EP0077302B1 - Method and machine for packaging several individually wrapped food products - Google Patents

Method and machine for packaging several individually wrapped food products Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0077302B1
EP0077302B1 EP82830078A EP82830078A EP0077302B1 EP 0077302 B1 EP0077302 B1 EP 0077302B1 EP 82830078 A EP82830078 A EP 82830078A EP 82830078 A EP82830078 A EP 82830078A EP 0077302 B1 EP0077302 B1 EP 0077302B1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
products
wrapper
group
predetermined number
plastics film
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired
Application number
EP82830078A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
French (fr)
Other versions
EP0077302A1 (en
Inventor
Renzo Francioni
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Cavanna SpA
Original Assignee
Cavanna SpA
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Cavanna SpA filed Critical Cavanna SpA
Publication of EP0077302A1 publication Critical patent/EP0077302A1/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP0077302B1 publication Critical patent/EP0077302B1/en
Expired legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65B—MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING
    • B65B23/00—Packaging fragile or shock-sensitive articles other than bottles; Unpacking eggs
    • B65B23/10—Packaging biscuits
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65B—MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING
    • B65B9/00—Enclosing successive articles, or quantities of material, e.g. liquids or semiliquids, in flat, folded, or tubular webs of flexible sheet material; Subdividing filled flexible tubes to form packages
    • B65B9/06—Enclosing successive articles, or quantities of material, in a longitudinally-folded web, or in a web folded into a tube about the articles or quantities of material placed upon it
    • B65B9/067—Enclosing successive articles, or quantities of material, in a longitudinally-folded web, or in a web folded into a tube about the articles or quantities of material placed upon it the web advancing continuously

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a method and a machine for packaging, by means of a continuously-shaped plastics film wrapper, several food products individually wrapped.
  • multipaks packages are usually called “multipaks” and contain about five or six food products, for example, chocolate-covered biscuits, which are individually wrapped in plastics films for obvious hygienic reasons.
  • These wrapped products usually have the shape of elongate, flattened parallelepipeds and are arranged flat and side-by- side in the "multipak" package.
  • the patent CH-A-400 892 discloses a method for shaping, by means of a continuously-shaped plastics film wrapper multiple packages each containing a group of a predetermined number of products, said method comprising the successive steps of taking the products from a store in which they are stacked, conveying them towards the shaping plastics film wrapper one at a time and with individual drive and introducing them into the plastics film wrapper in groups of predetermined number.
  • the anomalous arrangement of the group of products results in the formation of a multiple pack which is itself defective and often even compromises the heat-sealing and cutting of the plastics film between one pack and another. In such a case, a stoppage of the production cycle is incurred, in addition to wasted production.
  • the arrangement of groups of predetermined number is achieved by periodically stopping the removal of the products from the store.
  • a multiple package of the so-called “multipak” type contains in a plastics film wrapper 2, five food products each indicated 3, and individually wrapped in respective plastics film wrappings indicated 4; the ends of the plastics film wrappers 2, 4 are heat sealed, forming edges indicated 5 and 6 respectively.
  • the food products for example, chocolate-covered biscuits, have the shape of elongate, flattened parallelepipeds and are arranged side- by-side and flat in the package 1.
  • a machine for carrying out the method according to the invention is generally indicated 7.
  • the machine 7 comprises a support frame 8, and a chain conveyor 9 having a closed chain 10 driven around two pulleys, not shown, by drive means 11.
  • a plurality of pusher plates is associated with the chain 10 and is arranged therealong in groups of five, corresponding to the desired number of products 3 to be wrapped in each package 1.
  • the pusher plates are equally spaced with a spacing slightly greater than the width of the individual products 3.
  • the groups of pusher plates are spaced from each other by a length equivalent to about three spacings.
  • the chain conveyor 9 extends between a store 13 in which the products 3 coming from a conventional wrapping machine are stacked, and a plastics film wrapper 14 which is being shaped continuously.
  • the wrapper 14 is shaped conventionally from a sheet of plastics film 15 which is unrolled through idle rollers 16 from a reel, not shown, being folded on itself to form at first a funnel-shaped mouth and then a tubular envelope, and heat sealed along the folded and juxtaposed edges.
  • the chain conveyor 9 has one end 9a surmounted by the stack of products in the store 13, and its opposite end 9b leading into the funnel-shaped mouth of the wrapper 14.
  • the machine 7 Downstream of the conveyor 9, the machine 7 includes a conveyor belt 17 which is essentially a continuation of the chain conveyor, as well as a conventional head 18 for heat sealing and cutting of the tubular wrapper 14.
  • the chain conveyor 9 also has lateral guide walls for the products 3, indicated 19, the gauge of which corresponds to the length of the individual products 3. Along a section 19a of predetermined length close to the store 13, the walls 19 diverge slightly towards the store to form a lead- in section for the products 3.
  • Rods 20 are fixed releasably above the chain conveyor 9 along substantially its entire length, while a horizontal plate 21 is fixed to the store 13 above the chain conveyor.
  • each pusher plate 12 removes a respective product 3 from the store 13, and conveys it with positive drive towards the shaping wrapper 14 until it introduces it therein.
  • the individual products 3 in the store 13 are continuously transported and introduced into the shaping wrapper 14 one at a time with individual drive, and arranged in groups of five in accordance with the arrangement of the pusher plates 12 in groups of five.
  • the plate 21 prevents the product 3 just removed from jumping upwardly due to the other products 3 still in the stack pressing downwardly by gravity.
  • the heat sealed edges 6 are folded by the portions 19a of the walls 19 into positions in which they are close against the products 3.
  • the rods 20 ensure that the products 3 do not rise from the conveyor 9, for example, due to sticking or springing back of the heat sealed edges 6.
  • the products 3 are conveyed thereby along the conveyor belt 17, along which the tubular wrapper is heat sealed and cut at the spaces between one group of products 3 and another to shape the desired packages 1.
  • the arrangement of the wrapped products in groups of predetermined number may be achieved by the periodic stopping of a conveyor provided with pusher plates all along its length without break, rather than by stopping the removal from the store by means of a conveyor having pusher plates arranged in groups, as described previously.
  • the machine 22 comprises a support frame 23 with a chain conveyor 24 having a closed chain 25 driven around two pulleys, not shown, by intermittent drive means 26.
  • a chain conveyor 24 having a closed chain 25 driven around two pulleys, not shown, by intermittent drive means 26.
  • Associated with the chain 25 is a plurality of pusher plates, each indicated 27, equally spaced therealong without a break and with spacings slightly greater than the width of the individual products.
  • the chain conveyor 24 extends between a store 28, in which the products 3 from the conventional wrapping machine are stacked in five stacks, and a plastics film wrapper 29 which is being shaped continuously and is the same as the wrapper 14 of the machine 7 described above.
  • the chain conveyor 24 has an end section 24a adjacent the five stacks of the store 28 and its opposite end 24b leads into the funnel-shaped mouth of the wrapper 29.
  • the store 28 is provided with five pushers 30, each placed in correspondence with a respective stack of products 3.
  • the machine 22 Downstream of the conveyor 24, the machine 22 includes a belt conveyor 31 and a heat sealing and cutting head 32 exactly like the conveyor belt 17 and the head 18 of the machine 7 described above.
  • the chain 25 effects a movement equal to five spaces. This movement is effected at a speed greater than the speed of the wrapper under formation.
  • the pushers 30 are actuated to remove five products 3 from the store 28 and transfer them onto the conveyor 24, each being inserted into a space between two pusher plates 27.
  • the chain is set in motion in the direction of arrow G to carry the products 3 towards the shaping plastics film wrapper 29, each product being driven positively by a respective pusher plate 26.
  • the chain stops again to receive, by means of the pushers 30, a further five products 3, and so on, to completely fill the chain.
  • the products 3 When the products 3 reach the end 24b of the conveyor 24, they are introduced, upon movement of the chain between one stop and the next, one at a time, and with individual drive, into the plastics film wrapper 29 which draws them in the direction of the arrow G.
  • the periodic stoppage of the belt causes an intermittent feed of the products 3 to the wrapper 29 so that the products 3 are arranged therein in groups of five.
  • the wrapper 29 containing the groups of products encounters the head 32, which effects in steps the heat sealing and cutting of the wrapper itself.
  • the desired packages 1 are obtained and, in this case, are entirely rigid and compact due to the fact that the products 3 therein are packed tightly against each other.
  • the main advantage of the present invention lies in the fact that it allows multiple packages of the so-called "multipak" type to be obtained rapidly and safely with an entirely regular shape and consistency.
  • the invention provides rigid compact multiple packages by virtue of the fact that the products therein are packed tightly against each other.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Wrapping Of Specific Fragile Articles (AREA)
  • Container Filling Or Packaging Operations (AREA)
  • Containers And Plastic Fillers For Packaging (AREA)
EP82830078A 1981-07-17 1982-04-01 Method and machine for packaging several individually wrapped food products Expired EP0077302B1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
IT22990/81A IT1167475B (it) 1981-07-17 1981-07-17 Metodo e macchina per ottenere, tramite un involucro di cellofan formato in continuo, confezioni di piu' prodotti alimentari singolarmente cellofanati
IT2299081 1981-07-17

