Apparatus for producing reciprocating movements

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6328152
  • Patent Number
    6,328,152
  • Date Filed
    Thursday, October 14, 1999
    25 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, December 11, 2001
    23 years ago
Abstract
Apparatus or gear mechanism for producing linear movements for pushers, carry-along elements and similar elements, in particular during reciprocating movement. The pushers (24, 25) are connected to a gear mechanism (33), in the case of which use is made exclusively of rotating or circulating elements. Each pusher (24, 25) is connected to a lever (37) which is moved by the gear mechanism such that the connection of the lever (37) to the pusher (24, 25) is moved exclusively on a rectilinear path.
Description




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




The invention relates to an apparatus (gear mechanism) for producing essentially rectilinear, in particular reciprocating movements of linear elements, preferably carry-along elements, pushers or the like for pushing articles—a cigarette block—into a pocket of a folding turret.




An important application area of a gear mechanism for producing linear movements is the introduction of the pack contents, namely of a cigarette block, into the pocket of a folding turret or into a partially completed blank for the (cigarette) pack. In the case of a known apparatus (DE 24 62 686), the cigarette block is gripped, on a movement path directed radially in relation to the folding turret, on the rear side by an angled pusher and is pushed into the pocket of the folding turret or into the pack. The pusher can be displaced as a pivotable lever with a sliding piece on a fixed guide rod. The reciprocating drive is executed by a crank.




Such a gear mechanism is problematic for very high cycle speeds on account of the reciprocating movement.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




The object of the invention is to propose an apparatus or a gear mechanism by means of which, even at high cycle speeds, reciprocating linear elements, namely in particular carry-along elements, pushers, etc., move continuously and smoothly to transport articles, in particular to push cigarette blocks into a folding turret, and then to return into the starting position in an—offset—return—movement path.




In order to achieve this object, the apparatus according to the invention is characterized in that the linear element—carry-along element, pusher or the like—can be moved by gear-mechanism elements which execute exclusively rotary movements.




The gear mechanism according to the invention is configured such that the rotary movements of the drive elements are converted into a reciprocating movement of the linear element. The movement sequence as a whole is thus round.




In a preferred embodiment, the gear mechanism comprises a drive element which circulates along an arc of a circle, namely in particular a circulating gear wheel, which rotates about its own axis and is connected to the carry-along element, pusher or the like via a connecting element, in particular via a lever. The lever is fitted on the drive element, namely on the gear wheel, in a fixed position relative thereto and is connected to the carry-along element or a carry-along arm via a rotary bearing.




In the case of a preferred, specific embodiment of the gear mechanism, the drive element runs, as gear wheel, on a fixed toothed rim with an inner toothing arrangement. The lever, which is connected to the gear wheel in a fixed position relative thereto, is connected, via an intermediate gear mechanism or a mating gear mechanism, to the linear element or a carrying arm for the purpose of transmitting the linear movements to the carry-along element or pusher. Parts of the intermediate gear mechanism or mating gear mechanism are controlled in terms of movement such that return movement of the linear element takes place in an offset movement path, in particular above the linear advancement movement. For this purpose, the movement of a pivotable cam lever is controlled via cam rollers in a grooved curve during the rotary movement.




Further details and features of the apparatus according to the invention are explained in more detail hereinbelow with reference to an exemplary embodiment and application example. In the drawings:











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS





FIG. 1

shows a plan view of a region of a packaging machine with folding turret for producing cigarette packs,





FIG. 2

shows, on an enlarged scale, a region for feeding cigarette blocks to the folding turret in a side view and in vertical section,





FIG. 3

shows, on a further-enlarged scale, a detail of

FIG. 2

in a corresponding illustration,





FIG. 4

shows an axial section of the gear mechanism for moving carry-along elements or pushers,





FIG. 5

shows a cross section through the gear mechanism in the section plane V—V from

FIG. 4

, and





FIG. 6

shows a cross section through the gear mechanism according to

FIG. 4

in the section plane VI—VI.





