EP2248436B1 - Machine for automatically placing slides and associated method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to the field of bags provided with complementary closure profiles actuated by a slider.

More particularly, the invention relates to a machine and a method for placing a slider on complementary closure profiles, intended to be fixed on a bag.

Many bags of this type have already been proposed.

In particular, many bags formed from thermoplastic sheets, for example polyethylene and / or polypropylene, are known.

Machines according to the preamble of claim 1 are known for example from US 2008/098693 or EP 1 714 574 A1 .

As illustrated in figure 1 , the closure profiles 20 used on such bags generally comprise complementary fastening means 22 respectively arranged facing the two main sheets of the bag to be respectively engaged to close it and separated to allow its opening .

The sliders 10 equipping such bags can be the subject of many embodiments. Generally such sliders 10 comprise a base 11 which comprises two lateral flanks 12 and a central wall 13, the lateral flanks 12 and the central wall 13 defining in combination two non-parallel channels 14 which respectively receive free ends of the profiles 20. direction of movement of the slider 10, the profiles 20 are solicited in separation to open the bag. In the opposite direction of movement, the profiles 20 are engaged to close the latter.

So that the slider 10 can not be easily removed from the bag, especially for safety reasons for children, it is usually provided with retaining means, for example of the type beads 15, arranged on the free end of the wall 13, complementary protrusions 21 forming a stop and disposed on the free end of the profiles 20, so that in case of attempted tearing of the bag of the slider, the beads 15 abut against the protuberances 21 and prohibit the removal of the slider 10 .

However, one of the problems encountered in the field of closure profiles equipped with sliders, especially when they include this type of retaining means, is that of the engagement of cursors on these profiles.

It has therefore been proposed means to elastically move the flanks of the slider so that it can more easily be engaged on the complementary closure profiles, for example in the French patent application FR 07 59545, filed December 4, 2007 in the name of the plaintiff.

This technique actually makes it easier to pose the cursor. However, it has been noted that the free end 21 of the profiles 20 can abut against the end 15 of the central wall 13 of the slider 10, especially when the latter is provided with beads, thus preventing the insertion of the sections 20 into the slats. corresponding channels 14 of the cursor 10. Such a case is illustrated for example on the figure 1 .

The present invention therefore aims to fill this gap, by providing an automatic slider installation machine and a slider installation method, to facilitate the introduction of a slider on closure profiles.

• des moyens d'approvisionnement de profilés de fermeture, lesdits profilés de fermeture étant pourvus de moyens d'accrochage complémentaires permettant le défilement des profilés de fermeture dans ladite machine;
• des moyens d'approvisionnement de curseurs ; et
• un dispositif de pose de curseurs;

comprenant en outre un guide écarteur, disposé face au dispositif de pose de curseurs, ledit guide comprenant d'un canal de guidage dans lequel défilent les profilés de fermeture, la largeur dudit canal étant inférieure à l'épaisseur des moyens d'accrochage, de sorte que lorsque les profilés sont amenés par les moyens d'approvisionnement dans le guide écarteur, les moyens d'accrochage ne pénètrent pas dans le canal de guidage tandis que la portion sous-jacente auxdits moyens d'accrochage est pincée par les parois du canal de guidage, afin d'écarter les extrémités libres respectives des profilés de fermeture.Thus, the present invention provides an automatic slider installation machine, comprising in particular:

• means for supplying closing profiles, said closure profiles being provided with complementary fastening means enabling the closing profiles to run in said machine;
• slider supply means; and
• a cursor setting device;

further comprising a spacer guide disposed opposite the slider device, said guide comprising a guide channel in which the closure profiles run, the width of said channel being less than the thickness of the fastening means, so that when the profiles are brought by the supply means in the spacer guide, the fastening means do not penetrate into the guide channel while the portion underlying said fastening means is pinched by the walls of the guide channel, to separate the respective free ends of the closure profiles.

