EP2989009B1

EP2989009B1 - Machine for wrapping confectionery products

Info

Publication number: EP2989009B1
Application number: EP14731009.8A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Antonio Vitali; Mauro PASSERINI; Stefano Piazzi
Original assignee: Azionaria Costruzioni Macchine Automatiche ACMA SpA
Current assignee: Azionaria Costruzioni Macchine Automatiche ACMA SpA
Priority date: 2013-04-22
Filing date: 2014-04-18
Publication date: 2016-07-27
Anticipated expiration: 2034-04-18
Also published as: WO2014174420A1; EP2989009A1; ES2599407T3; CN105143049A; CN105143049B; ITBO20130180A1

Description

Technical field

This invention relates to a machine for wrapping confectionery products. More specifically, the invention can be applied to the wrapping of confectionery products such as, for instance, sweets, chocolates and the like, to which this description will hereinafter refer but without limiting the scope of the invention.

Background art

Known from the prior art are confectionery wrapping machines comprising a transfer drum for transferring a succession of products to a wrapping device.
Generally speaking, the wrapping device comprises a first and a second folder roller tangent to each other at a product transfer station where the selfsame products pass from the first folder roller to the second.
More specifically, the first folder roller places a sheet of wrapping material round the respective product and the second folder roller, which is equipped with product retaining grippers, wraps the sheet of wrapping material into a tubular shape.
The confectionery products normally wrapped are spherical or substantially spherical in shape and the wrapping style used is usually a "double twist" wrap, or their shape is characterized by a flat base, for example frustoconical, for which the wrapping style is usually of the "boero" type, that is, a bunch fold for the flat base and a single twist bow on the opposite side.
The wrapping machine comprises a succession of folding elements, either fixed or movable, arranged according to a direction of rotation of the second folder roller and designed to fold the tubular wrap to obtain the required wrapping.
One example of machines of this kind is described in application WO2012/001563 in the name of the same applicant as this invention.
In one embodiment of prior art machines, a first set of folders acts on the tubular wrap to make the basic folds to flatten the bottom of the wrap at the base of the product. Downstream of the first set of folders in the direction of rotation of the second folder roller, a twister, also known in the jargon of the trade as "finger", twists the side opposite the base of the product to form a typical single twist bow.
Generally speaking, the tubular wrap is, in a main direction of extension of the wrap itself, much longer than the product to be wrapped.
In the particular case of the "boero" wrapping style, which requires a single twist on one side only, a significant portion of the wrap protrudes from the product being held by the grippers.
The protruding portion of the tubular wrap is subject to the accelerations and decelerations of the roller and thus flaps as the roller rotates since only a minimum part of the wrap is held by the grippers at the product. One problem with these machines is that the tubular wraps, since they are held by only a minimum part of their length, move relative to the product not only on account of the accelerations and decelerations of the roller but also on account of the action of the folders which make the folds at the base.
A first disadvantage of these machines is that incorrect positioning of the wrap relative to the product leads to erratic folding at the base of the product and consequent non-conformity of the wrap to the specified model.
A second disadvantage is that the twist bows of the wrap on different products may differ from each other or even be badly formed on account of imprecise positioning of the wrap relative to the twister.
In prior art wrapping machines, in order to guarantee that the base bunch folds and the twist bows are formed correctly, the operating speed of the wrapping device is suitably reduced in order to at least limit the flapping of the tubular wrap during positive or negative accelerations.

Disclosure of the invention

In this context, the main technical purpose of this invention is to propose a wrapping machine for confectionery products which is free of the above mentioned disadvantages.
One aim of this invention is to provide a wrapping machine for confectionery products which is capable of forming the base bunch folds and the twist bows according to the specified models.
Another aim of the invention is to provide a wrapping machine that is faster and more reliable than prior art machines.

