CN102490936B - A chain conveyor - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a chain conveyor, comprising a plurality of station links (35) hinged to form a ring-shaped hinged chain, wherein blades (28) for clamping and pushing packages are fixed on the support surface of the station link (35), and the blades (28) divide the station link (35) into a rectangular front support portion (37) and a rear support portion (36); in a straight section, the distance between the blades (28) of two adjacent station links (35) is equal to the width L of the package; the support surface length L5 of the front support portion (37) is equal to or slightly less than the distance L1 from the end flap to the rear side of the package; the rear end surface of the rear support portion (36) forms a guide surface for guiding the folding of the end flap. After the package is fed from the supply platform, as the station link moves from the C-shaped portion to the straight top branch, the blades of the rear station link push the package to move closer to the blades of the front station link, and the rear end surface of the rear support portion causes the end flap to fold backward onto the end portion, and the structure is simple.

Description

A chain conveyor

technical field

The present invention relates to a chain conveyor, and more particularly to a chain conveyor for conveying packaging units having end flaps and folding the end flaps onto the end walls of the packs to form packs.

Background technique

At present, many fillable foods such as milk, beverages, fruit juices, etc. are filled in packages made of sterilized packaging materials on the market for sale. A typical example of such a package is a parallelepiped-shaped package produced by folding and sealing laminated strip-shaped packaging materials. A packaging material having a multi-layer structure comprising a layer of a fibrous material, such as paper; both layers covered with a thermoplastic material, such as polyethylene; and a barrier layer on the side of the packaging material that ultimately comes into contact with food , such as aluminum foil; and applying one or more layers of heat-sealable plastic material to the barrier layer, which ultimately forms the inner surface of the package that comes into contact with the food.

As is known, packages of the above-mentioned type are produced in fully automatic packaging machines in which a continuous tube is formed from a packaging material supplied in strip form. The strip-shaped packaging material is sterilized on the packaging machine, for example by applying a chemical disinfectant, such as a hydrogen peroxide solution, which is removed after treatment and evaporated from the surface of the packaging material by heating. The sterilized packaging material is maintained in a closed, sterilized environment and is folded and sealed longitudinally to form a vertical tube.

The tube of packaging material is then filled with the food to be packaged, sealed at equally spaced transverse sections, and cut along these transverse sections into a number of pillow-shaped packages 3 (Fig. There it is mechanically folded to form a corresponding package, for example a substantially parallelepiped package.

As shown in Figures 1 and 2, each package 3 has a longitudinal sealing strip 4 extending along one side of each package 3, the packages being sealed at opposite ends by respective transverse sealing strips 5,6, The transverse sealing strips 5 , 6 are perpendicular to and connected to the longitudinal sealing strip 4 .

Each package 3 has an axis parallel to the longitudinal sealing strip 4 and comprises a parallelepiped-shaped main part 7; and respective opposite top and bottom ends 8 and 9, which lead from the main part 7 towards the respective transverse sealing strip 5, 6 and gradually become thinner.

More specifically, the main portion 7 of each package 3 is flanked by two planar rectangular walls 10 parallel to each other and to the axis, and by two planar rectangular walls 11 extending perpendicularly between the planar rectangular walls 10. restricted to the ground.

Each end portion 8, 9 is delimited by a pair of substantially isosceles trapezoidal walls 12 slightly inclined towards each other with respect to a plane perpendicular to the axis A and having a wall 10 defined by the main portion 7. Rectangular sides defined by corresponding edges of , and long sides interconnected by corresponding sealing lines 5 , 6 .

The longitudinal sealing strip 4 extends between the transverse sealing strip 5 and the transverse sealing strip 6 and along the whole of one planar rectangular wall 10 and along the corresponding gap 12 lying on the same side as the planar rectangular wall 10 .

Each transverse sealing strip 5,6 forms a respective substantially elongated rectangular end flap 13,14 which protrudes from the opposite package 3 in the direction of axis A; and forms two Two substantially triangular flaps 15 , 16 project laterally on opposite sides of the main part 7 and are defined by the ends of the opposing walls 12 .

