EP1989115B1 - Device for filling a container - Google Patents

Abstract

A filling device including a web-forming station (A), a filling station (B), a sampling station (C), and a retrieval station (D). A first box conveyor (3) for conveying boxes exiting a folder-gluer (1) and for forwarding them from the web-forming station (A) to the filling station (B) along a forwarding path (Ta). A second box conveyor (10) for conveying boxes forwarded by the first box conveyor (3) and for transferring them from the sampling station (C) to the retrieval station (D) along a transfer path (Tt).

Description

Technical area

The present invention relates to a device for filling a container, with folding boxes, of the type comprising a tableting station, a filling station, a box conveyor able to transport boxes coming out of a folder-gluer and routing them from said tableting station to the filling station along a routing path.

State of the art

The document CH 659627 A describes a filling device of the aforementioned type. Such a device is provided to fill alone and securely containers with folding boxes while ensuring the operator the ability to monitor all operations from the tablecloth until filling. However, if the operator must periodically prepare folding carton samples for production quality control purposes, in particular to meet the requirements of ISO 9000 standards, he shall recover such samples, either upstream of the filling device, before the treatment of the boxes by the filling device, that is to say at the exit of the folder-gluer, or downstream of the filling device, that is to say after the treatment of the boxes by the device filling.

Upstream of the filling device, it is known automatic sampling devices that avoids the operator to manually take samples of folding boxes at the exit of a folder-gluer, see for example the document DE 19502676 A . However, this known type of sampling device has, in addition to a certain technical complexity, the disadvantage of being able to take only one box at a time, which means that each sample consists of a box unique.

Downstream of the filling device, it is the operator himself who has to take samples of folding boxes from the containers, which is not compatible with the high-speed production systems encountered in the packaging industry. 'packaging. Indeed, a folder-gluer those that can feed a filling device of the aforementioned type is capable of producing up to 200,000 boxes per hour.
The document US 4,161,092 discloses a device corresponding to the preamble of claim 1.

Disclosure of the invention

An object of the present invention is to overcome the aforementioned drawbacks by proposing a filling device that avoids sampling samples of folding boxes both upstream of the filling device and downstream.

For this purpose, the present invention relates to a device for filling a container with folding boxes according to claim 1.

As will be seen from the following description, the proposed solution is particularly simple, both from the point of view of the manufacture and the use of the device.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description which will be made with the aid of the accompanying drawings which illustrate, schematically and by way of example, an embodiment of the filling device. object of the present invention.

Brief description of the drawings

- the figure 1 is a general front view of a filling device according to the prior art;

- the figure 2 is a general front view of a filling device according to the invention;

- the figure 3 is a detailed view of the sampling station in a first position;

- the figure 4 is a detailed view of the sampling station in a second position.

Best mode of realization of the invention

The figure 1 is a general front view of a filling device according to the prior art placed at the exit of a folder-gluer 1.

The filling device comprises a frame 2 constituted by a vertical support plate on which is mounted a conveyor belt (or belts) 3 for conveying folding boxes (not shown) of a tableting station A to a filling station B according to a routing path Ta of which at least a portion Ta "is located above the horizontal plane passing through the median axis of said folder-gluer 1 (shown in phantom) The frame 2 is fixed on a base 4 supporting a belt conveyor 5 placed perpendicular to the central axis of the folder-gluer 1. The filling station B is also mounted on the base 4. The belt conveyor 5 is driven by an electric motor which allows controlling the feeding speed of the filling device according to the speed of the last roll of the receiving station of the folder-gluer 1, thus facilitating the connection between the folder-gluer and the filling device. is provided with rollers 6 and 7 brakes allowing the introduction of the filling device at the exit of the folder-gluer 1.

The folding boxes are folded out of the folder-gluer 1 and come against a stop 11 of the filling device intended to retain them, so that the belt conveyor 5 driven in the direction of the arrow 12 brings them in a sheet into the tabletting station A. The abutment 11 is for example a plate made of a transparent synthetic material. The folding boxes are then conveyed by the box conveyor 3 to the filling station B where a container, otherwise called a container (not shown), waits to be filled by a filling arm 9. The container is then moved on a table 8, where it can be evacuated.

The filling device according to the invention, illustrated in FIG. figure 2 , differs from the filling device of the prior art in that it comprises a sampling station C, a recovery station D, a second box conveyor 10 able to transport boxes conveyed by the first box conveyor 3 and transferring them from the sampling station C to the recovery station D along a transfer path Tt. A more detailed description of the sampling station C will be given in relation to the Figures 3 and 4 . The recovery station D is arranged under the sampling station C and comprises a shelf 13 fixed through an opening of the frame 2, suitable receiving a tray (not shown) for recovering folding carton samples. The second box conveyor 10 is also a band conveyor arranged between the sampling station C and the recovery station D so as to be able to recover the sampled boxes, that is to say the boxes diverted by the station from sampling C, and transfer them to the recovery tank according to a transfer path Tt substantially straight. The first 3 and the second box conveyor are mounted on two portions 14a, 14b of the vertical support plate 2.

