Method and a device for transferring articles, in particular blister packs, to the feeding line of a packaging machine
According to a method for transferring articles, the articles, in particular blister packs, are transferred to a feeding line of a packaging machine, moving continuously and longitudinally with respect to an outlet line of a machine producing the articles, on which the articles to be transferred are carried in line in a continuous way. According to the method, the articles leaving said outlet line, aligned and regularly spaced apart, are transferred onto support elements carried by a distributing unit aligned with the outlet line, above the feeding line. The support elements are selectively operated to release one by one said articles into respective holding pockets defined by the feeding line.
1. A method for continuously transferring articles from an outlet line to a moving feeding line of a packaging machine comprising:
continuously moving said articles longitudinally with respect to the outlet line;
continuously arranging said articles on the outlet line so that the articles are aligned and regularly spaced apart,
providing distributing means aligned in a same direction as said outlet line and located above said feeding line, a plurality of separately operable support elements carried by said distributing means;
transferring said articles leaving said outlet line onto said support elements carried by said distributing means aligned with said outlet line and located above said feeding line; and,
selectively operating individual support elements one at a time for releasing and transferring said articles one by one into respective holding pockets in said continuously moving feeding line, when a respective holding pocket is aligned with a respective support element.
2. The method according to claim 1 further comprising providing an additional conveyor means ( 13 ) for transferring said articles to said distributing means, and, selectively operating the support elements for retracting the support elements and releasing said articles, and for moving said support elements to an active position in which they support the articles before release, in a relation timed with a forward movement of the additional conveyor means.
3. The method according to claim 1 further comprising moving said articles supported by said support elements along said distributing means, at a speed higher than a forward movement speed of said feeding line.
4. The method according to claim 3 , wherein said article movement speed on said distributing means is equal to a length of time for successively pushing each article on said distributing means multiplied by a number of articles to be released per unit of time.
5. The method according to claim 1 further comprising releasing said articles into the respective holding pockets at the moment when a pushing means, for acting on said articles on said distributing means, are aligned with said respective holding pockets.