US3506525A - Apparatus for mounting articles on a display card - Google Patents

Apparatus for mounting articles on a display card Download PDF

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US3506525A
US3506525A US651718A US3506525DA US3506525A US 3506525 A US3506525 A US 3506525A US 651718 A US651718 A US 651718A US 3506525D A US3506525D A US 3506525DA US 3506525 A US3506525 A US 3506525A
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Prior art keywords
card
articles
plate
packets
collator
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US651718A
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Arthur John Freemantle
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    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65BMACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING
    • B65B15/00Attaching articles to cards, sheets, strings, webs, or other carriers
    • YGENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y10TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
    • Y10TTECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION
    • Y10T156/00Adhesive bonding and miscellaneous chemical manufacture
    • Y10T156/17Surface bonding means and/or assemblymeans with work feeding or handling means
    • Y10T156/1702For plural parts or plural areas of single part
    • Y10T156/1712Indefinite or running length work
    • Y10T156/1734Means bringing articles into association with web
    • YGENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y10TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
    • Y10TTECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION
    • Y10T156/00Adhesive bonding and miscellaneous chemical manufacture
    • Y10T156/17Surface bonding means and/or assemblymeans with work feeding or handling means
    • Y10T156/1702For plural parts or plural areas of single part
    • Y10T156/1744Means bringing discrete articles into assembled relationship
    • Y10T156/1751At least three articles
    • Y10T156/1754At least two applied side by side to common base
    • Y10T156/1756Plural ranks
    • YGENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y10TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
    • Y10TTECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION
    • Y10T29/00Metal working
    • Y10T29/51Plural diverse manufacturing apparatus including means for metal shaping or assembling
    • Y10T29/5136Separate tool stations for selective or successive operation on work
    • Y10T29/5137Separate tool stations for selective or successive operation on work including assembling or disassembling station
    • Y10T29/5142Separate tool stations for selective or successive operation on work including assembling or disassembling station and means to sever work from supply
    • YGENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y10TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
    • Y10TTECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION
    • Y10T29/00Metal working
    • Y10T29/53Means to assemble or disassemble
    • Y10T29/53313Means to interrelatedly feed plural work parts from plural sources without manual intervention
    • Y10T29/53383Means to interrelatedly feed plural work parts from plural sources without manual intervention and means to fasten work parts together

Definitions

  • the mounting station includes a displaceable inclined table and cam means for displacing said table incrementally in the direction of approach of said articles to said table to present a fresh portion of card to each newly collated group of articles.

