Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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CARTON ERECTING MECHANISM
This invention relates to packaging of primary articles such as cans and
.' bottles in multiple packaged cartons and is more particularly concerned
with
feeding such cartons in collapsed condition from a hopper and for initiating
and
then completing a set up operation of cartons in sequence.
The majority of known packaging machines are dedicated machines which
construct only one size of one type of carton. Therefore, modern bottling
plants
are required to use a plurality of packaging machines to package different
carton
types, each machine taking up considerable floor space and being expensive to
both
purchase and operate.
A limited number of packaging machines are capable of packaging different
sizes of cartons, for example six, eight or twelve packs of a wraparound
carton.
All such machines require adjustment when switching from one size or type of
carton to another. This adjustment includes the manual removal of all of the
cartons within the packaging machine and possible the mechanical adjustment of
components in the machine. During this change over period, which can be thirty
minutes or more, a machine cannot be used (known as "downtime"), which is an
expensive delay in a bottling plant. Such a delay may even result in downtime
for
the entire bottling line, not just the packaging machine, if problems arise
during the
changeover period.
The present invention seeks to overcome the commercial disadvantages of
known packaging machines . by providing a feeder mechanism which is able to
set
up more than one type of carton. Further, the invention is capable of
switching
from one carton type to another, or between sizes with minimum downtime. The
modular nature of the present invention enables a "fully flexible" machine to
be
constructed which overcomes, or at least mitigates, the problems of known
machines.
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The present invention can be used with a packaging machine described in a
corresponding Canadian Patent Application No. 2,303,906. It is envisaged that
the
present invention can be used in various other types of packaging machine.
Alternatively, the erecting mechanism of the present invention can be sold as
an
individual module to be fitted to new equipment or to existing equipment on a
retro
fit base.
UK 2053133 concerns an apparatus for removing/holding box blanks from a
stationery magazine and erecting and transferring the blanks. The apparatus
comprises transfer members which are mounted on four point linkages and
arranged
on a rotary Garner controlled by cans. During rotation, to facilitate the
removal of the
blanks, such members are stationary. During transfer of the erected blanks to
the
transport device the section members are moved synchronously with the
transport
device.
US Patent 4625575 concerns a can assembly for a feeder mechanism in which
a can plate is provided having a continuous can track including a deep section
and a
shallow can trap section. Can track follow arms are used for relative movement
within the deep and shallower can tracks. Pick up means is connected to the
can arm
by an eccentric arm and the can tracks cause the pick up mean to move to an
outwardly extended position and turn inwardly retracted position.
WO 92/15450 concerns a carton set up machine which has a suction device
for withdrawing collapsed sleeve type cartons from a magazine. The suction
device
moves inwardly and outwardly on a slidable rod as it orbits about a central
rotating
shaft. An oscillating gripper mounted outside the orbit of the suction device
pulls
outwardly on an outer panel of the collapsed carton to being opening it.
These references in the prior art refer to primary carton pick up means but do
not address a problem associated with the erection of cartons from a flat
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condition. The present invention addresses the difficulties associated with
separating opposing panels of different cartons after they have been stored in
a flat
condition and which can be easily modified for different carton types.
Accordingly, the present invention seeks to overcome or at least mitigate the
problems of the prior art.
One aspect of the invention provides an apparatus for sequentially
manipulating out of a hopper collapsed cartons having oppositely disposed
panels
and for initiating set up thereof, said machine comprising, carton pick up
means for
sequentially engaging one of said opposed panels and for withdrawing from the
hopper a collapsed carton which includes said one panel, means for
transferring
said carton orbitally about a rotatable axis from said hopper to an infeed end
of a
packaging machine and wherein panel engaging means is disposed outside the
path
of orbit for engaging the other of said opposed panels so as to pull said
other panel
in a direction away from the carton pick up means thereby to initiate opening
of the
carton characterised in that said panel engaging means is mounted to a guide
rail
and a transverse carriage moveable in a first plane along said guide rail.
According to an optional feature of this aspect of the invention, the panel
engaging means may be moved in the first plane by a linear servo motor.
According to another optional feature of this aspect of the invention, said
panel engaging means may be mounted to a slide member in a substantially
perpendicular relationship with said guide rail and said slide member may be
moveable relative said guide rail whereby said panel engaging means is
moveable
in two planes.
According to a further optional feature of this aspect of the invention, said
panel engaging means is moved in a second plane by a linear servo motor.
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According to yet a ftirrher optional feature of this aspect of the invention,
control means may be arranged to control the movement of the panel engaging
means.
