GB2028252A - Apparatus for shaping and packaging containers - Google Patents

Abstract

A device 1 for shaping and delivering a flexible sealed container into a receptacle 9 has a guide with an upper opening to receive the container, and a lower opening shaped and sized in relation to the receptacle to facilitate entry into the receptacle of the container modified in shape by passage through the guide, at least a part of the internal wall of the guide being movable along the feed direction. The movable part may comprise rollers 4, 5, balls, or belts. A preferred arrangement has four movable side walls defining a passage of reducing cross-section in the delivery direction, the walls being driven in unison, with the size of the lower opening being adjustable. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Apparatus for shaping containers This invention relates to the insertion of flexible sealed containers, filled or partially filled with freeflowing liquid or particulate material, into a receptacie.

Liquids, such as for example wine, detergents, and chemical reagents, are being packaged to an increasing extent in non-selfsupporting bag-like containers which are fitted into a self-supporting receptacle, such as a box, carton or cage.

The bag-like container is commonly a heat-sealed bag made of very flexible plastics sheeting, e.g.

polyethylene or similar. The container is thus completely non-selfsupporting and, if it is placed unsupported on a surface, the bag collapses to the lowest level permitted by the extent to which it is filled with contents.

The introduction of the container into the receptacle can be performed manually, by pushing and pulling the floppy bag approximately into the shape of the opening of the receptacle, and then dropping or pushing it in, but this is a laborious and timeconsuming operation.

The object of the present invention is to provide a device for the shaping of and delivery of a nonselfsupporting container into a receptacle.

According to the present invention a shaping and delivery device comprises a guide having an upper opening into which the container is inserted and a lower opening through which the container is delivered to a receptacle, the cross-section and dimensions of the lower opening being selected in relation to the cross-section and dimensions of the mouth of the receptacle such that the container issuing from, and shaped by passage through, the lower opening may pass readily into the mouth of the receptacle, a part at least of an internal wall of the guide positioned to be contacted by the container being movable at least substantially along the direction of movement of the container through the guide.

Where the container is made to assume crosssectional dimensions which are relatively much smaller than those of the mouth of the receptacle, the cross-sectional shaping of the container may vary widely from that of the mouth of the receptacle.

However, it is preferred to have the shape of the cross-section of the lower opening corresponding at least approximately to that of the mouth of the receptacle.

The contacting of the container by a movable part of the guide wall can serve a number of useful purposes. Firstly, it can control the speed at which the container passes through the guide, e.g. by causing the speed of the movable wall to be governed and/or braked for limiting and/or slowing the speed of passage of the container. Secondly, the movable wall part may be adapted to contact the container at a plurality of zones which are spaced about the periphery of the container, such that the container tends to pass through the guide in a symmetrical manner. Thirdly, the movement of the movable wall may be utilised to avoid or to reduce any friction which might otherwise occur between a guide and the relatively moving container.Fourthly, the movable wall part may be driven, in the feedingthrough direction, so that the container is passed through the guide at a speed which is greater than would occur with gravity alone.

Many suitable packaging receptacles have a rectangular, e.g. square, mouth, and it is preferred to have at least one pair of opposed longitudinally movable wall portions in the guide. A still further preferred construction has two pairs of opposed longitudinally movable wall portions, e.g. on all four sides of a rectangular guide.

Where more than one longitudinally movable wall part is provided, it is preferred if both or all of the movable parts are linked for movement in unison and at the same rate.

A considerable advantage is gained if the upper opening of the guide has considerably greater cross-sectional area and dimensions that the lower opening, whereby feeding of the floppy containers into the guide, manually or by machine, is much simplified. Accordingly, in a preferred arrangement, the guide, or at least the movable wall parts thereof, are arranged to define a passage which reduces in cross-section, e.g. an inverted truncated cone or pyramid, such that the container is transformed from a broad shallow emorphous shape, as it passes through the guide, to a shape having the smaller cross-sectional dimensions of the lower opening.

