APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR ATTACHING FLEXIBLE ELONGATED OBJECTS TO CONTAINERS

Abstract: Arrangement for the attachment of bendable suction tubes (2) along the side of packing containers (8), whereby the suction tubes (2) which are enclosed in an envelope (3) of flexible plastic material consist of two straight parts (5, 6) divided by a crimped flexible part (7). The suction straws (2) are brought into contact with the packing containers (8) by means of a rotatable drum (13), the axis of which is parallel to the diagonal of the containers (8). One straight part (5) of the suction tube (2) being aligned with the diagonal of a container (8) and transferred to the container side where the envelope (3) of the suction tube will adhere to deposits (16) of heat-activated adhesive material applied on the package side by a die (11) while the other straight part (6) of the suction tube (2) will project from the container side. Said other projection part (6) of suction tube (2) being folded down along the flexible part (7) by means of a plurality of rollers (17, 18, 19) to a position within the contour of the side wall of the container (8) and parallel to the upper side edge of the container (8) and that the folded down part (6) of the suction tube (2) is fixed in the folded down position by means of further rollers (21) which will press the envelope (3) of the suction tube (2) against deposits (16) of adhesive material.

Description: The present invention relates to an apparatus for the attachment of bendable, elongated objects, in particular suction tubes, along the side of packing containers, as defined in the first part of claim 1 and described in EP-A-216 284. The attachment of elongated objects, such as e.g. suction tubes, spoons etc. to the outside of packing containers has been known for a long time, but it has been a problem, especially where suction tubes are concerned, that the length of the suction tube has to exceed substantially the height of the package, whilst the space on the side of the package does not allow a suction tube longer than one that can be accomodated along the diagonal of the largest side of the package. It has been tried to remedy this by using telescopically extendable suction tubes, that is to say two tube sections which are inserted into one another when they are fixed to the package wall, but which on being used can be telescopically extended in relation to one another so as to form an appreciably longer suction tube. The use of flexible suction tubes is also known which can be bent along a crimped portion and which are thus either bent to a U-shape or they are folded in some other manner, so that the bent suction tube can be accomodated on the side of the package. For reasons of hygiene the suction tubes attached to the packages are nearly always enclosed in a protective envelope of preferably plastic material and the suction tube in general is supplied in such a manner that the said envelopes cohere to one another in a web containing a great number of suction tubes wrapped in their envelopes, and the individual suction tubes are separated from this web together with their envelope by dividing the web by means of cuts in the sealing zones which are provided between the coherent enbelopes. Arrangements are known for the attachment of suction tubes wrapped in envelopes along the side of packing containers, and the attachment as a rule takes place with the help of a heat-activated bonding agent (so-called hot-melt) which is applied previously to the package side along the areas where the suction tube envelope later is to be fixed. It has been found, however, that the application of such wrapped suction tubes which are longer than the diagonal of the package side entails difficulties regarding the attachment, since the suction tube together with its envelope, beside having to be fixed to the side of the packing container, also must be folded in a special configuration in order to find room on the side wall of the packing container. Directions concerning such an arrangement for the applying of foldable suction tubes are provided by the present invention,however, whose characteristics are evident from the enclosed claims. In the following the invention will be described with reference to the attached schematic drawing, wherein Fig.1 shows a band with wrapped suction tubes provided with a crimped folding zone. Fig.2 shows a finished package with a folded suction tube affixed to it, Fig.3 shows an arrangement for the providing of packing containers with suction tubes Fig.4 depicts the rotating drum for the attachment of suction tubes, and Fig.5 is a sequence which illustrates the assembly procedure in steps a-e. In Figure 1 is shown a band 1 of coherent envelopes of thin plastic material with suction tubes 2 accomodated in the envelopes 3. The material in the envelopes 3 is sealed to itself in the areas 4 and the individual, wrapped suction tubes 2 are obtained in that the band 1 is divided up through cuts in the sealing zones 4. The separated, individual suction tubes 2 then will be wholly enclosed by their envelope 3. The suction tubes consist of two straight parts 5,6 and an intermediate crimped, bendable portion 7.As is evident from Fig.2, it is intended to affix the suction tube 2 with its envelope 