Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02295358 2000-O1-13
Helmut Seidel
Fliederstrasse 19
65396 Walluf
Method for setting upright a folding carton made from a
one-piece cardboard blank
D a s c r i p t i o n
The invention relates to a method for setting upright a
folding carton made from a one-piece cardboard blank, the
cardboard blank being folded in a tube-like manner around
the product being packaged.
One-piece blanks made of cardboard shaped in many
different ways are used in the industry to produce a
packing box. The individual sections of the box, which
are joined via fold lines, are as a general rule folded at
a right angle to one another, and glued together if
necessary. As a general rule it is only at this stage
that the product is placed or poured into the partially
finished packing box, and the packing box then takes its
final shape and is sealed. It is also known to package
products using the so-called wrap-around process. This
means that the product is not placed into the partly
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finished packing box, but that the packaging is formed
around the product.
From German Design Patent (DE-GM) 19 72 459 a one-piece
cardboard blank for producing packaging by the wrap-around
process is known. This blank is constructed in the same
way as the one-piece blank used in the process according
to the invention. There the blank is laid on a support
and the product to be packaged is positioned on the bottom
section of the blank. Next side wall sections, tab
sections, end wall sections and the lid section of the
blank are folded to produce a closed packing box which
accommodates the product. This is a case of a stationary
packaging operation, which means that the product is not
packaged while it is being handled, i.e. as the product is
being conveyed.
German Patent 766 078 discloses a process for enveloping
chocolates or similar articles in outer shells. Apart
from the fact that the problems encountered when
enveloping chocolates in outer shells are not comparable
to those encountered when packaging products in a folding
carton, the process outlined also relates to a stationary
operation.
It is the object of the present invention to indicate a
method for setting upright the folding cartons made from
a one-piece cardboard blank. The one-piece blank should
be suitable for use in the wrap-around process. More
particularly, it should be possible for the packaging of
the product to be carried out as the product is being
handled, i.e. as it is being conveyed.
For example the product is packed directly into the box or
else it sits in a separate packaging, for instance a bag,
which is put into the folding carton. An example of a
directly packed product is a pizza or several pizzas
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arranged one above the other. An example of a product in
a bag is cornflakes, where the cardboard packing box is
formed around the bag filled with the cornflakes.
The problem underlying the present invention is solved in
accordance with the features of Claim 1.
It is thus essential that the packaging of the product
takes place in a contin~zous process, in other words along
a product conveying line. It is also essential that the
plane blank is laid onto the product that is to be
packaged in the region of the lid section. This forms the
basis for the ensuing wrap-around operation, in which the
folding carton is set upright around the product and then
sealed.
One specific embodiment provides for the second end wall
section of the blank to be joined to the lid section and
for the tab section to be joined to the second end wall
section. On its face furthest from the first side wall
section, the lid section thus receives both the second
side wall section and the tab section, which after being
fully folded rests with its underside on the upper face of
the bottom section, where it is glued thereto.
Consequently the blank has no further wall sections on the
side of the bottom section furthest from the first side
wall section, and thus does not extend very far at right
angles to the direction in which the blank, and the
product, are being conveyed; the product and the blank are
conveyed in the longitudinal direction of the first and
second side wall section, in other words in transverse
extension of the one-piece blank. This small amount of
extension of the blank, in what will later be the bottom
region of the packing box, is particularly advantageous
when, taking into consideration the conveying speed of the
product and the blank, it is a question of folding the
bottom section quickly out of its downwardly folded
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intermediate position and into its final position parallel
to the lid section. Where the bottom region of the
packing box has such small dimensions this can for example
be done by conveying the product on an uninterrupted
conveyor device and using these uninterrupted zones to
fold the bottom section into the position parallel to the
lid section. Provided in this zone are for example one
conveyor belt arrangement that is situated at the back in
the conveying direction and one conveyor belt arrangement
that is situated to the front in the conveying direction.
