JP7226901B2 - Conveying device for folding box blanks - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a conveying device capable of "picking up" individual folding box blanks from upstream equipment and feeding them to downstream (processing) equipment. Examples of such upstream or downstream devices are pile feeders, alignment, folding or joining devices.

Folding box blanks are also referred to below as cartons. In the context of the present invention, the term "conveying device" is always used regardless of whether the device according to the invention picks up folding box blanks from an upstream device or delivers them to a downstream device. .

Today, the market recognizes a trend towards increasingly smaller and/or irregularly shaped folding box blanks. The trigger is the desire to provide "tailor-made" packaging for many products. The handling of such folding box blanks--first removing the folding box blanks from the pile and subsequently transporting them to the first processing apparatus--is therefore made difficult.

At the same time, the demands placed on the productivity and reliability of the entire process chain through which the folding box blanks pass during processing are increasing.

An example of transporting cartons to a processing station is known from EP 2072241 B1. There, cartons are transported from a shaft module to a gluing and splicing module using cam belts. The transport of the cartons takes place in EP 2 072 241 B1 via a set of cam belts arranged parallel to each other. A cam belt is a conveyor belt that has cams at regular intervals. These cams provide circulating stops that transport the carton with the belt by introducing the forces required for transport to the trailing edge. Such principles have been proven in practice for many years.

It is self-evident that this type of transport presupposes a straight rear edge of the carton. Otherwise, the cartons would be carried by the conveying device in a "slanted position", which would cause problems or even make it impossible during subsequent processing.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to reliably pick up even small and/or irregularly shaped cartons from a preceding device and feed them in the most accurately aligned manner to a downstream device. The object is to provide a conveying device that makes it possible. In this case, the most conservative possible handling of the cartons should also be realized. Finally, the transport performance should also be improved.

This task is achieved according to the invention by two transport belts running parallel to each other, two pressure belts running parallel to each other and at least two sets of stationary deflection rolls for the pressure belts, each in a double configuration. , a device for conveying folding box blanks comprising respective first means and/or second means for adjusting the effective length of the crimping belt.

With such a device it is possible to adjust the working length of the conveyor belt individually according to the dimensions of the folding carton blanks to be conveyed, so that the carton blanks can be transported along the longest possible conveying path. Reliably and slip-free transport across On the one hand, the adjustability of the working length of the conveyor belt ensures that even in the case of irregularly shaped folding box blanks, no undesired interaction with upstream or downstream equipment occurs. be done. This ensures the best possible transport with the greatest possible reliability even with differently shaped folding box blanks.

The transport device according to the invention is constructed relatively simply and symmetrically. This conveying device basically comprises two belts on either side of an axis of symmetry, a conveying belt and a pressure belt, which are guided over different deflecting rolls so that the conveying belt and the pressure belt are separated by a gap. through which the cartons to be conveyed move.

The crimping belt acts to create a defined normal force between the carton and the conveyor belt, whereby the speed of the conveyor belt is transmitted to the carton without slip, thereby making the carton secure, fast and transported without problems.

The length of this gap is adjustable and defines the effective working length B of the transport device according to the invention.

The working length of the device according to the invention is such that at the front end of the conveying device, seen in the conveying direction, there is a first means for adjusting the effective length of the crimping belt, and in a preferred embodiment, at the rear, seen in the conveying direction. It can be adjusted in a simple manner by also having a second means for adjusting the effective or working length of the crimping belt at the end of the belt. Due to the structure of symmetry, there are respective first means and second means on both sides of the axis of symmetry.

The effective working length B of the device according to the invention corresponds to the length of the gap formed between the transport belt and the corresponding pressure belt. In other words, if the effective length of the crimping belt changes, so does the working length of the transport device according to the invention.

It is self-evident that a simplified embodiment with a first means for adjusting the effective length, for example only at the leading end of the crimping belt, also falls within the scope of protection of the claimed invention. Correspondingly, a simplified embodiment in which the effective length of the pressure belt is adjustable at the rear end of the transport device also falls within the scope of protection of the claimed invention.

