US3728842A

US3728842A - Carton closing machine

Info

Publication number: US3728842A
Application number: US00219807A
Authority: US
Inventors: R Wyland
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1972-01-21
Filing date: 1972-01-21
Publication date: 1973-04-24
Anticipated expiration: 1990-04-24

Abstract

An improved machine is provided which is particularly adapted for closing styrofoam egg cartons, and the like. The cartons are carried on a conveyor past two spaced powered toothed creasing wheels, which score the cartons at the hinge lines. The cartons are then carried by the conveyor past ramps and bending bars which close the cover, and which also close a locking lip on each carton into a locked position with the cover.

Description

United States Patent 91 Wyland 11] 3,728,842 51 AprI MfiWB CARTON CLOSING MACHINE [75] Inventor: Roy Bruce Wyland, Arcadia, Calif.

[73] Assignees: Henry Y. Kuhl; Paul R. Kuhl, Sin,

Flemington, NJ. part interest to each [22] Filed: Jan. 21, 1972 [21] App]. No.: 219,807

[52] U.S. Cl ..53/376 [51] Int. Cl. ..B65b 7/26 [58] Field of Search ..53/376, 377

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,909,880 10/1959 Mumma ..53/377 3,314,217 4/1967 Soennichsen ..53/376 Primary Examiner-Travis S. McGehee Att0rney-Jessup & Beecher [5 7] ABSTRACT An improved machine is provided which is particularly adapted for closing Styrofoam egg cartons, and the like. The cartons are carried on a conveyor past two spaced powered toothed creasing wheels, which score the cartons at the hinge lines. The cartons are then carried by the conveyor past ramps and bending bars which close the cover, and which also close a locking lip on each carton into a locked position with the cover.

5 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures Patented April 24, 1973 3,728,842

4 Sheets-Sheet vI.

' Patented April 24, 1973 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented April 24, 1973 3,728,842

eeeeeeeeeeeee 5 Patented April 24, 1973 4' Sheets-Sheet 4 CARTON CLOSING MACHINE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Machines for creasing, forming and closing egg cartons are known to the art. Such machines are used, for example, in conjunction with egg cartons of the type having a bottom section, inclined side walls integral with the bottom section, and a hinged cover. Such cartons are usually made of pulp, styrofoam, or the like. The styrofoam egg cartons are more difficult to close automatically than the pulp type, because they are stiffer, and also because their locking lip at the opening edge of the cover is usually narrower than the locking lip of the pulp carton. This means that there is less leverage to bend the locking lip of the styrofoam egg carton into its locked position with the cover. The machine of the present invention is especially designed for the closure of the styrofoam type of egg carton, although it is equally effective for use with pulp egg cartons, and other types.

The prior art machines have a tendency, in the case of the stiff styrofoamcartons, to lift the entire carton up from the supporting conveyor belt as the cover is being closed, thus causing the eggs to be dumped out of the carton. The machine of the present invention is constructed so that there is no tendency for the cartons to be lifted up during the cover closing operation, even though the carton is composed of a relatively stiff material, such as styrofoam.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a machine representing one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective representation taken from the rear and above the machine of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a second perspective representation taken from the front and above the machine of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 are fragmentary representations of the machine, showing the progress of an egg carton through the machine, as the cover of the carton is closed down over the bottom section, and is locked by the lip section; and

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a typical styrofoam egg' carton. 2

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENTS The machine illustrated in FIGS. 1-8 includes an endless conveyor belt 10 which is mounted on a supporting frame 11 and which is driven by an electric motor 12. The electric motor, likewise, is mounted on the frame. A U-shaped bracket 13 is mounted to the upper section of the frame 11, and a pair of spaced toothed creasing wheels 16 are rotatably mounted on the bracket 13 to be positioned on either side of the conveyor 10. The toothed wheels 16 are power driven, for example, by the motor 12 through a chain drive 18.

As will be described, the toothed wheels 16 serve several functions. Specifically, the wheels hold the egg cartons down against the conveyor belt 10 for good traction between the cartons and the conveyor belt. In addition, the wheels are powered, as described above, and thereby supplement the conveyor belt 10 in moving the egg cartons through the machine. This additional drive provided by the powered wheels 16 is important in that it has been found that where idler creasing wheels are used, the cartons will jam in the machine as they subsequently engage the cover-closing ramps and bars provided therein.

