HK1036783A - Apparatus for inserting bags into an outer container - Google Patents

Description

Device for inserting a pocket into an outer container

The present invention relates to a device for inserting a pocket into an external packing case or container of the type described in the preamble of claim 1.

Such a device is known from DE19745854C1, which comprises an endless conveyor belt for the pockets and a feed conveyor belt designed as a linear conveyor belt as one of the outer containers, which is arranged below the endless conveyor belt and crosses the conveying direction of the endless conveyor belt at two diametrically opposite insertion points. The endless conveyor belt includes a plurality of accommodation cavities extending in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction and configured to accommodate a plurality of pockets. The pockets are transported in a continuous flow and are periodically transported in an upright position into the receiving space, so that the endless conveyor belt can only be operated periodically. At a first intersection of the conveying direction of the endless conveyor belt and the feed conveyor belt, each second receiving chamber is unloaded into a container, while the still loaded receiving chambers are conveyed further to a second unloading point, which is located at a second intersection between the conveying direction of the endless conveyor belt and the feed conveyor belt. Since such pockets, i.e. beverage bags, with a self-standing bottom have to be produced and packaged in large quantities, even small delays in the conveying speed can affect their economy. It has been found that the known device can still be optimized to a more advanced degree.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a device for inserting a plurality of pockets into an outer container, the transport speed of which is further optimized.

This object is achieved by the characterizing measures specified in claim 1.

Due to the use of a star conveyor according to the invention, the transport rate of the pockets and consequently of the outer containers filled with pockets can be maintained continuously, i.e. without a periodic transport pattern. This avoids the delay associated with this, i.e. a further increase in the conveying speed. Although the technique of continuously feeding the pockets into an outer container has been described in EP696538B1, the above patent uses a linear conveyor having an upper conveyor belt and a lower conveyor belt which feeds the pockets into the outer container while holding the pockets on both sides. Furthermore, in the known devices, the pockets must be arranged in an overlapping manner before being inserted into the container. However, both measures are only suitable for cases with a substantially regular shape. However, the upright pockets to be treated preferentially with the device according to the invention are closed at an acute angle from their wide, self-standing bottom to the opposite edge, so that such pockets cannot be conveyed either by an upper or by a lower conveyor belt and cannot be conveyed in an overlapped manner.

Since the invention inventively uses a star conveyor, which comprises receiving chambers and is rotatable about a horizontal axis and can be loaded and unloaded circumferentially, even irregularly shaped pockets can be delivered to the containers at a uniform speed.

Advantageous development variants of the invention are apparent from the dependent claims.

An embodiment of the invention is described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing the apparatus of the present invention; and

fig. 2 is a schematic side view of a star conveyor.

Fig. 1 shows a device according to the invention for inserting a plurality of pockets 2 into an outer packaging case or container 3. The pocket 2 is a standing pocket made of film or foil material and has a self-standing bottom on one side and a welded seam on the opposite side closing the filling opening, and a cushion-like curved periphery at the remaining side, which is the standard packaging of beverages. The pocket 2 is filled, closed and optionally provided with a drinking straw (not shown) in the usual way.

Outer container 3 is one of the standard foldable containers, having a first compartment 3a for accommodating the first set 2a of pockets 2 and a second compartment 3b for accommodating the second set 2b of pockets, and a curved fold 3c, wherein the two compartments 3a and 3b can be folded about the fold 3c to form an outer container 3, which is closed on all sides (left, bottom in fig. 1).

The device 1 comprises a pocket conveyor 4 with a feed conveyor 5 and two sub-conveyors 6 and 7 for conveying lying pockets 2, and with two star conveyors 8 and 9, wherein each sub-conveyor 6 and 7 is provided for a star wheel 8 and 9, respectively, and with a feed conveyor 10 for containers 3.

