JP6650376B2 - Flap folding device and folding method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a flap folding device and a folding method for folding a flap of a box material.

  Patent Literature 1 discloses a box making machine for making a cardboard box. This box making machine has a hopper device for loading a plurality of folded cardboard boxes and pushing them forward, a drawer device for pulling out the frontmost cardboard box among these cardboard boxes, and a drawer device for opening the cardboard box. An inner flap folding device for folding the inner flap of the cardboard box, an outer flap folding device for folding the outer flap of the cardboard box, a transfer device for transferring the cardboard box, a taping device for sealing the bottom of the cardboard box, It is composed of

Japanese Patent Publication No. 6-64072

However, the device described in Patent Literature 1 is configured to fold the outer flap and the inner flap by respective mechanisms (the inner flap folding device and the outer flap folding device), so that the device has a very complicated structure. .
Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances. The problem to be solved by the present invention is to simplify the structure of the flap folding device.

The present invention for solving the above-described problem is configured such that a first side surface portion and a second side surface portion facing each other are opposed to each other, and the first side surface portion and the second side surface portion are assembled in a rectangular tube shape. A third side surface portion and a fourth side surface portion, the first side surface portion, the second side surface portion, the first side surface portion so as to be flush with the third side surface portion and the fourth side surface portion, respectively, Pick up a box material having a first flap, a second flap, a third flap and a fourth flap connected to the edges of the two side portions, the third side portion and the fourth side portion, respectively. A robot that moves the box material with a degree of freedom, a first abutting portion arranged beside the robot, and the first abutting portion is arranged so as to be linear with the first abutting portion in a first direction. a second contacting portion spaced at a first gap to said first direction from said Are arranged parallel to one abutting portion and the second contacting portion, and a third contacting portion spaced at a second gap to the perpendicular direction of the first direction from said first abutting portion A flap folding device in which the first abutting portion, the second abutting portion, and the third abutting portion are arranged on the same plane.

  According to the above invention, since the movable portion of the flap folding device is a robot, the structure of the flap folding device is simple. In addition, since the first abutment, the second abutment, and the third abutment also have a simple structure, the structure of the flap folding device is simple.

  According to the present invention, a flap folding device having a simple structure can be provided.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the flap folding device. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the box material. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a process of positioning the box material on the folding assisting tool. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a step after the step shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a step after the step shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a step after the step shown in FIG. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of a step after the step shown in FIG. FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of a step after the step shown in FIG. FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of a step after the step shown in FIG. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a step after the step illustrated in FIG. 9. FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of a step after the step shown in FIG. FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram of a step after the step shown in FIG. FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram of a step after the step shown in FIG. FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram of a step after the step shown in FIG. FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram of a step after the step illustrated in FIG. 14. FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram of a step after the step shown in FIG. FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram of a step after the step illustrated in FIG. 16. FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram of a step after the step illustrated in FIG. 17. FIG. 19 is an explanatory diagram of a step after the step illustrated in FIG. 18. FIG. 20 is an explanatory diagram of a step after the step illustrated in FIG. 19. FIG. 21 is an explanatory diagram of a step after the step illustrated in FIG. 20. FIG. 22 is an explanatory diagram of a step after the step illustrated in FIG. 21. FIG. 23 is a perspective view of a flap folding device according to a modification.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the embodiments described below are provided with various technically preferable limits for carrying out the present invention, and thus the scope of the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments and illustrated examples.

1. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a flap folding device (box making device) 1. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the box member 80.

  The flap folding device 1 illustrated in FIG. 1 is a device that forms a bottom surface by folding flaps 85 to 88 serving as a bottom surface of the box material 80 illustrated in FIG.

  The box material 80 is a cardboard box of the A-1 type (code number 0201 standardized in JIS Z 1507). Specifically, the width surfaces 81 and 82 oppose each other, the length surfaces 83 and 84 oppose each other, and these surfaces 81 to 84 constitute a rectangular cylinder. The inner flaps 85 and 86 are connected to the lower edges of the width surfaces 81 and 82 via folding lines 85a and 86a, and the outer flaps 87 and 88 are connected to the lower edges of the length surfaces 83 and 84 via folding lines 87a and 88a. Connected. Further, the inner flaps 89, 90 are connected to the upper edges of the width surfaces 81, 82 via folding lines 89a, 90a, and the outer flaps 91, 92 are connected to the upper edges of the length surfaces 83, 84 via folding lines 91a, 92a. Connected.

