Device for decorating molded parts made of thermoplastic film with labels and method for operating a device for decorating molded parts formed in a thermoforming machine

Abstract

Device for decorating thermoplastic film molded parts with labels in a thermoforming machine, the device comprising a magazine with magazine positions for storing stacks of labels, a label transfer unit with label positions and label grippers for singulating and transferring labels from the label stacks, a formatting unit with formatting positions for erecting and moving erected labels from the pitch of the magazine to the pitch of the cavities of the forming tool or die / cutting tool, a transfer unit with transfer positions for transferring the erected labels at the pitch of the cavities of a forming tool or die / cutting tool to a forming tool or die / cutting tool, and a removal unit (10) for removing the decorated molded parts from the forming tool or die / cutting tool of the thermoforming machine, characterized in that the removal unit (10) comprises devices,which include at least one horizontal carriage (9), one vertical carriage and a suction plate (11) with suction cups (8) that enable stacking in which molded parts (1) in version B and molded parts (1) in version A are placed on an outfeed conveyor (3) such that B parts are always placed on A parts and vice versa.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a device and a method for decorating molded parts made of thermoplastic film with labels. State of the art

[0002] The publication EP 2 644 357 B1 discloses a method for operating a device for decorating molded parts formed or formed and die-cut from thermoplastic film in a thermoforming machine, characterized in that a device for singulating labels takes the bottommost labels from stacks of labels in a magazine and transfers the labels to a device for partially erecting the labels arranged side by side, wherein the device takes the flat, side by side labels and erects them at least partially, wherein the extent of the side by side partially erected labels is greater than the extent of the side by side labels in the flat,The unerected state is shortened and a collating device pushes the partially erected, side-by-side labels from the pitch of the magazine to the pitch of the forming tool or the forming / punching tool and transfers the at least partially erected, side-by-side labels to a transfer unit equipped with final erection devices, wherein the transfer unit takes over the side-by-side labels and fully erects them if required.wherein the device for partially erecting the adjacent labels partially erects single-piece adjacent labels and fully erects multi-piece adjacent labels, and wherein the transfer unit fully erects the single-piece adjacent labels and takes over the multi-piece adjacent labels already fully erected, and wherein the transfer unit transfers the fully erected adjacent labels to a forming tool or die / mold tool, and in the forming tool or die / mold tool the heated plastic film is brought into contact with the labels and firmly bonded to the labels.

[0003] The publication DE 10 2007 049 168 B4 discloses a device for moving thermoformed products (4) formed and die-cut from a heated thermoplastic film web from a thermoforming machine with a first moving unit (12) and a processing station, characterized in that the first moving unit has at least one horizontally oriented first guide and a second guide arranged parallel thereto, on each of which a first vertically displaceable and horizontally pivotable head and a second vertically displaceable and horizontally pivotable head with receiving means for gripping the thermoformed products are arranged, and that the processing station has at least one first conveyor belt and one second conveyor belt which are horizontally and vertically displaceable.

[0004] German patent application DE 10 2004 050 917 A1 discloses a device for stacking molded parts made of thermoplastic material, comprising: - a removal device comprising several first suction devices arranged in a pattern corresponding to the arrangement of the molded parts in a molding tool, wherein the removal device is movable from a removal position, in which the first suction devices draw the molded parts onto the molding tool after applying a suction force, to a deposit position above a depositing device, on which the molded parts are deposited after the suction force is switched off; a transfer device comprising several second suction devices arranged in a pattern corresponding to the arrangement of the molded parts, wherein the transfer device is movable from a removal position, in which the second suction devices draw the deposited molded parts from the depositing device after applying a suction force, to a transfer position.in which the transfer device transfers the molded parts after the suction force is switched off, - a stacking device comprising several third suction devices arranged in a pattern corresponding to the arrangement of the molded parts, wherein the stacking device is movable from a transfer position, in which the third suction devices take over the molded parts from the transfer device in the transfer position by applying a suction pressure, to a stacking position in which the molded parts are stacked after the suction force is switched off.

