EP4326622A1 - Method and device for flexible strapping - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a device and a method for strapping packaged goods with a strap, the device comprising a strap-guiding frame (9, 10), to which strap is fed in order to form a loop around the packaged goods, wherein the strap-guiding frame (9, 10) has an upper horizontal portion which is formed by a horizontally movable and vertically adjustable lance (8), the lance being movable from a strapping position, in which the lance closes the strap-guiding frame, into an open position outside of the strap-guiding frame. The problem addressed by the invention is that of providing a strapping device having a strap-guiding frame which functions reliably with an adjustable height of the movable upper horizontal portion of the strap-guiding frame. Said problem is solved in that a first vertical portion (19) of the strap-guiding frame (9, 10) has a plurality of pivot segments (23) disposed one on top of the other and in that the lance (8) is coupled to a vertically acting movement drive (26), which is designed to align the lance (8) with one of the pivot segments (23) before the lance is horizontally slid into the strapping position.

Description

METHOD AND DEVICE FOR FLEXIBLE STRAPPING

description

The invention relates to a device for strapping packaged goods with a strap, with a strap guide frame to which the strap is fed to form a loop around the packaged goods, the strap guide frame having an upper horizontal section which is formed by a horizontally displaceable and height-adjustable lance, which is displaceable from a strapping position closing the strap guide frame to an open position outside the strap guide frame.

Such a device is described in the applicant's DE 10 2019 118 307 A1. Here it is proposed for the first time to equip a machine for strapping of packaged goods arranged on pallets with two horizontally displaceable lances, both of which are provided with their own drive Einschuban to be pushed separately into the strapping position ver, in which the lances each form horizontally extending portions of the tape guide frame, or in the open position in which they are outside of the tape guide frame. It is also mentioned here that each lance can be assigned at least one height adjustment device for adjusting its height. This publication does not contain any further details on the design of the height adjustment means and in particular on the combination of a height-adjustable lance with other areas of the tape guide frame.

The object of the invention is to provide a strapping device with a tape guide frame that works reliably with an adjustable height of the ver sliding upper horizontal portion of the tape guide frame. This object is achieved according to the invention in that a first vertical section of the strap guide frame has a plurality of pivoting segments arranged one above the other and that the lance is coupled to a vertically acting traversing drive which is set up to move the lance into one position before it is pushed horizontally into the strapping position align the swivel segments.

In other words, the vertical portion of the tape guide frame through which the lance can be inserted at different heights to form the upper horizontal portion of the tape guide frame is provided with a plurality of pivot segments. The swivel segments can swivel when the lance is pushed in, in order to let the lance pass through. The pivoting segments can be arranged directly one after the other. However, it is also possible to arrange several, e.g. three or four, pivoting segments at three or four discrete heights of the vertical section of the tape guide frame. In this case the lance can only be moved to the predetermined three or four higher positions in which the three or four pivoting segments are located.

In a practical embodiment, the multiple pivot segments can be coupled to a lifting drive that can move the pivot segments vertically at least by the amount of their height. Such a lifting drive means that the lance can be moved continuously to any height position and not just to predetermined discrete positions of the pivoting segments. In this embodiment, a seg ment section that extends over the desired vertical travel range of the lance and has, for example, six to 10 directly übereinan arranged pivot segments, form a certain part, in particular special the upper part of the first vertical section of the Bandfüh guide frame. This segment section can then be coupled to the lifting drive, so that this lifting drive raises or lowers all swivel segments together. Each pan segment must have a Have height, which corresponds to at least the height of the movable lance ent. In a practical embodiment, a first corner guide element can be attached to the lance, which forms the upper end of the vertical section of the sliver guide frame when the lance is pushed in and can be pushed with the lance in the area of one of the pivoting segments through the first vertical section of the sliver guide frame. In this embodiment, the height of each pivoting segment must correspond to the total height of the lance with the first corner guide member attached. Each of the swiveling segments defines a height position in which the lance can be inserted. The higher positions have a vertical distance to the respective adjacent height position, which corresponds to the height of a swivel segment. Since the position of the segment section with the swiveling segments can be moved by the lifting drive over a distance that corresponds at least to the height of a swiveling segment, the lance can be arranged at any height position in the area of the segment section, with the lifting drive bringing the nearest swiveling segment to the height of the lance is aligned.

