Login| Sign Up| Help| Contact|

Patent Searching and Data


Title:
VERTICAL PACKAGING MACHINE WITH CARTRIDGE SEALING SYSTEM
Document Type and Number:
WIPO Patent Application WO/2019/077532
Kind Code:
A1
Abstract:
A vertical packaging machine (20) for packaging products to be bagged, said machine comprising a conveyor means (21) of a film coming from a feeding reel for directing the film towards a forming tube (22), a sealing group (23) located inferiorly of said forming tube (22) and adapted to accommodate said reel that has been previously sealed at longitudinal edges thereof, said sealing group comprising sealing jaws (25) that are movable close to and away from one another for transversally sealing the shaped film descending from the forming tube (22), said sealing group (23) being arranged in an extractable and interchangeable cartridge or drawer.

Inventors:
FIORAVANTI ANDREA (IT)
PAVAN MARCO (IT)
Application Number:
PCT/IB2018/058074
Publication Date:
April 25, 2019
Filing Date:
October 18, 2018
Export Citation:
Click for automatic bibliography generation   Help
Assignee:
MBP S R L (IT)
International Classes:
B65B51/30; B29C65/00; B65B59/04; B65B65/02
Foreign References:
EP3047961A12016-07-27
DE202015106885U12016-01-13
US20140047802A12014-02-20
EP1442980A12004-08-04
Attorney, Agent or Firm:
LISSANDRINI, Marco (IT)
Download PDF:
Claims:
CLAIMS

1) A vertical packaging machine (20) for packaging products to be bagged, said machine comprising:

a) a conveyor means (21) of a film coming from a feeding reel for directing the film towards a forming tube (22);

b) a sealing group (23) located inferiorly of said forming tube (22) and adapted to accommodate said reel that has been previously sealed at longitudinal edges thereof, said sealing group comprising sealing jaws (25) that are movable close to and away from one another for transversally sealing the shaped film descending from the forming tube (22),

said sealing group (23) being arranged in an interchangeable cartridge,

characterised in that said cartridge of the sealing group (23) comprises a hinge (29) and a locking means (30) which determine the constraining and releasing of the sealing group and the coupling thereof to the packaging machine (20) alternatively according to a first or a second configuration rotated through 90° to each other in order to enable production of a plurality of types of packages.

2) The vertical packaging machine (20) for packaging products to be bagged according to the preceding claim, characterised in that said sealing group (23) having a substantially four-sided configuration, comprises a perimeter edge (24) facing the packaging machine (20) associated with means for constraining or releasing the sealing group itself with respect to the vertical wall of the packaging machine.

3) The vertical packaging machine (20) for packaging products to be bagged according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that said means for constraining or releasing the sealing group with respect to the vertical wall of the packaging machine comprise a hinge (29) having a vertical axis arranged at one of the corners located at one of two ends of the perimeter edge (24) of the sealing group, and a locking means (30) arranged on the opposite corner with respect to the perimeter edge (24) .

4) The vertical packaging machine (20) for packaging products to be bagged according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that said locking means (30) comprises a screw lever which is inserted in a respective seat fashioned on the front vertical face of the machine.

5) The vertical packaging machine (20) for packaging products to be bagged according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that said sealing group (23) or cartridge is open in a central portion thereof where the mobile sealing jaws (25) operate, sealing bars of which reciprocally face one another with respect to the central halfway line.

6) The vertical packaging machine (20) for packaging products to be bagged according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that said sealing jaws (25) are moved close to and away from one another in order to seal the shaped film descending from the forming tube (22) by means of lever mechanisms (26) connected to a recirculating ball screw (27) located on the shaft of a motor (28) .

7) The vertical packaging machine (20) for packaging products to be bagged according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the sealing pressure is electronically adjustable by an operating panel, as for the variation of the pressure it is sufficient to act on the control of the motor (28) .

8) The vertical packaging machine (20) for packaging products to be bagged, according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that said motor (28) is of the "brushless" type.

9) The vertical packaging machine (20) for packaging products to be bagged according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that said mobile sealing bars (25) are anchored to the fixed part by means of the recirculating ball guides.