As better visible on Figures 3 and 4 the first box conveyor 3 comprises an upper single conveyer 3a cooperating with a lower single conveyor 3b, the upper single conveyor 3a performs a substantially curvilinear lower path, corresponding to an upper path of the lower single conveyor 3b, and coinciding with the path Ta routing. Support rollers 15, 15b are mounted on the vertical support plate 2 along the path Ta to guide and support the belts of the first can conveyor 3. The belt of the upper conveyor 3a is then returned in an upper return path in being guided by rollers 16 where it passes through different energizing devices and a drive shaft before returning to its lower path. The second box conveyor 10 also includes an upper single conveyor 10a cooperating with an intermediate portion of the lower single conveyor 3b, the upper conveyor 10a performs a substantially straight lower path in a downwardly oblique plane at an angle to the horizontal plane. , corresponding to an intermediate path of the lower conveyor 3b coinciding with the transfer path Tt. Preferably, the angle is between 20 ° and 30 °, for example 25 °. Along the transfer path Tt, the belts of the second box conveyor 10 pass between a ramp of support rollers 38 and a ramp of support rollers (not visible) respectively mounted at the rear 14b and at the front 14a. of the vertical support plate 2. Thus, the routing path Ta and the transfer path Tt are located in the same vertical plane. In addition, Note that the routing path Ta delimits a substantially convex surface such that the transfer path Tt is located within this convex surface.

At the sampling station C, the first box conveyor 3 is divided into two distinct parts: a rear portion 33a, 33b mounted at the rear 14b of the vertical support plate and a front portion 37a, 37b mounted at the front 14a of the vertical support plate. The rear portion 33a, 33b of the first box conveyor 3 ends with a pair of front end rollers 32a, 32b and the front portion 37a, 37b begins with a pair of rear end rollers 36a, 36b. Advantageously, said pair of rear end rollers 36a, 36b is situated behind said second box conveyor 10, that is to say that a box diverted towards the second box conveyor 10 passes under the pair of rollers. rear end 36a, 36b.

On the figure 3 , the sampling station is shown in a first position where the lower path of the belt of the upper conveyor 3a describes an upwardly oriented upper loop and located above the second can conveyor 10 being successively guided by a roller 32a d front end of the rear portion 33a of the upper conveyor, three upper rollers 34a, 34b and 34c, and then returned by a rear end roller 36a of the front portion 37a of the upper conveyor. This deflection loop has a substantially T-shaped shape, that is to say that the belt of the upper conveyor is wound on a front portion of the periphery of the roller 32a before being returned by the roller 34a located behind by relative to the roller 32a towards the roller 34c located in front of the roller 36a, the roller 34b supporting the belt between the rollers 34a and 34c. The belt is then wound on a rear portion of the periphery of the roller 36a. The support rollers 15 of the routing path Ta are mounted on the two-part vertical support plate 14a and 14b. The ramp of support rollers 38 and the ramp of support rollers of the transfer path Tt are mounted on the vertical front support plate 14a. By cons, the front end roller 32a of the rear portion and the upper roller 34b are both mounted on a lever upper 20 controlled by the rod of a cylinder 41, the upper roller 34a is mounted on an intermediate lever 21 controlled by the rod of a cylinder 42, while the roller 36a rear end of the front part and the upper roller 34c are both mounted on a lever 22. The three levers 20, 21 and 22 and the two cylinders 41 and 42 are all mounted on a bracket 39 integral with the vertical support plate, the bracket 39 having the general shape of T. The horizontal portion of the bracket 39 forms a mounting plate for the levers 20, 21, 22 and the cylinders 41 and 42, while the vertical portion of the bracket 39 forms a bridge connecting the rear 14b and the before 14a of the vertical support plate.

On the figure 4 the sampling station is shown in a second position where the lower path of the belt of the upper conveyor 3a also describes an upper loop oriented upwards but a part of which is situated at the same level as the second conveyor of boxes 10, in being successively guided by the front end roller 32a of the rear portion 33a of the upper conveyor, the roller 34b, the rollers 34a and 34c, and then returned by the rear end roller 36a of the front portion 37a of the upper conveyor. The deflection loop here has a general shape formed from an inverted C shape (like a C seen in a mirror) having a large opening, followed by a C shape having a smaller aperture, that is, that is to say that the belt of the upper conveyor is wound on the front part of the periphery of the roller 32a before being returned by the roller 34a located behind the roller 32a towards the roller 34c located in front of the roller 36a, the roller 34b here to press the belt between the rollers 32a and 34a, the belt is then wound on the rear portion of the periphery of the roller 36a.

