EP0071584A1 - Device for automatically boxing bags in cartons - Google Patents

Abstract

The machine for packing encapsulated tablets, or similar products, into cartons (C) has an inclined ramp (2) onto which a continuous strip of capsules (A) is fed. The capsules are separated by a zone (B) where the capsule edges are heat sealed. The capsule strip is held stationary by an arm (7) on the fixed blade (1a) whilst the moving blade (1) cuts through the strip and the single capsule is then pressed into the carton by the ram (9). The capsule strip is fed to the blade by the intermittent motion of an arm (3) mounted on a reciprocating slide (5).

Description

The present patent application for industrial invention relates to a mechanical device for the automatic boxing of sachets in cardboard cases, by removing them directly from the machine for placing in sachets.

Packaging in paper bags, hermetically sealed by heat sealing, is always more in demand on the market, either in the food sector than in the pharmaceutical sector, where, particularly for powdery or water-soluble granular medicinal specialties, there is always a tendency to distribution in single-dose sachets.

For an easier and immediate appreciation, of the qualities and advantages offered by the machine according to the invention, compared to equivalent machines which are already in activity, it is advisable to specify, that a continuous ribbon of sachets arranged in column and aligned, comes out of the automatic machines responsible for bagging the products.

According to a previous technique, the said continuous ribbon was cut crosswise and longitudinally at the exit of the single sachets or pairs of sachets, which are taken up by pliers or suction cups and stacked, according to the desired number, in baskets or racks intended for the transport of pre-formed batteries in the boxing machine.

Such a process presents critical phases during operation mainly because of the surface irregularity of each bag, which, during the transport of the stack can easily slide from the correct horizontal position, assuming angle positions which can cause castrations and consequent jams during the transport phase and the phase of introducing the pre-formed stack into the cardboard box.

According to a previous previous technique, the continuous ribbon of sachets, leaving the machine for putting in sachets, is perforated either salty transfer or longitudinally between sachet and sachet (like sheet of stamps) so as to be able to perform, during a post suitable, the separation by tearing of single sachets or of pairs of sachets, which are .successively removed and introduced, by means of forceps or ven, into the packaging box.

The critical and more uncertain phase of such a process, is that of tearing, which remains difficult to regular and constant, because of the difficulty of finding a fair degree of perforation which, on the one hand, guarantees a consistent continuity of the sheet and on the other hand, the regularity of tearing under slight tension.

The object of the present invention is to eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks by providing a mechanical device capable of guaranteeing regular continuity of operation during the automatic packaging of paper bags in cardboard boxes.

Another object of the invention is to produce an autonomous and independent machine, capable of being directly coupled to a machine for traditional bagging, so as to create a continuous packaging line, where the product is first put in sachets, then in boxes in cardboard boxes, which contain a pre-set number of units.

• - un poste de tranchage, où la lame verticale, en descendant, tranche les sachets maintenus arrêtés sur le fil de tranche;
• - un mécanisme d'alimentation intermittente du poste de tranchage susdit, apte à faire avancer d'un pas constant, un sachet singulier ou une paire de sachets à chaque fois, sur une ou plusieurs rangées et en mesure d'ar rêter ces mêmes sachets en position suspendue sur le fil de tranchage;
• - un poste d'attente des étuis de carton, qui stationnent immédiatement au-delà du poste de tranchage, en position exactement inférieure aux sachets arrêtés suspendus sur le fil de tranchage.

The device according to the invention essentially comprises:

• - a slicing station, where the vertical blade, going down, slices the sachets kept stopped on the slice wire;
• - an intermittent feed mechanism of the above-mentioned slicing station, capable of advancing with a constant step, a single sachet or a pair of sachets each time, on one or more rows and able to stop these same sachets in the hanging position on the cutting wire;
• - a stand for cardboard boxes, which are parked immediately beyond the slicing station, in a position exactly below its chets stopped hanging on the cutting line.

