EP0526403B1 - Method and device for making groups of food discs - Google Patents
Method and device for making groups of food discs Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- EP0526403B1 EP0526403B1 EP19920810565 EP92810565A EP0526403B1 EP 0526403 B1 EP0526403 B1 EP 0526403B1 EP 19920810565 EP19920810565 EP 19920810565 EP 92810565 A EP92810565 A EP 92810565A EP 0526403 B1 EP0526403 B1 EP 0526403B1
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- EP
- European Patent Office
- Prior art keywords
- discs
- grippers
- transportation direction
- conveyor belt
- biscuits
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired - Lifetime
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65B—MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING
- B65B23/00—Packaging fragile or shock-sensitive articles other than bottles; Unpacking eggs
- B65B23/10—Packaging biscuits
- B65B23/12—Arranging, feeding or orientating the biscuits to be packaged
- B65B23/14—Forming groups of biscuits
Definitions
- the present invention relates to a method and a device according to the preamble of claims 1 and 4, respectively.
- Such a device is known from CH-A-521'265.
- columns are first formed from a carpet of biscuits lying next to one another on a conveyor belt, and the biscuits are then jammed using circumferential gripping fingers.
- the gripper fingers transport the biscuits over one step. If two biscuits lie on top of one another below the step, they are pushed by means of a slide into group formation chambers, where stacks are formed.
- This device has proven itself. It is disadvantageous, however, that it requires column formation and guiding as well as stowing of the biscuits. On the one hand this limits the capacity of the device, on the other hand the biscuits have to be relatively robust. This device is less suitable for break-sensitive biscuits and certain biscuit shapes.
- the object of the present invention is to develop a method and a device of the type mentioned at the outset in such a way that high performance is achieved with careful handling of the food slices.
- the grippers of a gripping device can be provided with a guide on the swivel axis in such devices in order to guide the lifting and lowering movement of the grippers transversely to the swivel axis, each of these grippers being assigned its own lifting motor.
- the conveyor belt can be connected to a decoder and this to the control device.
- the lifting movements of the grippers, the movement of the conveyor belt, the swiveling movement of the swiveling axis and the movement of the grouping chambers can be coordinated by the control device in such devices.
- An advantage of the device according to the invention is that it can be implemented with very short transport routes, even in the case of biscuits with an irregular shape that is difficult to stack, which leads to very high outputs with little load on the products.
- a further advantage of such a device results from the fact that the biscuits can be conveyed on, for example in reserve grouping devices, Manual packaging systems, storage, etc., and that different products and groups can be processed by simply changing the programming.
- the device according to the invention is characterized by a very small space requirement and a good overview during the inspection.
- Fig. 1 the device is shown schematically in perspective; in particular, the conveyor belt 1, only the outermost column 10 of the carpet mentioned and only one station B of the several stations are shown in simplified form.
- the simplified gripper device 25 in the station B comprises three grippers 26 arranged one after the other in the conveying direction A.
- the grippers 26 are each in a longitudinal guide 27 in the height direction Z. slidably guided and can preferably be raised and lowered by a motor 28 via a crank 29.
- the three guides 27 are preferably mounted on a common pivot axis 30 running parallel to the belt 1 and the conveying direction A.
- the pivot axis 30 can be pivoted by a motor 31.
- the grippers 26 can, for example, have a suction cup 32 at the bottom, which is connected to a suction fan (not shown).
- the motors 23, 28 and 31 and the motors 51 and 53 of the lowering device are connected to the control device 20. To simplify the illustration, the lowering device is not shown in FIG. 1.
- the lowering device according to FIG. 2 has a vertical, but preferably somewhat inclined, transport chain 52 which serves to move the group formation chambers 5, these group formation chambers also being able to be, for example, containers, in particular made of plastic.
- the transport chain 52 is driven by a motor 53, which is only hinted at in FIG. 2.
- the transport chain 52 moves the containers 5 downwards, for example by the thickness of the biscuits, each time before a biscuit enters the container 5.
- An auxiliary mechanism with levers and rods is provided for this purpose.
- a rod 54 moves a lever 55 which is rotatable about an axis 56 of a bracket 57 to thereby form a tilting device.
