WO2008088209A2

WO2008088209A2 - Device for forming sleeve-like foil envelopes from a continuous flat strip of a sleeve-like foil material

Info

Publication number: WO2008088209A2
Application number: PCT/NL2008/000008
Authority: WO
Inventors: Ernst Christiaan Koolhaas; Coenrard Anton Gerard Marie Klaassen
Original assignee: Fuji Seal Europe B.V.
Priority date: 2007-01-17
Filing date: 2008-01-09
Publication date: 2008-07-24
Also published as: WO2008088209A3; NL1033244C2

Abstract

The invention relates to a device for forming sleeve-like foil envelopes (1') from a continuous flat strip of a sleeve-like foil material (1), comprising supply means (12) for supplying the continuous flat strip of sleeve-like foil material, cutting means (14) for making a cut in this strip of sleeve-like foil material over the full width thereof so as to obtain the individual sleeve-like foil envelopes, as well as discharge means for discharging the individual sleeve-like foil envelopes from the device. By forming a profile (Ia) in the sleeve-like material, a certain degree of stiffness is imparted to the material, so that the device can also be used with thin and flexible, foil materials, in particular at high processing speeds,. The profile gives the foil material a certain degree of stiffness, so that the foil envelope will not get jammed but can be discharged from, the device in a simple manner.

Description

Device for forming sleeve-like foil envelopes from a continuous flat strip of a sleeve-like foil material

DESCRIPTION The invention relates to a device for forming sleeve-like foil envelopes from a continuous flat strip of a sleeve-like foil material, comprising supply means for supplying the continuous flat strip of sleeve-like foil material, cutting means for making a cut in this strip of sleeve-like foil material over the full width thereof so as to obtain the individual sleeve-like foil envelopes, as well as discharge means for discharging the individual sleeve-like foil envelopes from the device.

Such a device is for example disclosed in European patent publication No. 0 109 105. With said device individual sleeve-like foil envelopes are realised in one cutting motion, which individual, flat, sleeve-like foil envelopes must subsequently be opened and be placed around an object, such as a bottle or other container, with a slight oversize. The foil material that is used is made of a so-called "shrink material", which will shrink under the influence of heat being supplied thereto and conform tightly to the shape of the bottle or other container around which the foil envelope has been placed. In the aforesaid application, the foil envelope has already been produced in the form of a continuous strip wound on a roll, which needs to be cut to the correct length by means of a device as referred to in the introduction. To that end, the cutting means are driven in dependence on the length, in such a manner that they cut the strip of sleeve-like foil material to the correct length, after which the individual sleeve-like foil envelope thus formed is discharged from the device and opened, to be subsequently placed around the container in a manner which is known per se.

A drawback of the device that is currently known is that it is only suitable for use with thick or stiff foil materials in order to thus realise a high processing speed. When thinner or more flexible foil materials are used, the processing speed must be reduced in order to prevent undesirable jamming of the device.

The object of the invention is to obviate the above drawbacks and to provide a device as referred to in the introduction, in which large numbers of foil envelopes of varying length and thickness and varying types of material can be produced at a high processing speed.

According to the invention, the device is to that end characterised in that the device comprises means for forming a profile in the sleeve-like material. By forming a profile in the sleeve-like material, a certain degree of stiffness is imparted to the material, so that the device can also be used with thin and flexible foil materials, in particular at high processing speeds. The profile gives the foil material a certain degree of stiffness, so that the foil envelope will remain open better and longer, as thin foil materials exhibit a tendency to return to their flat shape. The foil envelope, which is stiffer and which remains open longer, can thus be placed around a product in a more effective manner. Furthermore, undesirable jamming of the device is prevented in this manner.

In addition to that, the profile reduces the area of contact between the foil envelope and the product around which the foil envelope is to be placed, so that there will be less friction and placing the foil envelope will be easier. In addition to that, because of the presence of the profile the foil envelope can be loaded significantly more heavily in the longitudinal direction thereof, as a result of which it will collapse less easily upon being placed around the product.

In a first embodiment, the profiling means are disposed upstream of the discharge means in the device, seen in the direction of transport of the flat strip of sleeve-like foil material, whilst in another embodiment the profiling means are disposed upstream of the cutting means in the device, seen in the direction of transport of the flat strip of sleeve-like foil material. Both embodiments make it possible to realise a compact device which can be operated at high processing speeds.

To form the stiffness-enhancing profile in the foil material during operation, i.e. when individually formed sleeve-like foil envelopes are being placed around containers, the profiling means, in an effective embodiment thereof, comprise at least two profiling elements disposed on either side of the strip of sleeve-like unlike foil material, which profiling elements are movable with respect to each other.

In a first functional embodiment of the profiling means, said profiling means are configured as rotatable rollers. The profile can be continuously formed in the strip of sleeve-like foil material in a simple manner by means of said rollers by carrying or transporting said strip between the two profiling rollers.

In another functional embodiment, the profiling elements are configured as plate members that can be moved towards and away from each other. In this way the forming of the profile in the strip of sleeve-like foil materia takes place in steps.