To form the packaging container 2 , the folding device flattens the opposite ends 8 , 9 of the package 3 downwards toward each other and folds the respective end flaps 13 , 14 onto the ends 8 , 9 .

Chinese invention patent specification CN1105667C discloses a high-speed folding device for a machine for packaging filling food, as shown in Figure 3, the device includes: a supply station 22 for supplying a series of sealed containers containing said food Pillow-shaped packages 3, each having a plurality of folded portions 15, 16, ready to be folded and sealed on respective walls 12, 11 of the packages 3 to form corresponding parallelepiped-shaped packages 2; conveying mechanism 21 for feeding said package 3 along a forming path B extending from said feeding station 22 to an output station 23; folding mechanisms 24, 25, 26 arranged along said forming path B and Cooperate with each of the packages 3 so as to complete the corresponding folding operation of the packages 3; a heating mechanism 27 acts on the folded portions 15, 16 of each of the packages 3 to melt the folded portions 15, 16 and seal it on the corresponding said wall 12, 11; finally the compression mechanism 28 cooperates with each said package 3 so that when the folded part 15, 16 cools, the corresponding said folded part 15,16 are fixed on corresponding said wall 12,11; Said conveying mechanism 21 is continuous, is made up of a circular conveyor, comprises a plurality of pushing parts 32 that are used for corresponding said package 3, and one is used for Conveyor sections 33, 35a, 36a for feeding the pushing elements 32 and the packages 3 along the forming path B, and a section for feeding the pushing elements 32 from the output station 23 to the return segments 34, 35b, 36b of the feeding station 22; while the folding mechanisms 24, 25, 26 and the pressing mechanism 28 comprise a plurality of interacting parts 44 interacting with the packages 3, 50, 55, 58, 70, 71, 72, they have a fixed size, and cooperate with the package 3 by means of the movement of the conveying mechanism 21; a part 90 is also provided on the frame, when the package 3 pairs As the part 90 is slid, the tab 14 is folded over the end portion 7 and the end portion 7 is flattened. The conveying mechanism 21 of this folding device only plays the role of conveying the package 3, and the function of folding the flap 14 onto the end portion 7 needs to be completed by the component 90, and the structure is complicated.

Chinese invention patent specification CN100556760C discloses a folding unit for a pourable food product packaging machine, as shown in Figure 4, for producing a pourable food product package 2 from a sealed package 3, which has a longitudinal axis A and There is at least one end flap 14 to be folded, the end flap 14 protruding in the direction of the aforementioned axis; end, and in a feed direction C coaxial with said longitudinal axis A, cyclically receive the opposite packages 3, and the conveying members 35, 28 are fed along a forming path B intersecting the longitudinal axis A of the packages 3 the wrappers 3; and a folding mechanism 24 which interacts with each wrapper 3 along said forming path B to fold the opposite end flaps 14 onto the bottom end 9 of the wrapper 3; 24 includes an impact surface 43 which receives each package 3 through the end corresponding to the end flap 14 and which is carried by the conveying members 35, 28 to operate between the first operating position and the second operating position. Move between positions, in the first operating position, the impact surface 43 forms an angle of more than 90 degrees opening towards the direction of the forming path B with the feeding direction C of the opposite package 3, so that according to the relative end flap 14 impact, causing the opposite end flaps 14 to be folded onto the package 3 along the forming path B in the direction of travel of the package, in the second operating position the impact surface 43 is turned towards the package 3 and cooperates with the package 3 , to complete the folding of the opposite end flaps 14 on the wrapper 3 . This folding unit belongs to a chain conveyor mechanism, the impact surface of the folding mechanism performs the folding of the end flaps onto the end parts during the transport of the package from the infeed station to the output station, However, the mechanism for setting the folding mechanism on the conveying part is complex, and the end flap is folded forward onto the end portion, and the folded end flap will It is easy to be turned up by the action of the folding device and affect the subsequent operation, thus affecting the forming effect of the package.

