WO2014022708A2 - Système et procédé d'accouplement de cartons de boisson à l'aide de bandes élastiques - Google Patents

Système et procédé d'accouplement de cartons de boisson à l'aide de bandes élastiques Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2014022708A2
WO2014022708A2 PCT/US2013/053296 US2013053296W WO2014022708A2 WO 2014022708 A2 WO2014022708 A2 WO 2014022708A2 US 2013053296 W US2013053296 W US 2013053296W WO 2014022708 A2 WO2014022708 A2 WO 2014022708A2
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
cartons
resilient
abutted
package
packs
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/US2013/053296
Other languages
English (en)
Other versions
WO2014022708A3 (fr
Inventor
Brian MCWILLIAMS
Jeff KRULL
Todd ODEHNAL
Original Assignee
Anheuser-Busch, Llc
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Anheuser-Busch, Llc filed Critical Anheuser-Busch, Llc
Publication of WO2014022708A2 publication Critical patent/WO2014022708A2/fr
Publication of WO2014022708A3 publication Critical patent/WO2014022708A3/fr

Links

Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65B—MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING
    • B65B13/00—Bundling articles
    • B65B13/02—Applying and securing binding material around articles or groups of articles, e.g. using strings, wires, strips, bands or tapes
    • B65B13/022—Applying preformed bands of continuous-ring form, e.g. elastic
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
    • B65D71/00—Bundles of articles held together by packaging elements for convenience of storage or transport, e.g. portable segregating carrier for plural receptacles such as beer cans or pop bottles; Bales of material
    • B65D71/02—Arrangements of flexible binders
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
    • B65D71/00—Bundles of articles held together by packaging elements for convenience of storage or transport, e.g. portable segregating carrier for plural receptacles such as beer cans or pop bottles; Bales of material
    • B65D71/50—Bundles of articles held together by packaging elements for convenience of storage or transport, e.g. portable segregating carrier for plural receptacles such as beer cans or pop bottles; Bales of material comprising a plurality of articles held together only partially by packaging elements formed otherwise than by folding a blank
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65B—MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING
    • B65B17/00—Other machines, apparatus, or methods for packaging articles or materials
    • B65B17/02—Joining articles, e.g. cans, directly to each other for convenience of storage, transport, or handling
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65B—MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING
    • B65B27/00—Bundling particular articles presenting special problems using string, wire, or narrow tape or band; Baling fibrous material, e.g. peat, not otherwise provided for
    • B65B27/04—Bundling groups of cans or bottles

