FR2805520A1 - DEVICE FOR FORMING, FILLING AND CLOSING CUPS - Google Patents

Abstract

Device (10) for forming, filling and closing cups (1) comprising an installation (13) for molding the cup (1) in a film strip (3), a filling installation (14) and a sealing installation ( 15) to close the filled cup (1) with a strip of covering film (4). Along the edges of the film strip (3), guides (22) are provided at least for the film strip (3), and together with a housing cover part, form a semi-tunnel enclosure (18) housing a sterile space (21). The guides (22) comprise means (30) for pressing at least the film strip (3) against the guides (22) on the underside (6) of the film strip (3) opposite the sterile space ( 21).

Description

STATE OF THE ART The present invention relates to a device for

  form, fill and close cups, including an ins-

  tallation to form the cup in a film strip, a filling installation and a sealing installation

  to close the cup filled with a strip of film

  covering, with along the edges of the film strip, guides provided at least for the film strip, and forming with a housing cover part, a shaped enclosure

  semi-tunnel housing a sterile space.

  Such a device is already known according to the docu-

ment DE 195 05 197 Al.

  The known device is made under construction

  called in semi-tunnel. This means that the housing of the device

  tif delimiting the sterile area only reaches the height of the container sheet film, so that the face

  bottom of the sheet film including the surface covered

  The molded cup cup is accessible from the outside. To allow the guide of the container film strip and of the cover sheet strip, and on the other hand to insulate the housing from the film strip, in the device

  known means for guiding the film strip are

  in the form of U-shaped guide rails which surround the longitudinal side edges of the strip

of sheet.

  The disadvantage of this solution is that it cannot guarantee that the underside of the film strip always rests on the branches of the guide rails.

  associated, the film strip not being pre-guided

  cise. This complicates the desired sterilization of the area

  edge of the container film strip. In particular during

  during the heating or pre-sterilization phase as well as during the production phase, germs may be introduced between the underside of the sheet strip and

  the means for guiding in the sterile space.

  Advantages of the invention The object of the present invention is to remedy these drawbacks and to this end relates to a device of the type defined above, characterized in that the guides include means for pressing at least the strip of film against the guides on the underside of the strip

film opposite the sterile space.

  The device according to the invention for forming, filling and closing containers has the advantage of always guiding

  the film strip in a defined manner in the guides, so that the underside of the film strip rests on the guides. Among other things, this prevents germs10 from passing through the underside of the film strip to

  non-sterile outside area worm in the sterile space.

  According to other advantageous developments of the invention, the guides are produced by two beams of

  independent guidance, which allows a particular construction

  lier simple guide means. The use of pressure fingers loaded by springs makes it possible to define the position of the strip, in a simple way in the guides. In addition, it follows that the upper face of the film can be completely sterilized; the underside of the film is supported at the same time on its guide. The up and down movement of the guide rails not only makes it possible to sterilize the edges of the sheet but in their raised position, they guarantee a separation of the sterile space towards the outside, that is to say during the

  production breaks, so that during these breaks, production

  addition to sterilization agent is also very low.

  It is particularly advantageous to use a box

  connected to one of the guide rails. This

  puts to definitively create a traffic path for

  the sterilizing agent and at the same time shut down

  tightly sealed the guide rails.

Drawings

  An exemplary embodiment of the invention is shown

  presented in the drawings and will be described below in more detail. Thus: - Figure 1 is a simplified longitudinal section of a forming / filling / sealing machine, - Figures 2 and 3 show sections in the plane II-II of Figure 1, in different operating phases,

  - Figure 4 is a simplified section of the guide rail

  upper page to explain the arrangement of the fingers

  pressure. Description of the exemplary embodiment

  According to FIG. 1, the device 10 is used to form, fill and close cups 1. The device 10 comprises

  carries a sterilization installation 11 for a strip of film 3, flat and thermoformable, unwound from a supply roll 2, a heating installation 12 with three

  heating stations 12a, 12b, 12c, a training installation

  mage 13, a filling installation 14, a sealing installation 15 for sealing a covering film 4 on the cups 1 and a stamping installation 16. A

  with the exception of the stamping installation 16, all

  very facilities are housed inside a hood-shaped enclosure 18 which is mainly located above

  of the film 3. The means of driving the installations can

  wind also be outside the enclosure 18 which in this case has sealed passages not shown or

  analogous means for transmitting movement to ins

  tallations. The enclosure 18 has a connection 19 coupled to a sterilization source 20 which preferably supplies sterile air as a sterilization agent inside

enclosure 18.

  The volume in the enclosure 18 above the upper face 5 of the film is a sterile space 21 while the volume under the lower face 6 of the film is in contact with the environment and is therefore non-sterile. The enclosure 18 thus forms a half-tunnel for the sterile passage of the film 3. To sterile guide the two longitudinal edges 7 of the film-shaped strip 3 and, where appropriate, the edges of the covering film 4, the device 10 according to

  the invention is embodied in a particular way. This realization

  sation includes guides 22 along the enclosure 18.

  For better readability, these guides are not

  shown in Figure 1; they span the whole length

  loudspeaker 18. As it appears in particular in the figures

  Figures 2 and 3, the guides 22 each include a long

  upper guide beam 23 and a lower guide beam 24; these two side members each cooperate with zone 7 of the edge of the film. The lower guide rails 24 are movable vertically and the area 7 of the edge of the film is located between the two guide rails 23, 24. While

  the lower guide beam 24 preferably has a sec-

  rectangular, the upper guide rail 23 pre-

  smells a spout 25 on the side facing the sterile space 21.

