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CN-122029124-A - Capping method for applying screw caps and electronic capping machine

CN122029124ACN 122029124 ACN122029124 ACN 122029124ACN-122029124-A

Abstract

A capping method for applying screw caps to containers, comprising the steps of collecting (101) at a preset rate values of physical quantities identifying at least important phases of a capping cycle and related to a rotational movement, forming (102) a data string corresponding to a single capping head (10 a..10n) and to one of a plurality of consecutive capping cycles, respectively, using the collected values, creating a database of the data string, obtaining a time-varying status indicator from the data string, defining a range of values for the time-varying status indicator representative of a normal progress of the capping cycle, checking whether the real-time values of the status indicator fall within the corresponding ranges, storing the checking results in the database, and generating an alarm flag indicating that one or more components of the capping machine (1; 1A) may fail in the future, at least in case the number of negative results exceeds a threshold value.

Inventors

  • Fabio Breniu
  • Dennis Rufino
  • Alessandro Varexi

Assignees

  • AROL公司

Dates

Publication Date
20260512
Application Date
20250529
Priority Date
20240606

Claims (18)

  1. 1. A capping method for applying a screw cap to a container, wherein the capping requires a rotational motion about an axis and a vertical translational motion along the same axis to be applied to the cap, characterized in that during a capping cycle the capping method comprises the steps of: collecting (101) at a preset rate a value of a physical quantity identifying at least a significant phase of the capping cycle and related to the rotational movement; forming (102) a data string corresponding to a single capping head (10 a..10n) and one of a plurality of consecutive capping cycles, respectively, using the acquired values; Creating a database of the data string; obtaining a time-varying state index from the data string, and defining a numerical range for the time-varying state index that represents normal operation of the capping cycle; Checking whether the real-time value of the state index falls within the corresponding range, and Generating an alarm flag indicating that one or more components of the capping machine (1; 1A) may fail in the future, at least in the event that the number of negative results exceeds a threshold.
  2. 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising collecting a value of a physical quantity associated with the translational motion and incorporating the value into the data string.
  3. 3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the physical quantity related to the rotational movement comprises at least: -a current output by the motor (12) imparting said rotary motion in an idle condition; the position of the capping head (10 a..10n) at the beginning of the cap screwing phase; The position of the capping head (10 a..10n) when the screwing phase is over, i.e. the capping is completed; -from dead point to the screwing phase starting position, the travel range travelled by the capping head (10 a..10n); -from the dead point to the closure end position, a range of travel travelled by the closure head (10 a..10n); Rated torque output by the screwing stage.
  4. 4. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the physical quantity related to the translational movement comprises at least the vertical position of the lid and the axial force applied to the lid.
  5. 5. The method of any of the preceding claims, wherein the data string comprises an identifier associated with the capping head and cycle, and a flag indicating the end of capping status.
  6. 6. The method of any of the preceding claims, wherein the state index is a moving time average of a single physical quantity or a combination of physical quantities and is updated using machine learning techniques.
  7. 7. The method according to claim 6 when dependent on claim 3, wherein the status indicator provides at least the following information: A rotating mechanical friction average; an average value of the angle of rotation of the cap between the beginning and the end of the screwing phase and the end of the capping in each cycle; At the end of the screwing phase, the minimum and maximum values of the angular position of the capping head; a final torque average; A good or acceptable closure; The cap or bottle is absent during the capping process.
  8. 8. The method according to claim 6 when dependent on claim 4, wherein the status indicator provides at least the following information: average value of translational mechanical friction, and Minimum and maximum values of the position at which the maximum axial force is reached.
  9. 9. The method according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that: in relation to the operating mode of the capping machine (1; 1A) or of the device to which the capping machine (1; 1A) belongs and independent of the single capping head (10 a....10 n) and the single capping head: the value of the physical quantity of the cycle is used to obtain the state index.
  10. 10. The method according to claim 9, wherein: independent of the single capping head (10 a..10 n.); the physical quantities associated with a single capping cycle include at least: The operating mode of the capping machine (1; 1A); Any machine alarms; a set production speed; Parameters of the device; The state of the device; Actual production speed.
  11. 11. The method according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the values of the physical quantity related to the rotational and translational movements and the values of the physical quantity independent of the single capping head (10 a...10 n) and the single capping cycle are acquired with the same rate.
  12. 12. An electronic capping machine (1; 1A) for applying screw caps to containers, comprising one or more capping heads (10 a..once..10n) performing a rotational movement about an axis and a translational movement along the same axis during a capping cycle, wherein at least the rotational movement is imparted by an electric motor (12; 12R), characterized in that: the capping head (10 a...10 n) is associated with a system (2) for data acquisition and analysis, the system comprising: A serialization means (20), for serializing the collection from each capping head (10 a....once again, 10 n) at a preset rate, a plurality of consecutive capping cycles a value of a physical quantity associated with at least said rotational movement and identifying a significant phase of the cycle; and A data reduction and preparation device (22) configured to: by means of the values that are acquired, forming (102) corresponds to a single capping head (10 a..once..10n.). A data string of one of a plurality of consecutive capping periods; -creating a database of said data strings in a storage means (21); Obtaining a time-varying state index from the data string and storing the time-varying state index in the database, and defining a numerical range representing normal operation of the capping cycle for the time-varying state index; Checking whether the real-time value of the state index falls within the corresponding range, and Storing the verification results in the database, and generating an alarm flag indicating that one or more components of the capping machine (1) may fail in the future, at least in the event that the number of negative results exceeds a threshold.
  13. 13. The capping machine (1; 1A) according to claim 12, wherein said translational movement is also imparted by a motor (12L), said serialization and data reduction and preparation means (20, 22) being adapted to collect and incorporate into said data string the values of the physical quantity associated with said translational movement.
  14. 14. The capping machine (1; 1A) according to claim 12 or 13, characterized in that the physical quantities related to the rotary motion comprise at least: -a current output by the motor (12; 12 r) imparting said rotary motion in an idle condition; the position of the capping head (10 a..10n) at the beginning of the cap screwing phase; the position of the capping head (10 a..10n) when capping is completed; -from dead point to the screwing phase starting position, the travel range travelled by the capping head (10 a..10n); -from the dead point to the closure end position, a range of travel travelled by the closure head (10 a..10n); Rated torque output by the screwing stage.
  15. 15. The capping machine (1; 1A) according to any one of claims 12 to 14 wherein the physical quantity associated with the translational movement comprises at least the vertical position of the cap and the axial force applied to the cap.
  16. 16. The capping machine (1; 1A) according to any one of claims 12 to 15 wherein the data string comprises an identifier associated with the head and cycle, and a flag indicating the end of capping condition.
  17. 17. The capping machine (1; 1A) according to any one of claims 12 to 16, wherein the serialization and data reduction and preparation device (20, 22) is adapted to acquire values of physical quantities related to the operating mode of the capping machine (1; 1A) or of the device to which the capping machine (1; 1A) belongs and independent of the individual capping heads (10 a..4..10 n) and of the individual capping cycles, and to obtain therefrom a state index.
  18. 18. The capping machine (1; 1 a) as claimed in claim 17 wherein: independent of the single capping head (10 a..10 n.); and the physical quantity of a single capping cycle includes at least: The operating mode of the capping machine (1; 1A); Any machine alarms; a set production speed; Parameters of the device to which the capping machine (1; 1A) belongs; The state of the device; Actual production speed.

