# US 2014/0196417 A1 · Folding unit for producing folded packages of pourable food products from relative sealed packs

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- Number: US 2014/0196417 A1
- Document ID: US20140196417A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 14/127,586
- Filed: 2012-09-05
- Published: 2014-07-17
- Earliest claimed: 2011-10-31
- Assignees: Tetra Laval Holdings & Finance S.A.
- Applicants: Tetra Laval Holdings & Finance S.A.
- Inventors: Alessandro Galata'
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20140196417A1

## CPC

- B65B 61/24: for shaping or reshaping completed packages
- B65B 7/20: by folding-down preformed flaps
- B65B 9/10: Enclosing successive articles, or quantities of material, in preformed tubular webs, or in webs formed into tubes around filling nozzles, e.g. extruded tubular webs
- B65B: MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING (bundling and pressing devices for cigars A24C1/44; devices for tensioning and securing binders adapted to be supported by the article or articles to be bound B25B25/00; applying closure members to bottles, jars or similar containers B67B1/00-B67B6/00; concurrent cleaning, filling and closing of bottles B67C7/00; emptying bottles, jars, cans, casks, barrels or similar containers B67C9/00)

## Abstract

There is described a folding unit for producing folded packages of pourable food products from relative sealed packs. The folding unit comprises conveying means fed with a plurality of packs at an input station and advancing the packs along a forming path to an output station, and folding means cooperating, in use, with each pack to perform at least one folding operation on the pack; the conveying means comprise an endless transport element formed by a plurality of mutually hinged rigid modules and looped about at least one driving sprocket and at least one idler element; the idler element comprises cam means cooperating with respective cam followers of the modules and so shaped to compensate the periodical variation of the radius of the modules on the driving sprocket due to their rigidity.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A folding unit for producing folded packages of pourable food products from relative sealed packs, comprising:
conveying means fed with a plurality of said packs at an input station and advancing said packs along a forming path to an output station; and
folding means cooperating, in use, with each said pack to perform at least one folding operation on said pack;
wherein said conveying means comprise an endless transport element formed by a plurality of mutually hinged rigid modules and looped about at least one sprocket and at least one idler element;
wherein said idler element comprises cam means cooperating with respective cam followers of said modules and so shaped to compensate the periodical variation of the radius of the modules on the sprocket due to their rigidity.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein said cam means comprise at least one cam surface having a non-circular shape.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The unit as claimed in claim 2, wherein the profile of said cam surface is obtained as a function of the motion profile determined by:
imposing, to some of the modules cooperating with the cam surface, predetermined movements to obtain a kinematically defined system; and
connecting the selected modules with the remaining part of the transport element through other modules, which also cooperate with the cam surface and can freely move to maintain constant the length of the transport element.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein said transport element is a chain and said modules are mutually hinged links of said chain.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein it comprises, for each module, one pair of shells which are integrally movable along said forming path and are movable relative to each other along a direction transversal to said forming path;
said shells of each pair being settable along said direction at least in:
a closed position, in which they grip the relative said pack; and
an open position, in which they are detached from the corresponding said folded package.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein each module of said transport element comprises a supporting element for a relative pack, and wherein said transport element comprises:
a top branch along which said supporting member is arranged below said pack; and
a bottom branch defining said output station and along which said folded package is arranged, in use, below said supporting member.