JPH03111205A - Packer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To fill each tube speedily without generating defective articles excessively by providing the packagine machine with a rotary roll and an insertion sleeve to be positioned between a tube to be supplied to a filling station and a conveyor. CONSTITUTION: Between a conveyor and a tube 44 supplied to a filling station, an insertion sleeve 40 is provided in a condition where its one end 46 is connected to the conveyor and the other end is connected to a tube opening. Also provided are a rotary roll 60A which is positioned beneath the sleeve 40, is adjustable according to the different diameter of the insertion sleeve and supports the sleeve 40, and a rotary roll 60B which is positioned beneath the tube 44 and moves between two end positions. The rotary roll 60B supports the tube 44 and moves the tube into a filling position or from the filling position. By this the tube 44 can be filled speedily without any defective article.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] Star! The present invention relates to a packaging machine, and more specifically, to various types of packaging machines. !
i! The present invention relates to a machine for packaging substantially disc-shaped products such as J into tubes.

In recent years, the use of pharmaceutical products in the form of boiling tablets has increased not only in Sweden but also in other European countries as well as in Japan and Australia. Although the success of these tablets has not been fully explained, there are some obvious reasons such as accuracy in dosing, the ability to take the drug in liquid form, and moisture-tight packaging. There are advantages.

The success of pharmaceutical effervescent tablets also shocked the production of other products in the form of effervescent tablets. For example, attempts have been made in the production/introduction of detergents, plant nutrients, and other water-soluble products in the form of effervescent tablets. Suitable packaging for effervescent tablets are various types of tubular containers, for example tubes made of metal, plastic or cardboard. There is thus a great need for fully automatic packaging machines for filling tablets into tubes.

The prior art in this field is described in 5B-8-7705534-1, which discloses a machine for filling tablets into tubes. A distinguishing feature of this machine is that the device has two parallel rotating rolls carrying a tube that is tilted relative to the horizontal plane and closed at one end. Additionally, the machine has a feed roll with a radially extending feed arm, as well as an inclined path with a chute opening at the square filling station. Furthermore, this prior art machine, and more particularly the inclined path, is arranged in direct connection with a tablet press which is adapted to be operated synchronously with this machine.

There are many drawbacks to prior art machines, some of which are discussed here. The upper part of the machine is connected to a tablet forming machine through a tablet feeding table, and the tablets delivered from this forming machine fall onto the feeding table, which in conjunction with the movements of the feeding table, such as rotation and vibration, subject to large mechanical strain.

This configuration, and the sloping path opening at the tube, works well for packaging tablets with a small diameter to thickness ratio. If this ratio is large, i.e. for other types of tablets where the diameter is much larger than the thickness,
These tablets are extremely susceptible to mechanical distortions of the type mentioned above, resulting in many rejects. This problem is further exacerbated by the high packaging speeds demanded by the market. Moreover, ever-increasing demands are placed on the working environment. This means that measures must be taken to reduce noise, vibration and dust formation when packaging tablets. These requirements have been difficult to meet with prior art devices.

Accordingly, one object of the present invention is to provide a packaging machine that fills each tube more quickly than prior art devices with fewer rejects.

Another object of the invention is to provide a packaging machine which can be connected directly to the delivery side of a tablet forming machine without the use of a feed table or a funnel-like intermediate storage device.

A third object of the present invention is to provide a packaging machine in which mechanical strain on tablets is reduced to a minimum.

Furthermore, the packaging machine of the invention must satisfy the working conditions of various countries with respect to noise, vibration and dust formation occurring during the formation of tablets, with a comfortable margin.

These and other purposes preferably include at least two parallel rotating rolls adapted to rotate an elongated tube sealed at one end, the end of which is connected to the other end of the tube. A disk-shaped product is placed in the tube in a parenchyma, the device having at least one filling station located below the open end, a tube magazine, and a device for intermittently feeding the tube from the tube magazine to the filling station. In a packaging machine for packaging, a conveyor is provided between the filling station and the delivery side of the product feeder, feeding the product to the filling station preferably at a constant speed;
a charging sleeve arranged between the conveyor and the tube fed to the filling station such that one end is connected to the conveyor and the other end is connected to the opening of the tube; a rotating roll that supports the sleeve and that is adjustable to different diameters of the tube and a rotating roll that is disposed below the tube and that can be moved between two end positions, the rotating roll supporting the tube and supporting the sleeve; This is accomplished by a packaging machine that moves the tube into and out of the filling position.

