DUAL LANE, PREMADE POUCH PACKAGING MACHINE
Disclosed is a pick-fill-seal type dual lane premade pouch packing machine ( 200 ) that reduces the setup time and allows flexibility to change the gripper width as per the pouch size. The machine ( 200 ) comprises a plurality of gripper assemblies ( 150 ) linearly mounted on two indexing assemblies ( 110 A, 110 B) driven by two independent driving mechanisms wherein first gripper fingers ( 120 ) are mounted on the first indexing assembly ( 110 A) and second gripper fingers ( 130 ) are mounted on the second indexing assembly ( 110 B). Cam followers ( 140 ) are fitted on the gripper assemblies ( 150 ) either on upper side or lower side thereof such that gripper assemblies ( 150 ) with upper side cam-followers ( 140 ) and lower side cam-followers ( 140 ) are arranged alternately. The independence of cam motion from the indexing assemblies ( 110 A, 110 B) allows the indexing distance to be reduced which results in reduction in the machine length and the floor space required.
1 . A dual lane premade pouch packaging machine ( 200 ) comprising:
a first indexing assembly ( 110 A) and a second indexing assembly ( 110 B) running in synchronization with each other and driven by two independent driving mechanisms;
a plurality of gripper assemblies ( 150 ), each serving as a station for performing basic operations related to pouch packaging; each gripper assembly from the plurality of gripper assemblies ( 150 ) consisting of consecutively mounted first gripper finger ( 120 ) and a second gripper finger ( 130 ), wherein each gripper finger ( 120 and 130 ) is having a right hand side (RHS) gripping profile ( 120 A, 130 A) and a left hand side (LHS) gripping profile ( 120 B, 130 B) respectively forming first gripping unit (A) and second gripping unit (B) on either sides;
a cam follower ( 140 ) mounted on each of the gripping profile of the first and the second gripping units (A, B) either on upper side or on the lower side thereof; and
at least one top cam for operating the upper-mounted cam followers ( 140 ) and at least one bottom cam for operating the lower-mounted cam followers ( 140 );
characterized in that,
the plurality of a gripper assemblies ( 150 ) are linearly arranged on the indexing assemblies ( 110 A, 110 B) with first gripper fingers ( 120 ) mounted on the first indexing assembly ( 110 A) and second gripper fingers ( 130 ) mounted on the second indexing assembly ( 110 B), wherein the indexing assemblies ( 110 A, 110 B) move in synchronization to each other, maintaining the width of gripping units (A, B) constant for all the gripper assemblies ( 150 ), and the width of gripping units (A, B) is adjusted according to the pouch width by linearly moving either of the indexing assembly ( 110 A or 110 B); and
the plurality of gripper assemblies ( 150 ) is arranged with gripper assemblies ( 150 ) having all upper-mounted cam followers ( 140 ) and gripper assemblies ( 150 ) having all lower-mounted cam followers ( 140 ) arranged alternately.
2 . The dual lane premade pouch packaging machine ( 200 ) as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the indexing assemblies ( 110 A and 110 B) are driven by a servo motor.
3 . The dual lane premade pouch packaging machine ( 200 ) as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the indexing assemblies ( 110 A and 110 B) are driven by a common drive with a mechanism to adjust the distance between the first gripper finger ( 120 ) and the second gripper finger ( 130 ).
4 . The dual lane premade pouch packaging machine ( 200 ) as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the at least one top cam and the at least one bottom cam are pneumatically operated cams.