Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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DEVICE, INSTALLATION AND PROCESS FOR PRODUCING A
PACKAGE FROM A SHEET OF FLEXIBLE MATERIAL AND FOR
FILLING IT WITH A PULVERULENT OR NONPULVERULENT PRODUCT
The invention firstly relates to a device for producing
a package from a sheet of flexible material, especially
board, plastic or paper, and also to shape such a
material. The invention also relates to an installation
for producing such a package and also for filling it
with a pulverulent or nonpulverulent product, using
such a device. Finally, the invention relates to a
process for producing such a package, as well as for
filling it with a pulverulent or nonpulverulent
material.
Tn the packaging field, and especially the packaging of
agri-foodstuff products, it is becoming increasingly
desirable to produce a wide variety of shapes and other
formats while seeking to comply with sanitary or
hygiene requirements, especially in terms of sealing
and preservation.
To satisfy this desire for a multiplicity of shapes, it
has been proposed to produce packages from a flat or
sheet material, intended to form the body of the
package. This sheet is given the desired shape by means
of a mandrel and grippers that take hold of the two
extreme edges of the sheet, so as to overlap them, edge
over edge, typically with a width of two to five
millimeters, and then to fasten them together over
their entire height, this fastening operation typically
being carried out via high-frequency ultrasonic welding
or even by adhesive bonding or heat sealing. The body
of the package thus produced receives, at its base, a
bottom and, after being filled, its upper part receives
a lid.
Although the packages thus obtained allow this
multiplicity of shapes to be produced, their automation
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and their filling, however, still pose many problems.
This is because the step of shaping the sheet material,
by the use of grippers, firstly is difficult to
automate and secondly results in relatively slow
5 production rates. What is more, the operation of
fitting the bottoms and caps on a sheet material, which
is therefore generally flexible, also poses a problem
because of the lack of rigidity of the body of the
package thus formed.
Document GB-A-1 335 454 has described a device for
shaping a package made from a sheet of board, which is
provided with a shaping member incorporating a female
part and a male part that is intended to. cooperate with
the female part, besides a member for fastening
together the two edges of the sheet of board after the
shaping operation.
The female part is fastened to means for moving in
translation along a first direction, in this case
horizontally, and comprises two hinged jaws intended to
define by themselves the desired shape of the package
when they are actuated, and especially to define the
envelope of the package to be produced.
30
This shaping member also includes a male part,
consisting of a sleeve or mandrel of cylindrical shape,
complementary in shape to the internal shape of the
female part and intended to cooperate with the latter.
Tt is apparent from the operating method described in
that document that the sheet of board, shaped by the
shaping member, is systematically held in place on the
mandrel at each of the various stations of the device
in question, in such a way that said mandrel is present
during each of the steps after the actual shaping step,
since this mandrel is not required to be moved relative
to the reference frame formed by the female part.
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Accordingly, this device can be envisioned only for the
production of packages that are cylindrical and also in
a single format, that is to say having a single height
of the body of the package.
The objective of the present invention is firstly to
propose a device for shaping the body of the package to
the desired shape in a simple, effective and automatic
manner. It then consists in allowing a multiplicity of
formats, something which hitherto it was not known how
to do in a simple manner and with high production
rates.
To do this, such a device for shaping a package made
from a sheet of flexible material, stored on one of its
sides in a storage magazine, comprises:
- a shaping member, which itself comprises:
~ a female part, fastened to means for
translation along a first direction, and also
including at least one hinged jaw, intended to
define at least partly the desired shape when
it is actuated and especially to define the
envelope of the package to be produced,
~ a male part, consisting of a sleeve or
mandrel complementary in shape to the internal
shape of the female part and intended to
cooperate with the latter;
- a fastening member for fastening together the
two edges of the sheet of flexible material after
shaping, that is to say after cooperation of the male
part with the female part.