- the lever 55 causes a wing or intermediate station support 58 to tilt from an upward sloping position to a downward sloping position, which facilitates the sliding of a biscuit 3 on the wing 58 onto the last biscuit of a group 7 in the container 5.
- a further rod 59 moves a slide 61 over a guide 60, which in each case gives the biscuit in question a push.
- the rod 54 is supported by a further lever 62, which is rotatably mounted about an axis of rotation 63, with the aid of a cam disc acting at the other end of the lever 62 64 moves.
- the cam plate 64 is rotatably or pivotably mounted about an axis 65.
- the rod 59 is moved by a further lever 66, which is rotatably mounted about an axis of rotation 67, with the aid of a drive rod 68 which is connected to the other end of the lever 66 and is moved eccentrically by the cam disk 64.
- the cam disk 64 is driven by the motor 51 (FIG. 1).
- a ramp 69 is provided in the lower region of the transport chain 52 in order to facilitate the placement of the containers 5 on a further conveyor belt 70.
- the device shown works as follows:
- the biscuits 3 running at irregular intervals on the conveyor belt 1 (FIG. 1) are detected by the light barrier 19 and their position on the conveyor belt 1 is stored in the control device 20 by means of the signal from the rotary angle sensor 21.
- the control device 20 switches on its motor 28, so that this gripper 26 is lowered and its suction cup 32 lifts this biscuit 3 from the conveyor belt 1, at least by one slice thickness.
- the two subsequent biscuits 3 are gripped in the same way by the other two grippers 26.
- the motor 31 swivels the three grippers 26 together into a position above the group, which is located in the area of a group formation chamber (FIG. 2).
- the vacuum supply to the grippers 26 is interrupted briefly, so that the biscuits 3 are placed on the tiltable wing 58.
- the support surface 58 is tilted down and the slide 61 pushes the disks 3 onto the stack 7 that is being formed.
- the grippers 26 are pivoted back by means of the motor 31 in order to grasp the next biscuits 3 of the column 10 in the same way.
- the transport chain 52 is transported further by approximately one slice thickness by means of the motor 53.
- these containers 5 can alternatively be lowered in a similar manner until they are filled.
- the next empty container 5 is then lowered approximately by the distance between two containers, and possibly a little faster.
- the device described can work at a very high speed because the biscuits 3 do not have to be jammed and are gripped in the conveying direction A during their transport. No alignment is required so the biscuits can be gripped directly in the arrangement as e.g. from the oven or a previous treatment machine. Since no storage sections are necessary, the biscuits are handled very gently so that the device can also stack biscuits that are sensitive to breakage. Due to the omission of alignment and accumulation sections and because several grippers 26 are swiveled together, the overall length is short compared to conventional stacking devices. In addition, a very high level of operational safety can be achieved by arranging a similar reserve gripping device downstream of the regular gripping devices 25, which can serve several columns 10.
- this reserve gripping device can take over its task. Even individual, not recorded biscuits can be picked up by this reserve gripping device, if e.g. A vacuum sensor is also mounted on each gripper 26, which reports the correct gripping of a biscuit 3 to the control device 20.
- the device described has a modular structure, so that it can be manufactured inexpensively. It is also possible, for example, to supplement the stack with an additional, downstream gripping device 25 after checking the weight or the length of the stack 7.
- the method according to the invention therefore allows an excellently filling of at least one-sided open containers with disk-shaped products, in particular foods such as biscuits, in such a way that at least two or three disks lying one behind the other at unequally spaced intervals are recorded in the same clock cycle, but at different points in time by lifting the discs by at least one disc height and transporting them transversely to the belt running direction by at least a whole piece width above an intermediate surface or wing and then lowering them, whereupon the discs lying on the intermediate surface in a predetermined number are conveyed together into the container by conveying means, which is lowered approximately by one slice thickness at the next cycle by the transport chain or other equivalent transport means, such as a second transport belt.
- the conveyor belt 1 is preferably arranged horizontally and the conveyor chain 52 is arranged laterally vertically, but somewhat inclined.
- the transport chain 52 can be a so-called double chain, for example.
