US3518802A - Carton feeder - Google Patents

Description

L. M. MARTZ CARTON FEEDER July 7, 1910 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 5, 1968 LLOYD 0. MARTZ L."M. MARTZ CARTON FEEDER July 7, 1970 v 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 5, 1968 INVENTOR United States Patent 3,518,802 CARTON FEEDER Lloyd M. Martz, Philadelphia, Pa., assignor to Gulf Oil Corporation, Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed July 5, 1968, Ser. No. 742,852 Int. Cl. B65b 43/39 US. Cl. 53-3 11 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The invention comprises means to feed cartons comprising a roller conveyor, a tapered plough to initially open the flaps, a star wheel having flexible tips adapted to repeatedly strike the trailing surface of a carton to resiliently urge it forward, and a pair of eccentrically mounted rotating cams positioned above the carton but sufliciently close to its sides to break the hinge connection between the flaps and the carton while simultaneously urging it forward.

This invention relates to the field of material handling, and more particularly is directed to the art of moving empty cartons in packaging plants wherein said cartons are filled with goods.

Generally, when liquid goods, such as motor oils, are packed in cans the empty cans are shipped to the refinery by the can supplier packed in corregated cardboard cartons. The cartons are already printed with the oil companys trademark, and the like material. The procedure at the refinery is to first remove the cans from the cartons, direct the cans to can filling machines and to subsequent processes which mark, seal, and otherwise complete the packaging of the petroleum products in the cans. Simultaneously, the cartons are sent from the point of separation of the cans out of the cartons down a parallel line to a point at which the filled cans are put back in the carton, after which the cartons are sealed, marked with control members, and the like, and stored or shipped to the consumer.

The invention will be described with regard to a prob lem in handling a particular can and carton combination, but it will be understood that the invention is not limited to this particular combination. Motor oil packed in the familiar two-gallon, relatively tall, generally rectangular can is shipped out of the refinery three such cans to a carton, and the cans are sent to the refinery by the can supplier, packed three such empty cans to the carton. For reference purposes, let it be assumed that the depth of a can is its smallest dimension, the height is its largest dimension, and the width is an intermediate dimension. The cans are arranged in each carton in an upright position. Each carton has a height substantially equal to the height of a can, a width substantially equal to the width of a can, and a depth substantially equal to treble the depth of a can. The problem that arises is that such a carton has relatively long (treble the depth of a can) but relatively narrow (about half the Width of a can) side flaps. The automated machinery which puts the filled cans back in the cartons requires that these side flaps be folded down outwardly out of the way to allow access for cans into the cartons. Because the side flaps are narrow, the conventional equipment which opens the flap and then bends them down to break the folds between the flaps and the sides of the carton, must be so close to the carton that the carton cannot be fed properly or else is crushed in the process of simultaneously being fed and having its flaps bent down. As is well known, the folds or hinge portions between the flaps and the cartons side walls must be broken, have a more or less per- 3,518,802 Patented July 7, 1970 ice manent set imparted to them, so that they will stay out of the way during the cartons passage through the subsequent machinery. Other conventional means are provided to positively move the folds back up from the down position and then dOWn again on top of the cans to close the carton.

While the invention will be described with regard to the above mentioned problem in cartons having a relatively long length dimension in relation to their width dimension, the invention is not limited thereto, since it can, with only minor modifications, be adapted to operrate with cartons having other proportions, for example; relatively cubical cartons, or those having a relatively square horizontal cross-section, and the like.

The above and other advantages of the invention will be pointed out or will become evident in the following detailed description and claims, and in the accompanying drawing also forming a part of the disclosure, in which: FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a packaging operation embodying the carton feeder of the invention; FIG. 2 is a perspective view, approximately to scale, of ne carton of the problem type with which the invention has been used; FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the carton feeder of the invention; and FIG. 4 is a side elevational view thereof.

