GB2028251A - Stacking and banding apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

A stacking machine comprises a receiving table (19) pivoted about one edge on a stacking table (8) with which it is normally coplanar. Flush with the receiving table is a pusher (25). Articles arriving individually collect on the receiving table (19) and are pushed thereacross by later arriving articles and when the table has filled to capacity with a row of articles, it is pivoted into a vertical position to deposit the articles on the stacking table (8) and the pusher (25) then moves them a distance across the stacking table to make room for the succeeding row of articles. A plurality of rows are secured together by advancing them into a weldable band (32) wrapping the band round them, and welding and cutting the band at one side of the path of advance. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Stacking and banding apparatus This invention relates to apparatus for stacking and banding articles, such as packages.

A particular application of the invention is in the stacking of elongate packages arriving singly and horizontally, and needing to be collected into bundles of packages standing on their ends and needing to be banded. Hitherto such a procedure has entailed manual operation, which is expensive and unreliable.

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a stacking apparatus for receiving individual articles and forming them into upright stacks, comprising a collecting table having a generally horizontal surface and a receiving table pivotally connected to the collecting table for movement between a receiving position in which a receiving surface is substantially coplanar with the said horizontal surface of the collecting table and an upright position in which the receiving surface is substantially vertical, power means for moving the receiving table between the said positions, so that when the receiving table has received a plurality of articles they assume a side by side row formation on the receiving table, and the moving surface being formed partly by a pusher member operable to push the row of articles partially across the collecting table to form a space for the reception of a succeeding row of articles.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for banding articles comprising; advancing means for advancing the articles into a band, which is supplied from two feed units one situated on either side of the path of the advancing means, such that the band substantially encompasses the articles, clamping, welding and cutting means which incorporate a movable head which is operable to traverse the path of the advancing means and to wrap and partially, elastically, stretch the band around the trailing edge of the articles, the welding means being operable to weld the band to itself and the cutting means being operable to cut the band so that the band is left with a weld ready to receive following articles, the weld being formed substantially to one side of the path of the advancing means thus enabling the banding of collections of articles of various shapes in various configurations without adjustment of the apparatus.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a stacking and banding apparatus for receiving individual articles, forming them into upright stacks and placing a band around the stacks, comprising a collecting table a collecting table having a generally horizontal surface and a receiving table pivotally connected to the collecting table for movement between a receiving position in which a receiving surface is substantially coplanar with the said horizontal surface of the collecting table and an upright position in which the receiving surface is substantially vertical, power means for moving the receiving table between the said posi tions, so that when the receiving table has received a plurality of articles they assume a side by side row formation on the receiving table which is then moved to the vertical position to deposit the row on the collecting table adjacent the receiving table, and the moving surface being formed partly by a pusher member power operable to push the row of articles partially across the collecting table to form a space for the reception of a succeeding row of articles, advancing means situated adjacent to the collecting and receiving tables for advancing a plurality of rows of articles into a band, which is supplied from two feed units one situated on either side of the path of the advancing means, such that the band substantially encompasses the articles, clamping, welding and cutting means which incorporate a movable head which is operable to traverse the path of the advancing means and to wrap and partially, elastically, stretch the band around the trailing edge of the articles, the welding means being operable to weld the band to itself and the cutting means being operable to cut the band so that the band is left with a weld ready to receive following articles, the weld being formed substantially to one side of the path of the advancing means thus enabling the banding of collections of articles of various shapes in various configurations without adjustment of the width of the path of the advancing means.

The invention preferably comprises first switch means operable by the completion of a row of articles to initiate the operation of the power means.

The position of the first switch means may be variable to allow for variation of the size of the stack formed.

The invention also preferably comprises second switch means operable by the completion of a bundle of articles to initiate the operation of the advancing means.

The invention will be further described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure lisa plan view illustrating a group of machines of which an embodiment of the present invention constitutes an element; Figure 2 is an elevational view showing some details of the structure of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a plan view of part of the stacking apparatus; Figure 4 is a plan view of a stacking and banding apparatus; and Figure 5 is a partial sectional plan view of an embodiment of the clamping, welding and cutting means.

