WO1990015005A1 - Packaging line - Google Patents
Packaging line Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- WO1990015005A1 WO1990015005A1 PCT/GB1990/000872 GB9000872W WO9015005A1 WO 1990015005 A1 WO1990015005 A1 WO 1990015005A1 GB 9000872 W GB9000872 W GB 9000872W WO 9015005 A1 WO9015005 A1 WO 9015005A1
- Authority
- WO
- WIPO (PCT)
- Prior art keywords
- conveyor
- slices
- packaging line
- sensor means
- packaging
- Prior art date
Links
Classifications
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65G—TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS
- B65G47/00—Article or material-handling devices associated with conveyors; Methods employing such devices
- B65G47/22—Devices influencing the relative position or the attitude of articles during transit by conveyors
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65G—TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS
- B65G21/00—Supporting or protective framework or housings for endless load-carriers or traction elements of belt or chain conveyors
- B65G21/20—Means incorporated in, or attached to, framework or housings for guiding load-carriers, traction elements or loads supported on moving surfaces
- B65G21/22—Rails or the like engaging sliding elements or rollers attached to load-carriers or traction elements
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65G—TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS
- B65G43/00—Control devices, e.g. for safety, warning or fault-correcting
- B65G43/08—Control devices operated by article or material being fed, conveyed or discharged
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65G—TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS
- B65G47/00—Article or material-handling devices associated with conveyors; Methods employing such devices
- B65G47/22—Devices influencing the relative position or the attitude of articles during transit by conveyors
- B65G47/24—Devices influencing the relative position or the attitude of articles during transit by conveyors orientating the articles
- B65G47/244—Devices influencing the relative position or the attitude of articles during transit by conveyors orientating the articles by turning them about an axis substantially perpendicular to the conveying plane
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65G—TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS
- B65G2203/00—Indexing code relating to control or detection of the articles or the load carriers during conveying
- B65G2203/04—Detection means
- B65G2203/042—Sensors
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65G—TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS
- B65G2203/00—Indexing code relating to control or detection of the articles or the load carriers during conveying
- B65G2203/04—Detection means
- B65G2203/042—Sensors
- B65G2203/044—Optical
Definitions
- Packaging Line This invention relates to packaging lines for packaging sliced foodstuffs such as meat, meat products and cheese which are cut from logs of product by a slicing machine.
- the slices are often marshalled into groups by a jump conveyor immediately downstream of the slicing machine and then the weight of the groups of slices is checked by a check weigher to ensure that they are of the correct weight.
- the groups of slices are usually packaged by a vacuum packaging machine.
- a packaging line for sliced foodstuffs comprises a first conveyor to convey slices sliced by a slicing machine towards a packaging machine, sensor means arranged transversely equidistant from the centre line of the first conveyor to detect the edges of the slices on the first conveyor and output a signal representative of the transverse location of the slices on the first conveyor, a multi-element strip conveyor downstream of the first conveyor and arranged to receive the slices from the first conveyor, the multi-element conveyor including a transversely movable roller at its upstream or downstream end, means responsive to the output of the sensor means to move the transversely movable roller of the multi-element conveyor a distance to centralise the slices on the packaging line, the sensor means or another sensor means being arranged to detect any angular displacement of slices on the packaging line, and means responsive to the output of the sensor means to drive different elements of the or another multi-element conveyor at different speeds to correct any detected angular misalignment of the slices.
- the packaging line includes two bank of sensors arranged over the first conveyor, a first multi-element strip conveyor downstream of the first conveyor, a pair of sensors to detect any angular misalignment of products after they have been conveyed by the first multi-element conveyor, and a second multi-element conveyor downstream of the pair of sensors to correct any angular misalignment of the products.
- the first conveyor is formed in two parts with the downstream part hinged so that the downstream end of the first conveyor can be moved upwards or downwards to reject slices from its downstream end.
