PACKAGING MACHINE DESIGNED FOR THE COMPRESSION AND PACKING OF BLOCKS OF EXPANDED MATERIAL

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present invention relates to a packaging machine designed and equipped for the compression and packing of blocks of expanded material and in particular expanded polyurethane.

[0002] In particular the present invention relates to a machine comprising means for compressing blocks of expanded polyurethane in such a way that the pressed blocks are wrapped in a flat plastic barrier film (that is, one which does not allow air to pass) which in turn is sealed on its four sides by sealing bars.

[0003] This forms a vacuum-packed package which prevents the re-expansion of the material until opening of the package and at the same time keeps the product perfectly clean and protected from external agents.

[0004] The machine according to the present invention comprises a block compression unit and a vacuum packaging unit equipped with sealing bars with a cold sealing system.

[0005] The present invention relates to the packaging industry and in particular to the sector for packing expanded material such as expanded polyurethane or similar products.

BACKGROUND ART

[0006] It is well known that the compression of expanded material for the purposes of reducing its volume ready for shipping to its destination is one of the problems faced by operators in the sector for which a solution has not yet been found.

[0007] Known technology includes machines which can compress materials in order to reduce their volume but these machines are not suitable for use specifically in the sector of expanded polyurethane. The reason for this is that these machines do not have the components necessary for compressing the product and keeping it in this condition with a suitable packaging designed specifically for holding and containing the object compressed to its minimum dimensions.

[0008] Known technology also includes a method for reducing the volume of expanded polyurethane blocks and then packing them. However, this solution describes the method in theory only without explaining how a machine to perform this function may be made or which of the problems to which the present invention proposes a remedy may in effect be solved.

[0009] Document NL-A-8401630 describes a a packing machinery for glass fibre matting. According to this document, piles of glass fibre mats are carried, four at a time, away from the manufacturing stae by a first conveyor belt. The piles are pushed together sideways on a second conveyor belt. The groups of four piles are then lifted on forks to form a double height pile between a roller transporter and an upper conveyor. The piles are then compressed by a cylinder before being transported sideways to a pair of conveyor belts. The piles are then transported to a final pair of belts fed with two sheets of polythene above and below and the sealed into a packet by melting the sheets together along the edges.

[0010] The overall structure of the machinery appears to be quite burdensome, featuring different pairs of conveyors to advance the piles of glass fibre mats. Furthermore, the machinery is not suitable for being used to compress and pack blocks of expanded polyurethane, which are particularly soft and contain a large percentage of air. In particular, the machine according to this NL document does not provide any means for avoiding an immediate re-expansion of the block once the piles are transferred to the wrapping unit, and the same wrapping unit is not provided with any means for keeping the compressed blocks under a given pressure during the wrapping phase in order to prevent a sudden re-expansion of the blocks. As a result, the machine according to said NL document may well be used for pressing and packing a relatively rigid material such a glass fibre mat, but it may not be used for packing softer materials such as expanded polyurethane.

[0011] Document EP-A-1216923 discloses a method and a device for packaging at least one stack of a plurality of articles made of paper. The device includes pressing means, which receive and compress the stack of articles to be packaged and transferring means which transfer longitudinally the stack by pushing it to hit a wrapping unit having a pair of reels from which a wrapping film is unwound, and a pair of opposed conveyors for transferring onwards the stack of articles during the wrapping operation. The means for transferring the stack to the wrapping unit are constituted by a piston acting on a side of the stack. This solution may only be used in case of stacks of rigid articles such as compressed paper articles, but it is not suitable for being used for transferring relatively soft articles such as blocks made of expanded polyurethane.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] The present invention provides a packaging machine for the compression and packaging of blocks of expanded material, in particular blocks of expanded polyurethane, which eliminates, or at least reduces, the shortcomings outlined above.

[0013] The present invention also provides a packaging machine for the compression and packaging of blocks of expanded material, in particular blocks of expanded polyurethane, which is simple to make and has a high production capacity. The machine is also able to compress with the maximum efficacy blocks of expanded polyurethane and products which need to be reduced to their minimum dimensions ready for transport.

[0014] These aims are achieved by a packaging machine for the compression and packaging of blocks of expanded material, whose characteristics are described in the main claim.

[0015] The dependent claims of the solution herein describe advantageous example embodiments of the invention.

[0016] The main advantages of this solution, in addition to those which derive from the simplicity of its construction, principally concern the fact that the machine according to the present invention generally enables pressing of the block by means of two hydraulic presses in order to eliminate the air contained inside the block.

