KR20050105227A - Apparatus and method for feeding and erecting cartons - Google Patents

Abstract

An apparatus for withdrawing from a carton feed hopper collapsed cartons (16, 116) having oppositely disposed panels and for initiating set up thereof, comprises carton pick-up means (9, 10, 11) for sequentially engaging one of the opposed panels and for withdrawing from the hopper a collapsed carton which includes the one panel, and means for transferring the carton orbitally about a primary generally horizontal axis from the hopper to an infeed end of a packaging machine. Panel engaging means (11a) is provided within the path of orbit for engaging the other of the panels in a manner to pull the other panel in a direction away from the carton pick-up means (9, 10, 11) so as to initiate opening of the carton.

Description

Carton operation method and control device {APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR FEEDING AND ERECTING CARTONS}

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a carton manipulation method and a manipulation device.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to the packaging of a number of articles in a sleeved carton, in particular to feeding the folded carton from the hopper and initiating the assembly of the carton in turn before transferring the partially assembled carton to the feeder of the packaging machine. It relates to a carton feeding and conveying device arranged for.

U.S. Patent No. 3,575,409 discloses a carton feeder in which the motion of the cooperating parts is essentially a basic rotation and accommodates the high speed operation of the mechanism with sudden changes in the direction or movement of these parts without changing their shape.

U.S. Patent No. 3,991,660 discloses a hopper, which is pivotally mounted on the main feeder arm and the main feeder arm which continuously engages the lower carton wall to withdraw the combined carton from the hopper and protrudes through a hole in the lower carton wall. Folded open end assembled in open end state by moving the upper wall away from the lower wall for ease of assembly of the folded carton by engaging the upper carton face contact wall by an auxiliary feeder arm aligned with the end of the main feeder arm. Carton expanders for continuously producing sleeved cartons are disclosed.

No. 4,537,587 discloses a carton opening mechanism comprising a first vacuum cup set for withdrawing a folded carton from a hopper and swinging the carton with a stable engagement with a second suction cup set to bring the folded carton into an assembled state. It is. In this patent, the transverse rotation of the first set of vacuum cups is more tangential to the radial relative to the carton being picked up, and the cup tends to slide along the carton wall in the hopper and thus interfere with the appearance or assembly operation of the carton. do. In this patent, the second cup does not move away from the first suction cup to assemble the carton.

U.S. Patent No. 4,605,393 discloses a carton blank removal, upright and transfer device comprising a rotatable component mounted on an arm pivotally mounted at the end of the shaft away from the shaft on which the rotatable pickup is mounted. In this arrangement, the rotation of the suction cup can scratch the carton and the pick-up operation is damaged by the sliding movement of the suction cup along the wall of the carton being picked up.

Other types of orbital carton transport and upright systems are disclosed in US Pat. No. 5,102,385 and International Publication WO99 / 14127.

A problem with the prior art is that the throughput of the machine is often limited by the speed of the hopper. The present invention and its preferred embodiments are intended to solve or at least alleviate the problems of the prior art.

Summary of the Invention

According to one aspect of the invention, a folded carton having oppositely arranged panels is withdrawn from the carton feed hopper to initiate assembly of the carton, interlocking one of the facing panels in turn, the folded including the one panel. A carton operation device comprising: a carton pick-up means for drawing a carton out of the hopper; and a carton transfer means for pivoting and feeding the carton about the main horizontal axis from the hopper to a supply end of the packaging machine, wherein the opening of the carton is initiated. In order to engage the other panel by pulling the other panel in a direction away from the carton pick-up means to provide a carton operating device is installed in the track path panel engaging means.

It is an object of the present invention to provide improved carton transport in the form of tracks which may provide a better assembly or transfer step by making the high speed packaging more easier and / or by avoiding an auxiliary carton opening mechanism arranged to operate outside the track path. And an initial assembly device.

