Procedure and arrangement for automatically aligning and inserting in packages products from belt conveyors

Description

[0001] The present invention refers to a method and an arrangement for automatically aligning and inserting in packages products from a conveyor belt, whereby said products are aligned in rows both longitudinally and laterally against the direction of transport in an aligner, the aligned rows of products are grouped to form packaging modules in a grouping unit, whereupon the grouped products are moved by the grouping unit to a position above the packages, where they are released so that they fall down into spaces adapted for the products in the packages.

[0002] At present, finished products are, for the most part, inserted manually in packaging in the confectionery industry. This manual product handling has long been the focus of rationalisa- tion efforts, since it is labour-intensive and since most of the production costs consists of payroll costs. For example, picking products known as coconut or chocolate balls from a belt conveyor and inserting them in packages requires four individuals on either side of the conveyor belt. Method and time studies have, admittedly, led to a continuous development of the work operations, the workstation layout and the aids involved, but handling these products still constitutes a heavy financial burden and efforts are, consequently, devoted towards increasing the degree of automation of the product handling. A method and an arrangement for automatically aligning and inserting in packages products from a conveyor belt are previously known from e.g. DE-A-3.130.103 and FR-A-2.259.750. These solutions are however very complicated and expensive to manufacture and thus require skilled staff.

[0003] The object of the present invention is to provide a method and an arrangement of the kind mentioned in the introduction and known from DE-A-3.130.103, which in relation to the abovementioned already known methods and arrangements are simple in their design and very cheap to manufacture. What is essentially distinguishing for the invention is that the products are aligned in stages by a number of aligning arms in the aligner, the number of aligning arms being sufficient for the alignment in question, said arms successively align the products as they are advanced and when a row of products approaches, move from an inactive position above the conveyor belt to an active position, in which the products contact the arms and are moved both longitudinally and laterally against the direction of the belt and in which active position the arms are retained a sufficient length of time to move the entire rows of products.

[0004] The arrangement for aligning and grouping in accordance with the present invention forms one unit, which is a prerequisite for arranging products in modules systematically and without disturbance. The products can then be moved and placed in trays or boxes, which stand ready for filling.

[0005] The units included in the arrangement according to the invention - aligner, grouping unit and inserter - are controlled electronically. The mechanical movements are carried out pneumatically (by means of air cylinders). Electrically controlled valve together with photocells and switches constitute the impulse control function in the system.

[0006] One design form of the invention will be described in further detail below with reference to the figures provided, which schematically illustrate the design and mode of operation of the invention.

Fig. 1 is a plan of the aligner in the arrangement.

Fig. 2 is a side view of the unit according to Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a plan of the grouping unit and inserter in the arrangement.

Fig. 4 is a side view of the unit according to Fig. 3.

[0007] Coconut balls 1 are fed by a conveyor belt 2, from a casting station in the direction of the arrow A, Fig. 1, towards an aligner I. In the design example presented here, the aligner embraces four consecutive aligning arms 3, 4, 5 and 6 arranged laterally in relation to the feed direction. The three last aligning arms are indicated by means of dash-dotted lines in Fig. 1.

[0008] The aligning arms 3-6 are normally in the raised position above the belt 2. The distance between the underside of the arms and the belt is adapted so as to permit coconut balls to pass between. When a row of coconut balls approaches the first aligning arm 3, a photocell 7 arranged adjacent to the belt indicates the presence of this row of coconut balls and activates an air cylinder 8, which lowers the abovementioned aligning arm 3 to an active position, in which the coconut balls 1 come into contact with the arm 3 having V-formed stop faces, Fig. 1. This causes the coconut balls 1 to be moved both longitudinally and laterally (maximum 20 mm) against the direction of the belt. In addition to an amplifier and receiver, the photocell 7 also embraces a time-delay relay which ensures that the arm 3 is retained in the active alignment position a sufficient length of time to move the entire row of coconut balls 1.

