REEL PROVIDED WITH A PACKAGING MATERIAL, AND A FILLING MACHINE FOR FILLING A PACKAGING MATERIAL WITH A FOOD PRODUCT

Abstract

The invention relates to a reel (5) provided with a packaging material (7). The reel (5) is adapted to be mounted on a mandrel (2) of a filling machine (1). The reel (5) is hollow and has the shape of a cylinder, an inner portion of which is provided with a tag (6) containing information at least associated with the packaging material (7). The invention also relates to a filling machine (1) for filling a packaging material (7) with a food product.

Claims

1. A reel (5) provided with a packaging material (7), said reel (5) configured to be mounted on a mandrel of a filling machine, wherein said reel is hollow and comprises the shape of a cylinder, an inner portion of the reel comprising a tag comprising information associated with said packaging material.

2. The reel according to claim 1, wherein said tag is arranged flat on said inner portion and positioned such that an induction antenna of said tag has a maximized cross-sectional area directed towards a transceiver configured to communicate with said tag.

3. A filling machine for filling a packaging material with a food product, comprising: a mandrel adapted to receive a reel provided with said packaging material, and a transceiver adapted to communicate with a tag provided in said reel in order to receive information stored in said tag, wherein said mandrel comprises an outer groove which extends along a circumference of said mandrel and at least corresponds to a shape of said tag, such that a clearance is created between said mandrel and said tag when said reel is mounted on said mandrel.

4. The filling machine according to claim 3, wherein said outer groove extends along the entire circumference of said mandrel.

5. The filling machine according to claim 3, wherein said mandrel is manufactured by a radio frequency transparent material.

6. The filling machine according to claim 5, wherein said radio frequency transparent material is nylon.

7. The filling machine according to claim 3, wherein said tag is an RFID tag.

8. The filling machine according to claim 3, further comprising a control unit adapted to control said filling machine based on information retrieved from said tag.

9. The filling machine according to claim 3, further comprising a metal plate arranged on a back side of said transceiver, the metal plate configured to reflect radio frequency radiation in the transmission direction of said transceiver and to shield from radio frequency radiation in a direction opposite said transmission direction.

10. The filling machine according to claim 3, further comprising a metal plate arranged at least one of adjacent to and surrounding said reel.

11. The filling machine according to claim 9, wherein said metal plate is selected from the group consisting of a grid, a plate, and a plate with holes.

12. The filling machine according to claim 11, wherein said metal plate comprises apertures with a diameter smaller than 50 mm.

13. The filling machine according to claim 3, wherein said transceiver is arranged adjacent to said mandrel and near the central axis of said mandrel, the arrangement configured such that said reel does not interfere with a radio communication path between said transceiver and said tag.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] The above objects, as well as additional objects, features and advantages of the present invention, will be more fully appreciated by reference to the following illustrative and non-limiting detailed description of preferred embodiments of the present invention, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

[0016] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a filling machine according to one exemplary embodiment of the invention.

[0017] FIG. 2a is a perspective view of a mandrel of the filling machine in FIG. 1.

[0018] FIG. 2b is a top view of the mandrel in FIG. 2a.

[0019] FIG. 3 is a perspective view a transmitter of the filling machine in FIG. 1.

[0020] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a reel according to one exemplary embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

[0021] FIG. 1 shows a filling machine 1 for filling a packaging material 7 with a food product, having a mandrel 2 adapted to receive a reel 5 provided with packaging material 7. Referring to both FIG. 1 and FIG. 4, the filling machine 1 is equipped with a transceiver 3 adapted to communicate with a tag 6 provided in said reel 5 in order to receive information stored in said tag 6. The mandrel 2 has an outer groove 4 such that a clearance is created between the mandrel 2 and a tag 6 when a reel 5 is mounted on the mandrel 2 to avoid mechanical interference between the mandrel 2 and the tag 6. The mandrels 2 are mounted on shafts 8 which in turn are mounted in a frame 10 of the filling machine 1. The transceiver 3 is placed near the real core cylinder of the reel 5 so as to transmit a radio signal along the centre of the reel 5 with packaging material 7 so that the packing material 7 will not shield off the radio signal as the packaging material 7 may include metallic layers. The mandrel 2 is further preferably made of a radio frequency transparent material such as nylon to not block the radio signals in the communication between the transceiver 3 and the tag 6. Nylon is a generic designation for a family of synthetic polymers, more specifically aliphatic or semi-aromatic polyamides (PA). They can be melt-processed into fibers, films or shapes. Polyamides are semi-crystalline polymers. A distinction is made between two types. Polyamides made of one basic material, then the material is described as Nylon x, where x is a single digit, and polyamides, which are made of 2 basic materials, where the material is described as Nylon xx, where xx corresponds to a two-digit number. Polyamides have very good mechanical properties and are particularly tough. Properties vary from the hard and tough Nylon 66 to the soft and flexible Nylon 6. Depending on the type, polyamides absorb different amounts of moisture, which also affect the mechanical characteristics as well as the dimensional accuracy. The nylon used for the manufacturing of the mandrel can advantageously be Nylon 66, which is a material well defined in the plastic industry. This material is a good composition for this purpose because it has been proven to have both the mechanical strength and to be a radio frequency transparent material.

[0022] FIG. 2a is a perspective view of the mandrel 2 according to the present invention and FIG. 2b is a cross-sectional view of the mandrel 2. The groove 4 is clearly shown in FIG. 2a and FIG. 2b. Referring to FIG. 2a, FIG. 2b and FIG. 4, the tag 6 in the core of the reel 5 is positioned so that the tag 6 is placed over the groove 4. If a reel 5 is placed on the mandrel 2 the tag 6 will be placed over the groove 4 so that the tag 6 is not in contact with the mandrel 2. If the reel 5 should slip against the mandrel 2, the tag 6 will not be damaged since no contact will occur between the mandrel 2 and the tag 6.

[0023] FIG. 3 is a picture of the transceiver 3. A metal plate 8 is arranged on a back side of said transceiver 3 adapted to reflect radio frequency radiation in the transmission direction of said transceiver 3 and to shield radio frequency radiation in the direction opposite to said transmission direction so that the surrounding on the back side of the transceiver 3 radiated with radio signals. The metal plate 8 also shields the transceiver 3 from other transceivers and other radio transmitters.

[0024] FIG. 4 shows a reel 5 with packaging material 7 rolled around the centre core cylinder of the reel 5. Inside the reel centre core cylinder a tag 6 is arranged. The tag 6 is in FIG. 4 rectangular and oblong and having an antenna (not shown) for receiving an induction radio signal and for sending a response to an induction radio signal. The antenna (not shown) is arranged under the top side of the tag 6 covering most of the area of the tag 6. The tag 6 is positioned with its length side perpendicular to the centre axis of the reel so as to optimize the area of the antenna (not shown) of the tag that is exposed to the radio signal from the transceiver 3 (FIG. 1).