JP2011504861A - Apparatus and method for facilitating re-forming of material web - Google Patents

Abstract

  The present invention includes a crease pattern having a crease line (11) that runs substantially laterally and runs over the deflection device (18) before reshaping to the tube (19) is initiated. It relates to a device (40) that allows a flexible packaging material web (10) to be easily reshaped into a tube (19). This device (40) comprises a forming device (42) arranged downstream of the deflection device (18) and upstream of the tube forming means (20), and along at least one of the transverse fold lines. When the web is buckled, the forming device contacts the surface (17) of the web (10) that is intended to form the inner surface of the finished tube, and triggers the formation of the tube into the web ( It is arranged so as to give to 10). The present invention also relates to a method that allows a flexible packaging material web (10) to be easily reshaped into a tube (19).

Description

  The present invention includes a fold pattern having a crease line that runs substantially laterally, and a flexible packaging material web that runs over a deflection device before re-forming into the tube is initiated. The present invention relates to an apparatus that enables easy reshaping. The present invention also relates to a method that allows a flexible packaging material web to be easily reshaped into a tube.

  For example, in many of today's packaging and filling machines that produce parallel hexahedron shaped packaging containers for liquid foods, the flexible packaging material web is sealed by overlapping its longitudinal edges. Gradually reformed into a tube. Thereafter, the pre-determined contents are packed into a packaging material tube, and the tube is laterally sealed at regularly spaced lateral seal areas. The tube parts filled and sealed in this way are then cut and separated at their sealing area and, if applicable, in the direction of the seal placed across the length of the tube. Accordingly, the tube portions are bent to form a desired geometric shape. A packaging container can be made into the shape of a predetermined parallelepiped, for example.

International Patent No. WO98 / 18609 US Pat. No. 6,386,851

  Reforming of a flat packaging material into a tube is performed by many molding means, and these molding means gradually apply a force so that the packaging material has a shape having a substantially circular cross section. Thus, both longitudinal edges of the packaging material can be sealed to each other. The tube forming method begins with a substantially arc-shaped tube forming means, which is then continued through one or more tube forming means in the form of an open forming ring. In the final tube forming means, which is preferably a closed forming ring, the packaging material tube is given a final cross-sectional shape and a longitudinal seal is performed.

  The packaging material is usually of the type comprising a paper or paperboard core layer and a thermoplastic covering layer such as polyethylene and polypropylene. The material also includes a barrier layer (blocking layer) that protects the contents from, for example, light and oxygen. Such a barrier layer can be, for example, an aluminum foil. In addition, the packaging material can usually be of a type with a crease pattern including crease lines so that it can be easily final formed into, for example, a parallelepiped shaped packaging container.

  All of the thin packaging materials described above can be an obstacle to reshaping the web with flat crease lines into a tube shape in some cases. This is because, especially before reshaping, the web runs on a bending roller whose purpose is to make a very big change in its direction. This bending roller, which has a relatively small diameter due to its narrow space, in some cases causes a buckling (or splay) at one or the other fold line extending in the transverse direction of the web, Will be formed. This means that the paper layer contained in the packaging material is buckled at the crease line, and as a result, the packaging material is folded along the crease line. When the web is subsequently re-formed into the tube, the web is also about the geometric axis in the same direction as the longitudinal crease line, i.e., substantially 90 ° to the formed transverse fold. When subjected to a folding action, in some cases such folding becomes difficult. If the packaging material web has already been molded, i.e. folded, in one direction, it has proved difficult to mold the packaging material web in the other direction. The preceding folding process, this particular case of wrinkles, provides undesired stiffness that hinders the web bending process required to achieve the tube shape. This stiffness can result in one or more portions being substantially straight due to the stiffness along the ridge after passing the bending roller. Thus, the packaging material cannot be bent as desired, but instead reveals an edge along a certain area. By passing through the tube forming means, the packaging material web tends to swell through the passage openings present in the tube forming means due to its inherent stiffness. Thus, if the packaging material reveals straight sections, the risk of temporary twisting or deformation of the tube, depending on the position of those straight sections relative to the passage opening of the molding means and the length of the straight section relative to the passage opening dimension. There is. This is because the non-uniform cross section of the tube shape tends to adjust itself in each tube forming means. This makes it impossible for the tube to run consistently, and this creates the risk that the finished packaging container will not be in the correct shape. In the worst case, the tube will be destroyed.

