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(11) | EP 1 413 535 A2 |
| (12) | EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION |
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| (54) | A device for winding a non reusable plastic film operating in a deep freezing tunnel. |
| (57) A device (1) for winding a non reusable plastic film (2) operating in a tunnel (3)
for deep freezing food products, comprising: a core (4) able to be wound by the film
(2); and at least a support (5) able to sustain the core (4) in rotary fashion about
its own axis (6) of rotation to wind about said core (4) the plastic film (2) exiting
the tunnel (3). The core (4) is made of at least two independent parts (7), which
are mutually separable to allow said core (4) to be freed from the grip of the film
(2) wound about it; and are capable of being rejoined to reconstitute the core (4)
and ready it to accept the winding of a successive said film (2) about it. |
[0001] The present invention relates to the technology for deep freezing food products in deep freezing tunnels operating continuously, with non reusable plastic film, and in particular it concerns a device for winding the film after its use in the deep freezing tunnel.
[0002] Currently, the technology for the continuous freezing of food products uses refrigeration tunnels - described for example in the document FR 9807727- which comprise an isothermal refrigeration cell essentially defined by the volume delimited by a horizontal refrigerated plane, and by an overlying container with heat insulating walls, which contains means for the cryogenic refrigeration of the atmosphere of the cell. The refrigerated plane causes the refrigeration of the products by conduction. The cryogenic refrigeration means, vice versa, subtract heat from the products by convection, for instance exploiting the heat exchange correlated to the thermal expansion of liquefied gases.
[0003] Within the refrigeration cell, with rubbing above the refrigerated plane, a thin plastic film is made to advance continuously; said film, travelling through the cell between a section for the entry of the products and a section for their exit, transports above it the products to be refrigerated, preventing their direct contact with the underlying plane which, otherwise, would cause the products to adhere to the plane itself.
[0004] The plastic film is not re-usable, so in the course of its single use it unwinds from a first dispensing reel and, after travelling through the cell, it winds on a second collecting reel to be evacuated from the installation after its complete unwinding.
[0005] The advancement of the film along the cell is obtained by suitable motorisation means associated to the collecting reel.
[0006] In the practical utilisation of the above mentioned technology, the anchoring of the initial end of the film to the collecting reel is achieved by using a conventional adhesive tape which is arranged in such a way as to connect the film with the core of the collecting reel that is the intended recipient of the film itself.
[0007] When the film used in the tunnel is exhausted, i.e. when the collecting reel has exhausted its accumulation capacity, the no longer reusable film is sent off for disposal as waste. To do so, the reel is freed from the film accumulated thereon by manually cutting off the whole film cladding, achieved through a series of radial cuts performed with a knife which is previously and repeatedly driven into the film until it abuts against the inner core of the reel.
[0008] In addition to being highly dangerous for the person performing, given its evident potential for injury, this operation also has the drawback of requiring to be repeated many times with a useless waste of energies and personnel time.
[0009] The object of the present invention therefore is to overcome said drawbacks by means of a device that enables to evacuate the used film in a completely different and original manner which is absolutely safe, rapid and, lastly, such as to require a practically irrelevant amount of personnel resources.
[0010] In accordance with the invention, said aim is achieved by a winding device for a non reusable plastic film operating in a tunnel for deep freezing food products, comprising: a core able to be wound by the film; and at least a support able to sustain the core in rotary fashion about its own axis of rotation to wind about said core the plastic film exiting the tunnel; characterised in that said core is made of at least two independent parts, which are mutually separable to allow said core to be freed from the grip of the film wound about it; and are capable of being rejoined to reconstitute the core and ready it to accept the winding of a successive said film about it.
[0011] The technical features of the invention, according to the aforesaid objects, can clearly be noted from the content of the contents set out below and its advantages shall become more readily apparent in the detailed description that follows, made with reference to the accompanying drawings, which represent an embodiment provided purely by way non limiting example, in which:
- Figure 1 is a global perspective view of a refrigeration tunnel operating with non reusable plastic film;
- Figure 2 is a global perspective view of a detail of the refrigeration tunnel of Figure 1 shown in enlarged scale, with some details removed the better to highlight others;
- Figure 3 is a schematic side view of the detail of Figure 2;
- Figure 4 is a view of a detail of the invention of Figure 3, shown in enlarged scale.
