DEVICE AND METHOD FOR EXCHANGING A FILM ROLL IN WRAPPING

Abstract: The invention concerns a device and a method for exchanging a film roll during wrapping in a wrapping machine, which is arranged to wind the wrapping film around the product to be packaged, which is either stationary or rotated around a horizontal axis. The wrapping machine includes a revolving wrapping crank (3), which carries a film distribution sledge (4) along with it, the film being wrapped from a film roll (5) fitted in said sledge to around the product to be packaged while the wrapping crank (3) revolves. In the film-roll exchange station, a cassette (9) or equivalent is provided for the film rolls (5,5′) to be exchanged, and a transfer sledge (37), which is arranged to remove an old film roll (5) or an empty fastening bushing (34) from the film distribution sledge (4) and to transfer a new film roll (5) from the cassette (9) as replacement. In connection with the exchange station, a film-end transfer member (39) is provided, which, when a new film roll (5) is being shifted into the film distribution sledge (4), is arranged to pass the end of the film in said film roll (5) over the tensioning rolls (23) provided in the film distribution sledge (4) to the film-end locking member (40) substantially close to the product to be packaged, and from there further onto the face of the product to be packaged.

Description: The invention concerns a device for exchanging a film roll during wrapping in a wrapping machine arranged to wind the wrapping film around a product which is either stationary or rotated around a horizontal axis, said wrapping machine including a revolving wrapping crank which carries a film distribution sledge provided with tensioning rolls, the film being wrapped from a film roll fitted in said sledge to around the product while the wrapping crank revolves. The invention further concerns a method for exchanging a film roll during wrapping in a wrapping machine by means of which a wrapping film is wrapped around a product which is either stationary or rotated around a horizontal axis, said film being fed from a film roll, which is fitted in a film distribution sledge provided with tensioning rolls, the sledge being rotated around the product by means of a wrapping crank of the wrapping machine, and in which said method, in the exchange station for the film roll, the old film roll is removed from the film distribution sledge and a new film roll is shifted in its place. In order to package various products so that they are enclosed in a wrapping film or equivalent two different methods are commonly used. According to the first method, the product to be packaged is placed on a revolving base, and thereupon the wrapping film is wrapped around the product by making use of the movement of rotation of the product placed on the revolving base. This method involves a number of drawbacks, including the difficulty to make the product remain a compact unit in its location on the revolving base. Likewise, it is very difficult and expensive to arrange additional functions as well as automation of the packaging. A second method known in prior art is that the product is kept stationary in the wrapping machine, and the wrapping film is wound around the product so that the film roll is circulated around the product. The latter method can be considered more advanced than the former one, and, among other things, it can be provided with additional functions more readily, and therein automation of the wrapping of the product is easier. However, even in the latter method, it has not been possible to automatize the exchanging of the wrapping-film roll, but so far the roll has been exchanged manually. The wrapping-film roll must always be exchanged when the film has been cut-off out of some reason, or when the film has been exhausted from the roll. Since, in said method, the rolls have been exchanged manually,it has been necessary to keep the intervals of exchange of film roll quite short. This is due to the fact that, in the wrapping machine, it has not been possible to use large and heavy rolls, but, as a rule, it has been necessary to restrict the weight of the wrapping film rolls to about 30 kilograms, exactly because the rolls have been exchanged manually. Moreover, such manual exchanging of a wrapping-film roll involves a certain risk of safety at work. Moreover, in prior art, the leading end of the film on the new film roll had to be threaded between a number of tensioning rolls fitted on the film distribution sledge, because the rolls were not openable. This has been a cumbersome operation and, moreover, there was a risk that the fingers of the exchanging person get caught between the rolls. The object of the invention is to provide an improvement of the prior art packaging methods and devices. A more specific object of the invention is to provide a device and a method which overcome the drawbacks described above. The device in accordance with the invention is mainly characterized in that the film distribution sledge includes a set of press rolls, which can be pressed against the tensioning rolls and pivoted to an open position apart from said tensioning rolls and in the exchange station for the film roll, when the film roll is being exchanged, arranged openable so that a new film roll can be shifted into the film distribution sledge through the space between the set of press rolls and the tensioning rolls. The method in accordance with the invention is again characterized in that, when the film roll is being exchanged, a set of press rolls provided in the film distribution sledge and pressing against the tensioning rolls is moved away, a new film roll is shifted into the film distribution sledge