Separating device for flat products, especially valve bags

Abstract

The present invention relates to a separating device for separating flat, flexible sheet-like objects, in particular valve bags, from a stack of sheet-like objects, the separating device comprising: a separating portion having a supporting surface extending in a supporting plane for receiving the stack; a gripping mechanism for obtaining the uppermost sheet-like object and removing the uppermost sheet-like object from the stack; a retaining mechanism having a holding element and an adhesive element, the holding element being able to be brought to a holding area pressed against the upper side of the uppermost sheet-like object with a predeterminable holding force directed toward the supporting surface, the adhesive element being arranged in an area of ​​the supporting surface opposite the holding element.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a separating device for separating flat, flexible, especially rectangular surface-shaped objects (or surface tissues), especially valve bags (or valve bags, ziplock bags), from a stack. Background Art

[0002] Devices for separating valve bags are known from the prior art, which use a receiving mechanism (also referred to as a pick-up mechanism), such as a suction nozzle, to pick up, lift and thus separate the topmost bag from a bag stack positioned on a receiving surface. In this case, bag stacks, in particular with few bags, have very low rigidity, so that there is the risk that not only the topmost bag is lifted, but also the bags located below it, which can then slide and are no longer in the optimal receiving position (also referred to as a receiving position or pick-up position). Summary of the invention

[0003] The invention is intended to provide a separating device which can separate flat objects, more precisely valve bags, from a stack at a relatively high speed without the described problems occurring.

[0004] According to the invention, this object is achieved by a separating device for separating flat, flexible flat objects, more precisely valve bags, from a stack, which has the following parts:

[0005] - a separating point having a support surface extending in the support plane for receiving the stack;

[0006] - a gripping device for picking up the uppermost flat object and removing it from the stack;

[0007] - A holding device, which has a holding element and an adhesive element, the holding element being able to be brought to a holding region against the upper side of the uppermost planar object with a predeterminable holding force directed toward the support surface, and the adhesive element being arranged in a region of the support surface opposite the holding element. The adhesive element is preferably designed to exert an increased adhesive force on the lower side of the lowermost planar object supported on the support surface when the holding element is pressed against the uppermost planar object, wherein the increased adhesive force is greater than the adhesive force that would result from contact between the lower side of the lowermost planar object and the support surface replacing the adhesive element.

[0008] Adhesion force or increased adhesion force is understood to be a force which, due to the contact of the lowermost surface object with the contact element, reacts to the movement of the lowermost surface object parallel to the support plane, for example in the form of a suction force, an adhesive force or a friction force. Such an adhesion force can also be achieved, as explained in detail above, for example by configuring the adhesion element as an element with an increased coefficient of friction and / or by configuring it as a suction element, whereby the lowermost surface object is pressed against the suction surface or against the support surface in an increased manner and thereby generates an increased adhesion force.

[0009] The gripping mechanism is designed to pull out the uppermost planar object beneath the holding element and to lift the planar object.

[0010] The invention makes it possible to lift flat articles or valve bags from a stack at a very high speed without the valve bags underneath slipping or being lifted along with them, even if the stack consists of only a few valve bags. Preferably, the separating device serves to separate the valve bags, which are subsequently ejected onto the filling nozzle by means of a push-on device. In the case mentioned, the separating device is part of a filling device for the valve bags.

[0011] The valve bag can be folded in a defined manner. Preferably, two opposite edges are folded in such a way that the areas forming the base and the cover of the bag in the unfolded state are folded together and lie flat against the rest of the bag. Preferably, the bag is introduced into the separating device with the folded end facing upwards.

[0012] In order to position the stack in a defined manner on the support surface of the separation point, two stops can be provided, against which the side edges of the surface object, more precisely the stack, are in contact. The two stops are preferably located at side edges that are at right angles to each other. The stops can be designed in particular as positioning stops and are arranged parallel to the conveying direction of the bag stack in their length orientation. Here, the conveying direction of the bag stack is the movement direction along which the bag stack is conveyed to the support surface of the separation point. The second stop can be a stop stop, which is arranged orthogonally to the positioning stop and stops the movement of the bag stack in the conveying direction in a defined manner. Preferably, the conveying direction is perpendicular to the movement direction along which the bags are ejected.

