CASING FOR SEALER

Abstract

A sealer for sealing a container includes a machine bottom part for arranging the sealer on a ground, a working space, the container capable of being sealed in the working space, a casing surrounding the working space and arranged on the machine bottom part, and a machine upper part with elements to seal the container, the machine upper part arranged on the casing in such a way that the machine upper part is supported on the machine bottom part via the casing and the elements to seal the container are arranged in the working space.

Claims

1. A sealer for sealing a container comprising: a machine bottom part for arranging the sealer on a ground; a working space, the container capable of being sealed in the working space; a casing surrounding the working space and arranged on the machine bottom part; and a machine upper part with elements to seal the container, the machine upper part arranged on the casing in such a way that the machine upper part is supported on the machine bottom part via the casing and the elements to seal the container are arranged in the working space.

2. The sealer according to claim 1, wherein the machine upper part is attached to the casing in such a way that the machine upper part is supported on the machine bottom part via the casing.

3. The sealer according to claim 1, wherein the machine upper part is arranged on the casing in such a way that the machine upper part is exclusively supported on the machine bottom part via the casing.

4. The sealer according to claim 1, wherein the machine bottom part comprises a support plate and the casing is arranged on the support plate in such a way that the machine upper part is supported on the support plate via the casing.

5. The sealer according to claim 1, wherein the casing comprises a mounting plate and the machine upper part is arranged on the mounting plate.

6. The sealer according to claim 5, wherein the mounting plate comprises a mounting opening and the machine upper part is arranged in the mounting opening in such a way that the machine upper part projects into the working space.

7. The sealer according to claim 4, wherein the support plate is arranged opposite from the mounting plate so that the working space is arranged between the support plate and the mounting plate.

8. The sealer according to claim 1, wherein the machine upper part comprises a sealing head to attach a lid on the container.

9. The sealer according to claim 8, wherein the sealing head comprises a seaming device configured to seam the lid to the container.

10. The sealer according to claim 9, wherein the seaming device comprises a seaming roll and a seaming head (55).

11. The sealer according to claim 9, wherein the sealing head comprises a seaming shaft rotatable about a seaming axis (X) and the seaming device is arranged at one end of the seaming shaft.

12. The sealer according to claim 11, wherein the machine upper part comprises an ejecting element arranged on the seaming shaft and the ejecting element is movably arranged along the seaming axis (X) in such a way that the container is capable of being ejected in an operating state.

13. The sealer according to claim 1 comprising a lifting station to lift the container.

14. The sealer according to claim 13, wherein the lifting station is arranged on the machine bottom part.

15. The sealer according to claim 1, wherein the casing comprises a first door and a second door arranged on different sides of the casing.

16. The sealer according to claim 1 comprising a container supply configured to supply the container to the working space and a container discharge configured to discharge the container from the working space.

17. The sealer according to claim 16, wherein a separating wall is arranged between the container supply and the container discharge.

18. A method for sealing a container with a lid, comprising: providing a sealer according to claim 1; supplying the lid and the container to the working space; positioning the lid on the container; sealing the container with the lid; and discharging the sealed containers from the working space.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein the sealing comprises a seaming of the lid to the container by at least one seaming roll and a seaming head.

20. The sealer according to claim 1, wherein the machine upper part comprises a sealing a plurality of sealing heads to attach a lid on the container.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0048] In the following, the disclosure and the state of the art are explained in more detail based on embodiments with reference to the drawings.

[0049] FIG. 1 illustrates a top view of a can sealer of the state of the art;

[0050] FIG. 2 illustrates a side view of a can sealer of the state of the art;

[0051] FIG. 3 illustrates a top view of a can sealer according to the disclosure;

[0052] FIG. 4 illustrates a first perspective view of the can sealer according to the disclosure;

[0053] FIG. 5 illustrates a second perspective view of the can sealer according to the disclosure;

[0054] FIG. 6 illustrates a schematic view of a sealing head;

[0055] FIG. 7A illustrates a top view of a can sealer of the state of the art with the doors open;

[0056] FIG. 7B illustrates a top view of a can sealer according to the disclosure with the doors open.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0057] FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 have already been described above in the representation of the state of the art.

[0058] FIG. 3 shows a top view of a can sealer 1000 according to the disclosure. In principle, the sealing process is carried out analogously to the state of the art, i.e., analogous as described in FIGS. 1 and 2.

[0059] Thus, the can sealer 1000 for sealing, a can 100 comprises a lid feed for feeding a lid 101 to the can 100 ; a gassing rotor 15 (only partially represented) for feeding gas to the can 100, and a seaming process/a seaming station 14 for sealing the can 100 with the lid 101.

[0060] When the lid 101 and can 100 are united, the can is gassed with a gas such as carbon dioxide or nitrogen and moved on to the seaming process 14 and sealed there.

[0061] The can sealer 1000 according to the disclosure comprises a casing 1 which surrounds a working space 2, in which the seaming process/the seaming station 14 is arranged (i.e., the cans are sealed). In doing so, a volume to be cleaned as well as a surface to be cleaned can be kept as minimal as possible. Telescopic columns in the working space 2 for supporting a machine upper part are not required, and spray shadows and an elaborate cleaning system can thus be avoided.

[0062] The sealed cans are conveyed out of the working space 2 by a traction element such as a flat-top chain of a container discharge 18, As the fiat-top chain returns, contaminants can be introduced into the working space 2 and thrown toward the open can.

[0063] For this reason, the container discharge 18 is sealed off from the working space 2 and the container feed 12 by separating walls 19 with breaches. In this way, contaminants being carried into the working space 2 and towards the open can can be prevented.

