Abstract: An article metering device, and a method of metering articles, is disclosed. The article metering device is positioned along a path of travel at a downstream end of a feed conveyor, and at an upstream end of a take-away conveyor of an article handling and packaging system. The article metering device is constructed and arranged to accumulate a first queue of articles on the feed conveyor, to accumulate a second queue of articles on the take-away conveyor, to space the respective articles within the second queue of articles from one another, and to then selectively advance selected ones of the articles within the second queue of articles along the path of travel for being carried on the take-away conveyor toward an infeed conveyor of a downstream packaging machine.

Abstract: An improved article packaging machine, and method of using same to prevent the formation of empty or defective packages is disclosed. The rotational position of the drive axis (45) of a film feed drive (44), and the drive axis (53) of a cutting head drive (52) are mapped with respect to one another in a base rotational position relationship, whereupon both of these drive axes are mapped to the rotational position of the drive axis (41) of an infeed conveyor drive (40) in a slave/master relationship, respectively. A machine controller (34) then calculates at least a first position control trajectory profile, and establishes a first rotational position relationship of the drive axes with respect to one another.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for forming groups of work products from a row of closely spaced, aligned, and a vertical edge standing work products is disclosed. A separator knife (37) is inserted into the row of edge standing work products (25) in timed relationship with the movement of the row of work products on a feed conveyor (9) and along a path of travel (P) at a speed and direction substantially the same as the speed and direction of the work products. The separator knife is stopped at a home position (53) fixed along the path of travel for accumulating at least a portion of the row of work products on the feed conveyor upstream of the home position, as the remainder of the row of work products is moved along the path of travel away from the separator blade thus forming a first group (G) of work products. The apparatus includes a spaced series of knife assemblies (36), each knife assembly having separator knife (37).

Abstract: A rotary motion feeder for use in placing work products into one of the flights of a feed conveyor of a packaging machine is disclosed. The rotary motion feeder includes a planetary feeder assembly supported on a framework, the planetary feeder assembly being moved in timed relationship with the feed conveyor. The planetary feeder assembly includes a plurality of upwardly extending planetary shafts, each planetary shaft having a feed paddle mounted on the end thereof, the feed paddle being constructed and arranged to at least partially extend through a comb plate formed as a part of a feed magazine for stripping work products therefrom, and moving the work products through an arcuate path into one of the flights of the feed conveyor as it moves along the path of travel through the packaging machine. The rotary motion feeder is also constructed and arranged to move horizontally stacked work products into the flights of the feed conveyor.

Abstract: A cookie tray loading machine (5) constructed and arranged to divert a single file lane of cookies (12) moved along an infeed conveyor belt (9) into a plurality of separate and generally parallel lanes (34) of cookies, which are formed as rows (44) of cookies on a plurality of alignment belt assemblies (36) and spaced apart from each preceding row of cookies, each row of cookies being placed onto a tray loading conveyor belt (46) and moved toward a tray loading station (60) for placement directly into a packaging tray (62), is disclosed. The loading machine includes a sweep arm diverter assembly (20) having a sweep arm diverter (21) directly driven by a sweep arm servomotor (23), a first lane alignment arm assembly (26) and a second and opposed lane alignment arm assembly (30) for aligning the cookies into the separate lanes of cookies, and an alignment belt assembly (36) for each lane of cookies.

Abstract: A temperature measurement and control apparatus (7) and a packaging film loading apparatus (9) for use in a packaging machine (5). The packaging machine includes a pair of counter-rotating sealing and crimping head assemblies (22, 23), each of which includes a plurality of sealing and crimping heads (32, 36), respectively, which are rotated past a first infrared sensor assembly (57) or a second infrared sensor assembly (61), respectively, for measuring the temperature thereof. Each sealing and crimping head includes a generally arcuate sensing arc (80) mounted at the first end (77) thereof, the sensing arcs being rotated past either an upper infrared sensor (59) or a lower infrared sensor (63).

Abstract: Cookies (30) of uniform but irregularly shaped perimeter are received from the cookie oven in a horizontal as-baked attitude onto a first surface conveyor (19). As the cookies are passed to successive surface conveyors 920) and (21) operating at successively decreased velocities, the cookies are raised to an edge standing attitude abutting one another. Laser detecting means (24-26) are positioned above the conveyors (19-21), and measure the height of the edge stacked cookies and adjust this height by varying the speed of the successive conveyors (19, 20 and 21). A counting means (28) at the discharge end of conveyor (21) counts out a predetermined number of cookies to be placed upon the loader (16) for loading into a cookie tray (104), and a pair of separator blades (42, 43) separates these cookies on the loader from the cookies remaining on surface conveyor (21). A cookie tray (104) is positioned under the loader (16) by a cookie tray conveyor (18).