US3762253A — Dual lane packaging machine

Claim 1

Independent Claim 143 words

In a packaging machine, the combination of, a support, a carriage on said support, power driven feed mechanism on said carriae for advancing a strip of interconnected, open-ended pouches edgewise along a predetermined path with the open ends of the pouches facing upwardly, a cutter mounted on said carriage downstream of said feed mechanism and periodically operable to sever successive leading pouches from the strip when the pouches are advanced to the cutter, and means for shifting said carriage back and forth on said support and across said path in timed relaion with the advance of the strip and with the operation of the cutter thereby to shift the feed mechanism and cutter laterally back and forth to cause successive leading pouches to be delivered alternately into first and second laTerally spaced pickup stations prior to severing of the pouches from the strip.

Claim 2

Dependent Claim 143 words

In a packaging machine, the combination of, a support, a carriage on said support, power driven feed mechanism on said carriae for advancing a strip of interconnected, open-ended pouches edgewise along a predetermined path with the open ends of the pouches facing upwardly, a cutter mounted on said carriage downstream of said feed mechanism and periodically operable to sever successive leading pouches from the strip when the pouches are advanced to the cutter, and means for shifting said carriage back and forth on said support and across said path in timed relaion with the advance of the strip and with the operation of the cutter thereby to shift the feed mechanism and cutter laterally back and forth to cause successive leading pouches to be delivered alternately into first and second laTerally spaced pickup stations prior to severing of the pouches from the strip.

Claim 3

Dependent Claim 143 words

In a packaging machine, the combination of, a support, a carriage on said support, upright feed rolls on said carriage and intermittently rotatable to advance a strip of interconnected, open-ended pouches edgewise and step-by-step along a generally horizontal path with the open ends of the pouches facing upwardly, a cutter mounted on said carriage downstream of said feed rolls and operable to sever the leading pouch from the strip when the latter dwells between sucessive steps, and means for shifting said carriage horizontally back and forth across said path in timed relation with the advance of the strip and the operation of the cutter thereby to shift the feed rolls and the cutter horizontally back and forth to cause successive leading pouches to be delivered alternately into first and second horizontally spaced pickup stations prior to severing of the pouches from the strip.

Claim 4

Dependent Claim 143 words

In a packaging machine, the combination of, a support, a carriage on said support, upright feed rolls on said carriage and intermittently rotatable to advance a strip of interconnected, open-ended pouches edgewise and step-by-step along a generally horizontal path with the open ends of the pouches facing upwardly, a cutter mounted on said carriage downstream of said feed rolls and operable to sever the leading pouch from the strip when the latter dwells between sucessive steps, and means for shifting said carriage horizontally back and forth across said path in timed relation with the advance of the strip and the operation of the cutter thereby to shift the feed rolls and the cutter horizontally back and forth to cause successive leading pouches to be delivered alternately into first and second horizontally spaced pickup stations prior to severing of the pouches from the strip.

Claim 5

Dependent Claim 61 words

A packaging machine as defined in claim 2 further including mechanism for timing said feed rolls, said cutter and said shifting means such that the shifting means shift the carriage across the path during the advance of the strip and the cutter severs the leading pouch from the strip at the completion of the shift and while the strip is dwelling.

Claim 6

Dependent Claim 118 words

A packaging machine as defined in claim 2 in which said cutter includes a blade mounted on said carriage to swing between an inactive position spaced from said strip and an active position for severing the leading pouch from the strip, said machine further including a horizontal power shaft underlying said horizontal path and alined vertically with said path, a cam rotatable with said shaft, a follower operably connected to said blade and positioned to ride on the cam, and said cam being shaped to remain in engagement with said follower at all times as said cutter is shifted horizontally back and forth and to periodically actuate said follower to cause swinging of said blade between said positions.

Claim 7

Dependent Claim 83 words

A packaging machine as defined in claim 2 further including a pair of upright guide rolls mounted on said support upstream of said feed rolls and spaced from one another along one side of said strip, an upright take up roll mounted movably on said support on the opposite side of said strip and located between said guide rolls, and means for moving said take up roll toward and away from said guide rolls in timed relation with the advance of the strip.

Claim 8

Dependent Claim 167 words

A packaging machine as defined in claim 2 further including first and second upright guide rolls mounted on said support upstream of said feed rolls and disposed in opposing relation to one another on opposite sides of said strip, a third upright guide roll mounted on said support upstream of said first and second guide rolls and disposed on the same side of the strip as said second guide roll, an upright take up roll mounted movably on said support and located between said second and third guide rolls and on the same side of the strip as said first guide roll, and means for moving said take up roll toward said second and third guide rolls and into pressing engagement with said strip during initial movement of said carriage in each transverse direction and for moving said take up roll away from said second and third guide rolls and out of pressing engagement with said strip during final movement of said carriage in each transverse direction.

Claim 9

Dependent Claim 51 words

A packaging machine as defined in claim 2 further including an endless chain located downstream of said cutter, and sets of first and second transversely spaced grippers mounted along said chain and sequentially positionable in said pickup stations to receive said pouches prior to cutting of the pouches from said strip.

Claim 10

Dependent Claim 49 words

A packaging machine as defined in claim 7 further including a sprocket located in a horizontal plane adjacent said pickup stations for guiding said chain, and means projecting upwardly through said sprocket for opening one gripper oF each set of grippers when such grippers are in said pickup stations.

Claim 11

Dependent Claim 66 words

A packaging machine as defined in claim 2 further including a supply roll rotatably mounted on said support upstream of said feed rolls for storing a supply of pouch web from which said pouch strip is formed, a friction wheel biased into engagement with the web on said supply roll, and means for continuously rotating said friction wheel to unwind the web on said supply roll.

Annuity Stage	Window Opens	Payment Deadline	Surcharge Period Until	Estimated Fee	Status
3.5 Years (Year 4)	1976-10-01	1977-04-02	1977-10-02	$2000.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8)	1980-10-01	1981-04-02	1981-10-02	$3760.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12)	1984-10-01	1985-04-02	1985-10-02	$7700.00	Window Closed / Lapsed

Dual lane packaging machine

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