WO2002028716A1

WO2002028716A1 - Feeding device with a turning mechanism for a packaging machine

Info

Publication number: WO2002028716A1
Application number: PCT/SE2001/002041
Authority: WO
Inventors: Zbigniew Cejrowski
Original assignee: Tetra Laval Holdings & Finance S.A.
Priority date: 2000-10-04
Filing date: 2001-09-24
Publication date: 2002-04-11
Also published as: SE0003569L; SE0003569D0; AU2001290441A1; SE517195C2

Abstract

A machine for packaging articles having feeding device (10) with a turning mechanism for changing the orientation of moving objects (20) from a first orientation (30) to a second orientation (40), the feeding device comprising a rotating wheel (50) and carrier assemblies (60) attached to the rotating wheel. Each carrier assembly (60) is pivotably attached to the rotating wheel (50).

Description

A FEEDING DEVICE

Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a machine for packaging articles having a feeding device with a turning mechanism for changing the orientation of moving containers in a packaging machine from a first orientation to a second orientation, the feeding device comprising a rotating wheel and carrier assemblies attached to the rotating wheel.

Prior Art

Machines for packaging articles, e g containers with liquid food, such as drinks, e g juice or milk, or food of a more compact or consistent type, e g soups, often use a production line with conveyors for transporting the containers during different stages in the production line. These stages may be one or more filling stages, sealing stages, or folding stages in a wide variety of combinations or may have any other functions .

In or before, for example a folding or a sealing stage, the moving container and the folding or sealing means must have the appropriate orientation in relation to each other so that the folding or sealing can be properly performed. In a first solution each container keeps its orientation, whereby the folding or sealing means must be orientated in relation to the moving container, i e the folding or sealing means must adjust their orientation in order to perform the folding or sealing appropriately. In another solution for enhancing the reliability of the folding or sealing of moving containers, each container can be turned, i e orientated to obtain the required orientation instead of the folding or sealing means. One way of orientating the containers is to use a conveyor that changes the direction of movement for the containers while, at the same time, a rotating device changes the orientation of the containers, i e transfers the containers from a first orientation to a second orientation, so that another side of the container, which is perpendicular and adjacent to the front side in the first orientation, becomes the front side in the second orientation in the subsequent transport direction of the conveyor. The rotating device may conventionally be designed as a star-shaped wheel with fixed arms that push the containers in a sliding motion transferring them, e g 90°, into the second orientation and transport direction.

The first solution in which the moving containers keep their orientation and the folding or sealing means have to adapt their orientation in relation to the moving containers during the folding or sealing stage the construction of the folding or sealing means becomes complicated with more moving parts and wear.

The second solution for orientating containers involves an essential disadvantage, i e it can not adjust the speed of each fixed arm in relation to the rotation speed of the star-shaped wheel in order to achieve a smooth and less straining impact on each container when the associated fixed arm comes in contact with each container. Furthermore, the kinetic energy of each moving container- can not be utilized by or transferred to each fixed arm in order to make the transition for each moving container smoother due to the rigidity of each fixed arm. In order to achieve an adjusted speed for each fixed arm when coming into contact with each container the control of the mechanism for driving the star-shaped wheel becomes complicated leading to high costs.

Summary of the Invention

The main objects of the present invention are to simplify the construction, the drive, and the control mechanism of feeding devices for changing the orientation of moving objects, and to reduce the force of the impact on each moving object in the feeding and orientation stage.

These objects are achieved for a feeding device with a turning mechanism for changing the orientation of moving containers in a packaging machine from a first orientation to a second orientation, the feeding device comprising a rotating wheel and carrier assemblies attached to the rotating wheel. Each carrier assembly is pivotably attached to the rotating wheel and comprises a carrier for securely receiving and holding the moving containers during their movement between said orientations by way of engaging over portions of at least two sides of each moving container.

By providing a machine for packaging articles with a feeding device for changing the orientation of moving containers with a turning mechanism according to the invention, the following advantages are achieved: fewer moving parts in the folding and sealing stage are achieved so that less sources of errors occur, less complicated auxiliary systems are needed, and a smoother and less straining impact on each container is achieved.

