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Title:
AUTOMATED HANDLE SEALING MACHINE
Document Type and Number:
WIPO Patent Application WO/2020/117171
Kind Code:
A1
Abstract:
The present invention relates to a handle sealing machine (1) for sealing more than two handles (24) to a bag (23) made of heat sealable material, said sealing machine (1) comprising at least one interface (2), at least one processor generating a control signal corresponding to the data inputted to said interface, and automation components to obtain a bag (23) of desired features based on the control signal received from said processor.

Inventors:
AVCI ALI (TR)
Application Number:
PCT/TR2019/051025
Publication Date:
June 11, 2020
Filing Date:
December 03, 2019
Export Citation:
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Assignee:
ULTRAPAK MAKINA SANAYI VE TICARET AS (TR)
International Classes:
B31B70/86; B29C65/00; B31B70/00; B31D1/06
Foreign References:
EP2962841A12016-01-06
CN106541621A2017-03-29
DE1158815B1963-12-05
Attorney, Agent or Firm:
INVOKAT INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY SERVICES (TR)
Download PDF:
Claims:
CLAIMS

1. A handle sealing machine (1] for sealing a plurality of heat sealable handles (24] supplied as a strip to a bag (23] made of heat sealable material, the machine (1] comprising a main sealing unit (19], a handle feeder unit (9] to supply handle strips (25] to said main unit, at least one robotic pulling arm (3] to pull a handle strip (25] of a desired length delivered from said handle feeder unit (9], a cutting mechanism (12] to cut the so pulled handle and a plurality of rotating arms (6] for gripping so cut handles (24], directing said handles to the main sealing unit (19] and positioning said handles in a way such that they can be sealed onto a bag (23] characterized in that the sealing machine (1] is adapted to seal more than two handles (24] to a bag (23] and further comprising;

- at least one interface (2] that allows at least one data selected from handle length, handle axis distance, number of handles and handle material to be set as an input,

- at least one processor receiving said data and generating a control signal corresponding thereto to control robotic pulling arm (3], rotating arm (6] and/or handle feeder unit (9] based on said control signal.

2. A handle sealing machine (1] according to claim 1 wherein the sealing machine (1] further comprises at least one servo actuator system (5] controlling a plurality of robotic pulling arms (3] in accordance with a predetermined data regarding handle length.

3. A handle sealing machine (1] according to claim 1 wherein the sealing machine (1] further comprises at least one servo actuator system (8] controlling a plurality of rotating arms (6] in accordance with a predetermined data regarding handle axis distance.

4. A handle sealing machine (1] according to claim 1 wherein the sealing machine (1] further comprises a reset sensor (4] for adjusting the position of said robotic pulling arm (3] in a repeatable manner.

5. A handle sealing machine (1] according to claim 1 wherein the sealing machine (1] further comprises a reset sensor (7] for adjusting the position of said rotating arm (6] in a repeatable manner.

6. A handle sealing machine (1] according to claim 1 wherein the heat sealing machine further comprises at least one heat sealing mechanism (13] for heat treating desired portions of the supplied handle strips (25]

7. A handle sealing machine (1] according to claim 6 wherein the heat sealing mechanism (13] comprises a heated sealing claw (14], a fixed claw (15] and a pneumatic actuator system (17] controlling at least one of them.

8. A handle sealing machine (1] according to claim 7 wherein the sealing machine (1] comprises a rotating shaft mechanism (22] inbetween said claw elements (14, 15] and a pet film (16] moving on the rotating shaft mechanism (22]

9. A handle sealing machine (1] according to claim 8 wherein the pet film (16] is made of a teflon based material comprising glass fibers.

10. A handle sealing machine (1] according to claim 1 wherein the handle feeder unit (9] comprises a plurality of reels (18] to accommodate the handle material in the form of a strip.

