Description

The present invention relates generally to packaging machines for packaging products or product groups in an overwrap or secondary packaging. The invention further relates to a corresponding packaging method.

In particular, the invention preferably (but not exclusively) relates to so- called secondary packaging machines which are configured in order to produce packages, in particular large packages (containers), namely in that the products, in particular already packaged products that are assembled in a container, are enclosed in an overwrap material.

Numerous overwraps are known in the field of packaging technology. Overwraps refer to packages whose essential content is other packages. Packages are therefore also referred to as first or primary packages, and overwraps are referred to as second or secondary packages. For example, packaging sleeves can also be considered first packages. Packaging sleeves serve as a “semi-finished product” for the manufacture of food or beverage packages. Packaging sleeves are typically made from flat blanks and may be produced by, for example, folding the blank and welding or gluing a seam.

An overwrap or secondary packaging thus has the purpose, in particular, of combining a plurality of primary packages or packaging sleeves into units in order to be able to stack them more easily on pallets or the like and transport them in a compact manner. Another function of overwraps is to protect the products contained in the overwrap and their primary packaging and/or the packaging sleeves contained in the overwrap against external influences such as impacts, damage, and dirt. The units of products or packaging sleeves that are taken out of the overwrap are, for example, immediately fed into a filling machine at their destination.

The term “packaging machine” as used herein also comprises, in particular, the term “grouping installation” in and of itself and is to be understood as being part of a larger system. For example, the packaging machines are a part of a filling line that is generally disposed within a production hall.

Individually packaged products, such as beverages filled in cartons or flour packed in bags or the like, are then gathered together into larger containers for better transport. For this purpose, the products are conveyed together in a packaging machine and are gathered into groups of a desired size by corresponding control of the conveyor belts. Such a container can then be realized, for example, by filling a plurality of products into a package of cardboard or by wrapping it in film, which is subsequently shrunk so that the container becomes stable.

For example, a method for enclosing products with a shrink wrap and an apparatus for this purpose are known from the publication US 2002/0189204 Al .

For the processing, assembly, grouping, and packaging of products, for example drinks filled in cartons or flour packed in bags or the like, there are a great variety of types of packaging.

With regard to the improved logistical manageability, it is necessary to equip the product with a cardboard packaging in a grouped arrangement, in particular for products that are not completely dimensionally stable, for example PET beverage containers. Optionally, these container arrangements can then be wrapped with film and shrunk by means of a heating process in order to obtain a stable container compound that can be easily transported and stacked.

A further container variant is referred to as “shrink-only,” because the assembled products are wrapped in film without further cardboard overwrap, and this film is shrunk. The dimensional stability of this container variant is exclusively ensured by the shrink wrap.

According to a further type of packaging, the assembled products are only equipped with a cardboard packaging, wherein the enclosing of the formed container in film is omitted.

In this type of packaging, cardboard or corrugated paper are commonly used as materials for overwraps. Overwraps of such a type are also summarized herein under the term “outer carton.”

Apart from the question of whether cardboard, corrugated paper, and/or film are used as the overwrap material, the substances for the overwrap materials are relatively expensive. Another disadvantage of these overwraps is that the overwrap materials must be opened at the destination, such as a filling machine, removed from the filling machine, and then disposed of.

Thus, after use, the overwraps require a great deal of effort with respect to disposal of the overwraps at the destination of the products stored therein. The disposal of the overwrap is also designed in a problematic manner, because the overwrap is usually cardboard or corrugated paper material, i.e. relatively stable packaging. The waste generated by the overwraps made of cardboard or corrugated paper therefore has a high volume and also a high weight.

Although overwraps made of plastic, such as films, are to be considered advantageous compared to overwraps made of cardboard or corrugated paper in view of the weight and volume, these plastic overwrap materials still have considerable environmental disadvantages. In particular, the dismantling, recycling, and recovery of the currently used plastic overwrap materials are expected to cause significant disposal problems in the future.

There is therefore an increasing need in the packaging industry for overwraps with which the environmental effectiveness or the environmental efficiency is significantly improved compared to conventional overwrap materials, such as cardboard, corrugated paper, or plastic films.

In light of the foregoing, the problem of the invention is to design and further develop a packaging machine of the previously described and previously more thoroughly explained type in such a way that the disadvantages arising from the prior art are avoided.

