Apparatus for Packaging of Products

The present disclosure is in the technical field of apparatus for packaging of products. More particularly, the present disclosure is directed to an apparatus having a gripper configured to hold open an opening of a bag so that the bag receives a product into the opening as the same product is moved towards the bag.

It is known in the state of the art the use of apparatus for packaging with a gripper for holding open a bag while a product is conveyed inside it.

EP1465809 discloses a packaging apparatus having a bag opener which comprises fingers. All the fingers, in operation of the packaging apparatus, enter into a mouth of a bag and move apart to open the bag mouth. Fingers of the art may move in a lateral width-wise direction and/or in a vertical height-wise direction to open the bag to a controlled degree of opening. The degree of opening may be a function of a product size. The packaging apparatus of the prior art comprises a conveyor configured to move products towards the bag opener in a conveying direction. In the known art, once opened by the fingers, the bag is presented to the product to receive it. The bag is held in such a way to allow the passage of the product through the opening when the product is moved along the conveying direction. Then, the bagged product is caught by an exit conveyor pulling the mouth of the bag from the fingers.

It is also known a bag opener comprising pairs of fingers, each one with a movable inner finger and a fixed external finger. The inner finger, in operation, enters the mouth of a bag and moves in a vertical direction towards the external finger. In particular, the known inner finger moves to open the bag and make it contacts the external finger. When the bag is open, it is therefore interposed and clamped between each pair of fingers.

Sometimes, for example in the meat industry, products may present different shapes one to the other, asperities or they can be misaligned on the conveyor. This can cause the product to hit the bag mouth or one of the fingers while approaching the same bag. The contact between the product and one of the fingers can stop the movement of the product and consequently the operation of the packaging apparatus. Moreover, when a product contacts a portion of the mouth of the bag, it can induce a tension in the bag. Since the bag is clamped and therefore already tensioned by the fingers, the tension caused by the product can break the bag.

One drawback of the known systems is that the packaging apparatus and the packaging process are interrupted every time a product is stopped in its motion by the contact with one finger, or every time the bag is broken due to the tension induced by the product.

This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This summary is not intended to identify key features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.

Therefore, in a first aspect thereof, an apparatus for packaging products comprises:

In a 2nd aspect in accordance with the 1st aspect, each of the plurality of gripping elements is movable at least in a plane transverse to the conveying direction.

In a 3rd aspect in accordance with the 2nd aspect, the plurality of gripping elements is held in the apparatus such that, in response to the product contacting a portion of the opening of the bag to induce tension in the opening of the bag as the product is received into the bag, at least one of the plurality of gripping elements moves in the plane transverse to the conveying direction to reduce the tension in the opening of the bag.

In a 4th aspect in accordance with the 3rd aspect, each of the plurality of gripping elements is movable between a closed configuration and an open configuration.

In a 5th aspect in accordance with the 4th aspect, the clamping portion of each of the plurality of gripping elements is configured to contact an inner side and/or outer side of the bag in the closed configuration, while the clamping portion is configured to be spaced apart from the inner and/or outer sides of the bag in the open configuration.

In a 6th aspect in accordance with the 5th aspect, a gripping element of the plurality of gripping elements comprises a first finger and a second finger rotatably coupled to each other.

In a 7th aspect in accordance with the 6th aspect, the clamping portion is defined at least in part by the first and the second fingers.

In an 8th aspect in accordance with the 7th aspect, the first and second fingers define an interposed angle.

In a 9th aspect in accordance with the 8th aspect, the interposed angle is smaller when the gripping element is in the closed configuration than when the gripping element is in the open configuration.

In a 10th aspect in accordance with any one of the aspects from the 6th to the 9th, wherein the clamping portion comprises first and the second contact surfaces that are defined at least in part respectively by the first and second fingers of the gripping element.

In an 11st aspect according to the 10th aspect, the first and second contact surfaces are arranged to face each other.

In a 12th aspect according to the 11st aspect, when the gripping element moves from the closed configuration to the open configuration, the first and second contact surfaces move away from each other, and when the gripping element moves from the open configuration to the closed configuration, the first and second contact surfaces approach each other.

In a 13th aspect in accordance with any one of the aspects from the 10th to the 12th, the first contact surface is configured to contact the inner side of the bag and the second contact surface is configured to contact the outer side of the bag.

In a 14th aspect in accordance with the preceding aspect, when the gripping element is in the closed configuration, the first and second contact surfaces contact respectively the inner side and the outer side of the bag.