Preferably, however, at both ends of the transport device there are first and second means for adjusting the effective length B of the transport belt for each crimping belt.

A particularly simple and efficient embodiment of the first means and the second means for adjusting the effective length of the crimping belt comprises two diverting rolls each arranged at a fixed distance from each other, It is intended that two of each of these turning rolls be arranged on one carriage.

These carriages are guided by means of linear guides, which are arranged parallel to the active area of one of the transport belts. In this way it is possible to adjust the effective working length of the device according to the invention quickly and reproducibly by simply sliding the carriage and the associated deflection roll.

In another preferred embodiment of the invention, the crimp belt is intended to be guided via stationary deflection rolls so that the tension of the crimp belt is independent of the position of the carriage. Thereby, it is not necessary to re-tension the crimp belt after each adjustment process in which the effective length of the crimp belt is adjusted.

A linear drive is provided for each carriage to allow automatic adjustment of the effective length of the crimp belt. As linear drives, rack and pinion drives, electric, electromechanical, pneumatic and/or hydraulic drives come into consideration.

Simple off-the-shelf linear drives are best suited for this role, as the requirements regarding force and carriage positioning accuracy are relatively low compared to machine tools.

In order to ensure a correct supply of folding box blanks to the device according to the invention, or an effective working area of the device, at least two sensors are detected in the conveying direction of the first means for adjusting the effective length of the crimping belt. Arranged on the front side as seen, these sensors are intended to be mutually spaced transversely to the direction of transport of the device.

As a result, cartons that enter the device in a tilted or excessively tilted position can be recognized and, if necessary, removed from the transport device.

It has been found to be favorable if both sensors are arranged on the carriage. These sensors then always have the best distance to the effective working area of the device according to the invention.

In another preferred embodiment, at least two sets of stationary deflection rolls are provided for the transport belt. A particularly reliable and manufacturing-simplified solution is obtained if each one stationary deflecting roll of the pressure belt and one stationary deflecting roll of the conveyor belt are arranged on a common bridge. It turns out there is.

This results in a very rigid and simple construction of the device according to the invention, which almost eliminates operational errors.

By way of example, but not exhaustion, numerous possible front and rear devices are mentioned.

In terms of the performance of the device according to the invention, it is also possible to feed a large number of cartons with very small mutual spacings to the transport device according to the invention, so that the downstream processing stations have a very high availability. thus increasing the output or throughput of a production line equipped with the device according to the invention.

The device according to the invention is of relatively simple construction, since it requires only the conveying means, the sensors, the separately controllable drive of the conveying means, and the control. It is thereby low cost and highly robust.

Further advantages and preferred embodiments of the invention can be taken from the following drawings, its description and the claims. All features described in the drawings, their description and the claims can be part of the invention either alone or in any combination with each other.

1 is a schematic side view showing an embodiment of a conveying device according to the present invention; FIG. 1 b is a schematic plan view of the embodiment of FIG. 1 a; FIG. 4A-4D are side views showing various adjustments of the transport device according to the invention; 1 shows a top view of a transport device according to the invention; FIG. Fig. 4 is another view from above showing the device according to the invention;

In FIG. 1a a side view of the (process) chain of devices 60, 70 and 80 is shown greatly simplified and reduced to its main parts.

Reference numeral 60 designates a pile feeder (feeder) as known from the prior art. Reference numeral 80 designates a device for alignment, which is the subject of a patent application of the same applicant (office file number: DE102017114334.3). The contents of that application are incorporated into this application by reference.

The two transport devices 70 according to the invention shown in FIG. 1a are constructed identically. For the convenience of viewing the drawing, the second conveying device 70 shown on the right side of FIG. 1 is not labeled.

The carton 13 proceeds from left to right in the process chain of FIG. 1 illustrated by way of example. Seen in the conveying direction 17, the pile supply 60, the first conveying device 70 according to the invention, the device 80 for aligning the cartons 13 and the second conveying device 70 according to the invention are arranged one behind the other.