Turning now to Figure 1, there is shown part of a complex of machinery for handling packets of cigarettes. Individual packets of e.g. twenty cigarettes arrive on a conveyor 1 to a first collator 2 and are fed from there in blocks of e.g. ten along a conveyor 3 to a parcelling device 4 which parcels each block of the packets and delivers the parcels so formed in the direction indicated by the arrow 5 to a stacker 6. The individual parcels arrive from the parcelling machine at intervals and each package pushes the preceding one across the stacker 6 until a total of five are located on the stacker, in the position indicated at 7, and the stacker then tilts to raise the parcels into a vertical position and a pusher 25 feeds them across a stacking or collecting table 8.There is shown on the collecting table 8 a bundle of e.g. twenty-five parcels, and when twenty five are collected, a pusher 9 presses the bundle forward into a banding apparatus 10 and from there the successive bundles pass onto an ejection conveyor 41 and thence to a main conveyor 11. The stacking apparatus 6 and the banding apparatus 10 will be further described with reference to Figures 2 to 5.

The pusher 9 is shown on Figure 2 in relation to the horizontal collecting table 8. The pusher 9 is driven by a pneumatic piston cyclinder unit 42 and the driving mechanism is pivotable so as to maintain the pusher 9 at a constant height during its movement. The dimensions of the pusher 9 are dependent upon the type of articles being banded. The stacker further includes a receiving table 19 which is hingedly mounted to the collecting table 8 and is pivotable between the position illustrated in full lines in which it is substantially coplanar therewith and the position shown chain-dotted and indicated by the reference numeral 19a in which it is substantially vertical. The collecting table has an upturned end flange 20.The table 19 is adapted to be moved between its two positions by a pneumatic piston cylinder unit 21 pivotted at its lower end to the machine frame and at its upper end to an extension 22 of a bridge arrangement 23 secured by bolts 24to the table 19.

The opposite limit position of the extension 22 is shown at 22a in chain-dotted lines.

Located between the ends of the bridge portion 23 is a pusher panel 25, which is normally flush with the receiving surface of the receiving table 19. It will be seen that a further piston cylinder unit 27 is mounted on the bridge structure 23 and connected to the pusher 25.

Referring to Figure 4, the banding apparatus includes two feed drums 30 one situated either side of the path of the pusher 9. The feed drums are rotatably mounted on spindles which are mounted perpendicular to the plane of the path of the pusher.

Each feed drum has associated with it a roller 31 which is mounted on a spindle together with a friction disc in such a fashion that the friction experienced by the roller 31 may be carried. The band material 32 is stored on the feed drums 30 and passes around the rollers 31 such that adjustment of the rollers 31 varies the operative tension of the band material 32. Clamping, welding and cutting of the band material 32 is performed by the members 33a and 33b which are positioned one just in front of each feed drum and on the opposite side of the feed drum to the initial position of the pusher 9.The members 33a and 33b are shown in greater detail in Figures. The member 33a is a movable head which is operable to perpendicularly traverse the path of the pusher 9 and to wrap and partially, elastically, stretch the band material around the trailing edge of the articles to be banded. The articles being banded having previously been moved to suitable position in readiness for this operation by a forward stroke of the pusher 9, the movement of the pusher 9 being from its initial position to a position just forward of the members 33a and 33b and back to its initial position. The member 33b comprises a head which is provided with prominences 34 that abut against corresponding sections of the head 33a in order to clamp the band material therebetween. The head 33b may be advanced through a short distance in order to effect the above mentioned abutment.The head 33b further comprises two heating elements 35 and an electrically heated wire 36 positioned be tween the two elements 35. The heating elements 35 operably abut sealer pads 37 which are provided in the head 33a, these pads are preferably coated with a non-stick type of material. The head 33a is further provided with a recess into which the heated wire 36 is advanced. The height of the heads slightly ex ceeds the depth of the band material and the members may be driven by pneumatic piston cylin der units.

