Cartoning machine and blank picker for a cartoning machine

Abstract

A carton packaging machine (10) is provided, comprising a blank magazine (12), a blank feeder (20), and a blank picker (100) for transporting a single blank (50) from the magazine (12) to the feeder (20). The blank picker (100) comprises an upper pick-up unit (110) configured to be attached to an upper portion of the blank (50) and a bottom pick-up unit (120) configured to be attached to a bottom portion of the blank (50).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a cartoning machine, in particular to a cartoning machine for producing boxes, trays and / or wrap-around units for multiple carton packs, a blank picker for such a cartoning machine, and a method for using the cartoning machine. Background Art

[0002] Individual packaging containers, such as liquid food packaging containers, are usually made of carton-based materials and filled using high-speed filling machines. When the filled, formed and sealed packaging containers are unloaded from the filling machine, they are transferred to a carton packaging machine, where a predetermined number of packaging containers are stacked in a packaging pattern and placed in a box made from a carton blank.

[0003] The box is produced by folding a blank, which may be in the form of a box, a tray or a wrap-around unit; the blank may be formed, for example, by cutting a sheet of corrugated cardboard or the like into a predetermined shape. The shape of the blank varies depending on the size, number and manner of packaging of the packaging containers to be loaded into the box. In the case of a tray blank, the blank sheet has a shape that covers two opposite side surfaces of a group of packaging containers that have been stacked on the blank sheet in a predetermined packaging pattern. In the case of a wrap-around blank, the blank has a shape that completely covers a group of packaging containers that have been stacked on the blank sheet in a predetermined packaging pattern.

[0004] The cartoning machine is provided with a blank magazine and a blank picker which usually uses suction to take out a single blank at a time from the magazine. After picking up the blank, it is received by a feeder configured to fold and transport the blank. Subsequently, a group of packaging containers that have been transported by a conveyor are placed on the blank, and the blank is formed into a cardboard package surrounding or carrying the packaging container.

[0005] Correct positioning of the blanks relative to the feeder is very important for obtaining a carton package of the correct shape and size and thus also for correct handling and storage of the individual packaging containers.

[0006] There is therefore a need for an improved cartoning machine, in particular an improved blank picker, which allows improved positioning of the carton blanks in the feeder. Summary of the invention

[0007] An object of the present invention is to at least partially overcome one or more of the above-mentioned limitations of the prior art. In particular, an object is to provide a cartoner that improves the positioning of blanks by reducing the risk of unpredictable movement of the blanks, for example due to two high pressures acting on two adjacent blanks or one of the blanks being damaged and sticking to an adjacent blank, causing two adjacent blanks to stick to each other in the magazine.

[0008] According to a first aspect, a cartoner is provided. The cartoner comprises a blank magazine, a blank feeder and a blank picker for transporting single blanks from the magazine to the feeder, wherein the blank picker comprises an upper pick-up unit configured to be attached to the upper part of the blank, and a bottom pick-up unit configured to be attached to the bottom of the blank. It has been shown that being able to pull the blank from the upper part as well as from the bottom can greatly improve the positioning of the blank, especially during the initial movement of the blank when it is released from the magazine.

[0009] In one embodiment, the bottom pick-up unit comprises at least two spaced apart pick-up devices. The pick-up devices of the bottom pick-up unit can be distributed horizontally, thereby improving the fixation of the blanks, especially for large-sized blanks.

[0010] The picking devices of the bottom picking unit can be distributed to be attached to the corresponding bottom corners of the blank. Thus, the blank can be pulled from the bottom corner, which reduces the unpredictable movement of the blank caused by the pressure difference between the atmosphere and the area between two adjacent blanks.

[0011] The upper pick-up unit and / or the bottom pick-up unit may be configured to be attached to the blank by applying suction force, thereby achieving a simple structure.

[0012] The cartoner may further comprise a control unit connected at least to the bottom pick-up unit for activating the bottom pick-up unit. The control unit may be programmed to activate the bottom pick-up unit according to a first activation scheme, whereby the first activation scheme is different from a second activation scheme for activating the upper pick-up unit. Separate control of the upper pick-up unit and the bottom pick-up unit may reduce the complexity of the cartoner, since the bottom pick-up unit may be used to remove the blank from the magazine instead of providing a complete transport to the feeder.