In practice, the lance can be coupled to a slide-in drive which moves the lance horizontally, and the traversing drive for moving the lance vertically is coupled to the slide-in drive in order to move it vertically together with the lance.

In practice, each swiveling segment can have a guide surface for the strapping strap on the side facing the inside of the strap guide frame, which is covered by at least one swiveling flap. A strap guide frame usually has a strap guide channel in which the strap is guided with little play. The uninterrupted guidance of the strap on the outer contact surface of the strap channel is of great importance. Especially in the area of the corners guide element, in which the strapping changes its feed direction, it is pressed outwards by inertia against the outer surface of the strap guide channel remote from the center point of the strap guide frame. But it is also important that the strap for Is guided inside the tape guide frame. On the other hand, the strap loop formed in the strap guide frame must be able to be pulled out of the strap channel in order to be able to be stretched around the packaged goods. For this purpose, the tape guide frame has pivoting flaps which pivot open when the tape loop is pulled together by the strap and release the strap. So that reliable guidance of the strapping band is also ensured in the region of the pivoting segments of the strap guide frame, each pivoting segment can have corresponding pivoting flaps. It is possible, please include a pivoting flap that can be attached to one side of the pivoting segment. However, two pivoting flaps can also be provided on the two sides of a pivoting segment. When the webbing loop is pulled together, the pivoting segments swivel open and release the webbing channel.

If, on the other hand, the pivoting movement of the pivoting segment to let the lance through shifts a sliver channel provided in the pivoting segment and open on a narrow side into a position in which the sliver can exit the sliver channel when the loop is pulled together, there is no need for pivoting flaps on the pivoting segment will.

In practice, a second vertical portion of the band guide frame may include a second corner guide member having a receiving area for receiving the free end of the lance in the strapping position. As explained above, the corner guide elements are used to direct the direction of movement of the strapping guide frame during the transition from a vertical section to a horizontal section of the band and vice versa. The first corner guide element, which interacts with the first vertical section of the tape guide frame when the lance is inserted, is attached to the lance. The second corner guide member, which cooperates with the free end of the lance, is attached to the second vertical portion of the tape guide frame. So that the second corner guide element on the selected Height of the lance can be aligned, a height adjustment drive is coupled to the second corner guide element.

The height adjustment drive and the displacement drive can be coupled to one another in the following manner in order to align the height of the second corner guide element with the height of the lance. A mechanical coupling can be provided, so that a mechanical coupling means brings about a corresponding vertical height adjustment of the second corner guide element when the lance is moved vertically. In the simplest case, the displacement drive can set the height of the lance and be coupled to the corner guide element via a flexible drive means, for example a chain or a toothed belt. This means of attack then forms the height adjustment drive, which always adjusts the height of the corner guide element synchronously with the height of the lance. An electronic coupling can be provided, with the height of the lance being determined by a measuring device and the height adjustment drive being controlled via a control device in such a way that the second corner guide element is moved to the corresponding height. The measuring device can be an optical measuring device, for example, which measures the set height of the lance. Furthermore, increments and light barriers can be used to measure the height adjustment of the lance. Finally, when using stepping motors, it is also possible to use signals from the motors themselves to determine the height adjustment. Stepper motors can be equipped with an encoder that generates signals that correspond to the angle of rotation of the motor shaft. This can be used to determine relative values for the height adjustment. Such stepping motors can then be connected to limit switches that indicate that the lance has reached an end position. The control electronics for the height adjustment drive then causes the height of the corner guide element to be aligned with the set height of the lance.

In practice, the lower horizontal section of the band guide frame can be formed either by a second horizontally displaceable lance or by a stationary lower frame section. With others Words, the tape guide frame consist of a rigid, U-shaped frame menteil, with a horizontally and vertically displaceable lance is provided only at the top. Alternatively or additionally, it is also possible to provide a horizontally displaceable lance in the lower area. This is particularly advantageous if the lower horizontal section of the tape guide frame is intended to protrude through a pallet, as described in DE 102019 118 307 A1.

