JPH06278726A - Device for automatic folding of container - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To easily fold a foldable container with a flap and accurately handle the flap by a device simple in structure. CONSTITUTION:The device for automatic folding of a foldable container provided with a double-leaf flap comprises container folding means 230 and 240 for folding container side plates inwardly of the container, a flap folding means 310 adapted to first fold the short leaf of the flap on the upper part of the container and then the long leaf thereof and retain the flap near the container folding means in such a position as to avoid interference therewith and further comprises a flap guide 2 provided near the flap folding means extending from both the sides of the container folding means to both the sides of the flap folding means along a roller conveyor in order to incline the flap to the flap folding means.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a device for automatically folding a foldable container, and more particularly to a device for automatically folding a foldable container with flaps (lids) that open on both sides.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, plastic foldable containers are often used for transporting various products. This is because the foldable container can be reduced in volume required by transporting and storing it in an empty box by folding the container to make it smaller, and can significantly improve transport efficiency and storage efficiency. Along with this, a device for automatically folding a container is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 61-43783 and Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 64-2910.
Proposed in No. 6.

[0003]

However, the above-mentioned Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 61-43783 and Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 64-2910.
The automatic container folding device proposed in No. 6 was intended for a container that does not have a flap and whose top remains open. Therefore, for the folding of containers with flaps used for products such as food and drinks and medical products that must be transported or stored with the upper opening covered with a container for hygiene management, after storing the product in the container. Could not be used.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and makes it possible to easily fold a foldable container with a flap with a device having a simple structure and to surely perform the treatment of the flap. The purpose of the present invention is to provide an automatic folder folding device.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, an automatic folding device of the present invention for a foldable container having flaps of both sides is a main body folding means for folding a side plate of the container into the inside of the container. And a flap folding means for folding the short flap of the double-opening flap in the upper part of the container first and folding the long flap later, preferably, the flap in the vicinity of the main body folding means is the main body folding means. Flap guides for holding the flaps in a position that does not interfere with the flap folding means for tilting the flaps to the flap folding means in the vicinity of the flap folding means are arranged from both sides of the main body folding means to both sides of the flap folding means. The folding means is composed of a rotatable cam member, In addition, the main body folding means and the flap folding means are arranged along a conveyor for moving the container, and a flap support for holding the flap on a flap guide in the vicinity of the conveyor on the upstream side of the main body folding means. The means is arranged.

[0006]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings. First, an example of a container that is folded using the automatic folding device according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10. 9 is an overall perspective view of the target container in an assembled state, and FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. In these drawings, the container 10 is made of a plastic plate material, and has a rectangular bottom plate 11, an upper frame 12 having the same shape as the bottom plate 11, and the left and right sides of the bottom plate 11 and the upper frame 12. A foldable side plate 13, (1) having a lower end rotatably connected to a bottom plate 11, an upper end rotatably connected to an upper frame, and a substantially central part connected by a hinge.
3), and short side plates 14, (1) interposed between the bottom plate 11 and the upper frame 12 on the front and rear sides and rotatably connected to the upper frame 12 only at the upper ends.
4) and two flaps 1 which are connected to the upper portions of both sides of the upper frame 12 so as to be capable of opening both sides and have different lengths from the rotating shaft 15c.
5 (15a, 15b). In addition, the flap 15 (15a, 15b) has an overlapping portion formed at the tip thereof so that the upper and lower portions of the overlapping portion are maintained in order to prevent dust and the like from entering the container (see FIG. 8). ).

[0007] The container 10 is provided with an automatic storage / removal of goods in / from the container.
A push-up plate 16 is placed on the bottom surface of the container in order to raise and lower the bottom according to the amount of products in the container. The push-up plate 16 is moved up and down by an arm 17 that moves up and down through holes 11a formed at arbitrary plural positions of the bottom plate 11. Further, even when a force is applied from the outside of the short side plate 14 during the assembly and use of the container, the short side plate 14 is rotated to prevent the container 10 from being folded and collapsed. The short side plate 14 is provided with hooks 11b and 14a, respectively, and these are locked. As a result, even if some force is applied from the outside of the short side plate 14, the container in use does not collapse easily.

Next, an embodiment of the automatic container folding device for automatically folding the container having the above-mentioned structure will be described. FIG. 1 is an overall plan view of an automatic container folding device according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, this apparatus is roughly divided into a flap pre-processing unit (sometimes simply referred to as a pre-processing unit) 100, a folding unit 200, and a flap post-processing unit (simply a post-processing unit). (Sometimes referred to as) 300. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a roller conveyor, which is used from the loading section of the container 10 to the pre-processing section 100, the folding section 200, and the post-processing section 300.
The container 10 is sequentially moved. Reference numeral 2 is a flap guide for guiding the flap 15, which includes the preprocessing unit 100 and the folding unit 2.
00 and the post-processing unit 300 are arranged on both sides of the roller conveyor 1.

