Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02444845 2003-07-02
WO 02/053460 PCT/US02/00242
PACKAGING MACHINE AND METHOD OF POSITIONING AN INSERT
This invention relates to packaging a primary article such as cans or bottles
in multiple
packaged cartons and is more particularly concerned with feeding inserts of
such cartons in
collapsed condition from a hopper, and for initiating and then completing a
set of operations
of inserts in sequence.
Generally, the loading placement of inserts between articles has required the
doNvnstream
motion of the articles be interrupted whilst placement occurs.
US 5,862,648 to Greenwell et al discloses a machine for loading partitions
between adjacent
rows of bottles, each partition being guided between sets of belts. ln order
that the belts are
aligned with the insertion points between rows of bottles, a cam mechanism
moves the belts
in synchronism with the direction of movement of the bottles whilst the
partitions are
inserted. Such a mechanism increases the complexity of the equipment and
limits the
throughput speeds of the articles to the cycle of the translatory motion of
the discharge belts.
Furthermore, a limited number of packaging machines are capable of packaging
different
sizes or types of carton, for example six, eight or twelve packs of a wrap
around 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 possibly 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 "down time"), which is an expensive delay in a bottling plant. Such a delay
may even
result in dovm tiine for the entire bottling line, not just the packaging
machine, if problems
arise during the change over procedure.
It is an object of the present inventiotx to provide a packaging machiTie
which overcomes the
technical and commercial disadvantages of known packaging machines.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a packaging machine
which is capable
of switching from one carton type or size to another with a minimal down time.
CA 02444845 2003-07-02
WO 02/053460 PCT/US02/00242
2
One aspect of the invention provides apparatus for placing packaging material
in a pre-
determined position relative to an array of articles for example bottles to be
packaged,
comprising a oonveyor for conveying an array of articles, feed means for
feeding the
packaging material from a direction substantially perpendicular to the
direction of travel of
the articles. The feed means accelerates the packaging material to a
sufficient velocity
relative to the velocity of the articles such that the packaging material is
placed in said pre-
determined position whilst continuous forward motion of the articles is
maintained. In one
class of embodiments, the feed means is fixed relative the article conveyor.
According to an optional feature of this aspect of the invention,
synchronising means may be
provided to ensure that placing of the packaging material is synchronised with
the motion of
the article array through the device such that placement in the pre-determined
position is
achieved. Preferably, the synchronising means may comprise a controller, the
controller
being arranged to control drive means for the feed means and/or drive means
for the article
conveyor.
According to another optional feature of this aspect of the invention, the
feed means may
comprise an endless belt having provided thereon means for engaging the
packaging material.
Preferably, the engaging means may comprise a lug.
;
According to yet another optional feature of this aspect of the invention the
apparatus further
comprises pick up means arranged to pick the packaging material from a
conveyor up-stream
thereof and to transfer it to the feed means.
The packaging material may comprise an insert to be placed between adjacent
articles.
Alternatively, the packaging material may be a carton to be placed around the
array of
articles.
A second aspect of the invention provides packaging machine comprising a
packaging
material feed chain comprising in series a material hopper, a feeder mechanism
for
transferring the articles from the hopper, apparatus for placing the packaging
material in a
pre-detemnined position relative to an array of articles for example bottles
to be packaged,
comprising a conveyor for conveying an array of articles, feed means for
feeding the
packaging material from a direction substantially perpendicular to the
direction of travel of
CA 02444845 2003-07-02
WO 02/053460 PCT/US02/00242
3
the articles, wherein the feed means accelerates the packaging material to a
sufficient velocity
relative to the velocity of the articles such that the packaging material is
placed in said pre-
determined position whilst continuous forward motion of the articles is
maintained.
Preferably, there may further comprise a station for erecting the packaging
material prior to
transfer to the placement apparatus.
According to an optional feature of the second aspect of the invention there
may further
comprise a compression station for bringing the packaging material to a final
position with
respect to the articles.
According to another optional feature of the second aspect of the invention
there may further
comprise a controller comprising a central processor, manual input means, and
separate
means controlled by the central processor for synchronising the positioning of
the packaging
material with respect to the articles. Preferably, the controller may set the
relative positions
of the articles and the packaging material at the in-feed end of the packaging
machine.