The invention also relates to a method for strapping packaged goods with a strapping band, in which a strapping band is fed to a band guide frame to form a loop around the packaged goods, the band guide frame having an upper horizontal section which is formed by a horizontally displaceable and height-adjustable lance is, which is pushed ver from an open position outside of the tape guide frame in a tape guide frame closing strapping position.

To achieve the above object, it is proposed that a first vertical section of the tape guide frame has a plurality of pivoting segments arranged one above the other and that the lance is aligned with one of the pivoting segments with a vertically acting displacement drive before it is pushed horizontally into the strapping position.

As mentioned, the several pivoting segments can be coupled to a lifting drive, which shifts the pivoting segments vertically into a desired position if required.

The lance can be coupled to a slide-in drive that moves the lance horizontally, and the displacement drive can act on the slide-in drive in order to move it vertically.

As mentioned above, a first corner guide element can be fastened to the lance, which forms the upper end of a verti len section of the tape guide frame when the lance is inserted and with the lance in the Area of one of the pivot segments is pushed through the first vertical portion of the tape guide frame.

Furthermore, a second vertical section of the strap guide frame can have a second corner guide element which has a receiving area for receiving the free end of the lance in the strapping position, with a height adjustment drive being coupled to the second corner guide element and aligning the second corner guide element with the height of the lance. The coupling can be mechanical or electronic as described above.

Further practical embodiments and advantages of the invention are described below in connection with the drawings. Show it:

1 shows a three-dimensional view of a strapping device for pallets with packaged goods according to the prior art;

Fig. 2 is a side view of a band guide frame according to the invention;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the tape guide frame of Fig. 2;

FIG. 4 is a side view of the tape guide frame of FIG. 2 in the open position;

FIG. 5 is a full side view of the lances of the tape guide frame of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 shows a first three-dimensional side view of the displacement drive for the upper lance from FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 shows a second three-dimensional side view of the displacement drive for the upper lance from FIG. 5; 8 shows a first three-dimensional view of the height adjustment drive for a corner guide element of the tape guide frame;

9 shows a second three-dimensional view of the height adjustment drive for a corner guide element of the tape guide frame

1 shows the strapping station 1 from the prior art according to DE 102019 118 307 A1. In the strapping station 1 there is a container consisting of two pallets 2, 3 and stacked goods 4, 5. A support table 6 is shown schematically, on which the un direct pallet 2 is parked, for example with a forklift. In practice, a roller conveyor can alternatively be arranged at the height of the support table 6, which automatically promotes the lower pallet 2 into the strapping station 1.

A horizontal lance 7 protrudes through the lower pallet 2. Another lance 8 protrudes through the upper pallet 3. The pallets can be so-called EURO pallets or WORLD pallets, which have skid boards on the bottom and cover boards on the top . The lances 7, 8 protrude through an intermediate space between the runner board and the deck board. However, other pallet constructions can also be used. The pallets have a space through which one of the two lances 7, 8 can be passed. In Fig. 1 it can be seen that two mutually parallel tape guide frames 9, 10 are provided. Both tape guide frames 9, 10 are constructed identically to one another, so that only the tape guide frame 9 at the front for the viewer is described below.

