EP1886921A1 - Method and facility for grouping packages of bottles and suitable bottles therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

Process for assembly of groups of bottles on a bottle carrier consisting of a flat plate with hand grips and side clips which is traversed along a track by a conveyor. Both sides of the track have a rotating star adapted to the diameter and profile of the bottles. The assembly includes an isolation device for islolating the bottle assemblies. Independent claims are included for a packet assembly for assembly of bottle groups and bottles for assembly in a bottle group.

Description

The invention relates to a method and a system for assembling packages of bottles hanging on a flat carrier, which consists of a flat plate with handle and carries at its sides brackets which partially surround the neck of the bottles, wherein the with Flat carrier to a package held together bottles can additionally with a tape or foil in about half the height of the bottle or include below.

Drinks are often packaged in non-returnable disposable bottles, which are delivered either in cardboard boxes or plastic boxes to the trade. After delivery, the large-volume cardboard boxes must be shredded to waste recycling, and the plastic boxes to be returned cause costs due to the return transport and the necessary cleaning. Therefore, some beverage bottlers have gone into the packaging and packing of bottle packs into a shrink wrap. However, these bottle packs in a shrink wrap can not be carried home by the end user. In cartons mostly packaged in six packs of bottles make a transport in plastic boxes or cardboard boxes to retail required.

These types of transport are less environmentally friendly due to the amount of waste generated and require an effort that is reflected in the price of drinks.

There is in the prior art a transport for bottles carried by a flat, hand-gripped carrier which carries on its longitudinal sides brackets which embrace the neck of the bottles. The bottles hang down freely on this carrier. This package is easy to carry because of the low weight of the wearer but can not be carried on pallets without further wrapping.

Since especially non-alcoholic beverages are usually bottled today in plastic bottles, special difficulties arise in the packing systems in that these bottles are very soft and can be easily deformed. If these bottles get jammed on supply lines to a packing plant under pressure, they easily lose the round cross-sectional shape of their hull, which then becomes oval in cross-section and is more difficult to handle, because packing machines are not adjusted to these other cross-sectional shapes

The invention avoids the disadvantages of the prior art. It is the object of the invention to provide a way to hang bottles and especially soft, easily deformable plastic bottles, automatically and automatically on a packaging machine in flat carrier with high machine speed without the risk of deformation of the individual bottles.

The invention consists in conveying the flat carriers along a path with a conveying device, bringing the bottles on both sides to this path so as to provide on each side of the path a rotary star whose grooves are adapted to the shape and diameter of the bottles and with which one presses the bottle necks in the brackets on the flat carrier during its rotation, and that there is a separating device for the running on the track behind each clamped to a flat carrier bottle packages. The singulated bottle packs may then be subjected to strapping for each pack of tape clamped to a flat carrier, and / or the bottles in each bottle pack may be subjected to rotation to visualize their label.

The packing system according to the invention for assembling packages of bottles hanging from a flat carrier consisting of a flat plate with handle and carrying on its sides brackets which partially surround the neck of the bottles, wherein the bottles held together with the flat carrier into a package additionally in about half of the bottle height or even below it may be covered by a band or by a film, is characterized by at least one conveying device, which convey the flat carrier along a web, by at least two bottle conveyors on both sides of the web of flat carriers , further characterized in that arranged on both sides of the ensemble of a flat carrier web and the two-sided bottle lanes ever a rotary star, which is adapted to the shape and the diameter of the bottles and pushes the bottle necks in the brackets on the flat support during its rotation, and that behind these turning stars on which the pressed into the brackets of the flat carrier bottle packages carrying conveyor a separating device for the running behind each other on the track, each clamped to a flat carrier bottle packages is arranged for each package of bottles clamped to a flat carrier for the Enclosing with a tape or a foil or necessary for a rotation of individual bottles necessary distance between the generated bottle packages creates.

On this packing system, the bottles can be quickly and easily attached to the flat carrier and arise with or without a tape or foil wrapping an easily and conveniently portable container that leaves only the flat carrier as waste after removing the bottles, this waste still the Recycling can be supplied.

