Abstract
A metering machine for filling free-flowing media into cavities of a mould that is to be filled is described. The metering machine has at least one independent metering unit which includes two dispensers, with a respective dedicated drive, and a nozzle unit. The nozzle unit is common to the two dispensers.
Claims
1. A dosing machine for filling fluid media into cavities of a mold to be filled, wherein the dosing machine comprises at least one independent dosing unit comprising: first and second dispensers, each having a corresponding power unit, and a nozzle unit.
2. The dosing machine according to claim 1, wherein the at least one dosing unit comprises a common nozzle unit with first and second coaxially arranged nozzle ducts in order to fill first and second fluid media into a cavity of the mold by the first and second dispensers in a coextrusion process, wherein the power units of the first and second dispensers each comprises an eccentric screw pump.
3. The dosing machine according to claim 2, wherein the common nozzle unit of the first and second dispensers comprises a casing with first and second separable casing elements, in particular along a vertical place (V-H) of the dosing unit, in order to allow access to the first and second nozzle ducts.
4. The dosing machine according to claim 1, wherein the at least one dosing unit is designed configured as a self-sufficient dosing unit and the dosing machine is configured to comprise several, in particular at least two or three self-sufficient dosing units.
5. The dosing machine according to claim 1, wherein the dosing machine is configured such that the first or second dispensers of the dosing units, are connected to a common container.
6. The dosing machine according to claim 1, wherein the first and second dispensers are configured in such a way that the first and second dispensers are removable from the dosing machine and/or dismantlable for cleaning purposes by a provided tension lock (20).
7. The dosing machine according to claim 1, wherein the at least one dosing unit comprises a plurality of dosing units, and wherein the dosing machine and/or the plurality of dosing units are configured in such a way that distances between the dosing units are adaptable to a cavity distance between the cavities of the mold to be filled.
8. The dosing machine according to claim 7, wherein the dosing machine and/or the plurality of dosing units are/is configured in such a way that a connection of the dispensers to a container is adaptable to varying distances of the dosing units from one another.
9. The dosing-machine according to claim 1, wherein the dosing machine and/or the at least one dosing unit are/is configured in such a way that the mold to be filled with cavities is movable in 3-axes.
10. The dosing machine according to claim 1, wherein the dosing machine and/or the at least one dosing unit are configured in such a way that the mold to be filled or a container from a removal position is configured to be removed, filled in the dosing machine and deposited on a depositing position.
11. The dosing machine according to claim 1, wherein the dosing machine and/or the at least one dosing unit are configured in such a way that different counter moulds, containers or other cavities are configured to be processed in different sizes by automatically adjustable stoppers.
12. The dosing machine according claim 1, further comprising a deposit and/or removal station is equipped with a vibrating unit and/or a heating station.
13. A method for operating a dosing machine according to claim 1, the method comprising: filling fluid media into the first and second dispensers; and extruding the fluid media by the power units through the nozzle unit into a cavity within the mold.
14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the nozzle unit of the first and second dispensers comprises first and second coaxially arranged nozzle ducts and wherein first and second fluid media are filled into the cavity within the mold by using a coextrusion process.
15. The dosing machine according to claim 6, wherein the first and second dispensers are removable from the dosing machine and/or dismantlable for cleaning without use of tools.
Description
[0038] Further advantages and details of the invention can be seen from the following description of preferred embodiments of the invention and from the merely schematic drawings.
[0039] It shows:
[0040] FIG. 1: A perspective view of the complete dosing system,
[0041] FIG. 2a: A perspective view of a self-contained dosing unit,
[0042] FIG. 2b: A cross-sectional view of a mold with cavity to be filled,
[0043] FIG. 3: A perspective view of spread dosing units,
[0044] FIG. 4: A perspective view of spread dosing units arranged at an angle to each other,
[0045] FIGS. 5a-5d: Views of a nozzle unit casing in the open state,
[0046] FIG. 6a: A perspective view of a gantry with 3-axis and universal gripper,
[0047] FIG. 6b: A detailed view of a cavity as shown in FIG. 4a,
[0048] FIG. 7a, 7b: Mold gripper for different mold formats.
[0049] Identical elements or elements with the same function are marked with the same reference numbers in the figures.
[0050] FIG. 1 shows a complete dosing system with container 11 and dosing units 12 consisting of dispenser 14 with dispenser power unit 18 and nozzle unit 16. In particular, FIG. 1 shows a dosing machine 10 with several, in particular four, dosing units 12 aligned parallel to one another along a longitudinal direction L. The dosing machine 10 shown is merely an exemplary embodiment, whereby the number of dosing units 12 and/or a distance d along the longitudinal direction L between the dosing units 12 can be varied as desired. In particular, the dosing unit 12 can thus be adapted to a mold 26 with cavities 28 to be filled, for example as shown in FIG. 6a. In particular, the distance d can be adapted to the cavity spacing f shown in FIG. 6b.
