PACKAGING METHOD AND APPARATUS

Description

[0001] This invention relates to a packaging method and apparatus and in particular to a method and apparatus for packaging trimmer line such as is used in trimmer apparatus, generally known as 'strimmers'.

[0002] Presently, trimmer line is packaged by firstly coiling the line - either manually or with the aid of suitable machinery or apparatus - into a generally circular form. The generally circular form of trimmer line is then secured and maintained in its circular form either by means of adhesive tape or by other suitable means, whereafter the coiled line is placed in a pack for display and sale purposes.

[0003] Whilst the above-described packaging system adequately maintains the trimmer line within the pack, such that it is suitable for display and sale, it has a number of disadvantages. Firstly, such a system is very labour-intensive and time-consuming, and therefore very costly, and secondly and perhaps of greater importance to the end-user of the trimmer line, it is very often very difficult to remove the trimmer line from the pack without the trimmer line suddenly releasing itself from the pack and ending up as a tangled mess, resulting in time having to be spent in sorting out the tangle so that the line can be used, or in the extreme discarding the tangled line altogether.

[0004] There have been prior proposals for the packaging of filamentary material, but these suffered from one disadvantage or another. United Kingdom Patent No 1 143 756 discloses a method of and apparatus for packaging sutures, but the apparatus is unduly complicated, and United Kingdom Patent No 2 030 537 discloses a method of and apparatus for packaging filamentary material, and again the apparatus is similarly complicated, and includes apparatus parts which are not necessary to achieve the desired end result of the present invention.

[0005] The present invention therefore seeks to provide a method of and apparatus for packaging trimmer line which will obviate the above and other disadvantages.

[0006] According to the present invention there is provided apparatus for the packaging of trimmer line comprising means to feed a length of trimmer line from a supply source into guide means and thence into a closed container or package through a hole or aperture in said container or package, means being provided to sever the trimmer line when a predetermined length has been fed into said container or package, said guide means comprising feed pipes or needles located one above and one below said feed means, the trimmer line being sequentially fed into the upper pipe or needle and then into the lower pipe or needle from which it is fed through the hole or aperture into the closed container or package, characterised in that said lower pipe or needle is movable axially and towards and away from said upper pipe or needle, said feed means and said closed container or package so as to enable the distance between a lower end of said lower pipe or needle and said feed means to be varied.

[0007] Preferably, the means for feeding said length of trimmer line will comprise a pair of pinch wheels, at least one of which will be positively driven. Preferably, the other of said pinch wheels will be spring-loaded so that it is biassed towards the driven pinch roll.

[0008] The guide means will preferably comprise feed pipes or needles located one above and one below said pinch wheels, the trimmer line being sequentially fed into the upper pipe or needle and then into the lower pipe or needle from which it is fed into the closed container or package.

[0009] The lower of said piper or needles will preferably be movable axially so as to enable the distance of the end of said pipe or needle to be varied relative to the container or package, and the lower pipe or needle or a portion thereof may be rotatable about its axis relative to said container or package. The lower extremity of said lower pipe or needle may be flared.

[0010] Located in close proximity to the lower end of the lower of said pipes or needles there will preferably be cutting means to sever the trimmer line when a predetermined length thereof has been fed into said container or package, said cutting means preferably being pneumatically operated.

[0011] The closed container or package will preferably be mounted on a conveyor which is movable relative to said pipes or needles so as to move said container or package to and from a position beneath said pipes or needles.

[0012] Said apparatus will preferably include a control or programme unit to control, inter alia, the length of trimmer line fed to said closed container or package. the speed of feed of said trimmer line to said closed container or package, and the number of containers or packages completed.

[0013] In order that the invention may be more readily understood, an embodiment thereof will now be described, by way of example only, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of apparatus for packaging trimmer line in accordance with the invention;

Figure 2 is a side elevation on Figure 1; and

Figure 3 is a plan view of the apparatus of Figures 1 and 2.