The supply conveyor 5 conveys a continuous row of pockets 2, which are arranged in the same orientation (with their free base facing to the right in fig. 1) and lie flat on the supply conveyor 5, i.e. in the direction of the arrow a, towards a distribution device 11, such as a slide or the like, which transfers each second pocket 2 onto the first sub-conveyor 6, while maintaining the orientation of the pocket and retaining the remaining pockets on the second sub-conveyor 7. The second sub-conveyor 7 is either an extension of the feed conveyor 5 or a separate conveyor belt. The two sub-conveyors 6 and 7 move in the direction of arrow a towards their respective star conveyors 8 and 9, wherein the star conveyors 8 and 9 are arranged in a staggered manner in the direction of arrow a.

As shown in fig. 2, each conveyor 8, 9 is supported for rotation in the direction of arrow B about a horizontal axis 12, wherein the axis 12 extends in a direction transverse to the conveying direction a. At the periphery of each star conveyor there are a plurality of accommodation chambers 13, which are arranged one after the other in direction B and are formed by partition walls having a substantially triangular cross section, the chambers 13 being dimensioned in direction B such that they can receive only one single pocket in the conveying direction. However, in the direction of axis 12, the chambers may easily be dimensioned such that they can accommodate two or even more pockets at the same time; in this case, a corresponding number of sub-conveyors or a sub-conveyor with a suitable width should be provided. The sub-conveyors 6, 7, which are designed as conveyor belts, meet the star conveyors 8, 9 at a loading point 14, said loading point 14 being located at least at the same (horizontal) level as the axis 12, but preferably at a slightly higher level. The rotational speed of the star conveyors 8, 9 is adjusted to the conveying speed of the sub-conveyors 6, 7 so that each chamber 13 which has turned past the loading point 14 is loaded with a respective pocket which is pushed into the respective chamber 13 by the sub-conveyors 6, 7 so that the sub-conveyors are emptied. The loaded accommodation chambers 13 are first moved upwards in the direction B and then downwards, while they are guided through a fixed cover 15, which cover 15 covers the chambers so that pockets lying only loosely in the chambers 13 do not fall out prematurely. Near or at the lowest transport point of star conveyors 8, 9, cover 15 ends or has a gap, so that an insertion point 16 is formed, at which pocket 2 falls into container 3, said container 3 having been pushed under star conveyors 8, 9 by infeed conveyor 10. The containers 3 are moved in the same way in the transport direction C towards the insertion point 16 and, for example, with an adjusted speed of the pockets 2 in the transport direction B, the pockets 2 can be packed tightly into the respective compartments 3a, 3B. The release of the pocket 2 from the receiving chamber 13 at an optimum time is ensured by an unloading guide 17, against which guide 17 the pocket 2 rests and which guides the pocket 2 into the receptacle 3.

As can be seen in fig. 1, a first group of pockets 2a is first introduced into the first chamber 3a of the container 3 by the star conveyor 8, wherein the container 3 is conveyed on the supply conveyor 10, said first group of pockets from the row of pockets 2 being arranged on the first sub-conveyor 6. After insertion, the infeed conveyor 10 moves the semi-filled containers 3 towards a rotating device 18, for example a turret, which can rotate in the direction of arrow D about a vertical axis 19, which rotating device 18 rotates the semi-filled containers 3 by 180 ° about the vertical axis 19, so that the rotated containers 3 are transferred onto a second part of the infeed conveyor 10, at which point the part of the infeed conveyor 10 is now conveying the semi-filled containers 3 to the insertion point 16 at the second star conveyor 9, so that a second group of pockets 2b from the pocket row provided on the second sub-conveyor 7 can be inserted into the second chambers 3b of the containers. Due to the rotation of the rotating means, the two groups of pockets 2a, 2b inside the container 3 have opposite orientations, the self-standing bottom preferably facing the fold 3c, although the pockets are transported in the same orientation. After the second group 2b has been inserted into the containers 3, the filled containers leave the region of the star conveyor 9 and enter a standard folding device 20, which has just been folded with the force required to fold the containers 3 and then leave the device 1, or alternatively leave the device 1 after an additional step of fixing the two chambers to one another.