10) The vertical packaging machine (20) for packaging products to be bagged according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that, in a first operating configuration, the sealing jaws (25) are substantially parallel to a front surface of the machine, whereas in a second configuration rotated through 90° with respect to said first configuration, the sealing jaws (25) are substantially orthogonal to the front surface of the machine (20) .

Description:
"VERTICAL PACKAGING MACHINE WITH CARTRIDGE SEALING SYSTEM"

FIELD OF APPLICATION

The present invention relates to a vertical packaging machine for the production of sealed bags containing products of various kinds, mainly although not exclusively food products.

More particularly, the following invention relates to a vertical packaging machine whose characteristic is that of being equipped with a particular means for sealing the film which allows wasted time to be reduced during format changes due to mechanical adjustments.

The system also enables the electronic adjustment of the sealing pressure.

The packaging machine according to the invention envisages a horizontal film sealing system mounted on the main support plate.

This device also comprises a means that enables rotation through 90° to allow the packaging machine to produce a plurality of types of bags.

The present invention is advantageously applied in the sector of packaging machines for products of various kinds and mainly food products. PRIOR ART

As is known, sealed packages normally available in the supermarkets containing products of various kinds, mainly for example food products, are produced by automatic machines known as packaging machines.

There are various types of these machines of different kinds and, among these, there are also versions that are normally defined as vertical packaging machines .

Such packaging machines comprise a dosing device positioned in the uppermost part and from which the product to be packaged is left to drop for being conveyed into a vertical metal tube of a variable width and reduced length, called a forming tube.

The film is wound around the outside of this tube, such film advancing around it through a drawing system comprising rubber coated belts and curved sheet metal parts, arranged around the forming tube.

By using rubber coated belts it is possible to move the flaps of the film towards one another for sealing both vertically and horizontally hence creating the sealed package .

Traditional sealing systems installed on the machine are based on the use of bars heated through electrical resistors controlled by electronic devices which check the temperature instant by instant using a probe, then providing the right power to the heating resistors.

These sealing bars, which are generally installed in the central front part of the vertical packaging machine at the film joining zone, are moved through rod-crank type mechanisms. To seal the flaps of the package the bars are pushed against each other with high temperatures and forces so that the various layers of film previously superposed at the overlapping zones, due to the strong pressure and temperature, can be sealed to each other.

Based on the type of package to be realised, sealing bars are sometimes needed with different sealing profiles, and in most cases this is not possible or rather complex and quite lengthy mechanical interventions are necessary which can only be performed by highly specialised personnel.

Therefore, this is a problematic aspect in known solutions and this strongly penalises the performance of vertical packaging machines based on their ability to realise packages of various types.

With particular types of packages it is even necessary to have a packaging machine provided with horizontal sealers rotated angularly through 90° with respect to the standard configuration.

Machines currently on the market that are part of the state of the art comprise means to allow the angular rotation to vary the work arrangement by 90°, but the possibility to rotate the arrangement in combination with the replacement of the type of sealing profile is not provided in any way, except through very lengthy mechanical interventions that require highly specialised personnel .

Another problem has also been encountered connected with traditional devices mounted on vertical packaging machines related to format changes.

As normally happens, users of these packaging machines need to produce packages of various sizes, therefore they are obliged also to perform various mechanical adjustments to adapt the machine to the new package format to be produced with a notable loss of time before starting again with a new production.

Likewise, using known vertical packaging machines, the difficulty of adjusting the necessary sealing pressure for the format changes has been encountered, as there are constraints due to mechanical adjustments.

In fact, traditional sealing jaws realised according to known solutions are, as mentioned, translatable for being brought to the sealing position through the use of rod-crank type mechanisms, while the compression force is determined by the use of springs or other similar elastic elements pre-calibrated for a specific non-modulable compression .

In the state of the art, the solution of patent EP3047961 is also known, which relates to a sealing and cutting group for flexible bags that can be coupled to a flexible container or taken out of it for performing maintenance operations on the sealing or on the cutting group or the machine. Furthermore, this solution envisages that one module can be replaced with another similar module for the duration of the maintenance operations on the sealing or cutting group.

Also in this solution the problems already highlighted and further ones that are translated into a negative effect on the packaging processes have emerged, determining an excessive extension of time for format changes, definitively causing a condition such for which the containment of the production costs is prevented, which therefore remain high also due to the need for frequent intervention of personnel.