Brief description of the drawings

Further features of the invention and its advantages are more apparent in the non-limiting description below, with reference to a preferred but non-exclusive embodiment of a wrapping machine for confectionery products, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 illustrates a wrapping machine according to this invention in a schematic front view, partly in blocks and with some parts cut away for greater clarity;
Figure 2 illustrates a detail of the wrapping machine of Figure 1 in a schematic front view, partly in blocks and with some parts cut away for greater clarity;
Figure 3 illustrates a second detail of the wrapping machine of Figure 1 in a schematic front view, partly in blocks and with some parts cut away for greater clarity;
Figure 4 illustrates a third detail of the wrapping machine of Figure 1 in a schematic side view;
Figure 5 illustrates a fourth detail of the wrapping machine of Figure 1 in a schematic front view, partly in blocks and with some parts cut away for greater clarity;
Figure 6 illustrates a fifth detail of the wrapping machine of Figure 1 in a schematic front view, partly in blocks and with some parts cut away for greater clarity.

Detailed description of preferred embodiments of the invention

With reference in particular to Figure 1, the numeral 1 denotes a wrapping machine for confectionery products according to this invention.
In the embodiment described, reference is made to confectionery products 2 having a flat base and whose general shape makes them particularly suitable for a wrapping style of the kind known in the trade as "boero", that is to say, a wrapping style having a single twist bow, also known as "twist", made on the side opposite the flat base of the product 2.
With reference in particular to Figure 1, it may be observed that the machine 1 comprises a vertical wall 3 and a wrapping device 4 mounted on the wall 3.
The wrapping device 4 comprises a pair of wrapping drums 5, 6 mounted on the wall 3.
The drums 5, 6, have respective axes of rotation R1, R2 preferably perpendicular to the wall 3.
The machine 1 comprises a feeding device 7 for feeding the confectionery products 2 and a loading or pickup station 8 where the device 7 delivers the products 2 to the wrapping device 4.
As illustrated in Figure 1, the feeding device 7 comprises, for example, a drum 9 comprising a plurality of grippers 10, of which only one is illustrated, for convenience, and which feeds the products 2 to the wrapping device 4, and more specifically, to the drum 5.
The first drum 5 comprises product pickup elements, for example grippers 11 by which the products 2 are picked up and which receive the products 2 from the drum 9 at the loading station 8.
By means of the grippers 11, the first drum 5 holds and feeds the products 2 in a feed direction V1 around the first axis of rotation R1.
The machine 1 comprises a transfer station 13 where the products 2 are transferred from the first drum 5 to the second drum 6.
The wrapping drums 5 and 6 are substantially tangent to each other at the transfer station 13.
In practice, the first drum 5 feeds the products 2 from the pickup station 8 to the transfer station 13.
Looking in more detail at the first drum 5, it may be observed that the first drum 5 comprises a substantially cylindrical folder roller 14 which mounts the grippers 11.
The grippers 11 are uniformly distributed along the base surface of the roller 14 and project radially therefrom in substantially known manner not further described.
With reference to Figure 1, it may be observed that the wrapping machine 1 comprises a feeding device 15, of substantially known type and not further described, for feeding a sheet or piece 16 of wrapping material.
The first drum 5 comprises a plurality of pickup elements, for example grippers 17 by which the pieces 16 of wrapping material are picked up and each of which is located substantially at a corresponding gripper 11 for picking up the product 2.
The combination of the grippers 17 with the respective grippers 11 is of substantially known type and not described further.
The device 15 faces the external cylindrical periphery of the first folder roller 14.
Downstream of the feeding device 15, in the direction V1, there is a fixed contact panel 18, also known as "tile" in the jargon of the trade, also facing the external cylindrical periphery of the first drum 5.
The feeding device 15 and the contact panel 18 are both located between the pickup station 8 and the transfer station 13 along the direction V1.
In use, during the rotation of the first folder roller 14, each gripper 11 picks up a product 2 from the feeding device 7.
Next, the gripper 17 picks up a piece 16 of wrapping material from the feeding device 15 and couples it to the product 2 fed by the gripper 11.