Description

April 14, 1970 AQ FREEMANTL E' I 3,506,525
APPARATUS FOR MOUNTING ARTICLES on A DISPLAY CARD Filed July 7. 1967 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 April 1970 A. J. FREEMANTLE 3,506,525
APPARATUS FOR MOUNTING ARTICLES ON A DISPLAY CARD Filed July 7, 1967 5 Sheet-Sheet 2 A. J. FREEMANTLE 3,506,525
APPARATUS FOR MOUNTING ARTICLES ON A DISPLAY CARD Filed July 7, 1967 v April 14, 1970 I 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 I'll April 14, 1.970 A. J. FREEMANTLE 2 APPARATUS FOR MOUNTING ARTICLES ON A DISPLAY CARD Filed July '7, 1967 '5 Sheets-Sheet 4 3 -*mww April 14, 1970 A. J/FREE MANTLE 3,506,
APPARATUS FOR MOUNTING ARTICLES ON A DISPLAY CARD 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed July 7, 1967 Patented Apr. 14, 1970 United States Patent once 3,506,525 APPARATUS FOR MOUNTING ARTICLES ON A DISPLAY CARD Arthur John Freemantle, 453 Grimsby Road, Lincolnshire, Cleethorpes, England Filed July 7, 1967, Ser. No. 651,718 Claims priority, application Great Britain, July 7, 1966, 30,616/ 66 Int. Cl. 1532b 31/04 US. Cl. 156561 11 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE In the mounting of articles on a display card, individual articles are fed from a supply station to and collated at, a transfer station, into a group presenting projecting edge regions, after which the group is transferred to an article mounting station with the projecting edge regions in contact with a card previosuly positioned at the mounting station. The card contacting portion of each article is then secured to the card and the latter is advanced to displace at least the portion thereof having the articles secured to it away from the mounting station. Separate display cards may be used in which case each card is removed from the article mounting station when it becomes full and is replaced by a separate, empty card. Alternatively a continuous web of card may be employed, which is thereafter cut at predetermined intervals to form individual, filled cards.
This invention concerns an article handling method and apparatus and relates more particularly to a method and apparatus for conveying and fixing packages in succession to a display board or card.
According to the present invention in a method of mounting articles on a display card, a card is positioned at an article mounting station, individual articles are fed from a supply station to and are collated at a transfer station into a group, the collated group of articles is transferred from said transfer station to the mounting station and into contact with the card, said articles are secured to said card and at least the region of the card having the articles secured to it is moved away from said mounting station.
The articles may be secured to the card in any desired manner, as by a stapling, a taping or a stringing operation. Conveniently, however, they are adhered to the card and in a preferred method, the surface of the card to which the articles are presented is coated with a heat-activated adhesive and the aforementioned securing operation includes the step of applying heat to the portion of each article which contacts the card.
The method proposed by the invention may with advantage be applied to the mounting of articles in packets to display cards, when the card at the mounting station may be downwardly inclined with respect to the line of approach of the collated articles to the card, and said line of approach may itself be arranged to commence at a level somewhat above the card and to move downwards to meet the card at the mounting station. In this way, by advancing the card after each collated group of articles has been placed on it, successive groups may be superimposed on preceding ones.
The invention includes within its scope, an article handling apparatus comprising a collator plate, means for grouping articles on the plate with a part of each article projecting therefrom and means for removing the said collated group from said plate by means of said projecting parts.
Conveniently, the collating plate may take the form of a shovel, which in one embodiment of the invention may include a bottom, a back, a shortened top and one side, the opposite side and the front of the shovel being open to enable articles to be introduced into the shovel through said opposite side and to be removed from the front. In another embodiment of the invention, the shovel is a multiple part assembly comprising a reciprocable plate for receiving articles, a plurality of plane lingers aligned longitudinally with the plate and spaced transversely across it, said fingers lying in a plane perpendicular to that of the plate and being carried by means which brings them periodically against the plate in timed relation with the supply of articles thereto, and gripper means spaced transversely across the plate intermediate said fingers for holding the articles on the plate.
The means for grouping the articles on the shovel may include at least one hopper at one side of the shovel, although two hoppers with one arranged at each side of the shovel are preferred. Articles are stacked vertically one upon the other in the hopper, and the latter may have a slidable bottom reciprocable towards and away from the shovel, whereby on each stroke of the hopper bottom, the lowermost article in the hopper is pushed on to the shovel. A mechanism for reciprocating the hopper bottom may include cam means providing for a reducing length of stroke as successive articles are pushed on to the shovel.
