EP2985257A1 - Device and method for applying a shrinkage film sleeve - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides an apparatus comprising a shrink wrap sleeve assembly for applying a shrink wrap sleeve (102, 202) to a container (190), the shrink wrap sleeve assembly comprising: a deployment device (110), in particular a deployment mandrel, for deploying a perforated shrink wrap tube (100). ; at least one conveying roller (120a, 320a, 320b) for transporting the unfolded shrink-film tube (100) along the axial direction of the unfolding means (110); and at least one tear-off roller (130a, 130b, 330a, 330b) for tearing off a shrink-wrap sleeve (102, 202) from the unfolded shrink-wrap tube (100); wherein the tear-off roller (130a, 130b, 330a, 330b) is offset relative to the conveying roller (120a, 320a, 320b) in the circumferential direction and in the axial direction of the unfolding device (110).

Description

Field of the invention

The present invention relates to a device and a method for applying a shrink-film sleeve, in particular as a closure assurance, to a container.

State of the art

For equipping bottles, cans or the like with tubular film or label sleeves, the so-called sleeves, equipment machines, such as in the WO 00/66437 described, having an apparatus for unfolding a flat-lying film tube and cutting film or label sleeves in a desired length.

The utility model DE 201 04972 U1 already shows a device for unfolding and cutting a film tube. It is a device for unfolding a film tube by Auffaltdorn described, wherein the film tube is pulled in the axial direction over the Auffaltdorn and thereby widened in the radial direction. The device has a cutting device arranged in the lower end region of the Auffaltdorns for circumferentially severing the unfolded film tube from the radially outer side, wherein the radially inner side of the film tube is supported by the Auffaltdorn. The Auffaltdorn has here in height of the cutting means resiliently acted upon supporting elements which support the film tube on its inner surface. In this device, however, the problem arises that, due to the downtime during the cutting of the film tube, no high throughput is possible.

Also in the WO 00/66437 described device has a dimensionally stable Auffaltdorn and works satisfactorily as long as the diameter of the film tube to be processed does not leave a certain, relatively narrow tolerance range. In the case of film sleeves of inferior quality, ie with variations in diameter in a wide tolerance field, problem may occur when cutting the film tube, since a dimensionally stable Auffaltdorn usually in its lower, the cutting plane near a region having the smallest possible inner diameter of the film tube outer diameter to a sticking of the hose on the unfolding mandrel. Moves the Film tube diameter in the largest possible tolerance range, the existing between the inner side of the tube and the mandrel outer surface gap can become so large that the tube is not sufficiently supported during the cutting of a film sleeve on its inside. The result is an unclean cut line with a wavy or frayed cut edge. This problem occurs especially with shrink-film sleeves, which are relatively rigid and also easily tear.

On this basis, the present invention seeks to apply shrink film sleeves with high throughput without the use of cutting blades on containers.

When applying shrink-film sleeves as a closure security, for example in the field of bottle closures, there is the further problem of the short length of the sleeves used for locking. A clean cut of short length shrink film sleeves generally proves difficult. Moreover, if the conveying rollers are too close to the cutting plane for particularly short shrink-film sleeves, the risk of collision of the container closure with the conveying rollers can occur.

The present invention is therefore also the object of separating suitable shrink film sleeves for high-throughput from the film tube suitable for the lock security, without hindering the container flow.

Description of the invention

• eine Auffalteinrichtung, insbesondere einen Auffaltdorn, zum Auffalten eines perforierten Schrumpffolienschlauchs;
• wenigstens eine Förderrolle zum Transportieren des aufgefalteten Schrumpffolienschlauchs entlang der Axialrichtung der Auffalteinrichtung; und
• wenigstens eine Abreißrolle zum Abreißen einer Schrumpffolienhülse von dem aufgefalteten Schrumpffolienschlauch;
• wobei die Abreißrolle gegenüber der Förderrolle in Umfangsrichtung und in Axialrichtung der Auffalteinrichtung versetzt angeordnet ist.

The above objects are achieved by a device comprising a shrink-wrap sleeve assembly for applying a shrink-wrap sleeve to a container, the shrink-wrap sleeve assembly comprising:

• a Auffalteinrichtung, in particular a Auffaltdorn, for unfolding a perforated shrink film tube;
• at least one conveying roller for conveying the unfolded shrink-film tube along the axial direction of the unfolding means; and
• at least one tear-off roll for tearing off a shrink-wrap sleeve from the unfolded shrink-wrap tube;
• wherein the tear-off roller is arranged offset relative to the conveyor roller in the circumferential direction and in the axial direction of the Auffalteinrichtung.

The shrink-film sleeve assembly of the device according to the invention is designed to individually separate shrink-film sleeves of a desired length from a shrink-film tube in order to be able to apply them to the containers, in particular as a closure safeguard. For this purpose, the initially flat-folded shrink film tube is fed by suitable means, such as conveyor and guide rollers, from a suitable storage unit of the Auffalteinrichtung to be radially expanded or unfolded by this. For this purpose, the shrink-film tube is generally pulled over the prolate-formed deployment device, wherein the at least one transport roller for transporting the unfolded shrink-film tube along an axial direction of the deployment device can at least support this pulling of the shrink-film tube.

A commonly used Auffalteinrichtung here is the so-called Auffaltdorn. The tapered or triangular tapered end of the deployment mandrel is used to radially expand the flat-folded shrink-wrap tube, while the downstream blunt end of the deployment mandrel is for transfer, i. H. for applying the shrink-film sleeves to the containers, to a, for example, by means of a linear transport device, is directed past the shrink-film sleeve assembly passed stream of containers out. A variety of different configurations of Auffaltdorns is known in the art. All of these embodiments can be used in connection with the present invention as long as the Auffaltdorn has an outer surface over which the inside of the shrink film tube at least in the region of the blunt end contact-tight, d. H. close fitting, can be pulled. For example, the deployment mandrel may be dimensionally stable, having freely rotatable rollers for facilitating delivery of the shrink wrap tube along the outer surface of the deployment mandrel, a low friction coefficient surface coating, and / or radially outwardly acting resilient support members to unfold shrink tubing having diameters within certain tolerance limits by means of the deployment mandrel can.

The shrink-film tube can be provided, for example in roll form, in the storage unit, from where it can be unrolled and fed to the shrink-wrap sleeve aggregate. As material for the shrink film tube, a material is selected which is shrinkable, so that the shrink film sleeve applied to the container in a downstream shrinking station, such as a shrink tunnel or a shrinking carousel, by heat, possibly with the addition of a pressure reduction, can be shrunk. The heat can be achieved for example by a hot air or an infrared heating system. Suitable materials for the shrink film tube For example, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), oriented polystyrene (OPS), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS), or the like. The shrink-film hoses used for shrink-film sleeves have a wall thickness in the range from 10 μm to 150 μm, preferably from 10 μm to 100 μm, particularly preferably from 15 μm to 60 μm.

