APPARATUS FOR CONVEYING, ACCUMULATING IN SUCCESSION AND ARRANGING PRODUCTS OR READY-MADE ARTICLES IN GROUPS

Abstract: An apparatus (12) for conveying, accumulating in succession and arranging products (14) or ready-made articles (14) in groups, with said products or ready-made articles being fed (11, 61, 62, 63, 64) to the same apparatus on one or more rows of conveyor means, wherein the individual packages (14) or the individual ready-made articles (14) are orderly positioned inside independent saddles (30, 230), positioned in succession, and driven along the pathway (17) of the apparatus (12). The saddles (30, 230) are moved by means of a continuous, closed-loop element (80, 120, 220), to which they can be selectively and elastically linked by means of friction elements (35, 135, 232), and are disengaged by means of the simple engagement with stopping elements (40, 240).

Description: The present invention relates to an apparatus for conveying, accumulating in succession and arranging products or ready-made articles in groups. Any facilities or production lines for manufacturing products, whether alimentary products or not, is usually formed by a plurality of machines or equipment pieces which carry out in sequence the necessary operations for forming, packaging, transforming, putting in order, discharging, and possibly boxing the product. Taking as an example a production line for an edible product, e.g., an ice-cream or a baked product, there exists always a machine for producing it, a tunnel or a chamber wherein the physical and/or chemical treatment takes place, and one or more machines for packaging the individual piece, generally inside bags, the arranging in groups of pieces, and the further packaging of a plurality of these, generally inside boxes. From a historical point of view, the machines for wrapping the product were invented first, immediately followed by the systems for tunnel- or cell-treatment, whilst the need for a mechanized and packaging and boxing of the individual article, or of groups or products, arose at a later time. The development in succession of the suitable machines for the various steps, with an evolutionary process always from upstream to downstream, determined the same limits of the technology. Those who created the tunnels, or the boxing machines, accepted, as a matter of fact, the packaging machine as they are, and tried to adapt the downstream machines to the requirement of the upstream ones. At the same time, not much attention was paid to the more and more increasing requirement of having available flexible production lines or facilities, both as regards the productivity, and the typologies of treatment of the products or of the ready-made articles. In fact, the present need for having the possibility of arranging and/or subdividing again the incoming products from single-line or multi-line facilities saw the development of machines predisposed and dedicated to the individual requirement, which are poorly able to allow changes to be made in the format of both the product and of group of products, but which, above all, are not capable of accepting feeds of product from a plurality of different and variable lines. CH-A-566 249 discloses a conveying apparatus for work pieces by means of work piece saddles engageable with a chain type conveyor. The saddles, located between spaced guide rails disposed above, are provided with guide rolls which engage said guide rails and with arms provided with toe portions adapted to engage on the chains slidable inside lower profiled guides. This type of apparatus does not always provide a reliable operation. A purpose of the present invention is to solve such problems, by providing an apparatus which is capable of receiving products, incoming both from one single production line, wherein such products are positioned after each other, and from a plurality of lines, so that they are arranged as pairs of products and independent from each other, and of arranging the sane products, at the outlet side, both as individual products, according to preselected interspaces and times, and as groups containing a preselected number of articles, according to the requirement to be met downstream the same apparatus. A further purpose is that such an apparatus should be capable of arranging the products in preselected groups, independently from the continuity, and the perfect frequency of feeding of the incoming product, compensating, e.g., for a temporary lack inside the production line, or inside one of the production lines, and independently from the type of variable devices associated in parallel to it. These purposes are achieved according to the present invention by providing an apparatus for conveying, accumulating in succession and arranging products or ready-made articles in groups as defined in claim 1. The structural and functional characteristics and the advantages of an improved apparatus according to the present invention will be better understood from the following exemplifying, non-limitative disclosure referring to the hereto attached schematic drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows an elevation view of a conveyor means for collecting products, of an apparatus according to the present invention, Figure 2 shows a plan view of a product collecting conveyor means similar to that of Figure 1, Figure 3 shows an enlarged longitudinal side elevation view of a detail, shown in partial sectional view, of the product collecting conveyor of Figure 2 in correspondence of a side pulley, Figure 4 shows an enlarged cross-sectional view of the rectilinear pathway stretch in correspondence of a saddle and of a stopping device according to path IV-IV of Figure 3, Figure 5 shows a sectional view equivalent to that of Figure 4, in correspondence