In order to remove the collated articles from the shovel at the mounting station, a vertically displaceable bar may be arranged to descend and press the projecting parts of the articles against the card, and when the articles are packets intended for securing to the card by a heatactivated adhesive, the same bar may be heated to activate the adhesive and effect the securing of the packets to the cards.
As an alternative to separate cards, the display board may take the form of an intermittently moved web which is cut at predetermined intervals as a required number of articles is mounted thereon.
The invention will be described further, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying, generally diagrammatic drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one article handling machine embodying the invention,
FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the collating shovel assembly,
FIG. 3 is a plan view thereof,
FIG. 4 is a side elevation of the mounting station,
FIG. 5 is a side elevation of a display card loading mechanism,
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of another apparatus according to the invention, and
FIG. 7 is a sectional elevation of a part thereof.
Both the apparatus to be described with reference to the drawings are intended for the mounting of packets of goods such as foodstuffs, pharmaceutical products, screws and other small hardware and so forth, and in both embodiments of the invention it is an essential feature that the leading ends of the packets shall overhang the forward edge of a collating shovel or equivalent member as the latter approaches a mounting station. It will, of course, be appreciated that the invention is not restricted to the handling of packets, but that other articles capable of presenting a projecting leading edge for securing to a display card may be handled.
Referring now to FIGS. 1 to 5 of the drawings, the machine illustrated therein includes a frame at each side and towards one end of which is arranged a hopper 12 supplied as through a chute 14 with packets 15 which are to be secured to a display card 18. The hoppers 12 are of rectangular section and are arranged with their longer sides parallel to the main longitudinal axis of the frame 10, these longer sides being open to accommodate a false hopper bottom in the form of a pusher which is reciprocable by drive means generally designated 22.
Adjacent and just below the inner face of each hopper 12, the machine frame 10 carries a guide rail 24 having an initial portion which is horizontal and a terminal portion 26 which is somewhat downwardly inclined. Between the guide rails is slidably mounted a collator plate 28 which is reciprocable, by drive means generally denoted 30, towards and away from an inclined table 32 supported in the frame 10 by guides 34 for displacement by a cam 36. The cam 36 will be observed to have a periphery shaped such that during rotation of the cam, the table 32 is firstly advanced through a predetermined distance towards the collator plate 28 and then remains stationary for a period at a fixed distance from that plate, the cycle being repeated a number of times. The table 32 is biased by a spring 38 in a direction away from the plate 28 and the cam 36 is further formed at one point with a generally radial land 40, with the result that, when the cam follower 33 on the table 32 comes into register with the land 40, the spring 38 abruptly returns the table 32 to its position of maximum spacing from the collator plate 28.
The inclined table 32 is a mounting table carrying the display card 18 to which the packets 16 on the collator plate 28 are to be secured. The card 18 is placed on the table by a pusher member 42 which displaces it from a stationary table 44 arranged at one side of the machine frame 10. For the purpose of placing a card 18 on the stationary table 44 ready for feeding to the inclined mounting table 32, the invention provides a pair of spaced, vacuum lifting arms 46 connected to a vacuum pump 48 and mounting on a rotatable spindle 50 carried between levers 52 pivoted intermediate their ends to the machine frame 10. The spindle 50 is connected to a rotary crank 56 by a long connecting rod 58 and a short connecting rod 60 and the upper ends of the levers 52 are biased away from the crank 56 by one or more springs 54 connected to their lower ends. As the crank rotates. therefore, the vacuum lifting arms are moved towards and away from a holder 62 containing a stack 19 of fresh cards 18, and a vacuum control 49 is actuated in timed relation with this movement of the lifting arms to apply vacuum for removing a card from the stack 19 when the free ends of the arms contact the stack. Thereafter, on continued rotation of the crank 56, the spindle 50 is rotated and the levers 52 are pushed away from the stack to lift the card over, towards and to deposit it on, the stationary table 44, the vacuum control 49 operating at this juncture to release the card.