  The problem outlined above is that prior to molding into a tube, an opening device of the type that is directly injection molded into the material web and protrudes a certain length from the material web, e.g. as a spout as a neck. When a packaging container is provided with a formed opening device, there is a risk of becoming a particularly severe problem. This technique is described, for example, in International Patent No. WO 98/18609 and US Pat. No. 6,386,851. In the case of having such an opening device, the tube forming means will have an excessive passage opening through which the opening device can pass. Thus, the material web is given an additional opportunity to bulge outward, which causes twisting.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is an apparatus that allows a flexible packaging material web to be easily formed into a tube, which counteracts any lateral wrinkles that can be formed on the packaging material and makes the web uniform. It is to provide a device that acts to form a tube having a curvature.

  This object is solved by the apparatus and the corresponding method described in the appended claims and described below.

  The device according to the invention is arranged for use in connection with a web with a crease pattern comprising at least crease lines running substantially in the transverse direction of the web. The web is run over the deflection device before molding into the tube begins. The apparatus of the present invention is characterized in that it includes a forming device disposed on the downstream side of the deflecting device and on the upstream side of the tube forming means. If the web is buckled along at least one of the transverse crease lines, the forming device contacts the web surface which is adapted to form the inner surface of the finished tube and starts forming into the tube Arranged to give the web an opportunity to be done.

  Even if the wrinkle is formed, the packaging material web comes into contact with the forming device, so that the wrinkle is forced to have an arc shape after forming into the tube. As a result of the molding device abutting the packaging material web, its stiffness is manipulated along the buckled crease line, making the web more flexible.

  The forming device is arranged to abut the web at at least one area portion between the longitudinal centerline and the longitudinal edge of the web. Alternatively, the forming device is arranged to abut the web in at least one area portion on each side of the web centerline between the longitudinal centerline of the web and the respective longitudinal edge.

  The device is designed such that the area portion is positioned closer to the longitudinal edge of the web than to the longitudinal centerline of the web. This example has been demonstrated to have the greatest impact on buckled crease lines.

  According to an embodiment of the present invention, the molding device includes at least one rotatable molding roller. In the case of the first abutment of the forming device described above, the forming roller is arranged to extend over the area of the web. In the case of the alternative abutment of the forming device described above, the forming roller is arranged to extend over both said area portions of the web. Since the forming roller rotates freely, the friction between the forming roller and the packaging material web is reduced, which effectively reduces the risk of damaging the packaging material.

  In another embodiment of the invention, the forming device comprises at least two freely arranged forming rollers having coincident axes of rotation. In the case of the alternative abutment of the forming device described above, the forming rollers are arranged to extend over each one of said area portions of the web. According to the disclosure so far, it is advantageous that the forming roller is rotatable. This is because the friction between the forming roller and the packaging material web is thereby minimized, which effectively reduces the risk of damaging the packaging material.

  Flexible wrapping material web that includes a crease pattern with crease lines that run substantially laterally and that runs over the deflection device before re-forming into the tube is initiated into the tube The method of the present invention that enables re-formation into a web surface intended to form the inner surface of a finished tube, at least if buckling is formed along one of the transverse fold lines. It is characterized by including the step which contacts an apparatus. By this means, the web is given an opportunity to start forming into a tube. The shaping device is arranged downstream of the deflection device and upstream of the shaping means.

  These features described in connection with the apparatus of the present invention, which allow a flexible packaging material web to be easily reshaped into a tube, of course, facilitate the flexible packaging material web into a tube. Turning to the corresponding method of the present invention that allows reshaping. These features can naturally also be combined in the same embodiment.

