ES2540857T3 - Device and method for filling containers - Google Patents

Abstract

A device for inserting sheet-like elements (F; F ') into a container (C), which includes at least a first collection element (12; 120) for collecting at least one sheet-like element (F ; F ') in a flat condition, characterized in that it includes: - a transfer device (16) that includes at least one receiving cavity (164) for receiving at least one collection element (12; 120) inserted therein. ), whereby a sheet-like element (F; F ') carried by said at least one first collection element (12; 120) in a flat condition takes a U-shape as a result of being inserted into said receiving cavity (164), - at least a second collection element (200) with a finger-like configuration to be inserted into said reception cavity (164) to collect from said reception cavity (164) at least one element by way of sheet (F; F ') with said U-shape, at least one second element of r being said ultrasound (200) also mobile for insertion into said container (C) to insert said sheet-like element (F; F ') in said container (C).

Description

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DESCRIPTION

Device and method for filling containers

5 Technical field of the invention

The present description refers to techniques for filling containers of the type that can be used, for example, to insert so-called "surprises" into food products such as chocolate eggs and the like.

10 The reference to this possible field of application, however, should not be considered restrictive with respect to the scope of the description.

Description of the related technique

The housing containers that include first and second housing halves of the Cuba type that engage with each other in a front engagement relationship of the respective mouth portions are known in many embodiments, as documented in the extensive patent literature, which includes, for example, documents WO-A-2005/044677, WO-A-2005/110880 and WO-A-2007/07435. In particular, containers of this type are known in versions in which the first and second housing halves constitute separate parts between

20 yes and in versions in which the first and second housing halves are articulated together to form a single piece.

The general problem of facilitating the use of such containers, especially with regard to filling and closing operations, has already been addressed. 25 Documents EP-A-0631932, EP-A-0631933 and EP-A-0631934 prove the development in this direction.

When the aforementioned filling and closing operations are performed, it should be considered that foil-like elements can be inserted into the container, such as, for example: a foil containing instructions for assembling the toy or fun object that represents the "surprise",

-the "surprise" or portions thereof, and

35-Various decorative elements, possibly with a self-adhesive surface.

There are devices, such as the one described in EP-A-0751070, which allow such sheet to be rolled and inserted into the body of the container. Such a solution is suitable for use when the sheet is simply in the form of a strip.

40 However, there are applications in which the sheet must have a considerable amount of information / graphic reproductions; in which case a single strip is not enough and the use of a larger folded sheet is required.

45 Although automated solutions are available, such as those described in the documents described above, still the most common solution for the use of the aforementioned housing containers provides that the filling operations, which include inserting the instruction sheet and the closing operation Final can be done manually.

More specifically, the invention relates to a device according to the preamble of claim 1, which is known, for example, from EP 0611699 A.

Object and summary of the invention

55 The use of manual operations in the context indicated above at present should be considered unsatisfactory.

Therefore, there is still a need to replace manual operations with operations capable of being fully automated, also considering the insertion of the instruction sheets or possible flat strips, possibly with self-adhesive support, which are derived from a strip cut in line from a roll.

The present invention has the purpose of providing a response to the aforementioned needs.

In accordance with the present invention, this object is achieved due to a device having the characteristics 65 specifically indicated in claim 1.

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The invention also relates to a corresponding method as claimed in claim 13.

The claims form an integral part of the technical disclosure provided herein in connection with the invention. 5

Brief description of the attached figures

The invention will now be described, simply by way of non-limiting example, with reference to the attached figures, which represent the structure and subsequent stages of operation of the embodiments.

In particular:

- Figures 1 to 3 illustrate the operation of collecting elements as a sheet,

15-Figures 4 to 8 and Figures 9 to 11 illustrate various operations of handling such sheet-like elements, and

- Figures 12 to 16 illustrate the insertion of such elements in respective containers.