The lower lance 7 forms the lower leg of the tape guide frame. In a known manner, it has a tape channel through which a strapping tape can be passed. The strap is on a tape roll 11 wound. It can be seen that the second tape guide frame 10 has a second tape roll 12 associated with it. The strapping tape is pulled off the tape roll 11 by a drive and tensioning unit 13 and guided to the tape channel in the lower lance 7 . In the closed position of the tape guide frame 9, the lower lance 7 protrudes up to a corner guide element 20 on the rear, fixed frame beam 14, which guide frame 9 forms a vertically extending portion of the tape. A horizontal section of a sliver channel is arranged in the lance 7 . The corner guide element 20 has a concavely curved surface that deflects the strap from the horizontal direction to the vertical direction. In the vertical frame member 14, the strap is guided vertically upwards. At the top, the strapping band emerges from the vertical section of the band channel in the vertical frame spar 14 and is deflected by an upper corner guide element 21 of the band guide frame 9 in the horizontal direction to the front end of the upper lance 8 . The upper lance 8 also has a horizontal section of the band channel, which leads the strapping band back through the upper pallet 3 to the side of the drive and tensioning unit 13 . From the sliver channel in the lance 8 the sliver enters a vertical section 19 which leads the sliver back to the drive and tensioning unit 13. The drive and tensioning unit 13 then pulls the strap back so that the strap loop formed is pulled together and stretched around the strapped packaged goods. For this purpose, the inner side of the tape guide frame 9, 10 has pivoting flaps which open when the tape loop is contracted and allow the strap to exit from the tape guide channel. The tensioned webbing loop is then closed. The connecting device is also arranged in the drive and tensioning unit 13, which closes the belt loop after the belt loop has been tightened and tensioned. For this purpose, two overlapping ends of the band loop are usually welded together.

It can be seen that by passing two lances 7, 8 through two pallets 2, 3, a secure and firm connection of the pallets 2,

3 can be generated, especially because tape loops through two Tape guide frames 9, 10 are produced in two mutually parallel and spaced vertical planes.

The upper pallet 3 can be strapped in the same way before it is placed on the lower pallet 2. In this way, the entire container is fully secured.

It should be noted that Figure 1 does not fully show the support structures for all components of the strapping device. For example, no support structure for the push-in drives 15, 16 of the two lances 7, 8 is shown in FIGS. Support profiles 17, 18 are shown behind the insertion drives 15, 16 for the two lances 7, 8, the fastening of which cannot be seen from FIG. They are attached to a standard support frame. The components which enable the height adjustment of the upper lance 8 are also absent in FIG. 1 and are shown in FIGS. 2 to 9, as explained below.

Fig. 2 shows a side view of a tape guide frame with height adjustment of the upper lance 8. This tape guide frame can form both the front tape guide frame 9 and the rear tape guide frame 10 in the device of FIG. For the sake of clarity, the packaged goods are not shown in FIGS. 2-4. The positions of the pallets 2.3 are shown for orientation.

In particular in FIGS. 2 and 4 it can be seen that the upper section of the vertical section 19 of the tape guide frame lying on the right-hand side is formed by a segment section 22 which has eight consecutive pivoting segments 23 vertically one above the other. The pivoting segments 23 make it possible to push the upper lance 8 through the verti len section 19 into the interior of the tape guide frame 9,10.

Corner guide elements 24, 25 are also arranged on this vertical section 19 of the tape guide frame 9, 10, which lead strapping. The lower corner guide element 25 is firmly built ver. The upper corner guide element 24 is fastened to the upper lance 8 be. This can be seen in FIG. When the upper lance 8 is pushed into the tape guide frame 9 , 10 , the corner guide element 24 fastened to it is pushed through the pivoting segment 23 with the upper lance 8 . Consequently, the height of a pivoting segment 23 corresponds to the total height of the upper lance 8 and the corner guide element 24 attached thereto. The height of a pivoting segment 23 is therefore several centimeters. The vertical displacement of the upper lance 8 in relation to the segment section 22 is therefore only possible in steps which correspond to the height of a pivoting segment 23 in each case.

In order to achieve a stepless height adjustment of the upper lance 8, a height displacement of the segment section 22 can also be provided. The segment section 22 can be displaced vertically in an area that corresponds to at least the height of a pivoting segment 23 .

