INSTALLATION FOR PACKING A PRODUCT IN FILM MATERIAL
The invention relates to an installation for packing a product in film material. Installations of this type are known and can be used in a wide variety of fields. Packing meat products, cheese slices and the like may be mentioned by way of example. An installation of this type is disclosed in US-A 3 016 673. This known installation has a frame on which a reel containing film material can be mounted. From the reel the film material is laid over a preparation surface and by means of an arm is then folded double over the product to be packed. Finally, the sections of film that have been folded double are heat sealed together at their edges.
The arm for folding the film material double must be operated by hand. Positioning of the product to be packed is also carried out by hand. This known installation is therefore not suitable for use in an automated processing line in which the products are continuously fed, cut, optionally stacked and finally packed. The aim of the invention is therefore to provide an installation of the type described above which is suitable for such an application. This is achieved by means of an installation which comprises:
- a preparation surface for receiving and guiding a sheet of film material.
- gripping means for gripping the film material, which gripping means can be raised and lowered above the preparation surface,
- transport means, which can be moved back and forth over the preparation surface, for transporting the film material in the direction away from the gripping means, such that the transported film material is formed into a loop of two sections of film located next to one another and joined to one another at one edge, - heat sealing means for heat sealing the sections of film to one another at their other edges, forming a pack,
- cutting means for separating the pack from the sheet of film material.
With the installation according to the invention the film material can be gripped by the gripping means after it has been pulled onto the preparation surface from, for example, a reel. Because the gripping means remain stationary, the transport means are then able to fold the film material double by pulling more film through, from the reel, underneath the gripping means. The product can be accommodated in the loop thus formed, after which the film material can be sealed by heat sealing.
Preferably, the gripping means have two jaws which extend transversely over the preparation surface and can be moved between an open position and a closed position, in which the film material can be clamped in the gripper. hi the closed position the jaws form a slit in which there is at least one clamping element, joined to one of the jaws, for clamping the film material. Said clamping element can be, for example, a strip of flexible material, such as rubber, that is able to develop sufficient resilience to press and hold the film material in a reliable manner.
The preparation surface has an elevation or ridge which extends transversely and extends into the slit between the jaws when these have been lowered, such that the film material can be stretched over said elevation or ridge during the downward movement of the jaws, which stretched film material, after cutting, can be clamped when the jaws are closed.
In any event at the start of the packing process, the sheet of film material, which has been laid ready over the elevation, can consequently be reliably gripped and clamped in the gripping means. As the packing process proceeds, each time a finished pack has been detached from the sheet the film material can also be treated as will be explained below.
For the purposes of detaching a finished pack there is, in addition to the elevation, a passage in the preparation surface in which a cutter can be raised and lowered for cutting through the sections of film. This passage is located between the gripping means and the heat sealing means. The cutter can be raised in the passage after the jaws have been brought into their open position.
For the purpose of forming a subsequent pack, the jaw that is located close to the cutting means can be moved away from the other jaw and back towards it, which other jaw interacts with the elevation for holding the sheet of film material tight when the gripper is opened. After it has been detached from the pack previously produced, the film material that is held tightly by the j w in question has a lip pointing upwards to some extent, which lip can then be clamped in the gripper by moving the jaws towards one another. The cycle described above can then be repeated to produce the next pack.
The transport means can be constructed in various ways. Preferably the transport means comprise two transport elements which are located opposite one another on either side of the preparation surface and which can be moved synchronously along the preparation surface. It is not necessary that the sheet of film material is driven over the entire width by the transport elements. These elements can, for example, comprise a roller
element, such that the film material rolls over the roller elements when being transported.
The advantage of this embodiment is that after the film material has been pulled through underneath the gripper and folded double, the roller elements can be moved away from the position between the film material folded double. Heat sealing of the film material can men not be impeded by the transport means.
The sheet of film material can be fed to the preparation surface in various ways. According to a first possibility, the preparation surface can be bordered by a feed roller for feeding the sheet of film material from a supply, for example a reel. In this case separate transport means can be provided for placing a product between the sections of film transported over the preparation surface. These transport means can be, for example, a conveyor belt.
According to a second possibility the preparation surface can be bordered by a support surface over which the film material extends from a supply to the preparation surface. In this case transport means can be provided for feeding a product onto the film material that is on the support surface. The product fed in this way is then pulled together with the sheet of film to the preparation surface and underneath the section of film formed during this movement.
The mvention will be explained in more detail below with reference to an illustrative embodiment shown diagrammatically in the figures. Figs la to h show, diagrammatically, the various steps in packing a product using the installation according to the invention, in side view (a-i) and plan view (g-h).
Figs 2a to g show the gripping of a sheet of film material.
Figs 3a to g show the formation and cutting free of a pack.
