JP2005523221A - A device that picks up, separates, and opens bags stacked in a bag hopper. - Google Patents

Abstract

【Task】
An apparatus for separating and opening stacked bags (3) as a stack of bags (2) has a first support device (8) that rotates along deflection pulleys (13a, 13b). The top bag of the stack of bags is lifted by the suction device (4, 5), moved down by the first support device and carried further. In order to provide a device that is simple in structure, increases the throughput of the singulated bag, and transports the singulated bag taken from the stack to the filling position without interfering with the singulation process. A support device is provided. The second support device is disposed so as to be guided along the clamp portion (14a) so as to be parallel to and adjacent to the first support device. Thus, the singulated bag is clamped between the two support devices after the first support device and the second support device are deflected.

Description

  The present invention comprises a first support device that rotates along a deflection pulley, preferably provided with two chains or toothed belts, the two chains or toothed belts being parallel to each other and at a predetermined distance from each other. A device for singling and opening stacked bags as a stack of bags, rotating in two places and partially interconnected by a plurality of transverse rods to form at least one support surface, The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the top bag of the stack of bags is lifted by a suction device and moved and transported further underneath by the first support device.

  In known devices for picking up the bags to be opened above the stack of bags, the top bag of the stack is lifted by a suction device pivoted relative to this stack and this suction which can be displaced laterally The device is moved to a further suction device that works on the other side of the bag. The filling nozzle is guided into the opened bag, pulled on both sides by two suction devices. This further carries the bag to the filling groove. Since the bag is gripped in the open area, it is not possible to smoothly move the bag further out of the stack. This is because there is always the possibility that the bag opens naturally and cannot be grasped by the second suction device. Also, a relatively complex control system is essential because the bag is further transported using a suction device. Since the suction device has to be repeatedly returned to its original position, a high sequence of bags cannot be realized.

  A further solution is known from GB 375.260. In this solution, the top bag of such a stack of bags is lifted by a vacuum gripping arm through a chain conveyor gap connected to a rod. The rod arrangement is interrupted by one or several gaps. The top bag is held for a predetermined period of time until the entire bag is moved underneath by the arrangement of rotating rods with such a gap interrupted. The bag is then released and transported to a further processing position by a chain conveyor.

The disadvantage of these known devices is that they have very limited throughput capabilities. This is because the bags being transported only rest on the chain conveyor, so the chain conveyor can only be operated at low speeds, especially since light bags can fall in response to the stream of air generated by the chain conveyor. Is the cause. Furthermore, such a solution has a high need for space. This is because the transport member in the form of a chain only makes it possible to pick up the bag from the stack of bags and cannot subsequently carry it to the next mobile station without a predetermined further positioning operation. .

  Solutions are also known in which the bag is rotated from a horizontal plane to a vertical plane by means of a vacuum gripping arm and from here to further destinations (for example filling stations) by further transport means.

  Known solutions with very low throughput also have drawbacks due to the mechanical structure of the gripping part. Furthermore, the bag raised to the horizontal position by the vacuum gripper can only be carried in a very complicated way.

  Thus, the object of the present invention is to avoid the above-mentioned drawbacks, have a simple structure, increase the throughput of singulated bags, and make a single bag taken up from a stack of bags into a singulation process. It is to provide an apparatus as described above that transports to the filling position without interruption. In addition, the present invention can be used in a minimum space, regardless of bag design (padded bag, small bag, etc.), bag material type (film, fabric or paper), bag type, etc. The purpose is to achieve the conversion, rotation, bag positioning and opening.

  This is achieved according to the invention by the features of claim 1.

  By clamping the bag between the two support devices, the bag can be transported and deflected at high speed without the possibility of falling off the support device. The bag can also be transported by deflection from the first support device to the second support device. Thus, the filled bag can be moved and positioned within a minimal space.

  The features of claim 2 provide the great advantage of retracting the bag into the wedge-shaped gap between the first support device and the second support device. The wedge-shaped gap pre-centers and supports the bag much faster than is done with the pure solution for the support device / deflection pulley.

  According to the features of claim 3, the bag can be further carried by the second support device. On the other hand, the first support device is moved to a position to receive the next bag to be singulated.

  According to the features of claims 4 and 5, the bag to be filled can be moved to a device for unfolding the bag without using a complicated mechanical transport device.

