JP2001113614A - Apparatus for bending tear-off tab attached to sheet packaging material for producing sealed package for injectable food product - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To avoid that air jet for raising a tab does not completely function by interfering with the edge of a packaging material in an apparatus for bending a tear-off tab attached to a sheet packaging material for producing an aseptic sealed package for an injectable food product. SOLUTION: An apparatus 1 for bending a tear-off tab 2 attached to a packaging material 3 is positioned along a feeding plane α for a material 3 and comprises a cell whose crosssection is gradually narrowed and an injecting tool 7 facing toward the above described feeding plane α for the material 3 in the cell 10 and with a nozzle 8 for generating air flow in the incident direction in relation to the feeding plane α and the free holding part 6 of the tear-off tab 2 is raised pneumatically from the packaging material 3 and is bent by the following guide faces 22 and 23. As air jet vertically hits the packaging material 3, there exists no possibility of interfering with the edge and the tab is surely raised.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for folding a tear-off tab on a sheet wrapping material to produce a sterile sealed package of injectable food products.
The apparatus may form part of a packaging machine for making the above-described package from sheet packaging comprising a layer of paper covered on both sides with a layer of thermoplastic material, for example polyethylene. In the case of a sterile package, the wrapping material also includes an inner layer of barrier material, usually aluminum, the inner surface of which is covered with polyethylene.

[0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Packaging machines are known in which packaging material supplied in the form of a continuous web is sterilized, folded and vertically sealed to make vertical tubes. The wrapper tube is continuously filled and sealed with equally spaced cross sections by a pair of jaws that cooperate with the tube to form a pillow pack, which is later folded into a finished form at a subsequent folding station.

One example of a package made as described briefly above is pasteurized or ultra-pasteurized milk, wine,
Tetra Brik used to sell various injectable food products such as tomato sauce, fruit juice, etc.
A parallelepiped-shaped package known as Aseptic®. Some of the above-mentioned or other types of packages made from sheet wrapping material may be opened to allow this package to be opened easily without cutting or tearing the wrapping material. There is a tool. One known release is in the form of a tear-off tab placed over the hole in the wrapper, which can be removed to open the package.

[0004] One known method of production is to create a series of holes in the sheet packaging material at a punching station upstream of the sterilization and molding station; on the side of the packaging material that eventually faces the interior of the package, a small piece of heat-sealed plastic material is formed. A series of "patches" made of sheet is heat-sealed over each of the holes; and, on the other side of the wrapper, a tear-off tab is heat-sealed to each of the patches so that each of these tabs is heat-sealed. The free grips project from the packaging material.

[0005] Each stripping tab comprises an oxygen barrier layer of aluminum; and a layer of a heat-sealed plastic material, usually polyethylene, encapsulated in a patch. As the tab and patch adhere to each other, when the tab is ripped off to make this hole, the portion of the patch sealed to the tab is also removed. This strip tab is usually applied flat to the wrapping material and then bent to overlap the free grip on the part sealed to the wrapping material. The folding operation is performed in two stages: in a first stage, the grip is raised with respect to the packaging material by an air jet oriented parallel to the plane of the material and transverse to the direction of movement; Then, the erected tab is mechanically bent by contact with a guide surface having an appropriate shape.

In order to direct this air jet in this direction, the nozzle must be located on the side of the longitudinal edge of the material and close to it, since this air jet interacts with the free edge of the material. Cause problems. That is, the instability caused by the air jet interacting with the material may bend the free edge of the material and direct the air jet to the opposite side of the material from the tabbed side, so that the tab gripper will The result is no separation from the packaging material, and the subsequent mechanical folding means is completely ineffective.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a folding device for folding a tear-off tab on a sheet wrapping material to produce a sterile sealed package of injectable food products, typically. A design and provision to eliminate the aforementioned disadvantages associated with known devices.

[0008]

According to the present invention, there is provided a folding device for folding a tear-off tab attached to a sheet wrapping material to produce a sterile hermetically sealed package of injectable food products, comprising the steps of: A device for guiding along a path in a supply plane; and discharge means for directing a flow of air onto the material and raising a grip of the tab with respect to the material; Located
Including a compartment through which the material passes; the compartment having a decreasing cross-section along the path of the material; and the discharge means facing the supply plane of the material in the compartment, and the supply An apparatus is provided which comprises at least one nozzle for generating a flow of air in a direction of incidence with respect to a plane.

