JP3183556U - A device for positioning a sealing strip relative to a pourable food packaging web - Google Patents

Abstract

A packaging machine capable of more accurately positioning a sealing strip relative to a packaging material web by detecting the position of the actual longitudinal end where the sealing strip is placed and applied.
A positioning device for positioning a sealing strip with respect to a packaging material web (3) is used to support and guide the sealing strip (7) and to determine the position of the packaging material web (3). Feeler means 36 and actuating means 29 connected to the feeler means 36 for moving the support and guide means 23 relative to the packaging material web 3 based on the position of the packaging material web 3 detected by the feeler means 36; Is provided. The feeler means 36 is configured to interact with the longitudinal end 8 of the packaging material web 3 to which the sealing strip 7 is applied later.
[Selection] Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to an apparatus for positioning a seal strip relative to a pourable food packaging web before the seal strip is applied to the packaging web.

  Many foods such as fruit juice, pasteurized or UHT (ultra high temperature processed) milk, wine, tomato sauce are sold in packages made from pasteurized packaging materials.

  An example of this type of package is a parallelepiped liquid or pourable food package, known as Tetra Brick Aseptic®, which is a laminated packaging material web. Made by folding and sealing.

  The packaging material is a heat-seal plastic such as a polyethylene film that covers both sides of the base layer and a multilayer structure substantially comprising a base layer for rigidity and strength, such as a fiber layer such as paper or mineral-filled polypropylene material With multiple layers of material.

  In the case of a sterile package for long-term storage products such as UHT milk, the packaging material also comprises a layer of gas and light barrier material, such as, for example, aluminum or ethyl vinyl alcohol (EVOH) foil, which layer of heat-seal plastic material It is overlaid with a layer and is in turn covered by another layer of heat-seal plastic material that ultimately forms the inner surface of the package that contacts the food.

  As is known, this type of package is made on a fully automatic packaging machine, where a continuous tube is formed from the web feed packaging material. The packaging material web is sterilized on the packaging machine, for example by applying a chemical sterilant such as a hydrogen peroxide solution that later evaporates by heating and / or exposing the packaging material to radiation of the appropriate intensity and wavelength. The The sterilized packaging material web is fed vertically through a number of forming devices that are maintained in a closed, sterile environment and interact with the packaging material web to gradually fold from the strip into the tube.

  Tubes are filled with sterilized or sterilized food, sealed, and cut into individual pillow packs along equally spaced sections to form a finished, eg, substantially parallelepiped shaped package To be folded mechanically.

  Prior to reaching the forming device, the packaging material web is fed through an applicator for applying a sealing strip made from a heat sealing material.

  More specifically, the seal strip is heat fused at the press station to the plastic material layer that ultimately forms the inner surface of the package, to which the preheated packaging material and the seal strip are different. Supplied in a path, where the sealing strip is pressed against the first longitudinal end of the packaging material web. Once attached at one end, the seal strip has a first portion that is heat sealed to the first longitudinal end of the web and a second portion that protrudes from the web.

  When interacting with the forming device, the second longitudinal end of the web is located outside the first longitudinal end with respect to the axis of the tube being formed. More specifically, the seal strip is located completely inside the tube, and the surface of the second longitudinal end facing the axis of the tube partially overlaps the second portion of the seal strip, and On the opposite side, it is partly superimposed on the surface of the first longitudinal end, where the first part of the sealing strip is applied.

  The first and second longitudinal ends are then heat-sealed to form a longitudinal seal along the tube. More specifically, the heat sealing operation includes a heating step for heating the second longitudinal end without a seal strip and pressing the seal strip, the first longitudinal end, and the second longitudinal end together. A pressure step.

  During the heating step, the polyethylene layer at the second longitudinal end melts and heat is transferred to the first longitudinal end and the seal strip by heat conduction to heat the polyethylene layer and the seal strip at the first longitudinal end. Melt the sealing material.

  During the pressure step, the seal strip, the first longitudinal end and the second longitudinal end are pressed together to seal the heat sealing material of the seal strip and the first longitudinal end and the second longitudinal end. The polyethylene layer forms a molecular bond that is completely melted and that defines the longitudinal seal of the tube.

Seal strip:
The longitudinal end of the packaging material forming the longitudinal seal (especially the first longitudinal end located inside the tube after the forming operation) prevents the packaged product from being absorbed; Improve the gas barrier properties of the sealing area, and strengthen the longitudinal seal.

  In order to accurately position the sealing strip with respect to the packaging material web, the packaging machine is equipped with a positioning device with a number of rollers for supporting and guiding the sealing strip. In an ideal operating condition, a first portion of the seal strip having a width substantially equal to half the overall width of the seal strip is heat-sealed to the first longitudinal end of the packaging material web, and also the seal strip A second portion of the seal strip that is substantially equal to half of the overall width of the first portion of the packaging material web protrudes from the first longitudinal end, thereby forming a longitudinal seal along the tube; The second longitudinal ends of the packaging material web are joined.