[0013] The second activation scheme may be designed to activate the upper pick-up unit during the complete transport of the blank from the magazine to the feeder, whereas the first activation scheme is designed to activate the bottom pick-up unit during the initial transport of the blank from the magazine to the feeder.

[0014] According to a second aspect, a blank picker is provided for transporting single blanks from a magazine to a feeder of a cartoning machine. The blank picker comprises an upper pick-up unit configured to be attached to an upper portion of the blank, and a bottom pick-up unit configured to be attached to a bottom portion of the blank.

[0015] According to a third aspect, a method for transporting blanks from a magazine to a feeder of a cartoner is provided. The method comprises arranging a blank picker in close proximity to the blanks of the magazine; activating the blank picker so that an upper pick-up unit of the blank picker is attached to an upper portion of the blank and a bottom pick-up unit of the blank picker is attached to a bottom portion of the blank; moving the blank picker toward the feeder; and deactivating the blank picker when the blank is arranged at the feeder.

[0016] Deactivating the blank picker may include deactivating the bottom pick unit before deactivating the upper pick unit.

[0017] Activating the blank picker may be performed such that the upper pick-up unit is attached to the upper portion of the blank while the lower pick-up unit is attached to the bottom of the blank.

[0018] Other objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] Embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying schematic drawings, in which

[0020] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a cartoner according to one embodiment;

[0021] Figure 2 is an isometric view of a cardboard package produced by a cardboard packaging machine;

[0022] Figure 3a -d is a schematic side view of a portion of a cartoner according to one embodiment, showing the operating sequence of a blank picker; and

[0023] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the method for a cartoning machine. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0024] refer to Figure 1 , there is shown a cartoner 10. As will be explained below, the cartoner 10 is configured to transform carton blanks into carton packages.

[0025] The cartoner 10 is fed with a magazine 12. The magazine 12 contains a plurality of individual blanks which are stacked one on top of the other in the magazine 12. The cartoner 10 also receives a stream of individual packaging containers 14, which may be in solid or liquid form, such as carton packaging containers 14 filled with liquid food or other suitable contents.

[0026] The cartoner 10 includes a blank picker 100 configured to access the magazine 12, grab one blank at a time, and move the blank from the magazine 12 to a blank feeder 20. The blank feeder 20 is preferably configured to perform initial folding and forming of the blanks into a final carton package 30. Thus, the feeder 20 is configured in some way to also receive carton packaging containers 14 and arrange them within the carton package 30.

[0027] from Figure 1 It can be clearly seen that the cartoner 10 also comprises a control unit 40 for controlling the operation of the blank picker 100 .

[0028] exist Figure 2 A paperboard package 30 is shown in FIG. The paperboard package 30 represents one example of how a blank may be formed into a closed structure for a plurality of individual packaging containers 14 (24 in this example).

[0029] Now turn to Figure 3a -d, the blank picker 100 will be described in more detail. The blank picker 100 has a vertical extension and includes an upper pick-up unit 110 and a bottom pick-up unit 120. The upper pick-up unit 110 is arranged to be attached to the upper portion of the blank, and the bottom pick-up unit 120 is arranged to be attached to the bottom of the blank.

[0030] As can be seen, the magazine 12 is somewhat tilted. The exact orientation of the magazine 12 and the exact number of blanks contained in the magazine 12 may vary. The position of the magazine 12 may be adjusted in the vertical direction, for example in the plane of the blanks.

[0031] Since the material box 12 is in the raised position, the load on the front blank can be reduced, thereby facilitating the blank picker 100 to take out the blank.

[0032] The upper picking unit 110 is arranged on a guide 112 which is configured to move the upper picking unit 110 , in particular one or more picking devices 114 of the upper picking unit 110 , from the magazine 12 to the feeder 20 .

[0033] In a similar manner, the bottom pick-up unit 120 is arranged on a guide 122 which is configured to move the bottom pick-up unit 120 , in particular one or more pick-up devices 124 of the bottom pick-up unit 120 , from the magazine 12 towards the feeder 20 .

[0034] Preferably, at least the bottom pick-up unit 120 comprises two or more pick-up devices 124 distributed horizontally; in a preferred embodiment, one pick-up device 124 is arranged to be attached to one bottom corner of the blank, and another pick-up device 124 is arranged to be attached to the other bottom corner of the blank. One or more pick-up devices 124 can be arranged between the “corner” pick-up devices 124.