A pile feeder 60 includes a shaft 67 in which a pile of cartons 13 resides. The carton 13 has a length L.

A flat belt 63 is tensioned between the two diverting rolls 61 and causes the transport of the bottom carton from the shaft 67 in each case. The speed-controlled associated drive 65 can be seen in FIG. 1b.

In this simplified drawing, the aligning device 80 includes a drive wheel 1 and a counter wheel 3 . A carton 13 is conveyed between the driving wheel 1 and the corresponding wheel 3 and aligned as necessary. For this purpose the drive 39 of the drive wheel 1 (see plan view in FIG. 1b) is provided with a speed control, whereby the circumferential readout of the drive wheel 1 and thus the carton 13 can be controlled. The drive 39 is often a speed-controlled electric motor.

The first and second conveying devices 70 are conceptually identical, but in this embodiment are arranged in mirror symmetry with respect to the carton 13 aligning device 80 .

The transport device 70 comprises two transport belts 9 (see FIG. 1a) which run parallel to each other and are driven by drive motors (not shown), which are guided via deflection rolls 11 .

One of the diverting rolls 11 is in the immediate vicinity of the diverting rolls 61 of the pile supply section 60 so that the flat belt 63 and the conveyor belt 9 form a substantially continuous plane on which the cartons 13 are placed. are transported sequentially. Another diverting roll 11 is in the immediate vicinity of the drive wheel 1 so that the cartons 13 can be transported by the transport belt 9 into the active area of the drive wheel 1 .

The conveying direction of the conveying belt 9 is defined by an imaginary line between the centers of rotation of the respective turning rolls 11 .

A pressure belt 15 is arranged above the conveyor belt 9 in order to ensure that the drive power required for conveying the cartons 13 is transmitted from the conveyor belt 9 to the cartons 13 reliably and without slippage. . The conveying belt 9 and the pressure belt 15 form a gap (not numbered). This gap extends parallel to the above mentioned direction of the transport belt 9 . The crimping belt 15 acts to create a sufficient normal force between the carton 13 and the conveyor belt 15 so that the carton 13 is conveyed by the conveyor belt 9 without slipping.

The length of the gap defines the effective length B of the conveyor belt 9 . This is because there is sufficient normal force between the carton and the conveyor belt only in the area of the gap.

The useful length B of the conveyor belt 9 can be adjusted in order to prevent stations arranged one after the other in the process chain from being undesirably affected or disturbed. For example, the pile feeder 60 can be cyclically operated while the conveyor belt 9 is continuously circulating.

The pressure belt 15 is guided in the example shown via two fixedly mounted deflection rolls 12 and via two pairs of slidable deflection rolls 19 and 21 . A diverting roll 19 and a diverting roll 21 are each mounted on a carriage 23 . The carriage 23 can slide in the transport direction or parallel to the transport belt 9 . By sliding one carriage 23 or both carriages 23, the effective length B of the transport belt 9 can be changed or adjusted.

The diverting rolls 19 , 21 are thus means for adjusting the effective length B of the transport belt 9 in relation to the carriage 23 .

Since in the illustrated embodiment there are two carriages 23 with diverting rolls 19, 21, this embodiment has first and second means for adjusting the effective length B of the transport belt 9. FIG. The first means are arranged at the front end of the transport device 70 . The second means are arranged at the rear end. For a symmetrical construction there are respectively two first means and/or two second means in one transport device 70 . In a simplified embodiment not shown, only one carriage 23 is present.

The pressure belt 15 is guided through the deflection rolls 12 , 19 and 21 such that the tension of the pressure belt 15 is independent of the position of the carriage 23 . This avoids re-tensioning the crimping belt 15 when one or both carriages 23 slide.

In order to be able to slide the carriage 23 and thus adjust the useful length B of the transport belt 9 , the carriage 23 is guided in a linear guide running parallel to the transport belt 9 . Additionally, there is a linear drive for each carriage 23 .

