Lubricant For Conveyor Chains For Packaged Products

Abstract

A lubricant for conveyor chains of bottled products, set for lubricating through direct application without dilution and in a discontinual way, in prolonged intervals, leaving a layer or film on the surface of the conveyor chain. The lubricant is composed of an homogeneous mixture of one or more fluids of silicon such as emulsified polydimethylsiloxane; one or more fatty acids such as the oleic acid; one or more amines such as the tensoactive product derived from an ethoxylated amine; one or more hydrocarbons such as the white mineral oils; one or more emulsifiers such as the sorbitan monooleate; and one or more polyglycols such as the polyalkylene-glycol, and alternatively a microbicide.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention is related to a liquid lubricant that is directly applied without diluting, capable of producing a lubricant layer with a convenient use of lubricating, avoiding the spreading of germs, and not reacting to spilled products, materials of the premises, neither with the materials of the containers used for the bottled products.

The lubricant is applied on plastic and in particular on metallic conveyor chains, whereby the bolts of the chain are efficiently lubricated. These chains are generally used in the industry, for transportation of glass, plastic, or plasticized recipients, as well as metal cans used to bottle drinks, food, or other products that may be bottled.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

At present drinks, food, or bottled products are available in different types of containers, such as glass, plastic or PET bottles, plasticized recipients, as well as metal cans, etc., whereby during processing and bottling it is necessary to transport the empty and/or full containers from one place to another, during the different stages of the industrial process to which they are submitted, using conveyor chains generally made of stainless steel or plastic, which provokes a constant friction between the conveyor chains and the containers, between the components of the conveyor chains, as well as the mutual collision among the containers during transportation.

Based on the aforementioned, a result of uncontrolled friction, of an inappropriate lubrication of the settings of the conveyor chains, may be a series of unfavorable situations, such as the containers tipping over or obstructing the passage (even though the conveyor chains continue operation), or otherwise, provoke more noise and discontinuity in the feeding or supply of containers to the following stages in the process, for example in the filling or labeling stages. Therefore, these situations may lead to a low performance in the stages of the process, provoking an accelerated wear of the conveyor chains and force the capacity of the motors, all the former because of an inappropriate lubrication.

At present, in order to control the effect of friction, it is common to use lubricants that are applied on the conveyor chains, and that are divided basically into two main groups as follows:

1. Lubricants based on soap, and

2. Lubricants based on fatty amines.

The common and characteristic disadvantage of each of these groups of lubricants is that to be applied on conveyor chains, they need to be diluted in great amounts of water, in concentrations from 0.1% to 1.0% of the lubricant, whereby the water is the remaining 99.0% to 99.9%; therefore resulting in a high water consumption, thus in a high operational cost.

Another common disadvantage of both lubricant groups is its permanence on the surface of the conveyor chains, that is, forming a lubricant layer that tends to disappear too rapidly, therefore requiring constant or very frequent applications on the conveyor chains; the reason for this, among other causes is that the lubricants have been diluted in high concentrations of water.

Additionally, in the specific case of lubricants based on soap that can relatively easily be applied, but present disadvantages such as their sensibility to the hardness of water which results in the plugging of the lubricant application sprays, therefore, they should be used with softened water and/or, if missing, use inhibiting agents by their composition, as for example EDTA (ethylene diamine tetra-acetic acid or its salts). Moreover, the use of these inhibiting agents provokes an impact on the environment as they are very little biodegradable.

Another current disadvantage in the lubricants based on soap is the excessive foam that may be spilled on the floor, and consequently present an accident risk for the personnel, moreover, it affects the aspect of the premises, floors, and the transported product.

An additional disadvantage of this type of lubricants is that they provoke the proliferation of micro-organisms and biomasses in the conveyor chains, floors, and drainage, which leads to frequent cleaning and disinfection of the premises.

Related to the second type of lubricants based on fatty amines, lubricants were found based on primary neutralized fatty amines, secondary and tertiary amines, and polyamines.

Lubricants based on amines present the additional disadvantage that their lubricating effect is affected when applied on high speed conveyor chains, therefore, their application is limited to low or medium speed conveyor chains.

This type of lubricants does not present the disadvantages to react with the hardness of water, or to favor the proliferation of micro-organisms or biomasses compared with the lubricants based on soap, but due to their composition they have a low biodegradability, and moreover, particularly lubricants based on polyamines, due to their composition, tend to react with the contents of the product spilled on the conveyor chain.

