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
  • B65B31/00—Packaging articles or materials under special atmospheric or gaseous conditions; Adding propellants to aerosol containers
  • B65B31/02—Filling, closing, or filling and closing, containers or wrappers in chambers maintained under vacuum or superatmospheric pressure or containing a special atmosphere, e.g. of inert gas
  • B65B31/022—Filling, closing, or filling and closing, containers or wrappers in chambers maintained under vacuum or superatmospheric pressure or containing a special atmosphere, e.g. of inert gas the chambers moving in an endless path
• • 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
  • B65B3/00—Packaging plastic material, semiliquids, liquids or mixed solids and liquids, in individual containers or receptacles, e.g. bags, sacks, boxes, cartons, cans, or jars
  • B65B3/04—Methods of, or means for, filling the material into the containers or receptacles
  • B65B3/16—Methods of, or means for, filling the material into the containers or receptacles for filling collapsible tubes

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a machine and a method for filling and sealing containers such as flexible tubes or rigid tanks provided with a fluid dispenser.
• the machine defined by the invention therefore finds its application in the field of packaging of fluid products in general, and more particularly of cosmetic or pharmaceutical products such as creams, milks, or even more liquid products.
• a widely used technique which can be used for insensitive products consists in providing the reservoir containing said product with a so-called "air-less" distribution device, that is to say without air intake: progressively of the product distribution, the volume of the tank decreases correspondingly so that the product is never in contact with the air in the tank.
• This type of dispensing device is commonly used for products subject to oxidation.
• Document US 3,006,120 describes an apparatus for emptying air from bags, then filling them with gas and sealing them.
• Each pocket is brought into a rotating carousel comprising sixteen enclosures each intended to receive a pocket.
• Each enclosure comprising a bucket and a cover to which is connected an air discharge hose and a gas filling line.
• Each cover is also provided with a jaw sealing system.
• lines and sealing systems There are therefore as many lines and sealing systems as there are enclosures, i.e. sixteen exhaust air lines, sixteen gas filling lines and sixteen sealing systems. It is also necessary to break the vacuum in each enclosure to remove the filled and sealed bag and introduce a new bag. This takes time.
• the product packaged in the pockets that is to say the gas
• the evacuation of the air has the sole aim of improving the filling in gas, not to preserve gas from the air.
• the filling gas occupies the entire volume of the enclosure so that there is certainly only gas in the pocket when it is sealed. This is not the case with liquid products.
• preservatives For very sensitive products, it is also necessary to incorporate preservatives in the product to improve stability, because the product can be in contact with air before packaging.
• preservatives has an impact on the cost price of the product and may, for some, even cause allergic reactions in the user.
• the aim of the present invention is to remedy the drawbacks of the prior art by defining a machine for packaging sensitive liquid products which makes it possible to reduce, or even eliminate, the preserving agents.
• the machine must be able to operate at a high rate. It must also be as compact as possible.
• the subject of the present invention is a packaging machine for filling and sealing containers, said machine comprising a plurality of stations at which packaging operations are carried out using packaging means, the stations comprising at at least one filling station and one sealing station, said machine comprising means of transport for circulating the containers along a path passing through the various stations, the stations being arranged in a enclosure where there is a vacuum.
• Another visible advantage produced by the invention resides in the fact that the speed of the machine can be accelerated, given that there is no longer any break in the vacuum of air during the filling and sealing step.
• all the stations are common to all the containers by circulating from one station to another. This is not the case in the device of document US 3 006 120 where each container is placed in an individual enclosure equipped with packaging stations. Once the container is filled and sealed, the enclosure is opened. This is not the case here with a single enclosure housing all the stations. The enclosure does not need to be opened during normal operation.
• the means of transport are in the form of a rotary carousel equipped with a plurality of receiving means for receiving the containers.
• the path described by the means of transport therefore forms a loop.
• the enclosure comprises a vacuum bell which covers said plurality of stations in an airtight manner.
• the packaging means are subject to the vacuum bell.
• the bell is provided with an airlock for introducing empty containers and an airlock for ejecting filled and sealed containers.
• the packaging means comprise hot air sealing means intended to seal flexible containers.
• This sealing technique by air heating is a known technique in the packaging of products in flexible tubes or envelopes.
