Method and machine for packing groups of products arranged in one or more layers

DESCRIPTION

The invention relates to a method and to a machine for packing groups of products arranged in one or more layers, e.g. reams of paper or hand towel rolls or toilet rolls. In particular, the method and the machine in question constitute an improvement in the construction and function of the method and machine described in the European patent application no. 02001691.1 dated 24-1-2002, by the same applicant, designed to pack reams of paper, to which ample reference is made. This patent application provides for placing the ream of paper horizontally with the base thereof and feeding it horizontally through a horizontal spindle positioned in which transversally, edgewise and vertically, is the packing sheet which is parallel with the front end of the ream and which is retained above and below, at the horizontal sides, by pairs of feed belts. By means of lower conveyors and lateral conveyors with thrust projections, suitably motorized, the ream is fed through said horizontal spindle and delivered therefrom wrapped anteriorly and on the lower and upper faces by the packing sheet which, viewed laterally, is in the shape of a "U" rotated through ninety degrees and open on the posterior end in feed direction of the ream. The wrapping sheet is placed in front of said spindle with a relation suitable to wrap the upper face of the ream, without projecting therefrom and to instead wrap the lower face of said ream and project posteriorly from said face with a horizontal portion of adequate length. Upon delivery from the folding spindle, the ream with the wrapping sheet is supported and fed at the correct speed, by a pair of horizontal conveyors, reciprocally placed one over the other and motorized, laterally to which folding devices operate edgewise to fold, on the lateral faces of the ream, the flaps with vertical fold, anterior in feed direction and projecting laterally of the wrapping sheet and from said pair of conveyors the ream with the wrapping sheet is fed between the horizontal conveyors, placed one over the other and motorized at the correct speed, of a tilting drum, with horizontal axis, provided internally with fixed cross bars against which the anterior end of the partially wound ream stops in contact. After the ream has been inserted, the drum rotates through 180° about its axis crosswise to the feed direction of said ream and in the direction so that

the posterior face of said ream, which was not wrapped previously, is placed anteriorly to the future feed direction of the packed product and it too is wrapped by the packing sheet which still projects under said face with a portion of the correct length. The internal and fixed cross bars of the tilting device, after rotation thereof are located on the lower end of the ream. The parallel conveyors of the tilting device are reactivated to eject the ream and transfer it in phase between a subsequent pair of motorized conveyors, horizontal and placed reciprocally one over the other, between which tubular wrapping of the ream in the packing sheet is completed and it is fastened with a transverse line of glue applied thereto, while lateral folding devices are provided which first fold on the sides of the ream the flaps with vertical folding, anterior in feed direction, and then other folding devices fold the lateral flaps with horizontal folding, first the lower one followed by the upper one, placing them over the flaps folded previously and therebetween, while specific means reciprocally fasten these flaps with glue. After ejection of the ream with the packing sheet, the empty tilting device rotates through 180° to return to the initial position to receive a subsequent ream with packing sheet.

The invention proposes the use of a machine and process of this type to pack parallelepiped shaped groups of products of different format, with packing sheets, with all the adjustments required by the variation in format, not contemplated in the patent application cited in the preamble and proposes improvements to a machine of this type to eliminate the pair of horizontal conveyors that collect the product and packing sheet upon delivery from the first wrapping spindle, with folding devices that acted on the first lateral flaps of the wrapping with vertical folding and anterior in feed direction. According to the invention, the group of products delivered from the first wrapping spindle is fed directly between the parallel conveyors of the tilting device, inside which the lateral folding devices of the first vertical flaps of the wrapping sheet are located. In the next step the tilting device rotates through 180° about its axis and remains in this position to receive a subsequent group of products with relative packing sheet and to simultaneously eject the previous group of products with relative wrapping sheet, to eliminate the lengthy idle times of the prior art solution, according to which the tilting device first had to unload the ream from the previous cycle and then rotate empty

through 180° to return to the condition required to receive the subsequent ream.

