MXPA99006973A - Packaging machine - Google Patents

Abstract

A platen machine for filling and sealing packages is provided having an upper platen and a lower platen journalled and independently moveable on a common alignment shaft to provide a close tolerance sealing mechanism with an independently operated heat seal element. The novel platen machine relocates clamping forces from the support frame to the alignment shaft so that the common alignment shafts bears the clamping forces and the carrier merely relies upon the frame to support the weight of the machine and not clamping forces. The upper platen moves toward the lower platen and the lower platen moves toward the upper platen to clamp a package between the two platens before an independently operated heat seal element is activated to advance to the clamped package and provide a heating and sealing cycle independent of the clamping cycle. Optional filling, gassing and evacuation can be provided during the clamping of the package without involving the separate heating and sealing operation.

Description

MACHINE FOR VASAMI ENTO BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention The present invention relates to a system for opening and closing a vacuum chamber for the purpose of thermoforming and / or evacuating, modifying the atmosphere and sealing containers that are used both for food items and non-food items, thereby ensuring that both the upper and lower vacuum chambers remain in alignment during all the time.

Description of the related art The prior art includes numerous machines and methods for filling and sealing containers that employ heat sealing plates. These prior art methods and machines generally employ columns or guide shafts which are part of the machine frame such that closing forces on filled and sealed containers are a function resulting from the whole machine instead of being a function that results from the filling or sealing plates themselves Furthermore, in the aforementioned prior art, the duration of the sealing forces and the heating of the seal by heat are the same since the sealing and heating are not controlled separately .

In the prior art, the stapling or clamping forces are as high as 18160 kilograms and are transmitted to the frame, and through the frame, generating bending, warping and fatigue in the frame which results in the loss of tolerance in the portion of 5 stapling the platen or press of the machine. Relevant prior art includes U.S. Patent No. 4,148,933 in the name of Janovtchik and U.S. Patent No. 5,176,923 in the name of Ito. In Patent No. 5,176,923 in the name of Ito (Fig. 1), a pair of guide posts or shafts 5 which are part of the machine frame and raise or lower an upper mold 2 or a mold are provided. 3. In contrast to said prior art, the present invention provides a filling and sealing machine that does not provide filling or the seal as a function of the whole machine but instead provides it as a function of the plates themselves which are arranged in axes or alignment columns separated from the frame of the machine. The innovative combination of the plates, column and support provides a greater, more 2 controlled and precise of the upper and lower plates to ensure smaller tolerances that do not depend on the support frame of the machine to maintain such tolerances. Furthermore, according to the invention, the heating element is activated independently to provide control over the duration of i: - the heat sealing portion of the operation The sealing and filling tolerances achieved by the novel combination also provide more control over the forces since the forces are a function of the novel combination of the invention instead of depending on the whole machine. Other platen machines of the prior art employ an upper stage, a lower stage and a movable stage disposed between the lower stage and the upper stage. Representative machines of this prior art include those disclosed in U.S. Patent Application No. 4,904,163 to Tanaka. To use in plastic molding tasks employing a top plate 10, a bottom plate 11, and a movable plate 13 with a link bar 12. In the patent No. 4,904,173 of Tanaka, similarly to the prior art, the Upper and lower plates are carried by the frame of the machine in such a way that the closing forces and the The accuracy of the machine is a function of the machine in its entirety instead of being a function of the operation of the same plates. The invention, in contrast to this, provides an accuracy of the closing forces that operate as a function of the movement of the plates themselves, by employing a z: common column of alignment between the upper and lower plates. This arrangement of common alignment columns allows the upper and lower plates to move towards each other with greater precision. A carrier plate assembly is mounted on a support frame, the frame of which simply provides support ;: • for the innovative packaging machine without interfering with the filling and sealing operations of the new packaging machine.

