WO1993025440A1

WO1993025440A1 - Conveyer device for sweets

Info

Publication number: WO1993025440A1
Application number: PCT/EP1993/001499
Authority: WO
Inventors: Wolfgang Girndt; Werner Kmoch
Original assignee: Pactec Dresden Gmbh
Priority date: 1992-06-16
Filing date: 1993-06-14
Publication date: 1993-12-23
Also published as: DE4219631C2; LT3186B; DE4219631A1; DE59304690D1; EP0644847A1; LTIP637A; EP0644847B1

Abstract

The invention concerns a sweet-conveyer device with, rotating about a stationary central spindle (8), a gripper wheel (1) having a housing (7) with a multiplicity of cam-controlled pivoting pairs (3) of grippers designed to pick up sweets (B) cutt off a continuous extrusion by a cutter and transfer them to a transfer wheel (6). The grippers (22, 27) of each pair (3) are mounted so that they can pivot longitudinally relative to each other and together. The invention calls for the pivot axis (X) of a gripper-pair pivot-drive transmission device and the pivot axis (Y) for the grippers (22, 27) of each pair (3) to be located on an arc (K) of a circle at the same radius of rotation (R) with respect to the stationary central spindle (8) which acts as the centre of the pivoting motion. The invention also calls for the relative position of one pivot axis (X) with respect to the other pivot axis (Y) to be adjustable on the arc (K).

Description

Conveyor for candies

The invention relates to a conveyor device for candies with a gripper wheel rotating about a stationary central axis, which has a housing with a plurality of pivotable, cam-controlled holding jaw pairs, for detecting and transferring the candies separated from a continuous mass strand by a cutting device to a transfer wheel, the holding jaws of each pair of holding jaws being axially pivotable relative to one another and together.

DE-A-38 20 139 discloses a conveying device of the type mentioned at the outset with receiving the candies cut off from a mass strand and transferring them to subsequent processing stations. The sweets are picked up and handed over by a gripper wheel provided with holding elements. Different speeds between the mass strand and the subsequent processing station are compensated for by pivotable holding element pairs. For this purpose, an outer holding element is attached to a shaft, which is axially displaceably mounted in a hollow shaft. The hollow shaft carries an inner holding element of a pair of holding elements and is pivotably arranged in the housing of the gripper wheel rotating about a stationary central axis. The shaft receives its axial movement for opening and closing the pair of holding elements through a stationary pot curve. The hollow shaft is connected within the housing to a lever arm, the curve roller of which rolls on a curve package. The curve package consists of a stationary basic curve and two adjustable curve segments.

The cam roller runs on a section of the basic curve and on a section of the curve segments. In order to change the sequence of movements of the pairs of holding elements during the swiveling movement, the curve segments are adjusted by means of a threaded spindle. This device is disadvantageous in that the movement of the holding jaws is adversely affected by the adjustment of the two cam segments and, in particular, no smooth running of the cam rollers is achieved. Changes in the course of movement from an acceleration to a deceleration of the holding elements cannot be clearly defined, with the result that disruptions can occur during the separation process of the mass strand and when the candies are being detected. These deficiencies are also exacerbated by the fact that the cam roller is pressed against the cam disc by spring force and that no positive rotation is achieved.

In order to compensate for the different lengths which result from the distance between the radially directed holding jaws of the gripper wheel and the lengths of candy to be separated from the mass strand, and to bring the candies apart, the speed of movement of the gripper wheel must be greater than that of the mass strand. During the separation process and the detection of the candies, however, the same speeds between the mass strand, the holding elements and the relative movement of e.g. rotating strand knife can be achieved in the conveying direction of the mass strand. At the time when a candy is gripped by a pair of holding elements, its axis must also be aligned radially and perpendicular to the direction of conveyance of the mass strand. These prerequisites must exist in order to be very high

Processing speeds, for example of 1500 candies per minute, to ensure trouble-free separation of individual pieces from the mass strand and a reliable detection of the candies. This requires a precisely defined sequence of movements when the holding elements are accelerated before they are immersed in the conveying area of the mass strand, when they are decelerated during the separation process and when the candies are detected, and when the pairs of holding elements are finally accelerated and the candies are handed over a transfer wheel. Here the gripper wheel and transfer wheel generally have the same peripheral speed.