Referring now in detail to the drawing, the showing of FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic representation of a packaging plant in which the carton feeder of the invention has been and is being successfully used. 10 designates the main floor of the packaging plant, and 12 desingates a smaller area on the floor above the main floor. An operator is stationed on floor 12, to which the cartons with the empty cans therein are delivered, and removes the cans 14 from the cartons 16. The operator sends the cans 14 down an inclined chute 18, and sends the empty cartons down an inclined combination belt and roller conveyor 20. As is well known by those skilled in the art, a roller conveyor is a piece of material handling equipment which has an appearance similar to that of a step ladder with the rungs relatively close together and with a plurality of ball bearing mounted wheels on each rung. The articles move with very little resistance across the tops of these wheels or rollers. The cans 14 proceed down their conveyor 18, around a turn, and into a machine 22, by gravity. Machine 22 fillst the cans with motor oil or other product, caps, seals and labels them, and otherwise completely processes them so they are ready to be repacked into the cartons. Of course, machine 22 may actually represent several machines to perform these functions, but this portion of the packaging plant does not form a material part of the present invention. The process cans proceed on a suitable, preferably straight, conveyor 24 into a case packing machine 26 which packs three full cans into each carton.

Machine 26 requires that the empty carton be fed into it positively and with the side flaps already opened and broken so that they will stay down and out of the way. The empty cartons 16 on roller conveyor 20 proceed partly by belt and partily by gravity into the carton feeder of the invention generally designated by reference numeral 28, and are positively fed by feeder 28 into case packer 26 on a roller conveyor 30.

The filled cartons exit from case packer 26 on a roller conveyor 32, on which they are carried to other case processing such as sealing and printing, and then to storage or shipment facilities. While the invention is shown in conjunction with a curved, gravity fed roller conveyor for both the cans and the cartons, it will be of course understood that the carton feeder 28 of the invention can just as well be used with straight and/or level, and gravity and/or power driven conveying means. For example, such power driven conveying means could comprise canvas or Neoprene belting, or the like.

Referring to FIG. 2, one carton 16 is shown in detail and to approximately correct relative scale as to its three dimensions. Note that the side flaps 34 are relatively long and narrow. It is the bending down and breaking of these side flaps 34 while simultaneously positively feeding the cartons along conveying means 30 into case packer 26 that is the problem solved by the present invention. Prior conventional means to open and break the side flaps 34 resulted in cartons jamming, crushed cartons, or both these problems, and the like. These problems occurred because the means to break the flaps 34 had to be so close to the carton that the friction generated could not be overcome without damaging the carton or at least cocking it which caused a jam. The end flaps 36 are handled in the usual manner, such as by a carton feeder having a roller and an end flap hold down bar, cause no problems, and need not be dealt with further here.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, conveyor enters one side of the carton feeder 28 of the invention, and conveyor exits from the opposite side. Carton feeder 28 is power driven by a single electric motor 38 which is mounted on the legs of the carton roller or other convenient place. Motor 38 drives a set of reducing gears 40, the output gear 42 of which is fixed to a shaft 44. Shaft 44 is disposed above and transversely across the abutting conveyors 20 and 30, and at a predetermined height thereabove, which height is partly determined by the height of the cartons to be fed, as will appear more clearly below. The speed reduction between motor 28 and shaft 44 provided by gearing is adjustable by changing the motor gears for a reason that will appear below. The end of shaft 44 remote from motor 38 on the opposite side of the conveyors 20 and 30 is supported in a standard 46 which has its lower end secured to either conveyor 20 or 30, or the junction therebetween, in any suitable and convenient manner such as by nuts and bolts, not shown. Suitable anti-friction means, such as an impregnated sintered bearing or the like, is provided between shaft 44 and standard 46, in the usual manner. Shaft 44 carries a pair of eccentric cams 48 secured as by set screws through the thinner part of each cam in predetermined adjusted positions on the shaft 44. The facing surfaces of the two earns 48 are each provided with a coating 50 of rubber or other friction material,

for a purpose that will appear below.

Means are provided to open the two side flaps 34 of each carton as it is fed through the carton feeder 28. To this end, a tapered plough 52 is supported on a U- shaped overhead bracket 54 having the bottom outer ends of its legs secured to the sides of conveyor 30, and supporting the plough 52 at its top cross piece member 54a, in any suitable manner. Plough 52 is a well-known type of device in the material handling art to open the flaps of moving car-tons. The plough 52 is formed of a pair of half-oval cross-section bars 56 joined at their front end to form a point, and opening apart, along the direction of travel of cartons through the device, in a generally V-like shape. The bars 56 pass under shaft 44, and the space between the bars at about the area of cams 48 is greater than the space between the cams, whereby the bars are positioned outwardly of the cams, respectively. The curved sides of each of the half-oval bars 56 face outwardly away from each other so as to smoothly open the carton flaps 34.