Detailed description

Various specific details intended to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments are illustrated in the following description. The embodiments can be obtained without one or more specific details, or through other methods, components, materials, etc. In other cases, known structures, materials or operations are not

25 show or describe in detail to avoid obscuring the various aspects of the embodiments.

The reference to "one embodiment" in this description indicates that a particular configuration, structure or feature described with respect to the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment. Therefore, expressions such as "in one embodiment", possibly present in various parts of this description, do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. In addition, particular configurations, structures or features may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments.

The references in this document are only used for the ease of the reader and therefore do not define the scope of protection or the limits of the embodiments.

The present detailed description refers to embodiments of a device to be used to insert sheet-like elements such as "sheets" F (as described below) in housing containers C of the type currently called "cylinder".

In the examples considered herein (see in particular Figures 12 to 14) in the housing container C, two cube-shaped housing halves C1 and C2 and cover end portions can be distinguished. Next, such housing halves will be called for brief reasons such as "body" (half housing C1) and "cover" (half housing C2).

45 This distinction is used solely for the simplicity of the description. In the case of cylinder C illustrated herein, the body C1 has a carcass surface (the term carcass surface is used here to indicate the lateral surface, adjacent to the contour of the mouth of the body C1) with a larger extension with respect to the housing surface of the lid C2. In other embodiments, the dimensional relationships in question, in fact, can be changed differently (for example, with the two carcass surfaces identical to each other). This also considering the fact that the container C may have a different shape from the form illustrated herein, such as, for example, an oval (or spindle) shape, a spherical shape, a prismatic shape, a cylindrical shape , etc.

However, in the examples represented herein, the body C1 and the cover C2 are connected

55 together with a flexible C3 formation that serves as a joint. The articulation C3 is also suitable to be produced according to different methods, as represented in various documents already mentioned in the introduction of the present description.

The presence of the articulation part C3, although conceivable, however, does not represent a mandatory element with respect to the implementation of the embodiments.

The illustrated embodiments, which are to be understood as examples, refer to solutions in which the sheet-like elements or sheets F are designed to be inserted into respective containers C operating parallel in a number N (in the example considered N = 5, but nominally N can adopt any

65 value 1, ... N) of containers C arranged in a support block 1200, in particular, by inserting the bodies C1 of the N containers in respective receiving cavities 140 provided in block 1200.

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Now, considering the elements F (and referring to what has been mentioned earlier in the introduction of the present description), the illustrated examples refer to sheet-like elements that generally have an elongated shape, in which one can distinguish a larger or maximum dimension. As an example, the

5 representations attached thereto refer to sheets that are derived from a first fold of the sheet on itself and by a subsequent fold or, as depicted separately to the left of Figure 1, of the zigzag fold ( that is, an accordion or bellows type) of a strip in which one can indicate, for example, information or instructions regarding an object (for example) a "surprise" designed to be inserted, mounted or mounted in the container C) .

In the examples considered herein, the sheet-like elements or "sheets" F have a structure similar to a sheet, since they may be constituted by one or more sheets in a flat condition, for example (the following list shall not be considered exhaustive) in the form of:

15 - single strips or sheets, for example in the form of a square or rectangular shaped label,

-elements made of a sheet with several layers, for example a decal applied on a respective support sheet made of low adhesion material.

- zigzag bent strips, such as those shown on the left side of figure 1, to obtain a multi-layer sheet-like structure,

- sheets folded through one or more subsequent folding operations to obtain a flat body with a sheet-like structure that includes several layers made of sheets superimposed on each other as a result of

25 folded, or

-strips in flat form, which constitute, for example, components of the "surprise" or decorations for it, made of paper or plastic, for example, derived from a roll that is cut in line.

Various embodiments show the indistinct handling capacity of all the different types of F elements, ensuring that the desired final result is achieved, that is, insertion into a container C in a folded condition (see Figure 13).