of the side pulley of Figure 3, along the product collection pathway, Figure 6 shows a schematic plan view of a facility with four feeding conveyor means, Figure 7 shows a view equivalent to that of Figure 6 in a different operating position, and Figure 8 shows an enlarged elevation sectional view of a further embodiment of stopping element at the beginning of the pathway, in correspondence of a product feeding conveyor means. Referring now to Figures 1 and 2, an apparatus for conveying, accumulating in succession and arranging products or ready-made articles in groups, according to the present invention, generally indicated by the reference numeral 212, acts as a product collecting conveyor means, and can be positioned inside a facility, which essentially comprises at least one product feeding conveyor 11, and at least one discharging device 13 for discharging products 14, or at least one device which requires an arrangement as groups for carrying out its action, once that the products or ready-made articles are arranged as individual articles, according to a preselected pattern, or are arranged as groups containing a preselected number or products or of ready-made articles. For exemplifying purposes, and for the sake of a better understanding, let us assume that the product 14 is an alimentary product which, once formed, and treated inside a treatment tunnel, is packaged inside a tightly sealed bag on a wrapping machine (not shown in the figures); it could anyway be a whatever else product, either alimentary or not, generally exiting a forming or processing machine. The individual products 14, once packaged, or, better, wrapped, are collected and positioned on a conveyor belt, such as the conveyor means 11, which performs, e.g., the task of suitably spacing them from each other, so that they can be detected or discriminated by a sensor element 15, such as a photocell installed at the outlet end of the conveyor tape, before they are sent to the apparatus of product collecting conveyor means type 212 according to the invention. The figures from 2 to 5 show, for exemplifying purposes, a form of practical embodiment according to the invention. In fact, Figure 2, shows for exemplifying purposes a product collecting conveyor means, generally indicated by the reference numeral 212, as the central core of the facility. The product collecting conveyor 212 comprises a framework 216 on which, according to a closed-loop pathway above a fixed guide element generally indicated by the reference numeral 217, a plurality of saddles, generally indicated by the reference numeral 218, are provided. The closed-loop pathway is of the ring type with two rectilinear portions and the guide element 217 has a cross-section having a flattened and enlarged "U" shape, and is provided with a top portion constituting a continuous seat 219 of an anti-friction material. Above said latter continuous seat 219, a flat closed-loop continuous driving element 220 slides, such as a flexible belt, which acts both as a driving element, and as a guide element. The continuous element 220 is driven by pulleys 221, driven by means of a centralized drive unit schematically shown in 223, wherein at least one of said pulleys is a driving pulley. Figures 3 to 5 show, with greated clearness, an exempifying form of practical embodiment of continuous, closed-loop element 220, and an exemplifying form of practical embodiment of saddle 218. In fact, to a cross-piece interposed between shoulders of the framework 216, as said, a guide element 217 is fastened, which supports the continuous seat portion 219, also having a cross-section of flattened and enlarged "U"-shape, contained inside said guide element 217, and having inwards-directed, bent and horizontal upper edges 83, so as to define undercuts 84 which engage with appendices 85 extending from a plurality of blocks 86 fastened under the continuous, closed-loop element. The blocks 86 are spaced apart from each other along the lower portion of the continuous element 220, so as to be able to perfectly enter and engage hollows 87 complementary to them, and provided in both pulleys 221. Each saddle 218 comprises a central, flat body 225, provided with a number of four side appendices or teeth 224 constituting sliding blocks, wherein two of said sliding blocks 224 are positioned on the one side, and the remainder two of them are positioned on the other side, relatively to said guide element 217. The slider block teeth 224 are bent with free ends 88 directed inwards in the horizontal direction, so as to define shaped appendices, in such a way as to come to lay under side longitudinal edges of the continuous, closed-loop element 220. The body 225 has, in this way, a reverse-"U"-shaped outline, and is laterally provided with appendix elements 228, also of tooth shape, which are directed outwards, and are positioned, on successive saddles 218, at heights different from each other. The upper end of the body 225 integrally supports a container means 230, such as an "U"-shaped structural steel with a wide and flat base and open ends, and which is positioned directed outwards and transversely to the closed-loop path, so as to be able to line up with the product feeding conveyor means 11. Under said upper end, a friction pad element is interposed, which comprises an elastic thrust element 231, such as a helical spring, which keeps urged downwards a stud 232 floating in a direction perpendicular to the continuous element 220. The stud 232 can be shifted inside a sleeve of containment and junction 89, which constraints, and make mutually integral the container means 230 and the body 225. The stud 232 in its portion facing the continuous element 220 is made from an anti-friction material, in the same way as at least the inwards-bent