11. A handle sealing machine (1] according to claim 10 wherein the handle feeder unit (9] comprises at least one folding apparatus (10] for folding and superposing handle materials in strip form and an ultrasonic sealing machine (11] for binding the folded material together wherein said handles are in strip form.

12. A handle sealing machine (1] according to claim 1 wherein the main sealing unit (19] comprises an ultrasonic sealing mechanism.

13. A handle sealing machine (1] according to claim 1 wherein the bag and handle material used in the machine are made of non- woven material.

14. A handle sealing machine (1] according to claim 13 wherein said non- woven material is of the type non-knitted material.

15. A handle sealing machine (1] according to claim 13 wherein said non- woven material is of the type knitted material.

16. A handle sealing machine (1] according to claim 1 wherein the handle sealing machine (1] further comprises at least one piston (20] for securing of the handle strip (25] before the cutting process.

17. A handle sealing machine (1] according to claim 1 wherein the handle sealing machine (1] further comprises at least one additional piston (21] to secure the handle strip (25] before the cutting proces for the purpose of sealing more than two handles to a bag.

18. A method of sealing more than two heat sealable handles (24] supplied in the form of a strip to a bag (23] made of heat sealable material, comprising the steps of;

- feeding a handle strip (25] and a bag (23] into a sealing machine (1] according to any of the preceding claims,

- affixing the handle strip (25] to a bag (23] after cutting in deired length,

- thereby obtaining a bag (23] comprising more than two handles.

19. A method according to claim 18 wherein said bag (23] and handle strip (25] are made of non-woven material.

20. A method according to claim 19 wherein said non-woven material is of the type non- knitted material.

21. A method according to claim 19 wherein said non-woven material is of the type knitted material.

Description:
AUTOMATED HANDLE SEALING MACHINE

Field of the Invention

The present invention generally relates to a machine for automatically attaching knitted or non- knitted handles made of a heat sealable strip to a bag. The present invention particularly relates to an automatic handle sealing machine comprising an automation system which is suitable for simultaneously sealing more than two handles onto a bag. The handle sealing machine according to the present invention also allows the operator to select features such as handle length, number of handles, and axis distance, and allows the continuity of the production with a safer and faster production process by means of the automation system comprised therein.

Background of the Invention

Carrying bags are a resistant, practical and economical solution for the purpose of protection of the products inside from external factors. Said carrying bags have plurality of components including handles, walls, base and rims and the production of said carrying bags requires considerable amount of time and labor as one component is attached to another. Therefore, production of said carrying bags in industrial scale is cumbersome compared to plastic bags. In addition, although bags are generally made of paper, carrying bags are made of heat sealable plastic materials such as polyethylene or polypropylene to meet the rising needs. Among these, non-woven fabrics are becoming more common due to their durability and environmental friendliness. Said heat sealable materials such as non-woven fabrics are facing increasing demand in the market for their easy-to-process nature by means of for instance heat sealing and mostly ultrasonic heat sealing. However, due to the multi-component structure and details of the bags, labor intensive work of qualified personnel is needed. Thus, it has been a long felt need to reduce the operational steps in production of a single bag for purposes of increasing amount of production per unit time.

Heat sealable materials such as non-woven bags are preferred nowadays for producing carrying bags because they are capable of being used many times and also being found environment friendly and resistant. A non-woven fabric is made of polyolefin fibers, and particularly of polyester and rayon without knitting. In the manufacturing process of carrying bags made of heat sealable materials as mentioned above, handles are generally attached to a bag mouth by ultrasonic sealing method. These machines which seal the handles on a bag mouth are well known in prior art Besides, the attachment of handles to a bag is the most time wasting step in a production line. Generally, the step involves manual positioning of the handles. An operator puts a handle on the mouth of the bag where the handle is associated with said mouth portion by sealing or any other appropriate method.