These and other important features of the new machine and of the respective operating process, will be more apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment and implementation thereof, illustrated purely by way of a non-limiting example, in the figures of the seven accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a schematic side view of the machine in the condition at the start of the cycle; - Figures 2, 3, 4 and 5 show, schematically and in side elevation, subsequent operating steps of the machine according to Figure 1 ;

Figure 4a is a schematic top view and with parts in section of one of the moving lateral folding devices that act downstream of the tilting drum, shown in the active operating step; - Figures 2a, 3a and 5a illustrate a perspective view of the same number of subsequent steps of the cycle to form the packing, as illustrated in the respective machine steps in Figures 2, 3 and 5;

Figure 5b is an elevated view from the anterior end of the packing in the crosswise sealing step, as shown in Figures 5 and 5a; - Figures 6, 7 and 8 illustrate the packing in elevation from the anterior end in the last steps to close and fasten the lateral flaps;

Figure 9 is a perspective view of the tilting drum shown from the inlet end of the product to be packed;

Figure 10 illustrates the tilting drum viewed in elevation from the inlet end of the product and with some parts in section;

Figures 11 , 12 and 13 illustrate the same number of details of the tilting drum sectioned respectively according to the lines Xl-Xl, XII-XII and XIII-XIII in Figure 10;

Figure 14 illustrates the tilting drum in a side elevation and with the means to adjust the height of the axis of rotation thereof when the format of the product to be packed varies;

Figure 15 schematically illustrates an epicyclic reduction gear, of the type used in the adjustment means according to Figures 12 and 14.

In the following description, embodiment and operation of the machine

for packing groups of hand towel rolls is detailed, without however excluding use of the same machine to pack groups of other products, as will be better specified below.

From Figures 1 and 9, it can be seen that the machine comprises a feed unit 1 , cyclically composed in which is a prismatic group with rectangular base of rolls P of paper, arranged in one or more layers placed on top of one another, and this feed unit is provided with an lower wall 101 which remains fixed when the format of the group of rolls P varies and is provided with an upper wall 201 , which must instead be adjusted in the position in height when said format varies. The letter F in Figure 9 indicates a possible feed direction of the rolls of paper which, in the example herein (see also Figure 1), have their hollow core oriented longitudinally in the direction along which they are fed by the thrust crossbars 2 of feed conveyors, known and not illustrated. At the opposite end to the one involved by the crossbars 2, the feed unit 1 is closed by a vertical retaining wall 301 , the position of which is adjusted when the format of products P varies. Located on one side of the feed unit 1 is a pusher 3 connected to translation means 103 (Figure 9) positioned under the plate 101 which for this purpose has a slot 203 suitable for the projection that connects said translation means to the pusher 3 to pass through when it is activated to unload the group of rolls P from the feed unit 1 and to transfer it towards subsequent means, with a movement F1 in the direction orthogonal to the feed direction F of the group of rolls in said feed unit. The packing sheet 4 (Figure 1), which in the example in question is a heat-sealable plastic material, .is positioned crosswise and with a suitable vertical arrangement on the opposite side of the feed unit 1 to the one engaged by the aforesaid pusher 3, and said sheet is retained by the upper flap and by the lower flap by pairs of parallel and motorized belts 5, 105, which are part of a feed unit that takes the sheets 4 from a continuous film unwound from a reel, said unit being known and not illustrated in detail herein. On the same side of the feed unit 1 engaged by the packing sheet 4, placed laterally to said sheet is a first wrapping spindle 6, comprising a lower horizontal wall 106 and an upper horizontal wall 206 coplanar respectively with the walls 101 and 201 of the feed unit upstream 1 , and which like these are respectively fixed, the lower one, and movable, the upper one, when the format of the product P to be

