WO1994006682A1

WO1994006682A1 - Process and device for packaging objects

Info

Publication number: WO1994006682A1
Application number: PCT/EP1993/002515
Authority: WO
Inventors: Anton Grosshauser; Horst Zaun
Original assignee: Sonderanlagenbau Nord Gmbh
Priority date: 1992-09-22
Filing date: 1993-09-17
Publication date: 1994-03-31
Also published as: DE4231671A1; AU4817893A

Abstract

A process and device are disclosed for packaging objects, in particular groups of products, by wrapping them completely or partially with a cubic package open on one side or closed all around, consisting of a bottom (22) which acts as a support surface for the objects (11) to be packaged, and if required a lid, which both have peripheral receptions for the sidewalls. The sidewalls consist of a closed sidewall part (26) fed as a flat body and set up into a rectangle before it is joined to the bottom and if required to the lid. The group of products to be packaged is first set on the bottom (22), then the sidewall part (26) is placed around the group of products (11) and joined to the bottom (22) after the sheet metal packing (20) has been opened by opening the gripping or clamping elements (25). A vertical chute guides the sidewall parts (26).

Description

Process for packaging objects and packaging device

Field of use;

The invention relates to a method for packaging objects, in particular several groups of at least one row of containers, in particular bottles, glasses or cans, by completely or partially wrapping them with a one-sided open or closed cubic box, which consists of a Footprint for the base to be packed and possibly a lid, which have respective peripheral receptacles for the side walls, and consists of a one-piece side wall part equipped with folding lines on the respective edges, which is delivered as a flat body and has a cross-sectional diamond shape to form a rectangle ¬ form is erected before it is connected to the bottom and possibly to the lid.

The invention further relates to a packaging device with respective feed conveyors for the object or objects to be packaged, the bottoms, the side walls and the ceiling, with slides for aligning the objects, with folding tools for erecting blanks and with a discharge conveyor.

State of the art

In the past, multipacks as wrapping for a product group consisted of cardboard material which was formed from a pre-cut blank with corresponding folding lines to form a full or partial wrapping body for the product group and was finished by gluing with so-called adhesive flaps. These wrappings are known as display packs, tray packs or rap-around packs according to the prior art, as are packaging machines designed for them, in which the carton blanks and the product groups are conveyed to a common level, the product groups on the The bottom part of the blank is removed and the blank is folded around the product by erecting and folding the sides and roof walls or folding tabs. The disadvantage of these packagings is that they cannot be used repeatedly, and after use they are destroyed or, if necessary, disposed of for recycling paper or cardboard.

To avoid the generation of waste, packaging has already been proposed which consists of two or three parts, namely a collapsible side frame and a base or a lid. The side wall part consists of four interconnected side walls, which can be opened and closed in a hinge-like manner, ie can be converted from a flat body via a diamond shape into a rectangular shape (viewed in cross section). The packaging material should be as robust as possible and designed in such a way that multiple use is possible. Therefore, the bottom and the lid as well as the peripheral edges of the side wall part are provided with profiles that can be plugged together to form connections, so that a closed or only open container can be formed (if the lid part is dispensed with). Furthermore, the wall parts of the new packaging each formed above and below so that two wall parts can be plugged into one another so that the side wall height of the packaging can be varied depending on the number of side parts plugged onto one another. The possibility that the last wall part or the wall part group can be removed from the bottom part offers the advantage that the objects or the group of containers standing on the bottom part stand on the floor without stacking work after removing the side walls can be put. The new packaging is preferably made of plastic.

Task, solution, advantage

It is an object of the present invention to develop or further develop a method for packaging objects and a packaging device - each of the type mentioned at the outset - that can be operated fully automatically in a confined space without great procedural or great design effort is. The process should be quasi continuous, i.e. be able to be carried out without interruption when new packaging units are supplied. The device designed for this purpose should, in particular, work in a robust manner and not susceptible to faults.

The object related to the method is achieved by the combination of features listed in claim 1, the innovation of which is characterized in that the object to be packaged or the group of packs are placed on the bottom of the packaging before the side wall part is placed over the object or the group of containers and then connected to the floor. This method has the advantage that the packaging or the group of packs on the essentially flat bottom can be aligned according to the needs and the interior of the side wall before the side wall part is put on. This eliminates the need for expensive lifting work for lifting and introducing the product group into the packaging interior.

