KR100666803B1 - Feeder mechanism and hopper for two different types of cartons - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a carton supply device and a packaging method for packaging a main article such as a can or a bottle into several packaged cartons, etc. The apparatus and method store two different types of cartons, And 30, the apparatus comprises a first hopper 58 for storing a first type carton, a second hopper 60 for storing a second type carton, and a grip for holding a carton from the first hopper. Carton gripping and conveying means incorporating means for providing a first gripping position and another second gripping position for gripping the carton from the second hopper and the carton from the supply end of the packaging device from each first or second hopper It characterized in that it comprises a conveying means for conveying.

Carton pick-up, carton feeder, hopper

Description

Two different types of carton feeder and packing method {FEEDER MECHANISM AND HOPPER FOR TWO DIFFERENT TYPES OF CARTONS}

The present invention relates to the packaging of main goods such as cans or bottles in a number of packed cartons, and the like, in particular supplying such cartons from a hopper in a folded state to start assembling the carton continuously. It is about finishing.

Many of the known packaging machines are dedicated devices for assembling only one type of one size carton. As a result, current planting plants are required to pack different types of cartons using multiple devices, each of which has significant occupied space and is costly to both purchase and operation.

Only a limited number of devices can pack different size cartons, for example six, eight or twelve packs of a wraparound carton. All these devices need to be adjusted to change the carton from one size or type to another. This adjustment includes the manual removal of all cartons inside the device, and optionally the mechanical adjustment of the components of the device. This change can take up to 30 minutes or longer, and the equipment is not available (known as “downtown”), which causes costly delays in bottle feed facilities. This delay can cause halt in the entire bottle line as well as the device if multiple problems occur during the change period.

The present invention seeks to solve the disadvantages of the presently known devices by providing a feeder that can assemble one or more types of cartons. In addition, the present invention can change from one carton type to another, or change the size of the carton with minimal downtime. The present invention allows the fabrication of an “a fully flexible” device whose features overcome or at least alleviate the problems of the presently known devices.

The present invention can be used in the apparatus described in the related application (Application No. D-7725, National Application No. 2000-7002951). The present invention may be used for various other types of devices. Alternatively, the erecting mechanism of the present invention can be sold in separate modules to be fitted with new equipment or to be retrofitted with existing equipment.

According to one aspect of the invention there is provided an apparatus for storing two different types of cartons and for selecting and moving cartons to be packaged, said apparatus comprising a first hopper, a second carton type for storing a first carton type. A second hopper for storing, carton engaging means and transfer means c for transferring the carton from each of the first or second hoppers from the feed end of the apparatus, wherein the carton gripping and conveying means Is rotatable about a fixed axis in an orbital path and the carton gripping and conveying means is adapted to remove the carton from the first hopper and the second gripping position for gripping the carton from the first hopper. Incorporating means for providing another second gripping position for gripping and the first and second pick up positions being located at different points on the orbital path. It is characterized by.
According to an optional feature of this aspect of the present invention, the apparatus provides a means for positioning one of the hoppers in an operative position and the position of the carton gripping and conveying means corresponding to the selected operative hopper. It may be further provided with a control means for selecting.
According to a further optional feature of this aspect of the invention, the means for positioning one of the hoppers in an operating position may also have a frame mounted on a second fixed shaft and the first and second hoppers are mounted on the frame. Each hopper is arranged opposite to the second fixed shaft.
According to a further optional feature of this aspect of the invention, the actuating hopper is also adjacent to the orbital path of the carton pickup and conveying means.
According to another optional feature of this aspect of the invention, the control means also controls the hopper to position the hopper in the actuated and non actuated positions.
A second aspect of the invention provides a method of selecting cartons held in first and second hoppers and transferring the cartons to a feed end of the apparatus, the method comprising selecting one of the hoppers to be operated, the Placing the hopper in the operating position, positioning the carton holding and conveying means to grip the carton stored in the operating hopper and moving the held carton to the feed end.
A third aspect of the invention provides an apparatus for storing two different types of cartons, the apparatus comprising a first hopper and a second hopper positioned opposite to a fixed axis, wherein the first and second hoppers And a first gripping position in which one of the first and second hoppers is in an operating position and a second gripping position in which the other of the first and second hoppers is in an operating position.

