Abstract:
An apparatus for forming an item group in a container, includes a first conveyor carrying the items; a second conveyor; and a plurality of container carriers mounted on the second conveyor. Each container carrier has a support for holding and positioning a container such that a container bottom and a container side wall are oriented obliquely to the advancing direction of the second conveyor. A pickup device lifts an item from the first conveyor, transports it to the second conveyor and deposits it into a container positioned by a container carrier. A control device controls the motions of the pickup device to selectively deposit items in a flat-lying orientation on the container bottom or on the container side wall. After uprighting the containers subsequent to their charging with items, each item is either in a flat-lying orientation or in an edge-wise standing orientation with respect to the container bottom.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
         [0001]    This application claims the priority of Swiss Application No. 2000 1097/00 filed May 31, 2000, which is incorporated herein by reference.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    This invention relates to a method and an apparatus for forming item groups in a container.  
           [0003]    Various apparatus and methods of the above type are known. Thus, European Patent No. 0 526 403 describes a method and an apparatus for forming groups of edible wafers which are conveyed to the grouping apparatus on a conveyor belt in a random sequence. FIG. 2 of the patent shows a gripper device which lifts an edible wafer from a carrier, swings it in a tilted orientation and deposits the wafer in a container in such a manner that the wafers are in an edge-wise standing position, that is, their principal plane is essentially perpendicular to the container bottom.  
           [0004]    European Patent No. 0 453 407 to which corresponds U.S. Pat. No. 5,186,599 describes a further method and apparatus for forming groups of edible wafers in which, as seen in FIG. 3 of that patent, the wafers are arranged in a lying position in a container, that is, their principal plane is oriented essentially parallel to the container bottom.  
           [0005]    It is a disadvantage of the prior art arrangements that two different devices are required to arrange the items, particularly wafer-shaped food products, in a standing or in a flat-lying condition.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0006]    It is an object of the invention to provide an improved method and apparatus of the above-outlined type by means of which containers may be selectively charged with items, such as edible wafers, in a standing and/or in a flat-lying position relative to the container bottom.  
           [0007]    This object and others to become apparent as the specification progresses, are accomplished by the invention, according to which, briefly stated, the apparatus for forming a group of items in a container includes a first conveyor for advancing items positioned thereon; a second conveyor; and a plurality of container carriers mounted on the second conveyor. Each container carrier has a support for holding and positioning a container such that a container bottom and a container side wall are oriented at an inclined angle to the advancing direction of the second conveyor. A pickup device lifts an item from the first conveyor, transports the item to the second conveyor and deposits the item into a container held and positioned by a container carrier. A control device controls the motions of the pickup device to selectively deposit items in a flat-lying orientation either on a container bottom or on a container side wall. After uprighting the containers subsequent to their charging with items, each item in each container is either in a flat-lying orientation or in an edge-wise standing orientation with respect to the container bottom.  
           [0008]    The method according to the invention comprises the steps of grasping the items by means of a gripper device and by depositing the grasped items in containers positioned in a conveying device. By setting the gripper device into a first or into a second mode, the items are deposited in the containers in a flat-lying position either on the bottom or on a side wall of an obliquely positioned container, so that after uprighting the container, an item therein will be either in a flat-lying or in an edge-wise standing orientation relative to the container bottom.  
           [0009]    The above-outlined combination according to the invention allows a large degree of flexibility of the packing station. Various product configurations may be realized in the container in a simple manner. Even different items, particularly items of different external shape may be deposited in the containers. The charging of the containers may be effected rapidly and securely. By virtue of the multi-functionality of the apparatus a high output rate of the machine may be achieved.  
           [0010]    The desired configuration of the item group is formed directly in the containers. An intermediate station which has been required in prior art arrangements between the first (standing or flat-lying) and the second (flat-lying or standing) stacking mode increases the spatial requirement of the entire apparatus and also, adversely affects its output rate. The oblique positioning may be made possible in two directions or continuously. The suction member may be self-deforming or may be mechanically controlled. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0011]    [0011]FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of an apparatus according to the invention.  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 2 is a schematic side elevational view of a gripper and a container carrier according to the invention in a first mode for a flat-lying deposition of items on a container bottom.  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 3 is a schematic side elevational view of a gripper and a container carrier according to the invention in a second mode for edge-wise orienting the items relative to the container bottom.  
         [0014]    [0014]FIGS. 4 a - 7   a  show schematic sectional side elevational views of containers with four different arrangements of items therein.  
