CONCETTI, Teodoro (S.S. 75 C.U. km4.190, Loc. Ospedalicchioc/o Concetti S.p.A, Bastia Umbra, I-06083, IT)
| CIAIMS 1. Apparatus for applying closing means (1,1a, lb) to the mouth (5a;105a) of bags (5/105) in automatic machines for filling and sealing said bags (5,105) in which said closing means comprise a section of a profile (1) formed by a flat part (lb) and a shaped male/female head (la), characterized in that it comprises : - a device (10) for driving the profile (1) in a longitudinal direction (X-X) ; - a device (15) for cutting to size the profile (1) in the transverse direction (Y-Y) , arranged downstream of the driving device (10) - a device (20) for gripping/transporting the profile section (1), arranged downstream of the cutting means (15) and able to be displaced in both senses of the longitudinal direction (X-X) from a gripping station (SI) to a station (S2) for inserting the closing/opening means into the mouth (5a;105a) of the bag (5;105), said gripping means (20) comprising movement means (24) able to move in both senses of the vertical direction (Z-Z) and able to perform correct positioning of the closing/opening means inside the mouth of the bag. 2. Apparatus according to Claim 1, characterized in that said driving device (10) comprises a pair of rollers (11) which are respectively rotationally moved by a shaft (11a) in turn operated by a motor (13) provided with an encoder device (13a) for measuring the revolutions and the profile section to be cut . 3. Apparatus according to Claim 1, characterized in that said means (110) for driving the profile (1) comprise a linear guide (111) extending in the longitudinal direction (X-X) , a carriage (112) displaceable in both senses of the linear guide (111) from a position for gripping the profile to a position for releasing the profile (1), and a gripper (113), the jaws (113a) of which are able to close around the flat part (lb) of the profile (1), leaving its head (la) free. 4. Apparatus according to Claim 1, characterized in that said gripping device comprises a linear guide (21) , parallel to the longitudinal direction (X-X), a carriage (23) movable in both senses of the linear guide (21), two supports (24) which are fixed to the carriage and can be displaced in both senses of the vertical direction (Z-Z) and which carry a gripper (25) for gripping the head (la) of the profile (1) . 5. Apparatus according to Claim 4, characterized in that said gripper comprises arms (25b) , a first end of which is hinged at (25a) on the support (24) and the other free end (25c) of which is shaped so as to clamp the shaped head (la) of the profile (1) ยท 6. Automatic machine for filling and sealing bags (5,105), comprising at least one filling station and at least one sealing station (S) , characterized in that it comprises an apparatus according to Claim 1 arranged downstream of the said filling station and at the location of the sealing station (S) . 7. Machine according to Claim 6, characterized in that it comprises at least one further station (AC) for applying a slider (6) to the head (la) of the profile (1) and for applying the end-of -travel elements (7;1007) of the slider (6). 8. Machine according to Claim 6, characterized in that said sealing station (S) comprises: - means (160) with suction cups (160a) arranged on opposite sides of the lips of the mouth (5a) of the bag (5) in the transverse direction (Y-Y) ; said means (160) with suction cups (160a) being able to be displaced symmetrically in the transverse direction (Y-Y) towards/away from said lips in order to adhere to them and cause relative gripping/opening/closing thereof ; - welding bars (120) which are arranged underneath the gripping means with suction cups (160a) in the vertical direction (Z-Z) , are arranged symmetrically on opposite sides of the mouth (5a) of the bag in the transverse direction (Y-Y) and are able to be displaced towards/away from the latter; - a pair of pressure pieces (130) arranged below the welding means (120) in the vertical direction (Z-Z) and symmetrically on opposite sides of the mouth of the bag in the transverse direction (Y-Y) and able to be displaced towards/away from said mouth . 9. Machine according to Claim 7, characterized in that said station (AC) for applying the slider (6) comprises a gripper (200) able to remove a slider (6) from a store, arrange the slider so that it is aligned with the head (la) of the zipper and move in the vertical direction (Z-Z) from an upper position for supplying the slider (6) to the gripper (200) to a lower position for applying the slider (6) to the head (la) of the opening/closing profile (1) . 