U.S. patent application number 10/426300 was filed with the patent office on 2003-10-16 for method and device for stacking and packing infusion bags.
Invention is credited to Groth, Wolfgang, Lambertz, Stefan, Lohrey, Wilhelm.
Application Number | 20030192289 10/426300 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 8176440 |
Filed Date | 2003-10-16 |
United States Patent
Application |
20030192289 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Lohrey, Wilhelm ; et
al. |
October 16, 2003 |
Method and device for stacking and packing infusion bags
Abstract
This invention concerns a method and a device for stacking and
packing groups of infusion bags, especially for making tea, whereby
in continuous production infusion bags arranged one after another
in a series in a strand are separated, their speed of movement is
reduced and they are put in a position suitable for making a stack,
whereby the infusion bags are arranged one after another in such a
way that they at least partly overlap in their subsequent direction
of movement
Inventors: |
Lohrey, Wilhelm; (Meerbusch,
DE) ; Lambertz, Stefan; (Hurth, DE) ; Groth,
Wolfgang; (Wegberg, DE) |
Correspondence
Address: |
CANTOR COLBURN, LLP
55 GRIFFIN ROAD SOUTH
BLOOMFIELD
CT
06002
|
Family ID: |
8176440 |
Appl. No.: |
10/426300 |
Filed: |
April 30, 2003 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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10426300 |
Apr 30, 2003 |
|
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09963813 |
Sep 26, 2001 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
53/447 ;
53/541 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65B 35/46 20130101;
B65B 61/12 20130101; B65B 35/52 20130101; B65G 57/32 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
53/447 ;
53/541 |
International
Class: |
B65B 035/52 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Feb 9, 2001 |
EP |
01 103 058.2 |
Claims
1. A method of stacking and packing groups of infusion bags which
are assembled in a predetermined number in a series and inserted in
a packing container provided in a predetermined position, the
method comprising: separating, in continuous production, infusion
bags which are arranged one after another in a series in a strand;
reducing a speed of movement of the infusion bags; and positioning
the infusion bags suitable for making a stack; wherein the infusion
bags are arranged one after another in such a way that they at
least partly overlap in a subsequent direction of movement.
2. The method in claim 1, wherein the separating comprises grasping
the continuously moved strand when the infusion bags being
separated are in a predetermined position, and accelerating in the
direction of movement of the strand in such a way that the infusion
bag is separated from the strand by relative movement.
3. The method in claim 1, wherein the strand is fed to a first
continually turning wheel, which is provided with tongs arranged on
the side of the first wheel that can move in relation to the first
wheel to grasp longitudinal sides of the infusion bag to be
separated from the strand at a predetermined position near a
perforation formed in a side of the strand, whereby the infusion
bag is separated by relative movement of the tongs at the first
wheel.
4. The method in claim 3, wherein the tongs can be swiveled in a
direction in which the first wheel turns.
5. The method in claim 3, wherein the tongs are accelerated to
produce the relative movement in the turning direction of the first
wheel.
6. The method in claim 3, wherein front tongs in the direction in
which the first wheel turns grasp the infusion bag to be separated,
before back tongs in the turning direction grasp a next infusion
bag of the strand, and the front tongs in the turning direction of
the first wheel are accelerated when the back tongs grasp the next
infusion bag of the strand.
7. The method in claim 3, wherein the grasping of the tongs takes
place by a curve control.
8. The method in claim 3, further comprising depositing the
separated infusion bags on an outer periphery of a second
continually turning partitioned wheel that has pouch-like
receptacles for the infusion bags.
9. The method in claim 8, wherein the second wheel circulates at a
slower speed than the strand is fed to the first wheel.
10. The method in claim 8, wherein to adjust the speed of the
infusion bags from the wheel used to separate them to the second
wheel, the movement of the tongs of the first wheel is fed back and
the infusion bag speed is reduced.
11. The method in claim 8, wherein the infusion bags are held in
the pouch-like receptacles of the second wheel by suction.