FIG. 7

to

FIG. 9

show a schematic representation of parts of the gear mechanism with their movement paths in various positions.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION




The preferred application example which is illustrated in the drawings relates to a packaging machine for producing cigarette packs


10


of the hinge-lid-box type.

FIG. 1

shows a schematic plan view of a folding turret


11


which rotates about a vertical axis and has pockets


12


,


13


arranged around it in pairs. First of all, blanks


14


for the cigarette packs


10


which are to be produced are introduced into said pockets. Following partial folding of said blanks, the pack contents are pushed radially into the pockets


12


,


13


, or into the partially folded blanks


10


, to be precise in the region of a pushing-in station


15


.




The articles which are to be introduced into the pockets


12


,


13


are cuboidal cigarette blocks


16


,


17


. These each comprise a cigarette group, corresponding to the pack contents, which is enclosed by an inner wrapper made of paper or metal-laminated paper.




In the present case, the articles, that is to say cigarette blocks


16


,


17


, are fed in pairs on a block path


18


on account of the double-path operation of the apparatus. A chain conveyor


19


grips in each case one or two cigarette blocks


16


,


17


by way of carry-along elements


20


and conveys the cigarette blocks


16


,


17


at a distance apart from one another in the radial direction to the folding turret


11


.




The block conveyor, namely chain conveyor


19


, terminates at a distance from the folding turret


11


. The end phase of the conveying movement and the operation of pushing the articles into the pockets


12


,


13


is taken over by a pushing-in unit


21


, which grips in each case one cigarette block


16


,


17


or two cigarette blocks


16


,


17


located one beside the other and conveys the same further on the block path


18


as far as the end position in the pocket


12


,


13


.




Immediately before the cigarette blocks


16


,


17


are taken over by the pushing-in unit


21


, separate blanks, namely collars


22


, are fed to the cigarette blocks


16


,


17


. These form a constituent part of a conventional hinge-lid box. The collars


22


are fed on a collar path


23


transversely to the block path


18


and above the same. In each case one collar


22


is deposited in the correct position on a cigarette block


16


,


17


and, by virtue of collar side tabs being folded over, is brought into the correct position for the pack. The unit made up of cigarette block


16


,


17


and collar


22


is gripped by the pushing-in unit


21


and pushed into the pockets


12


,


13


. In this respect, the apparatus corresponds, in principle, to that according to DE 24 62 686.




The pushing-in unit


21


is designed in a specific manner. It comprises pushers


24


,


25


which are assigned to each block path


18


, that is to say to each cigarette block


16


,


17


, and each have a pusher head


26


which grips the cigarette block


16


,


17


on the rear side, namely on an end surface


27


, which is directed to the rear as seen in the conveying direction. The two pushers are fitted, by way of a pusher arm


28


, on a common actuating element, namely on a transversely directed carrying rod


29


.




The pushers


24


,


25


are moved such that the pusher heads


26


enter from above into the movement path of the articles, namely the cigarette blocks


16


,


17


(on the right in FIG.


3


). The pusher head


26


is moved in this case such that a folding tab


30


, which is first of all directed to the rear, is folded over against the rear side of the cigarette block


16


,


17


, that is to say against the end surface


27


. The pusher head


26


then moves the cigarette block


16


,


17


along a rectilinear movement path


31


, to be precise as far as the end position within the folding turret


11


. Thereafter the pushers


24


,


25


return into the starting position, in which case the pusher head


26


is moved along an arcuate return path


32


. This runs upwards, in the direction counter to the movement path


31


, to a position above the following cigarette blocks


16


. The pusher head


26


then returns, in an arcuate turning loop, into the carry-along position, that is to say into the movement path


31


.




The pushers


24


,


25


are actuated, for the purpose of executing the movements, via a specific gear mechanism


33


. The latter comprises elements which execute exclusively circular or rotating movements.




A fixed running path for a circulating gear-mechanism element is located in a housing


34


. The running path is designed as a toothed rim


35


with an inner toothing arrangement. A gear wheel, namely a central wheel


36


, runs on the toothed rim


35


or on the toothing arrangement thereof. Said central wheel transmits the drive to the pushers


24


,


25


, namely to the carrying rod


29


.




