EP1194347B1

EP1194347B1 - Box for packaging and method and equipment for producing and employing same

Info

Publication number: EP1194347B1
Application number: EP20000945855
Authority: EP
Inventors: Flavio Zambelli
Original assignee: Zambelli Mario; Zambelli Monica
Current assignee: Zambelli Mario; Zambelli Monica
Priority date: 1999-07-09
Filing date: 2000-06-30
Publication date: 2004-10-27
Anticipated expiration: 2020-06-30
Also published as: MXPA02000325A; ITBO990385A0; HK1046886A1; HK1046886B; DE60015333D1; DE60015333T2; WO2001004017A1; ATE280719T1; EP1194347A1; ES2230123T3; IT1315198B1; ITBO990385A1

Abstract

The cardboard box consists of two pieces (7, 10). An upper piece (10) covers the top of the product and its front and back faces with corresponding walls (110, 210, 210'), while another, lower, piece (7) covers the bottom of the product with a wall (107) having peripheral hinged strips (207, 207', 307, 307') which are lifted around the product and fixed together with end tabs (407) and by means of spots of glue (C1). The front strips (207, 207') of the lower piece (7) sit on top of the lower edge of the front walls (210, 210') of the upper piece (10). The side strips (307, 307') of the lower piece (7), on the other hand, are joined by means of cutting lines (8, 8') to coplanar extensions with which they form walls (700, 700') which are intended to cover the sides of the product and which have hinged flaps (507, 507') at the top which are folded down and fixed to the wall (110) covering the top of the product with spots of glue (C2). When the product packaged in this way arrives at the point of sale, it is possible to open the side walls (700, 700') using one's hands, along the said cutting lines (8, 8'), and lift off the upper piece together with the portions of the said side walls attached to it, so that the product is left within the remaining lower piece (7) which then acts as a display tray. A process and a machine for producing and employing the abovementioned box on an industrial scale are also described. The machine is preferably of combination type, in other words, one which is alternatively able to package products in a conventional cardboard tray, wrapping them in heat-shrink film.

Description

The present invention is intended to protect a new corrugated cardboard box for packaging groups of products, for example groups of jars or bottles, and is also intended to protect the method and equipment for producing and employing such a box on an industrial scale. More specifically the invention is intended, in terms of the equipment, to protect a combination type machine which, depending on requirements, is able to package groups of products in conventional trays and wrap them in heat-shrink film or, alternatively, can wrap the said products in the specific cardboard box in question, which has good stacking strength and which, if necessary, can be opened easily and without any special tools, part of it remaining underneath the product and acting as a tray.

From GB-A-2 299 565 a box like package according to the preamble of claim 1 is known comprising a U-shaped supporting element including a bottom wall with flaps and opposed side walls with edge flaps and top flaps and a U-shaped cover disposed over the open top and sides of the supporting element and connected to its various flaps by adhesive. According to this prior art document the supporting element is formed by folding a rigid cardboard blank around the goods to be packaged and connecting overlapping regions of the edge flaps and bottom flaps by adhesive. Such folòding may be done around a mandrel in which the packs are temporarily held. End tabs of the top flaps may also be adhered to the edge flaps. The cover may be of a less stout material such as paper. The package is produced by moving the supporting element and goods together in a series of vertiocal and horizontal movements past or between folding members.

A machine for packaging products in a tray and wrapping them in heat-shrink film is generally fitted with a horizontal magazine located underneath the initial path of the products to be packaged and containing the flat blanks, stacked sideways, which form the trays and which, using suitable means, are inserted in phase underneath the products. Further downstream, means are provided which lift up first the front and back strips of the tray and then fold the endtabs of the said strips through 90° onto the sides of the product, thereafter means dispense spots of glue, usually hot-melt glue, onto the ends of the side strips, and other means lift these strips up so as to fix them to the end tabs of the said front and back strips, thereby completing the tray. The package consisting of the product and the tray then passes through a station in which it is wrapped in a length of heat-shrink film which is unwound from a reel and wrapped around itself to form a tube, after which the wrapped package passes through a heating tunnel which causes the film wrapping to shrink, thereby forming a tight and secure packaging which, in a final stage, is stabilized by passing it through a subsequent cooling tunnel.

