JP3693998B2 - Cartoning machine - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a cartoning machine for opening a flat carton (flat carton). In particular, the present invention relates to a compact cartoning machine having a reverse folding mechanism.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Cartoning machines that open flat cartons are used for packaging cosmetic and chemical bottles and tubular products. In recent years, there is a demand to use a carton made of a transparent or translucent resin. Resin cartons are strong and tend to return to their original flat state when opened, making them difficult to crease. For this reason, when opening such a flat carton made of resin, it is necessary to return from the state where it has been opened once in the opposite direction (reverse fold) and cancel the strain on both sides of the fold. There is.
In addition, it is necessary to be able to easily absorb moisture or deform a deformed paper carton.
[0003]
As a cartoning machine provided with such a reverse folding mechanism, for example, there is a cartoning machine provided with a fixed inclination guide and an upper / lower stopper in the transport path of a flat carton (see Patent Document 1 described later). In this example, the cross-sectional shape of the transport path changes along the transport direction by the fixed tilt guide. The flat carton is sucked by the suction cup, and is guided while sliding through two corners in the cross section by the upper and lower stoppers while passing through the conveying path, and the carton is opened while being folded back at that time.
[0004]
In addition, there is a mechanism in which a mechanism for taking out one flat carton and a mechanism for reversely folding the taken out flat carton are continuously provided on the same surface before the carton stocker (see Patent Document 2 described later). In this example, after the flat carton is taken out by the take-out mechanism, it is opened by being sandwiched from both sides by the reverse folding mechanism.
[0005]
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Patent Publication No. 5-36295
[Patent Document 2]
JP-A-63-191725
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, as products such as cosmetics, products that produce only a small amount of many types are increasing with the diversification of products and the shortening of the sales cycle. For this reason, there is a need for a cartoning machine that is more compact, portable, and has high production efficiency.
[0007]
In addition, numbers and barcodes containing information such as product lot numbers and manufacturing dates are printed, stamped, stamped, and affixed to the carton on the front and back of the carton (surface treatment). There is something. Since such information changes depending on the date and time of manufacture of the product, or changes depending on the product to be packed, it cannot be printed when the carton is manufactured, and must be printed in real time when the product is packed. In this case, it is necessary to back the carton to be treated, and it is desirable to treat the carton in a flat carton state.
[0008]
However, the cartoning machine disclosed in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1 is suitable for processing a large amount of cartons having a constant carton conveyance path and having a constant size and shape. It is not suitable for small-scale processing of cartons.
[0009]
Since the cartoning machine disclosed in Patent Document 2 is also provided with an unloading mechanism and a reverse folding mechanism, the unloading mechanism can be moved to take out the next flat carton during the reverse folding of the carton. This is not possible and the assembly efficiency of the carton becomes worse. In addition, the degree of freedom in designing both mechanisms is low. And since both mechanisms are arranged on the same plane, when reversely folding the extracted carton, it is necessary to lengthen the stroke of the take-out mechanism in order to provide a space in front and rear of the carton. The installation area becomes large.
[0010]
The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a compact cartoning machine capable of efficiently performing carton removal, reverse folding, and surface treatment.
[0011]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
  To solve the above problems, the present inventionMosquitoThe toning machine has a carton stocker having a carton stocker that accommodates folded cartons (flat carton) and a take-out mechanism for taking out the flat carton one by one from the carton stocker; A surface treatment floor having a surface treatment mechanism for performing treatment on a front surface or a back surface of the transferred flat carton, and a surface treatment floor. A second transfer unit that transfers the flat carton by dropping it while guiding the flat carton, a reverse folding mechanism that reversely folds after the transferred flat carton is raised, and a flap in the carton (raising carton) in the raised stateFoldWith a functioning floor including a mechanism to apply,  The surface treatment mechanism is a surface treatment unit for performing a surface treatment including one or more of bar code affixing, printing, stamping, stamping, embossing, a back plate facing the surface treatment unit, and Drive means for driving each of the surface treatment portion and the back plate, and at the time of surface treatment, the flat carton is driven in a direction in which the flat carton is brought into contact with each other from the state where the flat carton is transferred to the surface treatment floor. The treatment is performed by contacting both the front and back of the  A pair of movable guides are arranged in the second transfer section, and when each movable guide approaches, the carton is kept upright across the flat carton, and when each movable guide is separated, the flat carton is removed. OpenIt is characterized by that.