6 and 7 show the parts of an exemplary embodiment of the displacement drive 26 for the upper lance 8 and the lifting drive 27 for the segment section 22. The coupling of the displacement drive 26 and lifting drive 27 with the lance 8 and the segment section 22 is for reasons of clarity not shown in the previous figures 2-5. When the displacement drive 26 is an electric motor which acts via a gear 28 on a rack 29 which is fastened to a support element 30 be. The support element 30 carries the push-in drive 16 of the upper lance 8. The traversing drive 26 can be held by a suitable support frame, which is not shown in the figures. With the Verfahran drive 26, the slide-in drive 16 with the upper lance 8 coupled thereto can be aligned with the height of one of the pivoting segments 23. This can be seen, for example, in FIG. 7, in which the upper lance 8 is aligned with the third pivoting segment 23 from below and this pivoting segment 23 is pivoted on, the upper lance 8 in the height range of this pivoted pivoting segment 23 on the vertical plane of the verti cal section 19 of the tape guide frame 9, 10 protrudes. The lifting drive 27 in turn causes a height adjustment of the segment section 22 of the vertical section 19 of the tape guide frame 9.10. The linear actuator 27 acts on a support frame 31 on which the Segmentab section 22 is attached. The lower end 32 of the segment section 22 is telescopically displaceable relative to the vertical section 19 of the tape guide frame 9,10 (see FIGS. 2, 4, 5).

In FIG. 7, the sides of the pivoting segments 23 facing the middle of the tape guide frame 9, 10 can be seen. These have a pivoting flap 35, which opens when the strapping is pulled out of the section of the tape duct formed by the respective pivoting element 23. The pivoting flap 35 can be designed to be elastically deformable or rigid and pivotable about an axis. DE 10 2014 213 791 A1 discloses examples of elastically deformable pivoting flaps. Rigid pivoting flaps are known, for example, from DE 25 07 717 C3. Magnetic pivoting flaps 35 are also known, e.g. from EP 1 702 844 B1.

8 and 9 show the height adjustment drive 33 for the upper corners guide element 21 of the tape guide frame 9.10. In the illustrated embodiment, the height adjustment drive 33 is again an electric motor that acts on a threaded rod 34 via a gear train. The threaded rod 34 causes a vertical displacement of the corner guide element 21. The height of the upper lance 8 can be measured by a suitable sensor, with a control device via the height adjustment actuator 33 setting the corresponding height of the corner guide element 21. As an alternative to such an electronic coupling of the height of the lance 8 and the corner guide element 21, a mechanical coupling can of course also take place in which, for example, a chain or a stretch-resistant drive belt transmits the movement of the lance 8 indirectly to the corner guide element 21. It should be noted that the drive means for the height adjustment are only given as an example. Instead of the electric motors shown, linear drives can also be used for the height adjustment. The movement coupling between the drives and the preceding elements (lance 8 and corner guide element 21 as well as segment section 22) does not have to take place via gear wheels but can be effected by any other known coupling elements. Finally, it is also possible to adjust the height of the lower lance 7 by analogous drive means if this is required for a particular application.

The features of the invention disclosed in the present description, in the drawings and in the claims can be essential both individually and in any combination for the realization of the invention in ih ren various embodiments. The invention is not limited to the embodiments described. It can be varied within the scope of the claims and taking into account the knowledge of the person skilled in the art.