Further developments of the invention are described in subclaims 2 to 9. Thus, several side wall parts are preferably plugged together until the desired side wall height corresponding to the height of the object to be packaged or the package group is reached. Here too, there is no deviation from the principle of first depositing and aligning the object or objects on the base part before the side parts which have already been plugged onto one another are put on. As a result, the packaging process can be considerably accelerated, since only one lifting movement, namely the lowering of the part, is necessary for putting on or setting down and attaching the side wall parts.

Side wall parts arranged one above the other are preferably lowered in a shaft onto a group of containers or an object overlapping them, the side wall parts which are located above the group of containers or the object then being lifted off. This variant enables the stacking of many side wall parts corresponding to the filling height of the shaft, so that a continuous removal of side wall parts from the shaft is possible, even while the new side wall parts are currently being conveyed up to the shaft, erected and entered into the shaft. The shaft serves as a buffer, so to speak.

Further disruptions to the operational sequence are prevented if the objects or groups of containers to be packed are fed in and out horizontally. The endless conveyor belts and slides, as well as product groups, which are known in principle, can be used for this purpose for individual devices. Special gripping devices are not required because the products are conveyed upright.

For reasons of space alone, it is advantageous to request the side walls in a flat folded state and to erect them into a box only before being slipped over the object to be packaged. According to a further embodiment, the flat-folded side walls are conveyed horizontally, then erected and pivoted through 90 ° to be slipped over the object to be packaged. The supply of the side wall parts and the product groups or the packaging can thus take place in two different levels one above the other, thereby avoiding an elongated transfer road structure. The uppermost side wall is preferably pushed off a stack and erected, where can be transported on the relevant stack, for example on pallets.

In a further embodiment of the invention, the bottoms and the lids are also each conveyed in stacks and each floor or lid is removed from above. A further procedural improvement is achieved in that the bottoms and the lids are each designed identically and the lids are pivoted through 180 ° before being attached to the side wall. As a result, one and the same feed conveyor can be used for the lids and the bottoms.

The task relating to the packaging device is achieved by the combination of features according to claim 10, which according to the invention is characterized in that a vertical guide for the closed side wall erected into a box shape with lifting and lowering gripping or clamping elements above a Feed and discharge conveyor is provided for the object to be packed standing on the packaging base. As already explained in the description of the previously discussed method, it is possible with such a device to slip the side parts erected into a box shape over the objects to be packaged and to connect these side wall parts to the floor. This results in a compact packaging device design.

Developments of the device according to the invention are described in claims 11 to 26. The packaging device thus has a sliding arrangement below the vertical guide, with which the object to be packaged or the group of objects can be aligned horizontally. This sliding arrangement has two tasks, namely to fix the product group or the object to be packaged locally during the time during which the side wall part is slipped on, which avoids carrying the said guide, and furthermore to fine-tune the object to be packaged or to effect the group to be packaged, for example because they are crazy from the desired stacking state due to vibrations when being conveyed.

The sliding arrangement is preferably composed of a packing plate divided into the bottom with three side guide walls, the two parts of which can be moved towards and away from one another horizontally. The packing sheet thus has a front opening. The side walls of the packing plate form side and rear stops. This makes it possible that when the packing plate base is closed, the objects to be packed are placed thereon and aligned with the bottom part and the side wall part which is fed in from above. Furthermore, the gripping or clamping elements and / or the sliding arrangement are preferably designed such that they can be raised and lowered, so that the bottom of the packaging container can be supplied, in particular when the packing plate is closed, and after the side wall part has been lowered, the bottom of the latter Hub can be connected to the floor.

The gripping or clamping elements are preferably connected to a carrier which can be raised and lowered relative to the vertical guide by means of ball guides, with which an exact reproducible alignment of the gripping or clamping elements with low-friction running can be ensured.

As already mentioned, the vertical guide is preferably considerably higher than the height of the objects to be packed so that their buffering effect can be used.

According to a further embodiment of the invention, a folding tool for erecting the side wall parts is arranged above the guide.

If the folded-up side wall parts are conveyed horizontally to the folding tool mentioned and this can be pivoted through 90 ° with a pivot axis with which the erected side wall parts can be pivoted in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the shaft, side wall parts Zu¬ can be added in a continuous movement sequence convey, straighten, swivel and put in the shaft of the vertical guide.

In order to make the folding tool structurally simple, it is further proposed to form it from a frame with three sides arranged at right angles to one another, with an erecting tool being arranged on the open side, which is preferably pneumatic is driven. The three sides mentioned in connection with the erection tool form a closed frame into which the side wall parts can be inserted in the folded state, erected there and then pivoted.

The folding tool is preferably horizontally displaceable by a distance which is sufficient for releasing two side part walls plugged together. Depending on the depth of the frame, only as many side wall parts that are plugged together are removed as desired.