• la largeur du canal est sensiblement égale à l'épaisseur de la portion des profilés qui est sous-jacente aux moyens d'accrochage,
• le guide est monobloc, et que le canal de guidage est une feuillure,
• le guide est formé de deux blocs adjacents, et que leurs parois adjacentes sont séparées sur tout ou partie par le canal de guidage,
• les blocs du guide écarteur sont mobiles dans une direction transversale au sens de déplacement des profilés de fermeture dans la machine,
• le guide écarteur comporte en outre un évidement formé en regard du dispositif de pose, au niveau de l'embouchure du canal de guidage,
• l'évidement a une forme hémisphérique, conique ou dièdre, dont la concavité est dirigée vers le dispositif de pose,
• les matériaux constitutifs du guide écarteur appartiennent au groupe suivant : plastique, métal, et
• la machine comprend en outre des moyens de fabrication d'un sachet équipé des profilés de fermeture munis d'un curseur.

Some preferred but non-limiting aspects of the automatic laying machine according to the invention are the following:

• the width of the channel is substantially equal to the thickness of the portion of the profiles that is underlying the attachment means,
• the guide is in one piece, and that the guide channel is a rabbet,
• the guide is formed of two adjacent blocks, and that their adjacent walls are entirely or partially separated by the guide channel,
• the blocks of the spacer guide are movable in a direction transverse to the direction of movement of the closure profiles in the machine,
• the spacer guide further comprises a recess formed opposite the laying device, at the mouth of the guide channel,
• the recess has a hemispherical, conical or dihedral shape, the concavity of which is directed towards the laying device,
• the constituent materials of the spacer guide belong to the following group: plastic, metal, and
• the machine further comprises means for manufacturing a bag equipped with closure profiles provided with a slider.

• fournir des profilés de fermeture, lesdits profilés de fermeture étant pourvus de moyens d'accrochage complémentaires, et les faire défiler dans une machine de pose automatique de curseurs ;
• fournir des curseurs, lesdits curseurs comprenant une embase qui comporte deux flancs latéraux et un muret central, les flancs latéraux et le muret central définissant en combinaison deux canaux non parallèles qui reçoivent respectivement des extrémités libres des profilés ; et
• engager séquentiellement un curseur sur les profilés de fermeture; le procédé comportant en outre une étape au cours de laquelle les extrémités respectives des profilés de fermeture sont positionnées en regard des canaux correspondant du curseur et écartées par pincement par un guide écarteur des portions des profilés de fermetures qui sont sous-jacentes aux moyens d'accrochage, de manière à faciliter l'engagement du curseur sur lesdits profilés.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of placing a slider on closure profiles, comprising the steps of:

• providing closure profiles, said closure profiles being provided with complementary attachment means, and scrolling in an automatic slider installation machine;
• providing sliders, said sliders comprising a base which comprises two lateral flanks and a central wall, the side flanks and the central wall defining in combination two non-parallel channels which respectively receive free ends of the profiles; and
• sequentially engaging a slider on the closure profiles; the method further comprising a step in which the respective ends of the closure profiles are positioned opposite the corresponding channels of the slider and spaced by pinch by a spacer guide portions of closures sections that are underlying the means of hooking, so as to facilitate the engagement of the cursor on said profiles.

• la figure 1 est une vue en coupe d'un curseur et de profilés de fermeture au moment de l'engagement du curseur sur les profilés selon l'art antérieur ;
• la figure 2 est une vue schématique en perspective d'une machine de fabrication de sachets susceptible d'être équipée de la machine automatique de pose de curseurs conforme à la présente invention ;
• la figure 3 est une vue en coupe d'un curseur et de profilés de fermeture au moment de l'engagement du curseur sur les profilés selon un mode de réalisation de l'invention ;
• la figure 4 est une vue en coupe d'une deuxième forme de réalisation d'un guide écarteur selon l'invention ;
• la figure 5 est une vue en coupe de la première forme de réalisation d'un guide écarteur illustrée en figure 3 ;
• la figure 6 est une vue en coupe d'une troisième forme de réalisation d'un guide écarteur selon l'invention ; et
• la figure 7 est une vue en coupe d'une quatrième forme de réalisation d'un guide écarteur selon l'invention.

