Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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I~ChGROU~D Ol~` THE I~']'~-TIO~
1. Field of the In~elltion:
This inver.tion relates to a packagirlg machine,
and more particularly to i71provements in a so-called
semiautomatic packaging machine of the type ~hich is
not equipped ~ith a band guidiTIg arch.
2. Description of the Prior Art:
An example of a semiautomatic packaging machine
typical of the art~is sho~-n in Fig. 1. In accordance
~ith the construction and operation of the machine as
sho~n, an appropriate length of a band 3 wound upon
a reel 2 mounted cn the ~achine frame 1 is delivered
by a suitable band delivery mechanism from a band
delivery portion 6 provided in the channel 5 of a
front plate 4. The delivered length of band is then
manually wound around an article for packaging placed
on a ~orktable 7, and the end of the band is subsequent-
ly iAserted into the machirle from a band insertion
member 8, as illustrated in Fig. lB, which is dis-
posed adjacent the delivery portion of the channel 5.
Thereafter, the mechanism housed in the frame 1 tight-
ens, fuses and severes the tape 3 to provide the pack-
aged article. This arrangement is not limited to so-
called transverse-typ~ sem.iauto~,atic packaging machines
as depicted in Fig. 1 but is also applied to longi-
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tudinal-type semiautomatic packaging machines in which
the ~ront plate 4 is horizolltally disposed.
In conventional packaging machines o~ the type
described, an article when placed on the worktable
often obstructs access to the band insertion member
8 if the article is large in size, and it therefore
becomes impossible to insert the end of the band. This
necessitates the troublesome operation of adjusting
the height of the~worktable 7 in order to expose the
band insertion member 8. Nevertheless, it is still
impossible ln some cases to package a large article
since the extent to which the worktable can be adjust-
ed in height is limited. In addition to these dis-
advantages, the conventional packaging machine has
still another de~ect in that it is necessary to re-
operate the band delivery mechanism in cases where
the delivered length of band is insuf~icient and thus
too short to be wound around the article. This is be-
cause the band is delivered only by constant amounts
through the use of a timer.
BRIEF SUM~ARY OF THE INVENTION
It is a general object of the present invention
to avoid the disadvantages of the conventional pack-
aging machines such as described above.
A specific object Pf the present invention is to
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provide a band guiding mechanism in a packaging machine capable
of efficiently packaging articles regardless of their size.
According to the present invention, the foregoing and
other objects are attained by a band guiding mechanism which
includes band guiding flaps adapted to be opened and closed,
the latter including a drive roller and driven rollers which
come into sliding contact to guide a band from an insertion member
to a control unit equipped with means for suitably manipulating
the band so as to package an article.
Thus, the present invention is generally defined as a
band guide mechanism for a machine of the type including a frame
body, a band delivery mechanism, a band insertion member, a
worktable on which an article to be packaged is placed, and
means for tightening, fusing and severing the band which has
been wrapped around an article placed on the worktable. The band
guide mechanism includes a control unit housed in the frame body.
Means define a band guide channel having a band insertion end
adjacent the insertion member and at least one movable wall which
is movable between a closed position and an opened position
whereat a length of band may move ~ransversely outwardly of the
channel. A drive roller is mounted adjacent the band insertion
end of the channel and at least a portion of the periphery of
the drive roller extends into the channel. A driven roller
mounted for movement with each of the at least one movable wall
has at least a portion of its periphery extending into the
channel for opposed frictional engagement with the periphery
of the drive roller in the closed position of the movable wall
so as to thereby drive a length-of band disposed between the
periphery of the rollers along the channel.
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The exact nature of the present invention, as
well as other objects and advantages thereof, will he readily
apparent from consideration of the following specification
relating to the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Fig. lA is a perspective view of a semiautomatic packaging
machine according to the prior art;
Fig. lB is a perspective view of an insertion member included
in the packaging machine of Fig. lA;
Fig. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a packaging machine
equipped with a band guiding mechanism embodying the present
invention;
Fig. 3 is a schematic, longitudinal sectional view
illustrating a packaging machine equipped with the
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band guiding mechanism of the present invention;
Figs. 4 and 5 are enlarged views illustrating the
band guiding mechanism of the present invention;
Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line A-A
of Fig. 5; and
Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken along the line B-B
of Fig. 6.
DETAILED DESCRI~TION OF THE INVENTION
Referring now to Figs. 2 and 3 for a detailed
description of a preferred embodiment of the present
invention, a packaging machine frame designated gen-
erally at 10 houses a control unit C which includes y
various well-known mechanisms required for packaging,
such as a band bonding mechanism or the like. The f~nt
plate 11 of machine frame 10 includes a channel 12
at approximately the center thereof, and a band in-
sertion member 13 is attached to the top of the frame
at the upper end of the channel 12. A band guiding
flap mechanism 20 extending from the band insertion
member 13 to the control unit C housing the required
pac~aging mechanisms, is openably and closably pro-
vided on the channel 12, the band guiding flap mech-
anism 20 beinB mounted such that its lower end con-
fronts the upper end of a sliding table 14, as shown
in ~ig. 3.
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According to the arrangement of the band guiding
flap mechanism 20, as shown in more detail in Figs.