[0017] In a second stage of the work cycle of the machine according to the present invention, the pressed block is wrapped in a flat-sheet plastic barrier film, that is one film which prevents the passage of air, which is then sealed on its four sides by means of suitable sealing bars.

[0018] In this way the machine forms a vacuum-packed package which prevents the re-expansion of the material until opening of the package and at the same time keeps the product perfectly clean and protected from external agents.

[0019] The machine according to the present invention substantially comprises:

an infeed block comprising an infeed conveyor belt on wheels and an upper conveyor belt which is fitted with a first hydraulic press;

a central block carrying a crossways sealing bar with our patented cold sealing system and a powered lower reel holder and a powered upper reel holder;

a rear block comprising a second conveyor belt and an upper conveyor belt which is fitted with the second hydraulic press and the two side sealing bars with our patented cold sealing system;

[0020] The machine is also fitted with an electric hoist for loading the upper reel, a ladder and a gangway for reaching the upper part of the machine easily, a control panel and a personal computer which can be loaded with programs for the individual types of block.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] Further features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the description of an example embodiment which follows with reference to the annexed drawings, given purely by way of a non-limiting example, in which:

• Figure 1 shows a side view of the machine according to the present invention in its entirety;
• Figure 2 shows a plan view of the machine according to the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF AN EXAMPLE EMBODIMENT

[0022] With reference to the annexed drawings, the machine according to the present invention substantially comprises a steel load bearing structure 10 which is substantially divided into the three blocks shown in Figure 2 as follows:

• a first block "A" comprising an infeed unit 11, mounted on wheels, which has a first lower infeed conveyor belt 12 and a second upper infeed conveyor belt 13 which is fitted with a first hydraulic press 14;
• a second block "B" containing a crossways sealing bar 15 (shown in Figure 2) operating with a cold sealing system and a powered lower reel holder 16 and a powered upper reel holder 17;
• a third block "C" comprising a second outfeed conveyor which in turn comprises an upper conveyor belt 18 fitted with a central hydraulic press 19 counter opposing a further lower conveyor belt 20, and two side sealing bars 21 employing a cold sealing system.

[0023] The first hydraulic press 14 which moves the upper conveyor 13 in a vertical direction, and the second central hydraulic press 19 which moves the second upper conveyor 18 in the vertical direction are actuated in the vertical direction by the hydraulic cylinders 22 and 23 respectively.

[0024] The machine according to the present invention also comprises an electric hoist 24, fitted to a support 25, for loading the upper reel and a ladder 26 and a gangway 27 for reaching the upper part of the machine easily.

[0025] The entire equipment is controlled from a control panel and a personal computer which can be loaded with programs for the individual types of block of expanded polyurethane.

[0026] During operation, the machine 10 enables pressing of the block by two hydraulic presses 14 and 19 thereby eliminating the air contained in the block of expanded polyurethane.

[0027] The pressed block of expanded polyurethane is then wrapped in a plastic barrier film 28, that is, a film which does not allow air to pass, which in turn is sealed on its four sides by sealing bars 15 and 21.

[0028] This forms a vacuum-packed package which prevents the re-expansion of the material until opening of the package and at the same time keeps the product perfectly clean and protected from external agents.

[0029] As already stated above, the reduction in volume of between 70 to 80%, depending on the density and capacity of the polyurethane, has a two-fold advantage: firstly, it enables a sizeable saving in transport costs because a presser truck is no longer required and approximately twice the number of blocks can now be loaded onto standard pallets and secondly, because it enables savings in storage space.

[0030] The press is installed on a conveyor belt in such a way as to ensure that compression takes place uniformly without deforming the product thereby ensuring perfect re-expansion when the packaging is removed.

[0031] The infeed press also acts as a mangle using a continuous series of pressing and raising movements which facilitate the opening of the product cells.

[0032] We will now describe the production cycle of a machine according to the present invention.

[0033] In the first cycle step a block of expanded polyurethane is fed into the machine using a forklift truck, a lifter infeed conveyor, a lifter platform or other known devices which enable the positioning of the block on the lower infeed conveyor belt 12.

[0034] Once the block of expanded polyurethane is positioned on the conveyor belt 12, the infeed press 14 travels downwards automatically so that the upper conveyor belt 13 presses the product to a percentage setting previously entered by the operator in the special management program.

[0035] In this cycle step it is possible to activate the "mangle" function which enables opening of the block cells by means of series of pressing movements alternating with short upwards movements of the press 14.

