Patent Grant
11383865
The present disclosure generally relates to systems and methods for handling and packaging food products. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to systems and methods for handling baked food products between baking and packaging stations.
Baked food products formed in mass production processes can be transferred from the baking ovens to packaging stations via conveyors. In one such process, baked biscuit products (e.g., biscuits, cookies, crackers, cakes, etc.) are baked in an oven and then transported or moved to one of a series of independent conveyor lanes.
Such an arrangement has several shortcomings. For example, if one packaging machine is inoperable, even for a brief period of time, all of the lanes on the conveyor dedicated to that machine will stop. This can result in inefficiencies because otherwise operable conveyors will go unused. Further, because each packaging machine utilizes its own separate conveyor, the layout for such an arrangement takes up a significant amount of space. For example, the arrangement of
Additionally, because the layout of
For at least these reasons, multi-conveyor packaging systems such as those depicted in
The present disclosure presents examples of a food product conveyor and packaging system. In one example, a system includes an upstream conveyor that transports food products. The upstream conveyor has an end portion that transports stacks of food products in a plurality of lanes. The system also includes a bucket conveyor that transports an array of buckets in a direction perpendicular to the lanes of the end portion of the upstream conveyor. The buckets are shaped to hold stacks of the food products. The exemplary system also includes a feeding station that feeds the stacks of food products from the lanes of the second portion of the upstream conveyor into the buckets of the bucket conveyor. The system also includes a transfer device that selectively transfers individual stacks of food products from the buckets to a packaging machine. The transfer device can transfer the stacks without use of an intermediary conveyor. For example, the transfer device can include one or more robotic arms that grab the stacks from the buckets and move them to the packaging machine.
The present disclosure also describes methods of conveying and packaging food products. In one example, a method involves conveying stacked food products along a plurality of lanes on an upstream conveyor. The exemplary method feeds the stacked food products into buckets on a second conveyor. The buckets are fed so that each lane of the upstream conveyor feeds into a separate bucket, and so that the individual buckets holding individual stacks of food products. The stacks of food products are then moved along the second conveyor in a direction perpendicular to the lanes of the upstream conveyor. In this way the buckets, or stacks of food products travel in a direction perpendicular to the length of the stacks. The method also includes transferring individual stacks of food products from the second conveyor to an input of a packaging machine using at least one robotic arm. The individual stacks of food products are packaged by the packaging machine.
In one example of operation, food products, such as biscuits, crackers, cookies, and the like are baked in an oven and transferred to a receiving end of an upstream conveyor. The food products may be arranged on the conveyor in a flat, non-overlapping manner.
In some examples, during transport along the upstream conveyor the food products can be inspected for problems such as breakage or other damage. The upstream conveyor channels the food products into lanes, and begins to arrange the products into stacks. For example, the upstream conveyor can employ penny stacker features that turns the flat products on edge and stacks them up against each other in the individual lanes.
In some examples the upstream conveyor then transports the products around a 90 degree turn so that they are traveling generally perpendicular to the receiving end of the upstream conveyor. The upstream conveyor then slopes downward toward the bucket conveyor, allowing gravity to facilitate transfer of the biscuit stacks between the lanes of the upstream conveyors and the buckets of the bucket conveyor. A feeding station, which may include a feeding device, such as a robotic volumetric feeder, may also ease with this transition to help assure that the food products do not break or become unstacked during the transfer process. The feeding device helps assure that stacks from the lanes of the upstream conveyor are placed into individual buckets in the bucket conveyor.
The buckets containing the individual stacks can then be transported in a direction perpendicular to the arrangement of the stacks along the bucket conveyor. As the buckets travel along the bucket conveyor, the sloped portion of the conveyor levels off to horizontal.
The buckets then approach a series of transfer devices that can selectively transfer the stacks from the bucket conveyor to the packaging machines. For example, the transfer devices can be robotic arms that grab the stacks and remove them from the buckets, and place them in the input of the packaging machines.
The packaging machines can then package the stacks, for example, by applying a flow-wrap packaging around the stacks, and transfer the packaged products to another conveyor. At this point the conveyor may further transport the packaged products to a second packaging station, where a second packaging (e.g., an outer packaging or box) can be applied.