Should another candy format, e.g. a longer or shorter candy are processed, the speed of the mass strand is to be changed accordingly and the acceleration and deceleration of the holding jaw pairs are to be adapted to these changed conditions.

Since the speed of a knife measurement of the cutting device corresponds to the number of cycles of the packaging machine equipped with such a conveying device, e.g. handling longer candies a higher speed of the mass strand and thus a lower acceleration and consequently less deceleration of the pairs of holding jaws.

The invention is therefore based on the object of improving a conveying device of the type mentioned at the outset such that the course of movement of the pairs of holding jaws can be determined exactly and changing relative speeds between the speed of the mass strand and the speed of the gripper wheel can be compensated for by simple adjustment , so that a trouble-free cutting of the mass strand and detection of the sweets is ensured. In this case, optimal movement conditions for each pair of holding jaws and a radial orientation of the pivot axis of the pair of holding jaws which is oriented perpendicularly to the direction of transport of the mass strand should be ensured.

This object is achieved according to the invention in that a pivot axis of a pivot control transmission device for the pair of holding jaws and a pivot axis for the holding jaws of the pair of holding jaws are arranged on a circular arc under a same radius of rotation with the stationary central axis as a pivot center, with a relative position of one pivot axis to the other Swivel axis on the circular arc is adjustable.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the adjustment of the position of a pivot point of the pivot control transmission device to the position of a pivot point of the pair of holding elements, i.e. the relative position between the swivel axis of the swivel control transmission device and the swivel axis of the associated pair of holding elements on the circular arc is achieved in that the swivel axis of the swivel control transmission device is formed by a shaft rotatably mounted in a positioning ring, the positioning ring being adjustable in the circumferential direction the stationary central axis of the gripper wheel is fixed.

An adjusting device for the positioning ring is preferably provided, with a bolt which is rotatably mounted on the end face in the housing of the gripper wheel and is connected to an adjusting scale and has an eccentrically arranged adjusting pin at its inner end in engagement with a recess in the positioning ring.

To fine-tune the sequence of movements of the holding jaws, the central pivoting control curve, which is fixed on the central central axis, preferably adjustable in the circumferential direction, is connected to an actuating device and an adjustment scale that can be read on the housing, so that one adjustment is possible with regard to the pivoting control of each pair of holding jaws is given by the angular position of the positioning ring as well as by the angular position of the central pivot control curve.

In a further advantageous embodiment of the object of the invention for adjusting the movement sequence of the pairs of holding jaws, the central control cam device is preferably designed as a double cam and the roller lever of the swivel control transmission device carrying the cam rollers is fixed with a shaft rotatably mounted in the positioning ring connected, which at its end located on the opposite side of the positioning ring carries a leg fixed on the shaft, which is movably coupled by means of a pin to a connecting member, and a bolt is also provided, which is also rotatably movable with the Connecting member and on the other hand is connected to a leg, and the leg is rigidly fixed on a hollow shaft which carries the inner holding jaws of the holding jaw pair outside the housing.

The outer holding jaw of the pair of holding jaws is preferably fastened on a shaft which is axially slidably movable within the hollow shaft and pivotable together with the hollow shaft by locking with the hollow shaft, wherein the shaft is given an axial movement by a control cam fixed on the stationary central axis.

Further preferred embodiments of the subject matter of the invention are set out in the remaining subclaims.

