U.S. patent application number 15/422351 was filed with the patent office on 2017-08-03 for thermoform packaging machine.
The applicant listed for this patent is MULTIVAC Sepp Haggenmuller SE & Co. KG. Invention is credited to Elmar Ehrmann.
Application Number | 20170217616 15/422351 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 55638364 |
Filed Date | 2017-08-03 |
United States Patent
Application |
20170217616 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Ehrmann; Elmar |
August 3, 2017 |
THERMOFORM PACKAGING MACHINE
Abstract
A thermoform packaging machine comprising a forming station for
producing troughs in a bottom film, a sealing station for sealing
troughs that contain a product, and at least one cutting station
arranged on a machine frame. The thermoform packaging machine may
include at least two clamp chains for holding and conveying the
bottom film in a production direction through the packaging
machine. The clamp chains may be guided by chain guides that extend
at least from the forming station along an infeed line to the
sealing station. Each chain guide may include an upper guide
surface and a lower guide surface between which a respective one of
the clamp chains is guided. In one embodiment, the chain guides are
oriented horizontally at and along both the forming station and the
sealing station and the chain guide ascends from the forming
station to the sealing station along the infeed line.
Inventors: |
Ehrmann; Elmar; (Bad
Gronenbach, DE) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
MULTIVAC Sepp Haggenmuller SE & Co. KG |
Wolfertschwenden |
|
DE |
|
|
Family ID: |
55638364 |
Appl. No.: |
15/422351 |
Filed: |
February 1, 2017 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65B 47/04 20130101;
B65B 65/02 20130101; B65B 41/14 20130101; B65B 35/246 20130101;
B65B 61/06 20130101; B65B 41/02 20130101; B65B 35/10 20130101; B65B
9/045 20130101 |
International
Class: |
B65B 47/04 20060101
B65B047/04; B65B 41/02 20060101 B65B041/02; B65B 65/02 20060101
B65B065/02; B65B 35/10 20060101 B65B035/10; B65B 61/06 20060101
B65B061/06 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Feb 3, 2016 |
DE |
20 2016 000 757.3 |
Apr 28, 2016 |
EP |
16 167 437.9 |
Claims
1. A thermoform packaging machine comprising: at least two clamp
chains for holding a bottom film and for conveying the bottom film
in a production direction of the thermoform packaging machine,
wherein each of the clamp chains are guided in a chain guide; a
forming station for producing troughs in the bottom film, a sealing
station and at least one cutting station, which are arranged on a
machine frame in this sequence in the production direction, wherein
the chain guides extend at least from the forming station along an
infeed line to the sealing station, wherein the chain guides each
comprise an upper guide surface and a lower guide surface between
which a respective one of the at least two clamp chains is guided;
and the upper guide surface is oriented horizontally at and along
the forming station and has a first vertical distance from an
installation surface along the forming station, wherein the chain
guides are oriented horizontally at and along the sealing station
and the upper guide surface has a second vertical distance from the
installation surface along the sealing station; and wherein the
second distance is larger than the first distance by at least 100
mm, and wherein the chain guides have an ascending orientation
along the infeed line.
2. The thermoform packaging machine according to claim 1, wherein
the chain guides are inclined at an angle (.beta.) of 10.degree. to
30.degree. relative to the horizontal along the infeed line.
3. The thermoform packaging machine according to claim 1, wherein
the chain guides are substantially continuous from the forming
station along the infeed line to the sealing station.
4. The thermoform packaging machine according to claim 1, wherein
the forming station is configured to form troughs in the bottom
film having a trough depth of at least 100 mm.
5. The thermoform packaging machine according to claim 1, wherein
the forming station comprises a male die part used in the trough
forming process.
6. A packaging assembly comprising a thermoform packaging machine
of claim 1 and a product infeed belt, wherein the product infeed
belt has an inclination at an angle of less than five degrees
(5.degree.) relative to the horizontal.
7. The packaging assembly according to claim 6, wherein the product
infeed belt includes a retractable belt.
8. The packaging assembly according to claim 6, wherein the product
infeed belt has a vertical dimension of less than 50 mm.
9. The packaging assembly according to claim 6, wherein the product
infeed belt is provided above the forming station and extends to
the infeed line and partially along the infeed line.