3 along the side of a packing container 8, and as is evident from the Figure, it is intended to make the contents of the packing container 8 accessible by detaching the suction tube 2 with its envelope 3 from the side wall of the package, whereafter the suction tube 2 is freed of its envelope 3 and is inserted into a suction tube hole 9 provided in the packing container 8. The suction tube 2 shown in Figure 2 has a length adapted to the purpose, but, as is evident from the Figure, the total length of the suction tube 2 is so great that the suction tube cannot be accomodated along the side wall of the packing container 8 without being bent into V-shape, the bending being carried out along a specially provided crimped portion 7 of the suction tube 2. In addition to the crimped portion 7 the suction tube, as mentioned earlier, has two straight parts 5,6, the part 5 whereof is adapted in its length in such a manner that in principle it corresponds to, or is slightly less than, the diagonal length of the side wall of the packing container 8, whereas the shorter suction tube part 6 corresponds to, or is slightly less than, the length of one of the lateral edges of the packing container 8. One problem which arises in the affixing of the suction tube 2 with its envelope 3 is that, not only the suction tube 2, but also the envelope 3 has to be bent or folded, and it has been found that stresses occur easily in the sealed portions of the envelope 3 along the outside of the curved part at the part of the envelope which is located close to the crimped portion 7. These stresses give rise to a certain deformation of the envelope 3 which may manifest itself in that the sealed edges of the envelope will stand out from the side wall of the packing container 8 instead of lying closely against the same. The reason why the side of the envelope 3 facing towards the packing container 8 has to lie closely against the side wall of the packing container is on the one hand that a larger contact surface will then be obtained between the envelope 3 and the activated bonding agent applied previously to the side wall of the packing container 8 which promotes adhesion, on the other hand that a projecting edge of the envelope 3 may easily cause the suction tube with its envelope to be torn off the package during transport and handling of the package. The affixing of the suction tube 2 can be done with the help of an arrangement of the type which is shown in Figure 3. The arrangement in the Figure 3 has a conveyor track 10 with the help of which the packing containers 8 are advanced in a controlled manner to the position where bonding agent is applied and the suction tubes 2 wrapped in the envelope are affixed. The conveying track 10 may be driven continuously or intermittently as a function of the rest of the design of the machine, and in the present case it is assumed that the advance takes place intermittently. The packing containers 8, which are fed from a magazine or from a filling machine in operation, are gripped by drivers belonging to the conveyor track 10 and are conducted past an applicator 11 for the application of activated bonding agent. In the present case the bonding agent is constituted of a so-called hot-melt, which is a mixture of waxes and plastic compounds with good glueing capacity and low melting point. Owing to the adhesive being solid and non-sticky at normal room temperature it acts fast and provides a durable bond as soon as its temperature drops below approx. 50-60°C. The bonding agent is extruded under pressure through dies (not shown here) which are arranged in the applicator 11.The applicator 11 shown here is assumed to have two dies, one on a level just above the lower edge of the conveyor track 10, and one die on a level just below the top edge of the packing container 8.With the help of the dies an appropriate amount of bonding agent is squirted onto the side of the packing container 8 along the area where the suction tube envelope 3 is meant to be attached. Since the said dies are situated at different heights,the areas to which bonding agent is applied may be located at two levels reckoned from the bottom of the packing container 8, the one area with bonding agent deposited on it being located at the bottom part of the package near to its one corner,whereas two or more areas with bonding agent deposited on them are located at the upper side edge of the packing container 8. In order to maintain the packing containers 8 in their position in the conveyor track 10 rollers 12 or the like may be arranged on a level above the lower edge of the conveyor track corresponding to the height of the packing containers. Instead of rollers an endless belt may be arranged above the conveyor track 10, the lower part of the belt being arranged on a level corresponding to the height of the packing containers 8. The suction tubes 2, which are wrapped in their envelopes 3 in the manner mentioned before, are conducted as a coherent band around a rotating drum 13 whose function will be described in more detail in the following with reference to Fig.4. With the help of separating means co-operating with the drum 13 the individual suction tubes 2 with their envelopes 3 are separated into individual units which are retained in spaces parallel with the axis of rotation of