Individual product conveying device

Abstract

The present invention relates to a conveying device intended for individually separated products, in particular tablet products produced by a tablet press, which comprises a sliding base (19) and a conveying mechanism (20), which runs on the sliding base and has a number of receiving pockets (22) for the separated products (11), said receiving pockets opening onto the sliding base (19) located below and movable on the sliding base (19) by the conveying mechanism (20) along a conveying path (23) in a conveying direction (24). The present invention proposes a discharge device (27) for a particular device for conveying products so that they are reliably discharged from the conveying path without being damaged in the process, the discharge device (27) having a movable discharge base (30) provided on a sliding base (19), having an opening (28) which encompasses a discharge section (29) of the conveying path (23), and which is assigned to the opening (28) and has at least one closed base area (32) for closing the discharge section (29) and at least one open through-passage area (33) for freeing the discharge section (29), the direction of movement (37) of the discharge base (30) for optionally closing or freeing the discharge section (29) being essentially the same as the conveying direction (24) of the conveying mechanism (20).

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a conveying device for individual products, in particular for tablet products produced using a pelletizing device, comprising a sliding base and a conveying element running on the sliding base, the conveying element having a plurality of receiving pockets for the individual products which can be moved in a conveying direction along a conveying track on the sliding base by the conveying element. [Background technology]

[0002] Such conveying devices are used, for example, to remove tablet products produced in a rotary pelletizing machine. The products are fed from the die table of the pelletizing machine to a conveyor device and individually received in receiving pockets. The receiving pockets are generally designed, for example, as star conveyors, and are arranged in the outer peripheral area of ​​a conveying element arranged above a sliding base and rotated by a drive device. As a result, the system transports the products captured in the receiving pockets onto the sliding base on a circular path to a discharge device.

[0003] To monitor the product quality of tablet products in a form that can be transported using the present invention, it is often desirable to eject individual products from the transport path as soon as possible after production so that appropriate audit measures can be implemented. The high production rates currently achievable on pelletizing machines, reaching hundreds of tablet products per minute with rotary pelletizing machines, make it difficult to reliably eject individual products without risking their being damaged during the ejection process.

[0004] Various solutions for the release of individual tablet products after production in a tablet press have been investigated. A simple option for taking an individual sample from production is to briefly stop production and remove one of the produced tablets through an access window. This sampling method while the system is stopped does not involve any investment costs or adjustments to the system, and damage to the tablets is also usually avoided. However, it is clear that this procedure is time-consuming and therefore associated with a significant loss of production.

[0005] Yet another approach involves using pre-packaged tablets as samples; thus, individual tablets are not removed from production at all. Rather, one of the packages is reopened for sampling only after production and packaging are complete. This approach also eliminates the need to modify the pelleting system and the strain on the tablets caused by the removal process. However, the drawback here is that the tablets must first undergo the entire process of further processing after actual production (transportation, packaging) and then be re-opened, meaning a significant time elapses before the tablets can be audited after production. Any product defects found during this audit can only be remedied after this delay.

[0006] Attempts to use compressed air to eject individual tablets from a conveying path by using compressed air nozzles to blow compressed air onto them and move them (sideways) away from the normal conveying path have revealed various drawbacks of this method. On the one hand, a reliable supply of compressed air must be ensured for application to the compressed air nozzle, and on the other hand, suitable stop guides must be provided for the tablets to be blown onto so that they are not removed from the conveyor belt or another conveying element in an uncontrolled manner. It is easy to have situations where tablets blown sideways from the conveying track by compressed air are damaged when they hit a stop guide, resulting in a defective (i.e., underweight) product in subsequent audits, especially in weight determinations. However, this defect is not caused by the tablet production, but rather occurs during ejection.

[0007] Similar problems arise when attempting to eject a single sample tablet by applying a vacuum or by a mechanical diverter that deflects the tablet laterally into the sample removal channel. These measures can also easily result in damage to the ejected product.