Compendium of the invention The present invention contemplates an apparatus for supply, an upper stage and a lower stage, aligned by a common column. Vacuum chamber halves are fixed to the platens by various means. The platens are moved pneumatically through an elbow joint arrangement to ensure that a large closing force binds the two chamber halves together and ensures a stable and leak-free chamber. The invention supplies and guides its power through the common columns and does not depend on the frame of the packaging machine for any transmission of power or energy; however, it remains in the roller frame to adjust a given repeated length of the container. When the invention is used in the sealing station, the upper chamber carries a hot sealing platen for the purpose of jointly welding the two layers of the container materials. The heat necessary for the welding process can be harmful to the container and / or its ingredients if it is kept very close to it for a period. According to the invention, the upper chamber can be raised to approximately 7.62 centimeters above the container allowing air to pass between the hot platen and the ingredients and protect them from the effects of prolonged heat.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a side view of the lifting apparatus showing the connections of the articulation arrangements in both their open and closed positions. Figure 2 is an end view of the lifting apparatus showing how the frame of the packaging machine serves only to hold the lifting system in place. And it also shows the relationship of the packaging chambers both in their closing and opening positions. All parts in both figures 1 and 2 have the same numbers; although some descriptions may be clearer in one or the other.

Detailed description of the best mode of the invention The main structure of the invention comprises three different parts, two axes or guide columns 6. two lower support bars 13 and one upper support plate 2. as illustrated in figure 2. The upper plate and the support bar bottom are attached to the guide columns in recesses provided in the column. The recesses of the columns provide a shoulder on the guide column to prevent linear movement of the sub-supporting rod (point B) and the upper support plate (at point A), 5 as viewed in the figure 1. the lifting assembly is supported on the machine frame of bottling 12 on wheels 3, on assembly of carrier plates 19. the carrier assembly is coupled to the guide columns in recesses in C. the position I shoulder of the recess prevents linear movement. The main purpose of the lifting assembly is to raise and lower the two platens, the lifting table 20 and the sealing bridge 7, keeping them aligned. The lower support bars have two transverse beams 15 14 with a lifting handle 15. Figure 1. The lifting cranks are keyed on the beams or shafts. The beams are coordinated with one another by means of a connecting rod between two lobes of the cranks 5, in such a way that one axis rotates as much as the other. The shaft or 20 main beam is rotated by an air cylinder 11 which is attached to an assembly handle 15 and anchored to the end of the sub-supporting rod 13. hinge arms 9 are attached between the lifting levers and the lifting beams 10. As the :: - cranks and axles rotate, articulating arms cause the movement of the lifting rails A stage 20, with two larger linear bearings, is guided up and down the guide columns 6 The upper support plate 2 also carries a smaller articulation system that is operated by another air cylinder 21 The joint system is attached to the seal bridge 7 The seal bridge has two large linear bearings 1 and is guided up and down the guide columns 6 Both the sealing bridge and the lifting table carry the halves of the packing chamber The sealing bridge presents the upper sealing chamber 17 which houses the sealing frame 18 The lifting table holds the lower sealing chamber clamping or securing element 8 (figure 1) forming the lower sealing chamber 16 (figure 2) Sequence of the operation After the packaging machine indexes a set of filled and filled bag-type containers into the sealing station, the packaging operation begins. In step 1 the upper articulation system moves the sealing bridge 7 down to the locked position, the joints 4 being in a straight line (figure 1) In step 2 the lower link 9 and the crank shafts 15 are rotated and the lifting table 20 is moved to its uppermost and locked position, as seen in FIG. Figure 1. As can be seen in Figure 2, when the sealing bridge and the lifting table are in their locking positions, the upper sealing chamber 17 and the lower sealing chamber 16 were entered together forming a sealed chamber vacuum sealed to carry out the necessary evacuation and / or gas injection operations. The lifting system also ensures that the sealing support frame is held in place during the sealing operation. The sealing cylinders 22 push the hot sealing frame 18 downwardly against the sealing support frame 16. After the packing sequence has been completed, the lifting table is lowered by rotating the crank shafts, unlocking the storage chambers. upper and lower sealing. Then, the sealing bridge 7 is raised, moving the hot sealing frame 18 away from the container and the product. The greatest benefit of the movement of the sealing bridge is during a prolonged pause in the operation of the packaging machine, where the hot sealing frame moves away from the product thus avoiding the burning of the same or other damages.