The shrink-film tube can already be provided in the storage unit with pre-perforation or can be perforated by means of a perforating device arranged upstream of the deployment device. For this purpose, in a special development, in particular as part of the shrink-film sleeve assembly, the device may comprise at least one perforating device for circumferentially perforating the shrink-film tube at predetermined intervals. For example, the perforating device may have a counter-pressure roller with a smooth, hard surface or a corrugating roller with a corrugated, hard surface, over which the not yet perforated shrink-film tube is guided. The perforation may then be effected by a driven perforating roller having a plurality of equally spaced along the circumference of the roller perforating blades, which can be brought by rotation of the perforating roller in engagement with the counter-pressure roller or corrugating roll that between the counter-pressure roller and Corrugating roll and perforating roller guided shrink film tube is perforated circumferentially. For this purpose, the perforating blades aligned along the axial direction of the perforating roller may have a plurality of sharp teeth. In addition to the circumferential perforation, the shrink film tube may also be perforated at one or more longitudinal locations by the perforator to facilitate opening of the finished closure sleeve by a user. Such longitudinal perforations can be produced in a particularly simple manner on opposite sides of the shrink-film tube if, for example, the perforating roller has circumferentially arranged teeth. The rotation of the perforating roller and / or the circumferential roller perforating roller can be controlled by means of a control unit such that the shrink-film tube is circumferentially perforated at predetermined intervals. In particular, the rotation of the perforating roller and / or the counter-pressure roller or corrugating roller can be adapted to the length of the shrink-film sleeve required for the respective container by means of a variety processing. The perforating device can be designed to cut at least 40% and at most 85%, preferably at least 50% and at most 70% of the perforation line. The percentages given here refer to the relative proportion of the circumference of the tube which is severed or pierced by the perforating device.

The device, in particular the shrink film sleeve assembly, may further comprise a buffer unit for the shrink film tube, which can be realized for example by means of fixed conveyor roller and loose roller and corresponding spring devices. By means of the buffer unit, short-term fluctuations in the throughput of the shrink-film sleeve aggregate can be compensated.

The containers to which the shrink-film sleeves are to be applied may in particular be bottles, cans or the like. The shrink-film sleeves to be applied can in particular be dimensioned such that they serve as closure locks only in the region of the closure of the respective container. Accordingly short are the distances in which the shrink film tube is perforated. For example, the length of the shrink-wrap sleeve for cap seals of bottle caps may be in the range of 1 cm to 10 cm, preferably in the range of 1.5 cm to 8 cm. Accordingly, the tearing off of such shrink-film sleeves at the perforation is difficult.

The present invention solves this problem by providing at least one conveyor roller for transporting the unfolded shrink film tube along the axial direction of the deployment means and at least one tear roller for tearing off a shrink sleeve from the unfolded shrink tube, the tear roller being offset from the conveyor roller in the circumferential and axial directions of the deployment means is arranged. The at least one conveyor roller is thus arranged upstream of the at least one tear-off roller with respect to a transport direction of the shrink-film tube along the axial direction of the unfolding device. Both conveyor roller and tear-off roller are arranged in such a way with respect to the outer surface of the Auffalteinrichtung that the rolling surface of the respective roller is in engagement with the outer surface of the Auffalteinrichtung. In this case, the unfolding device may have one or more freely rotating rollers with which the rolling surface of the respective roller is engaged. Thus, by rotation, the conveying roller and the peeling-off roller each apply a tensile force to the shrinking film tube clamped between the rolling surface of the respective roller and the outer freely rotating roller of the unfolding device, whereby the shrinking film tube as a whole, in the case of the conveying roller, or the separated one Shrink-film sleeve, in the case of the tear-off, along the axial direction of the Auffalteinrichtung is further promoted. For this purpose, the surface of the conveying roller or the tear-off roller can be formed from a material having a sufficiently high coefficient of friction in order to be able to transmit the desired tensile force to the shrink-film tube.

According to a specific development, the shrink-film sleeve aggregate can have at least one pair of conveying rollers arranged on opposite sides of the unfolding device and at least one pair of tear-off rollers arranged on opposite sides of the unfolding device. Thus, in the circumferential direction, for example, a substantially cylindroconical Auffaltdorns, each two conveyor rollers and two tear-off rollers face each other in order to guarantee a smooth transport and a clean tearing of the shrink film sleeve. Also additional conveyor or tear-off rollers are conceivable.

In any case, the conveying and Abreißrollen are arranged offset both in the circumferential direction and in the axial direction. This means that the points of application of the respective rollers and, in the case of centric mounting of the rollers, also the axes of the respective rollers are arranged offset to one another. An offset in the axial direction thereby causes the tear-off roller can be in engagement with the shrunk-off shrinkable sleeve, while the conveyor roller is already in engagement with the subsequent shrink-film sleeve. Thus, located between the points of the conveyor roller and the Abreißrolle exactly a circumferential perforation of the shrink film tube to which the shrink film sleeve is demolished by applying a sufficiently large tension. Such tension can be applied by appropriately controlled driving of the conveyor roller and the tear-off roller (see below).

If the points of application of the conveyor roller and the tear-off roller along the outer surface of the Auffalteinrichtung in the axial direction by a distance d are arranged offset from each other, shrink film sleeves can be torn off with a length L which is at least equal to the distance d. Also shrink film sleeves with a length that is significantly greater than the distance d, which is greater than twice the distance d, for example, can be reliably separated with the inventive arrangement of the conveying roller and the tear-off. In a specific development, however, the conveying roller and the tear-off roller are offset from one another by a distance d in the axial direction which is smaller than the length L of the shrink-film sleeve to be torn off and greater than half the length L of the shrink-film sleeve to be torn off. Thus, the conveying roller can be engaged with the lower end of the subsequent shrink-film sleeve while the tear-off roller is engaged with a point of the lower half of the shrink-film sleeve to be torn off. The term "bottom" means here and below always along the transport direction of the shrink film tube located downstream and is not to be understood as limiting spatially. In general, however, a shrink-film sleeve aggregate will be arranged such that the shrink-film sleeves to be applied are supplied to the containers with respect to an installation surface of the containers from the top. By attack of the tear-off roll in the lower half of the shrunk-off shrinkable tube sleeve remains a sufficient length of the shrink film sleeve to accelerate them by appropriately controlled rotation of the Abreißrolle down to off at a desired speed from the shrink tube sleeve assembly and aufzuschießen on the container.

Since the conveyor roller and the Abreißrolle have a certain extent, which is selected for example depending on the drive, storage and desired unwinding speed, there is a risk that the rollers interfere with each other with small distances between conveyor roller and tear roller along the axial direction of the Auffalteinrichtung. For this reason, the tear-off roller according to the present invention is additionally offset from the conveying roller in the circumferential direction of the unfolding device. This means that between the planes in which the respective rollers rotate and between the axes on which the respective rollers are mounted, an angle is present which is greater than 0 ° and less than or equal to 180 °. In the case of pairs of opposite conveying and / or tear-off rollers, this angle is greater than 0 ° and less than or equal to 90 °.

According to a special development, the tear-off roller is offset relative to the conveying roller by at least 30 ° and at most 90 °, preferably by at least 80 ° and at most 90 °, particularly preferably by 90 ° in the circumferential direction of the unfolding device.

By offsetting the tear-off roll in the circumferential direction, it is possible to arrange the axes of the feed and tear-off rolls at a distance which is less than the sum of the radii of the two rolls (see below). As a result, taking into account the above-mentioned condition of the distance of the two rollers along the outer surface of the unfolding, shrink film sleeves can be separated from the shrink film tube whose lengths are significantly lower than previously possible in the prior art. The described arrangement is therefore particularly advantageous for shrink film sleeves for locking of containers.