In order to be able to pack large quantities of bottles into six-pacs or other bottle packages at high speed, it is advantageous if two webs for suspending two rows of bottles in two flat carriers are arranged next to one another in one system.

The delivery of the flat carrier in this packing plant becomes particularly easy, if one the flat carriers in several stacks next to each other layered on a pallet anliefert and if you then the flat carrier of each layer seizes individually with a gripper, layer after layer from the stack lifts and sets on the various tracks of the conveyor for the flat carrier and so it feeds the packing system.

It is space-saving for the delivery of the flat carrier possible that one stacks the flat carrier on the pallet so that their brackets partially engage with each other.

This type of package gives the beverage maker very much desired ability to make visible to the customer the label on the bottles on all sides by turning after inserting the bottles in the brackets of the carrier preferably before wrapping the bottle package with a tape bottles so in that the labels on the bottles are directed outwards. Serves in the system, a device which is arranged behind the device for pressing the bottle necks in the brackets of the flat carrier and preferably in front of the device for wrapping the bottle package with a tape. Each bottle suspended in the flat carrier is associated with a rotary motor which is controlled by means of a photocell directed to a marking point on the label of the bottle or by an electronic circuit consisting of a camera and a circuit with fed comparison image.

The strapping device, which is preferably arranged behind the rotating device, is located above the conveyor with the conveyed bottles and is lowered for each bottle pack to be strapped from this inoperative position into the operating position at the level of the lower part of the bottles to be strapped. This device for wrapping the bottle package with a tape or a film can be lowered from the top to the half of the bottle height and takes after their lowering the strapping with the mentioned band or the film before.

Conveniently, assigns before loading the flat carrier with bottles of the web of the flat carrier from above into the each individual flat carrier engaging Zuteilrad, with the help of the location and controlling the allocation of each individual flat carrier to the number of bottles allocated to it.

Important for a proper operation of the system, it may also be that with the help of driven by the displacement of the bottles of rotary stars, the density of the bottle stream in each bottle train measures and controls the flow of bottles to prevent congestion and to avoid defects in the bottle stream. This powered by the bottle stream rotating star to measure the density of the bottle stream works the motor driven rotary star for pressing the bottle necks in the flat carrier in such a way that in an electronic circuit, the difference in the rotational speeds of both star wheels is determined and from a signal to control the bottle inlet and its speed is generated. In this way it is achieved that the bottles are not squeezed and deformed in a traffic jam, but run undeformed into the device for their attachment and attachment to the flat carrier.

There is the advantageous possibility that you can run the bottles conveyor belt conveyor at a constant speed and arranging a working beams transport bars on the conveyor belt and its speed adapted to the conveyor belt interrupts each by a fast return.

If you want to do without the strapping of the bottle package, because the bottle package home carrying retailer does not need it, then it is convenient to use a bottle, which, like any other bottle, consists of a hull with a bottleneck, a bottom and a bottle cap , and which is characterized in that the bottom is formed in the form of a directed into the interior of the bottle truncated cone, wherein the flat surface of the truncated cone has a diameter which is greater than the diameter of the surface of the bottle cap. If bottle packs are stacked with such bottles on a pallet, the bottles, even if they are on the edge and even if they are at the corners of the pallet load, particularly safe because they above by the flat carrier that holds them together, and below by the flat beam which stacked to the one below you Bottle pack belongs, be held firmly in their stacking position.

Fig.1

einen Flachträger in perspektivischer Ansicht von oben.

Fig.2

ein Flaschenpaket mit dem Flachträger und angehängten Flaschen in perspektivischer Ansicht von oben.

Fig.3

eine perspektivische Gesamtansicht der Anlage.

Fig.4

eine Gesamtansicht der Anlage von der Seite.

Fig.5

eine Gesamtansicht der Anlage von oben.

Fig.6

eine Detailansicht der Station Überprüfung und Teilung des Flaschenflusses.

Fig.7

eine Detailansicht des Flaschenflusses vor der Zusammenführung.

