EP0068588A1

EP0068588A1 - Machine for packaging loose objects, such as apples

Info

Publication number: EP0068588A1
Application number: EP82200794A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Dirk Jan Holtslag
Original assignee: CELBOUW KOELTECHNIEK LUCHT- EN WATERBEHANDELING BV
Current assignee: CELBOUW KOELTECHNIEK LUCHT- EN WATERBEHANDELING BV
Priority date: 1981-06-25
Filing date: 1982-06-23
Publication date: 1983-01-05
Also published as: BR8203735A; IL66121A0; AU8518482A; ES8304005A1; ES513445A0

Abstract

The machine comprises a conveyor belt (2; 41) having means (3), such as holes for determining the position of the objects on it, and means (14, 15, 16, 17) to supply a continuous web (1; 41) of honey comb shaped packaging material above the conveyor belt (2; 41) and to slide that material over the objects lying on the belt. As a consequence most of the cells of the packaging material are filled with an object. The filled packaging material is divided into pieces of certain length and the machine may be provided with an apparatus (22) for packing these pieces into boxes.

Description

The present invention relates to a machine for packaging loose objects, such as apples.
It is known to pack apples in honeycomb shaped packaging material, which can be supplied in a condition in which the cells are closed and the material takes a small space in one direction. This packaging is carried out by hand, whereby the packer spreads a piece of packaging comb, putsit into a box, fills the cells with apples, lays a covering layer of thin card board on such a filled comb, spreads a new piece of packaging comb, lays a covering layer etc. The advantage of the method is that the apples are separately and firmly packed and are displayed well for the client. Disadvantages are that this way of packaging takes too much labour and is therefore too expensive and that the apples may be damaged on the hard edges of the packaging material.
British Patent Specification 1,346,429 discloses a device for packaging loose objects comprising a conveyor belt for moving the objects arranged in rows, and a device for the supply of packaging material so that each object on that conveyor arrives separately into a compartment of the packaging material.
This known machine is meant for packaging bottles and comprises means for the supply of separate longitudinal cardboard strips which have to separate the rows of bottles from each other and means to push separate transverse strips from above into engagement with cuts in the longitudinal strips to form compartments, in each of which a bottle is present. This device is complicated. This counts especially for the means for the supply of the longitudinal strips and the separate means for the supply and manipulating of the transverse strips.
It is an object of the invention to avoid the above- mentioned objections and to provide a machine for packaging loose mostly similar objects such as apples, with which the objects may be packed automatically, anyway with a minimum of labour into honeycomb shaped packaging material, and the risk of damaging is limited to a minimum.
Starting from a machine for packaging loose objects comprising a conveyor belt for moving the objects arranged in rows and a device for the supply of packaging material such that each object on that conveyor belt arrives separately into a compartment of the material, according to the invention this machine is characterized in that the device for the supply of packaging material may supply a continuous web of honeycomb shaped packaging material and may slide this packaging material from above over the objects lying on the conveyor belt, and the conveyor belt is provided with a pattern of positioning determining means substantially corresponding with the pattern of cells in the spread out honeycomb shaped packaging material.
It is possible that the positioning determining means consist of strips secured on the conveyor belt said strips confining compartments, for instance diamond shaped compartments. Another possibility, is that the conveyor is a conveyor belt having a pattern of holes substantially corresponding to the pattern of the cells in the spread out packaging material, and that at the inner side of this conveyor belt provided with holes, a conveyor belt is mounted of which the upper part is held by spacers at a certain distance of the upper part of the conveyor belt provided with holes.
The pattern of the holes or compartments has a certain relation to the pattern of the objects in the ready packaging condition however it is not necessarily that it is exactly the same. By the application of the inner conveyor belt it is prevented that the objects are clenched within the holes of the outer conveyor belt.
To be able to slide packaging material easily over the objects lying on the conveyor, it is preferred that the distance between the compartments or holes or respectively in the conveyor belt, as seen in the conveying direction of the belt, is bigger than the distance between the objects in the ready package after this has left the conveyor.
The device for the supply of a web of honeycomb shaped packaging material comprises preferably a driven toothed wheel, the distance between the teeth substantially corresponding with that of the cells of the packaging material.