The conveyor belts of each conveyor belt arrangement
terminate in the area of different conveying lengths,
thereby forming an interspace between the two conveyor
arrangements which is horizontal and sloping in relation
to the conveying direction. The effect of this is that in
the area of the rear conveyor belt arrangement the product
being conveyed is only carried by some of the conveyor
belts located there. This fact can be utilised to fold
the bottom section in this area into the position parallel
to the lid section, despite the fact that the product and
the blank are being carried along, for example by means of
a strut disposed beneath the conveying plane. The other
conveyor belt arrangement then takes over the bottom
section with the product being supported by the latter.
The blank is preferably provided with dust flaps which are
joined to the two side wall sections via end fold lines.
One particular configuration of the process in accordance
with the invention for setting the folding cartons upright
provides for the dust flaps to be in each case folded
through an angle of at least 90°, and for this to be the
case especially after the side wall sections have been
folded. The dust flaps are preferably in each case folded
through an angle of 100 to 130°. This specific folding
angle, i.e. the folding-over of the dust flaps, can be
regarded as fixing the blank in position in the wrap-
around process. It enables driving dogs to grasp the two
CA 02295358 2000-O1-13
downwardly folded side wall sections respectively at the
front and rear and bring about the folding-over of the
dust flaps as a result of the shape of the driving dogs.
The side wall sections are held in a defined manner in
this position, thereby on the one hand enabling the bottom
section to be folded in a defined manner into the position
parallel to the lid section and on the other hand ensuring
that the tab section, already folded around, is accurately
glued to the bottom section. At this stage of the process
the blank is thus held in the area of the two side wall
sections and the tab section is aligned with the folded-in
dust flaps. The dust flaps thus form an abutment for the
tab section and consequently also for the bottom section
placed downwardly against the latter, thereby guaranteeing
that the tab section and the bottom section are glued
securely.
Further features of the invention are the subject of the
claims, the Description of the Figures, and the Figures
themselves, it being noted that all the features and
individual features are essential to the invention.
The invention is elucidated by way of example, though
without being confined to the example depicted, in Figures
1 to 8, wherein:
Fig. 1 shows a plan view of the one-piece blank used
in accordance with the invention;
Fig. 2 shows a side view of the blank;
Fig. 3 shows the blank seen in Fig. 1 in a perspective
view, likewise depicting the article
being
packaged, a pizza;
Fig. 4 shows the blank with the pizza during the
folding operation;
Fig. 5 shows the blank with the pizza during the
folding operation as the bottom section
is
being folded up, likewise depicting
the
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conveyor device for the pizza and the apparatus
for folding up the bottom section;
Fig. 6 shows a detail of the blank shortly before the
bottom section folding operation is completed;
Fig. 7 shows a detail as in Fig. 6, after the folding
of the bottom section is completed; and
Fig. 8 shows the folding carton after the first gluing
operation, in which the pizza contained in said
carton is also included.
The one-piece cardboard blank shown in Figure 1 has in the
first place a bottom section 1 and a lid section 2, the
principal surfaces of which are squares of the same size.
Likewise both rectangles of the same size are a first side
wall section 3 and a second side wall section 6. The
first side wall section 3 is joined via fold lines 4 and
to the bottom section 1 and to the lid section 2. The
second side wall section 6 is joined via a fold line 7 to
the lid section 2 on the side thereof furthest from the
first side wall section 3. A trapezium-shaped tab section
8 is joined via a fold line 9 to the second side wall
section 6 on the side thereof that is furthest from the
lid section 2. End wall sections 11 are joined via fold
lines 12 to the bottom section 1, and end wall sections 10
via fold lines 12 to the lid section 2. The end wall
sections are likewise trapezium-shaped. The blank is also
provided with dust flaps 13 which are joined to the side
wall section 6 via end fold lines 15. In addition, dust
flaps 14 are joined to the side wall section 3 via end
fold lines 15. The dust flaps, 13 and 14 respectively,
are likewise trapezium-shaped. The lid section 2 is
printed, for example with a picture of the pizza, and with
brand information. The bottom section 1 is provided with
additional manufacturer's details or advertising.