the drum and provided around the periphery of the drum. The drum 13 is adapted to revolve synchronously with the advancing of the conveying arrangement 10 so that a packing container 8 is situated with its side wall straight opposite the drum 13 when the still straight suction tube retained by the drum is transferred from the drum 13 to the packing container 8. The transfer may be done in such a manner that a movement towards the packing container is imparted to the drum and that the revolving movement of the drum 13 is synchronized so with the conveyor belt 10 that the lower part 5 of the suction tube 2 will be placed diagonally over the packing container 8 passing by or presented, and that the envelope enclosing the end parts of the suction tube part 5 will be brought into contact with the activated bonding agent applied earlier, the envelope 3 being fixed to the bonding agent deposited on the packing container side. In accordance with the design shown in Fig.3, the drum is not movable to and fro in respect of the conveyor track 10 and the packing containers 8 advanced in the conveyor track 10, but the drum is provided with transfer devices in the form of "fingers" 32 which press the suction tube 2 with its envelope 3 out from the said space in the drum 13, the envelope 3 with its suction tube 2 being pressed firmly against the packing container 8 advanced to a position in front of the drum 13, also in such a manner that the longer, straight suction tube part 5 is affixed with its envelope diagonally over the wall of the packing container 8. As is evident from Figure 3, the drum 13 is placed obliquely in relation to the plane of transportation of the conveyor track 10, so as to allow the suction tube to be affixed diagonally over the package side. The arrangement comprising a drum which is displaceable in relation to the packing containers 8 is used, as mentioned earlier,mainly in those applications where the packing containers 8 are advanced continuously by the conveyor track 10, whereas the arrangement with stepwise revolving drum 13 and projectable fingers 32 is used in cases where the packing containers 8 are advanced stepwise by means of the conveyor track 10. After the lower straight suction tube part 5 has been affixed diagonally over the side surface of the packing container 8 the package is advanced further along the conveyor track and comes then into contact with a down-folding arrangement 14, by means of which the projecting, straight part 6 of the suction tube 2 is folded down to a substantially horizontal position,so that it will be located against the side surface of the packing container 8, the envelope 3 being brought into contact with the activated bonding agent applied previously. In order to retain the folded-down suction tube part 6 in its position until the bonding agent has had time to stabilize itself, a series of rollers 15 is arranged in such a manner that they are pressed against the suction tube part 6 when the package is moved on. After passing the rollers 15 the suction tube 2 has become fixed to the packing container 8 in the desired manner and the packing container complete with suction tube can be carried away for packaging. DESCRIPTION OF THE DRUM 13 The rotating drum 13 for the attachment of the suction tube 2 is shown in Figure 4 and in Figure 3. As mentioned earlier, the drum 13 is made to rotate synchronously with the feed belt 10. This synchronization may be done mechanically, but preferably it also may be effected so that the revolving movement of the drum is controlled and initiated by a photocell (not shown here) which senses the position of a packing container 8 advanced on the conveyor track. The said photocell may be adapted so that it controls the applicator 11 of bonding agent as well as the drum 13 for the application of the suction tube 2, and the use of a photocell brings the further advantage that the application of adhesive agent and the advance of new suction tubes 2 will take place only when a package 8 is actually conveyed by the track 10, whilst a conveyor track which is "running idle" does not cause the bonding agent applicator 11 or the drum 13 to be activated. As is evident from Figure 4, where the drum 13 is shown in cross-section, the suction tubes 2 together with their envelopes 3 are accomodated in the spaces 26 arranged at a uniform pitch around the drum 13. The suction tubes 2 are supplied to the drum 13 as a band in the manner described earlier, this band being passed over the supporting rollers 28 so that the band with its suction tubes will spread itself evenly with one suction tube per space, whilst the sealed portion of the envelopes 3 between the suction tubes will be located at the raised part 27 which delimits the spaces 26. The individual, wrapped suction tubes 2 are separated from each other in that the knife 28, which is controlled by the air cylinder 29, is made to penetrate into the space 30 which is provided between the projecting portions 27.By this action the sealed part of the envelope 3 is cut through and a wrapped suction tube 2 is separated from the band of suction tubes. The separated suction tube 2 cannot drop out of its space 26 though, since a catching arrangement or screen 31 is provided around parts of the circumference of the drum 13.The separated suction