Bag forming, filling and sealing machine comprising metering device

Abstract

A tubular bag machine having a longitudinal sealing element having two transverse sealing jaws which are moveable against each other to transversely seal a film tube, having a mechanism which moves the transverse sealing jaws, a filling device for filling the unsealed tubular bags with a filling material, a separating element for separating individual filled tubular bags, a dosing device disposed upstream of the filling device, and a transfer element having several transfer containers between the filling device of the tubular bag machine and the dosing device. The filling material is transferred from the dosing device to the transfer containers, and the transfer containers are transported to a dispensing station along a transfer line, and the filling material is transferred to the filling device, and the transfer containers are transported back along a return transfer line.

Claims

1. A tubular bag machine having a longitudinal sealing element for forming a film tube, having two transverse sealing jaws, which are moveable against each other and which thereby transversely seal the film tube, for forming sealed tubular bags, having a mechanism which has a drive and which moves the transverse sealing jaws EGO, having a filling device for filling the unsealed tubular bags with a filling material, having a separating element for separating individual filled tubular bags, a dosing device being disposed upstream of the filling device, said dosing device allowing for the dosing of a prespecified filling quantity of the filling material to be filled into a tubular bag, wherein a transfer element having several transfer containers is provided between the filling device of the tubular bag machine and the dosing device, the prespecified filling quantity of the filling material being transferred from the dosing device to the transfer containers in an input station, and the transfer containers being transported to a dispensing station along a transfer line, and the filling material being transferred from the transport containers to the filling device in the dispensing station, and the transfer containers being transported back to the input station along a return transfer line, and wherein the transfer element is controlled by a transfer control system, the transfer control system controlling the transfer process in the input station irrespective of the transfer process in the dispensing station.

2. The tubular bag machine according to claim 1, wherein the tubular bag machine is a vertical tubular bag machine.

3. The tubular bag machine according to claim 1, wherein the filling device is realized in the manner of a forming tube, the film tube being guided on the outer surface of the forming tube.

4. The tubular bag machine according to claim 1, wherein_the dosing device comprises at least a weighing scale or at least a screw conveyor or at least a meter or at least a volume dosing element for measuring the filling material.

5. The tubular bag machine according to claim 1, wherein the transfer control system changes the conveying speed of the transfer containers along the transfer line and/or along the return transfer line.

6. The tubular bag machine according to claim 5, wherein the transfer control system changes the conveying speed of individual transfer containers irrespective of the conveying speed of the other transfer containers.

7. The tubular bag machine according to claim 1, wherein the transfer element comprises at least one buffer, which temporarily stores at least one filled or unfilled transfer container.

8. The tubular bag machine according to claim 1, wherein the transfer element comprises at least two input stations, at each of which filling material from a dosing device is transferable to the transfer containers.

9. The tubular bag machine according to claim 8, wherein for forming a mixed filling at the different input stations, different filling materials are transferable to one transfer container each.

10. The tubular bag machine according to claim 1, wherein the transfer element comprises at least two dispensing stations, at each of which filling material from the transfer containers is transferable to filling devices of different tubular bag machines.

Description

(1) Different embodiments of the disclosure are schematically illustrated in the drawings and are described in an exemplary manner hereinafter.

(2) FIG. 1 shows a tubular bag machine having a dosing device disposed upstream thereof and a transfer element disposed therebetween in a side view;

(3) FIG. 2 shows the transfer element according to FIG. 1 in a top view;

(4) FIG. 3 shows a second embodiment of a transfer element in a top view;

(5) FIG. 4 a third embodiment of a transfer element in a top view.

(6) FIG. 1 shows a tubular bag machine 01 for producing tubular bags 02. In the production of tubular bags 02, a packaging film 03 is first formed into a tube around a forming tube, which serves as a filling device 04, and is then sealed longitudinally. Thus formed film tube 05 is sealed transversely by means of transverse sealing jaws 06 and is thus closed at the upper or lower end. Tubular bag 02, which has not been closed at the upper end thus far, is filled with a filling material by filling device 04 during the filling process in tubular bag machine 01, the filling material falling into the still open tubular bag from above through the internal cross section of the forming tube.

(7) A dosing device 07 is disposed upstream of tubular bag machine 01, said dosing device 07 being formed in the manner of a dosing screw 08 having a corresponding drive in the illustrated embodiment. By suitably driving dosing screw 08, a prespecified filling volume of the filling material can be discharged from a filling material funnel 09.

(8) A transfer element 10 is disposed between tubular bag machine 01 and dosing device 07. Transfer element 10 comprises an input station 11 and a dispensing station 12. Transfer containers 13 of dosing device 07 can be filled with the pre-dosed amount of the filling material in input station 11. Subsequently, transfer containers 13 are transported along a transfer line 14 to dispensing station 12. Transfer containers 13 are emptied into dispensing station 12, such that the prespecified amount of the filling material falls into the open tubular bags from above through filling device 04. In this case, transfer containers 13 are filled in input station 11 irrespective of the emptying of transfer containers 13 in the dispensing station, such that a synchronicity between the dosing process in dosing device 07 and the tubular bag filling process in tubular bag machine 01 is no longer required. By varying the conveying speed of transfer containers 13 along transfer line 14, synchronicity deviations between the two processes can be easily compensated.

(9) FIG. 2 shows transfer element 10 having input station 11 and dispensing station 12 in a schematic top view. As can be seen in FIG. 2, transfer containers 13 are transported back to input station 11 along a return transfer line 15 after the emptying into dispensing station 12, such that they can be filled there once again with a pre-dosed amount of the filling material. In order to also compensate for larger synchronicity deviations between the filling of the transfer containers in input station 11 and the emptying of transfer containers 13 into dispensing station 12, transfer line 14 also comprises a buffer 16 in which several transfer containers 13 can be stored temporarily. Switch elements 17 serve for filling or emptying transfer containers 13 in buffer 16.

(10) FIG. 3 shows an alternative embodiment of a transfer element 18. The basic design of transfer element 18 corresponds to the design of transfer element 10, transfer element 18 comprising an additional input station 19. In turn, transfer containers 13 can be filled with pre-dosed filling quantities of a filling material at additional input station 19 using an additional dosing device. It is conceivable that different transfer containers are each filled with filling material in input stations 11 and 19 in order to increase the required dosing capacity in this manner by using two dosing devices. Alternatively, transfer containers 13 can also be filled with different filling materials each in input stations 11 and 19, such that each transfer container contains a pre-dosed mix of filling materials after leaving input station 19.

(11) FIG. 4 shows a third embodiment of a transfer element 20. Transfer element 20 differs from transfer element 18 in that an additional dispensing station 21 is used. As a result, transfer containers 13 can, on the one hand, be filled with filling material in input stations 11 and 19 by means of transfer element 20 using different dosing devices and then, the filling materials can be dispensed to two different tubular bag machines from transfer containers 13 at dispensing stations 12 and 21. In so far as the transfer elements comprise additional input stations or dispensing stations, more complex transfer systems, which are made of a plurality of dosing devices and a plurality of tubular bag machines, can be realized.