In this simplified drawing, the linear guides and linear drives have reference numeral 25 . Numerous commercially available drives are suitable as linear drives, in particular rack and pinion gears, ball screws, electric, electromechanical, pneumatic or hydraulic drives. The same applies to linear guides.

The distance C between the shaft 67 and the turning roll 21 is adjusted by sliding the front carriage 23 . The spacing C and the length L of the carton 13 must be adapted to each other for the reasons given above. This adaptation takes place by sliding the front carriage 23 as seen in the transport direction 17 .

By sliding the rear carriage 23 as seen in the conveying direction 17, the distance A between the deflection roll 21 and the counter wheel 3 or drive wheel 1 is adjusted. The spacing A and the length L of the carton 13 must likewise be adapted to each other. This adaptation takes place by sliding the rear carriage 23 as seen in the transport direction 17 .

FIG. 1b shows a plan view of the process chain including stations 60, 70, 80 and 70, also greatly simplified. To improve the clarity of the drawings, not a few components are shown.

Intervals C, B and A are entered in this plan view. It also becomes clear that in the pile feeding section 60, both conveying devices 70, the aligning device 80, with the exception of the shaft 67, all the important components are present in duplicate: two conveying belts 9 running parallel to each other; There are two crimp belts 15 . Overall, each transport device 70 has four carriages 23 and associated deflection rolls 19, 21 (not shown in FIG. 1b).

The same applies to the drive wheel 1, the drive 39 and the counter wheel 3 of the device 80 for alignment.

The distances between the transport belts 9 and the crimping belts 15 running parallel to each other, as well as the carriage 23, the drive wheels 1 and the counter wheels 3 of the alignment device 80 are chosen so that the cartons 13 can be reliably transported and aligned on them. be done. This means that the spacing is narrower than the width of the cartons 13 to be conveyed.

During alignment, the carton 13 must no longer be driven by the transport belt 9 of the transport device 70 which is arranged in front of the device 80 in the transport direction. In addition, during alignment, the cartons 13 must not yet be driven by the transport belts of the transport device 70 which are arranged behind the device 80 in the transport direction. That leads to stress on the cartons, making alignment at least difficult.

In order to ensure a controlled "delivery" of the cartons 13 to the "front" conveying device 70, the distance C between the diverting roll 61 of the pile supply 60 and the diverting roll 21 of said conveying device 70 is , is adjusted to be slightly shorter than the length L of the carton. For example, when the carton 13 has a length of 500mm, the spacing C is approximately 480mm.

The function of the device 80 for alignment is not the subject of the present invention. A detailed description is therefore not provided here, but reference is made to the detailed description in DE 10 2017 114 334.3. Suffice it to say the following. Alignment of the carton 13 is thus effected by driving both drive wheels 1 on the left and right of the line of symmetry 41 for a short period of time at different speeds.

During alignment, the carton 13 must no longer be driven by the transport belt 9 of the transport device 70 arranged in front of the device 80 in the transport direction. In addition, during alignment, the cartons 13 must not yet be driven by the transport belts of the transport device 70 which are arranged behind the device 80 in the transport direction. It leads to stress on the carton 13, making alignment at least difficult.

To ensure this, the distance A between the rear deflection roll 21 of the first transport device 70 and the drive wheel 1 is adjusted to be slightly less than the length L of the carton 13. . Accordingly, the distance A between the front deflection roll 21 of the second conveying device 70 and the drive wheel 1 is adjusted to be slightly less than the length L of the carton.

For example, when the carton 13 has a length of 500mm, the spacing A is approximately 480mm. The same applies to the distance A between the drive wheel 1 and the deflection roll 33 of the transport device 70 .

This means that for a short section of 20 mm (=500 mm-480 mm) the carton 13 is conveyed both by the conveying device 70 and by the drive wheels 1 and counter wheels 3 .