By means of the solution according to the invention, the position of the pivot points corresponding to a desired candy length, ie the axis position of the pivot control transmission device relative to the pivot points of the support arms of the holding jaw pairs and the associated position of the corresponding control cam means, can be determined beforehand and the axis positions determining the law of motion can be set accordingly, preferably on the basis of scales. The setting scale for setting the circumferential position of the positioning ring and the setting scale for setting the circumferential position of the central pivot control cam are preferably used for this purpose. This ensures that the support arms of the pairs of holding jaws are always in a vertical position to the mass strand for any length of candy at the time of detection and the surfaces of the holding jaws capture the candy separated from the mass strand completely parallel. Thanks to the exact setting option of the pairs of holding jaws while maintaining the optimal law of movement, preferably using a double curve as the central swivel control curve, a trouble-free severing of the mass strand is also achieved without compression or other deformation. During the cutting process and the detection of the candy, the rotational speed of the pairs of holding jaws corresponds to the speed of the mass strand.

The invention is explained in more detail below on the basis of an exemplary embodiment and associated drawings. In these show:

1 is an end view of the gripper wheel with the transfer wheel and the cutting device,

2 shows a radial half section of the gripper wheel,

3 shows the position of the pivot point of the roller lever with a minimal length of candy,

4 the position of the pivot point of the roller lever with maximum candy length,

Fig. 5 shows the movement of the holding jaws with a minimum and maximum length of candy during the separation process and the detection of the candy.

A gripper wheel 1, as can be seen from FIG. 1, is arranged above a mass strand 2. The position of the retaining jaw pairs 3 during one revolution of the gripper wheel 1 can be seen from this figure. Below the mass strand 2, a cutting device 4 is provided, which has one or more rotating knives 5, which separate from the mass strand 2 candies B of a soft consistency of length L. The sweets B captured by the holding jaws 4 are transferred to a transfer wheel 6 for further processing. While the gripper wheel 1 Compared to the mass strand 2 in order to achieve a high level of effectiveness of the packaging machine, the holding jaw pairs 3 of the gripper wheel 1 and the holding jaw pairs 44 of the transfer wheel 6 have the same rotational speed.

As can be seen in particular from FIG. 2, the gripper wheel 1 consists of a housing 7 which is mounted on a stationary central axis 8. In the housing 7 is concentric to the central axis 8, a positioning ring rotatable about the axis 8

9 arranged. A cam disk 10 is fixed on the central axis 8 as a central swivel control curve, which is advantageously designed as a double curve and can be rotated and locked around the central axis 8 in a certain angular range. The cam disk 10 is assigned a dimension 11 outside the housing 7, on which the cam disk is adjusted

10 can be read. A swivel control transmission device, which is explained in more detail below with reference to FIG. 2, engages with the cam disk 10 for each holding jaw pair 3. Rollers 12, which are fastened to a roller lever 13, run off in the cam disk 10. The roller lever 13 is fixed to a shaft 14. The shaft 14 is rotatably mounted in the positioning ring 9 at a distance with the radius R (FIGS. 3 and 4) of its pivot axis X from the longitudinal central axis of the central central axis 8.

At the free end of the shaft 14, a leg 15 is attached, which is pivotally connected to a connecting member 17 at its opposite end by means of a pin 16. A bolt 18 is rotatably mounted on the one hand in the free end of the connecting member 17 and on the other hand in a leg 19. The leg 19 is fixed on a hollow shaft 20 which is rotatably mounted in the housing 7 of the gripper wheel 1 and which carries the inner support arm 21 of the inner holding jaw 22 outside the housing 7. The center axis or pivot axis Y of the hollow shaft 20 is also at a distance from the longitudinal center axis of the central center axis 8 with the radius R, the pivot axis X of the pivot control transmission device and the pivot axis Y of the hollow shaft 20 (and the shaft 23 coaxial therewith for the outer holding jaws 27, as will be explained in the following) are thus on a circular arc K, with the longitudinal central axis of the central central axis 8 as a pivot center.