In particular, a packaging machine is to be provided whose operation even saves costs for the material of the overwrap. Further, a reduction of the waste resulting from the overwrap is to be achieved.

In order to solve this problem, according to the present invention, a packaging machine according to independent claim 1 is proposed, wherein advantageous further developments of the packaging machine are given in the dependent claims.

The underlying problem of the invention is further solved by a packaging method according to the parallel claim 15.

The packaging machine according to the invention and the packaging method according to the invention are characterized, in particular, in that products or product groups can be packaged in a particularly efficient and disruption-free manner with particularly thin packaging material made of paper or cardboard. For this purpose, the packaging machine according to the invention comprises a special singularizing installation, with which paper or cardboard blanks made of a thin material - compared to the conventionally used overwrap blanks - can be safely separated individually from a packaging infeed and properly transferred to the product or product groups to be packaged.

Specifically, the packaging machine for packaging products or product groups, in particular paper material or thin cardboard material, according to the present invention has a packaging infeed for feeding flat paper or cardboard blanks.

In addition, the packaging machine according to the invention has the aforementioned singularizing installation, which is configured in order to separate the infed paper or cardboard blanks individually and to transfer the separated paper or cardboard blanks to a product or product group to be packaged.

According to the present invention, it is provided, in particular, that the singularizing installation has at least one gripper head and preferably exactly two opposing gripper heads and a mechanism associated with the at least one gripper head for preferably continuous movement of the at least one gripper head on an orbit between the packaging infeed and a transfer region, in which the individual paper or cardboard blanks are transferred from the at least one gripper head to the product or product group to be packaged.

Of course, thin overwrap materials, in particular overwrap made of paper material or thin cardboard material, are significantly more pliable than the conventionally used, relatively thick cardboard or corrugated materials. In order to be able to safely deposit such pliable overwrap materials, for example made of paper or thin cardboard material, even with a high number of cycles according to a predetermined or determinable event sequence, onto the products or product groups to be packaged, special precautions must be observed when separating the infed paper or cardboard blanks and when transferring the separated paper or cardboard blanks, because - due to the pliable nature of these overwrap blanks - it is otherwise not ensured that the overwrap blanks are deposited in an individually separate and suitable manner, i.e. in particular kink-free and fold-free and properly aligned with respect to the products or product groups to be packaged.

For this purpose it is provided, in particular, according to the present invention, that the mechanism associated with the gripper head is configured in order to drive the at least one gripper head in a non-uniform orbital movement such that the at least one gripper head in the region of the packaging infeed and in the transfer region is moved more slowly than when the at least one gripper head is transferred from the packaging infeed to the transfer region.

In other words, the mechanism associated with the at least one gripper head is configured on the one hand to move the at least one gripper head in a continuous movement on an orbit between the packaging infeed and the transfer region. In this manner, a continuous operation is ensured when separating the infed paper or cardboard blanks using the packaging infeed and when transferring the separated paper or cardboard blanks to the product or product group to be packaged.

On the other hand, in the case of particularly pliable overwrap materials, the separation of the infed paper or cardboard blanks and the transfer of the separated paper or cardboard blanks to the product or product group to be packaged is critical, because the susceptibility to errors or faults is increased due to the pliable nature of the overwrap material.

This error/fault susceptibility can be significantly minimized by delaying the actual process of separating and the actual process of transferring the separated paper or cardboard blanks to the product or product group to be packaged.

According to the invention, such a delay in separating and transferring the paper or cardboard blanks, ensures the mechanism associated with the at least one gripper head, namely in that the mechanism is configured in order to drive the at least one gripper head in a non-uniform orbital movement, such that the at least one gripper head is moved more slowly in the region of the packaging infeed and in the transfer region than during the transfer of the at least one gripper head from the packaging infeed to the transfer region.

Thus, the packaging machine according to the invention, and in particular the singularizing installation of the packaging machine according to the invention, is suitable for reliably transferring paper or cardboard blanks to the products or product groups to be packaged in an efficient manner, even with a high number of cycles.

Various realizations are possible for the mechanism in order to drive the at least one gripper head in a non-uniform orbital movement.

In this context, according to an embodiment that is particularly easy to realize, it is provided that the at least one gripper head is rotatably supported about a rotary axle and that the mechanism associated with the at least one gripper head is configured in order to drive the at least one gripper head in a cycloidal or cycloid- esque orbital movement. The cycloidal or cycloid-esque orbital movement is selected such that the at least one gripper head passes through a total of three repeating and adjacent cycloidal or cycloid-esque orbital paths per 360° revolution (about its rotary axle).