According to another optional feature of this aspect of the invention, said
panel engaging means may comprise a suction cup and cup holder mounted onto
said slide member, said suction cup being connected to a vacuum supply during
said carton opening.
According to yet a further optional feature of this aspect of the invention,
said face contacting panels may comprise opposite side walls of the carton.
An embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example
with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the infeed of a packaging machine
illustrating the back feeder mechanism of one embodiment of the invention;
FIGURE 2 is a perspective view from the opposing side of the packaging
machine illustrated in Figure 1;
FIGURE 3 is an enlarged perspective view of a back feeder mechanism
illustrated in Figure 1 ;
FIGURES 4 to 6 are perspective views illustrating a back feeder
mechanism separating opposing panels of a carton; and
FIGURES 7a, 7b and 7c are side elevation views of the basket type carton,
fully enclosed carton for eight bottles and a fully enclosed carton for twelve
bottles.
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FIGURE 8 illustrates four graphs showing one example of the distance,
velocity, acceleration and derived acceleration plotted against time of the
linear
servo motor controlling the X coordinates of the suction cup; and
FIGURE 9 illustrates four graphs showing one example of the distance,
velocity, acceleration and derived acceleration plotted against time of the
linear
servo motor controlling the Y coordinates of the suction cup.
A mechanism according to the present invention is capable of erecting a
variety of carton type for example, wraparound, fully enclosed and basket type
cartons. Any reference in this specification to carton type includes different
sizes
of a particular carton style. For example, the mechanism can load fully
enclosed
cartons for eight or twelve articles.
Referring to Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings there is shown a machine 10
for processing cartons of the type outlined above. The upstream end of the
machine includes a dual hopper 12, 14 in which a multiplicity of cartons for
example basket type and fully enclosed cartons 16, 18 in a collapsed condition
which are held ready for processing. In this embodiment, each hopper 12, 14 is
a
gravity feed type whereby the carton blanks are held in their respective
hoppers at
an incline to provide a positive feed.
A rotary vacuum feeder 20, positioned adjacent the dual hopper 12, 14,
removes a carton sequentially from the hopper unit and transfers the carton in
a
rotary path "Z" to a paper feed chain 22 shown in Figure 3. The paper chain 22
is provided to transfer cartons downstream to the loading station 24.
As the carton is removed from the hopper unit 12 and rotated by the rotary
feeder 20, a back feeder mechanism 30 is used to separate opposing panels and
to
assist in part erecting the carton. In the embodiment illustrated in the
drawings,
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the carton being transferred by the rotary feeder is a fully enclosed carton,
shown
in Figure 7b, in a flat collapsed condition.
In order for the carton to be transferred from the inclined position in the
hopper 12, 14 to a vertical plane in the paper feed chain 22, it is necessary
to
offset the axis of rotation of the rotary feeder 20 from the vertical plane,
as
illustrated in Figures 1 and 2. Therefore, the back feeder 30 should also be
offset
tangentially of the orbital path of a carton.
Turning to the construction of the back feeder 30, shown in Figure 3, there
comprises suitable engagement means for engaging one or more walls of the
carton. In the present embodiment, the engagement means comprises a suction
cup
32 supported on a cup holder 34 which is mounted onto a slide member 36.
Suitable means is provided to move the engagement means in "X" and/or "y"
directions. For example the slide member 36 is in turn mounted onto a
transverse
carriage 38 and is capable of being moved in a direction designated by the
letter X
relative the transverse carriage. The transverse carriage 38 is preferably
connected
to a guide rail 39 which is fixed to a support frame (not shown): the
transverse
carriage being adapted to move the suction cup and slide member in a direction
designated by the letter Y, relative the guide rail 39. Thus, the suction cup
32 is
capable of moving towards or away from the rotary vacuum feeder 20 and/or in a
parallel direction to the orbital path Z of a carton. If desired, limit stops
may be
included at the ends of the slide member and/or guide rail.
It is envisaged that alternative components or configurations can be used to
provide an assembly which can move in X-Y directions.
The slide member 36 is moved by first drive means, for example a first
linear servo motor (not shown) which is controlled by a suitable control
system and
the transverse carriage 38 is moved by second drive means, for example a
second
linear servo motor (not shown) which is also controlled by the control system.