[0009] The air cylinder 8 then moves the arm 3 to the inactive position, whereupon the coconut balls 1 are transported to the next alignment station, embracing a photocell 9 and a second alignment arm 4, which is moved between the active and inactive positions by an air cylinder (not shown). A further alignment of the row of coconut balls is carried out in this station in the same way as that described for the first arm 3.

[0010] The coconut ball rows are aligned in as many stations, embracing photocells, alignment arms and air cylinders, as are required to ensure that the desired alignment, which is suitable for the subsequent grouping unit,' is obtained. In the design example presented here, each row is aligned in four aligning stations.

[0011] The aligned rows of coconut balls 1 are then transported to grouping unit II (Figs. 3 and 4) where they are grouped to form modules to suit the packaging tray 10.

[0012] Grouping unit II embraces a trolley 11 arranged above the conveyor belt 2. The trolley 11 consists of a rectangularframe. The part of the rectangular frame which is located closest to the conveyor belt 2 is connected to an air cylinder 12. The part of the rectangular frame which is located furthest away from the conveyor belt 2 is provided with rolls 13 which run between a pair of horizontal guides 14, 15. When the air cylinder 12 is actuated, the trolley 11 is made to move in a plane parallel to the conveyor belt 2 from a position above the belt to a position above the packaging tray 10 arranged after the conveyor belt 2. The purpose of this movement is indicated below.

[0013] The trolley 11 carries guide arms 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20 arranged laterally across the conveyor belt. The coconut balls 1 are grouped to form packaging modules with the aid of these guide arms 16-20. Each of the guide arms 16-20 is provided with guide devices 21 so designed that the guide devices 21 on a guide arm 16 together with the guide devices 21 on an adjacent arm 17 form a compartment for each coconut ball 1. The guide arms 16-20 are moved from an inactive position above the conveyor belt 2 to an active position adjacent to the belt with the aid of air cylinders 22, 23, 24, 25 and 26. These air cylinders are arranged vertically on the trolley 11, and each guide arm 16-20 is mounted on the piston rod belonging to an associated air cylinder 22-26.

[0014] The number of guide arms in the grouping unit is adapted to the number of coconut balls which can be held in the packaging tray 10. In the design example. presented here, four rows of twelve coconut balls 1 are to be grouped. Consequently, five guide arms are required. Both the outer guide arms 16, 20 have guide devices21 only on the side facing in towards the grouping unit, while the intermediate guide arms 17, 18, 19 have a two- sided arrangement of guide devices 21.

[0015] When the first row of aligned coconut balls is moved into the grouping unit II, the guide arm 16 located furthest into the unit has been moved down to its active position with the aid of the air cylinder 22. The abovementioned row of coconut balls 1 is then stopped by the side arm's guide devices 21, whereupon a photocell 27 (reflecting) actuates the air cylinder 23 via a time-delay relay so that the adjacent guide arm 17 is lowered to its active position. The purpose of the time-delay relay is to ensure that the entire row of coconut balls 1 is adjacent to the guide arm 16 before the adjacent arm 17 is activated.

[0016] In the first row of coconut balls 1, each ball is now located in a compartment between the two guide arms 16, 17 at the same time as the rear of the last activated arm 17 serves as a stop for the next row of coconut balls 1. A photocell 27 arranged in front of the arm senses the presence of this row of coconut balls and actuates the air cylinder 24 so that the next guide arm 18 is activated. This procedure involving actuating the air cylinders by means of photocells continues until the grouping unit has been filled with coconut balls 1.

[0017] When the last guide arm 20 has been lowered to its active position, the air cylinder 12 is actuated and causes a horizontal movement of the trolley 11 from the belt conveyor 2 towards the packaging tray 10. During this movement the openings in the packaging tray 10 are covered with a covering sheet 28, which lies on a level with the upper belt parts of the conveyor 2 so that the coconut balls 1 moved'by the trolley 11 can slide on top. The movement of the trolley 11 is stopped when all the coconut balls 1 are located above an opening in the tray 10.

