A method and an apparatus for emptying various types of trays filled with rod like articles of the tobacco industry, and converting unit designed to change tray's configuration
An apparatus (1) for emptying of two types of trays with different configurations for rod like articles (R) of the tobacco industry while a five-wall tray being the tray of the first type (13) and a four-wall tray being the tray of the second type (3), the apparatus is provided with a filled tray station (2) of the first type or the second type, a turning unit (10) designed to turn the filled tray of the first type (13) or the second type (3), a lifting unit (11) designed to lift the turning unit (10), a station (23) for emptying of the filled tray of the first (13) or the second type (3), a station (25) for empty trays of the first or the second type, a control system (40) controlling the subassemblies of the apparatus. The apparatus (1) according to the invention is characterised by further comprising a converting unit (21, 35) being adapted to change the configuration of the tray of the first type (13) into a configuration corresponding to the configuration of the second type (3). The converting unit (21, 35) is adapted to change the configuration of the tray of the first type (13) into a configuration corresponding to the configuration of the tray of the second type (3) when the tray of the first type (13) is delivered for unloading, and to maintain the configuration of the tray of the second type (3) when the tray of the second type (3) is delivered for unloading the converting unit (21, 35) is further provided with a linearly operating lifting mechanism (32) designed to lift the hinged wall (13T′) and the connecting members (13FL, 13FR) and a linearly operating pressing mechanism (34) designed to press the hinged wall (13T′) and the connecting members (13FL, 13FR) to other walls of the tray (13L, 13R, 13A). The object of the invention is also a converting unit (21, 35) and a tray emptying method using the apparatus (1) and the converting unit (21, 35).
The object of the invention is a method and an apparatus for emptying of a tray of different types filled with rod like articles of the tobacco industry, and a converting unit designed to change the tray configuration.
Tobacco industry's factories manufacture various articles for smoking. Both finished and semi-finished products made at successive production stages may be jointly referred to as rod like articles which may be transported on conveyors or in trays. Plastic trays which are used for all types of rod like articles, among others for cigarettes, cigarillos, cigars and filter material rods, are commonly used in the tobacco industry. Plastic trays have the shape of a cuboid without two adjacent walls, i.e. these are trays having four walls. Plastic trays are rigid and are used for temporary storage and transport of rod like articles on the premises of tobacco factories. Cardboard trays designed as five-wall trays are commonly used for the transport of filter rods outside the factory premises. Cardboard trays have thinner walls, are less rigid and easily deformable, with one swinging wall. Filling of a five-wall tray takes place after opening of a tray i.e. after swinging the swinging wall. After the filling, the tray must be closed i.e. the swinging wall must be turned to its original position. The same swinging wall is swung in order to empty the tray. In the transport time, the filled tray is covered with a lid in order to protect the rods collected inside. The apparatuses for unloading of four-wall and five-wall trays are essentially similarly built, however, the mechanisms of the apparatus must be differently adjusted for each type of tray, moreover, one of the walls of the five-wall tray must be swung before unloading. The type and the physical parameters of unloaded rod like articles also influence the unloading process. The object of the invention is a machine adapted to empty the trays of two types with different configurations, the five-wall tray being the tray of the first type and the four-wall tray being the tray of the second type. The four-wall tray may be made of any material.
An apparatus for emptying of five-wall cardboard trays is known from the patent EP1118543B1. A differently built apparatus for emptying of five-wall cardboard trays is known from the publication WO2015033264A1. Apparatus for emptying of four-wall trays are known from the documents GB2043603A, EP1086628B1, U.S. Pat. No. 3,759,408A, EP1656841A1, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,298,549. Prior art does not reveal any apparatus adapted to unloading various types of trays and provided with a unit designed to change the trays configuration. According to the solution known from the document GB2148853A, a cardboard five-wall tray intended to be emptied is placed in a plastic four-wall tray whereas after placing it in the plastic tray, one wall of the five-wall tray is manually swung. Trays, which are put together and secured from separation by means of a special holder holding the swung wall, are placed on a tray unloader.