- the transport chain and the containers are preferably arranged at an angle so that even biscuits that are difficult to stack can be safely stacked.
- a further auxiliary mechanism can be provided in order to open the upper edge of the container with a holder, for example in the manner of a shoehorn, so that even the last biscuit of a group can be safely stacked.
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- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
- Specific Conveyance Elements (AREA)
- Supplying Of Containers To The Packaging Station (AREA)
- Stacking Of Articles And Auxiliary Devices (AREA)
- Delivering By Means Of Belts And Rollers (AREA)
- Pile Receivers (AREA)
- Discharge By Other Means (AREA)
Description
Die vorliegende Erfindung betrifft ein Verfahren und eine Vorrichtung gemäss dem Oberbegriff des Patentanspruchs 1 bzw. 4.The present invention relates to a method and a device according to the preamble of
Eine derartige Vorrichtung ist aus der CH-A-521'265 bekannt. Bei dieser Vorrichtung werden auf einem Transportband aus einem Teppich von nebeneinanderliegenden Biscuits zunächst Kolonnen gebildet und die Biscuits anschliessend mittels umlaufender Greiffinger gestaut. Die Greiffinger transportieren die Biscuits über eine Stufe. Wenn unterhalb der Stufe zwei Biscuits aufeinanderliegen, werden diese mittels eines Schiebers in Gruppenbildungskammern geschoben, wo Stapel gebildet werden. Diese Vorrichtung hat sich bewährt. Nachteilig ist jedoch, dass sie eine Kolonnenbildung und eine Führung sowie ein Aufstauen der Biscuits erfordert. Dies begrenzt einerseits die Kapazität der Vorrichtung, andererseits müssen die Biscuits relativ robust sein. Für bruchempfindliche Biscuits und gewisse Biscuitformen ist diese Vorrichtung weniger geeignet.Such a device is known from CH-A-521'265. In this device, columns are first formed from a carpet of biscuits lying next to one another on a conveyor belt, and the biscuits are then jammed using circumferential gripping fingers. The gripper fingers transport the biscuits over one step. If two biscuits lie on top of one another below the step, they are pushed by means of a slide into group formation chambers, where stacks are formed. This device has proven itself. It is disadvantageous, however, that it requires column formation and guiding as well as stowing of the biscuits. On the one hand this limits the capacity of the device, on the other hand the biscuits have to be relatively robust. This device is less suitable for break-sensitive biscuits and certain biscuit shapes.
Der vorliegenden Erfindung liegt die Aufgabe zugrunde, ein Verfahren und eine Vorrichtung der eingangs genannten Art derart weiterzubilden, dass eine hohe Leistung bei schonender Handhabung der Nahrungsmittelscheiben erreicht wird.The object of the present invention is to develop a method and a device of the type mentioned at the outset in such a way that high performance is achieved with careful handling of the food slices.
Diese Aufgabe wird durch ein Verfahren und eine Vorrichtung mit den im kennzeichnenden Teil der Ansprüche 1 und 4 angegebenen Merkmalen gelöst.This object is achieved by a method and a device with the features specified in the characterizing part of
Andere vorteilhafte Ausführungen der Erfindung sind in den abhängigen Ansprüchen angegeben. In weiterer Ausgestaltung der Erfindung können in solchen Vorrichtungen die Greifer einer Greifeinrichtung mit einer Führung an der Schwenkachse versehen sein, um die Hub- und Senkbewegung der Greifer quer zur Schwenkachse zu führen, wobei diesen Greifern je ein eigener Hubmotor zugeordnet ist.Other advantageous embodiments of the invention are specified in the dependent claims. In a further embodiment of the invention, the grippers of a gripping device can be provided with a guide on the swivel axis in such devices in order to guide the lifting and lowering movement of the grippers transversely to the swivel axis, each of these grippers being assigned its own lifting motor.
In weiterer Ausgestaltung der Erfindung kann in solchen Vorrichtungen das Transportband mit einem Dekodierer und dieser mit der Steuereinrichtung verbunden sein.In a further embodiment of the invention, in such devices the conveyor belt can be connected to a decoder and this to the control device.