[0014] Referring to the drawings, the trimmer line 2 mounted on a drum 4 is located on a drum table 6 which is rotated by a geared motor 8 so as to feed the trimmer line from the drum to a closed container or package 10 - having a hole or aperture 10A therein - located on a conveyor 12.

[0015] Located above the drum 4 is a guide bearing 14 through which the trimmer line 2 is fed and line guide rollers 16, 18, and 20 are provided as indicated. Adjacent the guide roller 20 is an upper feed pipe or needle 22 whose lower end is in close proximity to a pair of pinch rollers 24 and 26. A lower feed pipe or needle 28 whose upper end is located in close proximity to the pinch rollers 24 and 26 is provided to deliver the trimmer line to the container or package 10.

[0016] A pneumatically operated cutting means is located between the lower end of the feed pipe or needle 28 and the conveyor 12 so as to enable the trimmer line to be severed when a predetermined length of trimmer line has been inserted into the conatiner or package 10.

[0017] The pinch roller 24 is positively driven by being mounted on the output shaft of a motor 34 - which may be of the variable speed type or an induction motor having pulleys and a belt in order to vary its speed - and the pinch roller 26 is pivotable about a pivot pin 36 and is spring-loaded by means of a spring 38 so that it is biassed towards the pinch roller 24.

[0018] As will be seen from Figures 2 and 3, the output shaft 32 of the motor 34 carries a pulley wheel 40 which, through the intermediary of an endless belt 42, is in engagement with and causes rotation of a pulley wheel 44 to which is mounted a disc 46 carrying a reflector 48. A counter sensor 50 acts in conjunction with the reflector 48 as will be explained hereinafter.

[0019] The apparatus will incorporate a control panel including a suitable programme unit 52. the unit 52 including start and stop buttons 54 and 56 respectively, a length counter 58, a speed control 60, a delay unit 62, and a tally counter 64, the appropriate electronic components and circuitry (not shown) being located within the unit 52.

[0020] Although not shown in the drawings, the apparatus will preferably include a series of safety and/or warning lights in order to indicate any malfunctioning of the apparatus, and in order to indicate to an operator of the apparatus when, for example, the line drum needs to be replaced. The apparatus described will be mounted within a suitable casing 66.

[0021] The container or package 10 to be filled with the trimmer line 2 has, as will be seen from Figures 1 and 2, the hole or aperture 10A therein, and it is through this hole or aperture 10A that the trimmer line 2 is fed in to the otherwise completely closed container or package 10. The container or package 10 may be any suitable form of cavity pack, examples being a box, a blister card, a clam shell, or the like.

[0022] The sequence of operations of the apparatus described above is:

( i) position container or package 10 beneath the pipes or needles 22 and 28;

(ii) lower the pipe or needle 28 to the required position relative to the container or package 10;

(iii) feed the required length of trimmer line 2 from the drum 4 through the pipes or needles 22 and 28 into the closed container or package 10 through the hole or aperture 10A therein;

( iv) retract the pipe or needle 28;

( v) sever the trimmer line 2 by means of the cutting means 30 leaving a portion of the trimmer line projecting from the container or package 10; and

( vi) move the conveyor so as to move the filled container or package away from the filling station and so as to position the next container or package beneath the pipes or needles 22 and 28 in readiness to be filled with trimmer line.

[0023] Describing the operation of the apparatus in more detail, the trimmer line 2 is fed from the line drum 4 by actuating the motor 8 - it being understood that the drum will need to be driven at varying speeds (depending on the thickness of the trimmer line) in order to compensate for the take-off of the line - whereafter the line 2 passes through the guide bearing 14, over the line guides 16, 18, and 20, and thence into the upper pipe or needle 22. When the line 2 issues from the pipe or needle 22, it passes to the pinch rollers 24 and 26 which feed the line into the lower pipe or needle 28 from which the line enters the closed container or package through the hole or aperture 10A therein. When the predermined length of trimmer line has been fed into the container or package 10, the cutting means 30 is actuated so as to sever the line 2, leaving a portion of line projecting from the container or package through the hole or aperture 10A. The conveyor 12 is then operated so as to move the filled container or package 10 away from the filling station and to simultaneously position the next container or package on the conveyor at the filling station. In some instances, depending on the thickness of the line, size of drum etc., it may be unnecessary to drive the table 6.