10. Machine according to Claim 7, characterized in that the station (AC) for applying the slider (6) comprises means (300) for applying the slider end- of-travel elements (7) to the opposite ends of the bag mouth, said means (300) comprising a gripper (300) able to remove the end-of- travel elements (7) from a store and move in both senses of the direction (Z-Z) from an upper removal and locating position to a lower position for applying the end- of-travel elements (7) to the zipper (1) . 11. Machine according to Claim 11, characterized in that the end-of-travel element application means consist of welding grippers (1300) able to close around the mouth of the bag in the transverse direction Y-Y and form welding points (1007) at the opposite ends of the zipper. 12. Machine according to Claim 6, characterized in that it comprises gripper means (400) arranged on only one of the two bars (160) supporting the suction cups (110a) and on the outside thereof and of the bag (105) in the longitudinal direction (X- X) , said grippers (400) being movable in both senses of the same longitudinal direction X-X so as to be able to be correctly positioned in the vicinity of the portions (105b) of the pleat upon variation in the longitudinal dimension of the mouth (105a) of the bag (105) and able to act symmetrically on one half of the pleat (105b) so as to close it in the transverse direction (Y-Y) and keep open the other half of the pleat where the profile (1) is inserted vertically. 13. Machine according to Claim 13, characterized in that the profile is parallel to the longitudinal direction (X-X) . 14. Machine according to Claim 6, characterized in that the gripper means (400) are alternately arranged on both the bars (160) supporting the suction cups (160a) and on the outside thereof and of the bag (105) in the longitudinal direction (X- X) and are able to act symmetrically on the opposite and facing portions (105b) of the pleat, so as to cause symmetrical closing of the opposite pleats with respect to the longitudinal axis (X-X) . 15. Machine according to Claim 15, characterized in that the zipper is introduced in a slanting position with respect to the longitudinal axis (X- X) thereof. 16. Method for applying means (1,6,7) for closing/opening the mouth (5a;105a) of bags (5; 105) in automatic filling machines according to Claim 7, comprising a formation and transportation apparatus according to Claim 1, characterized in that the step of applying said means for opening/closing the mouth is performed downstream of the step for filling the bag itself. |
The present invention relates to an apparatus for producing means for opening/closing the mouth of bags and a bag filling/sealing machine provided with said apparatus.
It is known, in the technical sector of packaging, that there exists the need to introduce into flexible containers, such as bags, sachets and the like, products which are not used up in one go and which therefore require that the bags be provided with a seal which ensures that the package remains intact upon initial opening and with means which, after initial use, allow repeated closing/opening of the bag without the product losing its fragrance and freshness.
It is also known that for this purpose bags are manufactured having, applied to their mouth, said opening/closing means which are commonly known by the term "zipper" and essentially consist of two shaped strips of suitable plastic material which are fixed to the mouth of the bag and which, upon displacement of a slider in one direction or the other, are closed/opened with respect to each other .
An example of this known art is described for example in US 6,347,437.
Although performing their function, these pre- manufactured bags nevertheless have the drawback that they are made off the production line by means of complex specially designed machines, thus resulting in an increase in the unit cost of the bag .
In addition, the pre-manufactured bag with zipper is handled in the automatic filling and sealing machines, increasing the risk of damage to the zipper itself and therefore the likelihood of the bag being rejected once filling has been completed. The technical problem which is posed, therefore, is to provide an apparatus for supplying means for closing/opening the mouth of bags, which is suitable for being applied to automatic filling machines, such that they are able to ensure production at a higher speed and a reduction in the number of manufacturing rejects.
In connection with this problem it is also required that this apparatus should have small dimensions, be easy and inexpensive to produce and assemble and be able to be installed easily also on already existing machines without the need for excessive special adaptation.