[0051] Such a variation of the dosing machine 10 is possible in particular because the dosing units 12 with dispensers 14 are not connected to a common distribution plate for simultaneously filling several cavities 28. Preferably, the dosing unit 12 with two dispensers 14 comprises a nozzle unit 16 for filling a single cavity 28, whereby several dosing units 12 are configured to be connected to one another according to the modular principle as shown in FIG. 1 for simultaneously filling several cavities 28.
[0052] The dispensing unit 12 in FIG. 2a shows a self-sufficient unit consisting of dispenser 14 with nozzle unit 16 and the dispenser power unit 18, as well as tension locks 20 for easy assembly and disassembly. Preferably, the dosing unit 12 comprises two dispensers 14, in particular a first and a second dispenser 15a, 15b, each with independent power units 18, the two dispensers 14 being connected to the common nozzle unit 16.
[0053] Particularly preferably, the nozzle unit 16 according to FIG. 2a comprises two lateral inlet sections 30 for receiving the dispensers 14. Preferably, an outlet section 32 of the nozzle unit 16 is formed along a vertical direction V, in particular in the gravity direction g. The inlet sections 30 are preferably aligned in such a way that the dispensers 14 can be arranged with an extension axis E at an angle a, in particular between 15 and 30, above a horizontal plane H-L on the nozzle unit 16. This results in particular in a splayed or V-shaped arrangement of the dispensers 14 on the nozzle unit 16. Preferably, a mass flow within the dosing unit 12 can thus be favored by means of gravity g in the direction of the outlet section 32.
[0054] In this context, the dosing unit 12 with the two dispensers 14 can preferably be arranged and/or designed with mirror symmetry with respect to a symmetry plane L-V of the dosing unit 12. Preferably, the two dispensers 14 are designed as identical components in order to simplify replacement and/or expansion as shown in FIG. 1. Furthermore, in this context, the inlet sections 30 are preferably arranged such that the extension axis E of the dispensers 14 are aligned parallel to a vertical place V-H of the nozzle unit 16. Advantageously, the dosing unit 12 can thus be designed in a particularly space-saving manner.
[0055] As FIG. 1 further shows, several dosing units 12 are configured to be arranged along the longitudinal direction L, in particular in the normal direction to the vertical place V-H, in a particularly space-saving manner with the distance d next to each other, in particular also directly next to each other.
[0056] Particularly preferably, the dosing units 12 are each arranged with a nozzle unit 16 on an assembly element 34, in particular corresponding to a distance f of the cavities 28 of the mold 26 to be filled, for example shown in FIG. 6b, wherein preferably a clamp 36 fixes the dosing units 12 in the assembled state. In FIG. 1, the assembly element 34 is preferably designed as an assembly plate 38 which, in the assembled state, arranges the nozzle units 16 of the dosing units 12 at a distance from one another.
[0057] Advantageously, by means of the tension lock 20, the number of dosing units 12 and/or a distance d between dosing units 12 of the dosing machine 10 can be adjusted particularly easily and in a short time, in particular in order to adapt the dosing machine 10 in a flexible manner to varying molds 26 with different numbers of cavities and/or distances f.
[0058] According to FIG. 1, the dosing machine 10 preferably further comprises two fluid media containers 11, which are connected along the longitudinal direction L to several dosing units 12 in order to feed fluid media to the dispensers 14 of the dosing units 12. Preferably, one container 11 is connected to each of the first dispensers 14, 15a and another container 11 is connected to each of the second dispensers 14, 15b of the plurality of dosing units 12. Preferably, a medium can thus be fed simultaneously to several dispensers 14 in a particularly simple manner.
[0059] A particularly preferred embodiment of the nozzle unit 16 with two coaxially arranged nozzle ducts 22a, 22b is shown in FIG. 2b in order to fill two fluid media 24a, 24b, in particular two different fluid media 24a, 24b, into a cavity 28 within the mold 26 in a coextrusion process by means of the two dispensers 14. Preferably, a first fluid medium 24a is filled into the first dispenser 14, 15a and a second fluid medium 24b is filled into the second dispenser 14, 15b, wherein the dispensers 15a, 15b are each associated with one of the nozzle ducts 22a, 22b. It is preferred that the first fluid medium 24b flowing through an outer nozzle duct 22b fills inner walls of the cavity 28 and that the second fluid medium 24a flowing through an inner nozzle duct 22a forms a core or a filling within the first fluid medium 24a. In particular, such a dosing unit 12 are configured to be used to produce a multi-layered product, for example a filled praline. In this context, it is also preferred that the two fluid media 24a, 24b are each fed to the two dispensers 14, 15a, 15b through the two containers 11 as shown in FIG. 1.
