Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
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"}IIGH SPEED WRAPPING MACHINE"
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` ~ BACKGRC)UNI~ OF THE -INVENTION
~ great many wrapplng machines are known in
the art Applicant will submit a separate statement
of known prior art but the prior art may be summari-
zed b~ saying that wrapping machines for such products
as paper towels and napkins, rolls of tissue, and the
like for wrapping individual products or groups o~
products have not been able to achieve the high
speeds which are now needed to wrap economically
the output of other machines now available for
J 10 producing the products. Either it has been necessary
to provide an undue number of wrapping machin~ and
to divide pxoduct streams among them or other machinery
must be opera~ed at the spe~ds previous wrapping
machines could sustain. One reason or such limi-
1~ ta~ions has been changes in the directions of move-
ment of a product as it was being ~rapped. Such a
change imposes an upper limit on wrapping speed,
particularly if the change is a deviation from the
direction of movement of the product and then a re-
turn to the previous path. Stopping and starting ofthe product or great changes in speed impose similar
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limitations. In order to speed the flow of products
through the wrapping machine it was necessary to
devise a number of novel mechanisms and to inter-
connect them in such a way that either a single
product or a group of products coula be oriented
with respect to the path through the wrapping
machine andpa55edalong that path with substantially
continuous motion while being wrapped.
The machine will be described with greater
particularity below but in addition to the advan-
tage that the product moves substantially in a line
and.substantially at a single speed which allows
very high wrapping speeds, my structure has the
advantage of pro~ucing a seal to secure the wrapper
at the narrow rear face of the product group rather
than on the broad face, permitting a neater pack-
age with better arrangement of the text which appears
on the wrapper. My device also contains a number
of novel mechanisms for assuring that the wrapper
remains smooth and to pass the wrapper about the
product in a unique way and contains novel means
fvr dooperation between eleme~ts of conveyors,
the wrapper, and the product to bring separate
products of a product group tightly together just
before the wrapper is closed and sealed to produce
a tight neat package at speeds which are easily
twice those achievable becre.
SU~RY 0~ THE INVENTION
~ . . .
Several distinct sub-inventions are combined
in this application~
A novel transfer mechanism to move articles
or ~roups of articles from a conveyo.r standing at
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any angle to the wrapping ~achine to the first
con~eyor of the wrapping machine itself consists
of v~e or more product transferring elements which
may consist of L-shaped arms mounted on a rotating
mechanism in the included angle between an infeed
conveyor and the wrapping ma~hine conveyor. These
arms are pivoted on a rotating member and each is
provided with a cam-track which cooperates with a
cam~follower on a second rotating member on an
axis offset from the axis of the first member but
' driven at the same speed. By appropriate design
of the c~ms the transfer arms are able to pick up
an article or groups of articles from the infeed
conveyor and change their direction of movement
to that of the wrapping machine either with, or
without the change in the orientation of the articles
and without disturbance of a grouping of articles
which are tD be wrapped together, after which the
transfer arm retracts in a path that carries it sideways
and out of the way of the wrapping machine, there-
after extending itself behind another product or
group of products on the infeed conveyor to repeat
the cycle without having to start and stop the
product group for the direction change. This mecha~
nism would be adaptable to machinery other than
wrapping machines where the articles were to change
directions rapidly without stopping.
In addition, a variation of the transfer
mechanism serves as a tucker to make an end fold in
which the tucker arm moves out and sideways as it
retracts, to avoid pulling out the fold just made.
The parts are essentially the same as those of the
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trans~ex n`ec~ani~m excepting cam shapes.
Ano,her aspect of my invention is the use of
a belt thickened over part of its length to guide the
wrapper away from rotatlng parts that would deflect
it from entering a narrow slot accurately at high
speed but cease acting on the wrapping to allow it
to move in the reverse direction.
Another aspect of my inven ion is the use of
vacuum wheels toed out slightly from each other to
grasp a wrapper and change its direction of move-
ment while pulling laterally on it to keep it smooth
and allow as little sagging or billowing as possible.
A vacuum port open between the vacuum wheels assists
by reducing air pressure ahead of fast moving products
and behind ~he wrapper. Film tran~ort belts may be angled.
More generally, m~ invention comprises a
method and apparatus for high speed wrapping which
moves a product to be wrapped at high generally con-
stant speed in a substantially straight path, feeds a
wrapper entirely at one side of the pa h more ahead
of the product than behind it, moves the leading edge
of the wrapper across the path to envelop three sides
of the product, pulls the wrapper and any separate
articles in the product being wrapped snugly together
in a novel way including trapping one back edge o~
the wrappe~ and applying differential friction to
different parts of-the wrapper, then completing
closure of he back and ends of the package with the
novel tuckers and other closure mechanisms.
