U.S. patent application number 10/432407 was filed with the patent office on 2004-03-11 for process and device for tilting a continuous strip of containers made from heat-formable material.
Invention is credited to Bartoli, Andrea, Finetti, Primo.
Application Number | 20040045265 10/432407 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 8175562 |
Filed Date | 2004-03-11 |
United States Patent
Application |
20040045265 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Bartoli, Andrea ; et
al. |
March 11, 2004 |
Process and device for tilting a continuous strip of containers
made from heat-formable material
Abstract
In the process of the invention a strip of containers (5) made
of a heat-formable material is guided through a deviated course in
a transversal direction with the respect to a main horizontal line
of advancement (F), in which the strip of containers undergoes, in
sequence, a fist rotation of a quarter of a full turn about a
vertical-axis first guide (6), a first twist by half a full turn, a
second rotation, by half a full turn, about a second guide (7)
having a winding axis which is parallel to the line of advancement
(F).
Inventors: |
Bartoli, Andrea; (Eggiolo
Beggio Emilia, IT) ; Finetti, Primo; (Mirandola,
IT) |
Correspondence
Address: |
WILLIAM COLLARD
COLLARD & ROE, P.C.
1077 NORTHERN BOULEVARD
ROSLYN
NY
11576
US
|
Family ID: |
8175562 |
Appl. No.: |
10/432407 |
Filed: |
May 22, 2003 |
PCT Filed: |
November 7, 2001 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/IT01/00560 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
53/561 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65B 9/04 20130101; B65B
47/00 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
053/561 |
International
Class: |
B65B 047/00 |
Claims
1). A process for tilting a continuous strip of containers made of
a heat-formable material, in which at least a first continuous
strip of containers (5) arranged one behind another is fed along a
line of advancement (F) towards at least one filling station,
before which filling station an orientation of the first strip of
containers is changed, wherein the first strip of containers is
guided to follow a deviated path which comprises first a deviation
in a transversal direction with respect to the line of advancement
(F) and then a return towards the line; an orientation of the first
strip of containers being changed while undergoing the
deviation.
2). The process of claim 1, wherein: the first strip of containers
(5) is formed with the flat part vertically oriented; the line of
advancement (F) of the strip is horizontal; and the containers of
first strip of containers (5) each exhibit a downwardly-turned
apertures and are tilted by 180.degree. in order to present the
aperture facing upwards.
3). The process of claim 1 or 2, wherein during the deviated path
the first strip of containers (5) is guided to make a half turn,
about an axis which is parallel and side-by-side to the line of
advancement (F), in which the flat part of the first strip is
oriented parallel to the axis.
4). The process of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the
first strip of containers (5), when following the deviated path,
performs the following: a complete rotation about a first axis
which is perpendicular to the line of advancement (F) and parallel
to the flat part of the first strip; a first twist about itself, a
second rotation about a second axis which is parallel and
side-by-side to the line of advancement (F), a second twist about
itself, and a third rotation about a third axis parallel and close
to the first axis.
5). The process of any one of the preceding claims, wherein before
tilting the first strip of containers (5) is solidly fixed,
coplanar and facing oppositely to a second strip of containers (4)
formed together with the first strip in a same continuous strip of
plastic material; the containers of the second strip of containers
(4) having apertures facing in an opposite direction to the
apertures of the containers of the first strip of containers (5);
before tilting the first strip, the two strips are separated by
cutting at a midway line parallel to the first and second strips of
containers; after tilting, the first strip of containers (5) being
brought into a side-by-side position parallel to the second strip
of containers (4), both strips advancing together towards the
filling station.
6). A device for tilting a continuous strip of containers made of
heat-formable material, in which the containers (5) are arranged in
a line, one behind another, and the strip of containers (5) is
advanced along a predetermined line of advancement (F), comprising
three winding guides (6, 7 and 8) about which the transiting strip
winds in sequence; the strip winds about each guide with a flat
part of the strip oriented parallel to an axis of the guide; a
first guide (6) of the three guides being located in proximity of
the line of advancement (F) of the strip with a winding axis which
is perpendicular to the line of advancement (F); a second guide (7)
of the three guides being located by a side of and distant from the
line of advancement (F), with a winding axis which is parallel to
the line of advancement (F); a third guide (8) of the three guides
being located in proximity of the line of advancement (F), slightly
forward of the first guide (6), with a winding axis which is
perpendicular to the line of advancement (F).
7). The device of claim 6, wherein at least one of the winding
guides comprises a drum which is freely rotatable about an axis
thereof.
8). The device of claim 6 or 7, wherein a position of the second
guide of the three guides is adjustable at least in a transversal
direction (G) to the line of advancement (F).
9). The device of any one of the claims from 6 to 8, wherein each
winding guide comprises two opposite, borders (9) for laterally
containing the first strip of containers (5).
10). A machine for forming and filling containers made of a
heat-formable material comprising: a line for feeding at least one
strip of film made of a heat-formable plastic material; a
heat-forming station in which at least one strip of containers (5)
is formed; a tilting device for tilting the at least one strip of
containers (5) made according to any one of the preceding claims; a
filling station for the containers (5).
