GB2024705A

GB2024705A - Carton erecting apparatus

Info

Publication number: GB2024705A
Application number: GB7829164A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: PAKFAST Ltd
Current assignee: PAKFAST Ltd
Priority date: 1978-07-07
Filing date: 1978-07-07
Publication date: 1980-01-16
Also published as: IL57724A0; IL57724A; DE2966508D1; EP0007215A1; EP0007215B1

Description

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SPECIFICATION Carton forming apparatus

5 This invention relates to apparatus including devices and machines for erecting portions or the whole of carbon blanks to make cartons or boxes.

Carton blanks are usually of planar form and have various crease lines and cut lines arranged so that 10 portions of the carton can be erected with respect to other portions during passage of the carton in one direction through the apparatus for forming the carton from the blank. Apparatus for the formation of cartons from planar blanks is generally of a 15 complicated structure and includes a large number of moving parts designed to erect various elements of the blank with respect to each other around the aforementioned crease and cut lines.

In accordance with one aspect of the present 20 invention a device for erecting the corner portion of a carton blank comprising a substantially polygonal base, two side wails joined to the base along crease lines and extending away from a corner area of the base and uniting portions in the corner area, parts of 25 said side walls and/or uniting portions overlapping each other in the erected condition of the blank for holding the side walls erect, the device comprising erecting elements for said side walls and uniting portions fixed in relation to each other, the side wall 30 erecting elements extending at an angle to each other corresponding to the angle between the associated side walls in the erected condition of the carton and being of a length to contact only the relatively short portion of the associated side walls 35 adjacent the said corner area.

In use of the device in accordance with this aspect of the invention a mandrel having a cross-section corresponding to the base portion of the carton blank is caused to pass into contact with this base of 40 a carton blank and to cause the carton blank to engage by way of its side wall and uniting portions with the side wail and uniting portion erecting elements which cooperate with the mandrel to cause the side wall and the uniting portions to attain their 45 respective positions in the erected condition of the carton.

Preferably, a respective side wall and/or uniting portion support and guide is located downstream, with respect to the movement of the mandrel, of 50 each associated erecting element, which support and guide serves to hold the erected parts of the corner portion of the blanks in position against the forming mandrel. Such supports and guides may be fixed in relation to their corresponding erecting 55 elements and be so dimensioned with respect to the path of the mandrel that, for example, sufficient pressure is applied to obtain adequate adhering by way of an adhesive previously applied to the overlapping corner portions to secure the uniting portion 60 or portions to the side walls and/or to each other.

In accordance with a preferred aspect of the present invention the support and guide for the overlapping ones of the erected parts of the corner portion is movable towards and away from the 65 mandrel in a direction generally perpendicular to the direction of movement of the mandrel and preferably under the action of a pneumatically operated pressure cylinder, whereby an adhesive previously applied to such overlapping parts, for example a PVA adhesive, can be caused to be effective when the pressure cylinder is actuated to cause the support and guide to be applied under substantial pressure against the mandrel with the overlapping parts of the corner portion of the carton therebetween. The pneumatic cylinder and the support and guide can be an integral part of the device. In a further aspect of the present invention there is provided apparatus incorporating means for moving a mandrel along a given path and at least one of the devices for erecting the corner portion of a carton blank as defined above located on the periphery of the path of movement of a mandrel in the apparatus. Preferably, the device or devices are movable on suitable guides towards and away from the path of movement of the mandrel and the size of the mandrel may be changed so that the apparatus can readily be adapted for the erection of cartons of different sizes. In addition, the apparatus itself can readily be modified by changing the particular form of the devices and their erecting elements to allow the apparatus as a whole to be used for the erection of cartons having a different form.

The apparatus may be provided with means for applying an adhesive, such as a cold setting pessure sensitive adhesive, to one or more of the surfaces which are overlapped at the end of the erection process.

