EP1254837A1

EP1254837A1 - Device for inserting bouquets into wraps

Info

Publication number: EP1254837A1
Application number: EP02253117A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Michael John Smith
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2001-05-02
Filing date: 2002-05-02
Publication date: 2002-11-06

Abstract

A wrap filling mechanism comprises a wrap holder (12,13,14,20,21) with a chute (11) above it. The chute has at its lower end a set of fingers (32,43,44) mounted at their upper ends so that their lower ends converge. The fingers (32,43,44) can be lowered (29,31) into the upper open end of a wrap held in the wrap holder, and are flexible so that they open outwardly as a bouquet falls through them and so expand the upper end of the wrap. The lower end of the chute is castellated (33) with the fingers (32,43,44) curving inwardly through the castellations. The fingers (32,43,44) may also be mechanically controlled (45) to be brought together or opened out, and a flexible sleeve (46) may be provided inside the fingers (32,43,44). Means for opening the wraps are also described.

Description

The present invention relates to the filling of conical wraps with bouquets of flowers and the like.

Apparatuses have been proposed for the automatic production of bouquets of flowers wrapped in conical wraps. One such apparatus is described in WO 01/10634 Al. In that and some other apparatuses, the conical wraps are preformed. A wrap is held at a filling station in the open position (after being opened from the flat state if necessary) with its wide end upwards. The bouquet is then dropped into the wrap through a chute from above by gravity. Once the bouquet is in the wrap, it can be moved to other stations if desired for further operations such as applying labels, and eventually discharged.

If the wrap can be supported sufficiently well, then this process is satisfactory. However, it may be difficult or impossible to support the wrap sufficiently firmly. The bouquet may have projecting leaves or side branches near its bottom end, and its direction of fall cannot be controlled accurately. It may therefore strike the side of the wrap and catch on the wrap at that point, instead of passing cleanly to the bottom end of the wrap, so causing the wrap to buckle, fold, or bend. In addition, the upper edge of the wrap may be distorted from the ideal circular shape, so that the bouquet may catch on that upper edge.

A technique is known for assisting in the accurate filling of sleeves with pot plants. In this known technique, an annular mounting collar has several arms mounted around it, each arm carrying on its inner end a downwardly pointing tang. The arms are linked so that they can all be turned together to bring their tangs towards or away from each other. The tangs effectively form the vertexes of a polygon which can be expanded and contracted.

In use, the tangs are brought together and the collar is lowered towards the open mouth of the sleeve. The arms are then rotated so as to move the tangs outwards. As they move outwards, the tangs engage against the inner face of the mouth of the sleeve, and pull that mouth into the form of a regular polygon. The tangs are moved until the material of the sleeve around its mouth is taut or nearly so.

This method seems to work well on sleeves for pot plants that are made from polyethylene which stretch easily and resist tearing. However, it is often desirable for the sleeves for cut flowers have a high lustre and sparkle. Such sleeves therefore have to be made from another material, generally polypropylene. This material is likely to tear when subjected to the mechanism just described.

Another technique, which can be used alone or together with the technique just mentioned, is to lower the bottom end of the chute into the wrap to assist in accurate movement of the bouquet into the wrap. To permit the movement of the chute into the upper open end of the wrap, the chute is desirably telescopic, its upper end being fixed for the delivery of bouquets into it. This may therefore provide a certain resistance to the passage of the bouquet through the telescopic throat. Further, in the case of bouquets which are being formed for onward transmission, eg to retailers, it is desirable for the bouquets to be packed as tightly as possible. In this situation, it is therefore desirable for the chute to hold the bouquet fairly tightly, to prevent it spreading out and so taking up more space.

In all these arrangements, there is the danger that a bouquet may catch during its passage through the chute and into the wrap, so becoming lodged or stuck in the chute or wrap before reaching its intended position with its bottom end protruding through the bottom end of the wrap. Sufficient clearance must obviously be provided for the bouquets to pass through the chute without becoming stuck. This can adversely affect the tightness of the resulting wrapped bouquet.

The general object of the invention is to alleviate this problem.