Figures 1 to 3 show the fact that elements F can be provided (operating according to

35 known criteria, for example by arranging them in distribution drawers to be filled periodically by an operator or automatically) in the form of an arrangement of successive rows of F elements aligned one after the other (for example, in conditions of relative arrangement between subsequent F elements in the same row to avoid unwanted splitting thereof).

In the examples considered herein (see Figures 12 to 14) it will be assumed that the elements F are inserted by operating N = 5 parallel containers C carried by a block 1200. Therefore, it is assumed that the collection operation implies, starting from the configuration illustrated in figure 1, five elements F at the same time. However, this option is provided by way of example because the number of elements F suitable to be "treated" simultaneously may vary interchangeably.

In this regard, the fact that other possible rows of elements F are represented in Figures 1 to 3 by a dashed line is intended to highlight the possibility of providing several sets of elements F different from each other. This, unlike the collection operation with respect to the items F collected from time to time, to load -in groups of containers C subsequently manipulated -sets of elements F different from each other, without modifying the other methods of handling the elements F.

In the presence of elements F generally elongated, that is, in which a larger or maximum dimension can generally be identified, a row arrangement can be provided from side to side (as illustrated in Figures 1 to 3) in the minimum overall dimension condition, that is, arranging the rows

55 of F elements side by side in the direction corresponding to the smallest or smallest dimension thereof. In the embodiments illustrated in Figures 1 to 3, it is assumed that the elements F are generally rectangular and that they are arranged in the pick-up configuration, which allows adjacent rows to include "vertical" arranged F elements to minimize the global dimension

In Figures 2 and 3, reference 10 is used to indicate a collection device such as a "hand" of an anthropomorphic robot not fully visible in the representation, but of a known type - provided with a plurality of vacuum collection elements. 12 (in summary "suckers") placed side by side and operable by a number corresponding to a number N of elements F intended to be collected one at a time.

65 "Hand-held" vacuum collection devices of the type considered herein are known in the art, as documented, for example, in EP-A-0239547, EP-A-0989080, EP-A-0968940, EP -A-0768254 or US-A

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4932180. In particular, the operation of the robot that carries the hand 10 (included in the operation of the hand) can be operated by a processing unit K, such as a personal computer for industrial purposes that it also monitors (according to known criteria by themselves) the operation of various other movable and / or handling / processing elements described below.

5 The sequence of figures 2 and 3 shows that the robot provided with the hand 10 can be operated (also in this case according to known criteria, also illustrated in the aforementioned document) to advance the "hand" 10 towards the arrangement of elements F (figure 2), allowing each vacuum collection element 12 to exert a "vacuum" collection action on a respective element F (ie "vacuum effect"), so that when the robot moves back the hand 10, each collection element 12 carries an element F therewith, in a flat condition, to move it to additional treatment operations with a general displacement movement represented by arrow B of Figure 3.

When such movement is performed, the pick-up hand 10 can be conducted in such a way that it passes in front of a

15 display unit, such as a camera 14. The camera frames the arrangement of elements F carried by the collection hand 10 and detects possible malfunctions, such as, for example, the lack of one or more elements F of the collection arrangement, that is, the incorrect location of one or more of the F elements.

The operation for detecting possible malfunctions is performed on output signals from unit 14 (typically a camera) by means of processing unit K.

After detecting, starting from the signal provided by the camera 14, the presence of a malfunction in the arrangement of previously detected elements F, the unit K can send -to the robot -a command such

25 as to allow the detection unit 12 of the hand 10 to be inactivated to release the previously collected elements F - detected as incorrect - in an underlying collection container preventing them from moving towards subsequent handling operations. In this case, the robot is able to return to the operating condition to proceed to detect a new arrangement of F elements.

In various embodiments, the option of disabling the vacuum is only provided in the collection elements 12 where element F is not collected or is incorrectly located.