Brief Description of the Drawings

The present invention will now be described in further detail, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG 1 is a perspective view showing a preferred embodiment of a feeding device according to the invention with conveyors and moving containers,

FIG 2 is a perspective view of the feeding device in FIG 1,

FIG 3 is a perspective view illustrating a carrier assembly of the feeding device in FIGS 1-2, FIG 4 is a front view of the feeding device in FIG 1, andFIG 5 is a top view showing a section of the feeding device in the embodiment in FIG 1 according to line A-A. Detailed Description of the Invention

FIG 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of a feeding device 10 for changing the orientation of moving objects 20 before a production stage in a production line, which reduces the speed of the moving objects before entering the production stage, in a machine for packaging articles. Each moving object could for example be a container filled with a liquid, or solid food, alternatively partly solid food. The moving objects are from now on described as moving containers 20. The moving containers are transported by production line conveyors (not shown) through a production line with a wide variety of combinations of stages for filling, sealing and folding of moving containers and delivered into the feeding device 10 to the right in FIG 1.

The direction of rotation for the feeding device 10 is clock-wise and shown by an arrow R to the right of the feeding device. The transport direction of the moving containers 20 is shown by arrows pointing to the left at the right and left side of the feeding device. The feeding device 10 receives, moves, turns and delivers each moving container from a first orientation 30 to the right in FIG 1 to a second orientation 40 to the left in FIG 1. The device delivers the moving containers with the same direction of movement in the second orientation as in the first orientation, the differences being that the moving containers 20 have another orientation and a reduced speed when reaching the second orientation 40. The moving containers 20 are fed from the right in FIG 1 by the production line conveyors (not shown) into a feeding conveyor 21, preferably in the form of a belt, which is driven and controlled by a drive unit 24 generally known to a man skilled in the art. This feeding conveyor is synchronized with the production conveyors (not shown) generally envisaged by a man skilled in the art. The feeding conveyor 21 receives the moving containers and move them towards the feeding device 10, and the movement of the moving containers is linear but could be curved depending on the design of the feeding conveyor.

The feeding device then receives the moving containers in their first orientation 30 and moves them in a sweeping movement into the second orientation 40 to the left in FIG 1. The feeding device 10 is synchronized with the feeding conveyor 21 by a drive belt 25 (only shown in FIG 4 and 5) connected to the drive unit 24 of the feeding conveyor. The moving containers are guided by guides 23 during the sweeping movement and then received in their second orientation by a conveyor 22 in the form of a chain, which is synchronized with the new speed for each moving container and moves each container with the reduced speed into the subsequent folding or sealing stage. The drive and control means for the chain conveyor 22 are not shown but may be of any type envisaged by a man skilled in the art. FIG 2 shows only the feeding device 10 without the conveyors 21, 22, the guides 23, and associated parts 24. The feeding device 10 comprises a rotating wheel 50 and for example four carrier assemblies 60 of which only three can be seen in FIG 2. As is also shown in FIG 3, each carrier assembly 60 has a carrier 70, which is arranged below the rotating wheel, a carrier axle 80, an arm 90, which is arranged above the rotating wheel, and a cam follower 91 in the form of a roller. The feeding device 10 also comprises a stationary wheel 100, which is arranged above the rotating wheel 50, a drive axle 110, and a drive unit 120. The arm 90 is placed between the rotating wheel 50 and the stationary wheel 100. The rotating wheel 50 is fixedly attached to the drive axle 110, which in turn is attached to the drive unit 120. Support and control means may be envisaged by a skilled man in the art, and the drive axle is rotated by the drive unit and the rotation is controlled by appropriate control means.

The stationary wheel 100 may alternatively be arranged below the rotating wheel 50, whereby the carriers 70 would be arranged above the rotating wheel, and the arms 90 would be arranged below the rotating wheel and between the rotating wheel and the stationary wheel . Any other suitable position for the rotating wheel 50 and the stationary wheel 100 in relation to each other may be considered fulfilling the demands of permitting appropriate movements for the carrier assemblies 60, whereby the positions of the associated parts would have to be changed accordingly.

