WO2013018074A1

WO2013018074A1 - Apparatus and method for batching, packing and palletizing a granular product

Info

Publication number: WO2013018074A1
Application number: PCT/IB2012/054001
Authority: WO
Inventors: Francesco Bassi
Original assignee: Weicom S.R.L.
Priority date: 2011-08-04
Filing date: 2012-08-06
Publication date: 2013-02-07
Also published as: EP2739534A1; ITBO20110488A1

Abstract

An apparatus for batching, packing and palletizing a granular product is intended to receive a controlled flow of product, to introduce a predetermined quantity thereof in a bag (1) and to stack a plurality of such bags (1), closed and square-shaped, on a pallet (2). The apparatus (100) includes: a support structure (10) including a flat surface (11) and an overlaying frame (12); a bag filling unit (20), supported by the frame (12) and designed to make said closed bags (1) in a sequence, to fill them at a hopper, to weld the upper end thereof and then to move them away from the filling area towards an intermediate area (5) with the help of pick up arms (25); a palletizer unit (30), situated in the support structure (10) downstream of the bag filling unit (20) and designed to receive the bags (1) coming from this latter unit to arrange them on a pallet (2) according to predetermined sequences. The palletizer unit (30) includes handling means (31) for the bags (1), mounted at the upper part of the palletizer unit (30) and designed to take the bags (1) from the intermediate area (5) and to place them on the pallet (2). The apparatus (100) further includes a transport and square- shaping unit (40), mounted on the flat surface (11) in the intermediate area (5), downstream of the bag filling unit (20) and upstream of the palletizer unit (30), intended for receiving the bags (1) from the pick up means (25), to square-shape them and to adjust their position to make them accessible to the handling means (31), and a programmable processing unit, for controlling and synchronizing the operating sequences of the afore said bag filling unit (20), palletizer unit (30) and transport and square-shaping unit (40).

Description

APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR BATCHING, PACKING AND PALLETIZING A GRANULAR PRODUCT

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the technical field concerning machines for packaging granular or powder products.

In particular, the invention relates to a machine adapted to receive as input the bulk product and to provide as output a planar support, or pallet, with the same product packed in closed and squared bags. The invention also relates to a method for packaging, square shaping and palletizing these bags.

Background Art

It is known that different types of industrial products supplied in granular form, provided from bulk products stored in silos or otherwise available, are packaged in bags having substantially standardized shape and dimensions, usually between 10 and 50 Kg.

Packaging is carried out in special automatic bagging machines, intended to receive the product continuously through pipes conveyors, and for outputting the bag already closed.

To perform this function, they are equipped with a section for formation of bags from a spooled tubular material tape with suitable characteristics. Inside the said section the tape is unwound, cut to size and welded transversely by means of a sealing bar, to define the bottom of the bag. The mouth of the bag is instead engaged by clamps and taken to the exit of a hopper, from which the product to be packaged exits. The flow of product coming out is controlled by means of an appropriate valve, positioned in the region of the bag mouth, namely of the lower portion of the hopper. This valve is operated by the control processor of the machine, in accordance with information received from a weighing device of the outgoing product, provided in the hopper.

Once the filling operation has been completed, upon achievement of the predetermined weight, verified by a scale integrated into the hopper, the mouth of the bag is closed by means of a transverse seal made by a further sealing bar.

The bag is then taken from the bagging machine and brought to a square shaping device, designed to compact and make uniform the content of product inside the bag and to make the shape as far as possible parallelepiped. A known device for the square shaping of the bags consists of a sort of press formed by two superimposed belts, between which the bag is compressed. The product is therefore forced to assume a thickness identical to the minimum distance between the two belts. A further structure of square shaping device includes a pair of roller tracks which have rollers formed by parallelepipeds. The bag passes through the roller tracks and its content is progressively compacted and distributed in a more or less uniform way over the entire volume.

The above described devices are quite bulky, expensive and, in some cases, particularly in the case of the device with roller tracks, can damage the package. In any case, they are stand-alone devices, and the packaged bags must necessarily be transported to the processing position, and, therefore, moved away from the same device, manually or by means of special conveyors.

Once square- shaped, the bags are first further weighed in static condition, which is necessary for purposes of product certification, and then labeled with a series of information details, which are also provided for by regulations. The bags thus completed are finally again transported to a further apparatus, known to the technicians as "palletizer", to be stacked in a predetermined number on special support boards, or "pallet". The palletizer includes a sort of clamp, hanging above the bottom of a carriage movable along two horizontal axes, with a further possibility of movement along the vertical axis. The carriage is in turn mounted at the top of a parallelepiped frame structure, and can move by translating between an area where a bag is picked up and a stacking area.