through the space between the set of press rolls and the tensioning rolls, the initial end of the film is passed over the tensioning rolls to a locking member for the initial end of the film, and the set of press rolls is moved back so that the film remains between the tensioning rolls and the press rolls in the set of press rolls for the purpose of adjusting the tension of the film. By means of the device and the method in accordance with the invention, several remarkable advantages are achieved as compared with prior art. By means of the device and the method in accordance with the invention, it has been possible to automatize the exchanging of a film roll. By means of the solution in accordance with the invention, the intervals of exchange of film roll can be made manyfold as compared with the prior-art methods. This comes from the fact that, in the present invention, the film rolls are exchanged mechanically, for which reason it is possible to use considerably heavier film rolls. Also, the solution of the present invention is considerably better in view of safety at work, because the film rolls need not be exchanged by hand. In the following, the invention will be described in detail with reference to a preferred embodiment of the invention illustrated in the figures in the accompanying drawings, the invention being, however, not supposed to be confined to said exemplifying embodiment alone. Figure 1 is a schematical end view of a wrapping machine in which the device in accordance with the invention is applied. Figure 2 is a schematical perspective view of a film distribution sledge used in connection with the device and the method in accordance with the invention. Figures 3 to 6 are schematical top views of different steps of operation of the device and the method in accordance with the invention when the film roll is being exchanged. Fig. 1 shows a wrapping machine 1, to which the film-roll exchanging device in accordance with the invention can be applied. The wrapping machine 1 shown in Fig. 1 is of such a type as is meant for the wrapping of cylindrical pieces, such as paper rolls and equivalent, with a wrapping film. The wrapping machine 1 shown in Fig. 1 includes a frame 2 on which a wrapping crank 3 is mounted, which revolves around the central axis X. To the wrapping crank a film distribution sledge 4 is attached, which carries the film roll 5 during the wrapping around the product 6a,6b to be packaged. The products 6a,6b to be packaged are brought into the wrapping machine 1 on a conveyor belt 8 and, when the product to be packaged is in the wrapping station, it is raised apart from the conveyor belt 8 onto support of rotation rolls 7, by means of which it is, during the wrapping, rotated at the same time. By means of such an arrangement, the product 6a,6b to be packaged can be wrapped completely in the wrapping film. The wrapping machine 1 shown in Fig. 1 is formed such that by its means it is possible to wrap cylindrical pieces of different sizes, as shown by the reference denotations 6a and 6b. The rotation rolls 7 are formed such that by their means it is also possible to raise a small-size cylindrical piece, denoted with the reference numeral 6b, apart from the belt conveyor 8. Fig. 1 further shows schematically that a cassette 9 included in the exchange equipment for film rolls is mounted at the side of the wrapping machine 1, which said cassette supports a number of film rolls 5′ to be exchanged. The cassette 9 is mounted as moving along the frame part 10, which is provided with guides. The construction and the operation of the exchange equipment will be described in more detail in connection with Figures 3 to 6. Even though, in Fig. l, specifically such a wrapping machine 1 is illustrated as is intended for the wrapping of cylindrical products 6a,6b to be packaged, the film-roll exchange device in accordance with the invention is not supposed to be confined to such a wrapping machine alone. Thus, the film-roll exchange device in accordance with the invention can also be applied to such a wrapping machine in which, during the wrapping, the product to be wrapped is kept stationary while the film roll is rotated around the product so as to wrap it. Fig. 2 is a more detailed perspective view of the construction of the film distribution sledge 4 which is used in connection with the film-roll exchange device in accordance with the invention. As is shown in the figure, the film distribution sledge 4 is mounted on the wrapping crank 3, and the film distribution sledge 4 comprises frame plates 21 and 22, which are fitted, in the way shown in the figure, at a vertical distance from each other. Into the lower frame plate 21 a slot 33 is formed, into which the fastening bushing 34 for the film roll 5 is arranged to be passed for wrapping. Between the frame plates 21 and 22, the film tensioning rolls 23 are mounted,over which the wrapping film is arranged to be passed. Moreover, the film distribution sledge 4 is provided with a film-tension detector 24, which is provided with rolls 25 and 26, over which the wrapping film passes when the film roll 5 is fixed in the film distribution sledge 4. The film-tension detector 24 is mounted in the film distribution sledge 4 pivotably so that said tension detector is pivoted in accordance with the tension of the wrapping film and, when the tension is suitable, the tension detector 24 gives an impulse to a motor 27, which operates the tensioning rolls 23 by the intermediate of an actuating device 28 suitable for the purpose. A frame 29 of a set of press rolls is mounted pivotably on the film distribution sledge 4, which frame 29 is provided with press rolls 30 which are arranged to be pressed in an interlocking way against