IE56990B1 - Magazine bottom loader member - Google Patents

Description

PREMIER BRANDS U.K. LIMITED, A BRITISH COMPANY, OF PASTURE ROAD, MORETON, WIRRAL, MERSEYSIDE, L46 8SE, ENGLAND. this Invention relates io the production of tea eno the like bags, referred to hereinafter and in the claims ss tea bags for simplicity. Although reference will be made hereinafter only to tea bags, it is to be mentioned that the actual material i.e. tea or on alternative such as coffee, herbs or flavouring, is * < | not in essence in the present Invention, and it is to intended that the expression tea** referred to hereinafter and in the claims is intended to cover all materials of a nature which flavours or conditions the liquid as it passes through the material of the bag, which is in the nature of a filter.

As is well known, a tea bag comprises essentially a small sachet of filter material, such as paper or netting containing a quantity of tea in finely comminuted form so that when the bag is placed in boiling vaterB the water will ae flavoured by the tea, but the tea particles cannot pass through the filter material of the bag.

The production of tea bags is well developed, and it is possible using known machinery to produce tee bags at high speed, for example over 1,000 tea bags per minute, end machines producing 2 io 4,000 tea bags per minute ere not uncommon. There is a disadvantage with such tea beg production however in that it is not possible to produce what ere known ss ^singles® at high speed. ^Singles, as the name suggests, csre single ** * 6? individual tea bags which can be removed from a carton ' tii of the bags Individually without other tea bags in the J carton being extracted wit the same time. \ -2When the tea bags are produced by the known machinery at high speed, they are produced by trapping the quanities of tea between filter material webs, snd they ©re produced in side by side typically tw rows, 5 extending longitudinally of the webs. The webs are subsequently split transversely to define groups of tea bags of which the individual tea bags lie side by side. If the webs were split longitudinally ¢0 provide individual tea bags· problems arise in connection with 1° the handling of the individual tea bags which have to be collated by the machinery into stacks, and the stacks placed directly into the cartons. These problems do not exist when the individual tea bags of the groups are allowed to remain connected via the web materiel. However, in order to facilitate separation of the individual bags by the consumer when removing same from the certonp * cutting device of the machine provides perforations between the respective tea bags in a group so that separation of the individual bags in >θ a group Is quite simple.

However, simple though the said separation may be, experience has shown ehat the biggest single complaint received from consumers in relation to tea bag useage $ Is that the tee bags ®re not “singles” and that when a user wishes to use e single bag, for example to place It directly Into a cup for making of a single cup of tea, invariably the group of bags is extracted from the carton. There fore, consumer complaint es related to 0 the feet that tee bags rare not in singles In cartons isp somewhat surprisingly, considerable.

The present invention seeks to provide a machine by which the making of tee bags in singles and placing ’ same in cartons at high speed is enhanced.

Although the invention w®s eaade -3done on known equipment, it cen be embodied In existing equipment by modifying same, or can be embodied in original equipment.

To explain the novel aspect of the invention, it is useful to explain In more detail how a known tea bag making machine operates. Λ first web of the filter materiel travels horizontally* and a mechanism desposits quantities of tea on this web in two side by side rows, the i individual tea quantities being spaced transversely and longitudinally on the travelling web. a second web is brought into overlying contact with the first web, and the two webs ore sealed in peripheral regions trapping the tea in Individual bags Zo provide a sachet web, the seals extending transversely and longitudinally thereof. The thus formed sachet web of tea bags, still travelling horizontally* passes a perforating device which puts a line of perforations down the centre of the sachet web„ but not disconnecting the bags transversely. A transverse cutter severs the individual groups (of two each) of begs, end feeds them into a magazine in turne a$nd subsequent groups are pieced on top of preceding groups so that the groups become stacked in the magazine* A collating device separates a predetermined number of groups of tea bags In the stacks &nd moves it to the bottom of the magazine. The group is pushed laterally from the lower end of the magazine into an Insertion device, end the insertion device places the stack of groups into a carton located under the inserting device. The carton Is either moved &&ay from the inserting device after -4of the machine.

The machine works at high speed because the two tea bags in each group remain connected, albeit across a perforated connection line, but if one simply severs the horisontally travelling web of tea bags in an effort to produce singles* then the loss of connection of the tea bags in the group creates unexpected and considerable problems to such an extent that the machine simply will not perform effectively, and the tea bags either fall from the machine or take up the wrong disposition, or burst.