It is understood that when using pairs of opposite conveying or tear-off rollers, both tear-off rollers are arranged offset by the same distance in the axial direction relative to the one or more conveyor rollers. The arrangement in the circumferential direction is also offset from the one or more conveyor rollers for both Abreißrollen, wherein the offset angle relative to the respective corresponding conveyor roller may be the same or different, depending on the structural requirements for the shrink tube sleeve assembly, in particular at its drive, are provided. For example, the shrink wrap sleeve assembly may each comprise a pair of conveyor rollers and Abreißrollenpaar, wherein the conveyor rollers and Abreißrollen alternately are arranged at 90 ° intervals along the circumferential direction of the Auffalteinrichtung. The conveyor rollers and tear-off rollers are thus arranged crosswise, so that the rollers can not interfere with each other. However, smaller misalignment angles may already be sufficient, depending on the dimensions of the rollers and type of drives.

According to a further development, the conveying roller may have a first radius, and the tear-off roller may have a second radius, wherein the tear-off roller is offset from the conveying roller by a distance in the axial direction of the unfolding device that is less than or equal to the sum of the first and the second radius , According to this embodiment, the conveyor roller and tear-off roller are circular and mounted in their respective center on a drive axle. The radii of the conveyor roller and tear roller can be the same or different. A correspondingly larger radius of the Abreißrolle leads, for example, at the same rotational frequency to a higher unwinding speed, d. H. to a higher circulation speed of the contact surface of the tear-off roller. Thus, the difference in the rolling speeds described below can already be achieved by different radii of the conveyor roller and the tear-off roller.

Due to the circumferentially offset arrangement of conveying roller and tear roller, the rollers do not interfere even if the distance in the axial direction, or, when attacking the rollers in a conical region of the Auffalteinrichtung along the outer surface of the Auffalteinrichtung in the axial direction, less than or equal to the sum from the two radii is. In this case, the rollers would overlap without angular offset and thus touch. The minimum distance between the conveying roller and tear-off roller is determined according to the invention only by the extension of the bearings of the two rollers, as well as the length of the shrunk-off shrink sleeves to be torn off. Thus, according to the invention, it is also possible to separate very short shrink-film sleeves, as used for securing the closure, from the shrink-film tube and apply them to the respective container.

According to a development, the device may further comprise a transport device, in particular a linear transport device, which is designed such that by means of the shrink film sleeve assembly shrink film sleeves can be applied to a transported by the transport device stream of containers, wherein the conveying roller and the Abreißrolle relative to a transport direction of Containers are placed offset when applying the shrink film sleeves by the same angle in the circumferential direction of the Auffalteinrichtung. The apparatus described above is adapted to apply shrink-wrap sleeves to a continuous stream of containers. For this purpose, the device according to the present development, a transport device that conveys the containers as a continuous stream. For example, a linear transport device, in particular a conveyor belt, a transport chain or an individual transport by means of a linear motor can be used. Alternatively, the containers can be passed by means of a rotary traveler on the shrink film sleeve assembly. In this case, the direction of movement of the containers at the moment of applying the shrink-film sleeve defines a transport direction. In the simplest case, for example in the case of a forward transport by means of a straight conveyor belt, the transport direction corresponds to the orientation of the transport device at the point of transfer of the shrink-film sleeve.

According to this development, the conveying roller and the tear-off roller can be offset relative to the transport direction by the same angle in the circumferential direction of the unfolding device. Thus, the conveyor roller is arranged on one side of the transport direction and the tear-off roller on the other side of the transport direction, wherein the respective angle to the transport direction, d. H. downstream with respect to the flow of the containers, are the same. When using pairs of opposing conveying or tear-off rolls, the same condition automatically applies to the other roll of the respective pair. When using the arrangement described above, the tear-off roller can be arranged closer to the place of transfer of the shrink film sleeves to the containers, as if their rolling plane would be arranged in the transport direction, since the over the blunt end of the Auffalteinrichtung protruding part of the tear-off no longer with the upper part of the transported container, z. B. the bottle head, can collide. In this way, the Auffalteinrichtung can be made more compact, so that unnecessary friction of the shrink film sleeve during firing over the blunt end of the unfolding can be avoided.

According to a special development, the shrink-film sleeve assembly may comprise only one conveyor roller and one tear-off roller, wherein both rollers are arranged at the same angular distance from the downstream-facing transport direction. Thereby, a reliable transport of the shrink film sleeve along the axial direction of the Auffalteinrichtung is guaranteed on the downstream side, so that to be provided with the shrink sleeve upper part of the moving container can be collected by the shot down shrink sleeve. In this case, it may be sufficient to provide only a conveyor roller and a tear-off, whereby the installation and maintenance costs can be reduced.

In a further development, the conveying roller and the tear-off roller can each be mounted on a shaft by means of which they can be driven. A variety of bearings and Drives are known in the art and therefore will not be further elaborated here. For example, the rollers may be rigidly connected to the respective shaft. Of course, the diameter of the shaft is considerably smaller than the diameter of the respective roller. For example, as known in the art, the shafts may be driven by toothed belts and toothed belt wheels, which may for example be driven by an electric servomotor connected to a controller.

According to a special development, however, the device may also comprise a direct drive for the conveyor roller and / or the tear-off roller. This means that the shaft of the conveyor roller and / or the shaft of the tear-off roller are driven directly via one or more corresponding motors. In particular, the direct drive may include one or more servomotors. The one or more servomotors can be controlled by means of a controller.

According to a further development, the device may comprise a control device which controls the direct drive of the conveyor roller and / or the tear-off roller for tearing off the shrink-film sleeve such that the unwinding speed of the tear-off roller is at least temporarily higher than the unwinding speed of the conveyor roller. For example, the control device can be designed as a programmable logic controller (PLC) which controls the servomotors depending on the length of the shrink-film sleeve to be torn off and the radii of the conveying or tear-off rollers in such a way that due to the temporarily higher unwinding speed of the tear-off roller, a tensile stress on the Perforation of the shrink film tube is constructed, which leads to the tearing of the shrink film sleeve. For this purpose, the control device may further have an infrared sensor or an optical sensor to monitor the position of the perforation along the Auffalteinrichtung and forward corresponding signals to the control unit. Based on the received signals, the control unit can control or regulate the direct drives of the conveying and Abreißrolle. The lengths of the shrink film sleeves to be torn off can be stored in the manner of a variety management in a memory which can be accessed by the control unit.

The at least temporary difference in the unwinding speeds of the conveyor roller and the tear-off roller can come about in many different ways. For example, the tear-off roller may be constantly driven at a predetermined unwinding speed while the conveying roller is driven either constantly at a slower unwinding speed or clocked to feed the next respective shrunken-film sleeve to the tear-off roller. Alternatively, the conveying roller may be driven at a predetermined constant unwinding speed for continuously transporting the shrink-film tube while the Abreißrolle is temporarily driven with an increased compared to the unwinding speed of the feed roller unwinding. For example, this increased unwinding speed of the tear-off roller can be twice or three times as large as that of the conveying roller. For the mentioned materials and perforations of the shrink-film sleeves, however, a 5% to 10% increased unwinding speed of the tear-off roller may be sufficient. In this case, the control unit can control the drive of the tear-off roller such that its unwinding speed is increased only when the tear-off roller is in engagement with the shrink-film sleeve to be torn off and the perforation is arranged between the conveying roller and the tear-off roller. The different rolling speeds thus lead to the occurrence of a tensile stress on the perforation, which leads to the tearing of the shrink film sleeve.

According to a particular development, the control device can control the drive of the tear-off roller in such a way that it further increases the unwinding speed of the tear-off roller even after the shrink-film sleeve has been torn off, for example to four to five times the unwinding speed of the conveyor roller. As a result, the already separated shrink-film sleeve along the axial direction of the Auffalteinrichtung is accelerated to then be shot at a desired speed on the container. At approx. 70,000 sleeves per hour, this speed can be approx. 3 m / s depending on the length of the sleeve. In this case, the tear-off roller simultaneously serves to transfer the shrink-film sleeve to the container, so that it is possible to dispense with a further roller for accelerating and firing the shrink-film sleeve. This further simplifies the shrink wrap sleeve assembly.

