CN111977583A

CN111977583A - Closure device for closing a container with a container closure

Info

Publication number: CN111977583A
Application number: CN202010435926.9A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 费利克斯·赛特勒; 马尔科·雷德尔
Original assignee: Krones AG
Current assignee: Krones AG
Priority date: 2019-05-22
Filing date: 2020-05-21
Publication date: 2020-11-24
Also published as: EP3741722B1; SI3741722T1; DE102019113687A1; EP3741722A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a closure device (1) for closing filled containers with container closures, comprising a closure carousel (10), which closure carousel (10) has at least two closure means arranged on its circumference and transport bags (14) respectively corresponding thereto, and an inlet guide (2) for taking over a container to be closed from an upstream conveyor and for transferring the container to the transport bags (14), wherein the inlet guide (2) has an inlet region (22) which tapers in the conveying direction (F).

Description

Closure device for closing a container with a container closure

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a closure device for closing filled containers with a container closure, for example for applying a roll-up closure to a container to be closed in a beverage filling system.

Background

In beverage filling plants, it is known to close containers filled with a filling product by means of a container closure. For this purpose, the filled container is usually transported from the filling device to the closing device and then transferred to the closing device and the container closure is arranged therein.

Both the filling device and the closing device can be referred to as a rotary machine. In a rotary filler, the individual filling means are arranged on the circumference of a filler disk, wherein each filling means forms a single filling position on the filler disk, at which one container can be filled with a filling product per cycle. The transport between the filler disk and the rotary closure takes place, for example, by means of a transport star. In the rotary closure, a closure carousel is provided, on the circumference of which closure mechanisms are arranged, which can each close a filled container with a container closure.

The filled containers are therefore conveyed from the filler disk to the closure disk via an arcuate, for example also meandering, conveying path which may have a segment in the shape of a circular arc, for example. Depending on the transport path to be passed through, one, two or more transport stars may be provided here for passing through the transport path between the filler carousel and the closure carousel.

For closing filled containers in beverage filling plants, different types of closures are known, which can be designed differently depending on the geometric representation of the respective filled container, in particular its mouth region, and the filling product.

For example, metal closures which can be moulded onto the mouth of a filled container are known. The screw closure can be screwed onto an already existing thread in the mouth region of the filled container. A cork can be introduced into the mouth passage of the filled container. The roll-up closure is applied, for example in the form of a sleeve, to an already existing thread in the mouth region of the container and is then formed onto this thread by rolling up by means of a rolling-up device.

In order to achieve a correct transfer of the closure position to the filled container and a correct transfer of the filled container position to the closure carousel and in particular to the respective receiving pocket of the closure carousel corresponding to the respective closure mechanism, the filled container is stabilized and aligned before being introduced into the closure carousel, usually by a guide assembly which is complex in construction.

It is known, for example, to provide at least three guide levels, for example two in the region of the belly of the container and one in the region of the neck of the container, on the transfer star which takes over the transfer of the filled container to the closure carousel. A stable and safe alignment and guidance of the filled and to-be-closed containers already in the transfer star can thus be achieved.

Furthermore, the inlet guide is usually designed accordingly such that a predetermined aligned orientation of the container to be closed is achieved by means of a plurality of guide assemblies arranged on different horizontal planes in order in this way to ensure an unproblematic transfer of the container closure to be applied to the container mouth and a corresponding closing of the container with the container closure.

Due to the provision of a plurality of container guides, when changing container formats, that is to say for example in the case of different heights, different diameters of the belly region of the container, different contours of the belly region, different neck diameters and different ratios between neck diameter and belly diameter, a corresponding readjustment of the respective guide assembly or a complete replacement of the respective guide assembly is accordingly necessary. Therefore, it is necessary to maintain different combinations of guide assemblies for each container type. Furthermore, a stoppage of the beverage filling plant occurs due to the required retrofit time.

Disclosure of Invention

Starting from the known prior art, it is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a closure device for closing a filled container with a container closure, which closure device has a further improved construction.

This object is achieved by a closure arrangement having the features of the invention. Advantageous developments emerge from the description and the drawings.

Accordingly, a closure device for closing filled containers with container closures is proposed, comprising a closure carousel having at least two closure mechanisms arranged on its circumference and transport bags respectively corresponding thereto, as well as an inlet guide for taking over a container to be closed from an upstream conveyor and for transferring the container to the transport bag. According to the invention, the inlet guide has an inlet region which tapers in the conveying direction.

