Apparatus for putting sleeves onto conveyed articles

• US 6,684,599 B1
• Filed: 11/20/2000
• Issued: 02/03/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 05/20/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Sleever International Company
• Original Assignee: Sleever International Company
• Inventors: Fresnel, Eric
• Primary Examiner(s): Kim, Eugene
• Assistant Examiner(s): TAWFIK, SAMEH
• Application Number:
  US09/700,786
• Time in Patent Office: 1,170 Days
• Field of Search: 53/64, 53/65, 53/68, 53/71, 532/96, 532/91, 535/85
• US Class Current: 53/64
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 9/14 Devices for distending tubes supplied in the flattened state
• CPC Class Codes: B65C 3/065 by placing tubular labels around the container applying preformed tubular sheathings of plastics in general B29C63/18; applying protective covers to closures B67B5/03

Abstract

The invention relates to apparatus for placing sleeves on conveyed articles, said sleeves being cut-off from a continuous sheath (13) passing over a floating type sheath-opening shaper (20). According to the invention, the wheels (30, 31) for lowering the sheath and the wheels (32, 33) for ejecting the cut-off sheath segment (15) are rotated by associated electric motors (41; 42, 43) controlled synchronously by a common electronic programmer (50) arranged to determine a continuous profile of speed variation so as to control the lowering of each sheath segment, said programmer including at least one control card (55) which co-operates with an adjacent encoder (47) mounted at the end of a shaft (46) rotated by a central motor and gearbox unit (40, 45). The synchronization obtained makes it possible to envisage very high rates of throughput while using sleeves of a diameter that is hardly greater than the maximum diameter of the articles.

Claims

1. Apparatus for placing sleeves onto conveyed articles, said sleeves being cut from a continuous sheath (13) passing over a sheath opening shaper (20) which is held floating by co-operation between first outside wheels (30, 31) and parallel-axis backing wheels (25, 26) carried by said shaper, said first wheels causing the sheath to advance along the shaper (20) up to cutting means (27), second outside wheels (32, 33) being provided downstream from the cutting means (27) to eject the cut-off sheath segment (15) onto the article (10) fed into register with the shaper by stepper conveyor means (11, 12) of the articles, wherein the first wheels (30, 31) and the second wheels (32, 33) are rotated by associated electric motors (41;

42, 43) controlled synchronously by a common electronic programmer (50) arranged to determine a continuous profile (P1, P2) for speed variation of said motors so as to control the transfer of each sheath segment (15) onto the corresponding article (10), said programmer including at least one electronic control card (55) which cooperates with an adjacent encoder (47) mounted at the end of a shaft (46) rotated by a central motor and gearbox unit (40, 45).

2. Sleeve-placing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the continuous profiles (P1, P2) for speed variation of the electric drive motors (41;

42, 43) of the first and second wheels (30, 31;

32, 33) are bell-shaped.

3. Sleeve-placing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the central portions of the continuous speed variation profiles (P1, P2) are such that the profile (P2) associated with the second wheels (32, 33) is taller than the profile (P1) associated with the first wheels (30, 31).

4. Sleeve-placing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the common electronic programmer (50) has in memory a series of pairs of bell-shaped profiles (P1, P2) which are programmed.

5. Sleeve-placing apparatus according to claim 1, having a pair of first wheels (30, 31) driven by a common electric motor (41), and a pair of second wheels (32, 33) each driven by a respective electric motor (42, 43) one of which (43) is slaved to the other (42).

6. Sleeve-placing apparatus according to claim 5 further including third wheels (34, 35) disposed immediately downstream from the cutting means (27), said third wheels being mechanically coupled to the first wheels (30,31) to rotate at a slightly higher speed than the speed of said first wheels, the axes of said third pair of wheels being offset from the axes of the second pair of wheels (32, 33) by a distance which corresponds substantially to the length of a cut-off sheath segment (15).

7. Sleeve-placing apparatus according to claim 1, further including third wheels (34, 35) disposed immediately downstream from the cutting means (27), said third wheels being mechanically coupled to the first wheels (30, 31) to rotate at a slightly higher speed than the speed of said first wheels.

8. Sleeve-placing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the common programmer (50) also includes an electronic control card (55) associated with the stepper conveyor means (11, 12) for conveying the articles, in order to control said means from the rotary encoder (47).