[0035] like Figure 3a As can be seen in FIG. 1 , both the upper pick-up unit 110 and the bottom pick-up unit 120 are arranged at the magazine 12 in an idle position, in which the pick-up units 110 , 120 are ready to be activated to grab a blank from the magazine 12 .

[0036] The pickup units 110, 120 are activated by the control unit 40 (see Figure 1). In one embodiment, each pick-up device 114, 124 is a suction device, for example, comprising one or more cups connected to a vacuum pump or the like. Once the suction device is in contact with the blank, and once the vacuum pump applies suction force, the blank will be held by the pick-up device 114, 124.

[0037] Once the pick-up device 114, 124 is activated and grabs the blank, the pick-up unit 110, 120 starts to move toward the feeder 20. During this movement, the grabbed blank 50 will be released from the magazine 12, such as Figure 3b As the blank 50 is held at its upper part (by the upper pick-up unit 110) and at its bottom (by the bottom pick-up unit 120), there is less risk that the released blank 50 sticks to the adjacent blanks in the magazine 12 and thus causes unintentional and undesirable movement of the blank 50 relative to the pick-up units 110, 120. Thus, the correct position of the blank 50 during its movement to the feeder 20 is ensured.

[0038] The main purpose of the bottom pick-up unit 120 is to provide robustness for the initial movement of the blank 50 (i.e., when it is released from the magazine 12). However, due to some irregularities in the instant of releasing the blank 50, the bottom pick-up unit 120 may maintain its grip on the blank 50 for a period of time during transportation to the feeder 20.

[0039] like Figure 3c As shown, the blank 50 is held by two pick-up units 110, 120 for some additional movement towards the feeder 20. Figure 3c In the position shown, the bottom pick-up unit 120 can be deactivated, whereby the upper pick-up unit 110 will be responsible for holding the blanks 50 for the remaining transport to the feeder 20. The bottom pick-up unit 120 is preferably stopped in this position, whereby one or more guides (not shown) tilt the blanks 50 and then freely pass through the bottom pick-up unit 120.

[0040] exist Figure 3d , the blank 50 has returned to its (almost) vertical position and engages the feeder 20. Additional movement of the blank 50 in the direction towards the feeder 20 will eventually cause one or more fins 22 of the feeder 20 to grab the blank 50 and cause an initial folding of the blank 50.

[0041] according to Figure 3a-d, the control unit 40 is programmed to activate the bottom pick-up unit 120 according to a first activation scheme (i.e., how long the suction will be applied in terms of time and / or movement). As explained, the first activation scheme is generally different from the second activation scheme for activating the upper pick-up unit 110. The second activation scheme, i.e., how to activate the upper pick-up unit 110, is designed to activate the upper pick-up unit 110 during the complete transportation of the blank 50 from the magazine 12 to the feeder 20, while the first activation scheme, i.e., how to activate the bottom pick-up unit 120, is designed to activate the bottom pick-up unit 120 only during the initial transportation of the blank 50 from the magazine 12 toward the feeder 20.

[0042] After the blank 50 is transferred to the feeder 20, the blank picker 100, namely the upper pick-up unit 110 and the bottom pick-up unit 120, returns to the Figure 3a Therefore, the same sequence can be repeated for the next blank of the magazine 12.

[0043] Now turn to Figure 4 , schematically showing a method 200. As explained above, the method 200 is performed for transporting blanks 50 from a magazine 12 to a feeder 20 of a cartoner 10. In particular, the method 200 comprises a first step 202 of arranging a blank picker 100 adjacent to the blanks 50 of the magazine 12; and a second step 204 of activating the blank picker 100 so that the upper pick-up unit 110 of the blank picker 100 is attached to the upper part of the blank 50, and the bottom pick-up unit 120 of the blank picker 100 is attached to the bottom of the blank 50.

[0044] The method 200 continues with step 206 of moving the blank picker 100 towards the feeder 20 and finally step 208 of deactivating the blank picker 100 when the blank 50 is disposed at the feeder 20 .

[0045] The final step 208 of deactivating the blank picker 100 is preferably performed such that the bottom pick-up unit 120 is deactivated before the upper pick-up unit 110 .

[0046] Furthermore, the step 204 of activating the blank picker is preferably performed such that the upper pick-up unit 110 is attached to the upper portion of the blank 50 while the bottom pick-up unit 120 is attached to the bottom of the blank 50 .