[0012]
Since the carton stocker and the take-out mechanism and the reverse folding mechanism can be arranged independently in the vertical direction, the degree of freedom and independence of the operation and design of both mechanisms is increased. For example, the next carton can be taken out during the reverse folding of the previous carton, and the processing efficiency is increased. In addition, the machine installation area can be reduced. In addition, the carton transfer system of the raising floor is not particularly limited, and a turret type, a conveyor type, a cycle type, and the like can be used. The transfer unit can be dropped while being guided when the flat carton is transferred downward, but a lift mechanism is provided when it is transferred upward.
[0014]
Here, the said surface treatment mechanism shall contact | abut both the front and back of the said flat carton, and shall perform a treatment.
A surface treatment floor for performing surface treatment such as bar code pasting, printing, stamping, stamping, embossing and the like can also be arranged independently between the carton stocker and the take-out mechanism and the reverse folding mechanism. Such surface treatment requires a backing to secure the carton to be treated. For this reason, it is difficult to position the backing after raising the flat carton, but in the present invention, since it is conveyed to the surface treatment mechanism in the state of one flat carton, Treatment (backing and surface treatment) can be performed on the flat carton from both sides on the back side.
In the cartoning machine of the present invention, the number of treatment floors can be 2 and 3 and the whole can be 4th, 5th, or more.
[0015]
  The present inventionMosquitoToning machineInIsThe reverse folding mechanism isA first pad that adsorbs one constituent surface (first surface) of the carton (flat carton) in a folded state, and a second pad that adsorbs a surface (second surface) opposite to the first surface. And a pad moving mechanism that reversely folds after causing the flat carton by relatively moving the first pad and the second pad circularly,In addition, it is preferable to provide a mechanism for adjusting the radius of the circle of the circular motion.
  in this caseProvide a mechanism to adjust the radius of the circleBecauseCan handle reverse folding of flat cartons of various sizes. Therefore, it is possible to provide a cartoning machine that can handle various types of flat cartons.
[0016]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, it demonstrates, referring drawings.
First, the structure of a flat carton will be described.
FIG. 8 is a plan view of an example of a flat carton. This figure is the figure which looked at the state located in a line with the carton stocker mentioned later from the front side of the advancing direction of a carton stocker.
The flat carton C in this example has a main body that has a rectangular parallelepiped shape when opened. The back side of the figure of the main body is the front C1, the front side facing C1 is the back side C2, the right side is the right side C3, and the left side is the left side C4. In the carting machine of the example to be described later, surface treatment such as bar code or number printing is performed on the back surface C2, but it is not limited to this. An upper flap C5 is provided at the upper edge of the front surface C1, and a lower flap C6 is provided at the lower edge. An upper insertion flap C7 is provided at the upper edge of the upper flap C5, and a lower insertion flap C8 is provided at the lower edge of the lower flap C6. An upper side flap C9 is provided at the upper edge of the left and right side surfaces, and a lower side flap C10 is provided at the lower edge.
[0017]
FIG. 1 is a front view schematically illustrating the overall configuration of a carting machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a plan view of the cartoning machine of FIG.
The cartoning machine 1 includes a carton stocker 10 shown in the upper part of FIG. In front of the carton stocker 10, along the moving path of the flat carton C, there are a carton stocker 10, a flat carton take-out mechanism 20, a surface treatment mechanism 30 thereunder, and a reverse folding mechanism 50 and a turret 200 thereunder. Has been placed. Around the turret 200, as shown in FIG. 2, a lower side flap refolding mechanism 100, a lower flap preliminary folding mechanism 110, a lower flap forming mechanism 120, an upper flap preliminary folding mechanism 130, an upper flap forming mechanism 140, a carton A discharge mechanism 150 is arranged.
[0018]
As shown in FIG. 1, the cartoning machine 1 has a three-story structure. The uppermost floor (3F) is a flat carton delivery floor where the carton stocker 10 and the flat carton take-out mechanism 20 are located. The middle floor (2F) is the surface treatment floor where the surface treatment mechanism 30 is located. The lowest floor (1F) is the opening floor on which other mechanisms including the reverse folding mechanism 50 are located.