Flap Pre-Processing Section The flap pre-processing section 100 is an area for performing a process for lifting the flap 15 upward so as not to get in the way when the container 10 is folded. As shown in FIG. 1, a stopper 101 is provided at a predetermined position of the roller conveyor 1 in the pretreatment unit 100 so as to project and retract from between the rollers, and the stopper 101 positions the container 10 in the pretreatment unit 100.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged side view of the main part of the flap pretreatment section. On both sides of the roller conveyor 1,
At a position corresponding to the side surface of the container 10 positioned by the stopper 101, flap lifting means 110, 110 for lifting the flap 15 are arranged. As shown in FIG. 2, the flap lifting means 110 includes a suction member 111 that sucks the flap 15 and a swing link 112 that swingably holds the suction member 111.
And a cylinder 113 for swinging the swing link 112.
It consists of and. A vacuum device (not shown) is connected to the suction member 110, and the suction and opening operations of the flap 15 are repeated at a predetermined timing.

Further, at the positions corresponding to the side surfaces of the container 10 positioned by the stoppers 101 on both sides of the roller conveyor 1, the above-mentioned flap lifting means 1 is provided.
Flap support means 120, 120 are arranged in parallel with the reference numeral 10. These flap supporting means 120 include an auxiliary guide 121 for moving the container 10 while maintaining the flap 15 lifted by the flap lifting means 110 in that state, and an auxiliary guide 121 for moving the auxiliary guide 121 up and down via an arm 123. And a moving cylinder 124. Here, the auxiliary guide 121 is the U-shaped member 12
It is attached to the tip of the arm 123 via 2 so as to be positioned parallel to the moving direction of the container 10.

Folding Unit The folding unit 200 is a container 10 in which the flap 15 is lifted upward in the flap pretreatment unit 100.
This is the area for folding. 3 to 6 are configuration diagrams of the folding part 200, FIG. 3 is a front view showing a holding means of a push-up plate, FIG. 4 is an enlarged partial cutaway view of a main part showing a positioning means of a container, and FIG. 5 is a container. FIG. 6 is a front view showing the ring means for lifting the front and rear short side plates, and FIG. 6 is a side view showing the knock means for bending the left and right side plates of the container.

As shown in FIG. 1, a stopper 201 is provided at a predetermined position of the roller conveyor 1 in the folding section 200 so as to project and retract between the rollers.
The container 10 is positioned on the folding part 200 by 1.

As shown in FIG. 1, the restraining means 210, 210 are arranged near the upper side edges of the roller conveyor 1 along the moving direction of the container 10. As shown in FIG. 3, the suppressing means 210 includes a cylinder 212 attached to the frame 211 and a cylinder 212.
Long suppression member 2 fixed to the tip of the piston rod of the
13, a guide rod 214 protruding from both ends of the suppressing member 213, and a guide support portion 215 attached to the frame 211 and movably supporting the guide rod 214. Here, the suppression member 213 is formed to be slightly shorter than the width of the container 10 in the front-rear direction.
As shown by the imaginary line, the wide range of the push-up plate 16 can be suppressed.

Positioning means 220, 220, 220, 2
As shown in FIG. 1, 20 are provided on both sides of the roller conveyor 1 so as to suppress the four corners near the bottom of the container 10.
They are arranged at a distance of the same length as the dimension of 0 in the front-rear direction, and a set of four pieces is provided. As shown in FIG. 4, these positioning means 220 are fixed to a base 221, a cylinder 222 horizontally mounted on the base 221, and a tip of a piston rod of the cylinder 222, so that the base 221 is mounted on the base 221. Sliding table 22 that slides toward the container 10
3, a stopper pin 224 provided on the slide base 223 so as to be retractable toward the container 10, and a slide base 223.
A lock member 226 provided rotatably around a support rod 225 as a fulcrum, a tension spring 227 for constantly urging the tip end of the lock member 226 in the clockwise direction, and a slide base 223 are provided on the upper part of the container. The contact pin 22 that slides toward 10 and turns the tip end of the lock member 226 counterclockwise against the tension spring 227 when it comes near the end thereof.
It is composed of 8 and. 224a is an urging spring that constantly urges the stopper pin 224 toward the container,
It is projected from the slide base 223.

