Patent Grant
8276633
The present application claims the benefit of priority of German Patent Application No. 102007054728.7, filed Nov. 14, 2007. The entire text of the priority application is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
The disclosure relates to a labelling machine, such as used in beverage bottling operations.
The information brochure “Etikettiertechnik, KRONES Modul-Etikettiermaschinen” (Labelling Technology “KRONES Modular Labelling Machines”), printing date 05/04, of the firm Krones AG, D-93073 Neutraubling/DE, explains on page 15 a vertically adjustable docking station for docking a labelling unit to the basic machine. The associated picture on page 15 shows the known principle of mounting on the labelling unit at least one connector part e.g. for electric supply current of e.g. a drive of the unit. Also in the area of the docking station connected connector parts are shown. The labelling unit does not only need electric supply current for a drive motor, but, in most cases, it also needs other media, such as pressurized air, pneumatic pressure, control signals or synchronizing data information. For each of these media the labelling unit is provided with individual connection and connector parts, which have manually attached thereto suitably implemented connector parts or couplings during or after the docking operation (page 6 of the brochure). The connections established are shown in the picture on page 3 of the brochure. Thanks to a modular design comprising individual assemblies, such labelling machines allow various configurations. For example, various labelling units can selectively be connected to the labelling machine in varying numbers according to requirements (cold glue and hot glue units, label applicators for self-adhesive labels, labelling units for different types of labels, label printing units, and the like). This meets the beverage industry's call for utmost processing flexibility with different container types, when bottles or other containers are labelled. Advantages of this labelling machine are a compact design, easy accessibility, a significant increase of efficiency in the case of frequent decoration changeovers and, all in all, a drastic reduction of costs for the user. Establishing the connection of the connector parts by hand is time-consuming and necessitates special care, since the connector element or elements in the respective connector part must first be exposed before the connection can be established. Exposed connector elements increase the operational risk for the staff, since high current or voltage values are necessary in some cases, and they may get dirty or damaged by mistake. In addition, a plurality of connections has to be established for the various media. These are serious disadvantages as regards setup or changeover times which should be as short as possible, since the configuration principle of the labelling machine precisely aims at the highest flexibility and short setup or changeover times.
Additional prior art is disclosed in DE-A-197 41 476 and WO 2005/068302-A.
The disclosure is based on the task of improving a labelling machine of the type specified at the beginning insofar as the establishment of the connections for media transfer is simplified and can be executed automatically with reduced operational risks.
The connector parts for the media connections are already arranged stationarily on the labelling unit and on the docking station with respect to the target position of the labelling unit in the connected condition in such a way that the docking sequence of movements can be used for automatically establishing the connection and for automatically separating it during undocking. The connector elements are also configured such that a direct manipulation of the connector part by the operator will no longer be necessary. Since the media connection is already established during docking and is separated during undocking, when the labelling unit is moved to the target position or away from said target position, additional manual operations for establishing the connection can be dispensed with and the expenditure of time as well as the efforts entailed by such manual operations are no longer necessary. This also leads to an increase in operational safety, since the operating staff need no longer manipulate the connector parts, and since said connector parts can also be arranged such that they will no longer get dirty or endanger the operating staff when the connector elements are exposed. Setup and changeover times are reduced, since the labelling machine will be operable as soon as the labelling unit has been correctly connected thereto and since time for separating the connections will no longer be necessary when a labelling unit has been removed.
According to an expedient embodiment at least the connector part arranged on the docking station is provided with a protective cover which, during docking and undocking, is movable between a protective covering position for the connector element or connector elements in the connector part and a passive position allowing the media connection to be established. The protective cover is preferably displaced automatically by the sequence of movements during docking and undocking. When the labelling unit has been undocked, operational risks for the operating staff caused by exposed connector elements no longer exist. This is important, since the supply voltage values required are e.g. values of up to 400 volts. In addition, the connector element or connector elements in the connector part are protected against dirt or short circuiting at least at the docking station, since, in the non-used condition of said docking station, the protective cover will protect them against the influence of cleaning fluids or the like. The protective cover can be secured against manipulations so as to exclude possible risks that may arise when the cover is opened inadvertently in the undocked condition of the labelling unit, said protection against manipulation being e.g. accomplished by detecting the opening movement of the protective cover by means of a sensor and by switching the interior of the docking station to zero-potential, when the labelling unit is not connected.
According to another embodiment, the sequence of movements taking place during docking and undocking of the labelling unit is used for establishing the media connection in such a way that an essentially linear approach movement of the labelling unit towards the basic machine and the docking station will suffice to move the protective cover at least partially to the passive position so as to expose an opening of the connector part, whereas an essentially linear, preferably vertical lifting movement of the docking station and/or lowering movement of the labelling unit will connect the connector parts and establish the media connection or media connections, said lifting and/or lowering movements taking place approximately transversely to the approach movement. This means that the structural design and the positioning of the connector parts is adapted to the sequence of movements in such a way that the normal sequence of movements can be maintained and that the connection can nevertheless be established without any delay being caused.