As can be seen from FIG. 1, the flat carton take-out mechanism 20, the surface treatment mechanism 30, and the reverse folding mechanism 50 are positioned side by side in the vertical direction. Between the flat carton take-out mechanism 20 and the surface treatment mechanism 30 and between the surface treatment mechanism 30 and the reverse folding mechanism 50, vertically extending guides (transfer portions) 220 and 230 are arranged, respectively.
[0019]
As shown in FIG. 2, the lower side flap refolding mechanism 100, the lower flap preliminary folding mechanism 110, the lower flap forming mechanism 120, the upper flap preliminary folding mechanism 130, the upper flap forming mechanism 140, and the carton discharging mechanism 150 are Above, it is arranged around the turret 200 along the work path.
[0020]
As shown in FIG. 1, the turret 200 includes an upper turret plate 201 and a lower turret plate 203 that are arranged one above the other. The upper and lower turret plates 201 and 201 have the same shape, and a plurality of (for example, 12) pockets 207 (see FIG. 2) into which the raised cartons (raising cartons) fit are formed on the outer periphery of each turret plate. Yes. The turret 200 has a rotation mechanism built in the base frame 210, and both turret plates rotate intermittently along a common rotation shaft 205. In this example, the turret 200 rotates in the counterclockwise direction indicated by the arrow in the figure.
As the turret 200 rotates, the cartons placed in the pockets 207 are divided into a lower side flap refolding mechanism 100, a lower flap preliminary folding mechanism 110, a lower flap forming mechanism 120, an upper flap preliminary folding mechanism 130, and an upper flap forming mechanism. 140 and the carton discharge mechanism 150 are sequentially processed.
[0021]
Hereinafter, the detailed structure of the cartoning machine 1 will be described.
First, the structure of the carton stocker 10 and the flat carton take-out mechanism 20, the surface treatment mechanism 30, and the reverse folding mechanism 50 that are arranged in three stories in the vertical direction will be described in detail.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view schematically showing a carton stocker, a flat carton take-out mechanism, a surface treatment mechanism, and a reverse folding mechanism.
The carton stocker 10 located at the top of the figure (3F, flat carton payout floor) includes a holder 11 that holds a number of flat cartons C in a stacked manner. The holder 11 has a space of about 400 mm. The front surface 11a of the holder 11 in the carton dispensing direction is open, and the carton is dispensed from this surface (dispensing surface). The same surface 11a is provided with a claw 13 for holding the carton so as not to fall down.
[0022]
The flat carton take-out mechanism 20 is disposed on the base 21 and is located on the same plane (3F) as the carton stocker 10.
The mechanism 20 includes two vacuum pads 23 arranged to face the payout surface 11 a of the carton stocker 11 and an air cylinder (not shown) that drives the pads 23. The vacuum pad 23 is fixed to the head plate 25 of the air cylinder and is driven in the turret radial direction.
[0023]
When the air cylinder extends outward in the turret radial direction, the vacuum pad 23 comes into contact with the back surface of the flat carton C that is closest to the flat carton held by the carton stocker 10. When the pad 23 is evacuated, the flat carton C is adsorbed and fixed to the vacuum pad 23. Next, when the air cylinder is pulled in, the flat carton C adsorbed on the pad 23 is pulled out toward the front while being warped by the claw 13. When the vacuum of the suction pad 23 is released, the flat carton C is detached from the pad 23 and one flat carton C is taken out.
[0024]
A pocket 27 having a width slightly wider than the width of the flat carton C is formed in the base 21 of the flat carton take-out mechanism 20. The air cylinder draws the flat carton C adsorbed on the vacuum pad 23 to just above the pocket 27. The base 21 is attached to a pair of poles 28 erected from the base frame 210 on both side surfaces of the pocket 27. The fixed guide 220 has a U-shaped cross section and is arranged so that the open surfaces face each other. Note that the upper portion of the fixed guide 220 from the base 21 has an L-shaped cross section so as not to hit the flat carton.
Note that the width of the fixed guide 220 can be adjusted according to the dimensions of the carton.
[0025]
The flat carton C drawn to just above the pocket 27 is detached from the pad 23 when the vacuum of the vacuum pad 23 is released. Then, it falls from the pocket 27 along the fixed guide 220.