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] Specifically, though not exclusively, the invention is
usefully applied in the field of a system for heat-forming filling
and sealing plastic containers made from strips of heat-formable
material. The containers can be used for packing various substances
(cosmetics, detergent, pharmaceutical or food products, etc.)
either in liquid or solid form, either coherent (pastilles,
tablets, suppositories) or loose (powder or granules).
BACKGROUND ART
[0002] Particular reference is made to a process according to the
preamble of the first claim.
[0003] A process of this type is already known, according to which
a continuous strip of containers, for reasons connected to the
production process, has to be tilted by 180.degree. by means of a
twisting of the strip on itself about a rotation axis coinciding
with the advancement direction of the strip towards the filling
station. As the flexibility of the strip is limited, mainly due to
the presence of containers which confer a certain rigidity on the
strip, the angle of twist of the strip cannot be too high, so the
total 180.degree. turn is developed over a relatively long tract on
the line of advancement of the strip itself. This leads to a
considerable over lengthening of the advancement line, with a
consequently large machine length.
[0004] The main aim of the present invention is to provide a
process which enable the container-strip advancement line to be
reduced overall.
[0005] An advantage of the invention is that it provides a process
which enables the longitudinal development of the advancement line
of the container strip to be reduced.
[0006] A further advantage consists in the fact that the process
can be realised with constructionally simple and economical
means.
[0007] These aims and advantages and more besides are all attained
by the present invention, as it is characterised in the appended
claims.
[0008] Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will
better emerge from the detailed description that follows of a
preferred but non-exclusive embodiment of the invention,
illustrated purely by way of a no-limiting example in the
accompanying figures of the drawings, in which:
[0009] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a tilting device made
according to the invention;
[0010] FIGS. 2 and 3 are two sections, respectively according to
lines II-II and III-III of FIG. 1;
[0011] FIG. 4 is a detail of the tilting device of FIG. 1.
DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION
[0012] With reference to the above-mentioned figures, 1 denotes in
its entirety a device for tilting a continuous strip of containers
made of a heat-formable material, formed by means of a coupling of
two or more continuous strips of heat-weldable plastic
material.
[0013] The device 1 is inserted in a machine for forming, filling
and sealing containers made of heat-weldable material. The machine,
of known type, comprises:
[0014] a feed line of two facing strips of heat-weldable plastic
material;
[0015] a welding station in which the strips, oriented with a flat
part vertically arranged, are welded at predetermined zones to
produce two parallel and opposite lines of cells, each provided
with an opening arranged on one of the opposite longitudinal edges
of the strips, so that the apertures of the upper line face upwards
and the apertures of the lower line face downwards;
[0016] a forming station in which a forming fluid under pressure is
injected into the cells through the apertures, in order to expand
each cell internally of a respective forming cavity so as to form a
container.
[0017] The parts of the machine described up to here, arranged
upstream of the tilting device, are of known type and are
consequently not illustrated. The machine also comprise, downstream
of the tilting device 1, a filling station for the containers,
followed by a sealing station: both of these stations are of known
type and are not illustrated. In the filling station, the
containers can be filled with various types of products, for
example liquid substances destined or not for solidification, or
solid loose substances, in grain or powder form, or objects
destined to enter in one piece into the containers, or even objects
destined to remain partially outside the containers (for example
handles).
[0018] FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a cutting device 2 which
cuts into half in a longitudinal direction, a strip 3 of containers
from the forming station. The longitudinal cut separates the first,
upper line of containers 4, in which the apertures are
upwardly-facing, from the second, lower line of containers 5, in
which the apertures are downwardly-facing. The first line of
containers 4 proceeds, after the cut, following the advancement
line normally, which brings it to the filling station, while the
second line is tilted by 180.degree. by the tiling device 1 which
also aligns the second line with the first line, so that the two
lines proceed parallel to one another towards the filling station,
both with their apertures facing upwards in order to receive the
product which is to be put into the containers.
[0019] Arrows F indicate the advancement direction of the
containers 4 and 5 along the advancement line which goes from the
forming station to the filling station.
[0020] The tilting device 1 of the strip of containers 5 comprises
three drum guides, respectively 6, 7 and 8, about which the
transiting strip winds in sequence. Each drum guide comprises a
wheel, freely rotatable about an axis thereof and laterally
provided with two opposite borders 9, for laterally containing the
strip. The strip winds about each guide with a flat side of the
strip oriented parallel to the rotation axis of the guide.
[0021] FIG. 4 shows any one of the three guides, having a lateral
surface which in section is conformed complementarily to the
container strip. The lateral surface comprises at its centre a
concave annular part 10, thanks to which the containers are not
subject to deformation, which annular part 10 is predisposed to
receive the main body of the containers; the annular part 10 may be
in the shape of a continuous gullet or can be a series of recesses
arranged circumferentially and equidistanced one from another at a
distance which is equal to the step of the containers on the strip.