In
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some embodiments, the control system is programmed to pre-set suitable X - Y
co-
ordinates and to define the path of the suction cup. The control means may be
a
dedicated processor or may be a control means for a packaging machine in which
the
backfeeder is used. Alternatively, the control means may preferably be a known
programmable servo control system. Manual input means may be included to
change
the particular "X" or "Y" co-ordinates. More details of one type of control
system are
provided in aforementioned corresponding Canadian Patent Application No.
2,303,906.
Advantageously, the control system may include means for monitoring the
speed of cartons in orbital transfer and be configured to control that speed.
In use, the back feeder 30 separates one of the walls 40 of the carton from
the
opposing wall 42 held by the rotary feeder 20. In this embodiment, the
opposing
walls used are the side walls 40, 42. As the rotary feeder 20 transfers the
carton, the
suction cup 32 of the, back feeder 30 is moved forward into contact with a
side wall
40 of the collapsed carton 18, shown in Figure 4. Preferably, the point of
contact is
at an approximately central portion of the wall being separated. Vacuum is
applied to
the suction cup 32 to hold the side wall 40. As the rotary feeder 20 continues
to rotate
the carton forward, the back feeder suction cup 32 moves away from the rotary
feeder
20 to separate the two side walls, shown in Figure 5. In this embodiment, the
leading
pair of suction cups 44 of the rotary feeder release the leading end panel 46.
Thus,
the carton is folded in to a part erected condition with the side and end
walls being
separated . The back feeder vacuum supply is then disconnected and the carton
is
released from the back feeder shown in Figure 6.
Whilst it is preferred to use a suction cup to hold one of the walls, some
embodiments may adopt alternative components, for example, mechanical
connection means.
The carton 18 continues on its orbital path until it comes into contact with
the paper feed chain 20. In particular, the leading edge 48 of the carton
comes into
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abutment with the leading lug 50 of the paper feed chain 20. The leading lug
50
guides the leading edge 48 away from the suction cups 44, 52 of the rotary
feeder 26,
thereby placing the front end panel 54 and side panel 40 in a substantially
perpendicular relationship. At the same time, the rear lug 56 moves into
contact with
the rear end panel 58 to assist in completing the set up. Thereafter, the
suction cups
44, 52 of the rotary feeder 26 release the carton and continue to move in
direction "Z"
and the carton 18 is moved downstream to the loading station 60 by the paper
feed
chain.
As explained above, the preferred "pick up" position 62 of the back feeder
suction cup, shown at Figure 7, is at an approximate central point of the
carton side
panel. However, this position will vary according to the type of carton, and
in
particular the dimensional variations of the side and end walls for each
carton type
and for different carton sizes. Examples of these positions applied to a
basket type
carton and larger size of fully enclosed carton are illustrated in Figure 7a
and c.
Likewise, the path of the suction cup separating the two walls will also vary
according to the particular carton type being erected. It is envisaged that
the suction
can follow an oscillatory path similar to that disclosed in WO 92/15450.
Alternatively, a rotary path could be used for some cartons. An advantage of
the
backfeeder described above is the flexibility offered by the system.
Therefore, the
position of the back feeder suction cup 32 can be moved to any desired
position or to
adopt any number of paths with the end stop limits of the slide member 36 and
the
guide rail 39. Thus, the backfeeder can be programmed to follow a path and/or
move
to a pick up position for a particular carton type, the path and position
being
changeable according to the carton type. An example of the path of the suction
cup,
velocity and acceleration of the linear servo motors controlling the X and Y
direction
of the suction cup, when constructing a fully enclosed carton as shown in
Figures 8
and 9.
By pre-programming the control system, the position and paths of the suction
cup 32 can be pre-set, thus reducing the amount of down time when
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interchanging carton types or styles. According to this invention, the speed
of
operation of the apparatus is improved as well as its efficiency and
durability.
While the preferred embodiment described herein is for loading bottles into
cartons, it will be recognised that the invention is not limited to cartons
for bottles.
The invention may be used with machines for packaging cans, paperboard
"bricks"
and other containers into cartons.
Moreover, while the preferred embodiment described herein is shown as
part of a machine for loading containers into vertically-loaded sleeve-type
carton,
the invention is not limited to cartons of this type. As will be recognised by
those
skilled in the art, the invention may be used with wrap-around or end-loaded
cartons.
It will be understood that the back feeder mechanism of the invention has
been illustrated with reference to a specific embodiment and that numerous
modifications are possible within the scope of the invention. The back feeder
mechanism is able to process cartons comprising numerous configurations of
groups of articles covering a range of carton size and shape, for example,
four, six,
eight and twelve bottles without undue time being spent in adjusting the
mechanism.