For this purpose, a connecting element, namely a lever


37


, is connected to the central wheel in a fixed position relative thereto. The lever


37


is designed in this case as a hollow body and accommodates a differential gear mechanism


38


.




The lever


37


is located outside the housing


34


and has one end region connected to the central wheel


36


in a fixed manner, that is to say in a non-changeable position relative thereto. In the present case, the central wheel


36


forms a hollow shaft


39


which passes laterally out of the housing


34


and is connected to the lever


37


and/or to an outer lever housing


40


. The carrying rod


29


is connected in a rotatable manner to the lever


37


at a distance from the hollow shaft


39


.




The central wheel


36


is driven such that it rotates on the toothed rim


35


of its own accord. This achieves specific kinematics: the connection of the carrying rod


29


to the lever


37


, that is to say the axial centre of the carrying rod


29


, executes exclusively a linear movement, namely a movement along a straight line, corresponding to the movement path


31


of the pusher head


26


. The other important point of the lever


37


, namely the axial centre of the hollow shaft


39


, runs in the process on an arc of a circle, concentrically with the toothed rim


35


. It is important to have a geometrical relationship such that the distance (centre-to-centre distance) between the carrying rod


29


and hollow shaft


39


corresponds to half the radius of the outer movement path of the central wheel


36


, said outer movement path being defined by the toothed rim


35


.

FIG. 3

in particular illustrates, with reference to the arrows


41


, that the relevant fixed point of the lever


37


, in the present case the carrying rod


26


, runs on a straight line


42


. The other fixed point, namely the centre of the hollow shaft


39


, runs on a concentric circle arc


43


. The drive is transmitted to the gear mechanism via a central shaft


44


. The central shaft


44


enters into the housing


34


and is connected to a drive body


45


within said housing. Said drive body is provided with a cutout


46


in which the central wheel


36


is mounted in a rotatable manner, offset in relation to the central shaft


44


, namely via the hollow shaft


39


. The drive body


45


is mounted in a rotatable manner in a housing wall


47


. The movements of the central wheel


36


are transmitted to the carrying rod


29


not directly by the lever


37


, but rather via the differential gear mechanism


38


within the lever


37


. The differential gear mechanism


38


comprises three interacting gear wheels, namely a first gear wheel


48


at the end of the carrying rod


29


, a rotatably mounted intermediate wheel


49


and a further gear wheel


50


on a transmission rod


51


mounted within the hollow shaft


39


. On the one hand, the differential gear mechanism


38


formed in this way has the task of reversing the movement direction for the carrying rod


29


, with the result that the carrying rod


29


is not rotated with the lever


37


about its own axis. Furthermore, the differential gear mechanism


38


provides a transmission ratio, resulting in the movement being transmitted in the ratio 1:2. The pushers


24


,


25


execute two movement cycles during a full revolution of the central wheel


36


.




The specific return movement of the pushers


24


,


25


along the return path


32


is brought about by an additional gear mechanism


52


which is arranged within the housing


34


. The additional gear mechanism


52


has a steering lever


53


. The latter is connected to the drive body


45


via a rotary bearing


54


. The rotary bearing


54


is located in a region diametrically opposite the hollow shaft


39


. The other end of the steering lever


53


is connected in an articulated manner to a connecting rod


55


which, in turn, is connected to the end of the transmission rod


51


via a connecting lever


56


. The connecting lever


56


is connected in a non-rotatable manner to the transmission rod


51


, but in an articulated manner to the connecting rod


55


. The movement path (return path


32


) described is made possible in that the steering lever


53


is guided by way of contact rollers


57


,


58


which enter into a curved groove


59


. The latter is arranged in a stationary manner, to be precise in a rear wall


60


of the housing


34


. Two mutually parallel contact rollers


57


,


58


run, without making contact with one another, in the curved groove


59


, that is to say one runs on an inner curved path


61


and the other runs on an outer curved path


62


.




The central shaft


44


, as drive element for the pushers


24


,


25


, is driven in time with the machine.





FIG. 7

, FIG.