  The invention will now be described in greater detail below with reference to one presently preferred embodiment and with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a schematic perspective view schematically showing a packaging and filling machine according to the present invention. It is a schematic plan view schematically showing a first tube forming means for initially forming a packaging material web in a view from above. FIG. 3 is a perspective view schematically showing the first tube forming means of FIG. 2 and the packaging material web, the deflection device and the device according to the invention. FIG. 3 is a plan view schematically showing the first forming means of FIG. 2 from a view from information and the shape of an improperly formed packaging material web by dotted lines. FIG. 4 is a side double side view schematically showing components included in FIG. 3. 1 is a plan view schematically showing the apparatus of the present invention and a material web in a top view.

  It must be noted that the drawings are not the same scale.

  The device according to the invention can be advantageously used in the form described at the outset, for example in packaging filling machines of the type used for the production of packaging containers in the form of parallelepipeds. An example of such a packaging and filling machine is shown in FIG.

  The machine is fed with a flexible packaging material web 10. This packaging material is usually of the type comprising at least a paper or paperboard core layer and a thermoplastic covering layer such as polyethylene and polypropylene as already described. In addition, the material web 10 is provided with a transverse fold line 11 (only one is schematically shown in FIG. 1) and a longitudinal direction so that it can be easily final formed into a parallelepiped packaging container. This is a type including a crease line (not shown).

  The packaging material web is provided to the machine as a magazine reel 12 from which the packaging material web 10 is unrolled and guided substantially upward through the packaging filling machine by guide rollers 14. In some package filling machines, a sterilization chamber is provided at this location, and the packaging material web 10 is sterilized in this sterilization chamber to extend the life of the contents. The sterilization chamber is not shown in the drawing.

  In the uppermost section of the machine, the packaging material web 10 passes through a running web tensioning roller 16 and a deflection device 18 in the form of a bending roller, among others. The packaging material web 10 faces away from the bending roller 18 with its decorative design surface 15 facing the bending roller 18 and also the inner surface 17, i.e. the surface that will form the inner surface of the packaging material tube 19 formed in the lower position. Travel on the bending roller 18 toward

  After turning the bending roller 18, the packaging material web 10 is guided substantially vertically downward through the packaging filling machine by the tube forming device 20. In the final, lowermost tube forming device, the two longitudinal edges 21 of the web are superimposed and sealed by a longitudinal seal device 22 to form the material tube 19. A filling pipe 24 extends concentrically downwardly through the material tube 19, which extends through the upper open end of the tube, just above the position where the tube is reshaped into a sealed part. The sealed portion is then made into individual packaging containers 26. The sealing operation is performed by a pair of molded sealing jaws 28 that cooperate in pairs to clamp and seal the packaging material tube 19 laterally. The jaws 28 also provide for the cutting of sealed parts in the sealing work area to form individual packaging containers 26.

  FIG. 2 shows the first arc-shaped tube forming means 30 as viewed from above the bending roller 18. This includes four rotatable forming rollers 32, which are intended to abut the decorative design surface 15 of the packaging material web 10 and to form the web. A protruding opening device (not shown) passes through the passage opening 34 between the intermediate forming rollers 32, if applicable. The dotted line W in the figure indicates the desired shape that the packaging material web 10 would have when passing through this first tube forming means 30. The longitudinal edges 21 of the wrapping material webs are far from being in contact with each other, and this shape is somewhat reminiscent of the upper part of the heart shape.

  As described at the beginning, in some cases, particularly when the folds 36 are formed along the transverse fold line 11 in connection with the passage of the web over the bending roller 18, the desired packaging Obtaining the shape of the material web 10 is difficult. Such a ridge 36 is shown in the position of the bending roller in FIG. 3 and it can be seen that the ridge is directed outward from the inner surface 17 of the packaging material web 10.