In another functional embodiment, the profile may consist of a pattern of a large number of ring-shaped profiles or of a large number of linear profiles, or of a honeycomb pattern.

The invention will now be explained in more detail with reference to a drawing, in which:

Figure 1 shows an embodiment of a device according to the invention;

Figures 2-5 are detail views of the device of Figure 1.

For a better understanding of the invention, like parts will be indicated by identical reference numerals in the description of the Figures below.

In Figure 1 , numeral 10 indicates a device according to the. invention. The device 10 comprises supply means or moving means 12 made up of two drivable rollers, between which a continuous strip of foil material 1 can be carried. The continuous strip of foil material 1 is wound on a supply reel 11 and is introduced into the device via a tensioning mechanism 13. The tensioning mechanism 13 has an arm 13a, which is pivotally connected to the device. The pivot arm 13a comprises several rollers 13b, over which the continuous strip of sleeve-like foil material 1 is passed. The strip of sleeve-like foil material 1 is also passed over additional, fixedly disposed rollers 13c. In this way it is possible to realise a certain supply of but above all also a certain tension of the continuous strip of sleeve-like foil material being unwound from the reel 11.

The supply means 12 carry the continuous strip of sleeve-like material 1 past cutting means 14 for cutting the foil material through at predetermined intervals so as to obtain individual sleeve-like foil envelopes 1'. The cutting means may be configured in various ways, which may be considered to be known to the skilled person. Disposed at the location of the cutting means 14 and the discharge side of the device 10 is a spreading element 19, which functions to open the obtained individual, flat, sleeve-like foil envelopes 1' for the purpose of placing the opened, sleeve-like foil envelope around a container. As is clearly shown in Figure 1 , the spreading element 19 is enlarged at least in the plane perpendicular to the plane of the flat, continuous strip of foil material 1. Thus the individual, flat, sleeve-like foil envelopes ... - Y__Λ - T₀ - T₊₁ - ... are opened, so that they can be easily placed around a container ... - 2_Λ - 2₀ - 2₊₁ - .... The containers ... - 2_A - 2₀ - 2₊₁ - ... are moved by conveying means 21 , which are considered to be known per se, which conveying means 21 are provided with a carrier 21a, on which several containers (bottles, jars or cans) are present, which containers are carried to the device 10.

Each individual, flat, sleeve-like foil envelope ... - T_-1 - T₀ - T₊₁ - ... is opened by the spreading element 19 and cut loose from the strip of foil material 1 by the cutting means 14, after which the sleeve-like foil envelope thus opened can be easily placed over a waiting container ... - 2_Λ - 2₀ - 2₊₁ - .... The containers ... - 2_A

- 2_Q - 2₊₁ - ... in the sleeve-like foil envelopes ... - T., - T₀ - T₊₁ - ... can now be discharged from the device 10 via the carrier 21a and be subjected to a heat treatment elsewhere, causing the sleeve-like envelope ... - T_-1 - T₀ - T₊₁ - ... to shrink and conform tightly to the shape of the container.

To facilitate the discharge of the individual foil envelope ... - T_-1 - T₀

- T₊₁ - ... surrounding the container ... - 2_A - 2₀ - 2₊₁ - ..., discharge means 20a-20b may be provided, which are mounted in the device at the location of the spreading element 19. Said discharge means may comprise one or more drivable rollers 20a, which are supported on the stationary rollers 20b and which discharge the sleeve- like foil material T present therebetween from the device 10 at an accelerated rate, with the individual, opened foil envelope ... - T_-1 - T₀ - T₊₁ - ... slipping over a container ... - 2_A - 2₀ - 2₊₁ - ..., as it were. A characteristic feature of the device as described above is the high processing speeds with which the individual foil envelopes are placed around a container. The use of thin and flexible foil materials in combination with the high processing speeds involves a risk of the foil getting jammed in the device and thus blocking up the machine. The device must be stopped in that case and the accumulated foil material must be removed before the device can be started again. Accordingly, thicker or more rigid foil materials which, on account of their stiffness, can be transported through the device more easily, are more suitable for achieving high processing speeds.

In order to make it possible for the device to process thin and flexible foil materials at high processing speeds as well, the device is according to the invention provided with means that form a profile in the sleeve-like foil material 1. In Figure 1 said profiling means are indicated by reference numeral 25. The formation of a profile in the foil material 1 results in a foil material (now indicated at 1' in Figure 1) which is stiffer and can thus be moved and processed at higher processing speeds by the device 10.

The profile imparts a certain degree of stiffness to the foil material 1', so that the foil envelope will remain open better and longer, since thin foil materials exhibit a tendency to return to their flat shape. The foil envelope, which is stiffer and which remains open longer, can thus be placed around a product in a more effective manner. Furthermore, undesirable jamming of the device is prevented in this manner.

