EP3888898A1 - Measuring device, in particular for a baling press - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a measuring device (1) for cuboid bales of loose material to be pressed, with a feed table provided at an input of the measuring device, onto which the bales are placed close together in a conveying direction (6) from a baling press, characterized in that underneath the A pushing device is arranged on the delivery table, which comprises at least one slider that can be moved downstream in the conveying direction, and that a position measuring device is provided downstream of the pushing device, a working path of the conveyor being set up so that a bale is used to determine the length of the bale in the conveying direction can be conveyed into a measuring range of the position measuring device.

Description

The present invention relates to a measuring device with the features of the preamble of claim 1 and a baler with the features of the preamble of claim 13.

Baling presses are used to compress loose material such as paper and cardboard, plastic waste, mixed waste or fiber materials into cuboidal bales, which can then be provided with various types of bindings. The bales can then be stacked and transported, the space requirement and the effort involved in handling being significantly reduced due to the high degree of compression.

There are different types of baling presses. In addition to channel baling presses with a press chamber open on both sides and a subsequent press channel, in which the bales located there are used as an abutment for the pressing process, there are also balers with a press chamber open on one side, which are characterized by better shape retention and uniformity of the bales produced and by a shorter design. Channel baling presses are characterized by higher performance and lower sensitivity with regard to the uneven properties of the material to be pressed.

The bales produced in a baling press should keep given dimensions that are as constant as possible and also always have the same weight. The dimensions are especially important for logistics, while the weight is the basis for calculating the sale price.

Baling presses in the design of a channel baling press are, for example, from the DE 42 15 578 A1 and the DE 10 2005 003 397 A1 known. Designs with a pressing chamber open on one side are from the documents DE 69506769 T2 and the DE 20 2012 010 760 U1 known.

While box presses produce bales with very uniform dimensions due to the press chamber that is only open towards the press ram, but otherwise closed on all sides, it is more difficult with channel baling presses to produce bales with a length that is precisely defined in the pressing direction. For logistics, however, it is important to know the exact dimensions of the respective bales and to be able to take them into account when calculating the mass, but also when putting together a load for transport.

The known channel baling presses each have a feed chute or feed funnel through which the loose material to be pressed is thrown in. The material to be pressed falls directly into the press channel, where it is conveyed in one working stroke by the press ram into a bale channel and compacted there. The material to be pressed in the bale channel is compressed there in a conveying flow. A tie is made at the end of the bale channel, with which individual bales are formed from the conveying flow. The binding takes place after a compression stroke of the ram, so that a bale is always formed from a number of compression strokes, in practice about three to five strokes. The bales produced are discharged from the press in close succession in a quasi-continuous conveying flow. Usually the individual bales are picked up with a forklift, possibly weighed and then transported on.

It is therefore the object of the present invention to provide a measuring device and a method for pressing loose material to be pressed, with which bales with more precisely known dimensions and above all known mass can be dispensed. In addition, the spread of the dimensions and masses should be reduced.

This object is achieved by a measuring device with the features of claim 1 and by a baling press with the features of claim 13.

Because a measuring device for loose pressed material provides that a sliding device is arranged below the feed table, which includes at least one conveyor that can be moved downstream in the conveying direction, and that a position measuring device is provided downstream of the sliding device, a working path of the conveyor being set up in this way so that a bale can be conveyed to determine the length of the bale in the conveying direction up to a measuring area of the position measuring device, the leading bale can be separated from the conveying flow and its length can be measured in the conveying direction. Due to the separation, the following bale has no disruptive influence on the measurement of the separated bale.

Preferred embodiments result from the features of the dependent claims.

If the feed table comprises a substantially horizontal storage surface for the support of bales ejected from the bale channel, a buffer store can be formed there.

A particularly compact design is obtained when the movable conveyor is a pusher which is arranged below the storage surface and has a bearing surface for bales. In particular, the slide can be moved parallel to a slide plane. In this case, the slide can have a contact surface on an edge leading in the conveying direction, which extends transversely to the conveying direction in a length which corresponds at least to the width of the bale channel. As a result, a bale located in front of the pusher is reliably transported without experiencing a disadvantageous rotation about the vertical axis.

The length of a bale can be recorded particularly precisely if the slide is provided with a position measuring device that measures the position of the Slider detected in the conveying direction.

Furthermore, non-contact sensors can be arranged above the conveying path, with which the outer contours of the bale can be detected with a selectable resolution.

Weighing that can be automated particularly easily during the operating process is made possible if the sliding plane is functionally connected to a scale.