Since the inlet guide has an inlet region which tapers in the conveying direction, the incoming container can be guided safely in its neck region in any case and then in a preferred orientation for applying the container closures. In other words, the inlet region, which tapers in the conveying direction, serves to center and align the bottle neck such that the container closure can be applied without problems. The inlet region, which tapers in the conveying direction, can be configured approximately funnel-shaped, so that the incoming container neck is aligned in the correct orientation.

Preferably, the inlet guide has a guide channel, wherein the tapered inlet area is part of the guide channel.

By means of the guide channel, a simple and effective guiding of the container along the predetermined guide rail can be achieved, so that the container is correctly aligned, for example for transferring the container closure, and a safe transfer of the container closure can be achieved.

Preferably, the tapered inlet region constitutes only a part of the guide channel, in particular only 5% to 20% of the length of the guide channel.

Thus, a larger portion of the guide channel can be used for aligned transport of the container, so that the application of the container closure can be reliably carried out in this region.

Particularly preferably, the guide channel is formed between the inner guide blank and the outer guide blank.

By configuring the guide channel in this way, a change in the geometry of the guide channel adapted to the respective container shape can be achieved by replacing the inner and/or outer guide blanks.

Preferably, the inner edge of the guide blank directed towards the guide channel is contoured and in particular chamfered.

By means of the profiled design, a particularly smooth transport of the containers in the inlet guide and in particular in the guide channel can be achieved.

In order to achieve a particularly secure take-over of the container from the upstream transport star, the width of the guide channel at its inlet is preferably twice as large as after the tapering in the transport direction has been completed. In other words, the width of the guide channel is significantly reduced from the inlet region, so that on the one hand containers introduced by means of the transport star are safely captured and on the other hand subsequently captured containers are smoothly guided onto the desired transport path in order to then achieve a safe take-over of the container closures.

Preferably, a closure introduction portion is provided for introducing a container closure into the inlet guide, and the tapering of the inlet region, viewed in the conveying direction F, is completed before the closure is transferred to the container to be closed.

It is thus ensured that at the moment of transferring the container closure onto the container, the container is already so aligned that a reliable transfer can take place.

Preferably, the closure introduction section is designed to introduce a closure sleeve for a roll-up closure.

Preferably, the inlet guide is configured such that it covers 50 ° to 90 ° of the conveying area of the upstream transfer star.

A particularly safe take-over of the container and a particularly smooth transfer of the container into the closure carousel can thus be achieved.

In order to achieve a simple retrofitting of the closure device, the inlet guide can be designed to be quick-replaceable, preferably by means of a plug connection.

Drawings

Other preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail by the following description of the drawings. In the drawings:

fig. 1 shows a schematic perspective view of a closure device for closing a filled container;

FIG. 2 shows a schematic bottom view of the closure device of FIG. 1; and

fig. 3 shows a schematic top view of the closure device of fig. 1 and 2.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments are described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Here, the same, similar or equivalent elements in different drawings are attached with the same reference numerals, and repeated description of these elements is partially omitted to avoid redundancy.

Fig. 1 shows a schematic perspective view of a closure device 1 for closing a filled container, not shown here, with a container closure.

In the embodiment shown in the figures, a closure device 1 for applying a roll-up closure is schematically provided. Here, the closure sleeve is first placed onto the mouth of the container to be closed, for example by pulling it away from the closure lead-in. The closure sleeve is then formed by means of the rolling head onto the outer contour present at the mouth of the container to be closed. The outer contour may for example be a thread.

The closure device described herein may also be used in particular for metal closures.

The closure device 1 comprises a closure carousel 10, the closure carousel 10 having a transport star 12, the transport star 12 having transport pockets 14 on its circumference, into which transport pockets 14 each container to be closed can be introduced and then transported as the transport star 2 circulates in the closure carousel 10. A closure mechanism, not shown in fig. 1 but associated with the respective transport bag 14, is provided to bring the container closure onto the filled container.

The transport stars 12 rotate relative to the fixed parts 11 of the closure device, which are connected for example to the bottom frame and can carry up other machine parts not shown here.

The inlet guide 2 has an inlet region 22 which tapers in the conveying direction, as is particularly clearly visible in fig. 2 and 3.

In the embodiment shown, the inlet guide 2 is formed by an inner guide blank 24 radially closer to the transport star 12 of the closure carousel 10 and an outer guide blank 26 correspondingly radially further outwards from the transport star 12 of the closure carousel 10. Between the inner guide blank 24 and the outer guide blank 26, a guide channel 28 is thus formed, in which guide channel 28, for example, a container neck of a container to be closed is guided.