A horizontal bar 64 is carried along the lower edge of a gate 66, the latter being mounted for vertical displacement in a pair of vertical guide rails 68 mounted on opposite sides of the frame 10 in the above inclined table 32. The bar 64 is heated for example by an electrical heating element (not shown). Alternatively the bar may be formed with a hollow interior and heated by fluid medium passed therethrc-ugh. The gate 66 is biased in an upward direction by a spring 70 against the underside of two cams 72 carried by an axle 74 mounted between the upper ends of the two guide rails 68 and rotated by drive means shown diagrammatically at 76. Rotation of the cams 72 causes the gate 66 to reciprocate in a vertical plane, the phase and time relationship of the downward movement of the gate 66 being arranged to coincide with the arrival therebelow of the leading edges of the collated packets next to be secured to the card 18.
The filling of a card corresponds to the complete rotation of the cam 36 and the end of the cycle is determined by the radial land 40 of this cam which causes the table 32 to return to its position of maximum spacing from the collator plate 28 into the action of its return spring 38, as hereinhefore outlined. The card 18 on the table 32 cannot follow this abrupt return movement of the latter and with nothing to support it, the card 18 falls onto a chute 78. This chute is downwardly inclined and includes a curved portion to deliver full cards at an outlet statlon (not shown) on the far side of the apparatus as shown in FIG. 1.
Although separate motors either electric or hydraulic or pneumatic, may be employed to drive the various movable parts of the apparatus, separately, in the arrangement illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 5 of the drawings, a single electric motor 82 is provided. A control panel 84 is provided, to control the operation of the motor 84 and the drive is transmitted from the motor shaft 86 throughout the apparatus by means of chain and sprocket drive means and/or by gear trains (not shown in detail). This form of drive transmission is to be preferred since belt drive means and other friction dependent drives, can involve slip which will interfere with the phasing of the machine operations. However a friction clutch or belt drive between the motor shaft 86 and a first main drive shaft (not shown), is preferably provided to prevent the motor from stalling should the machine jam during operation and to assist in starting-up the machine.
The construction of the collating station can best be seen by considering FIGS. 2 and 3 in conjunction with the general view of FIG. 1. In order to position and align the packets on the collator plate 28, a number of fingers 88 are mounted above the plate to define in total a number of similar compartments equally spaced apart across the plate 28, the number of compartments corresponding to the number of packets to be positioned thereon. Three such fingers are provided in the machine illustrated to thereby define four compartments 90, to receive four packets for collation. The rear of the compartments is defined by an upstanding rear edge 92 of the plate 28, which is bent over at the top to form a lip 94.
Each finger 88 is mounted at one end of an arm 96 which is carried on an axle 98. The two outer fingers (see FIG. 3) are keyed to the axle 98, which is itself rotatable while the middle finger is free to pivot on the axle. One of the two outer arms 96 is foreshortened and in order to prevent it from interfering with the drive means 30, the middle arm 9'6 is stepped at 102 (see FIG. 3) towards the shortened outer arm 96. The rear end of the longer outer arm 96 is pivotally joined to a vertically displaceable push rod 100 which is acted on by a reciprocatory drive means (not shown) and the rear end of the middle arm 96 is likewise joined to a similarly displaceable push rod 100 actuated by said drive means (not shown), the drive means actuating the two arms in sequence to lower and raise first the middle finger 88 and then the two outer fingers 88. The middle finger 88 divides the collating area into two parts and in its lowered position serves as a wall against which two packets 16 can be pushed from opposite sides, by operatlon of the two pushes 20. In a similar way the two outer fingers 96, when in their lowered positions constitute twowalls against which two further packets can be pushed by the two pushers 20, so that a total of four packets can be collated across the width of the plate 28.
The length of the packets 16 is commensurate with the length dimension of the hoppers 12 and as is best seen from FIG. 2, the corresponding dimension of the plate 28 is considerably less than this length so that the leading ends of the packets 16 protrude well beyond the leading edge of the plate 28 when positioned thereon. It will be seen that during the pushing operation, the packets are guided at their rear by the wall 92 and in order to provide a corresponding parallel guide for the front of the packets, each pusher 20 is provided with an upstanding front wall 102 which extends beyond the pushing edge 104 perpendicular thereto, by amount which is commensurate with the width of one packet.