According to the invention:
- the female part furthermore includes a recessed
region, at the edge of which the jaw or jaws is or are
hinged, and intended to define, with this jaw or these
jaws, the very at least partial envelope of the package
to be produced;
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- the female part is provided with suckers, or
equivalent systems, which are intended to receive the
sheet of flexible material taken from the storage
magazine; and
- the sleeve or mandrel constituting the male
part can be driven in a translational movement along a
direction perpendicular to said first direction, so as
to be positioned level with the female part.
In other words, the device according to the invention
consists in shaping the body of the package using the
punch-and-die principle, in an automatic manner, while
furthermore allowing the mandrel constituting the male
part to undergo relative displacement perpendicular to
the displacement of the female part.
According to one feature of the invention, the
actuation of the jaws, causing the recessed region to
be closed, does not terminate in the integral
circumference of the envelope of the package to be
produced, but defines a slit intended to leave clear
the access to the fastening member. The latter
typically consists of a sonotrode, but another device
may be envisioned, especially one emitting high
frequencies, or heating to seal the body of the package
by heat sealing.
This or these jaws are actuated by cylinder actuators
fastened to the recessed region of the female part.
The mandrel is made of a material having a low
coefficient of friction and typically made of
polytetrafluoroethylene or polyacetal. The objective of
this is to make it easier to remove said mandrel during
the following operations, especially those of fitting
the bottom and the cap, and in general the closure
components.
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According to another feature of the invention, the
entire female part is capable of rotating in the
vertical or horizontal plane through an adjustable
angle so as, after removal of the mandrel and fitting
of a first closure component, to allow said package to
be directed toward a station for filling .it with a
pulverulent or nonpulverulent product, and fitting a
second closure component.
The invention also relates to an installation for
producing a package, made from a sheet of flexible
material and provided with a bottom and a cap, and for
filling it with a pulverulent or nonpulverulent
product.
This installation comprises:
- a magazine for storing said sheets of flexible
material, within which the sheets are stored on one of
their sides;
- a member for advancing N shaping devices of the
type described above, these being uniformly distributed
along its direction of advance, said member being
intended to position said devices at the various
stations needed for the production and filling of the
package, said member being capable of moving in
stepwise mode, the advance step of which corresponds to
1/N of the length of said member;
- a gripping member provided with suckers or
equivalent systems, which is driven in a horizontal
translational movement and intended to take said sheets
of flexible material one by one and, after rotation, to
position them on the suckers or equivalent systems,
with which the edge or edges of the recessed region of
the female part of the shaping device is or are
provided;
- a member for fitting a closure component at one
of the ends of the body of the package resulting from
the shaping by the shaping device;
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a member for filling the package, provided with
its bottom, with a pulverulent or nonpulverulent
product; and
- a member for fitting a second closure component
of the type similar to the member described above.
In other words, the installation according to the
invention makes it possible for the operations of
producing the package and of filling and sealing it to
ZO be carried out automatically, something which hitherto
it was not known how to do effectively.
According to the invention, the mode of advance may be
linear, and in this situation the advancing member is a
linear conveyor.
According to another embodiment, the mode of advance
may be rotary, and in this configuration, the advancing
member consists of a rotary carousel having a vertical
rotation axis, the N shaping devices then being
periodically distributed around its periphery, the
carousel being capable of moving in stepwise mode, the
rotation step of which corresponds to 1/N of a
revolution.
According to the invention, the members for fitting the
closure components consist of a carousel, which rotates
about a vertical axis, on which a plurality n of work
stations are mounted, distributed periodically around
its periphery, said carousel being capable of moving in
a stepwise mode, the rotation step of which corresponds
to 1/n of a revolution, said stations being used,
respectively:
- to grip a closure component indexed in a
suitable receptacle;
- to convey said closure component to a member
for coating the internal or external periphery of said
component with adhesive; and
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- to position the closure component thus coated
with adhesive on one of the ends of the body of the
resulting package produced by the shaping device or
after the package has been filled;
each of these stations being provided with a gripping
member, especially a suction gripper, driven in a
vertical movement, the actual advance of the advancing
member bearing the shaping members and the carousels
bearing the members for fitting the closure components
being synchronized in such a way that the gripping
member of the carousels, when it is in a positioning
configuration, is centered with respect to the upper
face of the male part of the shaping device located
vertically in line with the carousels in question.
