Abstract
A device for processing, in particular for ultrasound welding, of packaging sleeves and/or packagings includes at least two tools for processing, in particular for ultrasound welding, of packaging sleeves. Each tool has an operating region. The tools are supported in such a manner that there is produced between the operating regions a gap whose longitudinal direction corresponds to the transport direction of the packaging sleeves, and the tools are supported in such a manner that the size of the gap can be changed. In order also to enable continuous welding of the packaging sleeves in a reliable manner with changing material thicknesses, there is provided at least one parallel spring on which at least one of the tools is movably supported transversely relative to the transport direction of the packaging sleeves.
Claims
1.-15. (canceled)
16. A device for processing of packaging sleeves or packagings, comprising: at least two tools for processing of packaging sleeves, and at least one parallel spring on which at least one of the tools is movably supported transversely relative to a transport direction of the packaging sleeves, wherein each tool has an operating region, wherein the tools are supported in such a manner that there is produced between the operating regions a gap whose longitudinal direction corresponds to the transport direction of the packaging sleeves, and wherein the tools are supported in such a manner that the size of the gap can be changed, wherein one of the tools is a sonotrode, wherein one of the tools is an anvil, and wherein the sonotrode and the anvil have rotation axes which are arranged parallel with each other, further comprising a conveyor belt having cells for receiving the packaging sleeves.
17. The device according to claim 16, wherein the at least one parallel spring comprises at least two leaf springs which are arranged parallel with each other.
18. The device according to claim 17, wherein the leaf springs of the at least one parallel spring are spaced apart from each other by at least two spacer elements.
19. The device according to claim 16, wherein the at least one parallel spring has in a transverse direction of the gap a stiffness in the range between 0.5 N/mm and 350 N/mm.
20. The device according to claim 16, wherein the at least one parallel spring comprises two or more parallel springs, and wherein at least one of the tools is supported on two or more of the parallel springs.
21. The device according to claim 20, wherein the parallel springs are connected to each other by means of a bridge.
22. The device according to claim 16, wherein the at least one parallel spring extends in the vertical direction of the gap.
23. The device according to claim 16, wherein the at least one parallel spring extends in the horizontal direction of the gap.
24. The device according to claim 16, wherein the sonotrode is supported on the at least one parallel spring.
25. The device according to claim 16, wherein the anvil is supported on the at least one parallel spring.
26. A method for processing of packaging sleeves or packagings with the device of claim 16, the method comprising: inserting a packaging sleeve into a cell of the conveyor; guiding the packaging sleeve to the at least two tools; and processing the packaging sleeve with the at least two tools.
27. The method according to claim 26, wherein processing the packaging sleeve comprises welding the packaging sleeve.
28. The method according to claim 26, wherein the packaging sleeve is configured to receive foodstuffs.
29. The device according to claim 16, wherein the at least two tools are configured for ultrasound welding of the packaging sleeve.
30. The device according to claim 19, wherein the at least one parallel spring has in the transverse direction of the gap a stiffness in the range between 4.0 N/mm and 100 N/mm.
31. The device according to claim 19, wherein the at least one parallel spring has in the transverse direction of the gap a stiffness in the range between 5.0 N/mm and 45 N/mm.
Description
[0025] The invention is explained in greater detail below with reference to a drawing which illustrates only a preferred embodiment. In the drawings:
[0026] FIG. 1A shows a blank known from the prior art for folding a packaging sleeve,
[0027] FIG. 1B shows a packaging sleeve which is known from the prior art and which is formed from the blank shown in FIG. 1A, in the state folded flat,
[0028] FIG. 1C shows the packaging sleeve from FIG. 1B in the state folded open,
[0029] FIG. 1D shows the packaging sleeve from FIG. 1C with pre-folded base and gable faces,
[0030] FIG. 1E shows the packaging sleeve from FIG. 1C after welding,
[0031] FIG. 1F is a plan view of the packaging sleeve from FIG. 1E,
[0032] FIG. 2 is a plan view of a device according to the invention for ultrasound welding of packaging sleeves,
[0033] FIG. 3 is a side view of the device from FIG. 2 in the plane of section III-III in FIG. 2, and
[0034] FIG. 4 is a front view of the device from FIG. 2 in the plane of section IV-IV from FIG. 3.