[0026]
A stopper 221 is provided at the height position of the surface treatment floor (2F) of the fixed guide 220. The stopper 221 is movable in the radial direction of the turret between the position between the fixed guides 220 and the position away from the guides by an air cylinder (not shown). When the stopper 221 is positioned between the fixed guides 220, the flat carton C dropped along the fixed guide 220 is received by the stopper 221.
[0027]
A surface treatment mechanism 30 is provided on the surface treatment floor (2F) above the stopper 221. The surface treatment mechanism 30 of this example includes a printing unit 31, a back plate 33 facing the same unit 31, and a barcode reader 35.
The printing unit 31 and the back contact plate 33 are disposed between the fixed guides 220 so as to face each other in the turret radial direction. The printing unit 31 is fixed to the head plate 37a of the air cylinder 37 and is driven in the radial direction of the turret. The back contact plate 33 is made of, for example, 70 ° urethane rubber, is fixed to the head plate 39a of the air cylinder 39, and is driven in the radial direction of the turret. The printing unit 31 and the back contact plate 33 are located at the same height, and when the air cylinders 37 and 39 extend, the print unit 31 and the back contact plate 33 come into contact with each other.
[0028]
When the flat carton C is received on the stopper 221, the air cylinder 37 is extended outward in the turret radial direction and the air cylinder 39 is extended inward in the turret radial direction. 33. Then, with respect to the front surface of the flat carton C fixed by the back surface abutting plate 33, the printing unit 31 performs a printing process on the back surface of the carton.
[0029]
A bar code reader 35 is attached to the lower surface of the base 21. The bar code reader 35 reads a bar code written on the back surface of the flat carton C in the middle of dropping from the base 21 to the stopper 221 along the fixed guide 220.
[0030]
A pair of movable guides 230 that are continuous below the fixed guide 220 are disposed on the first floor (1F) below the stopper 221. When the stopper 221 is driven outward in the radial direction of the turret, the flat carton C held on the stopper 221 is guided by the fixed guide 220 and the movable guide 230 and falls on the stopper 233. The stopper 233 is fixed to the outside of the turret 200.
[0031]
Each movable guide 230 is driven by an air cylinder 231 so as to approach and leave the circumferential direction of the turret. When each air cylinder 231 extends and each movable guide 230 approaches, the flat carton C is held in the circumferential direction of the turret to maintain the same carton, and when the air cylinder 231 is retracted, each movable guide 230 is separated. Open the flat carton C.
[0032]
A reverse folding mechanism 50 is provided on the opening floor (1F) on the turret surface.
The structure of the reverse folding mechanism will be described with reference to FIGS. 4, 5, 6, and 7.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the main structure of the reverse folding mechanism.
5A and 5B are diagrams showing a positional relationship of a part of the reverse folding mechanism. FIG. 5A is a partial front view, and FIG. 5B is a partial side view.
FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a mechanism of reverse folding by the reverse folding mechanism.
FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the movement of each part by the reverse folding mechanism.
[0033]
The reverse folding mechanism 50 includes two fixed-side vacuum pads 51 and two movable-side vacuum pads 53 as shown in FIG. The pads 51 and 53 are disposed so as to face each other in the turret radial direction between the movable guides 230. The fixed-side vacuum pad 51 is fixed to the head plate 55a of the air cylinder 55 and is driven in the radial direction of the turret. The movable-side vacuum pad 53 is fixed to the head plate 57a of the air cylinder 57 and is driven in the radial direction of the turret.
[0034]
As shown in FIG. 5A, the fixed-side vacuum pad 51 is located on the back surface C2 of the flat carton C, and the movable-side vacuum pad 53 is located on the front surface C1. Here, the positional relationship between the turret circumferential directions of the vacuum pads 51 and 53 and the positional relationship in the height direction are not particularly limited.
[0035]
When the air cylinders 55 and 57 of each vacuum pad extend in a state where the flat carton C is maintained between the movable guides 230, the fixed-side vacuum pad 51 comes into contact with the back surface C2 of the flat carton, and the movable-side vacuum pad 53 It contacts the front face C1 of the carton. When the vacuum pads 51 and 53 are evacuated, the back and front surfaces of the flat carton are adsorbed and fixed to the fixed-side vacuum pad 51 and the movable-side vacuum pad 53, respectively.
