Patent Publication Number: US-2011073437-A1

Title: Station for receiving products and temporarily accommodating them

Description:
The present invention relates to a station for receiving products and accommodating them temporarily. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     In the field of packaging machines, for various kinds of articles, and particularly for rolls of paper of the tissue type (for example absorbent paper or toilet paper), machines are widespread which are capable of packaging a predefined number of rolls in order to define the packaging unit that is usually sold to the end consumer. 
     According to a known constructive solution, these machines first of all have devices for feeding the rolls, which are then picked up by handling means, for example conveyor belts or platforms. Along said means there are apparatuses that are capable of diverting the flow of part of the rolls in order to arrange them as a whole according to several rows or layers. 
     Once the rolls have been arranged in the desired configuration, they are delivered to a receiving station, which is provided in the main body of the machine; such station is capable of receiving and temporarily accommodating the rolls before a lifting unit (typically constituted by a pusher that can move along its own axis) sends them to a traction device, during which the actual wrapping cycle is performed. 
     Typically, such receiving station has a compartment that is adapted to accommodate groups of rolls that are already suitably dosed and adjusted: to ensure the possibility of accommodating groups formed by different numbers of rows and/or layers of rolls (optionally of different sizes), the back wall of such compartment and the two side walls must be adjustable. In other words, it must be possible to change the depth of the compartment (i.e., by acting along the roll arrival direction) and its width (by acting therefore transversely to the arrival direction). 
     Further, the back wall must be able to move in order to accompany and cushion the stopping stroke of the rolls, in order to prevent the impact with the wall from deteriorating them or simply modifying and compromising their orderly arrangement. 
     For these purposes, according to a first known constructive solution, the back wall can move along a guide (which is arranged along the roll arrival direction) in order to allow to adjust the depth of the compartment; as regards instead adjustment in terms of width, as the required format varies it is necessary to replace the flat element that constitutes such wall. 
     According to this solution, the side walls of the compartment are constituted by two other flat elements whose dimensions, in depth, are such as to contain the maximum format of the groups of rolls (therefore requiring no adjustment in this regard), while width adjustment is achieved by providing such flat elements with the possibility to perform a translational motion along a direction that is perpendicular to the arrival direction of the rolls. 
     It is evident that the described constructive solution has the drawback of requiring manual intervention of the operator whenever the dimensions of the group of rolls to be processed change, in order to replace the flat element that constitutes the back wall. 
     This drawback is overcome by a second constructive solution, of a known type, in which the back wall is constituted by a series of slats arranged next to each other and coupled to the same fulcrum (and to the same shock-absorbing element). As the width of the groups of rolls varies, the slats can be made to slide laterally along suitable guides, thus varying the extension of the back wall. 
     The described solution therefore allows to avoid the intervention of the operator, but has a high constructive complexity and increases the weight of the contrast elements, consequently degrading the shock-absorbing characteristics. Further, the slats are very fragile and this leads to frequent breakages as a consequence of repeated impacts with the rolls. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The aim of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks, by providing a receiving and temporary accommodation station that allows to maintain high mechanical simplicity, at the same time limiting the intervention of the operator following a change of format of the products to be treated. 
     Within this aim, an object of the invention is to provide a station that is highly reliable and effective in operation. 
     Another object of the invention is to provide a station that can be obtained easily starting from commonly commercially available elements and materials. 
     Another object of the invention is to provide a station that has low costs and is safe in application. 
