GAUDENZI, Rodolfo (Via Musolesi 2, Bologna, I-40138, IT)
| CLAIMS Apparatus for inserting a blister pack (1) within an external casing (10) through an open end (16, 17) of said external casing (10) , comprising pushing means (60) that is movable and arranged for abutting on said blister pack (1) and pushing said blister pack (1) along a first direction (X) within said external casing (10) , and inserting means (70) for promoting the insertion of said blister pack (1) in said external casing (10) , characterised in that said inserting means (70) is fixed to, and supported by, said pushing means (60) . Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said pushing means (60) comprises a driving arm (61) provided with an abutting portion (62) suitable for abutting on an edge of said blister pack (1) . Apparatus according to any one of claim 1 and 2, wherein said pushing means (60) comprises blade means (63) suitable for abutting on an upper face (9) of said blister pack (1) for maintaining said blister pack (1) substantially plane, in particular parallel to a supporting plane (P) onto which said blister pack (1) is slidably moved. Apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said blade means (63) comprises a laminar element, arranged parallel to said supporting plane (P) at a preset distance, in particular said preset distance being substantially equal to a height (B3) of said blister pack (1) . Apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said inserting means (70) comprises a flexible laminar element, substantially "S" -shaped and provided with a free end (71) suitable for being inserted within said external casing (10) so as .to promote the insertion of said blister pack (1) in said external casing (10) . Apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said free end (71) is spaced apart from a supporting plane (P) onto which said blister pack (1) is slidably moved, by a respective preset distance (M) that is shorter than a height (B3) of said blister pack (1) . Apparatus according to any one of claims 5 and 6, as claim 5 is appended to claim 4, wherein said inserting means (70) is fixed to said blade means (63) and/or to arm means (61) of said pushing means (60) . Apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said pushing means (60) is movable between a first operative position (Al) , in which said pushing means (60) abuts on said blister pack (1), and a second operative position (A2) , in which said pushing means (60) completely inserts said blister pack (1) within said external casing (10) . Apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising driving means (80) for supporting and moving said external casing (10) along a second direction (Y) , in particular substantially orthogonal to the first direction (X) . Machine for packaging blister packs comprising an apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims . |
The present invention relates to packaging apparatuses and machines for packaging blister packs, in particular it relates to a cartoning apparatus that is associable with a packaging machine, for example a blister machine, for inserting a blister pack into an external containing casing. A blister pack typically consists of a supporting strip, or tray, provided with a plurality of cavities or blisters arranged for containing products such as pills, tablets, capsules, lozenges, etc, and a covering foil or film that covers and hermetically closes the blisters. The supporting strip with the blisters (the so-called "blister strip") is obtained by forming a strip of formable material, typically plastic material or aluminium, whereas the covering foil (the so-called "foil lidding") is made of paper, cardboard, plastic or aluminium.
The blister pack is generally inserted within a package consisting of a parallelepipedon- shaped box that is completely reclosable on six sides to form a packaged product that is suitable for marketing.
Alternatively, the package may comprise a carton or external containing casing of tubular shape, provided with one or two opposite sides which are open for inserting or extracting the blister pack.
This type of package is cheaper and more convenient to use than the traditional reclosable box, but it nevertheless has the drawback of not ensuring a reliable housing for the blister pack within the external casing, the aforesaid blister pack being able to work loose accidentally and easily from the external casing during use and be lost.
In order to overcome the aforesaid problem, external casings are used having an internal, width that is less than the width of the blister pack in such a manner as to lock the latter within the casing by interference.
This interference is nevertheless negative during packaging of the product during the step of insertion of the blister pack within the external casing, inasmuch as it greatly limits insertion speed and thus the productivity of a corresponding packaging machine .
The blister pack is in fact pushed from one of the shorter sides thereof within the casing and is thus subject to buckling that is proportional to the insertion speed, i.e. to the friction that is generated between the blister pack and the external casing. By increasing the insertion speed, the buckling is increased and the chances increase that deflections and/or folding of the blister pack will occur, with consequent stop of the packaging process and thus of the packaging machine .
External carton casings are also known, i.e. casings provided with only one open end for insertion of the blister pack, the opposite end being closed and shaped together with the side walls to press and retain the blister pack when it is completely inserted.
Four-sided tubular external casings are also known (so-called "sleeves"), i.e. which are provided with two opposite open ends made of materials and/or by processing techniques that ensure a "memory effect", i.e. an elastic return of the casing to an original "crushed" configuration such as to compress and retain the blister pack once it has been inserted into the casing.
