FR2519947A1 - METHOD AND DEVICE FOR ORIENTATION AND FORWARDING ARTICLES - Google Patents

Abstract

A DEVICE INTENDED TO ORIENT AND ADVANCE BLANK CAPSULES 1 INCLUDES IN PARTICULAR A TRANSPORT SURFACE 18 WHICH IS INTENDED TO RECEIVE THE BLANKETS AND WHICH IS ASSOCIATED WITH MEANS WHICH GENERATE A FIRST FORCE COMPONENT, DIRECTED BY THE FACILITY DEFINED BY THE TRANSPORT AREA. THIS FORCE COMPONENT RETAINS THE BLANK CAPSULES IN AN ORIENTATION WITH THE TOP DOWN, WHILE THE BLANKETS WHICH DO NOT HAVE THIS ORIENTATION ARE REMOVED FROM THE TRANSPORT SURFACE BY A SECOND FORCE COMPONENT ACTING IN A DIFFERENT DIRECTION FROM THAT OF THE FIRST COMPONENT.

Description

METHOD AND DEVICE FOR ORIENTATION AND

ADVANCE ARTICLES

  The present invention relates to a method and a device for orienting and advancing articles, in particular blanks of capsules of the type comprising a

  disk-shaped surface surrounded by a cylindrical wall

  that ending in a free edge, with means of pre-

  hension extending from this free edge.

  Capsules, such as tear-off capsules, are shaped from a blank of flat material, then go through various manufacturing operations, for example to be provided with a sealing layer, until '' they are finally introduced one by one

  determined manner in a container closure machine

  during all these manufacturing operations, the capsules or the blanks of capsules must be oriented

  and moved in a defined way and this creates problems

  mes for which many solutions have already been pro-

  asked. Thus, it is known to orient and sort out blanks of capsules of this type which include means for

  grips extending from their free edges, and various

  its solutions are described in patents U S. 3,300,022, 3,330,403 and 4,093,002 In these known methods,

  an attempt is made to pre-sort the cap blanks.

  orienting them in a certain defined way,

  ie with the upper planar surfaces in contact with a transport surface Simultaneously, or in combination, the gripping means which extend from the blanks

  capsules are also positioned in a predefined way

  finished, so that we can then advance the blanks one by one in this orientation and this defined order, for subsequent operations, such as those of a container closure machine However, it has been found that these known methods , which are mainly implemented by a combination of conical sliding surfaces or centrifugal forces and specially directed air jets, have many limitations They only allow a relatively low sorting capacity to be obtained, and the blanks capsules are often damaged due to mechanical manipulation during the

  sorting, which results in an undesirable twisting of the means of

  hension, etc. In addition, the noise level of these means of

  sorting is high enough to be annoying.

  The sorting described above, i.e. the

  method of orienting objects in a defi

  nie special with respect to each other, with all objects directed in the same way, that is to say with the same flat surface in contact with a transport surface, for example, was previously realized for others types of objects, i.e. objects not having gripping means extending from the objects, such as metal bottle caps or similar closure elements such as metal screw caps for jars, etc., by means of the devices described in patent DE 2 306 329 This known device comprises two magnetic tapes of different lengths which are placed

  face to face and having the same direction of advance, these ban-

  being mutually spaced apart by a distance which is slightly

  , considerably higher than the height of the objects to be sorted. However, if this pre-sorting method were used for the application considered here, it would only solve one of the existing problems, that is to say that of orienting

  capsule blanks in a defined manner, with their

  upper flat faces in contact with one of the bands, but it would not position the blanks more

  that piréhensin means be oriented in the same way.

  In this case, this second defined orientation of the gripping means is an absolute requirement for then advancing the blanks to the following operations. Furthermore, the pre-sorting and the orientation which are described in this German patent are difficult to perform because they

  require a precise balance between the two magnetic bands

  ticks and easily lead to functional disturbances

  operation due to blockages between the strips, in particular

  link if using this known technique for sketches

  capsules which include gripping means.

  The main object of the invention is to provide a

  method and device for orienting cap blanks

  of the type described above, and to move them forward, aligned and safely positioned with care,

  the same way, in order to eliminate any risk of deterioration

  tion during the sorting process and nevertheless allow the completion of the whole sorting process with a

high capacity.

