EP3619119B1 - Method for cushioning objects in a container, and device for cushioning objects in a container - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a method for upholstering objects in a container according to the preamble of claim 1. The invention also relates to a device for upholstering objects in a container according to the preamble of the independent claim.

For example from the DE 10 2012 222 805 B3 it is known to use a cushioning means made of a sheet-like starting material, for example a flat one Strips of paper, produced by crumpling. In addition, various technologies are known from the market with which a cushioning means is produced and introduced into the container as a function of a residual empty volume in a container in which objects are placed. An example of this is the EP 1 556 278 B1 . The US 2011/016833 A1 discloses a system for packaging items in a container and a controlled dispensing of cushioning material. The amount of cushioning material released depends on certain values. The WO 2008/146111 A1 describes the delivery of cushioning material depending on a weight of the cushioning material.

The object of the present invention is to provide the simplest possible and thus inexpensive method for cushioning objects in a container.

This object is achieved by a method with the features of claim 1 and by a device with the features of the independent patent claim. Advantageous further developments of the invention can also be found in the dependent subclaims. Features which are important for the invention can also be found in the following description and in the accompanying drawing. These features can be essential for the invention both in different combinations and on their own.

According to the invention a method for upholstering objects in a container is proposed which comprises the following steps: detecting and / or determining a variable characterizing a residual empty volume of the container by means of at least one sensor and automatic production of at least one cushioning means as a function of the variable characterizing the residual empty volume of the container. Furthermore, It is proposed that a cushioning agent is only produced if this results from a comparison of the variable characterizing the remaining empty volume of the container with a limit value, for example if it reaches and / or exceeds the limit value or, in another constellation, the limit value not reached or falls below it. It is preferred here for the cushioning means to have predetermined dimensions which are independent of the size characterizing the remaining empty volume of the container. The device according to the invention is designed analogously.

The method according to the invention and the device according to the invention have the advantage that a cushioning agent is only produced when it has been established that the remaining empty volume is so large that it justifies the production and insertion of a cushioning agent at all. The production of upholstery is based on a yes / no decision and not on a complex evaluation process. This avoids unnecessary production of a cushioning means. This in turn saves time and resources and thus also costs.

In a further development of the method according to the invention, it is proposed that when a cushioning agent is produced, it is automatically transported into the container immediately after production. This saves time and the "packer", ie the person who is ultimately responsible for packing the objects in the container, is relieved.

It is particularly preferred that the cushioning means is transported into the container by means of gravity. A complex transport device with a separate drive is saved as a result, which in turn saves costs.

In another specific further development, it is proposed that the cushioning means be transported into the container along a slide. In this way, the cushioning means can be guided precisely and reliably into the residual empty volume in the container, with low costs and high reliability at the same time, since no drive means are required.

In an alternative embodiment it is provided that the cushioning means is transported into the container by means of a robot. A very precise placement of the cushioning means in the container can hereby be achieved. The reliability of the placement of the cushioning means in the container is also increased.

It is also possible that when a cushioning agent is produced which is not transported into the container immediately after production, this cushioning agent is temporarily stored in an interim storage facility. This takes into account the fact that in practice a cushioning means does not have to be transported in every container. The time gained in this way can be used to stock up on cushioning material produce so that they are immediately available when a cushioning material is to be placed in a container. This saves time.

A very simple variant of the method is characterized in that the variable characterizing the remaining empty volume of the container comprises or is a mean height within the interior of the container or in a section within the interior of the container. According to the invention, no complex determination of a contour of the objects present in the container is carried out, nor is there any complex determination of the geometric distribution of the remaining empty volume in the container. Instead, only, for example, an average height of the objects present in the container is determined, whereby the remaining empty volume present in the container can be characterized very well. This can be done, for example, by determining the height at a plurality of predetermined discrete positions. In the simplest case, the arithmetic mean can be used as the mean. In order to estimate the remaining empty volume or the variable characterizing the remaining empty volume, it is also useful to know the height of the container.

A further development is characterized in that the variable characterizing the remaining empty volume of the container is determined using the signal from a sensor, in particular a height sensor. Such a sensor can be, for example, a transmitter that works in a tactile manner, or a transmitter that works without contact, for example one Image capture device, an ultrasonic sensor and / or a barcode scanner. With the barcode scanner, for example, a barcode attached to the container either on its outside or on its inside can be scanned. The information encoded in the barcode can be, for example, a variable characterizing the empty volume of the container (for example the height of the empty volume of the container) and the heights of the objects stored in the container according to a packing list. The barcode can, however, also explicitly contain the variable characterizing the remaining empty volume, or even the yes / no decision as to whether or not a cushioning means should be produced.

