WO2013024154A1

WO2013024154A1 - Method for filling bags with granules

Info

Publication number: WO2013024154A1
Application number: PCT/EP2012/066095
Authority: WO
Inventors: Norbert Page; Karsten Daunke
Original assignee: Basf Se
Priority date: 2011-08-18
Filing date: 2012-08-17
Publication date: 2013-02-21
Also published as: KR20140064864A; US20140352844A1; DE102011081153A1; EP2744708A1; CN103748013A

Abstract

The invention relates to an apparatus and a method for filling bags (34) with granules. The invention also relates to a support element (1) for supporting a bag (34, 36) during filling, the support element (1) being in the form of a pitched roof, and means (24) for fastening to a transporting belt (10) being arranged on the underside of the support element (1).

Description

Method for filling granules in bags Description

The invention relates to a method for filling granules in bags with a filling plant and to a device for filling granules in bags, in which a bag is supported during the filling of supporting elements. State of the art

Bulk goods usually have to be filled and packed for transport. Bulk materials include, for example, sand, powder, powder and granules made of various materials. In the present description, the general term "granulate" is used for all these bulk materials.

For transport, granules are packed especially in silo trucks, big bags, corrugated octagonal containers and sacks, while a silo truck can transport large quantities of bulk material at one go, but bulk goods are increasingly in demand in smaller units. Big-bags and corrugated octagonal containers provide single and reusable containers with a large capacity, typically between 500 and 2000 liters, but increasingly the bulk goods are in demand in smaller units, thus reducing the proportion of granules packed in bags The sacks have a typical width between 20 and 50cm with a length of between 40cm and 1m and a depth of 2cm to 20cm. Typical filling weights range between 1 and 100kg Weight of the sacks chosen so that a sack can be moved by a single worker eg from 5 to 50 kg.

The documents DE 30 06 129, DE 43 14 71 1, DE 1 948 228 and DE 31 18 866 relate to devices for filling granules in bags. DE 2 317 671 discloses a combination of a conveyor belt with an accessory connection device. One of the disclosed accessories has the shape of a saddle roof and is fastened with a connecting member to a conveyor belt.

DE 2 311 252 relates to a method of packaging a compressible and elastic article which is packaged in a sack, the sack being pressed before closing. For the filling of granules in bags, automated systems are available that work according to the FFS principle (forming, filling, closing), for example. The material for the bags is often delivered on an endless roll and formed into a bag in the first step. If the bag material is delivered on a roll, for example in the form of a gusseted tubular film, the lower end of the bag is welded to it, the bag is cut to the required length (eg 80 cm) and opened, for example, via suction strips and placed in the filling position. In the next step, a certain amount of the granules is poured into the bag. The amount can be determined, for example, by weight or by volume. Depending on the embodiment of the filling device, the bag can be shaken to compress the filled granules. For the next step, the filled with granules bag, for example, with a pair of pliers and / or using a conveyor belt, transported to a closing station. If necessary, the upper seam area of the bag is cleaned and sealed for sealing. During capping, excess air can be removed from the interior of the bag via a vacuum pump. After the bag has been closed, it is transported further and usually prepared with a palletizing device for transport to a carrier, eg a Euro pallet.

A disadvantage of this method is that the so-filled sacks differ significantly from the optimal cuboid shape and thereby the stacking property of the bags is impaired. For stability reasons, the sacks can only be stacked on a pallet at about 4 to 6 layers. Furthermore, the space utilization is not optimal, since between the bags to a greater extent unused cavities remain. This problem is illustrated in FIG. 1a. Significant cavities (35) remain between the sacks and further layers can no longer be securely stacked (31) on the pallet (32).

It is an object of the invention to provide a method and an associated device with which the format of sacks, which have been filled, for example, according to the FFS principle, can be made almost parallelepipedic. It is proposed a support member for supporting a bag during filling, wherein the support member preferably has the shape of a saddle roof, and being arranged on the underside of the support member means for attachment to a conveyor belt. The support elements are preferably mounted on the conveyor belt of a device for filling granules so that the gable sides of the support element show perpendicular to the transport direction of the conveyor belt and between two flanks of two support members a shape is formed in which a bag can be accommodated. In one embodiment of the support element, the means for attachment to a conveyor belt are designed as a clamp which encloses a Stollenbandfuß a running as a conveyor belt conveyor belt. As a result, the support element according to the invention can be easily attached to a lug strip, which is usually used in a device for filling granules in bags used. Further changes to the device or replacement of the conveyor belt are usually not required.