     This aim and these and other objects which will become better apparent hereinafter are achieved by a station for receiving products and temporarily accommodating them, which comprises a compartment that is delimited by two mutually opposite side walls and by a back wall, which lies opposite an open side of said compartment that constitutes an inlet for products to be received and accommodated temporarily, said back wall being movable along a direction that is parallel to said side walls in order to vary the depth of said compartment and said side walls being movable along a direction that is parallel to said back wall in order to vary the width of said compartment, characterized in that each one of said side walls is constituted by a useful portion of a containment element, said containment element being at least partially able to slide parallel to itself in order to vary the length of said useful portion. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will become better apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred but not exclusive embodiment of the station according to the invention, illustrated by way of non-limiting example in the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is a plan view of a station according to the invention in a first configuration; 
         FIG. 2  is a plan view of the station according to the invention in a second configuration; 
         FIG. 3  is a front elevation view of a detail of the containment element. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     With reference to the figures, a receiving and temporary accommodation station according to the invention, generally designated by the reference numeral  1 , comprises a compartment  2 , which is capable of receiving and temporarily accommodating products  3  delivered by a handling and sorting unit  4 , which is arranged upstream of the station  1 . 
     The products  3  can be constituted by one or more rolls composed of a cylindrical core, on which a strip of paper of the tissue type, for example toilet paper or absorbent paper, is wound. 
     The rolls feed a packaging machine  5 , which comprises the handling and sorting unit  4  capable of providing the desired grouping of rolls, and the station  1 , which, as mentioned, is arranged downstream of the handling and sorting unit  4  and from which it receives the products  3 . 
     Subsequently, the machine  5  has a transfer device that is capable of picking up the products  3  and sending them to the apparatuses assigned to their packaging: packaging provides for the execution of a wrapping cycle that is composed of a wrapping in a plastic film sheet and a subsequent folding and final heat-sealing of the flaps of the film. 
     For example, the above cited transfer device might be a lifting unit capable of pushing the products  3  toward a plurality of grip elements, capable of handling them while the wrapping cycle is performed on them. 
     The compartment  2  is delimited by two mutually opposite side walls  6  and by a back wall  7  that lies opposite an open side, which constitutes an inlet  8  for the products  3 , delivered by the handling and sorting unit  4 , that must be received and accommodated temporarily. 
     Depending on the commercial requirements and therefore on the intended sale format, the product  3  is constituted by a grouping composed of a variable number of rolls, arranged along several rows and/or layers. 
     The product  3  therefore has variable dimensions and the compartment  2  accordingly must be able to adapt to these variations in order to be able to accommodate it and retain it, before the transfer device sends it to the apparatuses assigned to the subsequent processes. 
     For this purpose, the back wall  7  can move along a direction that is parallel to the side walls  6 , i.e. along the direction for introducing the products  3  in the compartment  2 : in this manner it is possible to vary the depth of the compartment  2 . 
     To allow this movement, the back wall  7  has a slider  9  that can slide along a track  10  that is oriented according to such direction. 
     Likewise, the side walls  6  can move along a direction that is parallel to the back wall  7 , i.e., at right angles to the direction of insertion of the products  3  in the compartment  2 , in order to vary the width of the compartment  2 . 
     It should be noted immediately that the back wall  7  is provided with a shock-absorbing element, which acts along the insertion direction of the products  3 , in order to allow the back wall  7  to accompany and cushion the stopping stroke of the products  3 , thus avoiding dangerous impacts which might deteriorate the rolls or compromise their arrangement. 
     According to the invention, each side wall  6  is constituted by a useful portion  11   a  of a containment element  11 , which can slide at least partially parallel to itself in order to vary the length of the useful portion  11   a . By varying the length of the useful portion  11   a  and associating with such variation the sliding of the back wall  7  along the track  10 , one obtains not only the result of modifying the length of the side wall  6  but also ultimately of varying the depth of the compartment  2  without requiring a change of the elements that constitute the side wall  6 . 
     More particularly, the containment element  11  can slide along a predefined closed path  12 , which has at least one first substantially straight extent  12   a  that faces the compartment  2 . 
     A remaining portion  11   b  of the containment element  11  is arranged along the residual extent of the closed path  12 , constituted by a second extent  12   b , which is arranged outside the compartment  2  and is parallel to the first extent  12   a , and by two annular portions, which mutually blend the first extent  12   a  and the second extent  12   b.    
     It is thus evident that by means of the sliding of the containment element  11  along the closed path  12  it is possible to increase or decrease the part thereof that is arranged along the first extent  12   a , such part constituting the useful portion  11   a ; the remaining portion  11   b  can be made to slide along one of the two annular portions and along the second extent  12   b.    