FIG 3 illustrates one of the four carrier assemblies 60 in more detail. Here, the carrier axle 80, the arm 90 and the cam follower 91 are shown assembled together. The carrier has an essentially L-shaped form for a more secure handling of each container when receiving, moving, turning and delivering the containers from the first orientation 30 into the second orientation 40. The arm 90 is fixed in a angle, i e the arm protrudes in an askew direction in relation to the carrier 70 when assembled in the carrier assembly 60, so that the desired movement pattern for the carrier is achieved during the rotation of the rotating wheel 50. This fixed angle may be any angle between 0° and 360° in relation to a plane in parallel with any of the two legs of the L-shaped carrier 70. A preferred angle lies between 0° and 90° or between 0° and 180° from said plane. In this case the most preferred angle is about 10° clock- wise from a plane in parallel with the shorter leg of the L-shaped carrier 70 or about 80° anti-clockwise from a plane in parallel with the longer leg of the L-shaped carrier.

Each carrier 70 of each carrier assembly 60 is pivotally attached to the rotating wheel 50 by its carrier axle 80 protruding axially through the rotating wheel. Each carrier axle 80 is supported by a bearing on the rotating wheel 50. The carrier axle is fixedly attached to the carrier at one end and fixedly attached at the other end to one end of the arm 90, the rotating wheel 50 being placed between the arms 90 and the carriers 70 seen in the axial direction of the carrier axle 80 when the device 10 is assembled as shown in FIG 2. The other end of each arm 90 is provided with the cam follower 91 (shown in FIGS 3 and 5) with an axis of rotation in parallel with each carrier axle 80. Each cam follower 91 fits into a non-symmetrical path (shown in FIG 5) underneath the stationary wheel 100 at the side adjacent the rotating wheel 50, so that when the rotating wheel 50 rotates, each cam follower 91 follows the path, and each arm 90 turns the associated carrier 70 by means of the carrier axle 80 in relation to the rotating wheel .

The movement of the cam followers 91 when following the path in FIG 5 varies and changes the turning speed and positions of the carrier assemblies 60 so that they correspond with the speed and position of the moving containers 20, which is especially important at the receiving and delivering points of the first orientation 30 and the second orientation 40, respectively. FIG 4 shows a front view of the feeding device 10 in FIG 1. Here, the moving containers 20, the feeding conveyor 21, the chain conveyor 22, the guides 23, the drive unit 24, the drive belt 25, the two orientations 30 and 40, the rotating wheel 50, the stationary wheel 100 and the drive unit 120 of the feeding device are seen.

FIG 5 shows a top view of the arrangement for the feeding device 10 in FIG 1 in which the stationary wheel 100 is shown in section according to line A-A in FIG 4, so that the positions of the carrier assemblies 60, the carriers 70, the arms 90 and the cam followers 91 are shown in relation to each other, the non-symmetrical path and the moving containers 20.

When changing the orientation for each moving container 20 each carrier 70 of each carrier assembly 60 impacts as smooth as possible when coming into contact with each moving container at the first orientation 30 due to the non-symmetrical shape of said path. The smooth impact is achieved in that the path adapts and synchronizes the turning speed of each carrier 70 with the speed of the moving containers by means of the associated cam follower 91 following different radii of curvature in the non- symmetrical path when rotating with the rotating wheel 50. This causes each arm 90 to oscillate with varying frequencies, patterns and speeds depending on the momentary position of the associated carrier 70 along the path and to turn each carrier with different speed in relation to the other carriers .

In FIG 5 each carrier 70 has a turning speed and rotation speed corresponding to that of each moving container 20 when receiving it at its first orientation 30, this position being indicated with an arrow and numeral F. When each carrier 70 is in the first position F the horizontal component of the rotation speed for the carrier is the same as the horizontal speed of each container moving to the left. The horizontal direction is defined as a straight line from the right to the left in FIG 5, i e the x-direction, and the vertical direction is defined as a straight line from the top to the bottom in FIG 5, i e the y-direction. Each carrier also has an orientation in parallel with the impact surface of each moving container at point F. The speed equivalence of each carrier 70 at the first point F and each moving container in its first orientation 30 means that the kinetic energy or momentum from each moving container is kept instead of being eliminated which would be the case if the carrier 70 and the moving container 20 did not have the same linear speed in the horizontal direction when coming into contact with each other at the first point F. The vertical component, i e the y-component, of the rotation speed for the carrier 70 also provides the energy for turning the moving container before it is received with its second orientation 40 by the chain conveyor 22 at a second point S indicated with an arrow .

