GB2071606A

GB2071606A - Carton sealing apparatus

Info

Publication number: GB2071606A
Application number: GB8008702A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: KENDIS ENG Ltd
Current assignee: KENDIS ENG Ltd
Priority date: 1980-03-14
Filing date: 1980-03-14
Publication date: 1981-09-23

Abstract

Carton sealing apparatus comprising conveyor means (1), feed means (3) for feeding pre-gummed tape from a supply (4) thereof so that a leading end of the tape will intrude into the path of a carton travelling on the conveyor means (1), moistening means (5) for moistening the adhesive on the tape and roller means (6) for applying the moistened adhesive tape to the leading end wall of a carton travelling on the conveyor means (1), for applying the moistened adhesive tape over the abutting margins of side flaps of the carton and for applying a trailing end of the adhesive tape to the trailing end wall of the carton, and means for cutting off a predetermined length of the tape. The moistening means (5) comprises a plurality of nozzles which extend transversely of the path of travel of the tape, means for connecting the nozzles to a supply of water under pressure, and a solenoid valve associated with each nozzle for controlling the supply of water thereto. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Carton sealing apparatus This invention relates to carton sealing apparatus.

It is known to close cardboard and like cartons top and bottom by folding end flaps inwardly and then folding side flaps inwardly over said end flaps so that the side flaps substantially abut along a centre line of the carton and to seal such cartons by applying gummed paper or like tape over the abutting margins of said side flaps and with end portions of the tape extending over adjacent end walls of the carton.Also known is carton sealing apparatus comprising conveyor means, means for feeding pre-coated adhesive tape from a supply thereof so that a leading end of the tape will protrude into the path of a carton travelling on said conveyor means, brush or roller means for moistening the adhesive on said tape, a water reservoir associated with said brush or roller means, means for applying said leading end of the moistened adhesive tape to the leading end wall of a carton travelling on said conveyor means, for applying the moistened adhesive tape over the abutting margins of side flaps of the carton and for applying a trailing end of the adhesive tape to the trailing end wall of a carton travelling on said conveyor means, and cutting means for cutting off a predetermined length of said tape.Adhesive tape feeding, moistening, applying and cutting means as aforesaid can be provided both above and below the path of travel of cartons on said conveyor means for sealing both top and bottom of a carton simultaneously.

A disadvantage with carton sealing apparatus as aforesaid is that the brush or roller means for moistening the adhesive on the pre-coated adhesive tape becomes contaminated with adhesive from the tape and tends to carry adhesive to the water in said reservoir so that the water also becomes contaminated with adhesive, thus necessitating fairly frequent cleaning of the brush or roller means and the reservoir and replace:nent of the contaminated water in the reservoir. Also such brush or roller means provides a rather imprecise control over the amount of water being applied to the tape with the result that an excess of water is frequently applied, which excess of water can contain small quantities of adhesive from the tape and can further contaminate the apparatus.Thus the known carton sealing apparatus using brush or roller means for moistening the adhesive tape tends to be somewhat messy in operation and to require fairly frequent cleaning of those parts which become contaminated with adhesive from the tape.

The present invention has as its object to provide carton sealing means having means for moistening the adhesive on pre-coated adhesive tape which avoids the use of brush or roller moistening means and which can provide a much more precise control of the amount of water applied to the adhesive on the adhesive tape.

The present invention provides carton sealing apparatus comprising conveyor means, means for feeding pre-coated adhesive tape from a supply thereof so that a leading end of the tape will protrude into the path of a carton travelling on said conveyor means, means for moistening the adhesive on said step, means for applying said leading end of the moistened adhesive tape to the leading end wall of a carton travelling on said conveyor means, means for applying the moistened adhesive tape over the abutting margins of side flaps of the carton and for applying a trailing end of the adhesive tape to the trailing end wall of a said carton, and cutting means for cutting off a predetermined length of said tape, the moistening means comprising a plurality of nozzles extending transversely of the path of travel of the adhesive tape, means for connecting said nozzles to a supply of water under pressure, and valve means associated with each of said nozzles for controlling the supply of water thereto.

Said nozzles may each be adapted to supply water to the adhesive on an adhesive tape either in the form of a spray or jet. Preferably each nozzle and its associated valve means is such that each time the valve means is actuated water will be supplied from the nozzle in the form of a jet of short duration which will form a spot of water on the adhesive on the tape.

Said valve means may each comprise an electrically operated valve, e.g., a solenoid valve, and suitable electronic control means may be provided for controlling the operation of each valve means.

Preferably said plurality of nozzles are provided in a common nozzle block with the nozzles aligned in a single row in spaced relation to one another, although other arrangements are possible. A sufficient number of nozzles are provided to span the whole width of an adhesive tape to be used in sealing cartons. Where the apparatus is required to use adhesive tapes of different widths then a sufficient number of nozzles will be provided to span the whole width of the widest tape for which the apparatus is designed and said control means will be such that only selected valve means, and hence selected nozzles, will be actuated when a narrower tape than the widest is being used.

It will readily be appreciated that the size and spacing of said nozzles, the spacing of said nozzles from the surface of the adhesive on the tape, and the frequency and duration of actuation of said valve means can be selected to supply a required amount of water to the adhesive on a tape and to provide a required coverage of the surface area of the adhesive on the tape.Thus, where each nozzle and its associated valve means is adapted to supply the water in the form of a jet of short duration which will form a spot of water on the adhesive on the tape, the spacing of the nozzles and the size and frequency of said jets of water from the nozzles can be such that either the spots of water formed on the adhesive will merge so that substantially the whole of the surface area of the adhesive will be moistened or the spots of water will form a required pattern on the surface of the adhesive so that only a part of the surface area of the adhesive will be moistened.

