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WO2024176273A1 - Procédé de fourniture de produit tubulaire, et unité de fourniture associée - Google Patents

Procédé de fourniture de produit tubulaire, et unité de fourniture associée Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2024176273A1
WO2024176273A1 PCT/IT2024/050038 IT2024050038W WO2024176273A1 WO 2024176273 A1 WO2024176273 A1 WO 2024176273A1 IT 2024050038 W IT2024050038 W IT 2024050038W WO 2024176273 A1 WO2024176273 A1 WO 2024176273A1
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
seatings
conveyor wheel
transfer station
seating
rotation
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/IT2024/050038
Other languages
English (en)
Inventor
Fabrizio Tale'
Maria Elena FANTONI
Original Assignee
I.M.A. Industria Macchine Automatiche S.P.A.
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by I.M.A. Industria Macchine Automatiche S.P.A. filed Critical I.M.A. Industria Macchine Automatiche S.P.A.
Publication of WO2024176273A1 publication Critical patent/WO2024176273A1/fr

Links

Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65G—TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS
    • B65G47/00—Article or material-handling devices associated with conveyors; Methods employing such devices
    • B65G47/02—Devices for feeding articles or materials to conveyors
    • B65G47/04—Devices for feeding articles or materials to conveyors for feeding articles
    • B65G47/12—Devices for feeding articles or materials to conveyors for feeding articles from disorderly-arranged article piles or from loose assemblages of articles
    • B65G47/14—Devices for feeding articles or materials to conveyors for feeding articles from disorderly-arranged article piles or from loose assemblages of articles arranging or orientating the articles by mechanical or pneumatic means during feeding
    • B65G47/1407—Devices for feeding articles or materials to conveyors for feeding articles from disorderly-arranged article piles or from loose assemblages of articles arranging or orientating the articles by mechanical or pneumatic means during feeding the articles being fed from a container, e.g. a bowl
    • B65G47/1478—Devices for feeding articles or materials to conveyors for feeding articles from disorderly-arranged article piles or from loose assemblages of articles arranging or orientating the articles by mechanical or pneumatic means during feeding the articles being fed from a container, e.g. a bowl by means of pick-up devices, the container remaining immobile
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65G—TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS
    • B65G47/00—Article or material-handling devices associated with conveyors; Methods employing such devices
    • B65G47/74—Feeding, transfer, or discharging devices of particular kinds or types
    • B65G47/84—Star-shaped wheels or devices having endless travelling belts or chains, the wheels or devices being equipped with article-engaging elements
    • B65G47/846—Star-shaped wheels or wheels equipped with article-engaging elements