According to another optional feature of the second aspect of the invention
the controller may
control a motor which drives the device for accelerating the material.
According to another optional feature of the second aspect of the invention
the controller may
control the motors which drive the material feed, thereby synchronising the
material flow rate
with the article flow rate.
A third aspect of the invention provides a method of placing packaging
materials in a pre-
determined position with respect to articles to be packaged comprising the
steps of a)
continuously feeding the articles to be packaged in a first direction; b)
transferring a
packaging material from an infeed to a packaging material loading station; c)
accelerating the
material in a direction perpendicular to the first direction to a sufficient
velocity relative the
articles; and d) placing the material in the pre-determined position relative
the articles whilst
continuous fonvard motion of the articles is maintained.
A fourth aspect of the invention provides a controller for controlling the
operation of the
insert module of a packaging machine comprising the steps of: (i) moving the
packaging
CA 02444845 2003-07-02
WO 02/053460 PCT/US02/00242
4
material by a conveyor at a first velocity from an infeed to an insert loading
mechanism; (ii)
setting up the packaging material; (iii) transferring the packaging material
from the conveyor
to the insert lugs of the insert loading mechanism by synchronising the
velocity insert lugs
with the first velocity of the conveyor; (iv) changing the motion of the
insert to a second
velocity: (v) inserting the insert into the group of articles by synchronising
the position and/or
velocity of the articles with the position and/or velocity of the insert.
Exemplary embodiments are now provided, by way of example only, with reference
to the
accompanying drawings in which:
FIGURE 1 illustrates the blank for fotming an insert that may be used with the
insert
placement apparatus according to one embodiment of the invention;
FIGURE 2 illustrates the insert in a set up condition formed from the blank
shown in Figure
1;
FIGURE 3 is a perspective view to one side of the packaging machine
incorporating insert
placement apparatus of a preferred embodiment of the invention;
FIGURE 4 is a close-up perspective view from below the insert feed and set-up
stations of a
preferred embodirn.ent of the invention shown in Figure 3;
FIGURE 5 is a perspective view of the insert placement station and insert
compression station
shown in Figures 3 and 4; and
FIGURE 6 is a flow diagram of a control system in accordance with one aspect
of the
invention.
Referring to the drawings and in particular Figures 1 and 2 thereof, there is
shown one
example of an insert 50 that may be processed by the machine of the present
invention. The
insert is made from paperboard, corrugated board or other suitable foldable
sheet m.aterial.
The insert 50 comprises a blank, having one or more medial partition panels
and an end panel.
There further comprises at least one transverse partition panel. Therefore,
for a carton
holding a group of four articles in a 2 x 2 arrangement, a single medial panel
and transverse
CA 02444845 2003-07-02
WO 02/053460 PCT/US02/00242
partition panel is required together with the end panel, Other arrangements
are envisaged so
that for three rows of articles, two medial partition panels are provided.
In the illustrated embodinient there comprises a first medial partition panel
52, an end panel
5 54 and second medial partition panel 56 hingedly connected together along
fold lines 58 and
60 and adapted to receive twelve articles in a 3 x 4 arrangement.
Figure I shows one example of insert with a medial partition panel 52,
provided with three
transverse partition panels 62a, 62b and 62c, Each transverse partition panel
is similar and
therefore only partition panel 62a is described in any greater detail.
Transverse partition panel 62a is connected to medial partition panel 52 along
upper and
lower fold lines 66 and 68 to create a panel that extends outwardly from both
sides of the
medial panel 52. It will be seen from Figure 2 that, in this embodiment, fold
lines 66 and 68
are aligned in a vertical plane. The upper and Iower edges of panel 62a to
extend one side of
the medial panel are defined by cut lines which separate the panel 62a from
medial panel 52.
One cut line 65 extends from the lower end of fold line 66 to the upper end of
the upper fold
line connecting panel 62b to partition panel 52.