In addition to that, the profile reduces the area of contact between the foil envelope and the products around which the foil envelope is to be placed, so that there will be less friction and placing the envelope will be easier. In addition to that, because of the presence of the profile the foil envelope can be loaded significantly more heavily in the longitudinal direction thereof, as a result of which it will collapse less easily upon being placed around the product.

In Figure 2 a first embodiment is shown of the profiling means 25. In this embodiment the profiling means 25 comprise two profiling elements 25a-25b, in this case configured as rotatable rollers, which are disposed on either side of the strip of sleeve-like foil material 1 and which are movable with respect to each other. The circumferential surface 26a-26b of the rotatable rollers 25a-25b is provided with a profile 3, which forms a profile 1 a in the foil material 1 ' when the profiling means 25a-25b are being driven.

In another embodiment, as shown in Figures 3a-3b, the profiling means also comprise profiling elements 250a-250b disposed on either side of the strip of sleeve-like foil material 1 and being movable with respect to each other, which are each provided with a plate member 251a-251b, which plate members are likewise provided with a profile 252. The profiling element 250a is provided with openings 256 and slides over pins 254; which pins 254 form part of the other profiling element 250b.

The profiling element 250a can be moved towards and away from the other profiling element 250b by drive means 255. In subfigure 3a (on the left in the drawing) the two profiling elements 250a-250b have been moved apart and the strip of sleeve-like foil material 1 is passed through the gap thus created. In subfigure 3b (on the right in the drawing) the profiling element 250a has been moved towards the other profiling element 250b by the drive means 255, thus forming the profile 252 in the strip of sleeve-like foil material 1. The profile formed in the sleeve-like foil material 1' is indicated by reference numeral 1a.

The strip of sleeve-like foil material 1' thus provided with a profile is subsequently carried over the spreading element 19 by the supplying means 12 and separated by the cutting means so as to form individually formed sleeve-like foil envelopes ... - T₁ - 1'₀ - 1'₊₁ - ... and place them over the containers ... - 2_Λ - 2₀ - 2₊₁ -

Although the profile temporarily imparts a certain degree of stiffness to the foil material, the profile is of a temporary nature. The moment the containers 2, each provided with a sleeve-like foil envelope, are discharged from the device 10 with the envelope tightly surrounding the container 2 as a result of a being heat- shrunk, the profile will disappear and thus no longer shows in the final product.

Figures 4 and 5 show two embodiments of the profile formed in the foil material by the profiling means 25. In Figure 4 the profile is a so-called honeycomb pattern, which can be formed by the profiling means 25 shown in Figure 2. The rotatable profiling elements 25a-25b are provided with a suitable profile 30 formed in the circumferential surface 26a-26b. The profile 30 as shown in the subview P of Figure 4 shows an upright projection 30' and a recess 30" having a height and depth, respectively, equal to 0.1 - 1 mm. Preferably, the elevated and recessed parts 30' and 30", respectively, are pyramid-shaped with an apex angle α of about 30° - 120°.

Figure 5 shows a profile pattern 252 that may be used with the profiling means 25 shown in Figure 3. The profiling element 250a is in this case provided with a pattern of elevated and recessed lines or grooves. The profile pattern 252 is made up of a grid of line profiles, with numeral 252a and 252b indicating upright profile edges, whilst numerals 252a'-252b' indicate recessed profile grooves. Reference is made to the subviews /W\ and B-B, respectively.

Claims

1. A device for forming sleeve-like foil envelopes, which can be placed around a product, from a continuous flat strip of a sleeve-like foil material, comprising supply means for supplying the continuous flat strip of sleeve-like foil material; cutting means for making a cut in this strip of sleeve-like foil material over the full width thereof so as to obtain the individual sleeve-like foil envelopes; as well as discharge means for discharging the individual sleeve-like foil envelopes thus obtained from the device and placing said envelopes around the product, characterised in that the device is provided with means for forming a temporary profile in the sleeve-like foil material, which temporary profile will disappear from the foil material after the foil material has been placed around the product under the influence of heat.

2. A device according to claim 1 , characterised in that the profiling means are disposed upstream of the discharge means in the device, seen in the direction of transport of the flat strip of sleeve-like foil material.

3. A device according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the profiling means are disposed upstream of the cutting means in the device, seen in the direction of transport of the flat strip of sleeve-like foil material.

4. A device according to any one or more of the preceding claims, characterised in that the profiling means comprise at least two profiling elements disposed on either side of the strip of sleeve-like unlike foil material, which profiling elements are movable with respect to each other.

5. A device according to claim 4, characterised in that said profiling elements are configured as rotatable rollers.

6. A device according to claim 4, characterised in that said profiling elements are configured as plate members which can be moved towards and each from each other.

7. A device according to any one or more of the claims 1-6, characterised in that the profile consists of a pattern comprising a large number of ring-shaped profiles.

8. A device according to any one or more of the claims 1-6, characterised in that said profile consists of a pattern comprising a large number of linear profiles.

9. A device according to any one or more of the claims 1-6, characterised in that said profile consists of a honeycomb pattern.