12. The method in claim 8, wherein when the second wheel turns, the
infusion bags run by a rail support arranged on the side of the
second wheel, by means of which the infusion bags are automatically
taken out of the receptacles on the second wheel and are stacked in
a shaft.
13. The method in claim 12, wherein the rail support feeds the
infusion bags to the shaft at a certain distance from one
another.
14. The method in claim 1, wherein a feeder is used to assemble a
predetermined number of the infusion bags into a series of infusion
bags by grasping the infusion bags stacked at a distance from one
another in a shaft depending on the predetermined number of
infusion bags to be packed, and the feeder engages in the shaft and
inserts the series of infusion bags so assembled into the packing
container provided in a predetermined position or puts them into a
position for insertion into the packing container provided.
15. The method in claim 14, wherein the feeder makes a continually
rotating movement.
16. The method in claim 14, wherein the feeder makes a straight
oscillating movement.
17. The method in claim 1, further comprising depositing the
separated infusion bags on an outer periphery of a continually
turning wheel that has pouch-like receptacles for the infusion
bags.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a divisional application of U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 09/963,813, filed on Sept. 26, 2001, which is
herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] This invention concerns a method of packing infusion bags in
groups, especially for making tea, which are assembled in a
predetermined number in a series of infusion bags and inserted into
a packing container prepared in a predetermined position. The
invention also concerns a device for implementing the method.
DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART
[0003] Methods and devices for continuous production of infusion
bags and corresponding infusion bags are known in many embodiments.
In one of the known embodiments, individual quantities of a
substance to be extracted are deposited on a strip of filter paper
and then a tube is formed that is divided into individual chambers
closed on all sides, each containing a quantity of the substance.
The tube is formed by overlapping and folding the strip of filter
paper and closing it by means of a longitudinal seam or by adding
another strip of filter paper and making two longitudinal seams.
This forms a strand of chambers, which consists of continuous
chambers, one after another, closed by a crosswise seam and
containing a quantity of substance; the crosswise seam is also the
back seam of one chamber and the front seam of the next one, and
includes a perforation between the two seams where the chambers are
separated during the process. The isolated chambers are then
attached to a carrier material, which is used for handling and
suspending the infusion bag. To make the carrier material forming
the hanger of the infusion bag, a crosswise perforated strand of
carrier material whose sections of carrier material form the hanger
of the infusion bag in continuous production is used.
[0004] It is known how to pack and sell a predetermined number of
infusion bags assembled in a series of bags, especially for making
tea, in groups by inserting them in packing containers, especially
boxes. Besides the continuous production of the infusion bag
described above as an example, their packing should also be fully
automatic. Due to the flux characteristics of the quantities of
substance with which the infusion bags are filled, they preferably
collect in the back part of the infusion bag in the direction of
movement, so that the individual infusion bag, seen over the
surface, has a different thickness, especially at high production
capacity in the range of production from 800 to 1,500 infusion bags
per minute. Overall, this produces a series of infusion bags with
different sealed and thick zones, which runs counter to a basic
interest in the smallest possible packing containers. It is also
necessary to avoid an arrangement of infusion bags pressed too
tightly in the packing containers, since otherwise they can be
damaged when taken out.
[0005] With the known methods and devices, when stacking and
packing infusion bags in groups, especially those for making tea,
it is not possible to guarantee a high production rate and at the
same time good equalization and compression of the tea packed in
the bags, and so guarantee the possibilities of reducing the size
of the package.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] In view of this state of the art, the problem of the
invention is to improve a method of stacking and packing infusion
bags in groups, especially those for making tea, of the type
mentioned at the beginning, in such a way that at high production
capacities, uniform distribution and good compression of the
quantities of substance with which the infusion bags are filled is
possible over the entire surface of the infusion bag without
pressing them down. It should also permit simple, reliable and
especially damage-free stacking and packing of infusion bags at
high production speeds. And the invention should also provide a
technically simplified device for implementing the method.
[0007] The problem in the invention is solved with a method of the
type mentioned at the beginning in which infusion bags arranged in
a strand one after another in series in continuous production are
separated, their speed of movement is reduced and they are put in a
position suitable for making a stack, and the infusion bags are
arranged one after another in such a way that they at least partly
overlap in their subsequent direction of movement.