Figur 1

eine schematisierte Seitenansicht auf einen ersten Bereich einer ersten Ausführungform einer Vorrichtung zum Polstern von Gegenständen in einem Behälter;

Figur 2

eine Darstellung ähnlich Figur 1 auf einen zweiten Bereich;

Figur 3

ein Flussdiagramm eines Verfahrens zum Betreiben der Vorrichtung der Figuren 1 und 2;

Figur 4

eine erste perspektivische Darstellung einer zweiten Ausführungsform einer Vorrichtung zum Polstern von Gegenständen in einem Behälter; und

Figur 5

eine zweite perspektivische Darstellung der Vorrichtung von Figur 4.

Possible embodiments of the invention are explained below with reference to the accompanying drawing. In the drawing show:

Figure 1

a schematic side view of a first area of a first embodiment of a device for cushioning objects in a container;

Figure 2

a representation similar Figure 1 on a second area;

Figure 3

a flow diagram of a method for operating the device of FIG Figures 1 and 2 ;

Figure 4

a first perspective view of a second embodiment of a device for cushioning objects in a container; and

Figure 5

a second perspective view of the device of FIG Figure 4 .

A first embodiment of a device for cushioning objects in a container carries in the Figures 1 and 2 generally the reference number 10. It comprises a first transport device 12, which in the present case comprises a roller conveyor with individual rollers 14 arranged parallel to one another. For the sake of clarity, in Figure 1 only one of these roles is provided with the reference number 14. These rollers 14 are kinematically connected to one another insofar as they can be set in rotation by a common drive 16.

The first transport device 12 belongs to a first station 18 of the device 10, in which a variable characterizing a residual empty volume of a container is detected. A corresponding container carries in Figure 1 the reference number 20. It is used to send objects which are arranged in an interior space of the container 20 and there are the reference numbers 22a, 22b and 22c.

The container comprises a bottom 24, side walls 26, and movable closure flaps 28. Typically, the container is made from cardboard. A height of one The empty volume of the container 20 bears the reference number 30. A mean height within the interior of the container 20 bears the reference number 32. In the present case, the mean height 32 denotes a height that takes into account the heights of the objects 22a-c, but also the size that area of the floor 24 which is not occupied by the objects 22a-c is taken into account. In principle, however, other definitions for the "average height" are also possible. For example, the mean height could also be formed only from the heights of the objects 22a-c. In a simple case, the mean height could also be formed from the arithmetic mean of the maximum heights recorded in specific sectors (for example the 4 quadrants) within the interior of the container 20.

In order to be able to determine the mean height 32 within the interior of the container 20, a sensor 34 is first provided, which is arranged above the container 20. The sensor 34 can be an image acquisition device, for example a camera, an ultrasound sensor or also a tactile transmitter. It goes without saying that the actual height value is determined by a distance measurement which is set in relation to the distance from the bottom 24 of the container 20.

In order to be able to determine the height 30 of the empty volume of the container 20, a sensor 36 in the form of a barcode scanner is provided. With this one can be on an outside one Barcode 37 arranged on the side wall 26 of the container 20 can be read out. One of the pieces of information contained in the barcode 37 is the said height 30. In principle, however, it is also conceivable that the height 30 of the empty volume of the container 20 is also determined by the sensor 34 or by another lateral sensor.

The operation of the device 10 is controlled by a control device 38. This receives signals, for example, from the two sensors 34 and 36 and controls, for example, the drive 16 of the first transport device 12.

In Figure 1 a residual empty volume 40 is shown in dotted lines. This is the volume within the interior of the container 20 which results from the difference between the height 30 of the empty volume and the mean height 32. The mean height 32 is determined by the control device 38 in accordance with the basic calculation options described above. It can be seen that the mean height 32 is a variable which characterizes the remaining empty volume 40 in the interior of the container 20, as it is in any case related to the remaining empty volume 40.

In Figure 1 a small part of a second transport device 42 is shown in the lower left area. How out Figure 2 As can be seen, this belongs to a second station 44 of the device 10. Like the first Transport device 12, the second transport device 42 also comprises a multiplicity of driven rollers 46 arranged parallel to one another, of which for reasons of clarity in Figure 2 only one is designated with a reference number. The common drive of these rollers 46 is in Figure 2 denoted by 48.

