WO1998039213A1

WO1998039213A1 - Packing head

Info

Publication number: WO1998039213A1
Application number: PCT/EP1998/001133
Authority: WO
Inventors: Ludwig Schulnig
Original assignee: Tyrolon-Schulnig Gmbh
Priority date: 1997-03-05
Filing date: 1998-02-27
Publication date: 1998-09-11
Also published as: DE19708975A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a packing head for gripping bottles or the like, comprising a housing block (1) wherein a number of packing tulips (3), corresponding to the number of bottles to be gripped, are configured. Said packing tulips comprise an opening (5) to receive the neck of a bottle, an elastic tulip insert (7) arranged on the perimeter of the receiving opening (5) and which engages into the receiving opening (5) in a substantially radial direction to grip the neck of a bottle when force is applied by an actuating device. A centering body (2), which is tapered in the direction of the bottles to be accommodated, is provided on the lower side (4) of the housing block (1) between four adjacent receiving openings (5) in order to ensure that the bottles are centred in a secure and reliable manner when the packing head is lowered.

Description

Packing head

description

The present invention relates to a packing head for gripping bottles or the like, with a housing block in which a number of packing tulips corresponding to the number of bottles to be gripped at the same time is formed, each of which has a receiving opening for a bottle neck and an elastic arranged circumferentially in the receiving opening Have packing tulip insert which engages in an essentially radial direction in the receiving opening for gripping the bottle neck under the action of an actuating device.

Packing heads of this type are used, for example, in the beverage industry to transport bottles or bottle-like containers from a beverage crate to a further processing machine or vice versa. For this purpose, the packing head has a number of packing tulips corresponding to the number of bottles to be gripped, which are put together as packing heads, for example positioned over a twenty bottle crate, so that the bottle necks are inserted into the receiving openings of the packing tulips when the packing head is lowered. The gripping of the bottles or the bottle-like containers takes place - depending on the type of the bottle or the container or more precisely: depending on the nature of the bottle neck or the container part below the closure - in two different ways. In the case of bottles with the usual slim bottle neck, each packing tulip insert engages in the receiving opening under the force of the actuating device and clamps the bottle neck in that the packing tulip insert undergoes a reversible deformation tapering the clear cross-sectional area of the receiving opening. In other containers without a specially designed neck, the gripping takes place in that the packing tulip insert also grips under the screw closure or a collar bead of the container under the force of the actuating device by means of gripping claws. Such gripping claws can be formed on the lower end edge of the packing tulip insert and grip when the actuating force is exerted axially. device due to a conical design of a ring base delimiting the receiving opening of the packing tulip housing in a substantially radial direction into the receiving opening, while the packing tulip insert itself remains essentially dimensionally stable in the axial direction. The gripped bottles are then lifted out of the bottle crate and transported to a further processing machine. After the bottles have been transported, the force acting on the flexible packing tulip insert is released, whereupon each packing tulip insert returns to its original shape by enlarging the clear cross-sectional area of the receiving opening and thus the bottle neck or the bottle-like container from the oppression or from the hooking grip of the gripping claws releases. Then the packing head is raised so that the bottle necks leave the receiving openings of the packing tulips.

While a known problem with packing heads of the type mentioned at the outset is the susceptibility to wear of the packing tulip inserts, as described for example in DE-OS 41 03 729, a further problem was to make the actuating devices for activating and deactivating the packing tulip inserts as simple and compact as possible to construct. That problem was based on DE 43 19 879 Cl, from which a packing head of the type mentioned is also known.

When using these known packing heads, a further problem has been found, which is the basis of the present invention: The bottles to be gripped with the packing head are usually moved to the place where they are to be picked up using a conveyor belt or a similarly acting means of transport. If a bottle still wobbles on the assembly line while the packing head is lowering for gripping, or if a bottle is not in the exact position from the start, the bottom of the packing head may hit the top of the bottle, causing all bottles in that group that are assigned to a bottle crate cannot be gripped, which leads to a malfunction of the automatic functional sequence. The present invention addresses this problem, the task of which was considered to ensure that the bottle necks were securely received in the associated receiving openings of a packing head of the type mentioned at the outset.

Starting from a packing head for gripping bottles or the like with a housing block in which a number of packing tulips corresponding to the number of bottles to be gripped at the same time is formed, each with a receiving opening for a bottle neck and an elastic packing tulip insert arranged circumferentially in the receiving opening have, which engages to grip the bottle neck under the force of an actuator in a substantially radial direction in the receiving opening, the object is achieved in that a centering body is arranged on the underside of the housing block between four adjacent receiving openings, which is in the direction of the bottles to be tapered.