Preferably the angle of inclination of at least one longitudinally portion of the guide wall, to the central axis of the guide, is adjustable to permit variation of the dimensions of the upper and/or lower openings.

The movable wall portion may include or be constituted by a portion of the periphery of a bail or roller, or by portions of the periphery of two or more balls or rollers spaced in the direction of movement of the container through the guide. Such balls or rollers may be coupled for movement in unison, and may be freely rotatable, or governed and/or braked, or driven, preferably by a variable speed drive.

In an alternative, the movable wall part may be constituted by a run of a looped endless belt passed about end supports spaced in the direction of movement. The end supports may be rollers or the like, and other intermediate supports may be provided between the end supports, and may be sliding guides or rollers or the like for the belt. The movable wall part advantageously comprises two or more such looped belts disposed side by side on rollers. A preferred construction has, say, three sets of belts positioned side by side, and running over two end rollers and two or more intermediate rollers, at least one end roller and the intermediate rollers being mounted on a support structure which can be shifted as a whole for section of the desired angle of inclination of the movable wall in relation to the axis of the guide.At least one end roller, e.g. the top end roller, may be power driven, and two or more such rollers may be coupled, e.g. by bevel gears.

The guiding action may be exerted on the container solely by the movable wall parts, so that the nature of the surface presented by other portions of the guide becomes immaterial, because it is not contacted by the container during passage through the guide.

In a first convenient construction, the guide has a mounting structure in the form of parts of an inverted quadrilateral pyramid, each of the four walls being provided with elongated horizontal slots to receive end portions of end rollers and intermediate supports, e.g. rollers or sliding blocks, said end portions being linked externally of the mounting structure for adjustment of the linear movable wall to a desired angle of inclination.

In another construction, the guide has four movable wall portions each including one or more endless belts carried on end rollers and at least one intermediate roller, each set of rollers being adjustable as to the inclination of an inner run of the belt with respect to an axis of the guide, at least one of the end rollers of each set of rollers being coupled to drive means.

Where rollers are used as the movable wall part on two opposed pairs of walls of the guide, such rollers of one opposed pair of walls may be disposed intermediately between rollers of the other opposed pair of walls.

Where belt means are used as the movable wall part, such belt means may be smooth-surfaced, or may have external relief formations provided for obtaining a better frictional grip on the container as it passes through the guide.

In order that the nature of the invention may be readily ascertained, some embodiments in accordance therewith are hereinafter particularly described with reference to the figures of the accompanying drawings, wherein: Figure lisa schematic perspective elevation of a complete guide, illustrating its manner of use in relation to a cubic receptacle; Figure 2 is a perspective view of a modified guide wall part having beginning and end rollers and intermediate sliding blocks; Figure 3 is an elevation of a still further guide wall part in the form of two laterally spaced belts each carried on spaced end pulleys and supported intermediate the pulleys by belt guides; Figure 4 is a side elevation of a movable wall part having a ribbed or castellated belt carried on end rollers or pulleys; Figure 5 is a perspective schematic view of another embodiment of guide; and Figure 6 is a schematic side elevation of tensionable belt means for use in the guide of Figure 5.

Referring to Figure 1, the shaping and delivery device comprises a mounting structure 1 having in each side wall 2 a series of slots 3. Within the structure 1 there are two opposed pairs of sets of rollers 4,5 mounted on rods 6 which protrude through the slots 3. The rods of top and bottom rollers 5 are threaded. The ends of the rods 6 pass through a slotted plate 7, and the inclination of the plate 7, and thus of the series of rollers, can be adjusted, and then fixed by tightening knurled nuts 8 on the top and bottom rods. The rollers of one opposed pair of walls are engaged aiternately between the rollers of the other opposed pair of walls. The structure 1 is placed over an open carton 9, and a flexible bag of liquid is dropped into the top of the structure 1.As it passes downwardly, guided by the rollers, its horizontal cross-section is reduced to less than the dimensions of the opening of the carton, so that the bag can readily fall into place in the carton.