A guiding gutter for guiding the packaging material towards the toothed wheel may extend from a stock pile for packaging material.
To slide the honeycomb shaped packaging material over the objects, a pressure roller is mounted behind the toothed wheel.
It is important that the objects are supplied into more or less dosed quantity. Therefore above the supplying end of the conveyor belt a feeding mechanism for the dcsed supply of the objects may be mounted.
To strike objects which lie on other objects on the conveyor belt, at a small distance of the feeding mechanism a driven striker mill can be mounted to provide piling up of the objects.
The packaging material should be moved accurately above the objects arranged on the conveyor belt. Therefore the driving of the toothed wheel and the driving of the conveyor belt are preferably synchronized.
The packaging material forms a very long web which has to be divided into separate pieces. To make this easy the honeycomb shaped packaging material may be provided at regular distances with connections which may be easily broken, such as spot adherences, the outer conveyor belt being provided with pins at the positions corresponding to the connections to be broken.
By the presence of the pins it is avoided that the objects arrive on portions of the conveyor belt which correspond to the positions at which the packaging web is to be divided in separate pieces.
The application of connections to be broken easily makes the material rather expensive. To divide the material into pieces by hand is disadvantageous for several reasons. Therefore it may be highly preferable that the machine includes a device for packing certain lengths of filled packaging honeycomb into boxes, a splitting mechanism being present to split the web of honeycomb packaging material into pieces of certain lengths.
Such a splitting mechanism may comprise one or more splitting bodies divided into two halves, operating means being present to push the splitting bodies into the combs filled with objects and subsequently to move the halves of each splitting body from each other.
The operating means may include a first pneumatic or hydraulic cylinder for the vertical movement of the splitting bodies as well as a second pneumatic or hydraulic cylinder for moving the halves of each splitting body from each other.
The pistion rod of the second cylinder is connected to a parallellogram connection between the first cylinder and a support for the movable halves of the splitting bodies.
The parallellogram construction includes preferably two tumblers mutually connected by a connecting rod said tumblers having each a hinged connection with an eye secured to the first cylinder and a hinged connection with a support for the movable halves of the splitting bodies.
It is important that also the sheets of paper or thin card board, which have to be put between the layers of packaging material filled with objects, are cut to the right length fully automatically and are supplied together with the pieces of filled packaging material into a box.
Therefore it is preferred that means are present for the supply of a support sheet underneath each piece of packaging material filled with objects.
Said means for the supply of a support sheet comprise a roller of support paper, guiding means for guiding the support paper to the upper part of the conveyor with which the packaging material filled with objects is moved towards the device for packing the filled combs into boxes, and a knife for dividing the support paper into pieces having the length of a piece of honeycomb shaped packaging material.
The knife should be able to move between the halves of each splitting body and on the support of the movable halves of the splitting body a pneumatic or hydraulic cylinder for operation of the knife is mounted.
The device for packing the filled combs into boxes may be provided with a number of horizontal series of pins one above the other, said pins being movable between a retracted position and a fixation position in which they protrude through the box wall, the vertical distance between the series of pins at least corresponding to the height of a filled packaging comb.
Additionally the device for packing the filled combs into boxes includes preferably a support for a box standing upside down, of which the bottom turned upwards is folded open.
The operation person will after having laid a plate on the upper row of the pins and after the first packaging strip filled with objects has arrived on that plate, operate the device so that the upper row of pins is retracted, the filled packaging strip will arrive on the next row of pins after which the operating person lays a plate on the filled strip. As soon as the next filled packaging strip has arrived on the second plate, the operating person will make the upper but one series of pins to retract, by which the two filled strips arrive on the second row of pins. These actions are continued until the box is completely filled. Finally the bottom turned upwards is folded up, the box is turned, the upper plate is taken out of the box and the box is closed.
The invention will further be elucidated with the aid of the figures, in which two embodiments are shown.

Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of a piece of honeycomb shaped packaging material filled in accordance with the invention.
Fig. 2 shows a side view of a first embodiment of a machine for packaging apples.
Fig, 3a and 3b show a top view of a machine according to Fig. 2 on a larger scale.
Fig. 4 shows a vertical cross section of a detail of the machine according to Figs. 2 and 2, said detail being meant for packaging into boxes.
Fig. 5 shows a side view of the end portion of a second embodiment of the machine for packaging apples into honeycomb shaped packaging material.
Fig. 6 shows a splitting mechanism in the retracted position on a larger scale.
Fig. 7 shows the splitting mechanism according to Fig. 6 in the splitting position.
Fig. 8 shows a top view of the packaging material, the splitting bodies protruding into the combs.
Fig. 9 shows a front view of the section through the packaging material according to Fig. 8.

The honeycomb shaped packaging material 1, shown in Fig. 1, on which the cells are filled with apples, consists of a number of strips of thin card board positioned one behind the other and adhered to each other according to such a pattern that hexagonal cells are formed as soon as the material is spread perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the strips..
The machine according to Figs. 2 and 3 includes a conveyor 2 for moving the apples arranged according to a certain pattern. This conveyor is a conveyor belt having holes 3 for receiving the apples. The apples are supplied by a conveyor 4 of which the end piece 5 lying above the conveyor 2 reacts on the weight of the apples on it and controls the dosing of the apples, for instance by controlling the velocity of the conveyor 2 or if the weight has exceeded a certain value, to stop the conveyor belt 4.
The function of a driven striking mill 6 is to strike apples which lie on other apples. The supply and metering is controlled so that in each of the openings 3 one apple arrives.
The apples lying in the openings 3 move from the right to the left as seen in Figs. 2 and 3. Inside the conveyor belt 2 a second conveyor belt having no openings, is moving, the upper part of this second conveyor belt 7 having no openings, is moving, the upper part of this second belt is maintained at a distance of for instance 2 cm underneath the upper part of conveyor belt 2 by means of short rollers or other pacers 8. The apples protruding through holes 2 lie on the upper part of the inner belt 7 and consequently they cannot be clenched in the openings 3 of the upper part of conveyor belt 2. The conveyor belts 2 and 7 run over two rollers 11, 12 of which the roller 12 is driven. It is possible to employ only one conveyor belt in which in stead of holes, compartiments are made by means of strips.
The honeycomb shaped packaging material 1 is zig-zagged shaped put into a holder 13 and is drawn from the stock by a driven toothed roller 14, of which the teeth 15 engage into the cells of the packaging material. Obviously the position of the teeth 15 on the roller 14 correspond to that of the cells of the spread packaging material. The' web of material is endless and a guiding gutter 16 for the packaging material extends between the toothed roller 14 and the holder 13.
A roller 17 made of foam material is mounted behind the toothed rollers 14. The function of the foam roller 17 is to push the packaging material downwards so that the apples on the conveyor belt 2 arrive in the cells of the packaging material.
The driving mechanisms of the toothed roller 14 and the conveyor belt 2 are synchronized. Preferably the web of packaging material is stretched in the longitudinal direction about 1.5 times more than corresponds to the final condition in which the package is filled and not anymore subjected to stretching strain. This leads to less damage of the apples and further the cells of the packaging material can be slid more easily over the apples.
The filled packaging material moves on a roller path 18. The web of packaging material must be divided into pieces of certain length which pieces have to be packed in boxes. Therefore the packaging material is provided with breaking spots, for instance carried out as easily breakable adherence spots, of which the rests are indicated by 19 in Fig. 1.
Advancing on the roller table 18 these adherence spots are broken, for instance by the person operating the device for packing the combs into boxes. However, a mechanical breaking of the adherence spots is also possible.
Obviously at the places where the packaging 1 has to be divided into pieces, no apples should arrive. Therefore, the conveyor belt 2 is provided with pins 20 at the position corresponding to the tearing positions. Pin grids 21 are mounted in the supply and discharge area of the conveyor belt 2, and through these grids the pins 20 may move.
The device for packing the filled combs into boxes is indicated in general by the reference number 22. This device is mounted above a roller table 23 and includes a three side frame supporting two opposite plates 24 extending parallel to the conveying direction of the packages. Horizontal series of pins 25 lying one above the other are mounted on these plates 24. In the shown embodiment each series consists of four pins arranged in pairs opposite each other.
The pins 25 are movable by means of hydraulic or pneumatic operating cylinders 26 between a retracted position and the shown fixation position in which they protrude through the wall of a box placed on the roller table 23. The cylindes 26 are connected to plates 27. The vertical distance between the series of pins is somewhat bigger than the height of a filled package 1.
The device 22 can be operated as follows:

A box 28 being turned upside down and having an open folded bottom is placed on the roller table, after which the pins 25 are stung through the box wall, so that the box is fixed. An aluminium plate is laid on the upper roller of pins. The flaps of the open box serve as a guiding for the filled piece of package moving to the inside of the box. After the first filled piece of package, teared from the packaging web, has arrived on the aluminium plate, the operating person will operate the device so that the upper series of pins are retracted, so that the filled package together with the aluminium plate will arrive on the upper but one series of pins. Subsequently the operating person lays a plate of card board or such like material on the first package, after which the second package will be supplied on that card board plate. By retracting the upper but one series of pins the two filled packages arrive on the third series of pins, after which a card board plate is laid on the second package. These actions are continued until the box is filled and discharged on the roller table 23. Finally the bottom is closed, the box is turned, the aluminium plate is removed, the filled box is weighed and the box is closed.

Many modifications are possible within the scope of the main claim. For instance it is not excluded that there is no toothed roller 14 and that the roller 17 is completely responsible for the transport of the packaging web. It is essential that above a conveyor of which apples or other objects are arranged according to a certain pattern, a web of honeycomb shaped packaging material is supplied and this web is slid over the apples on the conveyor so that these apples arrive in the cells. It is not necessary that the honeycombs of the packaging material are hexagonal, also other shapes are possible.
If objects of other measure has to be packed, the conveyor belt 2 and the toothed roller 14 must be replaced. The belt 2 is replaced by moving to each other both rollers 11 and 12 through a hinge mechanism.
Preferably the machine is provided with a side guide along its length to avoid the objects from rolling out of the machine at the sides thereof.
Obviously the device for packing the filled combs into boxes may be used for packing the combs into skeleton cases (crates). The crates are for instance provided with slits for passing the pins.
The filled packaging combs may be packed in crimp foil before they arrive in the box. In that case the product may remain in the protecting packaging combs when the consumer takes it home.
Also in the modified embodiment according to fig. 5-9 honeycomb shaped packaging material filled with apples is supplied from a conveyor belt 41 on a conveyor belt 42.
Conveyor belts 43 form side guidings for the packaging material.
The continuous web of packaging material 44 is divided into pieces by a splitting mechanism 45 and the pieces are packed in boxes as described with respect to figures 1-4, one piece of paper being laid under each piece of filled packaging material. This paper originates from a roller 46 and is guided through guiding rollers 47, 48 onto the upper part of the conveyor 42 under the packaging material. A knife to be described is mounted in the splitting mechanism to cut the paper into pieces of suitable length.
The splitting mechanism, indicated in fig. 6 and 7 on a larger scale, includes a fixed portal 51 secured to the frame of the machine and having a transverse plate 52, and a movable frame 53.
This frame 53 is pivotally suspended at 54, 55 respectively from two tumbles 56, 57 respectively which in their turn are pivotally connected at 58, 59 respectively to two eyes 61, 62 respectively, which are welded to a pneumatic cylinder 63. The upper end of the piston rod 64 of this cylinder 63 is connected to the transverse plate 52 of the portal 51. A hinged connecting rod 65 is mounted between the tumblers 56 and 57.
The upper tumblers 56 is pivotally connected by means of a connecting rod 66 to the piston rod 67 of a pneumatic cylinder 68, which in its turn is connected with a cylinder 63 via a connecting rod 69.
The lower end of cylinder 63 is provided with a plate or beam and two or more splitting cylinder halves 71 are connected at some mutual distance to this beam or plate. An equal number of splitting cylinder halves 72 is connected to the lower beam of the frames 53. Opposite each half 71 there is a half 72.
A pneumatic cylinder 73 is connected to the frame 53, the piston rod 74 of the cylinder 73 carrying a knife 75 meant to cut a piece from a web of paper 76 originating from the roller 46.
The splitting device operates as follows:

