EP3126256B1 - Heat-shrinking furnace for the formation of bundles with improved film adhesion - Google Patents

Heat-shrinking furnace for the formation of bundles with improved film adhesion Download PDF

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Publication number
EP3126256B1
EP3126256B1 EP15721849.6A EP15721849A EP3126256B1 EP 3126256 B1 EP3126256 B1 EP 3126256B1 EP 15721849 A EP15721849 A EP 15721849A EP 3126256 B1 EP3126256 B1 EP 3126256B1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
heat
products
shrinkable film
shrinking
wrapped
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.)
Active
Application number
EP15721849.6A
Other languages
German (de)
French (fr)
Other versions
EP3126256A1 (en
Inventor
Emanuele Gatteschi
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OCME SRL
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OCME SRL
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Publication of EP3126256A1 publication Critical patent/EP3126256A1/en
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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
    • B65B53/00—Shrinking wrappers, containers, or container covers during or after packaging
    • B65B53/02—Shrinking wrappers, containers, or container covers during or after packaging by heat
    • B65B53/06—Shrinking wrappers, containers, or container covers during or after packaging by heat supplied by gases, e.g. hot-air jets
    • B65B53/063—Tunnels
    • 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
    • B65B21/00—Packaging or unpacking of bottles
    • B65B21/24—Enclosing bottles in wrappers
    • B65B21/245—Enclosing bottles in wrappers in flexible wrappers, e.g. foils
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
    • B65D71/00—Bundles of articles held together by packaging elements for convenience of storage or transport, e.g. portable segregating carrier for plural receptacles such as beer cans or pop bottles; Bales of material
    • B65D71/06—Packaging elements holding or encircling completely or almost completely the bundle of articles, e.g. wrappers
    • B65D71/08—Wrappers shrunk by heat or under tension, e.g. stretch films or films tensioned by compressed articles

Definitions

  • the present invention concerns a heat-shrinking furnace for forming bundles of products that are wrapped by films made in a heat-shrinkable material.
  • a further object of the present invention is a process for heat-shrinking films made in a heat-shrinkable material that is intended to form bundles of containers.
  • the object of the present invention is particularly used in the field of packaging products such as bottles, cans and/or similar containers in which wrapping films to be used are provided and realized in a heat-shrinkable material that is intended to form respective bundles (cf. e.g. EP0994030 ).
  • the formation of bundles of containers by heat-shrinking is generally carried out with the aid of suitable furnaces defining at least one advancement channel for the bundles.
  • Tunnel furnaces are provided with an inlet opening for continuously introducing separate groups of containers wrapped by respective heat-shrinkable films and with an outlet opening for the continuous outlet of respective bundles of heat-shrunk containers.
  • the main purpose of the present invention is to propose a furnace and a process for heat-shrinking bundles in which the film, for the same materials and sizes, can shrink more and thus make the finished bundle more stable.
  • a further purpose of the present invention is to reduce the overall consumption of energy necessary in order for the furnaces to operate in an optimal manner.
  • Such a heat-shrinking furnace 10 is suitable for forming bundles 11 of products 12 that are wrapped by a heat-shrinkable film 13.
  • the furnace is of the type defining at least an advancement channel 14 for the bundles 11 along the advancement direction X and comprises:
  • the furnace in an intermediate position between the inlet 15 and the outlet 16, the furnace comprises means to temporarily hold the heat-shrinkable film 13 spaced apart from the products 12 at the lateral openings 17 during heat-shrinking.
  • the means to temporarily hold the heat-shrinkable film 13 spaced apart from the products 12 at the lateral openings 17 during the heat-shrinking step comprise means for generating an air blow 19.
  • Such a blow 19 is at least partially directed along the advancement direction X in an intermediate position between the inlet 15 and the outlet 16 at both lateral walls 18 of each advancement channel 14, so that the blows 19 penetrate inside the lateral openings 17 of the heat-shrinkable film 13 that is wrapped in a loose manner on the containers 12.
  • the means for generating an air blow 19 at least partially directed along the advancement direction X comprise, for each wall 18 of the channel 14, a blowing device 20 directed inclined towards the channel 14 so as to directly intercept the openings 18.
  • the means for generating an air blow 19 at least partially directed along the advancement direction X comprise, for each wall 18 of the channel 14, a blowing device 20 that is directed towards a deflecting element 21 arranged on the respective wall 18.
  • Such a deflector 21 is configured so as to reflect the blow 19 towards the openings 18.
  • the method implemented by the furnace 10 described above comprises the steps of:
  • the method also comprises the step of:
  • Such a last step is made by dispensing air blows directed in a manner such as to "enter” the lateral openings of the bundle thus holding the film spaced apart from the products at least in the first steps of the heat-shrinking.
  • Such air blows can be directly oriented inclined towards the openings or they can be reflected in such a direction by suitable deflectors.
  • the object of the present invention solves the drawbacks found in the prior art and achieves important advantages in which, in particular the film, for the same materials and sizes, can be shrunk to a greater extent and thus make the finished bundle more stable.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Packages (AREA)