[0036] At this point the compressed block passes into the "curtain" of film 28 formed by sealing of the upper reel 17 with the lower reel 16. The block is conveyed into the film curtain 28 and continues forward until it reaches the second conveyor belt 18.

[0037] During the passage, two pneumatic blowers (actuated by solenoid valves) are activated and keep the film 28 suitably tensioned.

[0038] During the operation described in the point above, the movement of the conveyor belt is accompanied by a horizontal movement of the entire infeed block so that the head of the block passes from the infeed conveyor belt 12 to the central conveyor belt 20 without the risk of re-expanding in the narrow gap between one belt and the other where the crossways sealing bar 15 is located.

[0039] Once the block is positioned on the second conveyor belt 20, the crossways sealing bar 15 travels downwards and makes the seal at the tail of the package.

[0040] The second press 19 travels downwards and compresses the product to the final percentage previously set in special management program.

[0041] At this point sealing is performed by the two side sealing bars 21 on the remaining two sides so that the product is packed and ready to be unloaded from the machine.

[0042] The invention as described above refers to a preferred embodiment. Naturally, while the principle of the invention remains the same, the details of construction and the embodiments may widely vary with respect to what has been described and illustrated purely by way of the example, without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined by the claims

Claims

1. A packaging machine (10) designed and equipped for the compression and packing of blocks of expanded polyurethane, said machine comprising:

- a first block "A" comprising an infeed unit (11) mounted on wheels, which has a lower infeed conveyor belt (12) and an upper infeed conveyor belt (13) which is fitted with a first hydraulic press (14);

- a second block "B" containing a crossways sealing bar (15) operating with a cold sealing system and a powered lower reel holder (16) and a powered upper reel holder (17), said upper and lower reel holders (16, 17) carrying a film for wrapping a compressed block of expanded polyurethane;

- a third block "C" comprising a second outfeed conveyor which in turn comprises an upper outfeed conveyor belt (18) counter opposing a lower outfeed conveyor belt (2);

said machine being characterised in that said second outfeed conveyor is fitted with a second hydraulic press (19) for mantaining said block of expanded polyurethane compressed during the wrapping phase, thereby avoiding a re-expansion of said block, in that the wrapping film (28) is a plastic barrier film, i.e. a film which does not allow air to pass, and in that said third block "C" further comprises a pair of side sealing bars (21) employing a cold sealing system, whereby in said third block "C" a vacuum-packed package is formed which prevents the re-expansion of the material until opening of the package and at the same time keeps the product perfectly clean and protected from external agents.

2. A packaging machine (10) according to claim 1, characterised in that the first hydraulic press (14) moves the upper infeed conveyor belt (13) in a vertical direction, and the second hydraulic press (19) moves the upper outfeed conveyor (18) in the vertical direction, said presses (14, 19) being actuated in the vertical direction by hydraulic cylinders (22, 23).

3. A packaging machine (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that it comprises an electric hoist (24), fitted to a support (25), for loading the upper reel, and a ladder (26) and a gangway (27) for reaching the upper part of the machine easily.

4. A packaging machine (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that it is operated and controlled from a control panel and a personal computer which can be loaded with programs for individual types of block of expanded polyurethane.

Ansprüche

1. Verpackungsmaschine (10), die zum Zusammenpressen und Verpacken von geschäumtem Polyurethan gestaltet und ausgerüstet ist, wobei die Maschine Folgendes umfasst:

- einen ersten Block "A", der eine Zuführungseinheit (11) umfasst, die auf Rädern angebracht ist und ein unteres Zuführungsförderband (12) und ein oberes Zuführungsförderband (13), das mit einer ersten hydraulischen Presse (14) ausgestattet ist, aufweist;

- einen zweiten Block "B", der einen Quersiegelbalken (15) enthält, welcher mit einem Kaltversiegelungssystem und einem angetriebenen unteren Spulenhalter (16) und einem angetriebenen oberen Spulenhalter (17) arbeitet, wobei der obere und der untere Spulenhalter (16, 17) einen Film zum Umwickeln eines zusammengepressten Blocks aus geschäumtem Polyurethan tragen;

- einen dritten Block "C", der einen zweiten Auslaufförderer umfasst, welcher wiederum ein oberes Auslaufförderband (18) umfasst, das einem unteren Auslaufförderband (2) gegenüberliegt;

wobei die Maschine dadurch gekennzeichnet ist, dass der zweite Auslaufförderer mit einer zweiten hydraulischen Presse (19) ausgestattet ist, um den Block aus geschäumtem Polyurethan während der Umwicklungsphase zusammengepresst zu halten, wodurch ein erneutes Ausdehnen des Blocks vermieden wird, dass der Umwicklungsfilm (28) ein Kunststoffsperrschichtfilm ist, d.h., ein Film ist, der keinen Durchgang von Luft gestattet, und dass der dritte Block "C" ferner ein Paar von Seitensiegelbalken (21) umfasst, die ein Kaltversiegelungssystem einsetzen, wobei in dem dritten Block "C" eine vakuumverpackte Packung gebildet wird, die ein erneutes Ausdehnen des Materials bis zum Öffnen der Packung verhindert und gleichzeitig das Produkt perfekt sauber und vor externen Faktoren geschützt hält.

