Device for separating packaging containers forming stacks of containers

Abstract

Device for singulating packaging containers forming container stacks, comprising at least one singulation tool to which several container stack magazines are assigned, wherein at least one magazine receptacle is assigned to the container stack magazines and the singulation tool and the magazine receptacle are arranged in a common support frame. characterized by that each container stacking magazine forms several stacking receiving chutes, each of whose removal openings has at least one shutter, and that the shutters have at least two perforated plates arranged transversely to the longitudinal direction of the stacking receiving chutes, which are movably guided to one another, namely from a removal position in which the hole faces of the holes arranged in the perforated plates are in alignment, to a locking position in which the removal of a packaging container is prevented by an offset of the face surfaces to each other.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a device for separating packaging containers forming container stacks, comprising at least one separating tool to which a plurality of container stack magazines are assigned, wherein at least one magazine holder is assigned to the container stack magazines, and wherein the separating tool and the magazine holder are arranged in a common support frame.

[0002] Known devices are used on production lines in which various products, preferably foodstuffs, are portioned and sealed in packaging containers. In order to continuously supply such production lines with empty and unsealed packaging containers, the packaging containers are delivered in boxes, from which they are then removed by hand and thus manually fed into the production line. This procedure has the disadvantage that bacteria and germs adhering to the boxes are carried into the factory halls where the production lines are located, where this can lead to contamination of the products to be packaged. In addition, the manual loading of the production lines with packaging containers requires the deployment of a worker for each production line, which further increases the risk of introducing germs and bacteria.

[0003] A similar carrier and dispensing mechanism with a separating tool for separating stacked packaging units is known from US patent 3,542,243. Such a packaging unit consists of a plurality of so-called positioning trays arranged in rows and connected to one another via their tray edges to form a multi-packaging unit in the manner of a tray. The separating tool consists of two translationally moving plate elements, each of which has holding prongs that can be moved under the edges of the positioning trays. Furthermore, the separating tool has ejectors coupled to the plate elements via a gear mechanism. These ejectors drop the bottommost multi-packaging unit as soon as the stack of multi-packaging units above it is held by the retracting holding prongs of the plate elements. The gear mechanism has a complex mechanism.From the German patent application DE 43 14 400 A1, a fully automatic filling and closing machine is known which has a container stacking magazine referred to as a cup magazine, the mechanical functioning of which is not explained in detail.

[0004] The invention is therefore based on the object of providing a device of the type mentioned at the outset with which the separation of the packaging containers stacked one inside the other in the container stacking magazines is simplified.

[0005] This object is achieved according to the invention by a device having the features of patent claim 1. Advantageous developments of the invention are specified in the subclaims.

[0006] The device according to the invention is characterized in that each container stack magazine forms a plurality of stack receiving shafts, the removal openings of which each have at least one shutter, and in that the shutters have at least two perforated plates arranged transversely to the longitudinal direction of the stack receiving shafts, which are guided against one another in an adjustable manner, namely from a removal position in which the hole reveals of the holes arranged in the perforated plates are aligned, into a blocking position in which the removal of a packaging container is prevented by an offset of the reveal surfaces relative to one another.

[0007] Such an arrangement enables fully or semi-automatic separation of the packaging containers arranged in container stacks. The provision of multiple container stack magazines advantageously makes it possible to fill them with packaging containers at a location remote from the production line. Transporting the cartons required for the delivery of the packaging containers into the factory halls housing the production line is advantageously no longer necessary. The magazine holder serves to exchange empty container stack magazines for full container stack magazines. The container stack magazines preferably have a storage capacity that allows a single worker to continuously supply multiple production lines with packaging containers.This reduces the number of workers required in a factory hall, thus sustainably reducing the risk of contamination of the products being packaged with germs and bacteria. The shutter is used to separate the packaging containers stacked one inside the other in the container stacking magazines. To do this, the magazine holder is pivoted via its rotary drive into a position in which the container stacks are lined up against their assigned shutters under the force of gravity. However, it is also conceivable to equip the stack receiving shafts with compression springs, so that the container stacks held in the stack receiving shafts are lined up against their assigned shutters under spring load.With the perforated plates, a particularly simple and yet effective design of the shutters is that the shutter can be switched either into a removal position or into a blocking position by a sliding movement generated between the perforated plates.