In a modification of the embodiment described and shown, the device of the invention can also be used to pack pockets from a single row into a single group, or to omit the rotating device, in order to pack two groups of pockets oriented identically. The partition walls of the receiving chambers of the star conveyor may have tips that are slightly bent forward in the conveying direction. Although the device of the present invention has its particular advantages in handling upstanding pockets of foil or film material which have different thicknesses at their ends, symmetrically shaped pockets can be readily handled. Moreover, the continuous conveying speed of the bags is not interrupted by the periodic advancing movement, so that the acceleration running of the whole conveying operation can be obtained.

Claims (12)

1. An apparatus for inserting a plurality of pockets, in particular standing pockets containing beverages, into an outer container, comprising a pocket conveyor and a feed conveyor for the containers, the pockets being insertable into the container under the action of gravity at an insertion point above the feed conveyor, characterized in that: the pocket conveyor (4) comprises a star conveyor (8, 9) which is rotatable about a substantially horizontal axis (12) and is provided with a receiving chamber (13) which can be loaded and unloaded peripherally (pockets) and which receives only a single pocket (2) in the conveying direction and which has the same conveying direction (B, C) as the supply conveyor (10) above the supply conveyor (10) and at the insertion point (16).

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein: the star conveyors (8, 9) and the supply conveyor (10) are driven in such a way that they move at the insertion point (16) at a matching speed.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 or 2, wherein: the pocket (2) lies loosely in the accommodation chamber (13), and the accommodation chamber (13) can be covered by a securing flap (15) which extends between a loading point (14) and an insertion point (16).

4. The apparatus of any of claims 1 to 3, wherein: at the insertion point (16), a discharge guide (17) is provided, which projects into the receiving chamber (13).

5. The apparatus of claim 3 or 4, wherein: the loading point (14) of the star conveyor (8, 9) is located at the same (horizontal) level as or above the rotational axis (12) of the conveyor.

6. The apparatus of any of claims 1 to 5, wherein: the pocket conveyor (4) comprises a first sub-conveyor (6) and a first star conveyor (8) for the first group (2a) of pockets (2); and a second sub-conveyor (7) and a second star conveyor (9) for the second group (2b) of pockets (2); and a feed conveyor (10) for the containers (3) is associated with the two star conveyors (8, 9).

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein: the second star conveyor (9) is arranged after the first star conveyor (8) in the conveying direction (C) of the infeed conveyor (10).

8. The apparatus of claim 6 or 7, wherein: the pocket conveyor (4) comprises a conveyor (5) for conveying a continuous row of pockets (2) and a distribution device (11) for distributing the pockets (2) to the sub-conveyors (6, 7).

9. The apparatus of any one of claims 6 to 8, wherein: the feeding conveyor (10) comprises a rotating device (18) for rotating the containers (3) between the insertion point (16) of the first star conveyor (8) and the insertion point of the second star conveyor (9) to insert the first group (2a) of pockets into a first portion (3a) of the containers (3) and to insert the second group (2b) of pockets into a second portion (3b) of the same containers (3) in different orientations.

10. The apparatus of any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein: it has the purpose of handling upright bags (2) which can be transported in a lying position on a bag conveyor (4) and a star conveyor (8, 9), and all of which are oriented with their own standing bottoms in the same orientation transversely to the transport direction.

11. A method for operating an apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 10 to insert a first and a second group of beverage-filled stand-up pouches by gravity into a common container, characterized in that: the upright pockets are conveyed in a lying position and are divided into a first and a second partial conveying flow, which are each conveyed onto a star conveyor, wherein the star conveyor is rotatable about a horizontal axis, the star conveyor of the first partial conveying flow inserts the pockets of the first group one after the other into the containers, and the star conveyor of the second partial conveying flow then inserts the pockets of the second group one after the other into the containers.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein: the outer container is rotated between the steps of inserting the first set and inserting the second set of pockets.