Definitions

  • the present invention concerns a method for feeding tubular products and a corresponding feed unit.
  • the feeding method and unit provide that the tubular products are fed to a first conveyor wheel and then transferred to a second conveyor wheel.
  • Feed units which comprise a first conveyor wheel and a second conveyor wheel, which can simply convey tubular products or possibly perform operations on them, such as applying a film of wrapping material to package the tubular products, for example. These operations are carried out with the help of special tools located in the proximity of the wheels so that they can act on the conveyed products.
  • the wheels of the known units contain a plurality of seatings, regularly distributed along their periphery, configured to each accommodate a single tubular product.
  • the two wheels are driven with synchronized speeds so that, in correspondence with a transfer station, a seating of the first wheel arrives at the same time as a seating of the second wheel so as to be able to transfer the tubular product from the first wheel to the second wheel, and subsequently the seatings of the first wheel arrive at the same time as a seating of the second wheel.
  • the speeds of the two wheels can be the same or different. This depends on several characteristics of the two wheels, in particular the diameter and the number of seatings of each wheel.
  • a problem with known units and methods occurs when a seating of the first wheel is not filled, due to a problem in the upstream feed of the tubular products, or it contains a tubular product to be discarded, because not compliant, for example damaged or of irregular sizes, and therefore not to be transferred to the second wheel.
  • one purpose of the present invention is to perfect a method for feeding tubular products which allows to manage any missing or non-compliant products exclusively at the level of the first conveyor wheel.
  • Another purpose of the present invention is to provide a feed unit that allows to implement the method as above.
  • a method according to the present invention for feeding tubular products comprises the following steps: feeding, in correspondence with an inlet station, the tubular products to a first conveyor wheel which comprises, regularly distributed along a first peripheral edge thereof, a plurality of first seatings, each configured to accommodate a respective tubular product; rotating the first conveyor wheel at a first speed to convey the tubular products accommodated into the respective first seatings along a first path from the inlet station to a transfer station; transferring the tubular products from the first conveyor wheel to a second conveyor wheel in correspondence with the transfer station, the second conveyor wheel comprising, regularly distributed along a second peripheral edge thereof, a plurality of second seatings, each of the second seatings being configured to accommodate a respective tubular product, the second conveyor wheel being driven
  • the method provides that, in case at least one of the first seatings has been verified to be incorrectly occupied, the rotation of the first conveyor wheel is accelerated when the last preceding first seating, which has been verified to be correctly occupied, leaves the transfer station, so that the at least one of the first seatings, that has been verified to be incorrectly occupied, reaches the transfer station at a time when none of the second seatings of the second conveyor wheel is at the transfer station.
  • the first speed of rotation of the first conveyor wheel is resynchronized with the constant second speed when the first successive seating, that has been verified to be correctly occupied, reaches the transfer station, so that again each first seating reaches the transfer station at the same time as each second seating.
  • the method provides that the feed of the tubular products is once again performed normally.
  • the checking step of the first seatings is performed by means of a detection device placed between the inlet station and the transfer station.
  • the checking device is of the visual check type.
  • the first conveyor wheel when at least one of the first seatings has been verified to be incorrectly occupied, the first conveyor wheel is driven to rotate at an accelerated speed of rotation which is higher than a first speed of rotation at which the first conveyor wheel normally rotates when the first seatings have been verified to be correctly occupied.
  • more than one tubular product is individually loaded into consecutive first seatings of the first conveyor wheel in correspondence with the inlet station.
  • the accelerated speed of rotation has a value that is correlated to the number of consecutive incorrectly occupied first seatings of the first conveyor wheel.
  • Vacc the speed during the acceleration
  • VI is the first speed
  • n is the number of consecutive incorrectly occupied first seatings.
  • the second conveyor wheel rotates at a constant speed even when the first conveyor wheel has been accelerated, in particular even if some incorrectly occupied seatings have been detected in the first conveyor wheel.
  • the first seatings of the first conveyor wheel are distanced from each other by a smaller pitch than that of the second seatings of the second conveyor wheel.
  • the tubular products have an elongated shape and are accommodated into the first and second seatings with their respective longitudinal axis parallel to rotation axes of the first and second conveyor wheels.
  • a feed unit for feeding tubular products comprises a first conveyor wheel configured to convey the tubular products along a first path from an inlet station to a transfer station and provided with a plurality of first seatings regularly distributed along a first peripheral edge thereof, each of the first seatings being configured to accommodate a single tubular product, a second conveyor wheel provided with a plurality of second seatings regularly distributed along a second peripheral edge thereof and each configured to accommodate a single tubular product, the second conveyor wheel being configured to receive the tubular products from the first wheel in correspondence with the transfer station, a detection device placed between the inlet station and the transfer station and configured to verify whether each first seating is correctly occupied by a tubular product, and a control unit communicating with the first conveyor wheel, the second conveyor wheel and the detection device.