  A first wall segment 26 of a box

  27 takes under the spout 25 while a se-

  cond wall segment 28 of the suction box 27 is in contact with the lower spar 24. The first wall segment 26 thus constitutes a part of the enclosure 18. The two tubular suction boxes 27 provided at zones 7 edges of the film are connected to a suction installation, the pipe 29 of which is shown in FIG. 2. The important thing is that the suction box 27 is made watertight vis-à-vis the outside, in particular in the area between the lower face 6 of the film and the lower guide beam 24. To allow this sealing to be achieved, the upper guide rails 23 have a particular shape. As appears in particular in FIG. 4, the upper guide rails 23 comprise pressure fingers 30 which project from the lower face 31 of the upper guide rail 23, this face being turned

towards the upper face 5 of the film.

  The pressure fingers 30, which are preferably

  distributed at regular intervals along the guide rails

  upper dage 23, aligned or flush with the upper side

  of the lower guide rails 24. Each pressure finger 30 is placed in a blind bore 32 of the upper guide rail 23 and is connected to a spring cup 33. Between the spring cup 33 and a drilled washer 34

  connected to the upper guide beam 23, is supported by a

  compression spell 35 which pushes the pressure finger 30 out of the lower face 31. The guide rails 23, upper, are suspended by compression springs 36 distributed along the length and if necessary the width of the rails upper guide 23 so as to create in a simple manner a determined application force, in the direction of the film 3.

  The device 10 operates as follows:

  boasts: In the working position, when the film 3 is transported step by step in the transfer direction 37 by the

  device 10, the lower guide rails 24 occu-

  their raised position (Figure 2). In this position, between the underside 31 of the upper guide beam

  23 and the upper face 5 of the film, in the area between-

  be the pressure fingers 30, there are intervals 38.

  The sterilizing agent introduced into the sterile space 21

  through the sterilization facility 20 crosses the intervals

  38 to pass into the suction boxes 27 from which this sterilization agent is sucked. The passage of the sterilizing agent through the gap 38 thus sterilizes the upper face 5 of the film at the level of the area 7 of the edge of the film. The important thing is that the lower guide rails

  24 are raised enough for the pressing fingers to

  sion 30 cooperate with the upper side 5 of the film to press

  tighten the lower face 6 of the film with a certain force, in a sealed manner against the upper side of the side members

  lower guide 24. This is made possible by a suitable

  Appropriate ration of the stiffness of the compression springs, 36. This ensures that no germ can arrive through the underside 6 of the film and the suction boxes 27

  at the upper face 5 of the film to be sterilized.

  Figure 2 shows the lower guide rails

  laughers 24 in the raised position in which the pressure fingers 30 are fully inserted into the upper guide rails 23; these beams 23 are pressed by the

  compression springs 36 with low application force

  finished against the upper face 5 of the film. In this po-

  sition of operation of the device 10, the sterile space 21 is sealed vis-à-vis the suction boxes 27, and is thus in all cases sealed vis-à-vis the outside; at the same time the lower face 6 of the film is pressed against the lower guide rails 23. This operating position, taken for example during manufacturing breaks, makes it possible to minimize the consumption of sterilizing agent and the space sterile 21 is at the same time sealed in a guaranteed manner vis-à-vis

from the outside.

  The device 10 described above can be modified

  trusted in different ways without departing from the scope of the invention, namely the intentional guiding of a sterilization agent towards the zones 7 of the edge of the film at the upper face 5 of the film while achieving the seal

  from the underside 6 of the film towards the stereo space

rile 21.

  Thus, one can for example consider dividing the guides 22 along the length of the device 10 into several segments so that the lower segments of the guide rails take different positions in different areas of the device. If necessary, we can also delete

  the suction boxes 27 completely.

  In addition, it is also possible to envisage making the lower guide rails fixedly and making the upper guide rails mobile.

  in the direction of lifting and lowering.

R E V E N DI C A T I ON S

  1) Device (10) for forming, filling and closing gobbles

  lets (1), comprising an installation (13) for forming the go-

  belet (1) in a film strip (3), a filling installation (14) and a sealing installation (15) for

  close the filled cup (1) with a strip of covering film

  gures (4), with along the edges of the film strip (3), guides (22) provided at least for the film strip (3),

  and forming with a housing cover part, a

  belt (18) in the form of a semi-tunnel housing a sterile space (21), characterized in that the guides (22) include means (30) for pressing at least the film strip (3) against the guides (22) on the underside (6) of the film strip (3) opposite to

the sterile space (21).

  2) Device according to claim 1, characterized in that

  the guides (22) are made in several parts at the

  sheet edge calf (7), with a first member in the form of a spar (24) cooperating with the underside (6)

  of the film and a second member in the form of a spar (23) cooperating

  rant with the upper face (5) of the film, and the second element

  ment (23) comprises the means (30) for pressing the face

  lower of the film (6) against the first element (24).

  3) Device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that

  the means (30) comprise pressure fingers (30) char-

  managed by springs to form passages (38) for a sterilizing agent between the second element (23) and the

  upper face (5) of the film strip (3).

  4) Device according to any one of claims

1 to 3,

  characterized in that the first element (24) is movable vertically so that in a certain raised position, the second element (23) is applied over its entire surface against the upper face (5) of the sheet and is made watertight relative to to the sterile space (21). ) Device according to claim 4, characterized in that the second element (23) is mounted on elastic means

  (36) which act in the direction of movement of the first element (24).

  6) Device according to any one of claims

1 to 5,

  characterized in that the guides (22) are coupled each time to a suction box (27), sucking above the upper face

  (5) of the film, the sterilizing agent outside the sterile space

rile (21).

  7) Device according to claim 6, characterized in that the suction box (27) is made as part

  of the enclosure (18) in the form of a half-tunnel.