In particular, it is provided in this realization that the mechanism associated with the at least one gripper head is configured such that, when the at least one gripper head is located at a first transfer point between a first and a second cycloidal or cycloid-esque orbital path, the at least one gripper head is arranged on or in the region of the packaging infeed, and then, when the at least one gripper head is located at a second transfer point between a third and the first cycloidal or cycloid- esque orbital path, the at least one gripper head is arranged at or near the transfer region.

This embodiment is based upon the finding that a non-uniform orbital movement of the at least one gripper head in the form of a cycloidal orbital movement consisting of three cycloidal orbital paths provides the advantage that the movement of the at least one gripper head is delayed when the at least one gripper head is located at the respective transfer points between adjacent cycloidal orbital paths.

In order to realize such a cycloidal path of the at least one gripper head, it is provided according to embodiments of the present invention that the mechanism associated with the at least one gripper head has a gear transmission that can be driven with a drive shaft, in particular a gear train, to which the at least one gripper head is operatively connected, such that the at least one gripper head rotates about its rotary axle on one hand and the at least one gripper head rotates about a shaft axle of the drive shaft on the other hand. Preferably, the rotary axle of the at least one gripper head runs parallel to the shaft axle of the drive shaft and lies outside of the shaft axle. In particular, the shaft axle runs perpendicular to the transporting direction in which the products or product groups to be packaged are moved through the transfer region.

This is an easy-to-realize mechanical implementation in order to be able to realize the cycloidal path of the at least one gripper head. Of course, other embodiments can also be considered here.

Preferably, the shaft axle should run perpendicular to the transporting direction in which the products or product groups to be packaged are moved at least through the transfer region.

In a further development of the latter embodiment, in which, for the realization of a cycloidal orbital movement of the at least one gripper head, a gear transmission is used, which can be driven with a drive shaft, in particular a gear train, it is provided that the gear transmission, in particular gear train, is configured in order to drive the at least one gripper head in a uniform and rotational manner in a first rotational direction about the shaft axle, and that the gear transmission, in particular gear train, is further configured in order to drive the at least one gripper head in a second rotational direction opposite to the first rotational direction about the rotary axle of the at least one gripper head in a uniform and rotational manner.

The first and second rotational directions may be selected such that the at least one gripper head is moved via a single cycloidal or cycloid-esque orbital path upon transfer from the packaging infeed to the transfer region, and that the at least one gripper head moves at least in the direction in which the products or product groups (5') to be packaged are moved through the transfer region (7).

Preferably, a rotational frequency with which the at least one gripper head is rotationally driven about the shaft axle, and the rotational frequency with which the at least one gripper head is rotationally driven about the rotary axle, are preferably chosen such that the at least one gripper head moves in the transfer region with at least approximately the same speed as the products or product groups to be packaged are moved through the transfer region (7).

The rotational frequency at which the at least one gripper head is rotationally driven about the shaft axle and/or the rotational frequency at which the at least one gripper head is rotationally driven about the rotary axle is/are preferably adjustable so as to be able to adjust the cycle frequency of the singularizing installation to the cycle frequency of the other components of the packaging machine.

In order to accordingly synchronize the rotational frequency with which the at least one gripper head is driven rotationally around the shaft axle and the rotational frequency with which the at least one gripper head is driven rotationally about the rotary axle, it is suggested in a particularly easily realized but effective manner that a gear train having a single drive be used for this purpose.

However, it would of course also be conceivable to provide two separate drives that are synchronized with one another via a corresponding control device.

The singularizing installation of the packaging machine according to the invention offers, in particular, two embodiments, namely a first embodiment in which the first and second rotational direction are selected such that the at least one gripper head moves, at least in regions, in the direction in which the products or product groups to be packaged are moved through the transfer region when being transferred from the packaging infeed to the transfer region.

Alternatively, however, it is also conceivable that the first and second rotational direction may be selected such that the at least one gripper head moves, at least in regions, opposite to the direction in which the products or product groups to be packaged are moved through the transfer region when being transferred from the packaging infeed to the transfer region.