  • the first conveyor wheel is configured to be driven independently of at least the second conveyor wheel, preferably of the rest of an apparatus in which the feed unit is installed.
  • control unit is programmed in such a manner that, in case the detection device verifies that at least one of the first seatings is incorrectly occupied, the rotation of the first conveyor wheel is accelerated when the last preceding first seating, which has been verified to be correctly occupied, leaves the transfer station, so that the at least one of the first seatings, that has been verified to be incorrectly occupied, reaches the transfer station at a time when none of the second seating of the second conveyor wheel is at the transfer station.
  • the first conveyor wheel can be commanded independently of the second conveyor wheel and, in particular, its speed of rotation can be accelerated without changing the speed of rotation of the second conveyor wheel.
  • the first and second conveyor wheels advantageously have respective rotation axes parallel to each other.
  • the first and second conveyor wheels lie on a common plane.
  • the first seatings have a respective accommodating groove extending parallel to a first rotation axis of the first conveyor wheel.
  • the seatings of the first wheel are configured to accommodate the tubular products oriented parallel to the rotation axis of the first conveyor wheel.
  • a similar configuration is provided for the second seatings of the second conveyor wheel.
  • the first peripheral edge and the second peripheral edge have a common tangent. This minimizes the time for transferring the tubular products from the first to the second conveyor wheel, to the benefit of a greater ease in implementing the method disclosed above.
  • FIG. 1 is a front view of a unit for feeding tubular products, according to the present invention.
  • - figs. 2 to 5 are enlarged views of a detail of unit for feeding tubular products of fig. 1 , in a sequence of operating steps.
  • a feed unit 10 for feeding tubular products P comprises a first conveyor wheel 11 rotatable around a first rotation axis Al, and a second conveyor wheel 12 rotatable around a second rotation axis A2.
  • the first and second rotation axes Al, A2 are parallel to each other (fig. 1).
  • the tubular products P are made of plastic material and are intended to be subsequently wrapped in a sheet of any material whatsoever, for example paper, cardboard, plastic, foil, tobacco, fabrics or any other sheet material that allows the tubular products P to be wrapped.
  • the first conveyor wheel 11 is equipped with a plurality of first seatings 110 regularly distributed along a first peripheral edge thereof, the first seatings 110 being configured to each accommodate a corresponding tubular product P.
  • the first seatings 110 consist of at least one accommodating groove oriented parallel to the first rotation axis Al and with a substantially semi-circular section, so that the tubular products P are oriented parallel to the first rotation axis Al when they are loaded into the first seatings 110.
  • the semi-circular section has a diameter practically equal to the external diameter of the tubular products P, in order to accommodate them stably.
  • the second conveyor wheel 12 is also equipped with a corresponding plurality of second seatings 120, substantially consisting of a substantially radial abutment.
  • the second seatings 120 are also oriented so that the tubular products P are parallel to the second rotation axis A2 when they are loaded into the second seatings 120.
  • the feed unit 10 also comprises an inlet station SI, located in correspondence with the periphery of the first conveyor wheel 11 , where the tubular products P are fed in a known manner. For example, the tubular products P are fed in orderly succession from a hopper 20, but other solutions for feeding the tubular products P can be provided.
  • the passage of the tubular products P from the first conveyor wheel 11 to the second conveyor wheel 12 occurs in correspondence with a transfer station S2, located downstream of the inlet station S 1 with respect to the sense of rotation of the first conveyor wheel 11.
  • the transfer station S2 is in a position substantially diametrically opposite to the inlet station SI .
  • first conveyor wheel 11 moves the tubular products P along a first path Pl that extends between the inlet station SI and the transfer station S2.
  • second conveyor wheel 12 moves the tubular products P along a second path P2.
  • the first and second conveyor wheels 11, 12 have a common tangent in correspondence with their respective peripheral edge, which allows to facilitate and speed up the transfer of the tubular products P from one wheel to the other.
  • the feed unit 10 comprises a first peripheral abutment member 13 that is coplanar with the first conveyor wheel 11 and covers the first peripheral edge thereof along the first path Pl, that is, between the inlet station SI and the transfer station S2.
  • a second peripheral abutment member 14 is provided along the second path P2 so as to keep the tubular products P stably in the second seatings 120 while they are conveyed by the second conveyor wheel 12.
  • the first and second peripheral abutment members 13, 14 each have a shaped end 15, 16 located in correspondence with the transfer station S2.
  • These shaped ends 15, 16 each have a respective inclined flat surface 17, 18 located one in front of the other and parallel to each other, so as to form a passage channel of the tubular products P from the first 11 to the second conveyor wheel 12 (fig. 1).
  • the first conveyor wheel 11 is driven in rotation, around the first rotation axis Al, at a first speed VI and the second conveyor wheel 12 is driven in rotation, around the second rotation axis A2, at a second speed V2.