The front portion 37a, 37b of the first box conveyor 3 is fixedly mounted on the vertical front support plate 14a so that the lower path of the upper conveyor 3a and the upper path of the lower conveyor 3b do not change in this front portion 37a, 37b, regardless of the position of the sampling station C. On the other hand, the rear portion 33a, 33b of the first box conveyor 3 is movably mounted on the rear vertical support plate 14b, so as to be able to modifying the lower path of the upper conveyor 3a and the upper path of the lower conveyor 3b, depending on the position of the sampling station. Indeed, when the sampling station C is in the first position illustrated on the figure 3 , the belts of the upper conveyor 3a and lower 3b are supported on support rollers 15a of a lower lever 30 also carrying the front end roller 32b of the rear portion of the lower conveyor. The lower lever 30 is then in a high position such that the rear portion 33b is aligned with the front portion 37b of the lower conveyor 3b, while the front end roller 32a of the rear portion of the upper carrier carried by the upper lever 20 is in a position such that the rear portion 33a is aligned with the front portion 37a of the upper conveyor 3a. The lower lever 30 is pivotally mounted about an axis 35 supported by a bearing of the rear vertical support plate 14b, the free end of the lever 30 carried the front end roller 32b. The actuating rod of a lower cylinder (not visible) is secured to the lever 30, approximately in the middle of the latter, between the axis 35 and the front end roller 32b, the lower cylinder being mounted on the vertical plate rear support 14b. In this position, the point of divergence 71 of the belts of the rear portion 33a, 33b of the first can carrier is located a short distance from the point of convergence 70 of the belts of the front portion 37a, 37b of the first can carrier. This distance is less than the minimum length of the boxes to be treated by the filling device according to the invention, which allows the boxes to be transported along the routing path Ta without breaking the drive. The point of divergence 71 corresponds to the last point of contact of the belts after their passage between the pair of front end rollers 32a, 32b, while the point of convergence 70 corresponds to the first point of contact of the belts before their passage between the pair. of rear end rollers 36a, 36b.

When the sampling station C is in the second position illustrated on the figure 4 , the belts of the upper conveyor 3a and lower 3b are supported on support rollers 15b of the vertical plate of rear support 14b. The lower lever 30 is then in a low position such that the rear portion 33b of the lower conveyor 3b is aligned with the intermediate portion of the lower conveyor 3b cooperating with the upper single conveyor 10a of the second can conveyor 10, while the roller the front end 32a is in a position such that the rear portion 33a of the upper conveyor 3a is aligned with the lower portion of the upper single conveyor 10a. Thanks to these arrangements, the second box conveyor 10 is perfectly aligned with the rear portion 33a, 33b of the first box conveyor 3. In this position, the rollers 15a of the lower lever 30 are retracted under the rollers 15b of the vertical plate of Rear support passing between these and the point of convergence 72 of the second conveyor belt boxes 10 is located a short distance from the point of divergence 73 of the belts of the rear portion 33a, 33b of the first carrier boxes. The point of convergence 72 corresponds to the first point of contact of the belts before they pass between the ramp of support rollers 38 and the ramp of support rollers, while the point of divergence 73 corresponds to the last point of contact of the belts after their passage between the pair of front end rollers 32a, 32b.

To move from one position to another, the sampling station C is provided with means for deflecting the rear portion 33a, 33b of the first box conveyor 3 comprising, the lower lever 30 controlled by the lower jack, the lever upper 20 controlled by the cylinder 41 and the intermediate lever 21 controlled by the cylinder 42. Preferably, the control of the cylinders is synchronized.

Thus, to move from the second position to the first position, the rod of the lower cylinder out, on leaving it rotates the lower lever 30 in the clockwise direction about its axis 35. The lower lever 30 pivots until the front end roller 32b, initially located in the extension of the support roller ramp 38 of the second conveyor 10, is finally in the extension of the rear end roller 36b. Simultaneously, the rod of the cylinder 41 returns, on returning it rotates the upper lever 20 in the counterclockwise direction about a supported axis 43 by a first bearing arranged on the mounting plate of the bracket 39. As illustrated on the figure 3 the upper lever 20 is generally L-shaped, i.e. it comprises a first substantially straight portion adjacent to a second, equally straight portion, such that the longer first portion forms a substantially equal angle at 90 ° with the second shorter part. The axis 43 is on the longest part of the upper lever 20, opposite the adjacent part, while the front end roller 32a and the upper roller 34b are on the shortest part of the lever higher, respectively opposite to the adjacent part and in the adjacent part. The rod of the cylinder 41 is secured to the upper lever 20 approximately in the middle of the longest part, between the axis 43 and the upper roller 34b. The upper lever 20 pivots until the front end roller 32a, initially situated in the extension of the ramp of support rollers of the second conveyor 10, is finally in the extension of the rear end roller 36a. At the same time, the upper roller 34b moves from a first support position to a second support position of the deflection loop. Simultaneously, the rod of the cylinder 42 returns, on returning it rotates the intermediate lever 21 in the counterclockwise direction about an axis 44 supported by a second bearing arranged on the mounting plate of the bracket 39. As shown in FIG. figure 3 , the intermediate lever 21 has the general shape of a 1, one end is secured to the rod of the cylinder and the other end receives the upper roller 34a, the axis 44 is between the two ends. The intermediate lever 21 pivots until the upper roller 34a moves from a first position to a second support position of the deflection loop, the lever 21 here acting as a belt tensioner.