Similarly, the other cut line 67 extends from the upper end of fold line 68 to
the lower end of
the lower fold line connecting panel 62b to partition panel 52. Further cut
lines 69, 71 define
respectively the upper and lower edges of the part of the transverse partition
panel that will
extend outwardly from the other side of the medial panel 52. The opposing side
edges of
transverse partition panel 62a are provided by further cut lines 73.
The second medial partition panel is also provided with three transverse
partition panels 64a,
64b and 64c. It will be seen that each transverse partition panel is similar
and therefore only
partition panel 64a is described in any greater detail.
Transverse partition panel 64a is similar to transverse partition panel 62a in
that it is
preferably adapted to extend outwardly on both sides of the medial panel 56.
Thus, panel 64a
is connected to medial partition panel 56 along fold lines 80 and 82 that are
aligned in a
vertical plane. T]ie upper and lower edges of panel 64a extend to one side of
the medial panel
and are defined by cut lines which separate the panel 64a from partition panel
56. A further
CA 02444845 2006-11-14
6
cut line is shaped to define the part that will extend outwardly from the
other side of the
medial panel 56. This cut line also defines a protruding portion used to
overlap the portion
struck from the other medial partition panel 52. One or more alignment
aperture 94 is
provided.
Turning to the construction of the insert from the insert blank as illustrated
in Figure 1, each
insert requires a series of sequential folding and gluing operations which are
preferably
performed in a straight line machine, so that the carton and blan.k are not
required to be
rotated or inverted to complete its construction. The folding process is not
limited to that
described below and can be altered according to particular manufacturing
requirements.
Dealing with the construction of the insert from the blank 50, shown in Figure
1, for use with
the insert placement apparatus of the invention, the medial partition panel 52
is folded out of
alignment from end panel 54 along fold line 58 to be placed in an overlying
relationship witli
end panel 54 and partition panel 56. Prior to this folding operation, glue is
preferably applied
to the protruding portions of transverse partition panels 64a, 64b, 64c and/or
62a, 62b,'62c
such that when folded, the protruding portion of 64a is secured to the
protruding portion of
62a, and likewise for 64b, 62b; 64c, 62c. The insert I is supplied to the end
user in this flat
collapsed condition for subsequent further erection by the packaging machine
as described
below.
It is envisaged that the inserts will vary depending upon the shape or
quantity of articles to be
packaged and accordingly, the machine incorporating the present invention is
adjustable in
nurnerous respects so that it can process a wide variety of such cartons.
It is envisaged that other known types of insert I can be used, for example
pre-formed inserts
or divider panels used to divide one layer of articles from another, as is
well known.
Turning now to the construction of the machine, the upstream end, shown in
Figures 3 and 4,
includes a magazine or hopper 110 in which a niultiplic.ity of inserts 50 in a
collapsed
condition as described above are held for processing. The hopper may be either
of the gravity
feed type, or alternative means, for exantpte a conveyor, known in the art can
be used to
provide a positive feed in a direction'V', as shown in this embodiment.
CA 02444845 2003-07-02
WO 02/053460 PCT/US02/00242
7
A rotary feeder 155 is in this embodiment positioned adjacent the hopper
illustrated in Figures
3 and 4 to transfer inserts 50 from the hopper to the infeed end of the
machine. The feeder
mechanism according to this embodiment includes a main shaft 170 rotatable in
a
substantially horizontal fixed axis W. The shaft 170 is generally supported at
its end by a
suitable bearing structure (not shown). A suitable driving mechanism such as a
servo motor
(not shown) is provided to rotate the shaft 170 which is controlled by the
controller described
below.
In order to withdraw the end collapsed insert froni the hopper unit, a pick up
device 168 is
provided including insert engaging means, for example suction cups 180, and a
frame 184
driven by the shaft about a pre-determined path. In a preferred embodiment,
four pick-up
devices 168 are provided on respective frames and cross bars 184.
In use, the feeder mechanism 155 continuously and sequentially feeds inserts
from the hopper
to the infeed end of the machine by rotating the pick-up devices 168 in the
direction indicated
by the arrow W, shown in Figure 3. As the pick-up device 168 rotates, suction
cups 180 are
rnoved in contact with one of the medial panels of the insert to be erected. A
vacuum is then
applied to the set of suction cups by a vacuum supply (not shown), as is well
known, and the
insert is withdraw-t- and then transferred onto a conveyor to move the insert
downstream in a
continuous downward direction to a set-up station and thereafter onto a
placement station.