Further features of the invention are set out in the dependent claims. Thus, the charging sleeve is preferably rotatable such that the rotating roll rotates both the tube supplied to the filling station and the charging sleeve connected to this tube about substantially the same axis of rotation.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 illustrates, in the form of a schematic perspective view, a packaging machine 2 for packaging generally circular disk-shaped products, such as various types of effervescent tablets, into tubes. The packaging machine 2 essentially comprises a conveyor 4 with a path switching device 6 and a stop flap 8.10.
, a filling station 12 , a tube magazine 14 , and a cap feeder 16 .

The conveyor 4, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, is a nearly horizontal belt conveyor, which can be tensioned and adjusted by suitable attachments 20, 22 at the guide rollers 18. and can be connected to a product forming machine (not shown), such as a tablet forming machine or a circular feed table. Immediately above the upper side 24 of the conveyor 4, a path switching device 6 and a stop flap 8.10 are provided. The routing device 6 preferably has four downwardly open product channels 26, which are shown in FIG. 2 at the center line of each channel. The path switching device 6 is rotatable about a vertical pivot pin 28 mounted approximately on the center line of the path, and the path switching device 6 faces the guide roller 18 at its end 30. End 30 is connected to a tablet press or slanted product feed path 32, a portion of which is shown in FIG. The product channel 26 diverges from the charging end 30 towards the end of the path switching device, where control means 34 in the form of a pneumatic or hydraulic piston-cylinder assembly are disposed distal to the charging end 30. . By actuating the control means 34, the path switching device 6
a first end position where four rows 26A of products are formed on the conveyor, and another four rows 26A of products on the conveyor.
B can be moved to and from a second end position where B is formed, so that a total of eight product rows are evenly distributed on the conveyor. In order to reduce the rotation angle and thus the switching speed of the path switching device 6 (the reason for this will be explained below), the product channel 26 is connected to one side of the path switching device 6 at the delivery end of the path switching device 6. They are spaced apart by a predetermined distance so that rows of products alternately delivered from one end position 26A and the other end position 26B are formed on the conveyor.

The two stop flaps 8, IO are in the form of beam members that can be raised and lowered and moved along the length of the conveyor. The beam is arranged transversely to the length of the conveyor and in the lowered position
4 to prevent the product from passing through. In the raised position, the beam allows product to pass through. The relative movement of these stop flaps will be explained below. The belt passes down at the second guide roller 36, which is in direct contact with the filling station described below.

Next, referring to Figures 3 and 4 in addition to Figure 1,
FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a filling station 12 with a plurality of charging sleeves 4o, only one of which is shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. FIG. Each of the elongated tubular charging sleeves 4o is rotatably mounted on one end of the attachment 42 such that the longitudinal axis of the sleeve defines an angle of approximately 30° with the horizontal plane. The rotatably mounted end connects to the open end of a tube 44 fed from tube magazine 14, the longitudinal axis of tube 44 coinciding with the longitudinal axis of the charging sleeve during loading. The other end 46 of the sleeve, which preferably extends conically from the inner surface to the outer surface of the sleeve, connects to an inclined path 48 that communicates the conveyor with the filling station 12 and thus allows product to flow into the tube 44. Make it. The charging sleeve 40 and the tube 44 fed to it are rotated about a common longitudinal axis of rolls 56,58,60A160B (see FIG. 4) parallel to these sleeves and tubes. These rolls are preferably arranged at the corners of an isosceles triangle and have friction rings 50.52. fixedly connected to the rolls.
54A, 54B and contact the outer surfaces of the charging sleeve 40 and tube 44. In the preferred embodiment of the packaging machine described herein, the two rolls 60A and 60B have coincident longitudinal axes and the sleeve 4
0 and tube 44, respectively, are positioned directly below sleeve 40 and tube 44 such that their longitudinal axes are parallel and spaced apart in a common vertical plane with the axes of rolls 60A and 60B. Friction ring 54A of roll 60A supports sleeve 40, and friction ring 54B of roll 60B supports tube 44. roll 60
A can be adjusted for different diameters of the charging sleeve 40. From the position in contact with the tube shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, roll 60B is moved to the filling position with support roll 60B for further transport of the filled tube and as roll 60B assumes its initial position. A lowered position (not shown) that removes the tube 44 from contact with the drive rolls 56,58 for advancing a new empty tube.
It is possible to move up to