Contents of the invention

The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a chain conveyor with a simple structure, which can fold back the end flaps of the packages to the end during the process of transporting the packages from the feed station to the output station. In part, it is ensured that the end flaps will not be turned up during the subsequent flap folding operation, so that the folding flap operation is smooth and the package is formed well.

In order to solve the above-mentioned technical problems, the present invention provides a chain conveyor, which is used for conveying packages with end flaps and folding the end flaps onto the end walls of the packages to form packaging containers, including a plurality of hinges forming The station link of the ring hinge chain, the support surface of the station link is fixed with a blade for clamping and pushing the package, and the blade divides the station link into a rectangular front support part and a rear support part; The distance between the blades of adjacent station chain links is equal to the width L of the package; the length L5 of the support surface of the front support is equal to or slightly less than the distance L1 from the end flap to the rear side of the package; the rear support The rear end face of the portion forms a guide surface that guides the folding of the end flaps.

As an improvement of the present invention, the length L4 of the supporting surface of the rear supporting part is slightly greater than the sum of the height H of the end flap and the distance L2 from the front side of the package.

As another improvement of the present invention, the support surface of the rear support part and the rear end surface are transitioned through a circular arc or an inclined plane.

As another improvement of the present invention, the supporting surface of the rear support part is perpendicular to the rear end surface, and the height of the rear end surface is equal to or slightly greater than the height H of the end flap.

As another improvement of the present invention, the rear end of the rear support portion is inclined away from the blade to form a guide surface for folding the end flaps.

As another improvement of the present invention, the angle between the support surface of the rear support part and the rear end surface is 90°-135°.

As another improvement of the present invention, the projection height of the rear end surface of the rear support portion perpendicular to the support surface is equal to or slightly greater than the height H of the end flap.

As another improvement of the present invention, the supporting surface of the rear supporting part forms an acute angle with the rear end surface.

As another improvement of the present invention, the front end surface of the front support part is parallel to the rear end surface of the rear support part.

Compared with the prior art, in the present invention, since the length L5 of the support surface of the front support part is equal to or slightly smaller than the distance L1 from the end flap to the rear side of the package, after the package is fed from the supply platform, the package is removed from the rear The blade of one station link supports and its end flap can enter the gap of the station link, as the station link moves from the C-shaped part to the linear top branch, the blade of the next station link pushes the package The blade of the chain link of the previous station is moved closer, and the rear end surface of the rear support part forms a guide surface for guiding the folding of the end flap, so that the end flap is gradually withdrawn from the gap by the front and folded backward on the end part, so , the present invention does not need to set additional parts or devices, and only relies on the station chain link itself to complete the folding operation of the flaps of the folding part, and the structure is simple.

Description of drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic perspective view of the package before folding.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a side view of FIG. 1 .

Fig. 3 is a schematic perspective view of a folding device for folding packages in the prior art.

Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of a chain conveyor for folding bottom end flaps of packages in the prior art.

Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of a chain conveyor of the present invention.

Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram of the first station link of a chain conveyor of the present invention.

Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of the second station chain link of a chain conveyor of the present invention.

Detailed ways

Referring to Fig. 5, the chain conveyor of the present invention is used to continuously supply packages 3 from the supply platform 21 to the output platform 22 along the mainly linear and horizontal forming path B (both are schematic shown).

Chain conveyor comprises driving gear 25, driven gear 26, endless hinged chain 27; Ringed hinged chain 27 is hinged by a plurality of station links 35 to form an endless chain, surrounds driving gear 25 and driven gear 26, and is connected with driving gear 25 meshes with driven gear 26.

The endless hinge chain 27 comprises a straight horizontal top branch 30; a bottom branch 31 substantially parallel to the top branch 30; The two ends of the branch 31 are arranged so that their depressions face the top branch 30 and the bottom branch 31, and the top branch 30 and the bottom branch 31 are linked together to form a ring-shaped chain, and the middle parts of the C-shaped parts 32, 33 define the supply chain respectively. Platform 21 and output platform 22 .