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Embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1A is a side view of a basket type carton supplied in a flat folded state suitable for use with the machine according to the invention;

1b is a perspective view of a basket type carton suitable for use with the machine according to the invention;

2a is a perspective view of a fully wrapped carton blank suitable for use with the machine according to the invention;

FIG. 2B is a perspective view of assembling and loading a carton of the type described in FIG. 2A; FIG.

3 is a perspective view of the supply side of the device illustrating a hopper unit and a supply device of a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

4 is a perspective view of the apparatus described in FIG. 3 seen from the opposite side;

5 is a perspective view of the present invention illustrating a hopper unit in a first gripping position;

6 is a perspective view of the present invention illustrating a hopper unit in a second gripping position;

7 is a perspective view of the feeder assembly shown in FIG. 3; And

8 is an exploded view of the feeder assembly of FIG. 7.

The mechanism according to the invention can store and supply various types of cartons, such as wraparound type, fully enclosed and basket type cartons. The criteria for carton type herein include, for example, the various sizes of any particular carton style of a carton that completely packs eight or twelve articles.

Referring to the drawings, in particular FIGS. 1A and 1B, the carton 10 is ready to be lowered onto the article as the basket type carrier shown in FIG. 1B. The carton 10 has hingedly connected and opposing side wall panels 12 and 14 and opposed end wall panels 16 and 18. In the carton, a handle structure 20 comprises transverse split panels 22 interconnecting end panels 16, 18 and interconnecting respective side wall panels 12, 14. A base panel (24, 26) is hingedly connected to the respective side wall panels (12, 14).

Referring now to FIGS. 2A and 2B, the carton 30 is a completely wrapped type carton and FIG. 2A shows a flat folded form. A carton blank has hingedly connected and opposing side wall panels 32 and 34 and opposing end wall panels 36 and 38. Ketone comprises top panels 40 and 42 and bottom panels 44 and 46 hingeably connected to respective side wall panels 42 and 43. The article A is inserted into the carton from above, or optionally from below, so that the top and bottom panels are sealed together to provide a completely wrapped carton.

The carton is changeable depending on the shape or condition of the article to be packaged, and therefore the device according to the invention is adjustable in numerous aspects to enable the widespread processing of such various kinds of cartons. The basic layout can vary as shown in FIGS. 1A and 2A, where "H" is the overall height of the assembled carton corresponding to the distance between the top edge of the side wall panel and the bottom panel, and "L" is the floor panel The total length of the carton is when it is sealed sealed.

Referring to Figures 3 and 4, a carton feeding device 50 for treating cartons of the type briefly mentioned above is shown. An upstream end of the device comprises a hopper unit 52 in which a number of basket types and fully wrapped type cartons 10, 30 in the folded state are ready for processing. As mentioned in the related application (Application No. D-7723, Domestic Application No. 2000-7002903), a back feeder 54 and a rotary vacuum feeder 55 of type hopper unit 52 are provided. Adjacent to). A paper feed chain 56 is provided for transporting the carton downstream to a loading station 57.

The hopper unit 52 consists of two or more separate first and second hoppers 58, 60 in adjacent positions as described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 3 to 6. Each of the first and second hoppers 58, 60 is mounted on a frame 62 as shown in FIG. The frame 62 is mounted on the main shaft 64 which is rotated about the X-X axis, which is the second fixed axis shown in FIG. Each of the first and second hoppers 58 and 60 is of a gravity feeding type, and the carton blank is supplied with a tilt angle in each hopper. The hopper unit may be provided with a number of hoppers suitable for receiving cartons of various types or sizes suitably positioned around the rotary hopper described later.

