Top-down assembly for a manually loaded pasta feeder

Abstract

A descending assembly (1) is described for a feeder adapted for dosing paste, comprising at least one descender (2) and a paste inlet (3), wherein the paste is adapted to be introduced into said descending assembly (1) along a first direction for automatic loading of the paste via said conveyor. This descending assembly (1) is also adapted to receive paste along a second direction for manual loading by an operator. The descending assembly (1) includes a blocking device (4) associatable with said paste inlet (3), wherein said blocking device (4) is adapted to selectively prevent the introduction of paste along said second direction. Figure 4

Description

Title of the invention: Down-feed assembly for a manually loaded pasta feeder

[0001] The present invention relates to a lowering assembly for a manually loaded pasta loader.

[0002] In the prior art, pasta loaders are known which are positioned between a pasta production line and a conveyor adapted to guide the metered pasta to a packaging machine.

[0003] Typically, the loader assembly comprises a hopper closed at the bottom by a door with controlled opening and closing, said door comprising, for example, two flaps which can be opened and closed, so as to discharge one dose of pasta at a time. The conveyor is a bucket conveyor, each of the buckets being adapted to receive a dose of pasta from the loader assembly discharged from the hopper.

[0004] European patent EP-3929092 describes an apparatus for transferring long pasta from a production line to a packaging machine, comprising a long pasta loader.

[0005] This loader comprises two descenders, dosing means and two rotors provided with a cavity. Each descender is configured so that the long pasta slides vertically towards its respective rotor.

[0006] The dosing means is movable between an open position, in which the long pasta is free to slide along its respective chute, and a closed position, in which the sliding of the long pasta is blocked. The dosing means is represented by a pallet moved horizontally by pneumatic means between these two positions.

[0007] Each rotor is positioned below said dosing means, an accumulation space for a dose of long pasta being provided between the dosing means and the rotor. Each rotor is configured to take at least one filling position, in which the cavity is oriented upwards and the dosing device is in the closed position, in order to receive the dose of pasta inside said rotor, and an emptying position, in which the cavity is oriented downwards in order to discharge the dose of pasta by rotation and sliding along a wall of the cavity.

[0008] The apparatus further comprises a bucket conveyor, placed under the rotors, capable of transporting through each of its buckets a dose of pasta discharged from the rotors to be conveyed to the packaging machine. Said conveyor is configured so that a bucket is positioned under the rotor, each time a rotor is in its discharge position.

[0009] The loader further comprises guides capable of coupling with the corresponding grooves provided in each bucket of the conveyor in order to position each bucket under the rotor with precision.

[0010] The loader described above is suitable for serving two conveyor belts, one for each chute, in order to achieve efficient automatic loading.

[0011] The use of two parallel conveyor belts from the production line to the loader is highly appreciated when it is necessary to dose long pasta, which is typically produced in double length and cut in half during its travel on the two conveyor belts positioned side by side, by cutting means positioned between the two conveyor belts. These long pasta are typically produced in double length, deposited on the two conveyor belts transversely to the direction of movement, cut between the two conveyor belts during its travel to the loading assembly, and deposited in two separate descents which converge towards a dosing zone.

[0012] European patent EP-3326922 describes a similar charger, but equipped with a single descender and a single rotor downstream of said descender.

[0013] Sometimes it is necessary to manually load pasta recovered outside the production line, without using the conveyors dedicated to automatic loading.

[0014] The state of the art provides that manual loading is carried out downstream of the charger by independent devices placed downstream of the charger, these devices however being provided with a bulk and resulting in significant structural complexity of the entire apparatus.

[0015] The object of the present invention is to provide a descent assembly for a pasta loader provided with at least one descender, comprising means for manual loading of the pasta.

[0016] Another object of the present invention is that this manual loading means can operate as an alternative to the automatic loading of a pasta conveyor coming from a production line.

[0017] Another object of the present invention is that this manual loading means is simple to assemble in the downward assembly of pasta already on the market, in which a human operator can work safely and accurately.