  In accordance with the invention, it is essential to

  this is due to the fact that the capsule blanks

  are randomly deposited on a trans-

  port which defines a path in advance to transport the blanks, one by one, oriented with the top down, to an outlet opening, whereby the blanks are retained in their orientation with the top down, against the surface of transport, by a first force component, directed practically perpendicular to the path

  advance and adjustable value, which is applied to the over-

  contact face of each capsule blank against the over-

  transport side, the capsule blanks being influenced along at least part of the feed path by a second force component which acts in a direction different from that of the first force component, so that the capsules which do not are not oriented with the top down are removed and returned to be sorted again, and so that the blanks of capsules oriented with the top down while continuing their advance along the path are forcibly subjected to the action of means of positioning

  to ensure uniform alignment or positioning

  gripping means that protrude from the blanks

capsules.

  According to a further improvement of the invention, it is advantageously made so that the second force component acts practically in parallel

to the conveyor belt.

  According to a preferred embodiment of the invention

  tion, we introduce the blanks of capsules at the lower end of a continuous conveyor belt, relatively

  horizontal and inclined, so that they take their orientation

  tion with the vertex at the bottom, after which we introduce progress-

  these capsule blanks oriented with the top down in the space which is defined between the conveyor belt

  and the positioning means intended to produce a food

  uniform positioning of their pre-

  hension, to form a row of blank capsule blanks

one behind the other.

  The fact of using a path of advance on which the blanks of capsules are randomly placed then are then subjected to the first component of force A, whose action depends on the way in which each capsule is

  in contact with the transport surface, provides excellent

  slow opportunity to gently separate the blanks from

  badly oriented capsules, by the action of the second component

  te of force B acting in the direction of the surface of

  transport and / or from this surface, this second ccm-

  force applying, which may consist not only of gravity forces, but also of magnetic forces or forces resulting from a pressure differential with respect to atmospheric pressure, which act on the transport surface These additional forces can be variable

and / or ordered.

  Instead of using gravity as a second force component to remove incorrectly oriented capsules from the transport surface, this second force component can be established by means of an element

  mechanical elastic rubbing (a broom or similar element

  gue), by blowing air, a magnet or a force produced by vacuum, etc. A device suitable for implementing the invention comprises a transport surface which defines a feed path designed to receive blanks of

  capsules, this advance path being designed so as to cooperate

  rer with means intended to produce a first composition

  health of force directed practically perpendicularly to the path of advance, this first component of force being designed so as to retain the blanks of capsules oriented with the top down, while the capsules which are not oriented with the top in stockings are removed from the path

  by a second force component which acts in a direction

  different from that of the first force component.

  According to a preferred embodiment of the device according to the invention, this device comprises a continuous conveyor belt and magnetic action means which are associated with the conveyor belt so as to retain the blanks of capsules on the conveyor belt, in a position in which they have the top at the bottom, and positioning means, of the kind of a rail, arranged at a certain distance above the conveyor belt and intended to retain fixedly the blanks oriented with the top at the bottom inside the space which is formed between these means and the conveyor belt, which has the effect of correctly turning the means for gripping the blanks

  in the same direction, these means of the kind of a cooperating rail

  rant with an evacuation rail to advance so

  ordered the fully oriented capsule blanks.

  According to another embodiment of the device

  in accordance with the invention, the transport surface can consist

  ter in a drum or a rotating disc or in a continuous strip In this embodiment, the blanks of capsules are brought on the drum and the transport surface is defined by the inner periphery of the drum Separate magnetic strips, covered by a thin, slippery layer of non-magnetic material makes it possible to advance the capsule blanks in a transverse direction, by means of a fixed angular separation element which exerts a variable magnetic retaining force, acting on the capsule blanks which move transversely In this way, the blanks which are not completely in contact with the transport surface by their upper side,

  will be removed from this surface during rotation of the drum

  bour, by the fact that the force of gravity will chase succes-

  the blanks of capsules from the transport surface.

  This transverse advance of the capsule blanks along the inner periphery of the drum also considerably facilitates subsequent transport of the capsule blanks thus oriented, by transfer of these blanks to a fixed conveyor, arranged for example in communication with

the top side of the drum.