  • the first speed VI and the second speed V2 are synchronized with each other so that whenever one seating 110 of the first conveyor wheel 11 arrives at the transfer station S2, one seating 120 of the second conveyor wheel 12 also arrives at the same transfer station S2 to receive the tubular product P automatically transferred from the seating 110 of the first conveyor wheel.
  • each seating 110 of the first conveyor wheel 11 releases its tubular product P in the transfer station S2 and this product is immediately received by a seating 120 of the second conveyor wheel 12, each of these second seatings 120 being occupied by a respective tubular product P (fig. 1).
  • the first conveyor wheel 11 comprises sixty first seatings 110 while the second conveyor wheel 12 comprises nine second seatings 112, and the two conveyor wheels have substantially the same diameters.
  • the feed unit 10 also comprises a detection device 30, for example a video camera placed in front of, and flat with respect to, the first conveyor wheel 11 along the first path Pl in order to visually check that all the first seatings 110 are correctly occupied, that is, that they are occupied with a tubular product P that complies to its subsequent use.
  • a detection device 30 for example a video camera placed in front of, and flat with respect to, the first conveyor wheel 11 along the first path Pl in order to visually check that all the first seatings 110 are correctly occupied, that is, that they are occupied with a tubular product P that complies to its subsequent use.
  • other checking devices can be used, visual or not, which allow to check that the first seatings 110 in the first path Pl are correctly occupied.
  • the first conveyor wheel 11 is equipped with a motor 40 thereof and the second conveyor wheel 12 is also equipped with a respective motor 50 thereof, for their drive in rotation.
  • the motor 40 of the first conveyor wheel 11 is independent at least of the second conveyor wheel 12, but also of other members located downstream of the apparatus in which the feed unit 10 is installed. In this way, it is possible to modulate the speed of the first conveyor wheel 11 during the operation of the apparatus.
  • the motor 50 of the second conveyor wheel 12 can be linked to other members downstream in order to drive them.
  • the motor 40 of the first conveyor wheel 11 is favorably of the electric type. In this way, it is easy to modulate its speed, even over short intervals of time.
  • the feed unit 10 comprises a control unit 60 connected to the detection device 30 and to the motors 40, 50 of the two conveyor wheels 11, 12 so as to control them and command their drive in a synchronized manner.
  • the control unit 60 also provides a user interface to allow an operator to act on the operating parameters of the feed unit 10.
  • the operation of the feed unit 10 described heretofore, which corresponds to the method according to the present invention, comprises the following steps.
  • the first conveyor wheel 11 rotates at a speed VI and the second conveyor wheel 12 rotates at a speed V2, synchronized with VI so that each first seating 110 “meets” a second seating 120 in correspondence with the transfer station S2.
  • the first conveyor wheel 11 comprises a plurality of correctly occupied seatings 111 and one empty seating 112.
  • the empty seating 112 has already been detected by the detection device 30, which has sent a corresponding signal to the control unit 60 so that it can command the motor 4, as will be indicated below.
  • Fig. 1 shows the transfer, from the first conveyor wheel 11 to the second conveyor wheel 12, of the tubular product P that precedes the one loaded into the last preceding correctly occupied seating 113 with respect to the empty seating 112.
  • both the seating 110 of the first conveyor wheel 11 from which the tubular product P is transferred, and also the seating 120 of the second conveyor wheel 12 which receives it, are present.
  • the tubular product P flows along the passage channel delimited by the flat surfaces 17, 18 of the ends 15, 16 of the peripheral abutment members 13, 14.
  • the first conveyor wheel 11 continues to rotate at the same speed VI and the second conveyor wheel 12 continues to rotate at the same speed V2 as before (fig. 2), and the last preceding correctly occupied seating 113 reaches the transfer station S2 (fig. 3), at the same time as a seating 120 of the second conveyor wheel 12.
  • the transfer of the corresponding tubular product P from the first 11 to the second conveyor wheel 12 is determined.
  • the control unit 60 commands the motor 40 so as to drive the first conveyor wheel 11 at an accelerated rotation speed Vacc around the rotation axis Al, so that the empty seating 112 reaches the transfer station S2 before the successive seating 120 of the second conveyor wheel 12, as shown in fig. 4.
  • Vacc the rotation of the first conveyor wheel 11 is accelerated so that the empty seating 112 does not “meet” a seating 120 of the second conveyor wheel 12 in the transfer station 120.
  • the accelerated speed Vacc is determined so that it is the first correctly occupied seating 114 that arrives at the transfer station S2 together with the successive seating 120 of the second conveyor wheel 12 (fig. 5). In this way, when the latter arrives at the transfer station S2, a transfer of a tubular product P occurs in any case, so that the seating 120 of the second conveyor wheel 12 is not empty.
  • the accelerated speed Vacc is determined on the basis of the number of consecutively detected empty seatings 112.
  • the acceleration has to be such as to make all the consecutive empty seatings 112 pass through the transfer station S2 before this is reached by the seating 120 of the second conveyor wheel 12, which always rotates at the same speed V2. It is evident that the time interval that passes between two passages of two consecutive seatings 120 of the second wheel 12 in the transfer station S2 is constant. If the objective is for none of these seatings 120 to be empty, the time elapsed between two consecutive transfers must also be constant, and equal to the time interval indicated above.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Control Of Conveyors (AREA)