10. The packaging assembly according to claim 6, wherein a first
advance movement of the product infeed belt is synchronized with a
second advance movement of the clamp chains such that a product can
be fed into the trough of the bottom film while the trough is being
advanced in the second advance movement.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims priority to German Patent
Application Number 202016000757.3 filed Feb. 3, 2016, to Elmar
Ehrmann, currently pending, and European Patent Application Number
16167437.9 filed Apr. 28, 2016, to Elmar Ehrmann, currently
pending, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by
reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates to a thermoform packaging
machine having clamping chains and chain guides for guiding a
bottom film through the packaging machine, wherein troughs formed
in the bottom film are filled with products fed by a product infeed
belt.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] DE 102 24 237 A1 discloses a thermoform packaging machine
for producing packages with a sealed seam that is inclined relative
to the horizontal. A stack of products of several slices of a
foodstuff is fed into a trough formed in a bottom film web by an
obliquely arranged conveyor belt configured as a retractable belt.
One reason for the inclination of the conveyor belt relative to the
thermoform packaging machine and the film conveying plane,
respectively, is to be seen in the arrangement of the forming
station being above the film conveying plane. The conveyor belt
must be arranged above the uppermost obstructing contour on the
forming station and, due to the fact that the conveyor belt extends
at an oblique angle down to the film conveying plane, an area that
extends from the forming station up to the beginning of the infeed
line is defined and this area is not utilized by any work station
in the existing packaging machine.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0004] It is the object of the present invention to reduce the
machine length of a thermoform packaging machine. This object is
achieved by a thermoform packaging machine according to teachings
of the present disclosure.
[0005] The thermoform packaging machine according to the present
invention may comprise at least two clamp chains for holding a
bottom film, wherein each clamp chain is disposed on and holds a
side of the bottom film and for conveying the bottom film along a
production direction of the thermoform packaging machine. The clamp
chains may be guided in chain guides. The chain guides may each
comprise an upper guide surface and a lower guide surface between
which a respective one of the clamp chains is guidable. The
thermoform packaging machine may comprise a forming station for
producing troughs in a bottom film, a sealing station and at least
one cutting station, all of which are arranged in this sequence in
the production direction and arranged on a machine frame. The
thermoform packaging machine according to the present invention may
include the chain guides extending at least from the forming
station to the sealing station along an infeed line and the upper
guide surface may be oriented horizontally at and along the forming
station and the upper guide may have a first vertical distance from
an installation surface of the machine frame of the thermoform
packaging machine.
[0006] The chain guides may be oriented horizontally at and along
the sealing station and the upper guide surface may have a second
vertical distance from the installation surface, wherein in one
embodiment, the second distance may be larger than the first
distance by at least 100 mm. The chain guide may be disposed, at
least sectionwise, in an ascending orientation along the infeed
line. This structural design of a thermoform packaging machine
allows a short infeed line, since a product infeed belt can easily
feed products horizontally and place them directly into the troughs
formed in the bottom film. The inclined position of the troughs at
the infeed line may be particularly advantageous for some shapes of
troughs and products.
[0007] Preferably, the chain guide is inclined at an angle of
10.degree. to 30.degree. relative to the horizontal along the
infeed line.
[0008] The chain guide is configured such that, preferably, it is
continuous to a very large extent from the forming station along
the infeed line up to the sealing station, so as to avoid
transitions between chain guide sections, as transitions may lead
to rough running of the chain.
[0009] According to one embodiment, the forming station may be
configured to form troughs in the bottom film with a trough depth
of at least 100 mm in the bottom film.
[0010] The forming station may include a male die part for
supporting the forming process, so as to support the thermoforming
of the bottom film in female die parts in the forming tool lower
part using pressurized air from above and/or vacuum from below the
bottom film. This embodiment may allow for the performance and the
forming quality to be increased.
[0011] A packaging assembly according to the present invention
comprises the presently described thermoform packaging machine and
a product infeed belt. The packaging assembly may include the
product infeed belt having an inclination at an angle of less than
five degrees (5.degree.) relative to the horizontal. Preferably,
the angle of the product infeed belt is zero degrees
(0.degree.).
[0012] According to one embodiment, the product infeed belt may be
a retractable belt, so as to feed the product partially directly
into the trough itself and thus place the product very accurately
at its infeed position.
[0013] Preferably, in one embodiment, the product infeed belt may
have a vertical dimension of less than 50 mm in the area above the
forming station and in the area of a front edge of the product
infeed belt, so that less space is required when the product infeed
belt enters the trough in the bottom film. A vertical dimension
that narrows towards an end of the product infeed belt is also
within the scope of the present invention.