Since the front wall provided by the upstanding wall 102 is removed after collation of the packets, upon with-- drawal of the pushers 20 there is nothing to prevent the collated packets 16 from slipping in a forward direction, off the plate 28, during subsequent movement of the plate towards the table 32. Accordingly four grippers 106 are pivotally mounted about an axle 108 contained in the rear wall '92 of the plate 28 and springs 110 are provided to bias the grippers towards the plate 28. The grippers 106 are spaced apart across the width of the plate 28 in register with the four compartments 90 so as to grip the packets 1'6 and hold them on to the plate. During collation the grippers are lifted clear of the plate 28 and the collating area by four fixed arms 112 each of which is bent to define an elbow 114 intermediate a vertical portion an a rearwardly and downwardly inclined portion 116. The grippers 106 extend beyond the axle 108 and when the plate 28 occupies the collating position shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 the protruding ends of the grip ers 106 are engaged by the inclined portions 116 of the arms 112 and are pushed in a downward direction against the action of the springs 110, to raise the forward ends of gripets 106 clear of the collating area. Forward movement of the plate 28 moves the rearward ends of the grippers clear of the arms 112 to allow them to tilt under the action of the springs 110 and grip the packets. The arms 112 are carried by a cross-beam 118 (not shown in FIG. 3 for the sake of clarity) which also serves to carry the axle 98 on which the three arms 96 are mounted as hereinbefore described.
To ensure that the fingers 88 are raised clear of the collating area when not required, a spring 120 is provided between the rear portion of the longer outer arm 96 and the frame and between the rear portion of the middle arm 96 and the frame 10 to bias the forward ends of the arms 96 in an upward direction.
The movement required of the pushers 20 is more than a simple reciprocatory motion since the stroke of successive movements is different, by virtue of the shorter distance over which the second pair of packets are required to travel during collation. This variable stroke is obtained from the reciprocable drive means 22. The drive means 22 is not shown in detail but as is shown in FIG. 1, it includes a pivoted lever 122 the top end of which is coupled by a push rod 124 to the rear of a pusher 20 and the lower end of which is engageable by two cams 126, 128 mounted on opposite sides thereof. Each cam inculdes two radial arm portions one of which is longer than the other, but both of which will engage the lower end of the lever 122. The two cams rotate in opposite directions and are phased so that during rotation the lever 122 is engaged first by the long arm of cam 128, then by the long arm of cam 126 to return the lever 122 to its first position, then by the short arm of cam 128 and last, by the short arm of cam 126 to again return the lever 122 to its first position.
The packet outlet (see FIG. 2) at the lower end of each inwardly facing hopper wall 132 comprises a narrow slit 130 between the lower edge of the wall 132 and the upper surface of the pusher 20 which also constitutes the floor of the hopper. Since the middle region of each packet is considerably thicker than the leading end region of the packet-which is substantially flat for securing on thecard 18, and the extreme rear edge of the packet, the slit 130 is shaped accordingly to prevent packets jamming. To this end the lower edge of the wall 132 is cutaway over the major portion of its length to leave an abutment 134 at its forward end and the pusher 20 is itself cut-away in the region of the abutment 134 to form a corresponding channel 136, in the surface of the pusher. The bottom packet in each hopper lies on the pusher with its thicker central region in register with the cutaway in the wall 132 and its thin leading edge overhanging into the channel 136.
In operation the middle finger 88 is lowered onto the plate 28 and two packets 16 are pushed by the two pushers 20 onto the plate 28 into contact with opposite sides of the middle finger. The two pushers 20 are then withdrawn into the hoppers 12, the middle finger 88 is raised and the two outer fingers 88 are lowered and a further two packets 16 are pushed onto the plate 28 into contact with the two lowered fingers, to occupy the two outer collating positions. The distance moved by each pusher during the second pushing operation is less than the distance during the first pushing operation by an amount commensurate with the width of one packet.
The two pushers 20 are then withdrawn and the plate 28 moved forward by operation of the drive means 30. This causes the four grippers 106 to drop onto the four collated packets to grip and retain them on the plate with their leading edges overhanging same.
The movement of the plate 28 is governed by the guide rails 24 and the final downward movement of the plate presents the overhangingleading ends of the packets to a card 18 carried on the inclined table 32, such that the leading ends lie immediately under the heater bar and gate assembly 64, 66. The gate 66 is then lowered under the action of the cams 72 so that the. packet ends are gripped between the heater bar 64 and the card 18. The card is of the type which is coated with a heat-activated adhesive and the heat transmitted through the packet ends from the heater bar 64, causes the packet ends to be secured to the card.
