Classifications

• • 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
  • B65B3/00—Packaging plastic material, semiliquids, liquids or mixed solids and liquids, in individual containers or receptacles, e.g. bags, sacks, boxes, cartons, cans, or jars
  • B65B3/04—Methods of, or means for, filling the material into the containers or receptacles
  • B65B3/16—Methods of, or means for, filling the material into the containers or receptacles for filling collapsible tubes
• • 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
  • B65B35/00—Supplying, feeding, arranging or orientating articles to be packaged
  • B65B35/30—Arranging and feeding articles in groups
  • B65B35/36—Arranging and feeding articles in groups by grippers
  • B65B35/38—Arranging and feeding articles in groups by grippers by suction-operated grippers

Definitions

• the invention relates to a tube handling line or machine intended to in-line process empty packaging tubes to form closed tubes filled with product.
• a tube filling machine conventionally comprises some form of intermittently driven, endless conveyor, and a number of processing stations are arranged along this conveyor so as to deliver filled and closed tubes at the exit from the machine.
• the number of stations may vary depending on the type of tube or type of material but, usually, a feeding-in station for empty tubes, a filling station, a station for orienting the design on the tubes, a station for closing the tube ends and also a station for feeding out filled tubes are required.
• the number of filled tubes that can be produced per unit of time in the machines can, within certain limits, be adapted to the current requirement. In some cases, for example, it is possible to double up certain stations but the upper limit for the number of tubes produced per unit of time will still be limited by the slowest station in the production chain, namely the filling station.
• One way of improving productivity would be to drive the endless conveyor at a continuous rate and make use of a continuously operating filler.
• the implementation of such a method would mean, however, that the station for closing the tube ends would not have time to perform its function and would thus take over the production-limiting role of the intermittent filling station.
• the object of the invention is to improve tube handling lines and machines so that the rate of production of filled and closed tubes is increased while at least retaining the specification requirements referred to in the introduction.
• Fig. 1 shows diagrammatically a first embodiment of a tube handling line or machine according to the invention.
• Fig. 2 shows a section along the line A-A in Fig. 1
• Fig. 3 shows diagrammatically a second embodiment of a tube handling line or machine according to the invention.
• Fig. 1 shows diagrammatically a line comprising a delivery station 10 for empty packaging tubes, a first transfer arrangement 11 in the form of a robot for transferring tubes intended for filling to a filler 12 and also a second transfer arrangement 13, likewise in the form of a robot, for transferring filled tubes to an endless conveyor 14.
• Located along this conveyor which in the exemplary embodiment shown is driven intermittently, has rectilinear conveyor sections 15, 16 and is provided with tube holders 17, are a number of stations 18-23 for processing the tubes carried in the tube holders 17.
• the station 18 is a station for orienting the design on the tubes
• the station 19 is a station for end closing using hot air
• the station 20 is a station for coding
• the station 21 is a station for trimming
• the station 22 is a station for ejecting defective tubes
• the station 23 is a station for feeding out finished, filled tubes.
• the filling station 12 is a stationary station comprising a number of filling nozzles 24 arranged in a straight line above a filling beam 25 provided with holders 26 for tubes intended for filling.
• the filling beam 27 is vertically adjustable in the direction of the double arrow 25.
• the delivery station 10 for empty tubes comprises a feed-in conveyor 28 for transport packages 29 filled with tubes 30 positioned rectilinearly in rows.
• a feed-out conveyor 31 for emptied transport packages follows at right angles to the feed-in conveyor 28.
• the robot 11 operates between the delivery station 10 and the filling station 12 and has on its arm 32 a gripper 33 which, as has been indicated by the arrow 34, performs a reciprocating movement between the delivery station 10 and the filling station 12.
• the gripper 33 is provided with a number of tube holders corresponding to the number of tubes required in the filling station.
• a gripper 36 which is similar to the gripper 33 and is intended to perform a reciprocating movement in the direction of the double arrow 37 so as to transfer filled tubes from the filling station 12 to the endless conveyor 14.
• the gripper 33 of the robot 11 loads the filling beam 25 at the same time as the robot 13 loads the endless conveyor 14 by delivering filled tubes to the rectilinear conveyor section 15 by means of the gripper 36 for further processing in the stations 18-23.
• the gripper 33 After the gripper 33 has loaded the filling beam 25, the latter is raised, with the empty tubes arranged in it, to the filling position below the nozzles 24.
• the gripper 33 then performs a movement (shown diagrammatically by the arrow 34) so as to grip a new row of tubes 30 in the transport package 29 and remove them.
• the gripper 36 performs a movement (shown diagrammatically by the arrow 37) so as to remove filled tubes from the filling beam 25. If, for example, twenty filling nozzles are used and there is adequate capacity in the closing station 19 (for example double hot-air nozzles), the programmable robots 11 , 13 make possible a production rate of up to 400 tubes per minute.
• the embodiment of the tube handling line or machine shown in Fig. 3 differs from the embodiment in Fig. 1 in that a filling station 12' with continuously rotating filling nozzles has been included instead of a stationary filling station.
• the robot arrangement is otherwise identical.
• the filling beam 25 in Fig. 1 use is made of an endless conveyor which is driven continuously and synchronously with the filling nozzles in the filling station 12' and comprises a rectilinear filler section 25 entering the filling station and a likewise rectilinear filler section 25' leaving the station.
• a cartoning station 38 is also shown at the exit from the tube handling line or machine.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Specific Conveyance Elements (AREA)
• Supplying Of Containers To The Packaging Station (AREA)
• Container Filling Or Packaging Operations (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=20411948

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (7)

Families Citing this family (5)

Family Cites Families (2)

• 1998
  • 1998-07-03 SE SE9802385A patent/SE514148C2/sv not_active IP Right Cessation
• 1999
  • 1999-06-28 JP JP2000557997A patent/JP2002519256A/ja active Pending
  • 1999-06-28 CN CNB998081256A patent/CN1136125C/zh not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 1999-06-28 WO PCT/SE1999/001155 patent/WO2000001584A1/en not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 1999-06-28 BR BR9911716-9A patent/BR9911716A/pt not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 1999-06-28 EP EP99935218A patent/EP1094967A1/en not_active Withdrawn
  • 1999-06-28 AU AU50738/99A patent/AU5073899A/en not_active Abandoned

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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