When the robot moves back the hand 10, each collection element 12 carries an element F thereof, in a flat condition, to be able to move it for subsequent treatment operations with a movement of

35 general displacement represented by arrow B of Fig. 3. For example, if the operation for collecting the elements F has been successful, at least partially, the hand 10 which drives the elements F retained by the collection elements 12 in a flat condition moves towards a receiving element 16 (Figure 4) which includes, in the embodiment illustrated herein, a support block 160 in which a plurality of reception formations 162 are mounted which, in the embodiment illustrated in the figures, are generally by way of fork (U-shaped) with a concave cavity 160.

The formations 162 are arranged in a linear arrangement that includes a number N of elements. In the example illustrated in this document N = 5, also considering the fact that, at least under the given conditions of use (for example when the action of disabling the vacuum is only provided in the

45 collection elements 12 in which element F is not collected or incorrectly located), not all reception formations 162 could be designed to be used simultaneously.

When the hand 10 faces the element 16 to insert the elements F therein, the receiving formations 162 are arranged with their concave portions 164 aligned to jointly define a groove or channel.

As illustrated by the sequence of Figures 4 and 5, the robot then lowers the hand 10 towards the element 16, so that the elements F carried by the collection elements 12 are inserted into the concave portions 164 of the receiving formations 162 and adopt a corresponding U-shape, thus leading to a

55 (first) operation to bend the elements F.

After achieving such a condition (figure 5), the unit K can intervene in the robot that has taken control of the elements at that time F, determining:

-the disabling of the collection elements 12 20 of the hand 10, which interrupt the collection action in the elements F, releasing them in the reception formations 162 and

- the rear elevation of the hand 10 (see figure 6) which can therefore return to the initial collection condition indicated in figure 2.

65 However, it will be noted that the choice of using, for reception formations 162, a configuration

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Concave or fork-shaped is not mandatory. Without prejudice to the intention of allowing the elements F, collected in a flat condition, to adopt a U-shape as a result of inserting said cavity 164, the reception cavities 164, for example, could be in the form of open-bottom cylindrical cavities .

5 In the embodiment illustrated in the figures, it is also provided that in the cavities 164 there are terminal openings 163 adapted to be selectively connected, as a result of a command issued by the unit K, with a sub-atmospheric pressure source (such as a to which the collection elements 12) can be connected to perform a vacuum collection action on the elements F inserted in the cavities 164.

In this case, by achieving the condition of Figure 5, the unit K can intervene in the robot that has taken control of the elements F up to that moment, determining the coordinates:

- Disable the collection elements 12 of the hand 10, which interrupt the collection action thereof on the elements F and

15 - enable openings 163, which contain the elements F in reception formations 162.

Also in this case, the unit K can drive the lifting of the hand 10 which, therefore, can be returned by the robot to the initial pick-up condition indicated in Figure 2.

The possibility that the hand 10 carries several arrangements of collection elements is illustrated - in Figure 2 only -, by a broken line. For example, Figure 2 shows that, in addition to the (first) arrangement of collection elements 12, the hand 10 can carry at least a second arrangement of collection elements 120. For example, each collection element 120 (may be a collection item by

25 again empty) can be mounted on the distal end of an arm 122 extending from the body of the hand 10. All this in such a way that the two arrangements of pick-up elements 12 and 120 (including, for example, the same number of elements, so that each element 12 corresponds to an element 120) are arranged at the ends of the two branches of an ideal L-shaped configuration.

Figure 2 shows that, in this way, it is possible to provide, for example, one or more rolls B, each of which is automatically unwound and cut (at 124) to form flat strips F 'adapted to constitute, for example, a "surprise" piece or a decorative part possibly on a self-adhesive support.

Said flat elements F 'can be collected by the collection elements 120 and inserted into the

35 formations 162 according to the methods described above with reference to Figures 1 to 6 referring to the flat elements F and the collection elements 12.

In various embodiments, the unit K for example can be programmed (according to criteria known per se) to allow, according to the needs that vary with time, that the hand 10 picks up, or alternatively, inserting them into the receiving formations 162:

-F elements collected by elements 12, or

-the elements F 'collected by the elements 120.