The rotatior} of the rotary feeder 155 about a substantially horizontal axis
causes the collapsed
insert 50 to be translated from a substantially vertical plane in the magazine
through
approximately 180 to a substantially vertical plane as it is introduced into
the conveyor as
shown in Figure 4.
In this embodiment, the conveyor comprises a pair of conveyors 194 and 196
spaced apart
such that lugs 198, 199 mounted thereon engage the end portions of the upper
edge of the
insert and translate the insert 50 downwardly in a direction X (Figure 3). In
this embodiment,
the conveyors are mounted at riglit angles with respect to each other so that
the lugs 198, 199
are oriented to support the insert in both the transverse and longitudinal
planes.
CA 02444845 2003-07-02
WO 02/053460 PCT/US02/00242
8
Preferably, the conveyors 194, 196 are controlled by the controller, described
below, so that
the timing of the inserts at the infeed can by synchronised with other parts
of the machine.
The conveyors 194, 196 transfer the insert to a insert construction station
comprising means
to erect the insert. In this embodiment the insert erecting mechanism
comprises reciprocating
plungers 200, 202 mounted either side of conveyors 194, 196. Of course, other
known carton
erecting apparatus can be used without departing from the scope of the
invention, for example
it is envisaged that the devices disclosed in WO 99/25546 or WO 99/1424 could
be adapted to
be used in this invention.
In Figures 3 and 4, plungers 200 and 202 are substantially identical and
therefore only plunger
200 is described in greater detail.
As can be seen most clearly from Figure 4, plunger 200 comprises two wheels
204, 206
rotatably mounted on a housing 208 in substantially co-planar relationship. A
connecting
beam (not shown) or drive chain is rotatably mounted to each wheel 204, 206 at
points remote
from the centres of rotation thereof. A rod 210 is substantially
perpendicularly mounted on
the beam or drive chain and has provided at the end thereof a plate 212 to
wliich a plurality of
elongate elements or fingers 214 are secured. Drive means (not shown) such as
a servomotor
is provided to cause wheels 204 and 206 to rotate in unison, the arrangement
of the beam and
rod causing the fingers to move in a substantially circular or oval locus,
whilst the axis of the
fingers 214 are maintained substantially perpendicular to the plane of the
insert. The velocity,
acceleration and position of the fingers are controlled via the drive means by
the controller,
described below.
In operation, the motion of the plungers 200, 202 is synchronised with that of
the inserts such
that the fingers 214, 215 engage transverse panels 64a, 64b, 64c and 62a, 62b,
62c and fold
the transverse panel 54 out of the plane of inedial panel 56 without fouling
against the
apertures thereby formed in the panel. Similarly the fingers of plunger 202
are positioned in
corresponding positions to engage the transverse panels 64, 62, as shown in
Figure 4.
To complete erection of the insert in this embodiment, a fixed guide 216
engages transverse
panel 64c and is shaped to fold it, and the remaining panels into a
substantially perpendicuJar
relationship with medial panels 56 and 58, whilst substantially causing medial
panels 56 and
CA 02444845 2003-07-02
WO 02/053460 PCT/US02/00242
9
58 to be brought out of the mutual overlying relationship in a spaced parallel
relationship as
shoNvn in Figure 2.
In more detail, to construct the individual cells C (shown in Figure 2), the
transverse partition
panels 62 and 64 are moved out of alignment with medial partition panels 52
and 56
respectively by fixed guide 216. Turning first to transverse partition panel
62c, the panel is
caused to be folded along fold lines 66 and 68 so that the protruding portion
is folded
inwardly on one side of the medial panel 52. It Arill be seen that the
transverse partition panel
62a is caused to pivot about fold lines 66 and 68 so that the panel extends
from both sides of
the medial panel 52. Preferably, the transverse partition panel 62c is
substantially
perpendicular to the medial panel 52. Transverse partition panels 62a and 62b
are formed in a
like manner.