Among the proposals for a solution to counter the above mentioned limitations, polyalkylene-glycol was found to be used as a base for the composition of the lubricant. Some examples of current solutions are described hereunder:

Minyu Li, Person Hei Kim and Amy Haupert, in the U.S. Pat. No. 6,855,676 B2, describe a lubricant solution for conveyor chains that contains polyalkylene-glycol, fatty acid, and neutralizing agents.

Minyu Li, Person Hei Kim and Amy Haupert, in the publication of the patent application US-2004/0053793, describe a lubricant solution for conveyor chains that contains polyalkylene-glycol, fatty acid, and neutralizing agents.

Minyu Li, Person Hei Kim and Amy Haupert, in the publication of the patent application US-2005/0059564, describe a lubricant solution for conveyor chains that contains polyalkylene-glycol, fatty acid, and neutralizing agents.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Referring to the above, it is the aim of the present invention to provide a lubricant for conveyor chains of bottled products of a direct application without dilution that forms a lubricant layer or film on the surface of the conveyor chain, where the application is discontinued, in prolonged intervals between the applications, so that the lubricant for conveyor chains of bottled products is formed by one or more silicon fluids, one or more fatty acids, one or more emulsifiers, and one or more polyglycols.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The characteristic details and composition of the lubricant for conveyor chains of bottled products are described in the following paragraphs, in order to define the characteristics and composition of said lubricant, without limiting the scope of this description.

The lubricant for conveyor chains of bottled products according to the invention shows components that in turn could consist of multiple components.

The components are described separately hereunder, without necessarily being described in an order of importance.

Component I

The lubricant for conveyor chains of bottled products contains a component I that consists of one or more silicon fluids. The silicon fluids, silicones or silicone states designate the totality of complete synthetic products whose molecules are constituted by atoms alternated between silicon and oxygen, to which various organic radicals can be added, in fact, the silicon molecules are chains of silicon and oxygen atoms, so that the possibility of overlapping appears immediately. Therefore it may be understood that said structure allows constituting highly varying polymers.

In case of the lubricant for conveyor chains of bottled products of this invention, an organic silicon polymer structure is established with the appearance of a greasy liquid that allows lubrication of metallic elements without dissociation of molecules, and without being affected by temperature variations. Within the silicon fluids used, there are those provided by General Electric®, such as the dimethyl fluids of series SF-96, SF-78350; the alkyl phenyl fluids of series SF-1147, SF-8843, SF-1154, and SF-1550; the functional organic fluids of series SF-1705, SF-1708, SF-1923, and SF-1921; the hydroxy and methoxy fluids. Preferably alkyl phenyl fluids are used in the present invention to be applied on the metallic conveyor chains and in order to penetrate in areas difficult to reach.

Other silicon fluids that may be used as component I are polydimethyl siloxane, dimethyl siloxane, alkyl siloxane, phenyl siloxane, chloride silanes, as well as silicon emulsions formed by methyl dimethyl silicon, alkyl siloxanes, aryl siloxanes, and chloride silanes whose chemical characteristics contribute the properties of ease of application, low surface tension, excellent repulsively to water, high temperature stability, good lubrication to the lubricant, and moreover that it can be used in low concentrations.

Component II

The lubricant for conveyor chains of bottled products contains a component II, that is one or more fatty acids, which increases the lubricity of the lubricant of the present invention so that it can be used in containers of varied materials such as metal, glass, plasticized bottles, etc.

The fatty acid consists of an alkyd chain with a terminal carboxylic group, being the simplest configuration the completely saturated lineal chain. Fatty acids are classified in fatty acids of short, medium, and long chains, and through their saturation grade in saturated and unsaturated, the latter divided in turn in mono-unsaturated fatty acids and poly-unsaturated acids.

The lubricant for conveyor chains of bottled products uses fatty acids of 8 to 22 carbon atoms, whether saturated, unsaturated, or substituted. Among the saturated fatty acids there may be, for example, the caprylic acid of 8 carbon atoms, the capric acid of 10 carbon atoms, the undecylic acid of 11 carbon atoms, the lauric acid of 12 carbon atoms, the tridecyl acid of 13 carbon atoms, the myristic acid of 14 carbon atoms, the palmitic acid of 16 carbon atoms, the stearic acid of 18 carbon atoms; among the mono-unsaturated fatty acids there may, for example, the lauroleic acid of 12 carbon atoms, the myristoleic acid of 14 carbon atoms, the palmitoleic acid of 16 carbon atoms, and preferably the oleic acid of 18 carbon atoms; among the poly-unsaturated fatty acids there may be, for example, the linoleic acid (de-unsaturated) of 18 carbon atoms and the linolenic acid (tri-unsaturated) of 18 carbon atoms, and among the substituted fatty acids there may be, for example, the ricinoleic acid of 18 carbon atoms substituted by hydroxide.

