Culling method for blister-pack production line

Abstract

A continuous and elongated blister-pack strip having transverse rows of blisters of which some are empty and most are full is transported through a stamping station. Upstream of the stamping station whether any blisters entering the stamping station are full or empty is sensed. In the stamping station only sections all of whose blisters are full are stamped out of the strip from between the edges thereof while leaving the edges flanking the stamped-out section intact so that sections of the strip having at least one empty blister leave the stamping station attached to the strip edges. The stamped-out sections are transported away from the path at the stamping station. Spaces in the strip between blisters still attached to the strip edges are then detected and the entire strip is transversely cut only between the respective blisters into pieces each including at least one row of intact blisters.

1 . A method of making blister-pack packages, the method comprising the steps of:
 displacing along a longitudinal path through an upstream detecting station, a stamping station downstream of the upstream station, and a downstream detecting station downstream of the stamping station a continuous longitudinally elongated blister-pack strip having transverse rows of blisters of which some are empty and most are full, the rows of blisters being flanked by longitudinal edges of the strip;   sensing at the upstream detecting station whether any blisters entering the stamping station are full or empty;   in the stamping station stamping out of the strip from between the edges thereof only sections all of whose blisters are full while leaving the edges flanking the stamped-out section intact so that sections of the strip having at least one empty blister leave the stamping station attached to the strip edges;   transporting the stamped-out sections away from the path at the stamping station; and   detecting in the downstream detecting station spaces in the strip between blisters still attached to the strip edges and there transversely cutting the entire strip only between the respective blisters into pieces each including at least one row of intact blisters.   
   
   
       2 . The packaging method defined in  claim 1  wherein the stamped-out sections are transported away from the path at the stamping station by means of a suction lifter that picks the stamped-out sections up out of the stamping station. 
   
   
       3 . The packaging method defined in  claim 1 , further comprising the step of
 at a second detecting station downstream of the first downstream detecting station detecting station detecting whether the blisters passing are full or empty; and there   separating any pieces all of whose blisters are empty from the pieces some of whose blisters are filled.   
   
   
       4 . The packaging method defined in  claim 3 , further comprising the step of
 transporting the separated pieces away from the path.   
   
   
       5 . The packaging method defined in  claim 1  wherein pieces are transported away by a conveyor belt 
   
   
       6 . The packaging method defined in  claim 5 , further comprising the step of
 continuously operating the conveyor belt and   detecting the stamped-out sections thereon.   
   
   
       7 . The packaging method defined in  claim 1  wherein the pieces each include only one row of blisters.