An empty pallet is positioned at this latter area. The clamp, driven by a suitable programmable control unit, picks up the bags one after another at the pick up area, to arrange them on the pallet according to predefined arrangement rules and in a number corresponding to a particular order for the packaged product, or to standard conditions as for weight and number of bags.

From the above description it appears that bag packing and palletizing operations of granular products currently require the use of different equipments, which are totally independent from each other. Packing, square- shaping and palletizing require operators for transporting the bags from one work area to the next one. A large space within the industrial area is necessarily required for carrying out these operations, and includes also a space required for temporarily storing the packed bags to be square shaped or palletized.

Disclosure of Invention

Technical Problem

An object of the present invention is to provide a packing-palletizing apparatus capable to perform all the above operations within a single operational group.

A further object of the invention is to propose an apparatus in which said operational group is also transportable.

Another object of the invention is to provide a bag packing and palletizing method for granular or powder products in which the bag preparation and verification steps are carried out in an efficient and cost-effective way, taking advantage of the integration of different devices of the packaging-palletizing apparatus.

Solution to Problem

Technical Solution

The above-mentioned objects are all achieved according to the present invention, in accordance with the content of the claims, by an apparatus for batching, packing and palletizing a granular product intended to receive a controlled flow of product, to introduce a predetermined quantity thereof in a bag and to stack a plurality of bags, closed and square- shaped, on a pallet. The apparatus includes: a support structure in turn including a flat surface and an overlaying frame; a bag filling unit, supported by the frame and designed to prepare these closed bags, to fill them at a hopper, to weld the upper end thereof and then to move them away from the filling area towards an intermediate area with the help of pick up arms; a palletizer unit, situated in the support structure downstream of the bag filling unit and designed to receive the bags coming from this latter unit to arrange them on a pallet according to predetermined sequences. The palletizer unit includes handling means for said bags, mounted at the upper part of the palletizer unit and designed to take the bags from the intermediate area and to place them on the pallet.

The apparatus further comprises a transport and square- shaping unit, mounted on the flat surface in the intermediate area, downstream of the bag filling unit and upstream of the palletizer unit, intended for receiving the bags from the pick up means, to square-shape them and to adjust their position to make them accessible to the handling means, and a programmable processing unit, for controlling and synchronizing the operating sequences of the afore said bag filling unit, palletizer unit and transport and square- shaping unit.

The invention further relates to a corresponding method for batching, packing and palletizing a granular product in which a square- shaping step on the bag already closed includes simultaneous application of a vibrating action and a pressing action on the same bag.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

Advantageous Effects

The packing-palletizing apparatus in accordance with the invention advantageously allows to perform all operations of preparation of the bags, filling, sealing, square-shaping and reporting on the same all the information required by current regulations in a single operational group, which is compact, efficient and extremely advantageous from the point of view of saving space and labor required for its operation.

A further advantage provided by the invention is to obtain an apparatus in which such a single operational group is also transportable and repositionable within the production area, according to the needs of production.

Brief Description of Drawings

Description of Drawings

The characteristics of the invention, as they will result from the claims, are pointed out in the following detailed description, with reference to the enclosed drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a schematic side view of the external appearance of a packing-palletizing apparatus made in accordance with the invention, with lateral panels removed to show the arrangement of the various devices; Figure 2 shows a detail of the view of the apparatus of Figure 1, at the intermediate section of the same;

Figure 3 shows schematically the bag arrival step at the compacting and square- shaping unit;

Figure 4 shows schematically the bag square-shaping step;

Figure 5 shows the subsequent bag exiting step from the compacting and square- shaping unit, for stacking the same bag on the relative pallet;

Figure 6 shows a cross-section view taken along the line VI- VI of Figure 4, and highlighting a further step in which a bag that does not meet the specifications is discarded.

Best Mode for Carrying out the Invention

Best Mode

A preferred but not exclusive embodiment of the present invention is hereinafter described with reference to Figure 1, in which there is shown a side view of an integrated apparatus 100 for batching, packing and palletizing bags 1 contaning a granular or powder product provided in bulk, for carrying out the invention.

The apparatus 100 includes in particular a single support structure, consisting of a flat surface 11 and a frame 12 situated above, the structure being designed to support, in its operative position, the several devices forming the same apparatus.

The frame 12 is also intended to support a plurality of fixed closing panels 13, which are removable or hinged to act as access doors to the inside of the equipment itself.