[0018] The covering sheet 28 is connected with a horizontally aligned air cylinder 29, which is actuated when the grouping unit with the grouped coconut balls 1 are located in position above the packaging tray 10. The covering sheet 28 is then pulled away so that the tray 10 is exposed, whereupon each of the coconut balls 1 falls down into a space in these trays.

[0019] The trolley 11 is then returned to the grouping position and the cycle is completed.

[0020] The handling of products in accordance with the invention can, in principle, be summarized in the following steps: alignment - collection - grouping - locking - transport - insertion.

[0021] The design example of the invention described above refers to handling coconut balls and similar circular products. Shapes other than circular can, of course, also be handled in accordance with the principles of the invention. The only difference is in the design of the alignment unit and a corresponding change in the grouping unit.

[0022] Consequently, the real extent of protection of the invention is not limited to the design example described above but embraces everything within the framework for the following patent claims.

Claims

1. A method for automatically aligning and inserting in packages (10) products (1) from a conveyor belt (2), said products (1) are aligned in rows both longitudinally and laterally against the direction of transport (A) in an aligner (I), the aligned rows of products (1) are grouped to form packaging modules in a grouping unit (II), whereupon the grouped products (1) are moved by the grouping unit (II) to a position above the packages (10), where they are released so that they fall down into spaces adapted for the products (1) in the packages, characterized in that the products (1) are aligned in stages by a number of aligning arms (3-6) in the aligner (I), the number of aligning arms being sufficient for the alignment in question, that said arms (3-6) successively align the products as they are advanced and, when a row of products approaches, move from an inactive position above the conveyor belt (2) to an active position in which the products (1) contact the arms (3-6) and are moved both longitudinally and laterally against the direction of the belt and in which the arms (3-6) are retained a sufficient length of time to move the entire rows of products.

2. An arrangement for automatically alignning and inserting in packages (10) products (1) from a conveyor belt (2) comprising an aligner (I) for aligning the products (1) in rows, a grouping unit (II) comprising a number of guide arms (16-20) which are arranged laterally across the direction of transport and consecutively are used for grouping the products (1) to form packaging modules, this grouping unit (II) being arranged so that it transfers the products (1) by the arms (16-20) from the conveyor belt (2) to the packages (10), characterized in that the aligner (I) comprises a number of aligning arms (3―6) arranged laterally across the direction of transport (A) and provided to successively align the products (1) as they are advanced by the conveyor belt (2), in that said arms (3―6) are actuatable by an air cylinder (8) between an inactive position above the conveyor belt (2) and an active position adjacent to the belt (2), in which latter position products (1) as they are advanced are stopped and are moved by said arms (3―6) having V-formed stop faces longitudinally and laterally against the direction of transport (A) and in which latter position said arms (3―6) are retained a sufficient length of time to move the entire rows of products.

3. An arrangement according to claim 2, characterized in that a detector (7, 9) is provided in front of each aligning arm (3-6), and that this detector (7,9) is arranged to sense the presence of a row of products (1) and, when it does so, to actuate the air cylinder (8) so that the associated arms (3-6) are activated, whereupon a time-delay relay, belonging to the detector (7, 9) is arranged so that it remains the aligning arms (3―6) in the active position until the entire row of products (1) has been aligned.

4. An arrangement according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that each guide arm (16-20) in the grouping unit (II) is mounted on an air cylinder's (22-26) piston rod, and that this cylinder (22-26) is vertically arranged on a trolley (11), which is located above the conveyor belt and which can be displaced horizontally by means of an air cylinder (12), the guide arm (16-20) being arranged so that it is moved by the associated air cylinder (22-26) from an inactive position above the belt (2) to an active position adjacent to the belt, when detectors (27) arranged on the trolley (11) adjacent to each guide arm sense the presence of a row of products (1) beside the guide arm in question.