The stopper pin 224 described above is used for the container 1
The locking member 226 positions the container 10 positioned in the front-rear direction by the positioning stopper 201 and in the left-right direction by the stopper pin 224 during the subsequent folding work. It is for locking so that it will not move even if force is applied from the left and right.

The ring means 230, as shown in FIG.
It is arranged in the center of the upper part of the roller conveyor 1 along the moving direction of the container 10. And this ring means 23
As shown in FIG. 5, 0 indicates a frame 231 and a cylinder 232 vertically attached to the frame 231.
A holding plate 233 fixed to the tip of the piston rod of the cylinder 232; an auxiliary cylinder 234 vertically attached to the holding plate 233; and a substrate 235 fixed to the tip of the piston rod of the auxiliary cylinder 234.
And ring cylinders 236 and 236 mounted on the base plate 235 in a horizontal direction and in a direction different from each other by 180 degrees in parallel with the moving direction of the container 10, and the tips of piston rods of these ring cylinders 236 and 236. A ring member 23 rotatably attached to the
7, 237.

The ring members 237 and 237 are formed by the folded portion 2
It is located outside the container 1 positioned at 00 in the front-rear direction. Then, the ring members 237, 237 are
It is a ring with a nearly semi-circular shape, and the ring cylinder 2
By the forward movement of 36 and 236, the front end thereof moves inward from the outside in the front-rear direction of the container 10 and moves upward, pushing the short side plates 14 in the front and rear of the container 10 into the container 10 and lifting it.

As shown in FIG. 1, the knocking means 240, 240 are arranged on both sides of the roller conveyor 1 at positions substantially corresponding to the center of the container 10 positioned at the folding portion. Then, these knocking means 240
As shown in FIG. 6A, is composed of a cylinder 241 and a knock member 242 fixed to the tip of the piston rod of the cylinder 241. The knock member 242 is
As the cylinder 241 advances, the tip of the cylinder 241 moves toward the container 10.
The inside of the container 10 is pushed in from the outside in the left-right direction, and the side plate 13 is pushed to fold it inside the container 10. The ring means 230 and the knock means 240 constitute a folding means for the container body.

Post-Processing Section of Flap The post-processing section 300 of the flap is an area for further folding the flap on the container in which the front, rear, left and right side plates are folded by the folding section 200. Figure 7
FIG. 7A is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the main part of the post-processing portion of the flap, FIG.
7B is a sectional view taken along the line I-I of FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, a stopper 301 protruding from and retracting between the rollers is provided at a predetermined position of the roller conveyor 1 in the post-processing section 300.
The container 10 is positioned on the post-processing unit 300 by. In addition, the container 1 positioned in the post-processing unit 300
The flap folding means 31 is provided in the upper part of the center of the plane 0.
0 is arranged. This flap folding means 310 is
As shown in FIG. 7, a frame 311 provided across the roller conveyor 1 at the upper part of the roller conveyor 1.
FIG. 7B shows a rotary cylinder 312 mounted downward on the frame 311, and a cross section fixed to the tip of the piston rod of the rotary cylinder 312.
And an elliptical cam member 313 as shown in FIG.

Next, the operation of the automatic container folding apparatus of the present embodiment having the above-mentioned structure will be described. In the container 10 from which the product is taken out in the previous process, the flaps 15 (15a, 15b) are opened, and the container 10 is viewed from the front as shown in FIG.
In the state shown in (a), the sheet is conveyed from the carry-in section (the direction of arrow A in FIG. 1) onto the roller conveyor 1 of the automatic folding device, and is sent to the pretreatment section 100 by the rotation of the roller conveyor 1.

When the container 10 moves to a predetermined position of the pretreatment section 100, it hits the stopper 101 and is positioned. After that, the cylinder 113 of the flap lifting means 110 moves forward to move the suction member 111 forward to bring it into contact with the flap 15. The suction member 111 sucks the flap 15 by the operation of a vacuum device (not shown). When the suction member 111 sucks the flap 15, the cylinder 113
Moves backward to lift the flap 15 to the state shown in FIG. 8 (b). At this time, the suction member 111 is moved to the swing link 1
Since it is connected to the cylinder 113 via 12, even if the flap 15 is lifted and tilted, the flap 15 is always adsorbed in the orthogonal state as shown in FIG.
Therefore, the suction of the flap 15 by the suction member 111 is surely performed.

When the flap lifting means 110 lifts the flap 15, the cylinder 124 of the flap supporting means 120 moves forward to move the auxiliary guide 121 upward as shown in FIG. 2 so that the flap 15 is lifted. Hold. At this time, the auxiliary guide 121
Since it is attached to the arm 123 via the U-shaped member 122, interference with the flap 15 can be avoided.