The casings disclosed above are nevertheless very laborious and expensive to make.
In known packaging machines, the blister packs are inserted into the respective external casings by a cartoning apparatus that comprises at least one movable pusher with reciprocating motion that typically acts on a shorter side of the blister pack. The latter is supported and moved to a removing position, for example, by a conveyor belt.
In order to facilitate inserting the blister pack within the external casing, there is provided a movable inserting element, a so-called "shoehorn", consisting of an approximately S-shaped lamina that is partially inserted into the open end of the external casing. The blister pack can thus be inserted correctly by sliding on the inserting element and owing to the form of the latter.
Once inserting has been completed, the inserting element is disengaged to be inserted into a subsequent external casing, supported and moved, for example, by a respective conveyor belt.
A drawback of the aforesaid known cartoning apparatuses resides in the fact that the blister pack slides on the inserting element, thus causing further friction that increases the buckling to which the aforesaid blister pack is subjected, with the drawbacks highlighted above. Further, the apparatus is very complex and therefore expensive because of the mechanisms that are necessary for moving the inserting element.
An object of the present invention is to improve known cartoning apparatuses for packaging machines, in particular apparatuses arranged for inserting blister packs within respective external containing casings, in particular of tubular type, for forming packaged products.
A further object is to make a cartoning apparatus that enables inserting blister packs within respective external casings to be optimised and in particular enables the insertion speed of the blister packs and therefore the productivity of a corresponding packaging machine to be increased considerably.
Such objects and still others are achieved by cartoning apparatus for a packaging machine according to one or more of the claims set out below.
The invention can be better understood and implemented with reference to the attached drawings, which illustrate an embodiment thereof by way of non- limiting example, in which: Figure 1 is a schematic plan view of the blister pack of the invention;
Figure 2 is a section according to line II-II of figure 1;
Figures 3 is a schematic perspective view of an external containing casing that is associable with the blister pack in figure 1 for forming a packaged product;
Figure 4 is a frontal schematic view of the blister pack of figure 1 in a configuration that is flat and associated with 5 the external casing of figure 3 for forming a packaged product ;
Figure 5 is a view like that of Figure 4 in which the blister pack is in a curved configuration;
Figure 6 is a view like that of Figure 4 in which the blister 10 pack is in a further curved configuration;
Figure 7 is a lateral and partially sectioned- schematic view of a cartoning apparatus of the invention, in a first operating configuration and, shown as a dashed line, in a second operating configuration;
15 Figure 8 is an enlarged detail of the apparatus in figure 7, which illustrates pushing means of a blister pack in the first operating configuration;
Figure 9 is an enlarged detail of the apparatus in figure 7 which illustrates the pushing means in the second operating
20 configuration;
Figure 10 is a plan view of the apparatus in figure 7.
With reference to figures 1 to 4, with 1 there is indicated the blister pack of the invention provided with a plurality of blisters 5 that are suitable for containing products 100,
25 such as pills, tablets, capsules, lozenges and the like, and associable with an external containing casing 10 such as to form a packaged product 20. In particular, the blister pack 1 is insertable in and disinsertable from, said external casing 10 along a first insertion direction X (Figure 7) .
30 The blister pack 1 has, for example, view in plan, a substantially rectangular shape with rounded edges and longer
- - sides having an overall length L. .... .... _
The external casing 10 is, for example, of the tubular so- called "sleeve" type, and comprises an upper wall 11 and a
35 lower wall 12 connected by opposite side walls 13, 14, in such a manner as to define opposite open ends 15, 16 that enable the blister pack 1 to be inserted or extracted.
The external casing 10 is, for example, obtained from a flat blank that is folded and formed in such a manner that the side walls 13, 14 are substantially parallel to one another and orthogonal to the upper wall 11 and to the lower wall 12, in an upright configuration.
On the upper wall 11 at one of the two open ends there is a notch 17 that enables the blister pack 1 to be grasped and extracted with the fingers, when it is inserted completely within the external casing 10.
The blister pack 1 comprises a blister strip 4 on which the blisters 5 are formed containing the respective products 100 and a lidding foil 6 fixed to the blister strip 4 to cover and close said at least one blister 5.
The blister strip 4 is made, for example, of thermoformable plastics, or of aluminium, whilst the lidding foil 6 is, for example, a film of aluminium or of plastics welded to the blister strip 4 around each blister 5 in such a manner as to hermetically seal the respective product 100 within the blister.