When such a ridge 36 occurs, there is a risk that the packaging material web 10 will reveal a straight portion 38 that remains unmolded in the portion of the ridge 36 at the location of the first arc-shaped tube forming means 30. A dotted line W ₁ and an imaginary line W _{2 in} FIG. 4 show examples of shapes having a partially straight portion 38. As described at the beginning, this shape is undesirable.

  With reference to FIGS. 3, 5 and 6, a device 40 according to the invention which effectively eliminates this problem will be described.

  The apparatus 40 comprises a forming apparatus 42 arranged immediately downstream of the bending roller 18 and upstream of the first arcuate tube forming means 30.

  Generally speaking, the function of this forming device 42 is to flex the buckled crease line, i.e., to counteract (cancel) the heel 36 and initiate re-forming into a tube, i.e. bending to re-form into a tube. To give the packaging material web 10 an opportunity to begin bending in the same direction. To do this, the forming device 42 is arranged such that the inner surface 17 of the web 10, ie the surface that will form the inner surface of the tube 19, can come into contact with the forming device 42. At least the forming device 42 must be brought into contact with the web 10 in which the ridges 36 are formed along the transverse crease line 11, and this contact causes the forming device 42 of the two area portions 44 shown in FIG. At least one will abut against the packaging material web 10 and lightly press. The area 44 (encircled by a dotted line) is on each side of the longitudinal centerline M of the web (shown schematically in FIG. 1), ie between the centerline M and each longitudinal edge 21 of the web 10. Arranged between. As will be apparent from the drawings, the area portions 44 are located closer to the respective longitudinal edges 21 of the web 10 than to the center line M in order to obtain the optimum function of the forming device 42. In this way, the forming device 42 abuts against both area portions 44 of the web 10 simultaneously. However, in actual operation, the molding device 42 often abuts against one area portion 44 at a time and alternately abuts against both area portions 44 depending on where the straight portion is formed.

  In the drawing, an example of the molding device 42 is shown. In FIG. 3 it can be seen that the molding device 42 includes two molding rollers 46. These rollers are rotatably supported on a shaft 48, and this shaft is fixedly attached to the frame 50. The frame 50 is fixed to the upper arc-shaped tube forming means 30 and forms a distance between the forming device 42 and the tube forming means 30 and between the forming device 42 and the bending roller 18. Designed. Both of these distances are approximately the same length.

  FIG. 6 shows how the two forming rollers 46 of the forming device 42 are arranged with respect to the packaging material web 10. The dotted line W substantially constitutes the shape of the packaging material web 10 as it passes through the two forming rollers 46, and the forming roller in this example is a longitudinal edge on each side of the center line M of the web. It can be seen that abuts with a good distance toward 21. This contact is accompanied by the action of forming an arc shape in which the flange 36 is directed away from the forming roller 46. When the packaging material web 10 substantially reaches the initial tube forming means 30, the web itself is formed into the desired shape by four forming rollers 32 as shown in FIG.

  FIG. 5 shows a side view of the forming device 42, the bending roller 18, and the first tube forming means (shown in a simplified manner) 30. The outer periphery of the roller 46 of the molding apparatus is located on the imaginary line A, and this imaginary line A is located further away from the line B (that is, in the right direction in the figure) by a certain distance. It can be seen that the material web 10 is oriented tangentially from the position where it is released from contact with the bending roller 18. The forming roller 46 is also located on a line corresponding to the line B oriented in the tangential direction.

  Referring to FIG. 6, the forming roller 46 has a shape reminiscent of a mushroom or champagne bottle cork, ie, the first end portion 51 has a diameter that is greater than the diameter of the other end portion 52. . A smooth curvature transition portion is formed between both portions 51 and 52. Similarly, the outer edge of each forming roller 46 is smoothly rounded.

  The forming roller 46 is disposed on a shaft 48 with small diameter portions 52 facing each other.

  Although the present invention has been shaped with respect to an embodiment which is presently preferred, those skilled in the art reading this specification will not be limited thereto, and multiple variations and modifications will be claimed. It should be clear that it can be considered without departing from the scope described in the column.