DRAWINGS
Figs. 1 through 11 are a series of perspective
views showing the sequence of steps in the wrapping
process~
Fig. 12 is a top plan view showing my novel
article transfer device between an infeed conveyor
and a wrapping machine conveyor.
Fiq_ 13 is a top plan view of a tucker mecha-
nism to form an end fold in the wrapper and showingthe trajectory of the tip of the tucker arm, parti-
cularly the way it tilts to the side as it backs out
of the fold using mechanism similar to Fig. 12,
Fig. 14 is a side elevational view showing
the portion of my machine in which pre-cut sheets
of wrapping approach the product conveyor from above
and are disposed alongside the product with the
leading edge of the wrapper very substantiall~ ahead
o~ the leading edge of the product to be wrapped and
further showing that portion of the machine in which
a novel aDay of vacuum wheels and belts move the
wrappex down across the front of the product as the
product passes by a lower slot in the conveying sec-
tion to lea~e the wrapper disposed along the top,
front, and bottom of the product as it moves to the
right in the drawing.
Fig. 15 is a fragmentary top plan view of
the slot section where the wrapper is passing down-
wardlyO
Fig. 16 is a vertical cross-sectional view
through the slot section.
- Fig. 17 is a fragmentary top plan view
showing additional details ~f the belts and rollers
in the slot section.
Fig. 18 is a detail of two rollers and
associated belts in the slot section.
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Fig 19 is a fragmentary top view of a por-
tion of the vacuum wheel and a belt as~ociated with
it as the wrapper moves downwardly in the slot sec-
tion~
Fig. 20 is a side elevational view of a chain
driven paddle conveyor which takes over from the
belt conveyor just after the slot section.
Fig. 21 is a detail view of the same con-
veyor showiny groups o~ products being pulled to-
gether and a wrapper being tightened by a novelconfiguration of parts and materials in this sec,ion
of the conveyor.
Fig. 22 is a ~ragmentary view similar to
Fig. 21
1~ Fig~ 23 is a lateral cross-sectional view
showing coopera~ing paddles of upper and lower
paddle conveyors and air jets which assist in m~king
end folds.
Fig, 24 is a side elevational view of the
mechanism that carries the support arms.
Fig. 25 is a bottom plan view of the
mechanism that carries the support arms.
Fig. 26 is a side elevational view of the
section of my macAine in which the end folds are
made and in which the rear seals are accomplished.
Fig. 27 is a side view similar to Fig. 14
but in a plane through the vacuum wheels to show super-
imposed timing belts carrying the side margins of
the wrapper sheet. Not shown is the support mecha-
nisnl to toe out the lower belt sli~htly to smocththe sheet laterally.
Fig. 28 is a top plan view of the slot
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section of my machine where the wrapper is trans-
ferred across the product path.
DESCRIPTION
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Although the disclosure hereof is detailed
5- and exact to enable those skilled in the art to
- practice the inven~ion, the physical embodiments here-
in disclosed merely exemplify the invention which may
be embodied in other specific structure. While
the best known embodiment has been described, the
details may be changed without departing from the
invention, which is defined by the claims.
The machine of this invention has a number
of sections whic}l cooperate to achieve the overall
result. Each of the sections will be described very
generally and will then be descriked in greater de~
tail. Unless the context indicates otherwise ~2e
wor~ "product" refers either to a single article/
such as a roll of paper tissue or towelling, or to
a single group of articles to be wrapped in one
wrapper.
-; First of all is the direction changing
mechanism (Fig. 12) which brings the product to be
wrapped from an infeed conveyor extending from a
different direction to conveying means in the wrap-
ping machine which thereafter transport the p oduct
continuously in a single direc.icr.. The direction
changing means are unique in their mode of action
in that although they change the direction of product
movement, they do not change the orientation of the
product, and do rot significantly change its speed,
utilizing a mechanical motion believed to be unique
and which may be utilized in other devices, such as
my tucker
After entering the wrapper machine proper
through the direction changing mechanism, the product
passes beneath a wrapping film supply section (Fig.
14) fed from a roll of wrapping material from which
sheets of wrapping film are cut and supplied to lie
in a horizontal plane above the product supported
by conveying structure that will ~e described latex.
(Fig. 1) The wrapping ~ilm is supplied in a speci-
) fic relationship to the product such that an amount
of film sufficient to wrap the forward side, bottom
and part of the back of the product extends ahead
of the product as it moves down the conveyor, the
remainder extending above and behind the product.The wrapper is carried between pairs of belts moving
beside the product at the same speed.