  The roller is fixed to a support which is movable transversely, in particular perpendicularly to the direction of travel of the packaging material and the sealing strip.

  The feeler is secured to the support for detecting the position of the second longitudinal end of the packaging material web. The feeler comprises a pulley (rotating about an axis substantially perpendicular to a plane defined by the packaging material web) provided with a groove arranged to abut and receive the second longitudinal end, Some are closest to the axis.

  A drawback of the positioning device described above is that the packaging material webs of the same nominal width in practice have different widths due to manufacturing tolerances. Further, since the distance between the roller and the feeler that supports and guides the seal strip is set based on the nominal width of the packaging material web, the first longitudinal direction is caused by the difference between the nominal width of the packaging material web and the actual width. Inaccurate positioning of the seal strip relative to the directional end.

  The object of the present invention is to improve the accuracy of the device for positioning the seal strip relative to the packaging material web.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for positioning a sealing strip relative to a packaging material web, wherein the positioning accuracy is independent of the dimensional tolerance of the packaging material web width in particular.

  According to the invention, a positioning device is provided for positioning a sealing strip relative to a packaging material web, the positioning device comprising supporting and guiding means for supporting and guiding said sealing strip, A feeler means for determining a position and configured to move the support and guide means relative to the packaging material web based on the position of the packaging material web connected to and detected by the feeler means The positioning means is characterized in that the feeler means is arranged to interact with the longitudinal end of the packaging material web to which the sealing strip is applied later.

  The present invention allows the packaging material web to detect the position of the actual longitudinal end where the seal strip is placed and applied, rather than the position of the opposite longitudinal end as in existing devices. The sealing strip can be positioned more accurately with respect to the.

  Preferred and non-limiting embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

1 shows a perspective schematic view of a packaging machine with a positioning device according to the invention for producing a sealed package of food from a packaging material web. Fig. 2 shows a front sectional view of a part of a packaging machine with a positioning device attached. FIG. 3 shows the detail of FIG. 2 with a portion of the packaging machine removed. The perspective view of a positioning device is shown. Fig. 4 shows another perspective view of a positioning device. FIG. 4 shows an axial cross-section of a roller for positioning a seal strip relative to a packaging material web.

  FIG. 1 shows a packaging machine 1 for continuously producing a sealed package 2 of food from a packaging material web 3, which is unrolled from a reel 4 and fed along a forming path P. .

  The packaging machine 1 preferably produces a package 2 of food such as sterilized or UHT (ultra high temperature treatment) milk, fruit juice, wine.

The packaging material has a multilayer structure,
A base layer for rigidity and strength, such as a fiber layer, for example paper or mineral-filled polypropylene material;
-Multiple layers of heat-seal plastic material, such as polyethylene film, covering both sides of the base layer;
Is substantially provided.

  In the case of a sterile package for long-term storage products such as UHT milk, the packaging material also comprises a layer of gas and light barrier material, such as, for example, aluminum or ethyl vinyl alcohol (EVOH) foil, which layer of heat-seal plastic material The layers are overlaid and then covered by one or more layers of heat-seal plastic material that in turn form the inner surface of the package that contacts the food.

As shown in FIG. 1, the web 3 is fed along a forming path P by a guide device 5, for example a roller or the like, and through a number of successive workstations equipped in each device, and more In particular:
A crimping device 6 for applying a sealing strip 7 made of heat sealing material to the longitudinal end 8 of the web 3;
A forming device 13 for folding the web 3 into the tube 12, in particular the tube 12 folds the web 3 and is opposite the longitudinal end 8 of the web 3 to the longitudinal end 8 and the sealing strip 7 applied to it. A forming device that is formed by overlapping the longitudinal end portions 9 and forms a cylinder of axis A;
A sealing device that seals the longitudinal end 8 and the sealing strip 7 applied thereto to another longitudinal end 9 to form a longitudinal seal 15 along the tube 12 parallel and spaced apart from the axis A When,
It is.

  The packaging machine 1 also includes a filling device 11 for continuously filling the tube 12 with sterilized or sterilized food, and gripping, sealing and cutting the tube 12 along equally spaced sections, one after another. And a chin forming apparatus (not shown) for forming the package 2.

  With particular reference to FIG. 2, the sealing strip 7 is unrolled from a reel (not shown) and fed to the crimping device 6 by a guide pulley 16 (only one shown in FIG. 2), where pressure is applied. It is applied and heat sealed to the longitudinal end 8. In the crimping device 6, the seal strip 7 and the web 3 are supplied in parallel to the traveling direction. The crimping device 6 includes a pressure device 18 for applying pressure to the seal strip 7 against the web 3 and a heat treatment device 19 for heating the web 3 upstream of the pressure device 18.