In various embodiments, the K unit for example can be programmed (according to criteria known as such) to allow:

- the hand 10 picks up, using the elements 12, the elements F previously inserted in the receiving formations 162 through a first movement and

- the hand 10 picks up, using the elements 120, the elements F 'inserting them in the elements F previously inserted in the receiving formations 162, thus overlapping the elements F and F', through a second movement.

For the rest, the method of operation (possibly including discharge elements considered to be incorrectly placed) can be performed according to substantially identical criteria.

In the embodiment shown in Figure 7, the reception formations 162 are mounted on the body 160 with a rotation capacity of 90 ° with respect to the main axis X162 thereof.

Such rotation can be operated by the unit K that intervenes in respective actuators 166 (only one of them is schematically indicated with a dashed line in Figure 7) to allow the concave portions 164, initially with each other to define a general channel structure Figures 4 to 6 -, following the 90 ° rotation imparted by the formations 162 around the respective main axes X162, are oriented in a precisely octagonal position to one that has been taken previously. All this allows

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the cavities 164 and the elements F which are therein, form a row of elements arranged side by side with a generally similar configuration (see Figure 7) to a type of toothed or crenellated medieval basket with each cavity 164 and the element F in it practically defining the cavity or void between adjacent battlements.

5 Figure 8 shows the fact that the rotating assembly of the receiving formations 162 in the support block 160 of the receiving element 16 is not a mandatory feature. The receiving element 16 can also actually be made in the form of a comb body (see Figure 8) having a "crenellated" or comb-like configuration similar to that illustrated in Figure 7, achieved after the rotation of the formations

162.

Regardless of the structure of the receiving element 16, as schematically illustrated in Figure 9, the elements F (and / or F ') received in the cavities 164 of the receiving formations 162 and folded according to a general U-shaped configuration can be picked up by the "hand" 20 of a collection item

15 (it can be an anthropomorphic robot of the known type, once again, not completely visible in the figures) controlled by the unit K.

Hand 20 has a plurality of pick-up elements 200 in the form of straight fingers arranged side by side that extend from the body of hand 20, arranged adjacent to each other according to a fork configuration. As schematically illustrated in Figure 10, the hand 20 can be operated (by means of the unit K) in such a way that the pick-up fingers 200 penetrate - moving in the transverse direction with respect to their length - in the cavities 164 of the receiving formations 162, each ending inserted in the loop part of a respective element F.

In various embodiments, the pick-up fingers 200 may have, at the digital ends thereof, pick-up elements intended to "hold" the U-bent elements F (and / or F ') that are located in the cavities 164.

For example, Figure 9 illustrates the fact that, in various embodiments, the fingers 200 may have openings 204 also designed to be connected - analogously to what occurs for the vacuum collection elements 12 (and 120) of the hand 10 described previously -with a sub-atmospheric source of pressure (not shown in the drawings), to provide - once again - a vacuum collection / retention action.

In various embodiments, in particular when it is desired to collect two superimposed and folded elements in U F and

35 F 'located in the cavities 164, the clamping formations 204' (one of these schematically illustrated with a broken line in Figure 12) capable of holding and "gripping" a pair of folded elements in UF and F 'located in the cavities 164 operating on the margins of the mimes that project slightly from the cavities 164 can be provided at the distal ends of the fingers 200.

The unit K operates in such a way that, once the fingers 200 are inserted into the cavities of the formations 162 (see the sequences of Figures 9 and 10), the collection elements 204 or 204 'are activated such that grab the elements F (and / or F ').

At this point, the unit K can intervene in the operation of the robot that carries the hand 20 to raise the hand

45 20 that moves away from the element 16 (see Figure 11), whereby the pick-up fingers 200 of the hand carry the elements F (and / or F ') therein.

At this point, the transfer element 16 is available (if necessary after rotating the reception formations 162 to return to the initial conditions depicted in Figure 4) in order to receive additional elements F (and / or F ') while they are picked up by hand 10 of the delivery arrangement according to the methods illustrated above with reference to Figures 1 to 3.

