MXPA99011077A - Apparatus for processing continuously fed elongate material - Google Patents

Abstract

Apparatus for processing continuously fed elongate material (FS), such as forming sealed bags from continuously fed film tubes, uses at least one pair of orbital tools (6a, 6b) that are cantilevered from tool drives (e.g., crank arms) (2a, 2b) at one edge of the material, extending transversely across the direction of material travel to engage opposite faces of the material. During material engagement the tools (6a, 6b) run synchronously with the moving material, but may be returned upstream rapidly to reengage the material for the next processing cycle. In order to achieve a higher throughput an additional pair of tools (16a, 16b) can be used, cantilevered and driven from the opposite edge of the material, maintaining the same processing (e.g., sealing) time. Through this arrangement the tools on opposing sides can alternate contact with the material and be run independently of each other.

Description

EQUIPMENT FOR THE PROCESSING OF CONTINUOUS FOOD PACKAGING MATERIAL The invention relates to equipment for the processing of continuous feed packing material, with tools which act on the material in a discontinuous manner. This equipment is used, for example, for the production of bags made from a film tube, which is welded or glued. Depending on the length of the bag, tools are used (sealing tongs), which are installed perpendicular to the feed direction of the film and which stick or weld the film tube, using heat and pressure to produce the bottom and top of the bag. To provide sufficient time for the heat to act on the packing material during the production of the bags, the sealing tongs have to travel at the same speed as the packing material, and they have to return to the feed film for a length bag, after each bonding or welding process - This return journey can be achieved through the established method of using a mechanism, which has a type of paddle wheel, where the sealing tongs are mounted on the front face of the pallets. The paddle wheel rotates at such a speed that the travel speed of the sealing tongs coincides with the feed speed of the film. Another possibility established for the return travel of the sealing tongs by a bag length, after the welding cycle, consists of a mechanism that retracts the sealing pliers from the film by means of a cam arrangement or an articulated joint. The pliers are then returned in a straight line or orbital motion to the position of the next weld line and from this point they move synchronously with the film, as dictated by the time of welding or sealing. In a similar way, it is also possible to process other packing materials in continuous operation with sealing tongs, working discontinuously. While the use of the paddle wheel severely limits the speed of performance, due to the required contact time of the sealing tongs, in other words the feeding of the film must slow down or stop. The return of the sealing tongs to the starting position requires more time than filling a bag. If it is desired to increase the feed speed of the film for the same material, it will be necessary to increase the length (stroke) of the processing cycle (sealing cycle) according to the required contact duration of the sealing tongs, which would also increase the race of the return. The invention is based on the task of designing a mechanism for the processing of materials (packaging) fed continuously, which would significantly increase the speed of production of the material to be processed, while maintaining the same time for synchronized movement. According to this invention, this is achieved by mounting the conveyors of the sealing tongs that capture the packing material in the manner of levers on driving shafts, which are floating, meaning bracket or cantilever. For this design, the selXado pincers are attached to the driving axles only on one side, so that the opposite pairs of sealing tongs with their driving shafts can mesh with each other as pairs of sealing tongs, independently controllable. It is advantageous to make the conduits for the driving axes, independently controllable. This makes it possible to significantly shorten the cycle time through the fast return stroke of the sealing tongs, which allows an additional increase in performance. When using two sealing tongs that alternately seal the packing material, it is advantageous to align their bearing supports, that is, the sealing tongs coaxially, this is in the same central line. For this purpose, one of the axes is hollow, so that it can be traversed by a second concentric axis. The improved accessibility of the sealing area, achieved through cantilever or cantilever mounting, allows the use of the sealing tongs in such a way that, based on the invention, two pliers conveyors with their conduits can be installed in pairs with tongs in opposite manner on either side of the packing material. If the pincer conveyors are equipped identically, it is possible to double the performance with the same speed as the dual lines. If the pliers are not identically equipped, two operations in one cycle are executed in the sealing area. Among these there are operations such as: undressing, cutting and drilling. In many applications, the conduits are arranged in such a way that the sealing tongs move in identical orbits at the same speed. This invention allows to choose driving systems without equal. Since the sealing tongs rotate in different radii and therefore at different distances to the welding operation, different mechanisms are possible. The conductors of the pincer conveyors can be controlled independently of one another. Specifically, the travel speeds in the sealing area may be different than those in the return stroke. It is possible to increase the speed of the xetorno race considerably after the sealing tongs lose contact with the packing material, which significantly shortens the time of the return stroke. When using servomotors, it is possible not only to control and adjust the movement, but also to prevent unwanted contacts of a pair of sealing tongs in operation. Since the crank movement of the arms theoretically causes contact to be made in the line, the sealing tongs are mounted with spring on the pincer conveyors, so that the circular driving movement of the sealing tongs gives as a result the flat contact needed during the sealing phase. If the sealing pliers were rigidly fixed to the crank, that is, back with your crank arm, there would not be enough contact, due to the line-type contact area, but also due to problems with the air supply, electrical supply , etc. to the sealing tongs. Due to the meandering or twisting movement, the required connections would have to be made through rotary couplers. By mounting the pincer conveyor in an inverted movement element, it is achieved that the sealing pliers always remain in the same orientation to the packaging material. This can be achieved by mounting the pincer conveyor to the crank arm with a rotating connection. In this design, the pincer conveyor is connected to a fixed shaft, which is part of the driving of the crank arm, by means of a belt, specifically a timing belt or gears. As the crank arm rotates around the fixed axis, an inverted movement is generated which keeps the pliers conveyor always in the same parallel position. When using such a design, it is also possible to locate these sealing tongs in relation to the pincer conveyors on a slope in such a way that the resulting seals are deflected by 90 degrees in relation to the packing material, for example a pipe of movie in motion. In this way, you can create bag designs that have inclined seals. Referring to the drawings, application examples will be described and the results of the invention will be explained. Figure 1 shows schematically the fundamentals of the main components of an assembly through the invention for the processing of a mobile film tube FS for the manufacture of bags, at the point where the sealing tongs are opening after completing the sealing cycle. Figure 2 shows a side view of the same components, where the film tube is omitted for clarity. Figure 3 shows a detailed view of the positions of the pliers conveyor, including the sealing pliers, during the making cycle of a bag. Figure 4 shows in schematic form the functional sequence of a pair of pliers conveyors during the making cycle of a bag. Identical components are identified with the same reference marks. The pair of joint action of pliers carriers la and lb are connected on one side - floating - by crank arms 2 with synchronous axes 3 and 4, but counter-rotating. While the crank arms 2 are rigidly crank-connected to the driving shafts 3 and 4, the pliers la and lb are installed mounted on an axle on the heads 5a and 5b of the arms of the crank 2. The length of the crank arms 2 determines the diameter of the orbit, in which the carriers Ia and Ib and with their sealing tongs 6a and 6b travel around the axes 8 which are mounted on the heads of the crank arms. and Ib. The length of the crank arms 2, in conjunction with the rpm of the axes 3 and 4 determines the length of a machine cycle and the sealing time of the pliers ßa and 6b, required for the sealing of the film tube FS. To guide the sealing pliers ßa and ßb, as shown in Figure 3, V-belts are used which are shown schematically, connecting the fixed axes 8a and 8b (not shown in the drawing) with the axes 9 of the conveyors of clamp 1 to maintain constant parallel orientation. During a rotation of the crank arm 2, driven by the shaft 3, the gripper conveyor 1, and with its sealing pliers β, are always kept in the same parallel orientation during the machine cycle through a corresponding reverse movement around the axis 9. Instead of the belt, you could use gears.