In the condition of the mechanim shown in fig. 6 and in which the cylinder 63 has moved upwards, the honeycomb shaped packaging material filled with apples is moved together with a paper sheet 76 by the conveyor 2 in the direction of the box 77 along a length substantially corresponding to the inside measure of the box 77 as seen in the conveying direction of the conveyor 42. This conveyor 42 is automatically stopped.

Subsequently the cylinder 63 is operated and as a consequence this cylinder 63 together with frame 53, tumblers 56, 57, piston rod 67 and splitting cylinders 71, 72 is moved downwards.
The splitting cylinders, of which one half 72 lies somewhat above the other half 71, protrude each in an opening of the honeycomb shaped packaging material (vide fig. 8). These openings are not filled with apples.
Subsequently the cylinder 68 is operated so that the piston rod 67 slides upwards. By means of the connecting rods 68, the tumblers 56, 57 and the connecting rod 65, the frame 53 together with the half 72 of the splitting cylinders will move simultaneously downwards and along about 5cm from the other half 71. As a consequence the packaging material will tear at the glue connection 78.
A smooth tearing is promoted by the plates 81, 82 respectively connected to the planes of the splitting half 71, 72 turned to each other (figure 8).
After the tearing of the packaging material has taken place, the cylinder 73 is operated, so that the knife 75 is moved downwards and cuts the paper 76.
The teared piece of filled packaging material and the cut piece of paper arrive in the right position in the box 77.
In cases that honeycomb shaped packaging material of different dimensions is used, it is necessary that the whole splitting mechanism is movable in the direction of the arrow in fig. 8. It is possible to choose in which openings the splitting members 71, 72 will penetrate.
It is not excluded that the halves 71, 72 are carried out as hollow expandable bodies (bellows), which may obtain a bigger diameter by pressurized air.

Claims

1. Machine for packaging loose objects, comprising a conveyor belt for moving objects arranged in rows, and a device for the supply of packaging material so that each object on the conveyor arrives separately in a compartment of that material, characterized in, that the device (14,15,16,17) for the supply of packaging material may supply a continuous web (1;44) of honeycomb shaped packaging material above the conveyor belt (2;41) and may slide that material from above over the objects lying on the conveyor belt, wherein the conveyor belt (2;41) is provided with a pattern of positioning determining means (3) substantially corresponding to the pattern of the cells in the spread out honeycomb shaped packaging material (1;44).

2. Machine according to claim 1, characterized in, that the conveyor belt (2) is provided with a pattern of holes (3) substantially corresponding to the pattern of the cells in the spread out packaging materials (1) and that at the inner side of the conveyor belt (2) provided with holes a conveyor belt (7) is mounted of which the upper part is held by spacers (8) at a small distance from the upper part of the conveyor belt (2) provided with holes.