The toothed creasing wheels 16 also serve to provide a series of perforations or scoring marks along hinge lines on the egg cartons on either side of the bottom section so as to permit the cover and locking lip to be turned relative to the bottom section more easily, while still maintaining sufficient integrity between the sections. The use of the powered toothed wheels 16 in conjunction with the styrofoam type of egg carton has proven to be most satisfactory, since they obviate the tendency of the prior art machines to lift the styrofoam cartons up off the conveyor belt during processing, and causing the contents thereof to be spilled out.

As an egg carton is moved under the toothed creasing wheels 16, and as best shown in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6, for example, the line between the locking lip 20 and the bottom section 21 of the egg carton is engaged by one of the toothed wheels 16, whereas the line between the cover 22 and the body section is engaged by the other toothed wheel 16. As stated above, the powered toothed wheels 16 and the conveyor belt 10 cooperate in causing the egg cartons to move between the toothed wheels 16, so that the aforesaid hinge lines may be properly scored. The scoring is achieved, for example, by the toothed wheels forming a series of perforations, so as to make the bending of the lip 20 and cover 22 of the egg carton, with respect to the bottom section 21 of the carton, easy while still maintaining the integrity of the carton.

Then, and as best shown in FIG. 5, the locking lip 20 of the egg carton, after engagement by the toothed wheel 16, then encounters a bending roller 26 which feeds the locking lip 29 to the inner surface of a bending ramp 24. As the egg carton is conveyed along the conveyor 10, and as shown in FIGS. 5 and 8, for example, its locking lip moves along the ramp 24 which is inclined at successively greater angles at

points

28, 32 and 34, so that the locking lip is folded completely over, as the egg carton is conveyed along the conveyor belt 10.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 8, for example, the locking lip first passes under a top flange 30 of the ramp so that it will be directed under the ramp as the carton proceeds along the conveyor. The locking lip is turned to approximately a 45 angle with respect to the bottom section at the point 32, and it is subsequently bent over still further at the point 34. The locking lip is then bent down to its final position by a bar 36 (FIG. 8) which holds the locking lip in its bent position while the folding of the cover 22 is being completed, and while the cover is being locked to the locking lip.

The cover 22 of the egg carton is folded down over the bottom section 21 as the carton proceeds through the machine, this being achieved by means of a folding bar 40, which is best shown in FIGS. 5, 6 and 7. As illustrated, the folding bar is shaped so that as the carton is moved through the machine, the cover 22 is engaged by the folding bar, and is caused to turn down over the bottom section.

As pointed out above, there is a tendency in the prior art machines to cause the entire egg carton to turn over as the cover is being closed, and especially in the case of the Styrofoam cartons, this being because of the stiffness in the hinge between the cover 22 and the bottom section 21. In the case of the present machine, the toothed wheels 16 hold the cartons down firmly on the conveyor 10, and prevent any tipping of the body section of the carton as the cover is first moved over towards its closed position by the bar 40. The bar 40 is shaped so that by the time the carton is free of the wheels 16, the carton is already bent almost to its upright position. Thus, there is no tendency for spillage as the closure of the carton is continued.

The cover 22 of the egg carton achieves its nearly closed condition when the egg carton has the position shown in FIG. 7. At that point, the cover is in position to-be locked into the usual projections on the locking lip 20. When the carton reaches the position of FIG. 7, the forward right-hand corner of the cover is engaged by an inclined roller 50 which causes the cover to be folded down to its finally closed and locked position. A pair of

guide rails

52 and 66 are provided on opposite sides of the conveyor belt 10. The bottom section 21 of the egg carton fits between the

guide rails

52 and 66, and the upper edges of the

guide rails

52 and 66 form a base for the action of the wheels 16. The inclined roller 50 biases the cartons laterally against the side rail 52 where the completion of the folding in of the locking lip is taking place. At this particular moment, the carton is held between the roller 50 and the guide rail 52 with the locking lip disposed under the bar 36 of FIG. 8.

