1. * GB780020 (A)
Description: GB780020 (A) ? 1957-07-31
Improvements in or relating to packaging machines
Description of GB780020 (A)
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
Improvements in or relating to Packaging Machines
We, LONDON RUBBER COMPANY LIMITED, a British Company, of Hall Lane,
Chingford,
London, E.4, do hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a
patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be
performed, to be particularly described in and by the following
statement:
This invention relates to packaging machines and, more particularly,
to machines for inserting relatively soft products such as rubber
goods into envelopes.
'The invention, according to one aspect thereof, consists in the
method of inserting relatively soft products such as rubber goods
into envelopes which comprises first inserting an article into a
flattened tube to a position
in which a part of the article projects from one end of the tube,
causing the end of the tube from which the article projects
to enter an envelope to a sufficient extent to place the article
wholly within the envelope, holding the article in the envelope by
means of
a gripping device pressing, through the envelope, on the projecting
part of the article,
and withdrawing the tube whilst the article is so held.
According to another aspect of the inven
tion, a machine for inserting relatively soft products such as rubber
goods into envelopes
comprises a plurality of liattened tubes, means
for inserting an article into each of said tubes
to a position in which a part of the article
projects from one end of the tube, means for

2. supporting and opening envelopes, means for
bringing each tube in turn into alignment with
an open envelope, means for effecting relative
reciprocation of the aligned tube and envelope
to cause the tube to enter and withdraw from
the envelope, and a holding device arranged
so press, through the envelope, on the proliect-
ing part of the article during the withdrawal of
the tube, to retain the article in the envelope.
The flattened tubes may be mounted for
reciprocation on radial arms of a rotatable
spider, the articles being inserted in the tubes and the spider
rotated to bring the filled tubes one by one into alignment with open
envelopes and the envelopes may be positioned about the periphery of a
turntable mounted for rotation about an axis parallel to that of the
spider.
The invention is hereinafter described with' reference to the
accompanying drawings, in which:
Figure 1 is a side elevation of a machine according to the invention;
and
Figure 2 is a plan view of the machine shown in Figure 1.
The essential steps in the operation of the machine according to the
invention are the insertion of the article to be packed into a
flattened tube at a tube loading station, the placing of an envelope
on an envelope carrier at an envelope supply station, the movement of
the flattened tube and envelope into aligned positions at a filling
station, and the transfer of the article from the flattened tube to
the envelope at that station.
Referring to the drawings, the machine comprises a frame 10 in the
lower part of which is mounted, in bearings 11, 12, 13, a horizontal
main shaft 14 adapted to be continuously rotated by power from a
suitable source, such as an electric motor (not shown). A vertical
shaft 15 is driven through intermittent gearing 16 from the shaft 14
so as to make one tenth of a revolution during a part of each
revolution of the main shaft, and to remain stationary during the
remainder of each revolution of the said main shaft. A second vertical
shaft 17 is connected to the shaft 15 by a chain 18 and sprockets, so
that both the shafts 15 and 17 rotate in unison. The shaft 17 carries,
at its upper end, a spider 19 having ten arms each consisting of
parallel rods 21 and 22 in a common radial plane.
On each pair of rods 21, 22 there is mounted a slider 23 carrying a
short, radially outwardly projecting flattened tube 24. Each slider 23
has at its lower end a roller 215, the axis of which is horizontal and
tangential to a circle about the spider axis, and two levers 26 and