3. Machine according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in, that as seen in the conveying direction of the conveyor, the distance between the holes or compartments in or on the conveyor belt (2) is bigger than the distance between the objects in the ready package after this has left the conveyor.

4. Machine according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in, that the device for the supply of a web of honeycomb shaped packaging material includes a driven toothed wheel (14), the distance between the teeth (15) substantially corresponding to that of the cells of the packaging material.

5. Machine according to claim 4, characterized in, that the guiding cutter (16) for guiding the packaging material extends from a stock pile (13) for packaging material towards the toothed wheel (14).

6. Machine according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in, that a pressure roller (17) for sliding the packaging material over the objects is mounted behind the toothed wheel (14).

7. Machine according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in, that a feeding mechanism (4,5) for the dosed supply of the objects is mounted at the supply end of the conveyor belt (2).

8. Machine according to claim 7, characterized in, that a driven striker mill (6) is mounted at a small distance behind the feeding mechanism (4,5) for the feeding of objects.

9. Machine according to one of claims 4-8, characterized in, that the driving mechanisms of the toothed wheel (14) and the conveyor belt (2),are synchronized.

10. Machine according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in, that the honeycomb shaped packaging material (1) is provided at regular distances with connections (9) which may be broken easily, such as spot adherences, and that the conveyor belt (2) at positions corresponding to the connections to be broken is provided with pins (20).

11. Machine according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in, that the discharge conveyor (2) has a transport connection with a device (22) for packing certain lengths of filled packaging comb into boxes, wherein the machine includes a splitting mechanism (45) for splitting the web of honeycomb shaped packaging material into pieces of certain lengths.

12. Machine according to claim 11, characterized in, that the splitting mechanism includes one or more splitting bodies each divided into two halves (71,72), and that operating means (63,64,67,68) are present to push the splitting bodies into combes not filled with objects and to subsequently move the halves of each splitting body from each other.

13. Machine according to claim 12, characterized in, that the operating means comprise a first pneumatic or hydraulic cylinder (63,64) for the vertical movement of the splitting bodies and a second pneumatic or hydraulic cylinder (67,68) for moving the halves of each splitting body from each other.

14. Machine according to claim 13, characterized in, that the piston rod (67) of the second cylinder is pivotally connected to a parallellogram connection (66,67,65) between the first cylinder (63) and a support (53) for the movable half (73) of the splitting bodies.

15. Machine according to claim 14, characterized in, that the parallellogram construction includes two tumblers (56,57) mutually connected by a connecting rod (65) and each having a pivotal connection (58,59) with an eye (61,62) connected to a first cylinder and a pivotal connection (54,55) with a support (63) for the movable halves (72) of the splitting bodies.

16. Machine according to one of the claims 11-15, characterized by means (46,47,48,42) for the supply of a sheet of paper underneath each piece of filled packaging material.

17. Machine according to claim 16, characterized in, that said means for the supply of paper sheet is provided with a roller of paper (46), guiding means (47,48) for guiding paper to the upper part of the conveyor (42) with which the filled packaging material is supplied to the device for packing the filled combes into boxes, and a knife (75) for dividing the paper into sheets having the length of a piece of comb shaped packaging material.

18. Machine according to claim 17, characterized in, that the knife (75) may move downwards between the halves (71,72) of each splitting body, and that a pneumatic or hydraulic cylinder (73) for operating a knife is mounted on the support (53).

19. Machine according to one of claims 11-18, characterized in, that the device for packing filled combes into boxes is provided with a number of horizontal series of pins (25) one above the other, said pins being movable between a retracted position and a fixation position, in which they protrude through the box wall, the vertical distance between the series of pins at least corresponding to the height of a filled packaging comb.

20. Machine according to claim 19, characterized in, that the device for packing the filled combs into boxes is provided with a support for a box of which the bottom is turned upwards and is folded open.