In prior art documents, there are various assemblies capable of attaching a plurality of handles onto a bag at one time. EP 2962841 Bl, which is another patent by the applicant, relates to a handle sealing machine for simultaneously attaching more than two handle points onto a bag, said machine; comprises a main unit wherein handles are attached to a bag and a supply unit for feeding the strips to form a plurality of handles. The machine and the method of said patent allows the formation of a plurality of handles in which at least some of the handles are longer than the other, therefore said handles and mouth of a bag are sealed. The machine presented therein has a mechanism based on mechanical and manual principles.

Another example of these kinds of machines is disclosed in US 3706625 A wherein the machine illustrated in this patent document heat-seals looped plastic handles to strips of plastic material or plastic coated material to form either bag handles directly or a handle unit. This handle unit can later be heat-sealed to the mouth of a plastic carrying bag. The machine illustrated in this patent document is capable of fabricating two handle units simultaneously using plastic coated tape as the tape to which the loop handles are sealed.

A variety of machine designs are required for attaching more than two handles of various numbers, lengths, types and axis distances onto the mouth of a bag. In view of prior art machines, said machines are designed for attaching two handles to a bag. Set apart from the state-of-the-art the present invention provides the possibility of operation with handles manufactured of knitted fabrics apart from non-knitted fabrics by means of the sealing mechanism comprised therein. Furthermore, the integrated automation system and the interface installed to control said system are able to execute handle attachment operations with different combinations on a single machine.

These and other problems of prior art are solved with the present invention by means of an improved machine for attaching more than two handles onto a bag with different operation combinations and a method of operation of that machine by means of a single system which is cost, time and labor saving as compared to the conventional methods and equipment

Brief Description of the Figures

Figure 1 shows the handle sealing machine and the interface contained therein according to the present invention, from a front angle view. Figure 2 shows the internal mechanism of the handle sealing machine according to the present invention, from a front angle view.

Figure 3 shows an elevated perspective view of the internal mechanism of the handle sealing machine as shown in Fig. 2.

Figure 4 shows another elevated perspective view of the internal mechanism of the handle sealing machine as shown in Fig. 2.

Figure 5 shows a plan view of the handle sealing machine according to the present invention.

Figure 6 shows a perspective view of the heat sealing mechanism and the cutting mechanism of the handle sealing machine according to the present invention.

Figure 7 shows an elevated perspective view of the heat sealing mechanism and the pneumatic actuator system of the handle sealing machine according to the present invention.

Figure 8 shows a perspective view of the handle feeder unit according to the present invention.

Figure 9 shows the handle sealing machine and a bag with more than two handles sealed thereto, produced by the method provided by the machine according to the present invention, from a front angle view. According to a preferred embodiment, there are two short handles and two long handles.

Brief Description of the Invention

The present invention is concerned with a handle sealing machine (1] which is provided for sealing a plurality of heat sealable carrying handles (24] to a bag (23] made of heat sealable material, wherein the handles (24] are supplied as a strip. Said machine generally comprises a main sealing unit (19], a handle feeder unit (9] to supply handle strips (25] to said main unit, at least one robotic pulling arm (3] to pull a handle strip (25] of a desired length delivered from said handle feeder unit (9], a cutting mechanism (12] to cut said handle (24] and a plurality of rotating arms (6] for gripping so cut handles (24], directing the same to the main sealing unit (19] and positioning said handles in a way such that they can be sealed onto a bag (23] Sealing machine (1] according to the present invention is adaped to seal more than two handles (24] to a bag (23] and comprises the following elements;

- at least one interface (2] that allows at least one data selected from the handle length, the handle axis distance, the number of handles and the handle material to be the input, - at least one processor receiving said data and generating a control signal corresponding thereto to control robotic pulling arm (3], rotating arm (6] and/or handle feeder unit (9] based on said control signal.

The handle sealing machine (1] presented above preferably comprises at least one servo actuator system (5] controlling a plurality of robotic pulling arms (3] in accordance with a predetermined data regarding handle length. Said machine may further comprise at least one servo actuator system (8] controlling a plurality of rotating arms (6] in accordance with a predetermined data regarding handle axis distance.

