DESC:FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[001] The present invention relates to the field of packaging, more particularly to a system for feeding personal care articles/products such as toothbrushes in a packaging line.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[002] In the packaging industry, most of the packaging is automated. However, some articles are still packed manually. One type of such packaging is carton packaging of toothbrushes, whereby a toothbrush is fed manually into a carton. Also, when multiple articles are to be packed in one package, at-least one of the articles is manually fed into the package. An example of such a package is a carton with a toothbrush and toothpaste tube. Usually, while packing the toothbrush and toothpaste tube together, the toothbrush is fed in the carton manually. Manual handling of toothbrushes is undesirable as the toothbrushes may get contaminated. Moreover, manually feeding the toothbrushes is also time consuming. In this context, carton machines are utilized to pack toothbrushes and toothpaste tubes together, wherein toothpaste tubes and toothbrushes are introduced onto a conveyor chain of the carton machine. The conveyor chain is provided with product pockets to receive one toothbrush and one toothpaste tube so that both the products can be pushed into a carton. While the toothpaste tubes are introduced onto the conveyor chain separately by automated means, the toothbrushes are fed manually. Since toothbrushes are added by manual intervention/human effort, the speed of the conveyor chain has to be reduced to match the human speed of feeding toothbrushes with the speed of incoming tubes. As a result, productivity and overall equipment efficiency decreases. Thus, there is a need for a system addressing at-least the aforementioned problems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[003] Accordingly, the present invention in one aspect provides a system for feeding toothbrushes, the system comprising a vibratory bowl feeder comprising a bowl for holding plurality of toothbrushes in a random orientation, the bowl having a closed bottom and an open top, and a spiral pathway extending from a first end to a second end within the bowl, the first end provided at the bottom of the bowl and the second end towards the top of the bowl to deliver toothbrushes towards the top of the bowl upon vibration of the bowl; a rim adapted circumferentially around the open top of the bowl, the rim having a recessed portion configured to hold toothbrushes in a vertical orientation, the recessed portion having an intake end and an exit end, the intake end is in communication with the second end of spiral pathway to receive the toothbrushes and the exit end is in communication with an opening on the rim to allow the toothbrushes to exit the vibratory bowl feeder; and a feeding channel provided downstream of the vibratory bowl feeder whereby the feeding channel extends from a proximal end to a distal end, at the proximal end the feeding channel is in communication with open end of the vibratory bowl feeder to receive the toothbrushes in a vertical orientation, and at the distal end the feeding channel is configured to dispense toothbrushes in a horizontal orientation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[004] Reference will be made to embodiments of the invention, examples of which may be illustrated in accompanying figures. These figures are intended to be illustrative, not limiting. Although the invention is generally described in context of these embodiments, it should be understood that it is not intended to limit the scope of the invention to these particular embodiments.
Figure 1 shows a system for continuous feeding of toothbrushes in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
Figure 2 shows a top-view of a bowl feeder in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
Figure 3 shows an enlarged view of a feeding channel in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
Figure 4 shows an enlarged view of a feeding channel loaded with toothbrushes in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[005] The present invention is directed towards a system for continuous feeding of toothbrushes in a packaging line to pack a toothbrush in a carton. The toothbrush may be packed individually or along with a toothpaste tube in a carton as a single unit. The invention minimizes or nullifies human handling/interference by dispensing toothbrushes in a desired orientation, and thereby reducing packaging time, and also reducing contamination.
[006] Figures 1 through 4 show a system 100 for continuous feeding of toothbrushes 10 to a conveyer assembly 150 in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. The system includes a vibratory bowl feeder 110, and a feeding/transfer channel 120.
[007] The vibratory bowl feeder is preferably placed at an elevated level on a platform 130, and comprises of a bowl 102 and a spiral pathway 112. The bowl has a closed bottom and an open top. In an embodiment, the spiral pathway 112 extends from a first end to a second end within the bowl. In this regard, the first end is provided at the bottom of the bowl, and the second end towards the top of the bowl. As shown in figure 2, the bowl towards the top has a rim 114 extending upwardly and circumferentially around top of the bowl feeder. The rim has a recessed portion 116 configured to hold the toothbrushes in a vertical orientation. The recessed portion in an embodiment is a slot. The recessed portion as shown is provided between the rim and the bowl feeder. The recessed portion has an intake end and an exit end. The intake end is provided adjacent or is in communication with the second end of the spiral pathway to receive the toothbrushes in a vertical orientation. The recessed portion extends along circumference of the rim for a predetermined length, and the exit end is in communication with an opening 118 of the rim for allowing the toothbrushes to exit the bowl feeder.
[008] The bowl is connected with a vibrating drive unit which causes the bowl to vibrate. As shown in figure 2, the bowl feeder is loaded with plurality of toothbrushes 10a in a random orientation/manner. Once loaded, the bowl feeder is vibrated, the vibrations are transferred onto the pathway causing the toothbrushes to slide or hop along the spiral pathway towards the slot. As is well known in the art, a toothbrush generally has a head portion and a handle portion. To accommodate the toothbrushes, the recessed portion has a width that approximately corresponds to thickness of the toothbrush handle portion but less than the thickness of the toothbrush head portion. Accordingly, as the toothbrushes travel towards the recessed portion, the handle portion falls into the recessed portion as the recessed portion allows the handle portion of the toothbrush to pass through but restricts the head portion. Accordingly, the toothbrush is held within the recessed portion near its head portion. Thus, as shown in figure 2 each toothbrush 10b retained in the recessed portion and each toothbrush exiting the recessed portion through the opening has a vertical orientation. Similarly, multiple toothbrushes fall into the recessed portion, and are lined up sequentially in a vertical orientation and exit the bowl feeder through the opening provided on the rim.