As indicated, a preferred feature of the present invention is that a device for forming a corner portion of a carton be constructed as an integral unit comprising the side wall and uniting portion erecting elements and support and guide means forthe side wall and uniting portions, one of which support and guide means is connected to a pneumatic cylinder, also integral with the device and operable to apply pressure via the support and guide to the overlapping parts of the corner portion in the erected condition to effect the gluing or adhering of the overlapping portions of the carton to complete the carton. Such a unitary device is preferably one of a number of such devices which are movably mounted on the framework of a basic apparatus in accordance with the invention so that the apparatus can be readily setup to form a number of different sizes of the same style of carton with the minimum of movement of parts thereof or the devices for one style of carton can readily be replaced by devices for another style of carton with the minimum of disruption and down time of the apparatus.

Thus, the invention is able to provide a functionally efficient machine which is flexible and adaptable and which has a minimum number of moving parts during operation thereof.

The invention will now be further described, by way of example only, with the reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a front view of a mobile apparatus for erecting cartons in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 2 is an end view of the machine of Figure 1;

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Figure 3 is a top plan view of a device for erecting a corner portion of a carton which is included in the apparatus of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a front view and Figure 5 is an end view 5 of the device of Figure 3;

Figure 6 is a plan of a carton blank suitable for use in the apparatus illustrated in Figures 1 to 5; and

Figures 7,8 and 9 illustrate alternative blanks or portions of blanks and are provided to illustrate the 10 way in which the corner portion erecting devices embodying this invention may be utilised to form blanks of different configurations.

The apparatus embodying the invention shown in Figures 1 to 5 of the accompanying drawings 15 includes a base frame 1 supported on wheels 2 and carrying upright frame members 3 and top frame members 4 which are secured together to provide a rigid framework. Further frame members 5 are secured between the upright members 3 at approxi-20 mately a mid height position and these members 5 slidably support carton blank guides 6 which have variably positionable end stops 6a. Also the guides 6 can be moved towards and away from each other along the members 5 so that different widths of 25 blanks as well as different lengths of blanks can be fed into the machine and correctly positioned therein.

A piston and cylinder mechanism 7 is secured to the top frame members 4 and the piston of the 30 piston and cylinder unit 7 is guided vertically and supports in an easily detachable manner at its lower end a mandrel 8 which is of dimensions corresponding to the dimensions of a carton to be erected by the machine in a particular configuration of the movable 35 elements of the machine. The mandrel is movable from a position located above the plane defined by the guides 6 to a position substantially below this plane in which the carton has been erected from the blank.

40 Four corner portion forming devices or units 9 are mounted below the plane defined by the blank guides 6 and are arranged in pairs. The corner units 9 of each pair are slidable towards and away from each other on channel members 10 and can be 45 locked in any desired position on the channel members 10. The channel members 10 are themselves movable towards and away from each other on cross members 11 secured to the upright frame members 3 and can be locked in any desired position 50 thereon.

One of the corner portion forming units 9 is illustrated in greater detail in Figures 3,4 and 5.

A mounting plate 20 is provided with slots 21 for receiving mounting bolts for securing the corner unit 55 to a channel member 10. A pneumatic piston and cylinder unit 22 is secured to the mounting plate on one side thereof and the piston rod 23 of the unit 22 extends through the plate and has its end secured to a pressure plate 24 that is reciprocable perpendicu-60 larly to the mounting plate 20 under the action of the piston and cylinder unit 22.

A support plate 25 is secured to the upper edge of the mounting plate 20 and is curved inwardly with respect to the machine and the mandrel path from 65 the mounting plate 20 and carries at its free end a corner forming assembly 26 which comprises side wall erecting surfaces 27 and 28 which are of convex form seen in the direction of the mandrel 8 and which have upper surfaces lying in a common piane 70 which is generally parallel to the plane defined by the carton guides 6. The side wall erecting surfaces 27 and 28 are arranged perpendicularly to each other and the side wall erecting surface 28 is arranged so as to be a substantially tangential continuation of the 75 pressure plate 24. The other side wall erecting surface 27 is arranged so that a vertical side wall support and guide surface 29 of a side wall supporting member 30 is at a tangent to the surface 27. The member 30 is supported on the corner assembly 26 80 and depends therefrom.

