US 5,632,368 AGranted

Optimum carton hold-down element for rotary feeders

AssigneeRiverwood International Corporation

InventorFrank Moncrief

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Abstract

A hold-down element for a rotary feeder has a curved elongated member for continuously contacting an article during rotation of a rotary head. The curvature of the hold-down element is selected so that the distance from the elongated member to the rotary head increases from the point of initial contact to the final contact point on the elongated member. The hold-down element preferably maintains contact for at least 20.degree. of rotation of the rotary head, and thus maintains contact with the article for an extended period of time. The hold-down element is attached to a vacuum shaft on the rotary head, and is prevented from rotating relative to the vacuum shaft by a keyway on the hold-down element and a key on the vacuum shaft. The hold-down element, however, is permitted to travel transversely along a longitudinal axis of the vacuum shaft in order to accommodate different shaped articles.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A hold-down element for use with a rotary feeder rotating about a central axis, wherein the rotary feeder rotates and expands an expandable article from a first location above a flight conveyor to a second location in a fully expanded state between upstanding lugs on the conveyor and wherein said feeder and conveyor move in opposite directions, said hold-down element for holding down and securing the expanded article against the conveyor between the lugs after the expanded article has been released by the rotary feeder at the second location, said hold-down element comprising:

an elongated member adapted to maintain contact with the expanded article in the second position;
spacing means having a first end attached to the rotary feeder and a second end attached to said elongated member for spacing said elongated member from the rotary feeder, wherein the rotary feeder imparts a rotational motion to said spacing means and said elongated member;
said elongated member having a continuously curved outer surface so that a distance from said outer surface to said rotary feeder continuously increases from one end of said elongated member to an opposite end of said elongated member;
and
wherein said elongated member of said hold-down element maintains constant contact with a surface of the article during rotation of said rotary feeder, such that the article surface remains tangent to said continuously curved surface, such that said continuously curved surface consequently holds the article down during said rotation of said rotary feeder, whereby said rotary feeder smoothly disengages from the article surface without dislodging the article from the flight conveyor.

2 more elements

A rotary feeder adapted to receive an expandable article from a first position, expand the article and place the expanded article in a second position on a flight conveyor between upstanding lugs thereon and wherein said feeder and conveyor move in opposite directions, said rotary feeder comprising:

a rotary head for rotating about a central axis;
a suction cup connected to said rotary head for engaging an article surface and for moving the article from the first location to the second location and for releasing the article in an expanded state at the second location;
a hold-down element, connected to said rotary head, comprising an elongated member and a structural member having one end connected to said rotary head and an opposite end connected to said elongated member, said elongated member having a continuously curved outer surface so that a distance from said outer surface to said rotary feeder increases from one end of said elongated member to an opposite end of said elongated member;
wherein said continuously curved surface of said elongated member of said hold-down element rolls over and maintains constant contact with a surface of the article during rotation of said rotary feeder, such that the article surface remains tangent to said continuously curved surface, such that continuously curved surface consequently holds the article down during said rotation of said rotary feeder, whereby said suction cup smoothly disengages from the article surface without dislodging the article from the flight conveyor.

1 more element

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.