  According to the features of claims 6 and 7, the bag can be opened for further processing.

  The features of claims 8 and 9 allow the bag to be accurately positioned on a support base for opening and moving the bag for filling purposes.

  The detailed description of the invention with reference to one embodiment is illustrated in the drawings.

  A large number of bags to be supplied are stored as a stack 2 in the bag hopper 1 according to FIG. A liftable and tiltable lifting device 5 with a vacuum grip 4 is located on the closed end region of the uppermost bag 3 of the stack 2 (for example, the seam at the bottom of the bag).

  By pressurizing the pneumatic drive cylinder 6 with compressed air, the lifting device 5 is rotated so that the top bag 3 is lifted and positioned in the track 7 of the bag support and transport device 8. 2, this conveying device comprises a plurality of rotating pulling members 9 (for example, a chain and a toothed belt) joined together by rods 10 so as to cross over the width of the bag.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a resilient support member 11 (eg, a flat oval) is slid over a connecting rod 10 that is arranged to traverse. These oval support members are alternately connected to two laterally extending rods 10 like a chessboard pattern. Thus, they form a mixed interlaced open bearing support that is tightly linked and interconnected.

  As shown in FIG. 3, when the lifting device 5 having several vacuum grips 4 reaches the upper end position of the bag 3 lifted from the bag stack 2, the rotary conveying device 8. Is pushed between the raised bag 3 and the stack 2 of bags. Thus, the lifted bag 3 is positioned on the rotary transport device 8 having an area that first contacts the stack 2 of bags. Thus, the bags are singulated away from the stack 2 of bags.

  When the bag 3 is in this position, the vacuum grip 4 is switched to the non-pressurized state, and as a result, the bag 3 is released and completely positioned on the rotating support member 11. In order to be able to easily remove the bag from the vacuum gripper even when using a light and easy-to-adhere material, the vacuum gripper can be temporarily given a counter pressure pulse at the end.

  A gear motor 12 is used to drive the rotation support device 8 via a driven deflection pulley (tail pulley) 13a. The rotation support device 8 includes a pulling member 9, a traversing rod 10, and an elliptical connection member 11. A specific onboard disk 25 is provided on a side surface of the deflection pulley 13a. This on-board disk 25 ensures that the pulling member 9 is pulled synchronously to pull the bag 3 into the wedge-shaped gap.

  Referring to FIG. 4, the wedge-shaped gap is formed by the rotating first support device 8 and the second support device 14 extending around the deflection pulley 13a. As a result, the bag 3 is uniformly received between the elastic support member 11 of the first support device 8 and the second support device 14 and is deflected by the tail pulley 13a. Bags of various thicknesses can be received and transported without performing a predetermined treatment for resetting due to the surface structure with a gap in the support device 8 and the elasticity of the support member 11.

  Thus, the bag supported between the elastic support member 11 of the first support device and the second support device 14 is guided by the tail pulley 13a. Then, as shown in FIG. 5, the bag is received by the second support device 14 in such a way that its opening comes first, and is carried continuously to the third support device 15.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the first support device 8 continues to travel in synchronization with the deflection pulley 13 a and the second support device 14 to completely release the bag 3. The snub and tension pulleys 16a, 16b, 16c are rotated for the second support device 14 at the transition point between the second support device 14 and the third support device 15 (see FIG. turning) forming a station.

  The bag 3 rotated by 180 ° is positioned so that the opening of the bag stands on the conveyor belt 18 of the third support device 15. A third support device 15 driven by a separate gear motor 17 independent of the rotation support device 8 places the bag 3 on the support base 19 according to FIG. This positioning operation is sequence-controlled by detecting the position of the bag with the sensor 20. Thus, the bag 3 is accurately conveyed to the moving position on the support base 19 by controlling the gear motor 17 of the support device.

  The vacuum gripping portion 22 is lowered onto the bag 3 positioned on the support base 19 by a movable system 21 having an L-shaped lever. By applying a negative pressure to the vacuum gripping part 22 and subsequently rotating the angle lever unit 21 so as to return to the original position, the bag 3 can be made as shown in FIG. It is opened to the extent that it can be moved by the rotary gripping part 23. A rigid vacuum grip 24 provided at the front of the support table assists in opening the bag 3. The opened bag 3 receiving the rotary grip 23 can be pushed directly into the filling nozzle of the filling station.