ends 88 of the body 225 are made from a self-lubricating anti-friction material. In Figures 3 and 4, also a locking and stopping element 240 or 241 for said saddles 218 is shown. The stopping element 240 comprises an enlarged-"U"-shaped element 242, inside the side flanges of which tooth portions 246 are provided, which are suitable for coming to rest against, and restraining the appendix elements 228 provided on the saddles 218. The enlarged-"U"-shaped element 242 is vertically shiftable in order to interact with the appendix elements 228 through an articulated-parallelogram lever system 90 hinged in 243 to the same enlarged-"U"-shaped element 242, and in 245 to an end of an actuator cylinder 244. It results hence clear that the movement in the vertical direction of the enlarged-"U"-shaped element 242 causes the tooth portions 246 to interact with the appendix elements 228 of the saddles 218 which have to be stopped. Finally, said discharging device 13 is provided, which is schematically shown as pushers 48 actuated by a cylinder 49, positioned upstream a second stopping element 241, in correspondence of which the saddles 218 stop, which are full of product 14 to be discharged as a group formed by a preselected number of said products above an area indicated by the reference number 50 and which can be, e.g., a boxing station. An apparatus so disclosed and accomplished according to the instant invention operates as follows. The products 14 come to the product feeding conveyor means 11, which suitably spaces them from each other, and sends them towards the product collecting conveyor means 212, wherein each of them are positioned inside the container means 230 of a different saddle 218. This occurs, because close to the outlet end of the product feeding conveyor means 11 a photocell 15 is provided, which, by detecting the incoming product 14 enables the loaded saddle 218 to advance, and a successive saddle to reach its loading position, lined up to an axis 51 transversal relatively to the product collecting conveyor means 212, and coincident with the axis of the product feeding conveyor means 11. In fact, the photocell 15, intercepted by the incoming product, commands the actuation of the cylinder 244 and the consequent swinging movement of the enlarged-"U" -shaped element 242, which moves downwards and enables the appendix element 228 to freely run inside the tooth portion 246. This liberates the saddle 218 loaded with the product 14, and enables it to advance along the upper rectilinear portion of the pathway. The movement of the thus liberated saddle 218 is transmitted by the continuous element 220 engaged between the stud 232, urged by the helical spring 231, and the bent end appendices 88 of the body 225. It should be observed that the closed-loop continuous element 220 results to be perfectly guided by the cooperation of the appendices 85 of the blocks 86 in engagement with undercuts 84 of the continuous seat 219, and respectively of the upper surface of the continuous seat 219 under the same continuous element. It is thus interesting to observe that in the improved apparatus according to the present invention, the continuous element acts simultaneously as the driving element, and the guide element. In fact, such a continuous element acts as the driving elements by engaging a friction-pad element, integral with each one of said saddles, with a whatever portion of the same element, which in its turn is driven to move by the engagement of the blocks inside the seats provided in the driven pulleys. Furthermore, it also acts as the guide element, in that it cooperates with the continuous seat 219 and with the undercuts provided in the same continuous seat. The engagement of the saddles with the continuous element is accomplished, as said, by the friction force arising between the stud 232 and the upper surface of the same continuous element, and such a force can be varied, or predetermined for the desired use, by suitably replacing the thrust spring. The continuous, closed-loop element can of course be, according to the intended use, a flexible belt of steel, of a light alloy or of a plastic material, as well as the anti-friction portions can be made from a material suitable for no-wear sliding on metal, or non-metal, surfaces. Obviously, the elastic thrust element should be such as to enable the pad element to slide above the belts when the appendix element gets engaged with the stopping elements, and such as to secure the mutual engagement of the pad element and of the belt portions to take place, when the appendix element is free. In this way, the saddles are under constant movement at the same speed as of the belts until a stopping element intervenes to stop the movement. One can furthermore understand that when the saddle is released, this latter receives immediately the impulse to start moving, because the force responsible for the necessary acceleration for the saddle starting up is constantly applied. The released saddle 218 comes therefore to a point, in which it is in correspondence with the second stopping element 241, stopping in the region wherein the product 14 discharging device 13 is provided. In the meantime, still very rapidly, the successive saddle 218 had reached its proper position in order to receive inside its container means 230 the product 14 which had intercepted the photocell 15. In this way, each time that a product arrives, the relevant saddles are released and positioned. One can understand that in this way the saddles, which were stored, or kept in a buffer magazine under standby condition upstream the first stopping element 240, are filled, and simultaneously saddles full of product are accumulated in an area upstream the second stopping element 241. This second accumulation continues