A corner flap erecting member 31 is mounted on the corner forming assembly so as to have its upper surface above the plane defined by the upper portions of the surfaces 27 and 28 and in a position 85 outwardly of the path of movement of the mandrel 8. The corner flap erecting member 31 also has its upper surface convex with respect to the direction of movement of the mandrel 8 on erection of a carton.

The corner portion forming units 9 used in the 90 machine are of two types, a left hand unit and a right hand unit and the pairs of each type are arranged in the machine so that there are a pair of pressure plates 24 and a pair of vertical surfaces 29 in opposition to each other at each side of the machine. 95 The distance between the vertical surfaces 29 is equal to the shorter dimension of the base 40 plus twice the thickness of the blank material and the distance between the pressure plates 24 is equal to the sum of the longer dimension of the base 40 and 100 four times the thickness of the blank material.

A blank suitable for use with the apparatus of this invention described above is shown in Figure 6. The blank is of rectangular form and has a rectangular base 40 defined between opposite pairs 41 and 42 of 105 crease lines. Side wall pairs 43 and 44 are secured to the base 40 along respective crease lines 41 and 42. The side walls 44 have a length corresponding to the associated dimension of the base 40 while the side walls 43 are extended by uniting portions in the form 110 of corner flaps 45 which are separated from the associated side walls to which they are to be secured by an adhesive by cut lines 46.

In construction of a carton from the blank shown in Figure 6 a mandrel 8 is mounted on the end of the 115 piston rod of the piston and cylinder unit 7 which mandrel 8 has external dimensions corresponding to the base 40 and a height at least equal to the height of the side walls 43 and 44. Initially the mandrel is located above the plane defined by the blank guides 120 6 and the blank is slid into the apparatus along the blank guides 6, with the side walls 44 having their edges supported on the blank guides 6, until the corner flaps 45 contact the end stops 6a.

The mandrel 8 is lowered by operation of the 125 piston and cylinder unit 7 and contacts the blank and causes the blank to spring off the blank guides 6 and to fall into contact with the upper surfaces of the cornerflap erecting members 31. Further lowering of the mandrel 8 causes the remainder of the blank and 130 in particular the base 40 and the connected side

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walls 44 to be lowered with respect to the corner flaps 45. On further lowering of the mandrel 8 the surfaces 28 and 27 engage the side walls 43 and 44 and the erection of the side walls commences. By 5 virtue of the initial erection of the corner flaps 45, erection of the side walls 43 causes the corner flaps 45 to move into engagement with the inner surface of the side walls 44 and to be caused to rotate inwardly with respect to the side walls 43 to the erect 10 position shown in Figure 3 of the drawings. When the carton has been fully erected the mandrel is in its lowermost position and lies within the erected carton. The mandrel is held in this position while the piston and cylinder units 22 of all the corner portion 15 forming units are operated to cause the associated pressure plates 24 to move inwardly to press the cornerflaps 45 and the associated side walls 42 together and against the mandrel 8 and to be secured by adhesive which may have been applied 20 to the carton blank prior to its insertion in the machine or to the carton blank during its passage through the machine by means (not shown) and is located on one or more of the contacting overlapping surfaces of the side walls 42 and the corner 25 flaps 45 and is preferably a cold setting contact adhesive. Thus, the pressure need only be applied for a fraction of a second in orderto assure securement of the side walls 42 to the corner flaps 45 and the completion of the carton.

30 The mandrel 8 may now be further lowered in orderto cause the finished carton to pass completely through the corner units before the mandrel 8 is withdrawn to its initial position above the blank guides 6 or the mandrel 8 may be withdrawn directly 35 from the position in which pressure was applied and other suitable means be used to eject the finished carton. For example, the next carton entering into the machine may be used to displace the previous carton.