In substantially known manner, a first portion of the sheet 16 is clamped against the product 2 and a second portion is left to protrude radially outwards from the first folder roller 14.
Next, following rotation of the first roller 14, the second portion of the sheet 16 of wrapping material is folded into the shape of an L by contact with the fixed contact panel 18.
At this point, when the products 2 leave the fixed tile 18, the drum 6 picks up the products 2 together with the respective sheet 16 of wrapping material.
With reference in particular to Figures 2, 3, 5, 6, it may be observed that the second drum 6 comprises a plurality of pickup elements, for example grippers 19, by which the products 2 are held and fed in a direction V2 around the axis of rotation R2.
As illustrated schematically in Figure 1, at the transfer station 13 and in substantially known manner, each gripper 19 grips a respective product 2 together with the related sheet 16 of wrapping material, thereby folding the sheet 16 into a U round the product 2.
The sheet 16 folded into a U has a first end 16a and a second end 16b protruding outwards from the second drum 6.
In the example illustrated, the first end 16a is positioned upstream of the second end 16b in the direction of rotation V2.
The wrapping device 4 comprises a plurality of folders, positioned in sequence along the feed direction V2 to define the wrapping of the product 2.
Preferably, the folders of the wrapping device 4 are arranged to form a "boero" type wrapping style, that is to say, a flat fold at the bottom of the product 2 and a twist on the opposite side.
In the preferred embodiment illustrated by way of example, the sequence of folders, substantially known and not described in detail, comprises a first movable folder 20 located downstream of the transfer station 13 in the direction V2.
The wrapping device 4 comprises a fixed folder 21, for example in the form of a curved contact panel, located downstream of the movable folder 20 in the direction V2.
The folders 20 and 21 are mounted to face the external surface of the second drum 6.
The wrapping device 4 comprises a folder 22, also substantially known, located downstream of the folder 21 in the feed direction V2 of the products 2.
The folder 22 is configured to form the twist bow typical of the "boero" wrapping style, thus completing the wrapping of the product 2. During rotation of the folder drum 6, the products 2 are fed from the transfer station 13 to the first movable folder 20 which presses the first end 16a flat against the product 2.
Next, the product 2 is fed towards the fixed folder 21 which presses the second end 16b flat against the first end 16a and against the product 2, thus forming a tubular wrap around the product 2.
In known manner, the tubular wrap has, relative to the product 2 wrapped therein, a front portion 23a and a rear portion 23b illustrated for example in Figure 4.
The portion 23a protrudes, preferably in a direction parallel to the axis R2, on the side opposite the portion 23b with respect to the product 2.
Also, and as is known, the dimension of the portion 23a along the direction of the axis R2 is smaller than the dimension of the portion 23b in the preferred case of making a "boero" type wrap.
Conventionally, with reference for example to Figure 2, the front portion 23a is the portion of the wrap facing someone observing the drawings and projecting from the grippers 19 towards the observer.
The rear portion 23b is the portion of the wrap projecting from the grippers 19 towards the wall 3.
In the case of a "boero" wrapping style, the front portion 23a is the one which forms the base of the wrap, whilst the rear portion 23b, in the example illustrated, is the one which forms the twist bow of the wrap. The wrapping device 4 comprises, substantially at the fixed folder 21, a sequence of folders of known type for folding the portion 23a to form the base of the wrap.
The aforementioned folder 22, downstream of the folder 21, as schematically shown in Figure 6, grips the rear portion 23b of the tubular wrap and forms the aforementioned twist bow in known manner.
The drum 6 comprises a plurality of pickup or retaining elements 24 for holding the piece 16 of wrapping material wrapped around the product 2. The pickup element 24, as will become clearer as this description continues, is of a releasable type, that is, of a type which, when suitably driven, applies an action for holding and retaining the wrap.
More precisely, for each gripper 19, the drum 6 comprises a corresponding pickup element 24 by which the rear portion 23b of the tubular wrap is held and retained as the drum 6 itself rotates.