The invention also relates to a process for producing,
and even filling, a package made from a sheet of
flexible material. This process consists:
- firstly in producing the body of the package
from said flexible sheet, by shaping the latter
according to the desired shape of the package, by means
of a male part and a female part of a shaping member
that cooperate with each other, and by fastening
together two of the edges of said sheet;
- then in positioning, at one of the ends of the
body of the package thus produced, a first closure
component, precoated with adhesive on the internal or
external face of its periphery; and
- then in rotating the container thus obtained,
consisting of the body and said first closure
component, in such a way as to allow it either to be
filled, then, during the next step, a second closure
component to be positioned, or for a second closure
component to be positioned immediately.
According to the invention, the step of positioning the
first closure component is carried out while the male
part of said shaping member is still present, at least
in part, within the body of the package.
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On the other hand, the step of positioning the second
closure component is carried out in the absence of any
male part inside the body of the package.
The manner in which the invention can be implemented
and the advantages that derive therefrom will become
more clearly apparent from the illustrative example
that follows, given by way of nonlimiting example and
supported by the appended figures.
Figure 1 is a schematic representation in perspective
of the installation according to the invention.
Figure 2 is a schematic representation in perspective
of a shaping member according to the invention.
Figure 3 is a schematic representation in perspective
of the gripper of the sheet of flexible material
according to the invention.
Figure 9 is a schematic representation in perspective
of the member for fastening together the two edges of
the sheet material after shaping.
Figure 5 is a schematic representation in perspective
of a member for positioning a closure component
according to the invention.
Figure 6 is a schematic representation in longitudinal
section of a package according to the invention,
according to a first embodiment.
Figure 7 is a schematic representation in longitudinal
section of a package according to the invention,
according to a second embodiment.
Figures 8 to l4 are schematic representations
illustrating the particular embodiment of a package
according to the invention but with a flared profile.
The installation according to the invention is shown
overall in figure 1.
It firstly comprises a magazine (1) for storing sheets
of flexible material, especially board or plastic,
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10
which are stored on one of their sides, and are
subjected to moderate pressure in such a way that they
are always in a perfectly flat form, at the point where
they are gripped.
These sheets of flexible material are intended to form
the body of the package to be produced, after the
shaping and fitting of a bottom and a cap, these being
called hereafter the closure components.
At the front face of this magazine (1), a gripper (2),
described in greater detail in relation to figure 3,
takes hold of said sheet material by one of its two
faces, so as to position it at a shaping member (4),
positioned approximately facing the magazine (1), at
this stage of operation of the machine.
The gripper (2) firstly comprises a gripping arm (26),
provided with four suckers (25) or equivalent systems,
which are connected to a vacuum source. These suckers
(25) are mounted in the same plane and are intended to
take a sheet of flexible material from the storage
magazine (1). This gripping arm is mounted on a rotary
shaft (27) capable of rotating through 180° by means of
a motor (28), for example a pneumatic or electric
motor.
Consequently, the assembly thus formed is mounted on a
carriage (29), that can be actuated so as to move in
horizontal translation by means of a worm (36) rotated
by a motor (37), said carriage thus being capable of
moving along guides (30). This translational movement
is intended to allow the arm (26) to move up to the
storage magazine (1) and grasp a sheet of flexible
material.
The shaping members (4), also described in greater
detail in relation to figure 2, are distributed
periodically around the periphery of a carousel (3)
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20
with a vertical rotation axis, which therefore
constitutes the advancing member, said carousel being
rotated in stepwise mode by means of a motorized
indexation system.
