Device for transporting products, in particular packages for products in the cigarette industry

Abstract

The invention relates to a device for transporting products (10), more particularly packages for products (10) in the cigarette industry, with a continuous conveyor (11), more particularly a belt conveyor, on the conveying strand (14) of which drivers (15) for transporting the products (10) in a conveying direction (12) are arranged, wherein the drivers (15) are preferably designed to rest against a product (10) or to hold the product (10) between two successive drivers (15), and wherein the continuous conveyor (11) is guided over deflecting means (13), more particularly deflecting rollers or deflecting wheels. According to the invention, the drivers (15) on the conveying strand (14) of the continuous conveyor (11) are each releasably fastened by means of at least one fastening means (16) and an underside (24) of the drivers (15) facing the continuous conveyor (11) is in each case concave, wherein the drivers (15) are each fastened on the conveying strand (14) by means of the fastening means (16) in such a manner that the fastening strand (14) is curved in the region of the drivers (15) in the direction of the concave underside (24) of the drivers (15) and at least partially rests against the underside (24) of the drivers.

Description

[0001] Device for transporting products, in particular packages for products of the cigarette industry

[0002] Description

[0003] The invention relates to a device for transporting products, in particular packs for products of the cigarette industry, comprising an endless conveyor, in particular a belt conveyor, on the conveyor strand of which carriers are arranged for transporting the products in a conveying direction, wherein the carriers are preferably designed to bear against a product or to hold the product between two successive carriers, and wherein the endless conveyor is guided via deflections, in particular deflection rollers or deflection wheels, according to the preamble of claim 1.

[0004] Devices of this type, which are known from practice, are often used to transport (cuboid-shaped) packages for products of the cigarette industry.

[0005] For the purposes of the application, products of the cigarette industry are understood to include tobacco products such as cigarettes, cigarillos and the like, but also novel tobacco products such as heat-not-burn products or liquid carriers for e-cigarettes.

[0006] In the current state of the art, flights that are welded to the back of timing belts as endless conveyors are often used for transport. One problem with this can be the durability of the flights. At high conveyor speeds, the flights are greatly accelerated when entering the deflection area because their speed increases from the conveying speed of the endless conveyor to the peripheral speed in the deflection area. When the flights leave the deflection area, the process is reversed, so that the flights are loaded by the corresponding deceleration. These strong accelerations and decelerations when entering and exiting the deflection area load the flights so heavily that they tear off the timing belt.

[0007] Based on this, the invention is based on the object of further developing devices of the type mentioned at the outset, in particular with regard to a lower susceptibility to failure of the device and an improved durability of the drivers.

[0008] A device according to the invention has the features of claim 1. It is accordingly provided that the carriers are each detachably fastened to the conveyor strand of the endless conveyor by means of at least one fastening means, and that an underside of the carriers facing the endless conveyor is each concave, and wherein the carriers are each fastened to the conveyor strand by means of the fastening means in such a way that the conveyor strand is curved in the region of the carriers in the direction of the concave underside of the carriers and at least partially rests against the underside thereof.

[0009] An advantage of this solution can be that the forces acting on the drivers in the area of ​​a deflection are reduced by this design.

[0010] Preferably, it can be provided that the curvature of the conveyor run in the area of ​​the carriers corresponds to the (outer) radius of the conveyor run in the area of ​​the deflections.

[0011] This solution can have the advantage that the conveyor strand experiences the same load as in the deflection area.

[0012] Furthermore, it can be provided that the conveyor strand is designed as a toothed belt, wherein the drivers are each arranged in the area of ​​the teeth of the toothed belt.

[0013] An advantage of this solution can be that the timing belt is relatively stable or stiff in this area and can therefore absorb the load from the flights better than in the area between the teeth. Most preferably, the timing belt can be provided with a reinforcement strand, and the curvature of the timing belt strand in the area of ​​the flights corresponds to the (outer) radius of the strand of the conveyor strand in the area of ​​the deflections.

[0014] In this case, too, an advantage can be that the conveyor strand or strand experiences the same load as in the area of ​​the deflection.

[0015] A further special feature may be that recesses are provided in the conveyor run at predetermined intervals for fastening the carriers to the conveyor run by means of at least one fastening means.

[0016] In this case, it can preferably be provided that the (pitch) distance of the drivers can be adjusted by means of the predetermined recesses.