Figure 2 depicts the flat configuration of the blank.
When the pizza is being packaged, both it and the blank
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are moved transversely to the blank, that is to say
towards the fold line 4 of the blank.
Figure 3 shows the plane blank 16 , the bottom section 2 of
which is arranged over a circular pizza 17. With respect
to the lid section 2'the latter is aligned in such a way
that the diagonal point of intersection of the lid section
2 coincides with the centre of the pizza 17. The blank 16
is either arranged a short distance above the pizza 17 or
else rests thereon. To guide the blank 16, for example
conventional and therefore not specifically illustrated
guides may be provided, noon which the blank 16 rests and
is conveyed via conveyor means. The conveyor means for
the pizza 17 are likewise not illustrated, as these too
are sufficiently well-known from the prior art. Figure 3
shows that initially side wall section 3 is folded down
around fold line 5 and side wall section 6 down around
fold line 7, in each case through 90°. This position is
illustrated in Figure 4. It further shows that the dust
flaps 13 and 14 too have been bent in around their fold
lines 15, namely through an angle markedly bigger than 90 °
in each case: The folding-in of the dust flaps 13 and 14
is done via correspondingly shaped driving dogs (not
shown), which fix the side wall sections 3 and 6 in
position in the area of the fold lines 15 thereof. Figure
4 also depicts the fact that the tab section 8 is folded
inwards through 90° along fold line 9, that is to say
towards the bottom section 1. Glue is applied either to
the underside of the tab section 8 or in the region 18 of
the bottom section 1 delineated by dashes.
Figure 5 depicts a rear conveyor belt arrangement 19 and
a front conveyor belt arrangement 20, which are used to
convey the pizza 17. The blank 16 is conveyed via the
driving dogs, which grasp the two side wall sections 3 and
6 in the area of the dust flaps 13 and 14, moving the
pizza 17 and the blank 16 at the same speed in the
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direction of the arrow 21. The rear conveyor belt
arrangement 19 is made up of three conveyor belts 19a, 19b
and 19c, with conveyor belt 19a being shorter than
conveyor belt 19b and the latter in turn being shorter
than conveyor belt 19c. The front conveyor belt
arrangement 20 likewise has three conveyor belts, with
conveyor belt 20a being longer than conveyor belt 20b and
the latter in turn being longer than conveyor belt 20c.
Thus between the two conveyor belt arrangements 19 and 20
a sloping interspace 22 is formed whose dimensions are
such that as the pizza 17 is being conveyed it either
rests on conveyor belt arrangement 19, or the bottom
section 1 of the blank 16 with the pizza 17 situated on it
rests on the conveyor device 20. Matching the sloping
orientation of the parallelogram-shaped interspace 22, a
strut-shaped folding mechanism 23 is arranged beneath the
conveying plane of the conveyor belt arrangements 19 and
20, which projects into the path of the downwardly
directed bottom section 1 and folds the latter upwards
around the fold line 4 of the blank 16 as the latter is
beign conveyed. Figure 6 shows the bottom section 1
shortly before it is placed against the tab section 8.
Figure 7 depicts the gluing of the bottom section 1 and
the tab section 8. Figure 8 is a three-dimensional view
of the folding carton 24 following the first gluing
operation.
As the folding carton 24 and the pizza 17 continue on
their way, the driving dogs are released and the folding
carton 24 is preferably rotated through 90° by the action
of a suction mechanism on the lid section 2. Then glue is
applied to one of the respective end wall sections, 10 and
11, and the end wall sections, 10 and 11 respectively, are
folded in about their fold lines 12, thereby closing the
folding carton 24 completely.