With the packet ends still gripped tightly between the heater bar 64 and the card 18, the plate 28 is pulled backwards and returned to its initial position between the hoppers 16, thereby leaving the four packets on the card. The gate 66 is then raised, thereby raising the heater bar 64 clear of the packets on the card after which the table 32 is pushed forward a predetermined distance, governed by the next step, around the cam 36, to present a fresh area of card beneath the heater bar 64 ready to receive the next four packets.
This sequence of operations is repeated until the card is full, when the table 32 will occupy its nearest position to the collating station. Continued rotation of the cam 36 so that the point of engagement is beyond the large radial land 40, allows the table 32 to return rapidly to its first position, furthest from the collating station, under the action of its return springs 38. The rapid movement of the tables causes the card 18 to drop onto the discharge chute 78 by which it is conveyed to an outlet (not shown).
During the foregoing sequence of operations the first card of a stack of cards 19 is lifted and placed on a transfer table 44 by appropriate movement of the suction arms 46 and when the table 32 returns to its first position, furthest from the collating station, the card on the transfer table is pushed therefrom, by the pusher 42, onto the table 32, the upper face of which is in alignment with the transfer table 44 when the former is in its said first position. The card is prevented from sliding off the table 32 by a lip 138 formed at the bottom of the inclined surface of the. table, and the freshly positioned card is ready to receive the first group of packets. In this way the collation and mounting of the packets can be performed continuously.
Referring now to FIGS. 6 and 7 of the drawings, the purpose of the apparatus is to apply filled bags, for example bags of nuts, to a sheet of cardboard suitable for a service display board whereby the bags can be individually removed from the backing board when required.
To this end a magazine 202 is arranged to be in open communication at the bottom with a guideway 204 and a pusher 206 located at the rear end portion of the guideway 204 moves backwards and forwards in the direction of the arrow a to push the bags in succession towards the front of the guideway. A collator shovel 208 reciprocates in a direction at right angles to the pusher 206 in the direction of the arrow b. The collator shovel 208 comprises a bottom 210, a back 212, a top 214 and one side 216, the top 214 being shorter than the bottom 210. The side opposite the side 216 is open to receive the bags from the guideway 214. A web of cardboard 220 is moved intermittently under the guideway 204 and the shovel 208, and is moved in register by means of the teeth 222 on the roller 224 engaging the holes 226 in the edge portions of the web 220. A heat sealing bar 228 is povided above the roller 224. Areas 232 of the heat scalable adhesives or hot melt are pre-applied to the web 220 at the intervals where it is desired to apply the set of packages. Only one such area 232 is shown in the drawing and it must be understood that other areas 232 are applied to the web FIGS. 6 and 7 show diagrammatically the operation of the machine. The magazine 202 is filled with packages and the pusher 206 reciprocates to push three packages 230 into the collator 208 in turn through the Open side. The upper ends of the bags 230 project beyond the open front. Only one bag 230 is shown in the shovel 208 for clarity. The collator shovel 208 moves forward until the tops of the bags 230 lie on the area 232. The bags 230 are then gripped between the heat sealing bar 228 and the area 232. The collator shovel withdraws leaving the three bags 230 adhering to the web and overlapping a previous set which has already been applied. In the drawing three packages 230 are shown as having been applied to the web 220 these are now situated on the inclined portion of the web so as to be out of the way when another set of bags 230 is being offered up to the web 220. It must be understood that instead of heat sealing the bags to the web they can be applied by stapling or other means.
The web 220 is fed from the roll 232 to the indexing roller 224 then proceeds after the bags are applied by the bar 228 to the lower level of a table 234 so as to be out of the way of the collator shovel 208. The reciprocating movement of the collator shovel 208 is made by means of the level 236 pivoted about the point 238. The normal position for the collator shovel 208 is in the positIon shown and the action of the level 236 forces the shovel 208 forwards against the spring 240. A cut-off device is provided at 242 so as to cut off the web 220 into the lengths each cut length containing a predetermined number of bags. It must be understood that the web 220 is printed with data suitable to the packaged product and if it is desired that, say, two dozen packets be applied on one backing board, the web 220 is indexed so as to move forward a certain distance for a predetermined number of times, and then to move forward a greater distance in the direction shown by arrow C so that there is a space between the groups of individual packages.
