US2933987A

US2933987A - Container flap cutting machine

Info

Publication number: US2933987A
Application number: US690265A
Authority: US
Inventors: William J Hottendorf; Chester E Harshman
Original assignee: H & C Engineering Corp
Current assignee: H & C Engineering Corp
Priority date: 1957-10-15
Filing date: 1957-10-15
Publication date: 1960-04-26
Anticipated expiration: 1977-04-26

Description

April 26, 1960 w. J. HOTTENDORF T 2,933,987

CONTAINER FLAP CUTTING MACHINE Filed Oct. 15, 1957 o 4 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTORS W/LL/AM J HOTTENDORF CHESTER E. HARSHMAN A TTORNEKS April 26, 1960 w. J. HOTTENDORF ETAL 2,933,987

CONTAINER FLAP CUTTING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 15, 1957 MN Ask Ym bbx INVENTORS WILL/AM J HOTTE/VDORF CHE S TE/P E. HAPSHMAN ATTORNEYS April 25, 1960 w. J HOTTENDORF ETAL 2,933,987

CONTAINER FLAP CUTTING MACHINE Filed Oct- 15, 1957 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTORS WILL/AM J HOTTENDO/PF CHESTER E. HA/PSHMAN BY l awwfiz ATTOAP/VE V5 April 26, 1960 w. J. HOTTENDORF r L 2,933,987

CONTAINER FLAP CUTTING MACHINE Filed on. 15, 1957 4 sheetsfsheet 4 a0, 84 uws/v TORS WILL/AM .1 HOTTBVDOIPF C h fg f'l? E HARSHMAN i zwrZd A TTORNEKS United States Patent F CONTAINER FLAP CUTTING MACHINE The present invention relates to flap cutting machines and more particularly to machines which Will sever superfluous fiap portions from collapsed paperboard containers.

. Paperboard containers, also called boxes in this specification, are commonly made by first forming pre-cut paperboard blanks and then gluing, stapling, or otherwise fastening together the two extreme lateral panels so that, upon unfolding, the four lateral sides of the box form a continuous enclosure. The bottom and the top remam as flaps to be folded and fastened before use.

The blanks are generally cut to simple shapes, such as squares or rectangles, with appropriate flap delimiting slits. It is readily apparent that, whereas one blank may comprise flaps of two different lengths, the height of all the fiaps will be the same. Consequently, where the final container is to be oblong rather than cubic, for instance, two opposite flaps of the four bottom-forming and two opposite flaps of the four top-forming flaps will have to be reduced in height and made to abut upon each other if good closure is desired without an excessive superposition of flaps.

An object of the present invention is to provide an automatic apparatus for the selective cutting of paperboard container flaps.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus, as set forth above, which will accommodate blanks of various sizes.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus, as set forth above, which will comprise means for adjusting the sizes of the strips to be cut from the flaps.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus, as set forth above, which will operate at a high rate of speed.

These and other objects and advantages will become more readily apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1A is a plan view of the flap-cutting section of the apparatus of the invention.

Figure 1B is a plan view of the blank-take 01f section of the apparatus.

Figure 2A is a view in side elevation of that part of the apparatus of Figure 1A.

Figure 2B is a view similar to that of Figure 2A, but showing that part of the apparatus of Figure 1B.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of part of the apparatus of the invention.

Figures 4-12 are semi-schematic views which show the sequence of operation of a fiap selecting mechanism which is part of the invention.

Figure 13 is a view of a fiap-cut container.

With reference to the drawings, an assembly of two telescopic frames, to wit, outer frame 20 and inner frame 22, delimit the machine. Box kicker feed 24 feeds the machine with tubular containers by urging said containers onto apron 28 over carrying roll 26. The containers :are then forwarded further by

pull rolls

30 and 32 and 2,933,987 Patented Apr. 26, 1960 brought into sandwiched engagement with respect to center carrier belt 34 and ancillary compression belt 36 While being maintained in proper alignment by adjustable guide rails 38 and 40. This adjustment is made by the

operator manipulating handwheels

42 and 44.

Parallel pick-

up fingers

46 and 48 are secured to a common rotatable shaft 50 and adapted for rotation therewith in timed relation to the moving containers, so as to lift the two first upper flaps into sliding engagement with adjustable guide rods 52 and 54. These guide rods are normally inclined at an angle which can be varied by moving clamps 56 and 58 and tightening them at various places along the slits in members 62 (Figure 1A), said members being secured to guide rails 38 and 40. During adjustment of said rails, clamps 64 and 66 are loosened to permit the transverse movement of arms 68 and 70 of said guide rods in conjunction with the movement of said rails.

A set of rockably mounted

guide members

72 and 74 deflect the two terminal lower flaps of each collapsed container onto two other adjustable guide rods 76 and 78. The residual four fiaps remain in their original position and the progression of the containers bring said flaps in engagement with

adjustable cutter rolls

80, 82 and 84, 86, said rolls being driven by motor 83. The cutter rolls are adjusted to cut the proper width of flaps by the manipulation of handwheels 85 and 87. After the cutting process and upon disengagement from

belts

34 and 36, the containers slide onto a double belt conveyor 88 where they are submitted to the pressure of two weighted rollers 90, carried at the free end of a swivel bar 92 and two

flexible compression tongues

94 and 96, said tongues being adjustably secured to said bar. The rollers compress the lateral sides of the containers for the purpose of better stacking whereas the tongues engage the box flaps and press thereagainst. Side rails 98 and 100 permit the vertical stacking of the containers after passage through the machine.