• a paradoxical characteristic of the present invention is that such a technique is used in a vacuum enclosure. While other known techniques, such as ultrasonic welding, induction or heating jaws are more easily conceivable in an enclosure where an air vacuum prevails, since not using air, the technique used in the invention goes against the requirements for vacuum sealing, since hot air is drawn into the enclosure, which would normally break or weaken the vacuum.
• the air heating technique is advantageous compared to the previously mentioned techniques, because the mechanics are simpler and only heat the internal wall of the flexible container. In addition, it makes it possible to obtain higher rates high. With heated jaws, it is necessary to have three or four pairs of jaws to obtain the same rate.
• the packaging means comprise crimping means for crimping a dispensing device on the neck of a reservoir.
• the packaging means comprise latching means for latching a dispensing device on the neck of a container.
• the vacuum chamber includes an airlock for introducing distribution devices.
• the machine according to the invention may include a plurality of stations specifically adapted to the packaging of several different types of containers.
• the reception means can be modular or interchangeable depending on the type of receptacles to be accommodated.
• the single figure represents a versatile packaging machine produced in accordance with the present invention.
• the machine model chosen to illustrate the present invention is of the versatile type, namely that it is suitable for conditioning both flexible tubes and rigid tanks.
• the flexible tubes are filled by the bottom of the tube which is left open to allow filling. Once the product has been introduced into the flexible tube, the bottom of the tube is sealed. This sealing operation of the bottom of the tube is generally carried out by heat sealing. This is why the flexible tubes must be produced with a material capable of softening at a relatively low temperature.
• the flexible tubes are made of plastic.
• rigid tanks generally made of glass or metal
• the filling operation is carried out by the neck of the tank.
• the tank sealing operation is carried out by fixing the chosen dispensing device. There are several methods of attaching a dispensing device to the neck of a rigid tank.
• the dispensing device can be crimped or snapped into place.
• the machine shown in the single figure therefore has a versatile character, since it is capable of processing these two types of packaging.
• a machine capable of processing only one type of packaging, flexible tube or rigid container can be envisaged without departing from the scope of the invention.
• the machine proposed by the present invention makes it possible to package a liquid to creamy, but preferably creamy, product in the types of packaging described above, from filling to sealing.
• the packaging steps from filling to sealing takes place in an environment where an air vacuum prevails. Consequently, the packaged product is never in contact with air.
• the versatile packaging machine has a generally cylindrical shape essentially comprising two parts, namely a lower part forming a base 1 and an upper part formed by a bell transparent 2.
• the base 1 comprises an outer protective shell of cylindrical shape enclosing an adequate motor capable of generating a rotational movement whose axis 20 passes centrally through the base and the transparent bell 2.
• the motor enclosed in the base 1 is also equipped with indexing means which make it possible to block the rotation generated by the motorization in predetermined locations.
• On the axis of rotation 20 is mounted a rotary table 10 of annular shape and of size substantially corresponding to that of the protective shell of the base 1.
• the rotary table 10 therefore forms an indexing carousel comprising a plurality of buckets for receiving the containers (flexible tubes or rigid containers).
• Each bucket 101 to 110 is actuated by a raising and lowering cylinder (not shown) located below the rotary table 10 in the base 1.
• Each bucket under the action of its respective cylinder, is therefore capable of perform a vertical translational movement.
• the indexing carousel formed by the turntable 10 is only one embodiment of means of transport adapted to circulate the containers. It is of course possible to imagine other versions of means of transport, for example along straight trajectories.
• a circular path as used in the present invention constitutes only a preferred embodiment for the means of transport necessary for the present invention. Indeed, the movement of all the buckets can be carried out using a single motorization and a single indexing.
• the base 1 comprising the motorization and its rotary table 10 equipped with its buckets is surmounted by the transparent bell 2 of cylindrical shape which rests in an airtight manner on a peripheral edge 11 of the base 1.
• the transparent bell 2 and the base 1 together form a vacuum enclosure.
• a seal for example, can be interposed between the transparent bell 2 and the base 1.
• the transparent bell 2 has a cylindrical peripheral wall 2a and an annular cover 2b.
• the vacuum inside the enclosure is achieved by evacuating the air through a vacuum pipe 3 connecting the bell 2 to a vacuum pump capable of extracting up to 2,000 m ⁇ of air per hour.
• the air pump must also be able to withstand an air supply of the order of a few cubic meters per hour while maintaining a pressure of the order of a few millibars to a few tens of millibars inside the pregnant, for reasons which will be given below.