until the saddles reach the number corresponding to the preselected group. Only at that time, the discharge device 13 is actuated, which, through the pushers 48, discharges the desired product group and, after returning back to its initial position, makes it possible the saddles 218, by now empty, to be released. This takes place by actuating the second stopping element 241, so as to release the first saddle, and consequently, all successive saddles. Furthermore, e.g., in the bottom portion of the framework 216, a belt tightener device 52 can be installed with winding rolls 53 for the belt 220, which comprise a cylinder 54 for shifting at least one roll 55, by means of which the perfect tightening of the same belts is accomplished. In a facility equipped with an apparatus according to the present invention, the operations of loading and unloading of the saddles 218 are hence completely made mutually independent, and the disclosed system makes it advantageously possible downstream-occurring breaks to be absorbed, as well as operating cycles to be accepted, which provide for particularly long periodical steps, which can be associated again in the successive steps. Figures 6 and 7 show then how an apparatus according to the present invention may result particularly advantageous in case a plurality of product feeding conveyor means are present; in the example shown such product feeding conveyor means are four, and are indicated by the reference numerals 61, 62, 63 and 64; from them, products 65, 66, 67 and 68 respectively arrive. On a stopping element 60, there are shown only two stopping teeth 69 and 70 for appendix elements 71 and 72 of successive saddles 73, with said appendix elements being staggered relatively to each other on successive saddles. Downstream the stopping element, an Archimedean screw 74 is provided, which acts as the metering element for the feed of the saddles 73 towards the various conveyor means 61, 62, 63 and 64, with these latter being equipped with first sensor elements 75, 76, 77, 78, connected to the stopping element 60, and with second sensor elements 79, 80, 81, 82, connected to the Archimedean screw 74. Figure 6 shows a first operating position in which, after that, in a previous step, the first sensor elements 75-78 have all detected the presence of products 65-68, the stopping element 60 allowed the Archimedean screw 74 to feed four saddles 73, which are now to receive the same products running under the second sensor elements 79-82. But, now, the sensor element 76 of the product feeding conveyor means 62 does not detect the passage of any products 66. As a consequence thereof, the stopping element 60 makes it possible, by actuating in sequence the locking teeth 69 and 70, two saddles 73 to be introduced into the first two successive pitches of the screw 74. After this, the stopping element 60 remains stationary during one revolution of the screw 74, and only in correspondence of a fourth pitch, it shifts the stopping tooth 69, thus allowing a third saddle 73 to enter the screw. In the meantime, the previously loaded saddles have been moved away, and the three products detected by the first sensor elements 75, 77 and 78 have come in correspondence of the three saddles 73 under the second sensor elements 79, 81 and 82. In this way, the products 65, 67, 68, come to be placed on three saddles 73 which, after exiting the screw 74, become successive saddles with no interposition of empty saddles, so as to secure that always complete groups are formed. One can thus see how, in case of a product lack, as well as in case of single feed, or in case of multi-feed, the guarantee is obtained that always complete groups are accomplished, which contain the preselected number of articles, with said number being variable as desired. As such a metering element for the controlled feed of the saddles 73, a closed-loop chain conveyor means provided with pushers can be of course provided, wherein the pushers are positioned at such distances that the saddles are brought in correspondence of the various product feeding conveyor means 61-64, anyway providing an apparatus falling within the scope of the present invention. An apparatus according to the present invention can be therefore assimilated to a de-synchronizer, because it is capable of untying and make mutually independent individual operations inside a facility. In fact, a conveyance is accomplished, wherein each conveyed product (article) is associated to an independent saddle (carrier), which is capable of following a motion law which is definable, preselectable and presettable by the user. In such a way, a facility equipped with an apparatus according to the present invention makes it possible a product position to be attained, which is independent from the position of the saddle. Figure 8 shows a further engaging and stopping element 40 for saddles 18, in which, more precisely, the stopping element 40 is the one which is positioned in correspondence of the product feeding conveyor means 11, whilst a further stopping element is positioned in correspondence of the discharging device 13. The stopping element 40 (Figure 8) comprises a rocker arm 42 hinged on a central fulcrum 43 and made swing by a cylinder 44 articulatedly linked in 45 to a free end thereof. Above the central fulcrum 43, the rocker arm 42 extends into a fork shape 46 which, when swinging, alternatively comes into contact and stops the tooth-shaped appendix element 28 or 228 of successive saddles 18 or 218. The other free end of the rocker arm 42 is positioned between stop, shock-absorber elements 47 which limit its swinging motion. A so-made stopping element 40 makes it possible each motion to be a positive motion, also thanks to the special arrangement of the appendix elements 28 or 228.

