Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65B—MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING
  • B65B21/00—Packaging or unpacking of bottles
  • B65B21/24—Enclosing bottles in wrappers
  • B65B21/242—Enclosing bottles in wrappers in collapsed carton sleeves
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65B—MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING
  • B65B43/00—Forming, feeding, opening or setting-up containers or receptacles in association with packaging
  • B65B43/12—Feeding flexible bags or carton blanks in flat or collapsed state; Feeding flat bags connected to form a series or chain
  • B65B43/14—Feeding individual bags or carton blanks from piles or magazines
  • B65B43/16—Feeding individual bags or carton blanks from piles or magazines by grippers
  • B65B43/18—Feeding individual bags or carton blanks from piles or magazines by grippers by suction-operated grippers
  • B65B43/185—Feeding individual bags or carton blanks from piles or magazines by grippers by suction-operated grippers specially adapted for carton blanks
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65B—MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING
  • B65B43/00—Forming, feeding, opening or setting-up containers or receptacles in association with packaging
  • B65B43/26—Opening or distending bags; Opening, erecting, or setting-up boxes, cartons, or carton blanks
  • B65B43/30—Opening or distending bags; Opening, erecting, or setting-up boxes, cartons, or carton blanks by grippers engaging opposed walls, e.g. suction-operated
  • B65B43/305—Opening or distending bags; Opening, erecting, or setting-up boxes, cartons, or carton blanks by grippers engaging opposed walls, e.g. suction-operated specially adapted for boxes, cartons or carton blanks