[0014] Preferably, in one embodiment, the product infeed belt may
be provided above the forming station and may extend up to the
infeed line and partially along the infeed line. In this
embodiment, products that are produced upstream of the thermoform
packaging machine may be conveyed along or past the forming station
up to an infeed site in a structurally very simple manner.
[0015] According to one embodiment, an advance movement of the
product infeed belt may be synchronized with an advance movement of
the clamp chains, and thus of the troughs, such that a product can
be fed into the trough while the trough is being advanced in an
advance movement by the clamp chains. In this way, the placement of
the product in the trough may also be carried out precisely.
[0016] Other aspects and advantages of the present invention will
be apparent from the following detailed description of the
preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawing figures.
DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING
[0017] In the following, an advantageous embodiment of the present
invention will be explained in more detail making reference to a
drawing, in which:
[0018] FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of one embodiment of a
packaging assembly comprising a thermoform packaging machine and a
product infeed belt in accordance with the teachings of the present
disclosure;
[0019] FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of one embodiment of the
infeed line of a thermoforming packaging machine in relation to a
product infeed belt in a first phase in accordance with the
teachings of the present disclosure;
[0020] FIG. 3 is a schematic detail view of one embodiment of the
infeed line of a thermoforming packaging machine in relation to a
product infeed belt in a second phase in accordance with the
teachings of the present disclosure;
[0021] FIG. 4 is a schematic detail view of another embodiment of
the infeed line of a thermoforming packaging machine in relation to
a product infeed belt in a first phase in accordance with the
teachings of the present disclosure; and
[0022] FIG. 5 is a schematic detail view of another embodiment of
the infeed line of a thermoforming packaging machine in relation to
a product infeed belt in a second phase in accordance with the
teachings of the present disclosure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0023] The invention will now be described with reference to the
drawing figures, in which like reference numerals refer to like
parts throughout. For purposes of clarity in illustrating the
characteristics of the present invention, proportional
relationships of the elements have not necessarily been maintained
in the drawing figures.
[0024] The following detailed description of the invention
references specific embodiments in which the invention can be
practiced. The embodiments are intended to describe aspects of the
invention in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art
to practice the invention. Other embodiments can be utilized and
changes can be made without departing from the scope of the present
invention. The present invention is defined by the appended claims
and the description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting
sense and shall not limit the scope of equivalents to which such
claims are entitled.
[0025] FIG. 1 shows a schematic side view of a packaging assembly 1
comprising an intermittently operating thermoform packaging machine
2 according to the present invention and a product infeed belt 3.
Thermoform packaging machine 2 comprises a machine frame 4 oriented
along a production direction R and installed upon an installation
surface A on the lower side of the machine frame 4. At the
beginning of the thermoform packaging machine 2 (the beginning
being on the right-hand side in FIG. 1) an unwinding device 5 for a
bottom film/foil 6 is provided. The bottom film 6 is supplied to a
forming station 8 by two clamp chains 7 that are arranged such that
one clamp clamps each side of the bottom film 6, so that forming
station 8 thermoforms troughs 11 with a vertical trough depth T in
the bottom film 6. In addition, downstream of the forming station 8
in the production direction R, the present thermoforming packaging
machine 2 includes an oblique infeed line 9 that is inclined at an
angle .theta. relative to a horizontal and that is used and allows
for feeding a product 10 into thermoformed troughs 11 (see also
FIGS. 2-5). In a further production sequence in the production
direction, the forming station 8 and oblique infeed line 9 are
followed by a sealing station 12 for closing the troughs 11 that
have been filled with a product 10 with a cover film 13, and a
first cutting station 14 configured as a cross cutting station. A
second cutting unit 15 that is a longitudinal cutting station may
be arranged downstream of the first cross cutting station 14 to
separate the sealed packages 16. A conveyor belt 17 may be
downstream of the first and/or second cutting unit to convey the
separated packages 16 out of the thermoform packaging machine 2.
