Device for guiding instruction sheets

Abstract

A cardboard box making maching has a product conveyor system, a brochure device, and a conveyor chain for taking over package inserts from the brochure device. The conveyor chain is capable of going around curves, so that the conveyor chain is guided laterally out of the plane of the product conveyor system directly to a transfer point disposed above and obliquely to the product conveyor system. The carboard box making machine, because of the conveyor chain, has fewer transfer points for the package inserts and therefore functions especially operationally reliably at relatively little effort and expense for equipment.

Description

PRIOR ART

The invention relates to an apparatus for delivering package inserts from a brochure device to a product conveyor system, as generically defined by the preamble to claim 1.

In a known apparatus of this type, the package inserts are withdrawn from a brochure device by means of two opposed extracting belts and delivered to an endless conveyor chain that has tongs and is disposed parallel to a product conveyor system. Since the extraction of the package inserts from the brochure device is done from a position that is obliquely above the conveyor chain, the package inserts are conveyed by the two extracting belts, between whose runs the package inserts are located, obliquely downward from above. A disadvantage of this is that the package inserts must be transferred at two points from one device to a second device. First, the package inserts are transferred from the brochure device to the two extracting belts, and second, they are transferred from the two extracting belts between the tongs of the conveyor chain. Since each transfer of package inserts from one device to another is critical in terms of process reliability, disruptions in operation can occur in the previously known apparatus.

ADVANTAGES OF THE INVENTION

The apparatus of the invention for delivering package inserts from a brochure device to a product conveyor system that has the definitive characteristics of claim 1 has the advantage over the prior art that because of the reduction in the number of transfer points for the package inserts functions especially operationally reliably. At the same time, it requires relatively little effort and expense for equipment. According to the invention, this is attained essentially by a conveyor chain capable of going around curves, on which chain the gripper elements for the package inserts are disposed; the conveyor chain makes it possible to convey the package inserts completely from where the package inserts are taken over from the brochure device to where the package inserts are put together with the products located in the product conveyor system.

Advantageous refinements of the apparatus according to the invention for delivering package inserts from a brochure device to a product conveyor system are disclosed in the dependent claims. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the gripper elements are disposed at an angle to the tabs of the conveyor chain. As a result, with a three-dimensionally guide conveyor chain, it is possible for the package inserts to be removed from the brochure device, as is customary, in the perpendicular direction. As a result, no changes whatever must be made in the brochure device, which is a part that has to be additionally purchased. Moreover, given parallel conveyance of the package inserts to the product conveyor system, this makes a position of the package insert possible in which the portion of the package insert located above the conveyor chain can reliably pass between the walls of the buckets typically used in such a product conveyor system.

DRAWING

One exemplary embodiment of the invention is shown in the drawing and will be described in further detail below. Shown are:

FIG. 1, part of a cardboard box making machine, with the apparatus according to the invention for delivering package inserts, in a simplified perspective view; and

FIG. 2, part of the apparatus of the invention, again in a simplified perspective view.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENT

In FIG. 1, part of a cardboard box making machine 10 is shown. The cardboard box making machine 10 serves to thrust a product to be packaged, together with brochures or package inserts 1, into opened folding boxes, not shown, and then closing the boxes. The insertion of the product and the package inserts 1 takes place in a region 5 of the cardboard box making machine 10 in which, however, so-called inserters and buckets for the product to be packaged are not shown, for the sake of simplicity.

The cardboard box making machine 10 has a machine frame 11, in which a product conveyor system 13 that serves to convey the product to be packaged is disposed along the conveying direction 12 for the product. The product conveyor system 13 is in particular a so-called bucket chain, which has partitions at uniform intervals from one another, between which the particular product is located. Such a product conveyor system 13 or bucket chain is well known and is therefore not shown in detail in FIG. 1. A brochure device 15 is disposed in the upper region of the frame 11 of the cardboard box making machine 10. In the brochure device 15, in a magazine 16, the flat blanks of the brochures or package inserts 1 are kept on hand; the package inserts 1 are then gradually withdrawn from the magazine 16, folded, and then transferred to a conveyor system for the package inserts 1. The brochure device 15 as described thus far is likewise known per se.

What is essential to the invention is the conveyor system for the package inserts 1, which takes over the package inserts 1 from the brochure device 15 and puts them together with the product to be packaged, which will be described in conjunction with FIGS. 1 and 2. The conveyor system for the package inserts 1 is embodied as a conveyor chain 18, which on the side remote from the product conveyor system 13 has brochure tongs 19 disposed at uniform intervals from one another. The conveyor chain 18 has a conveyor segment 21 in which the conveyor chain 18 is spaced apart from and parallel to the product conveyor system 13; the spacing between the brochure tongs 19 is equivalent to the spacing between the buckets for the product.

To enable a takeover of the package inserts 1 from the brochure device 15 into the conveyor chain 18, the conveyor chain 18 is embodied in a special way. In this respect it will be noted in advance that the transfer point 22 from the brochure device 15 to a conveyor chain 18 is disposed above and laterally offset from the conveyor segment 21 of the conveyor chain 18.