[0013] Both stops can be designed as separate components, integrated into a separation point or be part of a transport unit for stacking transport bags.

[0014] The gripping mechanism is used to lift the top valve bag of the stack and therefore separate it. The corresponding separated bag is moved by the gripping mechanism to such a position, in which the bag can be received by another mechanism, so as to complete the other processing steps of the upper injection process.

[0015] When the uppermost valve bag is picked up by the gripping mechanism, the uppermost bag and the receiving unit are in the receiving position. The receiving position of the uppermost bag is determined by two stops. The receiving position of the gripping mechanism is determined by the receiving position of the uppermost bag. The gripping mechanism can pick up the uppermost bag at one of the ends of the bag, in particular at the upper end of the bag, at which the valve for filling the bag is located. Preferably, the gripping mechanism has two gripping elements, by which the valve bag can be picked up at the upper end, at which the valve is located, and at the opposite lower end. In the receiving position, the upper end comes into contact with one of the stops, preferably the stop stop.

[0016] When the bag is handed over by the gripping mechanism to another mechanism for further processing steps, the separated bag and the gripping mechanism are in the transfer position. By lifting the uppermost or separated bag, the uppermost or separated bag is moved from a horizontal position into an inclined or at least partially vertical position. In the transfer position, the separated bag is accordingly in an at least partially vertical position. A bending plate can be provided here, which imposes a bending angle on the separated bag at a location in the transfer position. The bending angle can be 90° in particular, so that the separated bag has a vertical bag section and a horizontal bag section in the transfer position. The gripping elements are on both sides of the bending plate.

[0017] The holding mechanism prevents the other bags in the stack from sliding when the top bag of the stack is lifted. To this end, the holding mechanism has an adhesion element and a holding element. Here, the adhesion element generates an additional or increased adhesion force on the stack, in particular on the underside of the bottom bag of the stack, thereby preventing the stack from sliding. The holding force can be applied to the stack by the holding element. As a result, the holding force increases the adhesion or friction between the individual bags of the stack on the one hand, and increases the adhesion force applied by the adhesion element to the stack, in particular to the bottom bag of the stack on the other hand. In order to generate the largest possible normal force between the adhesion element and the bag stack by the holding force, the holding area, i.e., one or more contact points between the holding element and the top bag, can be located on a line extending perpendicular to the support surface, which extends through the adhesion element.

[0018] Preferably, the holding element is supported so as to be pivotable about a pivot axis arranged parallel to the support surface. Alternatively, the holding element can be held on a guide oriented perpendicular to the support surface so that the holding element can move straight up and down. The holding force of the holding element can be caused by gravity, spring force and / or a force generated by a motor and / or a pneumatic or hydraulic cylinder.

[0019] In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the holding element of the separating device has two holding arms, which press onto the topmost bag of the bag stack. The holding arms can be designed as fingers, which are pivotally mounted about a pivot axis, as described above. More or less than two holding arms can be provided, wherein preferably an adhesive element is assigned to each holding arm.

[0020] In a preferred embodiment of the invention, at least one adhesion element is integrated into the separation region. In particular, the at least one adhesion element ends substantially planarly or flush with the support surface of the separation region, so that when transporting a stack of bags, the stack of bags can slide onto the at least one adhesion element without the individual bags remaining suspended at the adhesion element.

[0021] In another preferred embodiment of the invention, the bag stack can be conveyed in the conveying direction onto a supporting surface at a separating point of the separating device, wherein the adhesion element is arranged at the end of the supporting surface, preferably directly adjacent to one of the stops, as viewed in the conveying direction, so that the bag stack is not braked by the adhesion element during conveyance until the end of the conveying process, if at all.

[0022] In order to convey the stack of bags onto the support surface of the separating device, a conveying device can be provided which has a displacement element that can be moved in the plane of the support surface in the conveying direction. The displacement element preferably has a height that is at least as high as the height of the stack being conveyed. The displacement element can rest or press against the stack during the removal of the individual planar objects. The displacement element is arranged parallel to one of the stops.

[0023] In a preferred embodiment of the invention, at least one adhesion element of the separation device is: a friction element, which is composed, for example, of rubber, cork and / or plastic; a section integrated into the supporting surface in a materially fixed manner and has a surface with a higher coefficient of friction; and / or a suction element.