The present disclosure describes examples of conveyor and packaging systems that present solutions to the issues discussed above with respect to the system 10 shown in
In one example, the upstream conveyor 111 equipment arranges the biscuits into arrays in a downstream bucket conveyor 141 at a feeding station 130. In feeding station 130, a feeding device 131 (e.g., a robotic volumetric feeder) facilitates the feeding and/or arranging of the biscuit stacks from the upstream conveyor 111 into the array of buckets on a bucket conveyor 141. A more detailed depiction of the feeding station 130 is shown in greater detail and in operation in
The bucket conveyor 141 transports buckets (or trays) filled with stacks of biscuits toward a first packaging station 150, which can include one or more packaging machines 151n. A more detailed view of the bucket conveyor area 140 and the first packaging station 150 is shown in
In some embodiments, the buckets 144 on the bucket conveyor 141 are linked together such that the movement of one bucket 141 directly corresponds to the movement of the other buckets 144 on the conveyor 141. That is, in this embodiment, when one bucket 144 moves a first distance along the conveyor 141, all buckets 144 move the same distance along the conveyor 141. In another embodiment, the buckets are unlinked and thus configured to move independent of one another. That is, because the buckets are not linked, one bucket 144 may be able to move forward or backward irrespective of the movement of the other buckets 144. In such a configuration, there may be space between each bucket 144 so that moving one bucket 144 does not necessitate movement of another bucket 144. An example of such a configuration is the Beckhoff XTS linear transport system. So configured, the buckets 144 may be able to move with different speeds and with different spacing there between. This can provide the ability to buffer buckets between packaging machines, which can help improve the ability to assure most or all buckets are used, thereby improving efficiency of the process.
The packaging machines 151 include or are associated with transfer devices 142n, which can be robotic arms that transfer stacks of biscuits from the buckets into individual packaging machines 151n of the first packaging station 150. In this manner, the system 100 can transfer stacks of biscuits from the conveyors to the packaging machines 151n without the use of intermediary conveyors specifically dedicated to each packaging machine 150n.
The transfer devices 142n can selectively choose to transfer only stacks of biscuits that are suitable for packaging to the packaging machines 151n. Unselected stacks may progress along the bucket conveyor 141 and be manually removed by a worker, or simply fall into a waste basket or bin. Moreover, if certain packaging machines 151n are inoperable, the system 100 will not need to shut down certain lanes of the conveyor system 100, as the packaging machines can take biscuits regardless of their conveyor lane or position.
As noted, the in some examples, the transfer devices 142n can be robotic arms. In general, a variety of types and configurations of robotic arms are available to operate as the transfer devices. One example of such a robotic arm is the UR10 robot, made by Universal Robots.
As shown in
The transfer device 142 can include a pair of prongs 143 that extend from a base platform 145. The prongs 143 can be configured to fit into recesses of the bucket 144 so that the biscuit stack 105 can be positioned between the prongs 143 and the base platform. A guide bar 148 can also be used to help keep the biscuit stack 105 within the grip of the transfer device 142 when the stack is rotated.
In some examples the transfer device 142 can also include a distal support member 146 to support the distal end of the cracker stack 105. The distal support member 146 can pivot as controlled by a piston 147. In this manner, the support member 146 can pivot away from the cracker stack 105 so that the prongs 143 can slide into position with respect to the bucket 144, and then pivot back up to hold the cracker stack 105 once the transfer device has properly grabbed it.
In one example of a conveyor and packaging system 100, the packaging machines 151 place the stacks of biscuits into packaging (e.g., flow wrap packaging, boxes, wrappers, etc.), and move the packaged stacks to a secondary conveyor 161 in a secondary conveyor area 160.
Upon being loaded with packaged stacks of biscuits, the secondary conveyor 161 moves the packaged stacks toward a secondary packaging area 170 with one or more secondary packaging machines 171n.
As noted above,
The upstream conveyor 111 includes a receiving portion 118 that receives biscuits. In some examples, the receiving portion 118 is adjacent an oven so that biscuits are transferred to the receiving portion 118 upon discharge from the oven. In some examples the biscuits received in the receiving portion 118 will generally lie flat on the conveyor 110 and will not overlap one another. That is, in some examples, the biscuits on the receiving portion 116 of the upstream conveyor will not be stacked.
In some approaches, the upstream conveyor includes a first dribbleboard 112 that moves the biscuits down a slope. The first dribbleboard 112 moves the biscuits to an inspection area 113. In the inspection area 113, biscuits can be inspected for damage or other issues. This inspection can be performed by a camera and/or a manual worker assigned to inspect the products. Biscuits that are broken, damaged, or otherwise unsuitable for packaging can be removed from the conveyor 111.