Alternatively or additionally, the direct drive can drive the conveyor roller and the tear-off roller together via a transmission such that the unwinding speed of the tear-off roller is at least temporarily higher than the unwinding speed of the conveyor roller. For example, the ratio of the transmission based on the radii of the conveyor or tear-off roller and the desired speed difference can be chosen such that the tear-off roller is always driven at an increased unwinding speed compared to the conveyor roller. Due to potentially different radii of the conveyor and tear-off rollers, a 1: 1 ratio can also be selected. A common drive simplifies the maintenance and installation of the device, however, the device loses flexibility in terms of the lengths of the shrink film sleeves to be processed. A more flexible design can be achieved with the above-described control of individual servo drives.

However, a temporarily increased unwinding speed of the tear-off roller in comparison to the conveying roller can also be realized with a gear that has at least one sector gear wheel and / or has at least one oval gear. With two oval gears meshing with one another, it is possible, for example with fixed drive shafts, to realize a periodic oscillation of the rolling speeds of the conveying roller and tear-off roller, with a maximum rolling speed of the tear-off roller corresponding to a minimum rolling speed of the conveying roller. Even with sector gears, a temporary acceleration of the unwinding of the tear-off roller can be achieved.

According to a development, the tear-off roller can be moved along the axial direction of the unfolding device to a distance from the conveying roller which is smaller than the first radius of the conveying roller. The minimum distance is determined only by the arrangement of the drive shafts and their extent. If the waves cross, then the minimum radius results from the sum of the radii of the intersecting waves. For non-crossing waves, the distance can be reduced to virtually zero. In this way, extremely short shrink film sleeves can be separated from the shrink film tube. The tear-off roller can be moved mechanically, for example hydraulically, electrically or manually. Alternatively or additionally, the conveyor roller along the axial direction of the Auffalteinrichtung be moved. This has the advantage that the tear-off roller can simultaneously serve to transfer the shrink-film sleeves, as described above, wherein retention of the tear-off roller at the blunt end of the deployment device is desirable.

In order to arrange the tear-off roller and / or conveyor roller movably along the axial direction of the unfolding device, the conveyor roller and / or the tear-off roller can be driven by means of at least one telescopic universal joint shaft according to a further development. By using telescopic universal joint shafts, the servomotor (s) for driving the conveyor or tear-off roller can remain stationary while the conveyor or tear-off roller is moved along the axial direction of the unfolding device. The process of conveying or tear-off allows the adaptation of the shrink-film sleeve assembly to a desired length of the shrunk-off shrinkable sleeve and is automatically carried out, for example, by means of the control device in the course of a grade change.

Additionally or alternatively, the conveying roller and / or the tear-off roller can be arranged to be movable along a radial direction of the unfolding device according to a further development. Again, telescopic universal joint shafts can be used to allow linear movement of the respective roller along the radial direction. Such a radial movability of the conveying and / or tear-off roll permits, in particular, an uncomplicated exchange of the unfolding device, in particular of a folding mandrel, by means of a Folding device for unfolding shrink-film hoses with a different diameter range. Also, by means of resilient support elements of the unfolding in combination with radially movable conveyor or Abreißrollen can editable range of hose diameters expand. With a suitable design of Auffaltdorns this can also be supported or held by the conveyor or Abreißrollen.

The present invention further comprises the use of a device according to the above-described developments for applying a shrink film on a container, wherein the conveying roller and / or the tear-off roller for tearing off the shrink film sleeve are driven controlled such that the unwinding speed of the tear-off at least temporarily higher than the unwinding speed the conveyor roller is. By means of the devices described above can thus shrink film sleeves are applied with almost any small length in high throughput on containers such as bottles or cans. Such a device can thus be used in particular for the reliable application of shrink-film sleeves as a closure fuses. The device can also be formed without a cutting blade, which significantly reduces maintenance.

1. a) Perforieren eines Schrumpffolienschlauchs in vorbestimmten Abständen;
2. b) Auffalten des perforierten Schrumpffolienschlauchs mittels einer Auffalteinrichtung, insbesondere eines Auffaltdorns;
3. c) Transportieren des aufgefalteten Schrumpffolienschlauchs entlang der Axialrichtung der Auffalteinrichtung mittels wenigstens einer Förderrolle; und
4. d) Abreißen der Schrumpffolienhülse von dem Schrumpffolienschlauch durch Erzeugen einer Zugspannung an der abzureißenden Schrumpffolienhülse mittels wenigstens einer Abreißrolle,

wobei die Zugspannung gegenüber einem Angriffspunkt der Förderrolle an dem Schrumpffolienschlauch in Umfangsrichtung und in der Axialrichtung der Auffalteinrichtung versetzt erzeugt wird.The aforementioned objects are also achieved by a method for applying a shrink-film sleeve to a container, the method comprising the following steps:

1. a) perforating a shrink film tube at predetermined intervals;
2. b) unfolding of the perforated shrink-film tube by means of an unfolding device, in particular a Auffaltdorns;
3. c) transporting the unfolded shrink film tube along the axial direction of the unfolding device by means of at least one conveyor roller; and
4. d) tearing off the shrink-film sleeve from the shrink-film tube by generating a tensile stress on the shrink-film sleeve to be torn off by means of at least one tear-off roller,

wherein the tensile stress is generated offset relative to a point of application of the conveyor roller on the shrink film tube in the circumferential direction and in the axial direction of the Auffalteinrichtung.

Here, the same variations and developments described above in connection with the device according to the invention can also be applied to the method of applying a shrink-film sleeve.

In particular, the tensile stress for tearing off the shrink film sleeve as described above by at least temporarily increasing the unwinding speed of the tear-off roller compared to the unwinding speed of the conveying roller can be generated. For this purpose, the drives, in particular by means of servomotors, the tear-off roller and the conveyor roller can be correspondingly controlled and / or regulated via a control device.

According to the invention, the tensile stress is generated offset relative to a point of application of the conveying roller on the shrink-film tube in the circumferential direction and in the axial direction of the unfolding device. Again, the variations and refinements described above can be used for axial or circumferential offset of the roles application. Characterized in that the tensile stress is generated offset relative to the point of application of the conveying roller in the circumferential direction, the distance of the conveying and Abreißrollen along the axial direction of the Auffalteinrichtung can be reduced. At the same time an offset attacking tensile stress facilitates the tearing of the shrink film sleeve, as due to the offset in the circumferential direction in addition to the tensile forces also apply shear forces on the perforation of the shrink film tube. This can reduce the error rate of non-separated shrink film sleeves.

The perforation of the shrink-film tube at predetermined intervals by defining shrink-film sleeves of a length L corresponding to the predetermined distance can be achieved, for example, with the perforating device described above. In addition to circumferential perforation, the shrink wrap tube may also be perforated along a longitudinal direction to facilitate later tearing of the anti-theft device.