The present invention in a preferred form provides a modification for the above process which results in improved operation to such an extent that the machine can run whilst lb producing singles and placing same in the cartons which travel through the machine.

According to the invention there is provided a machine for handling tea bags, comprisings ?0 a) an elevator platform in a magazine having a horizontal support surface adapted to support a stack or stacks of tea bags in the magazine; b) means for moving the elevator platform from a first upper platform loading position to a second platform ?5 discharge position at the bottom of the magazine; c) a lead out member located at the bottom of the magazine; d) pusher means for pushing a stack or stacks of tea bags from the platform laterally of the magazine when the platform is in the discharge position; e) a horizontal lead out surface on said lead out member; f) an inclined chamfer surface on said lead out member said chamfer surface having a free edge; -5g) an inclined chamfer surface on the underside of the platform; and h) said platform and said lead out member being positioned and arranged so that when the platform is in said *’ discharge position, said chamfer surfaces of said lead out member and said platform are in face to face overlapping contact, with the chamfer surface of the platform positioned above the chamfer surface of the lead out member and the horizontal support surface of the platform and the horizontal 10 surface of the lead out member are co-planar and form a smoothly continuous surface and with the free edge of the chamfer surface on the lead out member being covered by the chamfer surface on the underside of the platform so that the stack or stacks of tea bags can be smoothly pushed by the pusher means from the platform onto and over the horizontal surface of the lead out member. & -6I Fig. λ Is a perspective view illustrating several of the essential components of a tea bag making machine! Fig. 2 is a perspective view illustrating another part of the machine; « Fig. 3 is a diagram illustrating ho* the tea bags travel through the eachlne; fig. 4 is e sectional side elevation illustrating how the tea begs are inserted in packaging cartons; Fig. 5 is a sectional side elevation of the cutter disc ®nd anvilz @nd Fig.

. Referring to the drawings, figs. 1 and 2 illustrate Machine components and i§re in perspective elevation to show how She teaching components operate whilst fig. 3 shows She path of (nove»ent of She tea bags through the Machine stations illustrated in Figs. 1 end 2. One should therefore Appreciate that Fig. 3 should be considered es superimposed on figs. 1 and 2 for full illustration of She operation^ but the separated method of illustration has been selected for ease of understanding. deferring firstly to Fig. 3LB w web 10 of tea bags 12 is 3θ shown travelling horizontally as indicated by arrow 14.

The web defines two rors Id ®nd 18 of tea bags ®nd transverse seals 20 split the web Into groups of tea hags? each group comprising two tea bags 12. There is J * longitudinal seal 22 which defines the individual tea bags 12 in each group. Pt locution 24 She web 10 is -7( severed along the seal 22, ®nd at location 26, the individual tea bags of each group are severed from the remainder of the web to define individual tea bags 22A, arranged in pairs* The pairs of individual tea begs «re stacked in the magazine as shown at 28, and collating members indicated by numerals 30 serve to ®roup a predetermined number of groups of see bags in t wo stacks es shown et 32* These stacks ore displaced by a pusher in the manner indicated by reference 34 horizontally end laterally of the magazine to the position shown by numeral 36, and in which position the stacks ®rc engaged by sn inserting mechanism, and the Inserting mechanism positions the stacks In & carton 38 as shown in Fig. 4* The carton 38 stands on a base plate 40 and when it has been filled with the tea bags 36, the carton 38 is ®oved horizontally es indicated by arrow <&2 to o station whereat the fop 43 of the carton Is closed.

