AU773793B2 - Apparatus for and method of manufacturing a package - Google Patents

Description

S&F Ref: 473430D1

AUSTRALIA

PATENTS ACT 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT

ORIGINAL

Name and Address of Applicant: Actual Inventor(s): Address for Service: Elopak Systems AG Cherstrasse 4 Postfach CH-8152 Glattbrugg Switzerland Robert Edwin Rochelle John Weber Edward Albert Skinner Spruson Ferguson St Martins Tower,Level 31 Market Street Sydney NSW 2000 (CCN 3710000177) Apparatus and Methods for Securing Articles to Containers Invention Title: The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us:- 5845c 1 Apparatus for and Method of Manufacturing a Package Field of the Invention This invention relates primarily to an apparatus and method for securing an article to a container and, more particularly, to such an apparatus and method wherein a support mechanism, such as a mandrel or anvil, is not required.

Background of the Invention Heretofore, articles, such as pour spout fitments, have been secured to thermoplastic-coated container panels by the following methods.

In US-A-4,813,578, the following method is employed: A mandrel is inserted into the interior of the still-open mouth of the container, with the mandrel abutting the interior surface of a barrier layer and forming a back-up support. Hot air or radiant heat is applied to the external surface of a gable top wall immediately around an opening to thereby soften the polyethylene coating, with a pour spout fitment flange placed on the tsoftened layer to thereby adhere the flange to the wall. An external mandrel is also employed to press the assembly against the internally positioned mandrel. This pressure is maintained until the coating cools and thereby effects permanent adhesion of the flange to the wall. Other methods, such as ultrasonic adhesion and impulse heating, may be employed.

US-A-5,249,695 merely recites that attachment to the polymer-coated 20 paperboard panel is accomplished by [R:\LIBLL] 15323spcci.doc:kch welding or otherwise adhering a spout fitment flange to the polymer coating.

US-A-4,964,562 and US-A-5,152,438 each utilize an ultrasonic sealing horn and a back-up support mandrel operative around respective pouring apertures.

US-A-4,948,015 discloses the use of an ultrasonic horn to bond a flange of a pour spout fitment to an inner or back surface of a container panel around a pouring aperture.

US-A-4,669,640 suggests fusing a pour spout flange to an inside surface of a carton gable top either thermally or ultrasonically.

US-A-5,088,643 states that the pour spout fitment is preferably adhered to the outer surface of the container panel by impulse heating under pressure such as ultrasonic sealing although other methods may be used as desired.

US-A-4,925,034 discloses adhesively bonding a pour spout fitment by a hot melt glue to a top outer surface of a container.

US-A-5,101,999 suggests that a spout or closure be "attached to the package top by any suitable means such as an adhesive applied to a bottom surface of the closure to be attached to the package top". Where the package is coated with an outer thermoplastic layer of polyethylene, which discourages such adhesion, perimeter cuts may be made which may be serrated or applied as perforated cuts.

Such serrations or perforated cuts need only penetrate the polyethylene outer layer to allow the adhesive to bond with the underlying carrier or paper layer.

WO-A-88/05012 discloses a container having an upper rim portion onto which a laminated cover is bonded. The adjacent surface of the cover is heated to above its melting point, in order to bond to the rim portion.

WO-A-96/39332 of the present assignee discloses a ego.

pouring spout attachment applied to a pourable-productcarrying container over a location where the container has one of a partial depth cut and an opening formed •.o•therein. The attachment includes a body and may have a removable cap mounted thereon. The body includes an 15 internal projection, an external mounting flange, and an internal end wall having a web segment cut therein so as to be movable as a flap about a pivot axis.

WO-A-92/14604 discloses a method and apparatus for attaching a spout to an open-top, bottom-sealed carton.

A conveyor moves the carton successively to three stations. At the first station, a hole punch punches a hole. At the second station, a glue applicator applies adhesive to the bonding site. At the third station, a spout attaching assembly applies a spout to the prepared site. The carton is subsequently filled and top-sealed.

The glue applicator includes a horizontal gun which is rotated in a circle in a vertical plane to form a complete circle of bonding agent on the vertical external surface of the carton around the hole, ready to receive an annular flange of the fitment.

