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US 2003/0191001 A1Published application
Sheet processing machine for making packages
AssigneeRapidex S.M.
InventorsBernard Guiot, Philippe Vallee
Life of this patent
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AssigneeRapidex S.M.
InventorsBernard Guiot, Philippe Vallee
Estimating the term…
A machine for treating sheets, said machine comprising drive means (14, 16, 18) for driving the sheets, treatment tooling (52, 62) for forming cutouts or folds in said sheets that extend transversely to the drive direction (F) in which the sheets are driven. The treatment tooling is carried by at least one carrier shaft (52, 62) driven by a shaft motor (M52, M62). The sheets are driven at a substantially constant drive speed through the machine, and said machine further comprises a control unit (UC) which, as a function of said drive speed, and of information relating to the position of a sheet in the machine, control the shaft motor (M52, M62) such that, for treating said sheet, the tooling is in contact with a predetermined region of the sheet and is driven at a treatment speed whose tangential component is equal to the drive speed at which the sheet is driven.
1/ A machine for treating sheets (12), in particular for manufacturing packaging made of materials such as cardboard or plastic, said machine comprising drive means (14, 16, 18) having at least one drive motor and suitable for driving sheets in a drive direction (F) through a treatment zone (T) situated between the inlet (E) and the outlet (S) of the machine, treatment tooling (88, 88′, 88″;
2/ A machine according to claim 1, characterized in that the control unit (UC) is suitable for controlling the shaft motor (M52, M62) in cycles comprising a waiting stage, a positioning stage in which said motor angularly positions the tooling of the transverse carrier shaft (52, 62), and a treatment stage, in which said tooling is driven at a tangential velocity equal to the drive speed and treats said predetermined region of the sheet.
3/ A machine according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that the control unit (UC) is suitable for controlling the shaft motor (M52, M62) as a function of parameterizing means (MP) corresponding to a selected type of treatment.
4/ A machine according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that it has a carrier shaft with angular tool adjustment (52) comprising a hub (64), a fixed tool holder (66) secured to the hub, and a moving tool holder (68) secured to a moving support (70) which co-operates with the hub (64) via position adjustment means making it possible to adjust the angular position of the moving tool holder (68) relative to the fixed tool holder (66).
5/ A machine according to claim 4, characterized in that the fixed tool holder (66) is fixed to the hub (64) by being disposed on a first cylinder generator line (G1), in that the moving support comprises at least one band (70) to which the moving tool holder is fixed along a second cylinder generator line (G2), said band being coaxial with the hub, having an inner set of teeth (70A) and extending, in the region of the first generator line (G1) in a space provided between the outside surface (S66) of the fixed tool holder (66) and the hub (64), and in that the position adjustment means comprise a cog shaft (74) which is disposed between the hub (64) and the band (70) while co-operating with the inner set of teeth (70A) of said band, and means (M80, 80) for driving the cog shaft in rotation, so as to cause the band (70) to turn relative to the hub (64) and thus to adjust the angular positioning (α) of the second generator line (G2) relative to the first generator line (G1).
6/ A machine according to claim 5, characterized in that the means for driving the cog shaft (74) in rotation comprise a toothed wheel (80) coaxial with the drive pin (53) of the carrier shaft with angular tool adjustment (52) and mounted to rotate freely about said pin, said toothed wheel meshing on the cog shaft (74) and co-operating with the rotary drive means (80).
7/ A machine according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the carrier shaft has at least one tool holder (66, 68) equipped with fast fixing means for a tool (88, 88′, 88″), which means comprise a longitudinal fixing groove (84) situated on the outside surface (S66, S68) of the tool holder (66, 68), at least one of the longitudinal edges (84A) of said groove being a moving edge and being defined by a wedging piece (86) that is mounted to move between a locking position (FIG. 10), in which it co-operates with the opposite edge (84B) to define a retaining profile suitable for retaining a fixing rib (90) having a complementary profile, and an unlocking position (FIG. 9), in which the edge is spaced apart from the opposite edge to enable the fixing rib (90) to be inserted into said groove, by moving the rib radially towards the axis of the carrier shaft.
8/ A machine according to claim 7, characterized in that the wedging piece is formed by a longitudinal rod (86) whose cross-section has a setback defining the moving longitudinal edge (84A), said rod being suitable for turning about its longitudinal axis between its unlocking and locking positions.
9/ A machine according to any one of claims 5 and 8, characterized in that it has cutting tools (88, 88″) and scoring tools (88′), each of which has a cutting portion (94) or a scoring portion (96), and a base (92) carrying a fixing rib (90) suitable for co-operating with the fixing groove (84) in a tool holder (66, 68), it thus being possible for said tools to be disposed in any chosen order side-by-side on the tool holder.
10/ A machine according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that it has a multiple tool carrier shaft (52, 62) suitable for carrying at least first and second tools (88, 88′, 88″;
11/ A machine according to claim 10, characterized in that it has means (106, 108, 112, M108) for moving the multiple tool carrier shaft (62) away from the advance path along which the sheets (12) advance through the treatment zone (T) during the positioning stage.