  The width face 81 is a first side face, the width face 82 is a second side face, the length face 83 is a third side face, and the length face 84 is a fourth side face. The inner flap 85 is a first flap, the inner flap 86 is a second flap, the outer flap 87 is a third flap, and the outer flap 88 is a fourth flap.

As shown in FIG. 1, the flap folding device 1 includes a robot 10 and a folding auxiliary tool 50.
The folding assisting tool 50 includes a first contact member 51, a second contact member 52, a third contact member 53, and a fourth contact member 54 that extend in a straight line. The contact members 51 to 54 are installed in a state of being separated upward from the installation surface by a support tool or the like.

The first contact member 51 is disposed so as to be in a straight line with the second contact member 52. The second contact member 52 is separated from the first contact member 51 in the central axis direction of the contact members 51, 52, and a first gap 55 exists between the second contact member 52 and the first contact member 51.
The first contact member 51 and the third contact member 53 are parallel to each other. The contact members 51 and 53 are separated from each other in a direction orthogonal to the central axis, and a second gap 56 exists between the first contact member 51 and the third contact member 53.
The third contact member 53 is arranged so as to be in a straight line with the fourth contact member 54. The fourth contact member 54 is separated from the third contact member 53 in the central axis direction of the contact members 53, 54, and a third gap 57 exists between the fourth contact member 54 and the third contact member 53. The interval between the contact members 53 and 54 is equal to the interval between the contact members 51 and 52.
The second contact member 52 and the fourth contact member 54 are parallel to each other. The contact members 52 and 54 are separated from each other in a direction orthogonal to the central axis, and a fourth gap 58 exists between the second contact member 52 and the fourth contact member 54. The interval between the contact members 52 and 54 is equal to the interval between the contact members 51 and 53.
Therefore, the contact members 51 to 54 are arranged on the same plane, and the plane is hereinafter referred to as a reference plane.
The contact members 53 and 54 are wider in the Y-axis direction described later than the contact members 51 and 52.

  FIG. 1 illustrates an X axis, a Y axis, and a Z axis as auxiliary lines indicating directions, but the X axis, the Y axis, and the Z axis are orthogonal to each other. The contact members 51 to 54 are parallel to the X axis, and the Y axis is a direction in which the contact members 51 and 53 are separated from each other. In the following description, it is assumed that all of the contact members 51 to 54 are arranged on the same horizontal plane, the X axis and the Y axis are horizontal, and the Z axis is vertical. In the following description, the X-axis direction is the front-back direction, the direction from the contact members 51, 53 toward the contact members 52, 54 is the front, and the direction from the contact members 52, 54 toward the contact members 51, 53 is the rear. I do. The Y-axis direction is the left-right direction, the direction from the contact members 51, 52 to the contact members 53, 54 is left, and the direction from the contact members 53, 54 to the contact members 51, 52 is right. Further, the Z-axis direction is defined as a vertical direction (vertical direction), the direction in which gravity acts is defined as downward, and the opposite direction is defined as upward.

  Note that a tape feeder and a tape cutter are provided below the second gap 56 between the first contact member 51 and the third contact member 53. The tape feeder is equipped with a web roll around which a band-shaped adhesive tape is wound, and the band-shaped adhesive tape is fed from the tape feeder. The fed adhesive tape is cut by a tape cutter.

  The robot 10 is a vertical articulated robot that moves and changes the posture of the box material 80 with six degrees of freedom. The robot 10 has a base unit 11, arms 12 to 17, an end effector 18, and the like.

  The base unit 11 is installed on the installation surface beside the folding auxiliary tool 50. Specifically, the base unit 11 is installed on the installation surface at the left side of the rear end of the first contact member 51.

  The first arm 12 is connected to the base unit 11. The joint that connects the first arm unit 12 and the base unit 11 is driven by a rotation drive mechanism that relatively rotates the first arm unit 12 with respect to the base unit 11 around a rotation axis A1 orthogonal to the installation surface. Become.

  The second arm 13 is connected to the first arm 12. The joint for connecting the first arm 12 and the second arm 13 is a rotary drive for rotating the second arm 13 relative to the first arm 12 about a rotation axis A2 parallel to the installation surface. Consisting of a mechanism.

  The third arm 14 is connected to the second arm 13. The joint for connecting the second arm 13 and the third arm 14 is a rotary drive for rotating the third arm 14 with respect to the second arm 13 around a rotation axis A3 parallel to the rotation axis A2. Consisting of a mechanism.