[0008] The object of the invention is to design a conveying device of the type mentioned at the outset in such a way that the individual products conveyed with the conveying device can be reliably discharged from the conveying path as samples without damaging them in the process. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0009] The present invention achieves this object through a discharge device having a recess provided in a sliding base, which recess comprises a discharge section of a transport track and a movable discharge base dedicated to the recess having at least one closed base area for closing the discharge section and at least one open passage area for releasing the discharge section, the direction of movement of the discharge base for selectively closing or releasing the discharge section being essentially synchronized with the conveying direction of the transport element. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] Thus, according to the present invention, a downward discharge possibility is created for discharging individual products in the sliding base of the conveyor device through which the products are transported. During the device's regular transport operation, the sliding base is also closed at the discharge section by the closed base area of ​​the discharge section. To discharge the products, the discharge base is moved to open the discharge section by bringing the open passage scope under the product to be discharged. According to the present invention, the movement direction of the discharge base, which is synchronized with the conveying direction of the transport element, limits the passage area and ensures that the maximum possible time interval is available for the opening and closing movement, since the opening and closing edges of the discharge base at the front and rear of the movement direction move in at least essentially the same direction as the flow of tablets transported on the sliding base. Thus, the discharged products have enough time to fall through the sliding base through the temporary opening formed in the base, for example onto a product chute, through which the products can be further slid by gravity.

[0011] An advantageous design of the invention includes that the ejection base is formed by a circular disk driven by rotation with at least one base window forming the passage area. According to the invention, the circular disk is rotated in such a direction that the base window, which is located under the product to be ejected in order to open the ejection device, moves at least essentially in the same direction as the product.

[0012] The discharge base is preferably arranged at least partially flush with the sliding base within a recess provided therein, so that a smooth transition is ensured between the discharge base and the sliding base, allowing the product being transported thereover to move without damage.

[0013] Advantageously, the discharge floor can be driven at a movement speed synchronized with the conveying speed of the conveying elements, which allows the relative speed of the passage area to be minimized in relation to the conveying speed of the products moving on the sliding base, and therefore the time for the discharge device to open and remove the products from the product flow to be maximized.

[0014] In a manner known per se, the conveying elements may be arranged above the sliding base, and may be a rotating conveying star with receiving pockets formed on its radially outer periphery. The ejection base may be driven by an ejection drive that can be separated from the drive for the conveying elements. This configuration may be created so that the ejection drive can be connected to the drive for the conveying elements by a gear that can be engaged and disengaged. However, it is also possible to provide a separate drive for the ejection base, independent of the conveying element drive, such as a pneumatic drive or servomotor. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the drive for the ejection base is implemented by a pneumatic cylinder, which is coupled via a freewheel ratchet gear so that it rotates a fixed, specific angular amount, for example, 90° in the desired rotation direction, during the full operating stroke of the cylinder and remains in that position during the opposite stroke of the cylinder. In this way, by activating and retracting the pneumatic cylinder several times, in particular four times, the discharge base can be rotated completely in a corresponding number of steps and returned to its original position, so that each base window provided in the discharge base, which is opened once during this single rotation to discharge the articles, has access to a recess in the sliding base and releases the discharge. The operating speed of the pneumatic cylinder, i.e. the speed at which its piston rod is extended or retracted, is preferably adapted to the conveying speed at which the products are conveyed on the sliding base, so that the discharge base or discharge window formed therein moves at essentially the same speed and at least approximately in the same direction as the discharged products moved by the conveying element.

[0015] The discharge device is preferably arranged below the discharge section and comprises a product chute that the products access from above when the discharge base is in position when the discharge section is released. The discharge device is preferably arranged between a supply device for the products on the sliding base and a removal device for the products downstream of the supply device in the conveying direction. The feeder device (supply device) can be formed at least in part by the die table of the pelletizing machine. The removal device is preferably substantially formed by a base opening provided in the sliding base, through which the products moved by the conveying elements on the sliding base can fall to the end of their conveying path, for example onto a subsequent conveyor belt or onto a discharge chute.

[0016] Further features and advantages of the invention emerge from the drawings and the following description in which preferred embodiments of the invention are explained in more detail by way of example. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0017] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a simplified perspective view of a pelletizing system including an apparatus according to the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the object according to FIG. 1, with parts removed, of a device according to the invention, with a closed outlet. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a view showing the article discharge section of FIG. 1 in an open state. [Figure 4] 1 and 2. FIG. 3 shows, in a representation corresponding to FIG. 1, another embodiment of the pelletizing system with an alternative drive for the discharge base of the discharge device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0018] In the figure, reference numeral 10 denotes a pelletizing system used for producing tablet products, such as detergent tablets 11. The system 10 comprises a rotary tablet press, as known in the art, for producing compressed products made from powders. Since the construction of such tablet presses is well known to those skilled in the art, only a pair of die punches 12, each having an upper punch 13 and a lower punch 14, from the tablet press is shown in the drawing by way of example. During one revolution of the die plate 12 in the direction of rotation 15, the product 11 pressed by the pair of die punches in the associated die opening 16 is pushed upwards through the die opening 16 by the respective lower punch 14 at the end of the rotation of the die table 12 and transferred to the feed device 17 of the conveyor system that is the subject of the present invention.