[0024] If it is an adhesive element that can be attached or removed, such as a suction element, the adhesive element can be removed during the conveying process and attached during the separation process. For this purpose, friction elements can also be used, which are lowered during the conveying to the support surface and raised during the separation of the bags. Alternatively, the conveying device can also have a receiving device in which the stack is received and by means of which the stack is moved, and in which at least one adhesive element is integrated.

[0025] In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the gripping device has two identical or different gripping elements, which are each formed by a suction element, a clamping gripper, a needle gripper and / or an electrostatic collector.

[0026] In addition, as described above, the separating device can be used in a suiting mechanism for valve bags, wherein the separating device additionally has a transport element, which has a pressing element that can move relative to the transport element, wherein the separated valve bag can be clamped in the transfer position by the movement of the pressing element toward the transport element. The pressing element of the suiting mechanism can especially have a first fixed pressing element and a second swingable pressing element, wherein the swingable pressing element can swing away from the transport element around the swing axis and can swing toward the transport element so as to clamp the separated bag. The pressing element and the transport element are used to further transport the bag that is clamped and accelerate it for upward shooting. For this purpose, the pressing element and / or the transport element can have a surrounding conveyor belt or a plurality of rollers arranged in a row, which can accelerate the clamped bag by rotation. Preferably, the longitudinal axis of the pressing element and the transport element extends parallel to the head edge of the separated bag, thereby completing the acceleration of the separated bag along its longitudinal axis. The swingable pressing element is preferably at least as long as the bag to be maintained. The pivot axis about which the pivotable pressure element can be pivoted can extend parallel to the longitudinal axis of the pressure element.

[0027] In another preferred embodiment of the invention, the inserting device has a guide channel with a first stationary guide element and a second movable guide element, wherein the bag end with the valve opening can be positioned in the guide channel by the receiving unit in the transfer position. The guide channel can be opened by a flipping movement, so that the end of the separated bag can be fed to the guide channel. Preferably, the longitudinal axis of the guide channel is parallel to the longitudinal axis of the pressing element and the transport element. Thus, the guide channel can be used as a guide for the movement of the bag caused by the transport element and / or the pressing element.

[0028] The bag end that has passed the lifting bag can be unfolded by the respective bag end. The guide channel can be used for further unfolding of the respective bag end and for guiding the valve. Complete unfolding of the respective bag end may be necessary so that the valve of the bag is in a defined and open position so that it can be placed on the filling nozzle.

[0029] The putting-on device is preferably used in a bag filling device for filling bags, wherein the bag filling device has a filling nozzle onto which the bags can be ejected and filled.

[0030] The present invention also includes a method for separating a flat object or a valve bag using the separation device as described above, wherein the method comprises at least the following steps:

[0031] - positioning the stack of planar objects in a receiving position on the support surface, wherein two side edges of the planar objects which are at right angles to one another can respectively come into contact with a stop;

[0032] - clamping the stack between the holding element, the support surface and the adhesive element by moving the holding element towards the holding area;

[0033] - Get the topmost surface-shaped object and remove the topmost surface-shaped object from the stack.

[0034] Preferably, the uppermost planar object is first pulled out of its position held by the holding element in a movement oriented parallel to the support surface and then lifted.

[0035] In a preferred embodiment, the method is a sleeve method for a valve bag using the sleeve mechanism as described above, and the method further comprises the following steps:

[0036] - moving the separated bag into the transfer position by a movement of the gripping mechanism, for example a 90° pivoting of the gripping element;

[0037] - by moving the pivotable guide element, the bag end with the valve opening is enclosed by the guide channel;

[0038] - the bag is held tightly by the movement of the pressing element;

[0039] - Shoot the bag onto the filling nozzle. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0040] The invention is further explained with the aid of exemplary embodiments, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0041] Figure 1 A top view of a set-up mechanism with a separating device according to the present invention is shown, and

[0042] Figure 2.1 to Figure 2.3 The method according to the invention for attaching a bag to a filling nozzle is shown in different stages. Figure 1 A side view of the set mechanism shown in FIG.