Fig.8

eine Ansicht der einzelnen Stationen der Bildung und Bearbei tung des Flaschenpacks.

Fig.9

eine Detailansicht der Station Zusammenführung von Träger und Flaschen.

Fig.10

eine Ansicht der Flaschenpackvereinzelung.

Fig.11

eine Detailansicht der Station Flaschenausrichtung.

Fig.12

eine Detailansicht der Station Flaschenpackumreifung.

The essence of the invention is explained below with reference to an embodiment schematically illustrated in the drawing. Show it:

Fig.1

a flat carrier in a perspective view from above.

Fig.2

a bottle package with the flat carrier and attached bottles in a perspective view from above.

Figure 3

an overall perspective view of the plant.

Figure 4

an overall view of the plant from the side.

Figure 5

an overall view of the plant from above.

Figure 6

a detail view of the station review and division of the bottle flow.

Figure 7

a detailed view of the bottle flow before the merge.

Figure 8

a view of the individual stations of the formation and processing of the bottle pack.

Figure 9

a detail view of the station merging of carrier and bottles.

Figure 10

a view of bottle pack singling.

Figure 11

a detail view of the station bottle orientation.

Figure 12

a detail view of the station bottle packing strapping.

The flat carrier shown in Figure 1 + 2 consists of a plastic plate 1, which has a handle 2 centrally and carries on the sides of brackets 3. These brackets 3 each consist of a pair of mutually curved projections having between them an area of the size of the diameter of the neck of the bottle to be hooked into this clip 3 bottle 4. The hooked into these brackets 3 bottles 4 are based on a molded-on neck of the bottle collar 5 or with a screwed onto the end of the bottle neck cap 6 or with the edge of a crown cork on the brackets 3. As a result, they can not fall down and fall downwards out of the flat carrier on which they hang freely. On both sides next to the handle 2 Centering elements 7 are arranged on the plastic plate 1, because the flat carrier are delivered in stacks one above the other.

• In einer ersten Arbeitsstation A werden auf Paletten in vielen Schichten übereinander gelagerte Flachträger 1 schichtweise von Paletten 8 abgehoben und auf Förderbahnen 9 gesetzt.
• In einer zweiten Arbeitsstation B wird ein ankommender Flaschenstrom in zwei Ströme aufgeteilt und diese werden beidseitig an den Strom der Flachträger herangeführt.
• In einer dritten Arbeitsstation C wird der Strom der zugeführten Flaschen 4 auf seine Dichte überprüft und die Dichte gesteuert.
• In einer vierten Arbeitsstation D werden die Flaschen 4 an einem Flachträger 1 angebracht.
• In einer fünften Arbeitsstation E werden die aus einem Flachträger mit den angeklemmten Flaschen bestehenden Flaschenpakete vereinzelt.
• In einer sechsten Arbeitsstation F werden die am Flachträger hängenden Flaschen gedreht.
• und in einer siebten Arbeitsstation G werden die einzelnen Flaschenpakete umreift.

The plant for equipping the flat carriers with bottles has several workstations:

• In a first workstation A, pallets in many layers superimposed flat carrier 1 are lifted in layers of pallets 8 and placed on conveyor tracks 9.
• In a second workstation B an incoming bottle stream is divided into two streams and these are brought on both sides of the stream of flat carrier.
• In a third workstation C, the flow of the supplied bottles 4 is checked for density and the density is controlled.
• In a fourth work station D, the bottles 4 are attached to a flat carrier 1.
• In a fifth work station E, consisting of a flat carrier with the clamped bottles bottle packages are separated.
• In a sixth work station F, the bottles hanging on the flat carrier are turned.
• and in a seventh workstation G, the individual bottle packages are strapped.

In the first workstation A, the flat carriers 1, 2, 3 of the system shown in FIG. 3, 4, 5 are delivered on pallets 8. The flat carriers 1, 2, 3 are stacked on top of each other in many layers on these pallets 8, the individual stacks being given high stability by interlocking the projections forming the clamps 3.