  The fourth arm 15 is connected to the third arm 14. The joint for connecting the third arm 14 and the fourth arm 15 is a rotary drive for rotating the fourth arm 15 relative to the third arm 14 around a rotation axis A4 perpendicular to the rotation axis A3. Consisting of a mechanism.

  The fifth arm 16 is connected to the fourth arm 15. The joint that connects the fourth arm 15 and the fifth arm 16 is a rotary drive that rotates the fifth arm 16 with respect to the fourth arm 15 around a rotation axis A5 perpendicular to the rotation axis A4. Consisting of a mechanism.

  The sixth arm 17 is connected to the fifth arm 16. The joint connecting the fifth arm 16 and the sixth arm 17 rotates the sixth arm 17 relative to the fifth arm 16 about a rotation axis A6 perpendicular to the rotation axis A5. And a rotation drive mechanism.

  An end effector 18 for picking up the box material 80 is attached to the sixth arm 17. The end effector 18 is, for example, a suction nozzle that sucks the box material 80 by negative pressure and releases the box material 80 by positive pressure. The suction surface of the end effector 18 is orthogonal to the rotation axis A6.

2. The folding operation robot 10 controls the box material 80 (specifically, the length surface 83 of the box material 80 is attracted to the end effector 18) held by the end effector 18 under the control of the control unit 20. At the same time, the posture of the box material 80 is changed. The displacement of the box material 80 is to move the box material 80 in at least one of the X-axis, the Y-axis, and the Z-axis, and the change of the posture of the box material 80 is the X-, Y-, and Z-axes. Is to rotate the box material 80 around at least one axis. By changing the displacement / posture of the box material 80, the flaps 85 to 87 come into contact with the contact members 51 to 54 and are folded.

  The folding of the flaps 85 to 87 by the operation of the robot 10 will be described in detail below.

(1) Pickup of Box 80 First, the end effector 18 is brought close to the box 80 by the robot 10, and the length surface 83 of the box 80 is sucked by the end effector 18. At this time, the width surface 81, the length surface 83, and the flaps 85, 87, 89, 91 are substantially flush, and the width surface 82, the length surface 84, and the flaps 86, 88, 90, 92 are substantially flush. In this state, the surfaces 81 and 83 overlap the surfaces 82 and 84.

  Then, the box material 80 is pulled up by the robot 10. At this time, since the length surface 84 is supported by the suction tool or another robot, the length surfaces 83 and 84 are separated from each other. Therefore, the length surfaces 83 and 84 are perpendicular to the width surfaces 81 and 82, and the entire surfaces 81 to 84 have a square tubular shape (see FIG. 2).

(2) Change of Position and Posture of Box Material 80 Next, as shown in FIG. 3, the box material 80 is moved above the folding assisting tool 50 by the robot 10 so that the width surface 81 and the inner flap 85 are first applied. The width surface 82 and the inner flap 86 are positioned above the first gap 55 while being positioned above the member 51. At the time of the movement, the posture of the box material 80 is changed as follows. That is, regarding the posture of the box material 80 after the movement, the flaps 85 to 88 are set to the lower side, the flaps 89 to 91 are set to the upper side, the length surface 83 is directed to the left, and the length surface 84 is turned to the right. The width surface 81 faces backward and the width surface 82 faces forward. Further, the width surface 81 and the inner flap 85 are slightly inclined rearward above the first contact member 51.

(3) Folding of Inner Flap 85 Next, the box material 80 is moved downward by the robot 10 to approach the first contact member 51. As a result, the inner flap 85 is obliquely brought into contact with the first contact member 51 as shown in FIG. 4, and the inner flap 85 is folded inward as shown in FIG. However, even after the folding of the inner flap 85, the inner flap 85 is not completely parallel to the folding lines 87a and 88a, but is slightly inclined with respect to the folding lines 87a and 88a.
At this time, since the inner flap 86 is inserted into the first gap 55, the inner flap 86 is not broken. Since the outer flap 87 is inserted into the second gap 56, the outer flap 87 is not broken. Since the outer flap 88 is moved downward on the right side of the first contact member 51, the outer flap 88 is not broken.

  By rotating the box member 80 around the Y axis so as to raise the width surface 81 of the box member 80 when the box member 80 is lowered in this way, the width surface 81 is perpendicular to the first contact member 51. Move closer to the posture (see FIGS. 4 and 5). However, even after the rotation of the box material 80, the width surface 81 is inclined with respect to the first contact member 51 (see FIG. 5).