[0019] The conveyor device, generally designated 18, has a sliding base 19, the top of which is flush with the top of the die plate 12 and has a boundary surface in the shape of a segment of a circle along which the die plate 12 runs within the feed device 17. A rotary conveying element in the form of a conveying star 20 is arranged rotatably about a vertical axis immediately above the sliding base 19. The star conveyor 20 has a number of carrier fingers 21 on its outer periphery that protrude radially outward, which form receiving pockets 22 for the products 11 between them. The receiving pockets 22 open at their bottom towards the sliding base 19, so that the products 11 taken over by the die plate 12 are pushed into a circular conveying track 23 in a conveying direction 24, starting from the feed device 17 and over an angular range of approximately 180°, towards a removal device 25 on the sliding base 19 of the device 18. It can be seen that the carrier fingers 21 in the area of ​​the feeding device 17 project laterally beyond the upper drafted boundary surface of the die plate in the form of a circular segment, thereby being able to take over the product from the die plate. The lateral guidance of the tablet products 11 along the outer conveying track 23 of the circumferentially open receiving pocket 22 is achieved by a stationary guide rail 26 in the form of a circular segment, which extends from the feeding device 17 to the removal device 25 and defines the outer arc-shaped conveying track 23.

[0020] Approximately halfway between the feeding device 17 and the removal device 25, the device 18 is provided with a discharge device 27 by which one or more products 11 can be discharged from the transport track 23 so that they can be inspected, for example, as product samples. The discharge device 27 can be best seen in Figures 2 and 3, where the guide rail 26 in the form of a circular segment is not shown.

[0021] As can be seen, the discharge device 27 comprises a recess 28 provided in the sliding base 19 of the discharge section 29 of the transport track 23 and a movable discharge base 30 dedicated to the recess 28, which in the preferred exemplary embodiment shown is formed by a rotary driven circular disc 31. It has a closed base area 32 extending over a circumferential angle of approximately 270° for closing the discharge section 29 and an open passage area 33 in the form of a base window 34 through which the discharge section can be opened. The circular disc can be rotated about a vertical axis by means of a drive 35 connected to the discharge base 30. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, this drive consists of a servo motor arranged below the discharge base, the output shaft of which is flanged, either directly or via a gearing, with the circular disc forming the discharge base. In the example embodiment shown in Figure 4, the drive for the ejection base is essentially formed using a pneumatic cylinder 40, which advances the ejection base by a quarter turn whenever a piston rod 42 extends during cylinder actuation, via a (simplified) ratchet gear 41 connected to the rotational axis of the ejection base 30. Although not shown in detail, a ratchet mechanism on the ratchet gear ensures that the ejection base maintains its position when the piston rod retracts, i.e., when the piston rod does not rotate again. The reciprocating motion of the cylinder's piston rod is therefore translated into a rotational indexing motion of the ejection base in one rotational direction, using four consecutive complete actuation strokes of the pneumatic cylinder in the illustrated embodiment, causing the ejection base to rotate completely to its starting position.

[0022] By means of the drive device 35, the closed base area 32 of the discharge base 30 is positioned in the recess 28 to close the discharge section 29, or the open passage area 33 is brought into the recess 28, thereby opening the discharge section 29, so that the products 11 arriving on the transport track 23 then start below the discharge section 29 and descend onto a discharge chute 36 which discharges the products from the conveyor device 18. According to the invention, the direction of movement of the discharge base 30 in the area of ​​the recess 28 for selectively closing or opening the discharge section 29, i.e., the circumferential direction 37 of the circular disc 31 below the conveyor star recess in the exemplary embodiment, is essentially the same as the conveying direction 24 of the transport element 20. This particular configuration has the advantage that when the circular disc rotates, the essentially radially extending front and rear window edges 38 which define the bottom window 34 circumferentially at the front and rear do not move against the conveying direction 24 of the tablets 11 but rather move in essentially the same direction, so that no situation arises in which tablets being discharged from the conveyor device 18 become stuck and thereby damaged in the discharge device 27 between the edges of the carrier fingers 21 or recesses 28 of the conveyor stars 20 and the window edges 38 of the base windows 34 in the discharge base 30.