5. An arrangement according to claim 4, characterized in that each guide arm (16-20) is provided with guide devices (21) arranged so that they, together with the guide devices (21) on an adjacent guide arm, form separate compartments for each product (1) in row of products which has been advanced, the outer guide arms (16, 20) of the grouping unit having guide devices (21) on the side facing inward, while the intermediate guide arms (17, 19) have guide devices (21) on both sides.

6. An arrangement according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that the packages (10) intended for the products (1) are arranged after the conveyor belt (2) with their openings facing upwards, these openings being covered by a horizontally movable sheet (28), the top surface of which lies on a level with the top part of the belt conveyor (2).

Ansprüche

1. Verfahren zum automatischen Ausrichten und Einbringen in Verpackungen (10) von Produkten (1), zugeführt mit einem Förderband (2), bei dem die Produkte (1) in einem Ausrichtaggregat (I) sowohl längs als auch quer zu der Transportrichtung (A) in Reihen ausgerichtet und die ausgerichteten Reihen der Produkte (1) in einem Gruppieraggregat (11) zur Bildung von Verpackungsmoduln gruppiert werden, wonach die gruppierten Produkte (1) durch das Gruppieraggregat (11) in eine Position oberhalb der Verpackungen (10) bewegt werden, wo ihre Freigabe erfolgt, so daß sie nach unten in Räume fallen, die in den Verpackungen den Produkten (1) angepaßt sind, dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß die Produkte (1) in dem Ausrichtaggregat (I) in Stufen durch eine Anzahl von Ausrichterarmen (3-6) ausgerichtet werden, deren Anzahl für die fragliche Ausrichtung genügt, und daß die Ausrichterarme (3―6) die Produkte während ihres Vorwärtstransports aufeinanderfolgend ausrichten und sich bei der Annäherung einer Reihe der Produkte aus einer inaktiven Position oberhalb des Förderbandes (2) in eine aktive Position bewegen, in welcher die Produkte (1) die Arme (3-6) berühren und sowohl längs als auch quer zu dem Förderband bewegt werden und in welcher die Arme (3―6) während einer Zeitdauer angeordnet bleiben, die zum Bewegen aller Produktreihen ausreicht.

2. Anordnung zum automatischen Ausrichten und Einbringen in Verpackungen (10) von Produkten (1), zugeführt mit einem Förderband (2), die aus einem Ausrichtaggregat (I) zum Ausrichten der Produkte (1) in Reihen und einem Gruppieraggregat (11) besteht, das eine Anzahl von Führungsarmen (16-20) aufweist, die quer zur Transportrichtung angeordnet und aufeinanderfolgend für eine Gruppierung der Produkte (1) zur Bildung von Verpackungsmoduln benutzt werden, wobei das Gruppieraggregat (11) derart angeordnet ist, daß es die Produkte (1) mit den Führungsarmen (16-20) von dem Förderband (2) an die Verpackungen (10) übermittelt, dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß das Ausrichtaggregat (I) eine Anzahl von Ausrichterarmen (3-6) aufweist, die quer zu der Transportrichtung (A) angeordnet und dafür vorgesehen sind, die Produkte (1) während ihres Vorwärtstransports durch das Förderband (2) aufeinanderfolgend auszurichten, und daß die Ausrichterarme (3-6) durch einen Luftzylinder (8) zwischen einer inaktiven Position oberhalb des Förderbandes (2) und einer aktiven Position nahe des Förderbandes (2) bewegbar sind, in welcher die Produkte (1) während ihres Vorwärtstransports durch die V-förmige Anschlagflächen aufweisenden Ausrichterarme (3-6) angehalten und sowohl längs als auch quer zu der Transportrichtung (A) bewegt werden und in welcher die Arme (3-6) während einer Zeitdauer angeordnet bleiben, die zum Bewegen aller Produktreihen ausreicht.