• the working pressure of the packaging madtiine according to the invention is therefore situated in the pressure range ranging from a few millibars to a few tens of millibars, preferably ten millibars. At this pressure, it can be considered that the product is not in contact with air.
• the indexing of the carousel 10 is adapted to stop the rotation of the turntable so that the buckets 101 to 110 remain static for a relatively short period of time in positions defining a plurality with respective associated conditioning devices or instruments packing stations.
• An individual bucket for example the bucket referenced 101, therefore makes a circular trajectory by making stops at each packaging station.
• the angular difference between the different buckets 101 to 110 must therefore be strictly equal, since each bucket must pass through all the packaging stations.
• the conditioning instruments, units or devices provided at each conditioning station are mounted on the transparent bell 2, either on its peripheral wall 2a, or on its cover 2b.
• Other packaging devices, units or instruments are directly included in the transparent bell 2.
• the devices provided on the transparent bell 2 are those which are intended to introduce or extract something from the bell.
• the other packaging devices provided in the container are those intended to act directly on the container.
• the first packaging device is the introductory lock 21 which is used to introduce the empty containers into the transparent bell 2.
• the introductory lock 21 is shown schematically with its vacuum door 210 which closes the passage hole of the container.
• the empty containers therefore enter the bell through this airlock 21 and are positioned in the successive buckets situated just vertically above the introduction airlock 21. This is how the containers are introduced into the transparent bell 2.
• the rotary table 10 rotates clockwise.
• the following packaging station corresponds to that where the bucket referenced 106 is positioned.
• This packaging station does not require a device fixed to the transparent bell 2. It is the packaging station used for orienting the containers again. empty. This orientation of containers is carried out in a simple manner by rotation of the bucket. Once the container is correctly oriented, the turntable again moves a tenth of a turn to the next packaging station.
• This station includes a filling unit 22 which feeds fluid from a supply line 220. It should be noted that the filling unit is mainly located outside of the transparent bell 2 on its cover 2b . Only the filling tube 221 which enters the container to fill it with product is placed inside the transparent bell 2. Thus, it is not necessary to remove the transparent bell from its base 1 to work on the filling unit mechanism 22.
• the filling unit 22 can be equipped with a product tracking device which allows the filling tube 221 to rise as the container fills with product. Once the container is filled with a sufficient quantity of product, the indexing motor of the rotary table 10 is activated to bring the bucket to the next station.
• the flexible tubes are already equipped with a distribution device such as a pump.
• the bottom of the flexible tube located at the opposite end of the pump is still open because this is where the product is introduced.
• the flexible tubes with their pump and their open end are introduced through the introduction airlock 21 while being arranged upside down, so that the pump is placed in the bucket.
• the flexible tubes are then routed to the filling unit 22 where they are filled.
• the next three posts that we will now detailed are intended for sealing the bottom of the flexible tube.
• the first conditioning station corresponding to the position of the cup 108 is a heating unit 23 which is used to heat the open end of the bottom of the flexible tube in order to soften it to reheat a heat seal. Therefore, once the filled flexible tube has reached the vertical plumb of the heating unit 23, the bucket cylinder is actuated so as to raise the flexible tube until its open end is engaged on the nozzle. heats the heating unit.
• the heating unit 23 is a hot air heating unit adapted to draw hot air from the end of the bottom of the tube to soften it. Paradoxically, air is introduced through the heating unit into the enclosure where an air vacuum prevails. This is why the vacuum pump connected via the vacuum pipe 3 must be able to withstand an air supply of a few cubic meters per hour.
• the supply of hot air delivered through the heating unit is of the order of a few cubic meters per hour at a temperature of 270 to 300 ° C.
• the heating nozzle is supplied with filtered ambient air. This means that if the air supply to and around the machine is sterile or clean, the probability of having a clean vacuum enclosure is greater.
• the welding technique used in the versatile machine of the invention namely by air heating, is a known technique in the packaging of products in flexible tubes or envelopes.
• the air heating technique is advantageous compared to the previously mentioned techniques, because the mechanics are simpler and only heat the inner wall of the bottom of the tube. In addition, it allows higher rates to be obtained. With heated jaws, it is necessary to have three or four pairs of jaws to obtain the same rate.
• the hot air is supplied with a flow of approximately 1 to 12 m-Vhour, preferably 7 m ⁇ / per hour.