[0018] According to the present invention, these and other objectives are achieved by means of a lowering assembly for a loader suitable for dosing pasta, comprising at least one lowering device and a pasta inlet, wherein said pasta is adapted to be introduced into said lowering assembly along a first direction for automatic loading of the pasta through said conveyor,

[0019] characterized in that

[0020] Said descending assembly is adapted to receive pasta also along a second direction for manual loading by an operator,

[0021] wherein the descending assembly comprises a blocking device associable with said pasta inlet, wherein said blocking device is adapted to selectively prevent the introduction of pasta along said second direction,

[0022] wherein said locking device comprises a wall adapted to take at least one manual loading locking position and at least one manual loading unlocking position, automatic loading being activated in the locking position, while said automatic loading is prevented in the unlocking position,

[0023] wherein said locking device further comprises a sensor adapted to detect the wall in the unlocked position.

[0024] Advantageously, the locking device only allows manual loading in the event of interruption of automatic loading. This allows the operator to work safely and to maintain the correct dosage of the charger, since manual loading also takes place upstream of the dosage means described above.

[0025] The locking device is very simple to supply and assemble in a traditional descending assembly, i.e. with a typical slide entry.

[0026] Advantageously, the locking device does not modify the structure of the charger where the dosing is carried out.

[0027] The features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of one of its practical embodiments, which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, by way of non-limiting example, in which: [Fig.l] shows a front view of a descent assembly according to the present invention; [Fig.2] shows a sectional view along line II-II of [Fig.l]; [Fig.3] shows a sectional view along line III-III of [Fig.l]; [Fig.4] shows a perspective view of the descending assembly, in which one wall is in the unlocked position for manual loading.

[0028] An apparatus for transporting pasta from a production line to a packaging machine comprises two conveyors, a loader for dosing the pasta and a bucket conveyor placed under the loader.

[0029] Preferably, these conveyors, generally belt conveyors, are parallel to each other and are located side by side between the production line and the loader. Between the two conveyor belts, a space is provided for the cutting means in the case of transporting long pasta such as spaghetti.

[0030] The loader comprises a descent assembly 1 provided with two descenders 2, and a dosing unit (not shown in the figures) provided with dosing means and of two rotors, each provided with a cavity. The cavity is open so that it can be filled or emptied depending on the position of the rotor.

[0031] Said rotors are controlled by respective independent motors.

[0032] The metering means comprises two paddles and a respective lever means, in wherein said lever means is adapted to connect each vane to its respective rotor.

[0033] The descent assembly 1 comprises an inlet 3 for the pasta which is provided with two mouths 31, one for each descender 2.

[0034] Each chute 2 is adapted to receive the pasta from a respective conveyor through a respective mouth 31, and to discharge it vertically towards a respective rotor.

[0035] Each paddle is adapted to move horizontally between a first position in which it obstructs its respective chute 2 and a second position in which the pasta is free to access a space in the chute positioned between the paddle and the rotor.

[0036] The bucket conveyor is adapted to position the buckets under the rotors and to transport the buckets loaded with doses of pasta to a packaging machine.

[0037] The loader further comprises guides adapted to mate with the grooves provided in each bucket of the conveyor in order to precisely position each bucket under its respective rotor.

[0038] These pastes can be introduced into the descending assembly 1 through the mouths 31 in a first direction or a second direction.

[0039] Automatic loading is carried out in the first direction, by means of conveyors coming from the production line, while manual loading by an operator is carried out in the second direction.

[0040] A blocking device 4 may be associated with the pasta inlet 3, adapted to selectively block the introduction of the pasta along the second direction.

[0041] The locking device 4 comprises a wall 5 adapted to couple reversibly with the side walls 6 of the inlet 3 in order to prevent manual loading of the pasta.

[0042] The locking device 4 further comprises a sensor 7 adapted to detect the wall 5 in the locking position in which manual loading of the pasta is prevented, hooking means 9 adapted to reversibly fix the wall 5 to the side walls, and a pair of handles 8 useful for gripping by the operator. The sensor 7 and the hooking means 9 are an integral part of the side walls 6.

[0043] The attachment means 9 are for example of the mechanical type, with tightening by tie rod, but they can also be of another type, for example by snap-fastening.

[0044] The locking device 4 comprises lateral blocks 10 secured to the wall 5.

[0045] These side blocks 10 are designed to project laterally relative to the wall 5 so as to be inserted into the seats 11 which form an integral part of the side walls 6, the attachment being effected by means of the attachment means 9.