Still more precisely, the pickup element 24 acts on the portion of the wrap which projects from the gripper 19 towards the wall 3, that is, rearwardly. For convenience, only one pickup element, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, is described below, it being understood that the description applies to all the pickup elements of the drum 6, each associated with a corresponding gripper 19.
The pickup element 24 is movable around the axis R2 and is, preferably, at least partly aligned with the corresponding gripper 19 along a direction parallel to the axis of rotation R2.
The drum 6 comprises a folder roller 25 which mounts the grippers 19 and, preferably, the pickup elements 24.
The machine 1, and more specifically, the second drum 6, is equipped with a movement system, schematically represented as a block 26, by which the pickup elements 24 are moved.
The movement system 26 is preferably driven by the roller 25 and causes the pickup element 24 to move along a trajectory parallel to the trajectory followed by the corresponding gripper 19 and hence by the product 2 fed by it.
In other words, the machine 1 comprises movement means for moving each gripper 19 along a predetermined trajectory and movement means for moving each pickup element 24 along a respective trajectory in such a way that the two trajectories remain parallel, in particular between the transfer station 13 and the folder 22.
In the preferred embodiment illustrated, in particular in Figure 4, it may be observed that the retaining element 24 has a curved surface 27 for receiving the piece 16 of wrapping material. The surface 27 is shaped to match the tubular wrap and, more specifically, the rear portion 23b of the tubular wrap.
Preferably, the retaining element 24 has a plurality of holes in it or is made of a material which is permeable to air.
The machine 1 comprises a pneumatic system, schematically represented as a block 28, in communication with the pickup element 24 to suck air in through the selfsame pickup element.
More precisely, the pneumatic system 28 sucks air in through the surface 27 so that the sheet 16 is held against the retaining element 24 by suction. The retaining element 24, in the preferred embodiment illustrated, is substantially in the form of a suction cup in the sense that it is shaped to hold the tubular wrap, and more specifically, the rear portion 23b thereof, by suction until the folder 22 which makes the twist comes into operation. In the preferred embodiment illustrated by way of example, the retaining element 24 for holding the wrapping material comprises a first jaw 29 and a second jaw 30.
The first and second jaws 29, 30 are movable between a close-together position, shown in detail in Figure 3 and a spaced-apart position shown, for example, in Figures 5 and 6.
When they are at the close-together position, the jaws 29, 30 define the curved surface 27 for receiving the rear portion 23b of the tubular wrap. Advantageously, the jaws 29 and 30 are spaced apart when they are at the folder 22, thus allowing the latter to twist the wrap.
More precisely, the movement system 26 for moving the elements 24 is configured to keep the jaw 29 and the jaw 30 at the close-together position while the drum 6 is moving them from the transfer station 13 to the folder 22 in the feed direction V2.
Preferably, the jaw 29 is articulated to the roller 25 about an axis of rotation R4 preferably parallel to the axis R2.
The machine 1 comprises an outfeed station 31 which is located downstream of the folder 22 in the direction V2 and by which the products 2 are sent on to further processing stations, for example, for packaging of substantially known type and not further described.
The machine 1 as described brings important advantages.
The pickup element 24, by means of the jaws 29 and 30 in the preferred embodiment illustrated, prevents the wrapping material, in particular the rear portion 23b of the tubular wrap, from moving relative to the product 2 while the roller 25 is moving.
The auxiliary gripper defined by the jaws 29 and 30 moves parallel to the product retaining gripper 19, thus keeping the rear portion 23b of the tubular wrap correctly positioned relative to the product at all times.
Since the rear portion 23b is held by suction even during operation of the folders which form in particular the base of the wrap, the wrap itself remains correctly positioned.
Advantageously, the rear portion 23b is released by the retaining element 24 just before reaching the folder 22 which makes the twist. The folder 22 thus finds the rear portion 23b in the correct position and the twist is made in the optimum manner.
The wrap is held in place and is not affected by the accelerations and decelerations of the drum between one stop and the next.
The folding cycle by which the base of the "boero" wrap is formed is standard but is performed while the tube is being held in shape by the retaining element 24.