Preferably, an angle of 20 to 45 degrees is included between the flanks of the support member and the solder. By the flanks of two adjacent support elements is a down, ie in the direction of conveyor belt, tapered shape formed. This assists the sack during filling and prevents excessive sagging of the sack at the bottom ("foot formation"). The angle of the flanks can be adapted to the bag size used. In one embodiment of the support element according to the invention, the two flanks of the saddle-roof-shaped support element at the same angle to the solder.

In a further embodiment of the support element, the two flanks of the support element have different angles. For example, an angle other than the flank pointing in the opposite direction can be set for the flank pointing in the direction of transport. As a result, the behavior of the conveyor belt during the ejection of the filled and closed bag, ie during the transfer of the bag from the device for filling granules in the bags to a downstream palletizing device, can be optimized. Likewise, by adjusting the angle of the flanks, the support element can be adapted to the filling system used.

In one embodiment, the edges of the support element according to the invention are rounded. By rounding the pointed edge of the saddle-roof-shaped support element, as well as pointing in the direction of the conveyor belt edges of the two edges, sharp points are avoided, which could mechanically damage the material of the bags.

The support element according to the invention is made of a suitable material such as plastic (in particular polypropylene, polyethylene or polyvinyl chloride) or a metal. The support element must be made of a material which does not chemically attack the bag material. Together with the rounding of the edges of the support element is achieved that undesirable damage to the bags during filling, sealing and transport is avoided.

A further aspect of the invention is the provision of a device for filling granules into sacks, comprising a filling installation and a conveyor belt, wherein support elements according to the invention are fastened to the conveyor belt, wherein adjacent support elements form a downwardly tapering shape on the conveyor belt.

During the filling of a bag, the bag is received and supported in the form formed by two adjacent support elements. The tapering shape counteracts excessive broadening of the bag in the lower area.

In one embodiment of the device, the conveyor belt is designed as a tunnel belt and the support elements are fastened to the tunnel belt feet of the tunnel belt.

The flanks of the form formed by two adjacent support elements on the conveyor belt in an embodiment of the invention form an angle between 20 and 40 degrees. In a further embodiment of the invention, the two flanks of the shape have different angles.

The height of the arranged on the conveyor belt of the device according to the invention support elements is chosen so that the conveyor belt is not hindered with the mounted support elements in its course. By choosing the height of the support elements, it is ensured that the support elements can be easily mounted on a conveyor belt of a device for filling granules into sacks without the need for further modifications or conversions to the system.

A further aspect of the invention is the provision of a method for filling granules in sacks with a filling installation as just described, wherein the sacks are at least partially guided on a conveyor belt, with the following method steps:

Filling the granules in a sack

Vacuuming and sealing the bag, wherein the bag is supported in a tapered shape during filling and pressed into its final format after closing.

In the first step of the process granules are filled into a sack. Without the additional support of the bag, the bag would take its greatest thickness at the bottom and become narrower towards its upper end. By supporting the bag in a downwardly tapered shape, this effect is counteracted. The sack is narrower at the bottom and now has its largest thickness approximately in the middle. In the next process step, the granulate bag is transported to a closing station. In the closing station, the bag is closed by welding.

At the same time or in a timely manner, the bag is "vacuumed", in which excess air is taken from the interior of the bag by means of a vacuum pump. The closed and vacuumed bag is subsequently transported further and thereby thrown off the conveyor belt of the apparatus for filling granules onto another conveyor belt The sack is guided to a press and pressed through the latter into its final format As the sack has its greatest thickness before pressing in the middle, after squeezing, a sack with a nearly parallelepipedal shape is produced, and in one embodiment of the method, the sack is filled with its longest side to o aligned.

By supporting the bag during filling, a bag with the longest side facing upwards has a smaller thickness after bottling, both at the lower end and at the upper end than at its center.

In one embodiment of the method, a filled bag lies on its largest surface during pressing and has an approximately rectangular shape after pressing.

The method is suitable for bags of various sizes and allows you to freely adjust the length of the bag.

By means of the support element according to the invention, an apparatus for filling granules into sacks can be improved so that the filled sacks can be brought into an approximately parallelepipedal format by pressing. This is at a the filling of the bags downstream palletizing achieved better use of space and improves the stackability of the filled granule bags. This makes it possible to accommodate the bags in more layers than previously possible on a pallet. The number of pallets required for transport is reduced, which reduces costs and costs in logistics.