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0077302A1 EP0077302A1 (en) 1983-04-20
EP0077302B1 true EP0077302B1 (en) 1985-11-21

Family

ID=11202620

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP82830078A Expired EP0077302B1 (en) 1981-07-17 1982-04-01 Method and machine for packaging several individually wrapped food products

Country Status (5)

Country Link
EP (1) EP0077302B1 (it)
CH (1) CH650460A5 (it)
DE (1) DE3267519D1 (it)
ES (1) ES512389A0 (it)
IT (1) IT1167475B (it)

Families Citing this family (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
IT1232579B (it) * 1989-02-13 1992-02-26 Cavanna Spa Procedimento ed apparecchiatura per formare confezioni multiple di prodotti particolarmente prodotti alimentari
DE19923839A1 (de) * 1999-05-26 2000-11-30 Mitsubishi Polyester Film Gmbh Sammelpacksystem enthaltend eine siegelfähige Polyesterfolie

Family Cites Families (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CH374587A (de) * 1959-08-31 1964-01-15 Sig Schweiz Industrieges Vorrichtung zum kontinuierlichen Herstellen von Packungen
CH400892A (de) * 1963-05-08 1965-10-15 Sig Schweiz Industrieges Vorrichtung zum Gruppieren und Zuführen von Gegenständen
CA948540A (en) * 1970-07-28 1974-06-04 Harry S. Swanson Cigar pack wrapping apparatus

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
CH650460A5 (it) 1985-07-31
IT1167475B (it) 1987-05-13
DE3267519D1 (en) 1986-01-02
IT8122990A0 (it) 1981-07-17
ES8305267A1 (es) 1983-04-16
EP0077302A1 (en) 1983-04-20
ES512389A0 (es) 1983-04-16

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