It would therefore be desirable to have available a packaging machine with a vertical arrangement that is provided with means such as to make format changes at the sealing groups simple and easy.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention sets out to provide a vertical packaging machine comprising means able to make the format change of the sealing groups of the individual packages very simple and easy, thus creating a condition able to eliminate or at least reduce the drawbacks highlighted above.

The invention sets out in particular to make available a vertical packaging machine provided with means adapted to automate the format change at the sealing groups through the use of relevant mechanisms that make it possible to replace sealing groups of different formats.

This is obtained through a vertical packaging machine provided with means adapted to automate the format change at the sealing groups, the characteristics of such means being described in the main claim.

The dependent claims of the present solution outline advantageous embodiments of the invention.

The main advantages of this solution relate to the fact that the sealing groups of the vertical packaging machine on which they are installed, have become interchangeable, so that to make a format change operative, it is sufficient to take off the sealing group previously used and install another one to replace it with the suitable sealing groups for the new configuration .

Furthermore, this solution envisages the possibility to obviate the limit of the limited number of sealing profiles available through the use of sealing groups that are also interchangeable easily by non-qualified personnel .

According to the present invention the advantages of this solution also regard the possibility to turn the horizontal jaws through 90° very easily.

Another very important advantage of the present invention is the possibility to adjust the sealing pressure electronically through the control panel very easily .

More generally, the advantages offered by the solution according to the invention are those related to the possibility to prevent specialised personnel having to perform numerous different mechanical adjustments on the sealing devices, for adapting them to the new dimensions of the package to be produced, which caused, according to known solutions, a notable waste of time before starting again with a new production.

The device in question consists of a very easily interchangeable cartridge or drawer comprising all the mechanics necessary to perform the sealing .

The system comprises two heated and heat-regulated horizontal sealing bars, which are moved through a recirculating ball screw which in turn is controlled by a brushless motor with which it is possible to control the position and the force applied to the jaws.

The whole mechanism is contained in a cartridge or drawer that can also be uncoupled and removed from the packaging machine and recoupled rotated through 90° extremely quickly, thus increasing the quantity of models of packages that can be realised and keeping format change costs and times very low.

ILLUSTRATION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will become apparent from reading the following description of an embodiment of the invention provided by way of non-limiting example with the aid of the drawings illustrated in the appended tables of drawings, in which: Figure 1 represents a front schematic view of a vertical packaging machine overall comprising a sealing group realised according to a first configuration;

Figure 2 represents a schematic plan view from above ;

Figures 3 and 4 represent details of the sealing group realised according to said first configuration;

Figures 5 to 8 illustrate views, perspective, from above and two detailed ones, respectively, referring to a second configuration of the sealing group;

Figures 9 to 11 show schematic and axonometric views from which the arrangement of the sealing group is highlighted which passes from an operating position to an intermediate position and a completely open and non-operating position ready for its detachment for replacement;

Figures 12 and 13 represent two schematic plan views from above in which the 90° angular displacement of the sealing group is highlighted;

Figures 14 and 15 are axonometric views of a portion of a sealing group with the jaws that go from an open position to a closed position;

Figures 16 and 17 represent axonometric views of a portion of a sealing group with the jaws that go from an open position to a closed position.

DESCRIPTION OF AN EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

With reference to the appended figures, and initially in particular to Figure 1, 20 generally indicates a packaging machine with a vertical arrangement in whose upper part the conveyor means 21 is arranged for conveying the film coming from a reel placed in the rear part from which the product to be packaged is left to drop in order to be conveyed towards the front sector in which the packages of product to be bagged are formed at a vertical metal tube 22 with a variable width and reduced length, called a forming tube.

In other words, the packages of product to be bagged are realised through the use of a film with continuous advancement fed by a reel placed in its own housing in the lower part of the machine. Such film dispensed by the reel is made to reascend at the rear from the lower part to the upper part of the machine so as to reach the forming tube 22 coming from the top and passing from a folding bell.