As the product and wrapping film proceed
down the conveyor from the film supply area the
lower wrapper carrying belts turn on vacuum wheels
so the edge of the wrapping film is brought downward
ahead of the product (Fig. 14) by engagement with
the vacuum wheels which are rotating on either side
of the product with axes that are not quite transverse
to the conveyor but are skewed or toed outward slight-
ly to create a slight outward pull on the wrapping
film as it moves downwardly in contact with the
vacuum rolls. The vacuum wheels must grip lightly
to prevent wrinkles. As the forward edge moves
downwardly it is stripped from the vacuum wheels by
belts which nip it lightly and assure its continued
travel vertically downward as it leaves the vacuum
roll. A large number of belts and rolls in this
vertical slot smo~th and control the wrapper. As the
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product moves over the slot area in which the wrap~
ping film was pulled downwardly, the film is pulled
taut at the forward edge of the product and is
withdrawn from its downward extension into the slot
to cover the bottom surface of the product as the
product advances so that the film now extends in a
horizontally disposed U from behind the product at
the top around the top, front, bottom, to
behind the product at the bottom ~Fig. 2~.
~ 1~Previous to this point both the film and the
-~ product have been conveyed on belts but the product
now enters a portion of the conveyor (Figs. 20-23)
comprising stationary upper and lower rails with
paddles moving behind the product to advance it and
to fold the wrapper back of the product~ These
paddles fold the upper film down over the back of the
product lFig. 3) and because they are advancing the
product hold the film tightly. As shown in Figs. 21-22,
at this stage when groups of articles make up a pro-
2~ duct to be wrapped, there may be a droop in thewrapping film between products of a group, either
because the g~oup has separated slightly or for other
reasons. To produce a neat smooth wrap the articles
should touch or even compress together. In my machine,
with the ~pper portion vf the film held tightly
against the back of the product by the advancing
paddles (Figs. 3 and 21-22) the friction of the pass-
age of the products and film along the conveyor bars
cause very slight drag on the film. The upper sta-
tionary bars of the conveyor axe selected from materialand finish having slightly less friction than the lower
stationary bars of the conveyor, with the result that
with the film nipped between the advancing paddles of
the conveyor and the back of the product, and greater
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friction on the lower portion of the film than the
upper portion of the film, the film is gradually
pulled around the lower side of the product a tiny
amount which snugs the articles in the group tightly
S together and pulls the wrapping film tightly about
them. t~ig. 21-22)
It is a major objective of this invention to
wrap products by moving them linearly without stop-
ping in a manner such that the products to be wrap~
pea are wrapped tightly by the film to produce a
-~3 package which is compact and free of wrinkles. A
secondary but still major objective is to seal the
package so proauced on a narrow edge which in the
direction of product travel in my machine is a rear
surface, particularly where multiple articles are
being wrapped. The xear surface being one of the
narxow surfaces of the package this permits maximum
printed display area on the broad surfaces o~ the
package which is not defaced by a seal. In this
~0 machine the objective is achieved r~gardless o~ the
number of articles in a package, the number typically
ranging from one or two 11 inch rolls of toweling
~hrough one, two, or four rolls of toilet tissue.
Other articles may be wrapped.
During this period support fingers (Figs. 3-5
and 23-25) approach the product at the side and
move up to support that portion of the film that ex-
tends sidewardly or transversely from the product~
In the same section of the machine the paddle type
conveyor that has previously ~een described as coming
down in back of the product from above to nip the
film against the product to allow tightening travels
upwardly at a slight angle to the product path while
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a lowe~ chain carrying upwardly extending paddles
travels from below at a slight upward angle to the
product path so that as the upward paddle is with-
drawn, the lower paddle moves upwardly to take
its place, folding the film upwardly around the back
of the product at the same time. (Figs. 4~23 and
26) Both the lower paddles and the upper paddles
are discontinuous so that a mechanism can later
come in to make a first attachment of the lower film
to the upper ~ilm to retain the tight configuration
) of the wrapping about the product at a later time.
If the wrapper is plastic film as generally described
~Iroughout, the mechanism is a tack welding wheel to
bond the plastic Other wrapper stock and sealing
means are possible.
sefore ~his time the laterally extending
fingers are withdrawn from supporting the upper
film, (Figs~ 3-5~. An air-jet (Fig. 6) pushes thP
upper film downwardly at the ends of the package to
make the first end fold. A tucker (Figs. ~,11,
and 13) makes an end fold and the package then
moves into a conventional end folding section o~ the
machine which folds the remaining side portions of
the film to make end folds. The tack-welding is
then accomplished (Fig. 8) between the paddles of the
lower paddle conveyor, which then withdraw downward.
The product moves between belts ~hat engage the ends
of the product ~Fig 9) which serve to convey the
product down the product path as a full back seal bar
comes in to permanently seal the back seam. The
package then moves between end sealing belts (Fig.
10) producing a completely sealed product while the
package continues its path.
~8~ 2
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As shown in Fig. 11, the sealing is effected
in just the same wa~ if the product group includes
more than one product. Fig. 11 may represent the
wrapping either of two rolls of towel or four rolls
of toilet tissue. Thus, Figs. 1 through 10 schema-
tically represent the steps in applying the film to
the product ~o form a ~omplete package while Fig. 11
represents a view like that of Fig. 7 where more than
one product is involved in the axial direction of
lD product flow.