[0036]
The movable-side vacuum pad 53 is provided with a pad moving mechanism that reversely folds after causing the flat carton to move circularly with respect to the fixed-side vacuum pad 51.
With reference to FIG. 6, the mechanism of reverse folding of the flat carton by this pad moving mechanism will be described.
FIG. 6A shows a state in which the flat carton C is maintained between the movable guides 230, the fixed-side vacuum pad 51 is attracted to the back surface C2 of the flat carton C, and the movable-side vacuum pad 53 is the front surface C1 of the carton. The state of adsorbing is shown.
[0037]
From this state, as shown in a series in FIGS. 6B, 6 </ b> C, and 6 </ b> D, the movable-side vacuum pad 53 is circularly moved clockwise with respect to the fixed-side vacuum pad 51. A back surface C2 of the flat carton C is defined as a reference surface R. In this circular motion, since the fixed-side vacuum pad 51 is fixed, it is always on the reference plane R.
[0038]
As shown in FIG. 6B, when the movable-side vacuum pad 53 is circularly moved in the clockwise direction about 1/8 of a circle, both side surfaces C3 and C4 of the carton are raised with respect to the back surface C2 (reference surface R). At this time, the angle θ formed by the side surface C4 and the reference surface R is about 45 °. Then, as shown in FIG. 6 (C), when the movable side vacuum pad 53 is circularly moved about 1/4 turn clockwise from the initial state, both side surfaces C3 and C4 of the carton are completely moved with respect to the back surface C2. Get up (open). At this time, the angle θ formed by the side surface C4 and the reference surface R is about 90 °.
[0039]
As shown in FIG. 6D, when the movable vacuum pad 53 is further circularly moved in the clockwise direction, the cross section of the carton becomes a parallelogram, and the angle θ formed between the side surface C4 and the reference surface R is an obtuse angle. It becomes. This movement causes the carton C to be folded backward.
[0040]
Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 6E, when the vacuum of the movable vacuum pad 53 is released, the reversely folded carton C tries to return to the original flat carton state, as shown in FIG. It is almost in the opened state. Then, when the air cylinder 55 of the fixed-side vacuum pad 51 is retracted, the raised carton C enters the pocket 207 of the turret 200 according to a guide (not shown).
[0041]
As can be seen from this figure, when the possible rotation angle range in which the movable-side vacuum pad 53 moves circularly is expressed by an angle θ formed by the side surface C4 of the carton and the reference surface R, from 0 ° which is a state of a flat carton, It is up to 180 ° which is a state where the flat carton is folded in the direction opposite to the folding direction. And the angle range which is provided for opening within this rotation angle range is 0 to 90 °, and the angle range which is used for reverse folding is 90 to 180 °. The angle for reverse folding varies depending on the material and shape of the carton. For example, when the carton is made of a strong material, the reverse folding angle is increased. Therefore, the angle is determined in advance according to the carton opened by the carton stocker. A method for adjusting this angle will be described later.
[0042]
As can be seen from FIG. 6, the radius of the circular movement of the movable-side vacuum pad 53 is the width of the left and right side surfaces C3 and C4 of the flat carton C. That is, the pad moving mechanism is a mechanism that causes the movable-side vacuum pad 53 to circularly move with respect to the fixed-side vacuum pad 51 using the widths of the side surfaces C3 and C4 of the flat carton C as radii.
[0043]
Next, the structure of the pad moving mechanism will be described with reference to FIG.
The pad moving mechanism mainly includes a horizontally extending bar 59 to which an air cylinder 57 for driving the movable side vacuum pad 53 is fixed, and two horizontally extending frames connected rotatably at both ends of the bar 59. 61 and a rack and pinion mechanism 63 that rotates the frame 61 synchronously.
[0044]
Next, the relationship between the bar 59 and the frame 61 will be described with reference to FIG.
In the pad moving mechanism, the distance D1 between the rotation centers A1 at both ends of the bar 59 and the distance D2 between the rotation centers A2 of the frames 61 are equal. Further, the distance D3 between each rotation center A1 of the bar 59 and the rotation center A2 of each frame 61 is equal. That is, the bar 59 and the two frames 61 constitute a parallel crank mechanism having the rotation center A1 of the bar 59 and the rotation center A2 of the frame 61 as rotation centers.
