GB2055082A - Packaging beverage containers - Google Patents

Abstract

Method of packaging one or more articles, e.g. beverage containers, into carrier, comprises bringing each article or group of articles to a loading station at which a carrier having an initially open bottom wall is placed around each article or group by loading through the open bottom of the carrier, causing the carrier to be fully seated around each article or group by urging the carrier downwardly towards a track along which the loaded carrier is moved and subsequently closing the bottom wall of the carrier. An apparatus may include means at the loading station for expanding knocked-down carriers and placing them over the articles. Alternatively these operations may be performed manually. The apparatus further includes means for fully seating each carrier and means for closing its bottom wall.

Description

SPECIFICATION Method and apparatus for packaging bever age containers This invention relates to a packaging machine and to a method of packaging a group of articles such as beverage containers into an article carrier. The invention is particularly although not exclusively suitable for use with open bottom basket style carriers. Such a carrier has an initially open bottom by which the carrier is loaded and which subsequently is closed by foldable bottom closure flaps.

One aspect of the present invention pro vides a method of packaging at least one article, such as a beverage container, into an article carrier which method comprises bringing each article to a loading station at which an erected article carrier having an initially open bottom wall is caused to be seated partially around said article by loading the article through said open bottom of the carrier, causing the partially completed pack age to be moved along a track to a locating station, causing the carrier to be fully seated around said article by urging said carrier fur ther towards said track such that the carrier components defining the bottom wall are dis posed below the surface of the track, and subsequently closing said bottom wall of the carrier to complete package.

Another aspect of the invention provides apparatus for packaging at least one article such as a beverage container into an open bottom article carrier which apparatus com prises a loading station at which an erected article carrier having an initially open bottom wall is caused to be seated partially around said article by loading the article through the open bottom of the carrier, a track having a top surface along which the partially com pleted package is movable, a locating station including means for causing saida carrier to be seated fully around said article by said track such that the carrier components defining the bottom wall are disposed below said track top surface, and means for closing said bottom wall of the carrier to complete the package.

t An embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of exampie, with refer ence to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 shows a basket-style article carrier having foldable bottom closure flaps which is suitable for use in the apparatus, Figure 2 shows a multi-cell article carrier which is handleless but also suitable for use in the apparatus, Figure 3 illustrates schematicaliy the carrier erecting and loading station of apparatus according to the invention, Figure 4 illustrates a carrier seated on a group of bottles at the carrier erecting and loading station, Figure 5 illustrates the leading section of a locating station of the apparatus for further urging the carrier towards the track, Figure 6 illustrates the carrier leaving the leading section of the locating station and entering the trailing section, and Figure 7 shows the carrier at the trailing section of the locating station with the carrier fully located on the bottle and the bottom wall folded into its closed position.

Referring to the drawings, there is shown in Fig. 1 an article carrier 10 basically of the basket style but having an initially open bottom wall. The carrier 10 comprises an upstanding handle 11, side walls 1 2 and end walls 1 3 which together with partition elements 14 define a plurality of compartments or cells 15, and foldable closure flaps 1 6 depending from the side walls in order to form the bottom wall of the carrier 1 0. The closure flaps 1 6 are folded inwardly and locked together by means of co-operating locking and retaining tabs 17, 1 7a respectively. Such tabs are known in the art particularly in relation to article carriers of the wraparound type and are disclosed e.g. in U.S.

Patent specification No. 4,093,116.

Fig. 2 shows another type of multi-cell article carrier 1 8 which is handle-less and comprises side walls 1 9 and end walls 20 which together with partition elements 21 define a plurality of cells 22, and foldable closure flaps 23 depending from the side walls in order to form the bottom wall of the carrier 1 8. The closure flaps 23 include locking and retaining tabs 24, 24a respectively similar to those shown in the carrier 10 of Fig. 1. Either of the carriers 10, 1 8 is suitable for use with the packaging machine of the present invention for the continuous packaging of articles by unindirectional assembly line method. However, it is to be understood that other suitable article carriers also may be used.

For the purpose of explanation of the invention it is considered convenient to refer to the carrier 10 and to regard the articles to be packed therein as bottles.

The apparatus basically comprises a collating station at which bottles are collated into groups; a carrier erecting and seating station at which collapsed carriers are erected and seated via open base on to the prearranged groups of bottles; a locating station at which the seated carriers are fully located on the group of bottles preparatory to locking the closure flaps; and a locking station at which the closure flaps are locked to one another to complete the package.

Fig. 3 schematically illustrates the carrier erecting and seating station 25. Prior to being conveyed to station 25, the continuous line of bottles 26 to be packaged are collated at the collating station (not shown) into groups ap propriate for the package (in this case the groups each comprise six bottles) by a collating device e.g. a pair of synchronised 'star' wheels. Such a device is well known in the art and therefore is not described further herein.