-~ The linear path of product flow is the path
extending horizontally from one end to the other
end of the wrapping machine. The product moves
without substantial deviation in direction or speed
while it is being wrapped. The linear product path
could be other than horizontal, but as the pre~erred
form is here described the path is level. The reason
for having a generally linear product path is to
allow very high speed wrapping of the product, at
a rate much higher than accomplished by previous
machines which do not have a linear product path or
which started and stopped the product or substantiallY
changed its speed during the course of wrapping.
While linear flow and generally uniform movement of
the product are important to high speed wrapping,
they are by no means sufficient, as is shown in
this application. Many innovative details were ne-
cessary to solve the problems of high speed wrapping,
in addition to the general concept.
The basic axis of the machine will be taken
to be the product path. To the right and the left
of the product path the directions will be referred
to as side, lateral or transverse. The remaining
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directions at right angles to the product path will
be re~erred to as up and down. In the event of a
machine oriented otherwise than horizontally, right
and left side, lateral or transverse directions will
be taken ,o be directions lateral to the first con-
veyor and (generallv) aligned with the axes of the
vacuum wheels, while up and down would refer to
directions at right angles to those.
Looking now at Fig. 12, the ~rapping machine
proper begins with a direction changing mechanism
50 operating to move articles 53 from conveyor Sl
which is an infeed conveyor, toward conveyor 52
whjch is ~he first el~ment in the conveyors defining
a linear product path on which products will be
wrapped Operating in the angle between the two
conveyors is my direction changing mechanism 50
which could operate between conveyors in other
mechanism as well. The direction changing mechanism
includes L-shaped arms 54 secured to shafts 55 extend-
ing through respective bearings in rotating member55 which is rotated about a bearing 57. A cam plate
58 having a cam slot or track 59 is rigidly secured
to the top of each shaft 55. A cam follower roller
60 enters each cam track or slot 59 from a second
rotating member 61 driven to rotate around a beariny
at center 52. BPlts 63 and 64 ~hich may desireably
be timing belts drive rotating members 56 and 61
about their respective centers 57 and 6~ at equal
rotational speed~.
T~e action of L-shaped arms 54 is to sychroni~e
behind product ~3 on infeed conveyor 51 enclosing the
back and end of the product. The precise shape of
the arm might vary with product type and shape and
cam shape but should prevent separation of articles
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making up a product to be wrapped as products are
swept in an arc from conveyor 51 to linear product
path 92 without change in product orientation. As
applied to rolls of paper, rolls with axes along
5 conveyor 51 n3w have axes directed laterally of
product path 92 as they are placed between upper and
lower belts. Arms 54 retard respecting products 53
and withdraw to the side, then move at high accelera-
tion to come behind a product on infeed conveyor 51
-~0 and synchronize with it to repeat the cycle. The
number of arms and exact cam shape may vary, and of
course cams ~nd cam followers could be reveresed,
with appropriate design changes, here or in the
tucker of Fig. 13.
Fig 14 and 27 show the manner in which succes-
sive wrappers or sheets 91, which are desirably plastic
wrapping ~ilm, are fed by a more or less conventional
cutting and feeding mechanism 90 to overlie the
linear product path 92 shown as a directional arrow.
Wrapper 91 is supported at each side margin between
opposed timing belts 158,159 ~Fig. 27). In the
plane of Fig. 14 upper conveyor belts 93 and 94
are visible. ~hese extend over pulleys having dif-
ferent paths in order to provide a smooth transport
of the wrapper or sheet 91 and the product 53. Similar
belts are visible at the left end of the drawing.
These belts define the linear product path 92 for
product 53 as it approaches the wrapper 91 being fed
with its forward edge well ahead of product 53 as
shown at the left and center of Fig. 14, and in Fig.
27.
At ~he center of Fig. 14 vacuum wheels 95,
rotating with its upper surface tangent to wrapper
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or s~eet 91, is provided with a lowered pressure in
its interior and openings in its surface of a size
and number appropriate to grip the particular
wrapper 91 and transfer the front edge of the wrapper
across the product path 92 and down at right angles
to the product path. Baffles (not shown~ direct ,he VdCU'~m.
Because the wrapper is across the product
path 92 and ~e lower conveyor belts partially ~lock
the space below, product 53 tends to push air ahead
of it and billo~ out the wrapper 91 from i.s proper
) path. A v~cuum vr low pressure pipe 190 is desirably
provided between vacuum wh~els 95 ~o decrease this
tendency.