Preferably, the panel engaging means is configured and arranged to be released from the other panel when the carton is opened to a predetermined level. The panel engaging means may be drawn close in the orbital path after being released from the other panel.

Preferably, the carton pickup means is mounted on a rotatable member rotatably mounted on the carton conveying means of a second axis spaced parallel to the main axis.

In a preferred embodiment, the panel engaging means is rotatably mounted on the carton conveying means for carton conveying and is rotated about an auxiliary axis spaced parallel to the main axis. The carton conveying means may comprise a rotor rotatably mounted about the main shaft. Carton pickup means and panel engaging means are mounted to the rotor. The panel engaging means comprise one or more vacuum cups. One or more such vacuum cups are mounted to the rotatable arm.

Preferably, the carton conveying means comprises a first stationary cam housing defining a first track cam track and a second stationary cam housing defining a second track cam track, wherein the first track cam track comprises the carton pickup means. And an orbital motion of the second orbital cam track defines an orbital motion of the panel engaging means.

The carton pick-up means and the panel engaging means can be connected respectively to the first and second cam followers which engage each cam track in a manner that defines their above orbital motion.

The carton pick-up means may comprise a vacuum cup array attached to the elongate vacuum tube member. The carton pick-up means and panel engaging means are vacuum operated and in communication with a common vacuum interrupter.

Preferably, the device at least partially opens the carton to at least 90 °, preferably at least 120 °, in order to exhibit fold upon use, to form a carton and to prevent the partially assembled carton from returning to its original shape. It is arranged to be.

Preferably, the second stationary cam housing is mounted concentrically with the first stationary cam housing about the main shaft.

A second aspect of the invention provides a method for manipulating a carton, comprising the steps of: withdrawing a folded carton having opposing panels from the carton feed hopper to initiate assembly of the carton; Removing the folded carton comprising the one panel from the hopper, transferring the carton from the hopper to the feeder of the packaging machine by pivoting about the main horizontal axis, and initiating the opening of the carton. It provides a carton operation method comprising the step of engaging the other panel by pulling the other panel in a direction away from the carton pickup means.

Brief description of the drawings

The present invention will be readily understood by those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains, and preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a carton operation method and a supply device,

FIG. 2 is a partial cutaway sectional view of the rotatable shaft axis of the device of FIG. 1 with the fixed cam housing removed; FIG.

FIG. 3 is a view corresponding to FIG. 2, showing the carton pickup means traveling in the direction of arrow A in the initial carton opening configuration; FIG.

FIG. 4 is a view corresponding to FIG. 2, showing that the carton starts to stand up so as to greatly expand; FIG.

FIG. 5 is a partial cutaway cross-sectional view of a subsequent transfer stage of FIG. 4 in which substantially deployed, upright cartons are transferred to a belt conveyor at the feed end of the packaging machine; FIG.

6 is a perspective view showing a second embodiment of a carton operation method and a supply device;

7 is a partial cutaway sectional view of the rotatable shaft axis of the device of FIG. 6 with the fixed cam housing removed;

Fig. 8 is a view corresponding to Fig. 6, showing the carton pickup means traveling in the direction of arrow A in the initial carton opening configuration;

FIG. 9 is a view corresponding to FIG. 6, illustrating that the carton begins to stand upright to greatly expand and

FIG. 10 is a partial cutaway cross-sectional view of a subsequent transfer stage of FIG. 8 in which substantially deployed, upright cartons are transferred to a belt conveyor at the feed end of the packaging machine.

Detailed description of the preferred embodiment

Referring to the drawings, in the first embodiment of FIG. 1, a carton manipulation method and a feeding device are shown, in which a partially assembled flat carton blank carton hopper is present but not shown for clarity of the drawing. The carton supplied from the hopper (not shown) is folded as shown by carton 16, and the carton shown as " 16a " is attached to the vacuum cup array and withdrawn from the hopper.