[0043] Reference numerals list

[0044] 1 Separate the device

[0045] 2 Set mechanism

[0046] 10 Grasping mechanism

[0047] 10a First gripping element

[0048] 10b Second gripping element

[0049] 12a First grab arm

[0050] 12b Second grab arm

[0051] 15 Conveying direction

[0052] 16 Moving element (conveying mechanism)

[0053] 20 Separation

[0054] 21 Support surface

[0055] 22 Positioning stop

[0056] 23 Stop stop

[0057] 30 Holding mechanism

[0058] 31. Holding element

[0059] 32 Adhesion element (friction element)

[0060] 33 Contact element (holding arm)

[0061] 34 Holding area

[0062] 36 Fold

[0063] 40 Transport elements

[0064] 41 Pressing element

[0065] 41a Swivelable pressing element

[0066] 41b Fixed-position pressing element

[0067] 51 Bending Plate

[0068] 52 Guide Channel

[0069] 52a First guide element

[0070] 52b Second guide element

[0071] 60 Stacking

[0072] 61 Valve Bag

[0073] 61a Top bag

[0074] 61b Bottom pocket

[0075] 62 separate bags

[0076] 63 Upper end of bag with valve opening

[0077] 64 Lower bag end

[0078] 64a First side edge

[0079] 64b Second side edge

[0080] 65 Direction of movement. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0081] exist Figure 1 , an embodiment of a mounting mechanism 2 is shown. The mounting mechanism has a separation device 1 and a transport element 40, which has a pressing element 41, which includes a swingable pressing element 41a and a fixed pressing element 41b. The separation device 1 includes a separation portion 20, which has a flat support surface 21 for receiving a stack 60 of valve bags 61 and two stops 22, 23 for positioning the stack 60 of valve bags 61, namely, a positioning stop 22 and a stop stop 23. In the embodiment shown, the bag upper end 63 with the valve opening abuts against the stop stop 23 with a corresponding first side edge 64a and abuts against the positioning stop 22 with a second side edge 64b at a right angle to the first side edge. The holding mechanism 30 has a holding element 31, which has two contact elements 33 configured as holding arms and two adhesion elements 32 configured as friction elements. Here, the holding element 31 can be pressed by means of the contact elements 33 onto the two holding regions 34 of the uppermost bag 61a of the stack 60 just above the friction elements 32. The holding regions 34 and the adhesive or friction elements 32 are therefore located on a straight line extending perpendicularly to the support surface 21. All bags of the stack can thus be held in their defined positions on the support surface 21 of the separating point 20.

[0082] The separating device 1 further comprises a conveying device for conveying the stack 60 in the conveying direction 15, which comprises a moving element 16, the height of which on the support surface 21 is at least equal to the height of the conveyed stack 60. The moving element 16 can be formed, for example, by a sheet metal arranged perpendicular to the support surface 21 or by a plurality of rods arranged parallel to one another in a plane perpendicular to the support surface 21.

[0083] In the exemplary embodiment shown, the displacement element 16 is arranged parallel to the stop stop 23 , wherein the conveying direction 15 is perpendicular to the stop stop and parallel to the positioning stop 22 .

[0084] The gripping mechanism 10 has a first gripping element 10a in the form of a suction gripper, which is held at a first gripping arm 12a. The gripping element 10a can extend along the first side edge 64a over the length of the bag. In addition, the gripping mechanism 10 has a second gripping element 10b, for example also in the form of a suction gripper, which is held at a second gripping arm 12b. The gripping element 10b can also extend along the second side edge 64b over the length of the bag.

[0085] When the uppermost bag 61a of the stack 60 is lifted, the gripping mechanism 10 grips the bag 61a with the first gripping element 10a at the bag end with the valve opening adjacent to the first side edge 64a and the stop stop 23. In a first movement phase, the gripper or the first gripping element 10a moves parallel to the support surface 21 and pulls the bag out below the holding element 31. If the bag is moved in the direction of the displacement element 16 in its region adjacent to the stop 23, folds 36 can form in the bag. The folds can extend in the longitudinal direction of the bag, i.e. in the longitudinal direction of the transport element 40. The folds 36 can also form in a weakened form in the bag immediately below or in the bags located below.