Also, the mixed fatty acids, such as the derivates from greases and oils may be used in the lubricant of this invention, as for example, the fatty acid from coconut oil, or the fatty acid from liquid resin.

Component III

The lubricant for conveyor chains of bottled products contains a component III that acts as a surfactant, which is one or more amines derived from a fatty acid, characterized for containing alkyl aliphatic groups of 8 to 22 carbon atoms that have one or more polyethoxylated groups.

The lubricant for conveyor chains of bottled products preferably uses a tensoactive product derived from an ethoxylated amine, which acts as a surfactant and is associated with the fatty portion of the molecule to contribute homogeneity, lubricity to the lubricant, and serve as an emulsifying and humidifying agent for said lubricant.

Among the products mentioned before, ethoxylated amine of coconut, alkyl ethoxylated amine of coconut, ethoxilated alkyl amine of oleic acid, ethoxilated alkyl amine of stearic acid, ethoxilated alkyl amine of tallow fatty acid, and soy ethoxylated alkyl amine.

Component IV

The lubricant for conveyor chains of bottled products contains a component IV as a dissolvent that can be one or more mineral oils or hydrocarbons, as well aliphatic as benzene, or a mixture of these. As to the saturated aliphatic hydrocarbon, that can be linear or ramified, there may be, for example, alkanes of the general formula C_nH_2n+2 such as heptane, octane, nonane, decanes, pentadecanes, alkenes of the general formula C_nH_2n such as ethane, propene, butane, pentene, and alkynes of the general formula C_nH_2n−2 such as ethyne, propine, butane, pentene. Among the aliphatic hydrocarbons the white mineral oils of high purity are preferred, especially formulated for pharmaceutical processes and applications in the agricultural industry. The benzene hydrocarbons may be, for example, those of the general formula C_nH_2n−6 such as benzene, toluene, xylenes, and isomers.

Component V

The lubricant for conveyor chains of bottled products contains as component V, a non-ionic emulsifier with lipophylic characteristics that is ideal for the preparation of emulsions of water in oil with a balanced lipophylic and hydrophilic performance. The emulsifier type performs in this case an important role in stabilizing the emulsion and is a preferred election in the group comprising the systems constituted by sorbitan esters and ethoxylated sorbitan esters. As ethoxylated agents must be mentioned, among others, sorbitan monooleate, sorbitan monolaurate, sorbitan monoestearate, sorbitan triestearate, polyoxyethylenated sorbitan trioleate with 14 to 40 ethylene oxide mols, ethoxylated sorbitan monoolaurate of 11 to 40 mols of ethylene oxide, polyethyleneglycol monooleate with a molecular weight comprised between 480 and 1200, and the ethoxylated nonilphenol of 6 to 50 mols of ethylene oxide.

Component VI

The lubricant for conveyor chains of bottled products contains as a component VI a polymer selected from copolymers of a block of polyglycol, particularly polyalkylene-glycol or any other polyalkylene-glycol oxide of a high molecular weight, soluble in water. The polyalkylene-glycol has a general structure as follows:

Where:

R₁ is a hydrogen or alkyl of C₁ to C₄;

R₂ is a hydrogen, methyl, or their mixtures; and

n is a whole number.

When R₂ is hydrogen, these materials are polymers of ethylene oxide that are also known as polyethyleneglycols. When R₂ is methyl, these materials are polymers of propylene oxide that are also known as polypropylene glycols. When R₂ is methyl, there are also various isomers included, of the resulting polymer position that may exist. The polyalkylene-glycols, polyethyleneglycols, polypropylene glycols, and combinations thereof are preferred for their use in the lubricant of this invention.

Optional Components

As an optional component, the lubricant for conveyor chains of bottled products contains a microbicide to avoid the proliferation of microorganisms, in the lubricant as well as in on the conveyor chain. Among the microbicides used, there are isothiazolinones, formaldehydes, gluteraldehydes, etc.

Mixture

The lubricant for conveyor chains of bottled products combines components I, II, III, IV, V and VI in the following concentrations in weight percentages:

(a) From 1% to 50% of the silicon fluid (component I);

(b) From 5% to 80% of the fatty acid (component II);

(c) From 2% to 50% of the amine (component III);

(d) From 5% to 50% of the hydrocarbon (component IV);

(e) From 5% to 30% of the sorbitan monooleate (component V); and

(f) From 10% to 80% of the polyalkylene-glycol (component VI).