The belts that carry the side margins 91c of
wrapper 91 are best seen in Fig. 27 which is similar
to Fig. 14 but in a plane outside product path 920
~elt 158 is the upper wrapper conveyor belt and belt
159 is the lower wrapper conveyor belt. Both are
desirably timing belis with flat backs in contact
with one another, separated only by sheet 91. They
extend from wrapper supply area 90 over idlex 160
to lie along the top side of linear product path
92. At vacuum wheel 9~, upper belt 158 goes straight
on a short distance before returning. Lower belt
159 extends in an appropriate groove in vacuum wheel
95 and then to an idler to even~ually return to
film supply un~t 90. Film 91 adheres to vacuum
wheel Y5 and is later stripped from it by belts
156 that run downward from grooves 157 in vacuum
wheels 9~.
Film 91 is further prevented from billowing
out by slight outward movement of belt 159 and of
vacuum wheel 95, butnot belt 158, with respect to the
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produc~ path 92 to ca~se moderate lateral smoothing
movements agains~ film 91, but not large forces.
As described elsewhere, belt 98 is built up in thick-
ness to guide rilm 91 downward while edge 91a moves
S downward, and keep it a~ay from the upwardly moving
surface of roller 106. Edge 91c of ~he film is
grasped and pulled dowllward lightly by belts 97
and rollers 110 and 111 on both sides of the slot
until product 53 passes from conveyor belts 52 to
conveyor belts 99 and 100 (Figs. 14,16, and 18).
Belts 156 only extend a short distance below vacuum
wheel 35. The wrapper 91 is stripped (Fig 19~
from the vacuum wheel 95 by belts 156 which are round
belts smaller than grooves 157 in the vacuum wheel
which guide the forward edge of sheet 91 tangent to
the vacuum wheel in a aownward direction with respect
to product path 92 rather than having the sheet
adhere to the vacuum wheel 95. Belts 156 are not
visible in Fig. 14 but the downward path of sh~et 91
is visible, as are belts 97 and 98 which also assist
in guiding sheet 91 in its downward path in the 510t
- between conveyor belts 52 and 100 which form a part
of product path 92. Upward moving belt 99 does not
touch wrapper 91 as it moves downwardly into the slot
but does touch it ~s product 53 passes the slot and
begins drawing wrapper 91 out of the slot. Belt
101 takes up the conveying function further down linear
product path 92. Corresponding belts 94, 102 serve
as upper conveying belts and are continuous rather
than being interrupted at the slot area. Fig. 19
is a detailed view of the surfac~ of the vacuum
wheel, a slot 157, and belt 156 which is smaller
~l~8a~
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than the slot underlying wrapper sheet 91 while the
sheet adheres to the vacuum wheel. Figs. 16, 17
and 18 are additional detail views of the slot area.
~igs. 16 and 17 are respectively side and top views.
The objective is to strip sheet 91 from the vacuum
wheel 95 by means of belts 156 and thereafter to
continue the motion of sheet 91 away from product
path 92 at a convenient angle which will usually be
something approximating a right angle withoutwr~lmg,
1~ b~K~g,, stretching or tearing until r a~d only until,
'' product 53 begins to cross the slot between the belts
on one sida such as belts 97 and the belts on the
other side such as belt 98. In order to achieve
this a number of important details cooperate. As
best shown in Fig. 15, vacuum wheel 95 is not pre-
cisely parallel to conveyor belt 5?. The edge of
vacuum wheel 95 tangent to the slot between conveyor
belts 52 and 100 lies a small distance farther from
conveyor belt 52 than the back edge of vacuum wheel 95.
At the opposite side of the machine the vacuum wheel
95 is toed out in the opposite direction so that as
i the two sheets turn in unison at the speed of sheet
91 a given point on the surface of wheel 95 is
moving laterally very slightly with respect to
sheet ~1 a~d tending to smooth it. Round belts 97
are used at intervals along the slot on the left
side tFig~ 15 and 28) and belt 98 on the right. These
belts and sheet 91 pass between rollers 110 and ~11
(Fig. 14,1S, and 18) arranged to pull downwardly on
3a sheet 91 with a very low coefficient of friction
to guide sheet 91 smoothly into the slot during the
period when product 53 is approaching the slot.
Roller 111 is relieved for belt 98.
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-18-
As shown in Fig. 18 belts 97 ride on grooved
roller 110 almost opposed to smooth roller 111 on
opposite sides of the s]ot, with wrapper 9~ be~ween,
as best sh~wn in Fig. 14. Small belts are able to
turn on a much smaller radius, than conveyor belts
such as 52 and 100 which are heavier and require
larger pulleysO Thus small belts provide a much
narrower and more precise slot. They may also be
made of material which does not pull unduly on
wrapper sheet 91 when product 53 crosses over the
slot and begins withdrawing the wrapper 91 from the
slot in opposition to its previous motion into the
slot, but which keeps it taut and smooth.