In the hollow shaft 20, a shaft 23 is arranged coaxially axially displaceably but non-rotatably connected to the hollow shaft 20. For locking with the hollow shaft 20, a lever arm 24 is rigidly fastened on the end of the shaft 23, inside the housing 7, which carries a bolt 25 at its free end and in turn engages axially displaceably in a bore of the leg 19. Outside the housing 7, the outer support arm 26 of the outer holding jaw 27 is fastened on the shaft 23. The holding jaws 22 and 27 form a pair of holding jaws 3.

For the axial movement of the shaft 23 against a compression spring 28 for opening and closing the pair of holding jaws 3, an angle lever 29 acting on the shaft 23 on the end face inside the housing 7 is provided. The angle lever 29 is pivotally mounted with pivot 30 in a bearing block 31 fastened to the housing 7. While one lever arm of the angle lever 29 carries a cam roller 32, which rolls on a cam disk 33 fixed on the central axis 8, the other lever arm has a pressure piece 34 acting on the end face of the shaft 23.

In order to adjust the position of the shaft 14 (pivot axis X) relative to the position of the central axis (pivot axis Y) of the hollow shaft 20 and the shaft 23 on the circle K with the radius R by means of the positioning ring 9, a pivotable bolt is in the housing 7 zen 35 mounted outside of the housing 7 with a Setting scale 36 and an adjusting device for the rotation of the rotatable bolt 35, for example a key surface 37, and is provided with means for locking the rotatable bolt 35 in the selected position. At the end of the rotatable bolt 35, which is located in the housing 7, an adjusting pin 38 is arranged eccentrically, which engages in a groove 39 of the positioning ring 9.

In order to stabilize the mass strand 2 during the parting process, the inner holding jaws 22 are made longer by a working width of the cutting device than the outer holding jaws 27 and provided with a slot 40 for the passage of the strand knife 5.

The mode of operation of the conveyor device is as follows:

The ground strand 2 is fed to the gripper wheel 1 in a uniform tangential manner. Individual sweets B of predetermined length L are separated by the rotating cutting knife 5 of the cutting device 4 and are gripped by a pair of holding jaws 3. During the separating process, the separating knife 5 also performs a movement running with the mass strand 2 in addition to its rotational movement, so that compression of the mass strand 2 is avoided. At the same time, the inner holding jaw 22 of the holding jaw pair 3 serves to stabilize the mass strand 2 against the cutting direction of the separating knife 5. The separating knife 5 passes through the slot in the holding jaw 22.

Since the peripheral speed of the holding jaw pairs 3 of the gripper wheel 1 is greater than the conveying speed of the mass strand 3, the holding jaw pairs 3 must receive a delay during the cutting process and the detection of the candy B in order to keep up with the To move mass strand 3 in synchronism. For this purpose, the pairs of holding jaws 3 of the gripper wheel 1 are given before being immersed in the range of motion of the mass strand 2 a lead. After the receipt of the candy B, the pairs of holding jaws 3 are each accelerated again.

At a point 41 (FIG. 1) where the partial circles of the gripper wheel 1 and the transfer wheel 6 touch, the candies B are transferred from the gripper wheel 1 to the transfer wheel 6. The gripper wheel 1 and the transfer wheel 6 rotate in opposite directions at the same peripheral speed. At the transfer point 41, the support arms 21, 26 of the relevant pair of holding jaws 3 have again reached their radial central position.

After the handover of the sweets B, the advance of the holding jaw pairs 3 is required. The acceleration and deceleration of the holding jaw pairs 3 are generated by the rotation of the gripper wheel 1 about the stationary central axis 8. The cam rollers 12 of all swivel control transmission devices roll on the stationary double curve 10 (central swivel control curve).

The lifting movement of the cam rollers is carried out as a pivoting movement for each pair of holding jaws 3 via the roller lever 13, the shaft 14, the leg 15, the pin 16, the connecting member 17, the pin 18 and the leg 19 onto the hollow shaft 20 and from there onto the support arm 21 and thus transferred to the inner holding jaws 22 of the relevant holding jaw pair 3. The outer holding jaw 27 of this pair of holding jaws 3 receives the same pivoting movement via the support arm 26, the shaft 23, the lever arm 24 and the bolt 25 from the leg 19.