According to a further embodiment, a storage table can be arranged in the conveying direction of the side wall parts, as seen in front of the folding tool, on which, according to a further embodiment of the invention, a horizontal slide feeds the side wall parts as a horizontal feeder. If a lifting device for stacks of side wall parts, which can be individually removed from above by horizontal feeders, is attached to the side of the folding tool or the storage table, pallets with stacked side wall parts can be placed on the lifting device instead of a continuous supply of the side wall parts - be dropped off; be discontinued; be deducted; be dismissed.

As already mentioned, the lid and the bottom of the new packaging can be designed the same. In order to implement the resulting advantage in the packaging device as well, suction grippers are provided for removing the bottoms and / or the lids from its feed conveyor or from a stack, wherein the suction pads can be moved in three axes in space, ie in the X, Y and Z directions.

All drives for the feed and discharge conveyors, lifting and lowering devices and other alignment elements preferably have a common control device, by means of which they can be controlled or regulated.

Brief description of the drawing

An embodiment of the packaging device according to the invention is shown in the drawings. Show it

1 a conveyor for product group separation,

2 shows the packaging device according to the present invention,

3 Conveying and aligning parts of the packaging device for the bottoms and lids as well as conveyors for the finished packaging.

4 is a diagrammatic exploded view of the packaging consisting of a base, a lid and a side wall part,

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the packaging according to Fi.g 4 and

Fig. 6 in a perspective view sections of the

Lid and the side wall part of the packaging with its connecting elements. Detailed description of the invention and best way to carry out the invention

The conveyor 10, preferably designed as an endless conveyor belt, serves to feed the objects to be packaged, in the present case by respective cylinder bodies 11, which are conveyed standing on a base. In order to arrange the cylinder body as a stick number 15 group 11 'on a base 12, there are a slide 13 which can be moved transversely to the conveyor belt 10, a first guide plate 14 which can be raised and lowered, and a fixed guide plate 15 on the side provided that cooperate in conjunction with the slide 16, as shown. The drive for the slide 16, 161 and the control line 162 are indicated schematically. The product group 11 'to be packaged (group of packs) can be conveyed in the direction of the packaging station 18 via the intermediate guide 17 by means of the slide 16 after the orientation shown (FIGS. 1 and 2). For this purpose, the guide plate 14 must be raised or lowered to release the path shown by the arrow 19.

The packaging of the cylinder body 11 combined into a group 11 'or of other types of containers, such as goods housed in cardboard packaging such as boxes, bottles, glasses, cans or the like, takes place in a packaging 300 which consists of a Bottom 22, a cover 22 'and a side wall part 26, the latter being formed by four parts forming the side walls, which are connected to one another in a hinge-like manner such that they can be folded together in the smallest space (FIG. 2). Mediating this packaging 300, which forms a closed cubic box, completely envelops the packaged goods when a lid 22 'is used. Since the bottom 22 has raised lateral walls, the bottom can form the packaging for the packaging good alone or together with an attached side wall part 26 (FIGS. 4 and 5).

A packaging 300 can also have a plurality of side wall parts 26 arranged one above the other. The number of side wall parts 26 used depends on the height of the packaged goods. All the parts 22, 22 ', 26 forming the package 300 are provided with recesses or indentations 26a, which serve to receive fastening tapes, not shown in the drawing, because the final strength of the package 300 for the Transport is only achieved by reaching around at the end of the packaging line (FIG. 5).

To hold a plurality of side wall parts 26 arranged one above the other and these with the cover 22 'and the bottom 22, the edges of these parts have elevations 301 or depressions 302. The side wall parts 26 are inserted into one another and into the bases 22 and / or covers 22 'by means of these elevations 301 or depressions 302 on the upper and lower edges of the sides or bases (FIG. 6). The dimensions are such that the parts hold each other, both in one and in the other direction, but have so much play that absolutely no force is required to pull the parts 26, 22 forming the packaging 300 , 22 'to plug or separate. The separation of the side wall parts 26 that erect be placed in the memory described below, of the parts that remain on the pallet is therefore possible without effort; it is sufficient if the parts to be separated are held in place from below by means of a suction cup when moving them, for example by 25 mm.