       FIGS. 1 and 2  illustrate two possible different configurations of the station  1  according to the invention and of the compartment  2 : in  FIG. 1 , the containment element  11  is almost entirely arranged along the first extent  11   a , in order to achieve the maximum length of the side wall  6  and therefore the maximum depth of the compartment  2 . 
     From this configuration, by sliding the containment element  11  along one of the annular portions and then along the second extent  12   b , it is possible to reduce the useful portion  11   a  arranged along the first extent  12   a , thus reducing the length of the side wall  6  and therefore the depth of the compartment  2 , obtaining for example the configuration shown in  FIG. 2 . 
     According to an embodiment of considerable practical interest, illustrated by way of non-limiting example in particular in  FIG. 3 , the containment element  11  comprises a plurality of slats  13 , which are mutually laterally adjacent and articulated along axes that are perpendicular to the plane that contains the closed path  12 . The slats  13  thus form substantially a blind, which is arranged along a fraction of the closed path  12  and can slide thereon. 
     Conveniently, each containment element  11  comprises at least one chain  16 , shown in  FIG. 3 , which is fixed to at least one end slat  13  of each blind and is arranged along the free fraction of the closed path  12 . 
     In particular, the chain  16  is fixed, at its two ends, to the two end slats  13  of the blind, in practice covering completely, together with said blind, the extension of the closed path  12 . 
     More particularly, each containment element  11  comprises two chains  16 , which are mutually parallel and are fixed respectively to the base and to the top of at least one of the end slats  13 . 
     According to one possible embodiment, the sliding of the containment element  11  is allowed by at least one carriage  14 , which is fixed laterally to the blind formed by the slats  13  and can slide along a guide  15  that is shaped according to the closed path  12 . 
     Advantageously, the receiving and temporary accommodation station  1  comprises handling means, which are capable of sliding each containment element  11  along the closed path  12 . 
     In particular, such handling means can comprise two pulleys  17 , each subtended by an annular portion of a respective closed path  12 . At the other end extent there is a simple supporting and guiding element. Each pulley  17  can rotate about its own axis, which is parallel to the slats  13 , and meshes with the blind formed by the slats  13  in order to slide it along the closed path  12 . 
     As an alternative, each pulley  17  can mesh with the chain  16  in order to drive it slidingly along the closed path  12  and again move the blind with it. 
     It should be noted that the transmission of the movement provided by means of the mating between the pulley  17  and the chain  16  is more effective and reliable than transmission achieved by means of the simple mating between the pulley  17  and the blind. It is thus possible to obtain a solution that has better operation on the part of the involved elements. 
     According to a third possible embodiment, the handling means comprise two pairs of pulleys  17 , one for each containment element  11 , and each pulley  17  is subtended by a respective annular portion of the corresponding closed path  12 . On each closed path  12 , a pulley  17  can thus mesh with the blind, while the other pulley  17  meshes with the chain  16  that is fixed to the blind: the sliding movement of the containment element  11  is thus provided by means of the pulley  17  that is mated with the chain  16 , as well as by means of the other pulley, which is mated with the blind. 
     In order to allow the compartment  2  to contain products  3  of different widths, at the back wall  7  the station  1  has a flat element  18 , whose length is adapted to contain products  3  of maximum width and which is made for example of light alloy and connected to the above cited shock-absorbing element. 
     The back wall  7  is thus constituted by a central region of the flat element  18 , such central region being delimited by the useful portions  11   a  of the containment elements  11 , and in particular by the end slats  13  that are adjacent to the flat element  18 . The movement of the containment elements  11  along the direction that is parallel to the flat element  18  therefore allows to vary the width of the central region and of the compartment  2 . 
     Conveniently, the station  1  comprises means for rigid connection between the flat element  18  and the containment element  11 : by way of such rigid connection means, the sliding of the flat element  18  along the direction that is parallel to the side walls  6  (therefore along the track  10 ) is associated functionally with the sliding of the containment element  11  along the closed path  12 . 