- the slices may be rejected from the downstream end of the first conveyor when the output of the sensors shows that they are so far off the central position that their position cannot be corrected by the transverse movement of the transversely movable roller of the second conveyor, when they are so much out of angular alignment that this cannot be corrected, when as a result of an off weight signal from an upstream check-weigher the slices should be rejected or, for example, when a butt end detector located on the slicing machine such as is described in detail in European Patent Application 90305138.1 indicates that the slices are commercially unacceptable.
- the resulting packaging line is particularly advantageous since it can be guaranteed that all slices passing along the line are either rejected or placed in the correct orientation and position and are commercially acceptable having, for example the correct weight. In this way it can be ensured that all products fed to the vacuum packaging machine are of the correct merchantable presentation.
- the transversely movable roller on the multi-element conveyor is not the driven roller of the second conveyor. It is further preferred that the transversely movable roller is the upstream roller of the multi-element conveyor.
- the or the other multi-element conveyor preferably includes three elements with the centre element being driven at the packaging line speed and the outer two elements being driven at different speeds to correct any detected misalignments in the slices.
- the or the other multi-element conveyor may be driven from a single drive via, for example, a differential gearbox with means being provided to drive the "cage" of a differential gearbox so as to get a speed difference between the outer two elements of the multi-element conveyor.
- the elements of the or the other multi-element conveyor may each have an individual drive which, may, for example, include a stepper motor. More than three elements may be included in the multi-element conveyor and, in this case, it is preferred that each element includes its own individual drive.
- FIG. 1 is a side elevation of the upstream end of a packaging line
- Figure 2 is a plan of the upstream end of the packaging line
- Figure 3 is a diagrammatic side elevation of the centraliser
- Figure 4 is a diagram showing products in various different transverse locations and showing how these are corrected.
- Figure 5 is a plan of the angular aligner, with diagrams illustrating the range of correction which is possible.
- the example in accordance with this invention includes a slicing machine 1 such as that known by the trade name of "Polyslicer” and manufactured by the applicants which slices a block of product, a jump conveyor 2 which groups a number of consecutive slices together, a check weigher 3 which weighs each group, a centraliser 4, an angular aligner 5, and a reject conveyor 6.
- the angular aligner 5 leads to a further conveyor 7 which leads to the remainder of the packaging line to synchronizers (not shown) to arrange groups of slices in the correct format for a downstream vacuum packaging machine, also not shown.
- the centraliser 4 portion comprises a first conveyor 11 formed in two parts 12 and 13, and a second conveyor 14.
- the downstream part 13 of the first conveyor 11 is hinged so that its downstream end 15 is movable upwards and downwards to align it with the downstream conveyor 14 or with the reject conveyor 6 which receives rejected products.
- the downstream end 15 of the first conveyor 11 is lowered to reject that group of slices.
- the idle rollers 16 forming the upstream end of the second conveyor 14 are mounted for movement in a transverse direction.
- This conveyor may be formed in a similar fashion to that described in our earlier EP-A-0274229.
- Two banks of detectors 17 and 18 extend transversely across the upstream end of the first conveyor 11 as shown most clearly in Figure 4.
- the detectors in each bank are typically co-sited photoe itters and photodetectors with a retro-reflector mounted beneath the conveyor 12.
- the presence of a product on the conveyor 12 blocks the light beam from the photoemitter to photodetector to provide a change in output of the detectors which indicates the presence of a product at that location.
- By comparing the numbers of sensors obscured in each bank 17 and 18 any off-centreness of the products on the first conveyor 1 is detected.
- AS shown in the diagram on the right hand side of Figure 4 when a product is correctly centred on the conveyor 11 the same number of sensors in the banks 17 and 18 are obscured. (Obscured sensors are shown by black circles in Figure 4) .
- the input roller 16 of the second conveyor 14 When the product is correctly centred the input roller 16 of the second conveyor 14 is aligned with the output roller so that no change is made to the location of the product on the packaging line.