The second station 44 includes a sensor 50, which is shown above the second transport device 42. In principle, however, an arrangement to the side or even below the second transport device 42 is also conceivable. The presence of the container 20 in the second station 44 is detected with the sensor 50. In this respect, the sensor 50 can be, for example, an ultrasonic sensor or a light barrier.

The second station 44 also includes a means 52 for producing a cushioning means. In the present case, the means 52 is designed as a device with which a padding means is produced from a web-shaped starting material, for example a paper material, by crumpling it. For this purpose, the means 52 has a paper supply 54, which can be paper rolled up on a roll or paper folded in a zigzag in a tray.

A crumpling device 56 conveys the sheet-like starting material and compresses it in its longitudinal direction. For this purpose, the crumpling device 56 has two in Conveying direction 57 roller pairs (not shown) arranged one behind the other, between which the paper is conveyed, the rear pair of rollers, viewed in the conveying direction, conveying the paper at a lower speed than the front roller pair, seen in the conveying direction. As a result, the paper is compressed or crumpled from the first pair of rollers to the second pair of rollers.

Behind the crumpling device 56, seen in the conveying direction 57, a separating device 58 is arranged, which separates an individual cushioning means (also called "cushion pad" or "cushion cushion") from the crumpled sheet material. This separation can take place, for example, by cutting or by tearing, in which case the separating device comprises a cutting means and in the other case a tearing means.

The discrete cushioning means produced in this way arrives via an outlet 60 on a slide 62, which is arranged obliquely with respect to a horizontal line. Its inclination is so great that a cushioning means lying on the slide 62 (in Figure 2 denoted by the reference numeral 64) due to gravity along a longitudinal direction of the slide 62 slides downwards and, after leaving the slide 62 at its lower end, falls into the container 20 arranged below the lower end of the slide 62. This is in Figure 2 indicated by corresponding arrows 66.

Referring now to FIG Figure 3 a method explained, according to which the in the Figures 1 and 2 The device 10 shown and described above operates.

The method begins in a start block 68. Subsequently, the container 20 is transported to the first station 18 in a block 70, in that the drive 16 is controlled accordingly by the control device 38. As soon as the container 20 is in the first station 18 (which, for example, can also be determined by the sensor 34), the first transport device 12 is stopped. The barcode 37 is now read out in a block 72 by means of the sensor 36 and a corresponding signal is transmitted to the control device 38. In a block 74, the height at different points in the interior of the container 20 is determined by means of the sensor 34, and corresponding signals are transmitted to the control device 38.

On the basis of the signals received from the sensor 34, the control device 38 now determines an average height 32 which, as already mentioned above, in interaction with the height 30 of the empty volume of the container 20 transmitted via the sensor 36, represents the remaining empty volume 40 of the container 20 is characterizing size. The mean height 32 is then compared in a block 76 with a limit value. The further progress of the proceedings depends on the result of this comparison.

If the mean height 32 does not reach the limit value (which is an indication that the remaining empty volume 40 has a certain minimum), the container 20 is transported to the second station 44 in a block 78. For this purpose, the control device 38 puts the two transport devices 12 and 42 into operation accordingly. As soon as the container 20 is located exclusively on the second transport device 42, the first transport device 12 can be stopped or driven independently of the second transport device 42 for the transport of a further container 20 into the first station 18. As soon as the container 20 is in the second station 44, which is detected by the sensor 50, the means 52 is activated in a block 80 by the control device 38 and the cushioning means 64 is produced.

The production of the cushioning means 64 can also depend on information that was transmitted to the control device 38 by reading the barcode 37 on the container 20. For example, this information can contain an indication of the size of the container 20, so that a larger or a smaller cushioning means 64 is produced as the case may be. However, it is preferred that the cushioning means 64 has predetermined dimensions which are independent of the variable characterizing the remaining empty volume of the container (in the present case therefore of the mean height 32).

The control device 38 comprises a timer which, after the production of the cushioning means 64, lasts for a certain time can elapse before the control device 38 initiates further transport of the container 20 to a subsequent station (not shown) in a block 82, in that the drive 48 is controlled accordingly. This time limit ensures that the cushioning means 64 produced has reached the container 20 via the chute 62 before the container 20 is transported out of the second station 44. The method ends in a block 84.

