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The present invention relates to an automatic machine for filling containers, for example boxes or crates, with loose products, in particular with fruit and vegetable products.
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Various machines for loading loose products into crates currently exist.
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One of these machines includes a conveyor for the crates, which arrive at a duct for feeding the loose products which is substantially constituted by an undulated duct entering from above each crate, rotated about a vertical axis. The products leave the duct without suffering bruises since the duct is undulated, are arranged circumferentially about the outlet of the duct during the rotation of the crate.
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As the crate fills in layers, the feed duct rises until the crate is completely filled.
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This type of automatic machine has a rather low yield and furthermore has the drawback that the crates are not filled completely, especially at their corners.
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Another type of automatic machine includes a continuous conveyor for the crates, which in this case, too, are placed at a feed duct loading into the crate a row of loose products at a time along the entire length or width of the crate and then moving parallel to the deposited row, and so on until a first layer is formed on the bottom of the crate. Further rows of loose products are laid above the layer thus formed, so as to form a second layer superimposed on the preceding one, and so forth.
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However, although this automatic machine has the advantage, with respect to the preceding one, of allowing higher operating speeds, it too has the drawback of defective crate filling: the sensors which determine a forward (or backward) movement of the feed duct "feel" the level of each deposited layer but cannot take into account possible empty spaces between the individual products along the same row; essentially, when the duct deposits a row of products, the row is likely to be discontinuous, with empty spaces located also and especially at the ends of the row; each layer deposited inside the crate thus has a non-uniform arrangement of products, and this ultimately leads to failure to completely fill each crate.
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There are other dry automatic machines which use methods entailing the use of a feed duct substantially similar to those described above, and there are also other wet systems which are in any case very expensive and currently virtually abandoned.
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A principal aim of the present invention is to provide an automatic machine for loading loose products into containers such as boxes or crates which allows to provide: a high work potential (number of crates filled in an hour); a high degree of delicateness in the filling operation, which is indispensable for the handling of some fruit and vegetable products which are particularly sensitive to bruising (e.g. Golden apples, Ozark Gold apples, Stark Delicious apples, etc.); an excellent percentage of filling of each crate; and simplicity, economy and functionality in the construction of the machine with respect to the performance provided.
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With this aim and other aims in view, there is provided, according to the present invention, an automatic filling machine comprising: at least one product feeder which is guided substantially horizontally; means for actuating said feeder with a reciprocating motion parallel to the product advancement direction; at least one supporting frame for a container oscillatably articulated to the outlet of said feeder; and means for actuating said frame from a raised parking position, in which said container is inclined so that its mouth is directed towards said feeder at a preset maximum angle, to successive parking positions in which the container assumes progressively decreasing angles; in which said feeder, in said parking positions, is able to perform an advancement stroke inside said container and a return stroke during which products are unloaded into the crate.
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Further characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof, illustrated only by way of non-limitative example in the accompanying drawings, wherein:
- figure 1 is a perspective view of the filling machine according to the present invention;
- figure 2 is a front view of the filling machine;
- figure 3 is a view of a detail of the guiding means of the feeder; and finally
- figures 4 to 12 illustrate successive operating steps of the filling machine.
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With reference to figures 1, 2 and 3, the filling machine comprises a framework 1 having a base composed of two mutually parallel members 2 and 3 connected by cross-members 4 and 5.
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Two vertical posts 6 and 7 rise from the members 2 and 3 and are connected by a horizontal stringer 8 at their top. Two respective lugs 9 and 10 are rigidly associated with the posts 6 and 7 and extend parallel to the members 2 and 3; a frame 11 for supporting the containers to be filled, constituted by parallelepipedal crates in the case shown, is pivoted in said lugs. Said frame 11 is composed of a rectangular platform constituted by a pair of parallel strips 12 and 13 connected by cross-members 14 and 15. Two uprights 16 and 17 rise vertically from the ends of the strips 12 and 13 which are proximate to the posts 6 and 7, and are stiffened by diagonal members 18 and 19 having, at their top, coaxial pivots 20 and 20a for the articulation of the frame 11 in the lugs 9 and 10.
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Two shafts 21 and 22 are rotatably supported at the opposite ends of the strips 12 and 13; respective gears are keyed on the opposite ends of said shafts and are not visible in the drawings since they are accommodated in appropriate seats formed in the strips 12 and 13. Two chains 23 and 24 mesh with the gears, are closed in a loop and slidingly rest on the upper edges of the strips 12 and 13. The chains 23 and 24 can be actuated by means of a reduction unit 25 (figure 2) which motorizes the shaft 21 and is mounted on the platform of the frame below the plane passing through the upper portions of the chains. The frame 11 is completed by two articulated wings 26 and 27 protruding from the internal faces of the uprights 16 and 17 and suitable to oscillate in order to be arranged so as to allow the passage of the crates on the platform when they are engaged by said crates, or act as support for the crates during filling, as will become apparent hereinafter.
