Foodstuff packaging method

Abstract

A method (200) for packaging sachets containing foodstuffs by a packaging system (100) comprises: receiving at least two bandoliers of sachets (111, 112) into the packaging system (100), wherein each

Description

Description Technical Field The technical field herein described relates to a packaging system for foodstuff production and a method for packaging foodstuffs. Background Food production is a complex and highly automated business that encompasses a large range of foodstuffs and requirements. One very common range of products are condiments, sauces and powders. These are produced in continuous or semi-continuous processes and packaged for transportation or further handling. The raw materials, sometimes referred to as infeed materials, of such processes are often themselves foodstuffs in sauce or powdered form that must be introduced into the food packaging processing system by a variety of means and using a range of packaging materials. These raw food material inputs must be checked and monitored for contamination or damage and often they must be pre-processed, so that they are in a suitable condition for input into the upstream packaging and distribution process. Beyond the complexity of an industrial scale production system, with its usual health and safety considerations for the workforce, the foodstuff industry must also meet rigorous standards of cleanliness in order to prevent contamination of food products, failure of which may result in injury to consumers. These stringent requirements mean that processes must be tightly controlled and great care taken in order to ensure the safety of the product and its packaging. Moreover, the processes must be efficient and low-cost. This combination of requirements presents a very specific set of problems to the foodstuff manufacturer. In continuous or semi-continuous manufacturing or packaging processes, anything that causes the manufacturing or packaging process to stop causes severe problems with regard to efficiency and cost (e.g., particularly requiring machine operatives becoming involved). Furthermore, halting the manufacturing or packaging process is often not possible. Hence, it may be necessary to create storage capacity or buffers at places in the process in order to accumulate materials, thereby allowing the process to continue without a full re-start. For example, an existing known packaging system for the food industry, when producing a range of sauces and powders that uses a mixture of powders and sauces to make customised products, would need to create and pack thousands of sachet products and package them in a box for distribution. Prior to the use of this invention, two operatives manually feeding the run of over 2000 sachets into two boxes were required to do this operation. The inventor has identified and appreciated that it would be beneficial if the food packaging system could be improved to more efficiently package foodstuff products and thereby to increase overall productivity and reduce machine operative involvement, whilst at the same time maintaining food safety and minimising contamination. Summary Examples herein described provide a packaging system and method for the handling and packaging of foodstuffs, for example to improve foodstuff packaging efficiency, as described in the accompanying claims. Specific examples are set forth in the dependent claims. These and other aspects will be apparent from and elucidated with reference to the embodiments described hereinafter. Brief description of the drawings Further details, aspects and example embodiments will be described, by way of example only, with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, like reference numbers are used to identify like or functionally similar elements. Elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. FIG. 1 illustrates a simplified drawing of a packaging system adapted according to some example embodiments. FIG. 2 illustrates one example of a flow chart of a method according to some example embodiments. Detailed description A packaging system is described for the handling and packaging of bandoliers of sachets containing foodstuffs. The packaging system comprises at least one input port and at least two respective paths configured to transport at least two bandoliers of sachets into the packaging system, wherein each sachet within a bandolier of sachets is filled with foodstuff and perforated at a sachet length. A drive mechanism is operably coupled to the at least one input port and configured to route the at least two bandoliers of sachets of foodstuff within the packaging system. At least two pairs of dosing wheels are operably coupled to the drive mechanism and configured to respectively regulate the foodstuff within the at least two bandoliers of sachets. A programmable logic controller (PLC) comprises an interface and is configured to receive an indication of a (required) set number of sachets from the bandolier of sachets to be packaged in a box. At least one photoelectric counter is operably coupled to and controlled by the PLC and configured to count a current number of sachets of an individual bandolier of sachets that pass the photoelectric counter, and provide the current number to the PLC. A cutting system is operably coupled to the at least two pairs of dosing wheels and the PLC and configured to cut the at least two bandoliers of sachets of foodstuff along a sachet perforation in response to the sachet count within a respective one of the two bandoliers of sachets having reached the indicated (required) set number of sachets from the bandolier of sachets to be packaged in a box. At least two movable spouts are operably coupled to the cutting system and configured to receive the bandolier of sachets and distribute the bandolier of sachets (or cut bandolier of sachets) evenly into respective packaging boxes. In this manner, the packaging system may be configured as a dual packaging system that can advantageously process two streams of products simultaneously, hence significantly increasing the productivity of the overall process. Furthermore, in this manner, a multiple operative packaging operation can be automated to package a bandolier of sachets of foodstuff from raw ingredients and allow dozens or hundreds or