Both of these aforementioned embodiments have certain advantages and disadvantages, depending on the material that is used for the overwrap. The first embodiment, in which the first and second rotational direction are selected such that the at least one gripper head moves, at least in regions, in the direction in which the products or product groups to be packaged are moved through the transfer region when being transferred from the packaging infeed to the transfer region, has the advantage that when the separated packaging material blanks are transferred to the products or product groups to be packaged, the packaging material blanks are moved in the same direction in which the products or product groups to be packaged move. Therefore, in this embodiment, only relatively small (flow technology) disruptions in the transfer region due to the Bernoulli effect occur, because the packaging material blanks to be transferred in the transfer region ideally move at approximately the same speed in the same direction as the products or product groups to be packaged, on which the packaging material blanks are to be deposited.

In other words, the first embodiment, in which the at least one gripper head is moved, at least in regions, in the transporting direction of the products or product groups to be packaged during the transfer from the packaging infeed to the transfer region, is suitable for particularly pliable overwrap materials, such as paper materials.

On the other hand, the second embodiment, in which the at least one gripper head is moved counter to the transporting direction of the products or product groups to be packaged during the transfer from the packaging infeed to the transfer region, has advantages when there is adhesion in the packaging infeed between the individual packaging blanks that are not yet separated. In this case, the packaging material blank removal from the packaging infeed in an upward movement can be sensible, depending on the circumstances.

In order to increase the number of cycles achievable with the singularizing installation, it is provided according to the embodiments that the at least one gripper head is connected to the rotary axle via an arm region, wherein the arm region extends on both sides over the rotary axle and has two opposite end regions, on each of which at least one gripper head is arranged.

In this embodiment, two paper or cardboard blanks can thus be separated consecutively per revolution of the arm region connected rotationally to the rotary axle.

For the at least one gripper head of the singularizing installation, various embodiments are possible.

According to one realization, the at least one gripper head is preferably configured as a vacuum gripper. This is a suction gripper, which can have a flexible suction cup, which delimits a suction space that is connectable to a vacuum source and has a front end region circumscribing a suction opening as well as an opposite rear end region. The suction opening of the suction cup is typically formed with a sealing lip that abuts or is attachable to the surface of the overwrap material blank to be handled and then encloses a suction space between the suction cup and the surface of the overwrap material blank, which can be evacuated accordingly. The suction cup then rests tightly against the surface of the overwrap material blank and pneumatically holds it in place.

Of course, however, other embodiments for the at least one gripper head are also possible, for example mechanically operating gripping fingers, etc.

In principle, regardless of the realization of the at least one gripper head, it is advantageous that, when the at least one gripper head is moved on the orbit between the packaging infeed and the transfer region, a gripping region of the at least one gripper head preferably points continuously radially outward with respect to the orbit.

In this way, it is ensured that the gripper head, and in particular the gripping region of the gripper head, are always suitably aligned with respect to the paper or cardboard blanks to be separated, on the one hand, and with respect to the products or product groups to be filled in the separated paper or cardboard blanks, on the other hand.

According to realizations of the packaging machine according to the invention, the packaging machine has at least one transport or conveyer belt for transporting the products or product groups to be packaged at least through the transfer region of the singularizing installation, wherein - when viewed in the transporting direction of the products or product groups to be packaged - a folding installation is provided downstream of the transfer region for folding the paper or cardboard blanks deposited on the products or product groups such that products or product groups completely wrapped in the paper or cardboard material are preferably formed.

Various embodiments are considered for the folding installation.

According to embodiments of the packaging machine according to the invention, the folding installation is associated with at least one transport or conveyor belt for conveying the products or product groups to be packaged by the folding installation, wherein the folding installation has a plurality of folding stations arranged in a row - when viewed in the transporting direction of the products or product groups to be packaged - in which, when the folding installation transports the products or product groups to be packaged, the paper or packaging material blanks are folded sequentially around the products or product groups.

Alternatively or additionally, it is conceivable that the folding installation has folding arms, in particular guided on a revolving chain, which are placed on the products or product groups from above in an upstream end region of the folding installation - when viewed in the transporting direction of the products or product groups - and moved with the products or product groups to at least partially fold over the paper or cardboard blanks placed on the products or product groups.

Of course, other embodiments may also be considered for folding the paper or cardboard blanks placed on the products or product groups.