The blister pack 1 comprises a first portion 2 having a width B that is variable and growing from a first width Bl at an end 2a of the aforesaid first portion 2 and a second portion 3 having a second substantially constant width B2.
The width of the first portion 2 is thus variable and growing between the first width Bl and the second width B2 , which are transverse dimensions, for example dimensions that are substantially orthogonal to the first direction X.
The first width Bl is less than an internal width SI of the external casing 10, whilst the second width B2 is greater than the internal width SI.
The difference between the first width Bl and the internal width SI and between the internal width SI and the second width B2 is a function of the dimensions of the blister pack and of the external casing, of the materials with which they are made. By way merely of example, this difference can be comprised between 0.3 and 1 mm.
The widths Bl, B2 are transverse distances between the two side edges 7, 8 of the blister pack 1, in particular of the blister strip 4. The internal width SI is a transverse distance between the internal faces of the side walls 13, 14 of the external casing 10.
The first portion 2 thus has, view in plan, a substantially tapered shape in the direction of the end 2a (for example trapezium- shaped) to enable the blister pack 1 to be inserted easily within the external casing 10, in a packaging step for packaging the product 20 in a packaging machine, as respective first portions 7a, 8a of the side edges 7, 8 of the blister pack 1 do not substantially interact with the side walls 13, 14 of the external casing 10.
The second portion 3, which has, view in plan, a substantially rectangular shape, interacts on the other hand with the external casing 10, at least in a flat configuration A of the blister pack 1, such as to reversibly lock the blister pack 1 within the external casing 10. In particular, second portions 7b, 8b of the side edges 7, 8 of the blister pack 1 abut on the side walls 13, 14 of the external casing 10 with a predefined interference force that is a function of the dimensional difference between the second width B2 and the internal width SI, of the elasticity/flexibility of the blister pack 1 and of the side walls 13, 14.
The second portion 3 has a respective length L2 comprised between 15 and 50% of the overall length L of the blister pack 1, and in particular comprised between 20 and 30%. As explained in greater detail further on in the description, this length L2 of the second portion 3 ensures on one side a reliable and effective coupling by interference between the external casing and blister pack Xsuch.as to prevent the blister pack from accidentally exiting the external casing) , on the other hand it does not limit insertion speed of the blister pack 1 into the casing 10 during the packaging step of the packaged product 20. It should be noted that the abutment of the second portions 7b, 8b of the side edges 7, 8 with the side walls 13, 14 of the external casing 10 occurs in a flat configuration D of the blister pack 1, a configuration in which the blister pack 1 is arranged substantially flat, i.e. with an upper face 9 parallel to the upper wall 11 of the casing 10 (Figure 4) . As the blister pack 1 has a height B3, at the blisters 5 that is less than an internal height S2 of the external casing 10, in the flat configuration D the blister pack 1 may also not abut on the internal faces of the upper wall 11 and of the lower wall 12 of the external casing 10. In the flat configuration D the blister pack 1 has overall transverse dimensions that are equal to the second width B2 and overall height dimensions that are equal to the height B3 thereof.
As known, the blister packs can nevertheless bend once they are introduced inside the external casings, adopting a curved configuration (so-called "roof-tile" bends) .
The blister pack 1 according to the invention has dimensions - in particular the second width B2 and the height B3 - and has the position of the blisters 5 on the blister strip 4 such that in a curved configuration F of the blister pack 1 (Figure 6) , in which the second portions 7b, 8b of the longitudinal edges 7, 8 do not interact with the side walls 13, 14, at least the second portion 3 interacts with the upper wall 11 and the lower wall 12 of the external casing such as to reversibly lock the blister pack 1. In particular, a central portion 9a of the upper face 9 and a bottom wall 5a of one or more blisters 5 abut respectively on the upper wall 11 and the lower wall 12.
In the curved configuration F the blister pack 1 has an overall transverse dimension that is less than the internal width SI . and overall height dimensions, .that.._ are .greater than the internal height S2.
There exists a curved limit configuration E in which the blister pack 1 abuts on all the walls 11, 12, 13, 14 of the internal casing 10. In particular, in this curved limit configuration E the second portions 7b, 8b of the side edges 7, 8 abut on the side walls 13, 14, whilst the central portion 9a of the upper face 9 and the bottom wall 5a of one or more blisters abut respectively on the upper wall 11 and the lower wall 12 (Figure 5) .