[0024] When the filled container or package is moved away from the filling station and subsequently removed from the conveyor, the portion of line projecting from the container or package is secured in place on the outside of the container or package 10 either manually or by suitable mechanical or electrical/electronic means, not shown.

[0025] During the operation of the apparatus, the disc 46 is rotating, due to its interconnection with the motor 34, so that the reflector 48 carried by the disc 46 is also rotating, the rotation of the reflector 48 being sensed by the sensor 50 so as to count the number of revolutions of the disc and hence control the length of trimmer line fed from the drum 4 to the container or package 10.

[0026] In order to ensure correct filling of the container or package, it is critically important that the size of the container or package used is correct for the diameter of the line being packaged. In addition, the distance of the lower end of of the lower pipe or needle 28 from the hole or aperture 10A in the container or package 10 is also critical, as is the diameter of the pipe or needle 28.

[0027] If considered necessary or if it is desirable, the lower end of the lower pipe or needle 28, or indeed the whole pipe or needle 28, may rotate relative to the container or package being filled in order to aid the coiling of the trimmer line within the container or package 10. In addition, the lower end of the lower pipe or needle 28 may be provided with a flared end in order to better feed the line into the container or package being filled.

[0028] The apparatus described above may be incorporated into a complete forming and packaging line, wherein the required container or package is formed in situ, fed to the filling station and filled with trimmer line, and security tagged either manually or otherwise, the completed containers or packages then being placed in outer containers for onward transmission to storage or to a point of sale.

[0029] Thus the invention provides a method of and apparatus for packaging of trimmer line which obviates the known disadvantages of presently used packagings. The apparatus according to the invention is relatively inexpensive to manufacture and easy to operate, and trimmer line packaged in accordance with the invention can readily be removed from the container or package easily and quickly with no resultant tangle.

[0030] Finally, it will be appreciated that modifications to the above-described apparatus will readily suggest themselves to persons skilled in the art, and it is intended that such modifications be included within the scope of the appended claims. One such modification is the use of a magnetic field counter instead of the mechanical counter referred to above. A further modification is that instead of mounting the drum of trimmer line vertically on a drum table, the drum may be mounted horizontally, the line merely being drawn from the drum for feeding to the packaging position. In such a case, the drum would be provided with a magnetic brake to arrest movement of the drum at the appropriate time.

Claims

1. Apparatus for the packaging of trimmer line comprising means (24,26) to feed a length of trimmer line (2) from a supply source (4) into guide means (22,28) and thence intoa closed container or package (10) through a hole or aperture (10A) in said container or package, means (30) being provided to sever the trimmer line (2) when a predetermined length has been fed into said container or package (10), said guide means comprising feed pipes or needles (22,28) located one above and one below said feed means (24,26), the trimmer line being sequentially fed into the upper pipe or needle (22) and then into the lower pipe or needle (28) from which it is fed through the hole or aperture (10A) into the closed container or package (10), characterised in that said lower pipe or needle (28) is movable axially and towards and away from said upper pipe or needle (22), said feed means (24, 26) and said closed container or package (10) so as to enable the distance between a lower end of said lower pipe or needle (28) and said feed means (24,26) and said container or package (10) to be varied.

2. Apparatus according to Claim 1, characterised in that said means for feeding said length of trimmer line (2) comprises a pair of pinch wheels (24,26), at least one of which (24) is positively driven.

3. Apparatus according to Claim 2, characterised in that the other of said pinch wheels (26) is spring-loaded so that it is biassed towards said driven pinch wheel (26).

4. Apparatus according to any of Claims 1 to 3, characterised in that the lower pipe or needle (28) or a portion thereof is rotatable about its axis relative to said container or package (10).

5. Apparatus according to any of Claims 1 to 4, characterised in that the lower pipe or needle (28) is provided with a flared lower end to better feed the trimmer line (2) into said container or package (10).