The carton has opposingly arranged flat panels that include a front and a back, each side comprising two adjacent flat panels of the carton. As described below, in the illustrated embodiment, the carton pickup means comprises a vacuum cup assembly fixed to a support attached to a long rotatable vacuum tube. Once the vacuum cup assembly is properly positioned to engage the bottom surface of the carton 16, vacuum is supplied and the carton is withdrawn from the carton supply hopper as the device rotates. Means for conveying the carton include a motor-driven rotor rotatably mounted about the main shaft.

The vacuum cup assembly holds the carton in the required position during orbital movement of the rotor until the carton is partially open and ready for delivery to the feed end of the packaging machine. Separately mounted auxiliary vacuum cups are also placed on the rotor and act on the panel outer surface of the carton 16 to move the panels from the bottom facing panels to initiate deployment of the carton. In this embodiment, each auxiliary vacuum cup acts as a panel engaging means, all of which are located in the orbital path of the device.

The carton manipulator shown in FIG. 1 has a pair of upright support legs 1, 2 and a main rotating shaft 3 rotatably mounted on a suitable bearing 4 of known type and positioned at the top of the support leg. Include. A cylindrical vacuum interrupter 5 of known type is located around the shaft 3 adjacent to the main support leg 1. The orbital rotor 6 is rotatably mounted with the main shaft 3 and in this embodiment has four arms extending radially from its central structure attached to the shaft 3. Four radially spaced support blocks 7 are mounted to the central structure of the rotor, to each of which pickup arms 8 are connected. Each of the four pickup arms 8 has four vacuum cup supports 10 and four vacuum cups 11. The vacuum cup 11 is in communication with the vacuum interrupter 5 through known means.

The four arms of the orbital rotor 6 are provided with a support block 7a, an auxiliary arm 8a connected to the support block, and an auxiliary vacuum cup 11a provided on the auxiliary arm in the outer region. In the embodiment of FIG. 1, each of the four vacuum cups 11a is in communication with the vacuum interrupter 5 via known means.

Each support block 7 is rotatably mounted via a hole (not shown) of the rotor 6. For example, a spigot (not shown) may protrude from one side of the support block 7 to a cam plate on its remote side through a hole (not shown). Similarly, the auxiliary support block 7a is rotatably mounted in the orbital rotor 6, ie by means of spigots protruding through respective holes (not shown) of the rotor 6 and attached to the cam plate. . This spigot is offset from the longitudinal axis of the vacuum tube 8a, and each vacuum tube 8a is independently rotatable with respect to the spigot in a manner determined by the rotation of the rotatable shaft 3.

The support block 7a shown in the upper part of FIG. 1 is located on the winch side of the rotor 6 and comprises a cam plate 12 comprising two cam followers (only one cam follower 17 is shown). A wheel or roller may be used as the cam follower, which is fixed in the and is located in the toothed orbital cam track 14 in the second stationary cam housing 13. Although not shown in FIG. 1, the mounting arrangement for the pick-up arm 8, in which the carton pick-up means 9, 10, 11 are located, has a cam follower whose corresponding spigot fits the track cam track of the stationary cam housing. It is located similar to protruding through another hole in the center of the rotor 6 connected to the cam plate.

The motor 15, ie the main rotary shaft 3, driven by a linear servo motor, rotates the orbital rotor about the main axis of the shaft 3 so that the rotor follows the path of the toothed cam track in the two stationary cam housings. It provides a corresponding movement of each of the four carton pickup means and each of the four combined panel engagement means when pivoting the stationary cam housing causing rotation and displacement of the arms 8, 8a.