The object of the invention is an apparatus for emptying of two types of trays for rod like articles of the tobacco industry, while the five-wall tray being the tray of the first type and the four-wall tray being the tray of the second type, the apparatus is provided with a filled tray station of the first type or the second type, a turning unit designed to turn the filled tray of the first type or the second type, a lifting unit designed to lift the turning unit, a station for emptying of the tray of the first or the second type, a station for empty trays of the first or the second type, a control system controlling the subassemblies of the apparatus. The apparatus according to the invention is characterised by further comprising a converting unit being adapted to change the configuration of the tray of the first type into a configuration corresponding to the configuration of the tray of the second type. The converting unit is adapted to change the configuration of the tray of the first type into a configuration corresponding to the configuration of the tray of the second type when the tray of the first type is delivered for unloading, and to maintain the configuration of the tray of the second type when the tray of the second type is delivered for unloading, the converting unit is further provided with a linearly operating lifting mechanism designed to lift the hinged wall and the connecting members and a linearly operating pressing mechanism designed to press the hinged wall and the connecting members to other walls of the tray, and further the turning unit is adapted to add to the rotation of the tray a translation transversely to the axis of the rotation shaft, and in a direction with a tangent component to the rotation.
The manufacturers of articles for smoking who process semi-finished products stored in various trays in the production process may reduce the expenditure on the machinery because the apparatus according to the invention may unload both plastic and cardboard trays, whereas no additional parts are required to adapt the machine to any type of tray.
The apparatus according to the invention is further characterised in that the turning unit designed to turn the filled tray has a holding mechanism provided with gripping members designed to hold the tray and adapted to move the tray transversely to the axis of the shaft of the turning unit.
The apparatus according to the invention is further characterised in that the holding mechanism is attached to a linear guide designed to move the tray transversely to the axis of the shaft of the turning unit.
The apparatus according to the invention is further characterised in that the gripping members comprise lateral grippers, a bottom gripper, and a sliding cover.
The apparatus according to the invention is further characterised in that the apparatus is provided with a lifting unit designed to lift the filled tray from the filled tray station.
The apparatus according to the invention is further characterised in that the converting unit is an opening unit designed to swing a hinged wall of the tray of the first type.
The apparatus according to the invention is further characterised in that the opening unit designed to swing the hinged wall of the tray of the first type is situated above the lifting unit designed to lift the filled tray.
The apparatus according to the invention is further characterised in that the apparatus is provided with a tray type detection unit.
The object of the invention is also a method for emptying of two types of trays with different configuration for rod like articles of the tobacco industry while the five-wall tray being the tray of the first type and the four-wall tray being the tray of the second type, wherein the filled tray of the first type or the second type is placed on the filled tray station, the filled tray of the first type or the second type is conveyed along the filled tray station, the filled tray of the first type or the second type is gripped by means of the turning unit, the filled tray of the first type or the second type is lifted, the filled tray of the first type or the second type is turned by means of the turning unit, the filled tray of the first type or the second type is placed in the filled tray emptying station, the empty tray of the first type or the second type is conveyed to the empty trays station, the empty tray of the first type or the second type is received from the empty trays station. The method according to the invention is characterised in that after the delivery of the filled tray of the first type the converting unit is activated, the configuration of the tray of the first type is converted to a configuration corresponding to the configuration of the tray of the second type, whereas the configuration of the tray of the first type is changed into a configuration corresponding to the configuration of the tray of the second type when the tray of the first type is delivered for unloading, and the configuration of the tray of the second type is maintained when the tray of the second type is delivered for unloading, moreover during the turning of the filled tray a translation transversely to the axis of the rotation shaft, and in a direction with a tangent component to the rotation is added.
Due to the use of the machine according to the invention, the operator does not have to take any further action apart from placing the trays on the filled trays station and swinging the hinged wall. Thus the operator is not additionally engaged, in terms of time, in operating the apparatus according to the invention.
The method according to the invention is further characterised in that during the turning of the filled tray the filled tray is moved away transversely to the axis of the shaft of the turning unit.
The method according to the invention is further characterised in that before the tray is gripped by the turning unit, the filled tray is lifted on the lifting unit designed to lift filled trays.
The object of the invention is also a converting unit designed to change the configuration of the tray of the first type having at least one hinged wall provided with connecting members designed to connect the hinged wall with other walls of the tray into a configuration corresponding to the configuration of the tray of the second type not having a swinging wall, provided with pushing members designed to lift the hinged wall and the connecting members, and with pressing members designed do press the hinged wall and the connecting member to other walls of the tray. The unit according to the invention is characterised in that the unit is further provided with a linearly operating lifting mechanism designed to lift the swinging wall and the connecting members, and a linearly operating pressing mechanism designed to press the hinged wall and the connecting members to other walls of the tray.
The unit according to the invention is further characterised in that the lifting mechanism is built of at least two actuators provided with pushing members.
The unit according to the invention is further characterised in that the pressing mechanism is built of at least two actuators provided with pressing members.
The tray emptying apparatus according to the invention allows for the operation of the machine with various types of trays. As a result, the operator does not have to make a time-consuming change of machines configuration, and it is not necessary to store a set of parts required to change the configuration of the machine. The conversion of the tray takes place without extending the machine operation time.
