the brush are substantially horizontal and are positioned so as to form a space which has substantially the same outline as the article G. The brush is provided with an extension 46 which extends upwardly into the lower portion of the folding path 1 5. This brush extension functions to hold the downwardly protruding edge portions of the wrapper blank as the article is being fed to the conveyor. This function will be described in greater detail when the operation of the apparatus is described.

The article and the wrapper blank is conveyed along the folding path through four folding stations. As the articles move upwardly through the folding passage at a constant speed the portions of the wrapper blank are progressively folded with the folding being completed at the upper end of the folding path. In the embodiment of the wrapping apparatus being described the wrapper blank is positioned over the top surface and the four side faces of the article as the article and a wrapper blank pass upwardly through the wipe-on brush.

The first folding station comprises a folding member or side folder 50 which is resiliently mounted on a lever 51 secured on the end of a shaft 52 extending horizontally out from the front face 26 of the wrapper apparatus. The shaft 52 is movable both axially and rotatably. As the shaft 52 moves laterally inwardly toward the apparatus front face the side folder is moved laterally into the folding path of the article and under the article which is being continuously moved upwardly. The pivotal movement of the shaft 52 in a counter-clockwise direction at the same time causes the side folder 50 to approach the bottom face of the article.

The second folding station comprises side folder 55 which is mounted upon a lever 56 extending from shaft 57 as may be seen in FIG. 4. The apparatus for controlling the movements of side folders '50 and .55 is best seen in FIG. 4. A connecting rod 58 is connected to the shaft 52 by means of a fork 53 and swings in a vertical plane during the longitudinal movement of shaft 52 which is driven by shaft 59. This swinging or pivotable movement of connected rod 58 rotates the shaft 52 and the side folder 150 is moved upwardly, when it is pulled to the right side in FIG. 4 by shaft 59. The second side folder 55 acts in the same manner. The shaft 57 which carries the side folder 55 is rotated by connecting rod 60 and the shaft 61 produces the axial movement of shaft 57 by a coupling linkage.

The third and fourth folding stations comprise the horizontal movement of the folding members 21 and 22 under control of the cam tracks '24, 25 as the followers 23- move vertically upwardly therethrough. For the third folding station the folding member 21 is moved horizontally into the folding path 15 after the article and wrapper has been acted upon by the side folder 55. Subsequently, in the fourth folding station folding member 22 is moved horizontally into the folding path 15 to complete the folding operation.

Upon completion of the folding operation the wrapped article is conveyed upwardly against a resiliently mounted stop member 65 which extends into the folding path .15 at the upper end thereof. As may be seen in FIG. 5, the stop member 65 may be supported by a spring 66 mounted against a stationary plate 67. As the wrapped article approaches the stop 65 a retaining plate '69 mounted on a lever 70 extending from shaft 27 approaches the article from below and swings upwardly at the same time, because, while the gripping jaws are still conveying the article upwardly, the jaws diverge as the conveyor belts pass over the respective upper pulleys 12. The article resting on the retaining plate 69 is moved rearwardly by a pusher 71 on lever 72 mounted on shaft 28. The article is pushed onto a conveyor belt 73 whose upper reach is approximately horizontal over the wrapping machine. At the forward end of the housing of the wrapper apparatus the conveyor belt 73 extends around a pulley 74- which is adjacent the folding path 15. The completely wrapped articles G are then carried away on the conveyor belt 73.

With reference to FIGS. 2a and 2b the basic folding operation of the present invention as performed at folding stations 1 and 2 of the apparatus in FIG. 1 will next be described. It has already been described above that an article G is moved upwardly by the ram 32 against a wrapper blank positioned over the opening 36: and plate 34 with the article and wrapper blank H being urged upwardly through the wipe-on brush 45. The wrapper blank H is thus positioned over the top and all side faces of the article G which is substantially square in plan section. The edge or margin portions R of the blank H protrude downwardly beyond the bottom face of the article. As the article G together with the wrapper blank I-I pass upwardly through the wipe-on brush 45 the brush extension 46 holds fast the downwardly protruding portions R of the wrapper blank during the upward movement until the article G and blank H have been gripped by the lowermost drivers 18 in the folding path. In this way, the article G is prevented from being thrown out upwardly when the lifting ram 3 2 is suddenly stopped at the limit of its upward movement. During the folding operation the article G is moved upwardly from its initial position A at the first folding station to an end position E. During this upward movement the article G and the wrapper blank H are held by oppositely disposed drivers 18-. The upward movement is apparent only in FIG. 2a and is not apparent from the top plan view in FIG. 2b.