Definitions

  • the present invention relates generally to packaging of canned or bottled beverages. More specifically, the present invention relates to applying resilient bands to couple together two cartons or "twelve-packs" into a preferred "case” or 24-can or bottle unit.
  • beverage suppliers either run twelve-packs loose, or join them by using adhesive tape or hot-melt adhesive.
  • Adhesive tape was commonly used early during the advent of the "fridge" style soft drink packs (2x6 can arrangement). Perforations built in to the tape were intended to allow delivery drivers to break-apart the packs for retail. If the perforations worked, the tape remained on the packaging, and if the perforations did not, there was fiber tearing on the packaging. In either case, the result was undesirable marred graphics on the packaging.
  • a newer alternative to the above methods is to use a time-sensitive hot-melt adhesive to join two twelve-packs.
  • Liberal amounts of hot glue would be applied between the two joined packs to hold the packs through the packaging and delivery processes. Over time, this glue would crystallize, allowing the packs to be broken apart without creating fiber tear.
  • One drawback with this method is that the glue remains on the packs, creating unsightly blemishes.
  • This and other objects of the present disclosure are achieved by providing a package for beverages employing a pair of conventional 12-can or bottle packages, the package comprising: a pair of conventional 12-container packages abutted along their edges. At least one band of resilient polymeric material in the form of a complete loop is stretched and released over the two 12-container packages to secure them together.
  • a pair of resilient bands secures the two 12-container packages together.
  • each 12-container package has a long edge and a short edge and the long edges of the 12-container packages are abutted against one another.
  • a method of packaging for beverages in aluminum can or glass bottle containers employs a pair of conventional 12-container packages, and comprises the steps of: packaging the containers in the conventional 12- containers packages in a cartoner machine; orienting the 12-container packages relative to one another; abutting a pair of the oriented 12-container packages against one another; stretching and releasing to apply at least one resilient band around the pair of abutted 12- container packages to secure the 12-container packages together in a 24-container unit.
  • FIGURE 1 is a schematic illustration of a machine for applying resilient bands to join together beverage cartons
  • FIGURE 2 is an illustration of a portion of a sheet of resilient bands to join together beverage cartons
  • FIGURE 3 illustrates an alternate embodiment of a system for applying resilient bands to join together beverage cartons
  • FIGURE 4 illustrates a pair of beverage cartons with portions broken away secured together by a pair of resilient bands according to the teachings of the present disclosure
  • FIGURE 5 illustrates a pair of beverage cartons with portions broken away and with their short sides abutted and secured together by a pair of resilient bands according to the teachings of the present disclosure
  • FIGURE 6 illustrates an alternate pair of beverage cartons with portions broken away and with their long sides abutted and secured together by a pair of resilient bands according to the teachings of the present disclosure.
  • FIGURE 1 is a schematic illustration of a banding machine 10 that applies resilient bands to join together a pair of beverage cartons, for example conventional twelve-packs of individual beverage containers, such as cans or bottles.
  • the banding machine 10 applies resilient bands to couple together two cartons 12, also referred to as packs 12.
  • the individual drink containers for example cans, have been placed into a cardboard carton 12 upstream of the banding machine 10 by a cartoner (not shown).
  • the cartons 12 generally hold twelve individual drink containers, and therefore are commonly referred to as a 12-pack.
  • a conveyor 14 moves the cartons 12 in position to be banded together.
  • the two cartons 12 are oriented such that their edge surfaces abut and form abutted packs 16.
  • the abutted packs 16 may be touching each other or may be slightly spaced-apart because the tension in the resilient band will apply a force that urges the two packs toward each other such that their sides abut. In addition, the abutted packs 16 are properly spaced apart from each other to facilitate application of the bands.
  • the cartons 12 may each be packed with twelve individual beverage containers, for example cans of beer.
  • the carton 12 may be rectangular in cross section with one side being the length of about three twelve-ounce cans and the adjacent side being about the length of four twelve-ounce cans.
  • the longer four-can length edge surfaces of the two cartons may abut each other to form the abutted packs 16.
  • the shorter three-can length edge surfaces abut each other to form the abutted packs 16.
  • more than two abutted packs may have the resilient bands applied according to the teaching of the present disclosure.
  • the resilient bands are fed to the banding machine 10 from rolls 18 of the resilient bands.
  • the bands are preformed into a sheet of resilient bands 20.
  • a flashing 24 is disposed between adjacent resilient bands 22, as shown in FIGURE 2.
  • An idler 26 directs the sheet of resilient bands 20 from the roll 18 toward the band applicator 28.
  • the band applicator 28 includes a drum 30, which drives a plurality of jaws 32. The jaws 32 rotate with the drum 30 and each jaw 32 directs a resilient band 22 from the idler 26 to a position where the band 22 can be applied to the abutted packs 16.
  • Each resilient band 22 is stretched to elastically increase its length such that it can be placed over the abutted packs 16.
  • a resilient band 22 in a relaxed state does not have sufficient length/circumference to fit over the abutted packs 16.
  • stretching a resilient band 22 and holding it in a stretched state then releasing the band 22 causes the resilient band 22 to apply a force to urge the abutted packs 16 together and is sufficient to couple the packs, particularly when a band 22 is applied to each side of the abutted packs 16, as shown in FIGURE 1.
  • Appropriately spacing apart the abutted packs 16 provides clearance to allow the jaws 32 and associated components, such as application fingers to stretch, release, and place the resilient bands on an abutted pack 16 without interfering with the placement of a resilient band 22 on an adjacent abutted pack 16.
  • the conveyor 14 and drums 30 move continuously such that the resilient bands 22 may be stretched over the abutted packs 16 and released without stopping the motion of the conveyor 14 or the abutted packs 16.
  • the motion of the jaws 32 corresponds to the motion of the conveyor 14 to allow the jaws 32 to apply the resilient bands 22 without having to stop the abutted packs 16.
  • the banding machine 10 applies resilient bands 22 to twelve-packs that enter the banding machine 10 at approximately 200 twelve-packs per minute.