6. Apparatus according to any of Claims 1 to 5, characterised in that cutting means (30) are located in close proximity to the lower end of the lower pipe or needle (28) to sever the trimmer line (2) when a predetermined length thereof has been fed into said container or package (10).

7. Apparatus according to Claim 6. characterised in that said cutting means (30) are pneumatically operated.

8. Apparatus according to any of Claims 1 to 7, characterised in that said closed container or package (10) is mounted on a conveyor (12) which is movable relative to said pipes or needles (22,28) so as to enable the container or package (10) to be moved to and from a position beneath said pipes or needles (22,28).

9. Apparatus according to any of Claims 1 to 8, including a control or programme unit (52) to control, inter alia, the length of trimmer line (2) fed to said closed container or package (10), the speed of feed of said trimmer line (2) to saod closed container or package (10) and the number of containers or packages (10) filled with trimmer line.

10. A method for the packaging of trimmer line including the steps of positioning a closed container or package (10) beneath a line tilling station, lowering a lower pipe or needle (28) to the required position relative to said container or package (10) and to feed means (24,26) for the line (2), feeding a required length of line (2) through an upper feed pipe or needle (22) and thence through said lower feed pipe or needle (28) into said closed container or package (10) through a hole or aperture (10A) therein, retracting said lower feed pipe or needle (28), severing the trimmer line (2) so as to leave a portion of said trimmer line (2) projecting from said container or package (10), and thereafter moving the filled container or package (10) away from said filling station and simultaneously positioning a further closed container or package (10) beneath said filling station.

Ansprüche

1. Vorrichtung zum Verpacken eines Trimmschnur aufweisenden Mittels (24, 26) zum Zuführen einer Länge von Trimmschnur (2) aus einer Vorratsquelle (4) in Führungsmittel (22, 28) und von dort in einen geschlossen Behälter oder eine geschlossene Packung (10) durch ein Loch oder eine Öffnung (10A) in dem genannten Behälter oder der Packung (10), wobei Mittel (30) vorgesehen sind, um die Trimmschnur (2) abzutrennen, wenn eine vorbestimmte Länge in den genannten Behälter oder die genannte Packung (10) einführt worden ist, wobei das genannte Führungsmittel Zuführohre oder Nadeln (22, 28) aufweist, von denen eine oberhalb und eine unterhalb des genannten Führungsmittel (24, 26) angeordnet ist, wobei die Trimmschnur nacheinander in das obere Rohr oder die obere Nadel (22) und anschließend in das untere Rohr oder die untere Nadel (28) eingeführt wird, von dem/der es durch das Loch oder die Öffnung (10A) in den geschlossen Behälter oder die geschlossene Packung (10) geführt wird, dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass das untere Rohr oder die untere Nadel (28) axial und in Richtung auf und von dem genannten oberen Rohr oder der oberen Nadel (22), den genannten Zuführmitteln (24, 26) und dem genannten geschlossenen Behälter oder der geschlossenen Packung (10) weg bewegbar ist, um Änderung des Abstands zwischen einem unteren Ende des genannten unteren Rohrs oder der unteren Nadel (28) und dem genannten Zuführmittel (24, 26) und dem genannten Behälter oder der Packung (10) zu ermöglichen.

2. Vorrichtung nach Anspruch 1, dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass das genannte Mittel zum Zuführen der genannten Länge von Trimmschnur (2) ein Paar Klemmräder (24, 26) aufweist, von denen wenigstens eines (24) zwangsläufig angetrieben wird.

3. Vorrichtung nach Anspruch 2, dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass das andere der genannten Klemmräder (26) unter Federspannung steht, so dass es in Richtung auf das angetriebene Klemmrad (26) vorgespannt wird.

4. Vorrichtung nach einem der Ansprüche 1 bis 3, dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass das untere Rohr oder die untere Nadel (28) oder ein Teil des/derselben um seine/ihre Achse in Bezug zu dem genannten Behälter oder der Packung (10) drehbar ist.