US-A-5473857 discloses a fitment application apparatus, for applying plastic spout fitments to filled and sealed cartons, integrated in line with a conventional form/fill/seal production line. The apparatus advances formed, filled and sealed cartons to *e a fitment application station. For this purpose, the 10 cartons are carried from the end of the form/fill/seal .:.eei production line by a continuous line conveyor terminating at a dead plate between a pair of continuous line conveyors; an escapement allows the pair of conveyors to advance cartons one-by-one to an indexing flight conveyor 15 extending through the fitment application station and advancing the cartons to a continuous delivery conveyor.

A hopper and associated gravity-feed track supply a series of fitments to a fitment applicator anvil at the application station. Each fitment has a flange the bottom surface of which is coated with hot melt adhesive as the fitment slides past a hot melt adhesive applicator roll.

A fitment retaining mechanism receives and positions each fitment such that the flange bottom surface coated with hot melt adhesive faces an external side of the wall of the filled carton. The fitment applicator anvil intermittently carries fitments from the fitment retaining mechanism into abutting relationship with the filled carton in registration with the spout hole, thereby pressing the flange bottom surface coated with hot melt adhesive against the extrusion layer on the external side of the carton wall, whereby the fitment is bonded to the filled and sealed carton. WO-A-97/04953 discloses a similar system, except for integration in line with a form-fill-seal machine.

WO-A-97/16302 discloses a method for securing a pour spout fitment to a thermoplastic-coated container, wherein filled and sealed gable-top cartons are diverted onto an indexing turret where each of a plurality of nodding receivers rotating with the turret receives a pour spout fitment, presents the fitment to a source of heat to render tacky the bottom surface of a flange of o. 15 the fitment, and places the fitment onto an already heated portion of a roof panel of a carton around an opening or loop of weakness therein, thereby to bond together the fitment and the panel. The receivers are continuously cooled to promote the bonding. In practice, a section of a flat top conveyor extending from a formfill-seal machine to a casing machine would be altered to adapt it to the fitment-attaching machine.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a package, comprising forming a container, filling the container with contents, top-sealing the filled container, and attaching an annular portion of a pour 6 spout fitment by way of adhesive to an upwardly facing, external surface of the filled and sealed container, characterized in that said attaching comprises applying said adhesive to said external surface of the filled and sealed container to provide a bead in the form of a closed loop of adhesive, and applying said annular portion to said bead, which is of a form corresponding to that of said annular portion.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided apparatus for use in manufacturing a package, comprising conveying means, forming means adjacent said conveying means for forming a container on said conveying means, filling means adjacent said conveying means for filling the formed 15 container, top-sealing means adjacent said conveying means for sealing the top of the filled container, and fitment-attaching means adjacent said conveying means for attaching a pour spout fitment to an upwardly facing external surface of the filled and sealed container, characterized in that said fitment-attaching means comprises adhesive-applying means for applying a jet of adhesive to said external surface of the filled and sealed container, jet-displacing means arranged to displace said jet relative to said external surface to provide on said external surface an adhesive bead in the form of a closed loop of said adhesive, and applying means for applying a portion of a fitment to said bead to attach said fitment to said container.

Owing to applying the annular bead of adhesive after top-sealing, the bead can be applied to such upwardly facing external surface, so that there is a lower tendency for the adhesive to run down the surface (or even flow through a pouring hole, if provided, into the interior of the container) and thus reducing the efficacy of attachment of the fitment to the container and/or thus smear conveying and other surfaces and so disrupt the operation of the system.

Object of the Invention It is an object of the present invention to overcome or ameliorate some of the disadvantages of the prior art, or at least to provide a useful alternative.

Summary of the Invention A preferred embodiment of the invention provides an improved apparatus and method for securing an article to a thermoplastic coating of a laminate, in particular securing a pour spout fitment to a thermoplastic-coated container panel.

15 The preferred apparatus and method are applied downstream of all forming, filling and sealing operations performed on the container, and are capable of being installed and performed over an existing conveyor system downstream of a conventional forming, filling and sealing machine, without any alteration of that existing system being necessary.