In weiterer Ausgestaltung der Erfindung können in solchen Vorrichtungen die Hubbewegungen der Greifer, die Bewegung des Transportbandes, die Schwenkbewegung der Schwenkachse und die Bewegung der Gruppenbildungskammern durch die Steuereinrichtung koordiniert sein.In a further embodiment of the invention, the lifting movements of the grippers, the movement of the conveyor belt, the swiveling movement of the swiveling axis and the movement of the grouping chambers can be coordinated by the control device in such devices.
Ein Vorteil der erfindungsgemässen Vorrichtung besteht darin, dass sie mit sehr kurzen Transportwegen realisiert werden kann, und zwar auch bei Biscuits mit unregelmässiger, schlecht stapelbarer Form, was zu sehr grossen Leistungen bei einer geringen Belastung der Produkte führt.An advantage of the device according to the invention is that it can be implemented with very short transport routes, even in the case of biscuits with an irregular shape that is difficult to stack, which leads to very high outputs with little load on the products.
Ein anderer Vorteil ist darin zu erblicken, dass die zur Senkrechten geneigten Behälter in kleinen Schritten abgesenkt werden, was eine grosse Sicherheit beim Stapeln ergibt.Another advantage can be seen in the fact that the containers, which are inclined to the vertical, are lowered in small steps, which gives great security when stacking.
Ein weiterer Vorteil einer solchen Vorrichtung ergibt sich daraus, dass die Biscuits problemlos weitergefördert werden können, beispielsweise in Reserve-Gruppiereinrichtungen, Handverpackungsanlagen, Speicher usw., und dass unterschiedliche Produkte und Gruppierungen durch einfache Umstellung der Programmierung verarbeitbar sind.A further advantage of such a device results from the fact that the biscuits can be conveyed on, for example in reserve grouping devices, Manual packaging systems, storage, etc., and that different products and groups can be processed by simply changing the programming.
Zudem zeichnet sich die erfindungsgemässe Vorrichtung durch einen sehr geringen Platzbedarf und eine gute Übersichtlichkeit bei der Kontrolle aus.In addition, the device according to the invention is characterized by a very small space requirement and a good overview during the inspection.
Nachfolgend wird ein Ausführungsbeispiel der Erfindung anhand der Zeichung erläutert. Darin zeigt:
- Fig. 1
- eine schematische perspektivische Ansicht eines Teils der Vorrichtung nach der Erfindung, und
- Fig. 2
- eine schematische Seitenansicht der Absenkvorrichtung einer solchen Vorrichtung.
- Fig. 1
- is a schematic perspective view of part of the device according to the invention, and
- Fig. 2
- is a schematic side view of the lowering device of such a device.
In Fig. 1 ist die Vorrichtung schematisch perspektivisch dargestellt; insbesondere sind das Transportband 1, vom erwähnten Teppich nur die äusserste Kolonne 10 und von den mehreren Stationen nur eine Station B vereinfacht dargestellt.In Fig. 1 the device is shown schematically in perspective; in particular, the conveyor belt 1, only the
Von der Fühlerstation 4 ist nur die äusserste Lichtschranke 19 dargestellt, welche die Biscuits 3 der äussersten Kolonne 10 abtastet und deren Lage auf dem Transportband 1 einer Steuereinrichtung 20 meldet. Zur Korrelation erhält die Steuereinrichtung 20 ausserdem das Signal eines Drehwinkelgebers 21, der mit der Welle 22 des Antriebmotors 23 des Transportbandes 1 gekuppelt ist. Die vereinfacht dargestellte Greifereinrichtung 25 in der Station B umfasst drei in Förderrichtung A nacheinander angeordnete Greifer 26. Die Greifer 26 sind in je einer Längsführung 27 in der Höhenrichtung Z verschiebbar geführt und können vorzugsweise durch je einen Motor 28 über eine Kurbel 29 angehoben und abgesenkt werden. Die drei Führungen 27 sind vorzugsweise auf einer gemeinsamen, parallel zum Band 1 und zur Förderrichtung A verlaufenden Schwenkachse 30 montiert. Die Schwenkachse 30 kann durch einen Motor 31 verschwenkt werden. Die Greifer 26 können unten beispielsweise einen Saugnapf 32 aufweisen, der an ein nicht dargestelltes Sauggebläse angeschlossen ist. Die Motoren 23, 28 und 31 sowie die Motoren 51 und 53 der Absenkvorrichtung sind mit der Steuereinrichtung 20 verbunden. Zur Vereinfachung der Darstellung ist in Fig. 1 die Absenkvorrichtung nicht dargestellt.From the
