US20180229874A1

US20180229874A1 - Method for filling and welding film bags and a filling and welding device therefor

Info

Publication number: US20180229874A1
Application number: US15/750,786
Authority: US
Inventors: Rolf Harth; Frank Lechert
Original assignee: INDAG Gesellschaft fuer Industriebedarf mbH and Co Betriebs KG
Current assignee: INDAG Gesellschaft fuer Industriebedarf mbH and Co Betriebs KG; INDAG Pouch Partners GmbH
Priority date: 2015-08-07
Filing date: 2016-08-05
Publication date: 2018-08-16
Also published as: ES2673295T3; JP2018523618A; WO2017025463A1; EP3127823A1; CN108137180A; CN108137180B; EP3127823B1; JP6806311B2

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for filling and welding film bags, wherein a plurality of film bags that are accommodated one after another on a rotating carousel are filled by means of a plurality of filling stations arranged on the rotating carousel and subsequently the filled film bags are guided in succession, by means of the rotating carousel, past a welding station, assigned to the rotating carousel and arranged in a stationary manner on the rotating carousel, for welding of the filled film bags, wherein the welding station comprises at least one welding device. The invention also relates to a filling and welding device for carrying out this method, having a rotating carousel with a plurality of filling stations, arranged thereon, for filling film bags, and a welding station, assigned to the carousel and arranged in a stationary manner on the rotating carousel, for welding the filled film bags, wherein the welding station comprises at least one welding device.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a U.S. national stage entry of International Application No. PCT/EP2016/068752, filed Aug. 5, 2016, which claims priority to European Application No. 15180140.4, filed Aug. 7, 2015, the contents of both of which are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to a method for filling and welding film bags and to a fill and welding device therefor.