  As described above, the molding device 42 can include two molding rollers 46. However, it should be understood that the molding apparatus may alternatively include one or more molding rollers. Furthermore, the forming roller can have other shapes than those described. For example, they can represent one and the same diameter throughout.

  Similarly, it should be understood that the molding apparatus can be attached in a different manner than the illustrated example. Of course, many mechanically feasible solutions are available.

  In the illustrated embodiment, the packaging material web 10 is run towards the bending roller 18 with a decorative design surface 15, i.e. the surface that will form the outer surface of the tube and thus the packaging container. Therefore, the reshaping into the tube shape is performed by first guiding the longitudinal edge 21 of the packaging material web 10 away from the bending roller 18 by the structure shown in FIG. 3, for example. However, there are also packaging filling machines in which the packaging material web is run with the inner surface 17 of the packaging material web 10 facing the bending roller. In such an example, the reshaping into the tube shape takes place by first guiding the longitudinal edge of the packaging material web towards the bending roller. However, any possible lateral crease buckling occurs so that the folds go outward from the bending roller, i.e., in this embodiment, outward on the decorative design surface. This is not a result of the direction of the kite. An important factor is that the forming device is arranged to act against the inner surface of the packaging material web.

A, B, W ··· Line M · · Center line 10 · · Packaging material web 11 · · Fold line 12 · · Magazine reel 13 · · Guide roller 15 · · Decorative design surface 16 · · Traveling web tension roller 17 · · · Inner surface 18 ·· Bending roller 19 ·· Material tube 20 ·· Tube forming device 21 ·· Longitudinal edge 22 ·· Longitudinal seal device 24 ·· Filling pipe 26 ·· Packing container 28 ·· Jaw 30 ·· Arc-shaped tube Forming means 32 .. Forming roller 34.. Passage opening 36... ３８ 38.. Straight part 40... Device 42... Forming device 44 ... Area part 46 ... Forming roller 48 ... Shaft 50 ... Frame 51 52 .. part

Claims (7)

  Flexibility including a crease pattern having a crease line (11) running substantially laterally and running over the deflection device (18) before reshaping into the tube (19) is initiated A device (40) that allows the packaging material web (10) to be easily reshaped into a tube (19), arranged downstream of the deflection device (18) and upstream of the tube forming means (20). If the web includes a forming device (42) and the web is buckled along at least one of the transverse crease lines, the forming device is adapted to form the inner surface of the finished tube. A device (40), characterized in that it is arranged to contact the surface (17) to give the web (10) an opportunity to start forming into a tube.   The forming device (42) is arranged to abut the web (10) at at least one area portion (44) between the longitudinal centerline (M) and the longitudinal edge (21) of the web (10). The device (40) according to claim 1.   The forming device (42) comprises at least one area portion on each side of the web centerline (M) between the longitudinal centerline (M) of the web (10) and the respective longitudinal edge (21) ( The device (40) according to claim 1, arranged at 44) to abut against the web (10).   4. Either of claims 2 or 3, wherein the area portion (44) is positioned closer to the longitudinal edge (21) of the web (10) than the longitudinal centerline (M) of the web (10). A device (40) according to crab.   The device (40) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the forming device (42) comprises at least one rotatably arranged forming roller (46).   6. The device (40) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the forming device (42) comprises at least two freely arranged forming rollers (46) having coincident axes of rotation.   Flexibility including a crease pattern having a crease line (11) running substantially laterally and running over the deflection device (18) before reshaping into the tube (19) is initiated A method for allowing a web of packaging material (10) to be easily reshaped into a tube (19), wherein at least the buckling is formed along one of the transverse fold lines. In order to give the web an opportunity to start the process comprising bringing the molding device (42) into contact with the surface (17) of the web (10) intended to form the inner surface of the finished tube, A method characterized in that it is arranged downstream of the device (18) and upstream of the tube forming means (20).

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