These results are achieved according to the present invention by an apparatus for applying closing means to the mouth of bags in automatic machines for filling and sealing said bags according to the characteristic features of claim 1.
The present invention also relates to a bag filling and sealing machine according to the characteristic features of Claim 6 and a method according to the characteristic features of Claim 17.
Further details may be obtained from the following description of a non-limiting example of embodiment of the subject of the present invention provided with reference to the accompanying drawings in which :
Figure 1: shows a front view of a first example of embodiment of an apparatus for transporting the bag mouth closing/opening means according to the present invention; shows a schematic, partial, cross- section along the plane indicated by
II-II in Fig. 1 ;
shows a schematic, partial, cross- section along the plane indicated by
III- III in Fig. 1 ;
shows a side view of the detail of the gripping gripper of the closing/opening means;
shows a cross-section along the plane indicated by V-V in Fig. 4; shows a front view of a second embodiment of the apparatus according to the present invention; shows a side view of the detail of the grippers for feeding the profile of the apparatus according to Fig. 6;
shows a schematic, partial, cross- section along the plane indicated by VIII-VIII in Fig. 7;
shows a schematic front view of a first embodiment of a bag filling and sealing machine with apparatus for transporting the bag mouth closing/opening means according to the present invention;
show, respectively, a top plan view and side view of the sealing station of the machine according to Fig. 9; show the operating sequence of the machine according to Fig. 9 for application of the bag mouth opening/closing means;
Figs. 17a-17b: show, respectively, a top plan view and side view of the station for applying the slider to the zipper in the machine according to the present invention;
Figs. 18a-18b: show, respectively, a top plan view and side view of a first embodiment of the end-of-travel means of the zipper slider;
Figs. 19a, 19b: show, respectively, a side view and front view of a second embodiment of the end-of-travel means of the zipper slider;
Figs. 20-22: show a top plan view of a sequence of a first embodiment of the means for retaining the portions of a pleated bag; and
Figs. 23-25: show a top plan view of a sequence of a second embodiment of the means for retaining the portions of a pleated bag.
As shown in Fig. and assuming solely for the sake of convenience of the description and without any limitation of meaning a set of three reference axes in a longitudinal direction X-X, transverse direction Y-Y and vertical direction Z-Z, respectively, the apparatus according to the present invention for forming/transporting means for closing/opening the mouth of bags - referred to hereinbelow in short as "zipper" - comprises essentiall :
- a device 10 for driving a profile 1 unwound from a reel 2 and passing through jockey wheels 2a, guide rollers 2b and rollers 2c for rotation of the profile so that, upon leaving the rollers 2c, the profile is arranged parallel to the vertical direction Z-Z.
The profile 1 is of the type conventional per se and has two parallel strips formed as a shaped male/female head la for relative engagement/disengagement and a flat bottom part lb for joining to the opposite lips of the mouth 5a of a bag 5.
Said profile 1 forms overall a so-called "zipper" for repeated closing/opening of the bag mouth.
Said drive device 10 comprises a pair of rollers 11 which are respectively rotationally moved by a shaft 11a in turn operated by a motor 13 provided with a device for measuring the revolutions, such as an encoder 13a, able to determine precisely the length of the profile section 1 being fed by the rollers 11;
as shown in Figure 3, the profile 1 is made to pass through a correspondingly shaped guide 12 so as to keep it stably parallel to the vertical direction Z-Z;
- a device 15 for cutting the profile 1, arranged downstream of the device 10 for driving the said profile 1;
a device 20 for gripping and transporting the profile section 1 cut to size.
Said gripping/transportation device comprises essentially a linear guide 21 which is parallel to the longitudinal direction X-X and on which a sliding shoe 22 of a carriage 23 is movable, the latter having fastened thereto two supports 24 which are able to be displaced in both senses of the vertical direction Z-Z and which carry a gripper 25, the arms 25b of which have a first end hinged at 25a on the support 24 and a free end 25c shaped so as to clamp the shaped head la of the profile 1.