As illustrated in Figure 12, the hand 20 with the elements F (and / or F ': for reasons of simplicity in the rest of the description, reference will only be made to the elements F) collected by the cavities 164 of the element 16

55 moves towards a corresponding arrangement of C containers.

The fingers 200 of the hand 20 carrying, at the distal ends thereof, the elements F can thus penetrate the cavities of the bodies C1 of the containers C by inserting in each of them a respective element F in a bent condition .

All this ensures that, due to the folded conditions obtained above, the elements F do not represent an obstacle for the additional introduction of the bodies C1 of additional elements of a fun article (a so-called "surprise") designed to be inserted into the containers C inside.

65 The sequence for inserting the elements F into the containers C (for purposes of illustrative simplicity and clarity, in Figures 13 and 14 the sequence is illustrated with reference only to a finger 200 carrying a respective element

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F) which provides:

- penetrate fingers 200, which carry the elements F at their distal end, in the cavities of the bodies C1 of the containers C, and

5 - disable the collection elements 204 or 204 ', to allow the fingers 200 to release the elements F: the latter therefore remain inside the containers C when the hand 20 returns moving away with respect to the block 1200 in which they are located the containers C with the elements F inserted therein.

10 As can be seen from Figures 12 to 14, in order to facilitate the operation of insertion of the fingers 200 and the elements F carried by them in the containers C, the block 1200 in which the bodies C1 are inserted (within the respective cavities 140) can lean forward (by means of an angle β see Figure 12) towards the hand 20 carrying the fingers 200. This forward lean, which possibly

15 can also be an inclination in horizontal conditions, facilitates the movement of introduction of the fingers 200 in the containers C.

The elements F can have a given degree of elastic memory so that, once released by the fingers 200 inside the cavity of the containers C, they tend to "expand", at least partially, that is, diverge with 20 with respect to the U configuration conferred thereto as a result of being inserted into the cavities 164 of the receiving formations 162.

Diverging into containers C, the elements F leave -in the same -more space available for insertion, for example, of the surprise or surprise components designed to be inserted in the container C. 25 The latter are inserted into the containers C with subsequent handling operations performed in a known manner and that do not represent a specific object of the present description.

The above-mentioned enlargement phenomenon can be positively emphasized by providing an additional treatment station 300 (Figures 15 and 16) that includes a set 302 suitable for selectively lowering.

30 (subjected to the action of actuators, not shown in the drawings, but of the known type) towards the containers C to penetrate the shock absorbers 304 carried in the lower part of the assembly 302 therein. In various embodiments, the shock absorbers 304 are connected to one of the lines of more pressure 306 and therefore, can be inflatable.

35 By actuating the downward movement of the assembly 302 (see the sequence of Figures 15 and 16), the unit K also drives the supply of the shock absorbers 304, which are inflated and - after insertion of the cavities of the individual containers C - expanded, pushing the elements F (and / or F ') towards the peripheral wall of the container C.

40 The possible use of the shock absorbers 304, which descend in the containers C, with the elements F (and / or F ') can have the effect of further pushing the elements F (and / or F') in the containers C, preventing such elements from being projected excessively upwards beyond the edge of the mouth of the containers, which could prevent the insertion of additional elements (for example "surprises", possibly made of several pieces) into other containers C.

45 Finally, it should be noted that the reference to "hands" 10 and 20 provided with collection elements of the pneumatic type, in particular of the type of vacuum (suckers 12, openings 204) is strictly for example purposes. Such collection operations could actually be performed using equivalent elements, such as, for example, a fastener.

