EP1559650A1

EP1559650A1 - Automatic bagging machine of lids in self-adhesive bags

Info

Publication number: EP1559650A1
Application number: EP05380012A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Rafael Moreno Navarro
Original assignee: Taller Autorema SL
Current assignee: Taller Autorema SL
Priority date: 2004-01-23
Filing date: 2005-01-24
Publication date: 2005-08-03
Anticipated expiration: 2025-01-24
Also published as: PT1559650E; PL1559650T3; EP1559650B1; DE602005000604D1; DK1559650T3; ATE355223T1

Abstract

An automatic bagging machine of basic and easy-to-open lids in self-adhesive paper bags, which machine is made up of a lid cluster former (1), a bag storage area (2), a unit (3) with means for extracting and positioning the bags and a unit (4) with means for inserting the lid packs in the bags for the closure thereof. It includes a deposit or storage area (5) between the cluster former (1) and the cluster inserter (4) which controls the lid cluster supply to the inserter (4).

Description

The present invention has as an object improvements in Spanish patent number 200301023 relating to an automatic bagging machine of basic and easy-to-open lids in self-adhesive paper bags, the machine of which is particularly applicable within the metal container manufacturing industry and generally in any production line where lids or similar materials with respect to their physical and geometric features are worked with.
The machine object of patent 200301023 comprises a lid cluster former, a bag storage area, means for extracting, shifting and forming the bags and means for inserting the lid clusters into the bags and closing said bags, said means being arranged practically in alignment, which simplifies the structure and operation of the machine.
The present invention has as an object improvements which on one hand are aimed at achieving greater effectiveness in obtaining the bags filled with the lids, and on the other hand facilitating the adaptation of the machine to the manufacturing requirements and conditions.
To that end according to the invention, the systems for lid cluster formation, for handling the empty bags and for inserting the lid clusters into the bags, as well as the systems for folding and closing the bags and for collecting and distributing the same, are improved, all this such that handled product traceability is maintained throughout the machine.
With the improvements of the invention, the machine is created with a modular concept starting from two modules, one a production track and the other one two parallel production tracks.
These modules can be grouped, forming combinations with one track, two tracks, three tracks, four tracks, etc., taking into account that the operating principle is the same for all the tracks, which will have their own autonomy in automatic and manual operation state. It will have an end conveyor belt for this arrangement which will be responsible for collecting the clusters of the different tracks and taking them to a cluster selection and distribution module according to track of origin, acting as a controlling storage area or deposit.
On the other hand, the machine of the invention includes, between the lid cluster former and the inserter of said clusters into the bags, a deposit responsible for controlling lid cluster supply. By means of this storage area, if the machine is operating normally with respect to bag collection, placement and formation, the lid clusters will go directly through the deposit, but not being stored therein, rather for their insertion into the unfolded bags. On the other hand, if any operation problem occurs during the different bag preparation and filling operations, the lid clusters supplied by the cluster former will be stored in the deposit area, up to a certain number, later being automatically extracted for carrying out bag filling.
Thus, in both the lid cluster supply process and in the final reception of bags with lid clusters, the machine has means for controlling the cluster and bag delivery according to the machine operating conditions and manufacturing requirements.
According to the improvements inserted in the lid cluster former, the latter comprises a horizontal conveyor belt by means of which the lids are conveyed with a given spacing between them, a rotating wheel receiving the lids from the conveyor belt and grouping them in stack form, a stack divider for dividing it into clusters including a large predetermined number of lids, and a magnetic channel along which the clusters are shifted for their delivery to the lid inserter through the previously mentioned deposit.
The rotating wheel of the lid cluster former receives the lids from the belt in the horizontal position and drags and turns them 90° with mechanical or magnetic means until arranging them approximately in the vertical position, in which position it supplies them to the magnetic channel in stack form. This wheel includes a lid stack cutter or divider for cluster formation. The divider comprises a guide parallel to the magnetic channel, located above said channel, and a lid number limiter blade, which blade is assembled on said guide and can be shifted along the same, following the shifting of the lids from the rotating wheel and along the channel to the lid inserter. This blade acts in the area of the rotating wheel once the lid stack includes a pre-established number of lids, and it shifts along the guide, dragging or pushing the lid cluster to the lid inserter.