In preferred embodiments a reset sensor (4] is used for adjusting the position of said robotic pulling arm (3] in a repeatable manner. Furthermore, another reset sensor (7] may be used for adjusting the position of said rotating arm (6] in a repeatable manner.

The handle sealing machine (1] according to the present invention may comprise at least one heat sealing mechanism (13] for heat treating the supplied handle strips (25] Said heat sealing mechanism (13] preferably comprises a heated sealing claw (14], a fixed claw (15] and a pneumatic actuator system (17] controlling at least one of them. Also, a rotating shaft mechanism (22] and a pet film (16] that is moved on the same are preferably provided wherein said rotating shaft mechanism (22] is provided inbetween said claw elements (14, 15] Said pet film (16] can be made of a teflon based material comprising glass fibers.

The handle feeder unit (9] mentioned above may comprise a plurality of reels (18] to accommodate the handle material in the form of a strip. Said handle feeder unit (9] may comprise at least one folding apparatus (10] for folding and superposing handle materials in strip form and an ultrasonic sealing machine (11] for binding the folded material together.

Main handle sealing unit (19] of the handle sealing machine (1] of the present invention is quite suitable for the process of ultrasonic sealing by means of heating. Therefore, if bag (23] and handle (24] material used in the machine are non- woven material, it is advantageous to use ultrasonic sealing. Said non- woven materials are commonly used in the state of the art wherein said materials are of knitted or non-knitted type.

The handle sealing machine (1] of the present invention may also comprise at least one piston (20] for securing of the handle material before the cutting process. Since it is intended to seal more than two handles, providing of at least one second piston (21] to secure the handle strip (25] before the cutting process is preferred. In another aspect, the present invention relates to a method for sealing more than two heat sealable handles (24] to a bag (23] made of heat sealable material, comprising the steps of;

- feeding a handle strip (25] and a bag (23] into a sealing machine (1] presented hereinabove,

- affixing the said handle strip to the bag (23] after cutting the strip in desired length,

- thereby obtaining a bag (23] comprising more than two handles (24]

References

1. Handle sealing machine

2. Interface

3. Robotic pulling arm

4. Reset sensor

5. Servo actuator system

6. Rotating arm

7. Reset sensor

8. Servo actuator system

9. Handle feeder unit

10. Folding apparatus

11. Ultrasonic sealing machine

12. Cutting mechanism

13. Heat sealing mechanism

14. Heated sealing claw

15. Fixed claw

16. Pet film

17. Pneumatic actuator system

18. Reel

19. Main sealing unit

20. First piston

21. Second piston

22. Rotating shaft mechanism

23. Bag

24. Handle

25. Handle strip Detailed Description of the Invention

The present invention relates to a handle sealing machine (1] designed for affixing more than two handles (24] to the mouth of a bag (23] In said machine, handles (24] received by means of a handle feeder unit (9] are attached to the mouth of a bag (23] through a variety of processes. The sealing method may include heat and/or ultrasonic sealing methods, whereas the handle (24] and the bag (23] can be of any heat sealable material such as knitted or non-knitted fabric comprising non-woven material and various plastics. All of the said methods shall hereby be referred to as a "sealing method”. Embodiments of the present invention mentioned above will be disclosed in detail with reference to the drawings. The machine of the present invention particularly offers convenience for treatment of materials such as PP technical polymers made of non-woven materials.