According to a further embodiment, the conveying roller, as described above, have a first radius, while the tear-off roller has a second radius, wherein the predetermined distance, and thus the length of the shrink-film sleeve to be separated, less than or equal to the sum of the first and the second radius may be, and wherein the tear-off roller generates the tension on the shrinkable film sleeve to be torn over the point of application of the conveyor roller by a distance d in the axial direction of the Auffalteinrichtung which is less than or equal to the predetermined distance. The relations of predetermined distance L of the perforations of the shrink film tube and offset distance d have been described in detail above, and therefore will not be repeated here. Characterized in that the tension is offset by a distance which is less than or equal to the length L of the shrinkable film sleeve to be torn off is generated against the point of application of the conveyor roller, the conveyor roller keeps quasi the subsequent shrink film sleeve, while the tear off the tearing off shrink film sleeve due to the at least temporarily higher unwinding Abreißrolle. As already described above, the tear-off roller can also be used for transferring the separated shrink-film sleeve to the container in which its unwinding speed is increased by the control device such that the severed shrink-film sleeve is accelerated along the axial direction of the unfolding device.

Figur 1

zeigt eine schematische Seitenansicht einer beispielhaften Ausführung des Schrumpffolienhülsenaggregats gemäß der vorliegenden Erfindung.

Figur 2

zeigt eine Detaildarstellung des unteren Teils der Auffalteinrichtung aus Figur 1.

Figur 3

zeigt eine Aufsicht einer speziellen Weiterbildung der vorliegenden Erfindung mit Paaren sich gegenüberliegender Förder- bzw. Abreißrollen.

Figur 4

zeigt eine exemplarische Gesamtansicht eines Schrumpffolienhülsenaggregats zum Einsatz der Vorrichtung gemäß der vorliegenden Erfindung.

Further features and exemplary embodiments and advantages of the present invention will be explained in more detail with reference to the drawings. It is understood that the embodiments do not exhaust the scope of the present invention. It is further understood that some or all of the features described below may be combined with each other in other ways.

FIG. 1

shows a schematic side view of an exemplary embodiment of the shrink wrap sleeve assembly according to the present invention.

FIG. 2

shows a detailed view of the lower part of the unfolding FIG. 1 ,

FIG. 3

shows a plan view of a specific embodiment of the present invention with pairs of opposing conveyor or Abreißrollen.

FIG. 4

shows an exemplary overall view of a shrink film sleeve assembly for use of the device according to the present invention.

In FIG. 4 For better orientation, a detailed overall view of a shrink wrap sleeve assembly for use with a shrink wrap sleeve applicator according to the present invention is shown. It is understood that in FIG. 4 can be replaced by components known in the art, alternative embodiments or omitted, as far as they are not essential for the developments described above. The exemplified for the tear-off unit IV embodiment with a pair of conveyor rollers 928 and a pair of tear-off rollers 930 is according to the present invention by in the FIGS. 1 to 3 to replace shown training. In the FIG. 4 Thus, components shown are merely illustrative of an assembly into which the above-described developments can be integrated.

The FIG. 4 shows a shrink film sleeve assembly, which consists of the assemblies I - VI. In this case, the assembly I designate a label storage with a loop buffer, the assembly II a perforating unit, the assembly III a loop buffer, the assembly IV a tear-off, the assembly V a Flascheneinteiler and the assembly VI a transport unit.

In the label storage unit I, a first supply roll 901 with a first shrink-film tube and a second supply roll 902 with a second shrink-film tube as storage units are shown by way of example. The first roller 901 can be driven via a first drive 964 with motor M8, while the second roller 902 can be driven via a second drive 963 with motor M7. Sensing elements 961 and 962 detect how much residual film is present on the respective roll.

From the supply rolls, one of the shrink-film hoses is first guided via deflecting rollers 903 past a sensor 904 and a gluing unit 905 to the loop buffer described below. When the shrink film tube, for example the supply roll 901, is used up, the end of the used shrink film tube can be glued by means of the gluing unit 905 to the beginning of the next shrink film tube, ie the supply roll 902, to allow continuous operation of the shrink wrap sleeve aggregate. For this purpose, the end of the exhausted hose can be glued or spliced manually or automatically to the beginning of the next hose. An example of an automatic gluing is in the EP 2062721 B1 shown. The loop buffer described below makes it possible to operate the shrink tube sleeve assembly without interruption. The thus endless shrink-film tube is conveyed via deflection rollers 908 on to a first loop buffer.

As an alternative to the first drive 964 with motor M8 and the second drive 963 with motor M7, the stocking of the stored shrink-film hoses can also take place by means of a drive roller 906 driven by a motor M1 and a sprung counter-roller 907 connected downstream of the gluing unit 905.

The first loop buffer consists of a plurality of juxtaposed fixed and displaceable rollers, wherein the plurality of sliding rollers 909 in the FIG. 4 is in the working position of the loop buffer. By moving the slidable rollers 909 relative to the fixed rollers, a buffering function of the loop buffer can be realized. The loop buffer has a sensor 910 for detecting an end position with maximum displacement of the displaceable rollers, a sensor 911 for detecting a working position and / or a sensor 912 for detecting a distance of the displaceable rollers from the fixed rollers, for example by means of a laser.

Subsequently, the shrink-film tube is fed via deflection rollers 913 and 914 and / or an air-bore guide tube 914 for stabilizing the shrink-film tube to a manual or automatic tracking control unit 915 for regulating the track of the conveyed shrink-film tube.

A guide element 916, for example designed as a stopper, guides the shrink-film tube to the entrance of the perforation unit II. By means of deflection rollers 917, the shrink-film tube not yet perforated is fed to a perforating unit which comprises a counter-roller 918 and a perforating roller 919. The counter roll 918 may be formed, for example, with a smooth surface or as a corrugating roll. The perforating roller 919 may comprise a plurality of perforating blades arranged along the longitudinal axis of the perforating roller and each having a plurality of sharp teeth for perforating the shrink film tube which may be brought into engagement with the counter roller. For this purpose, the perforating blades are arranged at regular intervals along the circumference of the perforating roller 919. The perforating roller 919 and / or the counter-roller 918 can be driven under control, for example by means of a toothed belt and drive 920 with servomotor M2, in order to perforate the shrink-film tube at regular, predetermined intervals.

Via a deflection roller 921 driven by a motor M3 and a spring-loaded counter-roller 922, the perforated shrink-film tube, past a cutting-edge sensor 923 for detecting the attached perforations, is fed to a second loop buffer III.

Also, the second loop bumper includes a plurality of fixed rollers 925 and a plurality of movable rollers 924 by means of which the length of the shrink film tube conveyed in the loop buffer can be varied. In the embodiment shown here, however, the rollers are arranged one above the other. Again, there may be a sensor 934 for the working position of the loop buffer and / or a distance sensor 933 for detecting the position of the movable rollers 924.

Via a further deflection roller 926, the perforated shrink-film tube is finally fed to the tear-off unit IV for tearing off and impinging individual shrink-film sleeves. It should again be emphasized that the exemplary embodiment shown here is to be replaced by the developments described above and shown in the following figures according to the present invention. The arrangement shown here merely serves to illustrate the relative positioning of a tear-off unit in a shrink-film sleeve assembly.

In the non-representative embodiment shown here, the tear-off unit IV has a Auffaltdorn 927 as Auffalteinrichtung, over which the perforated shrink film tube is pulled. A pair of conveyor rollers 928 driven by a servo motor M4 feed the shrink film tube pulled over the deployment mandrel 927 along the axial direction thereof. At the lower end of the Auffaltdorns shrink film sleeves 931 are demolished by means of tearing rolls 930, which are driven by a servo motor M5, from the shrink film tube and shot onto the container to be labeled 932, here shown as a bottle. A sensor 929 for detecting the tear-off edge of the shrink-film sleeve to be separated is arranged between conveyor rollers 928 and tear-off rollers 930 in order to supply signals for control of the drives M4 and M5.

