Feeder for packaging
AssigneeAzionaria Costruzioni Macchine Automatiche A.C.M.A. S.p.A.
InventorMaurizio Maulini
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Feeder for packaging machines comprising a conveyor for transferring a number of containers which advance with intermittent motion and on which the containers receiving the portions of product are supported in parallel rows perpendicular to the direction of advancement of the conveyor. A flexible member is arranged in a closed path around a pair of pulleys of vertical axis so as to lie in a horizontal plane above the transfer conveyor and comprising two portions parallel to the rows of containers. A plurality of compartments are distributed along the flexible member at distances equal to that of the containers of each row and arranged to receive portions of product from portion delivery means disposed at said pulleys, and to discharge said portions by gravity through lower apertures closable by doors operated by control means.
Claims6
A feeder for simultaneously discharging a plurality of batches of fluent powdery or granular material into containers having an upper opening, comprising:
- a transfer conveyor,
- means for supporting said containers on said transfer conveyor in parallel rows perpendicular to the direction of travel of said transfer conveyor, said rows being equally spaced relative to each other, the containers in each row being equally spaced from one another.
- means for moving said transfer conveyor with intermittent motion with an advancing pitch equal to, or a multiple of, the spacing between two adjacent rows of containers,
- a first pulley rotatably supported on a vertical axis on one side of said transfer conveyor,
- a second pulley rotatably supported on a vertical axis on the other side of said transfer conveyor, said first and second pulley lying in the same plane above said transfer conveyor,
- a flexible member wound in a closed path on said first and second pulley so as to have two parallel portions extending above said transfer conveyor and parallel to the rows of containers and two external portions extending on both sides with respect to said transfer conveyor,
- means for driving said flexible member with intermittent motion timed with the intermittent motion of the transfer conveyor, including means for producing an advance stroke equal to the distance between the containers of each row multiplied by the number of containers of a row and a dwell period,
- a plurality of upwardly open receptacles disposed on said flexible member and spaced at distances equal to the spacing of the containers of each row, said receptacles having lower discharge openings and said receptacles being arranged on said flexible member so that said lower discharge openings along said parallel portions of said flexible member are in alignment with the upper openings of the containers,
- means for dispensing batches of material into those receptacles which are arranged on the external portions of the flexible member,
- doors supported on said receptacles for closing said lower discharge openings, and
- control means for operating said doors in timed relationship with said flexible member driving means, said control means opening said doors in response to said flexible member and said transfer conveyor being in the dwell period, during which dwell period the lower discharge openings of said receptacles are disposed above the upper openings of the containers.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.