Sig Schweizerische Industrie-gesellschaft

Gert Deutschlander

Alfred Wipf

Rene Fluck

Harald Lenherr

Martin Low

August Rebsamen

An apparatus for separating articles advanced in series and in a mutually contacting relationship, includes a first conveyor advancing the articles in a series and in contact with one another on a first conveyor surface, and a second conveyor arranged for receiving articles from the first conveyor and advancing the articles in series on a second conveyor surface. The second conveyor has a conveying speed greater than that of the first conveyor, whereby the articles are advanced on the second conveyor surface in a spaced relationship to one another. There is further provided a third conveyor having article carriers which convey the articles downstream of the second conveyor surface as viewed in a direction of article advance. A suction device generates, in zones of the first and second conveyors, a force exerted on the articles and oriented for pressing the articles against the first and second conveyor surfaces.

Apparatus for separating items conveyed in a contacting series

A wrapped article and a method of packaging it in a wrapper of sealable material includes the steps of surrounding the article about its side faces with the wrapper, providing the wrapper with a longitudinal seam to obtain a wrapper sleeve projecting beyond the end faces; flattening the wrapper sleeve beyond the end faces and providing transverse seams in the wrapper sleeve beyond the end faces to obtain fins projecting therebeyond, folding each fin along a root edge thereof against the respective end face to extend parallel thereto; folding side margins of each fin through 180.degree. along respective side edges onto the fin; and folding an outer edge zone of each fin through 180.degree. along a respective top edge onto a respective end face.

Method of making a wrapper sleeve package and package made by the method

An apparatus for providing a uniform spacing between articles supported on and advanced by a conveyor in a conveying direction, comprises a carrier arranged for travel in the conveying direction at a speed less than that of the conveyor and a plurality of spacer units mounted uniformly spaced on the carrier. Each spacer unit includes a spacer gate having a working position in which the spacer gate is abutted by an article advanced by the conveyor and an idling position in which articles advanced by the conveyor pass by the spacer gate unhindered. Each spacer unit further has a sensor element supported upstream of the spacer gate and is displaceable by an article before the article abuts said spacer gate; and actuating mechanism operatively coupled to the sensor element and to the spacer gate which belongs to an immediately upstream located spacer unit for moving the last-named spacer gate from the idling position to the working position in response to a displacement of the sensor element by the article.

Article spacing apparatus

Flat, rectangular items are, in a contacting series, conveyed by an input conveyor to an output conveyor, on which the items are to be further advanced by pusher members such that those sides of the items which were transversely oriented with respect to the advancing direction on the input conveyor are parallel to the advancing direction on the output conveyor and further, that the items are spaced from one another on the output conveyor. The angle defined by the directions of advance on the two conveyors is less than 90.degree.. In the zone of reorientation each item is engaged by a pusher member from behind and is pushed off laterally from the input conveyor onto the output conveyor. At the same time, a moving reorienting member engages a frontal part of the item and, while a diametrically opposite item corner is in engagement with an abutment, the reorienting member moves the item into alignment with a guide oriented parallel to the direction of advance of the output conveyor.

Conveyor for reorienting rectangular items

An article packing system includes a first conveyor for advancing a series of flat articles; at least two stack-forming devices for consecutively forming stacks of variable length from the articles received from the first conveyor; a second conveyor extending from the stack-forming devices for carrying away the stacks; a packing machine for packaging the article stacks received from the second conveyor and a scale for weighing the stacks of articles. The scale is in the conveying path of the second conveyor and is located downstream of the stack-forming devices and upstream of the packing machine as viewed in the direction of article advance on the second conveyor. The latter includes a mechanism for successively advancing the article stacks from the stack-forming devices towards the scale in a direction parallel to the plane of the flat articles. Further, the mechanism sequentially introduces the article stacks into the scale and subsequently advances them from the scale to the packing machine. The scale is operatively connected with the stack-forming devices for varying the length of the stacks in the stack-forming devices as a function of the stack weight measured by the scale.

Apparatus for maintaining constant the weight of article stacks

Stacks of flat items, such as cookies, are formed by conveying the items in successive pockets along a conveying path and moving vertical rod assemblies parallel to the conveying path but at a different speed from the pockets so as to cause the rods to engage items in each pocket and push them onto items in an adjacent pocket, whereby each rod assembly forms a stack of progressively increasing height as the pockets and rod assemblies travel along a common path.

Apparatus for forming stacks of flat items

An apparatus for sealing and cutting a hose-like wrapper having serially arranged filled pockets and transverse zones therebetween includes oppositely rotating, cooperating clamping shoes between which the wrapper passes for pressing together and transversely sealing opposite wrapper walls in the transverse zones by providing a seam therein. A knife is secured to one of the clamping shoes and a backup support is secured to the other of the clamping shoes. The knife has a first cutting edge cooperating with the backup support for transversely separating wrapper packages from one another by providing a severing cut in each transverse zone. The knife further has at least one second cutting edge adjacent the first cutting edge for providing a cut in each transverse zone adjacent the severing cut to facilitate a manual tearing-open of the seams.

Apparatus for sealing and cutting filled wrappers

A wrapper assembly for packaging articles includes a carrier element supporting the articles and a sleeve surrounding the carrier element and the articles. The carrier element comprises two compartments, each formed of a separate bottom wall, a separate lateral wall and at least one separate end wall. The two lateral walls are in a face-to-face contacting relationship.

Wrapper assembly including an article carrier element

A packaging apparatus using a hose-shaped wrapper has a table on which the wrapper of indefinite length is advanced in the direction of its length. The wrapper contains uniformly spaced groups of articles to be packaged. The apparatus further has cooperating rotating welding shoes disposed in the path of travel of the wrapper for transversely bonding together wall portions of the wrapper between two article groups and endless chains formed of links and disposed above the table at both sides of the travelling path of the wrapper. Each chain has a chain portion extending adjacent and parallel to the travelling path of the wrapper along a length portion positioned upstream of the welding shoes as viewed in the direction of wrapper feed. A plurality of pressing members are secured to the chains at a predetermined distance; each pressing member on one chain cooperates with a pressing member on the other chain for pinching together the wrapper and supporting it laterally as it is fed through the welding shoes. Each pressing member includes a leading pressing finger and a trailing pressing finger, both affixed to a common unitary holder which, in turn, is pivotally secured to two successive chain joints. The leading pressing finger projects from the leading chain joint, which supports the associated holder to such an extent in the direction of wrapper feed as admitted by the distance between the chain-supporting sprocket closest to the welding shoes and the travelling path of the welding shoes.

Growing community of inventors

Neuhausen am Rheinfall, Switzerland

Gert Deutschlander