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DE-102024133256-A1 - Workstation for a packaging machine, heating arrangement for a workstation of a packaging machine and packaging machine

DE102024133256A1DE 102024133256 A1DE102024133256 A1DE 102024133256A1DE-102024133256-A1

Abstract

A workstation for a packaging machine is designed to process a web of material supplied by the packaging machine and comprises a heating arrangement with a heating plate and an electric heating element for heating the plate. The heating plate has a web contact surface for contacting the web during processing, on which several vacuum openings are arranged for suction of the web during processing. Each vacuum opening serves as the inlet to a vacuum channel that extends straight through the heating plate and opens into a vacuum chamber opposite the web contact surface, which has a vacuum port for connecting a vacuum source.

Inventors

  • Jan Michel Grau
  • Andreas Dietrich
  • Rainer Doht

Assignees

  • WEBER FOOD TECHNOLOGY SE & CO. KG

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20241113

Claims (20)

  1. Workstation (31), in particular forming station (30), sealing station (32), preheating station or labeling station, for a packaging machine (11), in particular for a thermoforming packaging machine, which is designed to process a material web (27, 28) provided by the packaging machine (11) in a material web plane (M) for processing, and which comprises a heating arrangement (33) with a heating plate (39) and with an electric heating element (41, 41', 41") for heating the heating plate (39), wherein the heating plate (39) has a material web contact surface (43) extending in or parallel to the material web plane (M) for contacting the material web (27, 28) during processing, with several vacuum openings (45) arranged on the material web contact surface (43) for suctioning the material web (27, 28) during processing, each The vacuum openings (45) are designed as the inlet (47) of a respective vacuum channel (49), which extends straight through the heating plate (39) perpendicularly or inclined to the material web plane (M) and opens into a vacuum chamber (51) opposite the material web contact surface (43), whereby the vacuum chamber (51) has a vacuum connection (53) for connecting a vacuum source (54).
  2. Workstation (31) after Claim 1 , wherein the vacuum channels (49) extend completely straight from the vacuum chamber (51) to the vacuum openings (45).
  3. Workstation (31) after Claim 1 or 2 , wherein the vacuum openings (45) opposite the outlets (55) of the vacuum channels (49) open into a common vacuum distribution surface (57), which limits the vacuum chamber (51) in the direction of the heating plate (39), wherein a vacuum generated via the vacuum connection (53) can be distributed via the vacuum distribution surface (57) to the vacuum channels (49).
  4. Workstation (31) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the workstation (31) has only one vacuum connection (53) for drawing the material web (27, 28) to the heating plate (39), wherein all vacuum channels (49) are connected to the vacuum connection (53) via the vacuum chamber (51); and/or wherein all vacuum channels (49) open into the same vacuum chamber (51).
  5. Workstation (31) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the material web contact surface (43) extends along two mutually perpendicular extension directions (E1, E2), wherein at least a first vacuum channel (49'), a second vacuum channel (49") and a third vacuum channel (49''') open into the vacuum chamber (51), wherein the second vacuum channel (49") is offset from the first vacuum channel (49') along a first extension direction (E1) of the two extension directions (E1, E2), but not along a second extension direction (E2) of the two extension directions (E1, E2), and wherein the third vacuum channel (49''') is offset from the first vacuum channel (49') and the second vacuum channel (49") along the second extension direction (E2).
  6. Workstation (31) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the vacuum channels (49) are designed as straight bores (59).
  7. Workstation (31) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the heating element (41, 41', 41") is designed as a wire (61) or a flat ribbon conductor (63).
  8. Workstation (31) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the heating element (41, 41', 41'') is guided in a coiled path (65, 67, 69) along a heating surface (99) of the heating arrangement (33) aligned parallel to the material web contact surface (43), wherein the vacuum channels (49) extend in an intermediate area (71) between respective web sections (66) of the coiled path (65, 67, 69).
  9. Workstation (31) after Claim 8 , wherein the coiled track (65, 67, 69) is preformed by a recessed structure (97), in particular milled, on the heating surface (99), into which the heating element (41, 41', 41") is inserted, in particular placed, or wherein the heating element (41, 41', 41'') is placed in the coiled track (65, 67, 69) along the heating surface (99).
  10. Workstation (31) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the heating element (41, 41', 41") is arranged on a heating plate (109, 111, 113) which is arranged between the heating plate (39) and the vacuum chamber (51), wherein the vacuum channels (49) extend straight through the heating plate (109, 111, 113).
  11. Workstation (31) after Claim 10 , wherein the heating plate (109, 111, 113) is glued and/or screwed to the heating plate (39).
  12. Workstation (31) after Claim 10 or 11 , wherein the heating element (41, 41', 41") is arranged on a heating surface (99) of the heating plate (109, 111, 113) facing the heating plate (39).
  13. Workstation (31) according to one of the Claims 10 until 12 , wherein the heating plate (109, 111, 113) forms a boundary of the vacuum chamber (51) in the direction of the material web contact surface (43); or wherein the heating plate (109, 111, 113) is covered by a boundary plate (115) which forms a boundary of the vacuum chamber (51) in the direction of the material web contact surface (43), wherein the vacuum channels (49) extend straight through the boundary plate (115).
  14. Workstation (31) according to one of the Claims 10 until 13 , wherein the heating plate (109, 111, 113) is connected to the heating plate (39) by a screw connection (117).
  15. Workstation (31) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the heating arrangement (33) comprises at least a first heating element (41) and a second heating element (41'), wherein the first heating element (41) is guided in a first coiled path (65) along a first heating surface (99) of the heating arrangement (33) aligned parallel to the material web contact surface (43), and wherein the second heating element (41') is guided in a second coiled path (65) along a second heating surface (99) of the heating arrangement (33) aligned parallel to the material web contact surface (43) and offset from the first heating surface (99).
  16. Workstation (31) after Claim 15 , wherein the first coiled web (65) differs from the second coiled web (67) and/or wherein the first heating element (41, 41', 41") and the second heating element (41, 41', 41") are not continuously superimposed in a superposition (119) considered perpendicular to the material web impact surface (43).
  17. Workstation (31) after Claim 15 or 16 , wherein the first coiled web (65) and the second coiled web (67) form a net (83) with several intersection nodes (121) in a superposition (119) considered perpendicular to the material web application surface (43), wherein the vacuum channels (49) extend through meshes (85) of the net (83).
  18. Workstation (31) according to one of the Claims 15 until 17 , wherein the second coiled track (67) is rotated relative to the first coiled track (65), in particular by 90 degrees with respect to an axis of rotation oriented perpendicular to the heating surfaces (99).
  19. Workstation (31) according to one of the Claims 15 until 18 , wherein the first heating element (41) is formed on a first heating plate (109) and the second heating element (41') is formed on a second heating plate (111), wherein the first heating plate (109) and the second heating plate (111) are arranged between the heating plate (39) and the vacuum chamber (51), wherein the vacuum channels (49) extend straight through the heating plates (109, 111).
  20. Workstation (31) after Claim 19 , wherein the first heating plate (109) and the second heating plate (111) are identical to each other and have identical guideways (123) for the heating elements (41, 41') along which the heating elements (41, 41') are guided in the respective coiled path (65, 67), wherein the heating plates (109, 111) are arranged rotated by 90 degrees relative to each other.