(4) Folding of the inner flap 86 Next, the robot 80 moves the box material 80 forward. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 6, the inner flap 86 comes into contact with the second contact member 52, and the inner flap 86 is folded inward. The forward movement of the box material 80 is performed until the lower edge of the inner flap 86 is located forward of the rear end of the second contact member 52 as shown in FIG.

(5) Further folding of the inner flaps 85 and 86 Next, as shown in FIG. While rotating around, the box material 80 is slightly lowered. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 8, the width surface 81 is set to be substantially perpendicular to the first contact member 51, and the folding lines 87 a and 88 a are substantially parallel to the contact members 51 and 52. Then, the inner flaps 85, 86 are folded inward by the contact members 51, 52 until the inner flaps 85, 86 are substantially parallel to the folding lines 87a, 88a as shown in FIG.

(6) Contact between the outer flap 87 and the contact members 53 and 54 Next, as shown in FIG. 9, the robot 10 rotates the box material 80 around the contact members 51 and 52, so that the outer flap 87 is brought into contact with the contact members 53. , 54 until the outer flap 87 abuts.

(7) Folding of the outer flap 87 Next, as shown in FIG. 10, the robot 80 moves the box material 80 from the length surface 84 to the length surface 83 (more specifically, the direction of the length surfaces 83, 84). (Orthogonal direction). As a result, as shown in FIG. 10, the outer flap 87 contacting the contact members 52 and 54 is folded inward.
At this time, since the inner flaps 85 and 86 are kept in contact with the contact members 51 and 52, the inner flaps 85 and 86 are supported by the contact members 51 and 52 from below. Therefore, the inner flaps 85 and 86 do not open due to their own weight.

(8) Further folding of the outer flap 87 Next, as shown in FIG. 11, the robot 10 rotates the box material 80 around the contact members 51 and 52, thereby bringing the length surface 83 closer to the contact members 53 and 54. . As a result, as shown in FIG. 10, the outer flap 87 contacting the contact members 52 and 54 is further folded inward.
At this time, since the inner flaps 85 and 86 are kept in contact with the contact members 51 and 52, the inner flaps 85 and 86 do not open due to their own weight.

  The rotation of the box member 80 is performed until the outer flap 87 is parallel to the folding lines 85a and 86a as shown in FIG.

(9) Riding over the outer flaps 88 As shown in FIGS. And the outer flap 88 is inserted into the gaps 56, 58. Specifically, it is as follows.

  First, as shown in FIG. 13, the box material 80 is moved by the robot 10 in a direction from the length surface 84 to the length surface 83 (more specifically, in a direction orthogonal to the length surfaces 83 and 84). At this time, the moving direction of the box member 80 is parallel to the reference plane. Therefore, the state where the inner flaps 85 and 86 are in contact with the contact members 51 and 52 is maintained, and the state where the outer flap 87 is in contact with the contact members 53 and 54 is maintained. Therefore, the flaps 85 to 87 do not open due to their own weight.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 14, the box material 80 is rotated around the third contact member 53 by the robot 10, and the outer flap 88 is swung up. At this time, since the outer flap 87 is kept in contact with the contact members 53 and 54, the outer flap 87 does not open. At this time, the rotation of the box material 80 is performed until the lower end of the outer flap 88 is positioned above the reference plane.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 15, the robot 10 moves the box material 80 from the contact members 51 and 52 toward the contact members 53 and 54 (leftward). As a result, the outer flap 88 is moved over the contact members 51 and 3, and the outer flap 88 is positioned on the gaps 56 and 58 between the contact members 51 and 52 and the contact members 53 and 54. At this time, the outer flap 87 slightly opens due to its own weight, but the state in which the outer flap 87 is in contact with the contact members 53 and 54 is maintained, and the state in which the outer flap 87 and the inner flaps 85 and 86 are partially stacked is maintained. Is done.

  Next, the outer flap 88 is inserted into the gaps 56 and 58 between the contact members 51 and 52 and the contact members 53 and 54 by moving the box material 80 downward by the robot 10 as shown in FIG. At this time, the outer flap 87 abutted on the contact members 52 and 54 is slightly folded inward. The locus of the lowering of the box material 80 may be a straight line, or may be a curved line so that the box member 80 can be swung down around the contact members 53 and 54.

(10) Folding Outer Flap 88 Next, as shown in FIG. 17, the robot 80 moves the box member 80 in the direction (rightward) from the contact members 53 and 54 toward the contact members 51 and 52. As a result, the outer flap 88 is brought into contact with the contact members 51 and 52, and the outer flap 88 is further folded inward.