2. Description of Related Art

It is well known to fill film bags without a spout in clocked or synchronized filling machines with a filling product, wherein an ultrasonic generator for welding the filled film bags is assigned to or associated with each filling station. By this film bag welding in multiple rows caused by the parallel multi-clocking of the film bags, comparatively high costs are involved, since each filling station has to be equipped with an ultrasonic generator. Also, time and energy wastes are relatively high due to the regular start-stop operations.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, it is the object of the invention to provide a method and a device for filling and welding film bags, thereby enabling an effective and time efficient welding of the film bags.
The object is solved by the method and the device described herein. Preferred embodiments and variants are also disclosed.
With the method for filling and welding film bags, a plurality of film bags accommodated in succession by a rotating carousel are filled by a plurality of filling stations positioned at the rotating carousel, and subsequently the filled film bags are guided past a welding station by means of the rotating carousel, wherein the welding station is assigned to and stationarily positioned at the rotating carousel in order to weld the filled film bags, wherein the welding station comprises at least one welding device.
The method for filling and welding provides the possibility of filling a plurality of film bags in sequence during a continuous operation, wherein the film bags having completed the filling process are one after the other, i.e., individually, guided past the station associated with the rotating carousel for welding. Consequently, a common welding station for welding is provided for all of the filled film bags.
At the welding station, the film bags may be welded, for instance, at their upper edges. By providing a plurality of welding devices positioned at different height levels of the welding station, the film bags may be welded at the respective height levels at which the welding devices are positioned. In this case, the welding devices may be positioned next to each other in a stacked or staggered manner. When positioning the plurality of welding devices at the same height level side-by-side, different areas of the film bags at the same height may be welded.
Therefore, both the filling and the welding may take place in a continuous process, wherein one welding station is associated with a plurality of filling stations.
Preferably, a single welding station is assigned to or associated with the rotating carousel. In other embodiments, a plurality of welding stations may be associated with the rotating carousel and may be preferably arranged in succession and may be attached stationarily to the rotating carousel.
Moreover, the method may comprise the steps: receiving the film bags by means of brackets associated with the filling stations and supplying the received film bags by means of the brackets and subsequently filling the film bags by means of the filling stations.
The film bags may be fed to the rotating carousel starting from a film magazine by means of a transfer wheel. The magazine may output the film bags in parallel, i.e., in multiple rows, and in the transfer wheel, the film bags may be positioned in succession and may be transferred in this arrangement to the rotating carousel. Generally, the film bags are stored in the film magazine in a folded state, such that after picking up such a film bag by means of a bracket, opening the film bag by pressure is required in order to allow the filling station or the filling valve of the filling station to access the interior of the film bag.
A bracket may comprise two bracket portions that are configured to be movable relative to each other, such that the distance therebetween is variable. For picking up a film bag, the bracket is located at a first position, i.e., the two bracket portions have a first distance such that the non-filled film bag, the two upper edges of which are stacked on each other, may be picked up by the bracket.
For opening the picked-up film bags by pressure, the two bracket portions may be moved so as to approach each other so that the bracket is in a second position, wherein the two bracket portions have a mutual second distance that is less than the first distance.
The filling of a film bag may be accomplished by means of a filling valve of the filling station that has received the film bag.
Moreover, the method may comprise the following steps, each performed during the rotation of the rotating carousel: closing the filled film bag by pulling apart the brackets, thereby stacking two upper edges of the filled film bag onto each other and subsequently welding the respective two stacked upper edges by means of the welding station assigned to or associated with the rotating carousel.
After completing the filling, the filled film bag may be pulled apart, thereby stacking the two upper edges onto each other so that no spacing is present therebetween. The pulling apart may be accomplished by moving the two bracket portions apart from each other. The bracket is then in a third position, i.e., the two bracket portions have a third distance with respect to each other that corresponds to the first distance.
By rotating the rotating carousel around the rotation axis, the filled film bag is then guided past the welding station and subsequently the two stacked upper edges of the film bag are welded.
A filling and welding device for performing the method as discussed above or as described below, comprises a rotating carousel including a plurality of filling stations arranged thereon for filling film bags and further comprises a welding station assigned to or associated with the carousel, stationarily arranged on the rotating carousel for welding the filled film bags, wherein the welding station comprises at least one welding device.
The at least one welding device may be configured as an ultrasonic generator. Preferably, the welding station is arranged in the periphery of the rotating carousel, thereby allowing the filled film bags to be continuously guided past the welding station in order to perform the welding process.
This filling and welding device enables the filling of a plurality of film bags arranged one after the other during a continuous operation, wherein the film bags, having completed the filling process, are guided one after the other, i.e., individually, past the welding station arranged on the rotating carousel for performing the welding process. Therefore, both the filling and the welding may be accomplished in a continuous process, wherein one welding station is assigned to or associated with a plurality of filling stations.
The welding station may comprise one or several ultrasonic generators. Ultrasonic welding provides for a reduction of the duration of the welding process for a film bag compared to a thermal welding method. Moreover, any elongation of the film caused by heat input is avoided when an ultrasonic generator is used for the welding process.
Each of the plurality of filing stations may comprise a filling valve and a bracket for receiving and opening a film bag by pressure. By means of the bracket, a film bag may be received and may be supported during the transport by means of the rotating carousel. By varying the position of the bracket, a received or picked-up film bag may be opened by pressure, thereby forming a distance between its two upper edges.
The bracket may be configured to pull apart a filled film bag after the filling process, thereby positioning or stacking two upper edges of the filled film bag on each other. By further varying the position of the bracket, an opened and filled film bag may be pulled apart so that a distance between its two upper edges no longer exists.
The welding stations associated with or assigned to the carousel may be configured to weld two upper edges of a filled film bag. In this manner, the filled film bag is sealed and may be used for further operations.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a better understanding and visualization, aspects of the invention are shown in the attached figures in an exemplary manner. In the figures:

FIG. 1 is a schematic top view of a filling and welding device,

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective side view of a welding station including two welding devices, and