Accordingly the invention provides a wrap filling mechanism comprising a wrap holder with a chute above it, characterized in that the chute has at its lower end a set of arms mounted at their upper ends so that their lower ends converge, and means for lowering the arms into the upper open end of a wrap held in the wrap holder, the arms being flexible so that they open outwardly as a bouquet falls through them and so expand the upper end of the wrap. The lower end of the chute may be castellated so that the arms curve inwardly through the castellations.

In a modification, the arms are also mechanically controlled to be brought together or opened out, but remain flexible and resilient.

This arrangement, in addition to assisting in the expansion of the mouth of the wrap, also provides improved funnelling to help the bouquet enter the wrap.

The invention also provides a wrap filling mechanism characterized in that the wrap holder comprises combined pneumatic and mechanical means for grasping and then opening a wrap. Alternatively, the wrap holder comprises a pair of arms separable to form a slot with an enlargement in its interior for first pneumatically and then mechanically engaging with a wrap to open the wrap.

A wrap filling mechanism embodying the invention and modifications thereof will now be described, by way of example and with reference to the drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side view of a chute above a packet of sleeves;

Fig. 2 is a top view of a packet of sleeves;

Fig. 3 is a side view of a chute with its fingers;

Figs. 4 and 5 are perspective views of the modification in two states of operation;

Fig. 6 shows a further modification to the chute; and

Figs. 7 and 8 show modifications to the sleeve or wrap opening mechanism.

Before describing the present apparatus, it is convenient to discuss the wraps which it uses. A wrap for a bouquet of flowers is typically conical, around 330 mm length and with its top circumference being around 400 mm and its bottom end open with a circumference of around 150 mm. The wrap may be made of a variety of materials, a common material being polypropylene. Wraps of this material are normally formed from two sheets which are cut and heat-welded along their edges. This results in the wrap initially being flat.

For ease of handling, the wraps are normally assembled into booklets. For this, each wrap is made with the top of the rear sheet extending say 50 mm beyond the top of the front sheet. The wraps are stacked into a stack of say 50 wraps, and a pair of holes are formed through the upper single parts of the wraps by a device which heat welds the wraps together at the same time as it makes the holes through the stack. The result is a booklet of 50 wraps which has a pair of holes at its top end; the booklet can be held in place by a pair of prongs through the holes, with the holes also serving the hold the stack together. The rear sheet of each wrap is perforated at or just above the top edge of the front sheet, so that the wraps can be torn off the booklet.

Fig. 1 shows the lower end of the mouth part 11 of a chute down which the cut flowers may be guided, from an elevator or other infeed device or conveyor. A booklet 16 of sleeves in flat form is held against a platen 12 by means of pins 13 and clamps 14. Typically, commercial sleeves are made with perforations 15 along which they are torn from the booklet, and with the front (top) sheet of each sleeve shorter than the rear (bottom) sheet.

Fig. 2 shows the booklet 16 and associated elements from above. The top wrap 17 is opened by pulling the front face with a device 20, which can conveniently be a vacuum device, along axis 21. The mechanism, vacuum or otherwise, is unable to consistently open the wrap to form a perfectly round shape. Also, if the apparatus is such that there is a gap 18 between the wrap and the chute, there is a high risk of the flowers and leaves catching on the edge of the wrap and causing an unattractive presentation.

In some cases it may be possible to lower the chute inside the wrap, but in most cases this is not possible, due to the danger of the volume of flowers in the wrap becoming lodged in the throat of the chute. Also, where near fits may seem to make moving the chute practical, the uneven pulled shape 12 would make it impractical.

Fig. 3 shows a ring or hoop 31 that is mounted around the chute 11. Attached to the hoop 31 are a number of flexible fingers 32 that have been shaped to curve together to meet below the ring in a point or near point. The bottom end of the chute has a number of slots 33 giving it a castellated form, and each finger 32 passes through a respective one of the slots 33.

The chute assembly can be raised and lowered along axis 29. To enable the removal and replacement of the wrap (by the mechanism described above), the assembly needs to be raised. Once the new wrap is in place and opened by a combination of

mechanisms

20, 12, 13, and 14, the chute assembly can be lowered such that the fingers 32 penetrate a substantial distance inside the wrap. The pointed nose formed by the fingers in their together position, and the fact that this nose is centrally located, aids reliable entry.