In the curved limit configuration E the blister pack 1 has overall transverse dimensions that are the same as/greater than the internal width SI and an overall height dimension H that is the same as or greater than the internal height S2. It should be noted that in figures 4, 5 and 6 the deformations of the blister pack 1 and of the walls of the external casing 10 have been accentuated for reasons of clarity.
The blister pack 1 of the invention can thus be effectively locked in a reversible manner within an external casing 10 of tubular type regardless of the flat or curved configuration adopted, by virtue of the abutment of the second portion 3 with the side walls 13, 14 and/or the abutment of the upper face 9 and of the bottom walls 5a of the blisters 5 respectively with the upper wall 11 and the lower wall 12.
Further, owing to the first portion 2 - which has a width that is variable and growing from the end 2a and has a first width Bl that is less than the internal width SI of the external casing 10 - the blister pack .1 can be conveniently and easily inserted within the external casing 10. Compared with known packaging processes, this on the one hand enables the insertion speed of the blister pack to be increased significantly - with a corresponding increase in the productivity of the process - on the other hand it enables the buckling exerted by pushing means acting on one of the short sides of the blister pack to be reduced. By reducing the buckling value (proportional to the- friction . that is generated between the blister pack and casing) it is possible to reduce significantly the risk of inflections and/or instability of the blister pack 1 during the packaging step. Figures 7 to 10 illustrate the cartoning apparatus 50 of the invention that is associable with a packaging machine, for example a blister machine, and is arranged for inserting a blister pack, for example the blister pack 1 of the invention, in an external casing 10 provided with at least an open end 16. The external casing is for example the casing 10 of tubular type disclosed above and shown in figure 3.
The apparatus 1 comprises pushing means 60 that is movable and arranged for abutting on blister pack 1 and pushing the blister pack 1 along a first insertion direction X within a respective external casing 10 and inserting means 70, fixed to said pushing means 60 and suitable for promoting the insertion of the blister pack 1 within the external casing 10.
The pushing means 60 is in particular linearly movable along the first direction X with reciprocating motion between a first operating position Al , in which the pushing means abuts on the blister pack 1 arranged on supporting means 51 in a removing position K, and a second operating position A2 , in which the pushing means has completely inserted the blister pack 1 within the external casing 10. In the removing position K the blister pack is arranged with the side edges 7, 8 (more precisely with the second portions 7b, 8b of the side edges 7, 8) substantially parallel to the first direction X and with the second portion 3 having a second width B2 that is constant and greater than the internal width SI of the external casing 10, in contact with the pushing means 60.
The pushing means 60 comprises a driving arm 61 provided with an abutting portion 62 that is suitable for abutting on a side of the blister pack 1, in particular the shorter side of the second portion 3 of the blister pack 1.
The pushing means 60 further comprises blade .means 63 suitable for abutting on the upper face 9 of the blister pack 1 to maintain the blister pack 1 substantially flat (in the flat configuration D) and in particular substantially parallel to a supporting plane P defined by the supporting means 51, on which the blister pack 1 is slidably moved.
The blade means 63 comprises a stiff laminar element, arranged parallel to the supporting plane P, at a preset distance from the latter, in particular at a distance that is substantially equal to or slightly greater than the height B3 of the blister pack 1. In this manner the blade means 63 maintains the blister pack 1 flat without, however, crushing the blisters 5 thereof.
The inserting means 70 comprises a flexible laminar element (a so-called "shoehorn"), which is substantially "S"-shaped and provided with a free end 71 that is suitable for being inserted within the external casing 10 such as to promote the insertion of the blister pack 1. The inserting means 70 is fixed to the blade means 63 and/or to the supporting arm 61. In detail, the inserting means 70, and in particular the free end 71, protrude along the first direction X with respect to the blister pack 1 when the pushing means 60 abuts on the blister pack 1 in the first operating position Al until the blister pack 1 is completely inserted within the external casing 10 in the second operating position A2.
During the step of inserting the blister pack 1 into the casing 10, the free end 71 of the inserting means 70 is thus distant from the supporting plane P by a respective preset distance M that is less than the height B3 of the blister pack 1.
Substantially, when the pushing means 60 abuts on the blister pack 1, the free end 71 is always at a lower height than the upper wall 11 of the external casing 10 and acts as an element for promoting the insertion of the blister pack 1 within the external casing 10.
