EP4046923B1 - Device for manufacturing bags filled with infusible material - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a device for producing bags filled with infusible material.

The present invention is in the field of manufacturing bags containing infusible material. Such bags are usually made as tea bags. However, other brewable foods can also be accommodated in the bag.

A device of the type mentioned is for example EP 1 818 264 B1 known.

In principle, previously known devices for producing bags containing infusable material have a front or operating side on which the bag production device is accessible. The device is usually operated on this operating side. Supplies for the consumables are usually provided on this side. These consumables can be the actual pouch material. Furthermore, a roll of thread is provided as a consumable, as well as a roll of label, which is connected to the manufactured bag via the thread. In addition, a supply of a film for the production of an aroma packaging surrounding the bag can also be provided. Blanks for cardboard packaging can also be provided as a supply on the front side. A corresponding flat blank is usually formed into a carton in the device, the side faces being glued to one another. Before the cardboard packaging is closed, a stack consisting of a predetermined number of bags is placed in the cardboard packaging. The solution according to the invention can also correspond to these requirements individually or as a whole.

A previously known device has a bag-making device that includes various components in order to form a tube from the supplied bag material after it has been covered with a batch of the infusable material. This hose is separated between each batch. The separate lengths are formed into a bag which is closed. In the present invention, this is preferably done in a transport wheel on which the bags are closed at the top and connected to a label, with a thread provided for this purpose being connected to the bag at one end and to the label at the other end. All this usually takes place at different stations of one or more transport wheels. Thus, in addition to the transport wheel that forms the bag, a label wheel can be provided in which the bag is connected to a label with the head of the bag directed radially outward.

Also in the case of the present invention, the bag is usually a double-chamber bag. Thus, on a length of pouch material, there are two discrete batches of infusible material. A bottom of the bag is folded between these batches. The free ends of the severed piece of tubing are closed at the top and connected to the label.

The previously known device as well as the device according to the present invention also has a supply for the brewable material. The brewable material usually falls from this supply, and also in the case of the invention, into a portioning wheel with which the individual batches are divided in order to place the batches on the bag material. The previously mentioned components are provided in a working space which can be closed off on the operator's side with a movable protective door. This protective door is usually formed by a frame into which a transparent plastic pane is inserted. The protective door can be slid or pivoted to open the work area at the front so that an operator can reach the individual components and, if necessary, the consumables.

The infusible material is a natural product with a very wide grain size distribution. During production, very small particles can be released uncontrolled into the working area at the front. These deposit on surfaces of the bag making equipment.

Foodstuffs are processed in the previously known device. Increased cleanliness is required here. When changing batches, the previously processed batch must be prevented from mixing with the new batch. This applies in principle, even if the different batches are batches of the same infusible material. Rather, however, the device still has to be cleaned if the new batch is used to process an infusible material that tastes completely different than before.

The present invention wants to make a contribution to greater cleanliness within the work area.

In view of this, the present invention proposes a device having the features of claim 1.

In this device according to the invention, a ventilation means is provided which generates an air flow in the working space. The air flow is such that the fine particles discharged into the working space are entrained by the air flow and removed from the working space. For this purpose, a suction opening is provided in the lower area of the working space, which communicates with a blower, which at least partially forms the ventilation means can. The ventilation means is designed in such a way that in the upper area of the work space, air is introduced into the work space via at least one blowing opening, so that the resulting air flow sweeps over the work space over its entire height. In any case, this applies to that height of the working space in which components of the device are provided which release the finest particles of the brewable material to be packaged. For this purpose, several openings can be provided in the upper area of the working space. However, it is preferable to provide a single suction opening in a central area close to the floor of the working space, which discharges the finest particles of the infusible material, which are conveyed with the air flow and also with gravity, out of the working space. Air can be actively blown into the working space via the at least one opening. Alternatively or additionally, air can also be drawn in from the environment into the working space via a suction opening due to the negative pressure generated via the suction opening.

The portioning device, via which the batch is divided from the supply and placed on the bag material, is usually assigned an independent suction device, which sucks off the fine dust formed in the portioning device directly at the site of the event, so that this dust does not even get into the work area can reach.

It has been shown that even such a ventilation in the form of a constant air flow in the working area usually cannot completely avoid the deposit of the finest particles. Thus, according to a preferred development and with a view to even greater cleanliness in the working area, a blowing device provided there is proposed. The blowing device has at least one blowing opening, preferably in the form of a blowing nozzle, which is directed or can be directed at components of the bag-making device. The blowing device covers at least part of the bag-making device. The at least one blowing nozzle is preferably directed towards that area of the bag-making device on which fine particles of the infusable material are preferably deposited. The deposit is whirled up by the blowing device and removed from the working area by the air flow.

