U.S. patent application number 10/496902 was filed with the patent office on 2005-01-27 for apparatus.
Invention is credited to Bartoli, Andrea, Finetti, Primo.
Application Number | 20050017118 10/496902 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 11450915 |
Filed Date | 2005-01-27 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050017118 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Finetti, Primo ; et
al. |
January 27, 2005 |
Apparatus
Abstract
An apparatus comprises supplying arrangement arranged for
receiving a reel and transferring said reel towards an operative
position of said reel and auxiliary device arranged for removing a
core of an empty reel from said operative position and delivering
said reel to said operative position; a method for removing a core
from a machine comprises, before said removing, unwinding a final
portion of web material from said core so as to store an amount of
said web material arranged for feeding operative stations of said
machine during replacing of said core with a reel of said web
material.
Inventors: |
Finetti, Primo; (Mirandola,
IT) ; Bartoli, Andrea; (Reggio Emilia, IT) |
Correspondence
Address: |
NIXON & VANDERHYE, PC
1100 N GLEBE ROAD
8TH FLOOR
ARLINGTON
VA
22201-4714
US
|
Family ID: |
11450915 |
Appl. No.: |
10/496902 |
Filed: |
July 21, 2004 |
PCT Filed: |
November 25, 2002 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/EP02/13242 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
242/559.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65H 19/126 20130101;
B65H 2301/41734 20130101; B65H 2301/4185 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
242/559.1 |
International
Class: |
B65H 019/12 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Nov 23, 2001 |
IT |
MO2001A000229 |
Claims
1-20. canceled.
21. Apparatus, comprising supplying arrangement arranged for
receiving a reel and transferring said reel towards an operative
position of said reel and auxiliary device arranged for removing a
core of an empty reel from said operative position and delivering
said reel to said operative position
22. Apparatus according to claim 21, and further comprising rolling
support device arranged for supporting said reel in said operative
position.
23. Apparatus according to claim 21, or 22, wherein said supplying
arrangement is movable between a receiving position, in which said
supplying arrangement is turned towards the outside of said
apparatus for receiving said reel, and a releasing position, in
which said supplying arrangement is turned towards the inside of
said apparatus for releasing said reel, and vice versa.
24. Apparatus according to claim 21, wherein said supplying
arrangement delivers said reel to said auxiliary device.
25. Apparatus according to claim 21, wherein said supplying
arrangement delivers said reel to intermediate support device from
which said reel is collected by said auxiliary device.
26. Apparatus according to claim 21, wherein said auxiliary device
is movable between a loading position in which said reel is
arranged in said operative position, and an unloading position, in
which said reel is delivered to removal device, and vice versa.
27. Apparatus according to claim 26, wherein said auxiliary device
receives said reel during moving from said unloading position to
said loading position.
28. Apparatus according to claim 21, wherein said supplying
arrangement comprises a pair of first arms parallel to each other
and cooperating together to support said reel.
29. Apparatus according to claim 28, wherein said first arms
comprises first ends pivotable around a horizontal rotation axis
and second ends arranged for receiving end pivots of said core.
30. Apparatus according to claim 21, wherein said auxiliary device
comprises a pair of second arms parallel to each other and
cooperating together to support said reel.
31. Apparatus according to claim 30, wherein said second arms
comprise further first ends pivotable around a further horizontal
rotation axis and further second ends arranged for receiving said
end pivots.
32. Apparatus according to claim 31, wherein said second ends and
said further second ends are staggered in axial direction with
respect to each other so that said second ends and said further
second ends do not interfere with each other during transferring of
said reel.
33. Apparatus according to claim 31, wherein said second ends
and/or said further second ends comprise seat element for housing
said end pivots.
34. Apparatus according to claim 33, wherein said seat element is
arranged on said second ends and has a concave part that is turned
radially towards the outside.
35. Apparatus according to claim 33, wherein said seat element is
arranged laterally on said further second ends and has a concave
part turned upwards.
36. Apparatus according to claim 31, wherein said rotation axis and
said further rotation axis are parallel to each other.