When the flap 15 is held by the auxiliary guide 121, the suction of the flap 15 by the suction member 111 is released, the stopper 101 is retracted between the rollers, and the container 10 is sent to the folding section 200. At this time, the flap guides 2 arranged on both sides of the roller conveyor 1 are moved from the pretreatment unit 100 to the folding unit 200.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 8 (b), since it bends in an upward slope and away from the roller conveyor 1,
In the folded portion 200, the flap 15 is further lifted to the state shown in FIG. 8 (c).

At the same time, the container 10 sent to the folding section 200 is positioned in the front-rear direction by the stopper 201. When the positioning in the front-back direction is performed, the cylinder 212 of the restraining means 210 advances and the restraining member 21 moves.
3 is lowered, and the push-up plate 16 placed on the bottom surface of the container 10 is pressed down on the bottom surface of the container. This restraining means 2
When the product 10 is taken out from the container in the previous step, the lifting arm 6 pushes the lifting plate 6 upwards when the product is taken out from the container. However, since the push-up plate 6 may not be caught and returned to the bottom surface, the push-up plate 6 is surely returned. This prevents the container from being folded incorrectly due to the return failure of the push-up plate 6.

After or simultaneously with the operation of the restraining means 210, the cylinder 222 of the positioning means 220 also moves forward to move the slide base 223 toward the container 10. As a result, the stopper pin 224 abuts on the concave portion of the corner of the container 10 and is pressed by the biasing spring 224a to position the container 10 in the left-right direction. Further, as the slide base 223 moves forward, the lock member 2
The rear end of the contact member 26 hits the contact pin 228, and the lock member 226
Press the tip of the to the container side. That is, the container 10 positioned in the front-rear direction by the stopper 201 and positioned in the left-right direction by the stopper pin 224 is locked by the lock member 226 so as not to move the four corners, as shown in FIG. 4B. To be done.

In this way, when the container is locked, the cylinder 212 of the restraining means 210 retracts to raise the restraining member 213, and the cylinder 232 of the ring means 230 moves forward to hold the holding plate 233 and the substrate 235. The ring member 237 is lowered via. Next, the ring cylinder 236 advances to rotate the ring member 237, and as shown in FIG. 5A, the short side plate 14 locked to the bottom plate 11 by the hooks 11b and 14a is attached to the tip of the ring member 237. Push it inside the container 10 and lift it.

Following this operation, the cylinder 241 of the knock means 240 reciprocates to knock the vicinity of the center of the side plate 13 of the container 10 by the knock member 242, and the side plate 14 is folded inside the container 10. Immediately after this operation, the auxiliary cylinder 234 of the ring means 230 is also advanced to lower the ring member 237. Further, as the ring member 237 descends, the ring cylinder 236 retracts to retract the ring member 237 from the inside of the container 10 to the outside. By these series of operations, the container 10 is folded with the flap 15 held by the ring member 237. Therefore, when the container is folded, the upper frame portion and the flap of the container do not drop suddenly from a high position, and thus the impact generated during folding is not eased and the container is not damaged.

When the container is folded as described above, the cylinder 222 of the positioning means is retracted, and the lock member 226 and the stopper pin 224 are returned to the standby position. In addition, the stopper 201 sinks between the rollers, and the container 1
As shown in FIG. 8D, 0 is sent to the post-processing unit 300 with the flap 15 supported by the flap guide 2.

When the container 10 moves to a predetermined position of the post-processing section 300, the container 10 contacts the stopper 301 and is positioned. A cam member 313 of the flap folding means 310 is located above the positioned container 10. On the other hand, the flap guides 2 arranged on both sides of the roller conveyor 1 incline downward from the folding section 200 to the post-processing section 300, and in the post-processing section 300,
As shown in FIG. 8E, since it is bent inward in the horizontal state, the flap 15 moving along this flap guide falls down toward the cam member 313.

The flap 15 falls and the cam member 313
When it comes into contact with the side portion of the rotary cylinder 312, the rotary cylinder 312 rotates to rotate the cam member 313. When the cam member 313 rotates, as shown in FIG. 7B, the width of the cam member 313 having a substantially elliptical cross section becomes gradually shorter, and the flap 15 also descends in the arrow direction. . Then, when the width of the cam member 313 becomes the shortest, the flap 15 is detached from the cam member 313 and folded onto the upper surface of the container 10. At this time, the two flaps 15 that open on both sides are the flap 15a on one side and the flap 1 on the other side.
Since the length of the 5b from the rotating shaft 15c is different,
Always the short flaps are folded off the cam member first and then the long flaps are folded off the cam member so that the up and down relationship of the overlapping portions of the flap tips is maintained.