Another mechanism used to assure smooth
movement of wrapper sheet 91 into and out of the slot
i5 a very special portion of belt 98 best shown
at Figs. 16 and 17. Belt 98 is provided wi~h a built
up portion 103 having a leading edge 104 and a trailing
edge 105 extending along the flat outer side of the
belt for a short distance as seen in Fig. 16. Fig. 17
shows that the body of belt 98 is supported on a small
sheave 108 on a spindle 109 on which the two rollers
106 that serve as sheaves for belts 96 are mounted.
As clearly shown in Fig. 17 this allows belt 98
~5 to be mounted so that the back of the belt does not
extend as far as the surface of roller 106 and there-
fore can never touch sheet 91. However, built up por-
tion 103 extends the belt radially beyond the periphery
of rollers 106 out to the edges of belt 96. Further-
30 more, as shown in Fig.~, sheave 108 and shat 109
that support belt 98 between rollers 106 are mounted
further to the right with respect to the right side
of the slot than roller 111 which deflects
belt 98 ~ack towards the film 91 so that
U~2
-19 -
its furthest le~tward extension is just below the
top of the slot. Belt 98 is timed so that l~ding elge
104 of built up portion 103 of belt 98 arrives
at the slot generally simultaneously with the front
edge of wrapper sheet 91. In that respect Fig. 16
is inaccurate in that for clarity wrapper sheet 91
has been shown farther down in the slot than it would
in fact be at the time when thickened portion 103 of
belt 98 is in the position shown. During the time
when thickened portion 103 is in contact with wrapper
91 it pushes wrapper 91 against descending belts 97
on the left side of the slot assisting wrapper 91
in downward movement. At the time when product
53 reaches the position shown at the center of
Fig. 1~ the thickened portion of belt 98 has
traveled downwardly until trailing edge 105 of
thickened portion 103 i5 clear of roller 111 and
is no longer able to push sheet 91 against the
descending belts on the other side of the slot.
Thus at the moment when product 53 is crossing
the slot and beginning to pull sheet 31 upwardly,
i assisted b~ belt 99lwhich rotates upwardly rather
than downwardly but touches wrapper 91 only at the
edge of the slot as best shown in Fig. 14, upward
forces are exerted on sheet 91 by the movement
of product 53 as it is conveyed by belts 94 and 100
and by belt 99. However, belts 97 and rollers 110 and 111
still exert a small downward force at their respe~tive
locations all across the slot ~the parts not shown
in Fig~ 15 and Fig. 17 are mirror images of the
parts that are shown) so that wrapper sheet 91 is
dxagged downward by light forces while it is being
moved upward by the movement of product 53 to keep
)
-20-
it smooth. As seen at the right side of Fig. 14 the
net result is ~o transform the forward edge of
wrapper sheet 91 into a second trailing edge at the
bottom of the product 53. The same result would be
obtained ~i,h a diferent sized wrapper sheet 91(Fig. 11)
if two rolls o~ paper 53 were wrapped with one
ahead of the other,`such as kiichen towels,or if
four rolls of toilet tissue were being wrapped.
Other configurations are practical and other pro-
duct shapes~n cylinders are practical whetherone article or more than one article comprise
each wrapped product. As also shown at the right
side of Fig. 14 conveyor belts 94 and 100 which
define the upper and lower sides of the linear
product path in this area give way to belts 101
ad 102 which feed products 53 with the wrapper
in a U shape about the top, front and bottom into
the next section of the linear product path. Figs.
20 - 22 are to the right of Fig. 14 in the direc-
tion of linear product path 92. Product 53 isinserted by belts 101 and 102 between fixed upper
) surface 120 and lower surface 121 which in my
preferr~d machine comprise at least a pair of upper
bars and a pair of lower bars with surfaces that
touch wrapper 91 under light pressure ~hich in the
case of a compressible product such as rolls o~
paper may be provided by positioning the bars to
compress the product lightly. I have found that
in actual practice wrapp~r 91 may not be as tight
around produot 53 as is desirable for a smooth
wrapping, particularly if as shown in Figs. 21 and
22 produc~ 53 compris~s more than one article~
The articl~s which make up product 53 may not be in
contact as shown at the left of Fig. 21 and wrapper
sheet 91 may sag between the articles as shown at
the left sides of both ~ig. 21 and Fig. 22.
However, surface 120 is arranged to supply
less drag ~gainst wrapper sheet 91 t~lan surface
121, either by selection of materialsr surface
finish, area of contact, or whate~-er method appear~
best for a particular product~ In my pre~erred
machine surface 120 has a lower coefficient of
friction with sheet 91 than surface 121 has with
3 sheet 91. It ~ill be rememberea that surfaces
120 and 121 are stationary, rather than being
moving conveyor belts like belts 101 and 102
Accordingly the job of propelling product 53
1~ along linear path 92 has been taken over by
paddles 122. Thèy serve as propelling members,
being mounted to enter path 92 at timed inter-
vals behind product 53. As shown in Figs. 20
and 21 this is achieved in the preferred machine
by mounting paddles 122 on a chain 123. As shown
at the center of ~ig 20 a paddle 122 secures the
' trailing top edge of wrapper 91 against the reax
of produc~ 53 as it propels product 53 down path
92. The higher friction at surface 121 than at
2S s~rface- 120 causes wrapper 91 to migrate around
product 53 toward surface 121 until it is stopped
from doing so by the fact that the trailing top
edge is secured by paddle 122 and therefore tight-
ness of the wrapper around product 53 is assured.