37. Apparatus according to claim 26, or 27, wherein said removal
device comprises inclined sliding plane elements arranged for
receive said core.
38. Machine, comprising an indexing device for indexing web
material across a plurality of operative stations of said machine,
and further comprising an apparatus for supplying a reel of said
web material to said machine and for removing a core of an empty
reel from said machine according to claim 21.
39. Method for removing a core from a machine, wherein before said
removing there is provided unwinding a final portion of web
material from said core so as to store an amount of said web
material arranged for feeding operative stations of said machine
during replacing of said core with a reel of said web material.
40. Method according to claim 39, wherein said unwinding comprises
rotating said reel with a speed grater than the advancing speed of
said web material across said operative stations.
Description
[0001] This invention concerns a device for changing a reel on a
rolling support.
[0002] Specifically, but not exclusively, this invention can be
used in conjunction with a machine to form, and possibly fill and
seal, containers arranged as a continuous strip and made from two
or more continuous webs in thermoformable and heat-sealable
material. In general, in these machines the two webs are unwound
from two respective reels and are indexed while facing each other,
to a series of operating stations comprising at least a
heat-sealing station and a forming station.
[0003] One of the drawbacks of prior art machines of this kind is
the simple and rapid change of the empty reel with a new reel
filled of web.
[0004] An object of this invention is to improve the known device
for changing reels.
[0005] Another object is to obtain a device that is able to rapidly
perform the change of the reel.
[0006] An advantage of the invention is to supply a
constructionally simple and cheap apparatus that is very
reliable.
[0007] Another advantage is to minimise manual intervention by the
operator.
[0008] A further advantage is to make an apparatus available for
changing the reel that, used in conjunction with a machine for
forming a strip of containers, enables the reel to be changed
without interrupting the operation of the forming machine.
[0009] An apparatus according to the invention is disclosed in
claim 1.
[0010] Further features and advantages of the present invention may
be clearly disclosed by the following detailed description of this
invention, showed in the accompanying drawings by way of examples
that do not limit the scope of the invention.
[0011] FIG. 1 shows a schematic side view in a vertical elevation
of an apparatus made according to the invention with the reel empty
and ready for being changed.
[0012] FIGS. 2 to 4 show the apparatus of FIG. 1 in three
successive phases of the reel changing operation.
[0013] With reference to FIGS. 1 to 4, a reel changing apparatus 1
is shown for changing a reel rotatably coupled to a rolling support
2 of prior art type.
[0014] The reel 3 consists of a continuous web made of plastic
material, specifically heat-sealable and thermoformable material,
wrapped around a core 4 and operationally intended to be unwound
from the reel by a feeding device. The core 4 of the reel is
provided at opposite ends with two coaxial pivots intended for
releasable rotational coupling with the rolling support 2.
[0015] In the case in point, in which the real changing apparatus 1
is applied to a machine for forming at least one continuous strip
of containers, the prior art feeding device unwinds the web from
the feeding reel 3 and indexes said web, alongside another web
unwound from another similar reel, through a plurality of operating
stations where the facing webs are heat-sealed and thermoformed to
obtain the continuous strip of containers, which are subsequently
filled and sealed.
[0016] The feeding device is provided with a web accumulation unit,
of prior art type that is not shown, that is programmed to
intervene to feed the operating stations with web for a limited
preset time, during which the empty feeding reel will be replaced
with a new reel filled of web. The accumulation unit preferably
comprises a web accumulation tank (not shown) and a system for
rapidly unrolling the web from the reel. The unrolling system may,
for example, comprise a motor for commanding controlled rotations
of the reel at different speeds and a device for controlling the
motor that can actuate the motor to carry out rapid unrolling of a
preset quantity of web. The web, when it is unrolled faster than
the speed of advance of the web dragged by the feeding device under
normal conditions, is freely collected in the accumulation
tank.