The vertical relationship of the flap tips is maintained even if the orientation of the container 10 is shifted by 180 degrees.
That is, even if the container 10 in FIG. 7A is sent to the post-processing unit 300 with the flap 15a positioned on the right and the flap 15b positioned on the left, the short right flap 15a is first folded. Therefore, the vertical relationship of the flap tips is maintained. As a result, the supply of the container to the roller conveyor is not restricted by the position of the flap.

In this way, the flaps are folded, and when the folding of the container is completed, the stopper 30
1 immerses between the rollers. This allows container 1
0 is carried out from the carry-out section to the storage section or the like as shown by the arrow in FIG.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, but various modifications can be made within the scope of the invention. For example, in the case of a container in which the flaps that open on both sides have the same length, by using an eccentric cam as the cam member, there is a time difference in folding the flaps,
You may make it maintain the up-and-down relationship of the overlapping part of the slap tip. However, in this case, the determination unit that limits the orientation when supplying the container or determines the orientation of the container that has moved, and the drive unit that rotates the cam member in an arbitrary direction according to the determination result. Need to be provided.
Further, as the conveyor for moving the container, it is possible to use a conveyor other than the roller conveyor. In this case, depending on the type of the conveyor, the pretreatment section, the folding section, the
The mode of the stopper in the post-processing section can be changed, and for example, the stopper may be projected and retracted from the side of the conveyor.

[0036]

As described above, according to the automatic folding device of the present invention, the main body folding means for folding the side plate of the container into the inside of the container and the flap having the short size of the double-opening flap at the upper part of the container are folded first, and the size of the flap is reduced. By providing a flap folding means for folding a long flap later, a collapsible container with a flap can be easily folded with a device having a simple structure, and
The flap can be processed reliably.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall plan view of an automatic container folding device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged side view of a main part of a flap pretreatment unit in the automatic container folding device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing a pushing-up plate restraining means in the automatic container folding apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged partial cutaway view of a main part showing the container positioning means in the automatic container folding device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a front view showing ring means for lifting up short side plates in front of and behind the container in the automatic container folding device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a side view showing a knocking means for bending the left and right side plates of the container in the automatic container folding device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 (a) is an enlarged cross-sectional view of an essential part of a post-processing section of a container flap in an automatic container folding apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 7 (b) is a sectional view of FIG. 7 (a). II
FIG.

8 (a) to 8 (e) are views showing changes in flap guides in the automatic container folding apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention and accompanying changes in flaps of the containers.

FIG. 9 is an overall perspective view showing a state in which a container to be used by the automatic folding device for a container according to an embodiment of the present invention is assembled.

10 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Roller Conveyor 2 Flap Guide 10 Container 11 Bottom Plate 12 Upper Frame 13 Side Plate 14 Short Side Plate 15 (15a, 15b) Flap 100 Pretreatment Section 101 Stopper 110 Flap Lifting Means 111 Adsorption Member 120 Flap Supporting Means 121 Auxiliary Guide 200 Folding Section 201 Stoppers 210 Suppressing means 213 Suppressing member 220 Positioning means 221 Base 222 Cylinder 223 Sliding stand 224 Stopper pin 226 Locking member 230 Ring means 234 Auxiliary cylinder 236 Ring cylinder 237 Ring member 240 Knocking means 242 Knocking member 300 Post-processing section 301 Stopper 310 Flap Folding means 312 Rotary cylinder 313 Cam member

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An automatic folding device for a foldable container having double-opening flaps, comprising: a main body folding means for folding a side plate of the container into the inside of the container; and a flap having a short size of the double-opening flap at the top of the container. An automatic folding device for a container, comprising: a folding means for folding and folding a long flap later. 2. A flap guide for holding the flap in a position near the body folding means so as not to interfere with the body folding means, and a flap guide for leaning the flap to the flap folding means in the vicinity of the flap folding means, the body folding means. 2. The automatic folding device for a container according to claim 1, wherein the automatic folding device is arranged from both sides of the flap folding means to both sides of the flap folding means. 3. The automatic container folding device according to claim 1, wherein the flap folding means is constituted by a rotatable cam member. 4. A flap support for arranging a main body folding means and a flap folding means along a conveyor for moving a container, and for holding the flap on a flap guide in the vicinity of the conveyor on the upstream side of the main body folding means. An automatic folding device for a container according to claim 2, wherein the means is arranged.