[0017] In a preferred embodiment, it can be provided that the distances between the carriers on the conveyor run and the distances between the deflections are coordinated with one another in such a way that when one carrier runs out of a deflection, another carrier runs into an adjacent deflection.

[0018] An advantage of this solution can be that it can compensate for the stresses in the conveyor belt that occur when running out and running in.

[0019] In an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it can be provided that the conveyor run only partially rests on the underside of the carriers and the carriers rest on the conveyor run in two sections in the area of ​​the underside, namely a section at the front in the conveying direction and a section at the rear in the conveying direction.

[0020] One advantage of this solution is that the carriers are held securely on the conveyor belt. Advantageously, the invention can be designed such that the carriers are rotated around the rear section when entering the area of ​​a deflection.

[0021] Preferably, it can be provided that the carriers are guided through the sections on the conveyor run and are secured against tipping and swinging.

[0022] Furthermore, it can be provided that the driver is fastened to the toothed belt via a plurality of fastening means in the region of a tooth of the toothed belt, wherein the fastening means are arranged on opposite sides or longitudinal edges of the toothed belt and are each guided through recesses in the toothed belt and connected to the driver.

[0023] In this case, it can further be provided that lateral or edge-side recesses are formed on the corresponding tooth in the area of ​​the fastening means, in particular in order to create space for a head of the fastening means.

[0024] Advantageous embodiments of the invention are described below with reference to the drawings, in which:

[0025] Fig. 1 is a side view of a first embodiment of a device for transporting packages,

[0026] Fig. 2 shows a part of the device in area II according to Fig. 1 in a partially enlarged view,

[0027] Fig. 3 is a vertical section through the device along section line II - II in Fig. 2,

[0028] Fig. 4 is a view of a conveyor strand of the device from below according to arrow IV in Fig. 1,

[0029] Fig. 5 shows a second embodiment of the device in a side view,

[0030] Fig. 6 is a plan view of a part of the device according to arrow VI in Fig. 5, Fig. 7 is a schematic representation of a driver in a deflection area, and

[0031] Fig. 8 shows a diagram of the angle, angular velocity and angular acceleration of a follower.

[0032] The invention is described below using two exemplary embodiments. Both embodiments relate to the transport of packages for products of the cigarette industry. However, the more general term "product 10" is used below instead of the term "package," since the devices are not limited to the transport of cuboid-shaped packages.

[0033] In both embodiments, the products 10 are transported in a conveying direction 12 by means of an endless conveyor 11. The endless conveyor 11 is guided, for example, over two deflections 13. In the area of ​​the deflections 13, the conveying strand 14 of the endless conveyor 11 is guided over deflection wheels 32, which are arranged at a distance from one another. In the present case, the conveying strand 14 is formed by a toothed belt. However, other solutions known from the prior art are also conceivable.

[0034] Carriers 15 are arranged at predetermined intervals around the circumference of the endless conveyor 11 or the conveyor strand 14. The carriers 15 are releasably attached to the conveyor strand 14, namely with screws in the present embodiments. Other fastening means 16 are also conceivable. The fastening means 16 are guided through recesses 17 in the conveyor strand 14 and attached to the carriers 15.

[0035] Fig. 1 shows, by way of example, in the area of ​​the right deflection 13 with dashed lines, also a driver 15' known from the prior art, which is conventionally welded to the conveyor strand 14.

[0036] In the present case, the screws are guided from below through the recesses 17 and screwed to a base plate 18 of the drivers 15. A contact plate 19, against which the products 10 rest, is connected to the base plate 18. A stiffening plate 20 additionally connects the base plate 18 and the contact plate 19. In the present case, each driver 15 is connected to the conveyor strand 14 by two fastening means 16. The fastening means 16 can be arranged between two teeth 21 in the longitudinal direction of the toothed belt. In the present case, however, the corresponding teeth 21 are provided with two lateral recesses 22 to make space for the screw connection. Fig. 4 shows the corresponding position of the recesses 22 in section. Furthermore, Fig. 3 shows that the conveyor strand 14 is reinforced with strands 23.

[0037] It is understood that a different number of fastening means 16 may also be used.