The object of the invention was shown in detail in a preferred embodiment in a drawing in which:
In this description, the invention will be described with reference to a four-wall tray 3 shown in a simplified way in
Four-wall trays may be made of plastic or other suitable material ensuring an adequate rigidity and are usually designed for multiple uses.
The five-wall tray 13 has a bottom wall 13B on which it stands, a back wall 13A and two lateral walls, a left lateral wall 13L and a right lateral wall 13R. The five-wall tray 13 has a swinging upper wall 13T′ which is designated as self-aligning relative to the back wall 13A of the tray 13 with which it is connected along the edge 13E. The upper wall 13T′ has two swinging lugs 13FL and 13FR which, for the transport time, are inserted into a slot in the corresponding lateral walls 13L and 13R. After putting the filled five-wall tray 13 onto the filled trays station, the operator lifts the upper wall 13T′ so that the swinging lugs 13FL and 13FR pull out of the walls 13L and 13R and loosely hang down on the side outside the lateral walls 13L and 13R.
Five-wall trays 13 may be made of cardboard or other cheap material, are usually softer than the four-wall trays and are usually designed for a single use.
The tray 3, 13 emptying machine 1 described below, being a tray unloader, is adapted to empty both rigid four-wall trays jest 3 and less rigid five-wall trays 13 without the necessity of changing the machine configuration. For the sake of simplicity, the units belonging to the tray emptying machine 1 according to the invention were shown in
The tray emptying machine 1 is provided with two opening units 21L, 21R (
The lifting unit 6 designed to lift the filled trays 3, 13 is provided with brackets 7A, 7B and 7C shown in
The tray emptying machine 1 is provided with the filled tray emptying station 23 (
The tray emptying machine 1 of
The tray emptying machine 1 is provided with a controller 40 shown in
The embodiment in
The transported rod like articles R require gentle treatment and the lowest possible mechanical loads. Due to different weight of rod like articles, the tray unloader mechanisms are subjected to various loads. The loads affect in particular the mechanisms of the turning unit 10. During the handling of the tray 3, 13 the rod like articles R contained in it may move to a certain degree relative to the tray 3, 13. The movement of the rod like articles R relative to the tray 3, 13 should be eliminated or at least limited because it may result in the ends of rod like articles R being damaged. Tests have proven that an optimal distribution of accelerations to which the rod like articles R are subjected and of loads of mechanisms of the turning unit 10 may be achieved by starting the rotational movement of the turning unit 10 around the axis 12A before the end of lifting by the lifting unit 11.
Tests have shown that an optimal distribution of accelerations to which the rod like articles R are subjected and of loads of mechanisms of the turning unit 10 may be achieved by starting the rotational movement around the axis 12A before reaching the point E.
Claims
1-14. (canceled)
15. An apparatus (1) for emptying of two types of trays with different configurations for rod like articles (R) of the tobacco industry, while a five-wall tray being the tray of the first type (13) and a four-wall tray being the tray of the second type (3)
- the apparatus is provided with
- a filled tray station (2) of the first type or the second type,
- a turning unit (10) designed to turn the filled tray of the first type (13) or the second type (3),
- a lifting unit (11) designed to lift the turning unit (10),
- a station (23) for emptying of the filled tray of the first (13) or the second type (3),
- a station (25) for empty trays of the first or the second type,
- a control system (40) controlling the subassemblies of the apparatus,
- characterised in that
- the apparatus is provided with
- a converting unit (21, 35) being adapted to change the configuration of the tray of the first type (13) into a configuration corresponding to the configuration of the second type (3), whereas
- the converting unit (21, 35) is adapted to change the configuration of the tray of the first type (13) into a configuration corresponding to the configuration of the tray of the second type (3) when the tray of the first type (13) is delivered for unloading, and to maintain the configuration of the tray of the second type (3) when the tray of the second type (3) is delivered for unloading,
- the converting unit (21, 35) is further provided with a linearly operating lifting mechanism (32) designed to lift the hinged wall (13T′) and the connecting members (13FL, 13FR), and
- a linearly operating pressing mechanism (34) designed to press the hinged wall (13T′) and the connecting members (13FL, 13FR) to other walls of the tray (13L, 13R, 13A).
16. The apparatus as in claim 15 characterised in that the turning unit (10) designed to turn the filled tray has a holding mechanism (10A) provided with gripping members designed to hold the tray (3, 13) and adapted to move the tray (3, 13) transversely to the axis (12A) of the shaft (12) of the turning unit (10).