the film tensioning rolls 23 to press the wrapping film between the tensioning rolls 23 and the press rolls 30. This operation of the equipment is illustrated better in Figures 3 to 6. The set of press rolls is further provided with a pivot motor 31, by means of which the rolls 30 in the set of press rolls can be pressed into contact with the tensioning rolls 23 and by means of which the set of press rolls can, if necessary, be pivoted to the open position shown in Fig. 2. The film distribution sledge 4 is further provided with a locking cylinder 32,which is fitted above the slot 33 and by means of which the film roll 5 is locked in its position. The locking cylinder 32 is adjustable in the vertical direction so that it permits the use of film rolls 5 of different widths in the film distribution sledge 4. Thus, by means of the locking cylinder 32, the film roll 5 is attached in its position in the film distribution sledge 4, but the lower end of the locking cylinder 32 is shaped such that it does, however, not prevent rotation of the film roll 5. The lower end of the locking cylinder 32 may further be provided with a suitable brake device or equivalent, by means of which the rotation of the film roll 5 can be braked in the desired way so as to adjust the tension of the wrapping film to the correct level. Figures 3 to 6 are a schematical illustration of the different steps in the exchanging of the film roll when the film distribution sledge 4 is in the exchange station. Fig. 3 shows the situation in which the film distribution sledge 4 just arrived in the film-roll exchange station. In the situation of Fig. 3, all the wrapping film has been consumed and there is only an empty fastening bushing 34 in the slot 33 in the film distribution sledge 4. The frame 29 of the set of press rolls is in the closed position, and the press rolls 30 are pressed against the tensioning rolls 23. Fig. 3 also shows the construction of the film-roll exchange equipment proper more clearly. The frame part of the equipment, which is also shown in Fig. 1, includes horizontal guides 10, a cassette 9 being mounted as gliding along said guides, which said cassette includes a number of film rolls 5′. The film rolls 5′ are fixed in the cassette 9 on fastening bushings 34 of the sort shown in Fig. 2. For the fastening bushings 34, slots 35 of a direction transverse to the guides 10 have been formed into the cassette 9. Moreover, for each film roll 5′ carried in the cassette 9, a holder 36 of the initial end of the film is provided, to which the initial end of the film in each film roll 5′ is attached. A transfer sledge 37 is arranged moving in the direction transverse to the guides 10 and to the cassette 9, for which said sledge 37 guides 38 are provided, along which the transfer sledge 37 moves between the cassette 9 and the film distribution sledge 4. According to Fig. 3, the film distribution sledge 4 has stopped in the film-roll exchange station so that the slot 33 in the film distribution sledge is placed exactly on the centre line of the guides 38 for the transfer sledge. The cassette 9 is arranged to move along the guides 10 so that, when a film roll 5 or a fastening bushing 34 is fixed in the film distribution sledge 4, there is an empty slot 35 in the cassette 9 facing the centre line of the guides 38 for the transfer sledge. Since, in Fig. 3, the film distribution sledge 4 has just arrived in the film-roll exchange station, the film-roll transfer sledge 37 is at the end of the guides 38 placed next to the cassette 9. Fig. 3 further shows the transfer member 39 for the end of the film as well as the locking member 40 for the end of the film. When a new film roll 5′ is being shifted from the cassette 9 into the film distribution sledge 4, the end of the film in said film roll 5′ is, at the same time, passed by means of the film-end transfer device 39 from the holder 36 of the initial end of the film to the film-end locking member 40. The film-end transfer device 39 is linked in a suitable way pivotably, e.g., to the frame of the wrapping machine or to the frame of the exchange equipment, and the film-end transfer member 39 has grasping members suitable for the purpose, by means of which the film end can be engaged so as to detach it from the holder 36 of the initial end of the film and to pass it to the film-end locking member 40, which is also, in a corresponding way, fixed on the frame of the wrapping machine or on the frame of the exchange equipment. The film-end locking member 40 is provided with suitable locking means, by whose means the end of the film can be kept in its place and by whose means it can be detached at a time suitable for the purpose. After the film distribution sledge 4 has stopped in the film-roll exchange station, as was already stated in Fig. 3, the frame 29 of the set of press rolls is pivoted to the open position shown in Fig. 4, and thereat the press rolls 30 lose their contact with the tensioning rolls 23. Hereupon the film-roll transfer sledge 37 starts moving along the guides 38 towards the film distribution sledge 4 so as to fetch the fastening bushing 34 placed therein from the film distribution sledge 4. For this purpose, of course, the locking of the locking cylinder 32 with the fastening bushing 34 has been released. The film-roll transfer sledge 37 detaches the empty fastening bushing 34 from the film distribution sledge 4 and brings it, as is shown in Fig. 4, to the cassette 9, into the empty slot 35 placed at the centre line of the guides 38 for the transfer sledge. Hereupon the cassette 9 moves to such a position that a full film roll 5′ becomes placed facing the film-roll transfer sledge 37. The next step in exchanging the film roll is shown in Fig. 