  The invention will be better understood on reading the

  description which follows of embodiments, given at

  title of nonlimiting examples The rest of the description

  refers to the accompanying drawings in which FIG. 1 shows a side view of a first embodiment of a device according to the invention, in which the capsule blanks are handled by a drum and a conveyor belt combined, Figure 2 shows a front view of the device -35 of Figure 1, partially in section, Figure 3 shows a top view of the device of Figure 1, partially in section, Figure 4 shows an enlargement of a detail

  of the device according to Figures 1-3, consisting more

  Particularly in the transfer of the capsules between the drum and the conveyor belt, FIG. 5 shows part of a band intended to advance the capsules, which uses the principle of the invention, FIG. 6 shows a side view of a second embodiment of a device according to the invention, Figure 7 shows a partial front view of the device according to Figure 6, Figure 8 shows an enlargement of a detail of the conveyor part of the device in accordance with FIGS. 6 and 7, and FIG. 9 shows an enlargement of a detail of the relationship between the positioning rail and the strip of

  conveyor in the device according to Figures 6-8.

  Figures 1-4 show a first embodiment

  sation of a device according to the invention Blanks of capsules 1 comprising gripping means 1a which extend from the skirt of the capsule are brought

  in a storage tank 2, from which they are brought-

  in a drum 4 via a vibrating chute

  3 This drum is internally covered with magnetic strips.

  ticks, covered by a thin slip sheet 16 in

  non-magnetic material (see also Figures 2-4).

  The magnetic forces produced by the magnetic tapes cause the blanks of capsules to adhere to the interior wall and cause them to follow the rotation of the drum.

  capsule blanks with a full upper c 8 t lb

  In contact with the transport surface, that is to say the sliding sheet, will be retained more firmly and driven more effectively than the blanks which are

  contact with the transport surface in another way.

  A fixed guide plate 5 exerts on the blanks.

  ches de capsules an axial force which brings them along the inner periphery of the drum, sliding on the sliding sheet Because the distance between the various magnetic tapes is such that the blanks which rest "incorrectly" are released relative to the transport surface by this lateral displacement, these blanks

  will fall back to the bottom of the drum 4 and start the operation again.

  tion The blanks of capsules which are represented in 6

  in Figure 1 are examples of "rejected" sketches.

  When the capsule blanks reach the

  upper tie 7 of the inner periphery of the drum, they are affected to the maximum by the force of gravity, that is to say the second force component, which means that only the blanks of capsules with the upper flat side

  is in contact with the transport surface will be transported

  tees further, towards the guide plate 8, which is available

  placed at a distance from the interior wall of the drum which is such that the body of the blank easily passes below,

  while the gripping means rotate the correct draft-

  ment so that it follows the guide plate to exit the drum and to pass on the conveyor 9, which in this case is a magnetic strip also functioning in accordance

to the principles of the invention.

  The blanks of capsules which are transferred from the drum to the conveyor 9 are in contact with the conveyor by their upper side 8 and are therefore, even at this stage, sufficiently oriented to be guided towards a chute which leads to a capper. as an additional safety measure against misdirected drafts

  and unsorted, the capsules which are now on their che-

  min amount are forcibly moved to the side of the strip by a guide plate shown in Figure 2 If, contrary to what is expected, drafts turned

2 5 1 9 9 4 7

  incorrectly are on the conveyor at this point, they will fall into the bin 11 (Figure 2), while the other blanks will be transported further and will eventually be aligned along the edge of the belt The blanks of capsules turned incorrectly which are thus returned to the tank 11 are again fixed on the strip 9 which preferably comprises very strong magnets along

  marginal region 13, in order to raise up to the par-

  horizontal tie the blanks turned correctly as well as those which are turned incorrectly The strong magnet located at the left edge of the conveyor 9 ceases to exert its attraction in the horizontal part and the

  incorrectly turned drafts fall on the edge of the con-

  voyeur in the return chute 10 and return to the

tray 2.

  At the end of the horizontal part of the conveyor 9, all the blanks of capsules are oriented correctly and can therefore be easily turned 900, if necessary, before being guided to enter the chute 12 (Figure 1), to be transported to a

  wrapper or similar machine.