[009] The feeding channel as shown in figure 1 is provided downstream of the vibratory bowl feeder, and extends towards the conveyor assembly for transferring the toothbrushes to the conveyor assembly. Figure 3 and 4 shows the feeding channel. The feeding channel comprises a pair of spaced apart or parallel rails 122 forming a pathway for allowing the toothbrushes to pass through. The distance between the parallel rails is proportional to the thickness of the toothbrush so as to allow the toothbrush to pass through the feeding channel without losing its orientation. Further, each rail may be continuous or in segments which are joined with each other.to form the rail. The feeding channel extends from a proximal end to a distal end. As shown in figure 4, at the proximal end, the feeding channel is in communication with the opening provided on the bowl feeder to receive the toothbrushes and at the distal end the feeding channel is disposed above the conveyor assembly for transferring the toothbrushes. As shown in figure 4, the feeding channel has an inclined orientation causing the toothbrushes to move towards the distal end. Further, as can be seen figures 4, the feeding channel towards the distal end extends in a curvilinear manner such that at the distal end the toothbrushes are horizontally oriented within the feeding channel, and the feeding channel and/or the toothbrushes are parallel with the conveyor assembly. Further, towards the distal end a transfer/dispensing unit 140 is adapted to dispense one toothbrush at a time. Advantageously, the transfer unit also restricts the toothbrushes from passing there through. The transfer unit includes a first gate and a second gate whereby the first gate is provided towards bottom of the transfer unit and the second gate is provided above the first gate. The first gate comprises pneumatic cylinder with a fork which when operates allows a brush to fall. The second gate maintains a firm pressure on the remaining brushes. The first gate retains or holds the last toothbrush in the transfer unit and the second gate retains or holds the second last toothbrush in the transfer unit, thereby separating the last toothbrush and the second last toothbrush from the rest of the toothbrushes. The first gate and the second gate are capable of moving between a rest position and an open position. In the rest position each gate is in alignment with the transfer unit and/or the toothbrushes such that the gates retain the toothbrushes within the transfer unit and in the open position the gates move away allowing the toothbrushes to dispense out of the transfer unit. In an embodiment, the first gate and the second gate are configured to move between the rest position and the open position in a sequential manner to dispense one toothbrush at a time from the transfer unit by a control system. In this regard, the first gate is moved away (open position) allowing the last toothbrush to fall out and return to rest position after which the second gate is operated to move to the open position allowing the second last toothbrush to fall on to the first gate. At this instant the second gate returns to the rest position to hold the next toothbrush and the first gate is moved to the open position to dispense the toothbrush. This cycle continues whereby one toothbrush each is dispensed from the transfer unit.
[010] In an embodiment, the first gate and the second gate is a fork which is pneumatically operated to move between the rest position and the open position. A pneumatic cylinder each is connected to the first and the second gate for moving the gates. Also, other means for operating/driving the gates i.e. moving the gates between open and rest position are will within the scope of the invention.
[011] Further, the feeding channel comprises one or more sensorsfor tracking/detecting the number or level of toothbrushes in the feeding channel. The sensor can be a capacitive sensor or a photoelectric sensor. Depending on the number or level of toothbrushes in the feeding channel, the bowl feeder is operated. In an embodiment, one sensor is provided near the proximal end of the feeding channel, and another sensor is provided near the distal end of the feeding channel. Figure 3 shows a first sensor 124 and a second sensor 126 provided on the feeding channel. The first sensor is provided near the proximal end of the feeding channel, and the second sensor is provided near the distal end of the feeding channel. As the toothbrushes begin to fill in the feeding channel, the sensors continue to detect whether the number of toothbrushes in feeding channel are at a low level or at a high level. If the second sensor detects toothbrushes and the first sensor does not detect toothbrushes, the number of toothbrushes in the feeding channel is considered to be at a low level and the bowl feeder will continue to operate to feed toothbrushes to the feeding channel. If the first sensor and the second sensor detect toothbrushes, the number of toothbrushes in the feeding channel is considered to be at a high level and the bowl feeder is stopped, thereby stopping the flow of new toothbrushes being fed to the feeding channel. Thus, at any time the first sensor and the second sensor ensure that the toothbrushes do not exceed the maximum level and the minimum level in the channel respectively.
[012] As shown in figure 1, the conveyor assembly is disposed below the transfer unit of the feeding channel. The conveyor assembly includes a conveyor belt with multiple pockets, each pocket configured to receive a toothpaste tube and a toothbrush. In this regard, the conveyor belt is pre-fed with a toothpaste tube in each pocket. The transfer unit of the feeding channel is synchronized with the movement of the conveyor assembly such that one toothbrush is dispensed into each of these pockets. Accordingly, each pocket includes a toothpaste tube and a toothbrush which then can be placed in a carton by a carton machine. While the system has been described in context of dispensing a toothbrush which is eventually packed in a carton along with a toothpaste tube, the underlying object of the invention is to continuously dispense a toothbrush which can be packed individually or in combination with other articles in different types of packaging.
[013] While the present invention has been described with respect to certain embodiments, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modification may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.