40 The apparatus illustrated in Figures 1 to 5 is particularly designed to erect a carton from a blank of the type shown in Figure 6. However, the present invention is not limited to a corner portion forming device of the type shown in these drawings and, by 45 way of example, further types of carton blank are illustrated in Figures 7,8 and 9 and there now follows a brief description of the corner portion forming devices which might be utilised to erect blanks of the style shown in Figures 7,8 and 9 and 50 which could be utilised within the basic apparatus described with reference to Figures 1 and 2.

In Figure 7 there is shown a blankforforming a triangular carton having only two erected sides. The carton blank has a base 50 of equilateral form and 55 two side walls 51 and 52 extending away from one corner portion of the blank. A corner flap or uniting portion 53 is secured to the side wall 51 by a suitable crease line in the corner area. A corner portion forming device in accordance with the present 60 invention for forming or erecting a blank as shown in Figure 7 into a carton would comprise side wall erecting elements arranged at 60° to each other and having a length approximately equal to the length of the uniting portion 53 and would incorporate a 65 pneumatic pressure cylinder on a mounting plate which also supports the erecting elements forthe side walls and the corner flap 53 and arranged so that the cylinder lies below the erecting element for the side wall 52. Apparatus in accordance with the 70 present invention would require only one such corner portion forming device.

In the carton blank style shown in Figure 8, the corner of an otherwise rectangular base 60 is formed as a diagonal and the comer flap 61 is secured to the 75 base 60 along a crease line 62 on this diagonal. The side walls 63 and 64 are not formed with any uniting portions themselves but the corner flap 61 has two ears 65 and 66 joined to the corner flap 61 by crease lines 67 and 68. A device for forming the corner 80 portion of a carton from such a blank would incorporate side wall erecting elements arranged at a right angle with respect to each other and joined to each end of a corner flap erecting element extending between the side wall erecting elements. Additional 85 erecting elements for the ears 65 and 66 would also be provided. In this case, it would be necessary to provide two pressure plates for adhering the ears 65 and 66 to the side walls 63 and 64. However, once again all these parts can be included in a unitary 90 construction which can be made movable over the framework of the apparatus including a plurality of such unitary devices so as to allow for the creation of a number of boxes of different sizes.

In Figure 9 there is shown a corner portion of a 95 blank which has a base of generally polygonal form but in which the base 70 has a cut and rounded corner 71. Side walls 72 and 73 extend along the straight sides of the base 70 and are attached thereto by suitable crease lines. Each side wall 72 and 73 has 100 an extension 74 or 75 secured thereto by way of a crease line and extending out as an extension in the direction of the side wall of the side walls themselves. The uniting portions or corner flaps 74 and 75 are cut from the rectangular basic shape of the blank 105 defined by the outside cut edges of the side walls 72 and 73 and are chosen to be of such a length that the ends thereof overlap each other in the erected form of the blank but do not overlap the side walls 72 or 73. A suitable device for forming the corner portion 110 of this blank and embodying the present invention incorporates side wall erecting devices 72 and 73 arranged in the same way as in the device for erecting the blank of Figure 8. However, in the case of the device for erecting the blank of Figure 9 the 115 erecting element for the uniting portions 74 and 75 has a curved form corresponding to the edge of the corner 71 of the base 70. The pressure applying means is in the form of a curved plate which is designed to cooperate with a curved corner of the 120 mandrel and is movable towards and away from the mandrel and the overlapping parts of the portions 74,75.

Claims

CLAIMS 125

1. A device for erecting the corner portion of a carton blank comprising a substantially polygonal base, two side walls joined to the base along crease lines and extending away from a corner area of the 130 base and at least one uniting portion in the corner

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area, parts of said side walls and the or each uniting portion overlapping each other in the erected condition of the biankfor holding the side walls erect, the device comprising erecting elements for said side 5 walls and the or each uniting portion arranged to be fixed in relation to each other, the side wall erecting elements extending at an angle to each other corresponding to the angle between the associated side walls in the erected condition of the carton ahd

10 having a longitudinal extent such as to contact only the relatively short portion of the associated side walls lying adjacent the said corner area.

