EP3645264B1 - Device for providing padding material for packaging purposes - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a device for providing cushioning material for packaging purposes according to the preamble of claim 1. Such a device is from the US 2012/072016 A1 famous.

From the EP 3,064,344 a cushioning reshaping device is known with which a cushioning material can be produced from air-filled bags ("air bags") from a sheet-like starting material. Although not disclosed there, it is known from the market to store the bags filled with air in a container and to provide a dispensing device with which the air bags can be dispensed from the container. In the known device, the output device simply consists of an opening into which the user grips with his hands in order to remove the air bag. He can separate the required amount of air bags from the rest using prefabricated perforations. the US 2010/0127112 A1 discloses an apparatus for dispensing a deformable sheet material. the US 2012/0053040 A1 describes a delivery system for a cushioning material. the US 2015/0060510 A1 discloses the conveyance of discrete pads by two conveyors in the form of paddle wheels. the U.S. 5,906,569 describes a device for providing cushioning material with two cooperating rollers, one of which can be pivoted away from the other. the US 2012/0072016 A1 shows the conveyance of air-filled cushioned bags by means of a paddle wheel.

Based on this prior art, the present invention has the object of creating a device of the type mentioned at the beginning which works particularly efficiently.

This object is achieved by a device with the features of claim 1. Advantageous further developments of the invention are specified in the subclaims. In addition, features essential to the invention can also be found in the following description and in the accompanying drawing. These features can be used for the invention both on their own and in different ways Combinations can be essential without referring to this again in detail.

According to the invention, a device for providing cushioning material for packaging purposes is proposed with a container for storing the cushioning material and a dispensing device for dispensing the cushioning material from the container. The output device comprises a driven conveying means in the form of a paddle wheel for conveying the cushioning material along a conveying path. The conveyor is held on a movable base which can be moved from an operating position to a release position and back. In the release position, the conveying means is moved out of the conveying path.

It is also according to the invention that the device comprises a guide plate which is stationary with respect to the container and belongs to the dispensing device, which runs straight down in an upper area and essentially concentrically encloses a quarter circumference of the paddle wheel in a lower area, the conveying path between the guide plate and a shaft of the impeller is formed.

As a result of the measures according to the invention, the cushioning material no longer has to be taken out of the container by hand, but is made available to the user by the output device with the driven conveyor means. This saves the user time, so that his productivity is improved as a whole. In addition, the user saves energy and he has to move less so that the activity is less strenuous.

Because the base with the conveyor can be moved into a release position in which the conveyor is moved out of the conveyor path, the device can be put into operation very easily and quickly. This enables the user to reach into the conveying path cleared by the conveying means with his hand and pull out a cushioning material stored in the container as an endless material, for example. If the base with the conveyor is then moved back into the operating position, the conveying of the cushioning material, which is now in the conveying path, can be started immediately.

By using a paddle wheel, it is also possible without any problems to convey such a cushioning material, which consists of comparatively discrete pads, for example of air bags that are connected to one another and can be separated from one another. The use of a stationary guide plate, which limits the conveying path, ensures reliable conveyance without the need for a complex counterpart, for example a roller or the like. The fact that the guide plate encloses a quarter of the circumference of the paddle wheel ensures reliable conveyance of the cushioning material.

The conveying means is designed in such a way that a predetermined amount of cushioning material is dispensed. This will the work of the user is considerably simplified and accelerated, since he no longer has to estimate the amount of cushioning material that he should remove.

The conveying means in the form of the driven paddle wheel comprises a plurality of radially protruding paddle sections, the space between two adjacent paddle sections being dimensioned such that a defined amount of cushioning material can be accommodated in it. A rotation of the paddle wheel enables the cushioning cushions which form the cushioning material, in particular, to be conveyed in the direction of rotation, even if they are still connected as a strand. This is a simple way of adjusting the amount of cushioning material dispensed, especially in the case of such a cushioning material which is formed by individual cushioning cushions. The cushioning cushions and the spaces between adjacent vane sections are advantageously dimensioned in such a way that a cushioning cushion fits into a space between two adjacent vane sections. At the output of the output device, the cushioning material is then conveyed downwards, for example by the force of gravity. There the padding material can then be removed by the user after the paddle wheel has come to a standstill.

In a first development it is proposed that the base can be moved translationally and / or rotationally from the operating position into the release position and back. A translational movement is then, for example conceivable if the base is designed in the manner of a drawer. This can be easily achieved by means of a linear bearing, for example a simple sliding guide. A rotary movement can be implemented, for example, in the form of a pivoting about an axis of rotation, by means of which the base is pivoted out of the conveying path together with the conveying means. This is also possible in a simple and inexpensive manner.