In the example described, the carousel (3) has six
shaping members (4), therefore distributed around the
periphery of said carousel (3) every sixth of a
revolution.
Consequently, the rotation step of the carousel (3)
also corresponds to one sixth of a revolution, allowing
each of the shaping members (4) to be positioned at
defined locations in which a certain number of steps
can be carried out, these being necessary, firstly, for
producing the actual package and secondly to fill it.
The installation also includes members for fitting the
closure components for these packages.
These members (6) and (7) both consist of a carousel,
again with a vertical rotation axis, these being
described in greater detail in relation to figure 5.
The first of these carousels (6) is intended to
position one of the closure components at one of the
ends of the body of the package thus shaped, which is
always held in place onto the shaping member (4), while
the second carousel (7) is intended, after filling, to
close off the package thus filled, with a second
closure component.
The next step consists in ejecting the filled and
sealed package onto a conveyor (10), which takes the
filled packages to their storage locations, before
being shipped.
The shaping member (9) according to the invention will
now be described in greater detail.
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This comprises basically a male part (18) and a female
part (11-17), which are intended to cooperate with each
other, so as to produce the actual shape of the body of
the package.
As already mentioned, the gripping member (2) ensures
that a sheet of flexible material is positioned against
the female part of the shaping member. This female part
basically comprises a recessed region (12), in this
case defining a semicylindrical volume, which is a
fastened to a motor (11) fixed to the periphery of the
carousel (3). This recessed region may, however, adopt
another profile, for example parallelepipedal,
triangular, etc., depending on the shape that it is
desired to give the package.
This recessed region (12) can be made to undergo, in
the example described, a horizontal translational
movement by means of an electrical or pneumatic
displacement system.
The two free edges (14) of the recessed region (12)
house firstly suckers (13), four suckers in this case,
which are connected to vacuum source, positioned in the
same plane and intended to take the sheet of flexible
material placed thereat by the gripper (2).
Two jaws (15) are hinged along the edges (14) and can
be actuated by means of cylinder actuators (16) in such
a way as to define, in relation with the recessed
region (12), the external envelope of the body of the
package to be produced when said jaws are closed up.
In other words, in the example described, when the jaws
(15) are actuated, that is to say closed up, they
define with the recessed region (12) an approximately
cylindrical shape.
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Advantageously, the recessed region (12) also includes
two suckers (17) or equivalent (only a single one has
been shown), which are incorporated into the structure
defining it, and therefore not forming a projection
from its internal surface, allowing the body of the
package, after being shaped, to be held in place.
The male part of the shaping member (4) consists of a
sleeve (18), which in the example described is
cylindrical, positioned on a base (19). This base (19)
can be actuated in translation along a direction
perpendicular to the direction of translation of the
female part, and therefore in the example described in
a vertical direction. This displacement is carried out
along guides'(20) by means of a cylinder actuator or
equivalent, in such a way as to allow said mandrel (18)
to rise up to the female part (12-16).
This mandrel (18) is advantageously made of a material
having a very low coefficient of friction, typically
polytetrafluoroethylene (Teflon'") or polyacetal
(Delrin'P') so as to make it easy for it to be extracted
from the body of the package thus shaped.
The body of the package is produced in the following
manner.
The sheet of flexible material is positioned by the
gripper (2) against the suckers (13) of the female part
of the shaping member (9), said sheet still being in
flat or substantially flat form, the plane being
slightly short of the closest generatrix of the mandrel
(18). The carousel (3) then undergoes a rotation of one
sixth of a revolution.
The mandrel (18) is then raised vertically in line with
said female part, and when this translational movement
has been completed, said female part undergoes a
horizontal translational movement, causing the sheet of
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flexible material to be pushed by the mandrel (18) into
the recessed region (12). Of course, the inside
diameter of said recessed region (12) and of the jaws
(15) and the outside diameter of the mandrel (18) are
substantially identical to each other with a clearance.