Downstream from the inspection area 113 on the upstream conveyor 111 is a second dribbleboard 114. The second dribbleboard 114 can provide lane balance so that the biscuits are arranged to flow into individual lanes 117. That is, in this portion of the upstream conveyor 111, the biscuits can move from one lane to another so that each generally contains the number of biscuits therein.
Downstream of the second dribbleboard 114 is a gap closing, or penny stacker portion 115. In the penny stacker portion 115, the lanes can narrow to ensure that the biscuits are arranged to begin the stacking process. In this portion, the biscuits may begin to overlap with one another, for example, such that an edge of one biscuit rests upon an edge of an adjacent biscuit. Biscuits passing through the penny stacker portion 115 pass to a straight vibratory portion 116 that leads to the turning area 120.
The upstream conveyor 111 moves biscuits from the straight vibratory portion 116 through a bend 121. The bend 121 can also be a vibratory portion that continues to vibrate the biscuits to facilitate the stacking process. For example, while passing through the bend 121, the biscuits can begin or continue to turn from lying flat to vertical, short side leading.
The turning area 120 turns the individual lanes 117 through bend 121 toward an end portion 122 of the upstream conveyor 111. In some approaches the bend 121 is be a 90 degree bend that turns the lanes 123 of the end portion 122 generally perpendicular to the lanes 117 in the upstream area 110 of the upstream conveyor 111. The angle of the bend 121 can vary depending on the layout of the equipment; in particular, the angle can vary depending on the location of the oven or the receiving portion 118 of the upstream conveyor 111 with respect to the bucket conveyor 141. In some examples, the bend 121 will be configured so that the lanes 123 of the end portion 122 of the upstream conveyor 111 are generally perpendicular to the bucket conveyor 141. In this manner, the lanes 123 of the end portion 122 can align to fill the buckets 144 of the bucket conveyor 141.
In some examples the process of stacking the biscuits (i.e., turning the biscuits from flat and non-overlapping to a stacked orientation) will be generally complete as biscuits enter the end portion 122 of the upstream conveyor 111. The lanes 123 of the end portion 122 of the upstream conveyor 111 can thus feed the stacks of biscuits into buckets 144 in the bucket conveyor 141 at the feeding station 130.
In some examples, the end portion 122 of the upstream conveyor slopes downward from a higher elevation to a lower elevation so that gravity can facilitate the stacks of biscuits moving toward the feeding station 130 and the bucket conveyor 141. In some examples the end portion 122 is also vibratory to facilitate the stacking process or the movement of the stacks of biscuits toward the feeding station 130.
The buckets 144 can be sleeves, or channels that are designed to hold a single stack 105 of biscuits. The buckets 144 can have a variety of cross sectional shapes depending on the shape of the biscuit that it is intended to hold. For example, in some examples the buckets 144 will have a rounded bottom to hold round biscuits, an angled v-shaped bottom to hold triangular or diamond shaped biscuits, or a squared bottom to hold square shaped biscuits. Other shaped buckets 144 can also be employed where biscuits of other shapes are used.
Because the upstream conveyor 111 is generally at a higher elevation than the bucket conveyor 141, the end portion 122 of the upstream conveyor 111 slopes downhill to the bucket conveyor 131. In this manner, gravity facilitates transfer of the stacks of food products from the upstream conveyor to the bucket conveyor. The feeding device 131 controls the lowering of the stacks of food products from the lanes of the upstream conveyor into buckets. The feeding device 131 helps assure that the biscuits are properly placed into the buckets in a controlled manner to help prevent damage to the biscuits during this process.
Once the stacks 105 of biscuits are fed into the buckets 144, the bucket conveyor transports the stacks toward the feeding station 150.
In some examples, the bucket conveyor 141 at the feeding station 130 is sloped at an angle as shown in
The bucket conveyor 141 transports the buckets to a feeding station 150, where transfer devices 142n load stacks 105 of biscuits into individual packaging machines 151n. In some examples, the packaging system 150 will include a plurality of packaging machines 151n as shown in
The packaging machines 151n may include or operate in association with one or more transfer devices 142n that selectively load biscuit stacks 105 from the bucket conveyor 141 to the packaging machine 151n. For example, each transfer device 142n may be specifically associated with individual packaging machines 151n such that each transfer device (e.g., 141a) loads stacks 105 of biscuits into one and only one packaging machine (e.g., 151a).