packed varies. Located on the end of the walls 106 and 206 of the folding spindle 6 that is opposite the one involved by the packing sheet 4, in coplanar alignment, placed one over the other and motorized, are the horizontal conveyors 8, 8' of the tilting drum 7, which can be controlled to rotate through 180° about its axis 107, which is horizontal and orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of said conveyors 8, 8', located longitudinally between which, edgewise and with symmetrical arrangement, are lateral folding devices 9, 9' supported by said drum and suitable to operate actively with one or with the other of the ends thereof (see below). When the format of the product to be packed varies, means are provided to adjust the reciprocal distance between the lateral folding devices 9, 9' and other means to adjust the reciprocal distance of the conveyors 8, 8', while the entire tilting drum 7 is adjusted in the position in height, so that these conveyors are aligned with the walls 101 , 106 and 201 , 206 of the parts 1 and 6 mentioned previously. The means as described above operate in the following way. After a group of rolls P has been formed in the feed unit 1 (hereinafter the parallelepiped shaped group of rolls will simply be referred to with the term "product"), said product P is pushed by the pusher 3 towards the means downstream 6 and 7, while the conveyors 8, 8' of the drum 7 are activated to run with the inner branches at the same speed and in the same feed direction as the pusher 3. The product P delivered from the feed unit 1 by the pusher 3, frontally touches the wrapping sheet 4, which is held in correct phase with a limited friction by the conveyor belts 5, 105 and with this sheet the product first passes between the walls 106 and 206 of the spindle 6 to then be positioned between the conveyors 8, 8' of the drum 7. Specific guide means, not illustrated, support and correctly accompany the sheet released by the belts 5, 105, to maintain it suitably stretched and prevent unwanted creases from forming when said sheet passes through the spindle 6. Drawn by the product P and by the conveyors 8. 8', the wrapping sheet 4 is released from the belts 5, 5' and when the product reaches said conveyors 8, 8' of the drum 7, the sheet 4 wraps the product P as shown in Figure 2, in part on the upper face, on the anterior end in feed direction and on the lower face, substantially in the shape of a "U" rotated through ninety degrees and open in the direction of the pusher 3. On the side of the belts 5, 105, the wrapping sheet 4 is placed in

relation to the forming spindle 6, so that in the step in Figure 2 said sheet projects from the lower face of the product P with a portion 104 of the correct length (see below). Simultaneously, as illustrated in Figure 2a, the sheet must also project with portions of adequate and identical width from the sides of the product P and in the step in Figure 2 the vertical folding flaps 204 of these projecting parts of the wrapping, cooperating with the folding devices 9, 9' of the drum 7, are folded on the lateral faces of the product P. The inner surfaces of the walls 101 and 201 of the feed unit 1 and of the walls 106, 206 of the folding spindle 6 that operate in contact with the product P and with the wrapping sheet 4, for construction and reciprocal vertical positioning, are such as to have a limited friction coefficient which is nonetheless adequate against said parts P and 4. The conveyor belts 8, 8' of the drum 7 are instead such as to have sufficient sliding friction against the wrapping sheet 4, so as to have a positive action thereon. After insertion of the product and of the wrapping sheet between the conveyors of the drum 7, as already mentioned with reference to Figure 2, said conveyors 8, 8' stop and the pusher 3 reverses its movement to return to the position it has at the start of the cycle as shown in Figure 3, the drum 7 is rotated through 180° about its axis 107, so that at the end of said rotation, through the action of specific guide and longitudinal tensioning means (see below), said wrapping portion 104 wraps the new anterior face in feed direction of the product P and again projects by the correct portion from the lower face of said product, as shown in the perspective view in Figure 3a. This lower and projecting portion 104 of the wrapping sheet cooperates with a fixed suction cross bar 10 which maintains it suitably stretched, both during transition from the step in Figure 2 to the step in Figure 3, and during the step illustrated below.

Downstream of and in coplanar alignment with the conveyors 8, 8' of the tilting drum 7 (Figure 1) there is provided a pair of horizontal belt conveyors 11 , 11', placed one over the other in parallel and motorized for control by means, not illustrated, that make them run with the inner branches away from the drum 7 and at the same speed of movement as the conveyors 8, 8' of said tilting drum 7 (see below). In the space between the conveyors 11 and 11', laterally thereto and at the level of the drum 7, there are provided

