Patent Application
20080079213
The foregoing aspects and many of the attendant advantages of this invention will become better understood by reference to the following detailed description, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
A feeder device 20, constructed in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure, may be best understood by referring to
The applicators 26a and 26b are positioned to apply a hot melt adhesive to first and second film layers 28a and 28b before the film layers 28a and 28b are applied to a container blank 30. Such container blanks 30 are suitably formed from well-known cellulose materials, such as wood pulp, straw, cotton, bagasse and the like. The container blanks 30 are sequentially fed into the encapsulation apparatus 22 where they are encapsulated within the film layers 28a and 28b.
The feeder device 20 includes a loader 40, a singulation mechanism 42, a transport mechanism 44, and a motion control assembly 46. The loader 40 is a well-known device adapted to permit a continuous feed of container blanks 30. It is envisioned that such a loader 40 provides a continuous supply of stacked container blanks to the singulation mechanism 42. Thus, any suitable available loader that provides a continuous supply of container blanks is within the scope of the disclosure.
As may be best seen by referring to
Although only two gripping assemblies 50a and 50b are illustrated and described, it should be apparent that singulation mechanisms 42 having more or less gripping assemblies are also within the scope of the present disclosure. Specifically, operation efficiencies may dictate the design of the singulation mechanism and, therefore, such mechanisms may include one, two, three, four, etc., gripping assemblies. As such, the disclosed embodiments should not be construed as limited by the illustrated embodiment.
As the first and second gripping assemblies 50a and 50b are identically configured, only one gripping assembly will be described in greater detail. However, it should be apparent that the description of one applies to the other. One suitable embodiment of a gripping assembly 50 within the scope of the present disclosure includes a drive motor 52, first and second drive axles 54a and 54b, at least one conveyor 56, and at least one gripping device 58.
The drive motor 52 is suitably a well-known servo-motor operatively connected to one of either the first or second drive axles 54a and 54b in any manner known to one of ordinary skill in the art. The conveyor 56 is suitably a belt that extends between the first and second drive axles 54a and 54b. The drive motor 52 is in communication with a well-known motion controller 60 to selectively reciprocate the gripping device 58 along a desired velocity profile, as described in greater detail below with respect to
The gripping device 58 is suitably vacuum operated and includes a piston 70 having one end (not shown) slidably disposed within a cylinder 72. The other end of the piston 70 includes a gripping head 74, such as a suction cup. The gripping head 74 is in fluid communication with a vacuum source (not shown) by a valve assembly 76 extending from the cylinder 72. The gripping device 58 is suitably fastened to the conveyor 56 in any manner known to one of ordinary skill in the art. While gripping assembly 50 of the presently described embodiment includes only one gripping device 58, it should be apparent that gripping assemblies with more gripping devices, such as two, three, four, etc., are also within the scope of the appended claims.
Although a vacuum operated gripping device is illustrated and described, the present disclosure is not intended to be so limiting. As non-limiting examples, pneumatic and robotic gripping devices are also contemplated within the scope of the present disclosure. Accordingly, the disclosure of vacuum operated gripping devices should be construed as exemplary and the scope of the gripping device includes pneumatic, mechanical, and vacuum operated devices.
Still referring to
As seen best in
Operation of the feeder device 20 may be best understood by referring to
As the gripping device 58 includes a vacuum, it applies a suitable restraining pressure sufficient to releasably attach the container blank 30 to the gripping head 74. Recall that the described embodiment includes a plurality of gripping devices displaced along the width of the container blank 30. As such, each gripping device does not necessarily singularly apply a vacuum pressure sufficient to pick-up the container blank 30. The exact vacuum required to pick-up a container blank is function of the size and weight of the container blank as well as the open area of the gripping device and the calculation of such vacuum is within the skill of an ordinary person in the art.
After the gripping device 58 restrains the container blank 30, well-known controls retract the piston 70 into a transport position B sufficient to lift the container blank 30 from the stack and clear surrounding obstacles. The motion controller 60 signals the motor 52 to accelerate the conveyor 56 to move the container blank 30 towards a transport surface 90 where the container blank 30 is guided towards opposed nips 92a and 92b. The nips 92a and 92b are located adjacent the transport mechanism 44 and provide additional positioning restraint capabilities to assist in maintaining positioning of the container blank 30 as it is being transported towards the encapsulation apparatus 22. After the container blank 30 is captured by the opposed nips 92a and 92b, well-known controls retract the piston into release position C, the vacuum is released and the gripping device 58 is returned to the starting location.
As briefly noted above, the motion controller 60 allows an operator to program the velocity profile of the singulation mechanism 42. Specifically, the velocity profile can be programmed in any desired mainer. As an example, the controller 60 may increase the velocity of the conveyor 56 to propel the gripping device 58 connected to the container blank 30 to a speed greater than the web speed. As the container blank 30 approaches the transport surface 90 and the nips 92a and 92b, the controller 60 may slow the conveyor 56 to the web speed.
By properly programming the acceleration and deceleration of the conveyor 56, the leading edge of the container blank 30 gripped by device 58 will approach the trailing edge of the previous container blank. As a result, the gap between the leading and trialing edges of all blanks of the same size can be made substantially consistent. This ensures consistent spacing 100 (
Thus, the velocity profile may be programmed to any desired profile of the operator's choosing. This permits the operator to control the spacing between successive container blanks 30 as they are feed into the encapsulation apparatus 22. Again, it should be apparent that the velocity profile at which the singulation mechanism 42 operates may be programmed as desired, including a substantially constant profile having a speed substantially equal to the web speed.
While illustrative embodiments have been illustrated and described, it will be appreciated that various changes can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