The containers 932 are fed to the labeling station in the region of the tear-off unit IV via a dividing-up device V and by means of the transport device VI. For this purpose, a Einteilschnecke 945 is controllably driven by a drive 946 with a motor M9. At the same time, the containers 932 are conveyed by means of a conveyor belt which is driven via a drive 947 with a controllable motor M6, so that a transport direction 940 for the containers 932 provided with a desired pitch results in the region of the labeling station. The conveyor belt can then transport the containers provided with a shrink-film sleeve 939 further to a shrinking device, for example a shrink tunnel. A sensor 941 upstream of the tear-away unit IV along the conveyor belt serves to engage the containers 932 to control and / or regulate the motors M4, M5, M6 and M9 so that the severed shrink-wrap sleeves can be reliably applied to the containers.

FIG. 1 1 shows a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a device according to the present invention. In direct comparison to FIG. 4 is limited FIG. 1 on the representation of the perforating unit, the tear-off unit and the transport unit.

The device is used to apply a shrink-film sleeve to a container 190, which is guided past by means of a transport device 150 to the shrink-film sleeve unit shown here restricted to the essentials. As described above, the container 190 may be a bottle, a can, or the like. In the non-limiting embodiment illustrated here, the containers are transported upright by the transport device 150. The transport device 150 can for this purpose have a conveyor belt, a transport chain, an individual transport by means of a linear motor, a rotary machine or the like.

After shooting up a shrink-film sleeve, the containers 190 are transported further into a shrinking station 180, for example a shrink tunnel, where the applied shrink-film sleeves are shrunk onto the container by the action of heat. The arrow marked T marks the direction of transport of the stream of containers at the moment of transfer of the shrink-film sleeve from the shrink-film sleeve assembly.

The device is shown here at the moment of the transfer of a separated shrink sleeve 102 to the container 190, wherein for simplicity, both the Auffaltdorn 110 and the container 190 are assumed to be rotationally symmetrical about the axis A shown. However, it is understood that non-rotationally symmetrical containers or their closures can be provided with shrink film sleeves when the Auffaltdorn 110 has a corresponding cross-section. Furthermore, the Auffaltdorn 110 may also be arranged inclined relative to the axis A. In particular, the axis of Auffaltdorns 110 may be inclined by a predetermined angle to the axis A in the transport direction T.

The unfolding device 110 shown here as a mandrel has an upwardly tapering, for example conically tapered, part 110a, over which an initially flat folded shrinkable tube 100 is pulled. Thereby, the shrink film tube 100 is deployed and radially expanded to be slipped over the upper end of the container 190 can. The feed of the shrink film tube 100 is thereby effected by one or more conveyor rollers 120a, the rolling surfaces are in engagement with the pulled over the Auffaltdorn 110 tube. In addition, for example, the guide roller 170, which serves here as a counter-pressure roller or corrugating roller of the perforating, are driven for the purpose of transporting the shrink film tube.

Before the shrink film tube 100 is pulled over the deployment mandrel 110, it is perforated by a perforator along its circumference at predetermined intervals along its longitudinal direction. Preferably, the perforation is still done in the flat folded state. To this end, the flat-folded shrink-film tube is passed between a perforating roller 175 and a counter-pressure roller or corrugating roller 170, perforating blades 176 having a plurality of sharp teeth are arranged along the axial direction of the perforating roller 175 at regular intervals along the circumference of the perforating roller 175, the shrink-film tube to the counter-pressure roller or corrugating roller pierce 170 and thus perforate. The drive (not shown) of the perforating roller 175 and / or counter-pressure roller or corrugating roller can be controlled, for example by means of the control and / or regulating device 140, such that the shrink-film tube in dependence on a transport speed of the tube in the region of the counter-pressure roller or corrugating roller is perforated at predetermined intervals along its entire circumference, whereby shrink-film sleeves are defined with corresponding lengths. With teeth arranged along the circumferential direction of the perforating roller 175, the shrink-film tube, for example in the center, can also be perforated in the longitudinal direction in order to facilitate the subsequent tearing of the shrink-film sleeve. In the illustrated embodiment, some perforations 160 are shown by way of example.

By means of one or more conveyor rollers 120a, the expanded, perforated shrink-film tube is further transported along the axial direction of the Auffaltdorns 110, which is shown in the figure by the arrow F. Due to the perspective is in FIG. 1 only to recognize a conveyor roller 120a, which is driven by a shaft 125a (see also Figures 2 and 3 ). It will be appreciated that a pair of conveyor rollers disposed on circumferentially opposite sides of the deployment mandrel 110 may also be used. Likewise, further conveying rollers upstream of the conveying direction F are conceivable in order to enable a better advancement of the shrink-film tube.

In addition to the conveying roller 120a, FIG FIG. 1 a pair of tear rolls 130a and 130b with their respective axes of rotation 135a and 135b. In the exemplary embodiment shown here, the pair consists of circumferentially opposed rollers, which thus attack on both sides of the Auffaltdorns to be torn off the shrink film sleeve. In the snapshot illustrated here, a shrink-film sleeve 102 has already been separated from the shrink-film tube 100. The separation takes place, as described in detail above, by an at least temporarily higher unwinding speed of the Abreißrollen 130a and 130b compared to the unwinding of the conveyor roller 120a. As long as there is no slippage between the rolling surface of the respective roll and the outer surface of the shrink film, the unwinding speed of the respective roll corresponds to the conveying speed of the shrink film tube along the outer surface of the deployment mandrel 110. By driving the pull rolls 130a and 130b and the drive of the Conveyor roller 120a is controlled and / or regulated by the control and / or regulating device 140 such that the unwinding speed of the tear-off rollers 130a and 130b is at least temporarily higher than the unwinding speed of the conveyor roller 120a, arises at the between the tear-off rollers and the conveyor rollers perforation of the Shrinking film hose a tensile stress, which leads to the tearing of a shrink film sleeve 102 of the shrink film tube 100 with proper control of the rollers and with appropriate perforation, depending on the material of the shrink film tube. In the in FIG. 1 shown snapshot the tear-off edges 165a and 165b of the subsequent shrink-film sleeve and the torn-off shrink-film sleeve 102 are shown.

The tear-off rollers 130a and 130b and the conveyor roller 120a are arranged offset along the axial direction of the Auffaltdorns 110 that exactly one shrink film sleeve 102 is separated from the shrink film tube 100. The separated shrink film sleeve 102 can then be further accelerated by appropriate control of the rotation of the Abreißrollen 130 a and 130 b in the region of the blunt end 110 b of Auffaltdorns 110, and then at an increased speed off and be shot onto the container 190. For this purpose, the control and / or regulating device 140 can further accelerate the tear-off rollers 130a and 130b after the shrink-film sleeve 102 has been torn off.

FIG. 2 shows a detailed view of the lower part of the unfolding device 110 FIG. 1 , Of the container 190, only the upper part and the closure 295 are shown here by way of example.

Like in FIG. 1 are in FIG. 2 to recognize a conveyor roller 120a and a pair of tear rollers 130a and 130b. The illustrated arrows indicate the directions of rotation of the respective rollers for conveying or tearing off the shrinking film clamped between the rolling surfaces of the rollers and the outer surface of the unfolding mandrel 110. The figure also shows schematically the points of application P ₁ and P ₂ at which the respective rollers are in engagement with the outer surface of the Auffaltdorns 110 or the pulled over shrink film. Although not shown in the figure, the unfolding means may have freely rotating counter-rollers engaged with the tear-off rollers and the conveyor rollers. Thereby, the friction between Auffaltdorn 110 and shrink film tube 100 during transport of the shrink film tube can be reduced.