The guide channel 28 formed between the inner guide blank 24 and the outer guide blank 26 has, in addition to the inlet region 22, a width which corresponds to the maximum desired diameter of the respective section of the filled container which is to be closed, wherein additionally a margin of narrow dimensions is allowed to completely prevent jamming of the container in the guide channel 28.

In the bottom view of the closure device 1 shown in fig. 2, the above-described arrangement of the closure carousel 10 with the transport star 12 is again shown, which transport star 12 has a plurality of transport bags 14 on its circumference. The entry guide 2 can also be seen, the entry guide 2 having an inner guide blank 24 and an outer guide blank 26, the inner guide blank 24 and the outer guide blank 26 defining a guide channel 28 between each other.

On the two

guide blanks

24, 26, in each case one

inner edge

240, 260 facing the guide channel 28 is provided with a profile, which may be designed, for example, in the form of a chamfer. The contour can correspond to the shape of the filled container to be closed, which is guided in this region. The contour can, for example, be configured to correspond to a shoulder region of the bottle.

The tapered inlet region 22 can be seen particularly clearly from this bottom view. The inlet region 22 tapers in the conveying direction F in such a way that at the inlet 20, where the container enters the guide channel 28, the guide channel 28 has a greater width than in all other sections of the guide channel 28 in the conveying direction F.

The inlet region 22 tapering in the conveying direction F accordingly forms an inlet funnel or catch region, which allows incoming containers or incoming container necks to be safely received or caught by means of the inlet region and then brought smoothly into the conveying path predetermined by the guide channel 28.

The closure lead-ins, by means of which each container closure can be applied to the container neck, which is correctly aligned and positioned in the guide channel 28 after passing through the inlet region 22, are attached to the position indicated by the elongated hole 30.

Such a closure insertion can therefore be attached into the elongated hole 30 or at least at a position predetermined by the elongated hole 30, by means of which the closure can be pulled away through the inserted container neck or container mouth, so that the container thus provided with the container closure or container closure sleeve is moved into the transport bag 14 of the transport star 12 of the closure carousel.

In other words, when the container is introduced into the closure device 1 in the conveying direction F in the guide channel 28, the transfer of the closure sleeve for the roll-up closure takes place by means of the closure insertion section arranged in the elongated hole 30. The closure sleeve is then closed onto the containers received in the transport pockets 14 of the transport star 12 of the closure carousel 10 by means of a closure mechanism with container closures which moves synchronously with the transport pockets, in particular the closure sleeve is rolled up onto the outer contour of the container neck. The closure mechanism is not shown in this view.

The closure introduction section can, for example, comprise a closure introduction rail, not shown here, in which the closure is held in a predetermined orientation, so that such a closure is correspondingly taken or dragged away via the container below the closure introduction section.

As can be seen in the inlet area 22, the inlet area 22 has a shape tapering in the conveying direction F. The incoming containers are thus centered and guided by the inlet region 22 which tapers in the conveying direction F in such a way that, once they have passed the closure transfer section, they can be simply provided with a closure, for example in the form of a closure sleeve, which is applied, for example rolled up, by means of a closure mechanism which is not shown, once they have been transferred together with the closure sleeve onto the closure carousel 10.

The closure device 1 configured in this way therefore allows containers or container necks to be safely taken over from the inlet opening 20 even at relatively high speeds by means of the inlet region 22 tapering in the conveying direction F and then to be centered in the guide channel 28 in such a way that the pulling away of the container closures at the closure introduction is carried out in such a simple and reliable manner that a subsequent closing process on the closure carousel 12 can be safely carried out, in which, for example, closure sleeves applied to the respective containers can be wound up onto the preformed thread by means of a winding tool.

It is thus avoided that, when pulling off the respective container closure, in particular when pulling off the closure sleeve for a roll-up closure, this pulling-off either does not work at all, or an incomplete or skewed positioning of the closure sleeve occurs, so that, in the case of a subsequent roll-up or roll-up closure, a faulty closure may occur, or even a correct closure may not occur at all.

The inlet guide 2 can also be designed such that the containers, in particular the container necks, are completely guided by means of the guide channel 28 until the containers are inserted into the respective transport pockets 14 of the transport stars 12 of the closure carousel. The guiding of the containers thus takes place after the transfer of the star nipple up to the transfer to the respective closing head or to the transport bag 14 associated with the respective closing head.