[0017] The reel changing apparatus 1 comprises a couple of first
paired arms 5 (only one arm is shown in the Figures), that are
parallel to each other and cooperate together to support the reel
3. Each first arm 5 has a first end pivoted around a horizontal
rotation axis 5a. The rotation axes of the two first arms 5 are
coaxial. Each first arm 5 furthermore has a second end, opposite
the first end, having a hollow seat for housing one of the two end
pivots of the core. In the case in point the hollow seat is
situated on the external surface of the first arm 5, at the front,
with the concave part pointing radially outwards.
[0018] Each of the first arms 5 can be rotated, by means of an
axial fluid actuator 6, around the common rotation axis 5a with
rotations coordinated so as to remain always parallel to and
alongside each other, with the possibility of taking up a first
receiving position in which a reel 3 is received from the outside
(FIGS. 1 and 2) and a second releasing position in which the reel
is released (FIG. 3).
[0019] In the first receiving position the second ends of the first
arms 5 (provided with seats to accommodate end pivots of the reel)
are turned towards an external side of the apparatus and are
accessible from the outside. In the first receiving position the
first arms 5 are turned with respect to a horizontal plane and the
second ends point upwards.
[0020] In the second releasing position, the second ends of the
first arms 5 are turned towards the inside of the apparatus; the
first arms are still turned with respect to a horizontal plane, but
are turned in the opposite direction to the first receiving
position, and also in this position the second ends are turned
upwards.
[0021] The reel-change apparatus 1 furthermore comprises a couple
of second paired arms 7, that are parallel and cooperate together
to support the reel 3. As for the first arms 5, each second arm 7
has a first end pivotable around a horizontal rotation axis 7a. The
rotation axes 7a of the second arms are coaxial to each other and
parallel to the rotation axes 5a of the first arms. Each second arm
7 has a second end, opposite the first end, provided with a hollow
seat for housing one of the two end pivots of the core 4; said
hollow seat is located on one side of the second arm 7 and its
concave side is tangential to the rotation of the second arm 7.
[0022] Each second arms 7 can be rotated, by means of a linear
fluid actuator 8, around the coaxial rotation axes 7a with
rotations coordinated so that they are always parallel to and
alongside each other, with the possibility of taking up a first top
position of reel-loading (marked as a continuous line in FIGS. 1
and 4) and a bottom unloading position (marked as a dashed line in
FIG. 1). Both in the bottom position and in the top position of the
second arms 7 the concave sides of the hollow seats for
accommodating the end pivots of the reel point upwards.
[0023] In the first top loading position, a filled reel 3 carried
by the second arms 7 is in position so it can be coupled (for
example by means of front couplings, or analogous prior art
couplings) with the rolling support 2; in this position the core 4
of the reel is preferably coaxial with the rolling support 2 to
facilitate coupling. In the bottom unloading position an empty reel
(in fact the empty reel mainly consists of the central core 4
around which the web made of plastic material was wound) carried by
the second arms 7, is delivered to empty reel removal means
underneath. This removal means comprises in the case in point a
fixed inclined sliding plane 9 arranged for receiving the empty
reel unloaded by the second arms 7 in the bottom unloading position
and to make it drop by gravity (in the direction of the arrow K) to
a bottom end pick-up zone (located near the outer side of the
apparatus 1 to which the operator can easily accede both to fit a
filled reel 3 onto the first arms 5, and to withdraw the empty
reel), where there is a stop against which the empty reel reaches a
static pick-up position.
[0024] The second arms 7 are shaped and arranged so as to meet,
during their shift G upwards from the bottom unloading position to
the top loading position, the pivots at the end of the filled reel
3 released by the first arms 5, to collect the reel and to lift it
up to the first top loading position.
[0025] In the case in point the transfer of the filled reel 3 from
the first arms 5 to the second arms 7 takes place directly whereas
the reel 3 is supported by the first arms 5; in other embodiments
not shown here an intermediate phase can be provided in which the
first arms 5 release the filled reel 3 to a fixed intermediate
support located on the upward trajectory of the second arms.