[0064] FIG. 4 shows a first perspective view of the can sealer 1000 according to the disclosure.

[0065] The can sealer 1000 comprises a machine bottom part 4 for arranging the can sealer 1000 on a ground (or a bottom) and the working space 2, in which working space 2 the cans are sealed. In addition, the can sealer 1000 comprises the casing 1 surrounding the working space 2 and arranged on the machine bottom part 4 and the machine upper part 5 with sealing heads 53 for sealing the cans, which are arranged in the working space 2. The machine upper part 5 is arranged on the casing 1 in such a way that the machine upper part 5 is supported on the machine bottom part 4 via the casing 1.

[0066] Instead of telescopic columns for attaching the machine upper part 5 and a comprehensive covering as a protective device, the casing 1 according to the disclosure fulfills a combination of these two functions. The supporting structure of the can sealer 1000 as well as the shielding of the working space 2 (also product space) is thus realized with the casing 1.

[0067] The machine upper part 5 is supported on the machine bottom part 4 exclusively via the casing 1 (i.e., the entire weight of the machine upper part 4 is carried by the casing 1 and supported on the machine bottom part 4, although a rotor element of the carousel is still arranged between the machine upper part 5 and the machine bottom part 4).

[0068] For this purpose, the machine bottom part 4 comprises a support plate 41 on which the casing 1 is supported or is supported on supports of the machine bottom part 4 and comprises a trough structure 41 which is part of the working space 2.

[0069] FIG. 5 shows a second perspective view of the can sealer 1000 according to the disclosure.

[0070] In the process for sealing the cans, lids are fed to the cans, the cans are clamped between a machine bottom part 4 and the machine upper part 5 on a rotor 42 and are sealed by the sealing heads 53. The sealed can is conveyed by another rotor to the container discharge.

[0071] The cans are open during transport in the can sealer 1000, which is why the entire working space 2 is to be understood as a hygiene zone. The machine is equipped with the casing 1 to separate the hygiene zone and to ensure personal safety.

[0072] As described above, the machine bottom part 4 comprises the support plate 41. However, the machine bottom part 4 can preferably be an integral part of the casing 1 such that the support plate 41 would be considered a bottom surface 41 of the working space 2 or the trough structure.

[0073] In addition, the casing 1 comprises a mounting plate 8 with a mounting opening 22. Here, the machine upper part 5 is arranged in the mounting opening 22 in such a way that the machine upper part 5 partially projects into the working space 2. A first section 51 of the machine upper part 5 thus projects into the working space 2, while a second section 52 of the machine upper part 5 is arranged outside the working space 2. The sealing heads 53 are thereby arranged on the first section 51.

[0074] On the other hand, the second section 52 is attached to the casing 1. For this purpose, the second section 52 is screwed to an intermediate plate 54, which is supported on the mounting plate 8 of the casing 1.

[0075] In addition, the machine upper part 5 comprises a lifting mechanism 7. The components relevant to the seaming process project into the working space 2 through the mounting plate 8, which is firmly connected to the supporting casing 1. The opening 22 and the other breaches are sealed by wipers. Due to the lifting mechanism 7, the machine upper part 5 can be adjusted to the correct height depending on the package to be processed.

[0076] FIG. 6 shows a schematic view of a sealing head 53 with a can 100 to be sealed and a can lid 101.

[0077] In addition, a clamping device is shown which comprises a can support with lifting station 23 and a seaming head 55, and a seaming roll 57 rotatably mounted about a seaming shaft 56 and having a seaming roll profile 111. The can lid 101 is arranged centered above the can opening 100. The can 100 has a circumferential can flange in the area of the can opening, and the can lid 101 has a circumferential can lid flange.

[0078] During the sealing process, the seaming roll 57 is brought into contact with the can flange and the can lid flange via the seaming roll profile 111. In this process, the can flange and the can lid flange are pressed together via the seaming roll 57 by a force acting substantially radially. The pressing is effected by a continuous rolling of the seaming roll 57 in the circumferential direction along the circumference of the can opening. By seaming the can 100 with the can lid 101, a double seam is preferably made. For this purpose, however, a second seaming roll not shown here is used.

[0079] For seaming, the can 100 is rotated by the clamping device by rotating the seaming head 55 by the seaming shaft 58 about the seaming axis X.

[0080] FIG. 7A shows a top view of a can sealer 1000 of the state of the art with the doors 9 open.

[0081] The space required for the telescopic columns 3 and the covering 1 lead to the fact that the machine operator for adjustment work sometimes stands far away from the components to be adjusted. The freedom of movement around the sealer during adjustment work is restricted by the open doors 9. The operator must walk around the doors 9.

[0082] This can be avoided by the can sealer 1000 according to the disclosure with doors 9 according to FIG. 7B.

[0083] The accessibility for adjustment work is significantly improved by the use of doors 91 with one-sided attachment and a lifting door 92, which improve the freedom of movement around the sealer 1000.

[0084] The disclosure is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. Other variations of the disclosed embodiments can be understood and effected by persons skilled in the art in practicing a claimed disclosure from a study of the drawings, the disclosure, and the dependent claims. In the claims, the word comprising does not exclude other elements or steps, and the indefinite article a or an does not exclude a plurality. The mere fact that certain measures are repeated in mutually different dependent claims does not mean that a combination of these measures cannot be advantageously used. Any reference signs in the claims should not be interpreted as limiting the scope.

[0085] In all embodiments, the machine upper part is preferably supported on the machine bottom part exclusively via the casing and not by any other supports apart from the casing. The casing surrounds the working space, i.e., the space in which the sealing process/seaming process takes place.