At the end of the intermediate guide 17 there is a packing plate 18 with the two packing plate parts 18a, 18b, which is provided on three sides with side walls as guide or stop plates and is divided in the middle. A belt conveyor 21 is arranged below the packing plate 18, on which the bottom 22 is taken over by the pusher 38 by the conveyor 37. The packing plate 18 is shown in the extended position. A rectangular guide shaft 23 is arranged above the packing plate 18 and has inner dimensions which correspond to the outer dimensions of the erected side wall parts 26 (outer packaging). The packing plate 18 or its two packing plate parts 18a, 18b are provided with lateral boundaries 20, 20 'and a rear boundary 20''. At the lower edge of the shaft 23 there is a support 24 for pneumatic clamping devices 25 for clamping the side wall parts 26. The support 24 is arranged so that it can be raised and lowered relative to the shaft 23 via ball guides 27. The clamping devices 25 can hold a side wall part 26 at the set height, the other side wall parts 26 being located above (FIG. 2). The clamping part 25 or its guide 24 can be lowered so that it almost reaches the side guides of the packing plate 18. If the packing plate 18 is separated on each side pulled, the entire layer of packaging parts can be lowered down to the floor 22. The clamping part 25 is then released, the stack with the side parts 26 lying one above the other descends to the bottom 22, and moves upwards by the stroke which corresponds to the desired stack height. Then the side wall part 26 lying at the relevant height is clamped on and lifted together with the other side wall parts from the side wall parts lying underneath. The package consisting of a bottom 22 and the side part wall parts or a side wall part as well as the filling, ie the packaging, can be conveyed away via the belt 21.

Before the divided packing plate 18 is opened, the position of the packaging parts or goods to be packaged is held in the correct position on the floor 22 by the side wall parts 26 placed over them. Since these are still held in place by the clamping devices 25 and the carrier 24, the packaging parts to be packaged can be lowered into the bottom 22 in a precisely fixed manner by opening the split packing plate 18.

The side wall parts 26 are conveyed horizontally into a folding tool 30 by a slide 28 from a stack located on a pallet 29. This folding tool 30 essentially consists of a frame 31 which can be formed by means of a pressure stamp 32 for the sides encompassing the side wall part. The pressure stamp 32 is in the direction of the arrow 33 pivotable, the inserted side wall part 261 can be erected into a box shape. The pallet 30 lies on a lifting table 32, which is raised to a height at which the slide 28 can guide the next side wall part 26 onto the storage table 33 or into the folding tool 30. The folding tool 30 can also be moved horizontally in order to detach assembled side wall parts 26 from one another, for example, as shown, to hold groups of four. After the side wall part 261 has been erected, the folding tool 30 pivots about the pivot axis 34 in the direction of the arrow 35 by 90 °, the side wall part being conveyed into the position shown by 262. The side wall parts move up in the shaft 23 due to the force of gravity. The bases 22 or the identically designed covers 22 'are likewise removed from a pallet (not shown) by a suction gripper 36 which can be moved in three spatial directions X, Y, Z.

The suction gripper 36 deposits the base 22 on the conveyor belt 37, where it is finally pushed under the shaft 23 by means of slides 38 in the area of the packaging device 18. Here, the bottom 22 is located under the packing plate 20. The packaging process is described above. As can further be seen from FIG. 3, the packaging 39 consisting of the bottom 22 and the attached side wall part 26 with the product group 11 is conveyed via the discharge belt 21 in the direction of the suction gripper 36, which moves the cover 22 'into a 180.degree ° rotatable Pad 40 sets in which the cover 22 'can be held by means of a pneumatic stamp 41. The support 40 is arranged such that it can be raised and lowered by means of ball guides 42. If there is packaging 39 under the support 40, the correspondingly aligned support with the cover 22 'is rotated by means of the rotatable support 40 and lowered onto the package 39, the cover 22' is released and the support 40 is raised again. The drives 161, 211 and 221 (the latter for the endless conveyor belts) represented as a representative as well as all other pneumatically, electrically or hydraulically driven drives are coupled to a common control and regulating device 43. This automatically regulates the cycle rates with which the drives have to be moved in the respective packaging or conveying section.

Claims

Claims:

1. A method for packaging objects, in particular a plurality of at least single-row groups of containers, in particular bottles, glasses or cans, by completely or partially wrapping them with a cubic packaging (300) which is open or closed on one side and which consists of a Footprint for the items (11) to be packaged base (22) and possibly a cover (22 ') corresponding to the base (22), each having peripheral receptacles for the side walls, and consisting of a one-piece with fold lines The side wall part (26) equipped with the respective edges is provided as a flat body and is erected via a cross-sectional diamond shape (261) to a rectangular shape (262) before it is attached to the bottom (22) and, if applicable, to the cover (22 ') is connected, characterized in that the object to be packaged or the group (11) of containers are placed on the floor (22) before the side wall part (26) is slipped over the object or the group of containers (11) and then connected to the base (22).