According to the invention the bag forming and closing means are also improved, which include a first pair of empty and positioned bag holding cylinders, provided with means for guiding the lids inside the bag and for holding said bag, means for opening the bag, a second pair of holding and compaction cylinders for compacting the lids inside the bag, and a bag folding cylinder assembly made up of two cylinders forming an L acting like a guillotine in order to carry out a first folding of the bag. Finally and as in the machine of the main patent, these closing means include a second bag folding cylinder and a final bag closure cylinder.
All the features set forth as well as others of the invention as they are included in the claims are explained below in greater detail with the aid of the attached drawings in which a non-limiting embodiment example is shown.
In the drawings:
Figure 1 shows a side elevational view of a machine constituted according to the invention.
Figure 2 shows a plan view of the machine of Figure 1, corresponding to a two-track module.
Figure 3 shows a plan view of the deposit or controlling storage area of the closed and filled bags at the machine outlet.
Figure 4 shows a side elevational view of the lid cluster former.
Figure 5 shows a front elevational view of the deposit in charge of controlling the supply of lid clusters, according to the A-A direction of Figure 1.
Figure 6 shows a side view, on a larger scale, of the area of insertion, folding and sealing of the lids in the paper bags.
Figures 7 and 8 are a front elevational and upper plan view of the side stops of the lid cluster inserted in a paper bag.
Figures 9 and 10 show front elevational views of two consecutive positions of the mechanism carrying out the first folding of the bags.
Figure 11 shows a front elevational view of the heating mechanism of the glue for closing the bags.
Figure 12 shows a side elevational view of the bag storage area.
Figure 13 shows a front elevational view of the final closed bag collector according to line B-B of Figure 1.
As has been indicated, the machine of the invention is designed with a modular concept by means of modules which may include a single bagging track or line, or two tracks. These modules can later be combined with one another in order to arrange single-track, two-track, three-track machines, etc.
Figure 1 shows a side elevational view of a machine, independently of the number of tracks thereof, since all of them will be in parallel, whereas Figure 2 shows a plan view of the machine of Figure 1 corresponding to a two-track module.
In any case, each one of the tracks of the machine of the invention includes, as in the machine of the main patent, a lid cluster former, with reference number 1, a bag storage area, with reference number 2, a unit with means for removing and positioning the bags, with general reference number 3, and a unit with means for inserting the lid clusters into the bags and for the closure thereof, with general reference number 4.
The machine of the invention includes, between the lid cluster former 1 and the inserter 4 for inserting said clusters into bags, a deposit or storage area 5 in charge of controlling the lid cluster supply to the inserter 4.
A centralized collection system 6, Figure 2, or else a controlling deposit or storage area system 7, can be arranged at the outlet of the machine where the closed bags with the lid clusters are received, as is shown in Figure 3 for a two-track machine.
The lid cluster former 1 comprises, as can be seen best in Figure 4, a horizontal conveyor belt 8 in charge of receiving the lids, which can have a length of 500 mm for example, which moves the lids in horizontal position and with a given spacing therebetween. This conveyor belt delivers the lids to a rotating wheel 8' receiving the lids in horizontal position and conveying and rotating them 90° until placing them approximately in the vertical position, in which it delivers and groups them in stack form in a magnetic channel 9. Lid counting is carried out on the wheel 8' and once the stack includes the pre-established lid number, a cutter or blade 10 which is assembled and can be shifted along a guide 11 parallel to the channel 9 and located above the same begins to operate. This cutter or blade 10 acts as a lid stack dividing element, forming clusters which are pushed by the blade itself along the channel 9, as the head 12 of said blade shifts along the guide 11 until a position 12' in which the inserter 14, which includes a compactor 13, begins to operate and is shifted to the end position 14', shifting the lid cluster to the filling and closing area 4 when the rest of the machine is operating normally. However, if any problem occurs in the collection of the bag from storage area 9 or in its placement and opening in area 3, the lid inserter 14 will place the cluster in the deposit 5, which includes a series of receiving stations 16 which are arranged in levels vertically shiftable from a position in which both the collection of clusters coming from the magnetic field 9 and the delivery of clusters to insertion area 4 for inserting clusters in the bags occur, being possible to select in any case the direct passage of the lid clusters from the magnetic channel to the lid inserter or through the deposit, depending on the operating circumstances of the rest of the machine, as has been indicated.