tubes 2 consequently will be moved forwards in steps in their spaces 26 until they reach a position corresponding to the rear edge of the screen 31. In this position the suction tube 2 is straight in front of a packing container 8 advanced by the conveyor track 10 and the suction tube 2 is transferred from the drum 13 to the packing container 8 with the help of an arm 32 which swings out and removes the suction tube from the space 26 and presses it against the packing container 8. In the Figures the arm 32 is shown in retracted position whilst the arm 32′ is shown in extended position when the suction tube is being transferred. The arm 32 is adapted to be swivelled around an axis 35, whose operation likewise is controlled by the photocell which senses the position of a package 8 which has been advanced. As is evident from Fig.3 the drum 13 is provided with recesses 33 wherein the fingers 32 can move. The drum 13 is adapted so that it readily can be exchanged so as to fit suction tubes of a different diameter or different length, and the axle on which the drum 13 is mounted also can be adjusted so that its inclination to the horizontal plane is adapted according to the packages which are to be provided with suction tubes 2, that is to say so that the angle of inclination of the axle with the horizontal plane will correspond to the angle of the diagonal on the packages 8 which are to be provided with suction tubes 2. DESCRIPTION OF THE FOLDING-DOWN ARRANGEMENT 14 After the passage of the drum 13 the package 8 has the appearance according to Figure 5a which shows the package from the side and seen from in front in the direction of the conveyor track. In the side view the bonding agent 16 applied is designated by round areas which, however,may also be more elongated areas. As is clearly evident from the Figure 5a, the suction tube part 5 is fixed to the side wall of the packing container 8, whilst the projecting suction tube part 6 is free and projects from the packing container 8. The folding-down arrangement 14 shown in Figure 3 comprises in principle three rolls, namely the rolls 17,18 and 19 which in the Figures 5b,c,d are shown separately, but which in the arrangement are placed in relation to each other in the manner as shown in Figure 3. The folding down of the projecting suction tube part 6 is initiated when the packing container 8 in its movement along the conveyor track 10 moves past the conical roll 17 (Fig.5b). The projecting suction tube part 6 will then be folded backwards, the folding taking place along the crimped portion 7 of the suction tube 2. Owing to the roll 17 being conical the suction tube part 6, moreover, will be forced-in somewhat over the packing container 8 in the manner as shown in Fig.5b. This means that at the folding point 20 the envelope 3 around the suction tube 2 will be forced-in over the top corner point of the packing container and this lateral displacement movement of the suction tube part 6 has the effect that the envelope 3 does not project from the package side, but will lie closely against the side surface of the packing container 8. A continued folding down of the suction tube part 6 takes place, as shown in Fig.5c, by means of the conical roll 18, whose conicity, however, is pointed in the opposite direction to roll 17. This means that the suction tube part 6 now will be laterally somewhat displaced away from the packing container 8 so as to make possible a complete folding down of the suction tube part 6 without any sealing edges projecting from the envelope 3 which might fasten onto the top part of the package 8. The final folding down of the suction tube part 6 is done with the help of the roll 19 which is shown in Figure 5d. This roll is cylindrical and has a projection with a transition from a cylinder surface of smaller diameter to a cylinder surface of larger diameter. The cylinder surface of smaller diameter is adapted to rest against the upper end surface of the packing container 8 whereas the part of the roll 19 with the larger diameter forces the suction tube part 6 down to the correct position wherein it lies closely against the side wall of the packing container 8, and where the envelope 3 around the suction tube part 6 is pressed against the bonding agent 16 applied previously, so that the envelope 3 is fixed to the side of the packing container 8. As shown in Fig.5e the suction tube part 6 is retained in its folded-down position with the help of a double-conical roll 21 until the binding agent has become stabilized and the suction tube 2 is attached in a durable manner. In order to retain the part 5 of the suction tube 2 attached first on the packing container 8 until the bonding agent 16 has had time to solidify and stabilize, the arrangement may be provided with lateral compression devices (not shown here),e.g. in the form of an endless pressure belt. It has been found that the arrangement in accordance with the invention functions with great certainty and that it is flexible in that it can be readily changed for the application of different types of suction tubes onto packing containers of varying sizes. The embodiment of the invention described here is merely intended to exemplify the invention which,however, within the scope of the invention may be given a number of different embodiments.