The apparatus and method are adaptable, when required, to multiple in-line indexing, wherein a feeder bowl would include multiple discharge tracks, or a multiple of feeder bowls could be used.

:In order that the invention may be clearly understood and readily carried into effect, reference will now be made, by way of example, to the accompanying drawings, in which:- [R:\LIBLL I 5323speci.doc:kch Brief Description of the Drawings Figure 1 is a perspective view of a gable top carton, and a perspective view of a pour spout fitment to be attached to the carton; Figure 2 is a diagrammatic side view of apparatus including a fitment-attaching machine constituting an embodiment of the invention; Figure 3 is a diagrammatic, opposite side view of that embodiment; Figure 4 is a diagrammatic, exploded, perspective view from above of that embodiment; Figure 5 is an elevation taken in the direction of the arrow V in Figure 4; Figure 6 is an elevation taken in the direction of the arrow VI in Figure 4; Figure 7 is an elevation taken in the direction of the arrow VII in Figure 4; Figure 8 is a diagrammatic top plan view of a modified apparatus constituting a second embodiment of the invention; and Figure 9 is a diagrammatic side elevation of that modified apparatus.

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[R:\LIBLL] I 5323spedi.doc:kch Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments Figure 1 illustrates the carton 14 having an upper panel 16 with a weakened line 18 formed therein; and a high density polyethylene coated, or other plastic pour spout fitment 20 having a body 22, a cap 23, and an external mounting flange 24. The weakened line 18 may be a circular score line or partial depth cut line. In some applications it may be an opening.

Referring to Figures 2 to 7, the apparatus comprises a fitment-attaching machine 101 mounted over a conveyor 102 carrying the formed, filled and sealed thermoplasticcoated cartons (not shown). The conveyor 102 may be an existing conveyor of a forming, filling and sealing machine or may be another, existing conveyor constituting a linear extension of the existing conveyor of that machine. Whatever the case, the path of the cartons from before the top-sealing station (not shown) of the form, fill and seal machine to after the machine 101 does not turn back upon itself. The conveyor 102 is a double, endless-chain conveyor, the two chains of which define therebetween pockets which closely receive the filled and top-sealed cartons 14. These pockets sufficiently closely receive the cartons 14 that the cartons are firmly held therein and can thus accurately **9 [R\LIBLL]I 5323spci.doc:kch *o *oo *~o [R*IBL 152 p*~o~e receive the flanges 24 of the fitments 20. The apparatus comprises a double indexing arrangement wherein each two adjacent cartons are processed concurrently by dual equipment. A vibratory fitments feeder 103 feeds fitments in an oriented condition to dual tracks 104.

The feeder 103 comprises a reservoir bowl 105 connected by a single track 106 to the dual tracks 104, there being an oscillatorily rotated toothed wheel 107 at the branching from the track 106 to the tracks 104 to discourage jamming of the fitments 20 at the branching location. The edge walls of the track 106 and of earlier sections 104a of the tracks 104 have overhangs to provide undercuttings to receive and guide the flanges 24 of the fitments 20, whilst later sections 104b of the tracks 104 have side walls without such overhangs so that the fitments 20 can be readily picked therefrom. In particular, each track 104 includes a channel 108 with a oooo terminating wall 109 across a lower end thereof. Each o*o .channel 108 has a pair of overhanging strips 110 attached to the upper edges of the respective side walls thereof.

Part-way along each section 104a is an escapement device 111 including a shutter 112 and whereby the fitments in the section 104a are fed one-by-one to the section 104b.

The tracks 104, the escapement devices 111 and the outlet so 25 end zone 106a of the track 106 are part of a fitmentattaching device 113 having respective opposite end walls 114 and 115 arranged one after the other along the path of advance of the cartons in the conveyor 102. The end walls 114 and 115 are interconnected by members 116 extending parallelly to that path of advance. Between the two plates 114 and 115 there are only two stations and these are double stations, namely an adhesive application station 117 and a fitment pick-and-place station 118.