Means are provided to positively and yet resiliently urge or push the cartons through the feeder 28 of the invention. To this end, shaft 44 carries a gear 58. An endless chain 60 is trained about gear 58 at one loop end, and the opposite loop end of said chain is trained about a gear sprocket 62 forming part of a star wheel assembly 64 which comprises the resilient pusher means of the invention. Assembly 64 comprises a right angle gear box 66, the horizontal shaft of which carries sprocket 62, and the vertical shaft 68 of which carries a hub or mounting member 70. Right angle gear box 66 is mounted to one side of conveyor 20 in any suitable manner such as by a beam 72 which is joined to the underside of the roller conveyor 20 by any suitable means not shown. Extending outwardly from hub 70 are a plurality of resilient star wheel tips 74, four being shown in the drawing for purposes of illustration. Star wheel tips 74 are made of heavy gauge rubberized canvas, belting, or the like, and are replaceable by simple nut and bolt connections between holes in the inner ends of the tips and registering openings in the outer portions of the arms of the metal tip supports on the hub, not shown.

OPERATION A carton entering feeder 28 first encounters star wheel assembly 64. The cartons are urged past the star wheel assembly by the force of gravity in the embodiment described, or by positive feeding means in conjunction with conveyor 20 in other embodiments. The star wheel tips 74 strike the trailing vertical surface of the carton to thereby urge it under the plough 52 and between the earns 48. However, the star wheel tips striking the carton will not cause the cartons to jam because the tips are sufiiciently flexible that upon encountering any substantial resistance transmitted through the carton they will flex and bypass that carton thereby avoiding a jam. The horizontal distance between the vertical centerline of shaft 68 of the star wheel assembly and the edge of the roller conveyor 20 is adjusted in accordance with the length of the tips 74 and the size of the cartons transverse to the conveyor to assure this effect. This adjustment is readily accomplished by moving the gear box 66 along its supporting member 72 in any well known manner, such as by slotted connections.

The distance, measured horizontally, between the cam shaft 44- and the vertical star wheel shaft is larger than the length of a box along the roller conveyor. Thus, the star wheel pushes two boxes at a time, which is desirable because of the length of the tapered end of the plough, but which is not of critical importance.

Upon passing under the shaft 44, the flaps 34 of the cartons are intermittently pushed downwardly as the cams 48 repeatedly strike said flaps. Because the flaps are subjected to repeated sharp blows interspaced with times when the cams are clear of the flaps, instead of a continuous force as in many prior devices, the earns 48 may be sufficiently close to the sides of the carton that they will break the fold between the flaps and the carton walls to impart a semi-permanent set of the flaps to the downward position without damaging the carton. In addition to breaking the flaps, the cams 48, by virtue of coatings 50 thereon, also simultaneously drive the cartons through feeder 28.

The relatively high speed of the output shaft of the drive motor 38 is first stepped down by reduction gearing 40 to impart a predetermined speed of rotation to shaft 44. The speed relationship between shaft 44 and the vertical shaft 68 of star wheel assembly 64 is determined by the relative diameters of gear 58 and sprocket 62. Gear box 66 has a 1:1 speed ratio between its two shafts. It is desirable to have the star wheel tips rotating faster than the earns 48 to more positively move the cartons under the plough.

All relative speeds of the parts of the invention are adjusted by adjustment of gearing 40 and the diameters of gear 58 and sprocket 62 with respect to the anticipated rate of passage of cartons through the feeder and with respect to the length of each carton in the direction of travel, to assure that each carton will be struck by the star wheel tips 74 a plurality of times, and the flaps of each carton will be struck by the earns 48 a plurality of times, to assure that the cartons move rapidly and smoothly through the feeder and to assure that each pair of flaps will be struck by the cams several time to break the hinge connection of each flap to the carton. That is, if the cartons were longer, the speed of the cams and the star Wheel could be increased.