3. Anordnung nach Anspruch 2, dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß vor jedem Ausrichterarm (3-6) ein Detektor (7, 9) vorgesehen und daß dieser Detektor (7, 9) zur Ermittlung der Anwesenheit einer Reihe der Produkte (1) angeordnet ist, um bei einer solcher Ermittlung den Luftzylinder (8) zu betätigen, so daß die zugeordneten Ausrichterarme (3-6) bewegt werden, wobei ein zu dem Detektor (7, 9) zugehöriges Zeitverzögerungsrelais derart angeordnet ist, daß es die Ausrichterarme (3-6) in der aktiven Position hält bis die gesamte Reihe der Produkte (1) ausgerichtet ist.

4. Anordnung nach Anspruch 2 oder 3, dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß in dem Gruppieraggregat (II) jeder Führungsarm (16-20) an der Kolbenstange eines Luftzylinders (22-26) befestigt und daß dieser Luftzylinders (22-26) vertikal auf einen Förderwagen (11) angeordnet ist, der oberhalb des Förderbandes (2) angeordnet und mittels eines Luftzylinders (12) horizontal verschoben werden kann, wobei jeder Führungsarm (16-20) derart angeordnet ist, daß er durch den zugeordneten Luftzylinder (22-26) aus einer inaktiven Position oberhalb des Förderbandes (2) in eine aktive Position nahe dem Förderband bewegt wird, wenn auf dem Förderwagen (11) in der Nähe jedes Führungsarmes angeordnete Detektoren (27) die Anwesenheit einer Reihe der Produkte (1) neben jeden fraglichen Führungsarm ermitteln.

5. Anordnung nach Anspruch 4, dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß jeder Führungsarm (16-20) mit derart angeordneten Führungsmitteln (21) versehen ist, daß diese Führungsmittel gemeinsam mit den Führungsmitteln (21) an einem benachbarten Führungsarm getrennte Räume für jedesfrodukt (1) in einer vorwärts transportierten Reihe der Produkte bilden, wobei die äußeren Führungsarme (16-20) des Gruppieraggregats die Führungsmittel (21) an der nach innen weisenden Seite aufweisen, während die dazwischen angeordneten Führungsarme (17-19) die Führungsmittel (21) an beiden Seiten haben.

6. Anordnung nach Anspruch 4 oder 5, dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß die für die Produkte gekennzeichnet, daß die für die Produkte (1) vorgesehenen Verpackungen (10) hinter dem Förderband (2) angeordnet sind und mit ihren Öffnungen nach oben weisen, wobei die Öffnungen mit einer horizontal beweglichen Platte (28) abgedeckt sind, deren Oberseite in einer mit dem oberen Teil des Förderbandes (2) gemeinsamen Ebene liegt.

Revendications

1. Un procédé pour automatiquement aligner et insérer dans des emballages (10) des produits (1) provenant d'une bande convoyeuse (2), lesdits produits (1) étant alignés en rangées à la fois longitudinalement et latéralement par rapport à la direction de transport (A) dans un dispositif d'alignement (I), les rangées alignées de produits (1) étant groupées pour former des modules d'emballage dans une unité de regroupement (II), après quoi les produits groupés (1) sont déplacés par l'unité de regroupement (II) dans une position, au-dessus des emballages (10), pour laquelle ils sont libérés de manière à tomber dans des espaces destinés aux produits (1) dans les emballages, caractérisé en ce que les produits (1) sont alignés par étapes par un certain nombre de bras d'alignement (3-6) du dispositif d'alignement (I), le nombre de bras d'alignement étant suffisant pour l'alignement en question, en ce que lesdits bras (3-6) alignent successivement les produits à mesure qu'ils avancent et, lorsqu'une rangée de produits s'approche, se déplacement depuis une position inactive au-dessus de la transporteuse (2) jusqu'à une position active pour laquelle les produits (1) sont en contact avec les bras (3-6) et sont déplacés à la fois longitudinalement et latéralement par rapport à la direction de la bande, et dans laquelle les bras (3-6) sont maintenus suffisamment longtemps pour déplacer toutes les rangées de produits.

