US2981541A - Mechanism for feeding wrapping material to a wrapping machine - Google Patents

Description

April 25, 1961 A. SERAGNOLI MECHANISM FOR FEEDING WRAPPING MATERIAL TO A WRAPPING MACHINE Filed April 9, 1957 mvermm Rriosfo Seragnoh By MOQ mrorznsys States Patent '0 NIECHANISM FOR FEEDING WRAPPING MATE- RIAL TO A WRAPPING MACHINE Ariosto Seragnoli, Via Indipendenza 56, Bologna, Italy Filed Apr. 9, 1957, Ser. No. 651,759

Claims priority, application Italy Apr. 12, 1956 1 Claim. Cl. 271-82) In automatic wrapping machines it is generally necessary to successively move strips of wrapping material, such as paper, cellophane and other suitable materials, which hereinafter for simplicitys sake will be termed paper, to a station for starting the wrapping operation, above or in front of the articles to be wrapped up.

The paper strips may be withdrawn from piles of previously cut strips, or they may be unwound from a paper bobbin, cut to the proper length and taken by conveying means up to the station for starting the wrapping operation.

If the strips are cut from a band unwound from a bobbin, in general considerable difficulties are encountered, especially if the operation is performed at a high rate of speed, to keep in step the operation for unwinding the paper from the bobbin and the means intended to cut the paper strips and to convey them to the wrapping station.

Attempts have been made to eliminate these inconveniences by means of intermediate accumulating bags which permit the heavy bobbins to unwind with a nearly constant speed, whereas the difference between the quantity of unwound paper and that which every time is withdrawn by the conveying and cutting members is accumulated in or delivered from the bag.

However, these systems give rise to drawbacks, especially if the operation is to be performed at fast rates.

The present invention deals with a mechanism to cut from a paper band small strips and to convey them to a station for starting the wrapping operation, and it is characterized in that the unwinding of the paper from the bobbin is performed at a constant speed, without the interposition of bags; the cut is effected on the moving band by means of a rotating blade and the strips which are cut off are gripped by special pincers and taken one at a time to a wrapping station.

A preferred form of embodiment of the present invention is disclosed by way of example only, without any limitation, in the following specification,'with reference to the annexed drawing, in which:

- 2 by which the paper band advances during the time in which blade performs a revolution.

Moreover, the invention comprises pincers 29, 35 for gripping and conveying paper strip 27, cut off by blade 25, to a wrapping station 28, which canbe seen on the left hand side in the figures.

The pincers comprise a body 29 rotating in a support carried by the slide 31, whichlatter can slide axially, but not rotate within the support 32 secured to a base by means not shown.

Body 29 at its lower end is integral with a gear 33,

and engaging a roller 40 carried by the lever 38.

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic vertical section of the mechanisrn, according to line II-II of Fig. 2;

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic partial plan view of the mechanism.

In both figures two different phases of operation of the mechanism are represented, which are marked with the letter a and with the letter b, respectively.

The mechanism according to the preferred form of embodiment described comprises: two unwinding rollers 20, 21 rotating at a constant speed in the direction of arrows 45, 46, which rollers unwind a paper band 22 from a bobbin, not shown, and cause it to advance at a constant speed in the direction of arrow 23.

The unwound paper band passes above a stationary blade 24 and below a movable blade 25 which likewise On the left hand side b of Figures land 2 a portionof a feeding disc of the usual type 41 is shown, provided with holes which are entered by the articles to be wrapped up 42. The disc rotates intermittently and successively causes every hole with the article contained therein to'rest in a removal station 28.

The portion b of Figure 1 shows the station 28 for re-. moving the articles from the holes and for starting the;

wrapping operation, in which station the article to be wrapped up 42 is located above an elevator 43 and a. counter-elevator 44.

The paper strip 27 is just being conveyed between the counter-elevator and the article.

The operation is as follows: By suitably adjusting the movement, the operation takes place in such manner that in the instant in which the rotating blade 25 cuts a strip 27, the 29, 35 are positioned on the right hand side a of Figure 1, while the small rod 37 under the action of lever 38 keeps open said pincers.