Each moving container 20 is turned 90° during its movement from its first orientation 30 at the first point F into its second orientation 40 at the second point S. The rotating wheel 50 rotates about 49° between point F and S, whereby the carrier at the same time is turned an additional angle of 41° around its own pivot axle, i e the carrier axle 80, towards the second point S by the associated cam follower 91 following the non-symmetrical path independently of the rotation of the rotating wheel. These two angles of rotation, 49° and 41°, in the same direction turn the moving container with the resulting angle of 90°, whereby the new second orientation 40 for each moving container 20 is perpendicular to the first orientation 30. The moving containers could of course be turned more or less than 90° if required, and such a requirement may be fulfilled by changing the design of the feeding device and the path.

At point S the moving container 20 has a linear speed equal to the tangential speed of the carrier 70, and at this point the chain conveyor 22 receives the moving container and the carrier starts to turn in an direction opposite the direction of the rotation for the rotating wheel 50. The carrier 70 is turned back by way of the cam follower 91 following the non-syτnmterical path so that the carrier 70 has a parallel orientation and is kept in a direction of movement perpendicular to the direction of the chain conveyor 22 until the carrier leaves the operating area of the chain conveyor and lets go of the moving container.

The above functions in combination with a braking effect through friction in the guides 23 reduce the speed of the moving containers down to the same linear speed as the chain conveyor 22. The speed may be reduced down to zero but is preferably reduced by 20-80%, and in this case the speed is most preferably reduced by 50%.

Claims

1. A feeding device (10) with a turning mechanism for changing the orientation of moving containers (20) in a packaging machine from a first orientation (30) to a second orientation (40) , the feeding device comprising a rotating wheel (50) and carrier assemblies (60) attached to the rotating wheel, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that each carrier assembly (60) is pivotably attached to the rotating wheel (50) .

2. A feeding device (10) according to claim 1, wherein each carrier assembly (60) comprises a carrier (70) for securely receiving and holding the moving containers (20) during their movement between said orientations

(30,40) by way of engaging over portions of at least two sides of each moving container.

3. A feeding device (10) according to claim 2, wherein each carrier (70) has an L-shaped design.

4. A feeding device (10) according to claim 3, wherein each carrier assembly (60) is attached to the rotating wheel (50) by a carrier axle (80) , which protrudes axially through the 'rotating wheel (50) with its pivot axis in parallel with the axis of rotation for the rotating wheel, the carrier axle being fixedly attached to the carrier (70) at one end and fixedly attached at the other end to one end of an arm (90) .

5. A feeding device (10) according to claim 4, wherein the other end of said arm (90) is provided with a rotatable cam follower (91) , the cam follower being arranged with its axis of rotation in parallel with said pivot axis of the carrier axle (80) and fitted into a path in the form of a groove at one side of a stationary wheel (100) , which is arranged with said one side facing the cam follower of the rotating wheel (50) of the feeding device (10) , wherein each cam follower (90) follows said path when the rotating wheel rotates, whereby each arm (90) turns the associated carrier (70) in relation to the rotating wheel and the moving containers (20) .

6. A feeding device (10) according to claim 5, wherein said path has a non-symmetrical shape with varying radii of curvature so that when said cam followers (91) follow the different curvatures the attached arms (90) oscillate with different frequencies, speeds and patterns, whereby the turning speed of the carriers (70) and their orientation change in relation to the momentary position of each carrier along the path and the rotation of the rotating wheel (50) .

7. A feeding device (10) according to claim 1, wherein the second orientation (40) of the moving objects (20) is perpendicular to the first orientation (30) , i e the moving containers are turned 90° in relation to the first orientation maintaining the same direction of movement .