The cartoning apparatus 50 further comprises driving means 80, that is of known type and illustrated schematically in the figures, that is arranged for supporting and moving in succession, for example intermittently with indexed motion, external casings 10 along a second advancement direction Y that is substantially orthogonal to the first direction X. The driving means 80 comprises, for example, a conveyor belt or chain 81 provided with abutting elements 82 that are regularly spaced apart from one another along the second direction Y and arranged for contacting and pushing respective external casings 10.
The driving means 80 removes each external casing 10 individually from supplying means 85 that are of known type and are illustrated schematically in the drawings and moves the external casing 10 to an inserting position J in which said external casing 10 is arranged with the side walls 13, 14 parallel to the first direction X with one of the open ends 16 (in particular the end without a notch 17 on the upper wall 11) facing the pushing means 60. In this inserting position J, the external casing 10 remains on stand-by to receive from the pushing means 60 the respective blister pack 1.
The apparatus 50 also includes further inserting means 55 arranged at the driving means 80 opposite the free end 16 of the external casing 10, when the external casing 10 is arranged in the inserting position J. The further inserting means comprises an appendage 55 that is tilted upwards and fixed to a further supporting plane 54, arranged for slidably supporting the blister pack 1 when pushed by the pushing means 60. The further supporting plane 54 is substantially adjacent to and coplanar with the supporting plane 51. The appendage 55 in association with the inserting means 70 guides to the second portion 2 of the blister pack 1 within the casing.
The operation of the cartoning apparatus 50 of the invention provides for each blister pack 1 arranged in the removing position K being abutted by the pushing means 60 and pushed by the latter along the first direction X within the external casing 10 waiting on the driving means 80, in the inserting position J.
The blade means 63 maintains the blister pack 1 substantially flat during the entire inserting step, in this manner preventing the blister pack 1 from being able to adopt curved configurations that prevent the blister pack 1 being inserted correctly within the external casing 10.
By constraining the blister pack 1 above, the blade means 63 eliminates the risks of instability due to buckling.
The inserting means 70 that is movable with the pushing means 60, as it is fixed on the pushing means 60, ensures correct insertion of the first portion 2 of the blister pack 1 into the casing blister 10 through the open end 16. It should be noted that the flexibility of the inserting means 70 enables the inserting means 70 to be easily inserted and slid within the external casing 10, such as to accompany the blister pack 1 during the entire extension of the insertion movement.
It should be further noted, that the inserting means 70 fixed to the pushing means 60 is movable in the first direction X together with the blister pack 1. Unlike what happens in known cartoning apparatuses, in the apparatus 50 of the invention there is therefore no relative movement between the inserting means 70 and the blister pack 1 and thus there are no resisting friction forces that are opposed to the movement along the first direction X of the blister pack 1. It is thus possible to drive the pushing means 60 with less force and/or to obtain higher insertion speeds of the blister packs.
The reduction of the driving forces of the pushing means 60 and the increase in the insertion speed are further enlarged, as already disclosed previously, owing to the shape and dimensions of the blister pack 1 of the invention. The first portion 2 with a tapered shape enables the blister pack 1 to be inserted easily and comfortably within the external casing 10. The second portion 3 locks, by abutting with the second portions 7b, 8b of the side edges 7, 8 thereof on the side walls 13, 14, the blister pack 1 substantially- at the end of the inserting procedure, the duration and value of the friction forces being thus limited.
Tests run by the applicant show that the cartoning apparatus 50 can insert the blister packs 1 of the invention within the respective external casings 10 at an insertion speed that is 30 to 50% greater than that of known apparatuses and blister packs .
Once the blister pack 1 has been completely inserted within the external casing 1, the pushing means 60 and the inserting means 70 are extracted and disengaged from the external casing 10 and brought back to the first operating position Al to receive a subsequent blister pack 1.
The blister pack 1 inserted within the external casing 10 remains locked in the external casing 10 and is not dragged outside by the inserting means 70 and by the blade means 63 in the disengaging movement thereof, by virtue of the friction forces generated by the interference between the second portion 3 and the side walls 13, 14.
Stopping means of known type and which is not illustrated in the figures can be provided for preventing the blister pack 1 from exiting during the disengagement movement of the pushing means 60 and of the inserting means 70.
The external casing 10 with the blister pack 1 inside (so as to make the packaged product 20) is then moved by the driving means 80 in the second direction Y towards extracting or unloading means that is of known type and is not illustrated in the drawing. At the same time a subsequent external casing 10 is taken to the inserting position J to receive a respective pack 1.
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