Furthermore, a labeling device can advantageously be provided for labeling the bales with data determined in the measuring device and possibly also other properties (date, time, material) of the bale. The labeling device is advantageously arranged behind the scales in the conveying direction.

A particularly permanent identification of the bale is possible if the labeling device is combined with a strapping device which is provided with a frame surrounding the conveying path of the bale.

For the final discharge of the bale from the device, it is advantageous if the slide has a working stroke in the conveying direction which is suitable for moving a bale largely or completely through the frame of the strapping device. Then there is no need for further conveying devices that provide the bale for further transport.

If, in a baling press for cuboid bales of loose material to be pressed, with a bale channel and with an end of the bale channel located downstream in the conveying direction, at which an output area is provided, to which a binding device for strapping the material to be pressed in bale form, it is also provided that If a measuring device with one or more of the features described above is provided downstream of the bale channel in the conveying direction, bales can be produced which are automatically weighed and labeled, which significantly simplifies the subsequent handling of the bales produced.

Fig. 1:

eine erfindungsgemäße Messvorrichtung in Kombination mit einer Ballenpresse in perspektivischer Darstellung;

Fig. 2:

die Messvorrichtung aus Fig. 1 in einer Seitenansicht mit einem einlaufenden Förderstrom von quaderförmigen Ballen in einer ersten Stellung;

Fig. 3:

die Messvorrichtung in einer Seitenansicht mit einem einlaufenden Förderstrom von quaderförmigen Ballen in einer zweiten Stellung;

Fig. 4:

die Messvorrichtung in einer Seitenansicht mit einem einlaufenden Förderstrom von quaderförmigen Ballen in einer dritten Stellung;

Fig. 5:

die Messvorrichtung in einer Seitenansicht mit einem einlaufenden Förderstrom von quaderförmigen Ballen in einer vierten Stellung;

Fig. 6:

die Messvorrichtung in einer Seitenansicht mit einem einlaufenden Förderstrom von quaderförmigen Ballen in einer fünften Stellung;

Fig. 7:

die Messvorrichtung in einer Seitenansicht mit einem einlaufenden Förderstrom von quaderförmigen Ballen in einer sechsten Stellung;

Fig. 8:

die Messvorrichtung in einer Seitenansicht mit einem einlaufenden Förderstrom von quaderförmigen Ballen in einer siebten Stellung;

Fig. 9:

die Messvorrichtung in einer Seitenansicht während des Wiegevorgangs des vereinzelten Ballens; sowie

Fig. 10:

die Messvorrichtung beim Ausstoßen eines gewogenen Ballens.

An exemplary embodiment of the present invention is described in more detail below with reference to the drawing. Show it:

Fig. 1:

a measuring device according to the invention in combination with a baler in a perspective view;

Fig. 2:

the measuring device off Fig. 1 in a side view with an incoming flow of cuboid bales in a first position;

Fig. 3:

the measuring device in a side view with an incoming flow of cuboid bales in a second position;

Fig. 4:

the measuring device in a side view with an incoming flow of cuboid bales in a third position;

Fig. 5:

the measuring device in a side view with an incoming flow of cuboid bales in a fourth position;

Fig. 6:

the measuring device in a side view with an incoming flow of cuboid bales in a fifth position;

Fig. 7:

the measuring device in a side view with an incoming flow of cuboid bales in a sixth position;

Fig. 8:

the measuring device in a side view with an incoming flow of cuboid bales in a seventh position;

Fig. 9:

the measuring device in a side view during the weighing process of the separated bale; as

Fig. 10:

the measuring device when ejecting a weighed bale.

the Figure 1 shows a measuring device 1 which is arranged at the exit of a bale channel 2 of a channel baling press which is only partially shown.

The channel baling press generates a conveying flow of compressed bales, which move step-by-step downstream in a conveying direction F with each compression stroke of the press ram of the channel baling press. Direct Downstream of the bale channel 2, the measuring device 1 is arranged with a feed table 3 which has an essentially flat storage surface 4 for the bales produced. In this exemplary embodiment, the storage surface 4 is provided with grooves 5 running in the conveying direction F, which reduce the friction of the bales on the storage surface and cause the bales to be guided in the conveying direction F, since the bales are not completely smooth on their outside and therefore have protruding surface structures can engage in the grooves 5.

Downstream of the presentation table 3, a sliding plane 7 is provided, which is offset downwards in relation to the storage surface 4. The sliding plane 7 comprises a stationary part 8 and a weighing table 9, which rests on four weighing cells, which are not shown here. The weighing cells are each accessible through a service flap 10 from the top.

