Device for the production of bags filled with infusible material

Abstract

The present invention relates to a device for the production of bags (8) filled with infusible material having a base plate (50) which separates a drive side (54) from an operating side (52), where a bag-production device is provided on the operating side (52) in which a batch of the infusible material is placed onto the bag material (25) which is shaped into a tube and the tube sections are processed to form closed bags (8), where the bag production device is provided in a work space (68) between the base plate (50) and at least one protective door (56). In order to improve the cleanliness within the work space, the present invention proposes a ventilation device (74) for generating an air flow in the work space (68).

Claims

1. A device for the production of bags filled with infusible material having a base plate which separates a drive side from an operating side, where a bag production device is provided on said operating side in which a batch of the infusible material is placed onto the bag material which is shaped into a tube and the tube sections are processed to form closed bags, where said bag production device is provided in a work space between said base plate and at least one protective door wherein a ventilation device for generating an air flow in said work space comprises a suction opening provided in a lower region of the work space and in communication with a blower, and an opening upper region of the work space for introducing air in the work space so that the resulting air flow sweeps over the entire height of the work space in which components of the device are provided that release the finest particles of the infusible material to be packaged.

2. The device according to claim 1, further comprising a blower, a suction side of the blower is in communication with the suction opening and a pressure side of the blower is connected to a blow line which is in communication with at least one blow opening that opens into said work space.

3. The device according to claim 2, further comprising a switch point which is connected between a separator and said blow opening to said blow line and to which an exhaust line is connected which leads to an exposed exhaust.

4. The device according to claim 1, wherein that said work space is defined laterally by a first partition wall and a second partition wall, where said first partition wall comprises at least one bag material opening that is formed to be adapted for the passage of the web of said bag material and where said second partition wall is provided disposed opposite said first partition wall and comprises a bag passage opening that is formed to be adapted for the passage of said finished bag.

5. The device according to claim 4, further comprising a supply for said bag material, a supply for labels to be connected to said bags in said work space, a supply for a thread connecting said label to said bag, and optionally a supply for film for the production of an aroma packaging surrounding said bag, where said supplies are provided on the side of said first and/or second partition wall facing away from said work space.

6. The device according to claim 1, wherein the blower is provided in said work space.

7. The device according to claim 6, wherein that said blower is movable in a motor-driven manner in said work space.

8. The device according to claim 7, wherein that said blower comprises a blow arm driven to be pivotable and which comprises a plurality of blow openings formed to be nozzle-shaped.

9. The device according to claim 1, further comprising a funnel, with which the suction opening is associated, wherein the suction opening is in communication with a separator and the funnel is provided below said bag production device.

10. The device according to claim 9, wherein that said separator is provided on said drive side.

11. The device according to claim 9, wherein that said protective door comprises a panel which projects into said work space and projects beyond an edge of said funnel with a small spacing.

Description

(1) Further details and advantages of the present invention arise from the following description of an embodiment in conjunction with the drawing, in which:

(2) FIG. 1 shows a slightly perspective top view of an operating side of an embodiment of a device for the production of bags filled with infusible material when the protective doors are open;

(3) FIG. 2 shows a slightly perspective top view onto a drive side disposed opposite the operating side of the embodiment according to FIG. 1, where components arranged behind a base plate are shown in dashed lines;

(4) FIG. 3 shows a schematic representation of components for guiding air in the embodiment according to FIG. 1; and

(5) FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of a finished bag produced in the device according to FIGS. 1 to 3.

(6) FIG. 1 shows the top view onto an embodiment of a device for the production of bags filled with infusible material which has substantially three areas, namely a storage area 2 on the left-hand edge, a product area 4 on the right-hand edge, and a work area 6 between the storage area 2 and the product area 4.

(7) The bags are produced by removing consumable material from the storage area 2 which are processed to form bags in the work area 6. An example of such a bag is shown in FIG. 4. There the bag is denoted by reference character 8. Reference character 10 denotes a label which is connected to the bag 8 by way of a thread 12. The entity of bag 8, label 10, and thread 12 is received in an aroma packaging 14 which is formed by film material that is impermeable to moisture and that is placed around the bag 8 at an edge 16 and is closed by a U-shaped weld seam 18.

(8) The product shown in FIG. 4 is referred to below as a finished infusion bag 20. The finished infusion bag 20 is moved from the work area 6 to the product area 4 via a conveying line 22.