It will of course be understod by those skilled in this art, that suitable side guides, not shown for the sake of clarity, are provided Where needed to guide the cartons and cams through all the various apparatuses shown.

While the invention has been described in detail above, it is to be understood that this detailed description is by way of example only, and the protection granted is to be limited only within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A method of feeding cartons, boxes, and the like of the type having flaps to close an open face thereof, comprising the steps of causing said cartons to move on conveying means in a predetermined direction of travel, opening a pair of opposed carton flaps on hinge portions disposed generally parallel to said direction of travel, striking the trailing vertical surface of each carton a plurality of times with resilient pusher means, and striking said pair of opposed carton flaps in the open position a plurality of times, whereby each carton is positively fed in said predetermined direction and the hinge portions between said pair of opposed carton flaps and the respective carton walls are broken.

2. In apparatus for feeding cartons, boxes, and the like of the type having flaps to close an open face thereof, the combination comprising conveying means adapted to support the cartons, resilient pusher means adapted to urge the cartons in a predetermined direction of travel along said conveyor means, each of said cartons comprising at least one pair of opposed flaps which open along hinge portions of said carton disposed substantially parallel to said direction of travel, means to open said flaps, and means in outwardly spaced relation to the pair of opposed walls of each carton carrying said hinge means to urge said pair of opposed flaps into closely spaced relation to said pair of opposed walls to break the hinge portions between said flaps and said carton walls and to simultaneously feed said cartons in said predetermined direction.

3. The combination of claim 2, said conveying means comprising a roller conveyor.

4. The combination of claim 2, said resilient pusher means comprising a star wheel assembly comprising a plurality of resilient pusher arms adapted to rotate about an axis, said star wheel assembly being positioned with said axis disposed substantially perpendicular to the plane of motion of said open face of said cartons in said predetermined direction of motion, each of said pusher arms comprising a tip portion formed of resilient material adapted to strike and push a carton until a predetermined force is transmitted through said carton to said tip portions whereupon said tip portions will bypass that carton.

5. The combination of claim 4, said resilient material comprising rubberized canvas.

6. The combination of claim 2, said flap opening means comprising a tapered plough member positioned in spaced relation above said conveyor means, said plough member being formed of a pair of bars having outwardly curved surfaces and formed with a point portion at its junction directed opposite to the direction of travel of said cartons thereunder, whereby said pair of opposed flaps are lifted upwardly by said point portion and are urged outwardly away from each other by riding along said curved surfaces of said bars.

7. The combination of claim 2, said last mentioned means comprising a pair of cams in predetermined relation above said cartons, said cams being eccentrically mounted on a cam shaft disposed substantially parallel to the plane of motion of said open face of said cartons and substantially perpendicular to the direction of travel of said cartons on said conveying means, whereby upon rotation of said cam shaft said cams intermittently strike said pair of opposed flaps with the portions of said cams most remote from the axis of said cam shaft.

8. The combination of claim 7, and a coating on each of the facing surfaces of said cams adapted to increase the frictional force between said cams and said pair of opposed carton flaps.

9. The combination of claim 8, said coating comprising rubber.

10. The combination of claim 7, said resilient pusher means comprising a star wheel assembly comprising a plurality of resilient pusher arms adapted to rotate about an axis, said star wheel assembly being positioned with said axis disposed substantially perpendicular to the plane of motion of said open face of said cartons in said predetermined direction of motion, each of said pusher arms comprising a tip portion formed of resilient material adapted to strike and push a carton until a predetermined force is transmitted through said carton to said tip portions whereupon said tip portions will bypass that carton, drive means adapted to drive said cam shaft and said pusher means at a speed such that each carton will be struck by said pusher arms a plurality of times and each pair of opposed flaps will be struck by said cams a plurality of times.

11. The combination of claim 10, said drive means comprising an electric motor, a set of reduction gearing interconnecting said electric motor and said cam shaft, and an endless chain interconnecting a gear on said cam shaft and a sprocket on the input side of said star wheel assembly.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS TRAVIS S. MCGEHEE, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 53382

Images