Description

  • The present invention concerns a heat-shrinking furnace for forming bundles of products that are wrapped by films made in a heat-shrinkable material.
  • A further object of the present invention is a process for heat-shrinking films made in a heat-shrinkable material that is intended to form bundles of containers.
  • The object of the present invention is particularly used in the field of packaging products such as bottles, cans and/or similar containers in which wrapping films to be used are provided and realized in a heat-shrinkable material that is intended to form respective bundles (cf. e.g. EP0994030 ).
  • As it is known, the formation of bundles of containers by heat-shrinking is generally carried out with the aid of suitable furnaces defining at least one advancement channel for the bundles.
  • Tunnel furnaces are provided with an inlet opening for continuously introducing separate groups of containers wrapped by respective heat-shrinkable films and with an outlet opening for the continuous outlet of respective bundles of heat-shrunk containers.
  • During heat-shrinking the plastic film shrinks becoming compact against the products and therefore making the finished bundle compact.
  • However, the Applicant has found that during the step of heat-shrinking the film, the latter stops or slows down abruptly, in the moment in which it comes into contact with the wall of the products.
  • The reason why such a phenomenon occurs is that usually the products have a lower temperature and during the shrinking step the hot film, coming into contact with the container, undergoes cooling such as to stop or slow down the shrinking.
  • Such a phenomenon can be seen more clearly in the open side areas of the bundle in which the overlapping portions of the film could shrink much more than what usually actually occurs.
  • Starting from the aforementioned current state of the art, the main purpose of the present invention is to propose a furnace and a process for heat-shrinking bundles in which the film, for the same materials and sizes, can shrink more and thus make the finished bundle more stable.
  • A further purpose of the present invention is to reduce the overall consumption of energy necessary in order for the furnaces to operate in an optimal manner.
  • The purposes specified above, and yet others, are substantially achieved with a furnace and with a process for heat-shrinking films made in a heat-shrinkable material that is intended for realizing bundles of containers, in accordance with the present invention.
  • The description shall be made in the rest of the document with reference to the attached drawings, which are provided purely as an indication and therefore not for limiting purposes, in which two examples of a furnace according to the present invention are shown.
    • Figure 1 shows a top view of the furnace according to the present invention;
    • Figure 2 shows a side view of the furnace of figure 1.
  • Such a heat-shrinking furnace 10 is suitable for forming bundles 11 of products 12 that are wrapped by a heat-shrinkable film 13.
  • The furnace is of the type defining at least an advancement channel 14 for the bundles 11 along the advancement direction X and comprises:
    • an inlet 15 which is fed by a bundle 11 of products 12 in succession one after the other, said products being tunnel-wrapped in a loose manner by heat-shrinkable film 13 so as to identify two lateral openings 17 that are orthogonal to the advancement direction X;
    • an outlet 16 for the release of the bundles 11 of products 12 wrapped in a compact manner by the heat-shrinkable film 13;
    • heating means operating between the inlet 15 and the outlet 16 for making the heat-shrinking of the film 13 on the products 12.
  • According to the invention, in an intermediate position between the inlet 15 and the outlet 16, the furnace comprises means to temporarily hold the heat-shrinkable film 13 spaced apart from the products 12 at the lateral openings 17 during heat-shrinking.
  • According to a preferred embodiment the means to temporarily hold the heat-shrinkable film 13 spaced apart from the products 12 at the lateral openings 17 during the heat-shrinking step comprise means for generating an air blow 19.
  • Such a blow 19 is at least partially directed along the advancement direction X in an intermediate position between the inlet 15 and the outlet 16 at both lateral walls 18 of each advancement channel 14, so that the blows 19 penetrate inside the lateral openings 17 of the heat-shrinkable film 13 that is wrapped in a loose manner on the containers 12.
  • In such a way the heat-shrinkable film 13 is held temporarily spaced apart from the products 12 at the lateral openings 17.
  • In one first version the means for generating an air blow 19 at least partially directed along the advancement direction X comprise, for each wall 18 of the channel 14, a blowing device 20 directed inclined towards the channel 14 so as to directly intercept the openings 18.
  • In a second version the means for generating an air blow 19 at least partially directed along the advancement direction X comprise, for each wall 18 of the channel 14, a blowing device 20 that is directed towards a deflecting element 21 arranged on the respective wall 18.
  • Such a deflector 21 is configured so as to reflect the blow 19 towards the openings 18.
  • Finally, a third version is provided in which the deflectors act directly on the air per se fed to the furnace from the walls of the channels 18.
  • The method implemented by the furnace 10 described above comprises the steps of:
    • feeding into a heat-shrinking furnace a bundle 11 of products 12 in succession one after the other, said products being tunnel-wrapped in a loose manner by the heat-shrinkable film 13 so as to identify two lateral openings 17 that are orthogonal to the advancement direction X;
    • heating the film 13 during the advancement of the bundle 11 into the furnace 10 for making the heat-shrinking of the film 13 on the products 12;
    • releasing the bundles 11 of products 12 wrapped in a compact manner by the heat-shrinkable film 13.
  • In particular, the method also comprises the step of:
    • holding the heat-shrinkable film 13 temporarily spaced apart from the products 12 at the lateral openings 17 during heat-shrinking.
  • Such a last step is made by dispensing air blows directed in a manner such as to "enter" the lateral openings of the bundle thus holding the film spaced apart from the products at least in the first steps of the heat-shrinking.
  • Such air blows can be directly oriented inclined towards the openings or they can be reflected in such a direction by suitable deflectors.
  • The object of the present invention solves the drawbacks found in the prior art and achieves important advantages in which, in particular the film, for the same materials and sizes, can be shrunk to a greater extent and thus make the finished bundle more stable.