The thermoform packaging machine 2 comprises a control unit 18
configured for controlling not only the drive 19a (in one
embodiment, a servomotor for driving clamp chains 7), but also the
drive 19b of the product infeed belt 3, so that the speeds of the
two drives 19a and 19b can be synchronized with one another or
adapted to one another for allowing an optimum execution of the
infeed process in accordance with the product 10 and/or the trough
11,
[0026] The clamp chains 7 are guided in a chain guide 30 as
schematically shown in FIG. 1 as dot-and-dash lines extending above
and below the broken line for the clamp chains 7 and in parallel
therewith. Such a chain guide 30 is known, for example, from DE
102006005405 A1. The chain guides 30 have an upper guide surface O
and a lower guide surface U, between which a clamp chain 7 is
guided. The upper guide surface O along the forming station 8 is
oriented horizontally and has a first vertical distance V1 from an
installation surface A. The upper guide surface O along the sealing
station 12 is oriented horizontally and has a second vertical
distance V2 from the installation surface A.
[0027] FIG. 2 shows a schematic side view of the routing of the
clamp chains 7 and thus of the bottom film 6 from the forming
station 8 to the sealing station 12. In the forming station 8, one
or a plurality of troughs 11, which are arranged in succession
and/or side-by-side and which define a format, are formed in the
bottom film 6. The bottom film 6 may, for example, be configured as
any applicable flexible film or foil having a film thickness
between 100 .mu.m and 300 .mu.m. The clamp chains 7 are moved
synchronously per work cycle by a film feed length V in the
production direction R so as to provide respective new troughs to
be filled for the infeed line 9 and the product infeed belt 3. FIG.
2 additionally shows a schematic detail view of the infeed line 9
with the product infeed belt 3 in the first phase, in the case of
which the product infeed belt 3 is configured as a retractable belt
and the front edge 20 itself is extendable and retractable in the
orientation of the product infeed belt 3. Such retractable belts
are known, for example from DE 2516583 A1. FIG. 2 shows in this
first phase the product infeed belt 3 in its extended position, at
which the front edge 20 enters the trough 11, which has been
suitably positioned, and is then retracted, as shown in FIG. 3. The
product infeed belt 3 has a vertical height H in the area above the
forming station 8.
[0028] In FIG. 3, the product infeed belt 3 is moved such that the
upper part 3a of the product infeed belt 3 stands still (and is
stationary), whereas the lower part 3b is retracted to the right in
a direction opposite to the production direction R synchronously
with the front edge 20 and a deflection pulley 21, respectively. In
one embodiment, a deflection edge may be used instead of the
deflection pulley 21. Through this operation, the product 10 may
thus reliably and precisely placed into the trough 11.
[0029] FIGS. 4 and 5 show an alternative embodiment of the product
infeed belt 3. The product infeed belt 3 does not have a movable
front edge 20. During the infeed process, the movement of the
product infeed belt 3 and the advance movement V of the clamp
chains 7 are adapted to one another using of the control unit 18
such that the product 10 will be moved into the trough 11 that
moves at an oblique angle past the front edge 20. In order to
detect the position of the product 10 on the product infeed belt 3,
a sensor 22 (see FIG. 5) in the form of a light barrier may be
arranged at the left end of the product infeed belt 3, so that the
control unit 18 will be able to control, in accordance with the
position of the product 10 on the product infeed belt 3, the start
as well as the speeds of the respective drives 19a and 19b for the
infeed process.
[0030] From the foregoing, it will be seen that this invention is
one well adapted to attain all the ends and objects hereinabove set
forth together with other advantages which are obvious and which
are inherent to the structure. It will be understood that certain
features and sub combinations are of utility and may be employed
without reference to other features and sub combinations. This is
contemplated by and is within the scope of the claims. Since many
possible embodiments of the invention may be made without departing
from the scope thereof, it is also to be understood that all
matters herein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings are
to be interpreted as illustrative and not limiting.
[0031] The constructions and methods described above and
illustrated in the drawings are presented by way of example only
and are not intended to limit the concepts and principles of the
present invention. Thus, there has been shown and described several
embodiments of a novel invention. As is evident from the foregoing
description, certain aspects of the present invention are not
limited by the particular details of the examples illustrated
herein, and it is therefore contemplated that other modifications
and applications, or equivalents thereof, will occur to those
skilled in the art. The terms "having" and "including" and similar
terms as used in the foregoing specification are used in the sense
of "optional" or "may include" and not as "required". Many changes,
modifications, variations and other uses and applications of the
present construction will, however, become apparent to those
skilled in the art after considering the specification and the
accompanying drawings. All such changes, modifications, variations
and other uses and applications which do not depart from the spirit
and scope of the invention are deemed to be covered by the
invention which is limited only by the claims which follow.
* * * * *