3. 217, mounted to oscillate in a common plane including the axis of the
spider, are notched at their upper ends as shown at 28 to receive ithe
rollers 25. The lever 26 extends downwardly below its pivot 29, and
carries at its lower end a cam follower roller 311 urged by a spring
(not shown) against a face cam 32 mounted on the shaft 14. The cam 32
is so positioned in relation to the intermittent gearing 16 that the
lever 26 moves through a complete cycle during each dwell period of
the spider 23. The lever 26 is coupled by a collapsible rigid link 33
to an arm 3!4 fast with the lever 27, the arrangement being such that
the two levers 26 and 27 move simultaneously in opposite directions
the collapsing of the link 33 enabling the lever 2i6 to move
independently of the lever 27 if desired. The dwell positions of the
spider 23 are such that in each of them two of the spider arms are in
the plane of the levers 216 and 27, so that the sliders on those arms
are caused to reciprocate by the movement of the levers.
A third vertical shaft 3.5, driven by intermittent gearing 36 from the
main shaft 14, carries at its upper end! one of a pair of grooved
rollers 37, 38, the other roller being carried by a short vertical
shaft 40 connected to the shaft 3:5 by gearing so that the two rollers
3:7, 3.8 rotate in opposite directions, as indicated by the arrows in
Figure 2. The rollers are placed one on each side of the plane in
which the levers 26 and 27 oscillate, and their grooves are at the
same vertical level as the flattened tubes 24.
The shaft 11:5 carries at its upper end a circular turntable 39 about
the periphery of which are formed ten inclined platforms 41 each
adapted to receive an envelope. Holes 42 in each platform are
connected by conduits '43 to a valve device 44 which is in turn
connected to a suction pump or exhauster (not shown) by a conduit 45.
The valve device 44 comprises a body 46 rotating with the turntable
39, and a hollow drum 47 located in a co-axial recess in the body 46
and held against rotation. Only parts of the conduits 43 are shown in
Figure 1, but it will be understood that there is a conduit 43 leading
from the holes 42 in each platform 41 to the body 46 of the valve. The
valve device 44 is arranged to connect each conduit 43 to the pump or
exhauster during a part of each revolution of the turntable, and to
isolate it from the pump or exhauster during the remaining part of the
revolution. At the side of each platform 41 is arranged a vertically
slidable post 48 carrying a rigid conduit 49 bent to such a shape that
one end thereof is vertically above the platform 41, the other end
being connected by a flexible conduit 5il to the valve body 46 Each of
the posts 48 carries at its lower end an arm 52 on which is mounted a
cam follower 53 engaging a fixed annular cam track 54 below the
turntable, the track being so shaped as to allow the post 48 to rise
under the influence of a spring, (not shown) during a portion of each

4. revolution of the turntable.
There is also mounted, adjacent each platform 41 on the turntable 39,
a lever 55 rotatable about a pivot disposed substantially in the plane
of the turntable, the lever having an outwardly extending arm carrying
a finger 56 adapted to be pressed down on to the corresponding
platform 41 so as to grip an envelope and an article disposed in the
enslope between itself and the platform. Only one lever 55 is shown in
Figure 1. The levers 55 are operated at the required time, during the
period for which the corresponding platforms dwell on the line joining
the centres of the spider and turntable, and adjacent to the spider,
by a cam 57 mounted on a vertical rod 58 slidable in guides in the
frame 10, the rod 58 having at its lower end a cam follower 59
engaging a cam 61 on the main shaft 14. The rod 58 is urged downwardly
by a spring 62.
Envelopes are fed on to the platforms 41 at a station diametrically
opposite to that at which the envelopes are filled, the envelopes
being taken one-by-one from a stack carried by a hoist 63. The hoist,
which is shown in chain dotted lines in Figure 1, comprises a
plurality of flights 64 carried by relatively offset sprocket chain
circuits 65 and 66 which are driven continuously or intermittently by
ang suitable means to keep the top of the stack at a substantially
constant level. The envelopes are lifted from the stack by a suction
device 67 mounted on a sliding carriage 68 for movement radially of
the turntable 39, the carriage 68 being moved to and fro on guides 69
by an arm 71 (Figure 2) pivoted at 72 and oscillated by means of a
crank pin 73 carried by a shaft 74 coupled by a universal joint 75 to
another shaft 76 driven through bevel gearing 77 from the main shaft
14 The suction device 67 is controlled by a valve 78 operated by a cam
79 on the shaft 76 to connect the said device to the suction pump or
exhauster at the required Times.
The machine operates in the following manner. The turntable 39 and
spider 19 rotate step-by-step in unison, and at the dwell periods
between steps of movement there are always two spider arms on the line
joining their centres and two platforms 41 with their radial centre
lines on that line. The tube loading station A, envelope filling
station B, and envelope supply station C all lie on the line joining
the centres of the turntable and spider.
As each platform 41 on the turntable 39 dwells at the station C, the
suction device 67 moves inwardly to transfer an envelope to that
platform, suction being applied to the device 67 during such inward
movement, and cut off at the end of the inward movement to release the
envelope. As the platform 41 approaches the station C the tube 49 is
lifted away from the turntable to avoid interference with the suction
device 67, and suction is applied to the conduit 43 to hold the