Other features, aims and advantages will appear better on reading the detailed description which follows, and with reference to the appended drawings given as non-limiting examples and in which:

• the figure 1 is a sectional view of a slider and closure profiles at the time of engagement of the slider on the profiles according to the prior art;
• the figure 2 is a schematic perspective view of a bag making machine capable of being equipped with the automatic slider installation machine according to the present invention;
• the figure 3 is a sectional view of a slider and closure profiles at the time of engagement of the slider on the profiles according to one embodiment of the invention;
• the figure 4 is a sectional view of a second embodiment of a spacer guide according to the invention;
• the figure 5 is a sectional view of the first embodiment of a spacer guide illustrated in FIG. figure 3 ;
• the figure 6 is a sectional view of a third embodiment of a spacer guide according to the invention; and
• the figure 7 is a sectional view of a fourth embodiment of a spacer guide according to the invention.

The present invention can find application in all types of sachets. For this reason, it will not be described later in detail all of the means for producing the bag itself, or its constituent material or materials.

It will be the same for the closure profiles 20. They are not limited to the geometry shown in the accompanying figures. These profiles 20 may comprise attachment means 22 of the male / female type, of the velvet type / complementary hooks, or any other equivalent structure. They can be made of any suitable material.

The closure profiles 20 may be integral with the walls of the bag, for example extruded, or reported and fixed on the walls of the bag by any appropriate means.

Finally, the cursors 10 implemented in the context of the present invention are of the type of cursors that we have described with reference to the figure 1 and will not be further detailed later.

The guide according to the invention is preferably implemented in the context of the automatic slider installation on closure profiles to form thermoplastic bags. It is formed for example of plastic or metal.

According to the invention, an automatic slider installation machine comprises, in particular, means for supplying closure profiles, means for scrolling said profiles in the automatic machine, means for supplying sliders and a device for setting sliders. Of course, the slider laying machine can be part of a machine for manufacturing, filling and closing sachets, making it possible to manufacture sachets equipped with closure profiles provided with sliders by means of said laying machine of the invention.

• des moyens 100 d'approvisionnement de profilés de fermeture 20 ;
• des moyens 200 d'approvisionnement de curseurs 10 ;
• un dispositif 400 de pose de curseurs 10, destiné à opérer séquentiellement la pose individuelle de chaque curseur 10 sur les profilés 20 ;
• des moyens 500 d'approvisionnement d'un film thermoplastique 30 ;
• un col de formage 600 associé à une goulotte de remplissage 610, qui conforme le film 30 à partir d'un état initial plan en un tube ;
• des moyens 700 assurant la soudure longitudinale des bords longitudinaux adjacents du film 40 et la fixation des profilés de fermeture 20 équipés de curseurs 10 sur le film 30 ; et
• des mâchoires de soudure transversales 800 associées à des moyens de coupe 900 afin d'individualiser les sachets.

An example of such a machine is illustrated in figure 2 . Such a machine 1 comprises in particular:

• means 100 for supplying closure profiles 20;
• means 200 for supplying cursors 10;
• a slider installation device 10 for sequentially operating the individual installation of each slider 10 on the profiles 20;
• means 500 for supplying a thermoplastic film 30;
• a forming neck 600 associated with a filler neck 610, which conforms the film 30 from a planar initial state to a tube;
• means 700 ensuring the longitudinal welding of the adjacent longitudinal edges of the film 40 and the fixing of the closure profiles 20 equipped with sliders 10 on the film 30; and
• transverse welding jaws 800 associated with cutting means 900 in order to individualize the bags.

According to the invention, the machine further comprises a spacer guide 300 disposed opposite the laying device 400, whose role is, on the one hand, to guide the closure profiles 20 during their movement in the machine so that those -ci are in an optimal position facing the laying device so that the sliders 10 can be properly applied to the profiles 20, and secondly, to separate the profiles 20 to facilitate their engagement in the channels of the slider.