The path B comprises a rectilinear main portion B1 defined by the top branch 30 of the endless hinged chain 27, and a corresponding supply end B2 and output end B3 defined by a C-shaped portion 32, 33 defined by corresponding tops 32 a , 33 a extending between the corresponding supply platform 21 and output platform 22 and the top branch 30 . The top 32 a of the C-shaped part 32 , the top branch 30 , and the top 33 a of the C-shaped part 33 define the conveying part of the endless hinged chain 27 for conveying and feeding the packages 3 from the supply platform 21 to the output platform 22 . While the remaining part 32b of the C-shaped part 32, the bottom branch 31, and the remaining part 33b of the C-shaped part 33 define the return part of the endless hinge chain 27 to return the station link 35 from the output platform 22 to the supply platform 21, so The endless hinged chain 27 runs in circles, and the package 3 is continuously delivered from the supply platform 21 to the output platform 22. The end flap 14 at the bottom end of the package 3 is folded onto the end portion 9, and the end flap 14 at the top of the package 3 is folded. The top flap 13 is folded onto the end portion 8 under the action of the part 40 of the folding device 23, and at the same time, the end portions 8, 9 are flattened under the joint action of the part 40 and the station chain link 35 (as cited in the background art described in two patent documents).

As shown in Figures 5 and 6, the outer surface of the station link 35 of the annular hinge chain 27 is a flat rectangular surface, forming a supporting surface for supporting the package 3, and a blade 28 is vertically fixed on the outer surface of the station link 35, This blade 28 is used to clamp the planar rectangular wall 10 of the package 3 and pushes the package 3 to feed the package along the path B, the distance between the blades 28 of two adjacent links 35 when the top branch 30 of the straight line segment is equal to the width L of the package 3 (the distance between the planar rectangular walls 10 of the package 3 shown in FIG. 2 ).

The blade 28 divides the station chain link 35 into a rectangular front support part 37 and a rear support part 36 for supporting the package 3; (the front) position, the rear support portion 36 refers to the position downstream (rear) of the same station chain link 35 in the annular hinge chain 27 conveying the direction of travel of the package; the front end surface of the front support portion 37 is parallel to the described rear support portion 36 The rear end surface of the rear support part 36 is in the same plane as the support surface of the front support part 37; the support surface of the rear support part 36 is perpendicular to the rear end surface and passes through a circular arc transition or an inclined plane transition, and the height of the rear end surface is equal to or slightly greater than the height H of the end flap 14, forming a guide surface for folding the end flap 14; the front support portion 37 and the rear support portion 36 have different lengths along the path B: the length L5 of the support surface of the front support portion 37 is equal to or Slightly smaller than the distance L1 from the end flap 14 to the rear side of the package 3, so that when the package 3 is supplied at the supply platform 21, the end flap 14 can enter the gap 43 between the two adjacent station chain links 35 Correspondingly, the length L4 of the support surface of the rear support portion 36 is equal to or slightly greater than the sum of the height H of the end flap 14 and the distance L2 from the front side of the package 3. After adopting such a structure with different lengths, the supply platform 21 At the top 32a of the corresponding C-shaped part 32, there is a gap 43 between the front support part 37 and the rear support part 36 of the two-station link 35 of the endless hinge chain 27, when the package 3 is fed from the supply platform 21 , the package 3 is supported by the blade 28 of the last station link 35 and its end flap 14 can enter the gap 43, as the station link 35 moves from the C-shaped part 32 to the linear top branch 30, The blade 28 of the last chain link 35 pushes the package 3 closer to the blade 28 of the previous chain link, and the gap 43 gradually narrows. The blocking action gradually withdraws from the gap 43 and folds back onto the end portion 9 .

According to the structure of the chain conveyor, the blade 28 appears to be placed vertically in the main part B1 of the path B, and appears to be in a substantially horizontal position on the supply platform 21 and the output platform 22 .