All tubes to be filled are stored in and fed from the tube magazine 14 shown in FIGS. 1 and 5. The tube magazine 14 has a funnel-shaped lower wall 64,66
These lower walls have an inclined bottom or support plate 62 with a tube channel 6 at its lowest point.
Continued from 8. The tube 44, which is open at least at one end, is arranged with its closed end facing the support plate 62. When using tubes that are open at both ends, it does not matter how the tubes are arranged in the tube magazine; one end or the other of the tubes can be
It is placed facing 2. If a void is formed under a plurality of tubes somewhere in the tube magazine and a bridge is formed in the tube channel 68, a bridging effect occurs in which filling is interrupted because the tubes are not fed. In order to prevent this from occurring, bridge-breaking members in the form of two plates 70, 72 are provided which extend outwardly from the support plate 62 and are movable diagonally between two end positions. The distance between these end positions is preferably selected based on the diameter of tube 44.

Tube channel 68 follows a tube conveyor (not shown) that intermittently feeds tubes through the various stations of the packaging machine.

After the filling operation, the tube conveyor described above feeds each tube to an inspection station (not described in detail) where the tubes are inspected to ensure that the correct number of tablets have been filled into the tube. When an error is displayed,
The erroneous tube is removed from the tube conveyor by suitable equipment.

The received tube is ultimately fed to a capping or sealing station 74 (see FIG. 1) where a cap, plug, or other closure member is placed over the opening of the tube to close the tube; capping Station 74 is a special cap feeder 1
6 (see FIGS. 1, 6, and 7), a cap retainer, and an applicator movable between two end positions. The actual cap feeder 16 has a cylindrical casing 76 whose longitudinal axis forms an angle of approximately 30° with respect to the horizontal plane. The top of this casing forms an upwardly open cap magazine 78 which holds a number of irregularly oriented caps. , the lower portion of the cap dispenser 16 has vertically spaced generally circular plates 80,82. A top plate 80 is attached to the inner surface of the casing 6 and forms the bottom of the magazine 78. The plate has four sections 84 extending around the circumference of the plate 80, which is also sloped. L-shaped arm 86 .operated by control means 92 , such as a pneumatic or hydraulic piston-cylinder assembly.
88 is provided directly below the plate 80, one leg 86 of said arm being movably attached to the plate 80, the attachment being connected to a control means 92 at a predetermined distance from the end 90. Legs 86 extend parallel to the underside of plate 80 and toward recess 84 . The other leg 88 of the arm distal from attachment point 90 is connected at right angles to the end of leg 86 and extends along the casing towards the opening of cap magazine 78 .

The movement of the arm about the mounting point 90 is limited by the circumference of the recess so that the arm swings like a pendulum.

The lower plate 82 is rotatably mounted at a predetermined distance from the upper plate 80 and is operated by a motor (not shown). Near the periphery of the plate 82 there are a few (and one finger 94)
is installed. The number of fingers and the form of the fingers necessary to provide the desired technical effect are selected based on the unresolved closure member. The fingers 94 orient the closure members and feed them into a channel 96 that is preferably divided into three-part channels 98.100 that guide the closure members into the cap holder and applicator described above.

After applying the cap or closure, the tube is guided to a labeling and/or packaging station. There is no need to describe this station in detail as such configurations are well known in the art.

Before starting the packaging machine 2, fill the tube magazine 14 with empty tubes, paying attention to the orientation of the tubes at this time if necessary, and at the same time fill the cap magazine 78 with empty tubes.
Fill with a cap or other closure that fits over tube 44 and fingers 94.

The packaging machine 2 according to the invention associated with a product forming machine is preferably started in conjunction with the product forming machine. Belt conveyor 4 is started and at the same time tubes 44 are fed by a tube feeder from the tube magazine, ie from the outlet end of channel 68, to the filling station, and cap feeder 16 feeds the correctly oriented caps via channel 96 to the filling station. Supplies the retainer and applicator. The tubes 44 are advanced intermittently, two at a time, until eight tubes parallel to each other are in the position shown in FIG.