[0035] FIG. 1A illustrates a blank 1 which is known from the prior art and from which a packaging sleeve can be formed. The blank 1 may comprise a plurality of layers of different materials, for example, paper, cardboard, plastics material or metal, in particular aluminium. The blank 1 has a plurality of folding lines 2 which are intended to facilitate the folding of the blank 1 and which divide the blank 1 into a plurality of faces. The blank 1 may be subdivided into a first side face 3, a second side face 4, a front face 5, a rear face 6, a sealing face 7, base faces 8 and gable faces 9. From the blank 1, a packaging sleeve can be formed by the blank 1 being folded in such a manner that the sealing face 7 can be connected to the front face 5, in particular welded.
[0036] FIG. 1B shows a packaging sleeve 10 known from the prior art in the state folded flat. The regions of the packaging sleeve already described in connection with FIG. 1A are indicated in FIG. 1B with corresponding reference numerals. The packaging sleeve 10 is formed from the blank 1 shown in FIG. 1A. To this end, the blank 1 was folded in such a manner that the sealing face 7 and the front face 5 are arranged so as to overlap so that the two faces can be welded to each other in a planar manner. Consequently, a longitudinal seam 11 is produced. In FIG. 1B, the packaging sleeve 10 is illustrated in a state folded flat. In this state, a side face 4 (concealed in FIG. 1B) is located below the front face 5 whilst the other side face 3 is located on the rear face 6 (concealed in FIG. 1B). In the state folded flat, a plurality of packaging sleeves 10 can be stacked in a particularly space-saving manner. Therefore, the packaging sleeves 10 are often stacked at the location of production and transported in stacks to the location of filling. Only there are the packaging sleeves 10 unstacked and folded open in order to be able to be filled with contents, for example, with foodstuffs.
[0037] In FIG. 1C, the packaging sleeve 10 from FIG. 1B is illustrated in the state folded open. In this instance, the regions of the packaging sleeve 10 already described in connection with FIG. 1A or FIG. 1B are also indicated with corresponding reference numerals. The state folded open is intended to be understood to be a configuration in which an angle of approximately 90 is formed between the two adjacent faces 3, 4, 5, 6, respectively, so that the packaging sleeve 10depending on the shape of these faceshas a square or rectangular cross-section. Accordingly, the opposing side faces 3, 4 are arranged parallel with each other. The same applies to the front face 5 and the rear face 6.
[0038] FIG. 1D shows the packaging sleeve 10 from FIG. 1C in the pre-folded state, that is to say, in a state in which the fold lines 2 both in the region of the base faces 8 and in the region of the gable faces 9 have been pre-folded. Those regions of the base faces 8 and the gable faces 9 which adjoin the front face 5 and the rear face 6 are also referred to as rectangular faces 12. The rectangular faces 12 are folded inwards during the pre-folding operation and subsequently form the base or the gable of the packaging. Those regions of the base faces 8 and the gable faces 9 which adjoin the side faces 3, 4 are in contrast referred to as triangular faces 13. The triangular faces 13 are folded outwards during the pre-folding operation and form protruding regions of excess material which are also referred to as lugs 14 and in a subsequent production stepfor instance, by means of adhesive methodsare placed on the packaging.
[0039] In FIG. 1E, the packaging sleeve 10 from FIG. 1D is shown after the welding operation, that is to say, in the filled and closed state. In the region of the base faces 8 and in the region of the gable faces 9, a fin seam 15 is produced after the closure. In FIG. 1E, the lugs 14 and the fin seam 15 protrude. Both the lugs 14 and the fin seam 15 are placed in a subsequent production step, for instance, by means of adhesive methods.