With regard to good accessibility of the individual components of the bag manufacturing device, which is essential for repairing damage and for service work, it is proposed according to a preferred development of the present invention to provide the blowing device in a motor-driven manner. The blowing device is movable accordingly. Thus, one or more blowing nozzles can be guided past various components of the bag-making device in order to whirl up particles of the brewable material deposited there and remove them with the air flow. The blowing device is preferably movable in such a way that this can be brought into a rest position in which all components of the bag manufacturing device are freely accessible when the protective door is open. During operation, the at least one movable blowing device preferably sweeps over all components of the bag-making device on which the finest particles can be deposited.

It goes without saying that the at least one blowing device preferably has a large number of blowing nozzles. The blowing device is preferably pivotally driven. In this configuration, a pipe carrying the blowing medium usually forms the pivot axis of the blowing device. The blowing medium is preferably air. Insofar as an air flow is referred to here, this is done with a view to the fact that air is the preferred medium for ventilation and for blowing off fine particles. Other media are conceivable, but less recommended for cost reasons. The same applies to the operation of the blowing device.

With regard to a high degree of cleanliness at the place where the device according to the invention is set up, the aforementioned suction opening preferably communicates with a separator. This separator can be a cyclone in which the particles carried along with the air flow are discharged from the air flow. A reservoir for discharged particles is usually assigned to the separator, which reservoir is detachably connected to the separator, so that the reservoir can be emptied and reconnected to the separator after it has been emptied. The reservoir is preferably connected to the separator via a bayonet lock.

The corresponding separator and preferably also said supply are preferably provided on the drive side.

A screen is preferably provided on the funnel, which projects from the at least one protective door in the direction of the working area and covers the edge of the funnel at a small distance. This prevents particles of the infusible material from being able to deposit between the funnel and the at least one protective door.

The previously mentioned blower is usually provided on the drive side. The suction side of the fan preferably communicates with the suction opening provided in the lower area of the working space. The pressure side of the blower preferably leads to a diverter which is provided between the blow opening and the separator. An exhaust pipe is connected to this switch, which leads to an exposed exhaust pipe. Thus, only a partial volume of the extracted volume is fed back into the working space via the at least one blowing opening. A muffler is usually associated with the exhaust pipe, if necessary a filter so that dust of the infusible material is reliably prevented from entering the environment from the working space. An exposed exhaust pipe is exposed on the outside of a machine frame of the device.

The working space is preferably delimited laterally by two partitions. This results in an almost closed working space, which is delimited at the back by the base plate, at the front by the at least one protective door and at the side by the first partition wall and the second partition wall. The bottom of the working space is limited by the funnel; the top of the working space usually by a cover. The first partition has at least one opening of bag material adapted for passage of a web of bag material therethrough. The second partition has at least one bag opening adapted to pass the finished bag through. The two partitions usually face each other. The two partitions extend vertically. The working space is defined between the two partition walls. On the opposite side are supplies for the production of the bags, such as the supply of bag material, the supply of labels to be connected to the infusion bag, the supply for the bag and thread to be connected to the label and, if necessary, a supply of film for the production of a flavor packaging surrounding the pouch; see. EP 1 597 148 B1 ; EP 3 140 100 B1 ; EP 2 231 479 B1 ; WO01/62600 A1 .

The respective partitions have openings for the individual supplies, which are adapted to allow the consumables to be passed through. The respective openings surround the consumable with little play. The consumable material is usually fed along the continuum to the work area and cut into sections there.

The lateral partitions create a work space on the operating side between the base plate and the closed protective door that is essentially closed off from the environment. The motors provided in this working space, for example servomotors and any control devices provided for this purpose, are cooled by the ventilation means, so that the power loss generated by these components is dissipated in the form of heating and the service life of the respective components is increased.

An individual through-opening in the partition wall can be assigned a means which prevents the air flowing in the working space from escaping through the corresponding through-opening. For this purpose, the through-opening can, for example, be irradiated transversely by a separate air flow, which prevents the circulating air from the work area from flowing into a storage area for the consumables or a product area for removing the individual finished infusion bags and, if necessary, packaging stacks reached. For this purpose, an air curtain can be provided on at least one of the corresponding feed-through openings for the consumable or the finished bag.