The floating installation built on brackets or cantilever of the clamp conveyor 1 and its connection to the conduction results in good accessibility to the sealing pliers ß, and above all a simplified connection of the utilities to the sealing pliers ßa, ßb. Instead of rotating couplers for air, electric current and other heating means, it is possible to use direct lines, which move up and down as well as along only in the orbit dictated by the length of the crank arms 2. Rolled supply lines can compensate for this movement. Figures 4a to 4d explain the sequence of movement of the pairs a and lb of floating sealing pliers. During the machine cycle, axis 3 turns clockwise, while axis 4 rotates in the opposite direction, that is, counterclockwise. In Figure 4a the sealing tongs are shown just before closing under pressure on the film tube, which is not shown here. As the cycle progresses, the sealing pliers 6 as shown in Figure 4b, are clamped together against the force of the compression springs not shown in the sealing tongs lb, lb respectively. The intrinsic circular movement of the sealing pliers ß is flattened in the sealing area by the compression stroke of the springs not shown. This results in a parallel pressure, acting on the total working surface of the sealing pliers ß. In the position as shown in Figure 4d, the clamp pressure is finished. The crank arms 2 can now move at high speed through the position shown in Figure 4, while a second pair of sealing pliers, driven by their own action, moves at the speed of the film to the position of clamp . With the design of the floating installation of the sealing pliers, as shown in Figure 1, it becomes possible to place a second pair of sealing pliers, which are differently than the first, in such a way that the conveyors Opposite tongs that are fastened by brackets in the driving and with parallel axes, with a gear movement, can fulfill a different function, for example: cut, drill or paste. If it is desired to use identical sealing pliers, and let them act on the moving film tube in the same rhythm, it is indicated to install a second identical unit with floating pliers on the same central line, but in counter-image. This duo arrangement is indicated in Figure 1, where the second installation is identified with the same numbers to which they were added 10. Shown in this application example there are two sets of similar sealing pliers (6a; ßb) that they are mounted 180 degrees out of phase in their pipes (8, 18). This means, that while the first set of sealing pliers (6a; b) is in its return stroke, the second, opposite set of sealing pliers (16a; lbb) passes through its active working phase. In this way, it is possible to increase the performance significantly, until doubling it. It is possible to use one of the two sets of sealing tongs for other operations. Due to the open space, which is the result of the floating joint, it is possible to use sealing tongs with a different timing. Using servomotors, the pipes can thus be controlled, which makes impossible the collision of the sealing tongs, even if they travel in identical orbits, even superimposed at different speeds of rotation. Because short, return stroke cycles are possible, it is possible to produce bags, which are shorter than the distance required for processing. With the sealing tongs constructed on corbels or cantilever, or the respective pincers conveyors, a so-called "stripping" can be installed, which detaches or undresses the film tube with two opposite parts, for example rods, in the direction of travel just before closing the sealing tongs. This removes the filler product from the sealing area.