longitudinally folding means 13 comprising a part 113 closer to the drum, guided and moving horizontally and a subsequent fixed posterior part 213. After the step in Figure 3, as illustrated schematically in Figures 4 and 4a, the moving anterior part 113 of the lateral folding devices 13 is moved, by suitable means, towards the end of the lateral folding devices 9, 9' of the drum 7, and positioned on the outside thereof with a tapered portion 113'. In the subsequent step the conveyors 8, 8' of the drum 7 are operated to eject the product P with the wrapping sheet and simultaneously the conveyors 11 , 11' are also activated to receive and remove without slip the pack ejected from the drum 7. In this step a new product P with relative wrapping sheet is fed between the conveyors 8, 8' by the pusher 3, as already stated with reference to Figure 2, so that the tilting drum 7 operates substantially without idle times, as is instead the case in the prior art. In this case, the tilting drum 7 rotates cyclically through 180° always in the same counter-clockwise direction looking at the accompanying drawings. In this same step, the suction bar 10 maintains the projecting portion 104 of the wrapping sheet stretched longitudinally, which during transfer of the product between the conveyors 11 , 11' is stretched under said product fed between said conveyors which stop (see Figure 5) when the lower part of said product that is involved by the two overlapping parts of the wrapping sheet reaches the level of an intermediate and crosswise gap in the lower conveyor belt 11 , defined by driving said belt around a plurality of parallel rollers 14 and placed crosswise in said gap is a heat-sealing bar 15, which is raised and then lowered by suitable means to reciprocally seal the two overlapping parts of the wrapping sheet, using as counter-roller one of the rolls of paper forming the product P. During transfer from the drum 7 to the conveyors 11, 11', the lateral flaps with vertical folding 204' of the wrapping sheet are folded on the lateral faces of the product P by the folding device 13 and, as illustrated in Figures 5a and 5b, when the product reaches the level of the sealing bar 15, the lower lateral flaps with horizontal folding 304 have been partly lifted by the folding devices 16 positioned laterally to the conveyors 11 , 11', as shown in Figure 1 , so that said flaps do not interfere with the sealing bar 15. In the next step, after the sealing bar 15 has been lowered and the seal performed has been suitably cooled, the packed product is once again moved forward by the conveyors

11 , 11', while the lateral folding devices 16 and subsequent folding devices 17 fold, on the lateral faces of the product, first said flaps 304 as illustrated in Figure 6 and then the corresponding upper flaps 304' also with horizontal folding, which are placed reciprocally over each other and over the flaps with vertical folding 204, 204', as illustrated in Figure 7. Finally, Figures 1 and 8 show that the packed product is delivered from the conveyors 11 , 11' and is picked up and moved away without slip by a lower horizontal conveyor 18 and by a pair of parallel and vertical conveyors 19, all motorized at the correct speed and a heating source 20 operates between said vertical conveyors to perform heat sealing and reciprocal fastening of said lateral and overlapping flaps of the packing sheet, with a technique known in the art which will not be explained in depth herein and which includes adjusting means to adjust all the means operating downstream of the tilting drum 7 to operate on products of different format. Figures 9, 10 and 11 show that the tilting drum 7 has side panels formed by a pair of toothed wheels 207, 207' of large diameter and identical, supported rotatingly by the external uprights of a U-shaped supporting structure 21 , better explained below and which are motorized in rigid phase by connection by means of toothed belts 22, with tensioning devices 23, to the toothed pulleys of the same diameter 24 of a parallel synchronization shaft 25 which with the ends is supported rotatingly by said frame 21 and which with a suitable positive drive transmission 26 (Figures 10, 11) is connected to a motor 27, also fastened to the frame 21 and preferably of the type with electronic control of speeds and phase, e.g. a brushless motor. Fastened on the inner faces of said side panels 207, 207' with symmetrical arrangement in relation to the axis of rotation 107 of the drum 7, are pairs of rectilinear precision guides 28, 28', sliding on which are recirculating ball guides 29, 29' integral with the ends of the flat frame 108, 108' which supports the pulleys and belts placed side by side with and parallel to each other forming the conveyors 8, 8' of the drum 7 and means are provided (see below) to vary, in a self-centering manner, the distance between said conveyors 8, 8' when the format of the product to be packed varies. The belts of the conveyors 8, 8' are also driven around toothed pulleys keyed onto shafts 208, 208' external to said flat frames 108, 108', supported rotatingly