The path switching device 6 assumes the first of two available positions, the first stop flap 8 is raised to allow the tablet to pass, and the second stop flap 10 is lowered to allow the tablet to be filled. Avoid passing through to station 12. The continuous movement of the conveyor distributes the tablets delivered from the product former onto a belt or into two downwardly open channels to form a first four product array 26A. A photoelectric detection device mounted on the path changer 6 detects when the correct predetermined number of tablets have passed through the path changer and activates the control means 34 to direct the path changer 6 to one of the two available positions. a signal to move it to a second position. The tablets delivered from the product forming machine are dispensed onto the belt to form the other four product rows 26B. The photoelectric detection device detects the correct number of tablets also at the other end position of the path switching device and causes the first stop flap 8 to assume its lowered position which prevents the passage of tablets and the other stop flap 10 to allow the tablets to pass. A second signal is emitted to cause it to assume its raised position.

All rows 26A, 26B of tablets slide down an inclined plane 48 (see FIG. 3), and the tablets come into contact with the conical opening 46 of the rotating loading sleeve 40 at the lower end of this plane. Each tablet is raised by the action of centrifugal force into a position where the essentially flat surface of the tablet faces the opening of the tube. Because of the inclination of the charging sleeve 40 and tube 44, in combination with the rotational movement, each tablet moves into the tube in a helical path through the charging sleeve.

When the last tablet of each row has passed under the second stop flap 10, this flap is lowered again, and the first stop flap 8 is then raised, allowing the tablets collected in the path switching device 6 to pass. do it like this.

The eight simultaneously filled tubes are fed two at a time through the inspection station, where the
A transducer detects the height of the tablets in each tube and, based on this, provides a signal to remove incorrectly filled tubes from the tube conveyor, or to further convey passing tubes to capping station 74. emits. At the same time as the two filled tubes leave the filling station 12, the two empty tubes 4
4 is fed to the filling station. Separately from the conveyor, the bridge breaking elements 70, 72 are moved a short distance diagonally of the support plate 63 (see FIG. 5) and then returned directly to their respective starting position. During this movement, several tubes 44 are moved to an extent within the tube magazine 14, thereby effectively avoiding bridging effects within the magazine 14.

If the eight initially filled tubes remain in the filling station, eight empty tubes are thus positioned therein and the filling procedure described above is repeated.

Cap magazine 78 of capping station 74
The caps housed randomly within the L-shaped arm 8
6.88 onto the rotating lower plate 82 with fingers 94. These fingers 94 then engage the cap, thereby ensuring the desired orientation. A properly oriented cap will disengage from the fingers 94 at the end of the channel 96 that is open towards the interior of the cap dispenser, and while retaining this orientation will exit the channel 96.
or downwardly through 100 to a cap holder and applicator which applies a cap to each of the two filled and passed tubes fed simultaneously to capping station 74 and closes the open ends of the tubes. .

Finally, the closed tube is guided to a labeling and/or packaging station.

A conveyor incorporating a path switching device and an incline with a conical opening that allows a large number of tubes, eight tubes in the example described herein, to be filled much more quickly and with overall waste. By using a rotating loading sleeve, the tablets can be handled carefully and carefully. A photoelectric detection device placed in the path switching device ensures an accurate counting of the desired number of tablets to be filled into each tube by comparing the detected number with a predetermined number, in particular when the stop flap is It is advantageous that the conveyor is displaceable along its length.

As a result, the packaging machine according to the invention is very efficient and applicable to high performance tablet forming machines available on the market.

Although the packaging machine according to the invention described above constitutes a preferred embodiment, it will be understood that those skilled in the art can find other means or variations to achieve the same technical effect. It is therefore intended that these variations and modifications within the scope of the inventive concept be covered by the appended claims. Thus, oval disc-shaped products can also be packaged by suitably adapting the components of the packaging machine according to the invention. Furthermore, the term "cap" should also be construed to include other closure members such as stoppers, lids, etc.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 is a perspective view of a packaging machine according to the invention, and FIG. 2 shows a conveyor with product distributor of the packaging machine shown in FIG. 1, partially removed for a more clear view; FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view of the filling station of the packaging machine shown in FIG.
FIG. 4 is a side view partially shown in cross section, and FIG.
5 is a front view of the tube magazine of the packaging machine shown in FIG. 1; and FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the cap feeder of the packaging machine shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the cap supply device shown in FIG. 6 taken along the line ■-■. 2... Packaging machine, 4... Conveyor, 6... Path switching device, 8.10... Stop flap, 12... Filling station, 14... Tube magazine, 16... Cap supply vessel. 40...Charging sleeve 44...Tube 56.58...Rotating rolls 60A, 60B...Rotating rolls