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of a method for filling and welding a film bag.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a top view of a filling and welding device 1 comprising a rotating carousel 2 having arranged thereon in this illustration five filling stations 3. Assigned to the rotating carousel 2 is a welding station 4 that comprises at least one welding device. This welding station 4 is located in the periphery of the rotating carousel 2 and is stationarily arranged thereon. In the top view, one of the welding devices 17 is partially illustrated. It is schematically indicated that ultrasonic sound 21 is emitted by the welding device 17 to be used for welding the film bags.
FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic perspective side view of the welding station 4 along the viewing direction II.
The rotating carousel 2 is configured so as to be rotatable around a rotation axis 5 such that film bags 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 supported by means of brackets 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 of the filling stations 3 are movable and may thus be guided past the welding station 4 by means of the rotating carousel 2. The film bags 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 are fed to the rotating carousel by means of a feeding star or feeding point 19 and after filling and welding, these film bags 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 are removed from the rotating carousel 2 by means of a diverting star or point 20.
A respective bracket 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, in this embodiment configured in a two-part form, is assigned to each filling station 3, wherein the two bracket portions may approach or may be moved away from each other along the direction 16 indicated by arrows. For receiving or picking up a film bag 6, the bracket 11 is in a first position, i.e., the two bracket portions have first distance d1 so that the non-filled film bag 6 with its two upper edges stacked on top of each other may be received or picked up by means of the bracket 11.
In order to enable the filling of the picked-up film bag 7, 8, it is opened by means of the bracket 12, 13, that is, between the two upper edges stacked on each other, a distance or space is obtained. To this end, the two bracket portions are moved towards each other along the direction indicated by arrows. The bracket 12, 13 is then in a second position, i.e., the two bracket portions have a second distance or spacing d2 relative to each other that is less than the first distance or spacing.
After opening the picked-up film bags 7, 8, a filling with filling product is performed by means of the filling station 3. After the filling process is completed, the filled film bag 9 is closed by pulling apart the bracket 14, thereby positioning the two upper edges next to each other. The pulling apart is accomplished by moving the two bracket portions away from each other along the direction indicated by arrows. The bracket 14 is now in a third position, i.e., the two bracket portions have a third distance or spacing d3 with respect to each other that corresponds to the first distance d1.
By rotating the rotating carousel around the rotation axis 5, the filled film bag 9, 10 is then guided past the welding station 4 and the two upper edges of the film bag 10 positioned next to each other are welded.
In this manner, during a continuous operation in the filling and welding device 1, a plurality of film bags 6, 7, 8, 9, positioned in succession may be filled, wherein the film bags 9, 10, after completing the filling process, may be guided one by one, i.e., individually, past the welding station 4 associated with the rotating carousel 2 for performing the welding process.
Therefore, both the filling and the welding may be accomplished in a continuous process, wherein a single welding station 4 is assigned to a plurality of filling stations 3.
Upstream of the filling and welding device, a film magazine for parallel output of film bags and a transfer wheel for transferring the output film bags to the filling and welding device may be provided. The film bags output in parallel by the magazine are arranged in succession in the transfer wheel and, in this arrangement, are transferred to the rotating carousel.
Downstream of the filling and welding device 1, a transfer wheel 20 for receiving the filled and welded film bags 10 are arranged in succession and an output device may be provided. Moreover, upstream of the filling and welding device 1, a transfer wheel 19 may be provided.
FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic perspective side view of a welding station 4 including two welding devices 17, 18, which, in this case, are arranged on top of each other with a determined distance or spacing d4 in between. Hence, film bags passing the welding station 4 may be welded in two respectively spaced areas. Consideration may also be given to operating either one or the other welding device 17, 18 so that corresponding film bags will be welded in one area only.
FIG. 3 illustrates a flow chart of a method for filling and welding a film bag by means of the filling and welding device discussed above and below. In step 100, a film bag is picked up or received by means of a bracket. The bracket is assigned to or associated with a filling station of a rotating carousel that has a plurality of filling stations and respective multiple brackets, wherein the filling station is provided for subsequently filling the film bag by moving the filling station and the brackets on circular trajectories during the rotation of the rotating carousel. For example, a bracket may comprise two bracket portions that may be moved towards each other or away from each other. For picking up the film bag, the bracket is in a first position, i.e., the two bracket portions have a first distance or spacing, so that the non-filled film bag with its two upper edges positioned next to each other may be picked up by the bracket.
In step 101, during the rotation of the rotating carousel, the picked up film bag is opened by pressure by means of the bracket. To this end, the two bracket portions are moved towards each other so that the bracket is in a second position, i.e., the two bracket portions have a second distance or spacing that is less than the first distance. Due to the forced opening, a spacing or distance is formed between the two upper edges of the film bag positioned next to each other so that in step 102, the film bag may be filled by means of the filling station. In step 103, the filled film bag is closed or sealed during the rotation of the rotating carousel by pulling apart the bracket, thereby positioning the two upper edges of the filled film bag next to each other. The pulling apart is accomplished by moving the two bracket portions away from each other. The bracket is then in a third position that corresponds to the first position so that the two bracket portions have a third distance or spacing that corresponds to the first distance or spacing.
In step 104, the film bag is welded by means of the welding station during the rotation of the rotating carousel, i.e., by means of at least one welding device that is permanently arranged on the welding device by having the film bag pass by the welding station, wherein the two upper edges positioned next to each other and/or other areas of the film bag may be welded.
The welding station is stationarily arranged on the rotating carousel, for instance, in its periphery.
Since the film bag is arranged on a carousel during rotation, the film bag is moved by the rotating carousel after being picked up by the bracket so that the film bag is moved along the circumference of the rotating carousel during the described method and is moved to the stationarily arranged welding station positioned in the periphery of the rotating carousel for performing the welding process.
Consequently, the method may be applied for the filling and welding of a plurality of film bags that are arranged on the rotating carousel in succession, wherein the filling and the subsequent welding may be accomplished in a continuous manner.
While there have been shown and described fundamental novel features of the invention as applied to the preferred and exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understood that omissions and substitutions and changes in the form and details of the disclosed invention may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention. Moreover, as is readily apparent, numerous modifications and changes may readily occur to those skilled in the art. Hence, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described and, accordingly, all suitable modification equivalents may be resorted to falling within the scope of the invention as claimed. It is the intention, therefore, to be limited only as indicated by the scope of the claims appended hereto.