thereby and said shafts support, keyed onto a same end, respective identical toothed pulleys 30, 30' involved respectively by the inner toothing and by the outer toothing of a belt 31 with double toothing which kinematically connects said pulleys to a pulley 32 positioned coaxially on the inner face of the adjacent side panel 207 of the drum and keyed onto the shaft of an electric motor 33 with electronic control of speed and phase, flanged with the body thereof onto the outer face of the upright of the structure 21 that rotatingly supports said side panel 207. At the level of the toothed pulleys 30, 30', the belt 31 is made to follow a sinuous path to be driven around other toothed pulleys 34 and 35, 35' supported idle by the inner face of said side panel 207. By varying, in a self-centering manner, the distance between the conveyors 8, 8' of the drum 7 with the means specified below, it appears evident that the double branches of the belt 31 driven around the pulleys 30, 30' modify their length in opposite ways, as while one double branch is shortened, the other double branch is lengthened by a same distance, always maintaining the belt 31 correctly stretched.

With reference to Figures 10, 11 and 12, it can be seen that the lateral folding devices 9, 9', which operate inside the tilting drum 7, are provided on the outer face with pairs of rods 109, 109' that slide guided and manually adjustable inside tubes 209, 209', flanged with the other end on the inner face of the side panels 207, 207' of the drum 7. These tubes are provided at the level of the fastening flange, with outer projections 309 (Figure 12) which rotatingly support the intermediate part of corresponding pairs of right and left screws 36, 36', parallel to the guides 28, 28' and the ends of which cooperate with casings 37, 37' provided with corresponding screw nuts, not shown, and integral with the frames 108, 108' of the conveyors 8, 8'. By means of positive kinematic connections 38, 38', e.g. of the type with pinions and with chains positioned longitudinally on the frames 108, 108', the screw nuts of the screws 36 are connected in phase with those of the screws 36', while at the level of the side panel 207' of the drum 7, the screw nuts of the screws 36' are connected to each other by means of a pair of positive drives 39, 39', which comprise conical couplings and gearboxes 139, 139', which are integral with the frames 108, 108' and are each provided with an input axis parallel to the axis 107 of the drum 7, facing the side panel 207', and keyed onto which

are identical toothed pulleys 40, 40' driven around which respectively with its outer toothing and with its inner toothing is a belt 41 with double toothing, which derives motion from a control toothed pulley 42 positioned on the axis 107 of the drum 7. By means of idle pulleys 43 supported by the side panel 207' of said drum 7, the toothed belt 41 is obliged to take a sinuous path, in which it involves said toothed pulleys 40, 40', with double branches, all so that when the self-centering variation of the reciprocal distance between the frames 108, 108' of the conveyors 8, 8' occurs, said double branches of the belt 41 modify their length in a simultaneous and opposite way, maintaining the tension of said toothed belt 41 unchanged.

From Figure 12 it appears evident that when the pulley 42 is rotated in one direction or the other, depending on whether the distance between the conveyors 8, 8' of the drum 7 is to be increased or decreased, through the toothed belt 41 rotation is transmitted to the pulleys 40, 40' and through the kinematic mechanisms 39, 39' it is transmitted to the screw nuts of the casings 37 and also to those of the casings 37' to which they are connected with the drives 38, 38' and with rotation of said screw nuts on the fixed screws 36, 36', the frames 108, 108' move reciprocally away from or towards each other by the required distance and with self-centering movement. Figures 10 to 15 show that the toothed pulley 42 is keyed onto the output shaft of an epicyclic reduction gear 44 which with its body 144 is mounted rotatingly on the hub 121 of the frame 21 which rotatingly supports with bearings the side panel 207', by means of bushings 45 or other suitable means. Keyed onto the input shaft of the reduction gear 44 is a toothed pulley 46 which through a toothed belt 47 is connected to a corresponding toothed pulley 48 keyed onto the shaft 25, which synchronizes rotation of the two side panels 207, 207' of the drum 7 (Figure 14).