5. Vorrichtung nach einem der Ansprüche 1 bis 4, dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass das untere Rohr oder die untere Nadel (28) mit einem aufgeweiteten unteren Ende zum Verbessern der Zuführung von Trimmschnur (2) in den genannten Behälter oder die Packung (10) versehen ist.

6. Vorrichtung nach einem der Ansprüche 1 bis 5, dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass die Schneidemittel (30) in dichter Nähe zum unteren Ende des unteren Rohrs oder der unteren Nadel (28) angeordnet sind, um die Trimmschnur (2) abzutrennen, wenn eine vorbestimmte Länge derselben in den genannten Behälter oder die Packung (10) geführt worden ist.

7. Vorrichtung nach Anspruch 6, dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass die genannten Schneidemittel (30) pneumatisch betätigt werden.

8. Vorrichtung nach einem der Ansprüche 1 bis 7, dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass der genannte geschlossene Behälter oder die geschlossen Packung (10) auf einem Fördergerät (12) angebracht ist, das in Bezug zu den genannten Rohren oder Nadeln (22, 28) bewegbar ist, um so Bewegung des Behälters oder der Packung (10) zu und aus einer Position unterhalb der genannten Rohre oder Nadeln (22, 28) zu ermöglichen.

9. Vorrichtung nach einem der Ansprüche 1 bis 8, die eine Steuer- oder Programmeinheit (52) zum Steuern, unter anderem, der Länge der dem genannten geschlossenen Behälter oder der geschlossen Packung (10) zugeführten Trimmschnur (2), der Zuführgeschwindigkeit der genannten Trimmschnur (2) zu dem genannten geschlossenen Behälter oder der geschlossenen Packung (10) und der Anzahl von mit Trimmschnur gefüllten Behältern oder Packungen (10) umfasst.

10. Verfahren zum Verpacken von Trimmschnur, das die Schritte umfasst, einen geschlossenen Behälter oder eine geschlossene Packung (10) unter einer Schnurfüllstation zu positionieren, ein unteres Rohr oder eine untere Nadel (28) zu der erforderlichen Position in Bezug zu dem genannten Behälter oder der genannten Packung (10) und zu Zuführmitteln (24, 26) für die Schnur (2) abzusenken, eine benötige Länge von Schnur (2) durch ein oberes Zuführrohr oder eine obere Zuführnadel (22) und von dort durch das genannte untere Zuführrohr oder die untere Zuführnadel (28) in den genannten geschlossenen Behälter oder die geschlossene Packung (10) durch ein darin ausgebildetes Loch oder eine darin ausgebildete Öffnung (10A) einzuführen, das genannte untere Zuführrohr oder die untere Zuführnadel (28) zurückzuziehen, die Trimmschnur (2) so abzutrennen, um einen Teil der genannten Trimmschnur (2) aus dem genannten Behälter oder der Packung (10) vorstehen zu lassen, und danach den gefüllten Behälter oder die gefüllte Packung (10) von der genannten Füllstation weg zu bewegen und gleichzeitig einen weiteren geschlossenen Behälter oder eine weitere geschlossene Packung (10) unter der genannten Füllstation zu positionieren.

Revendications

1. Dispositif pour le conditionnement d'un fil de cisaillement comprenant un moyen (24, 26) pour alimenter une longueur de fil de cisaillement (2) depuis une source d'alimentation (4) dans un moyen de guidage (22, 28) et de là dans un récipient ou boîtier fermé (10) à travers un trou ou ouverture (10A) dans ledit récipient ou boîtier, un moyen (30) étant fourni pour couper le fil de cisaillement (2) quand une longueur prédéterminée a été alimentée dans ledit récipient ou boîtier (10), ledit moyen de guidage comprenant des tuyaux ou aiguilles d'alimentation (22, 28) situés l'un au-dessus et l'un en dessous dudit moyen d'alimentation (24, 26), le fil de cisaillement étant alimenté séquentiellement dans le tuyau ou aiguille supérieur (22) puis dans le tuyau ou aiguille inférieur (28) à partir duquel il est passé à travers le trou ou ouverture (10A) dans le récipient ou boîtier fermé (10),
caractérisé en ce que ledit tuyau ou aiguille inférieur (28) est déplaçable axialement et vers et à l'écart dudit tuyau ou aiguille supérieur (22), dudit moyen d'alimentation (24, 26) et dudit récipient ou boîtier fermé (10) de manière à pouvoir varier une distance entre une extrémité inférieure dudit tuyau ou aiguille inférieur (28) et ledit moyen d'alimentation (24, 26) et ledit récipient ou boîtier (10).