Obviously, without prejudice to the principle of the invention, the details and embodiments may vary, even significantly, with respect to what has been described herein simply by way of non-limiting example, without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims (15)

1. A device for inserting sheet-like elements (F; F ') into a container (C), which includes at least a first collection element (12; 120) for collecting at least one sheet-like element (F; F ') in a flat condition, characterized in that it includes: -a transfer device (16) that includes at least one receiving cavity (164) for receiving at least one collection element (12; 120) inserted therein, whereby a sheet-like element (F ; F ') carried by said at least one first collection element (12; 120) in a flat condition takes a U-shape as a result of being inserted into said receiving cavity (164), - at least a second collection element (200) with a finger-like configuration to be inserted in said reception cavity (164) to collect from said reception cavity (164) at least one sheet-like element (F ; F ') with said U-shape, said at least being a second collection element (200) 15 also mobile for insertion into said container (C) to insert said sheet-like element (F; F ') into said container (C). 2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the receiving cavity (164) is selectively pivoting between: - a first angular position to receive inserted at least one first collection element (12; 120) inserted therein and - a second angular position for the insertion of said at least a second collection element (200) in said reception cavity (164).

3.

The device according to claim 2, wherein said first angular position and said second angular position are separated 90 ° between them.

Four.

The device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, which includes a plurality of said receiving cavities (164) oriented or adapted to be oriented from side to side to jointly define a serrated or crenellated arrangement.

5.

The device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein said at least one cavity

Reception means (164) are attached retention means, preferably vacuum retention means (163) to retain in said at least one reception cavity (164) a U-shaped sheet-shaped element (F; F ' ). 6. The device according to any of the preceding claims, wherein at least one of said at least one first collection element (12; 120) and said at least one second collection element (200) is a vacuum collection device. 7. The device according to any of the preceding claims, wherein at least one and preferably both of said at least one first collection element (12; 120) and said at least one second collection element ( 200) are carried by a manipulator device such as a robot. Four. Five

8.

The device according to any of the preceding claims, which includes a support body (1200) for receiving said container (C), said support body (1200) being able to tilt selectively (β) towards at least a second collection element (200) to facilitate the insertion of at least a second collection element (200) in said container (C).

9.

The device according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said at least one first collection element (12; 120) is associated with a display unit (14) to detect the correct way of collecting said at least a sheet-like element (F; F ') by means of said at least a first collection element (12; 120), said at least being a first collection element (12; 120)

Operable (K) to release a sheet-like element (F; F ') in a detectable manner such as to be incorrect by said display unit (14).

10.

The device according to any of the preceding claims, which includes a distribution station (300) for said at least one sheet-like element (F; F ') that includes at least one damper (304), preferably of an expandable type (306), for introduction into a sheet-like element (F; F ') once inserted into said container (C) to press said sheet-like element (F; F') against the wall of said container (C).

eleven.

The device according to any of the preceding claims, configured to insert a

65 plurality of sheet-like elements (F; F ') in respective containers (C) and including corresponding pluralities of said first collection elements (12), said reception cavities (164) and said 9 second collection elements (200). 12. The device according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said at least one First collection element includes two collection elements (12; 120) arranged at the ends of the two 5 branches of an L-shaped configuration. 13. A method of inserting sheet-like elements (F; F ') into a container (C), which includes collecting (12; 120) at least one sheet-like element (F; F') in a condition flat, characterized in that it includes: 10-insert said at least one sheet-like element (F; F ') in a flat condition into a receiving cavity (164), whereby said at least one sheet-like element (F; F') adopts a U-shape as a result of being inserted into said reception cavity (164), - collecting (200) said sheet-like element (F; F ') from the receiving cavity (164), and 15 - inserting said sheet-like element (F; F ') in said container (C) collected from the receiving cavity (164). 14. The method according to claim 13, which includes retaining said reception cavity (164), 20 preferably by means of vacuum retention means (163), a sheet-like element (F; F ') with said U-shape. 15. The method according to claim 13, wherein said at least one first collection element includes two collection elements (12; 120) disposed at the ends in the two branches of a configuration in L-shape, including the method of collecting said at least one sheet-like element in a flat condition, alternatively, by means of the one (12) and by the other (120) of said collection elements (12; 120). 10