Due to the overlapping relationship and application of glue between the
protruding portions of
the transverse partition panels, transverse partition panels 64a, 64b, 64c are
formed
simultaneously in a like manner whereby panel 64c is caused to be folded out
of alignment
with medial panel 56 along fold lines 80 and 82 and is caused to pivot so that
the transverse
panel 64c extends from both sides of the medial panel 56 in a substantially
perpendicular
relationship with it. T]Ze use of glue or other suitable means known in the
art to secure
together the transverse partition panels 64c, 62c also creates a more rigid
insert structure I.
Panels 64b and 64a are formed in a like manner and shall therefore not be
described in any
greater detail. Thus, the insert is in a set up condition as shown in Figure
2. It will be seen
that there are twelve cells C formed to separate and support the articles in
adjacent cells.
Whilst the insert I is being erected, the downward motion continues. An insert
accelerating
means 220 is provided to insert the insert between the articles. In this
embodiment there
comprises a pair of endless belts 224a, 224b is staggered from the lower end
of conveyors
194, 196 in an overlapping vertical relationship therewith. Drive means (not
shown) such as a
servomotor is provided to drive the belts 224a, 224b. Each belt 224a, 224b
comprises one or
more lugs 222a, 222b used to engage the insert at spaced positions.
In operation, the motion of the lugs 222a and 222b is synchronised with the
motion of the
insert 50 such that lugs 222a and 222b are brought into contact with the upper
edge of medial
panel 56 whilst downward motion is still controlled by lugs 198. The lugs
222a, 222b
CA 02444845 2003-07-02
WO 02/053460 PCT/US02/00242
accelerate the insert to an increased velocity with respect to that of
conveyors 194 and 196. In
a particularly preferred embodiment, the velocity is increased to
approximately five times that
of conveyors 194 and 196. The drive means for driving the belt 224a, 224b is
preferably
controlled by the controller as described below.
5
At the lowest point in the working reach of the endless belts 224a and 224b,
the insert is
placed between an array of articles such a bottles B. In this embodiment, the
bottles B are
separated upstream of the machine into 4 x 3 array and are driven along lanes
242 onto an
article conveyor 260 moving fonvard continuously in a direction Y. The bottle
metering
10 system and conveyor 260 are again driven by drive means such as servomotors
such that the
placement of insert 50 on the bottles is synchronised with the motion of the
bottle arrays
along conveyor 260 such that each bottle B is placed within one of the
individual
compartments C of the insert 50 as illustrated in Figure 4.
By accelerating the downward motion of the insert 50, a sufficient velocity of
the insert is
achieved for it to be possible for the insert to be placed between bottles B
in a vertical
direction only whilst the bottles maintain eontinuous forward of motion along
conveyor 260
at normal operating speeds, without needing to be moved laterally in the
direction of flow of
the bottles B.
The controller (not shown) also controls the movement of the lugs 222a, 222b
through the
working and return reaches of the conveyor of the embodiment. The velocity of
the
conveyors 224a, 224b in this embodiment is syncliroziised with the velocity of
conveyor 194,
196, for example 400 mm/sec. Once the transfer of the insert has taken place
the insert is
accelerated to a velocity of say 1300 mm/sec. The conveyors 224a, 224b are
maintained at
this velocity to be inserted onto the necks of the ai-ticles. The cycle is
completed by returning
the lugs 222a, 222b to the beginning of the working reach.
In some embodiments, there comprises a sensor to detect the position of the
array of articles.
The controller will then adjust the velocity of the conveyors 194, 196 and/or
belts 224a, 224b
so as to align the insert I with respect to the article array.
The controller through which specific insttuctions can be programmed and a
display which
indicates useful information to the machine operator. The central processor
and the display
CA 02444845 2003-07-02
WO 02/053460 PCT/US02/00242
11
can display operational information, for exarnple, the speed of operation of
the device and its
compliance with particular safety requirements, in the normal manner. In
addition, the central
processor and display can also indicate information specific to the device,
such as the position
of the lugs 222a, 222b and conveyor 224a, 224b, the position of lugs 196, 198
and articles B
relative to the conveyor 224 and the velocity and acceleration of the lugs
222a, 222b. The
controller may also control the positions of the moveable components as well
as the speed of
movement of variable speed components. For example, the central processor
controls one or
more of the servo motors, which in turn power the feeder, the endless conveyor
194, 196
which moves inserts from the infeed end of the machine to the inse.rt
accelerating means, the
plungers 200, 202, the insert accelerating means 220, the article conveyor 260
and/or the
insert compression station.