2. Verpackungsmaschine (10) nach Anspruch 1, dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass die erste hydraulische Presse (14) das obere Zuführungsförderband (13) in einer senkrechten Richtung bewegt, und die zweite hydraulische Presse (19) das obere Auslaufförderband (18) in einer senkrechten Richtung bewegt, wobei die Pressen (14, 19) durch Hydraulikzylinder (22, 23) in der senkrechten Richtung betätigt werden.

3. Verpackungsmaschine (10) nach einem der vorhergehenden Ansprüche, dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass sie einen an einem Träger (25) angebrachten elektrischen Hebezug (24), um die obere Spule zu beladen, und eine Leiter (26) und einen Laufsteg (27) zum leichten Erreichen des oberen Teils der Maschine umfasst.

4. Verpackungsmaschine (10) nach einem der vorhergehenden Ansprüche, dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass sie von einem Bedienpult und einem Personalcomputer, der mit Programmen für einzelne Arten von Blöcken aus geschäumtem Polyurethan geladen werden kann, betrieben und gesteuert werden kann.

Revendications

1. Emballeuse (10) conçue et équipée pour comprimer et emballer des blocs de polyuréthane expansé, ladite emballeuse comprenant :

- un premier bloc « A » comprenant une unité d'alimentation (11) montée sur des roues, qui possède une bande transporteuse d'alimentation inférieure (12) et une bande transporteuse d'alimentation supérieure (13) qui est dotée d'une presse hydraulique (14) ;

- un deuxième bloc « B » contenant une barre de scellement transversale (15) fonctionnant avec un système de scellement à froid et un support de bobine commandée inférieur (16) et un support de bobine commandée supérieur (17), lesdits supports de bobine supérieur et inférieur (16, 17) supportant un film destiné à emballer un bloc comprimé de polyuréthane expansé ;

- un troisième bloc « C » comprenant un deuxième transporteur de sortie qui comprend de son côté une bande transporteuse de sortie supérieure (18) faisant face à une bande transporteuse de sortie inférieure (2) ;

ladite emballeuse étant caractérisée en ce que ledit deuxième transporteur de sortie est doté d'une deuxième presse hydraulique (19) destinée à maintenir ledit bloc de polyuréthane expansé dans l'état comprimé pendant la phase d'emballage, ce qui évite audit bloc à se dilater à nouveau, en ce que le film d'emballage (28) est un film de matière plastique formant barrière, c'est-à-dire un film qui ne permet pas à l'air de passer, et en ce que ledit troisième bloc « C » comprend en outre une paire de barres de scellement latérales (21) qui utilisent un système de scellement à froid et au moyen desquelles dans ledit troisième bloc « C » est formé un emballage obtenu sous vide qui empêche, jusqu'à l'ouverture de l'emballage, le matériau de se dilater de nouveau tout en maintenant le produit parfaitement propre et protégé vis-à-vis des agents externes.

2. Emballeuse (10) selon la revendication 1, caractérisée en ce que la première presse hydraulique (14) déplace la bande transporteuse d'alimentation supérieure (13) dans une direction verticale, et la deuxième presse hydraulique (19) déplace le transporteur de sortie supérieur (18) dans la direction verticale, lesdites presses (14, 19) étant actionnées dans la direction verticale par des vérins hydrauliques (22, 23).

3. Emballeuse (10) selon l'une quelconque des revendications précédentes, caractérisée en ce qu'elle comprend un palan électrique (24), doté d'un support (25) et destiné à charger la bobine supérieure, et une échelle (26) et une passerelle (27) destinées à atteindre facilement la partie supérieure de l'emballeuse.

4. Emballeuse (10) selon l'une quelconque des revendications précédentes, caractérisée en ce qu'elle est contrôlée et commandée à partir d'un tableau de commande et d'un ordinateur personnel qui peut être chargé avec des programmes relatifs à des types individuels de bloc de polyuréthane expansé.

Drawing