[0086] The first gripping element 10a then pivots by approximately 90° during the lifting, thereby bringing the bag upper end 63 with the valve opening adjacent to the stop stop 23 into a vertically upwardly pointing position. The second gripping element 10b lifts the opposite lower bag end 64, wherein the valve bag is placed around the bending plate 51 and is bent at 90° there, so that the bag end 64 opposite the valve remains horizontal.

[0087] The two adhesion elements 32 have friction surfaces which have a high coefficient of friction with respect to the bags placed thereon. During the process of gripping and lifting the uppermost valve bag, the holding element 31 exerts a normal force on the uppermost bag 61a of the stack 60, which is partially transferred via the stack 60 and the lowermost bag 61b to the support surface 21 and partially to the friction surfaces of the adhesion elements 32, whereby the normal force generates an additional adhesion force or adhesion effect or, together with the weight of the stack, generates an increased adhesion force or adhesion effect.

[0088] In order to transport the stack 60 to its receiving position as easily as possible against the stops 22, 23 on the support surface 21, the adhesion element 32 is arranged at the end of the conveying section, in particular arranged directly adjacent to the stop stop 23, despite the presence of the adhesion element. The adhesion element can be connected or removed, wherein the adhesion element can sink in the support surface 21 when it is implemented as a friction element, so that when the stack is transported to the receiving position, the adhesion element does not contact the stack 60. When the stack is positioned in the receiving position, the adhesion element can be raised to the support surface 21 at this time to play its role. Alternatively, the adhesion element can be arranged in a fixed position and flush with the support surface 21 or arranged to protrude beyond the support surface. Alternatively, the adhesion element can have different static friction coefficients and / or surface structures, such as sawtooth profiles or grooves, in opposite conveying directions 15 and 65. This causes the static friction to be increased in a targeted manner against the conveying direction 15. Therefore, the sliding of the bag stack can be prevented when it is separated.

[0089] exist Figure 2.1 to Figure 2.3 The three stages of the bagging method are shown in FIG. Figure 2.1The separating device is shown when the uppermost bag 61a is lifted from the stack 60 by means of the gripping mechanism 10. In this case, the gripping surface of the gripping mechanism is oriented substantially horizontally in the receiving position of the uppermost bag, i.e. parallel to the bag upper side of the uppermost bag. The bag stack 60 is on the support surface 21 and is clamped to a certain extent between the contact element 33 and the adhesion element 32 of the holding element 31, as explained above.

[0090] Figure 2.2 It is shown that the previously uppermost bag 61a has been separated and is in the transfer position. The separated bag 61a is moved into the guide channel 52 by the opened transport element 40 and is bent at the bending element 51 and bent by 90°. The bending element 51 can be a sheet metal, for example. Due to this movement / bending, the bag is tightened and the valve is opened here.

[0091] exist Figure 2.3 4 shows the separating device 1 after the pressing element 41 is locked against the transport element 40, and the guide channel 52 after the second guide element 52b is locked against the first guide element 52a. For locking, the pivotable pressing element 41a of the pressing element 41 is pivoted in the direction of the transport element 40, and the pivotable second guide element 52b is pivoted in the direction of the first guide element 52a, which is fixed in position during normal machine operation. In the transfer position of the separated bags via the gripping device 10 to the sleeve assembly, the gripping surface is oriented essentially horizontally, i.e. parallel to the bag upper side of the uppermost bag.

[0092] In this case, the separated bag 62 is held clamped on the transport element 40 and is located with its upper bag end 63 in the guide channel.

[0093] The bag is accelerated by a drive system in the transport element 40 or the pressure element 41. For this purpose, drive rollers or circulating belts are arranged on the transport element 40 and the pressure element 41 in a manner known per se.

Claims

1. A separating device (1) for separating flat, flexible planar objects from a stack (60) of planar objects (61), the separating device comprising a separating point (20) having a support surface (21) extending in a support plane for receiving the stack (60); a gripping device (10) for picking up the uppermost planar object (61) and removing it from the stack (60); - a holding device, which has a holding element (31) and an adhesive element (32), wherein the holding element can be brought to a holding area against the upper side of the uppermost planar object (61a) with a predeterminable holding force directed toward the supporting surface (21), and the adhesive element (32) is arranged in an area of ​​the supporting surface (21) opposite the holding element (31), wherein: The adhesive element (32) is designed to exert an increased adhesive force on the underside of the lowermost planar object (61b) supported on the support surface (21) when the holding element (31) is pressed against the uppermost planar object (61a), wherein the adhesive element (32) ends in a planar or flush manner with the support surface (21) of the separation point (20).