Description

The invention relates to a workstation, in particular a forming station, sealing station, preheating station or labeling station, for a packaging machine, wherein the packaging machine may in particular be designed as a thermoforming packaging machine. The workstation is designed to process a material web provided by the packaging machine in a material web plane for processing and comprises a heating arrangement with a heating plate and with an electric heating element for heating the heating plate, wherein the heating plate has a material web contact surface extending in or parallel to the material web plane for contacting the material web during processing. For example, packaging machines can be used in food processing lines to package prepared food products or portions of food products formed from them. Such a processing line might include a slicing device to cut slices from prepared food products and form portions from the slices, each portion containing at least one of the slices. Subsequently, a transport system can be provided to feed these portions to a packaging machine, which then packages them to produce retail-ready packages. To package portions of food products and produce the packages, a packaging machine can have various workstations that process a web of material moved by the machine. For example, the packaging machine can have a forming station where cavities are drawn into the material web, into which the portions are then placed at a feeding station. The portion-filled cavities can then be fed to a sealing station, where they are sealed by an upper web of material fed from above, sealing the edges of the cavities. Additionally, domed lids or compartments can be formed in the upper web of material at the sealing station, for which the upper web can also be drawn in and shaped. The packaging machine can also have a labeling station where the filled and sealed cavities can be labeled with information about the packaged product. At a singulation station of the packaging machine, the individual portions connected to the material web can be separated, so that ultimately individual packages with respective packaged portions can be formed and offered for sale. As an alternative to packaging food products in provided trays, it is also possible, for example, to simply place the food products or portions onto predefined packaging positions within a material web, without first creating trays in the web. However, such packaging positions can also be covered at a subsequent sealing station, for example, by an upper material web fed from above and sealed to the material web carrying the portions, in order to obtain sealed packages. Since the material web can undergo various forming or joining processes during the packaging manufacturing process, heating the web may be necessary or helpful in several of the processing steps performed on a packaging machine. For example, at a forming station for creating indentations in a supplied material web, the web may be heated to allow it to be drawn into a forming tool and thus thermoformed. Similarly, at a sealing station, the material web carrying the food products and/or the upper material web fed from above may be heated to fuse the two webs together and close the packaging or form the aforementioned lid. At a labeling station, the material web may be heated to improve label adhesion and/or to melt an adhesive. Therefore, various workstations in a packaging machine require the installation of a heating system to heat the web and perform the processing step. This involves bringing the web into contact with a heat-transferring surface on a heated heating plate within the system. Preheating stations can also be equipped with such heating systems. It is intended to heat the material web before it is fed to a subsequent workstation and to prepare it for the processing step to be carried out. However, the difficulty lies in ensuring that the heating element or its material web contact surface is reliably brought into contact with the material web to achieve the desired, and for example, uniform, heat transfer. Furthermore, efforts are made to design heating elements to be as space-saving as possible, so that the heating of the material web—which can be considered an additional function of the workstation—can be integrated into the workstation in the most compact way possible. Therefore, one object of the invention is to create a workstation for a packaging machine with a heating arrangement that enables precise and reliable contact of the material web with the material web contact surface while also providing a compact design for the heating arrangement. This problem is solved (according to a first aspect of the present disclosure) by a workstation having the features of claim 1. Furthermore, the problem is solved (according to a second aspect of the present disclosure) by a workstation having the features of claim 28. In the heating arrangement of the workstation ac