(11) Further folding of the outer flap 88 Next, as shown in FIG. 18, the posture of the box material 80 is raised by the robot 10 so that the length surface 83 is raised around the contact members 53 and 54, As shown in (1), the rectangular tube portions (surfaces 81 to 84) of the box material are placed on the contact members 51 to 54. As a result, the outer flap 88 contacting the contact members 51 and 52 is further folded, and the outer flap 87 contacting the contact members 53 and 54 is further folded. At this time, the posture of the box material 80 is set up so as to raise the length surface 83 until the outer flaps 87 and 88 are parallel to the reference plane (see FIG. 19).

(12) Adhering Tape Next, as shown in FIG. 20, the box material 80 is moved backward by the robot 10. At this time, the box material 80 is moved in a state where the outer flaps 87 and 88 are placed on and abutted on the contact members 51 and 53. The end of the adhesive tape 100 is attached to the lower portion of the width surface 81, and the adhesive tape 100 is pulled out of the tape supply device with the movement of the box material 80, and attached to the boundary between the outer flap 87 and the outer flap 88. Is done. Then, the fed adhesive tape 100 is cut by a tape cutter.

(13) Release of the Box Material 80 Next, as shown in FIG. 21, the robot 10 moves the box material 80 upward from the contact members 51 to 54, and then, as shown in FIG. It is moved to the side of the tool 50. Then, the suction of the end effector 18 is released, and the box material 80 is released from the end effector 18.

3. Effect (1) Since the movable portion of the flap folding device 1 becomes the robot 10 and the folding auxiliary tool 50 does not move, the structure of the flap folding device 1 is simplified. Since the folding assisting tool 50 also has a simple structure including four parallel contact members 51 to 54, the structure of the flap folding device 1 is simple.

(2) In a series of flows in which the flaps 85 to 88 are folded (see FIGS. 3 to 20), the inner flaps 85 and 86 that have been folded are not greatly opened. Therefore, the outer flaps 87 and 88 can be reliably folded so as to overlap the inner flaps 85 and 86.

(3) Even after the outer flap 87 is folded, the outer flap 87 does not greatly open (see FIGS. 13 to 20). Therefore, the bottom surface of the box member 80 can be reliably formed.

4. 3. Modifications Although the embodiments for carrying out the present invention have been described above, the above embodiments are intended to facilitate understanding of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the present invention. Further, the embodiments of the present invention can be changed and improved without departing from the spirit of the present invention, and the present invention also includes equivalents thereof. Changes from the above embodiment will be described below. The modifications described below may be combined and applied.

(1) In the above embodiment, the box material 80 is an A-1 type corrugated cardboard box, but a half A-1 type (corresponding to JIS Z 1507) having no flaps 89 to 92 serving as a top surface. The flaps 85 to 88 serving as the bottom surface of the cardboard box of No. 0200) may be folded by the flap folding device 1. Further, the flap serving as the bottom surface of the corrugated cardboard box of the code number 0202, 0203, 0204, 0205, 0206, 0209 or 0212 standardized in JIS Z 1507 may be folded by the flap folding device 1.

(2) In the above embodiment, the gap 57 exists between the third contact member 53 and the fourth contact member 54, but no gap exists between the third contact member 53 and the fourth contact member 54. The third contact member 53 and the fourth contact member 54 may be connected and integrated.

(3) In the above embodiment, the first abutment member 51 and the second abutment member 52 are made of round bars, and the third abutment member 53 and the fourth abutment member 54 join two round bars adjacent to each other in the radial direction. It was done. On the other hand, these contact members 51 to 54 may be made of square bars or strips.