  The heat treatment apparatus 19 includes an inductor 20 that is connected to a generator (not shown) and induces a parasitic current in the aluminum layer at the longitudinal end 8 of the web 3. Since the parasitic current generates heat, the plastic material layer of the web 3 is melted.

  Instead of the inductor 20, the heat treatment device 19 can comprise other heating means such as a device that generates a flow of warm air and directs it toward the longitudinal end 8.

  The pressure device 18 includes a first pressure roller 21 and a second pressure roller (not shown) disposed on the opposite side of the web 3. The first pressure roller 21 and the second pressure roller have respective parallel axes that rotate in different directions and are arranged adjacent to each other to form a narrow passage, through which the sealing strip 7 and the longitudinal end 8 A portion of the web 3 comprising is supplied simultaneously. In particular, the axes of the first pressure roller 21 and the second pressure roller are parallel to the plane defined by the web 3 and are perpendicular to the direction of travel of the seal strip 7 and the web 3 through the passage.

  2-5, the crimping device 6 is also a positioning device 22 for positioning the sealing strip 7 relative to the longitudinal end 8 before the sealing strip 7 is sealed to the longitudinal end 8. Is provided.

  The positioning device 22 comprises support and guiding means 23 for supporting and positioning the sealing strip 7 with respect to the longitudinal end 8. The support and guide means 23 comprises at least one roller, more specifically a number of rollers 24 attached to the frame 25 to rotate involuntarily. The axis of rotation of the roller 24 is parallel to the plane defined by the web 3. The rotation axis of the roller 24 is also parallel to the rotation axes of the first pressure roller 21 and the second pressure roller.

  The positioning device 22 also comprises actuating means for moving the support and guide means 23 relative to the web 3.

  More specifically, the frame 25 is L-shaped and has a first end 26 to which a roller 24 is attached so as to be rotated by a pin 27, and a second end 28 to which an actuating means 29 is connected. Is provided.

  The actuating means 29 comprises a block 30 fixed to the bracket 31, which is also connected to the inductor 20 support. The actuating means 29 also comprises a first lever 32 and a second lever 33, the first and second levers having a first end 34 hinged to the block 30 and the frame 25, more specifically the first. And a second end portion 35 connected to the two end portions 28 by hinges.

  The positioning device 22 also comprises feeler means 36 for determining the position of the longitudinal end 8. The feeler means 36 comprises a pulley 37 having a rotation axis perpendicular to the plane defined by the web 3 and a groove 38 having a bottom designed to rest against the longitudinal end 8. The feeler means 36 also comprises a bar 39 having a first end 40 fixed integrally to the frame 25 and a second end 41 to which a pulley 37 is rotated by a fine adjustment device 42. The fine adjustment device 42 includes a tool-adjustable screw 43 that moves the pulley 37 relative to the rod 39 when the positioning device 22 is set. The position of the pulley 37 relative to the bar 39 remains unchanged during normal operation of the packaging machine 1. The feeler means 36 also includes a guide body 44 that forms a support surface 45 for the web 3 to ensure that the longitudinal end 8 interacts accurately with the pulley 37.

  The pulley 37 is located on the same side of the web 3 as the pressure device 18, that is, the first pressure roller 21 and the second pressure roller and the heat treatment device 19. In other words, the pulley 37, the pressure device 18, that is, the first pressure roller 21 and the second pressure roller, and the heat treatment device 19 are substantially aligned along the traveling direction of the web 3.

  In actual operation, the weight of the support and guide means 23 and the feeler means 36 is such that the first lever 32 and the second lever 33 are moved in the direction of the arrow R until the bottom of the groove 38 comes into contact with the longitudinal end 8. Rotate in the direction indicated by. When the bottom of the groove 38 is in contact with the longitudinal end 8, the roller is in a position such that a portion of the width substantially equal to half the overall width of the seal strip 7 is superimposed on the longitudinal end 8. The feeler means 36 and the support and guide means 23 are designed so that the sealing strip 7 supported and guided by 24 comes. In other words, when the bottom of the groove 38 abuts and receives the longitudinal end 8, the longitudinal centerline C of the seal strip 7 is substantially aligned with the end of the longitudinal end 8.

  The feeler means 36 is not the lateral end region opposite to the region to which the seal strip 7 is to be applied, i.e. another longitudinal end 9 but the same lateral end region to which the seal strip 7 is to be applied, i.e. Due to the interaction with the longitudinal end 8, the crimping device 6 can apply the sealing strip 7 to the web 3 very accurately even if there is a difference between the nominal width and the actual width of the web 3. it can.

