Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65B—MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING
  • B65B25/00—Packaging other articles presenting special problems
  • B65B25/02—Packaging agricultural or horticultural products
  • B65B25/04—Packaging fruit or vegetables
  • B65B25/046—Packaging fruit or vegetables in crates or boxes
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65B—MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING
  • B65B25/00—Packaging other articles presenting special problems
  • B65B25/02—Packaging agricultural or horticultural products
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65B—MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING
  • B65B35/00—Supplying, feeding, arranging or orientating articles to be packaged
  • B65B35/30—Arranging and feeding articles in groups
  • B65B35/32—Arranging and feeding articles in groups by gravity
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65B—MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING
  • B65B43/00—Forming, feeding, opening or setting-up containers or receptacles in association with packaging
  • B65B43/42—Feeding or positioning bags, boxes, or cartons in the distended, opened, or set-up state; Feeding preformed rigid containers, e.g. tins, capsules, glass tubes, glasses, to the packaging position; Locating containers or receptacles at the filling position; Supporting containers or receptacles during the filling operation
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65B—MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING
  • B65B43/00—Forming, feeding, opening or setting-up containers or receptacles in association with packaging
  • B65B43/42—Feeding or positioning bags, boxes, or cartons in the distended, opened, or set-up state; Feeding preformed rigid containers, e.g. tins, capsules, glass tubes, glasses, to the packaging position; Locating containers or receptacles at the filling position; Supporting containers or receptacles during the filling operation
  • B65B43/54—Means for supporting containers or receptacles during the filling operation
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65B—MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING
  • B65B43/00—Forming, feeding, opening or setting-up containers or receptacles in association with packaging
  • B65B43/42—Feeding or positioning bags, boxes, or cartons in the distended, opened, or set-up state; Feeding preformed rigid containers, e.g. tins, capsules, glass tubes, glasses, to the packaging position; Locating containers or receptacles at the filling position; Supporting containers or receptacles during the filling operation
  • B65B43/54—Means for supporting containers or receptacles during the filling operation
  • B65B43/56—Means for supporting containers or receptacles during the filling operation movable stepwise to position container or receptacle for the reception of successive increments of contents
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65B—MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING
  • B65B5/00—Packaging individual articles in containers or receptacles, e.g. bags, sacks, boxes, cartons, cans, jars
  • B65B5/08—Packaging groups of articles, the articles being individually gripped or guided for transfer to the containers or receptacles
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65B—MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING
  • B65B57/00—Automatic control, checking, warning, or safety devices