Mounted on the plate 114 is an electric motor 119 having a removable safety guard 120 anchored via a chain 121.

The output from the motor 119 is taken to a single-todual drive, gear transmission 122, the dual outputs from which are two synchronous parallel movements in side-by- :side circles performed by two eccentric output pins 123.

"15 A support link 124 is mounted on the pins 123 and thus performs a motion parallel to itself. Fixed to the link 124 is a mounting 125 for a pair of adhesive guns 126 consisting of respective dosing devices 127 and respective nozzles 128 which deliver respective dosed eeoc 20 jets of adhesive. The dosing devices 127 are operated e• pneumatically through a compressed air inlet 129 eeoc connected to a compressed air line (not shown), and are .supplied with adhesive through respective inlet pipes 130 connected to respective adhesive supply lines (also not shown). Fixed to respective opposite sides of the end plate 114 are photoelectric detectors 131 which disable the two stations 117 and 118 when a carton is not approaching the station 117. Fixed to the plate 115 is a bracket 132 to which is fixed a table 133 through which is mounted a drive device 134 which serves to index a pick-and-place supporting plate 135 rotatingly through 180'. Mounted in the plate 135 in a rectangular array are four pneumatic piston-and-cylinder devices 136 which reciprocate respective suction nozzles 137 perpendicularly to the plate 135. Provided between the stations 117 and 118 is an outrigger bracket 138 carrying a guard sheet 139. Beyond the end wall 115 is fixed a pair of photoelectric detectors 140 which stops cartons from approaching the station 117 in the event that a pre- •15 selected number of cartons leaving the station 118 are without fitments 20 thereon. The machine 101 and the conveyor 102 are mounted in a housing 141 upon which is carried a cabinet 142 containing controls for the pneumatically operated items of the apparatus. Adjacent the housing 141 stands a platform assembly 143 which carries the bowl 105, an adhesive hot melt unit 144 and a oeoo cabinet 145 for electrical controls of the main electrically operated items of the apparatus. Shown adjacent the platform assembly 143 are access steps 146.

In operation of the apparatus described with reference to Figures 2 to 7, filled and top-sealed cartons 14 arrive in pairs at the station 117, where, with the cartons stationary, jets of hot melt adhesive are dosed from the nozzles 128 onto the respective roof panels 16 of the cartons 14 of the pair, to form circular beads of hot melt adhesive concentric with and just to the outside of the circular loops of weakness 18, the nozzles 128 each performing more than one revolution, in order to apply the hot melt adhesive relatively evenly and to provide a relatively deep bead of adhesive in order to obtain a strong attachment of the fitment to the carton, particularly by thus ensuring that the adhesive retains its tackiness long enough to ensure that the thermo-plastics of both the fitment and the carton fuse 15 well to the adhesive. The pair of cartons carrying the circular beads are indexed to the station 118, where the two nozzles 137 further from the tracks 104 firmly apply respective pour spout fitments 20 carried thereby to the respective beads of hot melt adhesive, the respective flanges 24 being applied coaxially to the circular beads, S.-while the two suction nozzles 137 nearer the tracks 104 are applied to two pour spout fitments in the respective :track sections 104b. Then suction is released from the pair of nozzles 137 further from the tracks 104, but applied to the pair of nozzles 137 nearer the tracks 104 and the pneumatic devices 136 are operated to retract all four nozzles 137 upwardly, so that the nearer pair of nozzles 137 picks the next two pour spout fitments from the sections 104b. When the nozzles 137 are fully retracted, the device 134 turns the plate 135 through 1800, to await the arrival of the next pair of cartons from the station 117. Meanwhile, the pair of cartons to which the pour spout fitments have been applied is indexed out of the station 118, and the escapement devices 111 supply the next two pour spout fitments 20 to the sections 104b.

