Article conveying, guiding, and locating device

Abstract

An article conveying, guiding, and locating device includes a treadle including a web guide plate, a knock lever mechanism having a knock lever arm configured to co-act with a stationary platen as the treadle is moved relative to the stationary platen during a severing operation so as to retract the follower wheel away from the drive wheel to release a web carried therebetween to enable lateral centering of articles carried in the web. The device also includes a web conveyor having a servo pick assembly and a servo helper assembly driven by a servo motor. The web conveyor is configured to move a web of articles. The servo pick assembly is carried by the treadle. The device includes an article detector carried by the treadle and operative to detect location of an article in the web during movement of the web, and a controller communicating with the servo motor and the article detector and operative to controllably regulate and synchronize operation of the servo pick assembly and the servo helper assembly in response to detected location of the article.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.