In a further development, it is proposed that it further comprise: a detection device which detects a movement past of a shovel section, and a control device which controls a drive of the conveying means as a function of the signal from the detection device. An inductive sensor, for example, which emits a pulse-like signal when a shovel section moves past, can be used as the detection device. This detection device makes it possible to count the number of the paddle sections moving past the detection device during a rotation of the paddle wheel and in this way to determine the amount of cushioning material conveyed and thus dispensed. By means of the control device it is then possible, for example, to stop the rotation of the paddle wheel after a predetermined number freely selectable by the user has been reached and thus to dispense a desired amount of cushioning material, for example a desired number of cushioning cushions.

A further development is characterized in that the device further comprises: a detection device, which detects at least one request for the delivery of a preferably predetermined amount of cushioning material, and a control device, which controls a drive of the conveyor depending on the signal of the detection device. The term “detection device” is to be understood very broadly here in particular. For example, the detection device can generally include an HMI interface, that is to say for example a touch screen, a screen with buttons or a keyboard, or a foot switch. Via the touchscreen or the screen with buttons or a keyboard, the user can, for example, enter the desired amount of cushioning material and / or initiate the output of the cushioning material. It is also possible that only the desired amount of cushioning material is entered via the touchscreen or the screen with buttons or a keyboard, but the output of the cushioning material is initiated, for example, by the above-mentioned foot switch. It is also possible for the amount of cushioning material dispensed to be set by the foot switch, namely via the duration that the foot switch is pressed by the user. The detection device can also be a system interface to a higher-level system, for example to a warehouse management system (WMS), which specifies the amount of cushioning material to be dispensed on the basis of an empty space present in a packaging container, or to a barcode scanner or a Measuring system that directly records the empty space in a packaging container.

It is further proposed that the device comprises a cushioning reshaping device which reshapes a sheet-like starting material into the cushioning material and releases the cushioning material into the container. The cushioning material is therefore produced directly in the container, as a result of which the device can be operated without interruption for a comparatively long period of time.

The invention also includes the fact that the device further comprises: a detection device which detects a degree of filling of the container with cushioning material, and a control device which controls the cushioning conversion device as a function of the signal from the detection device. This means that new cushioning material is automatically produced and dispensed into the container when the degree of the container falls below a predetermined limit value. This avoids overfilling the container with cushioning material.

The device according to the invention is particularly advantageous when the cushioning material comprises air bags that are connected to one another and can be separated from one another.

A further development provides that the container has an opening immediately adjacent to the dispensing device, through which a user can reach into the interior of the container. This allows the threading of the Padding material in the output device are additionally supported.

Figur 1

eine schematische Darstellung einer Vorrichtung zum Bereitstellen von Polstermaterial für Verpackungszwecke mit einem Behälter und einer Ausgabeeinrichtung, wobei sich eine Basis der Ausgabeeinrichtung in einer Betriebslage befindet;

Figur 2

eine schematische Darstellung ähnlich zu Figur 1, wobei sich die Basis der Ausgabeeinrichtung in einer Freigabelage befindet;

Figur 3

eine perspektivische Darstellung der Ausgabeeinrichtung der Figuren 1 und 2; und

Figur 4

eine Seitenansicht der Ausgabeeinrichtung von Figur 3.

An embodiment of the invention is explained below with reference to the drawing. In the drawing show:

Figure 1

a schematic representation of a device for providing cushioning material for packaging purposes with a container and a dispensing device, wherein a base of the dispensing device is in an operating position;

Figure 2

a schematic representation similar to Figure 1 wherein the base of the output device is in a release position;

Figure 3

a perspective view of the output device of FIG Figures 1 and 2 ; and

Figure 4

a side view of the dispenser of FIG Figure 3 .

A device for providing cushioning material for packaging purposes bears the overall reference number 10 in the figures. The device comprises a container 12 for storing cushioning material 14. In the present case, the cushioning material 14 is produced from a web-shaped starting material 18 by a cushioning forming device 16.

The web-shaped starting material 18 is stored on a roll 20.