  Figure 2 shows how magnetic tapes are spaced inside the drum 4 Figure 3

  shows a 15 'layer which, instead of separate axially-

  also consists of a layer associated with electric coils

  which can be activated to create a magnetic field in the form of bands, which can possibly move in the lateral direction In the latter case, one can obtain a controlled lateral movement of the capsule blanks correctly oriented without using the plates

guide 5 or 8.

  Figure 4 shows the blanks coming out of the drum 4 to enter the conveyor belt 9, on which they are oriented along the edge by means

guide 171.

  At the end of the horizontal part of the conveyor 9,

  one can easily eject them by means of an air jet.

  ches which, for whatever reason, do not include a traction ring, owing to the fact that the means 17 ′ are designed to come into contact with the traction means themselves

  while the blanks advance along the conveyor 9.

  FIG. 5 schematically shows how the blanks are transferred laterally from first handling means to conveyor means 9, with the use of high magnetic forces in the marginal part 13 in order to raise from the bottom of a tank 11

  (figure 2) even the capsule blanks which are incorrect

highly oriented.

  Figure 6 shows a second embodiment

  of a device according to the invention, comprising mainly

  cipe a feed conveyor 17, practically horizontal, and a continuous inclined conveyor 18 associated with the conveyor 17, the conveyor 18 cooperating at its opposite end with an evacuation conveyor 19, practically horizontal As the dashed lines suggest, can use a

  feed shaft 20 in place of the feed conveyor

tion 17.

  As can be seen in FIGS. 8 and 9, the conveyor belt 18 passes over a certain number of magnetic strips 22, uniformly spaced under the strip 18, in the direction of movement 21 These magnetic strips

  can be arranged appropriately, transverse-

  or longitudinally with respect to the direction of the movement

band 18.

  As can be seen in FIGS. 7 and 9, positioning means 23, in the form of a rail, are

  arranged above the conveyor belt 18, at a distance

  tance 24 of the strip 18 which is such that the blanks 1 are positioned correctly under the rail 23 The magnetic strips are arranged under the strip 18 so as not to

  extend only slightly beyond and under the rail.

  The expression "correctly positioned blanks" means

  here that the upper surface lb of the blanks 1 is in con-

  tact with the strip 18 and that the gripping means rest it against the edge 23 a of the rail 23 The positioning rail 23 preferably extends across the strip 18, that is to say that it part of lower end 8 a

  a longitudinal edge 18 b of the strip and its upper end

  next approach the opposite longitudinal edge 18 c, forming at this level a discharge space 25 which is associated with an air jet acting in the direction of arrow 26, so that the blanks of capsules 1 which are incorrectly oriented and which gather at the space level are ejected by the air jet and return towards the end

  lower 18 has tape 18 to be sorted again.

  After the space 25, the rail 23 extends in a practically rectilinear direction 25 a towards the evacuation conveyor 19 which is in communication If necessary, the blanks which

  so come one after the other in this way,

  born correctly and with the gripping means in the same position, can be rotated as indicated

in figure 6.

  The magnetic tapes 22 preferably stop immediately before space 25, to facilitate the blowing off of all improperly turned blanks. An additional and special magnetic strip 27, also placed under the strip 18, extends from the positioning rail 23, near the space 25, in the direction

  oblique, upwards and away from rail 23, that is to say

  say towards the longitudinal edge 18 b of the strip 18 This magnetic strip is intended to guide the waste to move it away from the space located under the rail 23, this waste taking, for example, in the form of detached gripping means, of body capsules, etc. A guide plate

  additional 28 can be arranged in the end section

  lower part 18 has strip 18 to produce a certain tightening of the blanks which will be sorted, between this guide plate 28 and the opposite part of the rail 23 This effect can be further reinforced by giving a thickness greater than one or more of the magnetic strips which act in this area, to produce a magnetic force

  more intense (see magnetic strip 22 a in FIG. 6).

  The means shown in Figures 6-9 work

operate in the following manner.

  The blanks of sorting capsules are randomly brought into the lower zone 18a of the strip 18, slightly inclined, by the feed conveyor 17

  represented and / or by a supply shaft 20 function-

  nant in association with the lower zone 18 a The blanks 1 then advance along the strip 18 and pass over the magnetic strips 22 disposed under the strip 18 and they are thus affected by the first force component to be directed towards the rail of positioning 23 placed

  further along the strip 18 A pre-sorting of the blanks

  ches 1 takes place during the climb to the posi-

  operation, and the blanks are arranged, with the help of magnetic forces, so that their flat upper side

  lb rests against the strip 18, as can be seen clearly

  ment at A in Figure 8, for example Draft 1 is rete-

  naked in position A due to the fact that its planar upper side lb cooperates with two magnetic tapes 22, mutually

spaced under strip 18.