  Furthermore, when switching the packaging machine 1 from one type of package 2 to another (especially package 2 made from webs 3 of different widths), the fact that the positioning device 22 is fixed directly to the support of the inductor 20 Thus, the packaging machine 1 can be adjusted very easily. Once the support of the inductor 20 is set to the desired type of operation for the new type of package 2, i.e. the new width web 3, the position is already determined by the support of the inductor 20 integral with the positioning device 22. Therefore, the position of the positioning device 22 does not need to be adjusted independently. Only fine adjustment with the screw 43 may be required.

  As shown in FIG. 6, each roller 24 includes a body 46 having an axis B and forms a groove 47 surrounded by two lateral walls 48 and a concave bottom wall 49. In other words, the bottom wall 49 comprises a central portion 50 that is remote from the lateral wall 48 and two lateral portions 51 that are each close to the corresponding lateral wall 48. The central portion 50 is located closer to the axis B than the lateral portion 51.

  Tests have shown that the use of a roller 24 having a groove 47 with a concave bottom wall 49 greatly improves the positioning of the seal strip. More specifically, due to the use of the concave bottom wall 49, the seal strip tends to remain centrally with respect to the groove 47 rather than moving laterally as the roller 24 rotates about the pin 27.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Packaging machine 2 Package 3 Web 4 Reel 5 Guide apparatus 6 Crimping apparatus 7 Seal strip 8,9 Longitudinal end part 11 Filling apparatus 12 Tube 13 Forming apparatus 18 Pressure apparatus 19 Heat treatment apparatus 20 Inductor 21 1st pressure roller 23 Guide means 24 Roller 25 Frame 29 Actuating means 30 Block 36 Feeler means 37 Pulley 38 Groove 39 Bar 42 Fine adjustment device 44 Guide body 45 Support surface

Claims (12)

  Positioning device for positioning the sealing strip (7) relative to the packaging material web (3), said positioning device supporting and guiding means (23) for supporting and guiding said sealing strip (7) And a feeler means (36) for determining the position of the packaging material web (3); and the packaging material web connected to the feeler means (36) and detected by the feeler means (36) ( 3) actuating means (29) for moving the support and guiding means (23) relative to the packaging material web (3) based on the position of 3), after which the sealing strip (7) is applied The feeler means (36) is configured to interact with the longitudinal end (8) of the packaging material web (3), which is a portion of To, the positioning device.   2. Positioning device according to claim 1, wherein the feeler means (36) comprises a pulley (37) arranged to contact the longitudinal end (8) in use.   3. Positioning device according to claim 2, wherein the pulley (37) comprises a groove (38) having a bottom that rests against the longitudinal end (8) in use.   The pulley (37) according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the pulley (37) has an axis of rotation substantially perpendicular to the plane defined by the packaging material web (3) and the direction of travel of the sealing strip (7). Positioning device.   When the positioning device (22) is set, the feeler means (36) is connected to the pulley (39) with respect to the rod (39) fixed to the operating means (29) and the support and guide means (23). 37. Positioning device according to any one of claims 2 to 4, comprising a fine adjustment device (42) for moving 37).   The support and guide means (23) comprises at least one roller (24), which comprises a body (46) having a groove (47) surrounded by a concave bottom wall (49). The positioning device according to claim 5.   The actuating means (29) comprises a first lever (32) and a second lever (33), the first and second levers being connected to the fixed position support block (30) by hinges at respective first ends. Part (34) and each second end part (35) hinged to frame (25), said frame comprising said support and guide means (23) and said feeler means (36) ) And the weight of the support and guide means (23) and the feeler means (36) when in use brings the feeler means (36) into contact with the longitudinal end (8). The positioning device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the first lever (32) and the second lever (33) rotate.   A packaging machine for producing a sealed package (2) from a packaging material web (3), wherein the packaging machine attaches a sealing strip (7) to the longitudinal end (8) of the packaging material web (3). ), A crimping device (6) for applying to the packaging machine, the crimping device (6) comprising the positioning device (22) according to any one of claims 1-7.   A pressure device (18) for pressing the sealing strip (7) and the packaging material web (3) together, and the packaging material web (3) upstream from the pressure device (18). A packaging machine according to claim 8, comprising a heat treatment device (19) for heating the food.   The heat treatment device (19) is connected to a generator and arranged to induce a parasitic current in an aluminum layer forming part of the packaging material web (3) at the longitudinal end (8). 10. A packaging machine according to claim 9, comprising an inductor (20), wherein the positioning device (22) is integral with a support of the inductor (20).   Claim when claim 8 refers to claim 2, wherein said pulley (37) is located on the same side of said packaging material web (3) as said pressure device (18) and said heat treatment device (19). Item 10. A packaging machine according to any one of Items 8 to 10.   12. A packaging machine according to claim 11, wherein the pulley (37), the pressure device (18) and the heat treatment device (19) are substantially aligned along the direction of travel of the packaging material web (3).