A sliding device with a slide 11 is arranged below the storage surface 4, which in the rest position shown is partially accommodated in the feed table 3. The slide 11 can be moved in the conveying direction F and slides over the sliding plane 7 on its travel path.

A carrier 12, which is aligned parallel to the conveying direction F and carries a number of non-contact sensors, is arranged above the travel path. In the conveying direction F, three ultrasonic sensors 13, 14 and 15 and two optical sensors 16 and 17 are attached to the carrier 12 one behind the other. The respective detection range of the sensors 13 to 17 points downwards.

Downstream of the weighing table 9 is a labeling device 20, which essentially consists of a strapping device 21 and a printer 22. The labeling device 20 is arranged in a frame which surrounds the conveying path of the bales on all sides. In detail, the labeling device 20 is constructed like a binding unit, in which material can be strapped with a plastic band in other applications. In this embodiment, the bale already tied in the channel baling press and strapped with wire is included for the purpose of identification strapped to a plastic tape, which is printed with data to identify the bale.

A hydraulic unit 25 is mounted on the frame above the labeling device 20. During operation, the hydraulic unit 25 provides the hydraulic pressure for a double-acting drive cylinder, not shown, of the slide 11, which is arranged horizontally below the storage surface 4 within the table 3. The working stroke of the drive cylinder runs parallel to the conveying direction F. A distance measuring device is coupled to the drive cylinder and generates a measured value corresponding to the position in every position of the slide 11 along its working path.

the Figures 2 to 10 show the in Fig. 1 shown device in a side view during operation in various successive steps. The too Figure 1 Components and elements of the device described have the same reference numerals as there.

In the Figure 2 shows how a conveying flow of fully bound bales A, B and C emerges from the bale channel 2 of the channel baling press and is successively applied to the storage surface 4 of the feed table 3. The leading bale is pushed in the conveying direction F by the following bale. The bales A, B and C produced are close together with their front sides. In this illustration, the slide 11 is in its right end position, into which it has been moved by the drive cylinder 26.

The sensors 13 and 14 use ultrasound to detect the surface of the leading bale A and thus determine the height of the bale A above the storage surface 4 and, if necessary, also the homogeneity of the upper side of the bale A.

In the Figure 3 is opposite to the representation Figure 2 Another compression stroke of the baler takes place, whereby the bales A, B and C have been conveyed one step further in the conveying direction F. The leading bale A is over at the downstream end of the storage area 4 a sliding edge 27 has been promoted and tilted with its front running lower edge on the top of the slide 11. The slide 11 is still in the same position as in Figure 2 .

In this position, the sensors 13 and 14 can measure that the bale A has tipped over the edge 27, since the distance between the surface of the bale H and the sensor 13 is smaller than the distance to the sensor 14.

In the Figure 4 After another compression stroke of the baler, the flow rate has progressed further in the direction of flow F. The bale C is completely formed and another bale D has partially emerged from the bale channel 2. The bale A has now been conveyed in its full length from the storage surface 4 over the edge 27 and lies with its underside flat on the upper side of the slide 11.

The bale A has now reached the detection area of the sensor 15, so that the sensor 15 can now also detect the upper side of the bale A and can determine the height of this upper side above the surface of the slide 11. The sensor 14 determines that on the trailing side of the bale A, the upper side has assumed the same height as in the area of the sensor 15 and it can therefore be determined that the bale A rests horizontally on the slide 11.

In the Figure 5 the position of the bales A to D is unchanged opposite Figure 4 . Now the slide 11 is moved by the drive cylinder 26 against the conveying direction F under the feed table 3. The hydraulic unit 25 is controlled accordingly by a controller not shown here.

The further retraction of the slide 11 against the conveying direction F is in the Figure 6 shown, in which the beveled front edge 28 of the slide 11 has come behind the center of gravity of the bale A and the bale A is thereby tipped with its front lower edge onto the weighing table 9.

The sensor 13 now already detects the front upper side of the following bale B, while the sensors 14 and 15 emit signals from which the tilting of bale A is to be determined. The optical sensor 16 already detects the upper front edge of the bale A.

In Figure 7 the slide 11 is moved into its end position under the feed table 3. The bale A has now completely slipped off the front edge 28 of the slide 11 and lies with its underside completely on the sliding plane 7, but not yet with its entire underside on the weighing table 9.

The sensor 13 continues to detect the following bale B. The two sensors 14 and 15 now indicate that the bale A is lying horizontally and opposite the position Figure 4 has reached the sliding plane 7 further down by the vertical thickness of the slide 11. The bale A is still close to the bale B. The signals of the sensors 14 and 15 can also be checked in an even more complex evaluation to determine whether they emit a signal corresponding to the surface contour of the bale A. The surface contour can be detected when the bale A passes under the sensor 13.