The advantages of the invention are, in particular, that with this construction a secure centering of the bottles when lowering the packing head and thus a largely trouble-free operation is guaranteed. Since a centering body, which tapers in the direction of the bottle to be picked up, is arranged on each of the free areas between four adjacent receiving ports, an incorrectly placed or still wobbling bottle is nevertheless reliably fed to the receiving port. This centering is further supported by the fact that the receiving openings are conical in the upper region in a manner known per se. The remaining free areas on the underside of the packing head, that is the roughly triangular areas between two adjacent receiving openings and the peripheral edge of the housing block, are not as critical as the larger inner areas, but of course they can also each have an approximately triangular centering body be equipped. Advantageous developments of the invention are the subject of the dependent claims.

Four variants are proposed for the shape of the centering bodies, without this list claiming to be complete. The only thing that is important in the shape of the centering bodies is that they provide the bottle opening or its edge or the bottle closure (screw cap or crown cap) with a relatively tapered or rounded surface, through which the incident bottle neck is guided into the intended receiving opening.

In a first embodiment, the centering bodies are cones, which are fastened with their base on the underside of the housing block and whose lateral surfaces border on the edges of the four adjacent receiving openings. In a further development of this embodiment, it can further be provided that the diameter of the centering cones in the lower region widens towards the edges of the receiving openings to a greater extent than in the upper region.

In another embodiment, the centering bodies are semispherical and are attached to the base, that is to say the cut surface, on the underside of the housing block.

The previously described embodiments have in common that they are rotationally symmetrical, so they do not necessarily have to be fixed in a rotationally fixed manner on the underside of the housing block. It can even be advantageous if the centering bodies can be rotated about their axis of symmetry.

According to a further embodiment it is provided that the centering bodies are pyramid-shaped. The advantages of this shape are that one side edge of the pyramid extends relatively far into the area between two adjacent receiving openings, so that a bottle neck that strikes there is also reliably deflected into the corresponding receiving opening. Furthermore, as a further development of this embodiment, it can be provided that the side edges of two adjacent pyramid bodies which converge towards one another ß φ

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Figure 1 shows a packing head for a 12 bottle crate. The centerpiece of the packing head is a housing block 1, on the underside 4 of which, for example, twelve receiving openings 5 are provided

will be described below with reference to Figures 4 to 7.

The bottles to be gripped are mainly moved to the position of the packing head by means of an assembly line. If a bottle still descends when the packing head is lowered, it can happen that the underside 4 of the housing block 1 hits the bottle opening or the top of the closure (crown cap or screw cap), whereupon all bottles of that group, the one bottle crate are assigned, are not gripped. In order to prevent this, 5 centering bodies 2 are arranged on the free surfaces of the underside 4 of the housing block 1 between 4 adjacent receiving openings, which taper in the direction of the bottles to be accommodated (not shown). In the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the centering bodies are conical and are attached to the base on the underside 4 of the housing block 1. The lateral surfaces 6 of the cones 2 run from the tip down to the edges 9 of the four adjacent receiving openings, so that an incorrectly standing or still wobbling bottle is safely guided into the corresponding receiving opening when the packing head is lowered. The remaining approximately triangular surfaces on the underside 4 of the housing block 1 between two adjacent receiving openings and the peripheral edge 17 of the housing block are not filled with centering bodies in the exemplary embodiment shown, but can be given an appropriate shape in order to safely hit the bottle necks there into the corresponding receiving openings conduct.

FIG. 2 shows a packing head which corresponds to that of FIG. 1 except for the centering body. In this exemplary embodiment, the essentially likewise conical centering body tapers to a greater extent in the base region than in the upper region. These centering cones 2 thus run flatter at the base and steeper against the bottle necks to be received.

Figure 3 shows an embodiment of a packing head, in which the centering body 2 are pyramid-shaped. The remaining free areas 26 between the side edges 25, 27 two adjacent pyramid bodies - which is not shown in FIG. 3 - can merge into one another in order to also sufficiently profile that region 26.