According to a modification, instead of one magazine being provided, three different packets can be put in the shovel at one time by having three magazines arranged in a series one after another.
Instead of the collator shovel being used to apply packets to a web, other articles could be applied to a web or alternatively applied to individual sheets or cartons which are placed in position instead of the moving web.
I claim:
1. An article handling apparatus comprising a reciproeating collator member, means for placing articles into said collator member with a part of each article projecting from said collator member, means for displacing the collator member in a direction at right angles to the in the front of the shovel being open to enable articles supply of articles thereto, a mounting station including means for presenting a display card with at least a portion of said card aligned with the path of movement of said collator member, said collator member displacing means being actuated in timed relation with the supply of articles to the collator member thereby to present the projecting parts of said articles to the card in said mounting station as each collated group of articles is assembled, and securing means for securing said projecting parts to said card.
2. .An apparatus as set forth in claim 1 comprising at least one hopper adjacent the collator member and arranged to receive articles in vertically stacked relation and a slidable false bottom to said hopper reciprocable towards and away from said collator member to push the bottom articles in said hopper successively on to the collator member.
3. An apparatus as set forth in claim 1, in which the collator member comprises a reciprocable plate displaceable towards and away from the mounting station, the hopper bottom is provided at its front edge with a fixed guide directed transversrly to the hopper bottom and arranged to effect transverse alignment of articles deposited on to the collator plate, a plurality of transversely spaced and vertically displaceable plane fingers are arranged above the collator plate and are moved in timed relation with the supply of articles to the collator plate to effect longitudinal alignment and transverse spacing of said articles on said plate and a plurality of transversely spaced pivotally mounted gripper members are provided on said plate to engage and maintain said articles on said plate as the latter moves forward towards said mounting station.
4. An apparatus as set forth in claim 3 in which the collator plate is mounted between transversely spaced guide rails having a final portion which is inclined towards said mounting station thereby to present the projecting parts of said articles in superposed relation to articles previously secured on a card in said station.
5. An apparatus as set forth in claim 4, in which the card is inclined in the direction of approach of said articles thereto.
6. An apparatus as set forth in claim 5, in which the mounting station includes a displaceable inclined table and cam means for displacing said table incrementally in the direction of approach of said articles to said table to present a fresh portion of card to each newly collated group of articles.
7. An apparatus as set forth in claim 6 further comprising a card stacking station transversely adjacent the mounting station, a stationary table intermediate said mounting station and said card stacking station, vacuum lifting arms for transferring a card from said stacking station to said stationary table, pusher means for pushing a card from the stationary table into the mounting station and control means for actuating said vacuum arms and said pusher means in said timed relation with the movement of the collating member and the inclined table of the mounting station for depositing fresh cards on said inclined table.
8. An apparatus as set forth in claim 1 further comprising feed rollers for incrementally advancing a display card in the form of a continuous web through the mounting station.
9. An apparatus as set forth in claim 8 wherein the display cards and the articles to be mounted thereon are inclined relative to one another as they are brought together.
10. An apparatus as set forth in claim 1 in which the securing means includes a vertically displaceable heating bar arranged to press the projecting parts of the articles against the display card.
11. An apparatus as set forth in claim 1 in which the collator member is a shovel including a bottom, a
9 10 back, a shortened top and one side, the opposite side 2,640,695 6/1953 Nelson 27058 to be introduced into the shovel through said opposite 2,951,697 9/1960 Bernard et a1 53159 X s1de and to be removed from the front. THERON E. CONDON, Primary Examiner References 5 R. L. SPRUILL, Assistant Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS U S C1 XR 1,330,639 2/1920 Leurnann 221-293 X 2,121,484 6/1938 Massini 1S6-561 29-408; 156452
US651718A 1966-07-07 1967-07-07 Apparatus for mounting articles on a display card Expired - Lifetime US3506525A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB30616/66A GB1206583A (en) 1966-07-07 1966-07-07 Apparatus for handling articles