Conversely, to go from the first position to the second position, simply repeat the description in the previous paragraph and replace "sort" and "out" with "return" and "return", "schedule" by "anti-clockwise", "initially located" by "is finally", "first position" by "second position", and vice versa.

In a preferred mode of operation of the filling device according to the invention, the operator programs on a control and control panel 50 (see FIG. figure 2 ) the desired number of boxes folded per Nb _{/ e} sample and the desired number of samples per container N _{e / r} . In a first step, for example at the start of production, the sampling station C is in the second position, N _{b / e} folded boxes leave the tableting station A and are conveyed by the first conveyor 3. Arrival in the sampling station C, the N _{b / e} boxes are diverted to the second conveyor 10 to be transferred to the recovery station D. In a second step, the sampling station C is in the first position so that to send the following boxes to filling station B. The first and second steps are repeated N _{e / r} times per container.

It will be noted that the distance to be left between the N _{b / e} first boxes and the following boxes is dependent on the reaction time of the moving parts of the sampling station C. Because the only parts set in motion are the levers 20, 21 and 30 with their respective cylinder rod, this set has a low mass and low inertia, which allows to minimize this reaction time.

Advantageously, during the start-up time of the production, the invention makes it possible to direct all the boxes towards the recovery station D, which avoids the operator having to intervene manually in the filling station B.

It should be noted that the length of the loop formed by the belt of the upper conveyor 3a is practically not changed between the first and second positions of the sampling station C, so that it is not necessary to provide additional means of catching stroke length of this belt. Indeed, this loop is also a "buffer zone" to absorb the elongation of the upper conveyor belt, without this elongation is reflected downstream in the front portion of the upper carrier.

Claims (9)

1. Device for filling a container with folding boxes of the type comprising a streamfeeder (A), a filling station (B), a sampling station (C), a retrieval station (D), a first box conveyor (3) for conveying boxes exiting a folder-gluer (1) and for forwarding them from said streamfeeder (A) to said filling station (B) along a forwarding path (Ta), a second box conveyor (10) able to convey boxes forwarded by the first box conveyor (3) and to transfer them from said sampling station (C) to said retrieval station (D) along a transfer path (Tt), characterized in that, in said sampling station (C), said first box conveyor (3) is divided into two parts: a rear part (33a, 33b) that terminates in a pair of front-end rollers (32a, 32b) and a front part (37a, 37b) that commences with a pair of rear-end rollers (36a, 36b).
2. Filling device according to claim 1, characterized in that said first box conveyor (3) comprises a single upper conveyor (3a) cooperating with a single lower conveyor (3b).
3. Filling device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that part (Ta" ) of said forwarding path (Ta) is located above the horizontal plane passing through the median axis of said folder-gluer (1).
4. Filling device according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that said forwarding path (Ta) and said transfer path (Tt) are located in a same vertical plane, said forwarding path (Ta) being approximately curvilinear and said transfer path (Tt) being approximately rectilinear.
5. Filling device according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that said forwarding path (Ta) defines an essentially convex surface such that said transfer path (Tt) is located inside said surface.
6. Filling device according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that said first box conveyor (3) is fitted on a frame (2), said frame (2) being fitted on a base (4) provided with casters (6) and brakes (7) and permitting the filling device to be positioned at the exit of said folder-gluer (1).
7. Filling device according to claim 6, characterized in that said base (4) supports a belt conveyor (5) perpendicular to the median axis of said folder gluer (1).
8. Filling device according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that said pair of rear-end rollers (36a, 36b) is located behind said second box conveyor (10).
9. Filling device according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that said sampling station (C) comprises deflection means which, in a first position, allow said rear part (33a, 33b) to be aligned with said front part (37a, 37b) and which, in a second position, allow said rear part (33a, 33b) to be aligned with said second box conveyor (10).

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