  • the conveyor 14 moves the banded pack 34 in position where the flashing 24 may be cut by a cutter 36.
  • the cutter 36 is a wheel style cutter.
  • the individual bands 22 may be separated from the rest of the roll 18 before being placed on the abutted packs 16.
  • the conveyor 14 continues to move the banded packs 34 down the line for further processing. It should be noted that further processing will not include placing the banded packs 34 into a corrugated container, as the resilient bands 22 serve the function of joining the two twelve-packs for palletizing and shipping purposes.
  • the opposite side of the banding machine 10 includes the same components as those described above such that a second resilient band 22 may be stretched, released, and placed on an opposite side of the carton such that the banded packs 34 include two resilient bands, one on each side of the abutted packs 16.
  • the throughput of the banding machine 10 is approximately 100 banded packs 22 or cases per minute.
  • FIGURE 2 is an illustration of a portion of the sheet of resilient bands 20.
  • a resilient band 22 is joined to an adjacent resilient band 22 by a piece of the resilient banding material making up a flashing 24.
  • the flashing 24 is disposed at a location where the material is welded or otherwise joined to create the continuous loops that form each resilient band 22.
  • the flashing 24 is severed by the cutters 36 to separate the bands to create the individual banded packs 34.
  • the material of the sheet of resilient bands 20 is any suitable polymeric material.
  • the resilient bands 22 may be formed from any suitable resilient polymeric material, such as a thermoplastic polymer.
  • the resilient bands 22 may be formed of low density polyethylene.
  • the polymeric material of the resilient bands 22 may be recyclable.
  • the resilient bands 22 are approximately 1/2 inch wide, but in other embodiments, the resilient bands 22 may be narrower or wider.
  • the resilient bands 22 may range between 3/8 inch and two inches in width. Each resilient band may be slightly shorter than the perimeter of a pair of 12-packs abutted at their respective longer ends, which is approximately 41 inches.
  • the resilient band 22 may be stretched to approximately 2 inches or about 5% to allow for placement over the abutted packs 16 by four application fingers. In other embodiments, the resilient bands 22 may be any suitable length to accommodate the size of the cartons 12 abutted at their longer or shorter edges.
  • FIGURE 3 is a schematic illustration of a multiple separate banding machine system 40.
  • Multiple separate banding machines 42 each apply two resilient bands to the abutted packs 16 to create the banded packs 34.
  • the individual cartons or twelve-packs 12 leave the cartoner at a throughput of 200 cartons or packs per minute on a full speed upstream conveyor 44.
  • speed refers to throughput as opposed to distance per unit time.
  • the distance per time of the conveyor may be adjusted to obtain the desired throughput depending on the distance the product (cartons 12, abutted packs 16, and banded packs 34) is to travel to reach the next processing station.
  • the throughput of the reduced speed upstream conveyor 46 is approximately 100 cartons per minute or half of the throughput of the full speed upstream conveyor 44.
  • Each reduced speed upstream conveyor 46 feeds three indexing conveyors 48.
  • the throughput of the indexing conveyors 48, and thus the throughput of the individual banding machines 42 is approximately 33 cartons per minute and approximately 16 cases or banded packs 34 per minute.
  • the indexing conveyors 48 orient the cartons 12 so their edges abut each other or are oriented to be parallel and slightly separated to prepare the abutted packs 16 to receive the resilient bands 22.
  • a resilient band 22 is stretched, released, and applied to each side of the abutted packs 16, and the banded packs 34 are indexed from the banding machine 42 to move down the line for further processing.
  • the throughput of the banded packs 34 is ramped up by conveying the banded packs 34 to an increased speed downstream conveyor 50.
  • a single increased speed downstream conveyor 50 receives banded packs 34 from three banding machines 42 such that the throughput of the increased speed downstream conveyors 50 is approximately fifty abutted packs or cases 34 per minute.
  • the increased speed downstream conveyors 50 feed the abutted packs 34 to a merging apparatus 52, which directs abutted packs 34 from each conveyor 50 to a full speed downstream conveyor 54, which runs at a throughput of about 100 abutted packs or cases 34 per minute to transport the abutted packs 34 for further processing. Similar to the embodiment of FIGURE 1, further processing does not include placing the banded packs 34 into a corrugated container, as the resilient bands 22 serve the function of joining the two twelve-packs for palletizing and shipping purposes.
  • the throughput values of the two reduced speed upstream conveyors 46 is about half of the throughput of the full speed upstream conveyor 44.
  • the throughput of the indexing conveyors 48 is approximately one-third of the reduced speed conveyors 46.
  • the ramping back up of the throughput of the banded packs 34 corresponds to the reduction of throughput upstream. That is, the increased speed downstream conveyors 50 are three times the throughput of the indexing conveyors 48, and the full speed downstream conveyor 54 is twice that of the increased speed conveyors 50.
  • the multiple separate banding machine system 42 can be incorporated into existing beverage can production and packaging lines and maintain the throughput achieved when the two twelve- packs are arranged on a cardboard tray, which is about 100 cases (two twelve-packs) per minute.
  • the throughput values provided herein are example throughput values. It should be understood that the multiple separate banding machine system 40 may be run at any desired throughput.
  • FIGURE 4 shows the banded packs 34 with portions broken away to show the individual containers 5 contained in the cartons 12.
  • the edge surfaces corresponding to the four-can side of the cartons 12 are abutted together.
  • a pair of resilient bands 22 have been stretched and released over the cartons 12. The tension in the resilient bands 22 applies a force to secure together the two cartons 12.
  • FIGURE 5 shows a pair of banded cartons 60 where the three-can edge surfaces are abutted together and a pair of appropriately sized resilient bands 22 is applied to secure the two cartons 12 together.
  • FIGURE 6 shows a pair of banded two-by-six cartons 62 where the six-can edge surfaces are abutted together.
  • a pair of appropriately sized resilient bands 22 is applied to exert forces to secure together the two-by-six cartons 64.
  • banded packs will stay together during case conveying, palletizing, shipment, and wholesaler handling - which will include loading onto existing two-wheeled dollies.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Basic Packing Technique (AREA)
  • Packages (AREA)
  • Cartons (AREA)