Die Absenkvorrichtung nach Fig. 2 weist eine vertikale, jedoch vorzugsweise etwas geneigte Transportkette 52 auf, die zur Bewegung der Gruppenbildungskammern 5 dient, wobei diese Gruppenbildungskammern beispielsweise auch Behälter, insbesondere aus Kunststoff sein können. Die Transportkette 52 wird durch einen in Fig. 2 nur andeutungsweise dargestellten Motor 53 angetrieben. Die Transportkette 52 bewegt die Behälter 5 schrittweise, beispielsweise um die Dicke der Biscuits, nach unten, und zwar jedesmal bevor ein Biscuit in den Behälter 5 gelangt. Zu diesem Zweck ist ein Hilfsmechanismus mit Hebeln und Stangen vorgesehen. Eine Stange 54 bewegt einen Hebel 55, der um eine Achse 56 eines Trägers 57 drehbar ist, um damit eine Kippvorrichtung zu bilden. Der Hebel 55 bewirkt eine Kippbewegung einer Tragfläche oder Zwischenstations Auflage 58 von einer nach oben geneigten Position zu einer nach unten geneigten Position, die ein Rutschen eines sich auf der Tragfläche 58 befindenden Biscuits 3 auf das letzte Biscuit einer Gruppe 7 im Behälter 5 erleichtert. Eine weitere Stange 59 bewegt über eine Führung 60 einen Schieber 61, der in geeigneten Zeitpunkten jeweils dem betreffenden Biscuit einen Schub gibt. Die Stange 54 wird durch einen weiteren Hebel 62, der um eine Drehachse 63 drehbar gelagert ist, mit Hilfe einer beim anderen Ende des Hebels 62 wirkenden Kurvenscheibe 64 bewegt. Die Kurvenscheibe 64 ist drehbar oder schwenkbar um eine Achse 65 gelagert. Die Stange 59 wird durch einen weiteren Hebel 66, der um eine Drehachse 67 drehbar gelagert ist, mit Hilfe einer mit dem anderen Ende des Hebels 66 verbundenen Treibstange 68 bewegt, die exzentrisch von der Kurvenscheibe 64 bewegt wird. Die Kurvenscheibe 64 wird vom Motor 51 (Fig. 1) angetrieben. Im unteren Bereich der Transportkette 52 ist eine Rampe 69 vorhanden, um das Absetzen der Behälter 5 auf ein weiteres Transportband 70 zu erleichtern.The lowering device according to FIG. 2 has a vertical, but preferably somewhat inclined,
Im Betrieb arbeitet die dargestellte Vorrichtung wie folgt: Die in unregelmässigen Abständen auf dem Transportband 1 (Fig. 1) laufenden Biscuits 3 werden von der Lichtschranke 19 erfasst und ihre Position auf dem Transportband 1 mittels des Signals des Drehwinkelgebers 21 in der Steuereinrichtung 20 gespeichert. Wenn das vorderste Biscuit 3 die Lage des stromabwärtigen Greifers 26 erreicht hat, schaltet die Steuereinrichtung 20 dessen Motor 28 ein, so dass dieser Greifer 26 abgesenkt wird und sein Saugnapf 32 dieses Biscuit 3 vom Transportband 1 abhebt, und zwar mindestens um eine Scheibendicke. Die beiden nachfolgenden Biscuits 3 werden durch die andern beiden Greifern 26 in gleicher Weise ergriffen. Sobald alle drei Greifer 26 je ein Biscuit ergriffen haben, schwenkt der Motor 31 die drei Greifer 26 gemeinsam in eine Stellung oberhalb der Gruppe, die sich im Bereich einer Gruppenbildungskammer befindet (Fig. 2). Die Vakuumzufuhr zu den Greifern 26 wird kurzfristig unterbrochen, so dass die Biscuits 3 auf die kippbare Tragfläche 58 abgesetzt werden. Dann wird die Tragfläche 58 nach unten gekippt und der Schieber 61 schiebt die Scheiben 3 auf die sich bildenden Stapel 7. Die Greifer 26 werden mittels des Motors 31 zurückgeschwenkt, um die nächsten Biscuits 3 der Kolonne 10 in gleicher Weise zu erfassen. Nach jedem oder nach jedem zweiten dieser Schritte wird die Transportkette 52 mittels des Motors 53 um angenähert eine Scheibendicke weitertransportiert. Bei der in Fig. 1 angedeuteten Variante, bei der Verpackungsbehälter 5 gefüllt werden, können alternativ diese Behälter 5 in ähnlicher Meise abgesenkt, bis sie gefüllt sind. Anschliessend wird der nächste leere Behälter 5 etwa um die Distanz zwischen zwei Behältern abgesenkt, und zwar gegebenenfalls etwas schneller.In operation, the device shown works as follows: The