With this configuration the operating principle of the apparatus is as follows:
- the profile 1 is prepared, being wound onto the reel 2 and its end positioned at the entrance to the guide 12 and between the drive rollers 11, - the motor 13 is activated and, controlled by the encoder 13a, determines a speed of the rollers 11 such as to convey a profile section 1, suitably measured, into the vicinity of the gripping grippers 20 which will close around the profile itself;
once closing has occurred, a suitable enable signal will cause operation of the means 15 which cut a measured section of the profile 1;
- the cut starts the displacement of the carriage 23 from the gripping station SI to the station S2 where the carriage 23 positions the cut profile aligned with the mouth 5a of the bag 5 conveyed to the same station in the transverse direction Y-Y;
- at the station S2 the mouth 5a of the bag is opened and the support 24 of the gripping grippers
25 is then lowered in the direction Z-Z so that the profile 1 enters inside the bag mouth in the correct position where it is welded to the opposite portions of the mouth itself by means of corresponding welding means (not shown) of the machine .
It is therefore clear how with the apparatus according to the invention it is possible to prepare rapidly and at a low cost profile sections 1 for opening/closing the mouth of bags and to transport said sections to the bag sealing station for insertion inside the bag mouth.
In addition, the possibility of using electronic devices for measuring the length of the profile section 1 to be cut allows variation, in a simple manner, by means of programmable control devices arranged along the line, of the length of said profile section when there is a variation in the longitudinal dimensions of the bag mouth.
Figure 6 shows a second example of embodiment of the means 110 for driving a profile 1, which comprise a linear guide 111 which extends in the longitudinal direction X-X and on which a carriage 112 is displaceable, said carriage 112 carrying the jaws 113a of a gripper 113 suitable for closing around the flat part lb of the profile 1, leaving the head la thereof free.
In this case the exact measurement of the profile is determined by the measurement of the displacement stroke of the carriage 112 on the linear guide 111.
The operating sequence for transportation of the profile cut to size towards the bag mouth is not described in further detail, since it is similar to the sequence already described.
The present invention relates also to a bag filling and sealing machine which comprises an apparatus for forming and transporting means for opening/closing the bag mouth.
In detail and with reference to Figs. 9 to 10b the machine comprises:
a sealing station S comprising means 160 with suction cups 160a arranged on opposite sides of the lips of the mouth 5a of the bag 5; said suction-cup means 160a are able to be displaced symmetrically in the transverse direction Y-Y towards/away from said lips in order to adhere to them and cause relative gripping/opening/closing thereof.
Welding bars 120 are arranged underneath the suction-cup gripping means (Fig. 10b) in the vertical direction Z-Z, being in turn arranged symmetrically on opposite sides of the mouth of the bag in the transverse direction Y-Y and being able to be displaced towards/away from the latter.
A pair of pressure pieces 130 is present below the welding means 120 in the same vertical direction Z- Z, being symmetrically arranged on opposite sides of the mouth of the bag and being able to be displaced towards/away from said mouth in the transverse direction Y-Y.
Downstream of the sealing station S (Fig. 17) the machine according to the invention has a further station AC for applying a slider 6 for opening/closing the zipper and applying (Figs. 18- 19) the end-of-travel elements 7 of the slider.
Said station AC for applying the slider 6 comprises a gripper 200 able to remove a slider 6 from a store (not shown) , arrange the slider so that it is aligned with the head la of the profile 1 and move in the vertical direction Z-Z from an upper position for supplying the slider to the gripper to a lower position for applying the slider to the head la of the opening/closing profile 1.
The same station AC for applying the slider 6 also houses the means 300 for applying the slider end- of-travel elements 7 to the opposite ends of the bag mouth; as shown in Fig. 18, said means 300 may consist of a gripper 300 able to remove the end-of- travel elements 7 from a store and move in both senses of the vertical direction Z-Z from an upper locating position for removing the end-of-travel elements 7 from a store (not shown) to a lower position for applying the end-of-travel elements 7 on the profile 1 for completion of the zipper.