[0008] The invention is based on the knowledge of how to change the
speed of movement of the infusion bags one after another in a
strand in continuous production by changing the arrangement of the
infusion bags. According to the invention, the distance between
infusion bags one after another in a strand in continuous
production is reduced by an overlapping arrangement of the infusion
bags. According to the invention, at least two infusion bags are
arranged on the length of an infusion bag by making a stack in the
direction of movement due to the overlapping arrangement. The
associated reduction in distance between infusion bags brings with
it a reduction in speed, so the infusion bags move from continuous
production to stacking and packing in groups with no noteworthy
shock.
[0009] Advantageously, to separate an infusion bag from the strand,
the continuously moved strand is grasped when the infusion bag to
be separated is in a predetermined position, preferably near a
perforation made in the side of the strand, and is accelerated in
the direction of movement of the strand in such a way that the
infusion bag is separated from the strand by the relative movement.
Advantageously, the infusion bags in a crosswise perforated strand
in continuous production are fed to a continually turning wheel,
which has tongs placed on the side of the wheel that can move in
relation to the wheel to grasp the longitudinal sides of the
infusion bag to be separated from the strand at a predetermined
position near the perforation, and the infusion bag can be
separated by relative movement of the tongs to the wheel.
Advantageously, the tongs can swivel in the direction in which the
wheel turns and can accelerate to produce the relative movement in
that direction. Advantageously, the tongs are accelerated by curve
control.
[0010] To make a stack, in another advantageous embodiment of the
invention, the separated infusion bags are deposited on the outer
periphery of a continually turning partitioned wheel that has
pouch-like receptacles for the infusion bags. The arrangement of
infusion bags to one another is changed by the partitioned wheel so
that the distance between them and hence their speed of movement is
reduced. To adjust the speed of the infusion bags from the tonged
wheel used for separating them to the partitioned wheel, the tong
movement is returned after acceleration and the infusion bag speed
is reduced, preferably via curve control. The speed is adjusted in
such a way that the transfer of the infusion bags from the tonged
wheel to the partitioned wheel takes place with no noteworthy
shock, so good equalization and compression of the quantities of
substance packed in the infusion bags is maintained.
[0011] Advantageously, the infusion bags are held in the pouch-like
receptacles of the partitioned wheel by suction. This results in
another homogenization of the quantities of substance contained in
the infusion bags, and the infusion bags are kept safe at the same
time.
[0012] Advantageously, the infusion bags are moved by turning the
partitioned wheel on a rail support arranged on the side of the
partitioned wheel, by means of which the infusion bags are
automatically taken out of the receptacles on the partitioned wheel
at defined distance from one another and stacked in a shaft. The
infusion bags taken out of the receptacles in the partitioned wheel
are stacked in the shaft by means of spiral conveyors arranged in
the area near the longitudinal sides of the infusion bags. The
spiral conveyors are used to maintain a certain distance between
the individual infusion bags. To support the alignment of the
quantities of substance in the infusion bags, shaking devices are
advantageously provided, which set the stacked infusion bags in
shaking motions to align the quantities of substance. A distance is
produced between the infusion bags to be stacked by the spiral
conveyors, and it is used in the rest of the process to assemble a
predetermined number of infusion bags into a series of infusion
bags. To move the infusion bags out of the partitioned wheel area,
the spiral conveyor has a greater pitch in the area near the
partitioned wheel.
[0013] To assemble a predetermined number of infusion bags into a
series of infusion bags, a feeder is used to grasp infusion bags
stacked some distance apart in the shaft by means of the spiral
conveyors; it engages in the shaft, depending on the predetermined
number of infusion bags to be packed, and inserts the assembled
series of infusion bags in a packing container provided in a
predetermined position or positions them accordingly. The feeder
advantageously makes a continually rotating motion or a linear
oscillating motion. In one embodiment of the invention, at least
one feeder is arranged on a continually circulating belt or chain
drive, with which a predetermined number of infusion bags assembled
in a series of infusion bags is taken out of the shaft in a
continually rotating movement as the feeder circulates and is fed
to a packing container placed in a predetermined position. The
assembled series of infusion bags is inserted into the packing
container in another advantageous embodiment of the invention with
the motion of the feeder or with a separate pusher.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0014] Other details, features and advantages of the invention will
be described in greater detail below using the examples of
embodiment shown in the figures.
