Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02438897 2003-08-27
IMPROVEMENTS IN FILLING CARTONS
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to packaging of primary articles such as bottles
into secondary
containers such as cartons. It is particularly concerned with a method and
apparatus for ensuring
that preformed collapsed paperboard cartons, termed "flats", which are
generally erected or set
up to form cartons in a bottling facility and which are then transferred to
the next workstation in
the packaging process are in a fully open condition.
~ACKGROIJD OF THE INVENTION
Article packaging machines are well known and readily commercially available.
Such machines
are widely used, for example, in the beverage industry by brewers, soft drink
manufacturers and
the like to accomplish the packing of primary containers such as bottles,
cans, etc. of beverages
into secondary containers, namely cartons, made of corrugated cardboard,
paperboard or a
similar strong paper product. The erected cartons are generall y produced in
situ in the packaging
facility from blanks which, typically, have a plurality of co-planer walls,
panels and flaps that are
separated by fold lines. Such flats are delivered to the user in that form
because they are easy,
convenient and less costly to ship and store in the packaging facility. The
user in turn sets them
up into the required three-dimensional, usually rectangular, configuration
with an opening to
receive a complement of primary containers. This step is usually effected by
means of automatic
devices following their delivery from storage. Examples of such machines are
disclosed in U.S.
1
CA 02438897 2003-08-27
3,956,976; 5,411,464; 4,571,916 and 6,050,063. Following being set up, they
are subject to
further processes, for example, being filled with articles such as bottles.
Various types of
devices are employed for filling the erected containers. Many of these involve
"top loading", i.e.
the carton contents are dropped through the open top of the container after
the container bottom
has been formed. The dropping method can be unreliable and cause problems
because many of
the primary articles can fall out of position, especially if the path into the
carton is in any way
hindered. To be effective, the carton has to be packed careiFully and with
precision especially
when, as in the brewing industry, the length and breadth dimensions of the
carton, and therefore
of the opening through which the primary articles must pass, ~~re only
marginally larger than that
of the block or "unit" of bottles being inserted, since the cartons are
designed to prevent
movement of enclosed bottles. Any obstacle to the insertion of the articles is
therefore a
significant problem.
In addition, in erecting the carton, the closure top flaps, which comprise the
top of the carton
following filling and sealing, must initially be spread outwardly, i.e. away
from the open top so
that they do not interfere with the insertion of the articles into the erected
empty carton. It will
be appreciated that the complement of the articles, e.g. bottles, say 6 or 12
being top loaded into
the open carton constitute a rectangular "unit" of having a conf guration of
say 2 x 3; 2 x 6 or
3 x 4, bottles. Any obstruction to the insertion of the assembled "unit" into
the proposed carton
results in an inability to insert the unit and disruption of the high speed
filling line which then has
to be shut down with severe economic implications. Possible problems with the
flaps is usually
effected using cams or similar tools - refer for example to U..S. 3,956,976.
However, there are
still problems, many of which relate to the characteristics material, such as
paperboard, from
which the cartons are made. In particular, at certain times o:f the year, the
carton material can
2
CA 02438897 2003-08-27
loose moisture and, when the carton has been set up, the top flaps have a
tendency to "bow" out
or buckle out of shape and thereby partially extend across and obstruct the
opening into the
empty carton. This interferes with the loading of the carton, the serious
consequences of which
are detailed above.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a device and a method to
ensure that the closure
flaps of an erected carton do not obstruct the carton opening thereby
preventing clear insertion of
articles into the carton.
STATE1VIENT OF INVENTION
It has been found that providing moisture to the flaps of an erE;cted carton
prior to it reaching the
next processing station in a packing line corrected any te~adency of the flap
to distort, for
example, bow or buckle, and thereby hinder or prevent the next step or stage
in the packing
process from being successfully effected. In particular, a carton closure flap
which, because of
distortion due to dryness, buckles and overlaps the opening in the carton
thereby hindering or
totally preventing entry of the complement of articles to lbe packed into the
carton, when
moistured, quickly adopts its original and generally planner condition lying
outside the area of
the carton opening to allow said articles to be inserted into the carton
without hindrance.
The present invention can be used to advantage in the packing of paperboard
cartons, such as end
loaders but especially of the top loading type where obstruction of the carton
opening by
distorted closure flaps can be a problem.
It should be noted that the carton flaps should be treated with sufficient
moisture to correct the
buckling caused by dryness but insufficient to over wet the carton. If the
carton material remains
wet for a prolonged period, which might result from over welding, there may be
a tendency for
3
CA 02438897 2003-08-27
mold to form, a highly undesirable event. Also, excessive wetness could result
in the wet carton
material tearing. The actual amount of moisture required is readily determined
by simple
experiment. The take up or absorption of the moisture 'by the board material,
especially
paperboard material is quite rapid and so is the correction of the way or
distortion, i.e. its reversal
to its original position of the board material.