The heating elements 35 and the heated wire 36 are mounted as a movable unit within the head 33b.

After the band material has been clamped between the heads 33a and 33b the unit containing the heating elements 35 and the heated wire 36 is advanced so that the heated wire cuts through the band material and the heating elements press the band material against the sealer pads 37 and cause the band material to become welded to itself. The movable unit is retracted after a period of time suitable for forming the welds. The members 33a and 33b are returned to their initial positions after a specific delay after the movable unit has been retracted. The latter delay is necessary to allow the welds to cool before the band material is released, this delay may be reduced if the welds are cooled by, for example, directing a cool stream of air over them.

In operation the parcels arrive separately from the parcelling machine 4 are are pushed by that machine into the edge of the receiving table 19. The arrivals of each successive parcel pushes the parcels already on that table further across until the first parcel reaches a limit switch 28 which triggers the opera tion of the piston cylinder unit 21 to raise the table 19 to the upright position 19a so as to up-end the - parcels and rest them on the collecting table 8. The pusher 25 is then operated by the piston cylinder unit 27 to push the row of parcels across the stacking table by a distance equal to slightly more than the thickness of the row so as to leave a clearance for a succeeding row to be lifted.The pusher plate is then retracted and the receiving table returned to its horizontal position in time for the arrival of the next parcel fromthe parcelling machine. The sequence then recommences.

When a row of parcels reaches the far side of the pusher 9, having been pushed by succeeding rows, it engages on a further limit switch 29 which initiates the forward stroke of the pusher 9. The pusher 9 pushes the bundle of parcels forward into the bands 32. The forward stroke of the pusher 9 is of such a length that in its extreme forward position the pusher has travelled slightly further forward than the position of the members 33a and 33b. The pusher 9 remains in its forward position with the bundle of parcels surrounded on three sides of the band material 32. The member 33a, which may be driven by a pneumatic piston cylinder, traverses the path of the pusher 9 and in doing so it wraps and partially, elastically, stretches the band material around the trailing edge of the bundle of parcels.As shown in Figure 2, the pusher consists of upper and lower members with a horizontal gap between them which gap acommodatesthe band material at the trailing edge of the bundle. At the limit of its travel the members 33a abuts with the prominences 34 of the member 33b. The member 33b may be advanced through a short distance in order to effect the above mentioned abutment. The band material 32 is clamped between the prominences 34 and the head 33a. The heating elements 35 and the heated wire 36 contained within the head 33b are then further advanced so that the heating elements 35 press the band material 32 against the sealer pads 37, the heating elements are pre-heated to a temperature which is sufficient to weld the band material 32 to itself.Thus two welds are produced in the band material and the heated wire 36 cuts through the band material between the two welds. Preferably, before the band material 32 is released from between the two members 33a and 33b the newly formed welds are cooled, for example by directing a cool stream of air over them. The heating elements 35 may be directly or indirectly heated and a temperature sensing device such as a thermo-couple may be provided in order to control the temperature of the heating elements if necessary.

Although the operation has been described specifically in relation to rows of five parcels, it will be appreciated that other numbers may be accommodated, and in particular the limit switch may be mounted on an adjustable member so that the number of parcels in a row can be easily varied by varying the position of the limit switch, e.g. to accept three or four parcels.

The extended position of the pusher plate 25 is indicated at 26a and it will be seen that this is sufficient to push the row of parcels into line with the pusher 9.

The fact that the welds in the band material are produced closed to one edge of the path of the pusher has the advantage that the width of the path of the pusher need not be adjusted if smaller sized bundles of parcels are to be banded. For example, if the apparatus is set to operate on the completion of five rows of five parcels as in the above description and parcels of three rows of five parcels are required to be banded then the only adjustment necessary is the earlier operation of the pusher 9 which may be achieved by extending the stroke of the pusher 25 or by repositioning the limit switch 29. The limit switch may be replaced by other sensing means such as a photo-electric device.