[0009]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Preferred and non-limiting embodiments of the present invention will be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: FIG. FIG.
Reference numeral 1 generally indicates a folding device for folding a tear-off tab 2 attached to a sheet packaging material 3 to produce a sealed package (not shown) of an injectable food product.

The apparatus 1 forms a part of a packaging machine (not shown) for continuously producing the above-mentioned packages. In the illustrated example, the apparatus 1 is in the form of a continuous web. "Along the supply path A of the packaging material 3. However, the packaging material 3 may be a plurality of separated blank materials supplied along the path A. In the example shown, the tab 2 is attached to the web 3 close to the longitudinal edge 4 of the web, and has a connection 5 fixed to the web 3 and a gripper 6 projecting perpendicularly to the edge 4 and terminating at a free end 6a. Have.

The apparatus 1 includes a plane α of the web 3 including the path A.
And a flat guide surface 13 (FIG. 2), for example, which feeds the web vertically upwards; and is connected to a source of compressed air and directs the flow of compressed air in the direction B incident on plane α. For this purpose, it substantially comprises an emitter 7 comprising a number of nozzles 8. More particularly, the discharger 7 is formed by a substantially parallelepiped-shaped block whose one face 9 (where the nozzle 8 appears) faces the web 3 in the area where the gripper 6 of the tub 2 passes, and arranged obliquely with respect to α and, together with the web 3, form a compartment 10 whose section decreases from the input 11 to the output 12 for feeding the web 3, at the output of which the compartment 10 comprises the web 3 and the tab 2. Is large enough to pass through only a small amount of gap without sliding with the emitter 7. The face 9 is formed by an input edge 14, an output edge 15 and two lateral edges 16, 17 facing the free end 6a of the coupling 5 and the tab 2, respectively. The emitter 7 has a rim 15
And advantageously comprises a ramp 33 formed at the juncture of and 17 and substantially formed by a spherical chamfer between the face 9 and the lateral face of the emitter 7 adjacent the edges 15 and 17.

Discharger 7 includes an internal cavity 18 acting as a compressed air manifold and communicating with all nozzles 8;
A fitting 21 is provided for coupling to a compressed air supply circuit (not shown). The nozzle 8 is formed by a number of holes, each axis being perpendicular to the face 9 of the emitter 7. These holes are respectively arranged along the diagonal between the two corners 19, 20 of the face 9, formed by the junction of the edges 14, 17 and 15, 16, and therefore from the input 11 to the output. The distance from the free end 6a of the tub 2 passing through the compartment 10 to 12 increases gradually.

The ejector 7 is mounted on a lateral wall 24 which closes the side of the compartment 10 on the side corresponding to the rim 16 of the ejector 7 and, together with the guide surface 13, a clearance large enough for the web 3 to pass through. Make 25. Similarly, the input 11 of the compartment 10 is substantially closed off by the wall 30 and, together with the guide surface 13, creates a gap (not shown) wide enough for the web 3 to pass through.
Thus, the compartment 10 is provided with a lateral opening 26 between the edge 16 and the web 3 where most of the air released by the nozzle 8 exits.
Except for (FIG. 1), each direction is substantially closed.
The ejector 7 is mounted on the lateral wall 24 by an adjusting device 27 in order to adjust the dihedral angle β formed between the surface 9 of the ejector 7 and the feed plane α of the web 3. The device 27 advantageously comprises two screws 28 screwed into the transverse wall 24 and each mounted through a parallel transverse slot 29 made in the ejector 7 and extending parallel to the nozzle 8. Angle β is 9 °
And preferably between about 15 ° and about 15 °.

Downstream of emitter 7 along path A, device 1
Includes a known mechanical folding unit 31 (not described in detail) formed by substantially specially contoured guides 22, 23 between which the part 6 of the tab 2 is fed. More specifically, the guide 23 has an inclined surface 34 converging with the guide 22, which interacts with the grip 6 of the tub 2 at the output of the ejector 7.

