Apparatus for feeding flattened, tubular container blanks

Claim 1

An apparatus for feeding flattened tubular containers having a corner score comprising in combination a supporting framework, a feed conveyor mounted on the framework, said feed conveyor comprising at least a pair of adjacent mating rotatable elements driven to feed material placed therebetween in a given feed direction along a feed axis extending between adjacent portions of the rotatable elements, a storage station mounted adjacent to the rotatable elements in a position to temporarily store at least one of the containers with one said corner score portion thereof in alignment with the feed axis, at least one feeding blade mounted for movement along an axis parallel to a nip between rotatable conveyor elements and extending through the feed axis, a first actuating means for moving the blade toward and away from the center of the container along its own axis to insert the blade into the container at the storage station through its open end, a second actuation means connected to the blade for moving the blade along the feed axis for lowering the blade briefly to force the adjacent portion of the tube into the nip between the rotatable elements of the conveyor and thereafter returning the blade along the feed axis away from the rolls and retracting the blade outwardly so that the container as it is advanced by the feed conveyor will clear the end of the blade.

Claim 2

An apparatus for feeding flattened tubular containers having a corner score comprising in combination a supporting framework, a feed conveyor mounted on the framework, said feed conveyor comprising at least a pair of adjacent mating rotatable elements driven to feed material placed therebetween in a given feed direction along a feed axis extending between adjacent portions of the rotatable elements, a storage station mounted adjacent to the rotatable elements in a position to temporarily store at least one of the containers with one said corner score portion thereof in alignment with the feed axis, at least one feeding blade mounted for movement along an axis parallel to a nip between rotatable conveyor elements and extending through the feed axis, a first actuating means for moving the blade toward and away from the center of the container along its own axis to insert the blade into the container at the storage station through its open end, a second actuation means connected to the blade for moving the blade along the feed axis for lowering the blade briefly to force the adjacent portion of the tube into the nip between the rotatable elements of the conveyor and thereafter returning the blade along the feed axis away from the rolls and retracting the blade outwardly so that the container as it is advanced by the feed conveyor will clear the end of the blade.

Claim 5

An apparatus for feeding flattened tubular containers comprising a supporting framework, a feed conveyor including at least two adjacent rotatable elements driven to feed material placed therebetween in a given feed direction, a storage station mounted adjacent to the rotatable elements for holding the tubular containers, a feeding means mounted for movement on the framework to insert a portion of the tubular container into the nip between adjacent portions of the rotatable elements and at least one feeding blade mounted for movement along an axis parallel said nip between rotatable conveyor elements extending through a plane between the adjacent mating rotatable elements, a pair of parallel related parallelogram links, each pivotally connected at one end thereof to the blade and at the other to the supporting framework, first actuating means connected to the parallelogram links for moving the blade toward the center of the storage location and a second actuating means operatively connected to the links for moving the blade along the feed axis.

Claim 6

An apparatus for feeding flattened tubular containers comprising a supporting framework, a feed conveyor including at least two adjacent rotatable elements driven to feed material placed therebetween in a given feed direction, a storage station mounted adjacent to the rotatable elements for holding the tubular containers, a feeding means mounted for movement on the framework to insert a portion of the tubular container into the nip between adjacent portions of the rotatable elements and at least one feeding blade mounted for movement along an axis parallel said nip between rotatable conveyor elements extending through a plane between the adjacent mating rotatable elements, a pair of parallel related parallelogram links, each pivotally connected at one end thereof to the blade and at the other to the supporting framework, first actuating means connected to the parallelogram links for moving the blade toward the center of the storage location and a second actuating means operatively connected to the links for moving the blade along the feed axis.

Claim 7

An apparatus for feeding flattened tubular containers having a corner score comprising in combination a supporting framework, a feed conveyor mounted on the framework, said feed conveyor comprising at least a pair of adjacent mating rotatable elements driven to feed material placed therebetween in a given feed direction along a feed axis extending between adjacent portions of the rotatable elements, a storage station mounted adjacent to the rotatable elements in a position to temporarily store at least one of the containers with one said corner score portion thereof in alignment with the feed axis, at least one feeding blade mounted for movement along an axis parallel to a nip between rotatable conveyor elements extending through the feed axis, a first actuating means for moving the blade toward and away from the center of the container along its own axis, a second actuation means connected to the blade for moving the blade along the feed axis whereby the blade can be inserted into the containers into the storage station through their open end and lowered briefly to force the adjacent portion of the tube into the nip between the rotatable elements of the conveyor and thereafter returning the blade along the feed axis away from the rolls and retracting the blade outwardly so that the container as it is advanced by the feed conveyor will clear the end of the blade, a first sensor operatively associated with the second actuator to sense the return of the second actuator to its retracted position and operatively connected to the first actuator to move the blade out when the second actuator is retracted, a second sensor for detecting the movement of the second actuator to its extended position and being operatively connected therewith to return the second actuator to its retracted position when actuated, a third sensor positioned on the framework to engage the containers after said containers have been moved from the storage location and operatively connected to the first actuator to move the blade toward the center of the container and a fourth sensor operatively connected to the second actuator for moving the blades downwardly when a demand signal is received by the fourth sensor to thereby drive the container into engagement with the rotatable elements.

Claim 8

An apparatus for feeding flattened tubular containers having a corner score comprising in combination a supporting framework, a feed conveyor mounted on the framework, said feed conveyor comprising at least a pair of adjacent mating rotatable elements driven to feed material placed therebetween in a given feed direction along a feed axis extending between adjacent portions of the rotatable elements, a storage station mounted adjacent to the rotatable elements in a position to temporarily store at least one of the containers with one said corner score portion thereof in alignment with the feed axis, at least one feeding blade mounted for movement along an axis parallel to a nip between rotatable conveyor elements extending through the feed axis, a first actuating means for moving the blade toward and away from the center of the container along its own axis, a second actuation means connected to the blade for moving the blade along the feed axis whereby the blade can be inserted into the containers into the storage station through their open end and lowered briefly to force the adjacent portion of the tube into the nip between the rotatable elements of the conveyor and thereafter returning the blade along the feed axis away from the rolls and retracting the blade outwardly so that the container as it is advanced by the feed conveyor will clear the end of the blade, a first sensor operatively associated with the second actuator to sense the return of the second actuator to its retracted position and operatively connected to the first actuator to move the blade out when the second actuator is retracted, a second sensor for detecting the movement of the second actuator to its extended position and being operatively connected therewith to return the second actuator to its retracted position when actuated, a third sensor positioned on the framework to engage the containers after said containers have been moved from the storage location and operatively connected to the first actuator to move the blade toward the center of the container and a fourth sensor operatively connected to the second actuator for moving the blades downwardly when a demand signal is received by the fourth sensor to thereby drive the container into engagement with the rotatable elements.