thousands of manufactured sachets to be packaged in a single production / packaging run. Advantageously, only one (potentially part-time) operative is now needed to load empty boxes and unload full packaged boxes in this automated packaging system. Furthermore, in this manner, the automated packaging system is advantageously able to manufacture and package off boxes in one continuous batch quantity. In some examples, the drive mechanism may comprise at least two drive wheels operably coupled to the at least one input port and configured to transport the at least two bandoliers of sachets within the packaging system. At least one tension controller may be operably coupled to at least one drive wheel of the at least two drive wheels and configured to apply tension to rotate the at least one drive wheel. At least one guide wheel may be operably coupled to the at least one drive wheel and the at least one tension controller and configured to route bandoliers of sachets to at least one pair of dosing wheels. In some examples, the at least one tension controller may be configured to set different tension levels or set the same tension level for the at least two respective paths. In some examples, the foodstuff to be mixed may be a powder and / or a sauce in this manner the flexibility of the manufacturing system can be significantly increased. In some further advantageous examples, the two respective paths, for example two infeed paths, may be configured to run at the same speed, thereby ensuring that the packaged boxes at the system output are filled at substantially the same rate and can be processed simultaneously or slightly mis-aligned with regard to the box size es or the box packaging start position in order to enable an operative to move between each respective line at an appropriate time to unload respective packaged boxes and replace them with empty boxes. In other advantageous examples, the two respective paths, for example two infeed paths, may be configured to run at different speeds, thereby allowing the boxes to be filled at different rates, for example to package a different number of sachets on each respective path, which may also potentially reduce the number of operatives, or the time spent by a single operative. In yet further advantageous examples, tensioning bars (sometimes referred to as ‘dancer’ bars) may be configured to generate different tensions in the sachet infeed packaging bandoliers, and hence may be configured to be optimised for handling different types of packaging or foodstuffs simultaneously. In further advantageous examples, the two tensioning bars may be configured to be set to generate the same amount of tension in the infeed packaging bandoliers of sachets, hence simplifying the setup process when two identical foodstuffs are being handled. In yet further examples, the cutting system advantageously may be configured to have two independently-controlled cutting mechanisms each configured to individually cut the bandolier of sachets of foodstuff, thereby allowing unsynchronised handling of the two sachet foodstuff streams. In some examples, the packaging system may further comprise at least one plunger locatable in the at least one packaging box and configured to press and distribute the bandolier of sachets evenly into at least one packaging box. The at least one plunger and at least one movable spout may be configured to be electrically driven or may be configured to be pneumatically driven, thereby allowing the packaging system to be run in an energy efficient manner and / or allowing the design of a control system of the packaging system to be simplified. In yet further examples, the packaging system may further comprise a sensor, operably couplable to the packaging box and configured to identify when a bandolier of sachets has been distributed evenly in the at least one packaging box and the at least one packaging box is full and in response thereto provide an indication to the interface of the PLC that the at least one packaging box is to be replaced. In particular, an aspect of the invention is a described method for handling of sachets containing foodstuffs by a packaging system. The method comprises inserting at least two bandoliers of sachets filled with foodstuff and perforated at a sachet length into a dual packaging system, which is then primed and started. The bandoliers of sachets fed into the dual packaging system may be moved by drive wheels and a tensioner mechanism. An amount of foodstuff within the at least two bandoliers of sachets is regulated by a dosing system. An indication of a required, set number of sachets in a bandolier of sachets to be packaged in a box is received by a programmable logic controller (PLC). A number of current sachets in an individual bandolier of sachets that pass a photoelectric counter is counted and the current number of sachets is provided to the PLC. At least one of the at least two bandoliers of sachets of foodstuff is cut along a sachet perforation in response to the sachet count within a respective one of the two bandoliers of sachets having reached the set number of sachets to be packaged in a box. The bandolier of sachets is dropped into a respective packaging box and the bandolier of sachets (or the cut bandolier of sachets after cutting) is evenly distributed in the packaging box via a movable spout mechanism that ensures an even distribution of the bandolier of sachets in the packaging box. Plungers may then be activated, as required, in order to ensure that the packaging boxes are filled. Once the correct set number of sachets has been processed and packaged, a sensor, operably couplable to the packaging box in the dual packaging system, may be configured to identify when the distributed bandolier of sachets has been distributed evenly in the at least one packaging box and the at least one packaging box is full. In response thereto, the sensor provides an indication at that the at least one packaging box is to be replaced. Referring first to FIG. 1, a simplified example of a dual packaging system 100 is described for handling and packaging various feedstocks and foodstuffs bandoliers of sachets containing foodstuffs 111, 112 according to some aspects. At least one input port 119 is configured to transport at least one bandolier of sachets 