This application claims the priority of EP 13382300.5 filed Jul. 24, 2013, which is incorporated by reference herein.
The present invention refers to a rotary filling machine, which offers a large number of benefits in the packaging of monophase and multiphase products, at the level of medium and high speed industrial production.
The present invention has been especially designed to be applied to high and medium speed packaging lines in general, which is particularly suited to the packaging of cosmetic, alimentary, pharmaceutical or other home cleaning products, amongst others.
The packaging industry is constantly developing in the pursuit of more efficient packaging processes, which are more environmentally friendly and offer a greater level of care and conservation as far as the products to be packaged are concerned. Over recent years, said development has tended decisively towards obtaining new forms of presentation, especially in the cosmetic sector, which combine both the external design of the package itself and the arrangement of the product contained therein, the latter aspect relating directly to filling technologies (machinery and processes).
New forms of presentation bestow various benefits on the packaged products, at both aesthetic and operational level. Aesthetic benefits are particularly relevant, making said products more commercially attractive within an increasingly demanding and selective market. Operational benefits mainly relate to a suitable way of using the product, enabling the various compositions from which it is formed to be conveniently mixed, in order to achieve the optimal effect expected from the same.
Meanwhile, packaging design and filling technologies have been developed in order to find these new forms of presentation. Nevertheless, even if said developments do not seem to present limits in terms of package design, existing filling technologies continue to present significant technical drawbacks.
Therefore, pieces of apparatus which make it possible to fill a package with two or more compositions, which usually have distinct physical and chemical properties, in accordance with a product contained therein, which has a certain filling pattern, is known.
The technology used to this effect constitutes inline fillers, in which all filling stations are aligned and parallel to the production line. These machines only facilitate low and medium speed production, with a maximum of 150 units being produced per minute. These machines operate in an indexing manner. In other words, the various operations or stages (loading packages, filling, unloading packages etc.,) involved are carried out intermittently according to a sequential order. In turn, this simplifies the number of mechanisms and controls, which is why, within the range of speeds within which work can be carried out, it is usually the most profitable option.
Nevertheless, when it comes to filling packages at higher speeds or in other words, filling more than 150 units per minute, with two or more compositions, formed inside a filling pattern, the technical difficulty increases.
In monophase products formed by one single composition and even for multiphase products formed by more than one composition, which do not generate filling patterns but are rather only mixed just before being introduced into the package, this technical jump is achieved using rotary filling machines, also known as “rotary fillers”. These machines work continuously or in other words, the various operations or stages (loading packages, filling, unloading packages etc.,) carried out are done so on various packages simultaneously.
The rotary filling machines consist of a filling carrousel, in which the various filling stations, with their corresponding dosage means, are located in the same diameter. Said carrousel rotates constantly. The packages are introduced from the production line to the filling carrousel, known as an “infeed starwheel”. The packages are thus deposited on a base, which can be displaced in the direction of a vertical axis. Once the process has come to an end, the packages are extracted from the carrousel by means of an “outfeed starwheel”. Both starwheels rotate in synchronisation with the filling carrousel and are tangent with the production line.
A machine formed in a production line in this way is capable of reaching very high speeds (1000 units per minute). The main advantage of it stems from the fact that the package always moves at a constant speed and the machine maintains a constant rotational movement, thus preventing the packages from stopping or being removed alongside the problems resulting in the event of demanding high speeds from inline fillers.
Nevertheless, in contrast to inline fillers, the various operations are not carried out in an index-linked way but rather continuously. As a result, not all the packages are filled at the same time, but rather each one of the packages in the carrousel can be found at a different stage of the filling cycle, for example. The filling stations therefore operate independently. In other words, each one of them should be configured to carry out as many operations as necessary in order to fill each package. Therefore, bearing in mind that the filling stations which make it possible to generate filling patterns require a significant number of operations and have a considerable number of compositions linked to them, their use in rotary filling machines is somewhat complicated at a technical level and gives rise to extremely elevated costs.
Mainly for this reason, the existence of rotary filling machines which facilitate rotational movement between the package and dosage means, around the vertical axis and the possibility of varying the relative distance between the package and the dosage means in a horizontal plane perpendicular to said vertical axis, is not recognised for the filling of packages with two or more compositions, which form a complex filling pattern therein.
The rotary filling machine, object of the present invention, resolves the problems set out above, via a formation which amplifies the relative movements between the package and the dosage means, thus achieving medium and high speed levels of industrial production and a greater number of benefits in the packaging of monophase and multiphase products. It may, for example, improve the distribution of a monophase product, exerting a centrifugal force on the same or create a countless number of filling patterns for a multiphase product in a package.