Obviously, the present invention has application in any situation where
generally secondary, but
also primary, cartons used in a packing operation encounters the same drying
out problem as
outlined above. Hence, end and side loading carton filling operations; the
packaging of other
food and non-food articles; and the like can all benefit by use of the present
invention.
The moisture can be applied in a mist or spray using known spray heads.
In one embodiment therefore, the present invention provides a method of
treating a paperboard
container at least part of which is distorted by dehydration which adversely
affects its use for its
intended purpose, comprising applying to the distorted portion of said carton
moisture which
when absorbed, is sufficient to co-interact said distortion and render same
ineffectual.
A special application of the present invention is when the carton is in an
erected condition having
sealing flaps distorted through dehydration so as to overlie the opening
through which the
product is inserted into the carton. Said flaps are treated with moisture,
which upon absorption
by the flaps counteracts said distortion thereby ensuring access to the carton
for the products.
The cartons to be filled may be of the type having a pre-glued bottom flaps
and a locking system
which engages when the collapsed carton is fully open or erected thereby
holding the carton
open so that articles can be inserted past spread outwardly extending flaps.
The carton is then
transported to an article loading machine which introduces th.e articles such
as bottles, into the
open carton and, subsequently, causes rotation of said flaps to~ overlie the
articles in an abutting
4
CA 02438897 2003-08-27
relationship where they are secured together by, for example, hot melt
adhesive to seal the
carton.
According to a further embodiment, the present invention there is provided a
form, fill and seal
packaging machine adapted to receive a carton flat having sealing flaps
susceptible to warping
when dehydrated, erect the carton flat into an open carton, fill and seal the
open carton, the
machine comprising a frame means for erecting the carton blank into a carton
having an opening,
closurable by said sealing flaps, for the insertion of articles; means for
moistening the sealing
flaps to counteract or prevent any warping of said flaps which would hinder
insertion of said
articles into said carton; means for filling said carton with a complement of
articles; means to
manipulate said flaps to overlie said articles; and means to secure said flats
together to seal said
carton.
According to yet a further embodiment of the present invention, there is
provided a method for
packing articles into a carton, said process comprising manipulating a carton
flat having flaps
adapted to seal an opening into the carton into an erected open condition,
moisturizing any
warped closure flaps to.negate said warp during transport of said carton to a
packing station
where it is filled by inserting a complement of articles through said opening
into said container,
manipulating said flaps so that they overlie the articles in the carton and
securing the flaps
together to seal the carton.
CA 02438897 2003-08-27
DRAWINGS:
The present invention will be described, but not limited by, reference to the
accompanying
drawings in which:
FIGS. 1 to 4 show stages of set up of a top loading carton flat -- shown in
FIG. 1- to the erected
open carton - shown in FIG. 4.
FIG. 5 is an angled perspective of an erected carton with its tc~p side
closure flaps distorted.
FIG. 6 is a top plarn view of the carton of FIG. 5.
FIG. 7 is a schematic drawing showing of a packaging line s:h~wing the route
taken by a carton
during a packaging operation.
FIG. 8 is an angled perspective from above and a side of a hydrating station
according to the
present invention.
FIG. 9 is a~n angled perspective from above and a side of part of the conveyor
system which
transports erected cartons to a packer.
In the drawings, a top loading carton, generally designated 27 has side walls
l and 5; end walls 2
and 6; top side closure flaps 3 and 4 and top end closure flaps 7 and 8. FIG.
4 shows haw the
top closure panels 3, 4, .7 and 8 are generally oriented in the open erected
carton 27. FIG. 3
shows how the bottom wall, generally designated 9, is formed from sections 10,
22, 12 and 13.
Side wall 1 is foldably interconnected at 16 with end waMl 2 and side wall 5
is foldably
interconnected with end wall 6 at 17. The bottom wall 9 is a composite of the
numbered bottom
wall sections 10, 1 l, 12 and 13 hinged to the lower edges of the side and end
walls. The bottom
wall sections include section 10 foldably connected to the bottom edge of side
wall 5; section 11
6
CA 02438897 2003-08-27
foldably joined to the bottom edge of end wall 6; section 12 foldably joined
to the bottom edge
of side wall l and section 13 foldably connected to the bottom edge of end
wall 2.
A securing flap 11 is foldably joined to the bottom edge of end wall 6 and is
secured in place in
contacting relation to section 12 and these overlapping panels include
coinciding diagonal fold
lines. A further securing flap 1~ is foldably joined to the bottom edge of end
wall 2 and is
secured in place contacting relation to section 12 and these overlapping
sections include
coinciding diagonal fold lines. VVVhen a collapsed carton 26 ;is pressed
inwardly at joints J it is
converted from the collapsed condition shown in FIG. 1 to where the carton
walls form a
rectangle in cross-section (refer FIG. 4); the diagonal fold lines are
positioned in general
alignment with each other and notches 14 and 1 S formed on the edges of
sections 10 and 12
become interlocked to secure the carton 27 in its erected condition shown in
FIG. 4. It may be
noted that the sealing flaps 3, 4, 7 and 8 are spread outwardly so that they
do not interfere with
the insertion of product into the erected or expanded carton. As indicated in
the sequence shown
in FIG. 1 to FIG. 4, the flat or collapsed carton 26 of FIG. 1 is first
converted to the position
shown in FIG. 2 due to movement toward the right of side wall 1 whilst
maintaining side wall 5
in its original position. This relative movement continues until the carton 27
attains the position
shown in FIG. 4. Of special note is the planer character and orientation of
top closure flaps 3, 4,
7 and 8 each of which in the flat carton was originally in a plane including
its associated side or
end wall to which they are attached via hinge lines 18 and 19 each flap being
angled out of the
plane including its associated side wall and away from carton opening 20.