12/ A machine according to claim 11, characterized in that it has a moving-away shaft (106) carrying at least one eccentric cam (108) and in that the carrier shaft (62) is mounted on a moving axle (110) supported by the moving-away shaft (106) via said eccentric cam (108).
13/ A machine according to claim 12, characterized in that the moving axle (110) is secured to a lever (114) which carries a counterweight (116) serving to make it easier for the carrier shaft (62) to move upwards.
14/ A machine according to any one of claims 1 to 13, characterized in that the drive means (14, 18) co-operate with adjustable-position drive wheels (30, 34;
15/ A machine according to claim 14, characterized in that it has at least one adjustment belt (122) disposed transversely relative to the drive direction (F) in which the sheets are driven, means (M122) for driving said belt, and coupling means (124, 128) suitable for being caused to go between a coupling situation (FIG. 14) in which they secure a wheel support (120) to said belt (122), and a stop position (FIG. 15) in which they secure said wheel support (120) to a fixed locking part (130).
16/ A machine according to claim 15, characterized in that each of the supports (120) for the adjustable-position drive wheels (30) comprises a coupling shoe (124) and a coupling backing shoe (126) disposed on either side of the belt (122), said shoe being mounted to move between a coupling position (FIG. 14) in which it presses the belt (122) against said coupling backing shoe (126) and an inactive position (FIG. 15) in which it is spaced apart from the belt.
17/ A machine according to claim 16, characterized in that each of the supports (120) for the adjustable-position drive wheels (30) further comprises a stop shoe (128) mounted to move between a stop position (FIG. 15) in which it co-operates with the fixed locking part (130) to secure the support (120) to said part, and an inactive position (FIG. 14) in which it is spaced apart from said locking part (130), and in that it has means for controlling the coupling shoe (124) and the stop shoe (128), which means are suitable for placing the coupling shoe in its coupling position when the stop shoe is in its inactive position, and are suitable for placing the stop shoe in its stop position when the coupling shoe is in its inactive position.
18/ A machine according to claim 17, characterize in that the stop shoe (130) and the coupling shoe (128) are disposed at respective ends of a rod (132) that is mounted to move back and forth.
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Forming or attaching accessories, e.g. opening devices, closures or tear strings: forming integral handles; Attaching separate handles
Making rigid or semi-rigid containers
Making rigid or semi-rigid containers, e.g. boxes or cartons: controlling; Regulating; Measuring; Improving safety
Feeding sheets or blanks: using rolls, belts or chains
Term end not estimated
The present invention relates to a machine for treating sheets, in particular for manufacturing packaging made of materials such as cardboard or plastic, said machine comprising drive means having at least one drive motor and suitable for driving sheets in a drive direction through a treatment zone situated between the inlet and the outlet of the machine, treatment tooling designed to form cutouts and/or folds that are disposed transversely relative to the drive direction in said sheets, means for determining information relating to the position of a sheet in the treatment zone, and control means for controlling the treatment tooling as a function of said information.
For manufacturing packaging from sheets of cardboard or of plastic, firstly “transverse” machines of the above-mentioned type are known in which at least the majority of the cutouts or folds are provided transversely relative to the advance direction in which the sheets advance through the machine. Secondly, “longitudinal” machines are known, e.g. of the type described in the Applicant's Patent Application EP 0 539 254, in which the majority of the folds and of the cutouts are provided in the advance direction in which the sheets advance through the machine.
Longitudinal machines reach high manufacturing throughputs. The various manufacturing steps are performed by cylinders turning at high speeds. The developed length of each cylinder determines the length of the sheets that it is possible to treat in the machine. As a result, with any given longitudinal machine, it is possible to manufacture only items of packaging whose length varies within a narrow range determined by the minimum and maximum developed lengths of the machine.
The invention will be well understood, and its advantages will appear more clearly on reading the following detailed description of an embodiment shown by way of non-limiting example. The description refers to the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a view of the machine in section on a vertical plane;
FIG. 2 shows a blank of an item of packaging after it has been treated by the machine;
The machine shown in FIG. 1 has a feed table 10 on which a sheet 12, e.g. a sheet of a material such as cardboard or plastic, is disposed for the purpose of treating it inside the machine.
The machine has an inlet zone E, a treatment zone T, and an outlet zone S disposed in succession in the advance direction F in which the sheets advance. In the inlet zone, the sheets are received by drive means 14 which drive them at constant speed through the treatment zone. In the example shown, the treatment zone T is made up of two treatment units, respectively U1 and U2, disposed in succession in the direction F. Between the two units lie drive relay means 16. Drive means 18 are also provided at the outlet S of the machine.
The machine serves to treat sheets so as to shape them to enable them to be subsequently folded to form an item of packaging. For example, FIG. 2 shows a blank treated by the machine starting from an uninterrupted sheet. The blank 20 is provided with cutouts 22 and folds 24 that are disposed transversely relative to the advance direction F in which the sheet advances through the machine. The tools of the treatment units U1 and U2 situated in the treatment zone T of the machine make it possible to form said cutouts and said folds. Said tools comprise cutting tools or blades that form the cutouts 22 and scoring tools or scorers that form the folds 24.