Method for moving a reel of packaging material from a storage station to a supply station of a packaging unit for producing sealed packages of food product, and clamping unit for clamping such reel
AssigneeTetra Laval Holdings & Finanace S.A.
InventorsVittorio Cavirani, Paolo Ferrari
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method for moving a reel of packaging material from a storage station to a supply station of a packaging unit involves clamping a peripheral edge of reel by using a pair of clamping elements of a clamping unit, rotating clamping elements relative to the reel, and supporting the reel on the pair of clamping elements by interacting with a portion of reel radially inner with respect to circumferential edge.
Claims16
A method for moving a reel of packaging material from a storage station to a supply station of a packaging unit, comprising:
- clamping a peripheral edge of said reel by using a pair of clamping elements of a clamping unit;
- moving said clamping elements to an open position to release said reel;
- rotating said clamping elements relative to said reel;
- supporting said reel on said pair of clamping elements by interacting with a portion of said reel radially inner with respect to said peripheral edge;
- and
- inserting a spindle within a hole of said reel radially inner with respect to said peripheral edge, said inserting being carried out before the supporting of said reel by interacting with said portion, and said supporting of said reel by interacting with said portion comprising gripping said spindle by said clamping elements.
A clamping unit for clamping a reel of packaging material, comprising a pair of clamping elements movable relative to one another along a first direction between:
- an open position in which the clamping elements are detached from said reel;
- a first clamping position in which the clamping elements are at a first distance and clamp, in use, a peripheral edge of said reel;
- and
- a second clamping position in which the clamping elements are at a second distance lower than said first distance and support, in use, said reel by interacting with a portion radially inner with respect to said peripheral edge;
- said clamping elements being rotatable together as a unit about a second direction transversal to said first direction,
- each of said clamping element comprising:
- a first portion configured to cooperate with said peripheral edge of said reel in said first clamping position;
- and
- and a second portion defining a seat configured to be engaged by a spindle housed in a hole of said reel in said second clamping position, the seat being U-shaped with a curved bottom part.
A clamping unit assembly for clamping a reel of packaging material, comprising:
- a supporting table rotatably mounted on a member to rotate about a first axis relative to the member;
- a first clamp and a second clamp coupled to the supporting table and rotatable together with the supporting table as a unit about the first axis relative to the member;
- a length actuator configured to vary a distance between the first clamp and the second clamp along a second axis transverse to the first axis;
- and
- a spindle comprising a central portion configured to be coaxially housed within a central hole of the reel, the spindle further comprising two cylindrical projections extending on respective opposite sides of the central portion,
- each of the first clamp and the second clamp comprising a seat that is dimensioned to accommodate one of the cylindrical projections of the spindle.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.