Each pair of holding jaws 3 is opened and closed by rolling off the associated cam roller 32 on the stationary cam plate 33 in cooperation with the compression spring 28.

The size of the pivoting movement of the holding jaw pairs 3 depends on the length of the candies B to be processed, ie at longer sweets this swinging movement is smaller than with shorter sweets B. This is due to the fact that, based on the number of cycles of the separating knife 5, the conveying speed of the mass strand 2 with longer sweets B must be greater in order to have a longer one in the same time unit of the cutting device 4 Feed piece of the mass strand 2.

Since the pivoting movement of the roller lever 13 and the leg 15 generated by the cam plate 10 is always the same, a change in the pivoting movement of the leg 19 together with the lever arm 24, and thus the support arm 21, with the holding jaws 22 and 27 of each pair of holding jaws 3 achieved by changing the position of the pivot point 42 (position of the pivot axis X on the circular arc K) to the position of the pivot point 43 (position of the pivot axis Y on the circular arc K), as can be seen from FIGS. 3 and 4. The pivot points 42 of all pivot control transmission devices are formed by the pivot axes X of the shafts 14 and the pivot points 43 of the holding jaw pairs 3 are formed by the pivot axes Y of the hollow shafts 20 and the coaxial shafts 22.

FIG. 3 illustrates the setting state for the minimum candy length L. Here pivot point 42 and pivot point 43 overlap for each holding element pair 3. This corresponds to the largest pivot angle (see FIG. 1) of the carrier arms 21 and 26. The carrier arms 21 and 26 of each pair of holding jaws 3 assume their vertical central position with respect to the direction of transport of the mass strand 2 at the time when the candy B is detected. In the movement diagram according to FIG. 5, this corresponds to point A. The movement course of the holding jaw pairs 3 with the smallest candy length L is represented in FIG. 5 by the curve L _m ^ _n . In this movement diagram, the swivel angle u> of the support arms 21, 26 of the holding jaw pairs 3 is shown on the coordinate and the angle of rotation φ of the gripper wheel 1 on the abscissa. If a longer length of candy L is to be processed, the positioning ring 9 is adjusted by an amount corresponding to the length of candy L to be processed by rotating the rotatable bolt 35. The size of the adjustment can be read on the setting scale 36. With the rotation of the positioning ring 9, the pivot points 42, d. H . the pivot axes X of the angle levers 13 and of the leg 15 are simultaneously displaced by the same amount relative to the pivot points 43 (position of the pivot axes Y) on the circular arc determined by the radius R and the pivot angle φ is reduced.

Fig. 4 shows the gear ratios for the greatest length of candy

«The dimensions of the transmission links are chosen so that each pair of holding jaws 3 assumes the required radially directed, vertical central position at the time when the candy B is detected. The course of movement of the pairs of holding jaws 3 in the area of cutting and grasping corresponds here to the curve _Lmaχ in FIG. 5, the time at which the sweets B are grasped must again be at point A. For this purpose, when the positioning ring 9 is rotated, the central swivel control cam (cam) 10 is to be rotated by the same amount on the stationary central axis 8 and then locked. The required rotation can be read off on the setting scale 11. A candy length L is separated from the mass strand 2 during the rotation angle φ 'of the gripper wheel 1.

In the way he explained before, all pairs of holding jaws 3 of the gripper wheel 1 are controlled.

Claims

1. Conveyor device for candies with a gripper wheel (1) rotating about a stationary central axis (8), which has a housing (7) with a plurality of pivotable, curve-controlled holding jaw pairs (3) for detecting and transferring the from a continuous mass strand through a cutting device severed candies (B) to a transfer wheel (6), the holding jaws (22, 27) of each pair of holding jaws (3) being mounted axially relative to one another and pivotable together, characterized in that a pivot axis (X) of a pivot control transmission device for the holding jaw pair (3 ) and a pivot axis (Y) for the holding jaws (22, 27) of the pair of holding jaws (3) are arranged on a circular arc (K) under a same rotation radius (R) to the stationary central axis (8) as a pivot center, with a relative position of the one pivot axis (X) to the other swivel axis (Y) on the circular arc (K) is adjustable.