[0040] FIG. 1F is a plan view of the packaging sleeve 10 from FIG. 1E. FIG. 1F additionally contains an enlarged view of the region of the longitudinal seam 11. In the perspective view illustrated, it can be seen that the fin seam 15 of the packaging sleeve 10 in the region of the longitudinal seam 11 has a thickness D.sub.2 which is greater than the thickness D.sub.1 in the remaining region of the fin seam 15. This is a result of the fact that the end region 5 of the front face 5 and the end region 7 of the sealing face 7 form an overlap in the region of the longitudinal seam 11. In the region of the longitudinal seam 11, the fin seam 15 thus has an at least three-layered structure in place of a two-layered structure. The thickness D.sub.1 of the fin seam 15 is, for example, in the range between 0.8 mm and 1.0 mm, whilst the increased thickness D.sub.2 of the fin seam 15 is, for example, in the range between 1.2 mm and 1.5 mm. The transition between the different thicknesses is also referred to as a layer step. In addition to the overlapping, one or both end regions 5, 7 can be folded over. A folding-over of the inner end region (in FIG. 1F: end region 7) has the advantage that only the innermost layer of the material of the blank 1 can come into contact with the content of the packaging. This results in other layers of the material of the blank 1, for example, a central layer of cardboard, being separated from the content of the packaging. In this manner, both the sealing of the packaging and hygienic requirements are ensured. A complete folding-over of the inner end region 7 would, however, lead to a further increase of the thickness of the fin seam 15. There may therefore be provision for only a few layers of the end region 7, in particular the innermost layer of the end region 7, to be folded over. To this end, the remaining layers are separated or peeled away before the folding-over operation.
[0041] FIG. 2 is a plan view of a device 16 according to the invention for ultrasound welding of packaging sleeves 10. There is further illustrated a conveyor belt 17 with cells 18 in which the packaging sleeves 10 are first guided to the device 16 and are further transported after the welding operation. The transport direction T of the packaging sleeves 10 therefore extends parallel with the conveyor belt 17. The device 16 comprises two tools 19 for ultrasound welding of the packaging sleeves 10, wherein, in the device 16 which is illustrated in FIG. 2 and which is preferred in this regard, one tool is a sonotrode 20 and the other tool is an anvil 21. However, other tools 19not illustrated in FIG. 2can also be used. The sonotrode 20 has an operating region 20A with a round cross-sectional surface-area and the anvil 21 has a round operating region 21A with a cross-sectional surface-area which is also round.
[0042] The sonotrode 20 and the anvil 21 are supported in such a manner that there is produced between the operating regions 20A, 21A a gap S whose longitudinal direction X.sub.s corresponds to the transport direction T of the packaging sleeves 10. The gap S additionally has a vertical direction Y.sub.S and a transverse direction Z.sub.s which extend perpendicularly relative to each other and perpendicularly relative to the longitudinal direction X.sub.S of the gap S (see coordinate system in FIG. 2). The sonotrode 20 is rotatably supported about a rotation axis 20B and the anvil 21 is rotatably supported about a rotation axis 21B. The two rotation axes 20B, 21B are arranged parallel with each other and extend in the vertical direction Y.sub.s of the gap S (that is to say, vertically). The sonotrode 20 has an internal drive (which is therefore not visible in FIG. 2), whilst the anvil 21 has an external drive 22 which drives the anvil 21 via a belt 23.
[0043] In the device 16 illustrated in FIG. 2, the packaging sleeves 10 are guided with their protruding fin seam 15 in the transport direction T through the gap S, wherein the operating regions 20A, 21A touch the regions of the packaging sleeves 10 which are intended to be welded (in this instance: the fin seam 15) and weld them to each other. In order in spite of the different thicknesses D.sub.1, D.sub.2 of the fin seam 15 to achieve a uniform pressing force and consequently reliable welding, the anvil 21 is supported on a base plate 24 in such a manner that the size of the gap S can be changed in the transverse direction Z.sub.s. The support of the anvil 21 is carried out in the device 16 illustrated by way of example in FIG. 2 by means of two parallel springs 25 which each comprise two leaf springs 26A, 26B which are arranged parallel with each other. The leaf springs 26A, 26B of the two parallel springs 25 extend in a vertical direction and are spaced apart from each other by means of two spacer elements 27. The two parallel springs 25 are connected to each other by means of a bridge 28 to which the anvil 21 is secured. As a result of the resilient support of the anvil 21, the anvil 21 can extend depending on the thickness of the fin seam 15 (increase of the gap S) or become compressed (reduction of the gap S) so that the operating region 21A of the anvil 21 acts on the fin seam 15 with a pressing force which is as constant as possible.