2. Un agencement pour automatiquement aligner et insérer dans des emballages (10) des produits provenant d'une bande convoyeuse (2), comportant un dispositif d'alignement (I) pour aligner les produits (1) en rangées, une unité de regroupement (II) comprenant un certain nombre de bras de guidage (16-20) qui sont disposés transversalement à la direction de transport et sont ensuite utilisés pour grouper les produits (1) de manière à former des modules d'emballage, cette unité de regroupement (II) étant agencée pour qu'elle transfère les produits (1) par les bras (16-20) depuis la bande convoyeuse (2) jusqu'aux emballages (10), caractérisé en ce que le dispositif d'alignement (I) comporte un certain nombre de bras d'alignement (3-6) qui sont disposés transversalement à la direction de transport (A) et sont agencés pour aligner successivement les produits (1) à mesure qu'ils sont avancés par la bande convoyeuse (2), en ce que lesdits bras (3-6) peuvent être actionnés par un vérin à air (8) entre une position inactive au-dessus de la bande convoyeuse (2) et une position active adjacente à la bande (2), les produits (1), pour cette dernière position et à mesure qu'ils avancent, étant arrêtés et déplacés par lesdits bras (3-6) présentant des faces d'arrêt en forme de V longitudinalement et latéralement par rapport à la direction de transport A, et lesdits bras (3-6) étant maintenus dans cette dernière position pendant une durée suffisante pour déplacertoutes les rangées de produits.

3. Un agencement selon la revendication 2, caractérisé en ce qu'un détecteur (7, 9) est prévu en face de chaque bras d'alignement (3-6), et en ce que ce détecteur (7, 9) est agencé pour détecter la présence d'une rangée de produits (1) et, dans ce cas, pour commander le vérin à air (8) de manière que les bras d'alignement associés (3-6) soit actionnés, après quoi un relais à retard, appartenant au détecteur (7, 9), est agencé pour retenir les bras d'alignement (3-6) dans laposi- tion active jusqu'à ce que toute la rangée de produits (1) ait été alignée.

4. Un agencement selon la revendication 2 ou 3, caractérisé en ce que chaque bras de guidage (16―20) de l'unité de regroupement (II) est monté sur la tige de piston d'un vérin à air (22-26), et en ce que ce vérin (22-26) est disposé verticalement sur un chariot (11) qui est situé au-dessus de la bande convoyeuse et qui peut être déplacé horizontalement au moyen d'un vérin à air (12), le bras de guidage (16-20) étant agencé de manière qu'il soit déplacé par le vérin à air associé (22-26) depuis une position inactive au-dessus de la bande convoyeuse (2) jusqu'à une position active adjacente à la bande lorsque des détecteurs (27), disposés sur le chariot (11) au voisinage de chaque bras de guidage, détectent la présence d'une rangée de produits (1) à côté du bras de guidage en question.

5. Un agencement selon la revendication 4, caractérisé en ce que chaque bras de guidage (16-20) comporte des dispositifs de guidage (21) agencés pour définir, avec les dispositifs de guidage (21) d'un bras de guidage adjacent, des compartiments séparés pour chaque produit (1) d'une rangée de produits qui a été avancée, les bras de guidage extérieurs (16, 20) de l'unité de regroupement présentant des dispositifs de guidage (21) du côté tourné vers l'intérieur tandis que les bras de guidage intermédiares (17-19) présentent des dispositifs de guidage (21) sur les deux côtés.

6. Un agencement selon la revendication 4 ou 5, caractérisé en ce que les emballages (10) destinés aux produits (1) sont disposés après la bande convoyeuse (2), leurs ouvertures étant tournées vers le haut et étant recouvertes par une feuille (28) déplaçable horizontalement, la surface supérieure de celle-ci étant située au niveau de la partie supérieure de la bande convoyeuse (2).

Drawing