The support structure 10 extends along a longitudinal direction that defines an operating path for the products being bagged and for the material used to make the sleeve of the bags 1.

In the upstream part of the aforesaid operating path, the apparatus 100 comprises a bag filling unit 20, intended to receive a controlled flow of product to be bagged, to form the packages with the bags 1 and to close their filling mouths once filled.

The bag filling unit 20 is provided with an unwinding station 21, in which a rotatably supported tubular band reel 22 is progressively unwound by means of a sequence of rollers 23 and then conveyed to a station 24 for forming the bag. In this station, a heat sealing bar closes the bottom of the bag 1, and a cross-cutting device separates the latter from the remaining tubular band.

Suitable bag pick up means 25, consisting of a plurality of oscillating arms provided with grippers at their ends, then clamp the bag mouth to bring it, in open condition, below the filling mouth 27 of a feeding hopper 26, where the bag 1 is engaged by clamps specially provided.

The hopper 26 is mounted in the upper part of the frame 12 and comes out therefrom at the top to allow introduction of the bulk product. In its lower part, arranged within the volume occupied by the same frame 12, there are provided batching means and first weighing means for the product to be bagged, which allow bags 1 to be obtained which contain the expected quantity of product.

Once the bag 1 has been filled, the pick up arms 25 clamp it again and take it downstream, with a first oscillation movement, to a welding station 29 in which a further transverse sealing bar welds the mouth thereof. Subsequently, the pick up arm

25 release the bag 1 onto a roller track conveyor, at an intermediate area 5 of the device 100, in which the bag 1 is subjected to further processing steps which will be better specified later.

It should be appreciated that the structure and the devices which form the bag filling unit 20, as well as the operational functions of the same which have been so far described, are substantially those found in the stand-alone conventional bag filling machines. It is not considered useful, for the purposes of understanding the present invention, to describe them in greater detail.

According to one aspect of the invention, in the lower part of the feeding hopper

26 there is provided a detector 28 for detecting the presence of metal particles in the flow of product exiting from the hopper 26. This detector 28 is advantageously mounted at the tubular outlet mouth for the product, and has a parallelepiped shape with a circular opening at the center, the opening having a diameter such as to allow setting thereof around the said tubular mouth of the hopper 26. This particular arrangement allows, firstly, to perform a complete verification on the product stream coming out from the hopper 26, and therefore an extreme sensitivity and accuracy in the detection of metal residues. A considerable reduction in the overall dimension of the hopper-detector assembly is also obtained with respect to known embodiments of this type of inspection device, which are made by means of detectors external to the above hopper 26.

According to a further aspect of the invention, there is provided a unique control unit for the entire apparatus 100, consisting of a dedicated industrial processor, duly programmed and provided with input and output ports for data and commands.

In the downstream section of the support structure 10, the apparatus 100 includes a palletizing unit 30, intended to receive the bags 1 coming from the bag filling machine 20 and to stack them on a pallet 2 according to predetermined sequences managed by the aforementioned control unit.

Basically, the palletizer unit 30 includes handling means 31 for the bags 1 coming from the bag filling unit 20, designed to pick up the same to place them on a pallet 2 suitably prepared on the flat surface 11.

These handling means 31 comprise, basically, a carriage 32 mounted on suitable slides 32a, 32b, so as to slide horizontally in longitudinal and transverse directions with respect to the axis of the apparatus 100, in the upper part of the frame 12, which in that portion is raised to facilitate stacking operations. The field of action fot the carriage 32 extends in upstream direction, up to the above-mentioned intermediate area 5 of the apparatus 100, for reasons which will become clearer in the following. The carriage 32 bears an extendable arm 33 facing down, at the lower end of which a rotatable clamp 34 is mounted. Also the structure and components of the palletizer unit 30 are known themselves, and will not be further discussed in detail.

Basically, the clamp 34 driven by the control unit, on the basis of programmed settings in relation to the number and particular arrangement of the bags 1 on the pallet 2, so as to pick up bags 1 in sequence from the intermediate area 5 of the apparatus 100, to lift them up, to move them downstream, to turn them appropriately, and eventually to move them downwards to arrange them resting on the stack being formed. The pallet 2 is in turn supported on a roller track conveyor which has an outer end portion 37. Upon completion of the formation of the stack of bags 1, the pallet 2 is then pushed towards the outer end portion 37 to be moved away from the equipment 100.

In the above-mentioned intermediate section 5, there is provided a transport and square shaping unit 40 for the bags 1, mounted on the flat surface 11 between the bag filling unit 20 and the palletizer unit 30.