Figures 4 to 12 more particularly disclose the means by which the flaps to be cut are isolated from the others.

Fingers

46 and 48, rotating in timed relation to the progression of the container, engage the upper leading flaps 102 (as shown in Figure 5) and lift them onto guide rods 52 and 54 (as shown in Figure 6). Said fingers, while rotating in timed relation to the progression of the container as was shown above, do so at a considerable overspeed in relation to said container to allow

fingers

46 and 48 to depress the trailing flaps and to advance forward and under flaps 102. The lower leading flaps 104 then contact rockable guide members 72 and 74 (as shown in Figure 7) and cause them to swivel around their axes 73 (as shown in Figure 8), while being themselves, along with upper trailing flaps 106, raised in a tilt by said guide members (as shown in Figure 9). The lifting of

flaps

104 and 106 by

guide members

72 and 74 causes relative movement apart of said flaps and the lower trailing flaps 108, and the action of flaps 104 in passing over

guide members

72 and 74 causes further clockwise movement of the latter (cf. Figures 9 and 10), with the result that the trailing ends of said guide members enter between

flaps

106 and 108 and cause flaps 108 to be cammed downwardly (Figure 10) so that they may be engaged by guide rods 76 and 78 (Figure 11) and moved, as is the case with flaps 102, to a position where they will not be cut by the cutter rolls 80-86 (Figure 12). Flaps 104 and 196 are then passed between said cutter rolls and cut to the desired size. After flaps 106 move out of contact with the rockable members of 72 and 74, the latter are returned by spring means (not shown), to their normal position (Figures 7 and 12).

The kicker feed 24,

pull rolls

30 and 32,

belts

34 and 36 and shaft 50 are driven in timed relation by means not ease-es? Such"multi=elem'ent timin'gr'drive means are old in the box machine art and form no part of the present invention. V

"The adjustment of'frame 2 2 with'respect to frame 20 'enables "the machine "to accommodate "a wide variety of 'tcontainer sizes. It will be apparent that apron '28 can bebrought closer toor removed "farther from kicker feed 24 by relative 'displa cem'ent'of the two frames.

Clamps

97 and 99 serveto tighten frame "22 to frame 2i) when the propersetting for a'given box size 'has been made.

What'is claimed is:

1. In: combination with an endless conveyor carrying collapsed boxes, said boxes having their four bottom "and four top forming flaps situated on either side of fsaid conveyor in two "layers of pairs of flaps, flap selective meanscomprising 'rotatably movable hook-shaped "'flap'pick-up' fingers operativein timed relation with "and during the advance of'said boxes and adaptedfto lift the two leading flaps of each upper pair-upwardly, dri'vemeansfor repetitively rotating -said'pick-up fingers through a 360 circular path, normally stationary flap "stationary fiapguide means adapted to engage said last flaps in sliding relation therewith and maintain the downward deflection thereof.

2.- The combination set forth in-claim 1 including ad- "justable cutting means operative to'sever parts of the four non-deflected flaps.

1 3Q 'A box flap cutting machine operative to reduce in means in aligned relation to said flap cutting means, and

fl'ap selector and orientation means operative to isolate two out "of four box top and two out of four box bot- "tom engendering flaps from the balance of said flaps for size reduction by said cutting means, said flap selector and orientation means comprising hook shaped.

fingers mounted for rotation and adapted to engage beneath and to partially raise the upper leading flaps, up-

jwardly and forwardly directed guide rods adapted to engage beneath said partially raised flaps and raise said 'flaps to a substantially vertical position, rockable guide members positioned and shaped to be engaged and rocked "forwardly and downwardly by the leading .edges of the lower leading flaps and to tilt said lower leading flaps and the upper trailing flaps upwardly away from said lower trailing fiaps, said guide members having trailing portions adapted to enter between said upper trailing and lower trailing flaps to earn said latter flaps partially downwardly,- -and downwardly and .forwardly directed guide rods adapted to engage above said lower trailing flaps and :lower the sameto a substantially vertical position, said lower leading and :said upper trailing flaps being thereby isolated for size reduction by said cutting means.

'4. A machine according to claim 3, said .rockable guide members being adapted upon passage 'thereover by said isolated fiaps to reversely rockv to their initial position.

5. A machine according to claim 4-, said hook shaped fingers being vertically positioned above said flaps and so rotated to'engage beneath .said upper leading flaps while being moved forwardly .and downwardly .and -to partially raise said .flaps while (being moved forwardly and aupwardly.

6. 'In a box flap cutting:machinezoperative to reduce in size two of the fourfiaps dispnsedat one end .of a

collapsed tubular'box, said flaps being disposed in superposed first and second layers, with each layer being composed of a leading flapand a trailing flap, thecombi- I nation comprising conveyor means for continuously moving said box through a linear and substantially horizontal path, an elongated finger having a hook shaped end,

means rotatably mounting and positioning said finger in a vertical plane so that the hook shaped end thereof may enter between the leading and trailingfiaps of said first layer, drive means to. rotate-said pick-up finger so that the rate of travel of the-hook shaped end of said finger while said finger engagessaid box is in excess of the rate of travel of said box along said linear path, whereby said leading flap engaged by said hook shaped end is urged out of its substantially horizontal position, and angularly inclined stationary guide means to engage said leading flap after it is so urged by said finger and to deflect saidfiap into a substantially vertical position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,733,643' Fergnani Feb. 7, 1956 2,764,918 La Bombard Oct. 2, 1956 2,807,197 Rodman Sept. 24, 1957