Object orienting machine

Abstract

A machine (1) for orienting objects (T) includes a hopper (2) for receiving the objects (T) in bulk and a belt conveyor (3) with a plurality of small blades to withdraw the objects (T) from the hopper (2). The belt conveyor (3) has an ascending length (5) suitable to select the objects (T) having a predetermined orientation, so that, at the upper end of the ascending length (5) only the objects (T) having all the same predetermined orientation are present on the belt conveyor (3). The small blades form a rest surface facing upwardly in the ascending length (5) and have a plurality of reliefs suitable to prevent free rolling of the objects (T) rested on the rest surface.

Claims

1. A machine for orienting objects, comprising: a hopper for receiving the objects in bulk, a belt conveyor with a plurality of blades to withdraw the objects from the hopper, the belt conveyor having an ascending length suitable to select the objects having a predetermined orientation, so that, at the upper end of the ascending length only the objects having all the same predetermined orientation are present on the belt conveyor, an extraction device, arranged downstream of the ascending length of the belt conveyor, to extract the objects from the belt, wherein the blades form a rest surface facing upwardly in the ascending length and having a plurality of projections suitable to prevent a free rolling of the objects rested on said rest surface; and wherein the rest surface forms a plurality of cavities open on a side opposite the belt conveyor and open in a movement direction of the belt, wherein said projections form partition walls between two neighboring cavities.

2. The machine according to claim 1, wherein the cavities widen from a minimum width adjacent to the belt conveyor up to a maximum width at a free edge of the blade.

3. The machine according to claim 1, wherein the extraction device is configured to detach the objects from the rest surface in a detachment direction that substantially coincides with a movement direction of the belt conveyor at a detachment moment.

4. The machine according to claim 1, wherein the extraction device is configured to detach the objects from the rest surface in a detachment direction transverse to a plane of the belt conveyor at a detachment moment.

5. The machine according to claim 1, wherein the extraction device is configured to carry out detachment of the objects from the blades and withdrawal of the objects from the belt conveyor by gravitational fall of the objects.

6. A machine for orienting objects, comprising: a hopper for receiving the objects in bulk, a belt conveyor with a plurality of blades to withdraw the objects from the hopper, the belt conveyor having an ascending length suitable to select the objects having a predetermined orientation, so that, at the upper end of the ascending length only the objects having all the same predetermined orientation are present on the belt conveyor, an extraction device, arranged downstream of the ascending length of the belt conveyor, to extract the objects from the belt, wherein the blades form a rest surface facing upwardly in the ascending length and having a plurality of projections suitable to prevent a free rolling of the objects rested on said rest surface; and wherein the projections of a same blade form a plurality of ribs that are substantially mutually parallel and extending in a direction perpendicular to a plane of the belt, as seen in the cross-section of the belt.

7. The machine according to claim 6, wherein said ribs have a constant cross-sectional shape.

8. The machine according to claim 6, wherein the ribs have a width decreasing from a maximum width at the belt up to a minimum width at a free edge of the blade.

9. The machine according to claim 6, wherein the ribs are in a cross-sectional shape of: a cusp with a rounded vertex facing a movement direction of the belt, or trapezoidal with the minor base facing the movement direction of the belt, or substantially rectangular.

10. The machine according to claim 6, wherein the extraction device is configured to detach the objects from the rest surface in a detachment direction that substantially coincides with a movement direction of the belt conveyor at a detachment moment.

11. A machine for orienting objects, comprising: a hopper for receiving the objects in bulk, a belt conveyor with a plurality of blades to withdraw the objects from the hopper, the belt conveyor having an ascending length suitable to select the objects having a predetermined orientation, so that, at the upper end of the ascending length only the objects having all the same predetermined orientation are present on the belt conveyor, an extraction device, arranged downstream of the ascending length of the belt conveyor, to extract the objects from the belt, wherein the blades form a rest surface facing upwardly in the ascending length and having a plurality of ribs suitable to prevent a free rolling of the objects rested on said rest surface, and wherein the plurality of ribs are substantially mutually parallel and extend in a direction perpendicular to a plane of the belt, as seen in the cross-section of the belt.

12. The machine according to claim 6, wherein the extraction device is configured to carry out detachment of the objects from the blades and withdrawal of the objects from the belt conveyor by gravitational fall of the objects.

13. A machine for orienting objects, comprising: a hopper for receiving the objects in bulk, a belt conveyor with a plurality of blades to withdraw the objects from the hopper, the belt conveyor having an ascending length suitable to select the objects having a predetermined orientation, so that, at the upper end of the ascending length only the objects having all the same predetermined orientation are present on the belt conveyor, an extraction device, arranged downstream of the ascending length of the belt conveyor, to extract the objects from the belt, wherein the blades form a rest surface facing upwardly in the ascending length, wherein the rest surface forms a plurality of cavities open on a side opposite the belt conveyor and open in a movement direction of the belt, said rest surface having a plurality of partition walls between two neighboring cavities suitable to prevent a free rolling of the objects rested on said rest surface.

