Container guide for packaging machine

Abstract

A container guide for preventing bottles or other containers from overturning as the bottles are loaded into cartons includes guide bars mounted above a container conveyor and in parallel alignment with lane dividers for directing bottles from the container conveyor and into the cartons, which are conveyed on a carton conveyor. The guide bars support the upper portions of the bottles as the bottles cross a potentially uneven transition region extending between the two conveyors and beyond the extent of the lane dividers. Each guide bar has a guiding edge for supporting the upper portion of the bottles, which may be tapered or shouldered thereby requiring the guiding edge to be offset somewhat from the lane dividers. Each guide bar also has an outfeed end that is relatively thinner than its infeed end to facilitate the outfeed end clearing the upper edges of the end flaps of the cartons.

1 . An article guide for preventing articles from overturning as said articles are loaded into a carton by a packaging machine, the packaging machine including a carton conveyor for conveying cartons along a carton path in a direction of machine flow, an article conveyor for transporting said articles along an article path, and at least one lane defined by a pair of lane dividers that are disposed above said article conveyor for directing said articles from said article conveyor toward said carton conveyor, the article guide comprising: 
 a guide bar mounted above said article conveyor, said guide bar comprising: 
 an outfeed end that extends at least partially across a transition region between an end of one of said lanes and an open end of one of said cartons, said outfeed end including a support surface that guides an upper portion of each of said articles as said article crosses over said transition region.  
   
   
   
       2 . The article guide of  claim 1 , wherein said guide bar extends beyond said end of said one of said lanes.  
   
   
       3 . The article guide of  claim 1 , wherein said transition region comprises the region in which an article leaving said at least one lane loses the support of one or both lane dividers before entering a carton.  
   
   
       4 . The article guide of  claim 1 , wherein the support surface of said guide bar is offset from at least one of said pair of lane dividers.  
   
   
       5 . The article guide of  claim 1 , wherein said guide bar is substantially parallel to at least one of said pair of lane dividers.  
   
   
       6 . The article guide of  claim 1 , wherein said outfeed end of said guide bar comprises a distal edge that is angled so as to be generally parallel to the direction of machine flow of said carton conveyor.  
   
   
       7 . The article guide of  claim 1 , wherein said guide bar further comprises an infeed end, and the thickness of said infeed end is substantially greater than the thickness of said outfeed end.  
   
   
       8 . The article guide of  claim 7 , wherein said guide bar is adjustably mounted so as to repositionable to guide articles of varying sizes and shapes.  
   
   
       9 . The packaging machine of  claim 1 , wherein said open end of said carton is defined at least in part by a fold line hingedly connecting an end flap of said carton and a carton wall.  
   
   
       10 . A packaging machine for loading articles into cartons, each carton having an open end, and each article having a base and a relatively smaller upper portion, comprising: 
 a carton conveyor for conveying cartons along a carton path in a direction of machine flow;    an article conveyor for transporting said articles along an article path;    at least one lane defined by a pair of lane dividers that are disposed above said article conveyor for directing said articles from said article conveyor toward said carton conveyor;    a transition region, comprising the area between an outfeed end of one of said pair of lane dividers and an adjacent edge of said open end of said carton; and    an article guide for supporting said upper portion of each article as said article moves at least partially across said transition region and toward one of said cartons conveyed on said carton conveyor, said article guide comprising: 
 a guide bar mounted above said article conveyor, said guide bar comprising an outfeed end that extends at least partially across said transition region, said outfeed end including a support surface that guides an upper portion of each of said articles as said article crosses over said transition region.  
   
   
   
       11 . The packaging machine of  claim 10 , wherein said edge of said open end of said carton is defined at least in part by a fold line hingedly connecting an end flap of said carton and a carton wall.  
   
   
       12 . The packaging machine of  claim 10 , wherein said guide bar is substantially parallel to at least one of said pair of lane dividers.  
   
   
       13 . The packaging machine of  claim 12 , wherein said guide bar is offset with respect to said at least one of said pair of lane dividers  
   
   
       14 . The packaging machine of  claim 11 , wherein said carton wall rests on the surface of the carton conveyor.  
   
   
       15 . An article conveyor for transporting said articles along an article path, said article conveyor comprising: 
 a conveying surface;    at least one lane defined by a pair of lane dividers that are disposed over said conveying surface;    a transition region including the area between an outfeed end of one of said pair of lane dividers and the adjacent edge of said conveying surface; and    a guide bar mounted above said conveying surface, said guide bar comprising: 
 an outfeed end that extends beyond said outfeed end of said one of said pair of lane dividers and at least partially across said transition region, said outfeed end of said guide bar including a support surface that guides an upper portion of each of said articles as said article moves at least partially across said transition region.