As seen in Fig. 1, the handle sealing machine (1] according to the present invention from a front angle view is featured. Said handle sealing machine (1] comprises an interface (2] on the front section thereof. Said interface (2] is directly integrated with the automation system of the handle sealing machine (1] and it allows the configuration of parameters comprising elements such as the number of handles, the handle material, the handle length, and the handle axis distance emerging during a handle (24] being attached to a bag (23] In the context of the present invention, said "axis distance" refers to the distance between two points whereto a handle (24] is attached to a bag (23]

Through the screen of said interface (2], the operator will be able to automatically adjust the value of the length and axis distance of, for example more than two, preferably four knitted or non-knitted handles to be inputted. During each sealing process, handles (24] which are automatically adjusted by means of said interface (2] will be automatically pulled by equipments of the handle sealing machine (1] to be brought to the axis distance inputted into the screen (1] and thereby sealing of handles to a bag (23] will be provided. The operation of the handle sealing machine (1] will allow the operator to use the desired functions in accordance with the values of the number of handles, the handle material, the handle length and the handle axis distance set by the operator by means of the interface (2]

The handle sealing machine (1] according to the present invention comprises a main sealing unit (19] and a handle feeder unit (9] whereby handle strips (25] which are presented to be attached to the bags (23] to be sealed are supplied for sealing handles (24] onto a bag (23] by means of a sealing method. Said handle strips (25] are fed into the main sealing unit (19] in a continuous manner by means of the handle feeder unit (9] In this step, given the variety of aspects of the present invention as shown in Fig. 2 to Fig. 5, said handle sealing machine (1] comprises a main sealing unit (19] for melting materials by heating or ultrasonic heating, thereby sealing the same and robotic pulling arms (3] associated with both bottom and top parts of said main sealing unit (19], designed to convey handle strips (25] received from the handle feeder unit (9] to the main sealing unit (19]. Said robotic pulling arms (3] will reset the position of the handle strips (25] by means of the reset sensor (4] which is located on the cutting mechanism (12] in accordance with the handle length value inputted through the interface (2], grip the ends of incoming handle strips (25] from the handle feeder unit (9] and pull them on the horizontal axis (x] in accordance with the aforementioned length. A servo actuator system (5] comprising servo motors is used for adjusting the sensitivity of the repetitive forward and reverse motion of said robotic pulling arms (3] on the horizontal axis (x] and performing the automatic length adjustment precisely. After the handle strips (25] are pulled at a desired length by means of the robotic pulling arms (3] by inputting handle length, the rotating arms (6] which reset their position with reference to the reset sensor (7] (Fig. 5], wherein said sensor is placed between the main sealing unit (19] and robotic pulling arms (3], automatically move to the holding point in accordance with the inputted axis distance and grips the ends of the handle strips (25] Handle strips (25], wherein they are gripped from their holding points, are rotated 90° to the right and 90° to the left by means of the rotating arms (6], thus emplaced on the main sealing unit (19]. Furthermore, there is an actuator system (8] comprising a servo motor associated with the rotating arms (6] to perform the aforementioned rotating operation.

In an embodiment of the present invention, it is aimed to seal handles (24] made of knitted non- woven material to the bags. It is known by the state of the art that handles of knitted type exhibit problems regarding unraveling and deformation after they are sealed to a bag. The present invention provides a mechanism within the handle sealing machine to solve said crucial problem.

As shown in Figs. 4 to 6, a heat sealing mechanism (13] which can engage in operations regarding preparation of handles (24] and sealing the same to the bags (23] is provided. Said mechanism (13] may be used, for example, to seal the ends of knitted polypropylene handles (24] during the sealing thereof. The handle sealing machine (1] according to the present invention from a top angle view is shown in Fig. 5. Here, after the handles (24] are cut by means of the cutting mechanism (12], the heat sealing mechanism (13] may be activated to prevent the knits from unraveling. By means of such an arrangement of said equipments, the above- mentioned problem is averted. An elevated perspective view of the cutting mechanism (12] and the heat sealing mechanism (13] is featured in Fig. 6. The heat sealing mechanism (13] is enabled when the operator activates the module for operation with knitted handles through the interface (2], before starting the handle sealing process. In order to seal the knitted handles (24] to be put into operation by the operator to a bag (23], said knitted handles are heat sealed by means of the cutting mechanism (12], preferably before being cut, with the use of the heat sealing mechanism (13] Thanks to this, knitted handles which can easily unravel or pill are sealed by heat, thus unraveling and pilling problems are prevented. Additionally, there is also a plurality of pistons (20, 21] established to grip the handle strips (25] prior to the heat sealing mechanism (13] Here, the first piston (20] is activated for the first handle for holding the same. Besides, the second piston (21] may also be activated for more than two handles (e.g., four], and it operates synchronously with the first piston (20]