In moving the stacks of tee begs from the position 32 to the position M ,»s indicated by arrow 34p the individual Zea &&q$ &re pushed together ss indicated by arrows *4 to compensate for the spread of the bags when tne web Is cut as indicated by numeral 24. ?5 furthermore^ the h&se plate 40 »s shown In Tige 4 is raised compared to the conventional machine to ensure that the insertion plunger compresses the stocks of tea bags 3d by more than would normally be effected, this being required as she stacks of tee bags have a greater height Shan it would normally have if the tea were not positioned blessed in the bags in a manner ass will be explained hereinafter· 35 deferring now to fig* JU the aachine has horizontal decking 50 along which the web 10 travels, and the decking 50 Is provided with » displacement block 32 -8c which is shaped and serves to displace the tea in the bags to the outsides of the web 10, as shown ot 54 in Fig. 5e $ cutting disc 56 forms ihe cut in the web 10 ae the , location 24, snd there is « slot 50 in on anvil (io be described) in which the cutting disc 56 locates. The cutting wheel Is driven at a greater speed then the speed of travel of the web 10 over ihe decking 50. ft cutting cylinder 30 with a radial cutting blode 62 and 1q which is rotatable &boui the axis 64 serves to separate the pairs of tea bags ;§s indicated hy 12A in Fig. 3. The disc 56 is driven by a belt and pulley connection 61, 63, 65 from the shaft 67 of cutting cylinder 60, the disc drive shaft 69 being supported hy the support block 71. The magazine 66 is provided with internal ledge plates 60 ®nd TO which receive the pairs of tea bags delivered by the cutting roller 60, the ledges 6Θ and 70 being of increased sire compared io the conventional machine so as to receive and support ihe 2θ pair of h&gs in & substantially horizontal plane. It is io he remembered that Che £&$ in che bags is biassed to the sides of the «eft 10a, end therefore the ledges 66 and 70 will effectively support such bags in a desirable disposition, ft pusher bar 72 oscillates as ' 25 indicated by the arrow 74 about &n arcuate path, and pushes the topmost pair of tea bags in ® downwards direction in the tatogszlne 66. inside the magazine 66 is ® support plot form 7ft which has a lug 76 connected to a lift mechanism in order to effect raising and lowering of the platform 7ft as indicated by the arrow 7ββ The pletfor® 7ft is ®©de larger than the platform as u.sed in the conventional equipment, and «t one edge, the front edge, the platform is provided with &n underside chamfer 30 which is adapted to co-operate with by overlapping a rear chamfer 82 on She top side gf a lead out plate dft located in the base of the -9I magazine, so that the platform and lead out member form an upper smoothly continuous surface over which the tea bags are moved.

The collator plates identified previously by numeral 30 ί» ere indicated in Fig. > by numerals 86 and OS. Collator plate Sd comprises three spaced fingers which fit through spaced slots Jn the side #ell 90 of the magazine, whilst sollater plate S3 is a flat plate which fits through a single large aperture 92 in the side 94 of the magazine. The plate 08 has only small cut outs Pd so that it will not foul with the pusher bar 72.

The collator plates 86 anti 88e in syncronism with the operation of the #aachlneP wove up and down the magazine as indicated fry arrow 98p &nd into and out of the stacks of tea Paps in £he Magazine as indicated by the arrow iQQ.