Claims (10)

[Claims] (1) an elongated tube (4) preferably sealed at one end;
4) at least one filling station (12) having at least two parallel rotating rolls (56, 58) adapted to rotate the tube, said end being located below the other open end of the tube; , tube magazine (14)
and a packaging machine for packaging a disc-shaped product into a tube, the packaging machine having a device for intermittently feeding tubes from the tube magazine (14) to the filling station (12). Station (1
2) and the delivery side of the product feeder, a conveyor (4) for supplying said product to said filling station (12), preferably at a constant speed, said conveyor (4) and said filling station (12) ) a charging sleeve (40) arranged between the tube (44) fed to the tube (44) such that one end (46) is connected to the conveyor (4) and the other end is connected to the opening of the tube; It is arranged below the sleeve (40) and can be adjusted to different diameters of the charging sleeve, said sleeve (40)
); and a rotating roll (60B) that is provided below the tube (44) and can move between two end positions, and the rotating roll (60B) supports the tube (44). A packaging machine that supports a tube (44) and moves it into and out of a filling position. (2) the charging sleeve (40) is rotatably arranged, the inner diameter of the sleeve substantially matching the outer shape of the product, and the end (46) of the sleeve (40) facing the conveyor (4);
is conically widened, so that the product fed into said charging sleeve (40) will not be able to pass through said sleeve (40) when the periphery of the product comes into contact with the inner surface of said sleeve (40).
) and said tube (44), the packaging machine being rotated and raised so that the substantially flat surface of the product faces the opening of the tube. (3) The sleeve (40) and the tube (44)
The packaging machine according to claim 2, wherein the packaging machine is arranged to form an angle of about 30° with a horizontal plane. (4) Claims (1), (2) and (2) further comprising a separating device provided at said end of the conveyor (4) facing the product forming machine for separating defective products from products acceptable for packaging; (
The packaging machine according to any one of 3). (5) A path switching device (6) located directly above the conveyor (4) for controlling the flow of the product for dispensing the product onto the upper side (24) of the conveyor.
The packaging machine according to any one of 4). (6) The path switching device (6) is rotatable around a pivot pin (28) disposed at the end (30) of the path switching device (6) facing the product forming machine, and the pin is perpendicular to the upper side (24) of the conveyor, said path switching device (6) is connected to the charging end (30) of said path switching device (6).
According to claim 5, comprising a plurality of downwardly open product channels (26) which widen towards an end remote from the charging end (30) of the channel switching device (6). The packaging machine described. (7) Two vertically movable stop flaps (8, 10
), and these flaps are connected to the conveyor (4) after said path switching device (6), as seen in the product flow direction.
) and movable along the length of said conveyor, said stop flap being in a raised position to allow advancing product to pass therethrough, and in a lowered position to cross the upper side of said conveyor ( 24), thus blocking the passage of the advancing product.
A packaging machine according to any one of the above. (8) The stop flap (8, 10) is disposed on the path switching device (6) and is responsive to the result of the comparison between a preset desired number of product units and the detected number of product units.
Packaging machine according to any one of claims 1 to 7, comprising a transducer for emitting a signal for controlling the packaging machine. (9) Tube (44) in tube magazine (14)
bridge formation, thereby stopping and/or
Or, in order to prevent erroneous display, the tube magazine (1
at least one bridge-breaking member (70) disposed in the delivery channel (68) of 4) and moveable between two end positions;
, 72), the packaging machine according to any one of claims (1) to (8). (10) An inspection station is arranged between the filling station (12) and the capping station (74) as seen in the tube feeding direction, the inspection station being placed on the filled tube for checking the filling height of the tube. Packaging machine according to any one of claims 1 to 9, comprising a transducer that can be inserted into the tube and an ejector for removing tubes that do not pass inspection from the tube conveyor.