Each package 3 is placed on the conveyor with the end 9 in contact with the delivery portion of the endless hinged chain 27, one of the sides of the planar rectangular wall 10 resting on the blade 28 of the following station link 35, and the axis A is parallel to The blade 28 instead intersects path B.

At the supply platform 21, each package 3 is fed onto the chain conveyor in a feed direction C coaxial with the axis A of the package 3 and at the horizontal input position of the supply platform 21, at the level In the supply position, the end 9 and the opposite end flap are placed facing the delivery position of the endless hinge chain 27 . Similarly, each folded packaging container 2 is removed from the conveyor at the horizontal output position of the output platform 22 .

In order to prevent the end flap 14 of the package 3 from being crushed and damaged, the front end surface of the front support portion 37 of the station link 35 is in contact with the rear end surface of the rear support portion 36 of the adjacent station link 35 during the straight line segment. A gap is formed therebetween, the width of the gap is equal to or greater than the thickness of the end flap 14 , and the depth of the gap is equal to or slightly greater than the height of the end flap 14 .

As another embodiment of the present invention, it is different from the above-mentioned embodiment in that: as shown in FIG. The degree of inclination of the end surface is that the angle between the support surface of the rear support portion 36 and the rear end surface is 90°-135°, and the projection height of the rear end surface of the rear support portion 36 perpendicular to the support surface is equal to or slightly greater than the height H of the end flap 14, This allows the end flaps 14 to be fully accommodated within the gap 43 .

Of course, the support surface of the rear support portion 36 forms an acute angle with the rear end surface, which can also achieve the purpose of the present invention.

Claims (9)

1. A chain conveyor for conveying a package (3) with an end flap (14) and folding the end flap (14) onto the package end wall (9) to form a packaging container ( 2), comprising a plurality of station links (35) hinged to form an annular hinge chain, the supporting surface of the station link (35) is fixed with a blade (28) for clamping and pushing the package (3), the blade (28) the station chain link (35) is divided into a rectangular front support portion (37) and a rear support portion (36); on a straight line, the distance between the blades (28) of two adjacent station chain links (35) is equal to The width L of the package (3); it is characterized in that: the length L5 of the support surface of the front support portion (37) is slightly smaller than the distance L1 from the end flap (14) to the rear side of the package (3), The rear end surface of the rear support portion (36) forms a guide surface for guiding the folding of the end flap (14), so that the end flap (14) moves from the C-shaped portion (32) to the During the movement of the linear top branch (30), it is blocked by the rear end surface of the rear support portion (36) of the previous station link (35) and gradually withdraws from the gap (43) and folds back to the end portion (9 )superior. 2. A chain conveyor according to claim 1, characterized in that: the length L4 of the support surface of the rear support portion (36) is slightly greater than the height H of the end flap (14) and its distance to the end flap (14). The sum of the distances L2 from the front side of the package (3). 3. A chain conveyor according to claim 2, characterized in that: the support surface of the rear support part (36) and the rear end surface are transitioned through a circular arc or an inclined plane. 4. A chain conveyor according to claim 2, characterized in that: the support surface of the rear support portion (36) is perpendicular to the rear end surface, and the height of the rear end surface is equal to or slightly greater than that of the end flap ( 14) The height H. 5. A chain conveyor according to claim 2, characterized in that: the rear end of the rear support portion (36) is inclined away from the blade (28) to form a folded end flap (14 ) guide surface. 6. A chain conveyor according to claim 5, characterized in that: the angle between the support surface of the rear support part (36) and the rear end surface is 90°-135°. 7. A chain conveyor according to claim 5, characterized in that: the projection height of the rear end surface of the rear support part (36) perpendicular to the support surface is equal to or slightly greater than that of the end flap (14) The height H. 8. A chain conveyor according to claim 1, characterized in that: the supporting surface of the rear supporting part (36) forms an acute angle with the rear end surface. 9. A chain conveyor according to any one of claims 1-8, characterized in that: the front end surface of the front support part (37) is parallel to the rear end surface of the rear support part (36) .

Images