The stacking of the sachets in the packaging box therefore occurs automatically, according to the invention, by simple gravitational fall of the sachets, one on the other, as and when they are sliced.

Such a boxing system eliminates the above drawbacks, which occur on the one hand, during the phase of transporting pre-formed batteries having an uncertain stability and on the other hand, during the tearing phase of continuous ribbons of perforated sachets.

At the same time, any sampling device (pliers, suction cups, etc.) is eliminated at the station for slicing the sachets and at the station for boxing the sachets in question, considerably simplifying the structure and maintenance of the machine and having decidedly reduced production costs.

To give the reader as much light as possible, the description of the invention continues with reference to the accompanying drawings, which are given solely for explanatory and nonlimiting purposes, in which a preferred embodiment of the machine according to the invention has been shown. .

Drawing n. 1 is a perspective view of the machine according to the invention, shown diagrammatically.

Drawing n. 2 is a top view of the machine according to the invention, shown diagrammatically.

In the embodiment shown in the above drawings, it has been assumed that the machine comprises two advancement tracks supplied by longitudinal ribbons composed of pairs of bags.

• a) un poste de tranchage, où la lame (1) tranche le ruban de sachets (A) transversalement à guillotine par rapport à la ligne médiane du cordon de thermosoudure transversal (B) entre sachet et sachet;
• b) un mécanisme d'alimentation du poste de tranchage susdit, comprend un plan incliné (2), qui pourra avoir une ou plusieurs pistes d'avance ment selon les exigences, délimitées par des bords latéraux (2a) qui se terminent immédiatement devant la contre-lame (la); sur chaque piste, une spatule (3), constamment pressée vers le bas par un ressort (8)glis se, pivotée sur un arbre horizontal (4), situé au-dessus d'un plan incliné (2) et ancré à un chariot (5) qui est doué d'un mouvement alterne par l'intermédiaire d'un mécanisme de bielle-manivelle; le chariot (5) et l'arbre (4) qui lui sont solidaires, accomplissent des courses alter nes le long d'une direction parallèle au plan incliné (2), à la base du plan incliné (2), pour chaque piste d'avancement des rouleaux affolés
• (6) sont prévus, qui invitent les rubans continus de sachets (A) prove nant de la machine pour la mise en sachets; en outre, le mécanisme de alimentation prévoit, également une mâchoire (7) pour chaque piste de avancement, qui est actionnée par un mécanisme de manivelle approprié, apte à maintenir bloquée sur la contre-lame de tranchage (la), durant un intervalle de temps préfixé, le sachet ou la paire de sachets en tê te du ruban de sachets situés le long du plan incliné (2);
• c) un poste d'attente des étuis de carton (C) qui se trouvent immédiate ment en-dessous et au-delà du poste de tranchage susdit, chacun d'eux étant en correspondance d'une piste d'avancement, disposés en colonne, selon une direction perpendiculaire à celle de l'avancement des sachets, à l'intérieur d'un couloir muni de pousseurs avec avancement intermittent programmable.

With reference to the above drawings, the mechanical device according to the invention comprises:

• a) a slicing station, where the blade (1) slices the ribbon of sachets (A) transversely with a guillotine relative to the center line of the transverse heat-sealing bead (B) between sachet and sachet;
• b) a mechanism for feeding the above-mentioned slicing station, comprises an inclined plane (2), which may have one or more tracks in advance as required, delimited by lateral edges (2a) which end immediately in front of the counter blade (la); on each track, a spatula (3), constantly pressed down by a sliding spring (8), pivoted on a horizontal shaft (4), located above an inclined plane (2) and anchored to a carriage (5) which has an alternating movement by means of a connecting rod-crank mechanism; the carriage (5) and the shaft (4) which are integral with it, perform alternate races along a direction parallel to the inclined plane (2), at the base of the inclined plane (2), for each track d advance of panic rollers
• (6) are provided which invite the continuous ribbons of sachets (A) coming from the machine for putting in sachets; in addition, the feeding mechanism also provides a jaw (7) for each advancement track, which is actuated by an appropriate crank mechanism, capable of keeping locked on the cutting counter blade (la), during an interval of prefixed time, the sachet or the pair of sachets at the head of the sachet ribbon situated along the inclined plane (2);
• c) a stand for cardboard boxes (C) which are immediately below and beyond the above-mentioned slicing station, each of them being in correspondence with a progress track, arranged in a column , in a direction perpendicular to that of the advancement of the bags, inside a corridor provided with pushers with intermittent programmable advance.