5. After the cassette 9 has moved so that there is a full film roll 5 facing the transfer sledge 37, the transfer sledge 37 transfers the roll to the film distribution sledge 4. Hereupon the end of the film in said film roll 5 is attached to the transfer member 39 by means of grasping members provided therein. Thus, the film end is detached from the corresponding holder 36 of the initial end of the film. Fig. 6 shows the next step in the operation, and according to said figure,when the new film roll 5 has been brought into the film distribution sledge 4, the film-end transfer member 39 carries the film end to the locking member 40, to which the film end adheres. As can be seen from Fig. 6, the film passes over the film tensioning rolls 23 and over the rolls in the film-tension detector 24. When the film end is fixed in the film-end locking member 40, the film-end transfer member 39 is returned to its starting position. Hereupon the frame 29 of the set of press rolls is closed, whereby the press rolls in said set of rolls are pressed against the tensioning rolls 23 and press the film between the press rolls and the tensioning rolls 23, and the transfer sledge 37 returns to the end of the guides 38 placed next to the cassette 9. Hereupon the wrapping crank 3 starts moving and the wrapping starts. The film-end locking member 40 releases the film end from its grasp after the wrapping crank 3 and the film distribution sledge 4 have revolved at least one round. Above, it has been explained that a film roll is always replaced by a new roll after the former film roll has been fully consumed. By means of the equipment in accordance with the invention, it is, however, if desired, also possible to exchange the film rolls when there is still an abundance of film left in the preceding film roll. This procedure may be necessary, e.g., if the nature or size of the product to be pacakged is changed and if, owing to this, it is necessary to use a film of, e.g., different width or different thickness. Above, the invention has been described by means of an example with reference to the figures in the accompanying drawing. Thereby, the invention is, however, not supposed to be confined to the example shown in the figures alone, but many variations are possible within the scope of the inventive idea defined in the following claims.

Claims: Device for exchanging a film roll during wrapping in a wrapping machine (1) arranged to wind the wrapping film around a product (6a,6b) which is either stationary or rotated around a horizontal axis, said wrapping machine (1) including a revolving wrapping crank (3) which carries a film distribution sledge (4) provided with tensioning rolls (23), the film being wrapped from a film roll (5) fitted in said sledge around the product (6a,6b) while the wrapping crank (3) revolves, characterized in that the film distribution sledge (4) includes a set of press rolls (29, 30) which can be pressed against the tensioning rolls (23) and pivoted to an open position apart from said tensioning rolls (23) and in the exchange station for the film roll, when the film roll (5) is being exchanged, arranged openable so that a new film roll (5) can be shifted into the film distribution sledge (4) through the space between the set of press rolls (29) and the tensioning rolls (23). Device as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the initial end of the film in the new film roll (5) to be installed in the film distribution sledge (4) is arranged to be passed by means of a transfer device (39) over the tensioning rolls (23) to a locking member (40) for the initial end of the film, and the set of press rolls (29) is arranged to be closed so that the press rolls (30) and the tensioning rolls (23) press the film between them for the purpose of adjusting the tension of the film. Device as claimed in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the film-end transfer member (39) is arranged to grasp the end of the film when the new film roll (5′) has been transferred to the film roll exchange station. Method for exchanging a film roll during wrapping in a wrapping machine (1) by means of which a wrapping film is wrapped around a product (6a,6b) which is either stationary or rotated around a horizontal axis, said film being fed from a film roll (5), which is fitted in a film distribution sledge (4) provided with tensioning rolls (23), the sledge being rotated around the product (6a,6b) by means of a wrapping crank (3) of the wrapping machine (1), and in which method, in the exchange station for the film roll, the old film roll is removed from the film distribution sledge (4) and a new film roll (5) is shifted into its place, characterized in that, when the film roll (5) is being exchanged, a set of press rolls (29) provided in the film distribution sledge (4) and pressing against the tensioning rolls (23) is moved away, a new film roll (5) is shifted into the film distribution sledge (4) through the space between the set of press rolls (29) and the tensioning rolls (23), the initial end of the film is passed over the tensioning rolls (23) to a locking member (40) for the initial end of the film, and the set of press rolls (29) is moved back so that the film remains between the tensioning rolls (23) and the press rolls (30) in the set of press rolls for the purpose of adjusting the tension of the film. Method as claimed in claim 4, characterized in that the set of press rolls (29) is moved by pivoting the frame of the set of press rolls around a shaft substantially parallel to the shafts of the tensioning rolls (23).

Inventors: SUOLAHTI, YRJOE, Suolahti, Yrjö
Applicants: NEWTEC INTERNATIONAL
Application year: 1988
Main classification: B65B11
IPC codes: B65H19, B65B11