         [0015]    [0015]FIGS. 4 b - 7   b  are respective top plan views of the configurations shown in FIGS. 4 a - 7   a.    
         [0016]    [0016]FIGS. 8 a ,  8   b  and  8   c  are schematic side elevational views of a suction gripper in three consecutive positions during grasping and lifting of an item. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0017]    [0017]FIG. 1 schematically shows an apparatus according to the invention, including container carriers  1 . The container carriers  1  are mounted on parallel-running conveyor belts  11  which move in the direction of the arrow  12 .  
         [0018]    The container carriers  1 , into which the containers  2  may be inserted, have two walls  21  and  22  whose length extends transversely to the advancing direction  12  and which may be open at opposite ends or closed, as shown, by end walls  23 . The walls  21  and  22  are arranged at an angle of about 90° to one another. The containers  2  are positioned, with their bottom wall  25 , on the wall  21  facing the advancing direction  12 . As it will be seen later in conjunction with other figures, the containers  2  may also be positioned on the wall  22  of the container carrier  1 . The side walls  26  of the containers  2  are supported unilaterally on the wall  22 .  
         [0019]    As shown in FIG. 1, three containers  2  are arranged side-by-side in each container carrier  1 . Non-illustrated lateral abutments may be provided in the carriers  1  for positioning and fixing the containers  2  in the prismatic carriers  1 .  
         [0020]    Parallel to the conveyor belt  11  a further conveyor belt  13  is arranged which moves in the direction of the arrow  14 , thus, as seen, parallel and codirectionally with the conveyor belt  11 . It is, however, also feasible to move the conveyor belts  11  and  13  in opposite directions. On the conveyor belt  13  individual items such as confectionery wafers  3  are arranged in an organized or in a random manner. The flat edible wafers may be elongated, round, polygonal, oval or may have complex geometrical shapes wherein advantageously two dimensions of the edible wafer, such as width and height, significantly differ from one another.  
         [0021]    The position and orientation of the items  3  on the conveyor  13  are sensed by a first optical sensor  31 , such as an imaging camera, having a conical detecting range  32 . Signals representing the positional conditions of the items are applied by the sensor  31  to a control device  33 . The control device  33  controls a first pickup device  34  which grasps and lifts predetermined items  3  from the conveyor belt  13  and deposits them into a container  2 . In FIG. 1 some containers  2  are fully charged with three items, while others are only partially filled even after they have left the operating range of the first pickup device  34 . For this reason a second optical sensor  35  (also having a conical detecting range  32 ) and a second pickup device  36  are provided which are likewise controlled by the control device  33  and which complete the charging of the containers  2 . It is to be understood that more than two pickup devices  34 ,  36  may be provided, or only a single sensor  31  is used and that, for example, wider or more conveyor belts  13  are provided, for example, bilaterally of the conveyor belt  11 .  
         [0022]    At each pickup station  34  and  36  a gripper  40  is provided which will be described in more detail in conjunction with FIG. 8. The pickup device  34  or  36  shown in FIG. 1 is constructed as described in European Patent 0 250 470; it may, however, be replaced by any other pickup device with which edible wafers may be lifted from a first conveyor and moved to a second conveyor.  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 2 schematically shows a gripper  40  for use with a container carrier  1  according to the invention. The gripper  40  is in a first mode for depositing an edible wafer  3  into the container  2  in a flat-lying orientation relative to the container bottom. The container carrier  1  shown in FIG. 2 is of more complex configuration than that shown in FIG. 1; identical features in all figures are provided with the same reference characters.  
         [0024]    The container carrier  1  illustrated in FIG. 2 is affixed to at least one connecting support  15  mounted on the conveyor belt  11  moving in the direction of the arrow  12 . The container carrier  1  is, as viewed in cross section, composed of four polygonally arranged sides  51 ,  52 ,  53  and  54 . The side  52  supports the bottom  25  of the container  2 , whereas the sides  51  and  53  support the two side walls  26  of the container  2 . The sides  51  and  52  are inclined at respective angles  28  and  29  which may be, for example, −45° and +45°, respectively, to the advancing direction  12 .  
         [0025]    It is to be understood that by the sides  51 ,  52  and  53  of the container holder  1  components are also meant which are constituted by a grid construction and/or which have only individual noses or strips with which the containers  2  are held and positioned with respect to the advancing direction  12  at angles  28 ,  29  as shown in FIG. 2.  