[0038] Another special feature can be seen in Fig. 4. Accordingly, the recesses 17 are provided at predetermined intervals to allow adjustment of the position of the carriers 15 (adjustment range 33). In this way, the pitch of the carriers 15 can be adapted to the corresponding dimensions of the products 10.

[0039] In the illustrated embodiments, the products 10 are clamped between adjacent carriers 15. Carriers 15 that push the products 10 backward in the conveying direction 12 are also conceivable.

[0040] A special feature essential to the invention is that the drivers 15 have a concave or curved underside 24, with which they preferably partially or partially rest against the conveyor strand 14. In the present case, the underside 24 of the base plate 18 is concavely curved. The fastening means 16 draw the conveyor strand 14 in the area of ​​the drivers 15 into the free space 25 formed by the concave shape of the underside 24, thus correspondingly curved (Fig. 2).

[0041] Preferably, the conveying run 14 does not rest completely on the underside 24 of the drivers 15, but rather in a front section 26 in the conveying direction 12 and a rear section 27. In between, in a middle section 28, the conveying run 14 rests on the underside 24 in the area of ​​the fastening means 16. Between the front section 26 and the rear section 27 on the one hand and the middle section 28, the conveying run 14 does not rest on the underside 24. Alternatively, the conveying run 14 can also rest continuously on the underside 24 of the drivers 15.

[0042] The curved contour of the conveyor strand 14 in the area of ​​the flight members 15 provides advantages when the flight member enters the area of ​​a deflection 13 from the straight conveyor section and exits. In contrast to a welded flight member 15', which must accelerate suddenly upon transition to the deflection wheel 32 because its theoretical pivot point is the center of the deflection wheel, the flight member 15 according to the invention has a "gentler" rotational acceleration. This is due to the geometric conditions, because the flight member 15 pivots around the trailing support point (section 27) upon entering the deflection area. This means that the flight member 15 is subjected to less stress than a conventional butt-welded flight member 15'.

[0043] The curvature of the conveyor strand 14 under the carriers 15 corresponds to the curvature that the conveyor strand 14 experiences when it is in the deflection 13. This prevents further bending or stress on the strand 23.

[0044] Furthermore, the carriers 15 are each positioned in the area of ​​a tooth 21 of the timing belt. This allows the bending stresses in the strand 23 to remain low. The contact points in the front section 26 and the rear section 27 hold the carriers 15 stably on the conveyor strand 14 and prevent them from tipping or swinging.

[0045] An alternative embodiment of the driver 15 is shown in Figs. 5 and 6. The device as a whole differs from the previous embodiment only with regard to the construction of the driver 15, so that - to avoid repetition - only the modified construction of the driver 15 is described below.

[0046] In the alternative embodiment of the driver shown in Figs. 5 and 6, it is made of (thin) spring steel. Here, too, the driver 15 has a concave underside. However, in contrast to the rigid design shown in Figs. 1 to 4, the timing belt is not screwed as tightly against the driver 15. It is therefore not bent as sharply. As a result, the pitch of the teeth changes only slightly, and tension fluctuations (wear) of the timing belt are minimized.

[0047] When this driver 15 runs from the straight line into the area of ​​the deflection 13, the support points spring downwards due to the pre-tension of the sheet, the driver 15 is curved, and the rotational acceleration is correspondingly low.

[0048] In contrast to a welded-on driver 15' (see Fig. 1), which must accelerate abruptly upon transition to the deflection wheel 32 because its theoretical pivot point is the center of the deflection wheel, the driver 15 according to the invention has a "gentler" rotational acceleration. This places less load on the driver 15 than is the case with a butt-welded driver 15'.

[0049] For this purpose, Fig. 7 and 8 show the course of the angle (29), the angular velocity (30) and the angular acceleration (31) for a driver 15 over the path S in the area of ​​a deflection. Furthermore, Fig. 7 and 8 show, in comparison, the course of the angular velocity y' (30') and the angular acceleration tp 1 (3T) for the conventional driver 15'. Here, the conventional driver 15' shows a sudden increase in the angular velocity (30') when the driver 15' enters the area of ​​the deflection 13 and a sudden drop in the angular velocity (30') when the driver 15' leaves the area of ​​the deflection 13. The same applies to the angular acceleration <p' (3T). Es fällt auf, dass der Verlauf dieser beiden Werte für den erfindungsgemäßen Mitnehmer 15 deutlich günstiger ausfällt mit entsprechend geringerer Belastung für den Mitnehmer 15.