5. envelope on the platform. At the same time as an envelope is deposited
on the platform 41 at the envelope supply station C, an article to be
packed is delivered by the rollers 37, 38 into a flattened tube 24 at
the tube loading station A, the articles being brought to that station
by any suitable form of conveyor which leads them into the pass
between the rollers. .The articles are compressed laterally by the
rollers so that the latter grip the articles and push them into the
tubes, leaving a part of each article projecting. As explained above,
the sliders 23 at the tube loading station A and at the envelope
filling station
B have their rollers 25 in engagement with the levers 26 and 27,
respectively, the cam 32 being so arranged in relation to the
intermittent drive 116 that, when a pair of spider arms approach those
stations, the levers 26 and 27 have their upper ends in their inward
positions (shown in chain dotted lines in Figure
1), so that, the sliders 23 being in their radially inner positions,
the rollers 25 enter the notches 218 in the levers The levers then
move outwardly and inwardly. the outward movement being timed so that
it terminates just as an article is being fed between the rollers 37,
38.
As the spider and turntable rotate, each tube 24 receives an article
at the station A and each platform 41 receives an envelope at the
station C, so that when a tube 24 and a platform 41 come into
alignment at the envelope filling station B, the article in the tube
can be inserted' in the envelope. As the platform 41 approaches the
station B suction is applied to the appropriate tube 49 to open the
envelope, and whilst the turntable and spiders are stationary, the
tube 24 moves into and out of the envelope, the lever 55 being
operated at the end of the inward movement to bring the linger 56 down
on to the envelope, thus gripping the part of the article projecting
from the tube and holding the article in the envelope whilst the tube
is withdrawn. when the platform 41 reaches a subsequent station the
suction is cut off from the tube 43 and the filled envelope is
removed.
A source of light and a photo-electric cell are preferably arranged at
the station B in such a way that the light is directed on to the cell
through a hole in the platform, which hole is obstructed if there is
an envelope in position on the platform. The current produced in the
cell by light falling thereon energises a relay which in turn
energises an electro-magnet 81 on the collapsible link 33 to collapse
the link and so prevent operation of the lever 27, thus preventing an
article from being deposited on an empty platform.
Energisation of the photo-electric cell also sets in operation
mechanism which, when the tube 43 which has retained its article again

6. reaches the tube loading station A, projects a pin into the pass
between' the rollers to prevent another article from being fed into
the tube. .Such mechanism may comprise, for example, a relay closed by
the energisation of the photo-electric cell and having contacts in a
circuit which includes an electro-magnet operating to move a suitable
positioned ramp rotating with the spider into a position to lift the
pin. The electrical circuits is preferably so arranged that, if two
successive platforms are empty, so that the photo-electric cell
produces 'two successive current impulses, the machine is stopped.
It will be understood that more than one loading station and more than
one delivery station may be provided, and that the flattened tubes or
the envelopes, or bioth, may be sup ported by moving carriers other
than the rotatable carriers described. iFor example, they may be
mounted on endless bands.
The machine according to the invention is particularly suitable for
the insertion into envelopes of articles having a flexible flap, teat
or the like which would tend to trail rearwardly as the article was
inserted in an envelope and might be deformed or damaged when the
envelope was closed, since the flap or the like assumes its trailing
position when the article enters the tube, and thus is presented
forwardly to the envelope.
What we claim is:
1. The method of inserting relatively soft products such as rubber
goods into envelopes which comprises first inserting an article into a
flattened tube to a position in which a part of the article projects
from one end of the tube, causing the end of the tube- from which the
article projects to enter an envelope to a sufficient extent to place
the article wholly within the envelope, holding the article in the
envelope by means of a gripping device pressing, through the envelope,
on the projecting part of the article, and withdrawing the tube whilst
the article is so held.
2. A machine for inserting relatively soft products such as rubber
goods into envelopes which comprises a plurality of flattened tubes,
means for inserting an article into each of said tubes to a position
in which a part of the article projects from one end of the tube,
means for supporting and opening envelopes, means for bringing each
tube in turn into alignment with an open envelope, means for effecting
relative reciprocation of the aligned tube and envelope to cause the
tube to enter and withdraw from the envelope, and a holding device
arranged to press, through the enenvelope, on the projecting part of
the article during the withdrawal of the tube, to retain the article
in the envelope.