A further elevated perspective view of the heat sealing mechanism (13] is featured in Fig. 7. Said heat sealing mechanism (13] preferably comprises two parts, the fixed claw (15] and the heated sealing claw (14] In addition, a rotating shaft mechanism (22] that allows a pet film (16] to move between said claws (14, 15] is provided. Said pet film (16] is associated with the shaft mechanism (22] and it is subject to a rotational movement by continuously moving between the claw elements (14, 15] With the knitted handle operation module which is set via the interface (2], the handle strips (25] entering the main sealing unit (19] of the handle sealing machine (1] are pulled such that there is a specific distance to the desired handle length, thereby the pulling process halts. The heated sealing claw (14] and the fixed claw (15] heated by means of a resistor perform the tightening process by means of a pneumatic actuator system (17], then the fiber material of the knitted handle inbetween two claws melts by means of heat and the sealing process is realized. In order to prevent the knitted polypropylene handle strips (25] from sticking to each other during the sealing process, said pet film is slipped through said handle strips (25] Said film (16] can be generally selected as fiberglass reinforced teflon tape. Following each sealing operation, said pet film (16] is moved by means of a pneumatic actuator system (17] so that a portion of said film which has not previously been exposed to heat is introduced between the knitted handles.

Fig. 8 shows an exemplary handle feeding unit (9] that can be used in the context of the invention. Said handle feeding unit (1] is an arrangement designed for feeding handle strips (25] to be sealed to the bags (23] within the handle sealing machine (1], comprising a plurality of reels (18] whereon handle material strips (25] are wound, a folding apparatus (10] taking the task of folding the incoming material from said reels (18] and an ultrasonic sealing machine (11] designed to seal so folded handles (24] Here, the handle material which is preferably made of non-woven fabric slides on the reels (18], thereby extending to the folding apparatus (10]. So folded handle material which take their new form by means of the folding apparatus (10] are sealed together by means of the ultrasonic sealing machine (11] and a two-ply structure is formed. Thus, the resistance of handles (24] to be sealed to the bag (23] is doubled.

The preferred operating process of the handle sealing machine (1] disclosed in the present invention comprises the steps of;

- feeding a plurality of handle strips (25] from a handle feeder unit (9] into a main sealing unit (19] of a handle sealing machine (1],

- pulling one end of a handle strip (25] at a length previously inputted into the automation system and cutting thereof by means of at least one robotic pulling arm (3] that is operable in forward and reverse on the horizontal axis (x],

- optionally; carrying out a pulling process to the heat sealing mechanism (13], and heat sealing of the first end of the handle strips (25] by means of heat sealing mechanism (13] with increased temperature before the cutting step,

- pulling of the handles on the horizonal axis (x] by a definite distance and cutting thereof by means of a robotic pulling arm (3] after the cutting of the first end of the handle strips (25],

- optionally; heat sealing of the second end of the handle strips (25] by means of heat sealing mechanism (13] with increased temperature before the cutting step,

- gripping and therewith rotating the cut ends by means of the rotating arms (6] and emplacing said cut ends onto a bag (23] within the main sealing unit (19],

- sealing end portions of the handles (24] which are emplaced onto the mouth of a bag and said bag mouth together.

In another aspect, the present invention relates to a bag production method, said method comprises the steps of;

- feeding the handle material and a bag (23] into the sealing machine (1] according to any of the embodiments presented hereinabove,

- affixing the handle material in a predetermined size to a bag (23] after cutting the same, and

- thereby obtaining a bag (23] comprising more than two handles.

Further advantages of the invention shall be apparent from the explanations above and drawings thereof.