[0008] According to a first development of the invention, the support frame has at least one lifting drive that accommodates the magazine holder in a lifting-movable manner. The lifting drive serves to move all container stacks accommodated in a container stack magazine into the access area of ​​the separating tool. The separating tool is preferably arranged above a conveyor line that transports the packaging containers.

[0009] According to a further development of the invention, the magazine holder and its lifting drive are connected to each other via at least one rotary drive. The rotary drive serves to pivot the container stacks held in a container stack magazine into a defined spatial position, in which gravity-assisted removal of individual packaging containers with the separating tool is possible.

[0010] In order to be able to deposit the packaging containers removed from a container stacking magazine onto a horizontal conveyor line regardless of the spatial position of the magazine holder, the support frame has at least one rotary drive that pivotably accommodates the separating tool. This rotary drive is designed, for example, as an electric motor-driven belt drive.

[0011] In order to move the separating tool precisely toward the packaging containers to be transferred, it is proposed that the separating tool and its rotary drive be connected to each other via at least one lifting drive. In this way, the separating tool can be moved linearly toward the packaging containers to be transferred in a predetermined pivoting position, similar to a stamp.

[0012] To synchronize the movements performed by the shutters with those performed by the separating tool, the shutters and the separating tool are connected via an electrical control system. The electrical control system ensures the smooth separation of the packaging containers.

[0013] According to a further development, the separating tool has suction cups that interact with the packaging containers. The suction cups are preferably pneumatically controlled and allow damage-free and particularly reliable handling of the packaging containers to be separated.

[0014] According to another particularly advantageous development of the invention, roller supports are assigned to the container stacking magazines, which have support surfaces that interact exclusively with the container stacking magazines by gravity. The roller supports allow for effortless transport of the container stacking magazines between the factory halls containing the production lines and the location where they are filled with the cartons required for the delivery of the packaging containers. The gravity-dependent interaction of the support surfaces prevents the roller supports from being carried into the access area of ​​the separating tool, so that germs and bacteria adhering to the running surfaces of the rollers remain on the factory floor, and the risk of contamination of the products to be packaged is minimal.

[0015] The support frame forms at least one production line tunnel located beneath the separating tool. This tunnel serves to guide a transport path, such as a conveyor belt, that accommodates the packaging containers. Naturally, it is within the scope of the invention to design the production line tunnel to accommodate multiple production lines and to assign a separate separating tool to each production line.

[0016] According to another development of the invention, at least two magazine receptacles arranged on both sides of the production line tunnel are assigned to the container stacking magazines. The provision of two magazine receptacles has the advantage that exchanging an empty container stacking magazine for a full one does not result in costly downtime, since the separating tool can access the other container stacking magazine during a replacement process.

[0017] An embodiment of the invention, from which further inventive features emerge, is illustrated in the drawing. They show: Fig. 1: a perspective view of the device according to the invention; Fig. 2: a side view of the device according to Fig. 1 in a first working position; Fig. 3: a side view of the device according to Fig. 1 in a second working position; Fig. 4: a side view of the device according to Fig. 1 in a third working position; Fig. 5: a perspective partial view of a container stacking magazine for the device according to the Fig. 1 to Fig. 4; Fig. 6: a partial side view of the container stacking magazine according to Fig. 5 in a locked position; Fig. 7: a partial side view of the container stacking magazine according to Fig. 5 in a removal position, and Fig. 8: a partial side view of the container stacking magazine according to Fig. 5 in a new blocking position.