The figure also shows the radii R ₁ and R _{2 of} the circular trained conveying and Abreißrollen. Preferably, but not necessarily, have the respective roles of a pair of conveying or Abreißrollen the same radius. The radii R ₁ and R _{2 of} the conveying and Abreißrollen may be the same or different. Accordingly adapted, the respective rollers can be driven in order to achieve an at least temporarily higher unwinding speed of the tear-off rollers. The rollers are driven in the illustrated, non-limiting embodiment directly over waves on which they are stored. In FIG. 2 is due to the perspective only the drive shaft 125a of the conveyor roller 120a recognizable. Of the drive shafts of the two tear-off rollers 130a and 130b, only the cross sections can be seen. The drive shafts shown here in an exemplary circular manner have the radii r ₁ and r ₂ . It understands itself, that the radii r ₁ and r _{2 of} the drive shafts are considerably smaller than the radii R ₁ and R _{2 of} the respective rollers.

In the specific development shown here, at least the conveyor roller 120 a directly, d. H. without additional belts, gearbox or the like, driven. For this purpose, for example, a servomotor 245a drives the shaft 125a holding the conveying roller 120a directly. By controlling and / or regulating the servomotor 245a by means of the aforementioned control and / or regulating device, the conveyor roller 120a can be driven with a predetermined rotational frequency-time profile. The same applies to each of the tear rollers 130a and 130b, the drive shafts and drive motors are not shown in the figure for the sake of simplicity.

According to the invention, the tear-off rollers 130a and 130b are offset with respect to the conveyor roller 120a both in the circumferential direction and in the axial direction of the folding mandrel 110, so that the points of application P ₁ and P _{2 of} the respective rollers are offset in the circumferential direction and in the axial direction on the shrinking film to be conveyed. This requires in centric storage of the respective rollers that the central axes of the drive shafts are offset in the axial direction of Auffaltdorns 110 and form an angle greater than 0 ° to each other. Unlike shown in the figure, however, the rigid drive axles can also be replaced by, in particular telescopic, universal joint shafts, so that the conveying and / or tear-off rollers can be designed to be movable along the axial direction and / or in the radial direction with respect to the unfolding mandrel. As a result, different layers of the drive axles can be realized to each other.

In the non-limiting embodiment illustrated here, the tear-off rollers 130a and 130b are each arranged offset by 90 ° relative to the conveyor roller or conveyor rollers 120a (see also FIGS FIG. 3 ). However, other offset angles are possible, as already described above. The arrangement of the drive shafts and drives can always be chosen so that they do not interfere with each other, and also the rotation of the rollers is not hindered (see below), as long as the distance d of the points P ₁ and P ₂ along the outer surface of the Auffaltdorns 110 in the axial direction is greater than the sum of the radii r ₁ and r _{2 of} the drive shafts. In particular, it is possible with the inventive arrangement of the Abreißrollen and conveyor rollers to reduce the distance of the points P ₁ and P ₂ to a distance which is less than or equal to the sum of the radii R ₁ and R _{2 of} the conveyor or Abreißrollen. Without offset in the circumferential direction, the conveying and Abreißrollen would block each other at such a small distance.

In order to be able to reliably tear a single shrink-film sleeve 202 from the shrink-film tube 100, the tear-off rollers 130a and 130b must be in engagement with the shrink-film sleeve 202 to be torn off while the feed roller 120a is already in engagement with the subsequent shrink-film sleeve 204. Thus, the conveyor roller 120a holds the subsequent shrink-film sleeve 204 quasi-firm, while the tear-off rollers 130a and 130b, on account of their higher unwinding speed on the shrink-film sleeve 202 to be torn off, produce a tensile stress on the perforation between the shrink sleeves 202 and 204. The aforementioned control device can therefore drive the tear rollers 130a and 130b and the conveyor roller 120a in such a controlled manner that the perforation to be torn is located between the points of application P ₁ and P ₂ when the tensile stress is built up. For this purpose, the control and / or regulating device, as described above, reduce the unwinding speed of the conveyor rollers and / or increase the unwinding speed of the tear-off rollers.

In order to prevent more than one shrink-film sleeve 202 from being torn off, the distance d should be less than twice the length L of the shrink-sleeves to be torn off. In order to be able to simultaneously use the tear-off rollers 130a and 130b as donor rollers which accelerate the separated shrink-film sleeve 202 such that it is shot up onto the closure 295 of the container 190 by the folding mandrel 110, the distance d can be greater than half the length L /. 2 and smaller than the length L of the shrink film sleeves are selected. This ensures that a sufficient residual length of the demolished shrink film sleeve remains after being separated from the shrink film tube 100 to accelerate the shrink film sleeve downwardly along the axial direction of the deployment mandrel 110. For this purpose, the control and / or regulating device may be designed such that it further increases the unwinding speed of the tear-off rollers 130a and 130b in the short term after the shrink-film sleeve 202 has been torn off.

FIG. 3 shows a plan view of a specific embodiment of the present invention with pairs of opposing conveyor or Abreißrollen.

In this particular development, along the circumference of the Auffaltdorns 110, which is not shown in this figure for reasons of clarity, each face two conveyor rollers 320a and 320b and two Abreißrollen 330a and 330b. The offset angle in the circumferential direction of the Auffaltdorns is therefore always 90 °. Accordingly, the associated drive shafts 325a and 325b of the conveyor rollers and the associated drive shafts 335a and 335b of the tear-off rollers are also rotated by 90 ° with respect to one another. In the non-limiting embodiment shown here Each roller has its own direct drive, which is given by servomotors 345a and 345b or 355a and 355b. As generally described above, the conveyor rollers and / or pull-off rollers may be driven in pair at least in pairs by providing respective gears or belts. Also can be realized by using sector gears and / or oval gears, a common drive of the conveying and Abreißrollen. This reduces the number of motors required, which reduces maintenance. However, the arrangement becomes less flexible in terms of processing different sleeve lengths.

In the plan view shown here, three containers 190a, 190b and 190c in the form of bottles are shown by way of example as part of a container stream, which is transported by a transport device (not shown) in the transport direction T. By way of example, the closures 195a, 195b and 195c of the three containers are also shown. In this case, the closures 195b and 195c have already been provided with one shrink-film sleeve 302b and 302c, respectively.

In the plan view, it will be further appreciated that the pairs of feed rollers 320a and 320b and tear rollers 330a and 330b circumferentially engage the shrink film tube. Incidentally, in this exemplary embodiment, the drive shafts 325a and 335b are crossed to allow the servomotors 345a and 345b and 355a and 355b of the feed rollers to be disposed on the same side, respectively. In this case, the minimum distance d of the points of application P ₁ and P _{2 is given} by the sum of the radii r ₁ and r _{2 of} the drive shafts. By reorienting the drive shafts 325a and 335a in the respectively opposite direction, however, it is possible to completely prevent the drive shafts from crossing over, so that the points of application P ₁ and P ₂ can be approached to virtually zero. As a result, almost any short shrink film sleeves can be separated from the shrink film tube.