Die beschriebene Vorrichtung kann mit sehr hoher Geschwindigkeit arbeiten, weil die Biscuits 3 nicht gestaut werden müssen und während ihres Transportes in Förderrichtung A ergriffen werden. Es ist keine Ausrichtung erforderlich, so dass die Biscuits direkt in der Anordnung ergriffen werden können, wie sie z.B. vom Backofen oder einer vorangehenden Behandlungsmaschine geliefert werden. Da keine Staustrecken nötig sind, werden die Biscuits sehr schonend behandelt, so dass die Vorrichtung auch bruchempfindliche Biscuits stapeln kann. Durch den Wegfall von Ausricht- und Staustrecken, und weil mehrere Greifer 26 gemeinsam geschwenkt werden, ist die Baulänge verglichen mit herkömmlichen Stapelvorrichtungen kurz. Ausserdem kann eine sehr hohe Betriebssicherheit erreicht werden, indem stromabwärts nach den regulären Greifeinrichtungen 25 eine ähnliche Reserve-Greifeinrichtung angeordnet wird, welche mehrere Kolonnen 10 bedienen kann. Bei Ausfall einer der Greifeinrichtungen 25 kann diese Reserve-Greifeinrichtung deren Aufgabe übernehmen. Auch einzelne, nicht erfasste Biscuits können von dieser Reserve-Greifeinrichtung erfasst werden, wenn z.B. an jedem Greifer 26 noch ein Vakuumfühler montiert wird, der das korrekte Ergreifen eines Biscuits 3 der Steuereinrichtung 20 meldet.The device described can work at a very high speed because the
Die beschriebene Vorrichtung hat einen modularen Aufbau, so dass sie preiswert herstellbar ist. Es ist beispielsweise auch möglich, mit einer zusätzlichen, nachgeschalteten Greifeinrichtung 25 eine Stapelergänzung nach einer Kontrolle des Gewichts oder der Länge der Stapel 7 vorzunehmen.The device described has a modular structure, so that it can be manufactured inexpensively. It is also possible, for example, to supplement the stack with an additional, downstream gripping
Das erfindungsgemässe Verfahren erlaubt daher in vorzüglicher Weise ein Füllen von mindestens einseitig offenen Behältern mit scheibenförmigen Produkten, insbesondere Nahrungsmitteln wie Biscuits, und zwar derart, dass in Bandlaufrichtung mindestens zwei oder drei in ungleichen Abständen hintereinanderliegende Scheiben im gleichen Taktzyklus, jedoch in verschiedenen Zeitpunkten erfasst werden, indem die Scheiben um mindestens eine Scheibenhöhe angehoben werden und quer zur Bandlaufrichtung um wenigstens eine ganze Stückbreite oberhalb einer Zwischenfläche oder Tragfläche transportiert und danach abgesenkt werden, worauf die in einer vorbestimmten Anzahl auf der Zwischenfläche liegenden Scheiben gemeinsam durch Fördermittel in den Behälter gefördert werden, der beim nächsten Takt durch die Transportkette oder andere äquivalente Transportmittel, wie ein zweites Transportband, angenähert um eine Scheibendicke abgesenkt werden.The method according to the invention therefore allows an excellently filling of at least one-sided open containers with disk-shaped products, in particular foods such as biscuits, in such a way that at least two or three disks lying one behind the other at unequally spaced intervals are recorded in the same clock cycle, but at different points in time by lifting the discs by at least one disc height and transporting them transversely to the belt running direction by at least a whole piece width above an intermediate surface or wing and then lowering them, whereupon the discs lying on the intermediate surface in a predetermined number are conveyed together into the container by conveying means, which is lowered approximately by one slice thickness at the next cycle by the transport chain or other equivalent transport means, such as a second transport belt.