[0018] The Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of the device according to the invention for separating packaging containers 2 forming container stacks 1, using a separating tool 3. Two container stack magazines 4, 5 are assigned to the separating tool 3, each of which in turn is assigned a magazine receptacle 6, 7. The separating tool 3 and the magazine receptacles 6, 7 are arranged together in a support frame 8. The magazine receptacles 6, 7 are each held in the support frame 8 in a lifting and rotating manner. The support frame 8 has a rotary drive 9 that pivotably receives the separating tool 3. The separating tool and its rotary drive 9 are in turn connected to one another via a lifting drive 10. Roller supports 11 are assigned to the container stack magazines 4, 5, which have support surfaces 12 that interact with the container stack magazines 4, 5 exclusively due to gravity.The support frame 8 forms a production line tunnel 13 located beneath the separating tool 3. The magazine receptacles 6, 7 are arranged on both sides of the production line tunnel 13. A conveyor line receptacle 14 is arranged through the production line tunnel 13, enabling the removal of the separated packaging containers 2.

[0019] The Fig. 2 shows a side view of the device according to Fig. 1 in a first working position, in which the container stacking magazine 5 is held ready for insertion into the magazine holder 7. Identical components are provided with the same reference numbers.

[0020] The Fig. 3 shows a side view of the device according to Fig. 1 in a second working position, in which the container stack magazine 5 in the magazine holder 7 has been moved in a lifting manner into an access area 15 of the separating tool 3. Identical components are also provided with the same reference numbers here.

[0021] The Fig. 4 shows a side view of the device according to Fig. 1 in a third working position, in which the container magazine 5 with the magazine holder 7 has been moved into a removal position. Identical components are again provided with the same reference numbers.

[0022] The Fig. 5 shows a perspective partial view of a container stacking magazine for the device according to the Fig. 1 to 4. This figure clearly shows that each container stacking magazine forms several stack receiving shafts 17 delimited by rods 16, the removal openings 18 of which each have a shutter 19. The shutters 19 have two perforated plates 20, 21 arranged transversely to the longitudinal direction of the stack receiving shafts 17, which are guided against one another in an adjustable manner according to the arrows 22, 23.

[0023] The Fig. 6 to 8 each show a partial side view of the container stacking magazine according to Fig. 5, where the Fig. 6 the shutter 19 in a locked position, the Fig. 7 the shutter 19 in a removal position and the Fig. 8 shows the shutter 19 in a new locked position with the packaging container 2 separated from the container stack 1. Identical components are provided with the same reference numerals.

Claims

[1] Device for separating packaging containers forming container stacks, comprising at least one separating tool to which several container stack magazines are assigned, wherein at least one magazine holder is assigned to the container stack magazines and the separating tool and the magazine holder are arranged in a common support frame, characterized by , that each container stacking magazine forms several stack receiving shafts, the removal openings of which each have at least one shutter, and that the shutters have at least two perforated plates arranged transversely to the longitudinal direction of the stack receiving shafts, which are guided against one another in an adjustable manner, namely from a removal position in which the hole reveals of the holes arranged in the perforated plates are aligned, into a blocking position in which the removal of a packaging container is prevented by an offset of the reveal surfaces to one another. [2] Device according to claim 1, characterized by that the support frame has at least one lifting drive which accommodates the magazine holder in a lifting manner. [3] Device according to claim 2, characterized by that the magazine holder and its lifting drive are connected to each other via at least one rotary drive. [4] Device according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized by that the support frame has at least one rotary drive which pivotably receives the separating tool. [5] Device according to claim 4, characterized by that the separation tool and its rotary drive are connected to each other via at least one lifting drive. [6] Device according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized by that the shutters and the separation tool are connected to each other via an electrical control system. [7] Device according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized by that the separation tool has suction cups that interact with the packaging containers. [8] Device according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized by that the container stacking magazines are assigned rolling supports which have installation surfaces that interact with the container stacking magazines exclusively due to gravity. [9] Device according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized by that at least one production line tunnel located below the separation tool is formed with the support frame. [10] Device according to claim 9, characterized by that the container stacking magazines are assigned at least two magazine holders arranged on both sides of the production line tunnel.

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