The rear edge of the carton is then no longer pinched between the conveyor belt 9 and the pressure belt 15, so that the conveyor belt 9 of the first conveyor 70 has no effect on the transport of the carton 13. The cartons are then transported only by both drive wheels 1 of the device 80 . In this condition, if one of the drive wheels 1 rotates slightly slower or faster than the other drive wheel 1, the carton 13 will rotate slightly to achieve the desired alignment of the front edge 43. After alignment is completed, the carton 13 is transferred to the second transport device 70 . This is done by conveying cartons 13 for a short time or a short distance both by the drive wheels 1 and by the conveyor belts 9 of the second conveyor device 70 . The distance A between the drive wheels 1 and the diverting rolls 21 is thus again slightly less than the length of the carton 13 .

For the pile feeder 60, the first transport device 70 and the aligning device 80, the sum of the distances C, B and A is constant. In other words, the effective length B of the conveyor belt 9 is brought about "automatically" by adjusting the spacings C and A.

Using FIGS. 2a, 2b, and 2c, the adjustment of the spacings C and A for cartons 13 of various lengths is schematically illustrated. Not all components are drawn (eg sensor 45) and not all components are labeled for clarity. Please refer to the other drawings in this regard.

In FIG. 2(a), the pile supply 60, the conveying device 70 and the device 80 are arranged so that very short cartons 13 having a length L can be conveyed and aligned. This carton 13 assumes a position with its rear end just still in the pile supply 60 and with its front edge already in the gap between the transport belt 9 and the pressure belt 15 of the first transport device 70 .

The cartons 13 then leave the pile supply section 60 when they have not yet been transported a short distance (toward the right in FIG. 2(a)) and are transported only by the first transport device 70 . The same applies for the spacing A as well.

FIG. 2(b) also shows a situation comparable to FIG. 2(a). However, carton 13 is much longer. As a result, the intervals C and A are much wider than in FIG. 2(a).

FIG. 2(c) shows the situation where the length L of the carton 13 is much greater than the maximum possible spacing A. FIG. This means that the cartons 13 are conveyed simultaneously by the pile feeder 60 and the first conveying device 70 over a relatively long section.

The very long cartons 13 are then transported simultaneously by the first transport device 70 and the drive wheels 1 of the device 80 .

The cartons 13 are subsequently transported simultaneously by the drive wheels 1 of the device 80 and the second transport device 70 (not shown).

A comparison of FIGS. 2a, 2b and 2c reveals the flexibility and wide applicability of the transport device 70 according to the invention.

With reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, the top views reveal that even irregularly shaped cartons 13 can be easily transported by the transport device 70 according to the present invention.

At the top left of FIG. 3 is shown a carton 13 having a generally "T" shape. This means that this carton--viewed in the conveying direction 17--has a length L1 on the left and a length L2 on the right, with L1>L2.

Even such cartons 13 can be easily transported by the device 70 according to the invention. As can be seen from the plan view of FIG. 3, the effective length B of the crimping belt 15 is different on either side of the axis of symmetry 41. FIG. Adjustments are made through sliding of the carriage 23, not shown in FIG. 3, as explained above.

In the following, the subscripts "l" to "r" are assigned to components placed side by side.

Regarding the left-hand crimping belt 15l as seen in the conveying direction, it can be said with respect to the distance Cl from the shaft 67 of the pile feeder 60 that it is slightly shorter than the length L1 of the carton 13 . Correspondingly, the gap cr between the shaft 67 of the pile supply section 60 and the pressing belt 15r of the first conveying device 70 is also slightly shorter than the length L2 of the carton 13 .

For the left-hand transport belt 9l or pressure belt 15l, seen in the conveying direction, it can be said with respect to the distance Al from the drive wheel 1l that it is slightly shorter than the length L1 of the carton 13. FIG. Correspondingly, the distance Ar between the end of the deflection roll 21r or the pressure belt 15r and the drive wheel 1r is also slightly less than the length L2 of the carton 13.