In order to also be able to fold over the bottom of the products or product groups in a particularly effective manner with the overwrap material, it is provided according to embodiments of the invention, that two opposing conveyor belts which respectively laterally engage with the products or product groups are provided in at least a downstream end region of the folding installation - when viewed in the transporting direction of the products or product groups to be packaged - said conveyor belts being inclined towards the horizontal - when viewed in the transporting direction of the products or product groups - preferably by at least two degrees, and more preferably by at least five degrees.

With regard to the packaging machine, it is further conceivable that the packaging machine - when viewed in the transporting direction of the products or product groups to be packaged - has a grouping installation upstream of the singularizing installation for as-needed and, in particular, automated grouping of a plurality of products, i.e., for forming product groups. The invention further relates to a method for packaging products or product groups, in particular paper material or thin cardboard material.

In the method according to the invention, flat paper or cardboard blanks are fed. Subsequently, the infed paper or cardboard blanks are separated individually, and then the separated paper or cardboard blanks are transferred to a product or product group to be packaged.

In order to separate the infed paper or cardboard blanks and to transfer the separated paper or cardboard blanks to a product or product group to be packaged, at least one gripper head is continuously moved on an orbit between a packaging infeed and a transfer region, in which the individual paper or cardboard blanks are transferred from the at least one gripper head to the product or product group to be packaged. For this purpose, the at least one gripper head is driven in a non-uniform orbital movement such that the at least one gripper head is moved more slowly in the region of the packaging infeed and in the transfer region than when the at least one gripper head is transferred from the packaging infeed to the transfer region.

With the packaging method according to the invention, the advantages that have previously been achieved in connection with the packaging machine according to the invention can also be realized.

By contrast to a uniform movement, in which a body, for example the at least one gripper head, is moved at a constant speed and without changing direction, in a non-uniform movement a body travels on paths of different sizes at the same time intervals. In other words, in a non-uniform movement, the speed of the body changes.

An exemplary embodiment of the packaging machine according to the invention is described in more detail in the following, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The figures show:

FIG. 1 schematically and in an isometric view, an exemplary embodiment of the packaging machine according to the invention;

FIG. 2 schematically and in an isometric view, the grouping installation used with the packaging machine according to FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 schematically and in an isometric view, the singularizing installation used with the packaging machine according to FIG. 1 ; FIG. 4 schematically and in an isometric view, a region of the folding installation used with the packaging machine according to FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 5 schematically and in an isometric view, a region of the folding installation used with the packaging machine according to FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 6 schematically, an exemplary embodiment of a singularizing installation for individually separating infed paper or cardboard blanks and transferring the separated paper or cardboard blanks to a product or product group to be packaged, wherein in FIG. 6 the at least one gripper head of the singularizing installation is shown both in its position for separating the infed paper or cardboard blanks as well as in its position for transferring the separated paper or cardboard blanks to a product or product group to be packaged; and

FIG. 7A - 7C a motion sequence of the at least one gripper head of the singularizing installation according to FIG. 6 when transferring the at least one gripper head from a packaging infeed to a transfer region.

FIG. 1 shows schematically and in an isometric view an exemplary embodiment of the packaging machine 1 according to the invention. The packaging machine 1 of the illustrated embodiment serves to enclose first packages, i.e. already packaged products 5, in an overwrap material.

The individual products 5 are first fed into the packaging machine 1 and, if necessary, temporarily stored in a storage table 21 or in a magazine.

As can be seen in the illustration in FIG. 2, in particular, in the exemplary embodiment of the packaging machine 1 according to the invention, it is provided that the storage table 21 or the magazine has a plurality of parallel lines in which the individual products 5 are infed.

At the downstream end region of the storage table 21 or magazine, a predetermined or determinable number of products 5 are removed from the individual lines of the storage table 21 per unit of time and grouped using a downstream grouping installation 20. The grouping installation 20 thus serves to assemble product groups, which are subsequently wrapped with the overwrap material in order to thus form a corresponding container. The product groups formed in the grouping installation 20 are subsequently fed into the overwrap installation of the packaging machine 1 with the assistance of a conveyor belt. As can be seen from the isometric view in FIG. 3, the overwrapping installation of the packaging machine 1 comprises a packaging infeed 2 with which flat paper or cardboard blanks 3 are infed.

Preferably, the blanks 3 are made of paper or thin cardboard. The blanks 3 can be laminated, if necessary. Typically, the blanks 3 have a plurality of fold lines, which are designed in order to facilitate the folding of the blank 3 and to divide the blank 3 into multiple surfaces.