It can also be seen in the top view that the drive shafts do not hinder the respective rollers. This also applies to smaller offset angles, as long as the drive shafts are aligned accordingly. For example, the arrangement of the drive shafts 325b and 335a is also applicable at an offset angle between the feed roller 320b and the tear roller 330a smaller than 90 ° as long as the rollers do not touch each other. Depending on the thickness of the rolls, an angle of 30 ° or more is already sufficient. The V-shaped arrangement of the drive shafts 325b and 335a can be further combined with just such a V-shaped arrangement of the drive shafts 325a and 335b, the offset angle between the conveyor roller 320a and the tear roller 330b corresponding to the offset angle between the conveyor roller 320b and the tear roller 330a , In the in FIG. 3 In the specific embodiment shown, the conveying rollers 320a and 320b and the tear-off rollers 330a and 330b are arranged at a 45 ° angle to the transport direction T of the containers 195a, 195b and 195c. In other words, the planes in which, for example, the feed roller 320a and the tear roller 330a rotate and the plane of the feed direction and the vertical A are two equal angles, the feed roller 320a on one side of the transport direction T and the tear roller 330a on the other side Transport direction T is located. In this arrangement, the tear-off roller 330a can be placed particularly close to the lower end 110b of the deployment mandrel 110 (see FIG FIG. 1 ), since segments beyond the lower end of the tear-off roller 330a can not collide with the upper end 195b of the container 190b. The same applies to the upstream tear roll 330b and the incoming container. It is understood that even smaller angles, in particular greater than or equal to 30 °, are possible. A special situation arises when the tear-off rollers 330a and 330b are arranged along the perpendicular B to the transport direction T. In this case, the conveying rollers 320a and 320b may be arranged at almost any angle to the conveying direction because they do not come into conflict with the container closures due to their offset along the axial direction of the folding mandrel 110.

The described embodiments and further developments make it possible to separate particularly short shrink-film sleeves, as used for the closure of containers such as bottles, reliably and with high throughput from a perforated shrink-film tube individually. As a result, the shrink film sleeves used can be limited to a minimum length, which material can be saved. The separated shrink film sleeves can also be accelerated with the tear-off rollers to launch speed, which can be dispensed with separate donor rolls. As a result, throughputs of over 70,000 containers per hour can be achieved. Locking locks with a length of only 0.5 cm can also be processed without further ado.

Claims (15)

A device comprising a shrink wrap sleeve assembly for applying a shrink wrap sleeve (102, 202) to a container (190), the shrink wrap sleeve assembly comprising: an unfolding device (110), in particular a unfolding mandrel, for unfolding a perforated shrink-film tube (100); at least one conveying roller (120a, 320a, 320b) for transporting the unfolded shrink-film tube (100) along the axial direction of the unfolding means (110); and at least one tear-off roll (130a, 130b, 330a, 330b) for tearing off a shrink-wrap sleeve (102, 202) from the unfolded shrink-wrap tube (100); wherein the tear-off roller (130a, 130b, 330a, 330b) is offset relative to the conveying roller (120a, 320a, 320b) in the circumferential direction and in the axial direction of the unfolding device (110). Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the tear-off roller (130a, 130b, 330a, 330b) relative to the conveyor roller (120a, 320a, 320b) by at least 30 ° and at most 90 °, preferably at least 80 ° and at most 90 °, more preferably by 90 ° in the circumferential direction of the unfolding device (110) is offset. Apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the shrink-wrap sleeve assembly comprises at least one pair of conveyor rollers (120a, 320a, 320b) disposed on opposite sides of the deployment means and at least one pair of tear-off rollers (130a, 130b, 330a, 330b) disposed on opposite sides of the deployment means , Device according to one of claims 1 to 3,
wherein the conveyor roller (120a, 320a, 320b) has a first radius and the tear roller (130a, 130b, 330a, 330b) has a second radius, and
wherein the tear-off roller (130a, 130b, 330a, 330b) is offset from the conveying roller (120a, 320a, 320b) by a distance in the axial direction of the folding device (110) that is less than or equal to the sum of the first and second radius , Device according to one of the preceding claims, further comprising a transport device (150), in particular a linear transport device, which is designed such that shrink film sleeves can be applied to a stream of containers (190) conveyed by the transport device (150) by means of the shrink film sleeve aggregate,
wherein the conveying roller (120a, 320a, 320b) and the tear-off roller (130a, 130b, 330a, 330b) are offset from the conveying direction of the containers (190) by the same angle in the circumferential direction of the unfolding device (110) when the shrink-film sleeves are applied. Device according to one of the preceding claims, further comprising a direct drive (245a, 345a, 345b, 355a, 355b) for the conveyor roller (120a, 320a, 320b) and / or the tear-off roller (130a, 130b, 330a, 330b). The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the direct drive (245a, 345a, 345b, 355a, 355b) comprises a servomotor. Apparatus according to claim 6 or 7, further comprising a control device (140) which comprises the direct drive (245a, 345a, 345b, 355a, 355b) of the conveyor roller (120a, 320a, 320b) and / or the tear-off roller (130a, 130b, 330a, 330b) for tearing off the shrink-film sleeve (102, 202) such that the unwinding speed of the tear-off roller (130a, 130b, 330a, 330b) is at least temporarily higher than the unwinding speed of the conveyor roller (120a, 320a, 320b). Device according to one of claims 4 to 8, wherein the tear-off roller (130a, 130b, 330a, 330b) along the axial direction of the Auffalteinrichtung (110) to a distance from the conveyor roller (120a, 320a, 320b) is movable, which is smaller than the first Radius of the conveyor roller (120a, 320a, 320b) is. Apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the conveyor roller (120a, 320a, 320b) and / or the tear-off roller (130a, 130b, 330a, 330b) are driven by means of at least one telescopic universal joint shaft. Device according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the conveyor roller (120a, 320a, 320b) and / or the tear-off roller (130a, 130b, 330a, 330b) along a radial direction of the Auffalteinrichtung (110) are arranged movable. Apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising perforating means (170, 175, 176) for circumferentially perforating the shrink film tube (100) at predetermined intervals. Use of the device according to one of the preceding claims for applying a shrink-film sleeve (102, 202) to a container (190),
wherein the conveyor roller (120a, 320a, 320b) and / or the tear-off roller (130a, 130b, 330a, 330b) are driven in a controlled manner for tearing off the shrink-film sleeve (102, 202) such that the unwinding speed of the tear-off roller (130a, 130b, 330a, 330b) is at least temporarily higher than the unwinding speed of the conveyor roller (120a, 320a, 320b). Method for applying a shrink-film sleeve (102, 202) to a container (190), comprising the following steps: a) perforating a shrink film tube (100) at predetermined intervals; b) unfolding the perforated shrink-film tube (100) by means of a deployment device (110), in particular a deployment mandrel; c) transporting the unfolded shrink-film tube (100) along the axial direction of the unfolding device (110) by means of at least one conveying roller (120a, 320a, 320b); and d) tearing off the shrink-film sleeve (102, 202) from the shrink-film tube (100) by generating a tensile stress on the shrink-film sleeve (102, 202) to be torn off by means of at least one tear-off roller (130a, 130b, 330a, 330b), wherein the tensile stress is generated offset relative to a point of application of the conveyor roller (120a, 320a, 320b) on the shrink film tube (100) in the circumferential direction and in the axial direction of the unfolding device (110). Method according to claim 14,
wherein the conveyor roller (120a, 320a, 320b) has a first radius and the tear roller (130a, 130b, 330a, 330b) has a second radius;
wherein the predetermined distance is less than or equal to the sum of the first and the second radius; and
wherein the tear-off roller (130a, 130b, 330a, 330b) generates the tension on the shrink-film sleeve (102, 202) to be torn off the point of application of the conveyor roller (120a, 320a, 320b) by a distance in the axial direction of the unfolding device (110) is less than or equal to the predetermined distance.

Images