Patent Grant
10994885
This application claims priority to European Patent Application No. 18163141.7, filed Mar. 21, 2018, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.
The present invention relates to a labeling apparatus having a conveyor belt for transporting packages, in particular along a transport direction, having a labeler, in particular for the lower side of the package, to apply labels to the packages from below, and having a pullout apparatus that comprises a pullout that is supported via a pullout guide at a stationary pullout carrier and that is linearly travelable relative thereto between a retracted end position and an extended end position, in particular transversely, in particular perpendicular, to the direction of conveying, wherein the labeler is positioned on the pullout, and wherein the pullout apparatus is configured such that the location of the retracted end position of the pullout is adjustable, in particular in the direction of travel.
Such a labeling apparatus is known from document DE 10 2013 203 456 A1. Labelers without a pullout are only accessible with difficulty for the lower package side due to their arrangement beneath the conveyor belt so that the operation and maintenance of such labelers is made more difficult. Due to the pullout, however, the labeler can be brought or moved out of its operating position beneath the conveyor belt into a more easily accessible service position without any greater problems. The traveling of the pullout takes place manually and is made possible by the pullout guide.
The label position on the packages to be labeled can furthermore be set via the location of the retracted end position that corresponds to the operating position of the labeler. For example, the location of the retracted end position can be adjusted to change from a central application position of the labels on the packages to an off-center attachment position. Furthermore as a rule, an adaptation of the location of the labeler will also be required on a conversion of the labeling apparatus to labels and/or packages of different widths.
To set the location of the retracted end position and thus of the labeler, a stopper for the pullout is provided in the direction of travel in document DE 10 2013 203 456 A1. The stopper is upwardly oriented and is fastened to a rail that is adjustable in the direction of travel via screw connections along elongate holes formed in a cross member of the pullout carrier, with the rail being clamped to the cross member with tightened screw connections. Furthermore, a downwardly directed abutment element that contacts the stopper in the retracted end position is non-adjustably fastened to the end of the pullout trailing on the retraction.
In the labeling apparatus of the document DE 10 2013 203 456 A1, the labeler is accordingly admittedly simply and comfortably accessible per se, but not the device to set the location of the retracted end position of the pullout so that the operation of this setting device is made more difficult.
It is the underlying object of the invention to provide a labeling apparatus of the initially named kind that enables a less problematic setting of the location of the retracted end position of the pullout.
The object is satisfied by a labeling apparatus having the features of claim 1 and in particular in that the pullout apparatus comprises a motor-driven adjustment unit, in particular an electric motor drive, in particular controlled by a control device, to set the location of the retracted end position of the pullout.
In accordance with the invention, it is therefore not the accessibility to a setting device such as is known from the prior art that is improved, but a completely different approach is rather selected, that is providing a motor-driven adjustment unit to set the location of the pullout in the retracted end position. Accessibility for an operator is not necessary at all here.
The pullout guide and the pullout carrier are each part of the pullout apparatus. The pullout is in particular travelable horizontally and/or at least substantially perpendicular to a direction of transport of the conveyor belt. The labeler is in particular arranged beneath the conveyor belt and/or within a rack of the labeling apparatus. The motor-driven adjustment unit is in particular not adapted to travel the pullout into the extended end position. A traveling of the pullout beyond the end positions is in particular not possible, in particular in normal operation of the labeling apparatus. The packages can in particular be outer packaging.
A control device is in particular provided that is configured to control the motor-driven adjustment unit of the pullout apparatus such that the location of the retracted end position of the pullout relative to the conveyor belt is set, in particular automatically, in dependence on a predefined dispensing position of the labels to be applied.
The dispensing position can, for example, be predefined by a corresponding input. Additionally or alternatively, however, a storage device can also be provided in which a plurality of dispensing positions for labels and/or packages of different dimensions, in particular widths, are stored, with the control unit being adapted to select the predefined dispensing position from the stored dispensing positions.