  The same figure shows how a "wrongly turned" blank (see position B in FIG. 8) is brought back by gravity, that is to say by the second force component B, towards the lower zone 18a of the strip 18 to be sorted again The sorted blanks, the flat surfaces lb of which are now in contact with the strip 18, as in position A in FIG. 8, are driven towards the

  positioning rail 23 under the effect of the displacement

  tapering of the strip in the direction of arrow 21, and these blanks are thus positioned between the rail 23 and the strip 18, as shown in FIG. 9 Thus, the blanks which are located under the rail 23 with the means of

  grip resting it against edge 23 a of rail 23 move forward

  continuously in the order in which they are, towards the evacuation zone, and therefore also pass in front of space 25, under the effect of the continuation of the movement of the strip 18 The remaining "incorrectly turned" blanks are finally removed by the air jet 26 which passes through

  space 25 To facilitate the transport of corrected drafts

  Tently oriented towards the discharge conveyor 19, by means of the practically straight rail section 25 a, there are no magnetic strips under the strip 18 in this part of the material. The aforementioned special magnetic strip 27 is used. to allow easy removal of waste in the form of grippers and bodies

  loose capsules, which can accumulate under the rail.

  The invention is obviously not limited to the embodiments shown in the drawings. It can be subject to numerous modifications without departing from the scope of the

  appended claims For example, the conveyor belt

  can itself be magnetic, with an appropriately adjusted magnetic force. Magnetic fields can also be produced by both horizontal and vertical magnetic tapes, in which case the spacing between the adjacent tapes must be adapted to the dimensions of the blanks. capsules in the embodiment which is

  shown in Figures 5-9, the angle of the convo-

  continuous yor 18 can vary between 0 and 900.

Claims (17)