In other examples, the system 100 may employ transfer devices 142 that are associated with more than one packaging machine 151. That is, in some examples, one transfer device 142 can be configured to load biscuit stacks 105 into two, three, or more different packaging machines. In still other examples, packaging machines 151 can be configured to be loaded from more than one transfer device 142, or to share multiple transfer devices 142 with multiple packaging machines 151.
Generally speaking, the transfer devices 142 selectively load biscuit stacks 105 from the bucket conveyor 141 to the packaging machines 151 without employing an intermediary conveyor. In some examples, the transfer devices 142 comprise a robotic arm that selectively grabs the biscuit stacks 105 from the bucket conveyor 141 and transfers the stacks 105 to the packaging machines 151. The robotic arms can be lightweight and flexible and have a low profile so as to reduce floor space that they occupy.
In some embodiments the transfer devices 142n are operated by a control module that controls operation of the transfer devices 142. The control module may include a computer processor that communicates with various components of the system 100 to facilitate control of the packaging process. The control module may be in communication with various inspection related equipment so that the control module can determine which biscuit stacks 105 in the buckets 144 are suitable for packaging. For instance, the control module may learn that a certain bucket 144 comprises an insufficient number of biscuits, broken biscuits, or other problems rendering the corresponding biscuit stack 105 unsuitable for packaging. In such a situation, the control module may control the transfer devices to skip or dispose the problematic biscuit stack.
In other examples, the control module may be in communication with the equipment of the system so that the control module can determine which packaging machines 151 are operating properly. For example, where a certain packaging machine 151n is not working properly, the control module may disable the transfer device 142n associated with that machine, or assign that transfer device 142n to another packaging machine 151.
In some aspects, the transfer devices 142n will load cracker stacks into an input 152n of a packaging machine 151n. The input 152n can be a vibratory flowpack feeder that includes, for example, a channel that flows into packaging lanes of the packaging machine 151n. In some examples, each packaging machine 151n may include a plurality of inputs 152n so that the packaging machine 151n can package multiple biscuit stacks at a time.
It should be noted that
An example of the operation the conveyor and packaging system 100 is as follows. Biscuits are discharged from an oven are placed on the receiving portion 118 of the upstream conveyor 111. The biscuits lie generally flat and non-overlapping on the conveyor and traverse downstream along the conveyor 111 towards a turning area 120. At or around the turning area 120, the biscuits are channeled into lanes.
While in lanes 117, the biscuits begin to arrange into stacks. For example the biscuits may be vibrated along the conveyor so that the biscuits begin to overlap and turn vertical. The biscuit stacks approach the end portion 122 of the upstream conveyor 111 traveling in a direction perpendicular to the bucket conveyor 141. In this way the biscuit stacks 105 align with the buckets 144 so that the stacks 105 can be fed therein. A feeding device 131 facilitates the feeding of the biscuit stacks 105 into the buckets at a feeding station 130.
The buckets 144 then proceed along the bucket conveyor 141 in a direction generally perpendicular to the length of the stacks 105. As the buckets 144 approach a packaging station 150, transfer devices 142 (e.g., robotic arms), pick up the stacks 105 and feed the stacks 105 into inputs 152 of individual packaging machines 151. Thus, the stacks 105 can be transferred to the packaging machines 151 without passing along a separate, dedicated conveyor.
The packaging machines 151 package the stacks and place the stacks onto a secondary conveyor 161, which transports the packaged stacks 108 to a secondary packaging station 171. The secondary packaging station 171 can apply a secondary, or outer, package to the packaged products 108.
The presently described system provides several efficiencies and advantages over other conveying and packaging systems. One example of such an advantage is a reduction in the number of manual workers to facilitate efficient operation of the system. Because the biscuits travel together on a single conveyor as opposed to separate conveyor lanes dedicated to each packaging machine, the process is more compact. Thus, individual workers can oversee a larger portion of the process, thereby minimizing the headcount.
Another advantage that the presently disclosed system 100 provides is the ability to skip biscuit stacks that are not suitable for packaging. For instance, if one of the buckets has an irregular stack or broken biscuits, then the feeding devices can simply skip that bucket. Further, if one of the packaging machines is inoperable, then all of the buckets can be still processed using the other packaging machines.