Figur 1

eine leicht perspektivische Draufsicht einer Bedienseite eines Ausführungsbeispiels einer Vorrichtung zur Herstellung von mit aufgussfähigem Material befüllten Beuteln bei geöffneten Schutztüren;

Figur 2

eine leicht perspektivische Draufsicht auf eine der Bedienseite gegenüberliegende Antriebsseite des Ausführungsbeispiels nach Figur 1, wobei hinter einer Basisplatte angeordnete Komponenten gestrichelt gezeigt sind;

Figur 3

eine schematische Darstellung von Komponenten zur Luftführung in dem Ausführungsbeispiel nach den Figuren 1 und

Figur 4

eine perspektivische Ansicht eines in der Vorrichtung nach den Figuren 1 bis 3 hergestellten fertigen Beutels.

Further details and advantages of the present invention result from the following description of an exemplary embodiment in conjunction with the drawing. In this show:

figure 1

a slightly perspective top view of an operating side of an embodiment of a device for producing bags filled with infusible material with the protective doors open;

figure 2

a slightly perspective top view of a drive side of the embodiment opposite the operating side figure 1 , with components located behind a base plate shown in phantom;

figure 3

a schematic representation of components for air flow in the embodiment according to the figures 1 and

figure 4

a perspective view of in the device according to Figures 1 to 3 manufactured finished bag.

figure 1 shows the top view of an embodiment of a device for producing bags filled with infusible material, which essentially has three areas, namely a storage area 2 on the left edge, a product area 4 on the right edge and a working area 6 between the storage area 2 and the product area 4 .

The bags are produced by removing consumables from the storage area 2 , which are processed into bags in the work area 6 . An example of such a bag is in figure 4 shown. The bag is marked there with reference number 8 . Reference number 10 designates a label which is connected to the bag 8 via a thread 12 . The unity of bag 8, label 10 and thread 12 is contained in an aroma package 14 formed by a moisture-impermeable film material wrapped around the bag 8 at one edge 16 and closed by a U-shaped weld seam 18.

This in figure 4 The product shown is referred to below as the finished tea bag 20 . The finished infusion bag 20 is taken from the work area 6 to the product area 4 via a conveyor line 22 .

In the storage area 2, a supply 24 for bag material 25, a supply 26 for the labels 10, a supply 28 for the thread 12 and a supply 30 for the aroma packaging 14 can be seen be used as consumables in the manufacture of the finished tea bags 20 . These respective consumables are each provided on a roll and are unrolled from it during manufacture.

The storage area 2 has guides for the individual webs of consumable material. The consumable material is guided through a first partition wall 32 between the storage area 2 and the work area 6 . This partition wall 32 has various openings, identified by reference numerals 34, for the passage of the respective consumable material. The dimension of the respective opening 34 is selected such that the respective consumable can be guided straight through the first partition 32 . An air curtain can be assigned to each opening 34, through which an undesired passage of air from the working area 6 into the storage area 2 or the product area 4 can be prevented. In the exemplary embodiment shown, the partition 32 delimiting the working area 6 on the left has an opening 34a for the bag material 25, an opening 34b for the labels 10 and an opening 34d for the aroma packaging 14. I

In the working area 6, the bag material 25 is filled with a batch of the infusible material at the level of a portioning device 36 with a supply 37 for infusible material. The bag material 25 is guided along a horizontal path 38 . After the bag material 25 has been covered, it is formed into a tube including the charge. The bag material 25 that is fed in as endless material is cut into lengths and thus separated. At the end of the horizontal section 38, the lengths of bag material 25 prepared in this way are transferred to a first transport wheel 40a.

At the level of an insertion station 42a, the bag material 25 is brought radially inward in the direction of the central longitudinal axis or axis of rotation of the first transport wheel 40a to form the bag 8 designed as a double-chamber bag. The first transport wheel 40a rotates clockwise and feeds the respective bag material 25 to various stations in which the bag is closed at the top and connected to the thread 12 and the label 10.

The bag 8 created in this way and processed on the head side is transferred from the first transport wheel 40a to a second transport wheel 40b rotating counterclockwise, with the bag 8 being pivoted between the two transport wheels 40a, 40b, so that the bottom of the bag 8 first moves in the radial direction in the second transport wheel 40b is introduced. There, the bag 8 is connected to the label 10 and rotated within the second transport wheel 40b in such a way that the bottom of the bag 8, which is oriented radially inwards when it is introduced, is oriented radially outwards. In this orientation, ie pivoted by 180° in relation to the insertion direction, the bag 8 prepared in this way is conveyed out of the second transport wheel 40b with the bottom to the front and fed to a third transport wheel 40c. The bag is fed to a wrapping station 42b, in which the aroma packaging 14 is placed around the bag 8 and the label 10 and the thread 12 when the edge 16 is formed. Thereafter, the aroma packaging 14 is sealed in a sealing station 44 of the formation of the U-shaped seam 18. The sealing station 44 is associated with a third transport wheel 40c, on which the bag 8 is held and transported during sealing.