Station 25 comprises a hopper structure 27 positioned adjacent a track 28 on which the bottles 26 are supported and conveyed. The hopper structure 27 accommodates a stack 29 of collapsed carriers 10 which is arranged to be fed towards the track by a feed device 30 at a rate proportional to that at which the carriers are removed. As each group of bottles is presented at station 25 the collapsed carriers sequentially are brought into and held in a set-up condition immediately above the group of bottles 26 on the track 28 by a suitable suction cup elements 31. These elements 31 are vacuum operated and attach to one side wall of the leading carrier 10 in the stack 29 and draw out that wall away from the opposite side wall so that the carrier is expanded.

The carrier is held in positioned by the suction cup elements 31 with its bottom closure flaps 1 6 in the plane of the respective carrier side walls preparatory to seating over the prearranged group of bottles.

However, it should be evident that an operator may manually place a series of open bottom carriers upon the bottle groups. The particular manner or means for setting up the carrier and subsequently drop-seating the carrier is immaterial and may be manual or mechanical as desired.

The set-up carrier 10 is then driven downwardly by a pneumatic piston device 32 so that the bottles pass neck first through the open bottom of the carrier and are each located in respective ones of the carrier cells.

In this position the bottles 26 are not wholly located within the carrier cells because each closure flap 1 6 extends in the plane of respective carrier side wall so that the lowermost edges of the closure flaps engage the support surface of the track 28.

Figure 4 shows the carrier with its closure flaps 1 6 open and the bottles 26 in their partially located position.

The filled carrier is moved along the track 28 by a pair of drive fingers 33 which project through parallel slots 34 coextensive with the track base. The drive finger pairs are provided at spaced locations along the track to drive successive groups of bottles and are well known in packaging machines of this kind.

The filled carrier 10 then enters a locating station 35 which 5 provided for the purpose of fully locating the carrier on its group of bottles so as to permit the bottom closure flaps 1 6 to be folded inwardly in overlapping relationship and then locked together to complete the package. The locating station 35 comprises a railing structure 36 providing spaced railings upstanding from the track and a locator device 37. The railing structure aligns a carrier 10 for engagement with the locator device 37 which is provided for ensuring that the carriers are fully seated on the bottles 26.

The railing structure 36 is connected at one end of the locator device and comprises complementary rail sets 38, 39 each set having an upper bar 40 and a lower bar 41 for engagement with the handle and with the handle and with the side wall, respectively, of the carrier 10. The rail sets 38, 39 terminate in a divergent free end presenting a flared mouth to an oncoming carrier and together define a guide path in which the carrier 10 is aligned for engagement with the locator device 37 as can be seen most clearly in Fig. 5 of the drawings.

The locator device 37 is fixed above the track 28 of the machine by transverse support rods 37a, 37b respectively, and includes an elongate channel element 42 with its open mouth facing the track 28. The channel element has a leading section 43 (Fig. 6) which is inclined with respect to the surface of the track 28 such that the distance between the channel element and the track surface decreases in the direction of movement of the carrier away from the railing structure, and a trailing section 44 (Fig. 7) which is substantially parallel to the surface of the track.

The carrier 10 is caused to continue its movement along the track and passes through the railing structure 36 during which the carrier is 'squared up' and the handle 11 begins to enter the guide defined by the channel shaped element 42. The locator device is height adjustable to ensure that the channel element 42 is set correctly to receive the handle 11 of the carrier 10 as will be described more fully hereinafter. It will be seen from Figs. 6 and 7 of the drawings that the tops of the bottles disposed on either side of carrier handle 11 will locate adjacent opposite faces of the channel element 42 and a protective strip 45 is therefore provided.

As the carrier 10 moves on, the carrier is urged downwardly by virtue of the sliding engagement between the extreme top edge of handle 11 and the inner surface of the inclined channel element 42. Naturally, to enable the carrier to become fully seated it is necessary that the carrier closure flaps 16 can pass through the plane of the track surface.

Hence, the construction of the track is modified adjacent the entrance to the leading section 43 of the locator device so that the edges of closure flaps 1 6 no longer are in engagement with the track surface. This is achieved by providing appropriate slots 46 (Fig. 6) in the track surface through which the closure flaps can pass. Moreover, during the carrier locating procedure, because the carrier is urged downwardly, it is necessary to shift the drive fingers 33 so that the carton is not snagged.

This is achieved by causing the drive fingers 33 to be retracted gradually through the track slots 34. The retraction proceeds at about the same rate at which the carton is being urged downwardly so that when the carrier has reached the end of the leading section 43 of the channel element 42, the drive fingers 33 are fully retracted and the carrier is fully located on the bottles. In this fully located position the fold lines between the carrier side walls 1 2 and closure flaps 1 6 are adjacent to top surface of the track 28.

At about the same time at which full retraction of the drive fingers 33 occurs and in order to provide for the continued drive of the carrier 10 through the trailing section 44 of the locating station 35, a pair of drive arms 47 are brought into engagement with the back face of the carrier The arms 47 extend towards one another transversely of the track.