2. The separation device (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that The increased adhesion is greater than the adhesion that would result from the bottom side of the lowermost planar feature (61b) coming into contact with a support surface that replaces the adhesion element (32).

3. The separation device (1) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The holding element (31) has at least two holding arms (33).

4. The separation device (1) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The stack (60) can be transported in a transport direction (15) onto a support surface (21) of the separating point (20) by means of a transport device (16).

5. The separation device (1) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: At least one of the adhesion elements (32) is a friction element; or a section that is materially integrated into the support surface (21) and has a surface with a higher coefficient of friction relative to the surface feature; and / or a suction element.

6. The separation device (1) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The gripping device (10) has at least one gripping element.

7. The separation device (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that The flat, flexible surface is a valve bag.

8. The separation device (1) according to claim 5, wherein: The friction element is made of rubber, cork and / or plastic.

9. The separation device (1) according to claim 6, wherein: The gripping element is a suction element, a clamping gripper, a needle gripper or an electrostatic receiver.

10. A mounting device (2) for a valve bag, comprising a separating device (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein: The mounting device (2) has a transport element (40) having a pressure element (41) movable relative thereto, wherein the separated valve bag (62) can be held clamped in a transfer position by moving the pressure element (41) toward the transport element (40).

11. The set mechanism (2) according to claim 10, wherein: The pressure element (41) comprises a first pressure element (41b) which is fixed in position and a second pressure element (41a) which is pivotable, wherein the pivotable pressure element (41a) can be pivoted away from the transport element (40) and toward the transport element (40) about a pivot axis in order to clamp the separated valve bag (62).

12. The mounting mechanism (2) according to claim 10 or 11, further comprising a guide channel (52) having a first guide element (52a) and a second guide element (52b), wherein: The bag end of the valve bag (61) having the valve opening (63) can be positioned in the guide channel (52) by the gripping device (10) in the transfer position.

13. The set mechanism (2) according to claim 12, wherein: The second guide element (52b) is supported so as to be pivotable, wherein the bag end with the valve opening (63) can be locked in the guide channel (52) by pivoting the second guide element (52b), wherein the bag end with the valve opening (63) can be unfolded in the guide channel (52), and the bag locked by the guide channel (52) can be moved along the longitudinal axis of the guide channel (52).

14. The set mechanism (2) according to claim 10 or 11, wherein: In the receiving position of the uppermost bag on the stack and in the transfer position to the putting-on device, at least one gripping surface of the gripper is arranged horizontally and parallel to the upper side of the bag.

15. The set mechanism (2) according to claim 14, wherein: The two gripping surfaces of the grippers are arranged horizontally and parallel to the upper side of the bag in the receiving position of the uppermost bag on the stack and in the transfer position to the putting-on device.

16. A method for separating planar objects by means of a separating device (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 9, comprising the following steps: a) positioning a stack (60) of planar objects (61) in a receiving position on the support surface (21); b) applying a holding force between the holding element (31), the support surface (21) and the adhesion element (32) by moving the holding element (31) toward the holding area; c) Retrieving the uppermost planar object (61a) and removing it from the stack (60).

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein: The flat object is a valve bag (61), the method is carried out by means of a mounting device according to claim 12, wherein the mounting device is used in a bag filling device for filling bags, wherein the bag filling device has a filling nozzle, and the method comprises the following steps: d) moving the separated valve bag (62) into a transfer position by moving the gripping mechanism (10); e) using the guide channel (52) to surround the bag end having the valve opening (63) by the movement of the second guide element (52b); f) holding the bag in a clamped manner by movement of the pressing element (41); g) Shooting the bag onto the filling nozzle.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein: The gripping mechanism (10) has at least one gripping element, and the movement of the gripping mechanism (10) is a 90° pivoting of the gripping element.

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