Below the folding bell, a sealing group 23 is arranged, also defined as a "cartridge", the distinctive feature of which also comes from the fact that, unlike traditional systems, horizontal sealing devices are mounted in an easily extractable and interchangeable cartridge or drawer.

The sealing group 23 or cartridge, has a structure with a substantially box-shaped and four-sided conformation and a horizontal arrangement, one of whose edges, which represents a perimeter cross member indicated with 24, faces the packaging machine 20, and comprises a means for the partial rotation and fixing of the group itself on the vertical wall of the packaging machine itself in a position located below the aforesaid forming tube 22.

The sealing group 23 or cartridge is open in a central portion thereof where the mobile sealing jaws 25 operate, sealing bars of which reciprocally face one another with respect to the central halfway line.

The sealing jaws 25 are moved close to and away from one another in order to seal the shaped film descending from the forming tube 22 by means of lever mechanisms 26 connected to a recirculating ball screw 27 located on the shaft of a motor 28.

As shown in figures 1 to 4 the motor 28 is arranged below the sealing group 23 and its arrangement is vertical, while in figures 5 to 8 the motor 28 is arranged to the side of the sealing group 23 according to a substantially horizontal arrangement.

The sealing group 23 or cartridge, one of whose sides, i.e. the one indicated with 24 facing towards the packaging machine 20, comprises a means for the fixing of the group itself onto the vertical wall of the packaging machine in a position located below the forming tube 22, said means being represented by a hinge 29 with a vertical axis arranged at one of the corners of the sealing group, and by a locking means 30 arranged on the opposite corner with respect to the perimeter cross member 24. Said locking means 30 is represented by a screw lever which is inserted in a respective seat fashioned on the front vertical face of the machine, or by any other analogous device adapted for the same purpose .

As can be noted in figures 9 to 11 the sealing group 23 can be moved angularly to bring itself from an operating position represented in figure 9 to an open and unconstrained position by rotating on the hinge 29 as illustrated in figure 11.

As the hinge 29 is arranged with a vertical axis and in an open position free from constraints holding it to the machine in the operating position, it is possible to lift the sealing group 23 in this step for totally unconstraining it from the machine, thus allowing a new sealing group with different characteristics and in particular different sealing jaw operating measurements to be positioned.

This makes the packaging machine extremely versatile as for any format change of the package to be realised it is sufficient to simply open the sealing group by loosening the fixing means 30 and making the sealing group 23 rotate for arranging it in the unconstrained arrangement .

In figures 12 and 13 the possibility is represented of arranging the sealing group according to the preferred orientation, i.e. also rotated through 90° with respect to the standard configuration.

In particular, in a first "standard" configuration (fig. 12) the sealing jaws 25 are substantially parallel to the front surface of the machine, while in a second configuration rotated through 90° (fig. 13) the sealing jaws 25 are substantially orthogonal to the front surface of the machine.

In other words, said sealing group 23, which is arranged in an extractable and interchangeable cartridge or drawer, can be taken out to be replaced by acting on the retaining and locking means 29, 30 which make its relocation possible by assuming orthogonal configurations to each other.

The hinge 29 and the locking means 30 can be relocated on any edge 24 of the frame which surrounds the sealing group itself, thus making such group interchangeable .

It is now possible to understand the notable advantages proposed by the horizontal sealing device according to the invention whose sealing members are intended for the movement thereof, being mounted inside a cartridge that is also easily interchangeable by non- specialised operators, can be replaced or coupled to the machine in a standard way or rotated through 90° to allow the production of various types of packages.

Furthermore, according to the embodiment described above, with this modular sealing device, the sealing pressure is electronically adjustable by an operating panel, without any mechanical interventions by specialised technicians as it is sufficient to act on the control of the motor 28, the most suitable type of which is the "brushless" type.

Furthermore, the movement of the sealing bars is guaranteed by the intervention of the recirculating ball screw 27 having a notable precision which, in turn, is moved by the "brushless" motor with high precision which can manage both the height and the force of the sealing bars .

According to a further embodiment, the mobile sealing bars 25 are anchored to the fixed part by means of the recirculating ball screw guides.

The invention has been described in the foregoing with reference to a preferential embodiment thereof. However it is clear that the invention is susceptible to numerous variants which fall within the scope thereof, and which are technically equivalent.