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that a plurality of side wall parts (26) to each other be inserted until the desired side wall height corresponding to the height of the object to be packaged or the container group (11) is reached.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that in a shaft (23) one above the other side wall parts (26, 262) on a Gebinde¬ group (11) or an object these or these are lowered slipping the guide or centering take over the bundle group (11), so that the package plate (20) opens, the bundle group (11) lowering onto the floor (22), and then lifting off the side wall parts (26) which are above the Container group (11) or the object.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the objects to be packaged or Gebinde¬ groups (11) are fed in and out horizontally.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the side wall parts (26) are conveyed in a flat-folded state and are raised to a box (262) only before being slipped over the article (11) to be packaged.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the flat-folded side wall parts (26) conveyed horizontally, then erected and swiveled over 90 ° over the object (11) to be packed.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the uppermost side wall part (26) is pushed off a stack and erected.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the bottoms (22) and the lid (22 ') are fed in batches and each bottom or lid is removed from above.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that the bottoms (22) and the cover (22 ') are each of the same design and the cover (22') are pivoted through 180 ° before being attached to this side wall (26).

10. Packaging device with respective feeders for the object or objects to be packed, the bottoms, the side wall parts and the lid, with slides for aligning the objects, with folding tools for erecting blanks and with a removal conveyor, characterized in that a vertical guide (23 ) for the closed side wall parts (26) erected into a box shape with lifting and lowering gripping or clamping elements (25) above a feed and Abförderers (21) is provided for the object (11) to be packaged standing on the packaging base (22).

11. Packaging device according to claim 10, characterized in that a sliding arrangement (20) is provided below the vertical guide (23) through which the object to be packaged (11) can be aligned horizontally.

12. Packaging device according to claim 11, characterized in that the sliding arrangement has a packing plate (18) divided in the bottom with three side guide walls (20, 20 ', 20 "), the two parts (18a, 18b) of which are horizontally movable towards and away from each other .

13. Packaging device according to claim 12, characterized in that the gripping or clamping elements (25) and / or the slide arrangement (20) can be raised and lowered, preferably via pneumatic drives.

14. Packing device according to one of claims 10 to 13, characterized in that the gripping or clamping elements (25) are connected to a carrier (24) which can be raised and lowered relative to the vertical guide (23) via ball guides (27) .

15. Packaging device according to one of claims 10 to 14, characterized in that the vertical guide (23) is substantially higher than the height of the objects to be packaged.

16. Packaging device according to one of claims 10 to 15, characterized in that a folding tool (30) for erecting the side wall parts (26) is arranged above the guide (23).

17. Packaging device according to claim 16, characterized by a horizontal feeder (28) for the folded side wall parts (26) which conveys them into the folding tool (30) which can be pivoted through 90 °, the pivot axis (34) is provided in such a way that after pivoting the erected side wall parts (261) they fall into the shaft (23) of the vertical guide.

18. Packaging device according to one of claims 16 or 17, characterized in that the folding tool (30) from a frame (31) with three mutually perpendicular sides and on the open side has an erecting tool (32), which is preferably pneumatically driven becomes.

19. Packaging device according to one of claims 16 to 18, characterized in that the folding tool (30) horizontally by one

Distance is displaceable, which is sufficient for releasing two side wall parts (26) plugged together.

20. Packaging device according to one of claims 10 to 19, characterized in that - seen in the conveying direction of the side wall parts (26) - a Ab¬ storage table (33) is arranged in front of the folding tool (30).

21. Packaging device according to one of claims 10 to 20, characterized in that the horizontal feed conveyor (28) for the

Sidewall parts (26) is a horizontal slide.

22. Packaging device according to one of claims 10 to 21, characterized in that a lifting device (32) for stacks of side wall parts (26) is arranged to the side of the folding tool (30) and the storage table (33), the stack of side wall parts (26 ) to the appropriate height so that they can be removed individually or in groups from above by the horizontal feed conveyor (28).

23. Packaging device according to one of claims 10 to 22, characterized in that suction grippers (36) are provided for removing the bottoms (22) and / or the cover (22) from its feed conveyor or from a stack.

24. Packaging device according to claim 23, characterized in that the suction grippers (36) are movable in three axes in space (X, Y, Z direction).

25. Packaging device according to claim 23 or 24, characterized in that the suction gripper (36) and / or a support (40) with clamping devices (41) for the cover (22) is additionally pivotable through 180 ° about a horizontal axis.

26. Packaging device according to one of claims 10 to 25, characterized in that all drives (161, 211, 221) are controllable or regulatable via a common control device (43).