In addition, the illustration in FIG. 3 shows that the overwrapping installation of the exemplary packaging machine 1 further has a singularizing installation 4. The singularizing installation 4 has a dual function:

On the one hand, the singularizing installation 4 is used in order to individually separate the flat paper or cardboard blanks 3 that have been infed with the assistance of the packaging infeed 2. On the other hand, the singularizing installation 4 is also used in order to transfer the separated paper or cardboard blanks 3 to a product or product group 5' to be packaged.

As can further be seen in the illustration in FIG. 3, the singularizing installation 4 has at least one gripper head 6, which can be configured as a vacuum gripper, in particular.

The at least one gripper head 6 is associated with a mechanism for preferably continuous movement of the at least one gripper head 6 on an orbit between the packaging infeed 2 and a transfer region 7, in which the individual paper or cardboard blanks 3 are transferred from the at least one gripper head 6 to the product or product group 5' to be packaged.

The functionality of the singularizing installation 4 and the mechanism associated with the at least one gripper head 6 can be seen in the sequence shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7A to FIG. 7C.

Briefly summarized, in the exemplary embodiment shown in the drawings, the mechanism associated with the at least one gripper head 6 comprises a gear transmission that can be driven with a drive shaft 8, in particular a gear train 9, to which the at least one gripper head 6 is operatively connected, such that the at least one gripper head 6 rotates about its rotary axle 10 on one hand and the at least one gripper head 6 rotates about a shaft axle 11 of the drive shaft 8 on the other hand, wherein the rotary axle 10 of the at least one gripper head 6 runs parallel to the shaft axle 11 of the drive shaft 8 and lies outside the shaft axle 11. It can be seen from the isometric view in FIG. 3 that the shaft axle 1 1 preferably runs perpendicular to the transporting direction 12 in which the products 5 or product groups 5' to be packaged are moved through the transfer region 7.

From the movement sequence of the at least one gripper head 6 shown in FIG. 7A to FIG. 7C, it can be seen that the gear transmission, in particular gear train 9, is configured in order to drive the at least one gripper head 6 in a uniform and rotational manner in a first rotational direction about the shaft axle 11, wherein the gear transmission, in particular gear train 9, is further configured in order to drive the at least one gripper head 6 in a second rotational direction opposite to the first rotational direction about the rotary axle 10 of the at least one gripper head 6 in a uniform and rotational manner.

In the singularizing installation 4 used in the exemplary embodiment of the packaging machine 1 according to the invention, it is provided that the at least one gripper head 6 is connected to the rotary axle 10 via an arm region 14, wherein the arm region 14 extends on both sides over the rotary axle 10 and has two opposite end regions, on each of which at least one gripper head 6 is arranged.

In addition, in the realization of the packaging machine 1 according to the invention as shown in the drawings, it is provided that the gripping region of the at least one gripper head 6, which is preferably configured as a vacuum gripper, preferably points continuously radially outward with respect to the orbit when the at least one gripper head 6 is moved between the packaging infeed 2 and the transfer region 7.

The mechanism described above, which is associated with the at least one gripper head 6 of the singularizing installation 4 and which serves to move the at least one gripper head 6 preferably continuously on an orbit between the packaging infeed 2 and the transfer region 7 in which the individual paper or cardboard blanks 3 are transferred from the at least one gripper head 6 to the product or product group 5' to be packaged, serves in particular to drive the at least one gripper head 6 forward in a cycloidal orbital movement.

Specifically, the gripper head 6 is driven in a cycloidal or cycloid-esque orbital movement, wherein the cycloidal or cycloid-esque orbital movement is selected such that the gripper head 6 passes through a total of three repeating and adjacent cycloidal or cycloid-esque orbital paths per 360° revolution.

The mechanism associated with the gripper head 6 is configured in such a way that, when the gripper head 6 is located at a first transfer point between a first and a second cycloidal or cycloid-esque orbital path, the gripper head 6 is arranged on or in the region of the packaging infeed 2, and then, when the gripper head 6 is located at a second transfer point between a third and the first cycloidal or cycloid-esque orbital path, the gripper head 6 is arranged at or near the transfer region 7.

The position of the at least one gripper head 6 in the two transfer points between the cycloidal or cycloid-esque orbital paths is shown in FIG. 6.