(9) A supply 24 for bag material 25, a supply 26 for the labels 10, a supply 28 for the thread 12, and a supply 30 for the aroma packaging 14 and which are used as consumable materials in the production of the finished infusion bags 20 can be seen in the storage area 2. These respective consumable materials are each provided on a roll and are rolled off therefrom in the course of production.

(10) The storage area 2 has guides for the individual webs of consumable material. The consumable material is passed through a first partition wall 32 between the storage area 2 and the work area 6. This partition wall 32 comprises various openings, denoted by reference character 34, for the passage of the respective consumable material. The dimensions of the respective opening 34 are selected such that the respective consumable material can barely be passed through the first partition wall 32. Each opening 34 can be associated with an air curtain through which an undesired passage of air from the work area 6 into the storage area 2 or the product area 4 can be prevented. In the embodiment shown, the partition wall 32 defining the work area 6 on the left-hand side comprises an opening 34a for the bag material 25, an opening 34b for the labels 10, and an opening 34d for the aroma packaging 14.

(11) In the working area 6, a batch of the infusible material is placed on the bag material 25 at the height of a portioning device 36 with a supply 37 for infusible material. The bag material 25 is guided on a horizontal stretch 38. After the batch has been placed onto the bag material 25, the latter is shaped into a tube containing the batch. The bag material 25 supplied as endless material is cut into length sections and thus separated. At the end of the horizontal stretch 38, the length sections of the bag material 25 prepared in this manner are transferred to a first transport wheel 40a.

(12) At the height of an introduction station 42a, the bag material 25 is moved radially inwardly in the direction of the central longitudinal axis or the axis of rotation of the first transport wheel 40a in order to form the bag 8 configured as a double-chamber bag. The first transport wheel 40a rotates clockwise and feeds the respective bag material 25 to different stations in which the bag is closed at the top and connected to the thread 12 and the label 10.

(13) The bag 8 thus created and processed at the top is transferred from the first transport wheel 40a to a second transport wheel 40b rotating in the counterclockwise direction, where the bag 8 is pivoted between the two transport wheels 40a, 40b such that the bottom of the bag 8 is introduced first in the radial direction into the second transport wheel 40b. The bag 8 is there connected to the label 10 and is rotated within the second transport wheel 40b such that the bottom of the bag 8, which is oriented radially inwardly when introduced, is oriented radially outwardly. In this orientation, i.e. pivoted by 180° relative to the direction of introduction, the bag 8 thus prepared is conveyed out of the second transport wheel 40b with the bottom facing forward and fed to a third transport wheel 40c. The bag is fed to a wrapping station 42b in which the aroma packaging 14 is placed around the bag 8 as well as the label 10 and the thread 12 when the edge 16 is formed. The aroma packaging 14 is then sealed in a sealing station 44 for forming the U-shaped seam 18. The sealing station 44 is associated with a third transport wheel 40c on which the bag 8 is held and transported during the sealing process.

(14) The finished bag 20 thus produced is finally placed on the conveying line 22 and fed to the product area 4. For this purpose, a second partition wall 46 comprises a bag passage opening 48 and a return opening 49 for the conveying line 22.

(15) The components previously described as part of the work area 6 are disposed in front of a base plate 50 which carries the individual components and, possibly, separates them from drives that are provided on the oppositely disposed side of the base plate 50. The region of the base plate 50 facing the user separates an operating side 52 provided there from a drive side 54 on the rear side of the device.

(16) FIG. 2 illustrates protective doors 56 which are shown pivoted open in FIG. 2. The protective doors 56 each have a frame which carries a plastic pane that is transparent at least in the upper region. In the lower region, a panel 58 projects from the inner side of the protective door 56. Each panel 58 of the respective protective door 56 is inclined from the outside at an angle downwardly. When the protective door is closed, the edge of a funnel 60, which forms the bottom of the work area and is provided with a suction opening 62 at the center, is located with a corresponding inclination, but with a small height spacing from the panels 58.

(17) Reference character 64 denotes a blower which comprises a pivotable blow arm 66 that comprises a plurality of blow nozzles 67 which are distributed over the length of the blow arm 66 and are oriented towards the base plate 50 (see FIG. 4). The blow arm 66 is driven to be pivotable by a motor and can be pivoted upwardly from the starting position shown in FIG. 2 to an almost vertical orientation. The blow arm 66 there sweeps over the components for the production of the bags 6, such as, for example, the transport wheels 40a-c and the components provided in the individual stations 42a, b, 44.

