EP0704374A1 - Machine for filling boxes - Google Patents

Abstract

The packer consists of a head (7) with a plate and a number of suction grippers (8), one for each container in the group. In between the grippers the head is equipped with a series of conical spacers (10) which hold the containers (1a-e) at the correct intervals for the package. The containers travel along a conveyor (3) between parallel guides (4) until they reach a stop (5), and in that position the head is lowered to pick up a group of containers and transfer them to a package. Depending on the configuration of the groups of containers being packed, the suction grippers can be in a single line or in two or more rows.

Description

The present invention relates to a machine for crating individual containers and, more particularly an automatic positioning device for containers when they are crated.

Machines are known for filling boxes or grouping cartons with containers grouped in "packs", containing a variable number of containers which can vary, generally from two to sixteen, which are taken from a conveyor belt by a gripping head which places them in the packaging.

However, the needs of marketing currently lead to grouping, in packaging at least partly made of cardboard, individual containers. To achieve a suitable packaging, it is essential that the individual containers are suitably positioned in relation to each other, during their removal, as they were during the formation of packs, for an arrangement suitable for inside of the package. Indeed, the crating machines use gripping plates provided with suction cups distributed in a predetermined pitch and, in order to avoid falls, the containers must be vacuumed in their center.

Means for positioning individual containers have already been proposed, but they use complicated mechanisms.

The object of the present invention is to overcome this drawback. It is based on the idea that the containers should not be forced by mechanical means to take a determined position, but brought into the required position by sliding without shocks.

According to the invention, the device for positioning individual containers, comprising sealing collars, in a crating machine comprising a gripping plate provided with regularly distributed suction cups, is characterized in that it comprises a guide animated by a vertical reciprocating movement, on which the flanges of the containers come to rest, and, on the gripping plate, conical guide pads distributed between the suction cups, protruding below the level of the cups.

Thus, the guide, when it is raised, brings all the containers to the same level, the flanges of two adjacent containers, however, being able to overlap. When the pots of the tray come into contact with the edges of the flanges, these possibly slide one over the other and they are found, when the flanges arrive at the suction cups displaced relative to the another according to a pitch defined by the diameter of the frustoconical studs at this level.

• La figure 1, une vue par-dessus de récipients disposés en ligne sur un tapis convoyeur, en coupe selon la ligne I-I de la figure 3;
• la figure 2, une vue par-dessus des mêmes récipients après positionnement par le dispositif de l'invention;
• la figure 3, une vue en élévation d'une partie de machine de mise en caisse munie d'un dispositif selon l'invention.

Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will appear during the description which follows of particular embodiments, given solely by way of nonlimiting examples, with reference to the drawings which represent:

• Figure 1, a top view of containers arranged in line on a conveyor belt, in section along line II of Figure 3;
• Figure 2, a view over the same containers after positioning by the device of the invention;
• Figure 3, an elevational view of a part of crating machine provided with a device according to the invention.

In Figure 1, there is a set of containers 1a to 1e, provided with sealing collars 2, which are substantially aligned and rest on a conveyor belt 3 corresponding with a manufacturing machine. When the containers do not include flanges, there is generally a bead at the top or a recess in the vicinity of the top of the container which performs the same role At the right end, in the figure, is a stop 5 against which the body of the first container 1a comes into contact under the action of driving the mat which, in the case considered circulates from the right to the left of the figure, as symbolized by the arrow.

Above the conveyor belt 3 and on either side of it extend two parallel guides 4 connected to a common support 12. The two parallel longitudinal guides are, at the start of the operation, below the flanges 2 so that the containers circulate normally on the belt 3.

Figure 2 shows, under the same conditions, the containers after positioning, while in Figure 1, the flanges of the containers overlapped, due to the drive by the conveyor belt 3, they are now perfectly spaced thanks to the device of the invention.

FIG. 3 represents a partial view of a boxing machine and, more particularly, a gripping head designated as a whole by the reference 7, comprising suction cups 8, each suction cup corresponding to a container to be taken from the carpet. Depending on the work to be done, the suction cups can be in line, as shown in the figures or they can be grouped in two or three rows of three or four containers. The suction cups are mounted on a plate 9 connected, of course, to a suction source (not shown).

Longitudinally between, and outside the suction cups 8, are provided conical guide pads 10. The studs 10 protrude below the lower surface of the suction cups 8. A jack 11 symbolized by an arrow moves the support guides 4 up and down.

The operation of the device is as follows. The containers arrive, after their filling and possibly their closure by a cover on the conveyor belt 3 until the container 1a comes into abutment against the stop 5. The following containers are pushed against the container 1a by the belt, so that they come into contact with each other, the collars 2 of certain containers partially covering the collar of the preceding containers.

Initially, the guides 4 are lifted by the jack 11. They come into contact, during their upward movement, with the lower surface of the flanges of the containers they lift, up to the level of the suction cups. In this first step, the flanges remain, possibly partially superimposed on the guides 4.

In a second step, the ascent of the guides 4 continues, the edges of the flanges come into contact with the conical studs 10. These edges follow the conical edges of the studs 10 and are thus automatically spaced from each other, by sliding on the guides 4 and against the inclined surface of the conical studs. We then obtain the configuration shown in Figure 2. Of course, the spacing between the containers depends on the dimensions of the pads, which are themselves adapted to the configuration of the packaging such as a cardboard box.

After suction by the suction cups 8, the guides 4 descend and the head 7 deposits the containers in the desired packaging. New containers are introduced on the mat 3 and the cycle begins again.

Claims (2)

Positioning device for individual containers, comprising sealing flanges, in a crating machine comprising a gripping plate (9) provided with suction cups (8) regularly distributed, the containers (1) being on a conveyor belt (3 ), characterized in that it comprises a guide (4) driven by a vertical reciprocating movement, on which the flanges (2) of the containers (1) come to rest and, on the gripping plate, conical guide pads ( 10) distributed between the suction cups (8) and projecting towards the bottom of the plate at a level lower than that of the suction cups. Machine equipped with a device according to claim 1.

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