111,112 filled with foodstuff and perforated to length into the packaging system 100. In some examples, the at least one input port 119 comprises at least one bandolier supply path 110 operably coupled to at least one infeed path 120, 121 configured to transport the at least one bandolier of sachets 111, 112 of foodstuff into the packaging system 100. In this illustrated example, dual infeed paths 120,121 are used to input a bandolier of sachets filled with foodstuff, such as sauce or powder. In this illustrated example, the packaging system 100 is operably coupled to two bandolier supply paths 110 in order to transport respective bandoliers of sachets containing foodstuffs to each path. In this example the dual packaging system 100 has two infeed paths 120, 121, via which two bandoliers of sachets of foodstuffs are input, where the area between sachets is perforated. The two bandoliers of sachet are pulled into the packaging system by drive wheels 130, 131 that are mechanically driven in this example by electric motors. However, it is envisaged that in other examples pneumatic motors or other forms of mechanical drive may be used. Although the examples described herein are focused on a two path / dual packaging system 100 for handling and / or packaging various feedstocks and foodstuffs in sachet form, it is envisaged that in other examples a single path or multiple (e.g., in excess of two) paths may benefit from the concepts described herein. The packaging system 100 comprises a drive mechanism 159 that, in this example arrangement, comprises at least two drive wheels 130, 131 operably coupled to the at least one input port 119 and configured to transport the at least at least two bandoliers of sachets filled with foodstuff and perforated at a sachet length within the packaging system 100. The drive mechanism 159 also comprises at least one tension controller 160, 161 operably coupled to the at least two drive wheels 130, 131 and configured to apply tension to rotate the drive wheels 130,131 and transport the bandoliers of sachets filled with foodstuff into the packaging system 100. At least two guide wheels 132, 133, 134 are also operably coupled to the drive wheels 130, 131 and the at least one tension controller 160, 161 and configured to further route the transported bandoliers of sachets within the dual packaging system 100. In the illustrated packaging system 100, the drive wheels 130, 131 are connected to the respective infeed paths 120, 121, tensioners 160, 161 configured to apply tension to the respective infeed paths 120, 121 and rotate the drive wheels 130, 131. Following the tensioners 160, 161 guide wheels 132, 133, 134 may be configured to route transported bandoliers of sachets. In this example, the guide wheels 132, 133, 134 may be configured to route transported bandoliers of sachets to dosing wheels 107 that are configured, for example, to regulate the infeed sachets and measure / regulate an amount of foodstuff product in a section within the transported bandoliers of sachets 111, 112 of foodstuff. In order to maintain a constant velocity of the bandoliers of sachets and prevent the bandoliers of sachets coming away from their respective path, the dual packaging system 100 may be provided with a dual tensioning system comprising the tensioning bars (sometimes referred to as ‘dancer bars’) 160 and 161 that ensure a predetermined tension is applied. The flow of the bandoliers of sachets of foodstuff is then re-directed or diverted by means of guide wheels 132, 133, 134, that may be driven or may rotate freely. The bandoliers of sachets 111, 112 of foodstuff is / are pulled down into the further package processing stages. The correct amount of sachets within a bandolier can be achieved by cutting the bandolier along the perforated edge after a number of sachets have been counted. Thus, in the illustrated example, a programmable logic controller, PLC, 195 is employed and comprises an interface 196 configured to receive an indication, say from an operator, of a set, required number of sachets from the bandolier of sachets to be packaged in a box. At least one photoelectric counter 140 is operably coupled to and controlled by the PLC 195 and is configured to count a current number of sachets of an individual bandolier of sachets that pass the photoelectric counter 140. The photoelectric counter 140 provides the counted current number to the PLC 195. In order to ensure that a correct set number of sachets in a bandolier are packaged in a box, a cutting system 142 controlled by the PLC 195 is used. The cutting system 142 is operably coupled to the at least two pairs of dosing wheels 107 and the PLC 195 as shown, and is configured to cut the at least two bandoliers of sachets 111, 112 of foodstuff along a sachet perforation in response to the sachet count (within a respective one of the two bandoliers of sachets 111, 112) having reached the indicated set number of sachets to be packaged in a box. The set number of sachets is selected by the operator. Thus, when the set number of sachets to be packaged in a box is reached, the sachets are cut and the machine requests another box be placed in the carriages, to start the cycle again. The bandoliers (passing through the cutting system 142, but not being cut along the perforated edge until a set number of sachets have passed) are routed into movable spouts 190, 191, where the bandoliers of sachets are arranged to fall into a packaging box, due to gravity. The respective movable spouts 190, 191 are configured to move around a vertical axis of the movable spouts. In one example, the movable spouts are controlled independently by the PLC 195, say, of each other in order to ensure that the bandoliers of sachets fall evenly into the packaging boxes 155,156, such that the bandoliers of sachets are evenly distributed 157,158. In some examples, respective plungers 135,136 are arranged to be vertically pressed into one or more areas of the packaging boxes 155, 156 to improve or ensure an even distribution of the bandoliers of sachets within the respective packaging boxes 155, 156. After the cutting process the bandoliers of sachets fall (in this example due to gravity) into the movable spouts 190,191 that move around rotary joints 192,193. In this example, the movable spouts 190, 191 are