In one embodiment of the lubricant for conveyor chains of bottled products of this invention, the content shows the following concentration in weight percentage:

(a) From 1% to 10% of polydimetysiloxane (component I);

(b) From 5% to 25% of oleic acid (component II);

(c) From 2% to 15% of soy ethoxylated alkyl amine (component III);

(d) From 5% to 20% of hydrocarbon (component IV);

(e) From 5% to 15% of sorbitan monooleate (component V); and

(f) From 20% to 50% of polyalkylene-glycol (component VI).

Table 1 shows examples of the composition of the lubricant for conveyor chains of bottled products with the weight percentage of each component:

	TABLE 1
	Weight Percentage of each Component
Compound	Example 1	Example 2	Example 3
Polydimetysiloxane	5.0	1.0	10.0
Oleic acid	17.0	17.0	17.0
Soy ethoxylated alkyl amine	9.0	9.0	9.0
Hydrocarbon	14.0	14.0	14.0
Sorbitan monooleate	14.0	14.0	14.0
Polyalkylene-glycol	41.0	45.0	36.0

Preparation Mode

The lubricant for conveyor chains of bottled products is prepared mixing first the hydrocarbon (component IV) with the silicon fluid (component I), next these are shaken, and then the fatty acid (component II) and the amine (component III) are added. Finally, the sorbitan monooleate (component V) and the polyalkylene-glycol (component VI) are added to the mixture, shaking it for approximately 20 minutes or until the mixture is homogeneous.

Application Mode

The lubricant for conveyor chains of bottled products is applied directly on the surface of the plastic and/or metallic chain, without any extra dissolvent. This is performed through the preferred use of a wide plastic brush with nylon bristles (with a thickness of approximately 0.38 mm) that allows an adequate distribution of the lubricant along the conveyor chain to form a permanent layer or film of lubricant on the surface of said conveyor chain.

Another application form is through the use of manual or automatic sprayers that spray the conveyor chain surface with the lubricant.

In both cases, the lubricant is applied directly without diluting on the conveyor chain to form a lubricant layer that adheres to the surface of the conveyor chain for a period that may last up to 8 hours.

Measurement of the Friction Index at Laboratory Level

The friction index, defined as the force performed by the containers against the movement of the conveyor chain divided by the weight of the containers, obtained during laboratory testing on a dose of lubricant between 3 to 10 milliliters, is 0.07 to 0.12. The friction index when applying the lubricant of this invention is obtained at laboratory level, through the use of a certain amount of full bottles on a conveyor chain to provoke a stress force, which is measured with a dynamometer. The full bottles are secured with a tape and the latter in turn to the dynamometer; next, the conveyor chain is operated after applying the lubricant directly on the conveyor chain. Every 5 to 10 minutes readings are taken from the dynamometer according to requirements until the lubricant is finished. The friction index is calculated with the average of the readings on the dynamometer, divided by the total weight in grams of the full bottles.

Lubrication testing at laboratory level was performed using the compounds of the lubricant of the present invention from Table 1 and whose results are shown in Tables 2, 3, and 4.

Conditions of the Lubrication Tests:

Stainless steel chain

Speed of 40.8 m/min

Friction index=total value/weight of bottles

Total weight of glass bottles=2,898.7 g

Total weight of PET bottles=4,212.1 g

Total weight of steel=3,000 g

Measurement equipment: dynamometer EXTECH brand

TABLE 2
Lubrication Testing Results with Lubricant from Example 1 Table 1
	Metallic
	Glass Bottles	PET Bottles	Container
		Friction		Friction		Friction
Reading	Value	Index	Value	Index	Value	Index
0	994	0.3429	1247	0.303	697	0.317
1	229	0.079	422	0.100	263	0.087
2	245	0.084	357	0.084	234	0.078
3	222	0.076	368	0.087	252	0.084
4	248	0.085	344	0.081	248	0.082
5	241	0.083	360	0.085	228	0.076

TABLE 3
Lubrication Testing Results with Lubricant from Example 2 Table 1
	Metallic
	Glass Bottles	PET Bottles	Container
		Friction		Friction		Friction
Reading	Value	Index	Value	Index	Value	Index
0	994	0.3429	1247	0.303	697	0.317
1	222	0.076	348	0.082	255	0.085
2	218	0.075	268	0.063	222	0.074
3	237	0.081	271	0.064	232	0.077
4	226	0.077	283	0.067	226	0.075
5	241	0.083	265	0.062	237	0.079