Definitions

• the present invention relates to an improved apparatus for filling containers, in particular a special type of such containers, used for the final packaging of horticultural vegetable and/or fruit products of small size, and relative method of operation.
• an established method is to transfer said products through conventional transporting conveyors, which at the end of their travel unload them into the final containers.
• said containers into which the products are unloaded have a significant internal height, and thus it happens that at the end of the conveyor the products, which drop directly to the bottom of the container fall through the entire height of the container, which means that in its fall the product naturally reaches a certain speed.
• a known method is to incline the containers at the end of the transporting conveyor so that the individual products are prevented from dropping vertically, but are released from the conveyor on an upper edge of one of its walls, obviously inclined with respect to the relative vertical position.
• the present invention deals particularly with the filling of such small boxes, although in general it can be used for cases or bins of traditional type, and thus having a rigid structure and of large dimensions. Therefore, herein will be described an application aimed at such types of small boxes, although the invention may apply in general to any other type of container.
• the first problem is due to the fact that the disclosed apparatus requires, downstream of the transporting conveyor, a considerable space for moving the boxes; however, in the case involving the filling of plastic small boxes, the filling operation is preferably, although not exclusively, carried out in storerooms or places specialized for the purpose; in such places, as in all industrial spaces, the available area must be used in the most efficient and economic manner possible, and therefore in the filling of the small boxes, which in the prior-art methods is carried out with the apparatus facing the product feeding conveyor, there is a substantially lowered overall efficiency of the apparatus;
• This objective is achieved with the type of apparatus provided and operating so as to use at least one horizontal conveyor, a moving structure arranged at the output edge of said conveyor and provided with displacement and engaging means for inclining, through a partial rotation, a container from a first inclined position with respect to the horizontal plane, in which the rim of the container remains contiguous to the output edge of the conveyor, and subsequent working positions in which the same container is moved progressively through less inclined positions until it returns to the normal horizontal position
• said moving structure includes a U- shaped oscillating frame whose open side can be arranged in front of said output edge of the conveyor; blocking means are provided to be supported by said oscillating frame and suitable to selectively engage and disengage the outer perimeter of the container so as to initially rotate the container to a pre-determined inclination and subsequently return it by reverse rotation to the normal position, in which the container is released and removed.
• figure 8 is a perspective view, taken from a viewing position opposite to the one of the previous figures, of the inventive apparatus in the operating step of figure 3;
• figure 9 illustrates a perspective view, taken from a viewing position opposite to the one of figure 4, of the inventive apparatus in the operating step of figure 4;
• figure 10 illustrates a perspective view, from a viewing position opposite to the one of figure 5, of the inventive apparatus in the operating step of figure 5;
• figure 1 1 illustrates the exploded view of the apparatus of figure 1 ;
• figures 12A and 12B illustrate two schematic elevational views and plane projections on a vertical plane of a detail of the inventive apparatus, in two respective steps of operation;
• figures 13A and 13B illustrate two schematic plane views from above of a portion of the inventive apparatus in two subsequent steps of operation corresponding respectively to figures 12A and 12B.
• an apparatus for filling with loose horticultural products each of a plurality of containers and/or small boxes, preferably made of plastic, in succession comprises:
• Said moving structure includes:
• an oscillating frame 10 formed substantially in a "U" shape (see figures 13A and 13B) and in which the open side 1 1 is suitable to position itself in front of said output edge 2 of said transporting conveyor 1 ;
• the oscillating frame 10 is suitable to be rotated, by known means, in a plurality of reciprocally angular positions around a single axis "Z" integral with the apparatus and parallel to, and therefore integral with, said output edge 2, and specifically:
• the blocking means 12 and 13, as shown, consist of respective partially concave jaws, with the concave surface turned toward the inside of the oscillating frame 10 and are arranged at the opposite internal sides of the frame, and specifically at the two sides 10A and 10B that make up the opposite arms of said oscillating frame 10 defined as "U" shaped.
• the assembly formed by the oscillating frame 10 and the jaws 12 and 13 is symmetrical with respect to a vertical plane passing through the centre line of the conveyor 1 ; the intersection of said vertical plane with said conveyor is shown in Fig. 1 by the cross- sectional line "X".
• FIGS 13A and 13B which illustrate schematically said two jaws 12, 13 viewed from above, also show that each of them is provided, in the relative central part, with a rectilinear profile 12A and 13A; said profiles are shaped and dimensioned so that each jaw can adapt itself around a corresponding opposite vertical side 20A, 20B of a container 20 inserted inside and in the central area of the oscillating frame 10.
• Each of said jaws is provided with known displacement and engagement means, suitable to displace it, in a translational and rectilinear manner, through respective paths P1 , P2, from a first position defined here as “open”, as in figures 1 , 12A and 13A, to a second position defined here as “closed”, as in figures 3, 12B and 13B.
• said jaws perform selectively and alternatively a rectilinear motion, moving reciprocally closer to each other and reciprocally apart from each other.
• the containers used in the apparatus of the invention are empty parallelepiped containers, whose opposite sides 20A, 20B are provided, on the respective upper edges, with respective engaging rims 20A-A and 20B-B configured as outwardly and horizontal projections (with the container in a normal resting position on a horizontal plane) of the respective sides.
• Said engaging rims which resemble typical "collars”, work therefore like “handles” that are engaged by the respective jaws 12, 13 which insert immediately below the engaging rims and clasp them firmly.
• said jaws are limited to coming into contact with the respective sides 20A, 20B of the container 20 preventing to squeeze them, since the simple lifting of the jaws immediately brings the respective upper faces 12A, 13A ( Figures 12A, 12B) into engagement with the lower faces of the respective engaging rims 20A-A and 20B-B, which in effect allows the lifting or partial rotation of the container without squeezing it, which is in fact the desired effect.
• appropriate double-acting pneumatic or hydraulic cylinders 35, 36 are arranged on said oscillating frame 10; such double- acting pneumatic or hydraulic cylinders 35, 36 offer an improvement in the operating speed of the jaws 12, 13 as well as a perfect synchronism of their movements, which is necessary to prevent the possibility that an asymmetric displacement of the jaws causes a displacement of the container from the correct position in the loading phase.
• said oscillating frame 10 is operated in a rotational motion around said orthogonal axis "Z" by means of one or more hydraulic cylinders 40, 41 , (see figures 1 , 4), preferably of double-acting type, each of which being engaged between a portion, preferably a rear portion 40A, 40B, of said oscillating frame, and a respective resistance point 40B, 41 B, integral with the structure of said apparatus, as shown in figures 1 , 4 and 8.
• the apparatus in order to pick said container 20 by selecting it from a succession of similar containers, includes lifting means provided with a substantially flat lifting surface 45, shown in figures 4, 8 and 9, arranged at and below said output edge 2 of said transporting conveyor 1 and suitable to selectively lift and lower one of said containers and/or small boxes in a controlled manner.
• Said lifting surface 45 is operated, with known means, so as to be supplied, in a lowered position, with a single container at a time by suitable feeding means that supply said surface 45 with the individual separate containers.
• said surface 45 forms a simple hoisting table that lifts every container to a level suitable for the correct operation of said oscillating frame 10; in fact, the oscillating frame, after having held the respective engaging rims 20A-A and 20B-B ( Figure 3) by means of said jaws 12 and 13, is rotated toward the conveyor 1 so as to be set at the desired inclination ( Figure 4); the filling of the container begins immediately after the start of rotation of the frame, and continues during the whole phase of rotation of the same and, if necessary, even after the container has been rotated to the stable position at its maximum inclination.
• the oscillating frame When the filling of the container is completed, the oscillating frame returns in reverse rotation to its initial position, in which said container rests again on the surface 45, as in Figure 5; immediately after this, the jaws 12 and 13 open and free the container 20 from the frame 10 (Fig. 6), and subsequently said surface 45 is lowered again to the starting position (Fig. 7), from where the newly filled container is removed, and in its place is brought an empty container to begin another filling cycle.
• FIGS 8, 9 and 10 illustrate, from a different perspective angle, the steps of figures 3, 4 and 5, respectively, and thus their detailed explanation is omitted.
• the apparatus of the invention utilizes three separate mechanisms, each of which performing a separate function:
• the oscillating frame 10 moves with a partial rotation, that is, an "oscillation" about the "Z" axis integral with the apparatus;
• the two jaws 12 and 13 move in synchronism with a reciprocal movement apart from and toward each other, and are displaced with respect to the opposite sides of said frame 10 by which they are supported.
• said jaws can perform a double movement: a movement of their own with respect to the frame and a motion induced by the oscillation of the frame with respect to the apparatus; however, for what concerns the control of said jaws, their movement is a simple alternating rectilinear movement of translation with respect to said frame 10 since they are supported by the frame 10;
• the third movement regards the lifting/lowering of the lifting surface 45.
• the apparatus is provided with known command and control means that process the control signals that must be sent to each of said functional assemblies to implement the designated method, which is made up of the following individual steps briefly described herebelow with reference to the enclosed figures: a) Loading the container 20 onto the lowered lifting surface 45, Fig. 1 ;
• the transporting conveyor can also start to fill the container right at the start of its rotation phase:
• the presence of means suitable to sense the presence, or the absence of products on the transporting conveyor offers the possibility of having an advantageous and improved functional mode; this consists of the fact that when said photocell senses the absence of products on the conveyor, the signal produced and transmitted by the same photocell can be used to interrupt both the movement of the conveyor itself, and also, or alternatively, the rotational movement of the oscillating frame and thus of the respective container.
• both the movement of the conveyor and the movement of the container can be temporarily stopped (as if placed on stand-by), until new product is sensed on the conveyor, which causes the automatic resumption of operation of the complete apparatus.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Agronomy & Crop Science (AREA)
• Container Filling Or Packaging Operations (AREA)
• Supplying Of Containers To The Packaging Station (AREA)
• Specific Conveyance Elements (AREA)
• Packaging Of Special Articles (AREA)
• Basic Packing Technique (AREA)