According to a further embodiment (Fig. 19) the means for applying the end-of-travel elements consist of welding grippers 1300 suitable for performing welds 1007 on the zipper.
With this configuration the operating sequence is as follows:
- the measured and cut section of the profile 1 is prepared and conveyed to the station S2 of the apparatus arranged in the machine sealing station S, by means of the carriage 23 of the said apparatus, which is moved along a longitudinal path X-X, and at the same time the filled bag 5 is conveyed to the same sealing station S in a transverse direction Y-Y;
- the pressure pieces 130 are closed so as to close the bag 5 at a predetermined distance from its mouth 5a in the vertical direction Z-Z;
- the means 160 with suction cups 160a are operated so as to close around the bag mouth (Fig. 12) and the same means are operated in the reverse sequence (Fig. 13) so as to perform stable opening of the bag mouth 5a;
- the grippers 25 of the apparatus according to the invention are lowered in the vertical direction Z-Z until the profile 1 is brought into the correct position inside the mouth 5a, so that only the shaped head la remains outside thereof;
- the welding bars 120 are closed so as to cause joining of the flat part lb to the strips 1 with the respective lips of the mouth 5a of the bag 5; - the pressure pieces 130 are opened again; - the bag is conveyed to the station AC, downstream of the sealing station S, for application of the slider 6 and the slider end-of-travel elements 7. It can therefore be seen how an automatic filling and sealing machine according to the present invention is able, owing to interaction with the apparatus for cutting and supplying the means for closing/opening the bag mouth, to produce at high speed and at a low cost filled and sealed bags provided with said bag mouth closing/opening means, also avoiding the need for provision of a further specialized machine arranged downstream of the filling machine.
Although not shown, it is also envisaged that the automatic machine may be of the FFS (Forming/Filling/Sealing) type in which the bag is formed from a continuous tubular element or of the type in which the bag is preformed externally to the machine and supplied to the station for filling said bag, via automatic handling means.
As shown in Figs. 20-25 it is also envisaged that the machine allows application of the opening/closing means also inside the mouth 105a of pleated bags 105, in this case there being provided gripper means 400 acting on the portions 105b of the pleat.
In greater detail and with reference to Figs. 20-22 said gripper means 400 are arranged on only one of the two bars 160 supporting the suction cups 160a and on the outside thereof and of the bag 105 in the longitudinal direction X-X; the grippers 400 are movable in both senses of the said longitudinal direction X-X so as to be able to be correctly positioned in the vicinity of the portions 105b of the pleat upon variation in the longitudinal dimension of the mouth 105a of the bag 105.
In such a configuration the grippers act symmetrically on one half of the pleat 105b so as to close it in the transverse direction Y-Y and keep open the other half of the pleat into which the profile 1 is vertically introduced, parallel to the longitudinal direction X-X, from where the sequence described above recommences.
As shown in Figs. 23-25 it is also envisaged that said gripper means 400 may be alternately arranged on both the bars 160 supporting the suction cups 160a and on the outside thereof and of the bag 105 in the longitudinal direction X-X; the grippers 400 are movable in both senses of the said longitudinal direction X-X so as to be able to be correctly positioned in the vicinity of the portions 105b of the pleat upon variation in the longitudinal dimension of the mouth 105a of the bag 105.
In this configuration the grippers 400 act symmetrically on the opposite and facing portions 105b of the pleat so as to cause closure which is symmetrical with respect to the longitudinal axis X-X of the opposite pleats and introduction of the zipper in a slanting position (Fig. 25) with respect to the longitudinal axis X-X.
Although described in connection with certain constructional forms and certain preferred examples of embodiment of the invention, it is understood that the scope of protection of the present patent is defined solely by the following claims.