According to the present invention, a machine of this type can alternatively be used to package products in a novel corrugated cardboard box, using the following solution.

In the magazine that holds the blanks for forming the tray, new blanks of corrugated cardboard are stacked which differ from the usual ones in that the height of the side strips is the same as that of the product to be packaged so as to produce two side walls of a box with hinged flaps along their edges which can be folded down through 90° on top of the product. The two abovementioned side walls have transverse cutting lines located above that portion of these walls which defines the side strips of the new tray. Downstream of the lower magazine referred to above and above the flow of products, a horizontal magazine is provided in which cardboard blanks intended to form the top wall and the front and back walls of the future box are stacked sideways. These blanks are inserted edge-on in front of the product, before the front strip of the new tray is folded upwards, using the usual means found in known machines to which reference is being made. Once the lower edge of the upper blank is held in place between the product and the lifted front strip of the new tray, the said upper blank is folded to form an upturned "U" so that it covers the product at the front, on top, and at the back, after which the back strip of the new tray is lifted up and holds the other edge of the upper blank in place. In the next stage the end tabs of the lifted strips of the new tray are folded through 90° onto the sides of the product, and spots of hot-melt glue are then applied onto the bottom part of the side walls of the new tray, these side walls being subsequently lifted up so as to close off the sides of the product and sticking to the said end tabs of the front and back strips of the new tray. In the next stage, spots of hot-melt glue are applied along the side edges of the top wall covering the product and then the edge flaps of the walls covering the sides of the product are folded down and stuck onto these glued areas. The product packaged in this way then passes through the tunnels in which the heat-shrink film would be heated and cooled - and which are now inactive - and exits the packaging machine.

The product is thus packed into a cardboard box in which the front and back walls are not fixed to the side walls and in which the corrugations of the corrugated cardboard run vertically in all these walls, so that the said box has good stacking strength. When the product packaged in such a box arrives at the point of sale, it is possible to break the said box open along the cutting areas on the sides using just one's hands, and it is possible to lift off the entire upper blank together with the portions of the side walls attached to it at the top, with the product being left contained within a tray which then acts as a display means.

When the machine needs to be used to package products in heat-shrink film, the upper magazine referred to above is not used and all the means that previously acted on the upper blank remain inactive, while the means that act on the lower blank used to form the tray only remain operational and, in the terminal part of the machine, the means for wrapping the heat-shrink film and the heating and cooling tunnels are once again activated.

Further characteristics of the invention and the advantages deriving therefrom will become apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment of the said invention, which is illustrated solely by way of non-limiting example in the figures of the attached sheets of drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic side view of a combination type machine according to the invention;
Figure 2 illustrates, in perspective view, the stages of operation of the machine for packaging the products inside cardboard boxes;
Figures 3 and 4 illustrate, in plan view and opened out flat, the cardboard blanks to be placed in the lower magazine and in the upper magazine, respectively, of the machine operating in accordance with the diagram of Figure 2;
Figure 5 illustrates, on an enlarged scale and in side view, the intermediate part of the machine for packaging the products in the new boxes formed using the cardboard blanks shown in Figures 3 and 4;
Figures 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 each illustrate a detail of the part of the machine shown in Figure 5, taken on the planes VI-VI, VII-VII, VIII-VIII, IX-IX, X-X and Xl-Xl, respectively;
Figure 12 illustrates in perspective view the assembled cardboard box containing the product; and
Figure 13 illustrates in perspective view the cardboard box as it is opened.