[0005] The publication EP 1 236 665 A1 discloses a method for handling and stacking a plurality of thermoformed containers or lids (2), comprising the following steps: during a thermoforming phase, producing formed sets of lids and containers having at least three stacking projections or spacers (8a, 8b) which have the same spatial arrangement in all thermoformed products of the same formed set, wherein at least one of the stacking projections or spacers is arranged in each of the thermoformed objects in a non-mirror-symmetrical manner with respect to at least one centerline (m - m) of the container or lid in question, and at least one projection or spacer is located at a distance from the same centerline of the container or lid in question that is different from those of the others.Arranging a container or lid, or a formed set of containers or lids, in at least one template frame (9a-12a) to hold them in an arrangement corresponding to the spatial arrangement they had during the thermoforming phase; rotating every second object or formed set of objects, either container or lid, by a predetermined angle before or during their transfer to a stacking station (4); and stacking formed sets of thermoformed containers or lids, with alternating sets being rotated by the predetermined angle to produce stacks of containers or lids in which the stacking projections or spacers (8a, 8b) of one container or lid are offset relative to those of the next container or lid in the stack. Method according to claim 1, characterized in thatthat the twisting phase includes: picking up a formed set of thermoformed objects from a carrier template, twisting the formed set or the individual containers or lids of the formed set while the thermoformed objects are lifted, and setting down the thermoformed objects, twisted by the predetermined angle, onto the same template or onto another template loaded with thermoformed objects that have not been twisted.

[0006] German patent application DE 10 2016 219 074 A1 discloses a stacking station for a thermoforming machine, designed to generate a rotational offset about one stacking direction between a first product and a second product to be stacked above the first product in the same stacking direction. A second product, which is stacked after a first product, is rotated about its axis of symmetry, for example by a pneumatic rotary drive. Furthermore, the stacking station has devices for rotating an entire batch about its axis of symmetry.

[0007] Devices and methods for decorating molded parts with labels in a thermoforming machine are known from DE 10 2018 009 507 A1 and DE 10 2012 005 915 A1, wherein the transfer of labels to the thermoforming station is carried out by means of vacuum transfer elements. Task

[0008] The invention is based on the objective of improving a device and a method for decorating molded parts made of thermoplastic film with labels. This objective is achieved by means of a device with the features of claim 1 and by means of a method with the features of claim 6. Further preferred embodiments of the invention are the subject of dependent claims 2 to 5 and 7 and 8. Example of implementation

[0009] According to current technology, the decorated molded parts are placed in vertical stacks on a conveyor belt and moved out of the machine using a simple handling process. Molded parts that are difficult to destack cannot be reliably stacked using this method because they tend to stick together during destacking, resulting in delayed or unreliable destacking.

[0010] The invention therefore proposes to form vertical stacks of decorated molded parts using a so-called AB stacking method, which can be reliably unstacked. For this purpose, rows of geometrically distinct molded parts are formed in the mold. Through this inventive method, decorated molded parts are stacked on top of one another, and these geometrically distinct parts can therefore be easily and reliably unstacked. Further details of the invention are described below with reference to the schematic drawings. These show: Fig. Figure 1 shows a first embodiment of the inventive device Fig. Figure 2 shows a second embodiment of the inventive device Fig. Figure 3 shows a third embodiment of the inventive device

[0011] Fig. Figure 1 shows a first embodiment of the inventive device, in which a first horizontal axis 6, in conjunction with a first vertical axis 4, a first carriage 5, a swivel unit 7, and suction cups 8 on a suction cup plate 11, moves labeled molded parts 1 from the molding tool 2 to the discharge conveyor 3. There, the swivel unit 7 is actuated during every second transport movement so that labeled molded parts 1 of version A are continuously stacked onto a labeled molded part 1 of version B. The transport movement starts in the area of ​​a molding tool 2, where the labeled molded parts 1 are lifted by the suction cups 8 and moved towards a discharge conveyor 3. There, the molded parts 1 are placed on the discharge conveyor 3, or on top of the already placed molded parts 1, in such a way that B-parts are always placed on A-parts and then reversed. For this purpose, the suction plate 11 is rotated by 180° using the swivel unit 7 during every second stacking process.