It has also been found that irregular shaped bundles or objects may be successfully banded due to the above-mentioned advantage.

of five rows of five parcels as in the above descrip tion and parcels of three rows of five parcels are required to be banded then the only adjustment necessary is repositioning the limit switch 28. The limit switch may be replaced by other sensing means such as a photo-electric device.

It has also been found that irregular shaped bundles or objects may be successfully banded due to the above-mentioned advantage.

Various modifications may be made within the scope of the invention.

Claims (11)

1. A stacking apparatus for receiving individual articles and forming them into upright stacks, comprising a collecting table having a generally horizontal surface and a receiving table pivotally connected to the collecting table for movement between a receiving position in which a receiving surface is substantially coplanar with the said horizontal surface of the collecting table and an upright position in which the receiving surface is substantially vertical, power means for moving the receiving table between the said positions, so that when the receiving table has received a plurality of articles they assume a side by side row formation on the receiving table which is then moved to the vertical position to deposit the row of the collecting table adjacent the receiving table, and the moving surface being formed partly by a pusher member power operable to push the row of articles partially across the collecting table to form a space for the reception of a succeeding row of articles.

2. An apparatus for banding articles comprising; advancing means for advancing the articles into a band, which is supplied from two feed units one situated on either side of the path of the advancing means, such that the band substantially encompasses the articles, clamping, welding and cutting means which incorporate a movable head which is operable to traverse the path of the advancing means and to wrap and partially, elastically, stretch.

the band around the trailing edge of the articles, the welding means being operable to weld the band to itself and the cutting means being operable to cut the band so that the band is left with a weld ready to receive following articles, the weld being formed substantially to one side of the path of the advancing means thus enabling the banding of collections of articles of various shapes in various configurations without adjustment of the apparatus.

3. A stacking and banding apparatus for receiving individual articles, forming them into upright stacks and placing a band around the stacks, comprising a collecting table having a generally horizontal surface and a receiving table pivotally connected to the collecting table for movement between a receiving position in which a receiving surface is substantially coplanar with the said horizontal surface of the collecting table and an upright position in which the receiving surface is substantially vertical, power means for moving the receiving table between the said positions, so that when the receiving table has received a plurality of articles they assume a side by side row formation on the receiving table which is then moved to the vertical position to deposit the row on the collecting table adjacent to the receiving table, and the moving surface being formed partly by a pusher member power operable to push the row of articles partially across the collecting table to form a space for the reception of a succeeding row of articles, advancing means situated adjacent to the collecting and receiving tables for advancing a plurality of rows of articles into a band, from two feed units one situated on either side of the path of the advancing means, such that the band substantially encompasses the articles, clamping, welding and cutting means which incorporate a movable head which is operable to traverse the path of the advancing means and to wrap and partially, elastically, stretch the band around the trailing edge of the articles, the welding means being operable to weld the band itself and the cutting means being operable to cut the band so that the band is left with a weld ready to receive following articles, the weld being formed substantially to one side of the path of the advancing means thus enabling the banding of collections of articles of various shapes in various configurations without adjustment of the width of the path of the advancing means.

4. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 or 3, comprising switch means operable by the completion of a row of articles to initiate the operation of the power means.

5. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 or 3, in which the position of the switch means is variable.

6. An apparatus as claimed in claim 2 or 3, wherein each feed unit comprises a feed drum and a roller, around which the band passes, the rollers being adjustable so as to control the tension of the band.

7. An apparatus as claimed in any of claims 2,3 or 6, wherein the cutting means comprises a heated wire.

8. An apparatus as claimed in any of claims 2,3, 6 or 7, wherein the welding means comprises two heating elements and corresponding abutment elements such that two welds are formed, one on either side of the cutting means.

9. A stacking apparatus substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 1,2,3 and 4 of the accompanying drawings.

10. A banding apparatus substantially as herein before described with reference to Figures 1, 2,4 and 5 of the accompanying drawings.

11. A stacking and banding apparatussubstan- tially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 1,2 and 4 of the accompanying drawings.