14. The machine according to claim 6, wherein the extraction device is configured to detach the objects from the rest surface in a detachment direction transverse to a plane of the belt conveyor at a detachment moment.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) In order to better understand the present invention and appreciate the advantages thereof, some exemplary, non-limiting embodiments thereof will be described herein below, with reference to the Figures, in which:

(2) FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a portion of a bladed belt conveyor of the prior art with a cylindrical object rested;

(3) FIG. 2 is a front view of the portion of bladed belt conveyor in FIG. 1;

(4) FIG. 3 illustrates the possibility of undesired rolling and rotation of an object rested on a belt conveyor of an orienting machine of the prior art;

(5) FIG. 4 is a front view of an object orienting machine according to the invention;

(6) FIG. 5 is a sectional view according to the plane V-V in FIG. 4;

(7) FIGS. 6,7 and 8 are enlarged views of details in FIG. 5;

(8) FIG. 9 is a longitudinal sectional view of a portion of a bladed belt conveyor according to an embodiment of the invention;

(9) FIG. 10 is a front view of the portion of bladed belt conveyor in FIG. 9;

(10) FIG. 11 is a longitudinal sectional view of a portion of a bladed belt conveyor with a long cylindrical cap rested, according to an embodiment of the invention;

(11) FIG. 12 is a front view of the portion of bladed belt conveyor in FIG. 11;

(12) FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of the portion of bladed belt conveyor in FIG. 11;

(13) FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of the portion of bladed belt conveyor in FIG. 11 with rested objects having shapes that are mutually different;

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(14) With reference to the Figures, the invention will be described herein below with reference to a machine 1 for orienting caps T, in particular plastic caps having a cylindrical shape that are closed at one of the bases. However, the principles of the invention similarly apply also to different objects, for example, capsules for beverages, with a shape not necessarily cylindrical, e.g., frusto-conical, polygonal, bulging, etc.

(15) FIGS. 4 and 5 show the machine 1 for orienting caps T on the whole. The machine 1 comprises a hopper 2 receiving the caps T in bulk, a belt conveyor 3, set in motion by a pinion shaft 4, which withdraws the caps from the hopper 2 and which comprises an ascending length 5 for providing for the selection of the properly oriented caps T, as well as an extraction device 6, arranged downstream of the ascending length 5 (as seen in the movement direction 25) of the belt conveyor 3, providing for the withdrawal of the caps T from the machine 1 and the conveying thereof towards the successive stations of the manufacturing line.

(16) With particular reference to FIG. 6, an endless belt 7 is provided for on the bottom of the hopper 2 where the caps T are thrown in bulk, which operates in a continuous manner at a constant speed and drags the caps T towards a ramp 8 leading to the underlying belt conveyor 3.

(17) By virtue of the presence of a mobile partition wall 9, it is possible to adjust the flow of the caps T exiting the hopper 2.

(18) Small transversal blades 10 project from the belt conveyor 3, perpendicular or inclined with respect to the surface (or, in other terms, the plane) of the same belt 3, and having a width substantially equal to the belt width, so that the caps T coming from the ramp 8 are brought to arrange on the belt 3 in compartments defined by two successive small blades 10, respectively.

(19) Referring now to the FIGS. 4 and 5, once the caps T have been withdrawn from the hopper 2, the belt conveyor 3 extends along the above-mentioned ascending length 5, which allows the selection of the properly oriented caps T. Along the ascending length 5 of the belt conveyor 3, only those caps T the barycenter of which is nearest to the belt 3 surface continue the path, resting on the underlying small blade 10. On the contrary, those caps T the barycenter of which is farthest from the belt 3 surface fall back into the hopper 2 under the action of the force of gravity.

(20) In the non-limiting example of plastic caps T with a cylindrical shape that are closed at one of the bases, only those caps the closed base of which is rested against the belt 3 have a barycenter sufficiently near to the belt 3 to be able to pass the selection, while all the other caps fall back into the hopper 3.

(21) In this manner, in an upper portion or at the end of the ascending length 5 of the belt conveyor 3, only those caps T having all the same predetermined orientation are present on the belt conveyor 3.

(22) The extraction device 6 is provided for at the end of the ascending length 5 of the belt conveyor 3, illustrated schematically in FIG. 5.

(23) According to an aspect of the invention, the small blades 10 form a rest surface 22 (for the support of the objects T to be selected) facing upwardly in the ascending length 5 of the belt conveyor 3 and having a plurality of reliefs 23 suitable to prevent a free rolling of the objects T rested on said rest surface 22.

(24) By virtue of the reliefs 23, the tall caps with a ratio of width or diameter and length that is equal to or less than 1 are held laterally, preventing them from rotating (as illustrated in the FIGS. 11, 12), thereby obviating the drawbacks discussed with reference to the prior art.