Abstract

Le procédé de fourniture comprend les étapes consistant à fournir des produits tubulaires (P) à une première roue de transporteur (11) qui comprend, régulièrement répartis le long de son bord périphérique, une pluralité de premiers logements (110), à faire tourner la première roue de transporteur (11) de façon à transporter les produits tubulaires (P) le long d'un premier trajet (Pl), d'une station d'entrée (SI) à une station de transfert (S2), dans lequel les produits tubulaires (P) sont transférés à une seconde roue de transporteur (12) qui comprend, régulièrement répartis le long de son bord périphérique, une pluralité de seconds logements (120), et à vérifier les premiers logements (110) de la première roue de transporteur (11) en amont de la station de transfert (S2) pour vérifier qu'ils sont correctement occupés.
PCT/IT2024/050038 2023-02-20 2024-02-20 Procédé de fourniture de produit tubulaire, et unité de fourniture associée WO2024176273A1 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
IT102023000002790 2023-02-20
IT202300002790 2023-02-20

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
WO2024176273A1 true WO2024176273A1 (fr) 2024-08-29

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Family Applications (1)

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PCT/IT2024/050038 WO2024176273A1 (fr) 2023-02-20 2024-02-20 Procédé de fourniture de produit tubulaire, et unité de fourniture associée

Country Status (1)

Country Link
WO (1) WO2024176273A1 (fr)

Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20190056712A1 (en) * 2017-08-21 2019-02-21 Sidel Participations Method for regulating a facility for processing a series of containers and corresponding facility
US20190077529A1 (en) * 2016-03-25 2019-03-14 Gima S.P.A. Unit and method for grouping together and aligning capsules
IT202100006041A1 (it) * 2021-03-15 2022-09-15 Ima Spa Dispositivo e metodo di cambio passo tra contenitori.

Patent Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20190077529A1 (en) * 2016-03-25 2019-03-14 Gima S.P.A. Unit and method for grouping together and aligning capsules
US20190056712A1 (en) * 2017-08-21 2019-02-21 Sidel Participations Method for regulating a facility for processing a series of containers and corresponding facility
IT202100006041A1 (it) * 2021-03-15 2022-09-15 Ima Spa Dispositivo e metodo di cambio passo tra contenitori.

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