It should be noted that the angle of incidence of the spatula (3) on the inclined plane (2) can be adjusted by moving the shaft (4) in the special buttonhole (5a) provided on the carriage (5).

After having examined the structural configuration of the mechanical device according to the invention, let us now consider the methods and the sequence of the different phases of operation.

The sheet of sachets leaving the automatic machine for putting in sachets must be specially equipped, cut into as many long tudinal ribbons, of one or more sachets, which are conveyed on the operating plane (2) of the device in question .

Suppose that the cycle begins with the lowering stroke of the blade (1).

During slicing, sachets at the head of each advancement track, which have been pushed beyond the slicing wire, are held on the counter blade (la) of the jaw (7) above, which acts along the heat seal bead (B), transverse, which exists between sachet and sachet.

During the descent and slicing phase by the blade (1), the carriage (5) makes its return travel empty and downwards, consequently carrying the sliding of the spatula (3) on the row of sachets located at the below, which can hardly move back, since it is held on top by the jaw (7).

During the return stroke of the carriage (5) the spatula (3) stops at the half of the transverse heat seal bead (B), cited several times, and therefore during the ascent stroke, the spatula (3) slides in part on the aforementioned bead and begins to push forward the row of sachets only when it intercepts the relief which is created on the edge of the aforementioned heat-sealing bead.

The interception of the above relief is also helped by the presence of the product inside the bag, since the upward routing, vertically, and then the advancement uphill on the inclined plane (2) produces gravity the accumulation of the product on the bottom of his chet, sheltered on the sidelines of the weld.

The aforementioned effect of placing the product in order on the bottom of the bag occurs during the vertical section upward of the bag ribbon, and consequently the inclined plane (2) could be horizontal, according to a later preferred form. of achievement.

During the active race, the spatula (3) takes care to push forward the row of sachets until it has on the slicing line, the sachets at the head, which stop there, thanks to the jaw ( 7), in the hanging position above the box where they must be introduced after being sliced.

As a consequence of what has been explained, it can be noted that the active stroke of the spatula (3) turns out to be always less than the mechanical stroke and that the section of excess stroke is dissipated, at each cycle, by sliding on the thermoweld bead (B) which offers no point of support for the spatula, up to the marginal relief cited.

The fact of proceeding in the said manner makes it possible to advance exactly one sachet at a time in the effective measurement of its length, regardless of the mechanical stroke of the spatula or the actual advancement obtained during the previous cycle.

This makes it possible to avoid the accumulation of any pitch differences which can be noted between sachet and sachet and which are attributable to lengthening, shortening, or folding of paper, during the formation of the sachets in the machine for placing in bags.

In conclusion, we can summarize by specifying that the downward and upward stroke of the blade (1) occurs at the same time as the idle stroke and backward of the spatula (3) with a row of handbags held by the jaw, lowered, while the active stroke in front of the spatula (3) occurs with the jaw (7) the cutting blade lifted.

The device according to the invention also provides a "pusher foot" (9), which is actuated at the same time as the blade (1) by free fall, or, helped by return springs.

The "pushing foot" in question continues its downward movement beyond the slicing line, accompanying the sliced sachets up to the interior of the cardboard box (C) which is below and it performs at each cycle, a pressure action on the stack of sachets which is formed progressively.

