Patent Application
20130255828
The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus which allows generating an unlimited number of filling patterns for filling containers, said containers being of the type containing therein a product made up of a plurality of independent compositions which are combined during the packaging thereof.
The present invention has been particularly designed for application in the packaging industry in general, being particularly ideal for packaging cosmetic, food, pharmaceutical products or other home cleaning products, among others.
This application claims the priority of EP Patent Application No. 12380013.8 filed Mar. 15, 2012, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Packaging industry constantly develops towards obtaining more efficient packaging processes which are more environmental friendly and offer a greater degree of care and conservation of the products to be packaged. Said development has experienced in recent years, spurred particularly by cosmetic sector, a clear trend towards obtaining new forms of presentation in which both the external design of the container itself and the arrangement of the product contained therein are combined, the last aspect being directly directed to filling technologies (machinery and processes).
The new forms of presentation provide many advantages to the packaged products both at the aesthetic and functional level. The advantages at aesthetic level are particularly relevant, making said products more commercially attractive in an increasingly demanding and selective market. The advantages at functional level mainly relate to a suitable way of using the product, allowing the different compositions forming the product to be conveniently mixed to optimally achieve the effect expected therefrom.
Container design and filling technologies progress hand-in-hand in search of these new forms of presentation. Nevertheless, although said progress of container design seems to be unlimited, the existing filling technologies still have significant technical limitations.
In this sense, methods and apparatuses are known which allow filling a container with two or more compositions that tend to have different physical and chemical properties, forming a product therein normally having a helical filling pattern of constant radius. Therefore, said product shows a circular shape in a horizontal plane which corresponds to a spiral of constant section formed by the different compositions, along a vertical axis perpendicular to the horizontal plane. The methods generating filling patterns of this type generally comprise; distributing the flow rate of each composition towards a filling head having an output nozzle oriented towards the mouth of a container, rotating the container about a vertical axis thereof and varying the relative distance between the container and the nozzle in the direction of said vertical axis. The filling head is generally arranged in a support column parallel to the vertical axis, said head being able to slide along same. The container is in turn arranged on a rotary support base, said container being able to rotate about the vertical axis.
The filling patterns offered by this technology are very limited and are virtually restricted to obtaining simple helical shapes of constant section.
The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus which allow generating an unlimited number of filling patterns which encompasses all types of shapes and combinations thereof, including: simple shapes, complex shapes, symmetrical shapes, asymmetrical shapes, continuous shapes, discontinuous shapes, shapes of constant section, shapes of variable section, regular shapes, irregular shapes, etc. substantially boosting the commercial attractiveness of the packaged products obtained.
The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus which solve the aforementioned problems, being able to generate a large variety of filling patterns for efficiently filling containers.
The containers in question are of the type containing therein a product made up of a plurality of independent compositions supplied separately which are combined during the packaging thereof. Specifically, the compositions are combined during the filling phase, being able to simply be in contact or being able to be partially or completely mixed. Generally, each composition, although not necessarily so, tends to have different physical and chemical properties, each of them having a specific use and function in product administration by the user, for example; shampoo and conditioner, active composition and excipient, etc. Furthermore, said compositions tend to adopt different colors and textures which are clearly visually distinguishable, the combination of which inside a transparent or translucent container offers a form of presentation of the packaged product with a determined degree of aesthetic attractiveness.
According to a first object thereof the present invention relates to a method for generating filling patterns for filling containers comprising the steps of:
Additionally the method comprises the steps of:
The variation of the relative vertical distance between the container and the output nozzle preferably comprises the step of moving the container in the direction of the vertical axis, it being much more effective than moving the entire filling head along a support column thereof.
On the other hand, the variation of the relative horizontal distance between the container and the output nozzle has two options of special interest. The first of which comprises the step of moving the filling head in the horizontal plane, whereas the second comprises the step of moving the container in the horizontal plane.