The rotary filling machine, object of the present invention, is of the variety comprising:
In addition, each filling station comprises:
Of the wide range of possibilities available for constructing the carrousel, the carrousel preferably comprises:
The dosage means are preferably configured to administer the dosages of a product, formed by a plurality of compositions, which are supplied separately, it being possible to have two, three, four or more compositions. In accordance with a preferred embodiment, said dosage means comprise:
The measuring units are charged with measuring the amount of each composition to be filled at each instant or moment of the process. Those which use dosage cylinders or other positive displacement dosage pumps (peristaltic pumps, gear pumps etc.,) are amongst the most common, in addition to those which use flow meters. The first kind measure the flow by calculating the volume displaced by said positive displacement pumps, for example, the displacement of a piston within a dosage cylinder is known, as well as the volume displaced by the same. In these cases, the pump regulation is carried out by regulating the speed of the corresponding positive displacement pump. The second type use flow meters to measure the flow, whilst they are regulated by means of proportional valves. In order to increase the pressure, closed-loop controls are usually applied between the flow meter and the aperture or close of the proportional valve.
The dosage means preferably comprise a final flexible channel for each composition, configured to facilitate the displacement of the filling head piece on the horizontal plane.
The rotation means are preferably configured to rotate the package on the carrousel, comprising:
In accordance with one particular embodiment, the vertical bar is arranged perpendicularly between the first disc and second disc, joined to the same via a first lower tread element and a first upper tread element respectively, whilst the rotation mechanism comprises:
In accordance with other design possibilities, the rotation means are configured to rotate the filling head piece in relation to the carrousel, without it being necessary to rotate the package.
The vertical displacement means preferably comprise:
In accordance with a particular embodiment, the elevator spindle is arranged perpendicularly between the first disc and second disc, joined to the same via a second lower tread element and a second upper tread element, respectively, whilst the vertical transfer cart is joined to the vertical bar.
In turn, the elevator mechanism comprises:
The horizontal displacement means are preferably based on the movement of the dosage means on the horizontal plane, the package remaining fixed on said plane. In this sense, the horizontal displacement means comprise:
In turn, the horizontal displacement means comprise:
Of the various possible fixation options for the horizontal displacement means, the lateral transfer cart is preferably joined to the carrousel and to the front transfer cart, whilst said front transfer cart is joined to the filling head piece.
In accordance with other design possibilities, the horizontal displacement means are based on the movement of the package on the horizontal plane, the dosage means remaining fixed.
Both the rotation of the package and the variation of the relative vertical and horizontal distances between the package and the dosage means are carried out in a controlled way, the angle of rotation of the package and the relative vertical and horizontal distances between the same and the mouthpiece being known at all times. For this reason, rotation, vertical displacement and horizontal displacement mechanisms are preferably employed, formed by servomotors that can be controlled in terms of both speed and position.
The control means of the machine, object of the present invention, comprise all automatisms, visualisation devices and devices for introducing operational information, process hardware and software necessary for correct operation and functioning of the method and apparatus of the present invention.
The machine, object of the present invention, makes it possible to perform various movements, namely rotating the package, vertical displacement (Z) and horizontal displacement (X and Y), either simultaneously or alternately. That is to say, depending on the complexity of the filling pattern, any of the following groups of movements may be required in order to obtain it:
Below is a brief description of a series of drawings which facilitate a better understanding of the invention, relating specifically to a preferred embodiment of said invention and providing a non-limiting example thereof.
In addition, each filling station (5) comprises:
A lower portion of the filling station (5) is arranged on a lower portion of the carrousel (6), which in accordance with the present example, comprises:
An upper portion of the filling station (5) is arranged on an upper portion of the carrousel (6), which in accordance with the present example, comprises:
The vertical bar (41) is arranged perpendicularly between the first disc (8) and the second disc (9), joined to the same via a first lower tread element (51) and a first upper tread element (52), respectively, whilst the rotation mechanism (44), comprises:
In turn, the vertical displacement means (20) comprise:
The elevator spindle (21) is arranged perpendicularly between the first disc (8) and the second disc (9), joined to the same via a second lower tread element (31) and a second upper tread element (32) respectively, whilst the vertical transfer cart (23) is joined to the vertical bar (41).
In turn, the elevator mechanism (24) comprises:
In turn, the dosage means (60) comprise a final flexible channel (65A, 65B) for each composition (100A, 100B), configured to facilitate the displacement of the filling head piece (62) on the horizontal plane (XY).
In turn, the horizontal displacement means (70) comprise:
Of the various possible fixation options for the horizontal displacement means (70), the lateral transfer cart (72) is preferably joined to the carrousel (6) and to the front transfer cart (76), whilst said front transfer cart (76) is joined to the filling head piece (62).
The relative vertical distance (dZ) between the package (2) and the output mouthpiece (63) in the direction of the vertical axis (Z) varies from the bottom of the package (2) to beyond its mouth, according to the level represented in said figure.
In
The relative vertical distance (dZ) between the package (2) and the output mouthpiece (63) in the direction of the vertical axis (Z) varies from the bottom of the package (2) to beyond its mouth, according to the level shown in said figure.
In
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13382300.5 | Jul 2013 | EP | regional |
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EP 2639163 | Sep 2014 | ES |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20150027585 A1 | Jan 2015 | US |