According to a particularly expedient embodiment, the labelling unit and the docking station each have arranged thereon a connector part with at least one interior connector element including a plurality of media terminals for various media, the connector part defining a housing which protects these media terminals and which has connected thereto a plurality of media lines. The various media can e.g. be the following ones: electric supply current, pressurized air, hydraulic medium, water, electric information, signals or data messages and the like. It will be expedient to transfer the various media centrally via the two interconnected connector parts. The connection lines to the connector parts can then be optimally protected and they can have an optimum short length, since, other than in the case of the manual handling executed in the prior art, there is no need of using excess cable lengths or freely movable cables or hoses or lines for manual manipulations in connection-establishing and separating processes and for relative movements between the docking station and the labelling unit prior to the separation of the connections.
According to an expedient embodiment, the protective cover of the connector part is a protective lid and an elastic sealing frame is arranged on the protective lid, and/or around or on or in the opening, said elastic sealing frame closing the opening of the connector part on all sides thereof when the protective cover occupies the protective position. In the protective position of the protective cover a hermetic sealing effect is produced. One advantage of this solution is that, in the undocked condition of the labelling unit, the connector element or connector elements of the connector part on the docking station are protected against thoughtless or accidental access or against a collision with objects, and that no manipulations whatsoever are necessary for attaching and removing the protective cover, since only the given sequence of movements taking place during docking and undocking is used for this purpose.
According to an advantageous embodiment, the protective lid of the protective cover is movably supported on the connector part via an articulation mechanism in such a way that, when moving to the protective position, the protective cover is adapted to be pressed onto the opening of the connector part or the sealing frame thereof by means of said articulation mechanism.
According to an expedient embodiment, the articulation mechanism or the protective cover is acted upon by the influence of a spring force and/or ballast weight, e.g. by means of a ballast weight on a lever arm, in the direction of the protective position so that the protective cover will automatically assume the protective position.
For automatically moving the protective cover to the passive position, the labelling unit, preferably the connector part thereof, has expediently provided thereon at least one actuating element which moves ahead of said connector part and which is oriented towards a counter stop of the protective cover or the articulation mechanism of the protective lid in the direction of the approach movement. During the approach movement, the actuating element displaces the protective cover to the passive position or in the direction of the passive position so that the subsequent establishment of the connection between the connector parts will not be impeded by the protective cover. Manipulations by hand are here not necessary. A safety aspect is involved as well, since in this phase of the movement, the free opening of the connector part on the docking station is already covered by the connector part on the labelling unit so that the hand of an operator cannot come into contact with live parts, neither intentionally nor unintentionally.
According to a structurally simple embodiment, the articulation mechanism comprises two forks which are pivotably supported on both sides of the connector part and between which the protective cover is mounted. At least one prong of the respective forks can be extended in length thus forming the counter stop. This prong is then acted upon by the labelling unit and its actuating element during the approach movement, whereby the protective cover will be displaced to the passive position by said approach movement.
According to a concrete embodiment, the opening of the connector part, which is mounted on the docking station in a substantially vertical orientation, can face upwards and additionally slope obliquely in the direction of the approach movement. The oblique opening can be flat or, and this is particularly expedient, it can be provided with a convex arc which matches with a complementary concave edge of the protective lid. The pivot axle of the protective lid, which extends essentially transversely to the approach movement and horizontally, is, in relation to the arc section of said opening, eccentrically positioned in such a way that the protective lid will rise from said opening as soon as it leaves the protective position. This reduces the resistance to movement of the protective lid, even if said protective lid was fixedly pressed onto the opening at the protective position. Furthermore, the eccentric positioning of the pivot axle has the effect that the protective lid will fixedly close the opening and seal it by means of the sealing frame, when it moves about the pivot axle and reaches the protective position, since it will come into contact with and forcefully close the opening.
In accordance with the above, the opening of the connector part arranged on the labelling unit can face downwards and can also match with the opening of the connector part on the docking station. The connector elements in both connector parts are positioned such that, when the connector elements are correctly coupled, the connector parts will be in mutually sealing contact with each other. It follows that also a correctly established connection will protect the connector elements against external influences.
In order to prevent the connector parts and the possibly sensitive connector elements from getting damaged, it may be expedient to provide on the docking station and the labelling unit centering devices for mutually aligning the respective connector parts and the respective connector elements thereof. These centering devices can be mandrels and sockets, which are preferably adapted to be aligned with one another by means of the approach movement and to be engaged with one another by means of the lifting and lowering movements, and which then guarantee that the connector elements are correctly brought into contact with one another.
According to an expedient embodiment, at least the connector element in the connector part on the docking station can be movably arranged, and a geared connection can be provided between the articulation mechanism of the protective cover and the connector element, said connector element being moved, during the movement of the protective cover to the passive position, by means of said geared connection to a connecting position for the connector element of the other connector part, said connecting position being raised relative to the connector part. On the other hand, if the connector elements are fixedly installed in the connector parts, the connector parts can engage one another so that the connector elements will be correctly connected to one another. In addition, a protective cover can also be provided on the connector part of the labelling unit, said protective cover being displaced in a similar way making use of the sequence of movements during docking and undocking.