The horizontal translational movement of the recessed
part (12) pushes said flexible sheet into the recessed
region (12) and, correspondingly, activation of the
closure of the jaws (15) thus causes the jaws (15) to
close, which correspondingly brings the two lateral
ends of the sheet of flexible material to come together
edge to edge along the mandrel (18) , or with a slight
overlap of two to five millimeters, from one edge to
the other, approximately along the generatrix of the
mandrel (18) on the opposite side to the generatrix
facing the recessed region (12).
In addition, owing to the relative stiffness of the
board or plastic of which the sheet material is made,
it exerts pressure against the jaws and against the
recessed region while it is being shaped.
The jaws (15) are produced in this way so that, when
they close around the mandrel (18), they are not
contiguous but define a slot, for example a vertical
slot, allowing the insertion of a member for fastening
together the two edges, typically a sonotrode (32)
shown in greater detail in figure 4. To facilitate the
action of the sonotrode, the mandrel has, plumb with
it, a structure (23) in the form of a welding insert,
especially made of polymer or metal, extending along
its entire generatrix facing the fastening member (32).
According to one advantageous feature of the invention,
prior to the welding of the sheet of flexible material
in the shaper, edge to edge or one edge over the other,
the upper end of the cylindrical envelope thus produced
is leveled, that is to say made level by means of a
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jogger (5), also called a leveler, positioned above the
carousel i3), plumb with the welding station.
This jogger (5) basically comprises a lower vertical
plate that can undergo a vertical translational
movement by means of a cylinder/slideway assembly.
After this phase of welding, and therefore producing,
the body, in this case cylindrical body, of the package
to be produced, the carousel (3) undergoes a new
rotation of one sixth of a revolution so as to be
brought to a station for fitting a closure component.
At this stage, the mandrel (18) is withdrawn to a
greater or lesser extent from the body of the package,
depending on the type of closure component to be fitted
and in particular depending on the desired adhesive
coating method. This is because such closure components
have a peripheral ring, and it may be desirable to
fasten this ring to the body of the package on its
external face or its internal face.
Figure 6 thus shows a package in which the peripheral
ring (56) with which the closure component (55) is
provided is fastened to the internal face (57) of the
body (58) of the package. In this configuration, it may
be seen and readily understood that an internal relief
inherent to the ring relative to said internal face of
the body of the package is created.
Thus, if it is desired to fit such a closure component
and fasten it to the internal face of the body of the
package, the mandrel (18) moves vertically downwards
slightly in order to leave clear access to the ring
(56) of said component inside the body of the package.
This retraction of the mandrel (18) is, however, of
small amplitude and therefore keeps the body of the
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package sufficiently rigid for said bottom or said cap
to be fitted.
However, if the closure component to be fitted is fixed
to the external face (59) of the body of the package
(58), as shown in figure 7, the mandrel (18) is left in
place, that is to say it remains flush with the upper
level of the body, again with the purpose of giving it
sufficient stiffness, without any risk of it being bent
ZO or being damaged. In this configuration it may
therefore be seen that there is no relief projecting
from the internal face (57) of the body of the package,
which configuration may be particularly desirable for
certain applications, insofar as the products that can
be contained in the package can then slide freely out
of it.
The closure component is fitted by means of the device
(6) shown in figure 5.
This consists of a carousel (40) with a vertical
rotation axis, rotated in a stepwise mode by means of a
motorized indexing system.
In the example described, this carousel has three
stations (42), (43), (44) distributed periodically
around the periphery of the carousel (40) every third
of a revolution.
Consequently, the rotary displacement step of the
carousel is also one third of a revolution.
Each of the three stations (42), (43) and (44) is
identical and provided with a sucker (45) or
equivalent, which can be rotated on itself relative to
a motorized vertical spindle (46). Furthermore, each of
the three stations (42-44) is mounted on a carriage
(54) that can undergo a vertical translational movement
by means of a worm (not shown), rotated by a motor
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(48), causing said carriage (54) to be displaced along
guides (53).