Priority Applications (16)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=49000563

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (22)

Cited By (1)

Families Citing this family (3)

Citations (8)

Family Cites Families (20)

• 2013
  • 2013-06-11 IT IT000031A patent/ITPN20130031A1/it unknown
• 2014
  • 2014-05-14 PT PT147310486T patent/PT3007981T/pt unknown
  • 2014-05-14 SI SI201430157A patent/SI3007981T1/sl unknown
  • 2014-05-14 AU AU2014279769A patent/AU2014279769B2/en active Active
  • 2014-05-14 HU HUE14731048A patent/HUE033481T2/en unknown
  • 2014-05-14 LT LTEP14731048.6T patent/LT3007981T/lt unknown
  • 2014-05-14 PL PL14731048T patent/PL3007981T3/pl unknown
  • 2014-05-14 ES ES14731048.6T patent/ES2616482T3/es active Active
  • 2014-05-14 CA CA2914143A patent/CA2914143C/en active Active
  • 2014-05-14 WO PCT/IB2014/061426 patent/WO2014199248A1/en active Application Filing
  • 2014-05-14 ME MEP-2017-69A patent/ME02649B/me unknown
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  • 2014-05-14 DK DK14731048.6T patent/DK3007981T3/en active
  • 2014-05-14 EP EP14731048.6A patent/EP3007981B1/en active Active
  • 2014-05-14 UA UAA201512227A patent/UA115479C2/uk unknown
  • 2014-05-14 US US14/895,257 patent/US20160107777A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2014-05-14 RU RU2015153845A patent/RU2650407C2/ru active
  • 2014-05-14 CN CN201480032656.XA patent/CN105263807B/zh active Active
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• 2015
  • 2015-12-09 CL CL2015003576A patent/CL2015003576A1/es unknown
• 2016
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• 2017
  • 2017-02-21 HR HRP20170286TT patent/HRP20170286T1/hr unknown

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