In accordance with the invention, the transport and square- shaping unit 40 includes support base 41 on which a belt conveyor 45 is mounted for receiving in support a bag 1 from the above described pick up arms 25 of the bag filling unit 20, through a connection roller track 27 onto which the bag 1 is released by the same arms 25. The resting position of the bag 1 is detected by suitable sensors.

The belt conveyor 45 then modifies the position of the bag 1 in such a way as to move it in the operating range of the clamp 34 of the palletizer unit 30.

Vibrating means 42 (see, are further provided in the lower part of the support base 41 to impose the bag 1 resting on the conveyor 45 vibration with predetermined frequency and intensity, with constant or variable trend over time. The above- mentioned vibrating means 42 are preferably constituted by a motor-vibrator of the type normally available in the marketplace, for example, among those used to make vibrating screens or similar devices.

According to a prerogative of the invention, these vibrations are imparted to the bag 1 to make the disposition of the product uniform within the same, in cooperation with the action of the clamp 34, and to make constant the thickness, that is to say, to perform the operation technically called "square shaping" on the bag 1. This operation is necessary to optimize the subsequent stacking of the sack 1.

Above the support plate 41 and the conveyor 45 the transport and square shaping unit 40 has also presser means 43, that in the illustrated embodiment consist of a plate movable vertically between a raised inoperative position and a lowered operative position. In the latter position the plate 44 exerts a pressure from above on the bag 1 to facilitate square shaping thereof in cooperation with the vibrating means 42 before that the same bag 1 if taken over by the clamp 34 of the handling device 31.

Downstream of the conveyor 45, the transport and square shaping unit 40 has a further roller track 49, disposed substantially coplanar with the conveyor and intended to accommodate the bag 1 moved by the same conveyor once the square shaping operation is complete. The roller track 49 is located in the area of action of the clamp of the handling device 31, to allow for taking over by the latter for the subsequent stacking.

According to a variant embodiment of the invention, the aforesaid presser means 43 coincide with the above described handling means 31 (Fig. 2). In this case, the belt conveyor 45 is positioned directly in the area of action of the clamp 34. The same is then used in closed configuration and lowered so as to exert a suitable pressure from above on the bag 1 and therefore to cooperate with the vibrating means 42 to perform the square shaping of the same bag.

It will be appreciated that, for the purposes of the present invention, the square shaping operation can also be carried out by other means, which are not described here.

Beneath the conveyor 45 the transport and square- shaping unit 40 includes, in accordance with the invention, a static weighing device 46, consisting of one or more load cells electrically connected to a data input port of the control unit to detect and transmit the exact weight of the bag 1 in its final configuration. This allows the apparatus 100 to perform automatically also the validation operation of the product quantity actually inserted in the bag 1, which is necessary for reasons of certification of the packaging process.

The transport and square shaping unit 40 also comprises a printer or labeler 47, of known type, driven by the control unit to print information on the bags 1 considered acceptable, the information concerning identification and classification of the product contained therein.

In the region of the same transport and square shaping unit 40 there are also provided ejector means 48, also driven by the control unit to eject laterally those bags 1 which do not conform after the static weight inspection or due to the presence of metal residues.

In order to facilitate the repositioning, or at least make it more easily installed in the correct position, the apparatus 100 is conveniently mounted on a plurality of wheels 15. In this way, the same apparatus 100, in addition to being extremely compact, is also particularly easy to maneuver and can even be used in different packaging sites without having to change the configuration or subsequently remove and reinstall any component.

The method in accordance with the invention is characterised in that, subsequent to preparation, filling and sealing the bag 1, the same is taken, while resting on the conveyor 45 of the support base 41, by the pick up arms 25 of the bag filling unit 20 (Fig. 1). The conveyor is then operated (Fig. 3) to adjust the position of the bag 1 with respect to that of the handling means 31 of the palletizer unit 30.

At this point, the vibrator means 42 are operated, which generate controlled vibrations which are transmitted to the conveyor 45 and from this to the product contained in the bag 21, causing a redistribution thereof within the same. The clamp means 34 of the handling means 31 is subsequently moved above the bag 1, and then lowered until it is in contact with the bag itself (Fig. 4). In this way, the clamp 34 exerts a pressure from above on the contents of the bag and, in association with the repositioning effect created by the vibrations on the product, allows the square shaping of the bag itself to be otbained.

It is understood that what has been described above by way of mere examples and is not limiting. Therefore, possible modifications and variations of the invention are to be considered comprised within the scope of the present technical solution, as described above and claimed hereinafter.