[0050] ***** List of reference symbols

[0051] 10 Product

[0052] 11 endless conveyors

[0053] 12 Conveying direction

[0054] 13 Deflection

[0055] 14 conveyor strand

[0056] 15 carriers

[0057] 16 fasteners

[0058] 17 Recess

[0059] (Fasteners)

[0060] 18 Base plate

[0061] 19 contact plate

[0062] 20 stiffening plate

[0063] 21 tooth

[0064] 22 Recess

[0065] 23 strands

[0066] 24 subpage

[0067] 25 free space

[0068] Section 26

[0069] Section 27

[0070] Section 28

[0071] 29 angles

[0072] 30 Angular velocity

[0073] 31 Angular acceleration

[0074] 32 Deflection wheel

[0075] 33 adjustment range

Claims

Patent claims 1. Device for transporting products (10), in particular packages for products (10) of the cigarette industry, with an endless conveyor (11), in particular a belt conveyor, on the conveying face (14) of which carriers (15) for transporting the products (10) in a conveying direction (12) are arranged, wherein the carriers (15) are preferably configured to bear against a product (10) or to hold the product (10) between two successive carriers (15), and wherein the endless conveyor (11) is guided by deflections (13), in particular deflection rollers or deflection wheels, characterized in that the carriers (15) are each detachably attached to the conveying face (14) of the endless conveyor (11) by at least one fastening means (16), and that a bottom surface (24) of the carriers (15) facing the endless conveyor (11) is each concave, and wherein the carriers (15) are each attached by means of the fastening means (16) are attached to the conveyor head (14) in this way,that the conveying channel (14) in the area of ​​the drivers (15) is curved in the direction of the concave underside (24) of the drivers (15) and at least partially rests against their underside (24).

2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the curvature of the conveying section (14) in the area of ​​the drivers (15) corresponds to the (outer) radius of the conveying section (14) in the area of ​​the deflections (13).

3. Device according to claim 1 or one of the other preceding claims, characterized in that the conveying section (14) is designed as a toothed belt, wherein the drivers (15) are arranged in contact with the teeth (21) of the toothed belt.

4. Device according to claims 2 and 3, characterized in that the toothed belt has a strand (23) for reinforcement, and that the curvature of the strand (23) of the toothed belt in the area of ​​the drivers (15) corresponds to the (outer) radius of the strand (23) of the conveyor section (14) in the area of ​​the deflections (13).

5. Device according to claim 1 or one of the other preceding claims, characterized in that in the conveying channel (14) at predetermined Recesses (17) are provided at intervals for attaching the carriers (15) to the conveyor (14) by means of at least one fastening means (16).

6. Device according to claim 5 or one of the other preceding claims, characterized in that the (split) distance of the drivers (15) is adjustable by the predetermined recesses (17).

7. Device according to claim 5 or one of the other preceding claims, characterized in that the distances of the drivers (15) on the conveying section (14) and the distances of the deflections (13) are coordinated such that when a driver (15) exits a deflection (13), another driver (15) enters an adjacent deflection (13).

8. Device according to claim 1 or one of the other preceding claims, characterized in that the conveying section (14) only partially abuts the underside (24) of the drivers (15) and the drivers (15) abut the conveying section (14) in two sections in the area of ​​the underside (24), namely a section (26) located at the front in the conveying direction (12) and a section (27) located at the rear in the conveying direction (12).

9. Device according to claim 8, characterized in that the drivers (15) are rotated about the rear section (27) when entering the area of ​​a deflection (13).

10. Device according to claim 8, characterized in that the drivers (15) are guided through the sections (26, 27) on the conveyor section (14) and are secured against tilting and oscillation.

11. Device according to claim 1 or one of the other preceding claims, characterized in that the driver (15) is attached to the toothed belt by means of several fastening means (16) in the area of ​​a tooth (21), wherein the fastening means (16) are arranged on opposite sides or longitudinal edges of the toothed belt and are each guided through recesses (17) in the toothed belt and connected to the driver (15).

12. Device according to claim 11 or one of the other preceding claims, characterized in that lateral or marginal recesses (22) are formed on the corresponding tooth (21) in the area of ​​the fastening means (16), in particular to provide space for a head of the fastening means (16). *****

Images