2. Dispositif selon la revendication 1, caractérisé en ce que ledit moyen d'alimentation de ladite longueur de fil de cisaillement (2) comprend une paire de roues de pincement (24, 26), dont au moins une (24) est commandée positivement.

3. Dispositif selon la revendication 2, caractérisé en ce que l'autre desdites roues de pincement (26) est chargée préliminairemnet par ressort de telle sorte qu'elle soit chargée préliminairement vers ladite roue de pincement entraînée (26).

4. Dispositif selon l'une quelconque des revendications 1 à 3, caractérisé en ce que le tuyau ou aiguille inférieur (28) ou une partie de celui-ci peut tourner autour de son axe par rapport audit récipient ou boîtier (10).

5. Dispositif selon l'une quelconque des revendications 1 à 4, caractérisé en ce que le tuyau ou aiguille inférieur (28) est muni d'une extrémité inférieure évasée afin de mieux alimenter le fil de cisaillement (2) dans ledit récipient ou boîtier (10).

6. Dispositif selon l'une quelconque des revendications 1 à 5, caractérisé en ce que des moyens de coupe (30) sont situés à proximité de l'extrémité inférieure du tuyau ou de l'aiguille inférieur (28) afin de couper le fil de cisaillement (2) quand une longueur prédéterminée de celui-ci a été alimentée dans ledit récipient ou boîtier (10).

7. Dispositif selon la revendication 6, caractérisé en ce que lesdits moyens de coupe (30) sont actionnés pneumatiquement.

8. Dispositif selon l'une quelconque des revendications 1 à 7, caractérisé en ce que ledit récipient ou boîtier fermé (10) est monté sur une bande transporteuse (12) qui peut se déplacer par rapport auxdits tuyaux ou aiguilles (22, 28) de manière à permettre au récipient ou boîtier (10) de se déplacer vers et depuis une position en dessous desdits tuyaux ou aiguilles (22, 28).

9. Dispositif selon l'une quelconque des revendications 1 à 8, comportant une unité de commande ou de programme (52) pour commander, entre autres, la longueur du fil de cisaillement (2) alimentée vers ledit récipient ou boîtier fermé (10), la vitesse d'alimentation dudit fil de cisaillement (2) vers ledit récipient ou boîtier fermé (10) et le nombre de récipients ou boîtiers (10) remplis de fil de cisaillement.

10. Procédé pour le conditionnement d'un fil de cisaillement comportant les étapes de positionnement d'un récipient ou boîtier fermé (10) en dessous d'un poste de remplissage de fil, d'abaissement d'un tuyau ou aiguille inférieur (28) à la position requise par rapport audit récipient ou boîtier (10) et jusqu'à un moyen d'alimentation (24, 26) du fil (2), d'alimentation d'une longueur de fil (2) requise à travers un tuyau ou aiguille d'alimentation supérieur (22) et de là à travers ledit tuyau ou aiguille d'alimentation inférieur (28) dans ledit récipient ou boîtier fermé (10) à travers un trou ou ouverture (10A) dans celui-ci, de rétraction dudit tuyau ou aiguille d'alimentation inférieur (28), de coupe du fil de cisaillement (2) de manière à laisser une partie dudit fil de cisaillement (2) sortie dudit récipient ou boîtier (10), puis d'écartement du récipient ou boîtier rempli (10) dudit poste de remplissage et de positionnement simultané d'un autre récipient ou boîtier fermé (10) sous ledit poste de remplissage.

Drawing