     By making the flat element  18  slide, in order to vary the depth of the compartment  2 , as a direct consequence a corresponding sliding of the containment element  11  is therefore obtained in order to vary the length of the useful portion  11   a  or vice versa. 
     Ultimately, therefore, it is possible to vary the depth of the compartment  2  by means of a single adjustment, which affects simultaneously both the back wall  7  and the side walls  6 . 
     The operation of the station according to the invention is as follows. 
     In order to allow an adjustment of the compartment  2  such as to adapt to the width variations of the products  3 , it is sufficient to make the containment elements  11  slide parallel to the flat element  18 , thus reducing or increasing the width of the compartment  2  and the size of the useful region of the flat element  18 , which is indeed delimited by the useful portions  11   a  of the containment element  11 . 
     The outer regions of the flat element  18 , which are not involved in the containment of the products  3 , can protrude beyond the first extent  12   a : as indeed can be deduced from the above description and from  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the first extent  12   a  of the closed path  12  has a “closed” segment, on which the useful portion  11   a  is arranged, and a residual “open” segment, along which only the chain  16  slides, and which therefore can be crossed by the outer regions of the flat element  18 . 
     It is therefore evident that the station  1  according to the invention does not require operator interventions to replace the flat element  18  as a consequence of variations in the width of the products  3 ; it is in fact already capable of containing the maximum format of the products  3 , and by making the useful portions  11   a  of the containment element  11  slide adequately it is possible to reduce their central region that in practice constitutes the back wall  7 . 
     If it is necessary to adjust the compartment  2  in order to change its depth, it is sufficient to make the back wall  7 , constituted by the central region of the flat element  18 , slide along the track  10  and simultaneously make the containment element  11  slide along the closed path  12  in order to vary the length of the useful portion  11   a  and therefore the length of the side walls  6 . The two movements, as already noted, can be associated by way of the rigid connection means between the flat element  18  and the containment elements  11 . 
     The receiving and temporary accommodation station  1  according to the invention is thus very strong and reliable thanks to the presence of a flat element  18  made of light alloy, while the effectiveness and lightness of the shock-absorbing action are ensured by the fact that the involved element is substantially only the flat element  18 . 
     In practice it has been found that the station according to the invention fully achieves the intended aim, since in order to allow the station to adapt to a change of format of the products to be treated it is sufficient to make the back wall and the containment element slide in order to vary its useful portion, which constitutes the side wall, thus avoiding the need for the intervention of an operator and at the same time ensuring that the station has the desired mechanical simplicity. 
     The invention thus conceived is susceptible of numerous modifications and variations, all of which are within the scope of the appended claims; all the details may further be replaced with other technically equivalent elements. 
     For example, the containment element  11  can have a configuration that is different from the one described, i.e., it is possible to provide containment elements  11  that comprise a platform or a flexible belt, which can slide along the predefined closed path  12 , like the blind constituted by the plurality of slats  13  described above. 
     As an alternative, the scope of the protection defined by the present invention includes solutions that have a containment element  11  in which a useful portion can slide and be arranged along the extent  12   a , while the remaining portion can wrap around an axis that is arranged proximate to the peripheral region of the wall, for example in a receptacle provided at one of the pulleys  17  cited above. 
     In the exemplary embodiments shown, individual characteristics, given in relation to specific examples, may actually be interchanged with other different characteristics that exist in other exemplary embodiments. 
     Moreover, it is noted that anything found to be already known during the patenting process is understood not to be claimed and to be the subject of a disclaimer. 
     In practice, the materials used, as well as the dimensions, may be any according to requirements and to the state of the art. 
     The disclosures in Italian, Patent Application No. B02008A000331 from which this application claims priority are incorporated herein by reference. 
     Where technical features mentioned in any claim are followed by reference signs, those reference signs have been included for the sole purpose of increasing the intelligibility of the claims and accordingly such reference signs do not have any limiting effect on the interpretation of each element identified by way of example by such reference signs.