controlled independently of each other and ensure that the bandoliers of sachets fall and are distributed evenly 157, 158 within the packaging boxes 155, 156. In this example, an optical sensor (not shown) detects when bandoliers of sachets are lying above the top opening of the packaging box 155,156 and, in response thereto, the respective plunger 135, 136 may be activated, thereby forcing the bandoliers of sachets further down into the respective packaging box 155, 156 in order to increase the packing density. Once the required number of sachets have been counted by the photoelectric counter 140, and the number provided to the PLC 195 a lamp or lamps 105 may be switched on to indicate that one or both of the packaged boxes is / are full, the cutting system will have cut the bandolier along a sachet perforated edge and the box(es) must be replaced. At this point the processing path feeding the packaging box 155, 156 is stopped and the full packaging box 155, 156 replaced with an empty box, thereby allowing the process to continue. Referring now to FIG. 2, an example flow chart of a packaging method 200 according to a second aspect is illustrated. At 210 at least two bandoliers of sachets filled with foodstuff and perforated at a sachet length are inserted into a dual packaging system, such as dual packaging system 100 of FIG. 1, and the dual packaging system is then primed and started. In one example, the bandoliers of sachets fed into the dual packaging system may be moved by drive wheels 130, 131 and a tensioner mechanism. At 215, an indication of a set number of sachets in a bandolier of sachets to be packaged in a box is received by a programmable logic controller, PLC, (such as PLC 195 of FIG. 1), although a skilled artisan will recognise that this event can occur any time before a packaging box is filled with bandolier of sachets. At 218, an amount of foodstuff within the at least two bandoliers of sachets is regulated by a dosing system, such as dosing system comprising dosing wheels 107 of FIG. 1. At 220, a number of current sachets in an individual bandolier of sachets that pass a photoelectric counter (such as photoelectric counter 140 of FIG. 1) is counted. At 222, the current number of sachets is provided to the PLC. At 225, at least one of the at least two bandoliers of sachets of foodstuff is cut along a sachet perforation in response to the sachet count within a respective one of the two bandoliers of sachets having reached the set number of sachets to be packaged in a box. At 230, the bandolier of sachets is dropped into a respective packaging box and at 235, the bandolier of sachets (or the cut bandolier of sachets after cutting) is evenly distributed in the packaging box via a movable spout mechanism that ensures an even distribution 157, 158 of the bandolier of sachets in the packaging box 155, 156. Plungers, such as plungers 135, 136 of FIG. 1, may then be activated at 240, as required, in order to ensure that the packaging boxes 155, 156 are filled. Once the correct set number of sachets has been processed and packaged, a sensor, operably couplable to the packaging box in the dual packaging system, may be configured to identify when the distributed cut bandolier of sachets has been distributed evenly in the at least one packaging box 155, 156 and the at least one packaging box 155, 156 is full. In response thereto, the sensor provides an indication at 245 that the at least one packaging box 155, 156 is to be replaced. By way of an exemplary embodiment, with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 a packaging system 100 and a method 200 of handling and packaging for packaging sachets containing foodstuffs is described herein that enable the packaging process to be improved, hence improving and / or increasing overall productivity. In the foregoing specification, it will be evidentto a skilled person that that various modifications and changes to the example embodiments herein described may be made therein without departing from the scope as set forth in the appended claims, and that the claims are not limited to the specific examples described above. It is envisaged that the system discussed herein may be utilised in any type of process where sachets, for example containing a mixture of sauce and / or powders may be packaged. Any arrangement of components to achieve the same functionality is effectively ‘associated’ such that the desired functionality is achieved. Hence, any two components herein combined to achieve a particular functionality can be seen as ‘associated with’ each other such that the desired functionality is achieved, irrespective of architectures or intermediary components. Likewise, any two components so associated can also be viewed as being ‘operably connected,’ or ‘operably coupled,’ to each other to achieve the desired functionality. Furthermore, those skilled in the art will recognize that boundaries between the abovedescribed operations merely illustrative. The multiple operations may be combined into a single operation, a single operation may be distributed in additional operations and operations may be executed at least partially overlapping in time. Moreover, alternative embodiments may include multiple instances of a particular operation, and the order of operations may be altered in various other embodiments. In the claims, the word ‘comprising’ does not exclude the presence of other elements or steps than those listed in a claim. Furthermore, the terms ‘a’ or ‘an,’ as used herein, are defined as one or more than one. Also, the use of introductory phrases such as ‘at least one’ and ‘one or more’ in the claims should not be construed to imply that the introduction of another claim 5 element by the indefinite articles ‘a’ or ‘an’ limits any particular claim containing such introduced claim element to inventions containing only one such element, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases ‘one or more’ or ‘at least one’ and indefinite articles such as ‘a’ or ‘an.’ The same holds true for the use of definite articles. Unless stated otherwise, terms such as ‘first’ and ‘second’ are used to arbitrarily distinguish between the elements such terms 10 describe. Thus, these terms are not necessarily intended to indicate temporal or other prioritization of such elements.