Referring to FIG. 2, an arrangement is shown for drawing the orbital tracks of the main vacuum cup housing 9 to which the four vacuum cups 11 arrays are attached and the four auxiliary vacuum cups 11a. Around the main rotating shaft 3, a fixed bracket 20 is provided on which the connecting rod 19 is slidably mounted. The connecting rod is attached to the main vacuum housing 9 and allows radial displacement of the main housing 9 in addition to its rotational movement. This radial displacement is represented by arrow B. The vacuum cup 11 is attached to the carton 16 by a vacuum force to take out the carton from a corresponding hopper (not shown). The main vacuum cup housing 9 is connected to the main cam plate 18 via spindles 21 and 22 and on the remote side of the cam follower (not shown). The cam plate 18 is not only rotated about the axis of the main rotary shaft 3 but the cam track 21a of the cam follower located on the spindle 21 and the cam follower located on the spindle 22. It rotates in the direction shown by the arrow C along the track 22a. The track path driven by the main vacuum cup 11 is indicated by reference numeral 11c, and the track path driven by the auxiliary vacuum cup 11a is denoted by reference numeral 11b. The boundary between the inner first fixed cam housing and the outer second fixed cam housing is indicated by reference numeral 27.

Under the carton manipulation and conveying means, a conveying belt 23 is arranged which is arranged in the feed end direction of the conveyor track 24 through which the at least partially developed carton is conveyed.

Referring to FIG. 3, the orbital rotor (not shown) is further rotated in the direction of arrow A, whereby the main vacuum cup 11 is withdrawn into the interior of the assembly while the carton 16 is flat in the vacuum cup. It is still attached. In this configuration, the auxiliary vacuum cup 11a starts to rotate in the direction of the arrow D to supply the vacuum force to the panel disposed outside the carton 16. The orientation of the main cam plate 18 is synchronized with the slidable rod 19 in which a cam follower (not shown) attached to the remote ends of the spindles 21, 22 is mounted to the bracket 20 and linearly displaced. Follow some of the tracks 21a and 22a. In FIG. 3, the apparatus approaches a stage where the carton begins to open partially before being transported to the conveying belt 23. The stationary plates or lugs 25, 26 are shown embedded in the conveyor track 24 to accommodate the at least partially deployed carton as described below.

Referring to FIG. 4, the orbital arm (not shown) is further rotated in the direction of arrow A, and the auxiliary vacuum cup 11a begins to rotate clockwise in the direction D causing at least partial opening of the carton 16. . The position of the main vacuum cup holder 9 radially corresponds to the arrangement of FIG. 1, and the displacement is effectively controlled by the cam track to which the cam followers (not shown) attached to the spindles 21, 22 are engaged.

Referring to FIG. 5, the orbital rotor (not shown) continues the rotational movement to the next stage, whereby the auxiliary vacuum cup 11a is separated from the attached panel (FIG. 4) and the vacuum tube ( 8a ") and starts to separate from the open carton 16a along the track 11b driven by it. The main vacuum cup holder 9 is further drawn radially towards the main axis of the main shaft 3 while the carton 16a starts to engage between the lugs or plates 25, 26 at the feed end of the conveyor 24. . Thus, until the next rotation of the orbital rotor (not shown), the auxiliary vacuum cup 11a is completely released and drawn close to the main axis of the assembly, and the vacuum supplied to the main vacuum cup 11 is separated and these vacuum cups are also rotated mainly. It begins to be pulled close to the main axis of the shaft 3 and thereby begins to fall out of the open carton, after which the carton moves in the direction of arrow E at the feed end of the conveyor 24 for insertion or other processing of the product. Engage between lugs or plates 25, 26.

A second embodiment of a carton handling method and a feeding device is shown in FIGS. 6 to 10. Many of the apparatuses are similar to the first embodiment, and therefore denote the same reference numerals with " 1 ". Therefore, only the differences from the first embodiment will be described in detail.

In the second embodiment, the panel engaging means is located in front of the carton pick-up means, engaging the leading edge of the folded carton 16 (in the first embodiment the engaging means is in contact with the rear of the carton).

As shown in FIG. 6, the four arms of the orbital rotor 16 are provided with a support block 17a in an outer region, an auxiliary arm 18a connected to the support block, and an auxiliary vacuum cup 111a installed in the auxiliary arm. have. In the embodiment of Fig. 6, each of the four vacuum cups 111a is in communication with the vacuum interrupter 15 through known means.