Generally speaking, the mechanism associated with the at least one gripper head 6 thus serves to drive the at least one gripper head 6 in a non-uniform orbital movement such that the at least one gripper head 6 is moved more slowly in the region of the packaging infeed 2 and in the transfer region 7 than when the at least one gripper head 6 is transferred from the packaging infeed 2 to the transfer region 7.

According to advantageous embodiments of the singularizing installation 4, it is provided that the gear transmission, in particular gear train 9, is configured in order to drive the gripper head 6 in a uniform and rotational manner in a first rotational direction about the shaft axle 11, wherein the gear transmission, in particular gear train 9, is further configured in order to drive the gripper head 6 in a second rotational direction opposite to the first rotational direction about the rotary axle 10 of the gripper head 6 in a uniform and rotational manner.

The first and second rotational directions can be selected such that the gripper head 6 is moved during the transfer from the packaging infeed 2 to the transfer region 7 only via a single cycloidal or cycloid-esque orbital path, and that the gripper head 6 moves, at least in regions, in the direction in which the products 5 or product groups 5' to be packaged are moved through the transfer region 7, wherein a rotational frequency with which the at least one gripper head 6 is rotationally driven about the shaft axle 11 and the rotation frequency with which the at least one gripper head 6 is driven rotationally about the rotary axle 10 are preferably chosen such that the at least one gripper head 6 moves in the transfer region 7 with at least approximately the same speed as the products or product groups 5' to be packaged are moved through the transfer region 7.

Alternatively, however, it is also generally conceivable that the first and second rotational directions are selected such that the gripper head 6 is moved over a total of two cycloidal or cycloid-esque orbital paths during the transfer from the packaging infeed 2 to the transfer region 7, and that the gripper head 6 moves, at least in regions, opposite to the direction in which the products 5 or product groups 5' to be packaged are moved through the transfer region 7.

Although not explicitly shown in the drawings, the exemplary embodiment of the packaging machine 1 according to the invention has at least one transport belt for transporting the products 5 or product groups 5' to be packaged at least through the transfer region 7 of the singularizing installation 4. As shown in the overview according to FIG. 1 and the detail views according to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, a folding installation 15 is provided downstream - when viewed in the transporting direction 12 of the products 5 or product groups 5' to be packaged - of the transfer region in order to fold the paper or cardboard blanks 3 placed on the products 5 or product groups 5', such that products 5 or product groups 5' completely wrapped in the paper or cardboard material are preferably formed.

For this purpose, at least one conveyor belt 16 can be associated with the folding installation 15 in order to convey the products 5 or product groups 5' to be packaged through the folding installation 15. Preferably, the folding installation 15 has a plurality of folding stations arranged in a row - when viewed in the transporting direction 12 of the products 5 or product groups 5' to be packaged - in which the paper or packaging material blanks are folded sequentially around the products 5 or the product groups 5' during transport of the products 5 or product groups 5' through the folding installation 15.

The folding installation 15 further has folding arms 18 guided on a revolving chain 19, which are placed on the products 5 or product groups 5' from above in an upstream end region of the folding installation 15 - when viewed in the transporting direction 12 of the products 5 or product groups 5' - and moved with the products 5 or product groups 5' to at least partially fold over the paper or cardboard blanks 3 placed on the products 5 or product groups 5’.

From the illustration in FIG. 5, in particular, it can be seen that two opposing conveyor belts 16 which respectively laterally engage with the products 5 or product groups 5' are provided in at least a downstream end region of the folding installation 15 - when viewed in the transporting direction 12 of the products 5 or product groups 5' to be packaged - said conveyor belts being inclined towards the horizontal - when viewed in the transporting direction 12 of the products 5 or product groups 5' - preferably by at least two degrees, and more preferably by at least five degrees.

The invention is not limited to the exemplary packaging machine 1 shown in the drawings, but rather results when all of the features disclosed herein are considered together. List of reference numerals

1 Packaging machine

2 Packaging infeed

3 Paper or cardboard blanks

4 Singularizing installation

5 Product

5' Product group

6 Gripper head

7 Transfer region

8 Drive shaft

9 Gear transmission

10 Rotary axle of the gripper head

11 Shaft axle of drive shaft

12 Transporting direction

14 Arm region

15 Folding installation

16 Conveyor belt

18 Folding arm

19 Revolving chain

20 Grouping installation

21 Storage table/magazine