In this regard, it should be pointed out that the
displacement travel of said carriage (54), and
consequently of the stations (42-44), can be adapted
according to the main dimension of the body of the
package to be produced.
In the example described, the station (43) grips a
closure component, conveyed by an accumulation conveyor
(8) or (9) to a receptacle (49) located vertically
beneath the station (43).
This accumulation conveyor is provided with a lug (50),
which releases a closure component present on said
conveyor as soon as the closure component stored at
(49) has been taken up by the station (43), and to do
so by means of presence detection cells, or equivalent
system.
In figure 5, after a closure component has been gripped
by the sucker (45) of the station (93) at the
accumulation receptacle (49), the carousel (40) rotates
through one third of a revolution to the left,
corresponding to the station (44) shown. At this
station, an adhesive coating system comprising a
coating nozzle (47) positions a bead of adhesive around
the external or internal periphery of the ring (56) of
said closure component (55), said component being
rotated by the rotation of said sucker by the spindle
(96) .
This coating nozzle (47) is mounted on a carriage (51)
that can move in horizontal translation by means of a
cam system (not shown) which is itself actuated by
means of a motor i52).
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Thus, when it is desired to fasten the ring (56) of the
closure component (55) to the internal face (57) of the
body of the package, the nozzle (47) will deposit a
bead of adhesive on the external face of said ring,
running continuously at its station (44).
On the other hand, when it is desired to fasten the
ring (56) of said closure component to the external
face (59) of the body of the package, said coating
nozzle (47) is moved translationally by means of the
carriage (51) so as to be plumb with the sucker (45),
which is lowered so as to allow said nozzle to be
covered by the closure component with which said sucker
is provided, and thus allow the internal face of said
ring to be coated with adhesive.
After coating, the carousel (40) then rotates a further
one third of a revolution, corresponding to the station
(42) shown in figure 5.
25
In this position, the sucker (95) is centered with
respect to the upper face of the mandrel (18), and
consequently of one of the ends of the body of the
package.
This being so, since the axis of deposition of the
closure component is automatically collinear with the
axis of revolution of the mandrel (18), it becomes
possible to operate the installation according to the
invention irrespective of the cross section of the
package and irrespective of its format.
The motor (48) is then actuated, in order to lower the
carriage (54) of the station (42), and therefore the
sucker (45) and the adhesive-coated closure component
with which it is provided, in order to position it on
the upper part of the cylindrical body, which is
subjacent at that moment, thus allowing said closure
component to be effectively fitted.
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Once this operation has been carried out, the mandrel
(18) is completely withdrawn by moving vertically
downwards, the cylindrical body provided with the
closure component being, however, held in position in
the recessed region (12), on the one hand due to the
presence of the suckers (17) and on the other hand due
to the relative stiffness of the board or plastic of
which the sheet material is made, which exerts pressure
against the jaws and against the recessed region.
After the carousel (3) has performed a new rotation
through one sixth of a revolution, the entire female
part, thus provided with the cylindrical body of the
package, undergoes a rotation in the vertical plane,
for example through 180°, by means of a gear motor
system (not shown).
Thereafter, in the next station, the package consisting
of the body of the package and its closure component,
is presented with its upper end open to the filling
station (not shown).
The filling material may be a pulverulent or
nonpulverulent, or even liquid or pasty material and,
if this material is confectionary, and more generally
any fragile product, the rotation of the female part is
not 180° but less, so as for the body of the package to
be sloping to a greater or lesser degree, reducing the
extent to which the product in question has to drop,
and correspondingly reducing the risk of said product
breaking or being partly damaged.