An unlimited number of filling patterns for filling the product contained in the container offering a very attractive appearance to the packaged product can be obtained by means of the described method. The designer of the container therefore has a tool allowing him/her to combine any type of shape; simple shapes, complex shapes, symmetrical shapes, asymmetrical shapes, continuous shapes, discontinuous shapes, shapes of constant section, shapes of variable section, regular shapes, irregular shapes, etc., which are associated with a plurality of compositions having different shades, colors or textures. Therefore, according to a first example, a filling pattern with a spiral shape of variable diameter having a first composition along the container embedded in a second composition can be obtained. According to a second example, a filling pattern divided into at least two parts having a first composition embedded in a second composition can be obtained. In other words, geometric shapes and figures of any type, and even drawings and texts can be configured with this method.
According to a second object thereof the present invention relates to an apparatus for generating filling patterns for filling containers comprising:
The apparatus additionally comprises:
The measuring units are responsible for measuring the amount of each composition to be filled at each instant or time of the process. The most common measuring units are those using metering cylinders or other positive displacement metering pumps (peristaltic pumps, gear pumps, etc.) and those using flowmeters. The first measure the flow rate by calculating the volume displaced by said positive displacement pumps, for example, by knowing the displacement of a plunger inside a metering cylinder the volume displaced by it is also known. In these cases, the flow rate regulation is regulated by regulating the speed of the corresponding positive displacement pump. The second use flowmeters for measuring flow rate, whereas the flow rate is regulated by means of proportional valves. To increase the precision closed loop controls are usually applied between the flowmeter and the opening or closing of the proportional valve.
The distribution conduit preferably comprises flexible connections connecting the measuring unit and the filling head to allow moving the filling head in the horizontal plane.
The rotating means preferably comprise:
The vertical displacement means preferably comprise:
The extendable bar can adopt different configurations which allow elongating or shortening the length thereof in a controlled manner. According to a preferred embodiment, the bar has a dual body formed by a cylindrical casing and a screw threaded axially to same, the upper end of said casing being attached to the frame and said screw receiving a controlled rotational movement. Since the screw is a fixed screw, its clockwise or anti-clockwise rotation causes the linear ascending or descending movement of the casing which is eventually transmitted to the frame.
The horizontal displacement means preferably comprise:
Likewise, the first transfer carriage is preferably attached to the filling heads available in the filling machine by means of an attachment bar which allows the fixing thereof to one or more filling heads.
The horizontal displacement means in turn comprise:
The controlled movement of the first and the second transfer carriage allows positioning the filling head at any point of the horizontal plane. This allows obtaining any type of path, either curved or rectilinear, on the horizontal plane.
To assure the stiffness of the horizontal displacement means these can additionally comprise:
One of the possible ways for the movement of the different transfer carriages to eventually be transmitted to the filling head consists of attaching the first screw to the second and/or the third transfer carriage, such that said first screw can move due to the action exerted by said second and/or third transfer carriage. In other words, the movement of the first carriage is directly transmitted to the filling head, whereas the movement of the second and of the third carriage is indirectly transmitted to the filling head by means of the first screw.
This preferred solution of the horizontal displacement means allows many possible constructive combinations, different points for fixing the screws, different ways of attaching same, the possibility of replacing any transfer carriage with linear servomotors, etc. However, the variation of the horizontal distance between the container and the output nozzle in a horizontal plane perpendicular to the vertical axis allows other substantially different solutions. One of them can be by means of integrating one of or both the horizontal displacement movements in the vertical displacement means, for example, allowing the frame to move in the direction of one of or both the axes X and Y of a horizontal plane.
The rotation of the container and the variation of the relative vertical and horizontal distances between the container and the nozzle are carried out in a controlled manner, knowing the angle of rotation of the container and the relative vertical and horizontal distances between the container and the nozzle at all times. To that end, rotation, vertical displacement and horizontal displacement mechanisms formed by servomotors capable of being controlled both in terms of speed and position are preferably used.
The control means of the apparatus of the present invention comprise all automatic controls, operation data display and input devices, processing software and hardware necessary for the correct execution and operation of the method and apparatus of the present invention.