Claims

A machine for wrapping a food product (2), the machine comprising a wrapping device (4) for wrapping the product (2) and a feeding device (7) for feeding the product (2) to the wrapping device (4),
the wrapping device (4) comprising:
a first wrapping drum (5) rotatable about a first axis of rotation (R1) and comprising at least one first pickup element (11) by which the product (2) is held and fed along a feed direction (V1) around the first axis of rotation (R1) between a pickup station (8) and a transfer station (13);

a feeding device (15) by which at least one piece (16) of wrapping material is fed to the first wrapping drum (5) and which is located between the pickup station (8) and the transfer station (13), the wrapping drum (5) comprising at least a second pickup element (17) which picks up the piece (16) of wrapping material and which is located substantially at the first pickup element (11);

at least one folder (18) located at the first wrapping drum (5) between the pickup station (8) and the transfer station (13), for folding the piece (16) of wrapping material onto the product (2);

a second wrapping drum (6) rotatable about a second axis of rotation (R2) and substantially tangent to the first wrapping drum (5) at the transfer station (13), the second wrapping drum (6) comprising at least a second pickup element (19) by which the product (2) is held and fed along a second feed direction (V2) around the second axis of rotation (R2) from the transfer station (13) to an outfeed station (31);

the wrapping machine being characterized in that the second wrapping drum (6) comprises a retaining element (24) for holding the piece (16) of wrapping material wrapped around the product (2), the retaining element (24) being movable around the axis of rotation (R2) and at least partly aligned with the second pickup element (19) along a direction parallel to the second axis of rotation (R2).
The wrapping machine according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises means for moving the second pickup element (19) along a predetermined trajectory and a system (26) for moving the retaining element (24) along a second predetermined trajectory parallel to the first predetermined trajectory.
The wrapping machine according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it comprises a suction system (28) in fluid communication with the retaining element (24) to hold the piece (16) of wrapping material by suction through the retaining element (24).
The wrapping machine according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the retaining element (24) has a curved surface (27) for receiving the piece (16) of wrapping material.
The wrapping machine according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the wrapping device (4) comprises folding means (20, 21) located at the second wrapping drum (6) between the transfer station (13) and the outfeed station (31) for wrapping the piece (16) of wrapping material around the product (2) to form a tubular wrapping (23a, 23b), the piece (16) of wrapping material being held by the retaining element (24) at least at the folding means (20, 21).
The wrapping machine according to claim 5, characterized in that the wrapping device (4) comprises a second folder (22) located at the second wrapping drum (6) between the folding means (20, 21) and the outfeed station (31) to make at least one bow-like end by twisting at least one portion (23b) of the tubular wrapping, the retaining element (24) being in a non-operating configuration at the second folder (22).
The wrapping machine according to claim 6, characterized in that the retaining element (24) comprises a first jaw (29) and a second jaw (30) movable between a spaced-apart position to a close-together position where they hold the piece (16) of wrapping material, the first and second jaws (29, 30) being at the spaced-apart position at the second folder (22).
The wrapping machine according to claim 7, characterized in that it comprises a system (26) for moving the retaining element (24), the movement system (26) keeping the first jaw (19) and the second jaw (30) at the close-together position during their movement from the transfer station (13) to the second folder (22) along the second advancing direction (V2).
The wrapping machine according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that the second jaw (30) is articulated to the first jaw (29).
The wrapping machine according to any one of claims 7 to 9, characterized in that the wrapping drum (6) comprises a folder roller (25), the second pickup element (19) and the retaining element (24) being mounted on the folder roller (25), the movement system (26) being driven by the folder roller (25).