[0045]
The circular motion of the bar by this parallel crank mechanism will be described.
The movable-side vacuum pad driving air cylinder 57 is fixed substantially at the center of the bar 59. Both ends of the bar 59 are rotatably connected to the frame 61 by a rotation axis A1. Both frames 61 are rotated on a horizontal plane along a rotation axis A2 by a rack and pinion mechanism 63 (details will be described later) (the rotated state is indicated by a two-dot chain line in the figure). When both frames 61 rotate, the bar 59 rotatably connected to both frames 61 moves circularly while rotating on the rotation axis A1. Specifically, the bar 59 has a rotation radius of a distance D3 (a distance between each rotation center A1 of the bar 59 and the rotation center A2 of each frame 61) and is a circle parallel to the line L1 passing through the rotation center A2 of each frame 61. Exercise.
[0046]
Next, the rotation mechanism of both frames 61 will be described in detail with reference to FIG.
The rotation mechanism of both the frames 61 is a rack and pinion mechanism 63, and includes a rack 65 that expands and contracts by an air cylinder 71 and two pinions 67 that mesh with the rack 65. Each pinion 67 is rotatably incorporated in two struts 69 erected on the base frame 210. The rotation shaft 67a of each pinion 67 protrudes from the upper surface of the support column 69 and is fixed to the same position on the lower surface of each frame 61 so as not to rotate. Therefore, the rotation axis A2 of the frame 61 becomes the rotation axis 67a of the pinion 67.
When the rack 65 is driven by the air cylinder 71 and moves horizontally, the pinion 67 meshing with the rack 65 rotates, and at the same time, the frame 61 rotates on the horizontal plane about the rotation axis A2. The rotation range of each frame 1 is determined by the moving distance of the rack 65.
[0047]
A groove 73 extending in the longitudinal direction of the frame 61 is formed on the upper surface of each frame 61.
A screw 75 is rotatably disposed in the groove 73 of the right frame 61 in the drawing. The screw 75 is fixed by bearings (not shown) at both ends of the groove 73, and rotates in the groove 73 by rotating the handle 75a. A frame 77 is engaged with a portion in the groove 73 of the screw 75. When the screw 75 is rotated, the top 77 moves in the groove 73 in the longitudinal direction of the frame 61 (the action associated with the movement of the top will be described later). A lock nut 79 is fixed to the top surface of the top 77. The lock nut 79 is rotatably connected to the right end of the bar 59 via a bearing 81. Therefore, one rotation axis A1 of the bar 59 is a rotation axis of the bearing 81.
On the other hand, a frame 77 is directly fitted in the groove 73 of the left frame 61 in the drawing. The frame 77 moves in the groove 73 in the longitudinal direction of the frame 61. A lock nut 79 is fixed to the top surface of the top 77. The lock nut 79 is rotatably connected to the left end of the bar 59 via a bearing 81. Therefore, the other rotation axis A1 of the bar 59 is the rotation axis of the bearing 81.
[0048]
The pad moving mechanism will be described with reference to FIG.
The initial state of the pad moving mechanism is a state where each vacuum pad is adsorbed on the front and back of the flat carton (see FIG. 6A). FIG. 4 shows this initial state, in which the bar 59 and each frame 61 are arranged in a straight line, and the rack 65 is drawn to the leftmost direction in the figure.
When the air cylinder 71 is extended and the rack 65 is driven rightward in the drawing, the pinion 67 that meshes with the rack 65 rotates in the clockwise direction. Each frame 61 fixed to the rotation shaft 67a of each pinion 67 rotates synchronously on the horizontal plane in the clockwise direction along the rotation axis A2. Then, the bar 59 moves in a clockwise direction with respect to the frame 61 while rotating on the rotation axis A1. The radius of this circular motion is the distance D3 between the center of rotation of the bar and the center of rotation of the frame, and the bar 59 moves parallel to the line L1 between the centers of rotation of the frame (see FIG. 7). The circular motion range of the bar 59 is determined by the rotation angle of the frame 61, that is, the moving distance of the rack 65.
[0049]
Since the movable-side vacuum pad 53 is fixed to the bar 59 via the air cylinder 57, the rotational radius in the circular motion of the vacuum pad 51 is equal to the rotational radius D3 of the circular motion of the bar 59, and each rotational center A1 of the bar And a distance D3 between the rotation center A2 of the frame.