As shown in ~ig. 21 this is so even i~ the articles
making up product 53 to be wrapped are not touching
as they enter between surfaces 120 and 121 or in
the more likely case that wrapper 91 sags between
-2~-
the articles so that as shown at the right side
of ~igs. ~1 and 2Z wrapper 91 will be taut and
smooth as it progresses between surface 120 and
121.
As also shown in Fig. 20 a sprocket
124 changes the direction of chain 1~3 so that
paddles or first propelling members 122 rise
slightly as they travel between portions of sur-
face 120 which are separ~te bars.
? lo ~ooking now at Figs. 3, 4, 5, and 6 and
at Fig 26 it will be seen that in addition to
the upper chain 123 carrying paddles 122 there
is a similar lower chain carrying paddles 125.
This chain is like chain 123 and is arranged to
have a run parallel to it in the inclined por-
tion so that paddles 125 begin propelling product 53
in timed relationship to paddles 122 and as paddles
122 rise out of the way paddles 125 raise between
surfaces 121-to continue to propel product 53 and
at the same time to smoothly raise the trailing edge
of wrapper sheet 91 against the rear of product 53
as shown in Fig. 20 and Fig. 4.
In oraer to assist in distinguishing the
edges o~ wrapper sheet ~1 the forwara edge of the
sheet has been labeled 91a, th~ rearward edge
91b and the sides 91c. It will be noted that the
same relationships obtain whether product 53 is a
single article or whether as shown in Figs. 21
and 22 it comprises at least two articles 53a ana
53b. It will be further noted that product 53 could
be divided axially as well, so that product 53a
might consist o two rolls of toilet tissue or three
rolls of toilet tissue with no change in any of the
parts or methods descr.bed except that there might
need to be more of some parts to support the separate
parts adequately and there might need to be addi-
tional belts in the slot to guide edge 91a of sheet
91 adequately.
Returning to the description of the machine
itsel~ as best shown in Figs. 3 4, and 5 and
at Figs. 23 through 25 pairs of fingers 130 are
arranged to enter the tube forming by sides 91c
of wrapper 91 at the bottom of the tube, to pro~
gress in timea relationship to product 5~ As the
3 horizontal portions of fingers 130 move along
they move ~.~st into pro~ct path 92 to the positiDn
shown in Fig. 3. They then rise relative to
product 53 as they travel to successive positions
shown in Figs. 4 and 5 causing the wrapper edges
91c to regain their circular form if it is dis-
torted ~or any reason. As may be seen in Fig. 5
the flngers 130 are beginning to withdraw axially
2U as they progress along with product 53. Looking
now at Fiys. 23, 24, and 25 it will be seen that
each pair ~f laterally extending fingers 130 is
) mounted by a vertical extension to a block 131
carried on rod 132 which is part of a chain 133.
Looking at Fig. 24 the vertical movements of the
fingers 130 described in Figs. 3,4 and 5 are pro-
duced hy the alignment ~f the respective sprockets
134,135 and 13~. ~ookinq at Fig. 25 in which we
are looking upward at a bottom plan view of the
mechanism driving fingers 130 as seen from pro-
duct path 92 it will be observed that blocks 131
slide laterally on roas 132 under the urging of
lower cam tracks 137 shown at the top of Fig. 25
which control ~he motion of blocks 131 while they
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are on tl~e lower run of the chain, and upper cam
tracks 138 shown at the lower side of Fig. 25 which
return blocks 131 to their starting position while
they are on the upper run of chain 133. ~or
clarity of illustration only the lower cam tracks
137 have been shown at the top of Fig. 25 although
both lower cam tracks 137 and upper cam tracks 138
are present. Likewise at the bo,tom of Fig~ 25
only ~pper cam tracks 138 are shown although
10 both lower cam tracks 137 and upper cam tracks 138
? are present respectively adjacent the lower and
upper runs of chain 133. In Fig. 23, at ~he
let and right sides, the block 131 in full
lines shows the position when fingers 130 are
closest to product 53 while the dashed lines
show the extent of i s movement laterally without
showing its movement vertically.