Speci flc®llye es the pairs of individual tea bags are loaded in &he mgsrine $6 as describedP with the platform Ta just helot? the bottom edge of aperture 92„ so the stacks of singles tea frags build up in the magazine dd. The collating plates 36 ®nd 88 ,&re moved into she stacks so $$ to separate © predetermined number of tea bags located between the platform 74 and the collating plates £8 from the remainder of the tea frags in the magazine. The collating plates and platform now move downwardly ass indicated hy arrow PS, until the platform chamfer 80 ®nd lead out plate chamfer 82 overlap providing ,?i smooth ejection surface. a pusher 102 is displaced es indicated fry arrow 104, thereby pushing She stacks of tea frags out of the Magazine $6 and into the holding device; which is 35 Illustrated in Fig. 2. The holding device comprises « plunger freed 106? pivotal holding or gripping plates -10I 110 which have stop ledges 106. The bottoms of the plates 110 have supporting ledges 112, but the bottom of the insertion device is otherwise open, Metal fingers 109 resiliently restrain the plates from pivoting ©part until the appropriate Instant In the cycle of operations ©s will be explained herein, when the tea begs orc inserted In the insertion device, the plates 110 ere pivoted inwardly slightly in order to provide ® secure grip of the stacks of tea bags end jO then the whole assembly Is lowered into the carton 114 to be filled with the tea bags. At the end of the downward stroke, the base of the carton 114, located on the base plate *0 Is located so that the distance between the plote 40 and the undersurface of plunger block 106 Is less than the height of the stacks of tea bags whereby She h©gs ©re vertically compressed to ensure that they will fit into the carton 114. This is achieved ®s explained previously by providing a raised portion to the base plate 40. The plates 110 are then /0 retracted whilst the block remains in a down position, the pletss 110 pivoting ®pert during this movement as the ledges 112 pass the tea &®gsP against the resilience of Xhe springs 109 until they are clear of the stacks. Su£>scquentlyP the block 106 is retracted to the position shown in Fig, 2 to complete the Insertion. $l -11comprises a bracket into which the block fits telescopically, and a locking screw enables ihe block 1 to be locked in /any of ran infinite number of vertically adjusted positions, for the purposes of ! maintaining ihe correct cooperation between ihe cutting ! disc 56 and an anvil 150 with which the cutting disc cooperates» The shaft 69 carrying ihe pulley 55 is mounted for rotation in block 7). by roller bearings I52e and the disc 56 Is mounted vie a mounting bush 154. The disc 56 in this exaaple Is of the narrow profile shown comprising a centre section of approximately 50 mm diameter end of ®n even thickness * of 2,5 mm. ihe cutting portion of the disc being β diameter of 50 &m. @nd ihe cutting portion tapering from 2.5 mm at the centre portion io 0 at the cutting edge. The anvil 150 with which the disc cooperates is provided with the slot 58 with which the cutting edge of the disc locates as shown In Fig. 5. The slot 58 is of ra dimension ©f the order of 2 mm wide at the top, but at a slight distance (under the top surface 156 of the anvil, the sloe tapers outwardly in a downwards direction to a width of 6.4 ma. The shaping of the slot in this fashion is £o ensure shat She tiny particles of the cut paper web which drop into Che slot 58 con fall away from the region of the slot end through the bottom of the anvil for appropriate collection. The cutting disc cutting edge lies centrally of the slot 58 at the top side 156 of the anvil so that in foci ihe cutting sedge does not beer against any chopping surface, es is in the case in She conventional Machine. The disc is driven at high speed so as to slice through the paper cleanly ®nd io generate odnicium cutting fragments» $s the disc wears, It can on the one hand be removed and sharpened, ®nd on the other brand If the sharpening process reduces the external diemter of the disc, the dise will still be effectively useable as its height position can be lowered by lowering of the bracket 71. V -12Sest results have been found by positioning the disc so that its cutting edge barely penetrates the slot 58 l.e. so that the edge of the cutting disc is almost tangential to the surface 256 of the anvi2, but It is possible that the cutting disc edge can penetrate below the surface 156 if required. t Referring to Fig. 6 in conjunction with Fig. 5, the anvil will be seen to comprise <§ eaoin elongated body 10 portion 260 having the slot 58 therein, and also 4 defining the said upper surface 256 of the anvil. On the sides, towards the bottom edge of the body 160 there ere fixing lugs 162 provided with apertures 264 for fixing screws or the like. The anvil is inserted In en appropriate cut out In the decking 50 so that the upper surface 156 lies flush with the decking as shown In Fig. 5P end the lugs 162 lie to the underside. Screws inserted through the holes 16a end engaging in appropriate Apertures In She decking 50 enable the 20 anvil to be removably secured to the decking. The anvil es well ss the disc can be removed and replaced if required.

All of the moving component $ will of course be 25 synchronised to operate In sequence and at the correct Instant in the cycle operations.

The various modifications wnd improvements contribute Individually and In combination to enable the high ιϊθ speed handling of singles tea bags.

This application Is divided out of Application Ho. 794/85 ;ss #re co-pending applications Hos· 907/87 ^nd 908/87.

Claims (1)

1. I. A machine for handling tea bags, comprising? a) an elevator platform in a magazine having a horizontal support surface adapted to support a stack or stacks of tea bags in the magazine; !> b) means for moving the elevator platform from a first upper platform loading position to a second platform discharge position at the bottom of the magazine; c) a lead out member located at the bottom of the magazine; ID d) pusher means for pushing a stack or stacks of tea bags from the platform laterally of the magazine when the platform is in the discharge position; e) a horizontal lead out surface on said lead out member; 15 f) an inclined chamfer surface on said lead out member said chamfer surface having a free edge; g) an inclined chamfer surface on the underside of the platform; and h) said platform and said lead out member being 20 positioned and arranged so that when the platform is in said discharge position, said chamfer surfaces of said lead out member and said platform are in face to face overlapping contact, with the chamfer surface of the platform positioned above the chamfer surface of the lead out member and the 25 horizontal support surface of the platform and the horizontal surface of the lead out member are co-planar and form a smoothly continuous surface and with the free edge of the chamfer surface on the lead out member being covered by the 30 chamfer surface on the underside of the platform so that the stack or stacks of tea bags can be smoothly pushed by the pusher means from the platform onto and over the horizontal surface of the lead out member. -142. A machine for handling tea bags substantially herein with reference to the accompanying drawings. as described