As in the main patent, the means for extracting and shifting the bags from the storage area 2 include a set of guides 17 running above the bagging line 18, in which guides there is assembled a bag extractor 19, shiftable along said guides by means of a cylinder between a rear position on the bag storage area 2 and a front position in which the bag opening and holding will be carried out, as will be explained in reference to Figures 6 to 11.
The machine of the invention includes two cylinders 19 and 20 for the holding of the bags. When the bag shifter 17' reaches the position represented in Figure 6, at the end of the run, and once the bag is placed in its active position, the cylinder 19, which bears a tongue 22 that is inserted in the bag above the lower wall thereof, is actuated. This tongue will act as a runner to subsequently facilitate entry of the lid cluster in the bag. Then the cylinder 20 is actuated, moving upwards and pressing against the lower wall of the bag between the tongue 22 and the head of the cylinder 20, the bag thus being secured. Then bag opening is performed by means of an air jet supplied through an adjustable nozzle 41, and once the bag is open the cone nozzle 21 advances to position 21', being inserted in said bag. Then the lids can be inserted in the bag, as described in the main patent, the compaction cylinders 23, Figures 7 and 8, later acting. These cylinders act in a converging position, remarkably tangent to the front section of the lid cluster 24, acting as members for cluster retention and compaction against a rear stop 25, Figures 1 and 2, coinciding with the machine described in the main patent. In Figure 7, it can be seen how the bag 24 is supported at the lower portion by retractable arms 44.
Two cylinders 25 and 26 forming an L, the second of which has a folder arm 27, have been arranged for closure of the bag once the lid cluster 24 has been inserted therein. The bringing closer together or separation of the cylinder 25 and arm 27 from the bag 28 containing the lid cluster is achieved by means of the cylinder 25. Once the cylinder 25 is brought closer and actuated by means of the lowering of the arm 27, as is observed in Figure 10, a first bag folding operation is carried out, said arm acting as a guillotine. Keeping the cylinder and arm 27 in the position of Figure 10 and according to that described in the main patent, it has a lower roller 30 by means of which a second folding is carried out, the closing of the bag being finished with an end cylinder 42, Figure 1.
As in the case of the main patent, there is a glue heater 31 for closing the bag, Figures 6 and 11, which is shiftable by means of rotation in order to bring it closer to the bag 28 and withdraw it once the necessary time has elapsed.
To facilitate the bag loading operation, one of the sides 33 in the bag storage area 2 has been designed as a collapsible panel to facilitate positioning of the bags 34 and their placement on a raisable-bottom platform 35.
Otherwise, the machine of the invention can have a single central collection 36 at the outlet of the closed bags containing the lid cluster, as shown in Figure 2, in which case each track of the module will have its own encoding and labeling system for the purpose of not losing product traceability.
A collector for each track can also be arranged, as shown in Figure 3, in which two collectors 40 are arranged for a two-track machine.
Figure 13 shows a front elevational view of the closed bag collector. Once the bag with the lid stack is folded and sealed, a distributor system acts which opens the retractable arms 44 and drops the cluster into an output deposit 36 in vertical chamber, which has gates 45 that can be actuated by means of cylinders to retain or allow the bags 28 to drop down to the buckets 38 passing underneath, dragged by the conveyor belt 37. This deposit has the purpose of storing the clusters while waiting, if necessary, for the conveyor belt 37 with buckets 38 to collect the clusters 28 and carry them to a distribution conveyer belt 39 from where they reach the delivery tray 40. The conveyer belt 39 will leave each cluster in the corresponding tray 40, Figure 3, as each one is identified with a track of the machine, such that there is correct product traceability from start to finish. The work of the operator in charge of the machine is facilitated by means of this arrangement since the design of the machine is more ergonomic and makes the finished cluster collection easier for their subsequent placement on a pallet. When it is not necessary to divide the bags according to the track of origin, a single tray 40 can be arranged, as shown in Figure 1, conveyor belt 39 being eliminated in this case since the bags 28 will be dumped directly by the buckets 38 in the tray.