Claims: Apparatus for conveying, accumulating in succession and arranging products or ready-made articles (14) in groups, which can be installed inside a facility in correspondence of the outlet end of at least one conveyor unit (11) feeding said products or ready-made articles (14), formed and arriving after each other, and can be coupled with at least one discharging device (13) of said products or ready-made articles (14), taking them from container means (230) of a product collecting conveyor (212), said container means (230) being arranged side-by-side to each other, and said product collecting conveyor (212) comprising at least one flat continuous closed-loop driving element and running along a closed-loop pathway positioned inside a framework (216), wherein said at least one flat continuous closed-loop driving element is a flexible belt (220) which is driven by a driving pulley (221), in turn driven by a central motor unit (223), and said product collecting conveyor (212) further comprises a plurality of saddles (218) bearing said container means (230), or another piece of equipment suitable for supporting the product, said saddle (218) being slidingly moved independently from one another by said at least one flexible belt (220), along said closed-loop pathway, by means of the elastic engagement of a friction pad element (232), which is integral with each one of said saddles (218), and being continuously engaged, supported and guided by said at least one flexible belt (220) along said closed-loop pathway, each saddle (218) entering into engagement, along said closed-loop pathway, with at least one stopping element (40, 240, 241) for said saddles, which is selectively actuated by at least one sensor element (15) provided in correspondence of said at least one conveyor unit (11), said elastic engagement between said friction pad element (232) and said at least one flexible belt (220) being secured by an elastic thrust element (231) which is such as to enable said friction pad element (232) of said saddle (218) to slide above said at least one flexible belt (220) when an appendix element (228) of said saddle (218) gets into engagement with said stopping elements (40, 240, 241). Apparatus according to claim 1, characterised in that said flexible belt (220) is made of one single piece and has a smooth surface where said friction pad elements (232) are borne. Apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that under said at least one flexible belt (220) a plurality of blocks (86) are fastened, which are spaced from each other, and are suitable to enter complementary hollows (87) provided at least on said driving pulley (21,221). Apparatus according to claim 1, characterised in that each one of said saddles (218) comprises a flat central body (225), provided with at least two bent, flat, side appendices (224) with free ends (88), so as to come to lay under longitudinal side edges of said at least one flexible belt (220) with said elastic thrust element (231) being centrally positioned in a body of said saddle (218) which has a sleeve shape (89), and contains a stud (232) floating in a direction perpendicular to said at least one flexible belt (220). Apparatus according to claim 1, characterised in that said at least one stopping element (240, 241) comprises an enlarged-"U"-shaped element (242) provided, on its side flanges, with at least one tooth-shaped portion (246) suitable for coming to rest against, and to block, said at least one appendix element (228) integral with each one of said saddles (218). Apparatus according to claim 5, characterised in that said at least one stopping element (240, 241) can be shifted by means of a parallelogram lever system (90) actuated by an actuator cylinder (244) in such a way as to interact with at least one appendix element (218) of said saddles (218), wherein the appendix elements (218) are positioned on successive saddles (218) at mutually different heights. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterised in that a further stopping element (241) is provided, which is positioned downstream of said discharging device (13), suitable for determining the accumulation of said plurality of saddles (218) in a number at least equal to the number of products contained in the preselected product group. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterised in that said at least one feeding conveyor unit (11) comprises a plurality of feeding conveyor means (61,62,63,64), wherein on each one of said feeding conveyor means (61,62,63,64), first sensor elements (15; 75,76,77,78) and second sensor elements (79,80,81,82) are provided, said second sensor elements being connected to a metering element (74), which feeds as many saddles (218) as the detected products (14,65, 66,67,68), and in correspondence of said feeding conveyor means (61,62,63,64) wherein said products were detected. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterised in that said at least one stopping element (40) comprises a rocker arm (42) centrally hinged and linked, at a free end, to a cylinder (44), with said rocker arm (42) extending into an upper fork-shaped portion (46), suitable for coming to rest against said appendix element (228) of said saddles (218).

Inventors: COLAMUSSI, ARTURO
Applicants: VORTEX SYSTEMS S.R.L.
Application year: 1988
Main classification: B65G17
IPC codes: B65G47, B65G35, B65G19