Embodiments of the subject matter of the present disclosure are explained making reference to the drawings, in which:
On the basis of this modular configuration of the labelling machine M, containers F, such as bottles, transported in the basic machine B can have applied thereto labels from the labelling unit E.
The labelling unit E is moved to the docking position shown (target position at the basic machine B) with a predetermined sequence of movements, said sequence of movements comprising e.g. a substantially linear and horizontal approach movement in the direction of an arrow 1 and a substantially linear and, in this embodiment, vertical lifting movement of the docking station A in the direction of an arrow 2 and/or a vertical lowering movement of the labelling unit E in the direction of an arrow 2′. The approach movement 1 and the lifting and lowering movements 2, 2′ are used for automatically establishing a media plug connection between a connector part 4 on the labelling unit E and a complementary connector part 6 on the docking station A. For undocking the labelling unit E, the sequence of movements is reversed and this reversed sequence of movements is used for separating the media plug connection.
The medium transferred through the media plug connection is e.g. only a supply current for a drive motor of the labelling unit E, the drive motor being not shown. It will, however, be expedient to simultaneously transfer a plurality of different media via the media plug connection, such as the electric supply current, pressurized air, hydraulic medium, water, electric signals or electric data messages and the like; in order to allow this, a plurality of media lines 5, 8 is connected to the respective connector parts 6, 4 and to media connector elements 3, 7 arranged therein.
In the embodiment shown, the connector part 4, which can be secured in position on the labelling unit E through fastening means 22, is oriented such that its opening faces downwards, whereas the connector part 6, which, making use of fastening means 21, is mounted on the docking station A in an essentially vertical orientation, is oriented such that its opening faces upwards in such a way that, in the connected condition of the labelling unit E shown in the figure, the connector elements 3, 7 are coupled to one another and the connector parts 4, 6 are, preferably sealingly, attached to one another.
At least the connector part 6 of the docking station A is provided with a protective cover 9, e.g. a protective lid, which, by means of an articulation mechanism 10, is adapted to be pivoted about a pivot axle 12 on the connector part 6, said protective cover 9 being pivotable between the passive position shown in
For moving the protective cover 9 from the protective position, which is not shown, to the passive position which is shown in
The docking station A can either be set up on the ground on vertically adjustable support feet 14, the labelling unit E being then vertically adjusted by means which are not shown, or the base of the docking station A can be vertically adjustable through cylinders 13.
It will be expedient to provide between the labelling unit E and the base station A centering devices Z, e.g. mandrels 20 on the docking station, which are adapted to be inserted into sockets 19 provided in the lower surface of the labelling unit E and which guarantee that the connector parts 4, 6 are correctly brought together and that the connector elements 3, 7 are correctly coupled.
The pivot axle 12 for the articulation mechanism 10 is displaced to an extent x eccentrically to the center axis of the connector part 6 and to the center of the upper opening of the connector part 6 in such a way that the protective cover 9 will, under the force 15 acting thereon, sealingly and forcefully close the upper opening of the connector part 6 at the protective position which is not shown and will immediately be raised from the opening of the connector part 6, without rubbing thereon, when it leaves the protective position and moves in the direction of the passive position shown.
The embodiment shown in
The two forks 23 have two prongs 24, 25 on which the protective cover 9, which is implemented as a protective lid, is mounted, the prongs 25 being extended in length at the top so as to define counter stops 26 for the actuating element or elements 11 (cf.
As an alternative solution, the connector element 7 is supported in the connector part 6 in a vertically movable manner in
The oblique opening according to
In the docking process, the approach movement 1 can be used for bringing the mandrels 20 and the sockets 19 into alignment with one another, whereas the lifting movement 2 and the lowering movement 2′ are used for inserting each mandrel 20 into its respective socket 19 and for properly connecting the connector parts 4, 6. At least conical mandrels 20 will facilitate the centering process.
When, during undocking of the labelling unit E, the sequence of movements is reversed, the connector parts 4, 6 are first separated from one another by the lifting and lowering movements 2, 2′ until the labelling unit E is moved away in a direction opposite to the approach movement 1. This movement allows the protective cover 9, which is acted upon by the force 15, to automatically assume the protective position and seal the opening 27. The connector part 4 on the labelling unit E may be provided with a similar and similarly functioning protective cover, but, in view of its downward orientation, it may also remain uncovered.
The connector elements 3, 7 may e.g. be used only for establishing the current connection for the supply voltage or the supply current. As has already been mentioned, it is, however, expedient to transfer a plurality of media simultaneously via the media plug connection.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 2007 054 728 | Nov 2007 | DE | national |
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5372515 | Miller et al. | Dec 1994 | A |
| 20050034423 | Sindermann et al. | Feb 2005 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 3409259 | Jun 1985 | DE |
| 197 41 476 | Mar 1999 | DE |
| WO-2005068302 | Jul 2005 | WO |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20090120588 A1 | May 2009 | US |