The variant of the method has just been described which takes place when it is determined in block 76 by the control device 38 that the mean height 32 does not reach the predetermined limit value. However, if the objects 22a-c are relatively large in comparison to the container 20, it may be that the mean height 32 is also relatively large and, accordingly, the remaining empty volume 40 of the container 20 is relatively small. In such a case, the mean altitude 32 in decision block 76 may meet or exceed the threshold. Then there is an immediate jump from block 76 to block 82, which is shown in FIG Figure 3 is indicated by a corresponding arrow. No cushioning means 64 is therefore produced and stored in the container 20. Instead, the container 20 is transported from the first station 18 through the second station 44 and immediately on to a subsequent station.

It can thus be seen that a yes / no decision is made in decision block 76, which is the case with The present embodiment means that either a cushioning means 64 is produced and stored in the container 20, or that a cushioning means 64 is not produced and is therefore not stored in the container 20 either. It goes without saying that the previously used terminology “a” cushioning means 64 does not mean that, in principle, only a single cushioning means 64 is produced. It goes without saying that a multi-part cushioning means 64 can also be produced in block 80.

It was described above that the cushioning means 64 is transported along a slide 62 into the container 20. In principle, however, other devices for transporting the cushioning means into the container are also conceivable. For example, a robot could also be used for this, as shown in the Figures 4 and 5 can be seen, which show a second embodiment of a device 10 for cushioning objects in a container. Those elements and areas which have equivalent functions to the embodiment of the Figures 1-3 have the same reference numbers. They are usually not explained again in detail.

Compared to the rather schematic representation of the first embodiment in FIG Figures 1 and 2 show the Figures 4 and 5 the second embodiment in more detail. A support structure 86 made from standard profiles can be seen, which comprises a total of four vertical uprights 88. This is above the first transport device 12 and the second Transport device 42 is held by a frame 90, which in turn carries a grid-like holding plate 92.

Are on the holding plate 92, in the Figures 4 and 5 but not visible, two sensors arranged with the function that the sensor 34 in the embodiment of FIG Figures 1 and 2 Has. Seen in the conveying direction of the two transport devices 12 and 42, these two sensors are arranged one behind the other. Above the two sensors, a receiving channel 94 made for example of sheet metal is arranged on the holding plate 92, in which a tubular, crumpled cushioning means 64 is placed when it has been produced by the means 52 for producing the cushioning means 64, which is also arranged on the holding plate 92 .

Two of the vertical uprights 88 of the support structure 86 also carry a buffer shelf 96 in which cushioning means 64 that have been produced but not yet required can be temporarily stored. From the Figures 4 and 5 it can be seen very clearly that the cushioning means 64 temporarily stored in the buffer shelf 96 are all identical. Unlike the embodiment of Figures 1 and 2 the paper supply is not shown here. Only a bearing plate 98 is shown, on which a stack of sheet-like paper material which has been folded in a zigzag fashion can be stored - as said, not shown. As already mentioned, the web-like paper material is double-layered, so that it can be reshaped in the means 52 to form the crumpled tubular cushion means 64.

Unlike the embodiment of Figures 1 and 2 the cushioning means 64 arrives in the embodiment of FIG Figures 4 and 5 not via a slide into the container 20, but by means of a robot 100. Such robots are also referred to as "pick-and-place robots". The robot 100 includes a base 102 that is screwed onto the frame 90 above a stand 88. A touch-sensitive screen 104 (touchscreen) with which the robot 100 can be programmed is arranged on the base 102. The robot 100 has a robot arm 106 which is provided with a plurality of joints and which is provided with a gripping device 108 at its protruding end. It goes without saying that the robot is also connected to the control device 38 and is controlled by it.

Finally, a hold-down device 110 also belongs to the device 10. This comprises a holding structure 112 which is fastened to a cross member 114 of the frame 90. Furthermore, the holding-down device 110 comprises a rotor 116 which is rotatably and eccentrically mounted on the holding structure 112 and which has a bone-like cross section in the side view.

The device 10 of Figures 4 and 5 works basically similar to that of Figures 1 and 2 . This means that in the first station 18, by means of the sensors (not shown), an average height of the remaining empty volume in a container 20 is determined either indirectly or directly becomes. Intermediate storage of this information on a label by means of a barcode is not necessary here, since the second station 44 is directly connected to the first station 18. If this were in the Figures 1 and 2 The embodiment shown is also so, the detour of the barcode could also be dispensed with there.

