Unit for the application of lids of opening devices

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10654698-B2
Application number	US-201515301877-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 19, 2015
Priority date	Apr 4, 2014
Publication date	May 19, 2020
Grant date	May 19, 2020

Abstract

An applying unit for applying lids of opening devices to spouts of packages comprises a plurality of applying devices arranged for applying the lids to the spouts, a plurality of transfer arrangements, each transfer arrangement supporting a corresponding applying device and being movable along a track arrangement, wherein the transfer arrangements are self-movable along the track arrangement and are movable independently from each other along the track arrangement.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An applying unit for applying lids of opening devices to spouts of packages, the packages being movable along a conveying direction, the applying unit comprising:
a track;
a plurality of applying devices arranged adjacent one another, each applying device including an applying head configured to engage and apply a respective one of the lids to a respective one of the spouts moving along the conveying direction;
a plurality of carts each movably mounted on the track so that the plurality of carts move along the same track in a direction parallel to the conveying direction, each of the carts being operatively connected to one of the applying devices so that the cart and the respective applying device move together along the track;
a plurality of individually excitable solenoids provided on either the carts or the track, and a plurality of permanent magnets provided on either the track or the carts; and
a control unit operatively connected to the individually excitable solenoids to individually operate the solenoids and cause the carts as well as the respective applying device to move along the track parallel to the conveying direction in which the packages are moved independent of movement of other carts along the track.

2. An applying unit according to claim 1 , further comprising a sensor configured to issue a signal indicating a position of the spouts, the control unit receiving the signals from the sensor to control movement of the carts.

3. An applying unit according to claim 1 , wherein the individually-excitable solenoids are provided in the track and the magnets are provided in the carts.

4. An applying unit according to claim 1 , further comprising a conveyor configured to move the packages in the conveying direction along a path, the conveying direction being parallel to the track.

5. An applying unit according to claim 1 , wherein the track is a first track and the carts are first carts, and further comprising a second track and second carts, the second carts each being movably mounted on the second track to move along the second track, each of the second carts being operatively connected to one of the applying devices so that the second cart and the respective applying device move along the second track together.

6. An applying unit according to claim 1 , wherein the applying devices are each rotatably mounted for rotation about a respective rotation axis.

7. An applying unit according to claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of slides movably mounted on and guided by a bar, each slide being connected to one of the applying devices to guide movement of the applying devices as the slides move along the bar.

8. An applying unit that applies lids of opening devices to spouts of packages, the applying unit comprising:
a conveyor configured to receive the packages and to convey the packages in a conveying direction;
a plurality of applying devices arranged adjacent one another, each applying device including an applying head configured to engage and apply a respective one of the lids to a respective one of the spouts on the packages;
a plurality of carts movably mounted on a common track that is parallel to the conveying direction so that the plurality of carts move along the track in a direction parallel to the conveying direction in which the packages are moving during application of the lids to the respective spouts on the packages, each of the carts being operatively connected to one of the applying devices so that each cart and the respective applying device move together along the track;
each of the carts being movable along the common track independently of the other carts and parallel to the conveying direction in which the packages are moving during application of the lids to the respective spouts on the packages so that the applying devices are also movable independently of the other applying devices;
a plurality of individually excitable solenoids provided on either the carts or the track, and a plurality of permanent magnets provided on either the track or the carts;
a control unit operatively connected to the individually excitable solenoids to individually operate the solenoids and cause the carts as well as the respective applying devices to move along the track independent of movement of other carts and the respective applying devices; and
the control unit being configured to move the carts and the respective applying devices along the track while the packages are being conveyed in the conveying direction by the conveyor and while the applying devices are applied the lids to the respective spouts on the packages.

9. An applying unit according to claim 8 , further comprising a pair of belt conveyors positioned on opposite sides of the conveyor to engage opposite walls of the packages being conveyed by the conveyor.

10. An applying unit according to claim 8 , wherein the plurality of applying devices are arranged linearly adjacent one another.

11. An applying unit for applying lids of opening devices to spouts of packages, the applying unit comprising:
a linearly extending conveyor that receives the packages and advances the packages in a conveying direction along a linear path;
a track that is parallel to the conveying direction;
a plurality of lid applying devices each configured to apply one of the lids to a spout of one of the packages, each of the lid applying devices being supported on and movable together with a respective transfer arrangement; and
each of the transfer arrangements being mounted on the track and being self-movable along the track independently from each other in a direction parallel to the conveying direction in which the packages move so that the lid applying devices move in the conveying direction together with the packages at the same time as the lid applying devices apply the lids to the spouts of the packages.

12. An applying unit according to claim 11 , further comprising a sensor that generates a signal associated with a position of each spout, and an electronic control unit that receives the signals generated by the sensor and that controls movement of the transfer arrangements.

13. An applying unit according to claim 11 , wherein: i) the track houses a plurality of individually-excitable solenoids and the transfer arrangements house magnets independently movable along the track by individually controlling the solenoids; or ii) the track houses magnets and the transfer arrangements house a plurality of individually-excitable solenoids independently movable along the track by individually controlling the solenoids.

14. An applying unit according to claim 11 , wherein the track is a linear track and the transfer arrangements reciprocate along the track.

15. An applying unit according to claim 11 , wherein the track is a loop-shaped track.

16. An applying unit according to claim 11 , wherein each lid applying device is supported on the respective transfer arrangement in a manner allowing the lid applying device to move towards and away from the conveyor.

17. An applying unit according to claim 16 , wherein each lid applying device is supported on the respective transfer arrangement in a manner allowing the lid applying device to rotate around a respective axis to rotate the lid onto the spout of the package.

18. An applying unit according to claim 11 , wherein the track is a first track, and further comprising a second track, each of the transfer arrangements comprising a first cart mounted on and movable along the first track and a second cart mounted on and movable along

Assignees

• Tetra Laval Holdings & Finance

Inventors

• Zuccotti Alessandro

Classifications

• H02K41/031

  of the permanent magnet type · CPC title

• B67B3/2053 Primary

  comprising capping heads · CPC title

• B65B7/2835

  applying and rotating preformed threaded caps (for bottles or jars B67B3/20) · CPC title

• B65B7/2807

  Feeding closures · CPC title

• B65B61/186

  by applying or incorporating rigid fittings, e.g. discharge spouts · CPC title