[0012] Fig. Figure 2 shows a second embodiment of the inventive device, in which the first horizontal axis 6, in conjunction with the first vertical axis 4, the first carriage 5, and suction cups 8 on the suction cup plate 11, moves labeled molded parts 1 from the molding tool 2 to the discharge conveyor 3. There, during every second transport movement, only a first row of molded parts is deposited, while the second row of molded parts is still held by suction cups 8. This ensures that labeled molded parts 1 of embodiment A are continuously stacked onto a labeled molded part 1 of embodiment B. The transport movement starts in the area of ​​the molding tool 2, where the labeled molded parts 1 are lifted by the suction cups 8 and moved towards the discharge conveyor. There, the molded parts 1 of embodiment B are placed on the discharge conveyor 3 or on top of the already deposited molded parts 1 of embodiment A, such that B parts are always placed on top of A parts and reversed.

[0013] For this purpose, the suction cups 8 of the suction plate 11 are each vented separately during every second stacking process.

[0014] Fig.Figure 3 shows a third embodiment of the inventive device, in which the first horizontal axis 6, in conjunction with the first vertical axis 4, a second carriage 9, and suction cups 8 on the suction cup plate 11, moves labeled molded parts 1 from the molding tool 2 to the discharge conveyor 3. The second carriage 9 stops at a fixed position to transfer molded parts. In this embodiment, the first vertical axis 4 always remains at its fixed height. A second horizontal axis 13 moves by means of the first carriage 5 such that molded parts 1 of version B are continuously placed on top of molded parts 1 of version A. For this purpose, the second horizontal axis 13 moves during every second stacking operation so that only one row of molded parts is positioned under the suction cup plate 11 at any given time, ensuring that B parts are always placed on top of A parts.For this purpose, only one suitable row of suction cups 8 is vented at a time, and a second vertical axis 12 is moved vertically towards the molded parts 1, in which the suction cups 8 are vented, so that they are securely picked up.