Abstract

L'invention concerne un système et un procédé d'emballage de récipients de boisson individuels. Un emballage de récipients de boisson individuels comprend une pluralité de cartons de boisson contigus les uns aux autres au niveau de surfaces de bord respectives ; chaque carton de boisson contient une pluralité de récipients de boisson individuels. Les cartons de boisson sont attachés ensemble par au moins une bande élastique qui est disposée par-dessus et applique une force pour attacher ensemble la pluralité de cartons de boisson.
PCT/US2013/053296 2012-08-02 2013-08-01 Système et procédé d'accouplement de cartons de boisson à l'aide de bandes élastiques WO2014022708A2 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US201261678924P 2012-08-02 2012-08-02
US61/678,924 2012-08-02

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
WO2014022708A2 true WO2014022708A2 (fr) 2014-02-06
WO2014022708A3 WO2014022708A3 (fr) 2015-07-16

Family

ID=50024422

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
PCT/US2013/053296 WO2014022708A2 (fr) 2012-08-02 2013-08-01 Système et procédé d'accouplement de cartons de boisson à l'aide de bandes élastiques

Country Status (2)

Country Link
US (1) US20140034533A1 (fr)
WO (1) WO2014022708A2 (fr)

Family Cites Families (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2885839A (en) * 1955-01-11 1959-05-12 American Can Co Banding machine
US4079566A (en) * 1972-03-09 1978-03-21 The Procter & Gamble Company Method of forming unitized modular loads
US4269308A (en) * 1980-02-14 1981-05-26 Illinois Tool Works Inc. Multi-unit container package
TW201327B (fr) * 1991-07-19 1993-03-01 Minnesota Mining & Mfg
US6293393B1 (en) * 2000-07-18 2001-09-25 Sdk Co., Inc. Apparatus and methods for packaging and distributing combinations of foods and beverages
US7467504B2 (en) * 2005-09-23 2008-12-23 Delkor Systems, Inc. Packaging system for split package assembly

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
WO2014022708A3 (fr) 2015-07-16
US20140034533A1 (en) 2014-02-06

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