The same applies to the pressure belts 15l and 15r of the second transport device 70 arranged behind the aligning device 80, seen in the transport direction 17. FIG.

FIG. 4 shows an L-shaped carton 13 and the corresponding adjustment of the pressure belts 15l and 15r of both conveyors 70. FIG. In this embodiment the front edge 43 of the carton 13 is straight. At the rear edge, flaps are arranged in the right-hand region as seen in the conveying direction 17, so that the left-hand and right-hand lengths L1 and L2 of the carton 13 are different.

Since the front edge 43 of the carton 13 is straight, the spacing cl between the shaft 67 of the pile supply 60 and the crimping belts 15l and 1rr is equal on both sides of the axis of symmetry 41, so that the carton 13 The front edge 43 is simultaneously caught between the transport belt 9 and the pressure belt 15 on the right and left sides of the transport device 70 according to the invention and transported in this way.

Since the rear edge of the carton has an offset (L2-L1), the spacing on the right transport belt 9r in the transport direction is longer than the spacing A1 on the left transport belt 9l in the transport direction. In this case also A1<L1 and A2<L2 hold.

In the second transport device 70 the spacings Al and Ar are also equal. This is because the front edge 43 of the carton 13 is straight.

1 to 4, the conveying device 70 according to the invention can be adjusted for conveying differently shaped cartons 13 by simply changing the position of the carriage 23. FIG. The movement of the carriage can be done automatically, thereby minimizing the changeover time with at the same time the best adjustment quality.

The invention is not limited to the process chain shown as an example only. Rather, the transport device according to the invention can be combined with numerous other upstream and/or downstream stations.

In all figures only parts and modules relevant to the functionality of the present invention are shown. For example, not all the turning rolls are shown, nor are tensioning devices, etc. for adjusting belt tension. This is well known to those skilled in the art and therefore requires no explanation.

Claims (12)

A device for conveying folding box blanks, comprising:
two transport belts (9) arranged side by side in a direction intersecting the transport direction and extending parallel to each other;
two crimping belts (15) extending parallel to each other, one corresponding to each of said two transport belts (9) ;
at least two pairs of stationary turning rolls (12) for entraining each of said two crimping belts (15);
first means and/or second means provided for each of said two crimping belts (15) for independently adjusting the effective length of said corresponding crimping belt (15) facing said corresponding conveyor belt (9); means of
apparatus, including Said first means and said second means each comprise two diverting rolls (19, 21), two each of said diverting rolls (19, 21) being arranged on a carriage (23). 2. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that there is a 3. Device according to claim 2, characterized in that the carriage (23) is guided by a linear guide (25), the linear guide (25) being arranged parallel to the transport belt (9). Each of said crimping belts (15) is fed via a stationary diverting roll (12) as well as said first one so that the initial tension of said crimping belts (15) is independent of the position of said carriage (23). 4. A device according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that it is guided via the means of and the diverting rolls (19, 21) of the second means. A device according to any one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that a linear drive is provided for each said carriage (23). 6. Device according to claim 5, characterized in that the linear drive is made as a rack and pinion transmission, a ball screw, an electric, electromechanical, pneumatic or hydraulic drive. At least one sensor (45) is arranged respectively on the front side, seen in the conveying direction (17), of the first means for adjusting the effective length of the crimping belt (15), said sensor (45) being Device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that they are arranged at mutual intervals transversely to the transport direction (17) of the device. 3. Device according to claim 2, characterized in that at least both sensors (45) are arranged on the carriage (23). Apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least two pairs of stationary deflection rolls (11) are provided for the two transport belts (9). . A pair of the stationary direction change rolls (12) of the pressure belt (15) and a pair of the stationary direction change rolls (11) of the conveying belt (9) are arranged to face each other across the conveying path. 10. Device according to claim 9, characterized in that it is arranged 11. Apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a feeder with a feeder or pile supply (60) is preceded by the apparatus. Device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a device (80) for alignment is downstream of said device.

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