Consequently, the
opening 20 of carton 27'is not obstructed by any of the top closure flaps 3,
4, 7or 8. This is the
situation required for successful filling and efficient operation of the
packaging line. Erection of
7
CA 02438897 2003-08-27
the carton 10 can be effected using a number of commercially unavailable
machines such as that
described for example in U.S. 5,411,4b4 mentioned above.
The plane characteristic or condition of the top flaps are shown in F'IG. 4 is
the ideal one. The
exaggerated condition of the top flaps as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 is, however,
not an unusual
one especially in drier seasons such as during a Canadian winter. As can be
seen, the larger side
top closure flaps 3 and 4 are distorted or buckled bow inwardly taking up a
position overlying
part of the opening 20 . of container 27. This is usually attributable to the
flaps becoming
dehydrated to some degree during storage. In any event, attempting to drop
load a rectangular
"unit" comprising a full complement of six (in a 2 x 3 configuration) beer
bottles into the
container shown in FIG. 6 would not be successful. The unit jams against the
flaps 3 and/or 4
casing one or more bottles to fall over, etc.
FIG. 7 illustrates in schematic form, the overall inventive packing process.
Flats from storage
arrive via conveyor 21 at the carton erection or set-up station 22. Following
being set up they
axe transported to, and through, a moisturizing or hydrating station 23 and on
to the bottle packer
24. Following being packed with a full complement of filled bottles of beer
and sealed, the
package is further transported to a palletizer 25. Finally, the pallets loaded
with the retail beer
packs are moved to storage.
Turning to FIG. 8, this illustrates a hydrating station, generally designated
23, of the present
invention. The station 23 comprises in combination a carton support, in this
case a section 31 of
a conveyor 32, and a hydration system, generally designated 33 comprising a
water delivery tube
34 which also carries and supports a moisturizing head 35. 1--lead 35 has two
nozzles 36 each
angled laterally to the direction of travel of the carton 27 and airranged to
direct a fine water mist
or spray in a vertical line sufficient to apply moisture to substantially all
of the inside surface 30
8
CA 02438897 2003-08-27
of each carton side top flap 3 and 4 as they are transported through the
station. Tube 34 is
secured to guide rails 38 and 39 via clamps 40 and is connected to a source
(not shown) of
pressurized water.
It should be noted that top end flaps 7 and 8 are note shown in full in FIGS.
8 and 9. These flaps
are relatively small in this carton and hence distortion is not a significant
problem and, as a
practical matter, can usually be ignored. If necessary, however, those flaps
could also be
similarly moisturized by providing additional spray nozzles 36 or separate
additional spray heads
35.
Following being treated, carton 27 continues along conveyor :32 and during
this time, treated top
side flaps 3 and 4 absorb the applied moisture and regain their original and
desired planer
characteristic as shown in FIG. 9. Note that the total open area or opening 20
of the carton top is
then unobstructed by the top flaps 3 and 4. This occurs quiae quickly and
hence the distance
between the hydrating section 31 and the packer 24 can be relatively short and
not take up much
floor space.
To summarize the operation of the device of the present invention, the carton
100 having
distorted top closure flaps 3 and 4 is, following having been set up at the
erector 22, is
transported via conveyor 21 through hydrating station 23 where substantially
all of the interior
surface 30 of each of top side closure flaps 3 and 4 axe subjected to a fine
spray or mist of water
(indicated by the dotted lines) in FIG. 8. The carton 27 then exits the
hydrating station 23 and is
transported to top loading bottle packer 25. During the time of transport
between those stations,
the moisture is taken up by the top side closure flaps 3 and 4 which regain
their original planar
condition prior to reaching packer 24. Consequently, any tendency of the flaps
3 and 4 to
obstruct carton opening 20 is removed and the carton 100 is successfully
packed and sealed at
9
CA 02438897 2003-08-27
the packing station. As a practical matter, all cartons 100 travelling on the
conveyor are treated
with the spray to ensure all those dehydrated and requiring treatment do
receive it.
It may be noted that this treatment does not adversely affect th.e usual
carton sealing method, that
is, the use of hot melt adhesives since the hot glue is not affected by
moisture.
The present invention can, of course, be used to advantage in any situation
where a carton
opening is restricted or obstructed by overly dry closure flaps. Consequently,
if could be used in
association with side or end-loading operations as well as the packaging of
other food or non-
food articles, yogurt containers or plastic utensils.