Claims

Improvements in patent 200301023 relating to an automatic bagging machine of basic and easy-to-open lids in self-adhesive paper bags, which machine comprises a lid cluster former, a bag storage area, means for extracting and positioning the bags, and means for introducing the lid clusters in the bags and for the closure thereof, characterized in that it further includes a deposit between the lid cluster former and the inserter of said clusters into the bags which is responsible for controlling the lid cluster supply; and in that the lid cluster former comprises a horizontal conveyor belt by means of which the lids are conveyed with a given spacing between them, a rotating wheel which receives the lids of the conveyor belt and groups them in stack form, a divider for dividing the stack into clusters including a predetermined number of lids and a magnetic channel along which the clusters are shifted for their delivery to the lid inserter through said deposit; and in that the means for forming and closing the bags include a first pair of positioned bag holding cylinders provided with means for guiding the lids into the bag and for holding said bag, means for opening the bags, a second pair of holding and compaction cylinders for compacting the lids inside the bag, and a bag folding cylinder assembly made up of two cylinders forming an L acting by way of a guillotine to carry out a first folding of the bag, and a cylinder for a second folding of the bag and final closure thereof.
Improvements according to claim 1, characterized in that the rotating wheel of the lid cluster former receives the lids from the belt in the horizontal position and drags and turns them 90° until arranging them approximately in the vertical position in which they are fed to the magnetic channel for stack formation, the rotating wheel including a lid stack cutter or divider.
Improvements according to claim 1, characterized in that the lid stack divider comprises a guide parallel to the magnetic channel located above said channel, and a lid number limiter blade assembled on said guide and can be shifted along the length thereof; said blade acts in the area of the rotating wheel once the lid stack includes the pre-established lid number, and shifts along the guide, dragging the lid cluster to the lid inserter.
Improvements according to claim 1, characterized in that the deposit responsible for controlling lid cluster supply comprises a series of lid cluster receiver stations which are arranged in levels that are vertically shiftable from a position, wherein the receiving of clusters coming from the magnetic channel for the cluster former and the delivery of clusters to the lid inserter takes place, the direct passing of the lid cluster from the magnetic channel to the lid inserter or the passing through the deposit being selectable.
Improvements according to claim 1, characterized in that the first pair of cylinders of the bag formation means includes a first horizontally operating cylinder which incorporates a tongue that can be inserted in a positioned bag in order to act as a runner to guide the insertion of the lid clusters in the bag, and a second lower vertically operating cylinder able to press and hold the lower wall of the bag against said tab.
Improvements according to claim 1, characterized in that the means for opening the bags consist of a nozzle the outlet of which is aimed towards the opening of a positioned bag, through which nozzle an air jet is supplied towards the inside of the bag.
Improvements according to claim 1, characterized in that the cylinders of the second pair of holding and compaction cylinders are arranged one on each side of the bag containing the lid cluster, the cylinders of which act in converging directions on the opening of said bag, tangent to the front of the lid cluster for their retention and compression against an upper support stop of the bag.
Improvements according to claim 1, characterized in that in the two cylinders forming an L of the first folding cylinder assembly, the first cylinder acts as a means of bringing the second cylinder closer, the second cylinder of which is provided with an arm parallel to the first cylinder and shiftable in the direction perpendicular to the axis of the bag and lid cluster.
Improvements according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises a deposit responsible for receiving and storing the closed bags containing a lid cluster, from where a collection conveyor collects them and carries them to a distribution conveyor.
Improvements according to claim 1, characterized in that the bag storage area has a hinged collapsible wall on one of its sides which acts as a base platform for placing and ordering the bags, from where they are inserted in stack form on the floor of the storage area.