The flat carriers 1, 2, 3 stacked on pallets 8 in this first work station A of the system according to the invention are lifted off in layers by a gripping device 11 running back and forth on the traverse 10, laterally conveyed and deposited on the conveyor tracks 9.

In a second work station B, an incoming on the web 12 bottle stream is divided into two streams and these are brought on both sides of the current of the flat carrier 1,2,3. This division in two bottle flows serve two motor-driven meshing gears 13 with outwardly rounded teeth 14, the tooth gaps 15 are so deep and inwardly rounded that they take a bottle filled with beverage 4 (Figure 6). A wedge 16 in the path of the bottles 4 ensures that the bottles 4 enter the two webs 17, 18, with each second bottle 4 being guided by the web 9 into the web 17, while each bottle 4 in between is guided into the web 18 becomes.

In a third workstation C, the flow of the supplied bottles 4 is checked for density and the density is controlled. The motor-driven star wheel 19 in the work station D has the task to press the necks of the bottle 4 in the brackets 3 of the flat carrier here in this station C has the task to determine whether the bottles 4 reach the star wheel 19 undeformed. Conventional plastic bags 4 are easily deformed because of their small wall thickness when they are subjected to lateral pressure e.g. are exposed in a bottle jam. Deformations can significantly interfere with the insertion of the bottles 4 in the flat carrier 1,2,3. To determine whether bottles 4 are located in front of the star wheel 19 in a bottle jam, some bottle widths in front of the star wheel 19, a further star wheel 20 is arranged, which is not driven by a motor, but is taken from the flow of the bottles 4. A preferably electronically performed comparison of the rotational position of the star wheels 19,20 can be a statement about whether the bottles are 4 in a traffic jam, which deforms them and hampers the loading of the flat carrier 1,2,3, but also a statement about whether all Bottle seats are occupied or if one or more defects in the bottle flow are present. These electronically obtained statements are used in an electronic control device for controlling the rotational speed of the gears 13: By slowing down the rotational speed of the gears 13 can be a jam and thus reduce the deformation of the bottles 4 between the star wheels 19,20, by increasing the rotational speed you can fill in missing and cut offs.

In the fourth workstation D, the bottles 4 are attached to a flat carrier 1 (FIG. 9). The two parallel metal discs existing Vorlegerad 21 engages with its teeth 22 on both sides next to the handle 2 in the plastic plate 1 and thereby gives her an exact location on the conveyor belt 9 during the sliding movement. The star wheel 19, which is in a synchronized run with the Vorlegerad 21, recorded with its recesses 22, the necks of the bottles 4 and pushes them into the brackets 3 of the flat carrier 1,2,3, while at the same time standing in the recesses 23 Hulls of the bottles 4 are also promoted. At this point next to the star wheel 19, the bottle lanes 17,18 are arranged offset by the width of the bracket 3 to each other. Since the bottles 4 are pressed from both sides of the flat carrier 1, 2, 3 in its clamps 3 and the flat carrier 1, 2, 3 is also held and supported by the feed roller 21, this bottle packet formation, consisting of a flat carrier 1, 2, takes place. 33 and the bottles 4 exactly and without problems.

• In einer sechsten Arbeitsstation F werden bei jedem Flaschenpaket 24 die am Flachträger 1,2,3 hängenden Flaschen 4 gedreht, damit die Etiketten auf den einzelnen Flaschen nach außen schauen (Fig.11). Dazu dient eine an der Traverse 27 hängende, über dem Weg der Flaschenpakete 24 verschiebbare und aus einer Außerbetriebsstellung in die Betriebsstellung absenkbare Ausrichtstation 28, die mit einer Anzahl von Drehmotoren 29, die je einen am Flaschenverschluß angreifenden Greifer 30 bewegen, und mit je einer jeder Flasche 4 zugeordneten Kamera 30 ausgestattet ist. Eine elektronische Schaltung steuert die Bewegung der Drehmotoren 29 aufgrund der von der Kamera 30 erstellten Bildaufnahmen der auf den Flaschen aufgeklebten Etiketten.
• In einer siebten Arbeitsstation G werden die einzelnen Flaschenpakete umreift. Das Umreifungsgerät hängt ebenfalls an der Traverse 27 und ist ebenfalls über der Bahn der Flaschenpakete absenkbar aus einer Ruhestellung in die Betriebsstellung angeordnet und wird für die Umreifung von oben auf etwa halbe oder weniger Flaschenhöhe herabgelassen. Für die Umreifung ist es notwendig, dass zwei der Holme des Rahmens 34 des Umreifungsgerätes zwischen die Reihe der Flaschenpakete 24 treten, um die Umschlingung des Flaschenpaketes 24 mit dem das Umreifungsband 33 führenden Rahmen 34 zu bewerkstelligen.