[0023] 2 and 3, the discharge base 30 is arranged flush with the sliding base 19, i.e., the upper side of its base area is at the same height as the upper side of the sliding base. In the closed state of the discharge device shown in FIG. 2, with the base area 32 in the recess 28 of the sliding base 19, the products 11 are continuously moved by the star conveyor 20 over the narrow gap 39 between the sliding base and the discharge base. The recess 28 of the sliding base has an approximately semicircular shape and is substantially completely filled by the circular disc 31 that forms the discharge base 30 when the discharge device 27 is closed, leaving only the very narrow gap 39. The discharge base 30 can be rotated or advanced by means of a servo motor 35 or pneumatic cylinder drives 40, 41 at a movement speed synchronized with the conveying speed of the conveyor starwheel 20, in this way positioning the base window 34 of the circular disc 31 in the recess 28 (Fig. 3), thereby opening the discharge section 29 for the products, which then descend onto the discharge chute 36 and are thus withdrawn from the normal conveying path. It goes without saying that for some products, for example in particular in the embodiment according to Fig. 4, it is also possible to keep the discharge base in its open position for a correspondingly longer time, so that correspondingly several products following one another are removed, or in particular in the embodiment according to Fig. 1, it is also possible to rotate the discharge base over several revolutions at a rotation speed adapted to the conveying speed of the conveyor starwheel, so that with each revolution of the discharge base the base window is below a product deposited in a receiving pocket and so that, for example, every third or nth product located in an adjacent receiving pocket is already discharged in the discharge device from the normal conveying track between the feeder and the discharge device.

[0024] Of course, other types of sampling can be performed using correspondingly different designs of the discharge device, especially the discharge base. The discharge base can also be equipped with multiple base windows, alternating with correspondingly larger closed base areas. Such a design can be useful, for example, when it is necessary to ensure that every second of product produced in a pelletizing machine is diverted to a different location. The discharge device can also be designed not to have a rotating circular disk as the discharge base, but rather to have a flexible drive element, such as a link chain, rotating around two deflection rollers or a chain star. One or more closing plates are arranged on the link chain and protrude laterally. These closing plates can be moved into recesses in the base floor to close the base floor.

Claims

1. A conveying device for individual products, comprising: A sliding base (19); a conveying element (20) running on the sliding base (19) and having a plurality of receiving pockets (22) for the individual products (11), the receiving pockets (22) being movable on the sliding base (19) along a conveying track (23) in a conveying direction (24) by the conveying element (20); The apparatus is characterized by comprising a discharge device (27), the discharge device (27) comprising: a recess (28) in the sliding base (19), the recess (28) comprising an outlet (29) of the transport track (23); and a movable discharge base (30) dedicated to said recess (28), comprising at least one closed base area (32) for closing said discharge portion (29) and at least one open passage area (33) for opening said discharge portion (29); a direction of movement (37) of the discharge base (30) for selectively closing or opening the discharge section (29) is the same as the conveying direction (24) of the conveying element (20), The discharge base (30) is formed by a circular disc (31) driven by rotation, and at least one base window (34) forms a passage area (33), Conveying device.

2. 2. The transport device according to claim 1, wherein the ejection base (30) is arranged flush with the sliding base (19) at least partially in the recess (28) provided in the sliding base.

3. 3. Conveying device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the discharge base (30) can be driven at a movement speed synchronized with the conveying speed of the conveying elements (20).

4. 4. The conveying device according to claim 1, wherein the conveying element is a conveying star (20) rotatably arranged above the sliding base (19) and arranged on a radially outer peripheral area in which the receiving pockets (22) are formed.

5. Conveying device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the discharge base (30) can be driven by a discharge drive which gets its driving force from a drive for the conveying element (20).

6. 6. Conveying device according to claim 5, characterized in that the discharge drive is connectable to the drive for the conveying element by means of an engageable and disengageable gear.

7. 7. The conveying device according to claim 1, wherein the discharge device (27) comprises a discharge chute (36) arranged below the discharge section (29).

8. 8. The conveying device according to claim 1, wherein the ejection device (27) is arranged between a supply device (17) for the products (11) on the sliding base (19) and a removal device (25) for the products in the conveying direction (24) downstream of the supply device (17).

9. 9. Conveying device according to claim 8, characterized in that the feeding device (17) is at least partly formed by the die table (12) of a pelletizing machine.

10. Conveying device according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that the ejection device (27) is formed by a base opening provided in the sliding base (19).

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