Figure 4 shows a cut single packing tulip, the

Function corresponds to the packing tulips 3 of the housing block 1 described above. This packing tulip consists of a packing tulip housing 14 with an upper part 16 and a lower part 18, a piston 8 received therein movably in the axial direction and a packing tulip insert in the form of a massive elastic clamping ring 7. The upper part 16 and the lower part 18 of the packing tulip housing 14 are by means of a thread 19 screwed together. On the upper end face 28 of the upper part 16, a threaded bore 22 is provided, which is used to connect a pressure medium supply line. A pressure medium, for example compressed air, is introduced into the working space 23 above the piston 8 by means of the supply line, whereupon the piston moves downward in the axial direction and squeezes the clamping ring 7. In the left half of Figure 4, the piston 8 and the mold clamping ring 7 are shown in their rest position. The operating position is shown in the right half, that is to say after the pressure medium has been introduced into the working space 23 above the piston 8, whereupon the piston has moved axially downward and presses on the clamping ring 7. Since the clamping ring 7 consists of an elastic plastic or rubber material, it deforms reversibly under the pressure of the piston 8 and engages in the receiving opening 5 of the packing tulip in a substantially radial direction. As a result of this process, the bottle neck (not shown) arranged in the receiving opening 5 is clamped and carried along when the packing head is lifted. The mold clamping ring 7 sits at the bottom in an annular groove 12 which is provided in an annular base 13 of the packing bell housing 14, which limits the receiving opening 5 at the lower end of the packing bell housing 14. The working space 23 above the piston 8 is sealed against the receiving opening 5 by a grooved ring 20, which rests with an annular lip 21 in the manner of a simmering ring on the inner wall of the upper part 16 of the pack tulip housing 14. FIG. 5 shows the perspective illustration of a cut clamping ring 7. It can be seen from this illustration that the clamping ring 7 has essentially a rectangular cross-sectional shape, but the lower and the upper end faces 10, 11 are curved outwards in the axial direction. The curvature of the lower end face 10 is adapted to the annular groove 12 in the ring base 13 in order to ensure a secure fit of the mold clamping ring 7 in the lower part 18 of the packing bell housing 14. The curvature of the upper end face 11 of the clamping ring 7 has essentially that

Meaning that the clamping ring 7 also has a secure fit where it rests on the lower end face 24 of the piston 8. This is described below with reference to FIG. 7.

FIGS. 6 and 7 each show a longitudinal section through the piston 8. On the basis of these representations, the seat of the grooving 20, which seals the working space 23 of the interior of the packing tulip housing 14 towards the bottom, becomes clear again. The difference between the embodiment according to FIG. 7 and that according to FIG. 6 is that the lower end face 24 of the piston 8 in the embodiment according to FIG. 7 has an annular groove 15 into which the curved upper end face 11 of the clamping ring 7 nestles in the installed state can. This variant is not shown in Figure 4. The annular groove 15 also ensures a secure fit of the mold clamping ring 7 despite the deformation of the ring 7 caused by the piston 8 during its stroke.

Claims

Packkopfpatent claims

1. Packing head for gripping bottles or the like, with a housing block (1) in which a number of packing tulips corresponding to the number of bottles to be gripped at the same time

(3) are formed, each of which has a receiving opening (5) for a bottle neck and an elastic packing tulip insert (7) arranged circumferentially in the receiving opening (5), which for gripping the bottle neck under the force of an actuating device in an essentially radial direction in the receiving opening (5) engages, characterized in that ß on the underside (4) of the housing block (1) between four adjacent receiving openings a centering body (2) is arranged, which tapers in the direction of the bottles to be accommodated.

2. Packing head according to claim 1, characterized in that the centering body (2) is a cone, the base of which is attached to the underside (4) of the housing block (1) and the lateral surface (6) of which is on the edges (9) of the four banch - Beard opening openings borders.

3. Packing head according to claim 2, d a d u r c h g e k e n n z e i c h n e t, that the diameter of the centering cones (2) in the lower area against the edges (9) of the receiving openings (5) widens to a greater extent than in the upper area.

4. Packing head according to claim 1, characterized in that the centering body (2) is semispherical and are attached to the cut surface on the underside (4) of the housing block (1).

5. Packing head according to claim 1, d a d u r c h g e k e n n z e i c h n e t, d a ß the centering body (2) are pyramid-shaped.

6. Packing head according to claim 5, characterized in that the converging side edges (25, 27) of two adjacent pyramid bodies merge into one another.

7. Packing head according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that ß each packing tulip insert (7) is a solid clamping ring, and that the actuating device has an axially movable piston (8) which is arranged above the clamping ring and for gripping the Bottle neck presses on the clamping ring.

8. Packing head according to claim 7, characterized by a clamping ring (7) with an essentially rectangular cross-sectional shape, the lower end face (10) of which is arched outward in the axial direction and is received in an annular groove (12) which is in an annular base ( 13) of the packing bell housing (14) is provided, which limits the receiving opening (5) at the lower end of the packing bell housing (14).

. Packing head according to claim 7 or 8, characterized by a clamping ring (7) with an essentially rectangular cross-sectional shape, the upper end face (11) of which is curved outwards in the axial direction and is received in an annular groove (15) which is on the lower end face (24 ) of the piston (8) is formed.