At folding station 1, the edge portion R which could be nearest the .viewer as seen in FIG. 2a is folded against the bottom face of the article G.

In position A, the folding member 50 is still outside of the article G as will be apparent from the top plan view at position A in FIG. 2b. When viewed in a front elevation in position A the folding member 50 has not yet moved under the article G. The folding member 50 is now displaced along the shaft 52 to the edge portion R which is to be folded. Because the article G is moving upwardly, the folding member 50 must be pivotally moved upwardly to follow the article. In position B, the folding member 50 has just begun to contact from the outside the edge portion R which is to be folded so that the edge portion R has not as yet been moved relative to the article G in position B.

As the upward movement of article G continues, folding member '50 moves under the article (position C) and begins to fold the edge portion R At the same time, the folding member 50 continues to move upwardly toward the bottom face of article G. In position D, the folding member 50 has laterally moved almost completely under the article G and in its upward pivotal movement has almost reached the bottom of the article. In position E, the folding operation has been completed for the first edge portion R which is now folded fiat against the bottom face of the article.

It must be borne in mind that the shaft 52 does not change its position. For purposes of illustration only, the shaft 52 is shown five times for each of the five positions A to E. The upward movement of the conveyed article G is also exaggerated for purposes of clarity. In the top plan view of FIG. 2b, the article should only appear once in positions A to E. However such a drawing would not be clear so that five separate representations have been provided in the drawing.

In a similar manner, the edge portion R opposed from R is folded against the bottom face by the folding member 55.

At the third and fourth folding stations the folding operation of the wrapper margins R is somewhat different since these folds are carried out by the horizontally displaceable fold members 21 and 22. After emerging from the second fold station, fold member 21 is displaced toward the right into the folding path by its follower which is guided in the cam groove 24. The folding member 21 is thus moved horizontally toward the right to fold wrapper margin R against the bottom face of the article. After wrapper portion R has been folded against the bottom face the folding member 22 on the right in FIG. 1 is displaced to the left by the cam track 25. This movement will fold wrapper portion R against portion R which has already been folded against the bottom face. The continued upward movement of the conveyor belts and the gripper jaws which carry the horizontally displaceable fold member 22 will thus retract or move the fold member to the right away from the folding path to permit retaining plate 69 to come underneath the wrapped article.

The article is now conveyed further upwardly so that it is carried by the retaining plate 69 and pushed out by pusher 71 onto the conveyor belt 73 upon which the wrapped articles are removed from the wrapping appartus.

While the conveyor belts 11 carrying the drivers 18 are continuously driven at a constant speed, all other movable components of the wrapper apparatus as described in FIG. 1 operate intermittently with a cycle time which is equal to the time interval between two drivers moving past a given point on the folding path. As a result, an article is introduced between each pair of opposed drivers and the required folding operations are performed upon this article.

FIGS. 6 and 7 show a modified arrangement of the folding members 50 and 55 and of the structure for controlling them. The folding member 50 is rigidly secured to a collar 95 which is rigidly mounted on a shaft 96. The shaft 96 is rotatably and axially displaceable in a bearing block 97 which is positioned laterally outwardly of the folding path. The collar 95 and the first folding member 50 are shown in FIG. 6 on one side of the folding path and the second folding member 55 is mounted on a bushing 98 on the other side of the folding path. The bushing 98 is freely rotatable upon the shaft 96 but is fixed against axial movement by set collars 99. The shaft 96 is axially displaceable by means of a rod 100. The arrangement is such that in one position to which the shaft 96 is displaceable one folding member 50 is positioned under an article G in the folding path and in the other position to which the shaft 96 is displaceable the other folding member 55 is disposed beneath this article.