- the product When the product is displaced to the left as considered in its direction of conveyance as shown in the second diagram from the right in Figure 4 three sensors of the left hand bank 18 are obscured whilst only one sensor of the right hand bank 17 is obscured.
- the input roller 16 of the second conveyor 14 is moved one sensor pitch to the left so that when this group of slices moves onto the second conveyor 14 it is then located centrally on the second conveyor 14.
- the third diagram from the right in Figure 4 illustrates a longer product than the previous two examples which is offset to the right with respect to its direction of conveyance.
- three sensors of the right hand bank 17 are obscured whilst two sensors of the left hand bank of sensors 18 are obscured.
- the product should be shifted by half the pitch of the sensors to the left.
- the transverse roller 16 of the second conveyor 14 is shifted by half a pitch of the sensors to the right before that group of products are transferred from the first conveyor 11 to the second conveyor 14.
- the group of slices is severely displaced to the right with respect to its conveying direction.
- the group of slices covers all of the sensors in the bank 17 and covers none of the sensors in the bank 18.
- the downstream end 15 of the second part 13 of the first conveyor 11 is lowered to reject this group of slices.
- the packing line also includes an angular aligner portion shown in Figure 5 and located downstream of the centralising portion.
- a group of slices 20 is moving to the left down the packaging line. Any misalignment of the group of slices 20 is detected by a pair of detectors 21 and 22.
- a downstream conveyor 23 is formed by three flat belts 24, 25 and 26.
- the centre belt 25 has its speed matched to that of the packaging line whilst the speed of the belts 24 and 26 are adjustable in equal and opposite directions with respect to the speed of the packaging line as illustrated by the diagram to the left of the conveyor 23. Assuming that the central belt 25 runs at a fixed speed of 55 metres per minute then the outer belts 24 and 26 can be varied in speed between 50 and 60 metres per minute and so go slower or faster than the central belt 25.
- the speed of the belts 24 and 26 is set in accordance with the extent of the angular misalignment so that, taking the situation as shown in Figure 5 the belt 26 moves slower than the belt
Landscapes
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
- Attitude Control For Articles On Conveyors (AREA)
- Control Of Conveyors (AREA)
Abstract
Description
Claims
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
GB898912944A GB8912944D0 (en) | 1989-06-06 | 1989-06-06 | Packaging line |
GB8912944.9 | 1989-06-06 |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
WO1990015005A1 true WO1990015005A1 (en) | 1990-12-13 |
Family
ID=10657935
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
PCT/GB1990/000872 WO1990015005A1 (en) | 1989-06-06 | 1990-06-05 | Packaging line |
Country Status (3)
Country | Link |
---|---|
EP (1) | EP0476013A1 (en) |
GB (1) | GB8912944D0 (en) |
WO (1) | WO1990015005A1 (en) |
Citations (6)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US3244418A (en) * | 1963-11-26 | 1966-04-05 | James G Henderson | Edge sensing device |
DE2509276A1 (en) * | 1975-03-04 | 1976-09-09 | Maschf Augsburg Nuernberg Ag | Sheet positioner for rotary printing machine - has shaft with guide rollers for transport belts moving perpendicular to sheets |
FR2332206A1 (en) * | 1975-11-19 | 1977-06-17 | Nuts Chocoladefabriek Bv | Automated transport system for small goods - is esp. for chocolates and has hinged endless belt conveyors feeding goods to platforms |
DD126585A5 (en) * | 1975-10-24 | 1977-07-27 | ||
DE3436923A1 (en) * | 1983-12-08 | 1985-06-20 | Veb Kombinat Nagema, Ddr 8045 Dresden | Device for transferring baked goods into a conveyor arranged downstream |