In order to transfer the blank from the inclined position to the vertical plane, it is necessary to offset the rotation axis of the rotary vacuum supply device 55 from the vertical plane, as described in FIGS. 3 and 4.

In this embodiment, a pneumatic cylinder (not shown) is used to rotate the frame 62 between two positions: as shown in FIG. 5, in the first gripping position the first hopper 58 is in the operating position. Maintains a fully wrapped type carton 30 which is fed into the apparatus. FIG. 6 shows a state in which the frame 62 is in the second gripping position, and the second hopper containing the basket type carton 10 is in the operating position.

Each of the first and second hoppers 58 and 60 includes spaced apart support members 61 and 63 for holding the carton in a flatly folded state. The support members 61 and 63 are sufficiently adjustable to hold cartons of different sizes and types.

The position of the hopper is controlled by the control system described in the related application (Application No. D-7725, National Application No. 2000-7002951).

The structure of the rotary vacuum supply device 55 is described in FIGS. 7 and 8. The rotary vacuum supply device 55 according to the present invention includes a main shaft 70 that is rotatable about a fixed shaft. This main shaft 70 is generally supported at its ends by a suitable bearing structure 71 and 73 which is a conventional structure and mounted with a side frame 72. Appropriate drive mechanisms, such as the servo motor 74, are provided for rotating the shaft.

A pick-up device 68 is provided to take the fully folded down carton out of the hopper unit, for example a suction cup 80 which is supported on the cup holder frames 82 and 84 respectively. Same carton gripping and conveying means. The cup holder frame 84 is suitably secured on an elongate support rod 86, which is slidably mounted on a collar structure 88, respectively. The collar structure 88 is suitably firmly fixed to the rotatable spindle 70. A cup holder frame 84 is mounted on a cam rod 76 extending to the side frame 72 which receives a cam track 78, which will be described later. As illustrated in FIG. 7, in this embodiment there are three sets of carton pickup devices 67, 68, 69 associated with the rotatable spindle 70. Since the three sets of carton pickup devices are of the same structure operating in the same form, only one set of these three sets of carton pick-up devices indicated by reference numeral 68 is described.

FIG. 8 illustrates an exploded view of the internal components of the side frame 72 of the rotary vacuum supply. In this embodiment, a fixed cam plate 77 is mounted on the inner surface of the side frame 72 and the drive shaft main shaft 70 extends through the opening 79. A cam track 78 is formed in a fixed cam plate 77 with a cam follower (not shown) disposed inside the cam track 78. The cam track 78 extends the cam rod 76 from the spindle 70 to bring the suction cup into contact with the carton, by which one of the cartons is taken out of the first hopper 58 and the carton is removed. It is conveniently installed to rotate in a uniform path and take it to the paper supply chain 56. As the carton rotates from the first hopper 58, a rear feeder 54 is used to separate the opposing side wall panels and to assist in assembling the carton.

A vacuum brake 90 is provided in the rotary vacuum supply device 55 used in connection with the vacuum supply to set the vacuum connection point and the break point, which will be described later.

In use, the hopper unit is positioned to be in the operating position of one of the hopper units, for example the first hopper 58. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 5, continuously and sequentially from the hopper unit 52 to the paper supply chain 56 by the main shaft 70 which rotates the pickup device 68 in the direction indicated by the arrow. Carton is supplied. As the pick-up devices 67, 68, 69 rotate, the suction cup 82 moves along the path of the cam track and extends in contact with the side walls 32 of the carton 30. Next, a vacuum is applied to the set of suction cups 80. Thus, the carton 30 is taken out and transferred to the paper supply chain 56. The vacuum is maintained during the transfer step such that the suction cup 80 holds the carton 30 wall. When the carton is placed in the paper supply chain 56, the vacuum brake 90 shuts off the vacuum supply from the suction cup to release the carton.

