BEVERAGE CAPSULES

Description

Technical Field

This invention relates to a machine for assembling, filling and sealing capsules for portioned beverages, of the type comprising a station for loading the capsules to be assembled, a station for unloading the assembled, filled and sealed capsules, a plurality of processing stations comprising at least one station for metering a product into the capsules and at least one station for sealing the capsules filled with the product, and an intermittent conveyor for conveying the capsules sequentially along a feed path from the loading station to the unloading station through the processing stations.

Background Art

These machines face only one side along which the processing stations are distributed and define a layout in which the loading station and the unloading station are located at the two opposite ends of the side along which the processing stations are distributed.

Owing to this configuration, the machines therefore have a large footprint and are difficult to inspect and to have internal maintenance performed on them.

Also, these machines are not very versatile because the processing stations are mounted at non-adjustable positions to a shoulder of the machine base or to the base itself.

Moreover, sealing the capsules, especially when this involves creating a vacuum in the capsules and compensating for the vacuum by feeding an inert gas into them, is performed off line, thus reducing machine productivity.

Disclosure of the Invention

The technical purpose this invention proposes to accomplish is therefore to provide a machine for assembling, filling and sealing capsules for portioned beverages which can overcome the above mentioned technical drawbacks of the prior art. In the context of this technical purpose, one aim of the invention is to provide a machine for assembling, filling and sealing capsules for portioned beverages which has a convenient layout, with a small footprint and which is easy to inspect and to perform internal maintenance on.

Another aim of the invention is to provide a machine for assembling, filling and sealing portioned beverage capsules which is highly productive.

Yet another aim of the invention is to provide a machine for assembling, filling and sealing portioned beverage capsules which is highly flexible in use so it easily adapts to diverse applications.

The technical purpose, as well as these and other aims of the invention are achieved by providing a machine extending along a longitudinal axis, for assembling, filling and sealing capsules for portioned beverages, characterized in that it comprises a station for loading the capsules to be assembled, a station for unloading the assembled, filled and sealed capsules, a plurality of processing stations comprising at least one station for metering a product into the capsules and at least one station for sealing the capsules filled with the product, and an intermittent conveyor for conveying said capsules sequentially along a feed path from the loading station to the unloading station through the processing stations, the feed path having at least a first stretch which extends along a first lateral longitudinal side of the machine and at least a second stretch which extends along a second lateral longitudinal side of the machine, opposite the first lateral side.

Preferably, the filling station is located at the front side, that is to say, furthest away from the loading and unloading stations, which are the locations most difficult to control in terms of keeping adequate hygiene conditions.

According to an advantageous aspect of the invention, the machine comprises means for adjusting the position of at least some of the processing stations along the feed path and, more specifically, is equipped with a supporting plate for suspendedly supporting at least some of the processing stations.

According to a further advantageous aspect of the invention, the supporting plate itself is provided with the adjusting means.

The possibility of, if necessary, removing, and/or adjusting the positions of, the stations along the feed path makes the machine extremely flexible and adaptable to different processes requiring a different number of processing stations or different types of processing stations or processing stations in a different sequence or position. Another advantageous aspect of the invention is that the sealing station comprises a sealing device with means for moving an assembly of its own in a manner synchronized with the movement of the intermittent conveyor.

The assembly concerned can be clamped onto bars which house the capsules applied to the intermittent conveyor, both to seal the capsules with a sealing lid and to create a vacuum in the capsules during the sealing thereof and compensate for the vacuum by feeding inert gas into them.

The fact that the capsules are sealed in process considerably increases the productivity of the machine because the machine does not need to be stopped for the capsules to be sealed.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Further features and advantages of the invention are more apparent in the detailed description set out below of a preferred, non-limiting embodiment of a machine for assembling, filling and sealing capsules for portioned beverages as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a schematic plan view of the layout of the machine;

Figure 2 shows the machine viewed from one lateral side of it;

Figure 3 shows the machine viewed from the lateral side opposite that of Figure 2;

Figure 4 shows the machine viewed from the front side of it;

Figure 5 shows a top plan view of the machine;

Figure 6 shows the sealing station viewed from the rear side of the machine, with the assembly not clamped on the housing bars of the conveyor;

Figure 7 shows the sealing station viewed from the rear side of the machine, with the assembly clamped on the housing bars of the conveyor;

Figure 8 shows the sealing station viewed from the lateral side of the machine, with the slider at the start of its stroke and with the assembly not clamped on the housing bars, of which the illustration shows, for convenience, only the last in the sequence aligned with the assembly;

Figure 9 shows the sealing station viewed from the lateral side of the machine, with the slider at the start of its stroke and with the assembly clamped on the housing bars, of which the illustration shows, for convenience, only the last in the sequence aligned with the assembly;

Figure 10 shows the sealing station viewed from the lateral side of the machine, with the slider at the end of its stroke and with the assembly clamped on the housing bars, of which the illustration shows, for convenience, only the last in the sequence aligned with the assembly;

Figure 11 shows the sealing station viewed from the lateral side of the machine, with the slider at the end of its stroke and with the assembly releasing the housing bars, of which the illustration shows, for convenience, only the last in the sequence aligned with the assembly;

Figure 12 is a perspective view of the sealing station showing, for convenience, only one of the housing bars of the conveyor.

Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments of the Invention

The drawings listed above illustrate a machine 1 which extends along a longitudinal axis, labelled L, and which is used for assembling, filling and sealing capsules for portioned beverages, for example coffee.

The machine 1 comprises a station 2 for loading the capsules to be assembled, a station 3 for unloading the assembled, filled and sealed capsules 23, a plurality of processing stations comprising at least one station 4 for metering a product into the capsules and at least one station 5 for sealing the capsules 23 filled with the product.

The machine 1 comprises an intermittent conveyor 6 for transporting the capsules 23 in sequence along a feed path 7 (represented by a dot-dashed line in Figure 1) from the loading station 2 to the unloading station 3 through the processing stations.

The conveyor 6 is preferably an endless track conveyor belt on which are mounted in cantilever fashion a sequential series of bars 22 for housing the capsules 23.

Each bar 22 in the series is spaced by one feed step of the conveyor 6 from the bar before it and the one after it and has a precise number of housings, for example four, for the capsules 23 aligned transversely to the feed path 7. This configuration of the conveyor 6 creates four parallel rows of capsules 23 travelling in synchronized manner.

The feed path 7 has at least a first stretch 8, having in particular a rectilinear configuration, which extends along a first lateral longitudinal side 9 of the machine 1, and at least a second stretch 10, also having in particular a rectilinear configuration, which extends along a second lateral longitudinal side 1 1 of the machine 1, opposite the first lateral side 9.

The feed path 7 also has at least a third stretch 12, having in particular a curved configuration, which joins the first stretch 8 to the second stretch 10 and which extends along a front side 13 of the machine 1.

The processing stations are distributed along the first stretch 8, along the second stretch 10 and along the third stretch 12 of the feed path 7.

Located at a rear side 14 of the machine 1 are both the start 15 of the first stretch 8 of the feed path 7, where the loading station 2 is, and the end 16 of the second stretch 10 of the feed path 7, where the unloading station 3 is.

The machine 1 comprises a base 17 equipped with uprights 18, 19 which mount at a position raised from the base 17 a supporting plate 20 for suspendedly supporting at least some of the processing stations.

The machine 1 advantageously comprises means for adjusting the position of at least some of the processing stations along the feed path 7.

Advantageously, the adjusting means are carried by the supporting plate 20.

In the preferred embodiment illustrated, the adjusting means comprise a plurality of fastening holes 21 distributed parallel to the feed path 7, to which the processing stations that must be suspended from the supporting plate 20 can be fastened.

In a different preferred embodiment not illustrated, the adjusting means comprise a guide which extends parallel to the feed path 7 and along which the processing stations suspended from the supporting plate 20 can be moved and locked at a desired position.

The sealing station 5 comprises a device 24 for sealing the capsules 23 located at the lateral side 11 of the machine 1.

The sealing device 24 comprises means 26 for moving an assembly 27 of its own in a manner synchronized with the movement of the intermittent conveyor 6.

The assembly 27 can be clamped onto the housing bars 22 both to seal the capsules 23 with a sealing lid and to create a vacuum in the capsules 23 during the sealing thereof and compensate for the vacuum by feeding an inert gas into them.

The means 26 for moving an assembly 27 comprise a motor 28 for driving a drive belt 29 to which there is fixed a slider 30 that supports the assembly 27.

The slider 30 is able to oscillate along a stroke parallel to the rectilinear stretch 10 of the feed path 7 between a sealing start position and sealing end position. The slider 30 has a forward stroke towards the sealing end position, in which it is moved intermittently in a manner synchronized with the conveyor 6 while the assembly 27 is clamped on the housing bars 22, and a return stroke in which it moves towards the sealing start position while the assembly 27 is not clamped on the housing bars 22.

More specifically, the assembly 27 has a number n of units 27' (six in the embodiment illustrated) spaced from each other by one feed step of the conveyor 6 and each able to be activated in synchronized manner on a respective housing bar 22 of the consecutive sequences of n housing bars 22 able to be aligned with the assembly 27.

The unit 27' comprises two parts, both of which are movable, in particular by translational motion in opposite directions, between a clamped position, where they are clamped on opposite sides of the housing bar 22, and a released position, where they are spaced from the opposite sides of the housing bar 22.