The device 1 operates as follows. The web of wrapping material 3 is fed along the plane α between the guide surface 13 and the discharger 7; the gripper 6 of the tub 2 is passed through the compartment 10 and is generated inside this compartment by the jet of the nozzle 8. Subject to aerodynamic effects. The nozzle 8 is far from the tub 2 and the side opening 2
Along the input of the compartment 10, close to 6, a dynamic thrust effect prevails, so that the part 6 continues to adhere substantially to the web 3. However, where the nozzle 8 is close to the web 3 and far from the transverse opening 26 and close to the output of the compartment 10, the flow of air flowing over the tub 2 in a substantially vertical direction with respect to the tub 2 substantially increases the Bernoulli effect. Produces a suction effect, so that the portion 6 of each tub 2 is placed on the face 9 of the emitter 7, in particular the slope 33
So that it is lifted from the web 3 and interacts with substantially special contoured guides 22, 23, which complete the folding of the part 6 in a known manner. More specifically, the inclined surface 34 of the guide 23 gradually lifts the portion 6 into contact with the guide 22 and to a position perpendicular to the web 3,
At the ends of and 23, the part 6 is folded over the part 5.

[0016]

The advantages of the device 1 according to the invention will be clear from the above description. Directing the air jet in the direction of incidence with respect to the supply plane α of the wrapping material 3,
To prevent interference with the edge 4 of the
Is reliably separated from the packaging material 3 irrespective of the position of the tab 2 with respect to the edge 4 of the material 3.

Obviously, modifications can be made to the device 1 described herein, but without departing from the scope of the appended claims. In particular, the packaging material 3 may be supplied in the form of a separate blank, unlike a continuous web.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a folding device according to the invention.

2 shows a partial cross-sectional side view of a part of the device of FIG.

FIG. 3 shows a front view of the details of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of the details of FIG. 3;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Folding device 2 Stripping tab 3 Packaging material 6 Grip part 6a Tab free end 7 Discharge means (discharger) 8 Nozzle 9 Wall 10 Separator 12 Output part 13 Guide means (guide surface) 22 Guide means 23 Guide means 26 Side opening 27 Adjusting means A path α Supply plane β Dihedral angle

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. A folding device (1) for folding a tear-off tab (2) attached to a sheet packaging material (3) to produce a sterile sealed package of an injectable food product, said material (3). ) In the feed plane (α) along the path (A); and direct the flow of air onto the material (3) and remove the gripper (6) of the tab (2). An apparatus comprising discharge means (7) for raising with respect to said material (3); located along said supply plane (α);
The compartment (10) includes a compartment (10) through which the material (3) passes; the compartment (10) has a decreasing cross-section along the path of the material (3); The compartment (10) comprises at least one nozzle (8) for generating a flow of air in the direction of incidence with respect to the supply plane (α) of the material (3) and the supply plane (α). A device that is specially characterized. 2. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said guide means comprises a flat guide surface (13) extending along said feed plane (α); said discharge means comprising a discharger (7). Including a wall (9) facing the guide surface (13), converging with respect to the guide surface (13) along the path (A) of the material (3), together with the guide surface. An apparatus characterized by forming a compartment (10) and having a number of nozzles (8) terminating in said wall (9) of said ejector (7). 3. The device as claimed in claim 2, wherein said compartment (10) is provided with a free end (6a) of a tear-off tab (2).
Characterized by being substantially closed in all directions except for the lateral opening (26) facing the device. 4. The apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein said wall (9) and said guide surface (13) form a dihedral angle (β) between 8 ° and 30 °. Equipment to do. 5. The device as claimed in claim 2, wherein said wall (9) and said guide surface (13) form a dihedral angle (β) of about 15 °. Equipment to do. 6. The device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the adjusting means (2) for adjusting the inclination of the wall (9) of the emitter (7) with respect to the guide surface (13).
An apparatus characterized by including 7). 7. An apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein said nozzle (8) extends along said path (A) and within said compartment (10). A device characterized in that it is arranged at an increasing distance from said free end (6a) of said tab (2) moving along A). 8. The apparatus as claimed in claim 7, wherein said wall (9) of said emitter (7) is substantially rectangular; and said nozzle (8) is formed of said wall (9). A device characterized by being aligned along a diagonal. 9. An apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein said nozzles (8) are parallel to each other and perpendicular to said wall (9) of said emitter (7). An apparatus, comprising: 10. The device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the wall (9) is located near the output (12) of the compartment (10). A) a specially shaped bevel (33) forming a support surface for said gripper (6). 11. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said tab (2) lifted by said ejector (7) is mechanically bent. An apparatus characterized in that it comprises guide means (22, 23) located along said path (A) downstream of the ejector (7). 12. A folding device (1) for folding a tear-off tab (2) applied to a sheet packaging material (3) to produce a sterile sealed package of injectable food products,
An apparatus substantially as described herein and shown in the accompanying drawings.