The advantageous Ausgestattung of the support element according to the invention with a holding device makes it possible to attach the support member to a studded belt, as it is commonly used in devices for filling granules in bags. The inventive choice of the maximum height of the support elements ensures that in addition to the mounting of the support elements no further changes or modifications to the device for filling granules in bags must be made. The angles of the flanks of the form formed by the support elements are matched to the size of the bags to be filled and set for optimum support of the bag during filling and for a fault-free discharge of the bag.

The method can be set up for different sizes of sacks, so that the great flexibility of filling according to the FFS principle is maintained.

Brief description of the figures

With reference to the drawings, the invention will be described in more detail below.

It shows:

Fig. 1 a a palletized stack of the prior art

filled granule bags,

Fig. 1 b is a palletized stack of with the invention

Process bottled granular bags,

Fig. 2 is a schematic representation of the device according to the invention

for filling granulated bags,

3 shows the completion of the formatting of a granular sack by pressing, FIG. 4 a supported by the support elements according to the invention

filled granule bag,

Fig. 5 shows an embodiment of a support element according to the invention. variants

Fig. 1a shows a palletized stack of granule sacks which have been filled by a prior art process.

Fig. 1 a shows granule bags 31, which were filled by a method according to the prior art. The granule bags 31 are stacked in six layers on a pallet 32. Clearly recognizable are unused cavities 35 between the bags 31. Furthermore, the format of each individual bag 31 is greatly different and there are sometimes significant deviations from the ideal parallelepiped-shaped format , Other layers of sacks 31 can no longer be safely stored on the stack. Fig. 1 b shows a palletized stack of bags that have been filled and formatted by the method according to the invention.

In Fig. 1 b six layers of bags 30 are shown on a pallet 32. Above this stack, another pallet 32 is placed, on which also six layers of bags 30 are arranged. Due to the approximately cuboidal format of the bags 30 occur less or only small voids 35 between the bags 30. Furthermore, the top of the bag stack is suitable for adding further layers of bags 30 to the stack. Fig. 2 shows a schematic representation of the device according to the invention for filling granules in bags.

In Fig. 2, a studded belt 10 is shown, on which a plurality of tunnel belt feet 12 is arranged. On the tunnel belt 10 support elements 1 are fixed, which have a pitched roof-like shape. The material required for producing the bags is supplied wound on an endless roll 60. The material wound up on the roll 60 is designed, for example, as an endless tube or as an endless side fold tubular film. As a bag material, single films, composite films, paper and composites of at least one film layer and at least one further layer are used. Examples of bag materials used are polyethylene, polypropylene, composite of aluminum and polyethylene, and composite of paper and polyethylene. The endless material 61 is guided over a plurality of deflection rollers 62 and a pair of driven rollers 66 through a closing and cutting device 64. With the closing and cutting device 64, the lower end of the bag is first welded. Thereafter, the bag material 61 is further unrolled until the desired length of the bag is reached, and then cut off from the shutter and cutter 64. This creates a still folded bag that is closed at one end by welding. The later side walls of the bag are already closed, since the bag material 61 is designed in the form of a tube or a side pleated tube. The still collapsed bag is grasped by a holding and transporting device 46 and moved into the region of the conveyor belt 10, where the lower end of the bag 34 is introduced onto the conveyor belt 10 between two support elements 1, which has a tapering in the direction of conveyor belt 10 second form.

The upper end of the bag 34 is opened by the holding and transport device 46, so that a filling device 40 can engage in the opened bag 34. The filling device 40 can then be used to fill a material or granulate to be inserted, for example, by weighing or measuring the volume. During the filling process, the bag 34 is held further by the holding and transport device 46. The holding and transporting device 46 can be designed, for example, as a suction strip which holds the bag by means of negative pressure.

After filling the bag 34 this is released by the holding and transport device 46. By filling with granules, the bag is on its own. Due to the support of the bag 34 with the support elements 1 on the tunnel belt 10, the granulate bag 34 in the lower region 39 has a smaller thickness than in the middle. The filled, but not yet sealed granule bag 34 is transported from the lug strip 10 to a closure device 42. There, the bag is grasped at the top 38 and sealed by welding. At the same time, the closure device 42 sucks excess air out of the granulated bag via a connection to a vacuum pump 44.