Figure 2 shows a modification in which only a top roller 5a and a bottom roller 5b are provided, the intermediate rollers being replaced by two vertical guides 10 which are advantageously treated, on the surface contacted by the bag, with an anti-friction material such as P.T.F.E.

Figure 3 shows a further modification wherein the set of rollers is replaced by endless belts 11 carried by a top pulley 12 and a bottom pulley 13, and with if desired a vertical guide, such as shown at 10 in Figure 2, placed between the top and bottom pulleys to support the intermediate portion of the run of the belt.

Figure 4 shows a modified belt 1 lea, suitable for use in the construction of Figure 3, having castellations or transverse ribs 14. Again, a guide such as 10 could be placed between the top and bottom pulleys.

Referring now to Figures 5 and 6, there is shown another embodiment of guide in which a rectangular mounting structure 15 has four side walls 16. Each wall 16 has brackets 17 supporting respective top rollers 18. One roller 18 is mounted on a drive spindle 19 rotatabie by an electric motor 20 with speed reduction gear included. At one end, the driven roller 19 has a bevel pinion 21 meshing with a corresponding bevel pinion 21 of the next adjacent roller 18. The four rollers 18 are all connected by bevel pinions so as to be rotated in unison.

In each side wall 16 there are provided slots 22 through which are engaged the end portions of shafts 23 of second, third and fourth rollers 18 for each side wall. There is also provided, for each end of each set of the rollers, a slotted plate 24 which ensures that the rollers remain with their axes disposed on a straight line. The second and fourth rollers have their shaft 23 engaged through a threaded sleeve 25 having a head (not shown) abutting the inside of the side wall, and which carries a knurled nut 26 which can be tightened to lockthe respective shaft 23 in any selected position along the slot 22.

About the four rollers 18 of each side wall there am engaged two belts 27 which serve as a moving wall to be contacted by the amorphous package passed through the device. Each belt is passed about tensioning rollers 28 adjustably mounted on slotted brackets 29 secured on the side wall.

Claims (9)

1. A shaping and delivery deviceforflexible sealed containers, comprising a guide having an upper opening into which the container is inserted and a lower opening through which the container is delivered to a receptable, the cross-section and dimensions of the lower opening being selected in relation to the cross-section and dimensions of the mouth of the receptacle such that the container issuing from, and shaped by passage through, the lower opening may pass readily into the mouth of the receptacle, a part at least of an internal wall of the guide positioned to be contacted by the container being movable at least substantially along the direction of movement of the container through the guide.

2. A shaping and delivery device as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the guide has at least one pair of opposed movable internal wall portions.

3. A shaping and delivery device as claimed in Claim 2, wherein the guide has four internal movable wall portions arranged as two pairs of opposed wall portions.

4. A shaping and delivery device as claimed in any one of the preceding Claims, wherein the guide defines a passage which reduces in cross-section in the direction from the upper opening to the lower opening.

5. A shaping and delivery device as claimed in any one of the preceding Claims, wherein at least one internal wall portion is adjustable as to its inclination to a central axis of the guide.

6. A shaping and delivery device, as claimed in any one of the preceding Claims, wherein the movable wall portion includes part of a ball or roller, or plural balls or rollers, or an endless belt.

7. A shaping and delivery device as claimed in Claim 6, wherein the movable wall portion comprises two or more endless belts carried side by side on rollers.

8. A shaping and delivery device as claimed in either of Claims 6 and 7, wherein the guide has four movable wall portions each including one or more endless belts carried on end rollers and at least one intermediate roller, each set of rollers being adjust able as to the inclination of an inner run of the belt with respect to an axis of the guide, at least one of the end rollers of each set of rollers being coupled to drive means.

9. A shaping and delivery device, substantially as described herein with reference to Figure 1, or Figures 2 and 3, or Figure 4, or Figures 5 and 6 of the acompanying drawings.