The finished bag 20 produced in this way is finally placed on the conveyor section 22 and fed to the product area 4 . For this purpose, a second dividing wall 46 has a bag passage opening 48 and a return opening 49 for the conveying path 22 .

The components described above as part of the working area 6 are located in front of a base plate 50 which carries the individual components and possibly separates them from drives which are provided on the opposite side of the base plate 50 . The area of the base plate 50 facing the user separates an operating side 52 provided there from a drive side 54 on the rear of the device.

The figure 2 clarifies protective doors 56, which in figure 2 are shown swung open. The protective doors 56 each have a frame which carries a plastic pane which is transparent at least in the upper area. A panel 58 protrudes from the inside of the protective door 56 in the lower area. Each panel 58 of the respective protective door 56 is inclined downwards from the outside. When the protective door is closed, the edge of a funnel 60, which forms the bottom of the working area and is provided with a suction opening 62 in the middle, is located with a corresponding inclination, but at a small vertical distance from the screens 58.

Reference number 64 denotes a blowing device which comprises a pivotable blowing arm 66 which has a multiplicity of blowing nozzles 67 which are distributed over the length of blowing arm 66 and aligned with base plate 50 (cf figure 4 ). The blower arm 66 is motor-driven to pivot and can be moved from the in figure 2 shown starting position to be pivoted almost in a vertical orientation upwards. The blowing arm 66 sweeps over the components for producing the bags 6, such as the transport wheels 40a-c and the components provided in the individual stations 42a, b, 44.

The portioning device 36 is usually associated with a separate suction, which is effective at the position of depositing the charge on the bag material 25, in order not to allow the finest particles of the brewable material to get into a working space 68, which is closed when Protective doors 56 between these and the base plate 50 is formed. This working space 58 is bounded laterally by the two partitions 32, 46, on the underside by the funnel 60 and on the top by a cover 70. The working space 68 is essentially closed to the environment. A sloping wall section of the right-hand partition 46 that continues the sloping surface of the funnel 60 has an opening 34c for the thread 12 (cf. figure 1 )

In the area of the cover 70, a suction opening 72 is provided in the base plate 50, through which air can be drawn into the working space 68 from the environment.

During operation of the device, air is usually continuously sucked into the working space 68 through the suction opening 72 and drawn out of the working space 68 through the suction opening 62 . As a result, the loading of the working space 68 with fine dust particles is reduced. Alternatively or additionally, at least one blowing opening can also be provided in the area of the cover 70, through which air prepared for blowing in by the blowing arm 66 is actively blown into the working space 68 from above.

The blower arm 66 is pivoted, usually at cyclical intervals, and air under pressure is blasted out of the blower nozzles 67 onto the components. Dust particles adhering to or deposited on the components are thereby whirled up and drawn out of the working space 68 by the air flow within it. When the blowing device 64 is actuated, the performance of a suction device, via which air is drawn off from the suction opening 62 and blown into the working space 68 via the blowing nozzles 67, can be increased. Thus, when there is an increased occurrence of dust particles in the working space 68, the dust-laden air in the working space 68 is also exchanged at an increased rate.

The components effecting the air guidance, in particular on the rear side of the base plate 60, are described below.

especially the Figures 3 and 4 illustrate the ventilation means marked there with reference number 74 . In this configuration, air is sucked in from the working space 68 through the suction opening 62 and guided through a separator 76 designed as a cyclone, which has a storage device 80 connected via a quick-release fastener 78 for dust particles that have been sucked off. From the separator 76, the air is fed through a filter 82 into a side channel compressor 84 as an example of a blower. The side channel compressor 84 separates a suction side 86 of the ventilation means 74 from a pressure side 88. On the pressure side 88, the air is guided via a blow line 92 to a switch 90, which is able to divide the air flow so that it optionally via an exhaust line 94 or a blow arm supply line 96 in the direction of the blow arm 66.

The exhaust line 94 communicates through a shutoff valve 98 with a muffler 100 terminating at an exposed muffler 102 . The shut-off valve 98 can be adjusted by throttling the line 94 for manual adjustment of the volume flows which leave the switch 90 in the direction of the blowing arm feed line 96 on the one hand and in the direction of the exhaust line 94 on the other hand. Instead of a shut-off valve, a slide can also be built into the exhaust line 94 as a throttle.