The conveyor chain 18 is embodied as a so-called side-curve chain; that is, transversely to the longitudinal extent of its chain links 23, it can be deformed by a certain angle. This deformability is exploited according to the invention in order to move the conveyor chain 18 of the vertical plane of the conveyor segment 21, near the brochure device 15, to the transfer point 22, which is disposed vertically and laterally offset. To that end, the conveyor chain 18 is guided in a guide plate 25, which has a guide groove 26 for the conveyor chain 18. The guide plate 25 is disposed on the frame 27 of the product conveyor system 13 at an oblique angle, so as to make the requisite offset possible between the plane of the conveyor segment 21 and the transfer point 22. The conveyor chain 18 is moreover guided upward and back again in an arc away from the level of the conveyor segment 21 as far as the transfer point 22.

The drive of the conveyor chain 18, which is effected synchronously with the drive of the product conveyor system 13, takes place in the region of the horizontal conveyor segment 21 by means of an engagement of the conveyor chain 18 with the product conveyor system 13, for instance by means of a so-called lantern pinion toothing in a sprocket wheel 29.

The brochure tongs 18, and their base plates 28, secured to the conveyor chain 18 are disposed obliquely to the vertical and to the longitudinal extent of the chain links 23 by an angle α, such that the portion 2 of the package insert 1 extending below the conveyor chain 18 is oriented toward the product conveyor system 13 in the conveyor segment 21, and the opposite portion 3 of the package insert 1, because of its creasing, protrudes obliquely upward, so that upon takeover in the region 5 it can protrude into a product bucket. The angle α for this purpose amounts to approximately 25 to 40°, and in the exemplary embodiment 28°.

Claims

1-5. (canceled)

6. An apparatus (10) for delivering package inserts (1) from a brochure device (15) to a product conveyor system (13), the apparatus comprising; an endless conveyor chain (18) on which gripper elements (19), each for one package insert (1), are disposed at uniform intervals, the conveyor chain (18) extending parallel to and over part of the conveyor path of the product conveyor system (13), drive means driving the endless conveyor chain (18) synchronously with the product conveyor system (13), dispensing means furnishing the package inserts (1) from the brochure device (15) to a takeover point (22) located above and laterally offset from the product conveyor system (13), the conveyor chain (18) being capable of lateral deflection to go around curves, deflection means pivoting the conveyor chain (18) out of the plane near the conveyor path of the product conveyor system (13) in the direction of the takeover point (22); and means guiding the conveyor chain (18) is guided up to the takeover point (22) via a portion that extends from the level of the product conveyor system (13) to the level of the takeover point (22).

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the guidance of the conveyor chain (18) in the region below the brochure device (15) is effected in a guide plate (25) having a guide groove (26).

8. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the fastening plane for the package insert on the gripper element (19), when the conveyor chain (18) is guided parallel to the product conveyor system (13), relative to the chain links (23) is disposed at an angle (a) such that a portion (2) of the package insert (1) disposed below the gripper element (19) extends parallel to the conveyor chain (18) and protrudes in the direction of the product conveyor system (13).

9. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the fastening plane for the package insert on the gripper element (19), when the conveyor chain (18) is guided parallel to the product conveyor system (13), relative to the chain links (23) is disposed at an angle (α) such that a portion (2) of the package insert (1) disposed below the gripper element (19) extends parallel to the conveyor chain (18) and protrudes in the direction of the product conveyor system (13).

10. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the angle (α) in the range of about 20° to about 40°.

11. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the angle (α) in the range of about 20° to about 40°.

12. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the angle (α) is approximately 28°.

13. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the angle (α) is approximately 28°.

14. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the drive of the conveyor chain (18) is effected by means of mechanical engagement with the product conveyor system (13) in the region of the conveyor path segment (21) that is parallel to the conveyor chain (18).

15. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the drive of the conveyor chain (18) is effected by means of mechanical engagement with the product conveyor system (13) in the region of the conveyor path segment (21) that is parallel to the conveyor chain (18).

16. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the drive of the conveyor chain (18) is effected by means of mechanical engagement with the product conveyor system (13) in the region of the conveyor path segment (21) that is parallel to the conveyor chain (18).

17. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the drive of the conveyor chain (18) is effected by means of mechanical engagement with the product conveyor system (13) in the region of the conveyor path segment (21) that is parallel to the conveyor chain (18).

18. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the drive of the conveyor chain (18) is effected by means of mechanical engagement with the product conveyor system (13) in the region of the conveyor path segment (21) that is parallel to the conveyor chain (18).

19. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the drive of the conveyor chain (18) is effected by means of mechanical engagement with the product conveyor system (13) in the region of the conveyor path segment (21) that is parallel to the conveyor chain (18).

20. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the drive of the conveyor chain (18) is effected by means of mechanical engagement with the product conveyor system (13) in the region of the conveyor path segment (21) that is parallel to the conveyor chain (18).