In the installation according to the invention shown diagrammatically in Figs l to g, there is a preparation surface 1, as well as gripping means 2 for gripping a sheet of film material 3. The sheet of film material can be fed from a reel, which is not shown, over a roller 4 that is located at the front end of the preparation surface.
The installation also comprises U-shaped heat sealing means 16. ϊh the state shown in Fig. la, the grippmg means 2 and the heat sealing means 16 are some distance above the preparation surface 1. In this state the sheet of film material 3 can be pulled to the left over the preparation surface 1 by the transport means 5, as is shown in the steps in Figs lb and lc. During this operation the sheet of film material is unrolled ever further from the reel.
By means of feed means (not shown), the product 6 can be introduced between the sections of film 7, 8 formed in this way. The gripping means 2 are then lowered, as shown in Fig. Id, and thereafter the heat sealing means 16 are lowered, as shown in Fig. Ie.
The sections of film 7, 8, with the product 6 between them, can be heat sealed to one another at their edges with the aid of the heat sealing means 16. These edges run from the fold 10 between the sections of film 7, 8 along their longitudinal edges to the transverse edge 9 opposite.
For the purposes of optionally treating the product 6 in the pack with gas, the heat sealing means can be provided with cut-outs 11, located opposite one another, in which, as shown in Fig. ih, an injection nozzle 12 and a suction nozzle 30 for flushing with a preservative gas and the like can be introduced into the pack. These nozzles 12 and 30 are located between the sections of film 7, 8 and are then used during heat sealing. The nozzles 12, 30 are then removed. The openings left behind can then be closed by heat sealing, by moving the pack over a certain distance and performing a heat sealing operation again. Before beat sealing the transport elements 5 are moved apart sideways, away from the position between the sections of film 7, 8. As shown in Figs If - g they are then positioned beyond the gripping means 2, ready for the next packing cycle.
A passage 13 is provided in the preparation surface in which a blade 14 can be raised and lowered for separating the finished pack 15 from the sheet of film material 3. The mode of operation of the gripping means and the cutter will be explained in more detail with reference to Figures 2 and 3. Fig. 2a shows the state in which the sheet of film material 3 has been pulled over the preparation surface 1 before the start of the packing process, ready to be gripped by the gripping means 2. The gripping means 2 consist of two jaws 17, 18, which in the closed position form a slit 19 at the bottom. Flexible pressure means 20, such as a strip of rubber material, are located in this slit 19.
The preparation surface 1 is provided with an elevation or ridge 21, over which the sheet of film material 3 extends, adjacent to the passage 13. When the gripping means 2 are lowered, as shown in Fig. 2b, the film material is stretched over the elevation 21, in the slit 19. The one jaw 18, which is located next to the heat sealing means 16, is then moved to one side with respect to the other jaw 17. This jaw 17 remains stationary, pressed against the elevation 21, such that the film remains under tension around elevation 21.
In a subsequent step, as shown in Fig. 2d, the cutter 14 is raised through the passage
13, .such that the film material 3 is cut through with the formation of a lip 22 that sticks upwards somewhat between the elevation 21 and the rubber strip 20.
The cutter 14 is then lowered as shown in Fig. 2e and the clamping jaw 18 that has been moved aside is then brought into contact with the other clamping jaw 17 again: Fig. 2f. During this operation the lip 22 which sticks upwards with respect to the elevation 21 is clamped between said jaw 18, in particular the ridge 31 thereof, and the rubber strip 20. I the final step as shown in Fig. 2g the sheet of film material clamped in this way can be moved upwards with the closed gripping means 2, ready for the first packing cycle.
This packing cycle has already been discussed with reference to Figs l to l . The way in which the finished pack 15 is separated from the sheet of film material is indicated in more detail in Figs 3a to 3g.
As shown in Figs 3a and 3b, the sections of film 7, 8 are brought on top of one another by lowering the grippmg means 2, as is also shown in Figs lc and Id. Analogously to the procedure in Fig. 2, the two sections of film 7, 8 are now stretched over the elevation 21 when the gripper 2 is lowered. This elevation 21 together with the stretched sections of film ends up in the slit 1 as a result.
The jaw 18 is then moved away from the jaw 17, analogously to the movement in Fig. 2c. The cutter 14 is then thrust into the opening thus produced between the jaws 18,17. The film material on the right of the passage 13 remains clamped on the elevation 21; see Fig. 3d. The pack 15 is thus separated from the sheet of film material 3, which again has a lip 22 which sticks upwards somewhat with respect to the elevation 21. As shown in Fig. 3£ the transport elements 5 are then moved beyond the closed gripping means 2, ready for the next packing cycle which starts when the grippmg means 2 are raised as shown in Fig. 3g.