TABLE 4
Lubrication Testing Results with Lubricant from Example 3 Table 1
	Metallic
	Glass Bottles	PET Bottles	Container
		Friction		Friction		Friction
Reading	Value	Index	Value	Index	Value	Index
0	994	0.3429	1247	0.303	697	0.317
1	237	0.081	357	0.084	265	0.088
2	223	0.076	342	0.081	271	0.090
3	241	0.083	360	0.085	259	0.086
4	230	0.079	352	0.083	275	0.091
5	253	0.087	373	0.088	269	0.089

Based on the composition alternatives described above of the lubricant for conveyor chains of bottled products, modifications to the described procedures and compositions are considered, as well as the alternative application and composition procedures will be considered evident for an expert in the art of the technique under the present description of the lubricant for conveyor chains of bottled products. Therefore, it is considered that the claims encompass said modifications and alternatives within the reach of the lubricant of the present invention.

Claims

1. A lubricant for conveyor chains of bottled products of a direct application without dilution that forms a lubricant layer or film on the surface of the conveyor chain, where the application is discontinual, in prolonged intervals between the applications, wherein said lubricant for conveyor chains of bottled products comprising:

one or more silicon fluids;

one or more fatty acids;

one or more amines;

one or more hydrocarbons;

one or more emulsifiers; and

one or more polyglycols.

2. The lubricant for conveyor chains of bottled products of claim 1, wherein further comprising a microbicide selected from a group consisting of isothiazolinones, formaldehyde, gluteraldehyde, and combinations thereof.

3. The lubricant for conveyor chains of bottled products of claim 1, wherein said silicon fluid comprises a range form about 1% to about 10%.

4. The lubricant for conveyor chains of bottled products of claim 1, wherein said silicon fluid is selected from a group consisting of polydimethylsiloxane, dimethyl siloxane, alkyl siloxane, phenyl siloxane, chloride silanes, emulsions of silicon formed by methyl dimethyl silicon, alkyl siloxanes, aryl siloxane, and chloride silanes, and combinations thereof.

5. The lubricant for conveyor chains of bottled products of claim 4, wherein said silicon fluid is polydimethylsiloxane which comprises a range from about 1% to about 10%.

6. The lubricant for conveyor chains of bottled products of claim 1, wherein said fatty acid comprises a range from about 5% to about 25%.

7. The lubricant for conveyor chains of bottled products of claim 1, wherein said fatty acid is between 12 to 22 atoms of carbon.

8. The lubricant for conveyor chains of bottled products of claim 7, wherein said fatty acid is oleic acid which comprises a range from about 5% to about 25%.

9. The lubricant for conveyor chains of bottled products of claim 1, wherein said amine comprises a range from about 2% to about 15%.

10. The lubricant for conveyor chains of bottled products of claim 1, wherein said amine is a tensoactive product derived from an ethoxylated amine which comprises a range from about 2% to about 15%.

11. The lubricant for conveyor chains of bottled products of claim 10, wherein said tensoactive product derived from an ethoxylated amine is selected from a group consisting of ethoxylated amine of coconut, alkyl ethoxylated amine of coconut, ethoxilated alkyl amine of oleic acid, ethoxilated alkyl amine of stearic acid, ethoxilated alkyl amine of tallow fatty acid, soy ethoxylated alkyl amine, and combinations thereof.

12. The lubricant for conveyor chains of bottled products of claim 1, wherein said hydrocarbon comprises a range form about 5% to about 20%.

13. The lubricant for conveyor chains of bottled products of claim 1, wherein said hydrocarbon is selected from a group consisting of aliphatic hydrocarbons, benzene hydrocarbons, alcohols, and combinations thereof.

14. The lubricant for conveyor chains of bottled products of claim 1, wherein said emulsifier is a sorbitan monooleate which comprises a range from about 5% to about 15%.

15. The lubricant for conveyor chains of bottled products of claim 1, wherein said polyglycol is polyalkylene-glycol which comprises a range from about 20% to 50%.

16. The lubricant for conveyor chains of bottled products of claim 1, wherein said polyglycol is selected from a group consisting of polyalkylene-glycol, polyethyleneglycol, polypropileneglycol, and combinations thereof.

17. The lubricant for conveyor chains of bottled products of claim 1, wherein said lubricant is applied directly without dilution on the surface of the conveyor chain with a plastic bristle brush or aspersion with sprays.

18. The lubricant for conveyor chains of bottled products of claim 17, wherein said bristles of the plastic brush are nylon.