In the Figures 2 to 4 the blow arm 66 is shown in an intermediate position. The blow arm 66 may be oriented vertically from this position substantially parallel to a vertically extending portion of the second bulkhead 46 . The blow arm 66 may be oriented downward into a substantially parallel orientation to the adjacent surface of the hopper 60 . In this way, the blower arm 66 can cover all components in the work area 6 .

The blowing arm 66 is driven for this pivoting movement via a spindle motor (not shown), which acts via an eccentric on a tube forming the blowing arm supply line 96, which on the input side communicates with the diverter 90 via a rotary feedthrough.

Reference List

2

storage area

4

product area

6

Workspace

8th

bag

10

label

12

thread

14

aroma packaging

16

edge

18

sealing seam

20

Finished tea bag

22

conveyor line

24

Stock for bag material

25

bag material

26

Stock for labels 10

28

Stock for thread 12

30

Stock for aroma packaging 14

32

First partition

34a

Opening for bag material

34b

Opening for labels

34c

opening for thread

34d

Opening for aroma packaging

36

portioning device

37

Stock for infusible material

38

horizontal stretch

40a

first transport wheel

40b

second transport wheel

40c

third transport wheel

42a

loading station

42b

wrapping station

44

sealing station

46

Second partition

48

bag passage opening

49

return port

50

base plate

52

operating side

54

drive side

56

protective door

58

cover

60

funnel

62

suction port

64

blowing device

66

blow arm

67

blow nozzles

68

working space

70

cover

72

intake port

74

ventilation equipment

76

separator

78

quick release

80

Storage

82

filter

84

side channel compressor

86

suction side

88

pressure side

90

soft

92

blow line

94

exhaust line

96

blow arm feed line

98

shut-off valve

100

silencer

102

Exhaust

Claims (11)

1. Device for the production of bags (8) filled with infusible material having a base plate (50) which separates a drive side (54) from an operating side (52), where a bag production device is provided on said operating side (52) in which a batch of the infusible material is placed onto the bag material (25) which is shaped into a tube and the tube sections are processed to form closed bags (8), where said bag production device is provided in a work space (68) between said base plate (50) and at least one protective door (56) characterized by a ventilation device for generating an air flow in said work space (68) comprising a suction opening (62) provided in the lower region of the work space and is in communication with a blower, and an opening (72) for introducing air in the work space (68) in an upper region of the work space (68) so that the resulting air flow sweeps over the entire height of the work space (68) in which components of the device are provided that release the that release the finest particles of the brewable material to be packaged.
2. Device according to claim 1, characterized by at least one blower (64) provided in said work space (68).
3. Device according to claim 2, characterized in that said blower (64) is movable in a motor-driven manner in said work space (68).
4. Device according to claim 3, characterized in that said blower (64) comprises a blow arm (66) driven to be pivotable and which comprises a plurality of blow openings (67) formed to be nozzle-shaped.
5. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by a funnel (60), with which a suction opening (62) is associated that is in communication with a separator (76), that is provided below said bag production device.
6. Device according to claim 5, characterized in that said separator (76) is provided on said drive side (54).
7. Device according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that said protective door (56) comprises a panel (58) which projects into said work space (68) and projects beyond an edge of said funnel (60) with a small spacing.
8. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by a blower (84), the suction side (86) of which is in communication with a suction opening (62) provided in a lower region of said work space (68) and the pressure side (88) of which is connected to a blow line (92) which is in communication with at least one blow opening (67) that opens into said work space (68).
9. Device according to claim 8, characterized by a switch point (90) which is connected between a separator (76) and said blow opening (72) to said blow line (92) and to which an exhaust line (94) is connected which leads to an exposed exhaust (102).
10. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said work space (68) is defined laterally by a first partition wall (32) and a second partition wall (46), where said first partition wall (32) comprises at least one bag material opening (34a) that is formed to be adapted for the passage of the web of said bag material (25) and where said second partition wall (46) is provided disposed opposite said first partition wall (34) and comprises a bag passage opening (48) that is formed to be adapted for the passage of said finished bag (20).
11. Device according to claim 10, characterized by a supply (24) for said bag material (25), a supply (26) for labels (10) to be connected to said bags (8) in said work space (68), a supply (28) for a thread (12) connecting said label (10) to said bag (8), and optionally a supply (30) for film for the production of an aroma packaging (14) surrounding said bag (8), where said supplies (24; 26; 28; 30) are provided on the side of said first and/or second partition wall (32, 46) facing away from said work space.

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