[0050]
On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6, the rotational radius D3 of the circular movement of the movable-side vacuum pad 53 is the width of the side surfaces C3 and C4 of the flat carton C. Therefore, the distance D3 between each rotation center A1 of the bar and the rotation center A2 of the frame is adjusted to be equal to the width of the left and right side surfaces of the flat carton. At this time, since the position of the rotation center A2 of the frame 61 is not changed, the position of the rotation center A1 of the bar 59 is changed. In order to change the position of the rotation center A1 of the bar 59, the screw 75 in the groove 73 of the right frame 61 is rotated to move the frame 77 in the groove 73 by a predetermined amount. Then, the movement of the frame 77 is transmitted to the left frame 77 via the bar 59, and this frame 77 also moves in the groove 73 of the frame 61. Thereby, the moving distance of both the frames 77 can be automatically made equal. After both frames 77 have moved by a predetermined amount, both lock nuts 79 are tightened to position both frames 77.
[0051]
In order to rotate each frame 61 in the clockwise direction, the air cylinder 71 is driven so that the rack 65 moves in the right direction in the figure. A stopper 85 for positioning at an appropriate reverse folding angle is provided at the front of the rack 65.
[0052]
Further, as described above, the reverse folding angle is adjusted according to the strength of the flat carton. The reverse folding angle is the rotation angle of the frame 61, which is equal to the rotation angle of the pinion 67 and is determined by the movement distance of the rack 65. Therefore, the movement distance can be obtained from the rotation angle of the frame based on the number of teeth and the pitch of the rack and pinion mechanism 63.
[0053]
A method for assembling the raising carton after reverse folding will be described.
After the flat carton is reversely folded by the reverse folding mechanism, as shown in FIG. 6E, when the vacuum of the movable side vacuum pad 53 is released, the carton is almost lifted to return to the original state from the reverse folding state. It becomes a state. After the flat carton is opened, when the air cylinder of the stationary vacuum pad 51 is pulled in, the carton adsorbed on the pad 51 enters one pocket 207 (see FIG. 2) of the turret 200 and is completely opened. To do. Since the shape of the pocket 207 is substantially equal to the cross-sectional shape of the raising carton, the raising carton is positioned in the pocket 207.
When the shape or size of the carton changes, it is replaced with a turret having a pocket that matches the shape and size.
[0054]
Thereafter, the turret 200 rotates intermittently on the rotation shaft 205. While the turret 200 makes approximately three quarters of the counterclockwise direction, an assembly process after reverse folding of the flat carton is performed.
The raising carton placed in the pocket 207 advances to the lower side flap refolding mechanism 100 by the rotation of the turret 200, stops there, and the lower side flap is bent 90 ° or more. Thereafter, the turret 200 rotates, and products packed during the rotation are manually supplied to the carton.
[0055]
Then, it progresses to the lower flap preliminary folding mechanism 110, stops there, and the front-end | tip of a lower insertion flap is folded. Thereafter, the turret 200 rotates and proceeds to the lower flap forming mechanism 120 and the upper flap pre-folding mechanism 130, where it stops and the lower flap of the carton is formed, and the tip of the insertion flap of the upper flap is folded. Then, the turret 200 rotates and proceeds to the upper carton forming mechanism 140, where it stops, the upper flap of the carton is formed, and the packaging is finished. Finally, it is discharged from the carton discharge unit 150.
[0056]
The lower side flap refolding mechanism 100, the lower flap preliminary folding mechanism 110, the lower flap forming mechanism 120, the upper flap preliminary folding mechanism 130, the upper flap forming mechanism 140, and the carton discharging mechanism 150 can use existing mechanisms.
[0057]
As described above, the turret 200 rotates intermittently. At this time, in order to perform each operation continuously, the carton stocker 10, the carton removal mechanism 20, the surface treatment mechanism 30, the reverse folding mechanism 50, the lower side flap refolding mechanism 100, which are in the same turret radial direction position, The lower flap preliminary folding mechanism 110, the lower flap forming mechanism 120, the upper flap preliminary folding mechanism 130, the upper flap forming mechanism 140, and the carton discharging mechanism 150 are equally spaced in the circumferential direction of the turret 200 (in this example, It is arranged at every 45 ° center angle) at the turret center. Then, the operation time and stop time of intermittent operation of the turret 200 are made equal to synchronize the operations performed in the circumferential direction of the turret 200, and the flat carton take-out mechanism 20, the surface treatment mechanism 30, and the reverse folding mechanism 50 The work done in is also synchronized.