Definitions

• This invention relates to packaging of primary articles such as cans or bottles in cartons and is more particularly concerned with feeding the cartons in collapsed condition from a hopper and transferring the cartons to an infeed end of a packaging machine.
• UK Patent 205 3133 to Bosch concerns an apparatus for removing folding box blanks from a stationary magazine and erecting and transferring the blanks. It comprises transfer suction members which are mounted on four point linkages and arranged on a rotary carrier controlled by cams. During rotation, to facilitate the removal of the blanks a stationary condition of the suction members occurs. During the transfer of the erected blanks to the transport device, the suction members are moved synchronously with the transport device.
• US Patent 4 625 575 to Le Bras concerns a cam assembly for a feeder mechanism in which the cam plate is formed for a continuous cam track and a shallower cam track.
• Cam track follower arms are used for relative movement within first and second cam tracks.
• Pick up means is connected to the cam arm by an eccentric arm and the cam tracks cause the pick up means to move to an outwardly extended position and to an inwardly retracted position.
• an apparatus for sequentially manipulating out of a hopper collapsed cartons having oppositely disposed face contacting panels and for transferring the cartons to an infeed end of a packaging machine comprising a shaft which rotates about a fixed axis and carton pick up means for sequentially engaging one of said face contacting panels and for withdrawing from the hopper a collapsed carton, characterised in that the hopper is inclined downwardly towards the carton pick up point and in that the shaft is mounted about the fixed axis at an angle to the vertical such that the carton pick up means transfers a carton from an inclined position to a substantially vertical plane.
• the carton pick up means is connected to the shaft by a rotatable elongated support rod having one end thereof slidably secured on a collar structure mounted on said shaft, said rod and said pick up means being slidingly reciprocatable transversely relative to said rotatable shaft moving orbitally about said rotatable shaft.
• the orbital movement of said carton pick up means immediately prior to and during withdrawal of a carton from the hopper is arrested for a brief interval by the action of a cam controlled cam bar which is movable radially during such brief interval and which is operably connected with said carton pick up means.
• said carton pick up means comprises suction cup means controlled by one component of valve means having side by side components driven by a common shaft.
• the face contacting panels comprise opposite side walls of the carton.
• FIGURE la is a side view of a basket type carton supplied in a flat collapsed condition suitable for use with a machine according to the invention
• FIGURE lb is a perspective view of a basket type carton suitable for use with a machine according to the invention.
• FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of machine according to the invention illustrating those parts of the machine required for construction of basket type carriers;
• FIGURES 3, 4 and 5 are perspective views of the carton supply infeed and set up stations of the machine according to the invention adapted to load basket type cartons.
• the carton 10 is a basket type carrier, shown in Figure lb, in a set up condition ready for lowering onto articles.
• the carton 10 includes opposed side wall panels 12, 14 and opposed end wall panels 16, 18 hingably connected one to the next.
• the carton 10 further includes a handle structure 20 which interconnects end wall panels 16, 18 and comprises transverse partition panels 22 interconnecting each side wall panel 12, 14.
• Base panels 24, 26 are hingably connected to each side wall panel 12, 14 respectively.
• the upstream end of the machine includes a hopper 54 in which a multiplicity of cartons 52 in flat collapsed condition are held ready for processing. As shown in Figures 3, 4 and 5, the cartons are removed from the hopper 54 sequentially by a rotary vacuum feeder 56.
• the vacuum feeder 56 comprises four carton set up means (not shown) each being interconnected to a drive shaft 58 by a drive rod 60. Individual drive shafts for the respective drive rods 60 are connected to a cam track by a cam follower which provide a uniform path for the suction cups when the main drive shaft 58 is rotated.
• the cam track also facilitates the cam rods to be extended away from the main shaft 58 so that the suction cups come into contact with the carton 10 thereby to remove one of the cartons from the hopper and to rotate the carton in a uniform path to the infeed end of the machine.
• the main drive shaft 58 is rotatable about a fixed axis X-X.
• the shaft 58 is generally supported at its end by a suitable bearing structure but which is conventional and which is mounted to a side frame.
• Suitable driving mechanism for example a servo motor 57, is provided to rotate the shaft 58.
• a carton pick up means including two suction cups (not shown) which are each supported on cup holders (not shown) and a frame 59.
• rods 60 are fixedly mounted respectively on elongated support rods 60.
• the rods 60 are slidably mounted respectively on a collar structure 62 which collar structure is rigidly secured to main rotatable shaft 58.
• a vacuum break is provided in the feeder mechanism 56 which is used in conjunction with a vacuum supply to set the vacuum connection and cut off points thereby determining when the carton is held by the feeder mechanism 56.
• four sets of carton pick up means are provided in association with the main rotatable shaft 58. Whilst the use of a rotary vacuum feeder to supply cartons to the conveyor is preferred, it is envisaged that the present invention can be used or adapted to be used with other types of feeder mechanisms without departing from the scope of the invention.
• the hopper 54 is a "gravity feed” type whereby the carton blanks 52 are held in the hopper at an incline to provide a positive feed so a continuous supply of cartons is maintained.
• the axis of rotation X-X of the rotary feeder is offset from the vertical plane, as illustrated in Figure 4.
• the feeder mechanism 56 continuously and sequentially feeds cartons from the hopper to the infeed by the main shaft 58 rotating the pick up means in the direction indicated by the arrow A, shown in Figure 3.
• the pick up means 42 rotates, the suction cups are moved into contact with side wall of carton 10. A vacuum is then applied to the set of suction cups by the vacuum supply.
• the carton 10 is withdrawn and then transferred to a belt 64.
• the vacuum is then maintained during this transfer stage so that the suction cups hold the side wall of the carton 10.
• the vacuum break disconnects the vacuum supply from the suction cups to release the carton.
• the blank is then placed between the nip end 66 of an infeed belt set shown generally at 64.
• the infeed belt set includes pairs of upper and lower receiving belts
• the adjustments to the machine are controlled by computer program which enables adjustment to be automated thereby minimising machine downtime.
• the offset angle of the rotary feeder can be increased or decreased if it is required or the angle of incline to be increased or decreased to enlarge or reduce the gravity pull on the cartons in the hopper.
• a machine according to the present invention is adjustable in a number of respects so as to be able to process cartons containing numerous configurations of groups of articles to create a range of carton sizes and shapes, for example, four bottles to eight bottles without undue amounts of downtime being spent in adjusting the machines. Indeed, the machine can be readily adapted to process cartons to produce a wide range of cartons having numerous article group configurations.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Supplying Of Containers To The Packaging Station (AREA)
• Sheets, Magazines, And Separation Thereof (AREA)
• Telephone Set Structure (AREA)
• Making Paper Articles (AREA)
• Container Filling Or Packaging Operations (AREA)
• Drying Of Solid Materials (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Publications (2)

Family

ID=10812923

Family Applications (4)

Family Applications Before (3)

Country Status (15)