In accordance with an embodiment, the motor-driven adjustment unit comprises a threaded spindle, in particular having a threaded rod and a spindle nut, and an electric motor driving the threaded spindle. Such a motor-driven adjustment unit can be simply implemented and permits an exact setting of the location of the retracted end position of the pullout. The pitch of the threaded spindle is typically selected as comparatively small to permit a fine setting of the location of the retracted end position. A traveling of the pullout between the retracted end position and the extended end position can in contrast take place on the basis of a corresponding traveling of the spindle nut. The electric motor can in particular be fixedly arranged on the pullout so that it is traveled with the pullout on a setting of the location of the retracted end position and on a traveling between the retracted end position and the extended end position. The same applies to a housing of the motor-driven adjustment unit.
The pullout is preferably axially fixedly coupled to the threaded rod, in particular via a housing of the motor-driven adjustment unit, so that an axial movement of the threaded rod and thus of the pullout takes place with a fixedly held spindle nut and with an activated electric motor. If therefore the electric motor is switched on so that the threaded rod rotates and if the spindle nut is simultaneously held in a fixed manner, a movement of the threaded rod in its axial direction necessarily results herefrom. Since the pullout is axially fixedly connected to the threaded rod, an axial movement of the threaded rod necessarily results in a corresponding movement of the pullout.
A security against retraction can be provided in this respect that releases the axially fixed coupling of the pullout to the threaded rod when a force acting on the pullout and acting against the retraction exceeds a predefined amount on an automated retraction from the extended position into the retracted position, in particular due to a corresponding traveling of the spindle nut. This can be the case, for example, when an arm or a hand of an operator is accidentally squeezed between the pullout and a rack of the labeling apparatus on a retraction of the pullout. Injuries to the operator can be at least largely avoided by the security against retraction.
The security against retraction can be implemented in a simple and safe manner in that the threaded rod is admittedly rotationally fixedly coupled to the electric motor, but is axially movable, with the threaded rod actuating a safety switch against the force of a spring on an exceeding of the predefined amount. An automatic retraction, in particular on the basis of a further drive such as is explained in more detail in the following, can be switched off by the safety switch.
As mentioned above, the pullout apparatus can comprise a further drive, in particular controlled by a control device, to travel the pullout between the retracted end position and the extended end position in an automated manner, i.e. not manually. The further drive is preferably formed as a pneumatic cylinder or as a hydraulic cylinder, in particular having a fixedly arranged housing and a piston arranged axially movably therein. The operating pressure of the pneumatic cylinder here preferably amounts to a maximum of 3 bar, in particular to a maximum of 2 bar. At these, comparatively low, pressures, injuries to the operator due to squeezing on a retraction of the pullout can likewise be at least largely avoided. The aforesaid spindle nut can in particular be axially fixedly coupled to the piston so that an axial movement of the motor-driven adjustment unit and thus of the pullout takes place with an activated further drive. The provision of the further drive in particular permits a fast traveling of the pullout between the retracted end position and the extended end position, whereas the traveling of the pullout takes place comparatively slowly on the setting of the location of the retracted end position by the motor-driven adjustment unit, in particular by a correspondingly small pitch of the aforesaid threaded spindle, to enable a fine adjustment of this location. The traveling of the pullout between the retracted end position and the extended end position in particular takes place at a higher speed than the traveling of the pullout on the setting of the location of the retracted end position. It is generally also possible that the pullout is alternatively or additionally configured as a manual pullout to manually travel the pullout between the retracted end position and the extended end position.
Furthermore, a security against extension can be provided that releases the axially fixed coupling of the spindle nut to the piston when a force acting on the pullout and acting against the extension exceeds a predefined amount on an extension from the retracted end position into the extended end position, in particular on the basis of a corresponding traveling of the piston. This can, for example, be the case when an operator is in the way of an extension of the pullout. Injuries to the operator can be at least largely avoided by the security against extension.
The security against extension can be implemented in a simple and safe manner in that the coupling of the spindle nut to the piston comprises a magnetic coupling between a magnet and an entrainer, with the magnetic coupling releasing on an exceeding of the predefined amount.
The conveyor belt in particular comprises two conveyor belt sections that are arranged behind one another, in particular in the direction of transport, and spaced apart from one another so that a gap through which the labels can be applied to the packages from below is formed between the two conveyor belt sections. The gap in particular extends over the total width of the conveyor belt so that particularly wide labels can also be applied and/or labels can be applied to the packages at any point.
The invention further relates to a weighing conveying apparatus having at least one conveyor belt, a weighing belt, and a labeling apparatus such as has been described above.