After sealing, the closed granulate bag 36 is transported further from the tunnel belt 10 to a bag discharge 13. At Sackabwurf 13 of the closed granule bag 36 falls from the tunnel belt 10 on a conveyor belt 14. This changes the orientation of the granular bag 36. On the tunnel belt 10 of the granule bag 36 is aligned with its longest side upwards. On the conveyor belt 14 of the granulate bag 36 is located on the side, so that its largest surface faces down. The conveyor belt 14 transports the granulate bag 36 to a press, through which the granulate bag 36 receives its almost cuboidal formatting. The ability to process air and water impermeable composites, such as a polyethylene and aluminum continuous hose 61, can be used in combination with be filled with the vacuuming of the bags 34 and granules of hygroscopic materials. Examples of bagged hygroscopic materials are plastic granules such as ABS (acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene), PA (polyamides), PC (polycarbonates), PET (polyethylene terephthalate), PUR (polyurethanes) PVC (polyvinyl chloride) and basic chemicals such as caprolactam (crystalline ), Adipic acid (crystalline) and hexamethylenediamine adipate (crystalline salt).

In one embodiment of the device, the opened granulate bag 34 is vibrated after being filled with granules in order to compact the filled-in granules.

In Fig. 3, a granule bag is shown immediately before and after pressing. FIG. 3 shows a filled and closed but not yet pressed granulate sack 36. The granulate sack 36 lies on the side with its largest side surface downwards in a press 50. The thickness of the sack is greatest in the middle 37 and decreases to the bottom 39 and the top 38 out. The press 50 exerts pressure on the granulate bag 36 in the direction of the arrow indicated by the reference numeral 52. As a result, granules from the central region 37 of the granular bag 36 in the direction of top 38 and bottom 39 is pressed. Furthermore, FIG. 3 shows a representation of a pressed granulated bag 30, which is still located in a press 50. Due to the pressure during pressing, the bag 30 has assumed an approximately cuboidal formatting, in which the thickness of the bag 30 is almost identical both in the region of the middle 37 and in the region of the top 38 and the bottom 39.

Fig. 4 shows a filled, but not yet pressed granule bag on a tunnel belt with the support elements according to the invention.

In Fig. 4 is an already filled and sealed, but not yet pressed granule bag 36 is shown. The granulate bag 36 is located on a tunnel belt 10 and is supported in the region of the underside 39 of two support elements 1. By the support elements 1, the bag 36 assumes a shape in which it has the greatest thickness in the region of its center 37. In the area of the lower side 39 and the upper side 38, the granulated bag 36 in each case assumes a smaller thickness. The support elements 1 according to the invention comprise a saddle-roof-shaped part 20 and a fastening 24. With the fastening 24, the saddle-roof-shaped part 20 of the support element 1 is fastened to a studded belt foot 12 of the studded belt 10.

By two adjacent support elements 1 is on the studded belt 10 down a, that is to the stud band 10, tapered shape 2 is formed. The size of the support elements 1, in particular their height, is chosen so that the support can circulate elements 1 together with the lug strip 10 in the apparatus for filling granules in bags without hindering the lug strip 10.

5, an embodiment of the support element according to the invention is shown. 5 shows a support element 1 on a lug strip 10. The support element 1 comprises a saddle-roof-shaped part 20 and a holder 24. The saddle-roof-shaped part 20 is rounded off both at the top of the pointed edge and at the edges of the lug strip 10 facing edges. This avoids that the bag material is mechanically damaged during transport on the tunnel belt 10. The holder 24 comprises a holding plate 23 which is connected to the saddle-roof-shaped part 20, a clamping bracket 25, a clamping plate 26 and a plurality of screws 27 and nuts 28. With the clamping bracket 25, the clamping bracket plate 26 and at least two screws 27, the holder 24 attached to a Stollenbandfuß 12 of the studded belt 10. The screws 27 engage in a thread 29 in the clamp 25 a. About at least one screw 27, the clamping bracket 25 is connected to the holding plate 23. With several nuts 28, the connection is fixed.

Depending on the design of Stollenbandfußes 12 and possibly further requirements for the support elements, such as the ability to easily remove the support elements 1 from the tunnel belt 10, the assembly of the support elements 1 on the tunnel belt 10 with other means than the aforementioned is possible. If the support elements 1 no longer have to be removed from the lug strip 10, it is conceivable, for example, to connect the support element 1 to a lug foot 12 by welding or gluing. For an easily detachable connection, the holder 24 can also be designed with other means for attachment, such as, for example, a direct screw connection in the cleated belt foot 12.