In the present case, the cushioning material 14, which is stored in the container 12 and is produced by the cushioning shaping device 16, is air bags 22 which are connected to one another and can be separated from one another. For the sake of clarity, FIGS Figures 1 and 2 only one such air bag is provided with a reference number. The starting material 18 in the form of a web is a film tube made of plastic. In the upholstery reshaping device 16, individual chambers in the film tube are separated by a weld seam, filled with air and finally sealed. In this way, an endless strand of interconnected air bags 22 is produced.

A perforation line 24 is present between two adjacent air bags 22, by means of which a user can separate one or more air bags 22 from the endless strand, as will be explained in greater detail below. As will also be explained in greater detail below, individual or several separated air bags 22 form cushioned cushions in order to fill an empty space in a packaging container.

It goes without saying that, in principle, other types of cushioning material are also conceivable. For example, individual upholstery cushions could also be produced from crumpled paper in the upholstery reshaping device.

The container 12 has at its in the Figures 1 and 2 At the lower end, a funnel-shaped cross-sectional tapering 26, which leads to an output device 28. This comprises a driven conveying means 30 in the present case in the form of a paddle wheel with three radially protruding paddle sections 34 distributed evenly around the circumference of the paddle wheel 30, of which only one is provided with a reference number for the sake of clarity. The blade sections 34 can be made, for example, of metal or of plastic, in particular of a hard rubber material. The blade sections 34 are mounted on a shaft 36, for example a hexagonal shaft. This can in turn be set in rotation by means of a drive, in this case an electric motor 38.

A space 40 present between two adjacent blade sections 34 is dimensioned such that precisely a single air bag 22 can be accommodated in it. The output device 28 further comprises a detection device in the form of an inductive sensor 42, which detects a movement past of a blade section 34. The inductive sensor 42 supplies a signal to a control device 44, which in turn controls the electric motor 38 in a manner to be explained in more detail.

The dispensing device also includes a guide plate 46 which, despite the use of the term "plate", is not necessarily made of metal, but can also be made of plastic. The guide plate 46 runs in an upper area straight down and essentially concentrically encloses a quarter circumference of the paddle wheel 30 in a lower area. In this way, a conveying path 48 is formed between the guide plate 46 and the shaft 36 of the paddle wheel 30, which is symbolized here by an arrow drawn in dashed lines .

The guide plate 46 is stationary with respect to the container 12, so it cannot be moved relative to the container 12. The paddle wheel 30, the electric motor 38 and the inductive sensor 42, however, are held on a base 50 which is movable relative to the container 12 and which has a base in the Figures 1 and 2 invisible enclosure that is parallel to the plane of the Figures 1 and 2 extends, includes. For this purpose, the housing is mounted on profiles 52, which only in the Figures 3 and 4th The sliders 53 shown are slidably mounted on mating profiles 54, the mating profiles 54 being fixedly attached to the container 12.

In this way, the movable base 50 can be on a handle 55 together with the paddle wheel 30, the electric motor 38 and the inductive sensor 42 from an in Figure 1 operating position shown in an in Figure 2 Released position shown and also moved in a translatory manner in the opposite direction. One recognizes from Figure 2 that in the release position shown there, the conveying means 30 is moved out of the conveying path 48.

It goes without saying that instead of a translatory movement of the base, a rotary movement or a combination of these two movements is also possible. For example, the base on yours could be in the Figures 1 and 2 The upper right area can be pivotably connected to the stationary counter profile via a pivot axis, so that the base would be pivoted counterclockwise out of the conveying path.

Immediately adjacent to the dispensing device 28, the container 12 has an opening 56. Furthermore, in the upper region of the container 12 there is a detection device 58, for example in the form of a light barrier, which detects the degree of filling of the container 12 with cushioning material 14. The detection device 58 is also connected to the control device 44. The control device 44 in turn controls the upholstery shaping device 16 as a function of the signal from the detection device 58.

Finally, the device 10 also includes a detection device 60, which in the present case is designed as a touchscreen. In embodiments not shown, the detection device 60 could also be a screen with buttons and / or a keyboard, or an interface to a warehouse management system (WMS), a barcode scanner or a sensor that detects the filling level in a packaging container. In the present case, the user can enter the number of air bags 22 to be dispensed upon request via the detection device 60 on the one hand, and on the other hand Enter the request command which triggers the output of the desired number of air bags 22.

The ones in the Figures 1 and 2 The device shown operates as follows: in operation, the movable base 50 is in its in Figure 1 operating situation shown. An endless strand of cushioning material 14, formed by contiguous air bags 22, is produced by the cushioning forming device 16 and dispensed into the container 12. When the detection device 58 detects that the degree of filling of the container 12 has reached or exceeded a predetermined limit value, the upholstery conversion device 16 is stopped via the control device 44. If the degree of filling of the container 12 falls below the predetermined limit value again, the cushioning conversion device 16 is activated again by the control device 44 in such a way that it produces new cushioning material into the container 12.