Further advantageous embodiments of the invention are described in the dependent claims, in the further description and in the drawing.
The invention will be described in the following by way of example with reference to the drawing. There are shown
The apparatus shown in
In normal operation of the weighing conveying apparatus 11, packages to be weighed are handed over from the infeed belt 15 to the weighing belt 17, are weighed there, and are transported on via an outfeed belt 19 to a transport belt of the metal detector 23. The packages are subsequently taken over by the labeling apparatus 13 and are provided with a label that was previously printed using the price labeler with the weight determined for the respective package by the load cell. The labeling apparatus 13 is accordingly a labeling apparatus including a printer. The metal detector 23 can also be omitted or a sorting device can, for example, also be provided instead of the metal detector 23 or in addition thereto. In the region of the labeling apparatus 13, in the view in accordance with
The rack 25 comprises a plurality of side walls 33 that are fixedly connected to one another in the region of the conveyor belts 15 and 19, of the weighing belt 17, and of the metal detector 23, i.e. in the region of a weighing module and of a metal detector module of the rack 25, via a respective plurality of longitudinal members 37 formed as round tubes and extending in parallel with one another. The side walls 33 of the weighing module are each formed in two parts, with the two respective side wall parts being connected to one another via cross members 39 that are formed as square tubes and that are provided at the inner sides of the side wall parts. Two respective feet 35 that are vertically adjustable independently of one another are screwed to the side walls 33. An adjustment of the height of the rack 25 can be carried out by the feet 35.
The labeling apparatus 13 comprises a so-called top labeler 41, that is a labeler for the upper package side, that is arranged above the conveyor belt 27, 29 or the conveyor belt sections 27, 29 to provide packages transported on the conveyor belt 27, 29 with a label from above, i.e. on their upper sides. The labeling apparatus 13 furthermore comprises a so-called bottom labeler 43, i.e. a labeler for the lower package side, that is arranged beneath the conveyor belt 27, 29 or the conveyor belt sections 27, 29 within the rack 25 to provide packages transported on the conveyor belt 27, 29 with a label from below, i.e. on their lower sides. The respective labeler is dispensed for this purpose upwardly from the bottom labeler 43 through the gap formed between the conveyor belt section 27 and the conveyor belt section 29 and is applied to the packages.
To ensure a simple accessibility of the bottom labeler 43, for example for a change of the label roll or for servicing, a pullout apparatus 45 shown in detail in
The pullout apparatus 45 comprises a plate-like pullout 49 that is supported in a linearly travelable manner between the one retracted end position such as is shown in
The pullout guide 51 is formed as a roller guide. For this purpose, two respective rollers 59 are provided on each of the two cross members 55, are arranged behind one another in the traveling direction of the pullout 49, and of which only the respective front roller 59 is visible in
A labeling apparatus 13 in accordance with the invention is shown in
With respect to the known pullout apparatus, the pullout apparatus 45 in accordance with the invention additionally has a motor-driven adjustment unit in the form of an electric motor drive 65 as well as a pneumatic cylinder 67 whose respective functions will be explained in more detail below. The bottom labeler 43 furthermore does not stand directly on the turntable 47, but rather on a pivot extension 69 that is in turn fastened to the turntable 47.
The electric motor drive 65 is provided to set the location of the retracted end position of the pullout 49. Since the location of the bottom labeler 43 relative to the conveyor belt 27, 29 or to the conveyor belt sections 27, 29 is also predefined by this location, the label position on the packages is ultimately hereby also predefined. The pneumatic cylinder 67 is in contrast provided to travel the pullout 49 between the retracted end position and the extended end position.
The electric motor drive 65 is arranged on the pullout 49 and comprises a threaded spindle 75, that has a threaded rod 77 and a spindle nut 79, and an electric motor 81 that drives the threaded spindle 75 or the threaded rod 77. The threaded spindle 75 and the electric motor 81 are arranged in a housing 71 of the electric motor drive 65 that is fastened to the pullout 49 via two sheet metal fasteners 73. If the spindle nut 79 is held in a fixed manner and if the electric motor is activated, the threaded rod 77 moves with the electric motor 81 and the housing 71 in the axial direction of the threaded rod 77 and thus the pullout 49 moves in the direction of travel. For this purpose, the threaded rod 77 is axially fixedly coupled to the housing 71 and thus to the pullout 49. The pullout 49 moves in the direction of retraction or extension depending on the direction of rotation of the electric motor 81. The pullout 49 can furthermore be traveled between the retracted end position and the extended end position by traveling the spindle nut 79 by means of the pneumatic cylinder 67.