2. A device according to claim 1 including a mandrel arranged to move a carton blank past said

15 erecting elements to erect the side walls and/or the or each uniting portion.

3. A device according to claim 2 in which a respective side wall and/or uniting portion support and guide is located downstream, with respect to the

20 movement of the mandrel, of each associated erecting element, which support and guide serves to hold the erected parts of the corner portion of the blanks in position against the forming mandrel.

4. A device according to claim 3 wherein each

25 said support and guide is fixed in relation to its corresponding erecting element and is so dimensioned with respect to the path of the mandrel that, sufficient pressure is applied to obtain adequate adhering byway of an adhesive previously applied

30 to the overlapping corner portions to secure the uniting portion or portions to the side walls and/or to each other.

5. A device according to claim 4 wherein the support and guide forthe overlapping ones of the

35 erected parts of the corner portion is movable towards and away from the mandrel in a direction generally perpendicular to the direction of movement of the mandrel, whereby an adhesive previously applied to such overlapping parts, for example a

40 PVA adhesive can be caused to be effective to cause the support and guide to be applied under substantial pressure against the mandrel with the overlapping parts of the corner portion of the carton therebetween.

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6. A device according to claim 5 wherein a piston and cylinder assembly is provided for movement of said support and guide.

7. A device according to claim 6 wherein the piston and cylinder assembly and the support and

50 guide are formed as a uniting assembly.

8. Apparatus for forming a carton from a carton blank comprising a device as defined in claim 1, a mandrel, and means for moving the mandrel along a given path said device for erecting the corner portion

55 of a carton blank being located on the periphery of the path of movement of a mandrel in the apparatus.

9. Apparatus according to claim 8 wherein the device is movable on suitable guides towards and away from the path of movement of the mandrel and

60 the size of the mandrel may be changed so that the apparatus can readily be adapted forthe erection of the cartons of different sizes.

10. Apparatus according to claims 8 and 9 wherein the said erecting element is exchangeable

65 so as to allow the apparatus as a whole to be used forthe erection of cartons having a different form.

11. Apparatus according to claim 8,9 or 10 including a plurality of said devices arranged around said periphery.

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12. Apparatus according to any one of claims 8 to 11 provided with means for applying an adhesive, such as a cold setting pressure sensitive adhesive, to one or more of the surfaces which are overlapped at the end of the erection process.

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13. A device for erecting a corner portion of a carton from a carton blank including a polygonal base, two side walls joined to the base along crease lines and extending away from a corner area of the base and at least one uniting portion in the corner 80 area, parts of said side walls and the or each uniting portion overlapping each other in the erected condition of the biankfor holding the side walls erect, the device comprising erecting elements for said side walls and the or each uniting portion arranged to be 85 fixed in relation to each other, the side wall erecting elements extending at an angle to each other corresponding to the angle between the associated side walls in the erected condition of the carton and having a longitudinal extent such as to contact only 90 the relatively short portion of the associated side walls lying adjacent the said corner area, for holding the side walls erect, the device being constructed as an integral unit and comprising relatively angularly disposed side wall and uniting portion erecting 95 elements and support and guide means for the side wall and uniting portions arranged downstream from the erecting elements with regard to the path of movement of a carton blank, one of which support and guide means is connected to a pneumatic 100 cylinder, also integral with the device and operable to apply pressure via the support and guide to the overlapping parts of the corner portion in the erected condition to effect the glueing or adhering of the overlapping portions of the carton to complete the 105 carton.

14. Apparatus for erecting a carton substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Printed for Her Majesty's Stationery Office by Croydon Printing Company Limited, Croydon Surrey, 1980.

Published by the Patent Office, 25 Southampton Buildings, London, WC2A1 AY, from which copies may be obtained.