In a fifth workstation E consisting of a flat carrier 1,2,3 with the clamped bottles 4 bottle packages 24 are isolated. For this purpose, a pair of transverse to the conveying direction in the flow of the bottle packs 24 motorically insertable wedges 25 and a transfer device from the previous slower moving conveyor belt 25 on a fast moving conveyor belt 26 are provided. The isolated bottle packs 24 are now processed in subsequent workstations as a whole:

• In a sixth workstation F, the bottles 4 hanging on the flat carrier 1,2,3 are rotated in each bottle pack 24 so that the labels on the individual bottles look outwards (FIG. 11). Serves a traverse to the hanging 27, over the path of the bottle packs 24 displaceable and lowered from an inoperative position to the operating position alignment station 28, which move with a number of rotary motors 29, each one acting on the bottle closure gripper 30, and each with one Bottle 4 associated camera 30 is equipped. An electronic circuit controls the movement of the rotary motors 29 on the basis of the images taken by the camera 30 of the labels affixed to the bottles.
• In a seventh workstation G, the individual bottle packages are strapped. The strapping device also hangs on the cross member 27 and is also arranged above the path of the bottle packs lowered from a rest position to the operating position and is lowered for strapping from above to about half or less bottle height. For the strapping, it is necessary that two of the spars of the frame 34 of the strapping device between the series of bottle packs 24 occur to accomplish the wrapping of the bottle pack 24 with the strapping 33 leading frame 34.

At the end of the system is a removal and loading unit, not shown, with which the bottle packages are placed on pallets.

List of reference numbers

1

Plastic plate

2

handle

3

clip

4

bottle

5

Collar on the bottleneck

6

Cap of the bottle

7

centering

8th

palette

9

Conveyor track for flat beams

10

traverse

11

gripper device

12

Conveyor for bottles

13

gear

14

outwardly rounded tooth

15

inwardly rounded tooth gap

16

wedge

17

bottles train

18

bottles train

19

motor-driven star wheel

20

revolving star wheel

21

Vorlegerad

22

Tooth on the Vorlegerad

23

Recess in the star wheel

24

bottle package

25

slower moving conveyor belt

26

faster moving conveyor belt

27

traverse

28

aligning

29

rotary engine

30

grab

31

camera

32

strapping tool

33

strapping

34

frame

Claims (19)