Wie in Fig. 2 dargestellt ist vorzugsweise das Transportband 1 horizontal und die Transportkette 52 seitlich vertikal, jedoch etwas geneigt angeordnet. Die Transportkette 52 kann beispielsweise eine sogenannte Doppelkette sein. Die Transportkette und die Behälter sind vorzugsweise schräg angeordnet, so dass auch schlecht stapelbare Biscuits sicher gestapelt werden können.As shown in FIG. 2, the conveyor belt 1 is preferably arranged horizontally and the
Es kann ein weiterer Hilfsmechanismus vorgesehen sein, um den oberen Rand des Behälters mit einem Halter beispielsweise in der Art eines Schuhlöffels zu öffnen, so dass auch das letzte Biscuit einer Gruppe sicher gestapelt werden kann.A further auxiliary mechanism can be provided in order to open the upper edge of the container with a holder, for example in the manner of a shoehorn, so that even the last biscuit of a group can be safely stacked.
Claims (10)
- A method for forming groups (7) of foodstuff discs (3), in particular biscuits, which lie with their flat side against each other, from a row of discs (3) which are being conveyed in series in a transportation direction (A) in group forming chambers (5), characterised in that the position of the discs (3) within the row is ascertained by means of a sensor (4, 19) and stored and that in the transportation direction (A) downstream of the sensor (4, 19) the discs (3) are grasped individually by a plurality of successive grippers (26) and transported in such a manner that the discs (3) are initially raised by at least one disc thickness and are transported transversely to the transportation direction (A) at a predetermined distance above an intermediate resting station (58) and placed thereon, wherein a predetermined number of discs lying on the intermediate resting station (58) is conveyed as one by the conveying means (59, 60, 61) into a group forming chamber (5), which is lowered prior to the next cycle in the conveying process.
- Method according to claim 1, characterised in that the discs are grasped while they are being transported in the transportation direction (A).
- Method according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that in one station a plurality of discs (3) of the row are grasped individually at different times and subsequently transported together and simultaneously placed down.
- A device for the purpose of carrying out the method in accordance with any one of claims 1 to 3 having a conveyor belt (1) running in a transportation direction (A) for the purpose of transporting a row of in series foodstuff discs (3), particularly biscuits, and having group forming chambers (5) for the purpose of forming groups (7) of discs, characterised in that above the conveyor belt (1) is disposed a sensor (4, 19) for the purpose of measuring the position of the individual discs (3) on the belt (1), that a plurality of grippers (26) are disposed in series in the transportation direction (A) downstream of the sensor (4, 19) for the purpose of grasping the discs (3) moving in the transportation direction (A) and to convey them to an intermediate station (B) disposed at the side of the conveyor belt (1) and subsequently to convey said discs by virtue of the conveyance means into the group forming chambers (5), wherein the grippers (26) are controlled by virtue of a control device (20) connected to the sensor (4, 19) and that the group forming chambers (5) are moved downwards by virtue of a lowering device.
- Device according to claim 4, characterised in that each gripper (26) in each case grasps a disc (3) individually and that the grippers (26) can be displaced as one into a position above the intermediate station (B).
- Device according to claim 4 or 5, characterised in that the sensors (4, 19) are formed in order to measure the position of the discs (3) on the belt (1) both in the transportation direction (A) and also transversely thereto and that the grippers (26) can be displaced transversely to the transportation direction (A) relative to the other grippers (26) of a gripping device (25).
- Device according to any one of claims 4 to 6, characterised in that the grippers (26) of the gripping device (25) can be displaced as one by virtue of a pivot drive (31) about a pivot axis (30) parallel with the plane of the conveyor belt (1).