After a further rotation through one sixth of a
revolution of the carousel (3), the container formed by
the package provided with its first closure component,
and filled with product that it is intended to contain,
is conveyed to the next station (7) for a second
closure component to be fitted, which operates in an
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identical manner to that described in relation to
figure 5, and closes off the package. However, the
stiffness of the body of the package can no longer be
provided at this stage by the mandrel (18) considering
that the latter has been retracted in order to allow
effective filling of said package with products. This
stiffness is provided by the body of the package being
held in place by the jaws (15) in cooperation with the
recessed region (12) of the female part of the shaping
ZO member (4), and is furthermore inherent in the relative
stiffness of the board or plastic that makes up the
sheet material, which exerts pressure against the jaws
and against the recessed region. It should also be
pointed out that the suckers (17), with which the
recessed region (12) of the female part is provided,
also contribute to preventing the body of the package
from slipping while said second closure component is
being fitted.
At this stage, if it is desired for there to be a
quality seal, this second closure component is
necessarily fitted as shown in figure 6, that is to say
the ring (56) is fastened to the internal face (57) of
the body of the package.
However, if such a seal is not required, for example in
the case of packages intended to contain powdered
detergent or the like, that is to say if only
relatively good sealing is sufficient, this second
closure component may be fitted as depicted in
figure 7.
After a further rotation of the carousel (3) through
one sixth of a revolution, the station carrying the
filled and sealed package is conveyed to an ejection
area, the package being placed on a conveyor (10) which
takes it to a temporary storage area or to a packing
area.
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The above example was described in relation to a
packaging body having a constant cross section.
However, the installation according to the invention
can also be used to produce such packaging bodies but
with a variable cross section, especially one that
flares out toward the bottom or toward its upper face.
To do this, the mandrel (18) and the female part of the
shaping member are profiled according to the desired
shape.
The principle of operation remains the same. However,
for fitting the closure components, and especially the
first of them, either the mandrel is withdrawn at the
opening of the body having the largest cross section,
or else, use may be made of a mandrel of the
retractable type, that is to say one with a cross
section that can vary, making it possible, by actuating
a suitable device, to reduce its volume so as to allow
it to be retracted from the body of the package so as
to be level with the opening with the smallest cross
section, thus making it possible for the ring of the
closure component to be internally coated with
adhesive.
Tn such a configuration, the closure component fitted
to the end of the body of the package having the
smallest cross section is always fitted with the
peripheral ring (56) fastened to the internal face (57)
of said body.
Moreover, if it is desired to have a closure component
at that end of the package which is provided with the
largest cross section, with the peripheral ring (56)
fastened to the internal face (57) of said body, the
positioning member (6) is used to fit the closure
component at the end of said body having the smallest
dimension and, after the mandrel (18) has been
withdrawn, the positioning member (7) is used to fit
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the closure component at that end of the body having
the largest dimension.
On the other hand, if it is desired to have a closure
component at that end of the package which is provided
with the largest cross section, having a peripheral
ring (56) fastened to the external face (59) of said
body, the positioning member (6) is used to fit this
closure component, the mandrel (18) then entirely
filling said body. This mandrel is then withdrawn via
that end of said body with the smallest dimension, by
retracting the latter parallel to its axis of symmetry
or of revolution, in such a way as to give it a
compatible cross section over its entire height, and
Z5 especially one less than the cross section of that end
of the body of the package having the smallest
dimension. The positioning member (7) is then used to
fit the second closure component at this end with the
smallest dimension.
Thus, an embodiment of such a package with a
nonconstant cross section has been shown in figures 8
to 14.
In the first step (figure 8), the sheet of flexible
material constituting the body (58) of the package, of
suitable shape and dimensions, is brought up against
the female part (4) of the shaping member, and
especially up to the suckers (13). According to the
general process described above, the mandrel (18),
whose shape corresponds to the desired shape of the
final package, is brought up to the female part (4),
the latter wrapping said sheet around the mandrel (18)
by means of the jaws (15). After the shaping operation,
the ends of the sheet are welded together.