To carry out this displacing of the folding members 50 and 55, the collar 95 is pivotally connected by a connected rod 101 to a stationary pivot 102 and the bushing 98 is pivotally connected by a connecting rod 103 to a stationary pivot 104. As the rod 100 and shaft 96 are displaced axially the collar 95 and the bushing 98 with their respective folding members 50 and 55 will be pivotally moved around the shaft 87. In the left hand end position as shown in FIG. 6 folding member 50 is just in contact with the bottom face of an article G while folding member 55 has been retracted and swung out so as to be positioned completely outside of the folding path. After displacement of the shaft 96 to the other end position, folding member 50 will be retracted and swung out of the folding path and the folding member 55 will have been moved laterally into the folding path and pivoted upwardly under the article G which in the meantime has continued its upward movement by a distance corresponding to the vertical spacing of the two folding members 50 and 55 when they have been swung inwardly. In FIG. 7 the connecting rods 101 and 103 have been shown in relatively off-set positions for purposes of clarity. These connecting rods could be replaced by stationary cam tracks engageable by the collar 95 and the bushing 98 as these two elements are displaced longitudinally.

It is to be noted that in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 the folding members 50 and 55 move oppositely with respect to each other. The stroke of these folding members during their inward and outward pivotal movement depends on the adjustable length and the arrangement of the connecting rods 101 and 103. Both connecting rods have been shown as provided with means for adjusting the length thereof. Since the two folding members 50 and 5,5 are controlled by a reciprocable rod 100 which may be driven by the linkage, this structure is considerably simplified. The folding operations may suceed each other in shorter intervals. During each cycle of the intermittent movement the two folding operations are performed upon the article G in two successive vertical positions thereof.

A similar arrangement for moving folding members may be adopted for the other folding members 80 and 81 as shown in FIG. 5.

The apparatus as described above is primarily intended to perform a folding operation wherein the wrapper blank was initially positioned over the top and all side faces of the article. However, the present apparatus with some modification can also be employed to perform the'folding operation wherein the wrapper blank is initially placed over the top face and two opposed side faces of the article. The end faces of the article remain exposed as shown in position A in FIG. 8. In this folding operation only two edge portions R extend downwardly and two end portions St protrude laterally from the top face of the article G. The several stages of the folding operation are illus trated from A to F in FIG. 8 and the apparatus for performing this folding operation is illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 10. FIGS. 9 and 10 have been drawn to illustrate only those components which differ from the apparatus shown in FIGS. 3 to 7.

The apparatus of FIGS. 9 and 10 similarly comprises a pair of spaced conveyor belts 11 but, for purposes of clarity, these belts are not illustrated in the drawings. The belts are provided with gripper jaws 16 and 17 and mounted to each of the gripper jaws are guide members 105. The folding members 21 and 22 are slidably mounted in these guide members. The ends of the folding members remote from the articles G and the folding path 15 are provided with the guide rollers or followers 23 which engage cam tracks or grooves 106 and 107. The cam grooves 106 and 107 are disposed on the front face 26 of the apparatus similar to the cam grooves 24 and 25 of the apparatus of FIG. 1 but are shaped somewhat differently therefrom in a manner to be presently described. As can be seen in FIG. 9 the cam grooves 106 and 107 are stationary and extend upwardly and are disposed laterally of the folding path.

In order to fold the lower sub portions Str of the end portions St of the blanks H as shown in FIG. 8, there are provided folding members 110 and 111. Folding member 110 is mounted on a shaft 112v which is pivotally and longitudinally movably mounted in a guide member 113. Similarly, folding member 111 is mounted on shaft 114 which is pivotally and longitudinally movably mounted in the guide member 113. The guide member 113 is located laterally of the folding path 15. The longitudinal displacement of the shafts 112 and 114 may be carried out by a common drive means which alternately reciprocates the shafts. A pivotal movement of shafts 112 and 114 may be imparted by means similar to those described in the structure of FIGS. 6 and 7 wherein connecting rods were used.