- Device according to any one of claims 4 to 7, characterised in that a control device (20), which is connected to the sensors (4, 19) and a swing angle sensor (21), is provided for the purpose of controlling the grippers (26) of the gripping device (25) as well as the lowering device and a slide.
- Device according to any one of claims 4 to 8, characterised in that the lowering device is disposed at the side of the conveyor belt (1) and lowers the group forming chambers (5) in stages.
- Device according to any one of claims 4 to 8, characterised in that the intermediate station (B) comprises for the biscuits a carrier surface (58) which can be tilted and which has a pivot drive.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
CH225591A CH681590A5 (en) | 1991-07-29 | 1991-07-29 | |
CH2255/91 | 1991-07-29 |
Publications (2)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
EP0526403A1 EP0526403A1 (en) | 1993-02-03 |
EP0526403B1 true EP0526403B1 (en) | 1995-08-16 |
Family
ID=4229500
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
EP19920810565 Expired - Lifetime EP0526403B1 (en) | 1991-07-29 | 1992-07-23 | Method and device for making groups of food discs |
Country Status (4)
Country | Link |
---|---|
EP (1) | EP0526403B1 (en) |
JP (1) | JPH05193804A (en) |
CH (1) | CH681590A5 (en) |
DE (1) | DE59203280D1 (en) |
Cited By (1)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US8781616B2 (en) | 2011-06-27 | 2014-07-15 | The Procter & Gamble Company | Robotic unscrambler and method |
Families Citing this family (8)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
DE4330427C2 (en) * | 1993-09-08 | 1996-07-11 | Haensel Otto Gmbh | Method and device for stacking flat goods, in particular for packaging biscuits |
EP0895931A1 (en) | 1997-08-05 | 1999-02-10 | SIG Pack Systems AG | Machine and method for conveying products, in particular biscuits |
CA2347572C (en) | 2000-05-31 | 2009-10-20 | Sig Pack Systems Ag | Method and apparatus for forming item groups |
ES2292553T3 (en) | 2000-06-08 | 2008-03-16 | Robert Bosch Gmbh | GRIP DEVICE FOR COLLECTING OBJECTS AND PROCEDURES TO OPERATE IT. |
EP1359099A3 (en) | 2002-04-18 | 2003-11-19 | SIG Pack Systems AG | Method and apparatus for transferring of unit products into containers |
NL1023200C2 (en) | 2003-04-16 | 2004-10-19 | Kaak Johan H B | Gripping device and method for picking up an object. |
IT1401406B1 (en) * | 2010-07-30 | 2013-07-26 | Ct Pack Srl | SYSTEM AND METHOD OF TRANSFER AND GROUPING OF ITEMS AND PACKAGING MACHINE. |
CN106315235B (en) * | 2016-08-31 | 2019-05-24 | 中冶华天工程技术有限公司 | The multiple groups parallel high-speed palletizing system of tape travel compensation |
Family Cites Families (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US3434603A (en) * | 1965-12-27 | 1969-03-25 | Palletizer Corp | Loading machine |
CH521265A (en) * | 1970-01-05 | 1972-05-31 | Sig Schweiz Industrieges | Device for stacking flat objects of different types, e.g. of biscuits |
DE59100645D1 (en) * | 1990-04-23 | 1994-01-13 | Sig Schweiz Industrieges | Method and device for forming groups of food slices. |
-
1991
- 1991-07-29 CH CH225591A patent/CH681590A5/de not_active IP Right Cessation
-
1992
- 1992-07-23 DE DE59203280T patent/DE59203280D1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1992-07-23 EP EP19920810565 patent/EP0526403B1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1992-07-29 JP JP20212792A patent/JPH05193804A/en active Pending
Cited By (1)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US8781616B2 (en) | 2011-06-27 | 2014-07-15 | The Procter & Gamble Company | Robotic unscrambler and method |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
EP0526403A1 (en) | 1993-02-03 |
CH681590A5 (en) | 1993-04-30 |
DE59203280D1 (en) | 1995-09-21 |
JPH05193804A (en) | 1993-08-03 |
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