The saddle-roof-shaped part 20 has two flanks 21, 22. The direction of travel of the chute belt 10 facing edge 21 closes with the solder at an angle α. The counter to the direction of the tunneling belt 10 facing edge 22 of the saddle roof-shaped part 20 closes with the solder at an angle ß. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the angle α of the flank 21 is smaller than the angle β of the flank 22, that is to say the flank 21 pointing in the transport direction is steeper than the flank 22 pointing opposite to the transport direction or Stollenbands 10 when Sackabwurf 13 optimized LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

Support element 61 endless hose (gusseted film)

2 Form 62 pulley

10 lug band 64 closure and cutting device

12 Stollenbandfuß 66 driven roller

13 bag dump

14 conveyor belt to the press

18 upper edge

19 lower edge

20 roof shape / saddle-shaped part

21 in the direction of Sackabwurfs (direction) pointing edge

22 pointing against the direction edge

23 retaining plate

24 attachment

25 clamp

26 clamp plate

27 (threaded) bolts

28 mother

29 thread

α flank angle (running direction)

ß flank angle

(against running direction)

30 according to the invention formatted bag

31 bag according to the prior art

32 palette

35 cavity

34 open, still to be filled sack

36 filled, but not yet

pressed sack

37 middle of the bag

38 top of the bag

39 sub-line

40 filling device

41 to be filled material

42 closure device

44 Connection to a vacuum pump

46 holding and transport device

50 press

52 printing direction

60 bag material as an endless tube on a roll

Claims

claims

1 . Support element (1) for supporting a bag (34, 36) during filling, characterized in that the support element (1) has the shape of a saddle roof and that on the underside of the support element (1) means for fastening (24) on a conveyor belt ( 10) are arranged.

2. Support element (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the means for fastening (24) on a conveyor belt (10) as a clamp (25, 26) enclosing a Stollenbandfuß (12) of a conveyor belt designed as a conveyor belt (10) , are executed.

3. Support element (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that between the flanks (21, 22) of the support element (1) and the solder an angle (a, ß) of 20 ° to 45 ° is included.

4. Support element (1) according to claim 3, characterized in that the two flanks (21, 22) of the support element (5) have different angles (a, ß).

5. Support element (1) according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the edges (18, 19) of the support element (1) are rounded.

6. Support element (1) according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the support element (1) is made of a plastic or a metal, in particular polypropylene, polyethylene or polyvinyl chloride.

7. A device for filling granules in bags (30, 34, 36), comprising a filling device (40) and a conveyor belt (10), characterized in that on the conveyor belt (10) supporting elements (1) according to one of claims 1 to 6 are fastened, wherein two adjacent support elements (1) on the conveyor belt (10) form a downwardly tapering shape (2).

8. The device according to claim 7, wherein the conveyor belt (10) is a studded belt, characterized in that the supporting elements (1) are fastened to the stud belt feet (12).

9. Device according to one of claims 7 or 8, characterized in that the flanks (21, 22) with the solder form an angle (a, ß) between 20 ° and 45 °.

10. Device according to one of claims 7 to 9, characterized in that the two flanks (21, 22) of the two support elements (1) and the conveyor belt (10) formed form (2) have different angles (a, ß).

1 1. Device according to one of claims 7 to 10, characterized in that the height of the support elements (1) is selected so that the conveyor belt (10) with the mounted support elements (1) is not hindered in its course.

12. A method for filling granules in bags (30, 34, 36) with a device for filling granules in bags according to one of claims 7 to

1 1, wherein the sacks (30, 34, 36) are at least partially guided on a conveyor belt (10), comprising the following steps: a) filling the granulate into a sack (34),

b) Vacuuming and closing of the bag (34), characterized in that the bag (34, 36, 30) during filling in a tapered shape (2) is supported and is pressed after closing in its final format.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the bag (34) during filling is aligned with its longest side up.

14. The method of claim 12 or 13, wherein the bag (34) is aligned after filling with its longest side up, characterized in that the bag (34) both at the lower end (39) and at the upper end (38 ) has a smaller thickness than in the middle (37).

15. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 14, wherein the bag (36) during pressing on its largest surface and the bag (30) after pressing has an approximately parallelepiped shape.

16. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 15, wherein the length of the bag (30, 34, 36) is freely adjustable.