(25) According to an embodiment, the rest surface 22 may form a plurality of cavities 24 or frontally open half-alveoli (in other terms: on the side opposite the side of the belt 3) and in the movement direction 25 of the belt 3, in which partition walls between two adjacent cavities form the above-mentioned reliefs 23. In this manner, the rest surface 22 does not hinder neither the reception of the objects T on the small blades 10, nor the desired fall of the misoriented objects from the small blades 10.

(26) Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the configuration of the rest surface 22 with reliefs 23 could be also employed for short caps, which do not have rotation problems (see FIG. 14).

(27) According to an embodiment, the reliefs 23 of a same small blade form a plurality of ribs that are substantially mutually parallel and extending in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the belt 3, as seen in the cross-section of the belt 3, as illustrated in the FIGS. 13 and 14.

(28) The ribs may be in a constant cross-sectional shape (in a sectional plane that is parallel to the plane of the belt 3). Alternatively, the width 26 of the ribs may decrease from a maximum width at the belt 3 up to a minimum width at the small blade 10 free edge.

(29) The ribs may be in the cross-sectional shape (in a sectional plane that is parallel to the belt 3 plane):

(30) of a cusp, preferably with a rounded vertex, or

(31) trapezoidal with the minor base facing in the movement direction 25 of the belt 3, or

(32) rectangular, possibly with a rounded free end (facing in the movement direction 25 of the belt 3).

(33) Similarly, the cavities 24 or the half-alveoli formed by the rest surface 22 may widen from a minimum width adjacent to the belt conveyor 3 up to a maximum width at the free edge 27, in order to receive objects with a non-cylindrical shape, such as, for example, coffer capsules usually having a frusto-conical shape.

(34) According to a further embodiment, the extraction device 6 is configured to separate/detach the objects with the predetermined orientation from the rest surface 22 in a detachment direction that:

(35) substantially coincides with the movement direction 25 of the belt conveyor 3 at the detachment moment, or

(36) is transversal, for example, perpendicular or inclined with respect to the plane of the belt conveyor 3 at the detachment moment.

(37) In this manner, the reliefs 23 cannot hinder the withdrawal of the oriented objects T.

(38) Advantageously, as it will be described in detail herein below, the extraction device 6 is configured so as to carry out the detachment of the objects T from the small blades 10 and the withdrawal of the objects T from the belt conveyor 3 by gravitational fall, e.g., in a descending length 19 of the belt conveyor 3.

(39) To this aim, the extraction device 6 may comprise a casing 11 comprising a first wall 12 and a second wall 12 opposite and facing the first wall 12, defining an interspace 13 therebetween, inside which the properly oriented caps T are let to fall downstream at the end of the ascending length 5 of the belt conveyor 3.

(40) Within the casing 11, between the first wall 12 and the second wall 12, an inclined surface 14 is provided, onto which the caps T fall and roll or slide towards an output conduit 15, to be conveyed towards the successive stations of the manufacturing line.

(41) In order to avoid obstructions in the case that the caps T get stacked in multiple overlapping rows on the inclined surface 14, an ejection conduit 16 may be arranged above the output conduit 15, through which those caps that have been possibly stacked above the caps taking the output conduit 15 are removed from the casing 11 and, preferably, brought to fall into the hopper 2.

(42) FIG. 7 illustrates an embodiment of the connection member that allows the caps T passing from the top of the ascending length 5 of the belt conveyor 3 to the extraction device 6. A substantially horizontal length 17 comes after the ascending length 5 of the belt conveyor 3. A confinement carter 18 is provided for starting from the horizontal length 17, which is arranged along (e.g., parallel to) the belt conveyor 3 and follows the profile thereof, at a distance from the belt 3 that is sufficiently reduced to prevent the caps T from escaping their position.

(43) A C- or U-shaped return length 19 comes after the horizontal length 17, at the end of which the caps T, rather than on the belt conveyor 3, rest on or are guided by the confinement carter 18 and are dragged thereon by the small blades 10.

(44) The return length 19 may be followed by a second horizontal length in the zone indicated by the reference 20. Downstream of the return length 19, a funnel or falling length 21 starts from the carter 18, in which the caps T, which are not held anymore by the small blades 10, enter, thereby falling within the casing 11 of the extraction device 6, and particularly within the interspace 13 between the first 12 and the second 12 walls of the casing 11, as described above.

(45) It is apparent that any other type of connection that allows the caps T falling within the extraction device casing, while continuing to be properly oriented, may be equally used.

(46) However, it shall be noticed that, by virtue of a connection member of the type described above, it is possible to position the extraction device 6 substantially aligned with the ascending length 5 of the belt conveyor 3 and the shoulders thereof, with the result that the machine 1 is particularly compact and with reduced overall dimensions.

(47) Those skilled in the art, with the aim of meeting contingent, specific needs, will be able to make further modifications and variations, all of which anyhow falling within the protection scope as defined in the appended claims.