Figure 6 illustrates an example of a flow diagram of a control system used to
convey insert
into the array of articles.
The transfer process of the insert is started (box 498). The first stage in
the system is to cause
the feeder to pick a carton from one of the hoppers (box 500) and to control
the lugs 198, 199
(box 502) to effect transfer from the feeder to the lugs. The lugs 198,199
continue to move
the insert (box 504). The position of the article array is detected (box 506)
by a sensor or by
determining the position via the server motor driving the lugs, as is well
known. At this point,
the central processor will compare the position of the array to the insert
position (box 508)
and will control the article feed means (box 510) and/or advance or retard the
lugs 222,224
(box 512) to control the lower movement of the insert as sit is lowered onto
the article array
so that the insert is aligned at the point of contact P (Figure 4).
Thereafter the lugs 222 are caused by the control system to move the insert
into the article
array (box 514). After each of these steps has been taken, the programme is
restarted and the
process is repeated for the next insert.
It, will be understood that the positions and speeds of the devices of this
embodiment of the
present invention can be input manually or a specific pre-written program can
be loaded into
the central processor for control of the packaging machine.
CA 02444845 2003-07-02
WO 02/053460 PCT/US02/00242
12
Also, the control to change over the nlachine from one pitch to another can be
accomplished
through use of a pre-v+.Titten program of manual input signals, for example
w]ten a different
size insert is used or a different array of articles,
In order to ensure that the insert 50 is brought into the appropriate final
vertical position
relative to bottles B. an insert compression station 270 is preferably
provided downstream of
the insert accelerating means 220 as can be seen most clearly from Figure 5.
In this
embodiment, the compression station 270 comprises one or more compression
members 278
operating in synchronism with the downstream motion of the bottles B and
insert 50 in a
direction Y whilst simultaneously being arranged to engage the upper edge of
the insert 50
and press the insert downwardly relative to the bottles.
In a preferred ernbodiment, each engaging member 278 comprises a pair of
mutually spaced
vertically arranged flanges 280a, 280b connected via a central web portion,
the low=er edges of
the flanges being arranged to slide between adjacent bottles and engage the
upper edge of the
insert. In other embodirnents, it is envisaged that a number of compression
members may be
altered as required, or that suitable alteniative arrangements for compressing
the insert such as
fixed guides, for example, may be employed.
In this embodiment, the above described motion is achieved by mounting the
compression
members 278a, 278b, 278c on a support 276 rotating about a horizontal axis by
shafts 282.
The support 276 is preferably driven by servo motor 272 via a gear arrangement
274.
Preferably, the compression station 270 is controlled by the controller as
described below to
achieve synchronism with the other parts of the machine. A suitable mechanisxx-
(not shown)
is provided to ensure that each engaging member is maintained in a downwardly
facing
position throughout the full extent of each inember's contact with the insert
50. This may be
achieved by any suitable means known in the art such as the use of a rotating
cam
arrangement.
Once an array of bottles B has passed through the compression station, it may
then proceed to
a carton loading station, for example or the outfeed of the machine.
According to one aspect of the invention the speed of operation of the
apparatus is improved
as well as its efficiency and durability. In the embodiment illustrated, the
packaging speeds
CA 02444845 2003-07-02
WO 02/053460 PCT/US02/00242
13
are around 120 packs per minute. The present invention also provides for
adjustment to the
size of the insert or number of articles being fed by the insert module. It is
envisaged that the
invention may be used in a packaging machine capable or packaging a plurality
of insert sizes
or types. Indeed, while the preferred embodiment described herein is for
loading inserts into
articles, it is recognised that the invention is not limited to inserts of
this type.
The invention may be sold as part of a packaging macbine or separately as a
module to be
fitted to a new machine or on a retrofit basis.