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US3506525A true US3506525A (en) 1970-04-14

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ID=10310457

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US651718A Expired - Lifetime US3506525A (en) 1966-07-07 1967-07-07 Apparatus for mounting articles on a display card

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US (1) US3506525A (en)
DE (1) DE1586056B1 (en)
FR (1) FR1550121A (en)
GB (1) GB1206583A (en)

Cited By (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3864895A (en) * 1973-02-26 1975-02-11 Wright Machinery Company Inc Multi-pack method and apparatus
US3997384A (en) * 1972-02-10 1976-12-14 Victor Kuring System for making color-coded index tabs
US4194499A (en) * 1979-03-05 1980-03-25 Donnelly Thomas L Jr Bed for stimulating circulation
US4354335A (en) * 1978-05-06 1982-10-19 Alfons Meyer Method for orderly transport and storage of flat objects and a plastic bag suitable therefor

Families Citing this family (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE3726760A1 (en) * 1987-08-12 1989-02-23 Leonhard Lessner Method and apparatus for producing cards arranged in an imbricated manner on a base

Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US1330639A (en) * 1919-06-04 1920-02-10 Leumann Richard Device for feeding tablets of chocolate and similar articles to tables of wrapping-machines
US2121484A (en) * 1937-02-12 1938-06-21 Alvin A Massini Apparatus for applying a plurality of articles to a backboard
US2640695A (en) * 1948-06-14 1953-06-02 Jaymac Systems Inc Card overlap and adhering machine
US2951697A (en) * 1956-11-23 1960-09-06 Pitney Bowes Inc Collating machine

Family Cites Families (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2030996A (en) * 1933-11-16 1936-02-18 Ruben B Lustig Display apparatus
US2551288A (en) * 1944-12-11 1951-05-01 Swift & Co Banding machine and method
US2841282A (en) * 1956-07-26 1958-07-01 Aerovox Corp Packaging means for small articles
US2907152A (en) * 1956-12-20 1959-10-06 Swift & Co Method and machine for use in packaging of bacon or the like
FR1283613A (en) * 1961-03-13 1962-02-02 Commercio Tessuti Lanerie Drap Support device for tissue samples
US3226910A (en) * 1964-11-13 1966-01-04 Edmond A Steffey Method for packaging appliques

Patent Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US1330639A (en) * 1919-06-04 1920-02-10 Leumann Richard Device for feeding tablets of chocolate and similar articles to tables of wrapping-machines
US2121484A (en) * 1937-02-12 1938-06-21 Alvin A Massini Apparatus for applying a plurality of articles to a backboard
US2640695A (en) * 1948-06-14 1953-06-02 Jaymac Systems Inc Card overlap and adhering machine
US2951697A (en) * 1956-11-23 1960-09-06 Pitney Bowes Inc Collating machine

Cited By (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3997384A (en) * 1972-02-10 1976-12-14 Victor Kuring System for making color-coded index tabs
US3864895A (en) * 1973-02-26 1975-02-11 Wright Machinery Company Inc Multi-pack method and apparatus
US4354335A (en) * 1978-05-06 1982-10-19 Alfons Meyer Method for orderly transport and storage of flat objects and a plastic bag suitable therefor
US4194499A (en) * 1979-03-05 1980-03-25 Donnelly Thomas L Jr Bed for stimulating circulation

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
GB1206583A (en) 1970-09-23
FR1550121A (en) 1968-12-20
DE1586056B1 (en) 1971-09-09

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