KR20020005567A - Method of folding and sealing a container bottom - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an improved method and apparatus for forming and sealing liquids, cardboard, gable tops, containers. An apparatus is described in which the box opening mandrel wheel has an axis of rotation perpendicular to the machine's line direction to provide an improved series of folding operations to form the box bottom.

Description

How to fold and seal the bottom of a container {METHOD OF FOLDING AND SEALING A CONTAINER BOTTOM}

The present invention relates to paperboard, gable top filling machines used in the milk and juice production industry, and more particularly, to apparatus and methods for forming and sealing the bottom of a gable top container.

1 is a schematic view of a liquid packaging filling machine according to the present invention.

2 and 3 are schematic cross-sectional views of gusset fingers pressing inwardly the container end gussets.

4 shows the container end gusset pressed inwards by the action of a gusset finger.

5, 6 and 7 are schematic views of a wing with folded container side flaps over an inwardly folded end gusset.

FIG. 8 is similar to FIG. 4, showing the wings folded on the inwardly folded end gussets.

9 shows the bottom of the container after sealing.

FIG. 10 shows a cardboard blank forming the container described herein.

According to the present invention there is provided a novel apparatus and method in which the bottom of a common cardboard gable top container is formed and sealed. A suitable cardboard blank, having an opening at the top of the container to receive the accessory therein, is expanded in the rotating mandrel with the accessory opening opened outward from the plane of the rotating mandrel. Through the continuous operating position of the mandrel, the bottom flap member is heated, folded and sealed to form a cardboard bottom. This bottom is formed by including a pair of properly arranged fingers moving towards each other in the plane of the rotating mandrel so that the opposite gusset end walls fold inward. When the gusset end wall is folded, the planar sidewall is closed on top of the folded end wall by a pair of opposed inwardly folded wings having a rotation axis parallel to the plane of the rotating mandrel, which folds the sidewall over the folded gusset end wall. . The folded bottom panel is then moved to the final sealing station so that the folded bottom receives heat and pressure from the heated die to finally seal the bottom.

In FIG. 1, a schematic of a typical paper container, top of gable, filling machine is shown. The filling machine 10 basically attaches the assembly of the rotating mandrel 12, the container transfer line 28, and the accessories to fill the container, seal the top of the gable, to inflate the container preform and seal the bottom of the container. It includes a device for. The assembly of the mandrel preferably comprises six equally spaced mandrels 14A, 14B, 14C, 14D, 14E and 14F. A typical vessel loader 18 is provided for loading the vessel blank 22 with the mandrel 14. As the mandrel rotates through several operating positions, the bottom of the container blank 22 is folded and sealed. This sealing operation will be described in more detail below. After folding and sealing the bottom of the container preform 22, the container is loaded with a typical conveyor 28 as is known in the art, filled and sealed at the top. Suitable cardboard blanks for the next bottom sealing process are shown in FIG. 10. Prior to loading the cardboard blank into the hopper 18, the blank 100 is formed into a preform 22 by folding the blank 100 around the fold line 110 so that the glue tab 120 has a side panel 140. Overlaid and glued on

Mandrel assembly 12 is shown in FIG. 1. The plane of the mandrel assembly 12 coincides with the extended side of the container conveyor 28. The structure of the mandrel 14 is used in this type of filling machine and is general in the art and will not be described in more detail herein. The drive mechanism for the rotating mandrel 14 is also known in the art and will not be described in more detail herein. Vessel blank transfer mechanisms and assemblies are also known in the art and will not be further described.

The vessel blank 22 is expanded to an open structure at station A and applied to the mandrel 14 in a process known in the art. Once the mandrel has received the container preform 22, the mandrel assembly is rotated so that the container preform 22 is placed in the mandrel station B.

In station B a heater 20 is applied over the bottom of the vessel blank 22 so that the coating of the blank is softened by heat and the heater is removed. After smoothing the bottom side of the blank 22, the mandrel assembly rotates to place the blank 22 in station C.

2-4, once the mandrel stops at station C, the rotary fingers 30A, 30B rotate inward as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 so that the container end gussets 32A, 32B are inward as shown in FIG. To be folded. After fingers 30A and 30B fold gussets 32A and 32B inwards, rotatable wings 40 and 42 begin to rotate around their respective axes 34 and 35, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. Fold side flaps 44 and 45 inward. The wing 40 is shorter than the wing 42 as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 and rotates in front of the wing 42 as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, so that the tab 50 is flap 45 as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. The flap 44 is folded in front of the flap 45 to fold under the tab 52 of the < RTI ID = 0.0 >) < / RTI >

After the tab 50 associated with the flap 44 is folded under the flap 45 and the combined tab 52 as shown in FIG. 8, the mandrel is rotated counterclockwise as shown in FIG. Bottom 55 is held in a folded configuration by sliding the bottom of the container in sliding contact along guide 56a to station D, where heated die 60 moves radially inward to contact folded bottom 55. The floor is thus sealed under the same heat and pressure as the filling machine according to the prior art.

After sufficient time has elapsed so that the bottom of the container preform is sufficiently smoothed and sealed, the mandrel again rotates counterclockwise, so that the bottom of the container passes through the contact 56b to the station E so that the bottom container 25 is sealed. ) Is placed on the conveyor 28 and proceeds to the filling part of the machine, where the accessories are attached, the container is filled, the gable top is formed and sealed as is done in the gable top filling machine. As the heat sealed container bottom passes along guide 56b, pressure is maintained at the bottom sealed by guide 56b and guide 56b acts as a heat sink to remove heat from the sealed bottom. It is permanently fixed with the sealed bottom component.

Due to the above-described folding technique, the box bottom formed by the method and apparatus is located at the center of the floor 60, above the plane of the four corners of the floor, near the center of the floor panel where the laminate tabs 50, 52 overlap each other. Raise). Containers with this feature pass vibration testing and simulated transport conditions without bottom leakage caused by containers of the type according to the prior art. Although not fully understood, the raised portion 60, as shown in FIG. 9, causes the container to oscillate around the raised portion during transport, absorbing the impact experienced by the four corners of conventional containers and creating a leaked portion. prevent.

In the preferred embodiments of the present invention described above, those skilled in the art will understand that the above detailed description is merely exemplary and that various replacements, rearrangements, and modifications are possible without departing from the scope of the appended claims.

Claims (1)

a) providing cardboard preforms having first and second pairs of opposing walls, the first pair of opposing walls comprising gusset panels and the second pair of opposing walls comprising flat panels, b) inflating the preform in the rotating mandrel such that the plane of the second pair of opposing walls is parallel to the rotating face of the mandrel, c) rotating the mandrel to the first operating station such that the first and second pair of walls are heated, d) rotate the mandrel to the second operating station, e) folding the first pair of opposing walls inwards towards each other within the plane of rotation of the mandrel, f) folding the second pair of walls inwards toward each other such that the second pair of opposite walls rests on the first pair of opposite walls, g) rotating the mandrel to the third operating position, h) A method of forming a bottom panel of a cardboard container consisting of applying heat and pressure to opposite walls of a second pair to thermally bond the first and second pairs of walls to seal the bottom of the container.