(4) Instead of the folding assisting device 50 described above, a folding assisting device 150 as shown in a modification of FIG. 23 may be employed. The folding aid 150 includes a strip-shaped or square rod-shaped first contact portion 151, a band-shaped or square rod-shaped second contact portion 152, a strip-shaped third contact portion 153, and a first contact portion. A strip-shaped or square rod-shaped connecting portion 161 that connects the end of the 151 and the end of the third abutment 153, and a strip that connects the end of the second abutment 152 and the end of the third abutment 153. And a connecting portion 162 in the shape of a bar or a square bar. These contact portions 151 to 153 extend in the X-axis direction. The first abutment member 151 is disposed so as to be linear with the second abutment member 152, and the first abutment portion 151 and the second abutment portion 152 are separated from each other in the longitudinal direction (X-axis direction). A gap 155 exists between 151 and the second abutment 152. The third contact portion 153 is separated from the first contact portion 151 and the second contact portion 152 in the width direction (Y-axis direction), and the third contact portion 153 and the first contact portion 151 and the second contact portion 152 are mutually separated. It is parallel and a gap 156 exists between the third abutment 153 and the first abutment 151 and the second abutment 152. These first contact part 151, second contact part 152, third contact part 153, connecting part 161 and connecting part 162 are integrated. By processing the gaps 155 and 156 in a rectangular flat plate, the folding assisting tool 150 can be manufactured.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Flap folding device, 10 ... Robot, 50, 150 ... Folding auxiliary tool, 51, 151 ... First contact member (first contact portion), 52, 152 ... Second contact member (second contact portion), 53, 153: third contact member (third contact portion), 54: fourth contact member (fourth contact portion), 55, 155: first gap, 56, 156: second gap, 57: third gap, 58 ... Fourth gap, 80: box material, 81: width face (first side face), 82: width face (second side face), 83: length face (third side face), 84: length face (fourth side face) 85) inner flap (first flap), 86 ... inner flap (second flap), 87 ... outer flap (third flap), 88 ... outer flap (fourth flap)

Claims (3)

A first side surface and a second side surface facing each other, and a third side surface and a fourth side surface unit which are opposed to each other and are assembled into a rectangular tube shape together with the first side surface and the second side surface, The first side surface portion, the second side surface portion, the third side surface portion and the third side surface portion so as to be flush with the first side surface portion, the second side surface portion, the third side surface portion, and the fourth side surface portion, respectively. A robot that picks up a box material having a first flap, a second flap, a third flap, and a fourth flap connected to the edge of each of the four side surfaces, and moves the box material with a plurality of degrees of freedom,
A first contact portion arranged beside the robot,
A second contacting portion, wherein the first abutting portion is disposed so that a straight line in a first direction, spaced at a first gap to said first direction from said first contacting portion,
A third abutting portion disposed so as to be parallel to the first abutting portion and the second abutting portion, and separated from the first abutting portion with a second gap in a direction orthogonal to the first direction , With
A flap folding device in which the first abutment, the second abutment and the third abutment are arranged on the same plane. Wherein arranged in parallel with the second contacting portion, said third contacting portion and being arranged so that a straight line, the third from the first abutting portion in the same direction as the direction away the second contacting portion The flap folding device according to claim 1, further comprising a fourth contact portion spaced from the contact portion with a third gap. A method for folding the first flap, the second flap, the third flap and the fourth flap of the box material using the flap folding device according to claim 1 or 2,
A moving step of moving the box material by the robot to a position separated from the first contact portion, the second contact portion, and the third contact portion,
After the moving step, by inserting the second flap into the first gap by moving the box material closer to the first abutting portion, the second abutting portion and the third abutting portion by the robot, The third flap is inserted into the second gap, the fourth flap is located on the opposite side of the third abutment with respect to the first abutment, and the first flap is brought into contact with the first abutment. A first folding step for folding
After the first folding step, the robot moves the box material in a direction from the first contact portion to the second contact portion, whereby the second flap is brought into contact with the second contact portion and folded. A second folding step,
After the second folding step, a contact step of rotating the box material around the first contact portion and the second contact portion by the robot to contact the third flap with the third contact portion,
A third folding step of folding the third flap by the third abutting portion by moving the box material from the fourth side portion toward the third side portion by the robot after the contacting step; ,
After the third folding step, the robot rotates the box member around the first contact portion and the second contact portion so that the third side portion approaches the third contact portion. A fourth folding step of further folding the flap by the third contact portion,
After the fourth folding step, by moving the box material by the robot, the first abutment portion and the second abutment are applied to the fourth flap in a state where the third flap is in contact with the third abutment portion. A step of jumping over the abutting portion and inserting the fourth flap into the second gap;
Fifth, the fourth flap is brought into contact with the first abutment portion and folded by moving the box material from the third abutment portion toward the first abutment portion by the robot after the step of overcoming. Insertion process,
After the fifth folding step, said by changing the posture of the box member so as to rotate the third side section to the third contacting portion around the robot, the first side portion, the second side section, A sixth fold in which the third flap is folded by the second abutting portion and the fourth flap is folded by the first abutting portion so that the third side surface portion and the fourth side surface portion are raised with respect to the plane. Steps and folding method to prepare .

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