[0015] It is inventively provided that the device for decorating molded parts made of thermoplastic film with labels in a thermoforming machine, wherein the device comprises a magazine with magazine positions for storing stacks of labels, a label transfer unit with label positions and label grippers for singulating and transferring labels from the label stacks, a formatting unit with formatting positions for erecting and moving erected labels from the pitch of the magazine to the pitch of the cavities of the forming tool or die / cutting tool, a transfer unit with transfer positions for transferring the erected labels at the pitch of the cavities of a forming tool or die / cutting tool to a forming tool or die / cutting tool, and a removal unit 10, is designed such that the removal unit 10 has features that enable AB stacking on an outfeed conveyor 3. It is advantageous in this respect toThe removal unit 10 comprises a first vertical axis 4, a first carriage 5, a first horizontal axis 6, a swivel unit 7, and a suction cup plate 11 with suction cups 8 attached thereto, which are connected to one another in such a way that the suction cup plate 11 is movable vertically, horizontally, and angularly in the horizontal plane for placing the labeled molded parts 1 in an AB stack. Advantageously, the removal unit 10 comprises a first vertical axis 4, a first carriage 5, a first horizontal axis 6, and a suction cup plate 11 with suction cups 8 attached thereto, which are connected to one another in such a way that the suction cup plate 11 is movable vertically and horizontally for placing the labeled molded parts 1 in an AB stack. In a further advantageous embodiment, the removal unit 10 comprises a second carriage, or horizontal carriage 9, a first horizontal axis 6, and a suction cup plate 11 with suction cups 8 attached thereto.which are thus connected to each other, such that the suction plate 11 for depositing the labeled molded parts 1 in an AB stack is horizontally movable, and that the discharge conveyor 3 is connected to a second vertical axis 12, a second horizontal axis 13, and a first carriage 5 such that the discharge conveyor 3 is vertically and horizontally movable. It is also inventively provided that the method for operating a device for decorating molded parts formed or formed and die-cut from thermoplastic film in a thermoforming machine is used, wherein the device separates labels from the label stacks from a magazine for storing label stacks by means of a label transfer with label grippers and transfers them to a formatting unit, which erects the labels and pushes the labels from the pitch of the magazine to the pitch of the forming tool or forming / die-cutting tool, and then transfers them to a transfer unit.The system, which transfers the erected labels to a forming tool or forming / punching tool, and a removal unit 10 removes the labeled molded parts 1 from the forming / punching tool, is designed such that the removal unit 10 places the labeled molded parts 1 onto an outfeed conveyor 3 in such a way that the removal unit 10 creates an AB stack on the outfeed conveyor 3. It is advantageous if the removal unit 10 first moves the suction plate 11 with the attached labeled molded parts 1 horizontally away from the forming tool 2 towards the outfeed conveyor 3, and then pivots the suction plate 11 by 180° every second movement by means of a swivel unit 7, and subsequently lowers the attached labeled molded parts 1 vertically and places them on top of the already deposited labeled molded parts 1, and finally returns to its starting position at the forming tool 2.to begin the next cycle and remove the next labeled molded parts 1 from the molding tool 2. Furthermore, it is advantageous if the removal unit 10 first moves the suction plate 11 with the labeled molded parts 1 attached to it horizontally away from the molding tool 2 towards the outfeed conveyor 3, and the suction plate 11 lowers a first row of labeled molded parts 1 attached to it vertically and places them on top of the labeled molded parts 1 already placed there, and then the removal unit 10 raises the suction plate 11 vertically again and moves it further away from the molding tool 2, and then the suction plate 11 lowers a second row of labeled molded parts 1 attached to it vertically and places them on top of the labeled molded parts 1 already placed there.and then the removal unit 10 lifts the suction plate 11 vertically again and finally returns to its starting position at the mold 2 to begin the next cycle and remove the next labeled molded parts 2 from the mold 2. It is equally advantageous if the removal unit 10 first moves the suction plate 11 with the labeled molded parts 1 attached horizontally away from the mold 2 towards the discharge conveyor 3, then a second vertical axis 12 lifts the discharge conveyor 3 vertically and takes the labeled molded parts 1 from the suction plate 11, and then the second vertical axis 12 lowers the discharge conveyor 3 vertically again.The second horizontal axis 13 moves the discharge conveyor 3 further horizontally away from the mold 2, and the second vertical axis 12 raises the discharge conveyor 3 vertically for the second time, and the discharge conveyor 3 takes the labeled molded parts 1 from the suction plate 11. Subsequently, the second vertical axis 12 lowers the discharge conveyor 3 vertically for the second time, and the first horizontal axis 6 returns the suction plate 11 to its starting position at the mold 2 to begin the next cycle and take the next labeled molded parts 2 from the mold 2. Reference symbol list 1 Labeled molded part 2 Forming tool 3 Outfeed conveyor 4 First vertical axis 5 First chassis 6 First horizontal axis 7 Swivel unit 8 suction cups 9 Second landing gear or horizontal landing gear 10 extraction units 11 Suction plate 12 Second vertical axis 13 second horizontal axis