• the flexible tube is moved to the next packaging station which is equipped with cold sealing jaws 24 adapted to press the one against the other with the open end of the heated bottom wedged between them.
• This has the effect of applying the heated open end of the tube to itself so as to produce a heat seal. It is therefore essential that the step of pressing the open end of the bottom onto itself takes place shortly after the end has been heated at the heating unit 23.
• the jaws don't do not rise excessively in temperature and the welding takes place as quickly as possible, there is an internal cooling water circuit to cool them.
• the flexible tube is sealed.
• a cutting device 25 intended to cut the end of the bottom of the flexible tube situated beyond the heat seal, this for an aesthetic purpose.
• Plastic scraps can be ejected from the enclosure by a volume airlock.
• the filled and sealed flexible tube is then conveyed to its next conditioning station at which it will be extracted from the enclosure through an ejection lock 29.
• the flexible tube from the station equipped with the cutting device 25 until the ejection lock 29 no longer undergoes any conditioning operation, although it passes and stops at three stations corresponding to the positioning of the buckets 101, 102 and 103.
• the ejection lock 29 can be a reciprocating airlock equipped with a vacuum door 290.
• the multipurpose machine is also suitable for packaging rigid containers on which a dispensing device such as a pump must be mounted. Rigid containers, which can be made of glass, metal or plastic, are introduced through the introduction lock 21 while they are not yet equipped with their pump. They are positioned in the buckets with their mouths open upwards.
• the filled rigid container does not undergo any conditioning operation at the following three stations corresponding to the hot sealing station for flexible tubes.
• the next station at which the filled rigid container undergoes a conditioning operation corresponds to the positioning of the bucket 101.
• the bucket is vertically plumb with a pump introduction lock 26 equipped with a door vacuum 260. The pumps are therefore introduced at this airlock 26 and positioned on the neck or neck of the rigid container filled.
• the filled rigid container then moves to the next station corresponding to the positioning of the bucket 102.
• the bucket is then located vertically below a crimping or latching unit 27.
• a crimping unit or a snap-on unit.
• the fixing of the pump on the neck of the container has the effect of sealing the product inside the container. From this moment, the product contained in the container will no longer have any contact with the air until it is dispensed.
• the crimping diameter and height can be adjusted from the outside without stopping the machine.
• the next station is equipped with a unit for injecting nitrogen or filtered air into the metering chamber of the pump in order to avoid product distribution when the valve is placed on the pump.
• a unit for injecting nitrogen or filtered air into the metering chamber of the pump in order to avoid product distribution when the valve is placed on the pump.
• the filled container with its pump fixed in a sealed manner is ejected from the enclosure through the ejection lock 29, which is also used for ejecting the flexible tubes.
• the airlock systems which are preferably alternative, make it possible to move the containers and the pumps from an atmospheric pressure to a pressure of about 10 millibars without difficulty and without affecting the vacuum.
• the multi-purpose machine according to the invention makes it possible on the one hand to treat several different types of containers (flexible tubes or rigid containers) and on the other hand, makes it possible to carry out resealing and sealing operations in a continuous vacuum of air. This makes it possible to reach high rates, since between each operation, there is no return to atmospheric pressure. All operations are linked in a controlled vacuum atmosphere.
• the units necessary for the introduction or ejection of the containers as well as the units necessary for filling, heating, crimping or snap-fasting and gas injection are mainly located outside of the pregnant. Thus, it is able to intervene on their mechanism without the need to remove the transparent bell 2. Adjustments on these units can even be made during the operation of the multipurpose machine.
• the multipurpose machine chosen to illustrate the invention constitutes only one embodiment of the invention. Indeed, a general-purpose machine can be envisaged with more or less conditioning stations, but all working in an enclosure where there is a continuous vacuum of air.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Dispersion Chemistry (AREA)
• Vacuum Packaging (AREA)
• Basic Packing Technique (AREA)

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• 1999
  • 1999-10-14 FR FR9912800A patent/FR2799730B1/fr not_active Expired - Fee Related
• 2000
  • 2000-10-12 ES ES00968023T patent/ES2203516T3/es not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 2000-10-12 US US10/110,531 patent/US6705062B1/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2000-10-12 WO PCT/FR2000/002844 patent/WO2001026970A1/fr active IP Right Grant
  • 2000-10-12 DE DE60004553T patent/DE60004553T2/de not_active Expired - Fee Related
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