(18) The portioning device 36 is typically associated with a separate extraction which acts at the position where the batch is deposited onto the bag material 25 in order not to even let the finest particles of the brewable material get into a work space 68 which, when the protective doors 56 are closed, is formed between them and the base plate 50. This work space 58 is defined laterally by the two partition walls 32, 46, on the underside by the funnel 60, and on the upper side by a cover 70. The work space 68 is substantially closed off from the surroundings. An inclined wall section of the dividing wall 46 on the right-hand side, which continues the inclined surface of the funnel 60, comprises an opening 34c for the thread 12 (see FIG. 1)

(19) Provided in the region of the cover 70 in the base plate 50 is a suction opening 72 through which air can be sucked from the surroundings into the work space 68.

(20) During the operation of the device, air is typically continuously sucked into the work space 68 through the suction opening 72 and extracted from the work space 68 through the suction opening 62. This reduces the load of fine dust particles in the work space 68. Provided as an alternative or in addition in the region of the cover 70 can also be at least one blow opening through which air prepared for being blown in through the blow arm 66 is actively blown into the work space 68 from above.

(21) The blow arm 66 is typically pivoted at cyclical intervals and pressurized air is jetted from the blow nozzles 67 onto the components. Dust particles adhering to or deposited on the components are thereby whirled up and extracted by the air flow within the work space 68. When the blower 64 is actuated, the performance of a suction device, via which air is extracted from the suction opening 62 and blown into the work space 68 via the blow nozzles 67, can be increased. When there is an increased quantity of dust particles in the work space 68, the air laden with dust particles in the work space 68 is then also exchanged at an increased rate.

(22) The components causing the air flow, in particular on the rear side of the base plate 60, shall be described hereafter.

(23) In particular, FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate the ventilation device denoted there with reference character 74. In this embodiment, air is sucked in from the work space 68 through the suction opening 62 and passed over a separator 76 configured as a cyclone which comprises a reservoir 80 for extracted dust particles connected by way of a quick-release fastener 78. The air is passed from the separator 76 via a filter 82 into a side channel blower 84, as an example of a blower. The side channel blower 84 separates a suction side 86 of the ventilation device 74 from a pressure side 88. The air is passed on the pressure side 88 via a blow line 92 to a switch point 90 which is able to divide the air flow so that it is fed selectively either via an exhaust line 94 or a blow arm feed line 96 fed in the direction toward the blow arm 66.

(24) The exhaust line 94 is in communication via a shut-off valve 98 with a silencer 100 which ends at an exposed exhaust 102. The shut-off valve 98 can be adjusted by throttling the line 94 for the manual adjustment of the volume flows that leave the switch point 90 in the direction toward the blow arm feed line 96, on the one hand, and in the direction toward the exhaust line 94, on the other hand. Instead of a shut-off valve, a slide valve can also be installed into the exhaust line 94 as a throttle.

(25) The blow arm 66 in FIGS. 2 to 4 is shown in a central position. The blow arm 66 can be oriented from this position to one extending vertically substantially parallel to a vertically extending section of the second partition wall 46. The blow arm 66 can be oriented downwardly to an orientation substantially parallel to the adjacent surface of the funnel 60. In this way, the blow arm 66 can sweep over all components in the work area 6.

(26) For this pivoting motion, the blow arm 66 is driven by way of a spindle motor, not shown, which engages by way of an eccentric on a pipe that forms the blow arm feed line 96 and that is in communication with the switch point 90 on the input side via a rotary passage.

LIST OF REFERENCE CHARACTERS

(27) 2 storage area 4 product area 6 work area 8 bag 10 label 12 thread 14 aroma packaging 16 edge 18 sealing seam 20 finished infusion bag 22 conveying line 24 supply for bag material 25 bag material 26 supply for labels 10 28 supply for thread 12 30 supply for aroma packaging 14 32 first partition wall 34a opening for bag material 34b opening for labels 34c opening for thread 34d opening for aroma packaging 36 portioning device 37 supply for infusible material 38 horizontal stretch 40a first transport wheel 40b second transport wheel 40c third transport wheel introduction station 42b wrapping station 44 sealing station 46 second partition wall 48 bag passage opening 49 return opening 50 base plate 52 operating side 54 drive side 56 protective door 58 panel 60 funnel 62 suction opening 64 blower 66 blow arm 67 blow nozzles 68 work space 70 cover 72 suction opening 74 ventilation device 76 separator 78 quick release fastener 80 reservoir 82 filter 84 side channel blower 86 suction side 88 pressure side 90 switch point 92 blow line 94 exhaust line 96 blow arm feed line 98 cutoff valve 100 silencer 102 exhaust