Claims (12)

1. CLAIMS 1. Equipment for the processing of continuous feeding packaging material, specifically that of film tubes for the production of bags, using tools
2. (sealing tongs), specifically pairs of tools, the conveyors (conveyors of sealing tongs) of which move by a conduction at the same speed as the speed of feeding of the packing material during the work cycle, and which return to the moving film tube after the work cycle by the distance between the contact points, which is characterized by the fact that the conveyors, which act on the packaging material (FS), are fixed through cranks to the driving axes, in floating form, that is, built on corbels or cantilever. Equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that two conveyors of pliers or pairs of conveyors, with their driving axes, are located on opposite sides as a pair in such a way that, the conveyors of tools in parallel central lines, and built on brackets on the cranks, are meshing with each other.
3. 3. Equipment according to claim 1 and 2, characterized in that the conduction of the driving axes are independently

   5 controllable.
4. 4. Equipment according to claim 1 to 3, characterized in that the driving axes are arranged coaxially (in the same central line).
5. 5. Equipment according to the indication 4, which is characterized by the fact that one of the driving axles is hollow, which is traversed coaxially by the second driving axis on the same central line.
6. 6. Equipment according to claim 1 to

   5, which is characterized, by the fact, that the conduits of the duo are located in the same central line or parallel in such a way, that the conveyors of tools are moved by the

   20 cranks in identical or parallel orbits.
7. 7. Equipment according to claim 1 to

   6, which is characterized by the fact that the sequence of movement of the conveyors of tools during a machine cycle, is

   25 controls through the use of staggered motors with

   --------------------------- variable numbers of steps per unit of time.
8. 8. Equipment according to claim 1 to 7, characterized in that the tools are fixed by spring mount on conveyors.
9. 9. Equipment according to claim 1 to 7, characterized in that the tool conveyors are fixed to the cranks in such a way that the tools assume an orientation parallel to the moving film tube (FS) during his return career.
10. 10. Equipment according to claim 1 to 9, characterized in that the tool conveyors are fixed to the free ends of the crank arms of the driving axes in pivots and are connected to a fixed part of the pivot. the conduction of such form, that through an inverse movement, the transporters of tool and with them the pincers of sealed, will assume always the same orientation.
11. 11. Equipment according to claim 1 to 7, characterized in that the connection is achieved by V-belts, gears, or the like.
12. 12. Equipment according to claim 1 to 7, characterized in that the sealing tongs can be located in decline with respect to their pincers conveyors that the sealed ones are in another than at an angle of 90 degrees to the feeding direction.