Families Citing this family (7)

Family Cites Families (14)

• 1997
  • 1997-05-23 GB GBGB9710639.7A patent/GB9710639D0/en not_active Ceased
• 1998
  • 1998-05-21 ZA ZA984324A patent/ZA984324B/xx unknown
  • 1998-05-21 ZA ZA984326A patent/ZA984326B/xx unknown
  • 1998-05-21 ZA ZA984325A patent/ZA984325B/xx unknown
  • 1998-05-22 EP EP98922489A patent/EP1012041B1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1998-05-22 CZ CZ19994152A patent/CZ9904152A3/cs unknown
  • 1998-05-22 WO PCT/US1998/010579 patent/WO1998052826A1/en not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 1998-05-22 AR ARP980102393A patent/AR015818A1/es unknown
  • 1998-05-22 EP EP98923715A patent/EP1028894B1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1998-05-22 AU AU75928/98A patent/AU7592898A/en not_active Abandoned
  • 1998-05-22 WO PCT/US1998/010542 patent/WO1998052853A2/en active IP Right Grant
  • 1998-05-22 ES ES98922489T patent/ES2191306T3/es not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1998-05-22 DE DE69810314T patent/DE69810314T2/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1998-05-22 DE DE69805004T patent/DE69805004T2/de not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 1998-05-22 HU HU0004220A patent/HUP0004220A3/hu unknown
  • 1998-05-22 AT AT98922488T patent/ATE222198T1/de not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 1998-05-22 PL PL98337085A patent/PL188583B1/pl not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 1998-05-22 PT PT98922489T patent/PT1012041E/pt unknown
  • 1998-05-22 PL PL98337079A patent/PL186656B1/pl not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 1998-05-22 WO PCT/US1998/010544 patent/WO1998052824A1/en not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 1998-05-22 DE DE69807735T patent/DE69807735T2/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1998-05-22 AT AT98923699T patent/ATE216334T1/de not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 1998-05-22 CZ CZ0414999A patent/CZ298407B6/cs not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 1998-05-22 AU AU75941/98A patent/AU7594198A/en not_active Abandoned
  • 1998-05-22 DK DK98922488T patent/DK0993405T3/da active
  • 1998-05-22 AT AT98923715T patent/ATE223327T1/de not_active IP Right Cessation
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  • 1998-05-22 AR ARP980102394A patent/AR012741A1/es unknown
  • 1998-05-22 EP EP98922488A patent/EP0993405B1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1998-05-22 HU HU0002824A patent/HU220888B1/hu not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 1998-05-22 EP EP98923699A patent/EP1066198B1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1998-05-22 PT PT98923715T patent/PT1028894E/pt unknown
  • 1998-05-22 DE DE69807228T patent/DE69807228T2/de not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 1998-05-22 HU HU0004630A patent/HUP0004630A3/hu unknown
  • 1998-05-22 PL PL98337022A patent/PL188672B1/pl not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 1998-05-22 AU AU75016/98A patent/AU7501698A/en not_active Abandoned
  • 1998-05-22 ES ES98923699T patent/ES2175712T3/es not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1998-05-22 PT PT98922488T patent/PT993405E/pt unknown
  • 1998-05-22 HU HU0002688A patent/HUP0002688A3/hu unknown
  • 1998-05-22 AU AU75017/98A patent/AU7501798A/en not_active Abandoned
  • 1998-05-22 DK DK98923715T patent/DK1028894T3/da active
  • 1998-05-22 ES ES98922488T patent/ES2182306T3/es not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1998-05-22 PT PT98923699T patent/PT1066198E/pt unknown
  • 1998-05-22 ES ES98923715T patent/ES2183367T3/es not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1998-05-22 WO PCT/US1998/010543 patent/WO1998052825A1/en active IP Right Grant
  • 1998-05-22 DK DK98922489T patent/DK1012041T3/da active
  • 1998-05-22 DK DK98923699T patent/DK1066198T3/da active
  • 1998-05-22 PL PL98337081A patent/PL194080B1/pl not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 1998-07-06 TW TW087110876A patent/TW431965B/zh not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 1998-07-13 TW TW087111324A patent/TW425366B/zh not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 1998-07-13 TW TW090206698U patent/TW493597U/zh not_active IP Right Cessation

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