8


and

FIG. 9

show in schematic representation various positions of important elements of the gear mechanism. The movement paths are represented here as broken lines. As can be seen, the central wheel


36


, represented by the solid-line circle, executes a clockwise rotational movement along the (inner) toothed rim


35


. In the process, the central wheel


36


rotates counterclockwise, as shown by arrow


63


, around its own axis. The latter, in turn, is schematically represented by the transmission rod


51


as a square. From this the lever


37


, which revolves on a circle arc


43


, leads in the radial direction to the central wheel


36


at its outer perimeter, i.e. to a connection point for the pusher or pusher arm


28


, which can be moved back and forth exclusively on the straight line


42


. This point is defined by the carrying rod


29


. The movement phases of the toothed rim


35


are shown in

FIGS. 7

to


9


. The central wheel


36


runs completely around, with the corresponding positions of the described members being thus formed.



Claims
  • 1. An apparatus for producing essentially rectilinear movements of a linear element for pushing articles into a pocket (12, 13) of a folding turret (11), characterized in that the linear element (24, 25) is moved by elements of a circulating gear-mechanism (34, 35 and 36) which comprises a central wheel (36) which rotates within the gear mechanism and circulates along a circular path.
  • 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the linear element comprises a pusher (24, 25) which is connected in a rotatable manner to a lever (37), wherein a region of the connection between the lever (37) and the pusher (24, 25) travels exclusively along a rectilinear movement path (42).
  • 3. The apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that pusher (24, 25) is connected to a transversely directed carrying rod (29) which is connected to the lever (37) and/or to a differential gear mechanism (38).
  • 4. The apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that the lever (37) is connected in a fixed non-changeable position relative to a drive element.
  • 5. The apparatus according to claim 4, characterized in thatthe central wheel (36) runs on inner teeth of a toothed rim (35) of the gear mechanism (33), and is driven via a central shaft (44).
  • 6. The apparatus according to claim 5, characterized in that the central wheel (36) is driven by a drive body (45) which is connected to the central shaft (44), the central wheel (36) being mounted in a rotatable manner, offset in relation to the central shaft (44), in a region of a U-shaped cutout of the drive body (45).
  • 7. The apparatus according to claim 5, characterized in that movements of the central wheel (36) or of the lever (37) connected thereto are transmitted to the pusher (24, 25) via a differential gear mechanism (38).
  • 8. The apparatus according to claim 7, characterized in that the differential(gear) mechanism (38) is mounted within the lever (37), which has a hollow body, so that a first gear wheel (48) is connected to pusher (24, 25), and a second gear (50) is connected to the central wheel (36) or a transmission rod (51), and in thatarranged between the first and second gear wheels (48 and 50) is an intermediate wheel (49) which is mounted in a rotatable manner in the hollow body of the lever (37).
  • 9. The apparatus according to claim 3, characterized by an additional gear mechanism (52) for producing a return path (32) which deviates from said rectilinear movement path (31) of the pusher (24, 25).
  • 10. The apparatus according to claim 9, characterized in that the additional gear mechanism (52) acts, via the differential gear mechanism (38), on the carrying rod (29) via a transmission rod (51) which runs concentrically with the central wheel (36) and is connected to a gear wheel (50) of the differential gear mechanism (38), and to the additional gear mechanism (52).
Priority Claims (1)
Number Date Country Kind
198 47 433 Oct 1998 DE
US Referenced Citations (7)
Number Name Date Kind
2221996 Petskeyes Nov 1940
4744460 Pazzaglia May 1988
4805376 Oberdorf Feb 1989
5060783 Chenevard et al. Oct 1991
5547064 Meyer et al. Aug 1996
5842558 Spatafora Dec 1998
5894920 Chen et al. Apr 1999
Foreign Referenced Citations (9)
Number Date Country
215 753 Apr 1950 AT
30 31 367 Oct 1981 DE
24 62 686 Aug 1985 DE
35 15 655 Nov 1985 DE
36 20 101 Dec 1987 DE
711718 May 1996 EP
937666 Aug 1999 EP
1028055 May 1966 GB
2079134 Jan 1982 GB