During the process of placing the sliders 10 on the closure profiles 20 in the automatic machine 1, the laying device applies in force, in a conventional manner, a slider 10 on the free end 21 of the closure profiles.

Preferably, the laying device spreads the lateral flanks 12 of the slider 10, for example by biasing lugs arranged on the outer faces of the lateral flanks of the slider (not shown in the figures), so as to free up sufficient space for This step is optional insofar as the invention can be applied to any method of laying a slider on closure profiles in which the slider is engaged on the free end of the slats. profiles.

In parallel, closure profiles 20 are brought into the spacer guide, so that the free end 21 of each profile 20 faces the corresponding channels 14 of the slider 10.

Advantageously hand non-imperative, the closing profiles 20 are closed when they are brought into the spacer guide 300, or at least their respective fastening means 22 are in contact with each other during their passage in the guide 300.

By separating the profiles 20, here is meant to remove the free ends 21 of the profiles 20 which are intended to be arranged in the corresponding channels 14 of the slider 10, so that said ends 21 move away from the plane defined by the closure profiles 20 .

Indeed, it has been noted that when the ends 21 of the profiles 20 are not parallel to each other and form an angle as illustrated in FIG. figure 2 , the engagement of the slider 10 on the closure profiles 21 is improved because said ends 21 avoid the obstacle formed by the central wall, and in particular bypass the bead 15 of said wall, and even if said ends 21 are provided with protuberances.

For this, the guide comprises two substantially parallel abutment walls forming a guide channel 310a, 310b of the profiles 20. The walls are arranged so that the width of the channel 310a, 310b is substantially equal to the thickness of the portion 23 of the closing profiles 20 which is underlying the attachment means 22. Thus, the width of the guide channel 310a, 310b is smaller than the thickness of the attachment means 22 which do not penetrate into said channel 310a, 310b.

By pinching the portion 23 of the profiles which is subjacent to the attachment means 22, the abutment walls hinge the free end 21 of the profiles as indicated on FIG. figure 3 . Indeed, since the attachment means 22 are in contact, and preferably closed, the pressure exerted on said underlying portion 23 causes the rotation of each free end 21 about the axis formed by the closure means 22 in a direction of separation relative to the plane defined by the profiles 20. The ends 21 of the profiles 20 are not then more parallel to each other and have an angle which facilitates their insertion into the corresponding channels of the sliders 10.

According to a preferred embodiment illustrated in Figures 3 to 5 , the spacer guide 300 is integral, and the guide channel 310a is a rebate whose height is at least equal to the length of the portion 23 of the profiles extending under the attachment means 22. The walls of said rebate 310a then correspond to the abutment walls of the guide 300.

As a variant, when the closure profiles 20 are integral with the walls of the bag or have been fixed audited before the insertion of the slider 10, the height of the rabbet 310a is at least equal to the length of the bag. extending between its mouth and its bottom.

According to another embodiment illustrated on the figure 7 , the guide 300 comprises two adjacent blocks 300a, 300b and in contact on at least part of one of their wall, said walls forming between them said rabbet 310a.

As a variant of this embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. figure 6 the blocks 300a, 300b are adjacent but not in contact, so that the guide channel is no longer a rabbet but a through channel 310b.

Assuming that the spacer guide 300 comprises two adjacent blocks 300a, 300b, said blocks 300a, 300b can be fixed or movable in a direction transverse to the running direction of the profiles 20.

For example, in the case of a discontinuous manufacturing process, the automatic machine sequentially stops the scrolling of the profiles 20. The blocks 300a, 300b then close on the profiles 20 (forming the guide channel 310a, 310b) and the pinch so as to spread their free ends 21, while the laying device 400, simultaneously or successively, engages the slider 10 on said spaced apart ends 21. The blocks 300a, 300b then move transversely to release the profiles and the machine resumes the scrolling of the profiles 20.