Still another advantage of the presently disclosed system includes the ability to effectively function while occupying reduced floor area. Because the system 100 does not employ dedicated conveyor lanes for each packaging machine, the size of the equipment employed, and the floor space it occupies, can be much smaller. For example, in some settings the system 100 of
The present disclosure also presents methods for conveying and packaging food products.
At step 510, biscuits are delivered onto an upstream conveyor. At step 510 biscuits can be delivered directly from an oven, or from another device. The biscuits received can be generally flat and non-overlapping. The biscuits are conveyed into a plurality of lanes, where the biscuits are turned into stacks on the upstream conveyor. In some examples, the biscuits and/or biscuit stacks can turn through a bend such that the biscuits at the end of the conveyor travel in a direction perpendicular to the direction biscuits travel at the receiving end of the conveyor. In some examples, at step 510, the previously flat and non-overlapping biscuits are turned onto their sides and stacked within the lanes of the upstream conveyor.
At step 520, biscuits are transferred to buckets in a bucket conveyor. Step 520 may include feeding the stacked food products into a plurality of buckets on a second conveyor (e.g., a bucket conveyor) so that each lane of the plurality of lanes feeds into a separate bucket. In some examples, each individual bucket will hold an individual stack of biscuits. Also at step 520, the biscuit stacks are conveyed along the second conveyor in a direction perpendicular to the lanes at the end of the upstream conveyor.
Next, at step 530, individual stacks of biscuits are selectively transferred from the second conveyor to a packaging station. For example, at step 530, biscuits can be transferred by a robotic arm to an input of a packaging machine using at least one robotic arm. Notably, at step 530, the individual stacks of biscuits can be transferred from the secondary conveyor—which is a common conveyor conveying all biscuits regardless of the packaging machine destination—to individual packaging machines without employing an intermediary conveyor.
In some examples, at step 530, a first robotic arm selectively transfers a first biscuit stack to a first packaging machine associated with the first robotic arm, while a second robotic arm transfers a second biscuit stack to a second packaging machine associated with the second robotic arm. The first robotic arm may then selectively grab a third stack of biscuits and transfer that biscuit stack to the first packaging machine, while the second robotic arm transfers a fourth biscuit stack to the second packaging machine. That is, the robotic arms can repeatedly and selectively transfer independent stacks of biscuits from a common conveyor (e.g., the second or bucket conveyor) to separate independent packaging machines.
In some approaches, the method can include, at step 530, determining which of the individual stacks of food products conveying along the second conveyor are suitable for packaging. In such an approach, at least one of the transfer machines/robotic arms may bypass or dispose of certain biscuit stacks that are deemed to be unsuitable for packaging.
At step 540, biscuits are flow wrapped at a first wrapping or packaging station. For example, at step 540, biscuits can be packaged into packaged stacks by packaging machines.
At step 550, the wrapped/packaged biscuit stacks are transferred to a third conveyor, such as secondary conveyor 161 described herein with respect to
The secondary conveyor then transfers the wrapped stack of biscuits to a secondary wrapping station at step 560. The secondary wrapping station can employ one or more secondary packaging machines that use robotic arms to transfer the wrapped or packaged biscuit stacks from the third conveyor to the second wrapping station.
At step 570, the secondary wrapping station applies a second wrapper or package to the once-packaged biscuit stack. For example, the secondary wrapping station can apply an outer package around one or more of the once-packaged biscuit stacks.
The present disclosure refers to food products, and more specifically baked food products. For convenience, this disclosure refers to general baked food products generally as biscuits. Thus, it should be understood that such general references to biscuits are not intended to exclusively apply to biscuits alone. That is, the references to biscuits in the present are intended to refer to any baked food products capable of being manufactured in the described production processes, including but not limited to cookies, crackers, muffins, cakes, bread products, wafers, or the like.
The present disclosure describes preferred embodiments and examples of the present technology. It is contemplated that certain aspects described herein with respect to specific embodiments could be included in other embodiments even if not specifically described with respect to those embodiments. Those skilled in the art will recognize that a wide variety of modifications, alterations, and combinations can be made with respect to the above described embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the claims, and that such modifications, alterations, and combinations are to be viewed as being within the ambit of the inventive concept. All references cited in the present disclosure are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.
This application a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 15/747,745, filed Jan. 25, 2018, which is a U.S. national phase entry of International Application No. PCT/US2016/045743, filed Aug. 5, 2016, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/205,458, filed Aug. 14, 2015, which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
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| Child | 16986073 | US |