Each of the four pick-up arms 18 has a vacuum cup support 110 and a vacuum cup 111, and in this embodiment, the vacuum cups 111 are arranged in two arrays. Again, the vacuum cup 111 is in communication with the vacuum interrupter 15 through known means. In FIG. 6, the auxiliary vacuum cup 111a is positioned in front of the vacuum cup 111 in the direction of movement so that the auxiliary vacuum cup 111a may engage the front end surface of the carton 116.

The features of the device according to the second embodiment shown in FIG. 6 correspond to the features of the device shown in FIG. 1 described above.

Referring to FIG. 7, an arrangement is shown for drawing the track of the main vacuum cup housing 19 to which the array of four vacuum cups 111 is attached and the track path A 'of the four auxiliary vacuum cups 111a. . Around the main rotating shaft 13, there is a fixed bracket 120 on which the connecting rod 119 is slidably mounted. The connecting rod is attached to the main vacuum housing 19 and allows radial displacement of the main housing 19 in addition to its rotational movement. This radial displacement is represented by arrow B '. The vacuum cup 111 is attached to the carton 116 by a vacuum force and withdraws the carton from the corresponding hopper (not shown). The main vacuum cup housing 19 is connected to the main cam plate 118 via spindles 121 and 122 and on the remote side of the cam follower (not shown). The cam plate 118 not only rotates about the axis of the main rotary shaft 13 but also the cam track 121a of the cam follower located on the spindle 121 and the cam follower located on the spindle 122. Rotated along track 122a. The track path driven by the main vacuum cup 111 is denoted by reference numeral 111c, and the track path driven by the auxiliary vacuum cup 111a is denoted by reference numeral 111b. The boundary between the inner first fixed cam housing and the outer second fixed cam housing is indicated by reference numeral 127.

Below the carton manipulation and conveying means, a conveyance belt 123 is arranged which is arranged in the direction of the feed end of the conveyor track 124 through which the at least partially developed carton is conveyed.

Referring to FIG. 8, the orbital rotor (not shown) is further rotated in the direction of arrow A ', whereby the main vacuum cup 111 is drawn out of the assembly while the carton 116 is in a flat state. Is still attached to In this configuration, the auxiliary vacuum cup 111a is rotated in the direction of the arrow D 'to supply the vacuum force to the front panel disposed outside the carton 116. The orientation of the main cam plate 118 is synchronized with the slidable rod 119 in which a cam follower (not shown) attached to the remote ends of the spindles 121, 122 is mounted to the bracket 120 and linearly displaced. A portion of the tracks 121a and 122a is to be followed. In FIG. 9, the apparatus approaches a stage where the carton begins to open partially before being transported to the transfer belt 123. The stationary plates or lugs 125, 126 are shown embedded in the conveyor track 124 to accommodate the at least partially deployed carton as described below.

Referring to FIG. 9, the orbital arm (not shown) is further rotated in the direction of arrow A 'and the auxiliary vacuum cup 111a begins to rotate clockwise in the direction D1 causing at least partial opening of the carton 116a. do. The position of the main vacuum cup holder 19 corresponds radially to the arrangement of FIG. 8, but when the displacement is effectively controlled by the cam track to which the cam followers (not shown) attached to the spindles 121, 122 are engaged. The cam plate 118 is out of alignment with the rod 119.