Claims

1. A method (200) for packaging sachets containing foodstuffs by a packaging system (100), the method comprising:receiving at least two bandoliers of sachets (111, 112) into the packaging system (100), wherein each sachet within a bandolier of sachets is filled with foodstuff and perforated at a sachet length;receiving (215) an indication of a set number of sachets in a bandolier of sachets to be packaged in a box;counting (220) a number of current sachets in an individual bandolier of sachets that pass a photoelectric counter (140), and providing (222) the current number to a programmable logic controller, PLC, (195);cutting (225) the at least two bandoliers of sachets (111, 112) of foodstuff along a sachet perforation in response to the sachet count within a respective one of the two bandoliers of sachets (111, 112) having reached the set number of sachets from the bandolier of sachets to be packaged in a box; anddropping (230) and distributing (235, 240) the bandolier of sachets evenly into respective at least two packaging boxes (155, 156).

2. The method (200) for packaging sachets containing foodstuffs by a packaging system (100) of Claim 1 wherein distributing (235, 240) the bandolier of sachets evenly into respective at least two packaging boxes (155, 156) comprises rotating a pivoting spout on the packaging system that distributes cut bandoliers of sachets evenly into the respective at least two packaging boxes (155, 156).

3. The method (200) for packaging sachets containing foodstuffs by a packaging system (100) of Claim 1 or Claim 2 wherein distributing (235, 240) the bandolier of sachets evenly into respective at least two packaging boxes (155, 156) comprises activating a plunger as required that distributes cut bandoliers of sachets evenly into the respective at least two packaging boxes (155, 156).

4. The method (200) for packaging sachets containing foodstuffs by a packaging system (100) of any preceding Claim further comprising setting a packaging box full signal on the packaging system (100).

Images