17. The apparatus as in claim 16 characterised in that the holding mechanism (10A) is attached to a linear guide (10B) designed to move the tray transversely to the axis (12A) of the shaft (12) of the turning unit (10).
18. The apparatus as in claim 16 characterised in that the gripping members comprise lateral grippers (16L, 16R), a bottom gripper (15L, 15R), and a sliding cover (18).
19. The apparatus as in claim 15 characterised in that the apparatus (1) is provided with a lifting unit (6) designed to lift the filled tray (3, 13) from the filled tray station (2).
20. The apparatus as in claim 15 characterised in that the converting unit (21, 35) is an opening unit designed to swing the hinged wall (13T′) of the tray of the first type (13).
21. The apparatus as in claim 20 characterised in that the opening unit (21, 35) designed to swing the hinged wall (13T′) of the tray of the first type (13) is situated above the lifting unit (6) designed to lift the filled tray (3, 13).
22. The apparatus as in claim 15 characterised in that the apparatus (1) is provided with a tray type detection unit (41).
23. A method for emptying two types of trays with different configurations, for rod like articles (R) of the tobacco industry, while a five-wall tray being the tray of the first type (13) and a four-wall tray being the tray of the second type (3)
- wherein
- the filled tray of the first type (13) or the second type (3) is placed on the filled tray station (2),
- the filled tray of the first type (13) or the second type (3) is conveyed along the filled tray station (2),
- the filled tray of the first type (13) or the second type (3) is gripped by means of the turning unit (10),
- the filled tray of the first type (13) or the second type (3) is lifted,
- the filled tray of the first type (13) or the second type (3) is turned by means of the turning unit (10),
- the filled tray of the first type (13) or the second type (3) is placed in the filled tray emptying station (23),
- the empty tray of the first type (13) or the second type (3) is conveyed to the empty tray station (25),
- the empty tray of the first type (13) or the second type (3) is received from the empty tray station (25), characterised in that
- after the delivery of the filled tray of the first type (13) the converting unit (21, 35) is activated,
- the configuration of the tray of the first type (13) is converted to a configuration corresponding to the configuration of the tray of the second type (3), whereas
- the configuration of the tray of the first type (13) is changed into a configuration corresponding to the configuration of the tray of the second type (3) when the tray of the first type (13) is delivered for unloading, and the configuration of the tray of the second type (3) is maintained when the tray of the second type (3) is delivered for unloading,
- moreover the configuration of the tray is changed with a linearly operating lifting mechanism (32) designed to lift the hinged wall (13T′) and the connecting members (13FL, 13FR), and
- a linearly operating pressing mechanism (34) designed to press the hinged wall (13T′) and the connecting members (13FL, 13FR) to other walls of the tray (13L, 13R, 13A).
24. The method as in claim 23 characterised in that during the turning of the filled tray, the filled tray (3, 13) is moved away transversely to the axis (12A) of the shaft (12) of the turning unit (10).
25. The method as in claim 23 characterised in that before the tray (3, 13) is gripped by the turning unit (10), the filled tray (3, 13) is lifted on the lifting unit (6) for lifting filled trays.
26. A converting unit (21, 35) designed to change the configuration of the tray of the first type (13) having at least one hinged wall (13T′) provided with connecting members (13FL, 13FR) designed to connect the hinged wall with other walls (13L, 13R) of the tray (13) into a configuration corresponding to the configuration of the tray of the second type (3) not having a hinged wall,
- provided with
- pushing members (22L, 22R, 32L, 32R) designed to lift the hinged wall (13T′) and the connecting members (13FL, 13FR), and
- pressing members (22L, 22R, 34L, 34R) designed to press the hinged wall (13T′) and the connecting members to other walls (13L, 13R, 13A) of the tray (13),
- characterised in that
- the unit (21, 35) is further provided with a linearly operating lifting mechanism (32) designed to lift the hinged wall (13T′) and the connecting members (13FL, 13FR), and
- a linearly operating pressing mechanism (34) designed to press the hinged wall (13T′) and the connecting members (13FL, 13FR) to other walls of the tray (13L, 13R, 13A).
27. The unit as in claim 26 characterised in that the lifting mechanism (32) comprises at least two actuators (31L, 31R) provided with the pushing members (32L, 32R).
28. The unit as in claim 26 characterised in that the pressing mechanism (34) comprises at least two actuators (33L, 33R) provided with the pressing members (34L, 34R).
Type: Application
Filed: Jul 12, 2017
Publication Date: May 30, 2019
Inventor: Radoslaw Owczarek (Radom)
Application Number: 15/733,006