Method for cyclically advancing material blanks in a packaging machine

A packaging machine with several work stations, a transport chain for transporting a flat material blank to said workstations and a chain deflection pulley on which said transport chain is mounted, wherein said transport chain comprises:

• a plurality of chain clips, each of said plurality of chain clips having an upper part and a lower part, wherein at least one of said upper part or said lower part is one of pivotable or slidable so as to allow each of said plurality of chain clips to be moveable between an open position and a closed position;
• wherein said material blank can be introduced into at least one of said plurality of chain clips disposed in said open position and secured in said at least one of said plurality of chain clips when disposed in said closed position, so that said material blank can be moved by way of said transport chain along a direction of transport;
• said chain deflection pulley further comprises a run-on contour capable to move said at least one of said plurality of chain clips into said open position, wherein said run-on contour is disposed along a section of a movement path of said chain;
• wherein said packaging machine further comprises a feed device capable to introduce said material blank into said at least one open chain clip, and a control unit capable to control and synchronize said transport chain and said feed device such that said material blank enters said at least one open chain clip while said transport chain performs an advancing motion.

A method for operating a packaging machine, the method comprising:

• advancing a transport chain along a chain deflection pulley in an advancing motion, where a plurality of chain clips are disposed on said transport chain and moved during the advancing motion of said transport chain;
• opening at least one of said chain clips by advancing said at least one of said chain clips along a run-on contour;
• introducing a flat material blank into said at least one open chain clip using one of a feed device or a connection to a second material blank preceding said flat material blank to entrain said flat material blank, wherein said material blank enters said at least one open chain clip during an advancing motion of said transport chain;
• closing said at least one of said chain clips as it leaves said run-on contour to secure said material blank in said at least one of said chain clips;
• and
• transporting said material blank to a work station using said transport chain;
• wherein said introducing said flat material blank into said at least one open chain clip occurs at a higher speed than a speed of said transport chain.