Packaging apparatus and method for nappies or other soft, flat, folded sanitary articles
AssigneeTissue Machinery Company S.p.A.
InventorMichele Rasi
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A packaging apparatus (1) for nappies (2) or other soft, flat, folded sanitary articles comprises: packaging arrangement for positioning a plastic film so it is tight against a set (4) of nappies (2); a feeder (6) set up to feed the nappies to the packaging arrangement; at least one comb (10) configured to selectively withdraw groups (8) of nappies from a nappy (2) stacker device (9) and place them on the feeder (6). The packaging arrangement comprises a wrapping machine (3) configured to fold a sheet (5) of the film round the set (4) of nappies (2) and to close it on at least three sides of the set (4) of nappies (2).
Claims17
A packaging apparatus for nappies or other soft, flat, folded sanitary articles, comprising:
- a feeder for receiving a set of nappies, wherein the set of nappies comprises one or more groups of nappies, the feeder comprising a conveyor for receiving the groups of nappies from a nappy stacker device and moving them onto a conveying plane, and an elevator configured to receive the set of nappies from the conveyor and to move them into an infeed station of a wrapping machine;
- a packaging arrangement, for positioning a plastic film against the set of nappies, the packaging arrangement including the wrapping machine configured to fold a sheet of the film around the set of nappies to cover at least three sides of the set of nappies and to seal the sheet of film around the set of nappies, the wrapping machine including the infeed station having an opening directed towards the feeder;
- at least one comb configured to selectively withdraw groups of nappies from the nappy stacker device and place them on the feeder;
- a presser operatively coupled to the feeder and configured to laterally compress the set of nappies on a plurality of lateral sides;
- a programmable controller, which controls the presser to compress the set of nappies until reaching a lateral dimension having a predetermined reference value smaller than a width of the opening of the infeed station of the wrapping machine;
- a further presser, controlled by the controller to apply a further lateral compression to the set of nappies which has been covered on the at least three sides, before the sheet of film is sealed around the set of nappies, the further presser being arranged such that the further lateral compression is applied to said plurality of lateral sides of the set of nappies, wherein said at least three sides which have been covered by the sheet of film comprise said plurality of lateral sides of the set of nappies.
A packaging method for nappies or other soft, flat, folded sanitary articles, comprising the following steps:
- withdrawing groups of nappies from a nappy stacker device through at least one comb and placing the groups of nappies on a feeder;
- feeding a set of nappies comprising one or more groups of nappies to a packaging arrangement, through the feeder, wherein the feeder comprises a conveying surface for receiving the groups of nappies from the nappy stacker device and an elevator configured to receive the set of nappies from the conveying surface and to move them into an infeed station of a wrapping machine of the packaging arrangement;
- positioning a plastic film against the set of nappies in order to package the set of nappies;
- preparing a sheet of the film;
- folding the sheet around the set of nappies in order to wrap the sheet around three sides of the set of nappies, by using the elevator to elevate the nappies through the infeed station having an opening directed towards the feeder for receiving the set of nappies;
- sealing the folded sheet around the set of nappies,
- laterally compressing the groups of nappies until reaching a lateral dimension having a predetermined reference value which is smaller than a width of the opening of the infeed station, wherein said compression is performed by a presser during at least a part of the feeding step, on a plurality of lateral sides of the set of nappies,
- and wherein the step of laterally compressing further includes a further lateral compression applied to the set of nappies which has been wrapped on said three sides, before the sheet is sealed around the set of nappies, through a further presser, and wherein said further lateral compression is applied to said plurality of lateral sides of the set of nappies, wherein said three sides which have been wrapped by the sheet of film comprise said plurality of lateral sides of the set of nappies.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.