Claims

1. An apparatus for batching, packing and palletizing a granular product, intended to receive a controlled flow of said product, to introduce a predetermined quantity thereof in a bag (1) and to stack a plurality of such bags (1), closed and square- shaped, on a pallet (2), said apparatus (100) being characterized by including: a support structure (10) including a flat surface (11) and an overlaying frame (12); a bag filling unit (20), supported by said frame (12) and designed to produce these closed bags (1) in a sequence, this unit in turn comprising support and pick up means (25), intended to pick up said bags (1) after filling them at a hopper (26) and then to move them away from the filling area to an intermediate area (5) of said apparatus (100); a palletizer unit (30), situated in the above-mentioned support structure (10) downstream of said bag filling unit (20) and designed to receive said bags (1) coming from this latter unit and to arrange them on a pallet (2) according to predetermined sequences, said palletizer unit (30) including handling means (31) for said bags (1), mounted at the upper part of said unit (30) and designed to take said bags (1) from said intermediate area (5) of said apparatus (100) and to place them on said pallet (2); a transport and square- shaping unit (40), mounted on said flat surface (11) of the support structure (10) in said intermediate area (5), downstream of said bag filling unit (20) and upstream of said palletizer unit (30), intended for receiving said bags (1) from said pick up means (25), to square-shape them and to adjust their position to make them accessible to said handling means (31); a programmable processing unit, for controlling and synchronizing the operating sequences of said bag filling unit (20), palletizer unit (30) and transport and square- shaping unit (40).

2. An apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that in said bag filling unit (20) the above mentioned product supplying hopper (26) is mounted at the top of said frame (12), immediately above the filling mouth (27) of said hopper (26), placed within said frame (12), a detector (28) being mounted for detecting the presence of metallic materials in the flow of bulk granular product being packaged.

3. An apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that said transport and square- shaping unit (40) includes a support base (41) capable of accommodating an above mentioned bag (1) in a lying position, vibrating means (42), operating from the bottom of said support base (41) and driven by said control unit (50) to impose said bag (1) a vibration of appropriate intensity and frequency, and presser means 43, provided above said support base (41) and designed to be brought into contact with said bag (1) for applying a downward pressure on the same and obtaining a square- shape thereof in cooperation with said vibrating means (42), before that said handling means (31) take over the same bag (1).

4. An apparatus according to claim 3, characterized in that in said transport and square- shaping unit (40), said presser means (43) are the sane aforementioned handling means (31), these latter including a clamp (34) carried by a movable arm (33), said clamp (34) being designed to exert a downward pressure on said bag (1) during the operation of said vibrating means (42) to help distribution of the product in the same bag.

5. An apparatus according to claim 3 or claim 4, characterized in that said support base (41) further includes a belt conveyor (45), situated in the upper part thereof.

6. An apparatus according to claim 3, characterized in that in said support base (41) there is also provided a load cell (46), electrically connected to said control unit (50) and intended for measuring the weight of the bags (1) in static condition.

7. An apparatus according to claim 3, characterized in that ejector means (48) are also provided in the region of said transport and square- shaping unit (40), which are driven by said control unit (50) and capable of moving away, from the operation area of said handling means (31), those bags (1) which do not meet the packing requirements.

8. An apparatus according to claim 3, characterized in that a printer (47) is also provided in the region of said transport and square- shaping unit (40), which printer is driven by said control means (50) and is intended for printing information notices onto said bags (1).

9. An apparatus according to any one of the previous claims, characterized in that said support structure (10) has a plurality of wheels (15), for making easier the repositioning of the same apparatus.

10. A method for batching, packing and palletizing a granular product, characterized by including supplying a controlled flow of said product to a bag filling unit (20) of an integrated packing and palletizer apparatus (100) to obtain closed bags (1) in a sequence, the arrangement of said bags (1) resting on a support base (41) of a transport and square shaping unit (40) provided in said apparatus (100) downstream of said bag filling unit (20), square- shaping said bags (1) with the help of vibrating means (42) mounted at bottom of said support base (41) and of presser means (43) mounted above the same and operating from up downwards, and subsequent taking over of said bags (1) by handling means (31) of a palletize unit (30) situated downstream of said transport and square- shaping unit (40).

11. A method according to claim 10, characterized in that said presser means (43) are the sane aforementioned handling means (31), that said square- shaping step is carried out by said vibrating means (42) in co-operation with said handling means (31), these latter including a sort of mobile clamp (34), and that this latter applies a downward pressure on said bag (1) during the settlement action of the product inside said bag (1) carried out by said vibrating means (42).