When the flowers pass down the chute along axis 17, the thin and flexible fingers are pushed open by the strength of the flowers; as they open, they evenly expand the wrap and protect its edges from being caught by the flowers and leaves of the bouquet. The fingers also provide a funnelling effect to help guide into the centre of the wrap and to compress the bouquet to the size of the wrap.

The fingers may be made from any suitable material, such as light gauge metal or plastics material, to suit the application.

Figs. 4 and 5 show a development of the apparatus comprising a set of fingers 40 mounted on a support ring 41 which can be raised and lowered by arms 42. The upper part 43 of each finger is relatively rigid; the lower part 44 is flexible as before. The top end of each finger is mounted in a respective actuating means 45 mounted on the ring 41.

In operation, the assembly is raised and the fingers are brought together into the position shown in Fig. 4. The assembly is then lowered into the mouth of a foil cone or wrap, as before. The actuating means are then operated to urge the fingers outwardly as shown in Fig. 5. Under the combination of the flexibility of the fingers and the urging of the actuating means, the fingers will in fact take up a somewhat curved position. They will tend to urge the mouth of the cone open, but without such force as might tear the cone. The passage of the bouquet of flowers will effect any further opening of the fingers as required.

If desired, the fingers can be individually controlled by their respective actuators.

This arrangement results in the fingers, in their closed position, forming a sharper angle at their bottom end than with the Fig. 3 arrangement. This results in more accurate entry of the fingers into the mouth of the cone.

Fig. 6 shows a further modification. The bottom end of the chute is formed as a sleeve 46 which has its bottom end attached to the fingers 40. This sleeve is of flexible material, and is preferably formed with folds or pleats to ensure that it contracts in an orderly manner when the fingers are moved inwards a shown in Fig. 6, but expands when the fingers are opened outwardly. This further aids in achieving smooth and accurate passage of the bouquet into the cone.

Fig. 7 shows a modification to the Fig. 2 arrangement. The device 20 has a vacuum mechanism or sucker 50, as in Fig. 2, but this is supplemented by a clamp arm 51 mounted on an actuator 52. The speed at which the vacuum sucker can withdraw the front part 17 of the wrap is limited, so once the front part of the wrap has been separated from its rear part, the arm 51 is operated to clamp the front part of the wrap. The remainder of the opening of the wrap can then be achieved more rapidly. The clamp arm actuator may of course be linear rather than rotary.

Fig. 8 shows a further modification to the Fig. 2 arrangement. The device 20 has a pair of

gripper jaws

60 and 61, which are made of soft rubber. The jaws are initially open to the position shown. The device is then moved forward so that the faces 62 of the jaws abut against the wrap to be opened. The jaws are then moved together. The faces 62 drag the adjacent parts of the wrap together, forcing the wrap to bend and form a bulge protruding into the gap 63 between the jaws. When the jaws are fully closed, the lips 64 grip the wrap firmly, so that it can be pulled out. The bulge of the wrap extends into the hollow region 65, so that the jaws do not produce a crease in the wrap.

Claims

A wrap filling mechanism comprising a wrap holder (12, 13, 14, 20, 21) with a chute (11) above it, characterized in that the chute has at its lower end a set of arms (32) mounted at their upper ends so that their lower ends converge, and means (29, 31) for lowering the arms into the upper open end of a wrap held in the wrap holder, the arms being flexible so that they open outwardly as a bouquet falls through them and so expand the upper end of the wrap.
A wrap filling mechanism according to claim 1 characterized in that the lower end of the chute is castellated (33) so that the arms curve inwardly through the castellations.
A wrap filling mechanism according to either previous claim characterized in that the arms (43, 44) are mechanically controlled (45) to be brought together or opened out.
A wrap filling mechanism according to any previous claim characterized by a flexible sleeve (46) inside the arms.
A wrap filling mechanism according to any previous claim characterized in that the wrap holder comprises combined pneumatic (20, 50) and mechanical (51, 52) means for grasping and then opening a wrap.
A wrap filling mechanism according to any of claims 1 to 4 characterized in that the wrap holder comprises a pair of arms (60, 61) separable to form a slot (63) with an enlargement (65) in its interior for first pneumatically and then mechanically engaging with a wrap to open the wrap.
Any novel and inventive feature or combination of features specifically disclosed herein within the meaning of Article 4H of the International Convention (Paris Convention).