In Figures 1 and 2, the reference 1 is used to denote the horizontal line along which the products P are conveyed, positioned adjacent to each other and generally aligned in several rows. These products are divided into groups P' of a given number by known means and are conveyed to the packaging means by transverse pushbars 12 on a conveyor 13 and by subsequent conveyor means 1', all known in the prior art. For the sake of clarity, the groups of products P' will be referred to simply as product P' from this point on. Located underneath the line 1 is a horizontal magazine of known type 2, on the conveyor 102 of which the cardboard blanks which form a tray of known type can be stacked sideways. Associated with this magazine are known means 3 which cyclically pick up the lead blank and insert it underneath the product P' as the latter advances along the known conveyor 1', which is fitted with cam-operated lever means (not illustrated) which at the appropriate stage lift up first the front strip and then the back strip of the tray, and then fold back through 90° the closure tabs located on the ends of the said strips, after which other means dispense spots of glue on the ends of the side strips and additional means lift them up in order to fix them to the said closure tabs, thus completing the tray. The package consisting of the product P' together with the container tray finally arrives in the station 4 where it is wrapped in a length of film unwound from one of the reels 104 and closed in a loop around it, after which the entire packaging passes first through the heating tunnel 5, which causes the film wrapping to shrink, and then through the tunnel 6 which cools and stabilizes the heat-shrunk film wrapping. When the product goes on sale, the film wrapping is removed by cutting it and the product remains on display in the tray.

In order to implement the alternative packaging process in which the product P' is packaged inside cardboard boxes only, the invention envisages inserting blanks 7 of corrugated cardboard, of the type illustrated in Figure 3, in the magazine 2 in order to form a new tray having a bottom wall 107 with hinged strips of the

same height

207, 207' and 307, 307', for example of the same height (see below), the former of which have conventional hinged closure tabs 407 at their ends. The strips 307, 307' are joined by means of weakened or cutting lines 8, 8' to coplanar rectangular extensions, with which they form

walls

700, 700' large enough to cover the sides of the product P' and which have hinged closure flaps 507, 507' along their edges.

The blank 7 thus formed is stacked sideways in the magazine 2, with the

walls

700, 700' positioned either side of the said magazine and, even with these large projecting walls, it can still be handled by the essentially known means of the wrapping machine considered above, which means have for that reason not been illustrated in detail in the appended drawings.

Located above the flow of products, above the means 3 which cyclically insert a blank 7 underneath the product P' advancing along the conveyor line 1, 1', is a horizontal magazine 9, on the bottom conveyor 109 of which blanks of corrugated cardboard 10, as shown in Figure 4, are stacked sideways. These blanks 10 include a wall 110 which is able to cover the top of the product P' and to which

similar walls

210, 210', large enough to cover the product P' at the front and at the back, are hinged, these walls advantageously having rounded corners, as indicated by the reference 310. The blanks 10 are placed in the magazine 9 so that their length is positioned vertically, with the

walls

210, 210' located above and below the intermediate wall 110.

In Figures 3 and 4, the arrow F denotes the direction of orientation of the longitudinal cardboard corrugations which form the

blanks

7 and 10.

Figure 5 shows that located at the terminal part of the magazine 9 there are suction means 111 which cyclically remove the lead blank 10 from the said magazine and discharge it vertically downwards, positioning it in front of the path of the product and holding it there temporarily by means of motorized belts 11. When the product P' comes up against the wall 210 of the lowered blank 10, the said product is being positioned on the new tray 7 and, while the known means lift up the front strip 207 of the new tray, the belts 11 lower the blank 10 so that the lower edge of the wall 210 is positioned between the product P' and the said strip 207 which, at the appropriate stage, is rotated upwards through 90°. It should be understood that this stage could be assisted by suitable guide means and/or by air-blowing means which have not been illustrated.

As the product advances to the right-hand side of Figure 5, the terminal part of the conveyor 13 is constructed such that a bar 12 thereon (refer to Figs 6 and 7 also) makes its return journey and acts on the blank 10, folding the wall 110 of the said blank down onto the product, after which another folding bar 14 (refer to Figure 8 also), mounted such that it projects out from a subsequent conveyor 15, comes into play and folds the wall 210' of the said blank 10 downwards, positioning it behind the product P', while, at the appropriate stage, the known means of the conveyor 101' lift up the back strip 207' of the new tray, which then holds the said wall 210' in place. In the next stage, known means 22, 22' (Fig. 8) intervene, rotating the closure tabs 407 of the new tray through 90°, after which - as illustrated in Figure 9 - glue guns 16, 16' (also known) come into operation, dispensing spots of hot-melt glue C1 (Figs 2, 5) onto the ends of the strips 307, 307' of the said new tray. The