The electric motor drive 65 is controlled by a control device, not shown, that can in particular be arranged in the switch cabinet 31. It can be achieved by the control device that the labels to be applied are affixed at a desired position, for example centrally, on the incoming packages. Respective dispensing positions are in particular stored in a database, not shown, for different labels and/or packages that differ from one another in their widths, i.e. in particular in their dimensions perpendicular to the direction of transport. With knowledge of which packages are to be provided with which labels, the control device can then select the corresponding dispensing position and can set the location of the pullout 49 accordingly.
The pneumatic cylinder 67 is fixedly fastened to the rear side wall 33 via two sheet metal fasteners 83. The pneumatic cylinder 67 comprises a housing 85 and a piston, not shown, which is axially movably arranged therein and to which an end of a piston rod 87 is fastened which projects out of the housing 85. The pneumatic cylinder 67 is configured in the embodiment shown as a singly acting cylinder that is operable with compressed air via a compressed air supply 89 so that the piston rod 87 can be moved to and fro in the axial direction. The piston rod 87 is axially fixedly coupled to the spindle nut 79 via a connection element 91 and an entrainer 93 that extends through a slit 95 that is formed at the lower side of the housing 71 of the electric motor drive 65 so that the pullout 49 can be traveled between the retracted end position and the extended end position by actuation of the pneumatic cylinder 67 as was already mentioned above.
A security against extension 97 is furthermore provided in the form of a releasable magnetic coupling by which the axially fixed coupling between the connection element 91, and the piston or the piston rod 87, on the one hand, and the entrainer 93, and ultimately the pullout 49, on the other hand, can be released on the extension of the pullout 49 from the retracted end position into the extended end position if the pullout 49 moves toward an operator. Injuries can hereby be avoided. For this purpose, the magnetic coupling 97 has a permanent magnet 99 that attracts the entrainer 93 and takes it along on the extension, with the magnetic attraction breaking down when the extension 49 impacts an obstacle. Alternatively or additionally, provision can also be made as a security device that the operating pressure of the pneumatic cylinder 67 is selected as comparatively small, e.g. 1.5 bar, so that only a comparatively small force is exerted by the pneumatic cylinder 67.
A security against retraction 101 is furthermore also provided to avoid a squeezing of and thus an injury to an operator on the retraction of the pullout 49. The security against retraction 101 comprises the threaded rod 77 being axially movably coupled to the electric motor 81 and the threaded rod 77 being able to actuate a safety switch 105 against the force of a helical spring 103 and through an opening in an inner wall of the housing 71. The piston rod 87 is withdrawn into the housing 85 of the pneumatic cylinder 67 to retract the pullout 49. The connection element 91 here presses against the entrainer 93 so that the pullout 49 is traveled into the retracted end position under the agency of the spindle nut 79, of the threaded rod 77, and of the housing 71. If the pullout 49 abuts an obstacle in so doing, the axial coupling between the threaded rod 77 and the housing 71 is released. In this process, the spindle nut 79 travels further inward, with the movement of the pullout 49 and thus of the housing 71, however, being blocked from which an axial movement of the threaded rod 77 in the direction of extension results, whereby the safety switch 105 is actuated so that the pneumatic cylinder 67 can be correspondingly deactivated.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18163141 | Mar 2018 | EP | regional |
| Number | Date | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 10 2013 203 456 | Aug 2014 | DE |
| 2 075 549 | Dec 1981 | GB |
| 2 253 829 | Sep 1992 | GB |
| 9308081 | Apr 1993 | WO |
| Entry |
|---|
| Translation of DE102013203456A1, Aug. 28, 2014, Bizerba GMGH (Year: 2014). |
| European Search Report dated Oct. 10, 2018 of corresponding European Patent Application No. 18163141.7 (nine pages). |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20190291912 A1 | Sep 2019 | US |