[0015] FIG. 1 shows a diagram of a device for implementing the
method in the invention and
[0016] FIG. 2 shows in detail part of the device in FIG. 1 in a
schematic perspective view.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0017] FIG. 1 shows a diagram of a device for stacking and packing
infusion bags 1 for making tea in groups. The infusion bags 1
consist of a hanger made of a strip of carrier material, which is
provided on both sides with chambers closed on all sides,
containing at least a quantity of substance and connected to the
hanger. In continuous production, the infusion bags 1 in the form
of a strand of infusion bags 2, are continually fed in groups to
the stacking and packing device. The strand of infusion bags 2
consists of infusion bags 1 arranged one after another in a series,
which are connected to one another by strip-like carrier material
used for handling and hanging the infusion bag 1. To separate the
infusion bag, the strip-like carrier material is cross-perforated
in the area where it is connected to the chambers of the infusion
bag 1.
[0018] In the continuous production of the infusion bag 1, the
strand of infusion bags 2 is fed to a continually turning tonged
wheel 5, whereby the carrier material forming the hanger of an
infusion bag 1 of the strand 2 of infusion bags is grasped by tongs
6 arranged on the tonged wheel 5 and is pulled apart by the
relative movement of the tongs 6 to the tonged wheel 5 toward the
strand of infusion bags at the crosswise perforation 10. The tongs
6 grasp the carrier material of the infusion bag 1 in the area
where the chambers of the infusion bag 1 are connected to the
carrier material. To separate the infusion bag 1 from the strand 2
of infusion bags, the front tongs in the direction UZ in which the
tonged wheel 5 turns are accelerated to produce a relative movement
in the turning direction UZ, when the next tongs 6 in the turning
direction UZ have grasped the carrier material of the next infusion
bag 1. Both the production of the relative movement and the
grasping of the tongs 6 is controlled over separate stretches of
curves coordinated with one another by the tonged wheel 5.
[0019] The infusion bags 1 separated in this way are deposited by
the tongs 6 of the wheel 5 in pouch-like receptacles 8 on the outer
periphery of a partitioned wheel 7. Here, the infusion bags 1 in
the pouch-like receptacles 8 of the partitioned wheel 7 are held
and supported by suction using low pressure. To adjust the speed of
the infusion bag 1 from the tonged wheel 5 to the partitioned wheel
7, the movement of the tongs 6, after acceleration in the direction
UZ in which the tonged wheel 5 turns, is returned by curve control,
and the speed of the infusion bag 1 is reduced in such a way that
the transfer takes place with no noteworthy shock.
[0020] Combining the toothed wheel and the partitioned wheel
reduces the speed of movement of the infusion bag 1, and the
infusion bag 1 is placed in a position suitable for making a stack.
Here, the infusion bags 1 arranged one after another in a series in
continuous high-speed production are separated from the strand 2 of
infusion bags and are arranged one after another in the receptacles
8 of the partitioned wheel 7 in such a way that the infusion bags 1
overlap at least partly in their subsequent direction of movement.
The subsequent direction of movement of the infusion bags 1
corresponds to the direction UF in which the partitioned wheel 7
turns. By combining the tonged wheel 5 and the partitioned wheel 7,
the distance between the infusion bags 1 is reduced and the speed
of the infusion bags 1 is reduced by the partitioned wheel 7. Due
to the pouch-like receptacles 8 for the infusion bags 1 on the
outer periphery of the partitioned wheel 7, the infusion bags 1 are
basically radial. Thus, more infusion bags can be accepted over the
periphery of the partitioned wheel than in the arrangement where
the infusion bags 1 are one after another in a series corresponding
to the strand 2 of infusion bags. The speed of the partitioned
wheel 7 can thus be reduced, since several infusion bags 1 can
arrive at the same time, depending on the overlap. The reduced
speed guarantees good equalization and compression of the
quantities of substance packed in the infusion bags.