As shown in Fig. 23 and in Fig. 6, as
~ingers 130 withdraw laterally from product 53 to
2~ ~ive less support to margins 91c of the wrapper
shee~ 91 a jet 140 pushes margins 91c downwardly
-j to begin the process of forming end folds for pro-
duc~ 53 from side margins 91c of shape 91~ I
find that this is simpler than a mechanical motion
for the same purpose.
Not discussed previously is th fact that
both first propell;ng members 122 and second pro-
pelling members 125 are in fact 3 separate propelling
3Q members lying in a single plane to act as a single
propelling member 122 or 125. In Fig. 25 propelling
members 122 are connected by member 122a~ Similar
members connect each paddle 122 and each paddle 125
-25-
leaving openings between them for a reason which
will be discussed in a moment~
As shown in Figs. 7 and 2~, fingers 130
have been withdrawn and air-jets 14~ have com-
menced folaing the sides 91c of the wrapper sheets91. Fig 13 shows the tucker(visible in Fig. 7 at
71¦ and a preferred trajectory for the tip of the L-
shaped arm. The tucker is a modified ~orm o my
direction changing device of Fig. 1~. Tucker 70
has ~-shaped arms 71 clamped to sha~ts 72
extending through bearings in rotating member 73
driven to xot~te around a center shaft 74. Each
shaft 72 carries a cam plate 75 having a cam track
76. A second rotating member 77 carries a cam fol-
lower 78 which enters cam track 76. Second rotatingmember 77 is driven to rotate around shaft 79. As
in Fig. 12 timing belts 80 and 81 assure that the
rotational speed of members 73 and 77 will be equal
though any d~ive that assure equal speed will be
~0 appropriate. Throughout my mechanism tne timing of
~he parts is important and it will be understood
i without specific mention that wherever synchronism
is important the belts are timing belts and the driv~s
of the ~arious mechanisms are so connected as to in-
~5 sure synchronism.
In Fig. 13 the track of the tip of L-shaped
arm 71 is shown as a dot and dash line. The produc~
pa~h is not shown in Yig. 13 structurally but is
between the ~ucker arms 71. Arm 71 stops as it
reaches the Fig. 7 or Fig. 11 position as shown by
the cusp of the path in Fig. 13. It then turns slight-
ly to form a greater angle with the end of product 53,
reducing drag on wrapper 91. As shown by the aOt and
3 ~8~2
-26-
dash line the tip of arm 71 slows down in relation
to the product and retreats backward and to the side
to clear the product and to get out of the way. As
shown in Fig. 13 there are only two sucharms 71 per side
5 operated to fold wrappers on successive products.
Other numbers of arms are possible if properly syn~
chronized to make the second fold.
The cam tr~ck 59 or 76 is shaped to achieve
the described path.
A generally conventional folding mechanism
141 completes the folding of the sid~s of wrapper
91 to form the ends of the package for product 53.
Duriny this period a sealing mechanism 142 comprising
a spider carxying heated wheels 1~3 (Fig. 8 and 26)
enters each of the spaces between propelling members
125 to form a first seal at the rear edge of the
package. As may be seen in Fig. 11 it is particul-
arly important to make the seal at this ~oint where
product 53 consist of a multiplicity of articles 53A,
53b, 53c, 53d, because it leaves the broad sides of
wrapper 91 clear and unobstructed by the damage
: caused by sealing the edges, for decoration or ad-
vertising while keeping the wrapper tight.
As shown in Figs. 26 and 9~ as the arrange-
ment of the sprockets on which propelling members 125
are ca~ried withdraws the propelling members, belts
146 hold the end folds and convey products 53. A
second sealing means 144 has full width end sealing
bars 145 to fosm a full back seal. Because the sealers
3~ rotate while the motion of product 53 is linear, sealers
143 and 144 catch up to product 53 only during fastest
horizontal motion, seal, then lose relative speed.
-27-
At the same time belts 146 assist in maintaining
the end folds until th~ wrapped product 53 is
inserted between end sealing and conveying belts
147 which a~e heated at the point of initial
contact to form th~ end seals. I~ necessary they
may be co~led further along the product path 92
to p~oduce a completely wrapped product 53 containing
one or more articles 53a, 53b, 53c, 53dJ etc.
A prototype machine which has been built and
tested demonstrates the validity of the concepts
expressed and proves for the ~irst time that I am
aware that product packaging speeds very much
higher than those previously obtainable may be ob-
tain2ble in my machine. Some of the inventions and
inventive c~ncepts here described were first
arri~ed at during the building and testing of ~his
machine. The machine as described is a complete
and operative embodiment and is the bes~ embodiment
known. The end folding plaies 141 which ~orm the
~laps of the end ~old have not been fully described
because they are previously known. The same is true
of the various drives which drive the various parts
in timed relationship to one another. For instance
extensive use is made of timing belts which are
li~hter and cheaper than gears but which are capable
of moving the parts in the required relationship.
In many cases only one side of my machine
has been described because the parts are duplicated
on the oth~r side.