In a 15th aspect in accordance with either the 13th aspect or the 14th aspect, when the gripping element is in the open configuration, the first and second contact surfaces are spaced apart respectively from the inner side and outer side of the bag.

In a 16th aspect in accordance with any one of aspects from the 13rd to the 15th, the first contact surface and the second contact surface move towards the respective inner side and outer side of the bag as the gripping element moves from the open configuration to the closed configuration.

In a 17th aspect in accordance with any one of aspects from the 6th to the 16th, the clamping portion comprises a friction surface defined at least in part by the first finger and/or second finger.

In an 18th aspect in accordance with the preceding aspect, the friction surface is configured to increase friction between the bag and the respective first finger and/or the second finger when the gripping element is in the closed configuration.

In a 19th aspect in accordance with any one of the aspects from the 6th to the 16th when combined with the 10th aspect, the friction surface is defined at least in part by the first contact surface of the first finger and/or at least in part by the second contact surface of the second finger.

In a 20th aspect in accordance with any one of the aspects from the 17th to the 19th, the friction surface comprises a rubber material.

In a 21st aspect in accordance with any one of the aspects from the 17th to the 20th, the friction surface comprises a rib emerging from the first finger and/or second finger.

In a 22nd aspect in accordance with any one of the aspects from the 19th to the 21st, the friction surface comprises a rib emerging from the first contact surface of the first finger and/or a rib emerging from the second contact surface of the second finger.

In a 23rd aspect in accordance with any one of the aspects from the 4th to the 22nd, the gripper comprises an actuator coupled to a gripping element of the plurality of gripping elements and configured to move the gripping element between the open and closed configuration.

In a 24th aspect in accordance with any one of the aspects from the 6th to the 23rd, the actuator is coupled to the first and second finger of the gripping element.

In a 25th aspect in accordance with either the 23rd aspect or the 24th aspect, the actuator comprises a pneumatic cylinder.

In a 26th aspect in accordance with any one of the aspects from the 23rd to the 25th, the gripper comprises a plurality of actuators, each of which is associated with one of the gripping elements.

In a 27th aspect in accordance with the preceding aspect, the plurality of actuators are in signal communication with each other and are configured to move the plurality of gripping elements between the open and closed configuration substantially simultaneously.

In a 28th aspect in accordance with any one of the aspects 26th or 27th, the plurality of actuators comprises a pneumatic cylinder.

In a 29th aspect in accordance with either the 28th aspect or the 25th aspect, the pneumatic cylinder is a double-acting pneumatic cylinder.

In a 30th aspect in accordance with any one of the preceding aspects, the gripper comprises a frame arranged at least in part around the conveying direction,

In a 31st aspect in accordance with the preceding aspect, the plurality of gripping elements is fixed to the frame and spaced apart to each other around the conveying direction,

In a 32nd aspect in accordance with either the 30th aspect or the 31st aspect, the frame is configured to move in the plane transverse to the conveying direction in response to a contact between the product and at least one of the gripping elements and/or in response the product contacting a portion of the opening of the bag to induce tension in the opening of the bag as the product is received into the bag.

In a 33rd aspect in accordance with any one of the aspects from the 30th to the 32nd when combined with the 2nd aspect, the gripper comprises a control mechanism coupled to the frame and configured to move the frame along the plane transverse to the conveying direction.

In a 34th aspect in accordance with any one of the preceding aspects, the conveyor comprises a conveying surface configured to convey the product along the conveying direction.

In a 35th aspect in accordance with the preceding aspect, the conveying surface is configured to pass at least in part through the opening of the bag when the bag is held by the plurality of gripping elements.

In a 36th aspect in accordance with any one of the preceding aspects, the plurality of gripping elements comprises a lower gripping element and an upper gripping element.

In a 37th aspect in accordance with the 36th aspect when combined with the 34th or 35th, the conveying surface is interposed at least in part between the lower gripping element and the upper gripping element along a direction transverse to the conveying surface.

In a 38th aspect in accordance with any one of the preceding aspects, a number of the plurality of gripping elements is in a range between 3 and 6 gripping elements.

In a 39th aspect in accordance with the preceding aspect, the number of the plurality of gripping elements is 5 gripping elements.

In a 40th aspect in accordance with any one of the preceding aspects, the gripper is configured to conform the opening of the bag into a polygonal shape.

In a 41st aspect according to the preceding aspect, the polygonal shape has 3 to 10 sides.

In a 42nd aspect according to the preceding aspect, the polygonal shape has 6 to 8 sides.

In a 43rd aspect in accordance with any one of the preceding aspects, the apparatus comprises a pusher coupled with the conveyor and the gripper.