[0026] To return to the disclosed example, the second arms 7 are
shaped and arranged in such a way that, during the ascending
movement G from the bottom position (in which the empty reel is
released) to the top position (in which the filled reel is placed
on the support 2), the hollow seats of the second arms 7 meet the
end pivots of a filled reel 3 when said reel is carried by the
first arms 5 with the latter located in their second releasing
position (configuration of FIG. 3). This meeting should preferably
take place not when the second arms 7 have already reached the top
final position (in which the reel 3 is in position for being
coupled to the rolling support 2), but before that moment, i.e.
when the second arms 7 still have to travel a short distance
upwards to arrive to said top final position (said distance is
travelled to move from the configuration of FIG. 3 to the
configuration of FIG. 4). In this way reciprocal disengagement
between the reel and the first arms 5 is possible, with the
subsequent possibility of the first arms returning to the external
position to receive another filled reel.
[0027] Similarly, it is preferable for said meeting (which in the
case in point coincides with the transfer of the reel from one pair
of arms to the other) should occur when the second arms 7 have
already left the initial bottom position (in which the empty reel
is released to the evacuation plane), i.e. whilst the second arms 7
have already covered an initial distance of their upward movement
(therefore during said movement, which should preferably be
continuous with no arrests), and not when the second arms 7 are
still in said bottom position. In other words, it is preferable
that the transfer of the filled reel 3 from one pair of arms to the
other pair should take place at an intermediate point of the route
of a pair of arms (with the other pair being preferably
stationary), and not at an end point of the route, even if this
latter possibility can however be provided.
[0028] At least the second ends of the first arms 5 and the second
ends of the second arms 7 are staggered with respect to one another
in axial direction so that they do not interfere with one another
during the transfer of the reel 3 from the first arms to the second
arms.
[0029] Also the sliding plane 9 for the evacuation of the empty
reel (a plane that comprises two distinct parts, each one intended
to interact through contact with an end of the empty reel, said
distinct parts being alongside one another and spaced apart from
one another to enable the axial length of the part of the filled
reel constituted by the web wound on the core to be included) is
staggered axially both in relation to the first arms 5 and to the
second arms 7, for which reason it does not interfere with the
movement of said arms.
[0030] During operation, when the reel from which the feed device
unwinds the web is empty, a first fixing organ 10 for fixing the
web releasably blocks in position the final end flap of the web of
the empty reel, whilst the accumulation unit of the web is filled
so that the machine forming the containers continues to be fed with
web and can then proceed regularly without interruptions during the
reel change.
[0031] At this point the second arms 7 are lowered to deposit the
empty reel onto the sliding plane 9. The operator, who withdraws
the empty reel, will have previously placed a filled reel 3 on the
first arms 5 in external position (FIG. 2). Then the first arms 5
transfer the filled reel 3 towards the inside of the apparatus, by
the rotation indicated by arrow F. The second arms 7 then, having
freed themselves of the empty reel, move upwards by the rotation
indicated by the arrow G. During upward movement the second arms 7,
whilst they continue rotation G without stopping, pick up the reel
3 from the first arms 5 in wait in the internal releasing position
(FIG. 3 shows the moment of transfer of the reel from the first to
the second arms), and continue upward movement until the filled
reel 3 is carried to a suitable position (FIG. 4) for being coupled
to the rolling support 2 by actuation of the appropriate coupling
means.
[0032] The initial end flap of the web of the new reel 3 is
releasably locked in position by a second fixing organ 11, located
opposite the fixing organ 10, and is united (in a known manner) to
the final end flap of the web of the previous reel so as to make
the two webs continuous. The two movable fixing organs 10 and 11
are then deactivated to release the two webs, that now form a
single continuous web, and the feeding device proceeds to unwind
the web from the reel 3 that has just been fitted to carry out
normal feeding of the web to the operating stations. Said reel
change operations are carried out within the operating time of the
accumulation unit (ensuring operating continuity of the forming
machine of the containers), with intervention by the operator
reduced to simply removing the empty reel and placing the filled
reel 3 on the first arms 5 situated on the easily accessible
external side of the apparatus.
[0033] Numerous practical applicative modifications of
constructional details can be applied to the apparatus without
departing from the scope of the invention claimed below.
* * * * *