[0060] A splayed dosing unit 12 in FIG. 3 shows flexible connections or connecting elements 40 between the dosing unit 11 and the dispenser 14 as well as variably adjustable nozzle units 16. Particularly preferably, an offset between a filling opening 42 of the dosing unit 12 and a filling opening 44 of the nozzle unit 11 can be bridged by means of the connecting element 40, in particular a connecting hose. The flexible connection 40 is particularly advantageous for varying distances d between several dosing units 12.
[0061] As an alternative or in addition to the assembly element 34 shown in FIG. 1 for fixing a plurality of dosing units 12, it may be preferred according to FIG. 3 that the nozzle unit 16 of the dosing units 12 each comprises at least one guide hole 46, preferably the three guide holes shown. Preferably, at least one guide rod 47 is configured to be arranged through this at least one guide hole 46 in order to align the dosing units 12 with one another. By displacement along the longitudinal direction L, the distance d between the dosing units 12 can then be varied along the at least one guide rod 47 and adapted to a cavity distance f, in particular according to FIG. 6b, of a mold 26 to be filled.
[0062] A particularly compact embodiment of the dosing machine 10 is shown in FIG. 4, wherein dosing units 12 arranged in pairs next to one another comprise differently aligned dispensers 14, in particular with a different angle a above the horizontal plane H-L of the nozzle unit 12, in order to enable at least partial overlapping along the longitudinal direction L and an even more space-saving arrangement of several dosing units 12 relative to one another.
[0063] In FIG. 5a to FIG. 5d, a preferred embodiment of the common nozzle unit 16 is shown in detail. Particularly preferably, the nozzle unit 16 comprises a casing 70 with two separable casing elements 71a, 71 b to allow access to the nozzle ducts 22a, 22b of the nozzle unit 16. Most preferably, the two casing elements 71a, 71b are designed to be separable along or parallel to the vertical place V-H of the dosing unit 12, preferably separating the nozzle ducts 22a, 22b along a duct axis T. Furthermore, the two casing elements 71a, 71b are separable along a symmetry plane.
[0064] In particular in FIG. 5a and partially in FIG. 5b, the two casing elements 71a, 71 b are shown in an open state. It can be seen that in the open state of the casing 70, the nozzle ducts 22a, 22b are exposed and can thus be cleaned particularly easily. Further shown in detail is the inlet section 30 for receiving the dispenser 14 as shown in FIG. 2a and the outlet section 32 for dispensing the fluid media 24a, 24b, in particular as shown in FIG. 2b.
[0065] The nozzle ducts 21 a, 21 b shown in FIG. 5b, in particular two inlet ducts 74a, 74b, within the nozzle unit 16 are preferably designed such that an angle between individual duct sections, in particular an angle of curvature along the duct axis T, is less than 90. With such an arrangement of the nozzle ducts 22a, 22b, the fluid media 24a, 24b shown in FIG. 2b can also be conveyed in the nozzle unit 16 with possibly different viscosity properties, in particular without viscosity properties significantly influencing an extrusion behavior.
[0066] As shown in FIG. 5c and FIG. 5d, two insert elements 72a, 72b are used within the nozzle unit 16 to ensure coextrusion through the two nozzle ducts 22a, 22b. In particular, due to the possibility of the separable casing 70, the insert elements 72a, 72b can be inserted or exchanged in two inlet ducts 74a, 74b of the nozzle ducts 22a, 22b. To form the two coaxially arranged nozzle ducts 22a, 22b, an inner insert element 72a engages along the duct axis T in an outer insert element 72a, 72b. To accommodate the insert elements 72a, 72b, the nozzle ducts 22a, 22b, in particular the inlet ducts 74a, 74b, of the nozzle unit preferably comprise an annular groove 76 at a transition to the insert elements 72a, 72b in order to fix and/or seal the insert elements 72a, 72b in the flow direction or along the duct axis T. The insert elements 72a, 72b preferably comprise a reinforced wall thickness at one end for engagement in the annular groove 76. At the other end, the insert elements 72a, 72b are preferably tapered with a thinner wall thickness, in particular to enable coaxial engagement. Preferably, an inner insert element 72a comprises end support protrusions 78 on an outer side of the inner insert element 72a to enable guidance and alignment of the inner insert element 72a within the outer insert element 72b.