The apparatus of the present invention allows performing the different movements; rotation of the container, vertical displacement (Z) and horizontal displacement (X and Y) in a simultaneous or alternate manner. In other words, depending on the complexity of the filling pattern any of the following groups of movements can be provided for obtaining it:
A set of drawings which aids to better understand the invention and which expressly relates to a preferred embodiment of said invention presented as an non-limiting example thereof is described briefly below.
The apparatus (1) additionally comprises:
The present example shows an apparatus (1) formed by ten filling columns, each of which with two different compositions (10, 20). In this sense the configurations which can be adopted by the apparatus of the present invention are unlimited, being able to adopt one or more filling columns, each of them having two or more different compositions.
The measuring units (11, 12) depicted show metering cylinders (14) with three-way valves (15) enabling the communication between a supply conduit (16) for supplying a composition (10, 20), the metering cylinder (14) and the distribution conduit (11, 12) with the filling head (30). The distribution conduit (11, 12) comprises flexible connections between the measuring unit (11, 12) and the filling head (30) to allow moving the filling head (30) in a horizontal plane (XY).
The rotating means (40) comprise:
The vertical displacement means (50) comprise:
According to the present example the extendable bars (51) comprise a cylindrical casing and a screw threaded axially to same, not depicted in the drawings. The upper end (52) of each casing is attached to the frame (41). One of the screws receives a direct rotational movement controlled by the vertical displacement mechanism (53). Said rotational movement is transferred to another screw by means of a transfer belt (54).
The horizontal displacement means (60) comprise:
The horizontal displacement means (60) in turn comprise:
To assure the stiffness of the horizontal displacement means (60) these additionally comprise:
As can be seen in the present example, the third horizontal displacement mechanism (69) is formed by a transmission belt configured to transmit the rotation of the second screw (64) to the third screw (67). According to other particular embodiments not depicted, the second (64) and the third screw (67) can each have their own motor, both motors working in a synchronized manner, or they can have a single external motor acting on a transmission chain connecting with both screws (64, 67).
The transfer carriages (62, 65, 68) are traversed by the corresponding screws (61, 64, 67) by means of threading which links the rotational movement of each screw (61, 64, 67) to a linear movement of each carriage (62, 65, 68) along the screw (61, 64, 67) traversing it.
Likewise, the linear movement of the carriages (62, 65, 68) is transmitted to the filling heads (30) in the following manner. The first transfer carriage (62) is attached to the filling heads (30) by means of an attachment bar (70). The movement is directly transmitted to the filling heads (30).
The first screw (61) is in turn attached to the second (65) and to the third transfer carriage (67) such that said first screw (61) can move due to the action exerted thereon by said second (65) and third transfer carriage (67). This attachment is made by arranging the first horizontal displacement mechanism (63) on the second transfer carriage (65), and a securing stop (71) of the end of the first screw (61) on the third transfer carriage (67). The movement is indirectly transmitted to the filling heads (30).
This example shows how the second (64) and the third screw (67) are anchored to fixed points of the filling machine, whereas the first screw (61) is in a floating arrangement thereon.
The two-way arrows of
The relative vertical distance (dZ) between the container (2) and the nozzle (31) in the direction of the vertical axis (Z) varies from the bottom of the container (2) to beyond its mouth, according to the dimension depicted in said figure.
It can he seen in
The relative vertical distance (dZ) between the container (2) and the nozzle (31) in the direction of the vertical axis (Z) varies from the bottom of the container (2) to beyond its mouth, according to the dimension depicted in said figure.
It can be seen in
The apparatus (1) of the present example is particularly designed for integration in production lines, in which the containers (2) are supplied in an automatic or semi-automatic manner, and are also transferred in an automatic or semi-automatic manner once the filling process ends to continue with the packaging process (capping, labeling, palletizing, etc.).
According to these examples, the method for generating filling patterns for filling containers comprises the steps of:
The method additionally comprises the steps of:
The variation of the relative vertical distance (dZ) between the container (2) and the output nozzle (31) comprises the step of moving the container (2) in the direction of the vertical axis (Z).
The variation of the relative horizontal distance (dX, dY) between the container (2) and the output nozzle (31) comprises the step of moving the filling head (30) in the horizontal plane (XY).
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12380013.8 | Mar 2012 | EP | regional |
