Device for transferring flat articles that differ in thickness to a packing machine

Abstract

A device for transferring continuously arriving articles, especially folded-bottom boxes lying with their ends that face each other along the direction of travel differing in thickness, to a packing machine, with a mechanism for distributing the articles onto two different conveyor mechanisms, one conveying the articles without rotating them to the upstream side of a merging mechanism and the other extending below the merging mechanism, through a 180.degree. curve, and back to its downstream side and a mechanism for alternately laying off flat articles, especially folded-bottom boxes, from each side of and onto a more or less horizontal merging mechanism that is especially intended for use with a device of the aforesaid type and that has two two-belt conveyor mechanisms that end at approximately the same level on each side of and outside the layoff area. The merging mechanism is a conveyor belt that branches off at an angle from the two conveyor mechanisms and extends to a packing machine. The mechanism for laying off the articles comprises curving the articles at an angle to the direction they are traveling in while they are being laid off.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.