Claims: An apparatus for the attachment of bendable, elongated objects (2), in particular suction tubes, along the side of packing containers (8), the said arrangement comprising a conveyor track (10) for the successive advancing of packing containers (8) to an application position also a synchronously rotating or revolving drum (13) which comprises a number of receiving spaces (26) for the said objects (2) arranged around the periphery of the drum (13), also an applicator (11) for the application of a bonding agent to each of the packing containers (8) advanced and also means (32) for the transfer of the said objects (2) from the drum (13) to the packing containers (8), the said drum (13) in application position is placed so that the axis of rotation of the drum (13) and the diagonal lines over the sides of the packing containers (8) facing towards the drum (13) are parallel with one another, that the said applicator (11) for application of bonding agent is constituted of two applicator dies located at different height over the conveyor track (10), the upper die being arranged so as to deposit bonding agent on the side wall of the packing container (8) adjoining, or near to, the upper side edge line of the said side whereas the lower die is adapted to deposit bonding agent along an area (16) adjoining, or near to, one of the lower corners of the said side characterized in that the upper die is arranged to deposit the bonding agent along two or more areas (16) separated from one another and that the arrangement comprises means (14) for folding and retaining protruding parts of the attached objects (2) these means (14) being constituted of a plurality of rolls (17,18,19,21) arranged in series, whereby said means (14) for folding of the said objects (2) comprise at least two conical rolls (17,18) arranged in series, having parallel roll axles and the conical surface being oriented in opposite directions. An apparatus in accordance with claim 1, characterized in that the bonding agent applicator (11) is adapted so as to extrude under pressure, and to deposit on the side of the packing container (8), small amounts of a heat-activated bonding agent after the same has been heated to melting in a heating chamber belonging to the applicator, the upper die of the applicator (11) being adapted so as to deliver two or more depositing pulses whilst the lower die delivers one depositing pulse. An apparatus in accordance with claim 1, characterized in that a control rail, control belt or a roller track (15) formed of several rollers is provided above the conveyor track (10) of the packing containers (8) at a level with the upper edge of the containers (8). An apparatus in accordance with claim 1, characterized in that the elongated objects (2) are constituted of suction tubes (2) having a crimped portion (7) along which the suction tube (2) can be bent without the tubular shape being lost. An apparatus in accordance with claim 4, characterized in that every one of the said suction tubes (2) is surrounded by an envelope (3) of a protective material, e.g. plastic material, these envelopes (3) being adapted so as to cohere to one another in a band (1), the suction tubes (2) enclosed in the said coherent envelopes (3) being substantially parallel with one another and arranged at mutually equal distance. A method for attaching elongated suction tubes (2) wrapped in an envelope (3) of thin flexible material by means of a heat-activated bonding agent along the side wall of a packing container (8), the suction tubes (2) having at least one foldable portion (7) and that a first part (5) of a suction tube (2), constituting the part between one end of the suction tube (2) and the said foldable portion (7) is attached together with its envelope (3) diagonally over the side wall of a packing container (8) in such a manner that the envelope (3) is brought into contact with the area (16) of the activated bonding agent previously applied to the packing container (8) side, that a second part (6) of the suction tube (2) wrapped in an envelope (3) which projects from the packing container (8) and constitutes the part between the foldable portion (7) and the other end of the suction tube (2) is folded successively along the foldable portion (7) until the said projecting part (6) has been made to coincide with the upper side wall of the packing container (8) where at least parts of the envelope (3) are brought into contact with areas (16) of activated bonding agent applied previously, the said projecting part (6) of the wrapped suction tube (2) during the said folding operation is subjected to a lateral displacement movement first in a direction towards the side wall surface of the packing container (8) and thereafter in a direction from the said side wall surface with the purpose of controlling the folding-in and the location of the edge zones of the envelope (3).

Inventors: HAKANSSON, JAN
Applicants: AKTIEBOLAGET PROFOR
Application year: 1988
Main classification: B65B15
IPC codes: B65D77, B65B61, B65B3