METHOD FOR MONITORING SEALER

Abstract

A method for monitoring. seaming tools of a sealer includes providing the sealer with a seaming tool to attach a lid to a container and a controller to control and monitor the sealer, the seaming tool including an identification element by which the seaming tool is capable of being uniquely identified, identifying the seaming tool by the identification element, storing the identification of the seaming tool in the controller, and monitoring a number of containers sealed by the seaming tool by the identification stored in the controller.

Claims

1. A method for monitoring seaming tools of a sealer, the method comprising: providing the sealer with a seaming tool to attach a lid to a container and a controller to control and monitor the sealer ; the seaming tool comprising an identification element by which the seaming tool is capable of being uniquely identified; identifying the seaming tool by the identification element; and storing the identification of the seaming tool in the controller; monitoring a number of containers sealed by the seaming tool by the identification stored in the controller,

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the seater comprises an identification device which is moved to the identification element and identifies the seaming tool by the identification element.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the identification element is a transponder.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the transponder is a passive transponder, and the identification device is designed as a transmitting/receiving unit and provides energy to the passive transponder for identification.

5. The method according to claim 2, wherein the identification element is an onto-electronically readable identification element.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the identification device is an opto-electronic reading device and reads the onto-electronically readable identification element for identification.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the opto-electronically readable identification element is a bar code or a QR code.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein a limit value for sealed containers is stored in the controller and a wear signal is output via the controller after the limit value for the seaming tool is reached.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the seaming tool comprises a seaming shaft rotatable about a seaming axis and a seaming device arranged at one end of the seaming shaft.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the monitoring the number of containers sealed by the seaming tool is carried out by a rotation measurement at the seaming shaft or via a counting of the lids by a lid de-stacking device of the sealer.

11. The method according to claim 9, wherein the seaming shaft is a. seaming head shaft, and the seaming device is a seaming head configured to fix the lid on the container,

12. The method according to claim 10, wherein the seaming shall is a. seaming roller shaft, and the seaming device is a seaming roller configured to seam the lid to the container.

13. A sealer configured to carry out the method according to claim 1.

14. The sealer according to claim 13, comprising the seaming tool configured to attach the lid to the container and the controller configured to control and monitor the sealer, the seaming tool comprising the identification element configured uniquely identify the seeming tool.

15. The sealer according to claim 14, comprising an arrangement (14) arranged in a working space of the sealer with a plurality of sealing stations comprising the seaming tool.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0043] The embodiments of the invention will be explained in more detail hereinafter with reference to the drawings.

[0044] FIG. 1 illustrates a plan view of a can sealer;

[0045] FIG. 2 illustrates a side view of a sealing station.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0046] FIG. 1 shows a plan view of a can sealer 1000 according to the disclosure.

[0047] The can sealer 1000 according to FIG. 1 comprises two lid providing devices 11 for providing a lid 101 to a lid feeder 10, which transports the lids 101 to the can 100. The lid feeder 10 comprises a lid movement device 4 which is arranged in a movable manner in such a way that the lid 101 can be moved to the can 100 by the lid movement device 4. For this purpose, the lid movement device 4 is attached to a shaft and is arranged to be rotatable by this shaft, so that the lid 101 can be moved by a rotation of the lid movement device 4.

[0048] In addition, the lid feeder 10 comprises a lid guide 15A, 15B arranged on the lid movement device 4 for guiding the lid 101 to the can 100. For this purpose, the lid guide 15A, has a first rail 15A and a second rail 15B extending parallel to the first rail 15A, wherein the lid 101 is arranged between the rails 15A, 15B in such a way that the lid 101 is guided by the movement of a lid. carrier 19 of the lid movement device 4 between the rails 15A, 15B in the direction of point Z, where the lid 101 is united with the can 100 entering along A from a. container feeder 12.

[0049] In addition, the sealer 1000 comprises a seaming process/arrangement 14 having sealing stations in the form of seaming stations for sealing the can 100 with the lid 101. The seaming process 14 is arranged in a working space 2 of the can sealer 1000 surrounded by a housing 3.

[0050] The lid 101 is introduced along C by the lid providing device 11 into the working space 2 of the can sealer 1000 and is guided by the lid guide 15A, 13B to the can 100.

[0051] However, before the lids are placed on the lid guides 15A ; 15B, a de-stacking process takes place in which the lids 101 are individually separated from a stack.

[0052] Then, the cans 100 with lids 101 are guided to the seaming process 14. When being fed to the seaming process 14, the can 100 and the lid 101 are gassed by a gassing device 5 arranged stationary at the lid feeder 10 and the container feeder 12. Subsequently, the can 100 is clamped with the lid 101 and sealed by the seaming process 14. The sealed can is conveyed by a further rotor into a can outlet 18.

[0053] FIG. 2 shows a. schematic representation of a sealing station 1 with the can 100 to be sealed and the can lid 101 in which the control device 21 according to the disclosure is connected to an identification device 20.

[0054] The sealing station 1 comprises a can support with a lifting station 23, a seaming head 9 and a seaming roller 8 rotatably mounted about a seaming shaft 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.

[0055] During the sealing process, the seaming roller 8 is brought into contact with the can flange and the can lid flange via the seaming roller profile 111. In this process, the can flange and the can lid flange are pressed together via the seaming roller 8 by a force acting substantially radially. The pressing is effected by a continuous rolling of the seaming roller 8 in the circumferential direction along the circumference of the can opening.

[0056] For seaming, the can 100 is rotated by a clamping device made up of a lifting station 23 and a seaming head 9, by rotating the seaming head 9 by the seaming shaft about the seaming axis X.

[0057] A monitoring of the seaming roller 8 and/or the seaming head 9 can be carried out by means the control device (electronic controller) 1.

[0058] For this purpose, the seaming roller 8 comprises a first identification element 6 and the seaming head 9 comprises a second identification element 7, by which the seaming roller 8 and the seaming head 9 can be uniquely identified (with respect to seaming rollers/seaming heads of other sealing stations).

[0059] The seaming roller 8 and the seaming head 9 are identified by the identification device which moves to the identification elements 6, 7. For this purpose, the identification elements 6, 7 are designed as transponders which are read out.

[0060] After reading out, the identification of the seaming roller 8 and the seaming head 9 is stored in the control device 21. Subsequently, a number of cans sealed by seaming roller 8 and seaming head 9 can be monitored.

[0061] For this purpose, a counter is stored in each case in the control device 21 for the seaming roller 8 and the seaming head 9.

[0062] By counting the can lids 101 by the lid de-stacking device of the sealer, the stored counter can be increased, since the number of the can lids 101 and thus the number of the sealed cans can be determined by the lid de-stacking, device. if the sealer is stopped after a production run, the counters of the seaming roller 8 and the seaming head 9 are increased by the corresponding number of cans, in consideration of the number of seaming stations 1.

[0063] 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.