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Two respective brackets 28 and 29 are fixed to the inward faces of the posts 6 and 7, and a shaft 30 is rotatably supported between said brackets and can be actuated by means of a gearmotor 30a applied to the bracket 28. Two pinions 31 and 32 are keyed on the shaft 30, at its opposite ends, and mesh with respective racks 33 and 34 which are fixed to the lateral sides or panels 35 and 36 of a feeder generally designated by the reference numeral 37.
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The feeder 37 comprises a belt 38 horizontally closed in a loop around a pair of rollers mounted between the sides 35 and 36 at opposite ends of the feeder and motorized by a gearmotor 39. On the end where the products exit, the feeder has an articulated chute 40 above which a cylindrical brush 40a (see figure 4) is arranged, said brush having the purpose of controlling the descent of the products into the crate.
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The gearmotor 30a is used to make the feeder 37 move in a reciprocating manner along a horizontal plane. For this purpose, the feeder is slidingly guided by a series of lateral rollers. As more clearly illustrated in figure 3, which shows the support of the feeder on the side of the lateral panel 35, a roller 41 is mounted in a cantilever manner on the bracket 28 and engages in a channel 42 formed on the lateral panel below the rack 33. A similar construction is provided on the side of the lateral panel 36.
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Further rollers (not shown) for engaging in the channel 42 are mounted in a cantilever manner on bars 43 protruding horizontally from the posts 6 and 7 in the direction opposite to the frame 11. The bars 43 rest on the ground by means of feet 44 and are stiffened by struts 45 and 46. A lifting device is provided for the lifting of the frame 11 and comprises a shaft 47 rotatably mounted at the top of the posts 6 and 7 and actuated by a gearmotor 48 which is fixed to the post 6.
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Two pulleys 49 and 50 are keyed on the shaft 47, and two cables 51 and 52 are coupled to them; the opposite ends of said cables are fixed to pins 53 and 54 protruding laterally from the strips 12 and 13 proximate to the ends which are furthest from the posts 6 and 7.
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The operation of the described filling machine is as follows. The crate 55 to be filled, see figure 4, is arranged on a conveyor belt 56 below the feeder 37 and in alignment with the chains 23 and 24 of the frame 11 on which the crate 57 which has just been filled rests.
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By actuating the gearmotor reduction unit 25, the crate 57 is transferred onto a receiving belt 58 (figures 5 and 6), while the belt 56 transfers the empty crate onto the chains 23 and 24.
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As soon as the crate 55 to be filled has passed, with its rear wall, beyond the wings 26 and 27, the gearmotor 25 is stopped and the gearmotor 48 of the lifter is actuated; by means of the cables 51 and 52, the lifter raises the frame 11 into the position in which the crate 55 is tilted with its mouth directed towards the feeder (figure 7).
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At this point, the feeder 37 is made to advance, by actuating the gearmotor 30a, until the chute 40 is at the lowermost internal corner of the crate 55, at which the products are unloaded. Simultaneously with product unloading, the feeder 37 is moved backward, so that the products are arranged according to a stratification which is horizontal but inclined (figure 8) with respect to the bottom of the crate. When the feeder is moved backward, the frame 11 is lowered by an appropriate extent (figure 9) and the feeder is again inserted in the crate to deposit a new layer of products (figure 10) during the return stroke.
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The above described process is repeated until the crate is filled (figures 11 and 12); when filling ends, the frame 11 is rested on the base (figure 4) to remove the crate on the receiving belt 58.
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As can be seen, the described filling machine allows a delicate placement of the products on the previously deposited layers without said products having to roll from the point where they are introduced in the crate towards peripheral regions. In this manner the danger of damage to the products is avoided and complete filling of the crate is ensured.
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The filling machine is susceptible to numerous modifications and variations, all of which are within the scope of the inventive concept. For example, rotation of the frame 11 can be obtained by providing, instead of the pivots 20, a shaft actuated by a motor and to which the top ends of the uprights 16 and 17 are rotatably coupled.
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In the practical execution of the device according to the present invention, the dimensions and shapes will vary according to the requirements.
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In particular, it is possible to provide two or more feeders, a related frame for supporting a container being associated with each feeder.
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Where technical features mentioned in any claim are followed by reference signs, those reference signs have been included for the sole purpose of increasing the intelligibility of the claims and accordingly such reference signs do not have any limiting effect on the scope of each element identified by way of example by such reference signs.