In order to obtain a desired number of air bags 22, the user makes the appropriate input on the detection device 60, and he also presses the button on the detection device 60 which causes the desired amount of air bags 22 to be output. In the present case, this amount is exemplarily 2. The control device 44 now controls the electric motor 38 so that the paddle wheel 30 rotates counterclockwise.

The inductive sensor 42 is now each time a blade section 34 on the inductive sensor 42 passes, a signal is sent to the control device 44. After two such signals, the electric motor 38 is stopped by the control device 44. Since the space 40 between two adjacent shovel sections 34 is dimensioned so that exactly a single air bag 22 fits into it, it can be assumed that exactly two air bags 22 were conveyed along the conveying path 48 into an output area 62 below the output device 28.

The user can now reach into the perforation line 24 above the two air bags 22 with his hand, which is indicated here by an arrow 64, and separate the two air bags 22 hanging down by gravity from the remainder still in the dispensing device 28. For this purpose, the output device 28 has a slotted counter plate 66, which in Figure 3 is shown in detail.

For various reasons, a situation can arise in which the endless strand of the cushioning material 14 does not reach into the output device 28. This is typically the case when a new roll 20 of starting material 18 in web form has been inserted. The user now has the task of threading the endless strand of the cushioning material 14 into the output device 28. For this he pulls out Figure 2 it can be seen that the movable base 50 is moved by means of the handle 55 in FIG Figure 2 in the direction of arrow 68 in the in Figure 2 Released position shown. As a result, the conveyor 30, so the paddle wheel 30 with the Electric motor 38 and the inductive sensor 42, moved away from the guide plate 46 and thus out of the conveying path 48.

The user can now, as indicated by the arrow 64a, reach into the conveying path 48 from below and grasp the lower end of the endless strand of the cushioning material 14 and pull it downwards along the arrow 70. This can optionally be supported by the user reaching into the interior of the container 12 through the opening 56 with the other hand, which is indicated by the arrow 64b. Thereafter, the user pushes the base 50 out of the in Figure 2 Released position shown in the in Figure 1 operating position shown so that normal operation of the device 10 can then be started, as described above in connection with Figure 1 has been explained by way of example.

Claims (8)

1. A device (10) for providing cushioning material (14) for packaging, comprising a container (12) for storing the cushioning material (14) and a dispensing device (28) for dispensing the cushioning material (14) from the container (12), the dispensing device (28) comprising a driven conveyor (30) in the form of a paddle wheel having a plurality of radially projecting blade sections (34) for conveying the cushioning material (14) along a conveying path (48), the conveyor (30) being held on a movable base (50), which can be moved from an operating position into a release position and vice versa (68), the conveyor (30) in the release position being moved out of the conveying path (48), characterized in that the device (10) comprises a guide sheet plate (46) which is stationary with respect to the container (12) and which belongs to the dispensing device (28), and which extends straight downward in an upper area and substantially concentrically encloses a quarter circumference of the paddle wheel (30) in a lower area, the conveying path (48) being formed between the guide sheet plate (46) and a shaft (36) of the paddle wheel (30).
2. The device (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that the base (50) can be moved translationally and/or rotationally from the operating position into the release position and back.
3. The device (10) according to claim 2, characterized in that it further comprises: a detection device (42) which detects a passing movement of a blade section (34), and a control device (44) which controls a drive (38) of the conveyor (30) as a function of the signal of the detection device (42).
4. The device (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it further comprises: a detection device (60) detecting at least one request for dispensing a preferably predetermined amount of cushioning material (14) and a control device (44) which controls a drive (38) of the conveyor (30) as a function of the signal of the detection device (60).
5. The device (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises a cushion converting device (16) which converts a web-form starting material (18) into the cushioning material (14) and dispenses the cushioning material (14) into the container (12).
6. The device (10) according to claim 5, characterized in that it further comprises: a detection device (58) which detects a degree of filling of the container (12) with cushioning material (14), and a control device (44) which controls the cushion converting device (16) as a function of the signal of the detection device (58).
7. The device (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the cushioning material (14) comprises interconnected and separable air bags (22).
8. The device (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the container (12) adjacent to the dispensing device (28) has an opening (56) through which a user can reach into the interior of the container (12).

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