If various types of carton are to be packed, for example, if the basket type carton 10 is to be kept in the second hopper, there will be a lot of adjustment in the packaging device. The second hopper 60 is rotated by a pneumatic cylinder about the main shaft 64 in an operative position and the corresponding first hopper 58 is in a non-operative position. Move. Since the position of the second hopper 60 relative to the rotary vacuum feeder 55 is different from that of the first hopper 58, it moves the pickup (or carton gripping) point 91 of the suction cup shown in FIG. In order to change the "on" and "off" positions of the vacuum supply. This change is made by moving the cam track 78 or the vacuum brake 90 or both which control the vacuum supply to a second position. Servo motor 92 controlled by suitable drive means, for example a control system, moves these sub-assemblies between the two positions. It is preferable to install a third position for the vacuum supply: this position is the "default setting" so that the vacuum supply is disconnected through the rotation of the suction cup 80. This default position is adopted while changing the carton or if there is a failure in the device.

The operating speed of the device according to the invention is improved with the efficiency and durability of the device during the movement of the carton from the folded position to the complete assembly. Of course, the final assembly operation, while retained by the suction cup, is partly due to the action of the lugs and the back feeder and the corners of the carton engaging the carton.

While in the preferred embodiments described herein, the bottle is loaded in a carton, it will be appreciated that the present invention is not limited to cartons for bottles. The invention is used in an apparatus for packaging cans, cardboard “bricks” and other types of containers in a carton.

Moreover, although the preferred embodiments described herein are shown as part of a device for loading a container into a vertically loaded sleeve type carton, the present invention is not limited to this type of carton. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the present invention is used in wraparound or end-loaded cartons.

Although the hopper and feeder of the present invention have been described with reference to specific embodiments, it will be understood that various modifications are possible within the scope of the present invention. The hopper and feeder can process cartons, including for example 4, 8 and 12 bottles, in the form of various groups of articles to accommodate a range of carton sizes and shapes, without the time required to adjust the device. have.

Claims (8)

In the carton supply device (50) for storing two different types of cartons (10,30) to select and move the carton to be packed, The carton feeder comprises a first hopper 58 for storing one of the two different types of cartons 10, 30, A second hopper 60 for storing another of said two different types of cartons 10, 30 and A carton gripping and conveying means for conveying the carton from each of the first and second hoppers at a feed end of the carton feeder,  The carton gripping means and the carton pick-up devices 67, 68 and 69, which are the moving means, are rotatable on a fixed shaft in the orbital path, and the carton gripping and conveying means are provided for gripping the carton from the first hopper 58. A first gripping position and a second gripping position for holding the carton from the second hopper 60 are set, and the first and second gripping positions are arranged at different positions in the track path. Feeder. The method of claim 1, Means for placing one of the first and second hoppers 58, 60 in an operating position and control means for selecting a position of the carton gripping and conveying means corresponding to the selected operating hopper Device. The method of claim 2, The means for placing one of the first and second hoppers in an operating position comprises a frame 62 mounted to a second fixed shaft, the first and second hoppers 58 and 60 mounted to the frame and Carton supply apparatus, characterized in that each hopper is disposed facing each other with respect to the second fixed shaft (XX). The method of claim 2 or 3, The first and second hoppers (58, 60) are arranged in the carton path adjacent to the track path of the carton pickup device (67, 68, 69). The method of claim 2 or 3, The control means is a carton supply device, characterized in that for controlling the first and second hoppers (58, 60) placed in the operating position and non-operational position. In the carton packaging method for selecting the cartons held in the first and second hoppers (58, 60), and transporting the carton to the supply end of the packaging device for packaging, Selecting one of said first and second hoppers to be in an operating position, Placing the selected hopper in an operating position, Positioning the carton gripping and conveying means for gripping the carton stored in the working hopper; and Carton packaging method comprising the step of transferring the gripped carton to the supply end. In a carton feeder that stores two different types of carton, A first hopper 58 and a second hopper 60 disposed opposite the fixed shaft, The first hopper 58 and the second hopper 60 may include a first holding position in which one of the first and second hoppers 58 and 60 is in an operating position and the first and second hoppers 58 and 60. The other one of the hopper is rotatable between the second gripping position in the operating position. delete

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