[0067] It should also be emphasized that the detailed view of FIG. 2b shows a nozzle duct, in particular an outlet section 32, enlarged according to FIG. 5c and FIG. 2a, whereby it is clear from a comparison of FIG. 2b with FIG. 5c that the outer nozzle duct 22b is formed between the inner and outer insert elements 72a, 72b. The inner nozzle duct 22a, on the other hand, is formed directly by the inner insert element 72a.
[0068] Furthermore, it can be seen in particular from FIG. 5c that a length and a flow cross-section of the nozzle ducts 22a, 22b, in particular of the inlet ducts 74a, 74b, can be designed differently and these ducts can also differ with regard to a flow resistance for implementing a coextrusion. Preferably, to compensate for such a flow resistance, the dispenser 14 is used with different power units 18, in particular progressive cavity pumps. Advantageously, such power units 18 can individually convey a fluid medium within a dispenser 14 and thus compensate for different flow resistances and/or viscosities, and/or set desired outlet volumes for a layer to be extruded.
[0069] In FIG. 6a, an exemplary mold 26 with several cavities 28 is shown, wherein a cavity spacing f is shown enlarged in FIG. 6b. The gantry 48 shown in FIG. 6a comprises an X-axis 50 for left-right movement, in particular along the longitudinal direction L, a Y-axis 52 for movement in depth, in particular the horizontal direction H, and a Z-axis 54 for height, in particular the vertical direction V. A universal gripper 56 is mounted on the Z-axis 54 in order to grip the mold 26, container or other cavity to be moved. The cavity spacing f shown in detail in FIG. 6b may vary depending on the mold 26 or container.
[0070] The universal gripper 56 in FIG. 7a and FIG. 7b shows a more complex embodiment, which enables the containers/molds 26 to be removed and deposited. The adjustable stoppers 60 allow different sizes of containers/molds 26 to be gripped.
[0071] Preferably, a deposit or removal station 62 comprises two deposit units with stoppers 60 which are configured to be adjusted horizontally relative to one another, wherein one of the deposit units is preferably designed as a universal gripper 56 for adjusting the stoppers 60 in order to fix the mold 26 resting on the deposit or removal station 62 against side stoppers 61, in particular laterally. As shown in FIG. 7a, a support surface 66 of the deposit or removal station 62 can preferably be formed by means of a plurality of rod bodies, wherein the rod bodies of the two deposit units interlock. The stoppers 60 are preferably formed as clamping pieces on the rod bodies. For fixing different molds 26, the stoppers 60, in particular also the side stoppers 61, are configured to preferably be adjusted along an extension axis of the bar bodies.
[0072] A deposit or removal station 62 may be provided with a vibrating unit 64, as shown in FIG. 7b.
LIST OF REFERENCE SYMBOLS
[0073] 10 Dosing machine [0074] 11 Container [0075] 12 Dosing unit [0076] 14 Dispenser [0077] 15a, 15b first and second dispenser [0078] 16 Nozzle unit [0079] 18 Power unit [0080] 20 Tension lock [0081] 22a, 22b Two coaxial nozzle ducts [0082] 24a, 24b Two fluid media [0083] 26 Mold [0084] 28 Cavity [0085] 30 Inlet section [0086] 32 Outlet section [0087] 34 Assembly element [0088] 36 Clamp [0089] 38 Assembly plate [0090] 40 Connecting elements [0091] 42 Filling opening of the dosing unit [0092] 44 Filling opening of the container [0093] 46 Guide hole [0094] 47 Guide rods [0095] 48 Gantry [0096] 50 X-axis of the gantry [0097] 52 Y-axis of the gantry [0098] 54 Z-axis of the gantry [0099] 56 Universal gripper [0100] 60 Stopper [0101] 61 Side stopper [0102] 62 Deposit or removal station [0103] 64 Vibrating unit [0104] 66 Support surface [0105] 70 Casing of the nozzle unit [0106] 71a,b Casing elements [0107] 72a, b Inner and outer insert element [0108] 74a, 74b Inlet ducts [0109] 76 Annular groove d Distance between dosing units [0110] E Extension axis of the dispenser [0111] f Distance between cavities [0112] g Gravity direction [0113] L Longitudinal direction [0114] V Vertical direction [0115] H Horizontal direction [0116] V-H Vertical place [0117] H-L Horizontal plane [0118] L-V Symmetry plane of the dosing unit [0119] a Angle of dispenser to horizontal plane of nozzle unit [0120] T Duct axis of the nozzle ducts