,CLAIMS:WE CLAIM:
1. A system for feeding toothbrushes, the system comprising:
a vibratory bowl feeder comprising:
a bowl for holding plurality of toothbrushes in a random orientation, the bowl having a closed bottom and an open top, and a spiral pathway extending from a first end to a second end within the bowl, the first end provided at the bottom of the bowl and the second end towards the top of the bowl to deliver toothbrushes towards the top of the bowl upon vibration of the bowl;
a rim adapted circumferentially around the open top of the bowl, the rim having a recessed portion configured to hold toothbrushes in a vertical orientation, the recessed portion having an intake end and an exit end, the intake end is in communication with the second end of spiral pathway to receive the toothbrushes and the exit end is in communication with an opening on the rim to allow the toothbrushes to exit the vibratory bowl feeder; and
a feeding channel provided downstream of the vibratory bowl feeder whereby the feeding channel extends from a proximal end to a distal end, at the proximal end the feeding channel is in communication with open end of the vibratory bowl feeder to receive the toothbrushes in a vertical orientation, and at the distal end the feeding channel is configured to dispense toothbrushes in a horizontal orientation.

2. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the recessed portion is a slot.

3. The system as claimed in claim 1, the recessed portion has a width that approximately corresponds to thickness of a toothbrush handle portion but less than a thickness of the toothbrush head portion.

4. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the feeding channel comprises a pair of parallel rails forming a pathway for allowing the toothbrushes to pass.

5. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein distance between the rails is proportional to thickness of the toothbrushes.

6. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the feeding channel extends along an incline allowing the toothbrushes to pass through, and has a curvilinear profile towards the distal end.

7. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the feeding channel comprises of a first gate and a second gate provided at the distal end of the feeding channel, whereby the first gate is provided at bottom of the feeding channel and the second gate is provided above the first gat, each of the gate individually operable between an open position and a rest position with respect to the feeding channel for allowing one toothbrush at a time to exit from the feeding channel.

8. The system as claimed in claim 7, wherein each of the first gate and the second gate is pneumatically operated.

9. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the feeding channel comprises of a first sensor and a second sensor for monitoring the number of toothbrushes in the feeding channel.

10. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the system further comprises of a conveyor assembly disposed below the feeding channel, the conveyor assembly includes a conveyor belt with multiple pockets, each pocket configured to receive one toothbrush dispensed from the feeding channel and a pre-fed toothpaste tube.