Method and apparatus for grouping aseptic products
AssigneeGraphic Packaging International, Inc.
InventorsColin Ford, David Warner, Cory Hawley
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A system and method for grouping products for packaging, including a metering station in which a line of products is engaged by a series of metering lugs. The metering lugs urge the products into off-set positions to form multiple lanes of products. Selected ones of the products are then engaged by a series of selector lugs at a selector station to urge the products together to form product groups for packaging.
Claims27
A method of grouping products for packaging, comprising:
- moving a series of products along a path of travel toward a packaging machine;
- moving the products into positions offset from their path of travel by approximately half a width of the products to guide the products into separate product lanes;
- engaging and urging selected products in a first one of the product lanes into engagement with additional ones of the products at a first rate with respect to the products moving along the first product lane, and engaging and urging selected products in a second one of the product lanes into engagement with additional ones of the products at a second rate with respect to the products moving along the second product lane to form groups of products for packaging;
- and
- transferring the groups of products to the packaging machine.
A system for grouping aseptic products for packaging, comprising:
- a product conveyor having multiple lanes along which the products are moved in series;
- a metering station having a series of metering lugs that are moved into engagement with the products so as to urge the products into the multiple lanes of the product conveyor;
- a selector station positioned downstream from the metering station and having a series of selector units, mounted along the lanes of the product conveyor, each selector unit including a lug conveyor having a series of selector lugs mounted therealong and adapted to engage selected ones of the products moving along the lanes of the product conveyor to form groups of products for packaging;
- and
- wherein the lug conveyor of one of the selector units is operated at a first rate and the lug conveyor of another selector unit is operated at a second rate, and wherein the first and second rates of the lug conveyors of the selector units are faster than a rate at which the products are moving along the product conveyor so as to urge the selected products into end-to-end abutment to form the product groups.
A method of grouping aseptic brick products for packaging, comprising:
- conveying a line of aseptic bricks along a product conveyor at a desired rate of movement;
- engaging and urging the aseptic bricks into multiple lanes of the product conveyor;
- engaging selected ones of the aseptic bricks moving along the multiple lanes of the product conveyor with a series of spaced selector lugs;
- urging the selected aseptic bricks along their lanes of the product conveyor with their selector lugs moving at a faster rate than the rate of movement of the aseptic bricks along the product conveyor by moving a first series of selector lugs at a first rate with respect to the products and by moving a second series of selector lugs at a second rate with respect to the products;
- and
- moving a series of aseptic bricks into edge-to-edge abutment to form a desired product group for packaging.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.