Referring to FIG. 10, the orbital rotor (not shown) continues the rotary motion to the next stage, whereby the auxiliary vacuum cup 111a is separated from the attached panel (FIG. 9) by the arm (“18a in FIG. 8”). Separation from the open carton 116a along the track 111b driven by " The main vacuum cup holder 19 is further drawn radially towards the main axis of the main shaft 13 while the carton 116a starts to engage between the lugs or plates 125 and 126 at the feed end of the conveyor 124. . Thus, by the next rotation of the orbital rotor (not shown), the auxiliary vacuum cup 111a is completely released and drawn close to the main axis of the assembly in the direction D1. The vacuum supplied to the main vacuum cup 111 is separated and these vacuum cups also begin to be drawn close to the main axis of the main rotating shaft 13, thereby starting to fall away from the open carton, after which the carton is inserted or Engage between lugs or plates 125, 126 moving in the direction of arrow E at the feed end of conveyor 124 for another process.

The arrangement of the present invention develops an auxiliary vacuum cup that can be attached to the same rotor as the primary carton drawout vacuum cup through the use of an auxiliary stationary cam housing to define their movement in the arrangement for withdrawing and transporting the cartons from the feed hopper. This avoids complexity of configuration, high cost and synchronization of the carton-opening components located outside of the trajectory path of the carton blank, providing advantages over those known. 3 and 9, the auxiliary vacuum cups 11a and 111a engage the minimum edge portions of the carton to support the partial opening of the carton so that the vacuum cup is slid out of the panel surface or unplanned. Minimize risk.

This arrangement can provide improved handling at higher speeds than similar known devices, thereby increasing the efficiency in the packaging process.

Claims (15)

Take out the folded carton with the panel disposed opposite from the carton feed hopper to initiate assembly of the carton, and engage one of the opposing panels in turn to withdraw the folded carton comprising the one panel from the hopper; A carton handling device comprising: a carton pick-up means and carton feed means for pivoting and feeding a carton about a main horizontal axis from a hopper to a supply end of a packaging machine; And a panel engaging means is provided in an orbital path to engage the other panel in such a manner as to pull the other panel in a direction away from the carton pickup means to initiate opening of the carton. The method of claim 1, And said panel engaging means is constructed and arranged to be released from said other panel when said carton is opened to a predetermined level. The method of claim 2, And said panel engaging means is pulled out close to the track path after being released from said other panel. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, And said carton pickup means is mounted on a rotatable member rotatably mounted on said carton conveying means of a second axis spaced parallel to said main axis. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, And said panel engaging means is rotatably mounted on said carton conveying means for carton conveyance and rotated about an auxiliary axis spaced parallel to said main axis. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, And said carton conveying means comprises a rotor rotatably mounted about said main shaft, said carton picking means and said panel engaging means being mounted to said rotor. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, And said panel engaging means comprises at least one vacuum cup. The method of claim 7, wherein And said at least one vacuum cup is mounted to a rotatable arm. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, The carton conveying means comprises a first stationary cam housing defining a first track cam track and a second stationary cam housing defining a second track cam track, Said first track cam track defining the orbital motion of said carton pick-up means and said second track cam track defining the orbital motion of said panel engaging means. The method of claim 9, And said carton pick-up means and said panel engaging means are connected to first and second cam followers that engage said cam tracks in a manner that defines said orbital motion thereof. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, And said carton pick-up means comprises a vacuum cup array attached to said elongated tube member. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, The carton pick-up means and the panel engaging means are operated in a vacuum and communicate with a common vacuum interrupter. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 12, The apparatus is characterized in that, in use, the carton handling device is characterized by opening the carton to at least 90 °, preferably at least 120 °, in order to show folding during carton formation and to prevent the partially assembled carton from returning to its original shape. . The method according to any one of claims 9 to 13, And said second stationary cam housing is mounted concentrically with said first stationary cam housing relative to said main shaft. A method of manipulating a carton comprising the steps of: withdrawing a folded carton having oppositely disposed panels from a carton feed hopper to initiate assembly of the carton; Engaging one of the opposing panels in turn to withdraw the folded carton comprising the one panel from the hopper, Pivoting and transporting the carton about the main horizontal axis from the hopper to the supply end of the packaging machine, and Engaging the other panel in such a manner as to pull the other panel in a direction away from the carton pickup means to initiate the opening of the carton.