To favor regular horizontal stratification of the sachets in the case, small lateral support shelves (10) are provided for each sachet or pair of sachets, where the sachets park briefly after being sliced and hence the "foot pusher "by its fast sawing stroke carries them and pushes them down into the box. It is understood that the present description refers to a preferred embodiment of the machine according to the invention, omitting construction details, movement members and the necessary cams as well as their phasing, because they are considered as not being essential for the understanding of the invention and that they are easily achievable by technicians of the sector.

This is why it is possible to add numerous variants and modifications, especially of construction, without however departing from the order of the invention described, illustrated above and claimed subsequently.

Claims (2)

1) Device for automatic boxing of sachets in cases, ca characterized by canprendre: a) a slicing station where the blade, descending with a guillotine, cuts transversely the ribbon of sachets at the very place of the center line of the transverse heat-sealing bead which exists between a sachet and the other; b) a feed mechanism for the above-mentioned slicing station which includes a more or less inclined action plan, with one or more advancement tracks delimited by lateral edges; it further comprises, for each advancement track, a spatula constantly pressed by a spring, downwards, above a row of sachets which park on the action plan; this spatula is pivoted on a horizontal shaft located above the action plan and anchored to a carriage which is endowed with an alternating movement, thanks to a crank-rod mechanism, along a direction parallel to the plane inclined cited; it also includes a jaw for each advancement track, actuated by a suitable crank mechanism, and which is able to block on the counter blade, during the slicing phase, the sachet or the pair of leader sachets of the ribbon of sachets pushed along the action plan; c) a waiting station for cardboard boxes where the sachets must be stacked and which park immediately below the thogonal projection of the sachets subject to slicing, each of them in correspondence of a progress track, arranged in column, in a direction perpendicular to the direction of advancement of the sachets on the action plan, within the limits of a corridor provided with suitable pushers with intermittent and programmable advancement; d) a "pusher" for each advancement track; e) two lateral support shelves. for each advancement track, where the sachets park briefly after being sliced and from where they are carried and pushed into the case below, by the "foot pusher "above, during its rapid descent race. 2) Device for automatic boxing of sachets in cases, according to the preceding claim and characterized by the act of the following fundamental phases: a) lowering of the slicing blade and slicing of the thread leader sachets, blocked on the slicing wire (in position suspended exactly above the packaging case) thanks to the respective jaw which presses on the counter blade ; b) fall, by gravity, of the sachets sliced on the lateral support shelves, and immediately successive interception by the cited "pusher foot", which exceeds the cutting wire and accompanies the sachets into the case which is located below, where it performs, on each cycle, a pressure action on the stack of sachets which is gradually formed; c) the empty stroke, backward, of the spatula holder carriage, at the same time as the downward and upward stroke of the cutting blade and the pusher foot, of which in points a) and b); during this race behind the carriage, the spatula slides over the line of sachets which are found below on the action plan where they are held, at the head of the jaw which remains pressed against the counter blade throughout the slicing phase; d) advancement stroke of the spatula holder carriage with jaw raised: at the start of the forward stroke, the spatula (which stopped at the end of the previous reverse stroke above the heat-sealed bead re which exists between two sachets) slides on the thermo-welded section, dissipating the excess mechanical travel relative to the effective pitch traveled by the sachets, and begins to push forward the line of sachets only when it intercepts the relief at the margin of the heat-sealed section; during such a stroke, the spatula advances and distributes the lead bags on the cutting wire where they are stopped by the jaw while waiting for the downhill race of the me. 3) Device for the automatic boxing of sachets in cases, according to the preceding claims, characterized in that the movement of continuous ribbons of sachets on the action plane occurs by traversing a section upwards, vertical, so as to allow, thanks to gravity, the accumulation of the product in the bottom of the bag, behind the margin of the transverse heat seal bead which exists between one bag and the other.

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