Claims

[1] Device for decorating thermoplastic film molded parts with labels in a thermoforming machine, the device comprising a magazine with magazine positions for storing stacks of labels, a label transfer unit with label positions and label grippers for singulating and transferring labels from the label stacks, a formatting unit with formatting positions for erecting and moving erected labels from the pitch of the magazine to the pitch of the cavities of the forming tool or die / cutting tool, a transfer unit with transfer positions for transferring the erected labels at the pitch of the cavities of a forming tool or die / cutting tool to a forming tool or die / cutting tool, and a removal unit (10) for removing the decorated molded parts from the forming tool or die / cutting tool of the thermoforming machine. characterized by, that the removal unit (10) has devices comprising at least a horizontal carriage (9), a vertical carriage and a suction plate (11) with suction cups (8) that enable stacking in which molded parts (1) in version B and molded parts (1) in version A are placed on an outfeed conveyor (3) such that B parts are always placed on A parts and vice versa. [2] Device for decorating molded parts according to claim 1, characterized by , that the suction devices (8) are designed to be switchable in series. [3] Device for decorating molded parts according to claim 1, characterized by, that the removal unit (10) has a first vertical axis (4), a first chassis (5), a first horizontal axis (6), a swivel unit (7) and a suction plate (11) with suction cups (8) attached to it, which are connected to each other in such a way that the suction plate (11) is movable vertically, horizontally and angularly in the horizontal direction for depositing the labeled molded parts (1) in an AB stack. [4] Device for decorating molded parts according to claim 1, characterized by , that the removal unit (10) has a first vertical axis (4), a first chassis (5), a first horizontal axis (6) and a suction plate (11) with suction cups (8) attached to it, which are thus connected to each other, that the suction plate (11) is movable vertically and horizontally for depositing the labeled molded parts (1) in an AB stack. [5] Device for decorating molded parts according to claim 1, characterized by, that the removal unit (10) has a horizontal carriage (9), a first horizontal axis (6) and a suction plate (11) with suction cups (8) attached to it, which are thus connected to each other, that the suction plate (11) is horizontally movable for depositing the labeled molded parts (1) in an AB stacking and that the discharge conveyor (3) is connected to a second vertical axis (12), a second horizontal axis (13) and a second carriage such that the discharge conveyor (3) is vertically 15 and horizontally movable. [6] Method for operating a device for decorating molded parts formed or formed and die-cut from thermoplastic film in a thermoforming machine, wherein the device separates labels from the label stacks from a magazine for storing label stacks by means of a label transfer with label grippers and transfers them to a formatting unit which erects the labels and pushes the labels from the pitch of the magazine to the pitch of the forming tool or die-cutting tool, transfers them to a transfer unit which transfers the erected labels to a forming tool or die-cutting tool and a removal unit (10) removes the labeled molded parts (1) from the forming tool or die-cutting tool, characterized by, that the removal unit (10) places the labeled molded parts (1) onto an outfeed conveyor (3) in such a way that the removal unit (10) on the outfeed conveyor (3) forms a stack in which molded parts (1) in version B and molded parts (1) in version A are placed on an outfeed conveyor in such a way that B parts are always placed on A parts and vice versa. [7] Method according to claim 5, characterized by, that the removal unit (10) first moves the suction plate (11) with the labeled molded parts (1) attached to it horizontally away from the molding tool (2) towards the discharge conveyor (3), and the suction plate (11) lowers a first row of labeled molded parts (1) vertically and places them on top of the labeled molded parts (1) already placed there, and then the removal unit (10) raises the suction plate (11) vertically again and moves it further away from the molding tool (2), and then the suction plate (11) lowers a second row of labeled molded parts (1) vertically and places them on top of the labeled molded parts (1) already placed there, and then the removal unit (10) raises the suction plate (11) vertically again and finally returns to its starting position at the molding tool (2) to begin the next journey and take the next labeled molded parts (2) from the molding tool (2). [8] Method according to claim 5, characterized by, that the removal unit (10) first moves the suction plate (11) with the suctioned labeled molded parts (1) horizontally away from the molding tool (2) towards the discharge conveyor (3), then a second vertical axis (12) vertically raises the discharge conveyor (3) and takes the suctioned labeled molded parts (1) from the suction plate (11), then the second vertical axis (12) lowers the discharge conveyor (3) vertically again, the second horizontal axis (13) moves the discharge conveyor (3) further horizontally away from the molding tool (2) and for the second time the second vertical axis (12) vertically raises the discharge conveyor (3) and the discharge conveyor (3) takes the suctioned labeled molded parts (1) from the suction plate (11),Subsequently, the second vertical axis (12) lowers the discharge conveyor (3) vertically for the second time, and the first horizontal axis (6) returns the suction plate (11) to its starting position at the molding tool (2) to begin the next cycle and remove the next labeled molded parts (2) from the molding tool (2).

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