Sealing lasts for a number n-1 of feed steps of the conveyor 6 so that in the time the conveyor 6 moves by another step the slider 30 can return to its starting position where the assembly 27 accordingly comes into alignment with the next sequence of n housing bars 22.

The motor 28 completes the forward stroke of the slider 30 in stepping fashion in the time taken by the conveyor 6 to move by n-1 feed steps and rapidly completes the return stroke of the slider 30 steplessly in the time taken by the conveyor 6 to move by one feed step.

The sealing device 24 is advantageously mounted on guides 31, 31 for sliding in a direction transversal to the rectilinear stretch 10 of the feed path 7 so that it can be easily accessed for inspection and maintenance.

More specifically, a fixed guide 31 is mounted to the base 17 and engages a guide 31 fixed to a frame 45 which mounts the motor 28 and, slidably, the slider 30.

The frame 45 is therefore slidable to allow the movable parts of the unit 27' to be moved out of alignment with the housing bar 22.

The nature of the processing stations depends on the structure of the capsules 23.

Purely by way of an example, therefore, the sequence of stations comprises the station 2 (of known type) for loading the containment bodies of the capsules 23, a station 33 (of known type) for punching and placing a filter paper on the bottom of the containment body of each capsule 23, a station 34 (of known type) for sealing the filter paper, a station 35 (of known type) for checking the presence and correct position of the filter paper, the metering station 4 (of known type) where the containment body of each capsule 23 is filled with a product, for example coffee, a station 36 (of known type) for checking the weight of the content of the containment body of each capsule 23, a station 37 (of known type) for pressing the product and cleaning the edge of the containment body of each capsule 23, a station 38 (of known type) for punching and placing a lid on the containment body of each capsule 23, the sealing station 5 where the lid is sealed to the containment body of the capsule 23, a station 39 (of known type) for checking the seal, a station 40 (of known type) for rejecting defective products, and the station 3 (of known type) for unloading the capsules 23.

The loading station 2 and the unloading station 3, for example comprise a respective oscillating pick and place system equipped with suction cups or grippers for picking up the containment bodies and the respective lids applied thereto.

The station 33 for punching a filter paper out of a web 50 and placing it on the bottom of the containment body of each capsule 23 is suspended at an adjustable position from the supporting plate 20.

The station 38 for punching a lid out of a web 51 and placing it on the containment body of each capsule 23 is suspended at an adjustable position from the supporting plate 20.

The metering station 4 is suspended from the supporting plate 20 advantageously at the front side 13 of the machine and comprises a precise number of independent screw fillers 41, for example four, connected to a feed chamber including a homogenizer and a grinder. More specifically, the four screw fillers 41 are angularly offset from each other along the curved stretch 12 of the feed path 7 and are configured to fill a precise, constant quantity of product into each of the capsules 23 of a line of capsules 23 every time the conveyor 6 stops.

The checking station 36 comprises, for example, a precise number of independent load cells, for example 4, each located downstream of a respective filler 41. During the time the conveyor 6 stops between steps, the capsules 23 are weighed and immediate feedback to the machine's control unit allows the screws of the fillers 41 to be corrected instantly, if necessary.

The pressing station 37 is equipped with a precise number of movable plates, for example four, each located downstream of a respective load cell. The plates are connected to suitable height and compaction detectors and allow the product compaction rate to be adjusted. In order to remove traces of product on the edges of the containment bodies of the capsules 23, this station is fitted with a dedicated suction device.

The operation of the machine is inferable from what is described and illustrated.

More specifically, all the processing stations except the sealing station 5 operate in the time the conveyor 6 stops between one feed step and the next, whilst the sealing station 5 also operates during the movement of the conveyor 6, since the assembly 27 follows the housing bars 22 for n-1 steps.

In some contexts, thanks to the possibility of easily modifying its configuration, the machine 1 allows considerable savings in labour costs for personnel in charge of its operation.

Indeed, where necessary, it is imaginable for two machines 1 to be configured symmetrically, with the loading stations 2 or the unloading stations 3 adjacent to each other.

That way, the loading stations 2 or the unloading stations 3 can be brought within the sphere of action of a single operator and other working units can be shared by both of the machines 1.

For example, if the unloading stations 3 are adjacent to one another, a single wrapping machine might be used for the assembled, filled and sealed capsules from both machines 1.

In practice, it has been found that the machine for assembling, filling and sealing capsules for portioned beverages according to the invention is particularly advantageous for its small footprint, ease of internal inspection, flexibility of use and productivity.

The machine for assembling, filling and sealing portioned beverage capsules as described above can be modified and adapted in several ways without thereby departing from the scope of the inventive concept. Moreover, all the details may be substituted for technically equivalent elements.

In practice the materials and dimensions used can be any, depending on requirements and on the state of the art.