Claims (4)

  1. Heat-shrinking furnace (10) for forming bundles (11) of products (12) wrapped in a heat-shrinkable film (13) ; said furnace being of the type defining at least one channel (14) for the advancement of said bundles (11) along the advancement direction (X) and comprising:
    - an inlet (15) which is fed by said bundles (11) of products (12) in succession one after the other, said products being tunnel-wrapped in a loose manner by said heat-shrinkable film (13) so as to identify two lateral openings (17) orthogonal to said advancement direction (X) ;
    - an outlet (16) for the release of said bundles (11) of products (12) wrapped in a compact manner by said heat-shrinkable film (13);
    - heating means operating between said inlet (15) and said outlet (16) for making the heat-shrinking of the film (13) on said products (12);
    in an intermediate position between said inlet (15) and said outlet (16) said furnace (10) comprises means for temporarily holding said heat-shrinkable film (13) spaced apart from said products (12) at said lateral openings (17) during heat-shrinking; said means for temporarily holding said heat-shrinkable film (13) spaced apart from said products (12) at said lateral openings (17) during heat-shrinking comprise means for generating an air blow (19) which is at least partially directed along said advancement direction (X), said means being arranged in an intermediate position between said inlet (15) and said outlet (16) at both lateral walls (18) of each advancement channel (14), so that said blows (19), by penetrating into said lateral openings (17) of said heat-shrinkable film (13) wrapped in a loose manner on said containers (12), hold said heat-shrinkable film (13) temporarily spaced apart from said products (12) at said lateral openings (17); characterized in that said means for generating an air blow (19), which is at least partially directed along said advancement direction (X), comprise, for each wall (18) of said channel (14), a blowing device (20) directed towards a deflecting element which is arranged on the respective wall (18), said deflector (21) being configured for reflecting said blow (19) towards said openings (18).
  2. Furnace according to claim 1 characterized in that said walls (18) are fed by air along substantially their entire development and are provided with holes for the supply of said air into said channel (14) substantially in the direction orthogonal to said advancement direction (X), said means for temporarily holding said heat-shrinkable film (13) spaced apart from said products (12) at said lateral openings (17) during heat-shrinking comprise deflectors arranged in an intermediate position between said inlet (15) and said outlet (16) at both lateral walls (18) of each channel (14) to direct, where present, the air exiting from said walls at least partially along said advancement direction (X) so that the air, by penetrating into said lateral walls (17) of said heat-shrinkable film (13) wrapped in a loose manner on said containers (12), holds said heat-shrinkable film (13) temporarily spaced apart from said products (12) at said lateral openings (17).
  3. Method for heat-shrinking for forming bundles (11) of products (12) wrapped by a heat-shrinkable film (13); said method comprising the steps of:
    - feeding into a heat-shrinking furnace in succession one after the other a bundle (11) of products (12), which is tunnel-wrapped in a loose manner by said heat-shrinkable film (13) so as to identify two lateral openings (17) orthogonal to said advancement direction (X) ;