The final act in the closing of the carton (FIG. 9) is the engagement ofthe cover 22 by a large roller 54 (FIG. 8). The roller 54 is spring biased downwardly by a spring 58 against a stop post 58. The roller 55 completes the downward closing of the cover 22, and causes the triangular locking slot or aperture 25 (FIG. 9) at the edge of the lid 22 to lock over the outwardly formed protuberances on the locking lip.

A second roller 60 may also be provided to insure that the cover 22 of the egg carton will be pressed firmly down over the locking lip so that the protuberances 23 (FIG. 9) on the locking lip will be firmly engaged in their respective apertures 25 in the cover. The first roller 54 is adjusted to assume a position slightly higher than the second roller'66 in order that the final folding down of the cover 22 may be carried out progressively.

The invention provides, therefore, an improved machine for automatically closing the cover and locking lip of an egg carton. An important feature of the machine is the provision of the powered toothed wheels at the. feed end of the machine, and which serve not only to score the hinge lines in the carton, but also to assist the conveyor in moving the carton through the machine, and also in firmly holding the carton down on a frame; conveyor means on said frame for transporting an egg carton from one end of the frame to the other;

guide rails mounted on each side of said conveyor means to define a channel along which the carton is moved by said conveyor means;

a pair of wheels mounted on said frame for rotation about a transverse axis with respect to said frame, said wheels being positioned on each side of said conveyor means directly over the respective top edges of said guide rails; and

means for rotatably driving said wheels to cause said wheels to score hinge lines between said bottom section and the cover and lip sections of the carton, and further to cause said wheels to hold the carton firmly down on said conveyor means and to assist said conveyor means in transporting the carton from said one end of said frame to the other.

2. The combination defined in claim 1, in which each of said wheels has teeth extending around .the periphery thereof.

3. The combination defined in claim 1, and which includes a ramp positioned adjacent and extending over one of said guide rails, and having a progressively increasing inclination, so as to engage the lip section of the carton and to cause the lip section to be folded over the bottom section of the carton, as the carton is transported by the conveyor toward said other end of said frame.-

4. The combination defined in claim '1, and which includes an elongated rod positioned adjacent'to and X'".

tending over one of said guide rails to engage the cover section of the carton, and to' cause the cover section to be folded down over the bottom section of, the carton as the carton is transported by said conveyor means towards said other end of said frame.

5. The combination defined in claim 4, and which includes a spring loaded roller extending over said conveyor means'adjacent said other end of said frame to engage said cover section and to fold said cover section to a fully closed position with respect to said bottom section as the carton is transported toward said other end of said frame by saidconveyor means.

Claims

1. In a machine for scoring and closing egg cartons, and the like, each such carton having a bottom section, a lip section and a cover section, the combination of: a frame; conveyor means on said frame for transporting an egg carton from one end of the frame to the other; guide rails mounted on each side of said conveyor means to define a channel along which the carton is moved by said conveyor means; a pair of wheels mounted on said frame for rotation about a transverse axis with respect to said frame, said wheels being positioned on each side of said conveyor means directly over the respective top edges of said guide rails; and means for rotatably driving said wheels to cause said wheels to score hinge lines between said bottom section and the cover and lip sections of the carton, and further to cause said wheels to hold the carton firmly down on said conveyor means and to assist said conveyor means in transporting the carton from said one end of said frame to the other.

2. The combination defined in claim 1, in which each of said wheels has teeth extending around the periphery thereof.

3. The combination defined in claim 1, and which includes a ramp positioned adjacent and extending over one of said guide rails, and having a progressively increasing inclination, so as to engage the lip section of the carton and to cause the lip section to be folded over the bottom section of the carton, as the carton is transpOrted by the conveyor toward said other end of said frame.

4. The combination defined in claim 1, and which includes an elongated rod positioned adjacent to and extending over one of said guide rails to engage the cover section of the carton, and to cause the cover section to be folded down over the bottom section of the carton as the carton is transported by said conveyor means towards said other end of said frame.

5. The combination defined in claim 4, and which includes a spring loaded roller extending over said conveyor means adjacent said other end of said frame to engage said cover section and to fold said cover section to a fully closed position with respect to said bottom section as the carton is transported toward said other end of said frame by said conveyor means.