As may be seen, the mandrel (18) is of approximately
trapezoidal longitudinal section. Of course, with this
configuration, the shape of the female part of the
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shaping member is matched to that of the mandrel. The
package body (58) resulting therefrom therefore has two
ends of circular section, but of different diameter,
respectively an end arbitrarily called the upper end
(60) with a small cross section and an end arbitrarily
called the lower end (61), with a large cross section.
In the next step (figure 9), a closure component (62)
is attached to the upper end (60). For this purpose,
the mandrel (18) is slightly withdrawn from the body
(58) of the package thus formed (during the preceding
step).
The mandrel (18) is then fully withdrawn and,
thereafter, the female part (4) of the shaping member
is rotated through 180°, which thus results in rotation
through the same angle of the body of the package
provided with its first closure component (62) (see
figure 10).
25
Thereafter, with the actual package closed off at its
lowest end, it may now be filled (figure 11), for
example by simple gravity, said package still being
held in place by the female part of the shaping member.
Once this filling operation has been carried out, the
second closure component (63) is fitted (figure 12),
this time at what is called the lower end (61) of the
package.
Said female part, and therefore the package thus filled
and closed off, then undergoes a further rotation of
180° (figure 13), before said package is deposited on a
conveyor (10), by simply opening the jaws (15) of the
female part.
In a variant of the invention, the sheet of flexible
material is not flat, rather it has one or more
excrescences, for example of a decorative purpose,
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forming projections or reliefs relative to the plane
that contains the sheet, said excrescences being
obtained by any process, such as by thermoforming.
This or these excrescences are always located at the
same place on the sheet, so that they remain perfectly
stackable and storable in a normal fashion within the
storage magazine (1).
It is simply necessary to ensure that the free edges of
said sheet, and especially those intended to be
fastened to each other during the shaping step, remain
flat, in order for this fastening operation to proceed
correctly.
Tn general, such excrescences whether they be directed
toward the inside or the outside of the package, are
localized, making it possible in particular for the
sheet to be picked up by the suckers (25) of the
gripper (2) and to be picked up again by the suckers
(13) of the female part of the shaping member (4).
Moreover, if the excrescences are intended to be
directed toward the outside of the package, the
recessed region (12) and/or the jaws (15) are machined
so as to allow said excrescences to be housed during
the shaping step, without interfering with the actual
shaping operation. For this purpose, a cavity is made
within the internal wall of the recessed region (12)
and/or of the jaws (15), with substantially
standardized dimensions, greater than those of the
possible excrescences, thus preventing any difficulty
in terms of positioning the sheet when shaping it.
On the other hand, if these excrescences are intended
to be directed toward the inside of the package, the
same principle is adopted, but this time it is the
mandrel (18) that has such a cavity made in its
external surface, in order in this way to allow said
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excrescence(s) to be housed without impeding the
shaping operation.
It will be appreciated just how beneficial the
installation and the shaping member according to the
invention are, insofar as they allow, in a relatively
simple manner, the simultaneous manufacture of a
package, from a sheet of flexible material, which is
preprinted and also capable of having decorations in
the form of excrescences, and therefore capable of
giving it any possible shape, and the filling of said
package continuously, something which hitherto was not
known how to be done efficiently with packages whose
body is made of a flexible material stored in the form
of flats, or in the form of predimensioned sheets or
formats, and also with closure components fitted at
both ends in a sealed manner.
The advantage of producing such a package was mentioned
in the preamble of the present description.
Furthermore, when it is desired to change the shape,
all that is required to do is to replace the male and
female members of the shaping member with tools of the
desired shape, which can be carried out very easily and
very quickly.
At the same time, when it is desired to change the size
of the package, for a given cross section, all that is
required to do is to use correspondingly sized jaws
(15), and to increase, or, on the contrary, decrease,
the travel of the mandrel in its region of cooperation
with the female part of the shaping member.