Description

Capping method for applying screw caps and electronic capping machine Technical Field The present invention relates to the handling and packaging of liquids, and more particularly to a capping method for applying screw caps and an electronic capping machine that monitors and predictive analyses performance. Background In a capping machine for applying screw caps, each capping head must perform both a rotational motion and a vertical translational motion. In electronic capping machines, at least the rotary motion is driven by a motor from which information can be obtained for tracking part of the capping parameters, in particular the torque exerted on the cap. The vertical translational movement may be achieved by an electric linear motor or a mechanical cam. However, in conventional electronic capping machines, the data obtained is typically used to perform a rough analysis of the quality of the caps and to identify faults, and is not always systematically saved and recorded, and is typically only reviewed in the event of a major fault requiring a precise analysis. Thus, intervention is only performed when a fault has occurred significantly. EP 1103513 Al discloses a system for applying screw caps to bottles, wherein during the capping of the bottles, torque applied to the caps and angular position data of the caps themselves are collected in order to identify as soon as possible whether the caps are successful, so as to reject the caps that are not acceptable immediately after the caps themselves are completed. WO 2021/008782 Al discloses a liquid treatment apparatus implementing a method of storing apparatus operating data and using the stored data for preventive maintenance purposes. Other solutions for providing preventive/predictive maintenance in systems for packaging products including beverages are disclosed in e.g. WO 2021260595 Al, US 2022269259 Al, US 2023109567 Al, US 2023266752 Al and EP 4116781 Al. Disclosure of Invention The invention aims to overcome the defects of the prior art and provide a capping method which can not only monitor the capping quality, but also perform predictive analysis on the performance of a capping machine for implementing the method. Thereby preventing a malfunction from occurring. This object is achieved by a capping method for applying a screw cap, comprising the following steps in a capping cycle: collecting, at a preset rate, values of physical quantities capable of identifying at least the important phases of said cycle and associated with a rotary motion applied to a lid for closing the cap; forming a data string associated with the capping head and one of a plurality of consecutive capping cycles, respectively, using the collected values; Creating a database of such data strings; Obtaining time-varying state indexes from the data string, and defining a numerical range for the state indexes, wherein the numerical range represents normal execution of the capping period; checking whether the instantaneous value of the state index falls within the corresponding range, and The verification results are stored in a database and an alarm flag is generated indicating a potential future failure in one or more components of the capping machine that implement the method, at least in the event that the number of negative results exceeds a threshold. Preferably, the values of the physical quantities related to the translational movement applied to the cover simultaneously with the rotational movement are also acquired and entered into the data string. According to a preferred feature of the invention the physical quantities associated with the rotational movement and used to form the data string comprise at least: a current output by the motor imparting the rotational motion under no-load conditions; The position of the capping head when the cap screwing stage starts; when the screwing stage is finished (the closing is finished), the position of the closing head is changed; From dead point to the starting position of the screwing stage, the travel range of the capping head is operated; from the preset point of the period to the end position of the sealing cover, the travel range of the sealing cover head runs; Rated electromagnetic torque output during the screwing phase, and The physical quantity associated with said translational movement comprises at least the vertical position of the cap and the axial force applied to said cap. Advantageously, the data string further comprises an identification associated with the capping head and with the cycle, and a flag indicating the capping end state. In a preferred embodiment, the state index is a moving time average of a single physical quantity or a combination of physical quantities. Advantageously, physical quantities related to the operating mode of the capping machine or of the device to which the capping machine belongs and not related to the respective capping head and the respective capping cycle are used to obtain the s