Package making – Methods – Filling preformed receptacle
Reexamination Certificate
1999-03-18
2001-03-27
Johnson, Brian L. (Department: 3618)
Package making
Methods
Filling preformed receptacle
C053S069000, C053S250000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06205751
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a method for feeding of articles, in particular bags, into a moving, rotating or circulating transporting device, whereby the transporting device continues to move without standstill, and the articles are fed into provided spaces of the transporting device.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
It is known to feed articles into spaces of a transporting device, which is moved at a constant speed and which rotates, which spaces are provided one behind the other and are limited transversely with respect to the transporting direction. The articles are, for this purpose, initially accelerated by means of an accelerating band extending parallel to the transporting device to the same speed as the transporting device, and are then moved in a horizontal direction one after the other into the spaces.
It is furthermore known to operate a transporting device intermittently and to move during each standstill of the transporting device an article into a space of the transporting device provided for this purpose or to permit said article to fall from above into said space.
The known transporting device, which is moved at a constant speed, has the disadvantage that the technical input for an acceleration of the articles to the speed of the transporting device is relatively great, and that such devices are therefore relatively expensive.
The known intermittently operating transporting device has the disadvantage that due to the standstill times of the transporting device only a relatively low transporting performance can be achieved.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The purpose of the invention is to achieve a method and a device having a relatively high transporting performance. The device is, in addition, inexpensive and experiences relatively low wear.
The speed of a transporting device, which is moved continuously without standstill, is in the method of the invention slower during a feed-in operation than the speed of the transporting device outside of a feed-in operation.
The device of the invention has a transporting device, which rotates without standstill, and the drive of which is connected to a control device, which slows down the transporting device at a feed-in time, and again accelerates the transporting device at a later feed-in time.
The method of the invention and the device of the invention have the advantage that a relatively high transporting performance is achieved since standstill times do not occur during the operation of the device, and the transporting device is operated only during a feed-in operation at a reduced speed.
The feeding of the articles occurs in an inexpensive manner since articles accelerated to the speed of the transporting device are not demanded. Since such an accelerating device is not needed, the control device can be reduced by additional programming of an already existing control device and is principally less expensive than a separate accelerating device.
The invention permits relatively little wear of the device since static frictions, as they would occur during the standstill of a device, are avoided. With this, the necessary driving forces are reduced, and a performance-weaker, less expensive drive can be provided. The structural parts of the device are subjected to smaller wearing forces. To avoid an increased wear and for the use of a relatively performance-weak drive it is possible to move the transporting device so slow that a standstill of the transporting device does not occur. A particularly slow operation during a feed-in operation has, in addition, the advantage that the articles can be moved into relatively narrow spaces, whereby the outer dimension of an article in a transporting direction can only be insignificantly smaller than the inner dimension of a space in this direction. That is, a relatively accurately fitting feeding in is achieved.
When the feeding speed V
3
of the articles into the spaces is at least ten times greater than the transporting speed V of the transporting device, then a reliable feeding into relatively accurately fitting spaces is achieved.
When the articles have, directly prior to the moving-in or feeding-in operation, a speed component V
E1
aligned parallel to the transporting speed V, for example through a momentary impulse, push, or force onto the articles, parallel to the transporting direction, then maximum feed-in speeds can be achieved.
The articles can be fed in a horizontal direction or in a vertical direction downwardly into the spaces. A horizontal feeding V
e1
in is possible very time-exactly by means of a slide see slide
30
,
FIGS. 2
,
4
. During a vertical feeding at V
E2
in, gravitation can be utilized in order to achieve a very high feeding-in speed V
6
.
However, it is also possible to throw the articles into the spaces with a defined initial speed. This has the advantage that a short feeding-in path can be realized.
Two belts, which rotate in opposite direction and receive an article between themselves, are suited as the mechanism for feeding in. The belts hold an article and emit same to a space at a moment or time depending on the first feed-in moment. If the space between the belts can be changed, then it is possible for this mechanism to feed in differently wide articles.
As a mechanism for feeding in, it is also possible to provide a vertical tubular bagging machine with Dshaped rotating cross-sealing jaws. Bags manufactured by the tubular bagging machine can in the case of this mechanism be fed with a precisely specified release speed in an inexpensive manner directly into the spaces. An additional mechanism for feeding in is completely eliminated. The tubular bags are emitted downwardly along a straight path of the D-shaped jaw path with a particularly precisely specified speed.
When the transporting device is a part of a cartoning system, then bags can in an advantageous manner be fed into boxes. The boxes are provided in an opened state in the spaces and are in an inventive manner provided with bags. When the transporting device is a cup band, then the cups of the cup band form the spaces.
A particularly high positioning exactness is possible when the inertia moment and the length expansion of the transporting device are relatively low. This is achieved when a rotating synchronous belt with partitions arranged equidistantly on the synchronous belt is provided as the transporting device, and the partitions consist of a light metal, in particular a magnesium alloy. A synchronous belt experiences after a certain duration of operation a clearly lesser length expansion than, for example, a transporting chain. The synchronous belt together with the partitions can, due to the comparatively low weight, be clearly more exactly positioned and it is possible to use a comparatively performance-weaker drive, which, because of its good positioning ability, should be a servomotor.
When a sensor is provided in order to recognize a space to be filled, and when the sensor is connected to the control device, then the sensor can specify a first feed-in moment by sensing a space.
A particularly favorable feed-in operation is achieved when in addition to the feeding in at a slowed transporting device, the spaces are enlarged prior to a feed-in operation and are again reduced after the feed-in operation. A relatively narrow feeding in is thus avoided and the feed-in operation is much safer. The slowing of the transporting device and the space enlargement supplement one another in an ideal manner for a feed-in operation.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4114752 (1978-09-01), Schiek
patent: 4117649 (1978-10-01), Egli
patent: 4124967 (1978-11-01), Beer et al.
patent: 4558779 (1985-12-01), Schmitt et al.
patent: 5209046 (1993-05-01), Tapscott et al.
patent: 5655355 (1997-08-01), Ramler
Baur Walter
Kammler Roman
Flynn ,Thiel, Boutell & Tanis, P.C.
Johnson Brian L.
Luby Matthew
Rovema Verpackungsmaschinen GmbH
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