Claims

1. A method for filling and welding film bags

characterized in that

a plurality of film bags received in succession by a rotating carousel are filled by a plurality of filling stations arranged on the rotating carousel and

subsequently the filled film bags are guided, one after the other, by the rotating carousel, past a welding station assigned to the rotating carousel and stationarily arranged on the rotating carousel so as to weld the filled film bags, wherein the welding station comprises at least one welding device.

2. The method of claim 1, comprising the steps:

picking up the film bags by means of brackets assigned to the filling stations and opening the picked-up film bags by means of the brackets and

thereafter filling the film bags by means of the filling stations.

3. The method of claim 2, comprising the steps:

closing the filled film bags by pulling apart the brackets, thereby positioning respective two upper edges of the filled film bags next to each other and

thereafter welding the respective two upper edges positioned next to each other by means of the welding station assigned to the rotating carousel.

4. A filling and welding device for performing the method of claim 1, comprising a rotating carousel including a plurality of filling stations arranged thereon for filling film bags and a welding station assigned to the carousel and stationarily arranged on the rotating carousel for welding the filled film bags, wherein the welding station comprises at least one welding device.

5. The filling and welding device of claim 4, wherein the welding station comprises one or more ultrasonic generators.

6. The filling and welding device of claim 4, wherein each of the plurality of filling stations comprises a filling valve and a bracket for picking up and opening a film bag.

7. The filling and welding device of claim 6, wherein the bracket is configured to pull apart a filled film bag after completing a fill process, whereby two upper edges of the filled film bag are positioned next to each other.

8. The filling and welding device of claim 4, wherein the welding station assigned to the carousel is configured to weld two upper edges of a filled film bag.