[0012] With reference to the figures of the accompanying drawings, in Figure 1 the reference number 3 globally designates a tunnel for deep freezing food products, operating continuously with a non reusable plastic film 2 in accordance with a technique that is known in itself.
[0013] A first reel 21, located at an end of the tunnel 3 and associated to an unwinding device 22, delivers the plastic film 2.
[0014] A second reel 23, located at the opposite end of the tunnel 3, is destined to collect and accumulate on itself the plastic film 2 after the first and only use thereof.
[0015] To the second reel 23 is associated a device 24 for driving the plastic film 2 [Figure 2], which drives the film 2 along the tunnel 3 making slide above a refrigerated base plane 25. The products to be deep frozen are transported by the film 2 along the tunnel 3 undergoing, during their transfer from one end to the other, the deep freezing process by effect of the simultaneous subtraction of heat operated both by the underlying refrigerated plane 25, and by a gas-vaporisation refrigeration apparatus existing inside the tunnel 3.
[0016] The reel 23 for collecting the used film [Figure 2] is provided with a winding device 1, which constitutes the specific subject of the invention, and which essentially comprises: a core 4 able to wound by the film 2 and two supports 5 which: are able to sustain the core 4 at the opposite ends; are motorised in rotary fashion, about their own axis of rotation 6, by a suitable motorisation organ 11; supports 5 whose rotation imparted by a related motor organ 15 allows to wind the plastic film 2 about the core 4, as the film exits the tunnel 3.
[0017] More in particular [Figure 3], the core 4 is made of two independent parts 7 - shaped, by way of non limiting example, in two geometrically complementary half-shells - which parts 7 are able to be mutually associated in such a way as together to define said core 4, giving it in particular a non circular contour; parts 7 which, however, are also mutually separable for reasons which shall be discussed in the remainder of the description.
[0018] The supports 5 are provided with two pairs of independent seats 8: two for each of the opposite ends of the core 4 [Figure 4].
[0019] Each of the seats 8 has a shape that is complementary to the contour of the parts 7 composing the core 4 and it is accessible, for the core 4 to be retained, by longitudinal translation to the direction of the axis 6 of rotation.
[0020] The seats 8 are thus shaped in such a way as to: make the supports 5 and the core 4 mutually integral according to a rotation conducted about the axis 6 of the core 4, but also in such a way as to allow the removable relative association, i.e. the possibility of disengagement, of core 4 and supports 5 by a longitudinal translation to the axis 6 of rotation.
[0021] The seats 8 of a same support 5 are also shaped in such a way as to fasten to themselves the parts 7 composing the core 4, whilst maintaining them mutually distanced in the transverse direction to the axis of rotation of the core.
[0022] Between the component parts 7 mounted on the supports 5, an interposed slit 9 is thus created.
[0023] The slit 9 thus obtained is able to allow to engage an end of the film 2 making it automatically integral to the core 4 in the rotation thereof about its own axis 6. This allows to fasten an initial edge of the film 2 to start the winding of the film 2 about the core 4: operation which advantageously is accomplished with no need to use any extraneous fastening means such as adhesive tape or other equivalent means.
[0024] In Figure 3, and even better in Figure 4, it is apparent that the supports 5 are mutually translatable, longitudinally to the axis 6 of rotation of the core 4. This is obtained by making fixed a first support 5 and equipping the other support 5 with a guide 10.
[0025] The guide 10, constituted by a tubular body 26 in which the support 5 is able so slide axially, allows the support 5 itself to translate in the two senses of the direction of the axis 6 of rotation of the core 4 upon actuation of a commanded motorisation organ 11, associated to the support 5 and constituted, in the case at hand, by a hydraulic fluid cylinder.
[0026] In use, the command of the relative translation, longitudinal to the axis 6 of rotation, away from the supports 5, imparted by means of the motorisation organ 11, allows to free the second reel 23, filled by the used film 2, by disengaging the second reel from the supports 5, i.e. by disengaging its core 4 and the film 2 wound about it.