walls

700, 700' then engage with fixed folding members 17, 17' (see also Figure 10) which lift these walls up, while glue guns 18, 18' dispense spots of hot-melt glue C2 at the appropriate stage (Figs 2, 5) along that portion of the wall 110 of the lid adjoining the closure flaps 507, 507', these flaps then being rotated through 90° by fixed folding members 19, 19' (Fig. 11) and folded down onto the said wall 110, on which they are subsequently also held in place by successive rollers 20 for the time required for the glue to dry. The packaging exits the machine via the

final stations

4, 5 and 6, which are not active in the present case. It goes without saying that when the machine is used to package products in heat-shrink film, the rollers 20 are designed so that they can be moved out of the way of the known binding means used to wrap the said product in the film wrapping.

The cardboard packaging produced using the equipment described and illustrated in Figure 12 is characterized in that its side edges 21 are open and in that the corrugations in all its side, front and back walls run vertically, as indicated by the arrows F, so that it has a very good stacking strength. Figure 13 illustrates how, using one's hands to cut the side walls of the box along the perforated lines 8, 8', it is possible to lift off the covering blank 10 together with the

wall portions

700, 700' and the strips 507, 507' of the lower blank 7 attached to it, the said lower blank 7 - together with the wall 107 and the

strips

207, 207', 307, 307' which are joined together by the tabs 407 - being left behind and acting as a tray underneath the product P'.

It should be understood that the scope of the invention also encompasses the use of a lower blank 7 which can form a type of tray in which the upper edges are positioned on a plane which is not horizontal and parallel to the bottom, as in the example described, but is inclined and constructed such as to form an acute angle relative to the bottom. A further variant could include the use of means for closing the side edges 21 at least at an intermediate point, for example by means of an operation involving transversely taping the box with adhesive tape.

Claims

Corrugated cardboard box for packaging products, in particular groups of jars or bottles, consisting basically of two elements or blanks and specifically a first bottom piece (7) which comprises a wall (107) on which the product (P') rests and which has opposite strips (207, 207', 307, 307') hinged around its perimeter which are lifted up around the sides of the product, and a second piece (10) which comprises an intermediate wall (110) for covering the top of the product, characterized by the fact that two of these strips (207, 207') having hinged closure tabs (407) at their ends are folded back against the sides of the product and are fixed with spots of glue (C1) to the ends of the other two strips (307, 307'), the latter being joined by means of upper perforated lines (8, 8') to coplanar rectangular portions of cardboard with which they form walls (700, 700') which cover the product on opposite sides and which in turn each have hinged flaps (507, 507') at the top designed to be fixed with spots of glue (C2) along the top of the other piece of cardboard (10) that makes up the box, along the sides of which wall the said top flaps (507, 507') of the said first piece (7) are fixed, this intermediate wall being hinged on either side to two walls (210, 210') which are folded down to cover the front and back of the product in those areas not covered by the side walls (700, 700') of the said first piece, the edges of these front and back walls being inserted behind the strips (207, 207') of the said first piece, the whole assembly being designed such that, at the time the packaged product goes on sale, it is possible to use one's hands to complete the cut through the said side walls (700, 700') along the said perforated lines (8, 8') and it is possible to lift off the second piece (10) completely, together with the portions of the side walls attached to it, while the product is left contained within a display tray formed by the bottom wall (107) and by the strips (207, 207', 307, 307') which are joined together by the closure tabs (407) of the said first piece (7).
Box according to Claim 1), characterized in that the sides of its side walls (700, 707') and of its front and back walls (210, 210'), which together form the vertical edges (21) of the said box, are not fixed together except on the lower strips (207, 207', 307, 307', 407).
Box according to Claim 2), characterized in that means may, if necessary, be provided for joining the vertical edges (21) of its side and front and back walls at least at intermediate points, these means involving for example binding with adhesive tape.
Box according to Claim 1), in which the corrugations of the corrugated cardboard run vertically in all the side, front and back walls (700, 700', 210, 210'), so that the said box has good stacking strength.
Method for packaging groups of products in cardboard boxes as claimed in the preceding claims, characterized by the following operational stages:

inserting the first bottom piece (7) of the box underneath the product (P') as it advances along a straight and horizontal path so that the said product rests on the central wall (107) of this first piece and so that its strips (207, 207') are located in front of and behind the product;