Now begins as in Fig. 8 illustrates a forward stroke of the pusher 11 in the conveying direction F, the bale A being separated from the bale B. The stroke of the slide 11 is carried out until the leading side of the bale A has passed the sensor 16 and reaches the sensor 17. This is the signal that the bale A rests on the weighing table 9 over its entire length. As soon as the sensor 17 detects the presence of the bale A in its detection area, the forward stroke of the slide 11 is ended.

In this exemplary embodiment, the sensors 16 and 17 are laser scanners which can measure the front edge of the bale very precisely and can therefore precisely determine the position of the bale in the conveying direction F. The distance measuring device connected to the drive cylinder 26 can be read out in this position. The length of the bale A in the conveying direction can now be determined from the measured value and the precisely known position of the bale A under the sensor 17.

In Figure 9 the slide 11 is moved back a little against the conveying direction F in order not to influence the weighing of the bale A. The control of the measuring device 1, not shown, now determines the weight of the bale A. The measured values for the weight and the length of the bale A are now available in the control with great accuracy.

Figure 10 finally shows a further step in which the pusher 11 has been moved further downstream and has conveyed the bale A from the weighing table 9 into the frame of the labeling device 20. The labeling device 20 now moves a plastic band through the frame around the bale in a manner known per se. At the same time, however, the tape is inscribed in the printer 22. For example, a serial number of the bale A, the date and time of manufacture and that in the step off Fig. 9 determined weight is printed. The tape is then welded and is thus permanently attached to the bale. The imprint is preferably made at several points so that the data can be seen from different viewing directions. The bale A can also be strapped sequentially with several printed plastic straps, so that the information mentioned can still be read if a strap is lost.

Alternatively, the bale can be provided with a sticker bearing some or all of the above information. Whether a sticker is suitable depends on the type and condition of the pressed material. In the case of inhomogeneous pressed material such as household waste, strapping with a plastic strap is preferable.

The bale A can be picked up in this position behind the labeling device 20 by a forklift. The system is now in the in Figure 2 Starting position shown, where the balls B, C and D have now taken the place of the balls A, B and C. The procedure can be repeated cyclically.

With this measuring device and according to the method described, for the first time every bale produced by a channel baling press can be measured and identified automatically with regard to length and weight.

Claims (13)

Measuring device (1) to be abandoned for parallelepiped bales of loose material to be pressed, with a provided at an input of the measuring device (1) original table (3) on which the bales in a conveying direction (F) of a bale press (2) close to each other, characterized characterized in that a pushing device is arranged below the feed table (3) which comprises at least one conveyor which can be moved downstream in the conveying direction (F), and that a position measuring device is provided downstream of the pushing device, a working path of the conveyor being set up so that so that in each case a bale for determining the length of the bale in the conveying direction can be conveyed into a measuring area of the position measuring device. Measuring device according to Claim 1, characterized in that the feed table (3) comprises an essentially horizontal storage surface (4) for the support of bales ejected from the bale channel (2). Measuring device according to Claim 2, characterized in that the displaceable conveyor is a slide (11) which is arranged below the depositing surface (4) and has a bearing surface for bales. Measuring device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the slide (11) can be moved parallel to a slide plane (7). Measuring device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the slide (11) has a contact surface on an edge (28) leading in the conveying direction (F), which extends transversely to the conveying direction (F) in a length that is at least the width of the bale channel (2) corresponds. Measuring device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the slide (11) is provided with a displacement measuring device which detects the position of the slide (11) in the conveying direction (F). Measuring device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that non-contact sensors (13-17) are arranged above the conveying path. Measuring device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the sliding plane (7) is functionally connected to a scale (9). Measuring device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a labeling device (20) is provided for labeling the bales with data of the bale determined in the measuring device (1). Measuring device according to Claim 9, characterized in that the labeling device (20) is arranged behind the scales (9) in the conveying direction. Measuring device according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that the labeling device (20) is combined with a strapping device (21) which is provided with a frame surrounding the conveying path of the bales. Measuring device according to claim 11, characterized in that the slide (11) has a working stroke in the conveying direction (F) which is suitable for moving a bale for the most part completely through the frame of the strapping device (21). Baling press for cuboid bales of loose material to be pressed, with a bale channel (2) and with an end of the bale channel located downstream in the conveying direction (F), at which an output area is provided, to which a binding device for strapping the material to be pressed in bale form is assigned,
characterized in that - A measuring device with the features of at least one of claims 1 to 12 is provided downstream of the bale channel in the conveying direction (F).

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