It will thus be seen that the apparatus of the present invention not only avoids the use of brush or roller means for moistening the adhesive on an adhesive tape but also enables very precise control over the amount of water applied to the adhesive on the tape whilst avoiding any contact between the moistening means and the adhesive.

The invention will be more particularly described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of carton sealing apparatus according to the present invention, Figure 2 is a fragmentary diagrammatic view on a larger scale of moistening means forming part of the apparatus of Figure 1, and Figure 3 is a fragmentary diagrammatic view of one of the nozzles forming part of the moistening means of Figure 2.

Referring to Figure 1 it will be seen that the carton sealing apparatus illustrated therein comprises conveyor means 1 in the form of a pair of spaced parallel conveyor belts (only one of which can be seen), lower guide rails 2 for guiding cartons travelling on said conveyor means 1, feed means 3 beneath the conveyor means 1 for feeding pre-gummed adhesive tape from a supply roll 4 thereof, moistening means 5 for moistening the adhesive on the adhesive tape and roller means 6 between said conveyor belts for applying the moistened adhesive tape to seal the bottoms of cartons to be sealed travelling on the conveyor means 1.The apparatus further comprises a head 7 supported over the conveyor means 1 on pillars 8, the head 7 incorporating feed means 9 for feeding pre-gummed adhesive tape from a supply roll 10 thereof, moistening means 5a similar to the moistening means 5 for moistening the adhesive on the tape and roller means (not shown) similar to the roller means 6 for applying the moistened adhesive tape to seal the tops of cartons to be sealed travelling on the conveyor means 1. The head 7 carries guide means 11 adjustable along a rail 12 adapted to engage opposite side walls adjacent the top of a carton travelling on the conveyor means 1 to prevent deformation of the side walls of the carton under the action of the roller means incorporated on the head 7.The head 7 itself provides guide surfaces 7a which engage the top of the carton to prevent lifting of the carton under the action of the roller means 6. The carton sealing apparatus so far described is conventional and well known in the art apart from the moistening means 5 and 5a and accordingly only the moistening means will be described in more detail.

Referring now to Figures 2 and 3 it will be seen that the moistening means 5 (or 5a) comprises a nozzle block 1 5 having a plurality of nozzles 1 6 formed therein, a plurality of electrically operated solenoid valves 1 7 each of which is connected to a nozzle 1 6 by means of a conduit 18, a terminal block 1 9 to which the solenoid valves 1 7 are electrically connected and which is itself electrically connected to suitable electronic control means (not shown), a manifold 20 to which each of the solenoid valves 1 7 is connected by means of a conduit 21, and a reservoir 22 which can be pressurised to supply water under pressure to the manifold 20 by way of a conduit 23.

The nozzles 16 are arranged in the nozzle block 1 5 in a single row in alignment with and at equally spaced intervals from one another, said row of nozzles extending laterally of the path of travel of the adhesive tape. As will be seen from Figure 3 each of the nozzles 1 6 comprises an insert 24 in a bore 25 in the nozzle block 15, the insert 24 having a bore 26 therein which provides the nozzle orifice, a counterbore 27 at one end of the bore 26 which provides a shroud around the outlet end of the bore 26 and a counterbore 28 at the other end of the bore 26 which receives one end of a conduit 1 8.

The solenoid valves 17 are commercially available fast-acting solenoid valves having a response time of from 100 microseconds to 50 milliseconds, preferably a response time of 3 milliseconds and a cycle time of about 10 milliseconds. The valves 1 7 may be either single-acting spring return valves or double-acting valves.

Although not shown in the drawings, the nozzle block 15 and the manifold 20 can be mounted on opposite sides of a base plate and the solenoid valves 17 and the terminal block 19 can be mounted therebetween to provide a very neat and compact arrangement.

Claims

1. Carton sealing apparatus comprising conveyor means, means for feeding pre-coated adhesive tape from a supply thereof so that a leading end of the tape will protrude into the path of a carton travelling on said conveyor means, means for moistening the adhesive on said tape, means for applying said leading end of the moistened adhesive tape to the leading end wall of a carton travelling on said conveyor means, for applying the moistened adhesive tape over the abutting margins of side flaps of the carton and for applying a trailing end of the adhesive tape to the trailing end wall of a said carton, and cutting means for cutting off a predetermined length of tape, characterised in that the moistening means comprises a plurality of nozzles extending transversely of the path of travel of the adhesive tape, means for connecting said nozzles to a supply of water under pressure, and valve means associated with each of said nozzles for controlling the supply of water thereto.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1, each said nozzle being adapted to supply water to the adhesive on an adhesive tape either in the form of a spray or jet.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2, wherein each said nozzle and its associated valve means is such that each time the valve means is actuated water will be supplied from the nozzle in the form of a jet of short duration which will form a spot of water on the adhesive on the tape.

4. Apparatus according to claim 1,2 or 3, wherein each said valve means comprises an electrically operated valve and wherein electronic control means is provided for controlling the operation of the valve means.

5. Apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the moistening means comprises a predetermined number of nozzles for spanning a tape of a predetermined maximum width and wherein said control means is such that only selected valve means, and hence selected nozzles, can be actuated when a tape narrower than said maximum is used.

6. Apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said plurality of nozzles are provided in a common nozzle block with the nozzles aligned in a single row in spaced relation to one another.

7. Apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein each said valve means is a solenoid valve.

8. Carton sealing apparatus substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.