Further along the folding path and above folding members 110 and 111 are positioned movable jaw-like lateral end folders 120. These end folders are positioned on the right and left of the folding path as seen in FIG. 9 and operate to fold the lateral sub portions Sts of the end portions St of the blank H. The movement-of the end folders may be derived from the folding members 110 and 111. As shown in FIG. 9, the end folders-120 are mechanically coupled to folding member 110 by a'rod 121 which is pivotally connected to an arm 122 extending laterally from one of the end folders 120. In a vertical central plane of the folding path which is at right angles to the plane of the drawing in'FIG. 9 the end folders 120 are pivotally connected at 123. I

A similar pair of end folders 120 is positioned. on the other side of the folding path as viewed in FIG. 950 as to act on the opposite end face of the article G.-All four lateral end sub portions Sis are thus simultaneously folded into engagement against the end faces of the article G in position E during the upward'movement of the fold-. ing member 110. i

Additional stationary folding members 125 may be positioned above the lateral end folders 120 and onboth sides opposite the end faces of the articles G as they move upwardly in the folding path from position E. As "the articles move upwardly, the upper sub portions Sta of the end portions St are contacted by the stationary folding members 125 to be folded against the end faces of the article as shown in position F.

As may be seen in FIG. 9, the cam track 107 which controls the transverse movement of the right hand folding member 22 is shaped to return the folding member 22 to its initial position after the folding members 110 and 111 have folded the lower end sub portions Str as in positions D and D After these sub portions have been folded, the edge portions R cannot spring back so that they need no longer be retained in their folded position by the folding member 22. During the movement of the articles through positions D and D the cam track 107 is so formed that the right hand folding member 22 remains held under the article G after the portion of the wrapper has been folded in position C. This presence of the folding member 22 is desirable to prevent any spring back of the folded edge portions during the subsequent folding operations performed at the end faces of the article G. Since the folding members 21 and '22 move upwardly concurrently with the upward movement of the articles G there is no need for any control structure for moving the folding members 21 and 22 to the bottoms of the article in the direction of travel thereof.

During the operation of the apparatus of FIGS. 9 and to perform the folding operation illustrated in FIG. 8 the guide rollers 23 will enter the lower end of their respective cam tracks 106 and 107 as their respective drivers grip an article G and its wrapper blank H therebetween. As the article G moves upwardly left hand folding member 21 is first displaced under the article G to fold the left hand edge margin R against the bottom face of the article as in position B. The right hand folding member 22 then becomes effective and is displaced by the cam track 107 to the left to fold the right hand portion R against the bottom face of the article G in a manner as shown in position C.

The folding member 22. remains in contact with the bottom face of the article G as the article continues to move upwardly.

The folding members 110 and 111 then fold the lower sub portions Str of the end portions St against the end faces of the article G. This folding is accomplished by a simultaneous axial displacing and pivotal movement of the respective folding members as indicated by the arrows in FIG. 10. The folding member 110 is operated first as shown in FIG. 10 and the sub portions on the other side of the folding path are then folded by the folding member 111 as in the position D and D As the article G continues its upward movement all four lateral end sub portions Sts are simultaneously folded into engagement with the end faces of the article G as shown in position E.

The article is completely wrapped in position F after the stationary folding members 129 have folded the upper sub portions S10 against the respective end faces of the article G. The completely wrapped article may now be removed from the folding path by a stop member and pusher arrangement together with a conveyor in the manner as described above.

It is pointed out that in the structure illustrated in FIG. 9 the article G is moved upwardly a distance a when the main driving shaft and the crank 86 complete one revolution. Therefore, a cycle of the apparatus corresponds to a distance a as travelled by the conveyor belts. During movement through the distance a, the folding members 110 and 111 are reciprocated once. The movement of the folding members 110 and 111 in one direction corresponds to a distance of a/ 2. For this reason, the folding members 110 and 111 are vertically spaced a distance a/ 2. The same arrangement may be employed if the folding members 50 and 55 illustrated in FIG. 1 are used.