Method for assembling packages of bottles suspended on a flat carrier,
which consists of a flat plate with a handle which carries at its sides brackets which partially surround the neck of the bottles,
wherein the bottles held together with the flat carrier in a package are additionally covered with a band in about half the height of the bottles or by a film,
characterized,
that the conveyor is conveyed along a path with a conveyor,
that you bring the bottles on both sides of this train,
that one provides on each side of the track ever a rotary star, which is adapted to the shape and the diameter of the bottles and with which one pushes in its rotation, the bottle necks in the brackets on the flat carrier,
and that provision is made for a separating device for the bottle packages which are running behind one another on the web, each clamped on a flat carrier,
which, for each package of bottles clamped to a flat carrier, provides a space necessary for wrapping with a tape or foil. Method according to claim 1,
characterized,
that in a system two tracks for hanging two rows of bottles in a flat carrier next to each other are arranged. Method according to claim 1,
characterized,
that the flat carrier in several stacks layered next to each other on a pallet and delivers
that one grips the flat carrier of a layer with a gripper, lifts layer after layer from the stack and sets on the various tracks of the conveyor for the flat carrier. Method according to claim 3,
characterized,
that for their delivery to this system, the flat carrier on the pallet stacked so that their brackets partially mesh. Method according to claim 1,
characterized,
that after inserting the bottles in the brackets of the carrier preferably before wrapping the bottle package with a tape, the bottles rotate so that the labels are directed to the bottles to the outside. Method according to claim 5,
characterized,
that controls the rotation bottles with the aid of directed to a marker on the label of the bottle photocells. Method according to claim 1,
characterized,
that the wrapper is lowered from above to half the height of the bottle and then makes the looping and the connection of the two ends of the loop. Method according to claim 1,
characterized,
that one arranges above the track of the flat carrier from above into each individual flat carrier engaging Zuteilrad and with its Assistance controls the allocation of each individual flat carrier to the number of bottles allocated to it. Method according to claim 1,
characterized,
that with the help of driven by the displacement of the bottles of rotary stars, the density of the bottle stream in each bottle track is measured and controls the flow of bottles to congestion prevention and to avoid defects in the bottle stream. Method according to claim 1,
characterized,
that you can run the bottles conveyor belt conveyor at a constant speed and arranging a working beams transport bar over the conveyor belt and its speed adapted to the conveyor belt interrupts each by a fast return. Packaging plant for assembling packages of bottles hanging from a flat carrier,
which consists of a flat plate with handle and which carries on its sides brackets which partially surround the neck of the bottles,
wherein the bottles held together with the flat carrier in a package are additionally covered by a band in about half the height of the bottle or by a film,
marked by
at least one conveying device, which convey the flat carriers along a path,
by at least two bottles leading to the web of flat carriers on both sides, and further, by
a rotary star is arranged on both sides of the ensemble consisting of a flat carrier web and the bottle webs arranged on both sides, which is adapted to the shape and the diameter of the bottles and which, when rotated, presses the bottle necks into the brackets on the flat carrier,
and that behind these turning stars over which the bottle packs carrying the bottle carrier are clamped, a separating device is arranged for the bottle packs running on the web one behind the other, each clamped on a flat carrier,
which, for each package of bottles clamped to a flat carrier, provides a space necessary for wrapping with a tape or foil. Packing system according to claim 11,
characterized,
that in the system two tracks for pinching two rows of bottles in a flat carrier are arranged side by side. Packing system according to claim 11,
characterized,
that a gripper for the flat carriers, which are adjacent to each other anliefert in a plurality of stacks stacked on a pallet, is provided on top of the packaging system,
who picks up the flat carrier of a layer with his gripper tool, lifts layer after layer from the stack and puts it on the various tracks of the conveyor for the flat carrier. Packing system according to claim 13,
characterized,
that the flat supports are stacked on the pallet so that their brackets partly interlock. Packing system according to claim 11,
characterized,
that behind the device for pressing the bottle necks in the brackets of the flat carrier preferably in front of the device for wrapping the bottle pack with a band over the conveyor to a set summarized rotating devices lowered are arranged, which rotate the bottles so that the labels are directed on the bottles to the outside. Packing system according to claim 11,
characterized,
that the wrapping device on the conveyor for the bottles packages from the top down to half of the bottle height is arranged lowered. Packing system according to claim 11,
characterized,
that over the path of the flat carrier is arranged from above in the each individual flat carrier engaging Zuteilrad, with the aid of the allocation of each individual tray carrier is controlled to the assigned number of bottles. Packing system according to claim 11,
characterized,
that driven by the displacement of the bottles rotating stars are provided in addition to the bottle web, which measure the density of the bottle stream in each cork track and control the flow of bottles to prevent congestion and to avoid defects in the bottle stream. Bottle,
suitable for packing on pallets with a system according to claim 11, consisting of a hull with a bottleneck, a bottom and a bottle closure,
characterized,
that the bottom is formed in the form of a truncated cone directed into the interior of the bottle,
wherein the flat surface of the truncated cone has a diameter which is greater than the diameter of the surface of the bottle closure.

Images