The tapered inlet region 22 extends in the conveying direction F preferably only in a section of the guide channel 28 in which a transfer or removal of the respective container closure has not yet taken place. In other words, the tapering of the inlet region 22 is preferably completed before the connection of the closure or closure sleeve, so that the container mouth is already completely aligned at the moment when the container neck or container mouth passes the respective closure lead-in, in order to reliably transfer the container closure, for example the closure sleeve, to the container to be closed.

The closure carousel may also have a lower transport star, not shown here, which additionally guides the containers to be closed in the belly region thereof. Here, the container stands, for example, on a transport plate. The container to be closed is thus guided not only in its neck region by means of the transport star 12, but also in its belly region by means of the lower transport star, the container standing on a transport plate.

With the inlet region 22 thus formed, which tapers in the conveying direction F, it is also possible to implement an upstream transport star which, in conventional closure devices, is equipped with a complex guide arrangement, typically in three horizontal planes, that is to say two guide means in the region of the web of the respective containers to be transported and one guide means in the region of the neck of the respective containers to be transported, more easily.

In particular, an upper guide level for the container neck can be dispensed with, for example, because a corresponding alignment of the container to be closed into the closure device can be achieved by the inlet region 22 of the inlet guide 2 tapering in the conveying direction F, which is sufficient for the closure to be reliably taken over and pulled away.

The inlet guide 2 is preferably designed such that the inlet guide 2 guides the containers conveyed by the conveying star approximately in the conveying range of 50 ° to 90 ° of rotation of the conveying star. The inlet region 22, which tapers in the conveying direction F, has only a relatively small proportion, for example from 2 ° to 20 °, across the conveying region.

In other words, the inlet guide may advantageously extend through a range of about 5% to 20% of the guide channel 28.

The tapering of the tapered inlet region 22 can, for example, be designed such that at the inlet 20 of the guide channel 28 the width of the guide channel 28 is approximately twice as wide after the tapering in the conveying direction F has been completed.

In a preferred embodiment, the inlet guide 2 is quick-replaceable. In particular, the inner guide blank 24 and/or the outer guide blank 26 can be quickly exchanged, for example to enable adaptation to different types of containers, which for example require different sizes of the guide channel 28 and/or differently contoured

inner edges

240, 260 in order to enable smooth handling of the containers.

The parts of the inlet guide are preferably fastened to the closure device 1 by means of a plug connection, so that the replacement can preferably be carried out without tools.

Where applicable, all individual features shown in the embodiments may be combined with and/or interchanged with one another without departing from the scope of the invention.

Description of reference numerals:

1 closure device

10 sealer turntable

11 fixing part

12 transport star

14 transport bag

2 Inlet guide

20 inlet

22 inlet area

24 inner guide blank

26 outer guide blank

240 inner edge

260 inner edge

28 guide channel

30 long hole

F direction of conveyance

Claims

1. A closure device (1) for closing filled containers with container closures, comprising a closure carousel (10), the closure carousel (10) having at least two closure mechanisms arranged on its circumference and transport bags (14) corresponding thereto, respectively, and an inlet guide (2) for taking over a container to be closed from an upstream conveyor and for transferring the container to the transport bag (14),

characterized in that the inlet guide (2) has an inlet region (22) which tapers in the conveying direction (F).

2. The closure device as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the inlet guide (2) has a guide channel (28), wherein the tapering inlet region (22) is part of the guide channel (28).

3. The closure device (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the tapered inlet region (22) constitutes only a part of the guide channel (28), in particular only 5 to 20% of the length of the guide channel (28).

4. A closure device (1) according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the guide channel (28) is constituted between an inner guide blank (24) and an outer guide blank (26).

5. The closure device (1) according to claim 4, characterized in that an inner edge (240, 260) of the guide blank (24, 26) pointing towards the guide channel (28) is contoured and in particular chamfered.

6. A closure device (1) according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the width of the guide channel (28) at its inlet (20) is twice as wide as after the tapering in the conveying direction (F) has been completed.

7. A closure device (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein a closure introduction portion for introducing a container closure into the inlet guide (2) is provided and the tapering of the inlet region (22) viewed in the conveying direction F is completed before the closure is transferred to a container to be closed.

8. A closure device (1) according to claim 7, wherein the closure introduction portion is configured to introduce a closure sleeve for a roll-up closure.

9. A closure device (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the inlet guide (2) is constructed such that the inlet guide (2) covers 50 ° to 90 ° of the conveying area of the upstream transport star.

10. The closure device (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the inlet guide (2) is constructed to be quickly replaceable, preferably by means of a plug connection.