         [0026]    In the illustrated embodiment the container  2  is a rotational body, for example, a frustoconical, deformable paper container. The short lateral edge  54  of the side  53  constitutes an abutment for the upper edge of the higher-lying side wall  26 . Advantageously, lateral abutments are also provided to prevent the container  2  from lateral shifting.  
         [0027]    The gripper  40  is secured to a socket plate  41  of the pickup device  34 . The gripper  40  has two arms  42  and  43  coupled to one another end-to-end by a joint  46  by means of which the angle  44  between the two arms  42  and  43  may be varied, for example, between 90° and 270°. In FIG. 2 the gripper  40  is shown in a position  38  in which the angle  44  is approximately 150°. The arm  43  is moved from such 150° 60  position counterclockwise (as viewed in FIG. 2) to assume an angle of 135° with respect to the arm  42  for positioning an item  3 , lifted by the suction head  45 , in a flat-lying orientation on the bottom  25  of the container  2 . The frontal end of the gripper  40  thus has an angle  59  of, for example, 45° to the horizontal. Instead of a suction head  45  any other type of grasping device may be used, as long as it is pivotal about an axis which is perpendicular to the transporting direction  12  and transverse to the conveyor belts  11 . It is additionally advantageous to provide that the pickup device  34  also can move the gripper about further axes to displace items  3  from the conveyor belt  13  in the direction of the conveyor belt  11  and the containers  2  and to further provide that the gripper  40  is of the type which is capable of picking up a group of articles.  
         [0028]    [0028]FIG. 3 schematically shows the gripper  40  which is in a second mode  39  for depositing an item  3  into the container  2  in an edge-wise orientation relative to the container bottom.  
         [0029]    It is thus seen that in cooperation with the angled positioning of the container  2  and dependent on the orientation of the arm  43  of the suction gripper  40  relative to the arm  42 , items  3  can be deposited in a lying orientation either with respect to the container bottom (FIG. 2) or a container side (FIG. 3). In the alternative, the gripper  40  may have rigidly connected arms  42  and  43  for rotation about the vertical axis  58  shown in FIG. 3.  
         [0030]    Thus, when subsequently the container  2  is uprighted from its inclined orientation in which it is positioned in the container carrier  1 , an item  3  will assume either a flat-lying orientation or an edge-wise standing orientation with respect to the container bottom  25 .  
         [0031]    The above-described versatile item-depositing system makes possible various packaging patterns in the containers  2  as shown in FIGS. 4 a - 7   a  and  4   b - 7   b.  FIGS. 4 a  and  4   b  show five flat-lying, face-to-face stacked items  3 , FIGS. 5 a  and  5   b  illustrate five side-by-side standing items  3 , FIGS. 6 a  and  6   b  show five side-by-side standing items  3  supporting at the top a further item  3 . As seen in FIGS. 7 a ,  7   b , the items  3  may stand in a slightly oblique orientation, if the walls  26  are inclined. Further configurations, not illustrated in the figures, may comprise a lowermost flat-lying item on which standing items are positioned; these, in turn, may be covered at the top by a flat-lying item.  
         [0032]    Instead of frustoconical containers  2 , the apparatus comprising the gripper  40  may be used with any other type of containers having, for example, a quadratic or ovaloid bottom.  
         [0033]    [0033]FIGS. 8 a ,  8   b  and  8   c  schematically show three consecutive operational positions of a suction gripper  40  during the pickup of an edible wafer  3 . The suction gripper  40  has, under the arms  41  and  42 , a bellows  45  which, as shown in FIG. 8 a , is lowered in the direction of the arrow  47  toward the conveyor belt  13 . FIG. 8 b  shows the suction gripper  40  as the bellows  45  is positioned on the item  3 . During this occurrence the region  48  of the bellows  45  is compressed whereas the oppositely-lying region  48  is expanded. Subsequently, the suction gripper  40  is, according to FIG. 8 c,  lifted off the conveyor belt  13  and thus the item  3 , by virtue of the vacuum supplied by the suction gripper  40 , adheres to the bellows  45  which is compressed to the maximum extent in its regions  48  and  49  so that the item  3  lies firmly against the suction gripper  40  perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis  50  of the arm  43 .  
         [0034]    It will be understood that the above description of the present invention is susceptible to various modifications, changes and adaptations, and the same are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the appended claims.