It is also conceivable to use moving blocks 300a, 300b as part of a continuous manufacturing process, during which the scrolling of the sections 20 is not interrupted. The blocks 300a, 300b are then closed sequentially on the profiles 20 during their travel, and the laying device 400 engages the cursor 10 simultaneously or successively to the nip of the profiles 20, without interruption of the scrolling of the profiles 20.

Once the cursor 10 is engaged on the profiles 20, it is then sufficient to release the lateral flanks 12 of the slider 10 which return elastically to their initial position, thereby enclosing the ends 21 of the profiles 20.

Alternatively, as illustrated on the Figures 2 to 5 , the guide 300 further comprises a recess 320 at the mouth of the rabbet 310a (or the through channel 310b formed by the blocks 300a, 300b), for example hemispherical, conical or dihedral, whose concavity is directed towards the slider 10, to further accentuate the opening of the ends 21 of the profiles under the pressure of the guide 300.

Claims (10)

1. A machine (1) for automatic placement of sliders, including among others:

- a first supplier (100) for supplying closure profiles (20), said closure profiles (20) being provided with complementary means (22) allowing the progression of the closure profiles (20) in said machine (1);

- a second supplier (200) for supplying sliders (10); and

- a device (400) for placing sliders (10);

characterized in that it also comprises a separator guide (300), situated opposite the device (400) for placing sliders, said guide (300) comprising a guiding channel (310a, 310b) in which the closure profiles (20) progress, the width of said channel (310a, 310b) being smaller than the thickness of the closure means (22), such that when the profiles (20) are brought by the supply means (100) into the separator guide (300), the closure means (22) do not penetrate the guiding channel (310a, 310b) while the portion (23) underlying said closure means (22) is squeezed by the walls of the guiding channel (310a, 310b), in order to separate the respective free ends (21) of the closure profiles (20).

The automatic placement machine (1) according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the width of the channel (310a, 310b) is essentially equal to the thickness of the portion (23) of the profiles underlying the closure means (22).

The automatic placement machine (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the guide (300) is a single piece, and the guiding channel is a rabbet (310a).

The automatic placement machine (1) according to one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the guide (300) is formed by two adjacent units (300a, 300b), and that their adjacent walls are separated in whole or in part by the guiding channel (310a, 310b).

The automatic placement machine (1) according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the units (300a, 300b) of the separator guide (300) are mobile in a direction transverse to the direction of movement of the closure profiles (20) in the machine (1).

The automatic placement machine (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the separator guide (300) also includes a recess (320) formed opposite the placement device (400), at the mouth of the guide channel (310a, 310b).

The automatic placement machine (1) according to the preceding claims, characterized in that the recess (320) has a hemispherical, conical or dihedral shape, the concavity of which is oriented toward the placement device (400).

The automatic placement machine (1) according to once of the receding claims, characterized in that the component materials of the separator guide (300) belong to the following group: plastic, metal.

The automatic placement machine (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it also comprises means (500, 600, 700, 800, 900) for manufacturing a bag equipped with closure profiles (20) provided with a slider (10).

A process for placing a slider (10) on closure profiles (20), comprising the steps of:

- supplying closure profiles (20), said closure profiles (20) being provided with complementary closure means (22), and making them progress in an automatic slider placement machine (1);

- supplying sliders (10), said sliders comprising a base (11) that includes two side flanges (12) and a central wall (13), the side flanges (12) and central wall (13) defining, in combination, two non-parallel channels (14) that respectively receive free ends of the profiles (20); and

- sequentially engaging a slider (10) on the closure profiles 20);

characterized in that the process also includes a step during which the respective ends (21) of the closure profiles (20) are positioned opposite the corresponding channels (14) of the slider (10) and separated by pinching by a separator guide (300) from the portions (23) of the closure profiles (20) underlying the closure means (22), so as to facilitate the engagement of the slider (10) on said profiles (20).

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