  A special advantage of using a separately driven transport conveyor such as the third support device 15 is that the bag 3 can be opened and inserted regardless of the friction between the bag material and the support base. It is possible to access the necessary position. This is made possible by the fact that the third support device can be driven individually and by using the respective sensor member 20 that can detect the position of the bag on the support base 19. Thus, the bag filling machine can achieve a relatively high throughput.

  A further important advantage of the present invention is that the rotating first support device does not have to be guided around the bag hopper 1 as is otherwise the case, but instead the bag hopper 1 It can be arranged as an independent unit above. Thus, a solution can be realized in which the magazine height does not have to be taken into account and the overall height is considerably reduced.

  A further important advantage is obtained because the support device does not have to be guided around the bag hopper. The advantage is that a solution for the bag hopper is realized that allows the system to be moved continuously by extending or retracting the hopper under the singulation station. This is because, in contrast to known solutions, the space under the singulation station is open on all four sides and the hopper can be transported or moved through these open sides.

1 shows a schematic diagram of an apparatus according to the invention at the start of a singulation process. Fig. 2 shows a top view of the device of Fig. 1 according to the present invention. Fig. 2 shows a schematic view of the device according to the invention when lifting the top bag. Fig. 2 shows a schematic view of the device according to the invention when the bag is pinched and deflected. Fig. 2 shows a schematic view of the device according to the invention after the bag has been deflected. Fig. 2 shows a schematic view of an apparatus according to the present invention when the bag is further moved. Fig. 2 shows a schematic view of an apparatus according to the present invention when positioning a bag. Fig. 2 shows a schematic view of an apparatus according to the present invention when opening a bag.

Claims (9)

  A first support device (8) rotating along a deflection pulley (13a, 13b), preferably having two chains or toothed belts (7), said two chains or toothed belts being parallel to each other. At the top of the stack of bags (2), rotated at two points spaced a predetermined distance from each other and interconnected in parts by a plurality of transverse rods (10) to form at least one support surface A bag 3 stacked as a stack of bags (2) alone is lifted by a suction device (4, 5), moved down by the first support device (8) and carried. In the device for opening, the second support device (14) is arranged to be guided along the clamp portion (14a) so as to be parallel and adjacent to the first support device (8). The singulated bag (3) is clamped between the first support device (8) and the second support device (14), and after deflection by the two support devices (8, 14), Device, characterized in that this bag (3) is located on the second support device (14) and is thus further conveyed.   The second support device (14) is a conveyor belt that is deflected together with the first support device (8) by a common deflection pulley (13a), and a clamp portion (14a) of the second support device (14). ) Extending between the first support device (8) and the shared deflection pulley (13a).   2. Each support device is guided by different deflection pulleys arranged after a common deflection pulley (13a) when viewed in the conveying direction of the two support devices (8, 14). Or 2 devices.   A third support device (15) is disposed after the portion following the common deflection pulley (13a) when viewed in the transport direction of the second support device (14), and this third support device. 4. The device according to claim 1, wherein the bag (3) to be transported is moved.   The third support device (18) is disposed behind a portion (14b) of the second support device (14) adjacent to the common deflection pulley (13a) when viewed in the transport direction, and the second support device (18) 5. The device according to claim 4, characterized in that it is directly adjacent to a deflection pulley (16a) for deflecting the support device (14) of the device at an angle greater than 70 °.   When viewed in the conveying direction of the third support device (15), the support base (19) directly on the deflection pulley that deflects the conveyor belt (18) of the third support device (15) at an angle greater than 70 °. 6. Device according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that it is arranged side by side and this support comprises at least one suction device (24) for pressing the bag against itself.   7. A device according to claim 6, characterized in that the suction device (22) is arranged above a support base (19) which can be tilted in this direction.   The device according to any one of claims 4 to 7, characterized in that the third support device (15) is driven by a separate drive (17).   A sensor (20) for accurately measuring the position of the bag is arranged in a predetermined area of the support base (19), and this sensor is preferably for controlling the drive part (17). 9. The device as claimed in claim 6, further comprising a control circuit connected thereto.

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