The controller 38 then determines in the sense of a yes / no decision, for example by means of a limit value comparison, whether the determined mean height is so great that a cushioning means 64 - in the simplest case always the same - should be placed in the container 20, or whether the determined mean height is so small that no cushioning means 64 should be placed in the container 20. In the case of a correspondingly short container, only one of the two sensors is used, whereas with a longer container, both sensors are used to determine the average height and, for example, an average value of the average height is formed.

If a cushioning means 64 is to get into a container 20, a cushioning means 64 lying either in the receiving channel 94 or in a buffer shelf 96 is gripped by the robot arm 106 of the robot 100 by means of the gripping device 108 and placed in the second station 44 in the corresponding container 20. If a cushioning means 64 has been placed in a container 20, the corresponding container 20 is transported by the second transport device 42 to below the hold-down 110. There the cushion means 64 is made by a rotary movement of the eccentrically mounted rotor 116, which runs synchronously with the further transport of the container 20 by means of the second transport device 42, is pressed into the container 20 so that the closing flaps 28 of the container 20 can then be closed without any problems.

It goes without saying that the robot 100 not only serves to place cushioning means 64 in the container 20, but also serves to put cushioning means 64 produced by the crumpling device 56 of the means 52 that are not to be immediately placed in a container 20, to be transported from the receiving channel 94 into the buffer shelf 96.

Furthermore, the cushioning means could be transported into the container by means of a "revolver". Such a revolver is constructed similarly to a rotary carousel and picks up the cushioning material at a receiving station, transports it along a circular path up over the container, where it then falls from a delivery station into the container.

Claims (12)

1. Method for cushioning objects (22a-c) in a container (20), comprising the steps of:

   a. detecting and/or determining a quantity (32) characterizing a residual void volume (40) of the container (20) by means of at least one sensor (34), and

   b. automatically producing at least one cushioning means (64) depending on the quantity (32) characterizing the residual void volume (40) of the container (20), wherein the cushioning means (64) is only produced if this results from a comparison of the quantity (32) characterizing the residual void volume (40) with a limit value,

   characterized in that the cushioning means being a cushioning means that has dimensions that are predetermined and independent of the quantity (32) characterizing the residual void volume (40) of the container (20).
2. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that when a cushioning means (64) is produced, it is automatically transported into the container (20) immediately after production.
3. Method according to claim 2, characterized in that the cushioning means (64) is at least also transported into the container (20) by gravity.
4. Method according to claim 3, characterized in that the cushioning means (64) is transported into the container (20) along a chute (62).
5. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the cushioning means (64) is transported into the container (20) by means of a robot (100).
6. Method according to claim 5, characterized in that when a cushioning means (64) is produced which is not transported into the container (20) immediately after production, this cushioning means (64) is temporarily stored in intermediate storage (96).
7. Method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the quantity characterizing the residual void volume (40) of the container (20) comprises an average height (32) within the interior of the container (20) or in a portion within the interior of the container (20).
8. Method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the quantity (32) characterizing the residual void volume (40) of the container (20) is determined using the signal from a sensor (34), in particular a height sensor.
9. Method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the quantity (32) characterizing the residual void volume (40) of the container (20) is determined using a quantity characterizing the void volume of the container (20).
10. Device (10) for cushioning objects (22a-c) in a container (20), which comprises:

    a. a means (32, 38) for detecting and/or determining a quantity (32) characterizing a residual void volume (40) of the container, and

    b. a means (52) for producing at least one cushioning means (64) depending on the quantity (32) characterizing the residual void volume (40) of the container (20),

    c. a control apparatus (38) which controls the means (52) for producing a cushioning means (64) only then such that a cushioning means (64) is produced when this results from a comparison of the quantity (32) characterizing the residual void volume (40) of the container (20) with a limit value,

    characterized in that the means (52) for producing the cushioning means (64) produces a cushioning means (64), which has predetermined dimensions that are independent of the quantity (32) characterizing the residual void volume (40) of the container (20).
11. Device (10) according to claim 10, characterized in that the device (10) comprises a chute (62), by means of which a produced cushioning means (64) passes into the container (20) by gravity.
12. Device (10) according to any one of claims 10 or 11, characterized in that the means (32, 38) for detecting and/or determining a quantity (32) characterizing the residual void volume (40) of the container (20) comprises an image-capturing apparatus, an ultrasonic sensor and/or a bar code scanner.

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