[0044] In FIG. 3, the device 16 from FIG. 2 is illustrated as a side view in the plane of section III-III from FIG. 2. For those regions of the device 16 which have already been described in connection with FIG. 2, corresponding reference numerals are used in FIG. 3. In the side view, the support of the anvil 21 on the two vertically extending parallel springs 25 can be seen particularly clearly. In the embodiment of the device 16 illustrated in FIG. 3 and preferred in this regard, the leaf springs 26A, 26B of the parallel spring 25 extend in the vertical direction Y.sub.s of the gap S and consequently in a vertical direction. The parallel spring 25 is secured with the upper end thereof to the base plate 24, whilst the lower end of the parallel spring 25 is a free end. As an alternative to the configuration illustrated in FIG. 3, the leaf springs 26A, 26B of the parallel spring 25 could also extend in the longitudinal direction X.sub.s of the gap S and consequently in a horizontal direction. As a result of the parallel path of the leaf springs 26A, 26B, the anvil 21 is displaced in a parallel manner in the event of extension and compression in the transverse direction Z.sub.s of the gap S, without being tilted. The rotation axis 21B of the anvil 21 is thus intended in every position of the anvil 21 to extend in the vertical direction Y.sub.s of the gap S and consequently vertically. In a tilted position of the anvil 21 and/or the sonotrode 20prevented by the inventionthere is the disadvantage that the operating regions 20A, 20B act on the fin seam 15 only with the edge thereof, whereby the quality of the welding decreases or the fin seam 15 is even cut. In contrast, as a result of the parallel spring 25, a parallel displacement of the anvil 21 in the transverse direction Z.sub.s of the gap S is enabled, which avoids the disadvantages described above.
[0045] FIG. 4 is a front view of the device 16 from FIG. 2 in the plane of section IV-IV from FIG. 3. For those regions of the device 16 which have already been described in connection with FIG. 2 or FIG. 3, corresponding reference numerals are used in FIG. 4. For reasons of greater clarity, the plane of section IV-IV is selected in such a manner that the sonotrode 20 cannot be seen in FIG. 4. In the front view, it can clearly be seen that the anvil 21 is supported on the bridge 28 centrally between both vertically extending parallel springs 25. To this end, connection elements 29, for example, screws may be provided. As a result of the bridge 28, the forces during extension and compression of the anvil 21 are transmitted in a uniform manner to both parallel springs 25. This has the advantage that the leaf springs 26A, 26B of the two parallel springs 25 are subjected only to a bending load and not a torsion load. This also ensures a parallel displacement of the anvil 21 and prevents the anvil 21 from assuming a tilted position. The rotation axis 21B of the anvil 21 is thus intended to extend in each position in the vertical direction Y.sub.s of the gap S and consequently vertically.
LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS
[0046] 1: Blank [0047] 2: Folding line [0048] 3, 4: Side faces [0049] 5: Front face [0050] 5: End region (of the front face 5) [0051] 6: Rear face [0052] 7: Sealing face [0053] 7 End region (of the sealing face 7) [0054] 8: Base face [0055] 9: Gable face [0056] 10: Packaging sleeve [0057] 11: Longitudinal seam [0058] 12: Rectangular face [0059] 13: Triangular face [0060] 14: Lug [0061] 15: Fin seam [0062] 16: Device for ultrasound welding [0063] 17: Conveyor belt [0064] 18: Cell [0065] 19: Tool [0066] 20: Sonotrode/Rolling sonotrode [0067] 20A: Operating region (of the sonotrode 20) [0068] 20B: Rotation axis (of the sonotrode 20) [0069] 21: Anvil/Rolling anvil [0070] 21A: Operating region (of the anvil 21) [0071] 21B: Rotation axis (of the anvil 21) [0072] 22: Drive (of the anvil 21) [0073] 23: Belt [0074] 24: Base plate [0075] 25: Parallel spring [0076] 26A, 26B: Leaf spring [0077] 27: Spacer element [0078] 28: Bridge [0079] 29: Connection elements [0080] D.sub.1: Thickness (of the fin seam 15) [0081] D.sub.2: Increased thickness (of the fin seam 15) [0082] S: Gap [0083] T: Transport direction (of the packaging sleeve 10) [0084] X.sub.s: Longitudinal direction (of the gap S) [0085] Y.sub.s: Vertical direction (of the gap S) [0086] Z.sub.s: Transverse direction (of the gap S)