    - heating said film (13) during the advancement of said bundle (11) into said furnace (10) for making the heat-shrinking of said film (13) on said products (12);
    - releasing said bundles (11) of products (12) wrapped in a compact manner by said heat-shrinked film (13);
    - holding said heat-shrinkable film (13) temporarily spaced apart from said products (12) at said lateral openings (17) during heat-shrinking;
    said step of holding said heat-shrinkable film (13) temporarily spaced apart from said products (12) at said lateral openings (17) during heat-shrinking is made through the step of generating an air blow (19) at least partially directed along said advancement direction (X) so that said blows penetrate into said lateral walls (17) of said heat-shrinkable film (13) wrapped in a loose manner on said containers (12);
    characterized in that the step of generating an air blow (19) which is at least partially directed along said advancement direction (X) so that said blows (19) penetrate into said lateral walls (17) of said heat-shrinkable film (13) wrapped in a loose manner on said containers (12) is made through the step of supplying an air blow directed towards a deflector element arranged on the respective wall (18), said deflector (21) being configured to reflect said blow (19) towards said openings (18).
  4. Method according to claim 3 characterized in that the step of holding said heat-shrinkable film (13) temporarily spaced apart from said products (12) at said lateral openings (17) during heat-shrinking is made through the reflection of an air flow exiting from said walls (18).
EP15721849.6A 2014-04-04 2015-04-03 Heat-shrinking furnace for the formation of bundles with improved film adhesion Active EP3126256B1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
ITMI20140622 2014-04-04
PCT/IB2015/052460 WO2015151069A1 (en) 2014-04-04 2015-04-03 Heat-shrinking furnace for the formation of bundles with improved film adhesion

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP3126256A1 EP3126256A1 (en) 2017-02-08
EP3126256B1 true EP3126256B1 (en) 2020-02-19

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EP15721849.6A Active EP3126256B1 (en) 2014-04-04 2015-04-03 Heat-shrinking furnace for the formation of bundles with improved film adhesion

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US (1) US20170174378A1 (en)
EP (1) EP3126256B1 (en)
WO (1) WO2015151069A1 (en)

Families Citing this family (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE102013101782A1 (en) * 2013-02-22 2014-08-28 Khs Gmbh Shrink tunnel plant and an associated method for shrinking a shrink film on packing formations
US20190031382A1 (en) * 2017-07-26 2019-01-31 Alain Cerf Cooling Holes for Film Wrapped Articles

Family Cites Families (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3948392A (en) * 1974-02-08 1976-04-06 Union Carbide Corporation Package having integral means for carrying and method for making the same
FR2588828B1 (en) * 1985-10-23 1988-05-20 Sleever Int METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR THE APPLICATION, BY RETRACTION, OF A HEAT-SHRINK SHEATH SECTION AROUND OBJECTS TO BE COVERED
US6158199A (en) * 1998-10-16 2000-12-12 Emery, Iii; Clifton W. Method and apparatus for controlling shrinkage of a thin film

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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Publication number Publication date
WO2015151069A1 (en) 2015-10-08
EP3126256A1 (en) 2017-02-08
US20170174378A1 (en) 2017-06-22

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