Hence, the drive is transferred from pushing at the lower portions of the rearmost bottles to pushing the rear side wall of the carrier 1 0.

During the passage of the carrier along trailing section 44 the closure flaps are folded inwardly underneath the bottles to close the bottom of the carrier. The folding operation is achieved by the function of machine components well known in the art. Basically the closure flaps are folded inwardly into overlapping relationship underneath a supporting sword whilst the bottles stand upon the sword. Folding is achieved whilst the bottles 26 and the carrier 10 are moved on the sword by the drive arms 47.The location of the handle 11 in the horizontal training section of the channel element ensures that the carton is not inadvertently lifted during folding of the closure flaps 1 6. The closed carrier is then moved on to a locking station (not shown) where probes cause the locking tabs 1 7 to be driven into apertures defined by the retaining tabs 17a thereby locking one closure flap to the other and completing the package.

As mentioned hereinbefore the locating device is height adjustable to enable the machine to be used with carriers of different handle heights and indeed with carriers which have no handles such as that shown in Fig. 2.

In the latter case the channel element is brought to abut the central longitudinal partition of the carrier. Height adjustment is effected by altering the height of support rods 37a, 37b which together hold the locator device fixed above the track. Each end of the support rods (Fig. 7) is secured in a vertical column by a screw-threaded bar 48. Bar 48 is rotatable to adjust the height of the support rod.

It is envisaged that the machine also is suitable for handle-less carriers other than basket style carriers e.g. wrap-around carriers.

In this event it will be appreciated that the channel element would serve to hold the carrier blank in position whilst folding of the blank is effected.

It is further envisaged that the locating device of the present construction could be replaced by an appropriate cam arrangement.

Such a cam may be formed as an eccentric and be operated to wipe over the upper edge of the carrier handle 11 or over the top face of the carrier where no handle is present so as to urge the carried downwardly fully to locate the carrier on the bottle group to be packaged.

In the example described the carrier is adapted to envelope six bottles or two rows of three bottles each. The number of rows of bottles upon the track is dependent upon the capacity or width of the carrier and hence the machine can be modified accordingly.

Claims (10)

1. Apparatus for packaging at least one article, such as a beverage container, into an article carrier which apparatus comprises a loading station at which an erected article carrier having an initially open bottom wall is caused to be seated partially around said article by loading said article through the open bottom of said carrier, a track having a top surface along which the partially completed package is movable from said loading station, a locating station including means for causing said carrier to be seated fully around said article by urging said carrier further towards said track such that the carrier components defining the bottom wall are disposed below said track top surface, and means for closing said bottom wall of the carrier to complete the package.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 in which said loading station includes a hopper for accomodating a plurality of collapsed article carriers said hopper being located such that article carriers can be withdrawn therefrom transversely of said track and wherein carrier expanding means is provided adjacent said hopper to withdraw and expand into setup condition successive lead carriers from said hopper said carrier expanding means being operable to hold a set-up carrier above said article at said loading station.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2 further comprising plunger means to push said carrier downwardly towards said track so that said article is loaded through the open bottom of said set-up carrier.

4. Apparatus according to claim for claim 2 in which said locating station includes means to cause said carrier to be seated fully around said article by progressively urging said carrier further towards said track during movement of the carrier therealong said progressive urging being completed when the carrier components defining the bottom wall thereof are located below said track top surface.

5. Apparatus according to claim 4 in which said progressive urging means comprises a locator device suspended above said track, said locator device including a boom having a surface facing said track which boom includes a leading section inclined downwardly towards said track in the direction of movement of said carrier, and a trailing section disposed substantially parallel to said surface of the track.

6. Apparatus according to claim 5 in which said boom comprises a channel sectionelement supported such that the open mouth of the channel faces said track, said boom surface being provided by the base of said channel section.

7. Apparatus according to claim 6 further comprising guide means provided at the frontend of said loading section, said guide means defining a path to constrain lateral movement of said carrier so that the carrier is positioned correctly for presentation to the leading section of said boom.

8. A method of packaging at least one article, such as a beverage container, into anarticle carrier which method comprises bringing each article to a loading station at which an erected carrier having an initially open bottom wall is caused to be seated partially around said article by loading the article through said open bottom of the carrier, causing the partially completed package to be moved along a track to a locating station, causing said carrier to be seated fully around said article by urging said carrier further towards said track such that the carrier components defining the bottom wall are disposed below the surface of the track, and subsequently closing said bottom wall of the carrier to complete the package.

9. A method according to claim 8 in which said carrier is caused to be seated fully around said article by progressively urging said carrier further towards said track during movement of the carrier therealong,

10. A method according to claim 8 or claim 9 in which a group of articles is brought to said loading station for simultaneous loading through said open bottom wall of th-e carrier.