[0047] From the above it can be seen that, although various embodiments of the invention have been described and shown, the invention is not restricted thereto but can also be embodied in other ways within the scope of the subject matter defined in the appended claims.

Claims

1. A carton packaging machine (10), comprising a magazine (12), a blank feeder (20), a blank picker (100) for transporting a single blank (50) from the magazine (12) to the feeder (20), and a control unit (40), wherein The blank picker (100) includes an upper pick-up unit (110) configured to be attached to an upper portion of the blank (50) and a bottom pick-up unit (120) configured to be attached to a bottom portion of the blank (50). The control unit (40) is connected to at least the bottom pick-up unit (120) for starting the bottom pick-up unit (120), wherein the control unit (40) is programmed to start the bottom pick-up unit (120) according to a first starting scheme, the first starting scheme being different from a second starting scheme for starting the upper pick-up unit (110), The second starting scheme is designed to start the upper picking unit (110) during the complete transportation of the blank (50) from the material box (12) to the feeder (20), while the first starting scheme is designed to start the bottom picking unit (120) only during the initial transportation of the blank (50) from the material box (12) to the feeder (20).

2. The cartoner (10) according to claim 1, wherein the bottom pick-up unit (120) comprises at least one pick-up device (124).

3. The cartoner (10) according to claim 2, wherein the pick-up device (124) is attached to the bottom of the blank (50).

4. The cartoner (10) according to claim 1, wherein the bottom pick-up unit (120) comprises at least two spaced-apart pick-up devices (124).

5. Cartoner (10) according to claim 4, wherein the pick-up devices (124) of the bottom pick-up unit (120) are distributed horizontally.

6. Cartoner (10) according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the pick-up devices (124) of the bottom pick-up unit (120) are distributed to attach to respective bottom corners of the blank (50).

7. The cartoner (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the upper pick-up unit (110) and / or the bottom pick-up unit (120) are configured to be attached to the blank (50) by applying suction.

8. A blank picker (100) for transporting a single blank (50) from a magazine (12) to a feeder (20) of a carton packaging machine (10), the blank picker (100) comprising an upper pick-up unit (110) and a bottom pick-up unit (120), the upper pick-up unit (110) being configured to be attached to the upper part of the blank (50), the bottom pick-up unit (120) being configured to be attached to the bottom of the blank (50), and the blank picker (100) being controlled by a control unit (40) at least connected to the bottom pick-up unit (120) to perform the following operations: the control unit (40) is used to start the bottom pick-up unit (120), wherein the control unit (40) is programmed to start the bottom pick-up unit (120) according to a first start-up scheme, the first start-up scheme being different from a second start-up scheme for starting the upper pick-up unit (110), The second starting scheme is designed to start the upper picking unit (110) during the complete transportation of the blank (50) from the material box (12) to the feeder (20), while the first starting scheme is designed to start the bottom picking unit (120) only during the initial transportation of the blank (50) from the material box (12) to the feeder (20).

9. A method for transporting blanks from a magazine (12) to a feeder (20) of a cartoning machine (10), comprising: Arranging a blank picker (100) adjacent to the blank (50) in the magazine (12); Starting the blank picker (100) so that the upper pick-up unit (110) of the blank picker (100) is attached to the upper part of the blank (50), and the bottom pick-up unit (120) of the blank picker (100) is attached to the bottom of the blank (50); moving the blank picker (100) toward the feeder (20); and When the blank (50) is arranged at the feeder (20), the blank picker (100) is deactivated, wherein deactivating the blank picker (100) includes deactivating the bottom pick-up unit (120) before deactivating the upper pick-up unit (110), and controlling the blank picker (100) to perform the following operations by a control unit (40) at least connected to the bottom pick-up unit (120): activating the bottom pick-up unit (120), wherein the control unit (40) is programmed to activate the bottom pick-up unit (120) according to a first activation scheme, the first activation scheme being different from a second activation scheme used to activate the upper pick-up unit (110), The second starting scheme is designed to start the upper picking unit (110) during the complete transportation of the blank (50) from the material box (12) to the feeder (20), while the first starting scheme is designed to start the bottom picking unit (120) only during the initial transportation of the blank (50) from the material box (12) to the feeder (20).

10. The method of claim 9, wherein activating the blank picker (100) is performed such that the upper pick-up unit (110) is attached to an upper portion of the blank (50) while the bottom pick-up unit (120) is attached to a bottom portion of the blank (50).

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