reference list

1 strapping station

2 lower first pallet

3 second pallet

4 packaged goods

5 packaged goods

6 support table

7 lower lance

8 upper lance

9 first tape guide frame

10 second tape guide frame 1 1 first tape roll 12 second tape roll

13 Drive and clamping unit

14 second vertical section, spar

15 Lower lance retraction drive

16 Top lance retraction drive

17 support profile

18 support profile

19 first vertical section

20 corner guide element 21 corner guide element 22 segment section

23 swivel segment

24 corner guide element

25 corner guide element

26 traversing drive

27 lifting drive

28 gear

29 rack

30 support element

31 support frame

32 lower end of segment section 33 height adjustment drive

34 threaded rod

35 pivoting flap

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Claims

patent claims 1. Device for strapping packaged goods with a strap, with a strap guide frame (9, 10) to which the strap is fed to form a loop around the packaged goods (4, 5), the band guide frame (9, 10) having an upper horizontal section which is formed by a horizontally displaceable and height-adjustable lance (8) which can be displaced from a strapping position closing the strap guide frame into an open position outside the strap guide frame, characterized in that a first vertical section (19) of the strap guide frame (9, 10 ) has a plurality of pivoting segments (23) arranged one above the other and that the lance (8) is coupled to a vertically acting displacement drive (26) which is set up to move the lance (8) to one of the pivoting segments ( 23) to align. 2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the several pivoting segments (23) are coupled to a lifting drive (27) which is set up to displace the pivoting segments (23) vertically at least by the amount of their height. 3. Device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the lance (8) is coupled to a slide-in drive (16) which moves the lance (8) horizontally, and in that the displacement drive (26) is set up to move the slide-in drive ( 16) to move vertically. 4. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that each pivoting segment (23) has a guide surface for the strap on the inside of the strap guide frame (9, 10) which is covered by at least one pivoting flap (35). 5. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that on the lance (8) a first corner guide element (24) is fixed, which forms the upper end of a ver tical section (19) of the tape guide frame when the lance (8) is inserted and with the lance (8) in the region of one of the pivoting segments (23) through the first vertical section (19) of the tape guide frame ( 9, 10) can be slid. 6. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a second vertical section (14) of the tape guide frame (9, 10) has a second corner guide element (21) which has a receiving area for receiving the free end of the lance (8) in the strapping position, wherein a height adjustment drive (33) is coupled to the second corner guide element (21) and set up to align the second corner guide element (21) with the height of the lance (8). 7. The device according to claim 6, characterized in that the displacement drive (26) and the height adjustment drive (33) are coupled to one another in one of the following ways to align the height of the second corner guide element (21) with the height of the lance (8): • by a mechanical coupling means which, when the lance (8) is moved vertically, causes a corresponding vertical height adjustment of the second corner guide element (21); • by electronic coupling means, the height of the lance (8) being determined by a measuring device and the height adjustment drive being controlled by a control device in order to move the second corner guide element (21) to the appropriate height. 8. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the lower horizontal section of the tape guide frame is formed by one of the following: • a second horizontally displaceable lance (7); • a stationary lower frame section. 9. A method for strapping packaged goods with a strap, in which a tape guide frame (9, 10) a strap is fed to form egg ner loop around the packaged goods, wherein the The tape guide frame (9, 10) has an upper horizontal section which is formed by a horizontally displaceable and height-adjustable lance (8) which can be moved from an open position outside the tape guide frame (9, 10) to a position that closes the tape guide frame (9, 10). strapping position, characterized in that a first vertical section of the strap guide frame (19) has a plurality of pivoting segments (23) arranged one above the other and that the lance (8) is pushed into the strapping position with a vertically acting displacement drive (26) before it is horizontally inserted is aligned with one of the pivoting segments (23). 10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that the several ren pivoting segments (23) are coupled to a lifting drive (27) which moves the pivoting segments (23) vertically into a desired position if required. 1 1. The method according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that the lance (8) is coupled to a slide-in drive (16) which moves the lance (8) horizontally, and that the displacement drive (26) drove the slide-in drive (16) moves vertically. 12. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a first corner guide element (24) is attached to the lance (8), which forms the upper end of a vertical section (19) of the tape guide frame when the lance (8) is pushed in and is pushed with the lance (8) in the region of one of the pivoting segments (23) through the first vertical section (19) of the tape guide frame (9, 10). 13. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a second vertical section (14) of the strip guide frame (9, 10) has a second corner guide element (21) which has a receiving area for receiving the free end of the lance (8) in has the strapping position, a height adjustment drive (33) being coupled to the second corner guide element (21) and aligning the second corner guide element (21) with the height of the lance (8). 14. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that the displacement drive (26) and the height adjustment drive (33) for aligning the height of the second corner guide element (21) to the height of the lance (8) are coupled to one another in one of the following ways: · by a mechanical coupling means which, when the lance is moved vertically, causes a corresponding vertical height adjustment of the second corner guide element; • by electronic coupling means, the height of the lance being determined by a measuring device and the height adjustment drive being controlled by a control device, in order to achieve the second To move corner guide element to the appropriate height. _{* * * * * * *}