[0021] When the infusion bags 1 are transferred from the tonged
wheel 5 to the partitioned wheel 7, the pouch-like receptacles on
the outer periphery of the partitioned wheel 7 provide a support
for the infusion bags 1, on which the infusion bags 1 can be
deposited practically with no noteworthy shock by the return
movement of the tongs 6 on the tonged wheel 5. The return movement
of the tongs 6 of the tonged wheel 5 thus adjusts the speed of the
infusion bag to the turning speed of the partitioned wheel 7, which
is less than the speed of the strand of infusion bags 2. This
ensures that the quantities of substance inside the chambers of the
infusion bags 1 remain evenly distributed.
[0022] When the partitioned wheel 7 turns, the infusion bags 1 are
taken out of the receptacles 8 on the partitioned wheel 7 by a rail
support 9 arranged on both sides of the partitioned wheel 7.
Because of the slow speed of the partitioned wheel 7, the infusion
bags 1 are held back with no noteworthy shock during the turning of
the partitioned wheel 7 by the rail support 9. Perpendicular to the
turning direction UF of the partitioned wheel 7, spiral conveyors
11 are arranged on both sides of the partitioned wheel 7 in the
lower part of the rail support 9, and they continually move the
infusion bags 1 forward. The spiral conveyors 11 have a greater
pitch for this in the area marked a in FIGS. 1 and 2, to convey the
infusion bags 1 as quickly as possible from the feed area of the
partitioned wheel 7.
[0023] The infusion bags 1 are stacked in a shaft 12 along the rail
support 9 by the spiral conveyors 11. The side walls of the shaft
12 here are designed with cam strips 13 with cams 14 arranged via
the rail support 9 over the spiral conveyors 11, which are
controlled by servo motors.
[0024] In the turning direction UF behind the rail support 9,
feeders 16 are arranged on a circulating chain drive 15, and they
engage through a gap in the rail support 9 between the infusion
bags 1 transported by the spiral conveyors 11 when the chain drive
15 turns. The chain drive 15 is controlled in such a way that the
feeders 16 assemble the infusion bags in a predetermined number in
the shaft 12. The feeders 16 are moved by the chain drive 15
parallel to the infusion bags 1 stacked by means of the spiral
conveyors 11 at the same speed. At a predetermined number of
infusion bags 1, which is detected by sensor devices, the feeder 16
moved by the chain drive 15, controlled by means of servo motors,
engages in the stacked infusion bags and thus assembles a
predetermined number of infusion bags in a series 3. After the
feeder 16 engages in the stack of infusion bags 1, the chain drive
15 is accelerated, so that the feeder 16 feeds a predetermined
number of infusion bags in a series to a cartridge 17 with a
conveyor belt, from which the series of infusion bags 3, with a
predetermined number of infusion bags 1, is pushed into a packing
container 4 by a pusher 18. The cam belts 13 are controlled by
means of servo motors in such a way that when the feeder 16 is
engaged in the stack of infusion bags 1 arranged in the shaft 12,
the cam belts 13 are accelerated to prevent the cams 14 on the cam
belts 13 from hindering the series 3 of infusion bags with infusion
bags 1 being put in the packing position by the feeder 16 as it
moves. At the same time, the cams 14 of the cam belts 13 on the
shaft 12 make it easier to stack the infusion bags 1 in the shaft
12, since the cams 14 are carried along evenly with the growing
stack. This prevents the infusion bags 1 in the shaft 12 from
tilting.
[0025] The example of embodiment shown in the figures is used only
to explain the invention and is not limited to it. Thus,
alternatively, the packing container 4 can also be filled from the
longitudinal side and the feeder 16 can grasp a series 3 of
infusion bags with a predetermined number of infusion bags 1 in an
oscillating movement engaging in the shaft 12 and feed it to a
pushing device.
* * * * *