The embodiment shown in Figures 8 and 9 differs from that of Figures 2 to 7 chiefly in that the apparatus may receive an existing conveyor 102' of a non-pocketed 15 form, for example a slat conveyor extending from a carton form, fill and seal machine and, when the cartons 14 are to receive pour spout fitments 20, they are shifted horizontally laterally in pairs into pockets 150 provided between an indexing endless-chain conveyor 151 and a 20 fixed vertical plate 152 extending parallelly to the runs e• .e of the endless chain conveyor 151 and to the conveyor ooo• 102' Immediately upstream of the adhesive application station 117 is a carton loading station 153 at which a carton end stop plate 154 stops the leading pair 14a of cartons 14 on the conveyor 102' and at which a pusher plate 155 pushes the carton pair 14a into a recess 150' provided by one of a series of pairs of right-angle bracket plates 156 of the indexing conveyor 151. Before the plate 155 pushes the carton pair 14a laterally, a carton-retaining device 157 immediately upstream of the station 153 and consisting of a movable vertical plate 158 and a fixed vertical plate 159 clamps the immediately following carton pair 14b until the plate 155 has completely retracted from advancing the carton pair 14a into the recess 150'. The recess 150' advances parallelly to, and in the same direction as, the advance of the cartons 14 along the conveyor 102' and carries the carton pair 14a firstly to the station 117 where, with the fixed plate 152, it forms the pocket 150 and the 15 circular beads of adhesive are applied to the respective cartons by the nozzles 128 (not seen in Figures 13 and S14). Then the same recess 150' advances the carton pair 14a to the next station, which is the fitment pick-andplace station 118 to which the fitments 20 are fed two- 20 at-a-time by the tracks 104 supplied from the bowl 105.

Each carton pair leaving the station 118 is returned to the conveyor 102' by co-operation between a guide 168 and a pair of conveyor chains (not seen) which advance the carton pair onto the conveyor 102'. Each carton pair may be unloaded from that conveyor by a carton unloading device 160. The indexing chain conveyor 151 is driven by an electric motor 161 through a brake/clutch combination 162, a gear box 163, an indexer 164, a gear train 165, and a drive shaft 166. At its other end, the chain passes around an idler shaft 167.

Both of the embodiments described with reference to the drawings have the advantage that the path of the filled and top-sealed cartons leaving the form, fill and seal machine need not be interrupted nor turn back upon itself, whereby it is possible to minimise the space requirement for that path and also to maintain a higher average speed of the cartons along the path. Another advantage of both embodiments is that they can be *installed immediately adjacent to an existing conveyor 15 downstream of the form, fill and seal machine or, even, in the case of the embodiment of Figures 2 to 7, the fitment-attaching machine can be installed immediately above an existing, pocketed conveyor, so as to apply adhesive and then fitments to the cartons while they are in the pockets of that existing conveyor; in this "respect, such existing conveyor may be the exit end zone of the conveyor of the form, fill and seal machine itself.

It should be apparent that preferred embodiments of the invention provide a novel method of applying an 17 article, such as a pour spout fitment, to an erected thermoplastic-coated container in a machine mounted over a conveyor downstream of a sealing station of a forming, filling and sealing machine, thus saving valuable floor space in production areas.

It should be still further apparent that the carton top closure could be any of a gable top, slant top, or flat top configuration, with the various heating and placing apparati directed accordingly.

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Claims (2)

1. 2. A method according to claim 1, wherein said *e bead extends round one of an opening and a loop of ee e 15 weakness in said external surface.
2. 3. Apparatus for use in manufacturing a package, oooo comprising conveying means, forming means adjacent said conveying means for forming a container on said conveying means, filling means adjacent said conveying means for filling the formed container, top-sealing means adjacent *e*.**said conveying means for sealing the top of the filled see* container, and fitment-attaching means adjacent said conveying means for attaching a pour spout fitment to an upwardly facing external surface of the filled and sealed container, wherein said fitment-attaching 19 means comprises adhesive-applying means for applying a jet of adhesive to said external surface of the filled and sealed container, jet-displacing means arranged to displace said jet relative to said external surface to provide on said external surface an adhesive bead in the form of a closed loop of said adhesive, and applying means for applying a portion of a fitment to said bead to attach said fitment to said container. Dated 24 February, 2004 Elopak Systems AG Patent Attorneys for the Applicant/Nominated Person SPRUSON FEGUSON ee *0