[0046] Preferably, the wall 5 is provided with a lower opening 51 capable of receiving a separation wall 12 capable of separating said two descenders 2.

[0047] The wall 5 is adapted to take at least one manual loading blocking position ([Fig.l]-3) and at least one manual loading unlocking position ([Fig.4]) in which it is detached from the inlet 3.

[0048] The sensor 7 is adapted to detect the position of the wall 5 and to control the blocking of the conveyor for automatic loading in the case where the wall 5 is in the unlocked position.

[0049] Advantageously, the locking device 4 only allows manual loading in the event of interruption of automatic loading.

[0050] This allows the operator to work safely and maintain the correct dosage of the loader, since manual loading also takes place upstream of the dosage means described above.

[0051] The locking device 4 is very simple to provide and to assemble in a traditional descending assembly 1, i.e. with a typical slide entry 3.

[0052] Of course, the locking device 4 can be used in a descent assembly 1 comprising a single descender 2 and a single rotor, as in the European patent EP-3326922 already cited.

[0053] The hooking means 9 may be different, as may the type of sensor 7 and its positioning. Nevertheless, it is essential that a control unit of the apparatus is adapted to detect the unlocking position of the wall 5, i.e. that it is capable of blocking automatic loading in the case where manual loading is activated due to the removal of the wall 5 from the entrance 3.

[0054] At the level of the inlet 3, the support of the wall 5 may have a different shape from that of the side walls 6. Nevertheless, it is essential that this support means is integral with the inlet 3, in order to ensure effective attachment of the wall 5 in its locking position. For example, the support means may have the form of supports integral with the supporting frame of the descending group 1.

[0055] The gripping means of the wall 5 may be different from the pair of handles 8 described: for example, there may be only one handle. The handles may also be absent, although it is preferable to provide gripping means in order to facilitate the locking / unlocking of manual loading.

[0056] The metering means of the charger may be different, even without the rotors described above.

[0057] The descending assembly 1 according to the present invention can be coupled to pasta loaders of different types, when it is necessary to provide manual loading instead of automatic loading in order to recover pasta from another production line.

[0058] Advantageously, the locking device 4 does not modify the structure of the loader where the dosing is carried out. The wall 5 operates in the upper part of the loader, where the inlet 3 of the descending assembly is located, with a large margin of maneuver for the operator.

Claims

Claims

1. Descent assembly (1) for a loader suitable for dosing pasta, comprising at least one descender (2) and an inlet (3) for the pasta, wherein said pasta is adapted to be introduced into said descent assembly (1) along a first direction for automatic loading of the pasta through said conveyor, characterized in that said descending assembly (1) is adapted to receive pasta also along a second direction for manual loading by an operator, wherein the descending assembly (1) comprises a blocking device (4) associable with said pasta inlet (3), wherein said blocking device (4) is adapted to selectively prevent the introduction of pasta along said second direction, wherein said blocking device (4) comprises a wall (5) adapted to take at least one manual loading blocking position and at least one manual loading unlocking position,the automatic loading being activated in the blocking position, while said automatic loading is prevented in the unlocking position, wherein said blocking device (4) further comprises a sensor (7) adapted to detect the wall (5) in the unlocking position.,

2. Descending assembly (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the wall (5) is adapted to be reversibly coupled to side walls of the inlet (3), wherein said locking device (4) further comprises hooking means (9) adapted to reversibly fix the wall (5) to said side walls (6).

3. Descent assembly (1) according to claim 2, characterized in that the locking device (4) comprises a handle (8) for gripping by the operator.

4. Descent assembly (1) according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the sensor (7) and the attachment means (9) are integral parts of said side walls (6).

5. Descending assembly (1) according to claim 4, characterized in that the locking device (4) comprises side blocks (10) are

6.

7.

8. integral with the wall (5), wherein said side blocks (10) are adapted to project laterally from the wall (5) so as to fit into seats (11) being integral parts of said side walls where the attachment occurs by means of the attachment means (9). Downpipe assembly (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises two downpipes (2) and a mouthpiece (31) for each downpipe (2). Descent assembly (1) according to claim 6, characterized in that the wall (5) is provided with a lower opening (51) capable of housing a separation wall (12) capable of dividing said two descenders (2). Loader suitable for dosing pasta, characterized in that it comprises a descending assembly (1) according to any one of the preceding claims.

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