Claims (20)

1. A platen machine comprising: (a) an alignment column; (b) a first stage mounted movably on said alignment column; (c) a second stage mounted movably on said alignment column; (d) a carrier assembly disposed in said alignment column between said first stage and said second stage, supporting said alignment column and providing a coupling with a support frame.

The platen machine of claim 1, wherein said carrier assembly includes a plurality of wheels to contact said support frame.

The platen machine of claim 2, wherein said second platen includes a link arrangement for moving said second platen.

The platen machine of claim 3, wherein said arrangement of links for moving said second platen is pneumatically activated.

The platen machine of claim 3, wherein said first platen includes a link arrangement for moving said first platen.

6. The stage machine of claim 5, wherein said arrangement of links for moving said second stage and said arrangement of links for moving said first stage are pneumatically activated.

The platen machine of claim 6, wherein it further comprises a heat sealing element, independently controlled, and attached to said first stage.

The platen machine of claim 7, wherein said heat sealing element is pneumatically activated.

9. The platen machine of claim 8, wherein said heat sealing element is moved independently in advance and retraction with respect to said first platen.

The platen machine of claim 9, further comprising means for modifying the atmosphere in the packages before advancing said heat sealing element.

11. A product packaging machine, comprising: (a) a vertical alignment column; (b) an upper stage that is mounted movably on said vertical alignment column; (c) a lower stage that is movably mounted on said vertical alignment column; (d) a carrier assembly disposed in said vertical alignment column, between said first upper stage and said second lower stage; and (e) an independently activated heat sealing means disposed in said upper platen.

The product packaging machine of claim 11, further comprising a plurality of wheels disposed in said carrier assembly for contacting a support frame.

The product packaging machine of claim 12, wherein said upper platen, said lower platen and said heat-heating means are pneumatically activated.

The product packaging machine of claim 13, wherein said upper platen includes an upper sealing chamber and said lower platen includes a lower sealing chamber and said heat sealing means move from said superior sealing chamber towards said lower sealing chamber.

15. The product packaging machine of claim 14, wherein said upper platen is pneumatically activated to advance toward said lower platen and said lower platen is pneumatically activated to advance toward said upper platen and close said upper sealing chamber and said chamber. of bottom seal on a packaged article and said heat seal means are pneumatically activated to heat seal said package.

16. A filling and packaging machine comprising: (a) a pair of vertical alignment columns; (b) a top plate slidably disposed in said pair of vertical alignment columns; (c) a bottom plate slidably disposed in said pair of vertical alignment columns; (d) a carrier assembly disposed in said alignment pair of vertical alignment columns, between said upper stage and said lower stage; and (e) a heat sealing plate that is disposed between said upper platen and said lower platen, said heat sealing plate being movably independent of said upper platen and said lower platen.

The filling and packaging machine of claim 16, wherein said carrier assembly terminates in a plurality of wheels to come into contact with a support frame.

18. The filling and packaging machine of claim 16, wherein said upper platen, said lower platen and said heat sealing plate are pneumatically controlled. The filling and packaging machine of claim 18. wherein said upper platen terminates in an upper half of a coupling and wherein said lower half terminates in a lower half of said engagement and wherein said lower half of said engagement is wider than said upper half of said coupling to form a sealing lip when said upper half of said coupling and said lower half of said coupling are closed. The filling and packaging machine of claim 19, wherein a heat sealing plate is disposed on said upper stage and moves between said sealing lip and said upper half of said coupling.