On the side of the input pulley 46 there is provided a pinion or other means 49 which through chains 249 is connected to a corresponding pinion 149 (Figure 14) keyed onto an adjustment shaft 50 mounted rotatingly on the frame 21 and which can be made to rotate with a manual control or with a servocontrol. Adjustment of the distance between the conveyors 8, 8' of the drum 7 is implemented through the shaft 50 and usually with the machine stopped. With rotation of the shaft 50 and of the pinion 49, as the pulley 46

remains still (Figure 15), the body 144 of the reduction gear 44 rotates and the output shaft with the pulley 42 rotates proportionally to the input rotation imparted ^' to the pinion 49, determining the required adjustment of the reciprocal distance of the conveyors 8, 8'. To maintain the distance between these conveyors 8, 8' unchanged when the drum 7 rotates cyclically through 180°, as in this step the pinion 49 and the body of the reduction gear 44 are stopped, said rotation of the drum is imparted with the belt 47 and the pulley 46, to the primary shaft of the reduction gear 44, so as to obtain the required effects. From Figure 14 it appears evident that by varying the reciprocal distance between the conveyors 8, 8' of the tilting drum, the distance between the lower one of said conveyors varies in relation to the lower component 106 of the folding spindle 6 and of the conveyor 11 downstream, and therefore it is necessary to make a corresponding adjustment of the position in height of the axis of rotation 107 of said drum 7. From Figures 9, 10, 11 , 13 and 14 it can be seen that the frame 21 , which rotatingly supports the drum 7, is provided with at least one pair of vertical slides 51 , with recirculating balls, positioned on planes orthogonal to each other and sliding on corresponding guides 151 supported by the uprights 152 of a solid bed structure 52 provided with eye- bolts 53 for handling of the entire apparatus with the tilting device. With a lower cross-member thereof, the frame 21 is connected to the bed 52 by means of a pair of vertical mechanical jacks 54 with screw-screw nut, synchronized by a drive transmission 55 with screw-helical gear, which by means of a positive drive 56, e.g. with pinions and chain (Figures 10, 13, 14) is connected kinematically to the shaft 50 with its drive 150 for manual operation or with suitable means and with a register 250 that helps the operator in the adjustment to be made. By acting on the shaft 50 to vary the relative distance of the conveyors 8, 8', the jacks 54 are simultaneously activated to modify the position in height of the axis of the drum 7 as specified above.

From Figures 13 and 14 it appears that the drive transmission 55 that synchronizes the jacks 54 is connected with a positive drive transmission 59 to a synchronization shaft 60 mounted rotatingly on a moving frame 21 and which through conical couplings 61 rotates a pair of vertical shafts 62

supported rotatingly by bushings 63 also integral with the frame 21 , so as to move vertically therewith. The shafts 62 are provided with identical upper threads 162 which cooperate with screw nuts 64 integral with lateral supporting brackets 65 of the upper plate 206 of the first folding spindle 6, so that when the distance between the conveyors 8, 8' of the drum 7 varies, the distance of the plate 206 from the lower fixed plate 106 is also automatically varied. Between the drive 59 and the shaft 60 a disengaging device, not shown, can be provided, which can be operated to release said shaft and prepare it for fine and selective rotation, with means not indicated and suitable for the purpose.

In Figures 11 and 13, the numeral 57 indicates supports integral with the bed 52, which support the first means 11 , 11' located downstream of the tilting drum 7 and which support under said drum, one of the curved guides 58 that correctly accompany the portion 104 of the packing sheet during cyclic rotation of the tilting device 7, as stated with reference to Figures 2 and 3.

It is understood that the description refers to a preferred embodiment of the invention, to which numerous variants and modifications can be made, above all in relation to the type of product to be packed. If the machine is intended for the treatment of products which, due to their nature and/or the arrangement of their components, cannot be compressed to any great degree, the conveyors 8, 8' of the drum 7 can use belts that are suitably elastic-yielding or that can be mounted on specific springing means. If need be, the plates 106, 206 of the first folding spindle 6, can be replaced by suitable idle or motorized conveyors. This and all those modifications, moreover intuitable to those skilled in the art, fall within the scope of the invention, as described, illustrated and as claimed hereunder. In the claims, the references indicated in brackets are purely indicative and do not limit the scope of protection of said claims.