positioning the second piece of cardboard (10) vertically in front of the product (P') so as to cover it at the front with a front wall (210);

lifting up the strip (207) of the said first bottom piece - which is positioned in front of the product - so that this strip holds the lower edge of the said front wall (210) of the second upper piece in place;

folding the second upper piece (10) into the shape of a U so that it covers the top of the product with its intermediate wall (110) and the back with its back wall (210');

lifting up the back strip (207') of the first bottom piece so that this strip holds the said back wall (210') of the second piece in place;

folding the closure tabs (407) back against the sides of the product, these tabs being hinged on the ends of the said lifted up strips (207, 207') of the first bottom piece;

dispensing spots of glue (C1), for example hot-melt glue, onto the ends of the side strips (307, 307') of the first bottom piece;

lifting up the side walls (700, 700') of the first bottom piece and fixing their corresponding lower strips (307, 307') to the said closure tabs (407);

dispensing spots of glue (C2), for example hot-melt glue, along those portions of the wall (110) covering the product which adjoin the side walls (700, 700') which were lifted up in the previous stage and which have closure flaps (507, 507');

folding the said closure flaps (507, 507') down onto the said glued areas of the top wall (110).
Method according to claim 5), characterized in that a final stage is provided in which the vertical edges of the side, front and back walls of the box are fixed together at least at an intermediate point, for example by means of a so-called transverse taping operation using adhesive tape.
Equipment for implementing the method referred to in Claim 5), comprising a machine which is designed for packaging products (P') in heat-shrink film, these products being placed in a tray formed by a flat blank of corrugated cardboard taken from a feed magazine (2) located underneath the path of the said products, the machine being designed to handle the said first (7) and the said second (10) cardboard blanks, fitted with additional means for dispensing spots of glue (C2), and operated with the final heat-shrink (5) and cooling (6) stations inactive; the lower magazine (2) of the machine being supplied with the said first blanks (7) intended to form the new tray, these blanks being positioned so that their side walls (700, 700') lie either side of the said magazine, the said machine being fitted with means ( 17, 17') which, at the appropriate stage, lift up these side walls after spots of glue (C1) have been applied by suitable glue guns (16, 16') onto the ends of those portions (307, 307') of the side walls which act as side strips of the new tray, and the said machine being fitted with first means ( 19, 19') which fold down the closure flaps (507, 507') of the said lifted side walls (700, 700') in order to stick them onto those areas of the top wall (110) covering the product on which the spots of glue (C2) have been applied by special glue guns (18, 18'), and being fitted with second means (20), which hold the said flaps down in the closure position until the glue can keep them stuck together; the said machine being further fitted with an additional magazine (9), located above the flow of products, in which the second cardboard blanks (10) intended to form the top wall and the front and back walls of the packaging box are stacked sideways, these second blanks being positioned so that the said walls lie one above the other, the terminal part of the said magazine being fitted with means (111) designed cyclically to remove the lead blank and feed it to pairs of motorized belts (11) which point downwards and are designed to position a blank vertically in front of the path of the product to be packaged so that the lower edge of the wall (210) of this blank - which will cover the front of the product - is gripped between the said product and the front strip (207) of the second bottom blank (7) which, at the appropriate stage, is lifted up by the suitable known means; the terminal part of the conveyor (13) - which, by means of its projecting bars (12), causes the product (P') to advance as the said first blank (7) is inserted underneath it - is constructed such that, as it makes its return journey, one of its pushbars folds the intermediate wall (110) of the said second blank (10) down onto the product; and that downstream of the bar conveyor (12, 13) which folds the intermediate wall (110) of the said second blank (10) down onto the product, a means is provided which consists for example of a further conveyor (15) which, by means of its own projecting bars (14), folds the corresponding wall (210') of the second blank down onto the back face of the product (P') while, at the appropriate stage, the lower edge of this wall is gripped between the said product and the back strip (207') of the first bottom blank (7) which, at the appropriate stage, is lifted up by the suitable known means.
Equipment according to claim 7, characterized in that means are provided which are exclusively dedicated to handling the product (P') to be packaged and the two blanks (7, 10) which form the cardboard box for packaging the said product.