The lateral surface of the guides further comprises two annular end
surfaces 11 and 12, of unequal diameters, one of which is
predisposed to receive the welded part of the strip which does not
comprise a container, and the other of which is predisposed to
receive the part of the strip comprising the container mouths,
which terminate the apertures. The mouths of the containers can be
located in cavities arranged circumferentially on the annular end
surface 12 of the guide at reciprocal distances equal to the step
of the mouths.
[0022] The first guide 6 is located close to the advancement line F
of the strip having a winding axis perpendicular to the advancement
line and arranged vertically. The first guide 6 causes the strip to
deviate by about 90.degree. (in the case of FIG. 1, towards the
left) with respect to the normal line of advancement F.
[0023] The second guide 7, which is situated by the side of and at
a certain distance from the line of advancement F exhibits a
winding axis which is parallel to the line of advancement F. The
strip, in passing from the first guide 6 to the second guide 7, is
twisted on itself (in the illustrated embodiment by about
90.degree.) so that the containers pass from a vertical
configuration, with the apertures facing downwards, to a horizontal
configuration, with the apertures facing forwards. The strip exits
from the second guide 7 in an opposite direction with respect to
the entrance direction, after having rotated by 180.degree. about
the axis of the with the containers horizontal and the apertures
facing forwards.
[0024] The third guide 8, which is located in proximity of the line
of advancement F, slightly more forwards than the first guide 6,
exhibits a winding axis which is perpendicular to the line of
advancement. The third guide 8, which is very close to the first
guide 6, is situated slightly higher and to the left of the first
guide 6, so that the strip of containers 5 exiting from the third
guide 8 comes to be side-by-side, parallel and at the same height
as the other strip of containers 4 which proceeds normally along
the line of advancement F, with the same orientation as before. As
its passes from the second guide 7 to the third guide 8 the strip
of containers 5 twists on itself (by about 90.degree. in the
present embodiment) so that the containers are brought from the
horizontal position to a vertical configuration, with the apertures
facing upwards. The strip of containers 5 enters the third guide 8
in a more-or-less perpendicular direction to the line of
advancement F and when the strip exits from the third guide 8,
after winding by about a quarter of a full turn around the vertical
axis of the drum, comes to be on the line of advancement F, paired
with the other strip.
[0025] The position of the second guide 7 can be adjusted in at
least one direction G transversal to the line of advancement F, so
that the timing of the two paired lines of containers 4 and 5 can
be adjusted on exit from the tilting device.
[0026] The winding axes of the first guide 6 and the third guide 8
are parallel to each other and parallel to the lie (in this case
vertical) of the flat part of the strip transiting along the main
line of advancement F. The winding axis of the second guide 7 is
perpendicular to the axes of the other two guides 6 and 8.
[0027] During operation, in a first stage, in which the device 11
is readied, the first tract of the strip of containers 5 is
manually wound onto the three guides 6, 7 and 8, rotating and
twisting the strip in the above-described way. Then, once the strip
has been engaged on the drawing means (of known type and not
illustrated), which cause the strip to advance (generally in
step-motion), the device is ready to function automatically.
[0028] In a further embodiment, not illustrated, the winding
guides, which in the illustrated embodiment comprise
freely-rotatable drums or pulleys, can be constituted by fixed
cylindrical elements. It is however preferable that at least be
second guide 7 comprises a rotatable element 7. Further, at least
one of the wheels or pulleys (preferably the second) can be a drive
pulley and be provided, on its surface, with means for drawing the
strip, such as for example cogs (which could be conformed similarly
to the containers), or an external high-friction surface, or both
solutions together.
[0029] The change in orientation of the strip of containers 5 is
made when the strip is in a transversally deviated path with
respect to the main line of advancement F. The space occupied in a
longitudinal direction (according to the main axis of advancement
of the strip towards the filling station) in order to carry out the
twisting operation is reduced to a minimum, indeed is practically
eliminated. Even the space occupied in a transversal direction is
relatively small. With this solution the forming and filling of the
containers 4 and 5 occupies a relatively contained space,
especially lengthwise.
[0030] In the present embodiment described, a strip of containers
is tilted started from a configuration in which the flat part of
the strip is vertically arranged. The tilting device can however be
applied in cases where the starting configuration is different, for
example with the flat part horizontally arranged.
[0031] The tilting device can also be used with strips of
containers made from one film only of heat-formable plastic
material (of known type). In this case the containers are open
trays, open one side with the opening arranged on the flat side of
the strip and turned the same way, and not, as in the
previously-illustrated case, arranged on the edge of the strip and
turned on opposite sides. In this case too, the machine can
comprise a heat-forming station in which, on the same strip of
plastic material, two paired and symmetrical lines of containers
are formed; after forming one of the two lines is tilted by
180.degree. and superimposed on the other line. To favour tilting
it is preferable first to make a longitudinal cut between the two
lines.
[0032] The tilting device and process can be applied on a machine
which forms strip of containers composed of a single line of
containers.
[0033] A machine, for example a forming, filling and sealing
machine, can comprise one or even a plurality of tilting devices,
should it be necessary to tilt the strip of containers once, twice
or more times in a same machine.
* * * * *