2. Conveying device according to claim l, characterized in that the pivot axis (X) of the pivot control transmission device is formed by a shaft (14) rotatably mounted in a positioning ring (9), the positioning ring (9) being adjustable in the circumferential direction on the stationary central axis (8 ) is set.

3. Conveyor device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that a central pivot control cam (10) for deriving a pivoting movement of the pair of holding jaws (3) on the central central axis (8) is fixed.

4. Conveyor device according to claim 3, characterized in that the swivel control curve (10) is adjustable in the circumferential direction relative to the central central axis (8).

5. Conveyor device according to claim 4, characterized in that the swivel control cam (10) with an actuating device for lockable adjustment in the circumferential direction and with one on the

_REPLACEMENT SHEET Housing (7) readable setting scale (11) is connected.

6. Conveyor device according to at least one of the preceding claims 3 to 5, characterized in that the swivel control curve (10) is a double curve.

7. Conveyor device according to claim 2, characterized in that the shaft (14) is rotatably mounted with a central portion in the positioning ring (9) and on its opposite ends on the one hand a roller lever (13) with rollers (12) for engagement with the pivoting control curve (10) and on the other hand has a leg (15) of the swivel control transmission device.

8. Conveyor device according to at least one of the preceding claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the swivel control transmission device for the swivel control of the pair of holding jaws (3) in addition to the roller lever (13) of the shaft (14), the shaft (14) and the leg (15 ) has a connecting member (17) which is rotatably coupled to the leg (15) by means of a pin (16) and is rotatably supported at its opposite end by a further bolt (18), the bolt (18) in turn being rotatable in a leg ( 19) which is rigidly connected to a hollow shaft (20) which is pivotably mounted in the housing (7) and outside the housing (7) with a support arm (21) of the inner holding jaw (22) of the pair of holding jaws (3) is firmly connected.

9. Conveyor device according to claim 8, characterized in that the swivel control transmission device is mounted in the hollow shaft (20) axially displaceably and together with the hollow shaft (20) pivotable shaft (23), with which on the one hand outside the housing (7) a support arm (26) of the outer holding jaw (27) of the pair of holding jaws (3) is fastened, and which has a lever arm (24) rigidly fastened on the shaft (23) at its inner end for locking with the hollow shaft (20) in the circumferential direction its free end carries a bolt (25) which is axially displaceable and resiliently biased into a bore of the on the hollow shaft (20)

REPLACEMENT LEAF rigid leg (19) engages.

10. Conveyor device according to claim 9, characterized in that the shaft (23) is acted upon at the end face by an angle lever (29) via a pressure piece (34), the angle lever (29) being pivotably mounted and its pivot bearing about a pivot point (30). from a control cam (33) fixed on the central central axis (8) by means of a cam roller (32) mounted on the angle lever (29).

11. Conveyor device according to at least one of the preceding claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the carrier arms (21, 26) of the pair of holding jaws (3) and the roller lever (13) are designed as angle levers.

12. Conveyor device according to claim 2, characterized in that an adjusting device for the positioning ring (9) is provided, with a front side in the housing (7) rotatably mounted and with an adjusting scale (36) connected bolt (35) on its inner End has an eccentrically arranged adjusting pin (38) in engagement with a recess (39) of the positioning ring (9).

13. Conveyor device according to at least one of the preceding claims 1 to 12, characterized in that the outer holding jaws (27) by a working width of a cutting knife (5) of the cutting device (4) for separating candies (B) from the continuous mass strand and shortened inner holding jaws (22) extended by this working width and provided with a slot (40) for carrying out the separating knife (5).