In a further modification of the wrapper apparatus of the present invention there may be provided a vertical folding path through which the articles are conveyed downwardly with the folding path and the gripping jaws being shifted into a horizontal direction in the latter portion of the folding path. In such a modification the folding members for the last edge portion of portions R and/or sub-portions St of the end portions may be provided in the horizontal portion of the folding path. Known structure may be employed to change the direction of travel of the conveyor belts and the gripping jaws mounted thereon from a vertical direction to a horizontal direction. Since the articles are now moving horizontally at the discharge end of the folding path, the wrapped articles may simply be released as the gripping jaws are moved apart to be placed upon a conveyor belt moving in the same direction. As a result, additional control transfer devices are not required in this modification.

Thus it can be seen that the present invention has disclosed a most compact apparatus for wrapping articles and comprises relatively few parts which are driven or separately controlled. A previously known apparatus for performing the same wrapping operation had a weight of 800-1200 kilograms with a capacity of about Wrapped articles per minute. A wrapping apparatus according to the present invention would weigh about 200250 kilograms and have a capacity of 200 articles per minute. Further this apparatus would have relatively small dimensions so that a plurality of similar units can be mounted beside each other on a bench structure. Where such wrapping apparatus is employed in automatic production lines the articles which may include chocolates and other forms of candy can be wrapped by apparatus which are closely spaced one beside the other or one behind the other and may immediately succeed the machines for making the articles. Thus the articles are fed directly from the machines for making them to the wrapping apparatus. The wrapping apparatus then delivers the wrapped articles to further processing stations such as packaging apparatus.

It will be understood that this invention is subject to modification in order to adapt it to different uses and conditions.

What is claimed is:

.1. In an apparatus for wrapping an article having top and bottom faces interconnected with side faces with a wrapper blank, the combination of means for positioning a wrapper blank on the top and all side faces of the article with edge portions of said blank protruding beyond said bottom face, means for conveying continuously a series of articles having wrapper blanks positioned thereon along a folding path in a direction normal to the bottom faces of the articles, said conveying means comprising a plurality of gripping means with each gripping means gripping the same article as the articles are conveyed along the folding path, first folding element means along said folding path for folding edge portions of the wrapper blank around the article, means for moving said first folding element means independently of said gripping means laterally into the folding path in a direction transverse to the movement of the conveyed articles and transverse to the botom faces of the articles in the direction of travel thereof, second folding element means movably carried on said conveying means, and stationary cam means engageable with said second movable folding element means to move said folding element means into said folding path to fold edge portions of the wrapper blank.

2. In an apparatus as claimed in claim 1 with said folding path being vertical and said articles being moved upwardly therealong.

3. In an apparatus as claimed in claim 2 with means at the upper end of said folding path for withdrawing the wrapped articles, said article withdrawing means comprising a resiliently mounted stop extending into the path of articles emerging from said folding path and engageable by said articles, a retaining plate movable into said folding path to engage the bottom face of a wrapped article, and pusher means for pushing the articles laterally from between the stop and the retaining plate.

4. In an apparatus as claimed in claim 1 with there being a plurality of said first folding element means at the beginning of said folding path, there being a plurality of said second folding element means on said conveying means and movable into said folding path successively after said first folding element means.

5. In an apparatus as claimed in claim 1 with said conveying means comprising a pair of spaced endless belts in substantially the same plane with portions of said belts being parallel to define said folding path.

6. In an apparatus as claimed in claim 1 with said second folding element means being slideably mounted beneath said gripping means.

' 7. In an apparatus as claimed in claim 1 with said first and second folding element means'folding edge portions of the wrapper blank against the bottom face of the article.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 10 THERON E. CONDON, Primary Examiner N. ABRAMS, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R.

Images