[0027] At this point, although the film 2 is now tightly wound about the core 4 of the reel 23, the component parts 7 of the core 4, by effect of the distanced positioning acquired by them during the winding, now have the ability of being approached to each other to be freed from the grip of the film 2 and hence to be extracted in the direction of the axis 6 of rotation of the reel 23.
[0028] Once they are extracted and freed from the film 2, the component parts 7 of the core 4 can be mounted once again on the supports 5 to recompose the core 4 anew and ready it to accept the winding about it of a new, successive, film 2 exiting the tunnel 3.
[0029] The invention therefore allows fully to achieve the primary object of eliminating the dangerous and laborious film cutting operations. It also facilitates and speeds up the initial connection of the film to the core 4 of the collecting reel 23 and it makes the operations for removing the full reel 23 very simple, very rapid and executable without appreciable effort and with a minimal use of personnel resources.
[0030] In addition, using hydraulic fluid actuation to power both the motor organ 15 for the rotation of the supports 5 and the organ 11 destined to the axial regulation of their relative distance, the advantages of centralisation are coupled with the simplified construction of the accessory apparatuses of the tunnel 3 and the capability of easily automating control of all operations connected in particular to the functionality of the present device 1.
1. A device for winding a non reusable plastic film (2) operating in a tunnel (3) for
deep freezing food products, comprising: a core (4) able to be wound by the film (2);
and at least a support (5) able to sustain the core (4) in rotary fashion about its
own axis (6) of rotation to wind about said core (4) the plastic film (2) exiting
the tunnel (3); characterised in that said core (4) is made of at least two independent parts (7), which are mutually separable
to allow said core (4) to be freed from the grip of the film (2) wound about it; and
are capable of being rejoined to reconstitute the core (4) and ready it to accept
the winding of a successive said film (2) about it.
2. A device, as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that said core(4) can be removably associated to said at least a support (5).
3. A device, as claimed in claim 1 or 2, characterised in that said independent parts (7) are shaped as shells, which are geometrically complementary
to provide said core (4), in mutual combination, with a non circular contour; said
at least a support (5) being provided with at least a seat (8) which is shaped complementarily
to said contour in order to make said one or each support (5) and said core (4) mutually
integral according to a rotation conducted about the axis (6) of the core (4), said
at least a seat (8) being shaped in a manner able to allow the removable association
of said core (4) and of said at least a support (5) with a relative translation, longitudinal
to the axis (6) of rotation.
4. A device, as claimed in any of the previous claims, characterised in that said parts (7) can be mutually associated in such a way as to define in mutual combination
at least an interposed slit (9), accessible transversely to said axis of rotation
(6), said slit (9) being able to engage an end of the film (2) making it integral
with the core (4) in the rotation thereof about its own axis (6), thereby allowing
the winding of the film (2) about the core (4).
5. A device, as claimed in claim 4, characterised in that said slit (9) is determined by an arrangement of said parts (7) relative to the supports
(5) such as to maintain the parts (7) appropriately distanced from each other.
6. A device, as claimed in any of the previous claims, characterised in that said at least a support (5) is provided with as many said independent seats as there
are said component parts (7) of the core (4).
7. A device, as claimed in any of the previous claims, characterised in that said supports (5) are at least two and can be associated to the opposite ends of
said core (4).
8. A device, as claimed in any of the previous claims, characterised in that at least one said support (5) is motorised in rotation by a related motor organ (15).
9. A device, as claimed in claim 8, characterised in that said motor organ (15) is powered by a hydraulic fluid.
10. A device, as claimed in claim 7, characterised in that said supports (5) can be translated relative to each other, longitudinally to the
axis (6) of rotation of the core (4).
11. A device, as claimed in claim 10, characterised in that a first said support (5) is fixed, the device (1) comprising a guide (10) in which
the second support (5) is movable in such a way as to be translatable relative to
said fixed support (5), longitudinally to the axis (6) of rotation of said core (4).
12. A device, as claimed in claim 11, characterised in that it comprises an organ (11) for the commanded motorisation of the translation of said
support (5).
13. A device, as claimed in claim 12, characterised in that said motorisation organ (11) is powered by a hydraulic fluid.