4 through 7, brackets 24, 24 are fixedly secured at
the sides of respective flap-shaped opening-closing
pieces 23, 23 whose sides on the band insertion end
are bent. The brackets 24, 24 axially support re-
spective driven rollers 25, 25 in a freely rotatable
manner and allow the driven rollers 25, 25 to face in-
wardly of the opening-closing pieces 23, 23 through notches
26, 26 formed therein. The end of a bandway 27
is bent and ~the bandway attached to the frame lO by -
fixedly securing the bent portion thereof to the frame ;
via a hinge or the like. A drive roller 32 is provided
on a shaft 31 having a pulley 30 connected to a drive
mechanism via a belt 29, and is faced inwardly of the
opening-closing pieces 23, 23 through a notch 28 in
the bandway 27 so as to come into sliding contact with
the driven rollers 25, 25. Further~ the band guiding
~lap mechanism 20 is arranged to be freely opened and
closed by mean~ of hinges 33, 33 provided on the open-
ing-closing pieces 23~ 23 which are connected to re-
spective legs 34, 34 projecting from below the band-
way 27, the opening-closing pieces 23, 23 being biased
closed by a coil spring 35.
Fig. 4 illustrates the band guiding flap mech~
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anism 20 in the mounted state. Specifically, the band
guiding flap mechanism 20 is attached to a supporting
member 16, extending from a machine rack 15, by means
of a nut and a screw 43 fixedly secured to the bottom
of bandway 27 of the band guiding flap mechanism. The
open, lower end of the band guiding flap mechanism 20
is arranged to face the sliding table 14.
The packaging machine further includes a work-
table 18, pedestal 19 and supporting plate 36 for the
shaft 31.
The.actions and effects of the packaging machine
constructed as described above will now be described. I
Referring now to Fig. 3, a band B, a fiXed amount
Or which has been delivered by a timer, is wrapped
around an article W and the end of the band is inserted
into the insertion member 13, whereupon the band B
is embraced between the drive roller 31 and driven
rollers 25~ 25 which are rotating in sliding con-
tact with the drive roller 31.` The band therefore
advances into the band guiding flap mechanism 20 and
soon reaches a band strip guide, not shown, at the
back of the sliding table 14 of the control unit C.
At this time a well-known limit switch or the like
is actuated to immediately operate a band tightening
mechanism. At the same time as the band-tightening
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operation? the flaps 23, 23 of the band guiding flap
mechanism 20 are pushed open so that the band B flies
out from therebetween. Thus, the band B is completely
wound around the article W and tightened and subse-
quently severed and fused to complete the packaging
operation. After the band has reached the control
unit C, the steps up until the tightening of the band
are instantaneously performed through electronic con-
trol even in cases where the drive roller 32 is arrang-
ed to constantly rotate. As a result, the band will not
jam in the-band guiding flap mechanism even if the band is
delivered to an excessive degree. The band tightenlng
operation also will not be affected.
In the above arrangement, the driven rollers
25, 25 are provided at the end of a single band guid-
ing flap mechanism and the drive roller 32 is mounted
in sliding contact with the driven rollers so as to
from a single continuous band guiding path ~rom the
band insertion member to the lower surface of the
sliding table 14. However, in an example of another
possible arrangement, the band guiding flap mechanism
20 may be cut o~f below the driven rollers 25, 25,
a band auxiliary feed mechanism adopted wherein the
driven rollers 25, 25 and driye roller 32 are mounted
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~ithin the frame or outside the fr~me so as to freely
contact and separate from each other, with another
band guiding flap mechanism being proYided in such a
manner that its opening portion faces the band exit
side of the band auxiliary feed mechanism. In other
words~ it is possible to adopt a structure wherein
a band auxiliary feed mechanism and band guiding flap
portions are separately arranged in a continuous manner.
Such an arrangement allows the length of the other
band guiding flap portion to be suitably modified
even in t~e case of packaging machines ha~ing differ-
ent lengths from the band insertion portion to the
control unit C. It is therefore possible to work the
present invention is a simple manner.
It is also possible to adopt an arrangement in
which the rotation of the drive roller 32 is controlled
by a limit switch(not shown) provided at the band inser-
tion member 13, so that the band delivery mechanism of
the control unit C is re-actuated by the insertion of
the band, and then shut off when the end of the band
reaches the control ur,it C. If this construction is
adopted, it is possible to eliminate the operation of
depressing a switch pro~ided on the frame for the
purpose of re-actuating the band delivery mechanism
e~en if the already fed band is not sufficient for
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wrapping around a large article.
In accordance with the band guiding mechanism
of the present invention as described above, the in-
sertion of the band end can be greatly simplified,
and articles of any size can be packaged without ad-
justing the height of the worktable. It is also possible
to guide the band toward the control unit C after in-
serting it from any position. In other words, the
band can be inserted from underneath the frame, from
the horizontal direction, or from a position in which
the band guiding flap portion is disposed close to
the frame or re~ote therefrom. In addition, if the
band guiding flap mechanism 20 is detachably mounted
on the machine rack or the like, maintenance and in-
spection of the control unit C and the setting of the
band become very simple operations. These advantages
permit a simple and rapid packaging operation not
heretofore possible in the conventional semiautomatic
paclcaging machines.
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