While blade 25 cuts the strip 27, cam 39 leaves pulley 40 and lever 38 moves downwards so as to permit the closure of the pincers: this arrangement is that shown in at a in Fig. l.

Subsequently slide 31, which is moved for instance by a cam, not shown, moves to the left thus causing the support 30 to rotate simultaneously around its axis and producing a translatory motion from right to left of the pincers and of the sheet pressed by the latter.

The rotation is produced by the rolling movement of toothed wheel 33 upon the stationary rack 34.

The displacement to the left of slide 31 is continued until the toothed wheel 33 engaged in the rack 34 has caused the pincers to perform one half of a revolution; this position of the pincers and of the strip is indicated in Figure 1 on the left hand side b, showing the strip 27 which, owing to the translatory motion and the rotation it has undergone through the pincers, has moved above the article to be wrapped up 42, between such article and the counter-elevator 44, in the wrapping station 28.

At this stage, cam 39 again causes rod 37 to be lifted and finger 35 of the pincers to be simultaneously opened, so that strip 27 is abandoned upon article 42.

At the same time, elevator 43 and counter-elevator 44 approach each other, clamping strip 27 and the article to be wrapped up 42, thereupon elevator 43 simultaneous ly moves upwards with counter-elevator 44, thus conveying the article to be wrapped into a wrapipng machine.

In the meantime, while cam 39 keeps. raised the small rod 37 and keeps open the finger 35 of the pincers, the slide 31 moves to the right, thus conveying the pincers to Patented Apr. 25, 1961 the, position as shown at a in Fig. 1, but into the open position to receive a fresh strip 27.

At this stage starts a new cycle for cutting, gripping those skilled in the artthat a number of changes and;

modifications may be introduced without thereby departing from the spirit and the objects of the invention, and the appended claim is intended to cover all those alternate forms of embodiment and modifications which fall under the objects of the inventionitself.

What I claim is:

In a wrapping machine, in combination with a pair of rotary unwinding rollers for feeding a wrapping sheet, cutting. means for successively cutting off strips from said sheet; and two elevator members extending transversely to said sheet, at least one of said elevator members being movable toward the other elevator member to engage a cut-off sheet strip; a mechanism for feeding the cut off sheet strip to said elevator members, said mechanism comprising a stationary support, aslide axially slidable in said support, a tubular support firmly connected with said slide, a rotary tubular member within the last-mentioned support,vpincers located between said cutting means and said elevator members and comprising a pincer element firmly connected with said rotary tubular member and located outside of thelast-mentioned support, and another pincer element cooperating with the first-mentioned pincer element and pivotally mounted thereon, said pincer elements extending in the direction of the cut off sheet strip and when open being adapted to. receive the out 01f sheet strip fed by said uwinding rollers, a stationary rack ex: tending parallel to said stationary support, a gear firmly connected with said rotary tubular member and meshing with said rack, means reciprocating said slide, whereby said pincers are swingable about an axis extending transversely to the direction'of the feed movement of said wrapping, sheet substantially degrees from a position adjacent said cutting means to a position adjacent said elevator members and vice versa, the out 011 sheet strip carried by the pincers remaining substantially in the same plane during the swinging movement of the pincers, a swigable lever extending substantially parallel to said guide, a rotary cam actuating said lever, and a rod located within said rotary tubular member and extending transversely to said pincers, said rod having one end engaging said lever and another end engaging said other pincer element for opening and closing said pincers in timed relationship to the stroke of said reciprocating slide.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 345,222 Fenner July 6, 1886 852,663 Igou May 7, 1907 1,839,438 Prussing Jan. 5, 1932 1,893,460 Tilton Jan. 3, 1933 2,071,123 Hubelmeyer Feb. 16, 1937 2,200,123 Roedels May 7, 1940 2,501,835 Barber Mar. 28, 1950 2,668,590 DeWitt et al. Feb. 9, 1954- 2,776,004 Carlson Jan. 1, 1957

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