[0058]
In this example, the carton is transferred by the rotation of the turret 200, but the transfer method is not particularly limited, and a turret type, a conveyor type, a cycle type, or the like can be used.
[0059]
【The invention's effect】
As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, since the carton removal, surface treatment, and reverse folding are arranged independently in the vertical direction, each mechanism can be operated independently, The work efficiency can be increased and the machine installation area can be reduced. In addition, the surface treatment can be performed in the state of a flat carton, and since the space on the front and back of the carton is open, it is possible to provide a space for placing a backing for printing without increasing the size of the machine. it can.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a front view schematically illustrating an overall configuration of a cartoning machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a plan view of the cartoning machine of FIG.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view schematically showing a carton stocker, a flat carton take-out mechanism, a surface treatment mechanism, and a reverse folding mechanism.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a main structure of a reverse folding mechanism.
5A and 5B are diagrams showing a positional relationship of a part of the reverse folding mechanism, in which FIG. 5A is a partial front view, and FIG. 5B is a partial side view.
FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a reverse folding mechanism by a reverse folding mechanism.
FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating the movement of each part by the reverse folding mechanism.
FIG. 8 is a plan view of an example of a flat carton.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 Carting machine 10 Carton stocker
11 Holder 13 Claw
20 Flat carton removal mechanism 21 Base
23 Vacuum Pad 25 Head Plate
27 pockets 28 poles
30 Surface treatment mechanism 31 Printing section
33 Back plate 35 Bar code reader
37, 39 Air cylinder
50 Reverse folding mechanism 51 Fixed side vacuum pad
53 Movable vacuum pad 55, 57 Air cylinder
59 bar 61 frame
63 Rack and pinion mechanism 71 Air cylinder
65 rack 67 pinion
69 support 73 groove
75 screws 77 frames
79 Lock nut 81 Bearing
85 Stopper 100 Lower side flap refolding mechanism
110 Lower flap preliminary folding mechanism 120 Lower flap forming mechanism
130 Upper flap preliminary folding mechanism 140 Upper flap forming mechanism
150 Carton discharge mechanism 200 Turret
201 Upper turret plate 203 Lower turret plate
205 Rotating shaft 207 Pocket
220 Fixed guide 221 Stopper
223 Stopper 230 Movable guide
231 Air cylinder

Claims (2)

A flat carton delivery floor having a carton stocker for stacking and storing folded cartons (flat carton), and a take-out mechanism for taking out the flat cartons one by one from the carton stocker;
A first transfer section for transferring the discharged flat carton by dropping it down while guiding it;
A surface treatment floor having a surface treatment mechanism for performing treatment on the front or back of the transferred flat carton;
A second transfer section for transferring the surface treated flat carton by dropping it down while guiding it;
A reverse folding mechanism that reversely folds after raising the transported flat carton, and a raising floor including a mechanism for performing a flap fold on the carton in the raised state (raising carton);
Equipped with a,
The surface treatment mechanism is a surface treatment unit for performing a surface treatment including one or more of bar code affixing, printing, stamping, stamping, embossing, a back plate facing the surface treatment unit, and Drive means for driving each of the surface treatment portion and the back plate, and at the time of surface treatment, the flat carton is driven in a direction in which the flat carton is brought into contact with each other from the state where the flat carton is transferred to the surface treatment floor. The treatment is performed by contacting both the front and back of the
A pair of movable guides are arranged in the second transfer section, and when each movable guide approaches, the carton is kept upright across the flat carton, and when each movable guide is separated, the flat carton is removed. A cartoning machine that is open . " The reverse folding mechanism includes a first pad that adsorbs one constituent surface (first surface) of the carton (flat carton) in a folded state, and a surface (second surface) that faces the first surface. A second pad to be adsorbed, a pad moving mechanism for causing the flat carton to move relative to each other by circularly moving the first pad and the second pad, and a radius of the circle of the circular motion The cartoning machine according to claim 1 , further comprising a mechanism for adjusting the position .

Images