  1 Method for orienting and advancing articles, in particular blanks of capsules of the type comprising a disc-shaped surface surrounded by a cylindrical wall ending in a free edge from   from which grasping means extend, characterized in that-   that the blanks of capsules are deposited randomly on a transport surface defining a path of advance for transporting the blanks, one by one, oriented with the top down, towards an outlet opening, and the blanks are retained in their orientation with the top down, against the transport surface, by a first force component (A) directed in a manner practically perpendicular to the path of advance, and of adjustable value, which is exerted on the contact surface of each capsule blank against the transport surface, the capsule blanks being subjected, on at least part of the feed path, to the action of a second force component (B), acting in a direction different from that of the first force component (A), so that the capsules which are not oriented with the top down are removed and brought back to be sorted again, while the capsules oriented with the top down while continuing their a along the path are forcibly subjected to the action of positioning means to ensure alignment or uniform positioning of the gripping means which extend from the blanks of capsules. 2 Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the second force component (B) acts practically parallel to the path ahead.   3 Method according to any one of the claims   tions l or 2, characterized in that, to be oriented with the apex at the bottom, the blanks pass along a path   which has separate strips of magnetic material covered   green by a thin, non-magnetic slip layer.   4 Process according to any one of the claims   1 to 3, characterized in that the capsule blanks   are brought to the lower end of a convo-   continuous, relatively horizontal and inclined, and in that the blanks of capsules oriented with the top down progressively advance along the strip and penetrate the positioning means, to ensure alignment or uniform positioning of their gripping means , in order to form a row of blanks of capsules aligned one behind the other, which are thus directed towards a evacuation station.   Method according to any one of Claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the first and second force components (A and   B, respectively) which act on the blanks of capsules.   6 Method according to any one of the claims   1 to 5, characterized in that the first force component (A) is generated by magnetic means which are   arranged in association with the conveyor.   7 Method according to any one of the claims   1 to 6, characterized in that the first force component (A) which acts on the capsule blanks is generated   by means of suction ducts with openings placed in the conveyor belt.   8 Method according to any one of the claims   1 to 7, characterized in that the second force component (B) is generated by air jets which are directed   transversely or longitudinally with respect to the convo-   yor. 9 Device for orienting and advancing blanks of capsules of the type comprising a disk-shaped surface surrounded by a cylindrical wall which ends in a free edge from which extend gripping means, this device being intended for placing implementing the method of claim 1, characterized in that it comprises a transport surface defining a feed path (9; 16; 18) capable of receiving blanks of capsules (1,6), this path advance being designed so as to   cooperating with means (15,22) intended to produce a pre-   first component of force (A) directed practically perpendicular to the path of advance, this first component (A) being provided so as to retain the blanks of capsules (1,6) in an orientation with the top down, while the capsules which are not oriented with the top down are removed from the path by a second force component (B) which acts in a direction different from that of the first force component (A).   Device according to claim 9, character-   rised in that it comprises a continuous conveyor belt (18) and magnetic action means (22) which act in association with the conveyor belt (18) to retain the blanks (1,6) on the conveyor belt (18), in a   orientation with the top down; and means of posi-   tction of the kind of a rail (23) which are arranged at a certain distance above the conveyor belt (18) and are intended to retain fixedly the blanks oriented with the top down, inside the space formed between these positioning means (23) and the conveyor belt (18), so as to correctly rotate in the same direction the gripping means (la) of the blanks, the positioning means of the kind of a rail ( 23) being associated with a   evacuation rail (25 a) for advancing in a controlled manner   of the blanks of capsules (1) completely oriented.   11 Device according to claim 10, character-   risé in that the conveyor belt (18) is inclined relative to the horizontal plane, and its lower end (18 a), when considering the direction of advance (21) of the belt (18), is designed to cooperate with a feed conveyor (17) or a feed shaft (20), while its opposite upper end is designed so as to ? 519947   cooperate with an evacuation conveyor (19).   12 Device according to claim 11, charac-   terized in that the feed conveyor (17) and the   evacuation voyeur (19) consists of continuous conveyor belts.   13 Device according to claim 11, charac-   that the evacuation conveyor consists of a magnetic conveyor.   14 Device according to claim 9, character-   rised in that the magnetic force component (A) is produced by means of a number of magnetic strips (22) arranged at intervals from one another along   the conveyor belt (18) and under it.   Device according to claim 14, character-   laughed in that the magnetic tapes (22) are arranged   practically transverse to the direction   tion of advance (21) of the conveyor (18), and the space between them is practically equivalent to the diameter of the capsule blank.   16 Device according to claim 11, character-   that the magnetic tapes (22) are arranged   said distance in the direction of movement (21) of the voyeur.   17 Device according to claim 9, character-   in that the first magnetic strip (22 a), at least, located at the lower end (18 a) of the product conveyor   a force greater than that of the following magnetic tapes   tes (22), in order to exert an initial magnetic action   above the lower end (18 a) of the con- voyeur.   18 Device according to claim 11, character-   rised in that the positioning rail (23) extends from a longitudinal edge (18 b) of the conveyor, practically up to   opposite edge (18 c) of the conveyor (18), in the region of its part   upper tie, and the magnetic strips (22) arranged under the conveyor (18) extend slightly below the area of the positioning rail (23).   19 Device according to claim 18, character-   rised in that the positioning rail ends at its upper end with a space (25) which is intended to cooperate with an air jet (26), to effect the final rejection of the blanks of capsules oriented incorrectly, and after this space (25) the positioning rail (23) becomes practically straight and subsequently joins the conveyor evacuation (19).   Device according to any one of the claims   cations 9 to 19, characterized in that the region near said space (25) is free from magnetic tapes (22),   in order to facilitate the removal of blanks of cap oriented them incorrectly.   21 Device according to any one of the claims   cations 9 to 20, characterized in that it comprises a magnetic strip (27) placed under the conveyor and under the upper part of the rail, which is intended for the removal of waste accumulated at the level of the rail during the sorting process, this waste being in the form of gripping means or bodies of detached capsules   22 Device according to claim 10, charac-   that the transport surface consists of a sieve   bour (4) or a rotating disc, designed to cooperate with a continuous strip (9).   23 Device according to claim 11, charac-   characterized in that it contains at least one element of separation   fixed angular position (5,8) which is placed above the over-   transport face (9,16) for advancing by force and   smooth the capsule blanks in a cross direction   transverse to the direction of movement of the surface this.