GB2186252A (en) * | 1986-02-12 | 1987-08-12 | Will E C H | Method of and apparatus for transporting and turning stacks of paper sheets |
-
1989
- 1989-06-06 GB GB898912944A patent/GB8912944D0/en active Pending
-
1990
- 1990-06-05 WO PCT/GB1990/000872 patent/WO1990015005A1/en not_active Application Discontinuation
- 1990-06-05 EP EP19900909177 patent/EP0476013A1/en not_active Withdrawn
Patent Citations (6)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US3244418A (en) * | 1963-11-26 | 1966-04-05 | James G Henderson | Edge sensing device |
DE2509276A1 (en) * | 1975-03-04 | 1976-09-09 | Maschf Augsburg Nuernberg Ag | Sheet positioner for rotary printing machine - has shaft with guide rollers for transport belts moving perpendicular to sheets |
DD126585A5 (en) * | 1975-10-24 | 1977-07-27 | ||
FR2332206A1 (en) * | 1975-11-19 | 1977-06-17 | Nuts Chocoladefabriek Bv | Automated transport system for small goods - is esp. for chocolates and has hinged endless belt conveyors feeding goods to platforms |
DE3436923A1 (en) * | 1983-12-08 | 1985-06-20 | Veb Kombinat Nagema, Ddr 8045 Dresden | Device for transferring baked goods into a conveyor arranged downstream |
GB2186252A (en) * | 1986-02-12 | 1987-08-12 | Will E C H | Method of and apparatus for transporting and turning stacks of paper sheets |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
GB8912944D0 (en) | 1989-07-26 |
EP0476013A1 (en) | 1992-03-25 |
Similar Documents
Publication | Publication Date | Title |
---|---|---|
US4338768A (en) | Automatic machine for sorting items of correspondence, particularly magazines, into batches each having a different general destination | |
US5125303A (en) | Combined jump conveyor and slicing machine | |
EP0083913A1 (en) | System for regulating the feed of articles to a wrapping machine | |
EP0142619B1 (en) | Article conveying device in a collective packaging machine | |
US5782332A (en) | Device and corresponding method for grouping together random product flows into a single path according to a pre-established and adjustable rate of advance | |
US5226334A (en) | Automatic cutting of meat and fish into portions | |
EP0628162A1 (en) | Testing of packages. | |
EP1935788A1 (en) | Means for transferring foodstuffs in machines | |
US20080267761A1 (en) | Interleaver Stacker and Loading System | |
GB2168687A (en) | Sheet feeding | |
US4944503A (en) | Division sheet feeding apparatus and method | |
EP3314222B1 (en) | Lim-driven roller checkweigher | |
EP0127459A2 (en) | Packaging machine | |
US4016788A (en) | Conveyor systems | |
WO1990015005A1 (en) | Packaging line | |
EP1574431A1 (en) | Machine for sealing containers by applying a covering film | |
JPH03111324A (en) | Transferring and distributing apparatus of articles and its operating and controlling method | |
WO2010063836A2 (en) | Lift device for personalization machine and personalization machine equipped with a lift device | |
KR20120022436A (en) | Desiccant inserting apparatus | |
JPH0432384Y2 (en) | ||
JPS6216983A (en) | Collating/packing device for printed sheet | |
US6250053B1 (en) | Method and device for applying wrapping sheets on pulp bales | |
EP0270697B1 (en) | Apparatus for the cutting of meat or fish | |
US5702099A (en) | Arrangement for separating flat stacked objects | |
KR100282294B1 (en) | Apparatus for packing a medium packing box |
Legal Events
Date | Code | Title | Description |
---|---|---|---|
AK | Designated states |
Kind code of ref document: A1 Designated state(s): CA JP US |
|
AL | Designated countries for regional patents |
Kind code of ref document: A1 Designated state(s): AT BE CH DE DK ES FR GB IT LU NL SE |
|
WWE | Wipo information: entry into national phase |
Ref document number: 1990909177 Country of ref document: EP |
|
WWP | Wipo information: published in national office |
Ref document number: 1990909177 Country of ref document: EP |
|
NENP | Non-entry into the national phase in: |
Ref country code: CA |
|
WWW | Wipo information: withdrawn in national office |
Ref document number: 1990909177 Country of ref document: EP |